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Language Learning Begins At Birth

CHAUTAUQUA – When this columnist was a newspaper reporter, he did a 22-part series letting teachers of all sorts share their thoughts on, and approaches to, the profession. It was fun just to let teachers open up. In their own ways, they all did. A local reading teacher advised reading to children every day. Starting at birth. Yes, birth. Fast forward to this summer at Chautauqua Institution. The Chautauqua Women’s Club introduced Dr. Barbara Foorman as a professor at the Florida Center for Reading Research at Florida State University in Tallahassee. She was the ...

There Was Something Very Special About July Fourth

There was something “special” about the Fourth of July this year. It is hard to explain, but there was an “electricity” to it that was more than normal. There were more boats on the lake than I have ever seen. The bay at Long Point State Park was solid with them. Boats were anchored everywhere and people were jumping in for a swim. There were so many boats that we decided against trying to put ours in the water because of all of the wave action and traffic on the lake. It was like a “zoo” out there. It didn’t dampen our spirits though since we had plenty of ...

Borrello’s COVID Bills Appear To Pander

I am writing in response to the article “Sen. Borrello Introduces COVID Bills” that appeared in the July 2 issue. I am appalled that these bills, which seem to ignore everything that we have learned about public health over more than a century, have been introduced and I strongly encourage the state Senate to vote them down. Regarding Bill S.7268, which would prohibit a government entity from requiring individuals to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, Borrello states that “vaccines are a choice, and no one should ever be forced to be vaccinated.” With thinking like that, we would ...

Take Time To Try To Reimagine Your Town

Communities all across America have faced serious challenges during the pandemic. Unfortunately, many communities all around the world are still struggling. Some will come out of this thriving while others will continue to flounder or will fail altogether. This isn’t anything new. Communities rise and fall all the time and for many different reasons. Sometimes the demise of a community is caused by something dramatic like a natural disaster, a war, or the fall of an empire. More often, it’s simply due to the failure of the economic activity that once supported the area. ...

Emerging From A Lockdown

I’ve just emerged from a lockdown that lasted several years. Not the kind we all discovered when the pandemic hit in 2020, but a far more extended one caused by my wife’s terminal illness. We were able to keep Sue at home where she could be, and was, in the care of angels: Hospice of Northwest Ohio professionals, and our own family, the people who knew what was happening and how best to care for her. She wanted it that way, and so did I. It wasn’t easy, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. After she passed away on June 17, I discovered an entire new community of ...

Chautauqua County Is Home To A Highway With A View

The other day, early in the morning, as I drove east on I-86, a spectacular vista appeared as I neared Exit 12. The clouds were low, in the distance fog had settled over the Conewango Valley, and yet I could still see the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains off in the distance down past Clarks Corners. It made me realize again just how beautiful the drive is along I-86, the Southern Tier Expressway. When it comes to this road, I go way back to the days when it was still a “pipe-dream.” There was a Route 17 Association which for years had been lobbying Albany for a four-lane ...