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Peoples column

People’s column: Spread the Word throughout month

Editor, OBSERVER: We are The Make A Mark Self Advocacy Group based out of The Resource Center in Dunkirk. We are writing this letter to spread awareness. As many of you may or may not know, in the month of March there is an annual campaign that takes place called Spread the Word to End the Word/Spread the Word for Inclusion. This campaign has been taking place nationwide since it was founded in 2009 by two college students named Soeren Palumbo and Tim Shriver. The purpose of the campaign is to raise awareness of the fact that people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities ...

People’s column

Forestville needs a new store Editor, OBSERVER: As a retired man that hasn’t driven in almost 10 years now I know we need Dollar General here in Forestville. I have started a petition online to get signatures to bring the store to our small hamlet. This is the web address -- https://chng.it/7GGzC5DBZC. Please help me help our community members, especially the older ones. JOHN SMITH, Forestville

People’s column: A day to salute Vietnam veterans

Editor, OBSERVER: On March 29, we will be observing National Vietnam Veterans Day. On this day, we honor more than 3 million Americans who served in and around a country in Southeast Asia that most had never heard of until they were asked to risk their lives for it. On this day, we remember the 58,318 dead whose names are engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., a list that does not include thousands of subsequent deaths due to Agent Orange-related illnesses, suicide and other conditions related to their time in service. On this day, we say “welcome home” ...

Peoples Column

Roots to our past generations Editor, OBSERVER: I bought a tree from the Tree For Thee Project in support of the restoration of Point Gratiot and Wright Park, and I dedicated it to my grandma who owned Irene’s Beauty Shop back in the 1950s at Second and Gazelle streets. Martha Irene Steffan served her neighborhood well and was so generous to families in need, even way back then. She made sure certain families had gifts under the Christmas tree for their kids – every girl needed a doll, she told me. Bartering for payment with her farm customers resulted in bushels and baskets ...

People’s Column

New meters would help water revenues Editor, OBSERVER: An editorial, “Fredonia: Consequences are spilling over” (Feb. 17) comments on concerns about the village water system. The editorial asserts, first, the system costs have increased because of lack of investment. In fact, those costs have increased primarily because of a recent switch from gas to powder chlorine disinfection in the interests of staff safety. Second, “there’s a three-way division” among those who want a) reliable water, b) reservoir preservation, and c) regional integration of water systems. In fact, ...

People’s column

Hochul strikes again with appointment Editor, OBSERVER: Gov. Kathy Hochul has just announced recent appointments to her staff and agencies. What I cannot wrap my head around is her promoting the former HR Director of The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to the “Acting Commissioner” position. During Daniel F. Martuscello’s III tenure as HR Director, he was a defendant in a case (Public Record Alfred P. Montegari V NY State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision). This court case listed alleged violations of Federal and State ...