Twenty years ago — 1999

Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Deputy Sgt. Peter Pett has been named Deputy of the Year for 1999 by the New York State Sheriff’s Association. He is the 21st recipient of the statewide honor established in 1977 and given annually to a deputy sheriff who has displayed outstanding courage and heroism in the line of duty. Sheriff Joseph Gerace nominated the Fredonia resident for this award and participated in its presentation at the association’s recent annual mid-winter conference.

Thirty years ago — 1989

The Dunkirk Common Council voted unanimously to override Mayor Madylon Kubera’s veto of their resolution to increase the annual mooring fee at the city dock from $325 to $500. Only two fishing tugs were affected by the increase. The original proposal to increase the fee was made by the city’s harbor commission, which recommended it be increased to $1,000 a year. Both the mayor and council felt that was too high, with the mayor supporting an increase of only $25 to $50.

Forty years ago — 1979

Some 100 men from six separate fire departments battled a blaze for four hours recently at the workshop of Hanover Sand and Gravel Inc., Buffalo Road, Irving, which resulted in more than $100,000 worth of damage. The fire was determined to be of suspicious origin and acts of vandalism had preceded the fire. The workshop was totally destroyed by the fire and a storage barn adjoining the workshop is in need of a new wall.

Fifty years ago — 1969

The bookcase recently donated to St. Joseph’s School for Exceptional Children on Bennett Road in Dunkirk and the few books displayed in it are only the beginning of the extensive professional library planned by school officials. The institution, formerly an orphanage, has been seeking more and more material directed toward the school’s efforts with mentally-challenged, brain-damaged and learning-disabled children. The plexi-glass and wrought iron glass-enclosed bookcase was donated to the school by Jack O’Connell of Fredonia.