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In Our Opinion

Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Clause

In September 1897, 8-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon asked a now-famous question in a letter to the New York Sun. Is there a Santa Claus? Not only did the letter make young Virginia O’Hanlon a celebrity, but it prompted one of the famous newspaper editorials ever written with an answer to O’Hanlon’s question. It is reprinted today, a tradition our sister paper in Warren, Ohio, takes part in each year in part, the editorial page said, because it’s entirely possible that no one has answered the question better, nor has anyone better described the spirit of Christmas. The ...

Director’s Request Is Valid, Though Not Possible

We have a feeling many city residents agree with the city development director’s standing request to hire six to eight more code enforcement officers. Frankly, we can’t disagree with Crystal Surdyk’s request either. But we know just as well as Surdyk does that more code enforcement officers aren’t walking in the Development Department’s doors anytime soon, just as the additional police officers that are continually part of every Jamestown police chief’s budget request for the past three decades aren’t on the way anytime soon either. It would help, we note, if the city ...

Complaints About Homeless Street Outreach Are Concerning

Over the past few years, one of the constant issues expressed by both the homeless and by advocates is the lack of street outreach to the homeless. That complaint came up again in November during the county Homeless Coalition meeting. Amanda Straight, Chautauqua Opportunities Inc. housing and community development director, said it had been brought to the coalition’s attention that street outreach is a problem, again, throughout the county. While the county does have some street outreach funding through the Safe Point Lighthouse Outpatient Clinic in Dunkirk, there is no Continuum of ...

Lake Groups Must Show Cohesiveness Of Their Efforts

The Lakewood Village Board has declined - again - to support the Chautauqua Lake Management Plan written by Dr. Rob Richardson of North Carolina State University. At this point, no one should hold out any hope of the North Carolina State University plan, no matter Richardson’s qualifications. The plan has been publicly available, publicly debated and, at this point, largely publicly ignored for more than a year. That’s unfortunate. In our view Richardson’s plan is the sort of action plan that could have been a point of coalescence for Chautauqua Lake maintenance activities. ...

Purple Heart Trail Is Worthy Of Support

A trail to honor the efforts of area veterans is in the works. An advisory committee envisions a three-year project that will create a trail from the Dunkirk Lighthouse and Veterans Museum to the Yorkers Museum in Sherman for Purple Heart recipients. According to a press release, the plan is to gather donations, grants and sponsorships this year; complete the Dunkirk Lighthouse site in 2026; and finish the Sherman site in 2027. “The Chautauqua County Purple Heart Trail will be a lasting tribute to the veterans who shed their blood for our many freedoms,” the trail committee ...

Thumbs Up To Falconer Teacher; Thumbs Down To A Bad System

Kudos to Molly Gustafson, a pre-kindergarten teacher at Temple Elementary School in the Falconer Central School District, for her work spearheading the Temple Sunshine Closet. The non-profit’s mission is to help alleviate hunger, improper clothing or a lack of necessary hygiene products for students to help get the children’s school careers off on the right foot. The organization has received 501(c)(3) status and has an independent board, of which Gustafson is president, to allow the group to receive outside grants for supplies. “It’s an awesome project and undertaking to ...