Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down
Thumbs up to a new event making its way to Chautauqua Lake. County Executive Vince Horrigan, Scott Schrecengost, Celoron mayor, and Greg Lindquist, Jamestown Renaissance Corp. executive director, recently announced that the inaugural Dragon Boat Festival will take place off of the shores of Celoron Park on Aug. 29. Dragon boats feature 20 paddlers powering a boat under the direction of a captain who guides the team and a drummer who keeps the team in sync to move 42-foot boats through a designated course. It is important to note the Dragon Boat Festival wouldn’t have happened without the initial vision of Louise Wolanske of Ashville, a local dragon boat racer and international champion who has organized demonstrations on Chautauqua Lake in the past. races are held each year in Buffalo and the Finger Lakes region, and it’s exciting to see Chautauqua Lake take its place alongside them for this event. For more information, visit the “CHQ Lake Dragon Race” Facebook and Twitter pages or the race website, which is currently under construction, at www.chqdragonrace.org.
Thumbs down to those who can’t follow the relatively simple – and we may add visible and posted – rules of Lakewood’s dog park. An unregistered and unvaccinated dog recently entered the park and attacked another dog and bit a young woman. Vaccination records didn’t show the dog had a rabies vaccination, and the dog was quarantined for 10 days. Leave it to people who can’t follow a simple direction to ruin a place for dogs and their owners to interact. Registration for the dog park is free and mandatory and can be done online or at the village hall at 20 W. Summit St. We note the positive efforts of dog park users to police the park and hope this incident doesn’t change what has been, by and large, a positive addition to the Lakewood area.
Thumbs up to Gov. Andrew Cuomo for dropping the DREAM Act from the state budget. Republican and Democratic leaders in the state Legislature couldn’t agree on Cuomo’s proposal to allow undocumented immigrants to apply for state financial aid. The DREAM Act’s failure to become law comes even after Cuomo linked it to immigration reform and an education tax credit which Cuomo said would boost donations to public schools in an effort to sway Republicans who have blocked the DREAM Act for the last three years. The DREAM Act is poor policy on its face that shouldn’t gum up the works on a state budget. We hope this is also a sign from the governor that negotiation may be possible on other proposals he has said must make it into the budget, like ethics reform.
Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down
Thumbs up to what we hope is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. John Crossley, Gerry town supervisor, recently spoke to Cassadaga Valley Central School board members about a proposal to explore the possibility of consolidating the towns of Gerry and Charlotte, along with the village of Sinclairville, into one entity at a centralized location. One possible new location could be the Cassadaga Valley campus. At a time when the governor is promoting shared services within municipalities, as well as school districts, it seems that a properly crafted agreement between the school district and post-consolidation municipal governing board would have the potential to be a plus for both entities. Crossley, speaking on behalf of the three municipalities, stressed that the idea is still in its infancy, but wanted to pitch it to the board and receive its feedback on the consolidation, which would include everything from town and village courts to highway departments. Thumbs up to officials from all four entities for being receptive to the idea and keeping an open mind as information is gathered. We urge residents of the three municipalities to do the same.
Thumbs down to some predictable posturing over a rotted support column at the Chautauqua Institution Amphitheatre. Proposed renovation of the building has been the subject of controversy between the institution and a devoted group of preservationists for some time now and prompted the institution to postpone its proposed $30 million renovation of the building. Last week, in the midst of a thaw that caused several collapsed roofs and damp basements throughout the area, one of several “tree-top” columns in the rear periphery of the Amphitheater – was found to be rotted during an initial assessment of the damage. Both institution and preservationists agree the damage is minimal. While institution officials ay they need an engineer’s assessment to provide a more accurate assessment of the damage and overall structure, preservationists are already saying the broken column was likely weather-related and exacerbated by improper maintenance over the years. Ah yes, blame the maintenance staff and not the more than 100-year-old wood that has stood up remarkably well given the harsh and ever-changing Western New York climate. Any way one tries to spin the broken column, one can’t escape the simple fact that old wood is old wood. Posturing doesn’t solve ongoing problems with the amphitheatre. Accepting simple facts and having a constructive dialogue will be much more helpful.
Thumbs up to the State University of New York for its work to decrease sexual assaults after years of campuses underreporting incidents. Working toward compliance with changes to Title IX, the Violence Against Women Act and the Clery Act, SUNY released a series of policy updates and guidelines for colleges and universities within the network. Ellen Goodling, JCC vice president of student development, recently told college board members the college has created a webpage with information on sexual violence and resources available for victims, as well as an articulated process for protection of the victim. Faculty and staff will be responsible to report all knowledge or suspicion of sexual violence while there is also a renewed emphasis on bystander intervention, reporting assaults and a campus climate survey in the spring of 2016. Finally, all new and transfer students will receive the information at orientation and the information will also be covered during residential life programming. “We want to continue a safe environment for our students,” Dr. Lillian Vitanza Ney, board member, said recently while adding there didn’t seem to be an issue of these occurrences on campus. “With more education, things will be even more comfortable for our students.” The board should approve this policy at its next meeting.
Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down
Thumbs up to a plan that could make the Brooklyn Square bridge across the Chadakoin River more friendly to pedestrians. Recently, Vince Joy, Chautauqua County Health Network built environment contractor; Ann Morse Abdella, Chautauqua County Health Network executive assistant; and Don Harrington of Harrington Architecture met with City Council Public Works Committee members to discuss adding a bike lane and crosswalk around the bridge. Abdella said when the area around the South Main Street bridge was narrowed to block the west side sidewalk from pedestrian traffic last summer, it was discovered narrowing the street slowed traffic down, making the area safer for pedestrians. Renovations to the bridge are a good time to a bike lane and crosswalk, helping non-motorists using the area as well as making it easier to use the Greater Jamestown Riverwalk. Chautauqua County Public Facilities officials, who are responsible to maintain the bridge, should incorporate such plans into the design of the new bridge.
Thumbs down to continued intransigence on the part of U.S. Steam Lines Ltd., owners of the Chautauqua Belle, in their negotiations with the village of Mayville. We were encouraged, given the confusion over the Chautauqua Belle’s possible move from its traditional Mayville location, that cooler heads had seemed to prevail. It would have been easy for Mayville officials to let the Belle leave and put something else in its space. Lakefront property is still a valuable commodity, after all, and the Belle uses Lakeside Park for summer docking, winter storage, a rail system and use of two buildings. Bova and the Village Board wouldn’t be doing right by village taxpayers to let all of that be used for nothing. Village officials have moved from a two-year lease renewal for $4,000 a year to a four-year renewal, then a 10-year renewal with a five-year contract at the end – in essence 15 years of lease security – while lowering the yearly rate from $4,000 to $3,000. Martin Bova, Mayville mayor, reports receiving a letter from the Belle’s owners saying they shouldn’t have to pay anything at all but would settle for a 10-year, $1,000-a-year lease. It is disappointing to see good faith efforts by village officials in these negotiations met with indifference on the part of the steamship’s operators. Negotiations involve some give and take. It is time for U.S. Steam Lines Ltd. to give a little.
Thumbs up to yet another example of three rural schools finding a way to share their time and money to benefit their students – and inviting a neighbor while they were at it. Panama Central School recently hosted educators and administrators from Clymer, Sherman and Falconer central schools for a shared in-service day. After the main presentation, educators and administrators in attendance were able to divide into small groups and discuss the presentation in depth. Superintendents were able to spend small group time with the presenter. The main attraction was keynote speaker Dr. Willard R. Daggett, founder and chairman of the International Center for Leadership in Education. Daggett is a well-known speaker, and a member of many educational advisory boards with organizations like NASA, USA Today and Scholastic Achievement Partners. He is also the founder and chairman of the Successful Practices Network. “We hope the attendees will spend some time sharing best practices throughout the district,” said Emily Harvey, Clymer and Panama central schools director of instruction. “We want to continue to pool our resources to provide our teachers with the best development.” This is an example of shared services that should be emulated throughout Western New York.
Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down
Thumbs up to high rates of immunization for children attending area public schools. New York state requires that children entering or attending school be immunized according to a state-provided schedule which includes vaccines for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B, chickenpox (varicella) and others. However, medical and religious exemptions to the requirements are available. Medical exemptions are provided to students who are unable to receive certain vaccines due to adverse effects they may have. Medical exemptions must be signed by a medical practitioner licensed in New York state. Religious exemptions are provided to students and their families who have beliefs that prohibit them from vaccinations. These exemptions require a signed statement from a parent or guardian, but the principal of a school can determine whether additional documents are necessary. According to the New York State Department of Health, individual schools decide whether to accept or deny a religious exemption. For the 2013-14 school year, many area school districts reported immunization rates of 98 percent or higher, a few percentage points ahead of the state average rate of 95.2 percent. Jamestown Public Schools reported an immunization rate of 99.6 percent, Southwestern Central School district reported a rate of 99.2 percent, while Falconer, Panama and Chautauqua Lake central school districts all reported a rate of 98.8 percent. In a perfect world, all children would be vaccinated. While society is likely never to reach that goal, it is good to see area parents, by and large, understand that the benefits of vaccinating their children outweigh the fears some have about vaccines.
Thumbs down to the number of unopposed races in area villages on March 18. Most races have only one unopposed candidate while a Panama Village Board seat will be decided by write-in votes because there isn’t one person in the village who wants to be on the board. The only contested races are in Westfield, where Mayor Michael Vandevelde tries for re-election against Richard Raynor, while Alan Holbrook, Robert Cochran and David Carr battle for two open trustee positions. If no one wants to run for village governments, why do we need them?
Thumbs up to the creation of an educational foundation to benefit the Jamestown Public Schools District. The Promise Fund is designed to expand the financial capacity of the district through private, tax-deductible fundraising activities, with money raised housed at the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation. The fund will be governed by a board that must always consist of a student, a parent, a staff member, community members and alumni. An advisory board has been organized and will meet sometime this month. A similar foundation has worked well at Southwestern Central School and could be a valuable tool to help support programs and initiatives that the district struggles to pay for through its yearly budget.