It is quite obvious the town of Hanover is having no blast when discussing the controversial propane cannon issue. Besides being a hot topic at recent meetings, there also has been some protests surrounding the booms that are bothering a number of residents. During the last Town Board ...

It will be a whole new look for The Chautauqua Center in Dunkirk. Last week, officials from the health-care facility announced a major build for the city. “We did a thorough assessment, looking at buildings and lots and found that it was cheaper to build a whole new structure as opposed to ...

The Rev. Chloe Smith performed an invaluable public service this weekend organizing a peaceful, thoughtful rally at Dow Park in Jamestown. Sparked by the thoughtless killing of George Floyd, a helpless black man being arrested for a non-violent offense, by a white police officer in ...

While most of us have been preoccupied with keeping COVID-19 at bay, the scourge of illegal drugs continues to rear its ugly head. Christine Schuyler, county public health commissioner, told county Board of Health members that the county averaged about 19 overdoses a month in 2019 for a ...

A recent report card offers a mixed bag regarding how our local governments are doing when it comes to transparency during an unprecedented pandemic. According to the The New York Coalition for Open Government, there are some municipalities that are thriving and others are just outright ...

Once the grim tally of deaths from COVID-19 is finalized — sometime later this year, we hope — there is little doubt it will be clear that nursing homes are the coronavirus’ favored killing grounds. To most public health leaders, that already is obvious. In some states, most of the ...

Marcia Merrins, chair of the Fredonia Cable Advisory Board, is absolutely correct. In this era of meetings being broadcast on public access — since restrictions are in place due to COVID-19 — the location of the channel needs to be more prominent. Consider this in Dunkirk-Fredonia: ...

We have touched on this before, but it always is worth noting again. Many who have been displaced from work or had other hardships due to the coronavirus are facing a concern of when and where their next meal will be. On Monday, our newspaper again touched on the crisis and the need for ...

It sure felt like the beginning of summer on Monday. Across our region, especially here in Dunkirk-Fredonia, residents made their way to the great outdoors that included a splash of sunshine and 80-degree temperatures after a brutal period since mid March that has impacted just about ...

Memorial Day is the traditional beginning of summer. Residents here and around the northeast will likely venture out, take to the grills and gather with family as they always have done. Heading to services to pay tribute to those who fought for our freedoms, however, is one holiday tradition ...

It has been happening since the beginning of spring. School district officials, parents, area businesses and boosters have been doing their part to salute the Class of 2020. No graduating class has ever gone through the bitter pill this one has. That being said, the compassion and generosity ...

Two Gowanda Board of Education members who wanted to reduce expenses for the district have ended up being a burden. Both Janet Vogtli and David Barnes have been charged with official misconduct pursuant to New York state Education Law after a public rant about teachers and administrators not ...

Nearly every American has suffered financially from the COVID-19 epidemic. At least 36 million of us were laid off from our workplaces. Even those still on the job have seen their retirement savings decimated. But a few people — those who had some forewarning of the economic havoc to come ...

If there is one area Gov. Andrew Cuomo is flunking right now in his handling of COVID-19, it is the uncertainty of state aid to schools. Schools had been told that an analysis at the end of April would dictate how much state aid to schools would be cut this year. That analysis by Robert ...

We hardly got to know outgoing Fredonia Central School Superintendent Jeffrey Sortisio. During his tenure at the high-profile institution, Sortisio like many other school chiefs, was visible at athletic events, major happenings and graduation. He did, however, never set down roots ...

Thanks to a surprising bit of good fortune with COVID-19 hospitalizations in the Buffalo area and the identification of just enough contact tracers, Western New York is finally able to reopen today. For now, construction, wholesale trade and manufacturing can begin opening back up with ...

The news that one of the people to test positive recently for COVID-19 works for a Chautauqua County nursing home brings two things to mind that everyone in our area must keep in mind for the next several months. First, everyone needs to act cautiously, but especially anyone who deals with ...

About 1,200 students graduated from the State University of New York at Fredonia in one of the quietest ceremonies ever held by the institution. There were no cheers, tears or hats thrown in the air. But the event was held -- as we have become accustomed to in the past months due to the ...

There is not much time for Boards of Education — and the public — to soak in the coming school budget votes that take place in June. It’s a changing situation, but one thing is certain: districts are desperate. Just like every other aspect of our community, lifestyle and economy, school ...

During three and one-half years, Americans converted a peacetime economy to become the arsenal of democracy and win World War II. The “greatest generation” accomplished that because it had to be done, for the good of all humankind. Now we as a nation face another challenge, of far less ...