Restructuring in the public sector is never easy. Tough decisions are often met with opposition, especially from rank-and-file union members who rely on New York state and the taxpayers to bail out institutions when organizations begin to run deficits. At the State University of New York at ...

Here are some of the best — and worst — of the week: BEST HITS FOR A CURE — The Cassadaga Valley community is coming together today once again for the annual “Hits for Cure” baseball game. The event is part of the Valley Little League tournament and will be between the Cassadaga ...

Thank you, Beijing, for making it clear to Americans how short-sighted we have been for many years. Chinese officials have issued a new threat as part of their reaction to President Donald Trump’s increases in tariffs on some goods imported here from China. His purpose is to force Beijing ...

Seventy-five years ago, one of the most famous missions in World War II began on this day. Some 160,000 Allied troops, which included a majority of soldiers from the United States, Great Britain and Canada, landed along a 50-mile French coastline to battle Nazi Germany on the beaches of ...

There they were on May 27 at the front of the line. And why not? These students make many in Dunkirk and the surrounding communities proud. We are making reference to the Dunkirk Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps, which is a staple of the city High School. Last month, the program ...

Leave it to the children to not keep their mouth shut on an important topic over the last three weeks in Dunkirk. Last Friday afternoon, about 30 to 40 teenagers held a peaceful walk and rally in the aftermath of a stabbing death of a 15-year-old city girl. From all accounts, the teens were ...

Many area residents have lamented the loss of our downtowns. Others are disappointed with empty storefronts and a lack of pedestrian traffic in cities and villages across rural Chautauqua County. There is, however, reason for hope. On Tuesday morning in the Williams Center on the campus of ...

Recently released population figures do not paint an improving picture for our county and region. According to the Empire Center figures — over the last nine years — all of our municipalities are losing residents. Almost as concerning is the entities that are losing the most are not ...

Here are some of the best — and worst — of the week: BEST SPECIAL MAUREEN — For more than 30 years, Maureen Bialaszewski has been organizing the Special Olympics in Northern Chautauqua County. She started as a teacher at the BOCES Hewes Center in Ashville and saw that the Special ...

Editor’s note: This is the second of two parts. Last week, I wrote about dealing with lifetraps as they relate to chemical dependency. A lifetrap is a pattern that starts in childhood and reverberates throughout life. It began with something that was done to us by our families or other ...

Understand this about the $4.5 billion Congress refused to grant President Donald Trump’s administration earlier this month: It could have prevented an enormous amount of suffering among the very people leaders of the party claim to defend — illegal immigrants. Trump had included the ...

It may be under a different name, but Gowanda will again be buzzing starting Friday. The Happening will be in the village parking lot at 49 W. Main St. This year’s festival will include food vendors, live bands and a number of live events will take place from Friday to Sunday. The music ...

Have you noticed our State Legislature spinning its wheels regarding tough decisions? First, there is the continuing stalemate on legalizing sports betting. There are valid concerns raised by Republicans and Democrats about whether sports gambling would hurt the state, and we note Assemblyman ...

Special services were held at Fredonia Place by the American Legion Post 59. Doug Allen, national anthem singer for the Buffalo Sabres, performed patriotic songs in Forestville. And in Dunkirk, a service was held to remember with a parade that followed to celebrate America. This was just a ...

On this Memorial Day 2019, hundreds of thousands of graves have been added as the final resting places of those who served our nation — us — in uniform. They fell in the miserable jungles of Pacific islands, the bitter cold of the Ardennes Forest, in the air over Ploesti and in the ...

One week ago, this corner asked for some leadership with regard to the tensions and grieving that were affecting the city of Dunkirk after a 15-year-old girl died from a stabbing altercation. To our disappointment, we did not see any action taken by the mayor, Common Council or the city ...

Here are some of the best — and worst — of the week: BEST NEW GRADUATES — Congratulations to the recent graduates of SUNY Fredonia. Many of those students are not from here, but we hope some were able to find employment and stick around the area. Winter may be long, but spring, summer ...

Any number of individuals, organizations and even nations in the Middle East would not be displeased in the slightest at a military conflict between the United States and Iran. Islamic terrorist groups, for one, understand that would divert U.S. assets from targeting them, to at least some ...

More than two weeks ago, a “Simpsons” episode took a number of shots at upstate New York. It made a mockery of the declining populations, the loss of Eastman Kodak in Rochester and also featured a beautiful image of downtown Buffalo in the evening that ended with a sudden snowfall. Gov. ...

It is one more violation of trust after the theft of public money, albeit small, from a local government agency. Debra Kelley, the former assistant treasurer of the Chautauqua County Water and Soil District, was charged with petit larceny after the state comptroller’s office discovered a ...