Darren Manzella-Lapeira defines an American hero. He bravely served our country. He then proudly challenged the military’s "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy that was repealed in 2011 in the United States. Upon leaving service, the U.S. Army medic and civilian used his military experiences to ...

Brocton and Portland continue to be a model for other municipalities to look to regarding shared services and consolidation. Earlier this month, during the Portland Town Board meeting, it was announced that the town had completed the takeover of Brocton’s dissolved court. Why does that ...

Officials in Saudi Arabia have said damage from an attack on oil production facilities last weekend is being repaired quickly. By Wednesday, about half the production capacity affected had been restored. Still, the interruption in exports from the oil-rich kingdom ought to serve as a ...

A new law regarding Fredonia’s village code on rental housing was a lot of time and work, but brought little change. As noted in the article by M.J. Stafford earlier this week, the registry for property owners remains in the version passed Sept. 9, but now requires the name and contact ...

For many motorists, they do not care who is responsible for the rough road on Interstate 90 to the east of Exit 58 at Silver Creek. They just want it repaired. But leave it to New York state to continue to blame the Seneca Nation of Indians for the lack of work. Remember, it was state Gov. ...

At the last Dunkirk Common Council meeting, at-large candidate Paul VanDenVouver made an interesting remark regarding recent Music on the Pier or Dunkirk Festivals events. While speaking during the public portion of the meeting, he noted unnecessary campaigning for the current city Mayor ...

No one in Chautauqua County needs to be reminded of our dwindling numbers. Over the years, we have lost population at a great rate. In 1980, we had 146,000 residents living here. Today, that number is down to 128,000 — or 12.3 percent less than 40 years ago. It is being realistic that fewer ...

For 11 Dunkirk High School seniors, they worked overtime through the summer to reach an important goal: graduation. Last Tuesday, the school board and administration took time to salute the graduates. Those honored for their achievement included: Orlando Casablanca, D’Vante Casey, Natasha ...

We have questioned why the Western New York Welcome Center was built out of the way and in the wrong location since its opening in late August 2018. Not only is it not located on the highly traveled New York State Thruway, it is not even on the Interstate 190. To reach the center, motorists ...

Vaping — use of electronic devices rather than burning tobacco to inhale nicotine — at one time seemed to be a good alternative to smoking. But something seems to have gone badly wrong. Federal officials are investigating a spate of serious breathing illnesses linked to vaping in 33 ...

During his tenure, former Chautauqua County Executive Vince Horrigan often spoke quite seriously about Route 60 as being a “highway of death.” The route is the main connector of Dunkirk to Jamestown and plays a role in our north-south divide. “We’ve got to move people from the south ...

Very few students graduating from high school this year were alive when nearly 3,000 people were killed during terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. Even many college graduates have few, if any, memories of the day. Many of those who will vote next year do not recall the ...

Back when the Buffalo Bills were the team to beat in the American Football Conference — more than 25 years ago — there was a commercial that promoted the city. In it, the announcer noted there were five seasons: winter, spring, summer, fall and football season. To this day, that fact ...

There’s definitely two sides to the charter issue that will be discussed tonight at the village board meeting in Fredonia. On one side is the current mayor, who is making a push to remove the administrator position from the document. The other side, led by former village attorney Sam Drayo, ...

We were overwhelmed to say the least. On Tuesday, when school opened in Cassadaga Valley, we asked readers through our Facebook page to send photos of their child's first day. What a response. As readers from all area school districts noticed in the Wednesday through the weekend editions, ...

A possible methadone clinic has again become an issue in the city of Dunkirk. During the Common Council meeting, a city resident brought the issue forward in asking about where the site will be located. “If transparency is key, because we know what happened with the last debacle,” said ...

What happened to people in the Bahamas during the weekend is difficult to comprehend. For a full day and a half, Hurricane Dorian parked itself directly over Grand Bahama and Abaco islands. Sustained winds as high as 185 mph, torrential rain and 20-foot storm surges brutalized our neighbors ...

It appears to be a natural fit. Earlier this week, the Erie 2 Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Board of Cooperative Educational Services announced William Smock as principal of the Dunkirk P-Tech facility. Smock, who has been on board with the concept since it was first unveiled to the educational and ...

Villenova’s elimination of its Planning Board is a problem, but it is not the major issue in how we govern today. The bigger issue is just how effective can a government representing 1,000 residents be? Part of the reason for the Planning Board’s elimination is — surprise — not enough ...

Chautauqua County Legislator Bob Scudder continues to be a consistent voice regarding the future of the airports. Last week, he was the lone vote against hangar funding for the Jamestown facility. Scudder, R-Fredonia, is the only legislator who is voting based on the actions of his ...