Highs and lows: Some of the best, worst of the week
Here are some of the best – and worst – of the week:
BEST
RELAY ON CAMPUS – Relay for Life held in June has been a powerful and successful event, raising both funds and awareness about cancer in the Dunkirk/Fredonia area. SUNY Fredonia students have had their own Relay event for years as well, which continues to grow. Last weekend, the college students raised $32,700 for the American Cancer Society during a 12-hour Relay for Life that ran from 4 p.m. Saturday to 4 a.m. Sunday. We applaud the students and community members who participated in the event and helped make it so successful.
E-RECYCLING SUCCESS – According to college officials, there were 1,176 vehicles that were unloaded, which filled eight semi-trailers with pallets upon pallets of old, outdated electronics. By law, electronics are not to be put in landfills. We’re glad SUNY Fredonia is able to host the annual e-recycling event and it certainly seems the community appreciates it as well.
SHARING SERVICES – On Thursday, representatives from the Silver Creek and Forestville school districts met with officials from the village of Silver Creek to discuss ways to streamline summer activities. In recent years, schools have worked with neighboring school districts to partner in various events. Now schools are looking to local municipalities to see if there are other ways to further partner services. The more ways municipalities and schools work together, the better it is for our region.
WORST
CELORON STUBBORNNESS – Dave Poulin, the artist who made the Lucille Ball statue in Celoron is offering to fully replace the “scary Lucy” statue that has made national headlines. He would then sell the current statue and donate the proceeds to charity. However Celoron Mayor Scott Schrecengost refuses to accept his offer. “It’s too late for that,” he said. Schrecengost is upset because previously he asked Poulin to repair or replace the statue and Poulin wanted to get paid for it. Schrecengost keeps asking for donations for a new statue. He wants to raise $20,000, but so far they’ve only got $426 in pledges. Poulin swallowed his pride and is willing to do the work for free. It’s time for the Celoron Village Board to do the same and allow Poulin a second chance.
Highs and lows: Some of the best, worst of the week
Here are some of the best – and worst – of the week:
BEST
MUSICAL SHOWCASE – Last weekend, Chautauqua Lake Central School hosted the very first Musical Theatre Showcase. Participants included Dunkirk Middle School (Godspell), Chautauqua Lake Secondary School (Little Women), Pine Valley (All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten), Cassadaga Valley (Mary Poppins) and Maple Grove High School (Shrek). Students spent the day with SUNY Fredonia professors and students from the theater department, learning how to hone their acting skills and then in the evening performed songs from their musicals for the public. It was a great experience for the students and we hope the showcase will continue to grow. It was a great way to see the acting and musical talents of many of our schools.
MAKING AN IMPACT – Renee Garrett, Forestville Central School superintendent, is off to a quick start in a position she has held for just about three months. When she arrived in January, there was nearly 3 feet of snow on the ground. Today, it’s starting to look like spring. And with the season’s arrival means plenty of optimism. Garrett is fully involved in the Forestville community as well as continuing to learn about what the area has to offer. And, most importantly, she lives in the district. The school board made a solid choice.
STUDENT JOURNALISTS – More than 100 students from the region made headlines as part of the Western New York Press Association Media Day, which was held Wednesday in the Williams Center at the State University of New York at Fredonia. Area schools were well represented – with area students winning their share of awards from Brocton, Fredonia and Dunkirk. The keynote speaker also had a local connection, Matt Gould who grew up in Fredonia and graduated from SUNY Fredonia. He gave a great presentation on the media industry and his work with the Buffalo Sabres and how he did camera work at a presidential debate.
WORST
NO TALK ABOUT RAISES – The budget Fredonia Village Board of Trustees adopted included 3 percent raises in base pay for the police chief ($2,658 to $91,288), administrator/clerk/treasurer ($2,396, to $86,290), public works supervisor ($2,038 to $69,992) and village attorney ($1,613 to $55,381). The trustees did not discuss those raises in public, nor did they publicly call for an executive session on the matter. The village board didn’t increase the pay of the chief water plant operator, the chief inspection officer, or any of its part-time department heads (justice, recreation director, civil defense, acting justice or tax collector). Obviously these trustees wanted to give raises to some people and not others, but it appears that decision was made behind closed doors and they didn’t let the public know they were even talking about it. Once again, trustees seem to be violating New York State’s Open meetings law.
Highs and lows: Some of the best, worst of the week
Here are some of the best – and worst – of the week:
BEST
INTO RETIREMENT – The OBSERVER would like to salute Mary Ann Herrington. Mary Ann has been with the OBSERVER for some 28 years, mostly in our obituaries department. She estimates she has written more than 20,000 obituaries! Thursday she retired from the newspaper. She does plan on still writing occasionally, including the retrospective column which she has written since 1995. We wish her the best in her new phase of life.
UNIFIED CHURCHES – Good Friday is a solemn day on the Christian calendar. But it also is a day that some of our local churches are coming together to honor Jesus Christ, who is said to have died on the cross that day 2,000 years ago. In Westfield, area churches held the Way of the Cross, carrying a cross to a number of local churches. In Gowanda, they too, held a community Stations of the Cross ceremony, which had nearly 100 people participate. Meanwhile, in Jamestown on Maundy Thursday, about 20 churches gathered for a celebration at the Reg Lenna and nearly packed out the 1,269 seats. It’s great to see so many churches gather together and put aside their differences during the holy celebration.
WHITE HOUSE VISIT – Congratulations to Judi Lutz Woods and her grandchildren, Brianne Buchanan and Jordan Carmona. The three were able to visit the White House Easter Egg Roll on Monday. Brianne, a seventh grader at Dunkirk Middle School, wrote a letter to President Obama on environmental sustainability and to protect the earth for future generations. The White House called Lutz Woods to say that Brianne’s letter was given to President Obama for him to personally read. It was a great honor!
WORST
STATUE ATTACKS – Looking at the Lucy statue in Celoron, just about everyone agrees that the statue doesn’t do justice for Lucille Ball. Artist Dave Poulin admits the statue was not his best work. Poulin also said, though, that he has gotten threats over the statue he made five years ago. The story went “viral,” appearing on the “Today” show, “Good Morning America,” CNN, and was even “trending” on Facebook. Odds are the threats were made from people far from Chautauqua County. Still, there’s no reason to make personal threats like that. At the end of the day, it’s a piece of art.
Highs and lows: Some of the best, worst of the week
Here are some of the best – and worst – of the week:
BEST
HERO IN OUR MIDST – Ray Domanski is a hero. The Dunkirk resident noticed some smoke coming out of a house at 209 Lake Shore Drive East, broke down the front door and alerted residents inside that there was a fire. The residents, who didn’t know about the fire, all escaped unharmed. There were seven people total that got out. It doesn’t take a lot to be a hero. It just takes doing the right thing when the time arises.
SLUBERSKI HONORS – Carlene Sluberski, a Fredonia native, helped lead the Brock University’s women’s wrestling team to their 14th Ontario University Athletic Championship over the past 16 years and their fourth straight Canadian Interuniversity Sport National Championship. For her part, Sluberski was named Athlete of the Year at Brock. It marked the first time in the school’s 50-year history the award went to an International student athlete. This is a tremendous honor for Sluberski. The next step could be the Olympics. We shall see what happens next for this 2009 Fredonia High School graduate.
FIGHTING HUNGER – Last week, we applauded the move to honor 10,000 Maniac’s lead singer Mary Ramsey, a Fredonia High School alumna, when she was added to the school’s Wall of Fame. This week, we learn that Ramsey is helping fight hunger. She, along with former Badfinger guitarist Joey Molland, and former 10,000 Maniacs support musician Savannah King, have released a rendition of the classic Badfinger hit “Sweet Tuesday Morning” with the help of HAIL! Fredonia Records, the university’s student-run record label. Proceeds from the single, which is available exclusively on iTunes, will go to WhyHunger, a global organization dedicated to ending hunger and poverty. This is an excellent gesture and one that should be supported.
WORST
STATE BUDGET SHENANIGANS – Gov. Andrew Cuomo said before he wanted to do away with the “three-men-in-the-room” budget negotiations. Yet this year’s budget approval went the same as it has in years past. The governor, the Senate Majority Leader and the Assembly Speaker hammer out a plan, they present it at the 11th hour to both houses, both houses rush through the approval and then we realize the bad with the good. There are good items in the budget, but there are items that are questionable as well. Unfortunately, once again, the public doesn’t get a chance to weigh in on the budget until it’s too late.