Twenty years ago — 1998

“Deadbeat dads don’t drive.” That’s the message of a statewide effort conducted by New York State Police this week to force individuals to make overdue child support payments. Troopers are currently conducting concentrated investigations of any subject pulled over for a traffic violation to determine if they owe money in child support judgments. Violators of the deadbeat parent law suffer a revocation of their driver’s license, followed by an immediate arraignment before an area justice. This week-long initiative is being supervised under the direction of Gov. George Pataki.

Thirty years ago — 1988

Area home sales seem to be slightly on the rise, according to local banks and real estate personnel. Some attribute the fact that homes are “moving” more than last year to the drop in local unemployment and an increase in first-time homebuyers. The current cost for the average home sale in Dunkirk is priced at $37,500. Mortgage rates seem to be fluctuating between 10.5 and 11 percent. There are currently more than 40 different ways to finance the sale of a home.

Forty years ago — 1978

Trees which have been embedded in gravel for at least 200 years were recently discovered by workers at the Hanover Sewer District One treatment plant site on Buffalo Road, Irving. The trees were found about 20-22 feet beneath the ground surface. They had been in an airtight situation before being excavated and thus the preservation. Now that they have been exposed to the air, many of the trees are beginning to deteriorate. Some of the trees are about 30-40 feet in length and 2-3 feet in diameter. They appear to be either walnut or oak.

Fifty years ago — 1968

Army Sp-5 David Lynn Ferry, formerly of Fredonia, was killed in action in Vietnam on Aug. 22 when the helicopter in which he was riding crashed. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Emery E. Bradley, 74 Seymour St., Tonawanda. Born in Gowanda, Sp-5 Ferry had lived in Fredonia for most of his life. A 1961 graduate of Fredonia High School, he enlisted in the Army in November 1966. In Vietnam, he was a helicopter crew chief and had received an air medal a week before his death.