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Opinion

Area cannot keep up with ‘expenses’

Peoples column

Editor, OBSERVER: I read the OBSERVER article about police coverage for the town of Dunkirk. It seems everyone in our local municipalities are experiencing substantial increases to cover costs in a somewhat dwindling population. I know they will work out some arrangement. It’s a necessary resource. But isn’t the real question: “Do we need two overlapping municipalities with their duplicative expenses?” Seems to me in a more comprehensive restructuring, I’m sure we could save a good portion of these costs. Those savings could then be used to upgrade civil servant ...

Video on McGuire worth watching

Commentary

GENESEO — Let’s pick up where we left on Labor Day weekend 2025. Rev. Jason McGuire, a former Livingston County Conservative party chair, and the current executive director of New York Families Foundation and New York Families Action, is bright, personable, cheerful, dedicated, and principled, all of which make him an effective advocate. And an effective opponent of the powers that be in New York. What did the New York attorney general’s office do? McGuire said that after a false complaint against him, the attorney general’s office investigated him and those connected to ...

Prophetic energy warning beleaguers state

Editor's corner

Public Service Commission member John B. Howard was quickly aware of the shock value that loomed for utility users following a decision made on a February 2023 afternoon. After the panel approved $6.6 billion in transmission upgrades to reduce congestion in three regions by a 4-2 vote for ...

Life advice from a wise old frog

Commentary

When I hop to my computer each morning, I promise myself I won’t fritter away my time. Fuggedaboudit. I get some of my best ideas while frittering. On Monday, I didn’t have frittering time to spare. I was cleaning up some of my messier computer files when I stumbled across an article I copied last May from the Baltimore Sun newspaper. I had completely forgotten about it. Upon rereading, I knew why I kept it. It brought back a lot of fun memories. It is about one of my favorite people: Kermit the Frog, star of stage, screen, and swamp. Yes, Kermit acts like he is one of us. But ...

County benefits from large impact of SUNY

The OBSERVER’s View

Chautauqua County relies heavily on the State University of New York when it comes to education and employment. Both the campuses at Fredonia and Jamestown Community College not only turnout top level graduates, they also help drive the workforce. That much is apparent after a study this week by the Rockefeller Institute of Government and its findings that the SUNY system generates $35.5 billion in economic impact annually statewide. “A thriving and successful SUNY system helps ensure a strong and prosperous New York, and this report further demonstrates that fact,” said SUNY ...

Erie Canal put state on path for prosperity

Commentary

I recently read “The Mohawk” by Codman Hislop,  who taught American Civilization at Union College in Schenectady, New York. The book originally published in 1948 is the story of the Mohawk Valley and its river from prehistoric times up to the post-World War II period with a large section devoted to the history of the Erie Canal. Canals and their construction were common topics in the early history of our nation as a way of connecting the original states along the eastern seaboard to the Northwest Territory and the states being created there that would include Ohio, Indiana, ...