The Rev. Chloe Smith performed an invaluable public service this weekend organizing a peaceful, thoughtful protest rally at Dow Park in Jamestown. Sparked by the thoughtless killing of George Floyd, a helpless black man being arrested for a non-violent offense, by a white police officer in ...
Once the grim tally of deaths from COVID-19 is finalized — sometime later this year, we hope — there is little doubt it will be clear that nursing homes are the coronavirus’ favored killing grounds. To most public health leaders, that already is obvious. In some states, most of the ...
The James Prendergast Library is trying again to institute a 259-vote to place a library tax on registered voters in the Jamestown Public Schools District. The vote will take place June 9 via absentee ballots along as part of the countywide school budget vote and school board elections. As ...
Jamestown students who have taken part in the P-TECH program in Dunkirk aren’t taking Jamestown’s decision to leave the program laying down. Nor should they. P-TECH students begin as freshmen and over the course of up to six-years work to earn both a Regents Diploma and an associate ...
While most of us have been preoccupied with keeping COVID-19 at bay, the scourge of illegal drugs continues to rear its ugly head. Christine Schuyler, county public health commissioner, told county Board of Health members that the county averaged about 19 overdoses a month in 2019 for a ...
There has been a lot of opposition locally to changes passed as part of the state budget to largely eliminate local opposition to the siting process for renewable energy. We note, then, a Reader’s Forum letter we received from Anne Reynolds, executive director of the Alliance for Clean ...
Parents who have had to add the title of teacher over the past two months have gained a new appreciation for teachers. Those parents — particularly those who have tried to teach their child while still working their full-time jobs — desparately want to see school buildings reopen in the ...
Memorial Day is the traditional beginning of summer. Residents here and around the northeast will likely venture out, take to the grills and gather with family as they always have done. Heading to services to pay tribute to those who fought for our freedoms, however, is one holiday tradition ...
“This is by far the worst budget experience I’ve ever experienced. There’s nothing pleasing about this process. We had to furlough a number of people and reduce a number of things and we have a very long list of additions to that reduction list that we may have to exercise, depending on ...
There is an incredible incongruity between Gov Andrew Cuomo’s recent decisions regarding New York State beaches and Memorial Day gatherings. On beaches, the governor has said state beaches can open Friday at 50% capacity with no concessions open. Memorial Day gatherings, meanwhile, are ...
There is a lot for county residents to be proud of during our response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The partnerships emerging between public and private entities is one of them. Long before Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared that Western New York can begin its four-phase reopening, the Chautauqua ...
If there is one area Gov. Andrew Cuomo is flunking right now in his handling of COVID-19, it is the uncertainty of state aid to schools. Schools had been told that an analysis at the end of April would dictate how much state aid to schools would be cut this year. That analysis by Robert ...
Thanks to a surprising bit of good fortune with COVID-19 hospitalizations in the Buffalo area and the identification of just enough contact tracers, Western New York is finally able to reopen today. For now, construction, wholesale trade and manufacturing can begin opening back up with ...
There is not much time for Boards of Education — and the public — to soak in the coming school budget votes. It’s a changing situation, but one thing is certain: districts are desperate. Just like every other aspect of our community, lifestyle and economy, school districts are finding ...
The news that one of the people to test positive recently for COVID-19 works for a Chautauqua County nursing home brings two things to mind that everyone in our circulation area should keep in mind for the next several months. First, everyone needs to act cautiously, but especially anyone ...
Cassadaga Valley Central School is considering a potentially difficult, but likely necessary, decision. More than a dozen positions could be cut in the school’s 2020-21 budget proposal, but none generated more discussion than the possible elimination of Scot Stutzman, high school ...
Downtown business owners are asking for the city’s help to allow for more outdoor seating and entertainment. Similar requests have been a couple of times over the years, with one reason outdoor seating being set aside is the lack of room on many city sidewalks for dining to coexist with ...
If you are among those who have not lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 epidemic, congratulations. Perhaps you share the widespread opinion that the current “lockdown” of the economy should continue, to keep everyone safe. How would you like the government to collect your share? ...
As the coronavirus epidemic hit full stride, Americans learned to our dismay that the nation lacked adequate supplies of COVID-19 test kits, personal protective gear such as face masks, medical ventilators and other necessities for dealing with a massive health care emergency. To their ...
Regent Roger Tilles asked a prescient question during this week’s state Board of Regents meeting that cuts to the heart of the state’s separation of powers in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tilles was asking Shannon Tahoe, interim state education commissioner, her thoughts on the ...