Twenty years ago — 1998

Property tax rates will not increase in 1999 under the city budget officially adopted by the Dunkirk Common Council. The property rate will be $15.88 per $1,000 of assessed value, which is the same as 1998. However, the rate local industries pay to have sewage treated by the city of Dunkirk may soon increase. The city is going to be looking at some industrial user fees after Christmas as the city is suffering a “considerable loss” in some cases when comparing the city’s cost versus what it charges. Tax dollars from the general fund have been transferred in recent years to address the deficit in the wastewater fund.

Thirty years ago — 1988

Fredonia native William J. McPhee, superintendent of the Amherst Central School District, will retire at the end of this month, after a 35-year career in education. He is a 1950 graduate of Fredonia High School and a 1954 graduate of Fredonia State University College, where he played basketball and earned nine letters. Two years ago, Dr. McPhee was inaugurated into the Fredonia State Athletic Hall of Fame.

Forty years ago — 1978

Sandra Vona, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Vona of Silver Creek, was crowned the new 1979 Miss Festival of Grapes at a reception held in her honor recently. She replaces Mary Ellen Witkowski, who relinquished the festival title after being crowned 1979 Silver Creek Junior Miss.

Fifty years ago — 1968

Westfield native Margaret Kilgore, congressional reporter for UPI International, this year was elected president of the prestigious Women’s National Press Club. The club, with a membership of more than 500, serves as a forum for national and world leaders in politics, the professions and the arts. Miss Kilgore has been in Washington for about five years. She is the daughter of Mrs. Harold T. Hall of Westfield and La Jolla, Calif.