In Our Opinion

Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down

Thumbs up to the 140 area high school students honored recently at the Chautauqua County Honor Societies Banquet, coordinated by Carrie Shampoe, a Clymer Central School teacher, and supported by the Far West Council of School Superintendents. Distinguished Service Awards of $100 were presented to one student from each participating honor society, chosen by their school adviser and based on the student’s selfless dedication to improving their school and/or community. Students honored were Jordyn Guziec, Cassadaga Valley Central School; Jenna Wiemer, Chautauqua Lake Central School; Kimberly Emory, Clymer Central School; Benjamin Tarnowski, Dunkirk High School; Olivia Markham, Forestville Central School; Abigail Todaro, Jamestown High School; Chiara Young, Panama Central School; Shanece Jones, Pine Valley High School; Kaitlyn TenPas, Sherman Central School; Emma Sample, Southwestern Central School; and Daniel McMurray, Westfield Central School. Olivia Markham of Forestville received the Cummins Award, designated for a student planning to pursue a degree in a STEM field and demonstrating a commitment to improving their community. Leonard Bus Sales presented an award to a high school senior who is a member in good standing of their school’s Honor Society to Abigail Whipple of Chautauqua Lake Central School. The Robert J. Klein Memorial Award, sponsored by SmartEdge, was given to a student planning to pursue a degree in the sciences with a focus on engineering or sustainable energy solutions, who demonstrates leadership and is active in their school and community; it was presented to Bridget Yaw of Sherman Central School. Chautauqua County has many youth of which it can be proud – kudos to Shampoe and the superintendents’ council for creating an event to recognize them.

Thumbs down to incidents that require a police presence at the north and south county sites of the Department of Health and Human Services. Sheriff Joe Gerace has begun assigning deputies to patrol both locations to keep county workers safe. “We’re establishing security at both the north and south county locations,” Gerace said. “We’re staffing the buildings during working hours because of the complaints and problems that have been reported.” It is a sad sign of the times that deputies need to be taken away from policing the county to take care of these sorts of problems. Perhaps there needs to be a penalty in addition to court fines for those who behave in such ways.

In Our Opinion

Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down

Thumbs up to both the Chautauqua Lake Central School District and the 40 volunteer instructors from area industries who are making the Chautauqua Lake Manufacturers’ Club a reality. Jay Baker, Chautauqua Lake school board president, recently led board members on a tour of the current and future home for the club. Right now, the club teaches students about manufacturing but will eventually allow students to take a project from concept to design to a final product, all within the confines of the school. There are many worthwhile activities a school district can offer to its students. Kudos to Chautauqua Lake for offering an activity that engages students in skills they can use for the rest of their lives.

Thumbs down to a state board tasked with helping local governments – that apparently doesn’t meet very often. In September 2015, Jamestown officials formally submitted a proposal to the state Financial Restructuring Board for Local Governments for funding to hire a consultant to create a centralized fleet management system for all city vehicles and equipment. Since then, city officials have received no followup about the proposal or if the city should expect money for the position. According to the website for the state Financial Restructuring Board, the group hasn’t met since February 2015. Jamestown and its Board of Public Utilities are engaging in a process Gov. Andrew Cuomo has supported in the past. The Financial Restructuring Board needs to either approve or deny the city’s request so that it can move forward. Or, at least, the restructuring board should meet more than once a year.

Thumbs up to reduced recidivism rates for inmates at the Chautauqua County Jail. According to CodyAnne Weise, Chautauqua County Jail employment and reentry facilitator, nearly 100 inmates participate in reentry programs every year. In 2013, nearly 60 percent returned to jail after two years of their release. In 2014, only 35 percent returned to jail after two years. “This 35 percent year-to-date (figure) for two years is wonderful … that’s half the national average,” Weise said. It’s wonderful news that fewer people are finding themselves back in jail after their initial release.

In Our Opinion

Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down

Thumbs up to a chance to see a classic film on the big screen. “The Wizard of Oz” will show at the Reg Lenna Center for The Arts on Saturday at 2 p.m. as a sensory friendly matinee and Sunday at 2 p.m. as a family matinee. Admission is $5. While we can’t imagine many people have never seen “The Wizard of Oz” during its regular airings on television, we’re sure not many have seen the film as it was intended by its creators – in a theater environment with full sound and larger-than-life images on a theater screen. We hope the Reg is as packed today and tomorrow as it has been for the last several Reg Lenna productions. Kudos to Kathleen Eads, Reg Lenna Center for the Arts executive director, and her staff.

Thumbs down to a mandated pay increase for district attorneys statewide that was included in the state budget. On Dec. 24, 2015, the state Commission on Legislative, Judicial, and Executive Compensation voted to recommend increasing all state judge salaries in 2016 and 2018. The recommended increase placed Supreme Court judges’ salaries at $193,000 in 2016 and $203,000 in 2018 and placed County Court Judges at 95 percent of a Supreme Court Justice’s salary. On April 1, the state approved the commission’s recommendation. State Judicial Law 183-a links judicial salaries with county district attorneys’ salaries, requiring district attorneys’ salaries to be equal or higher than either the County Court Judge or Supreme Court Judge in a county, depending on full or part-time status. This is a decision that should be made locally.

Thumbs up to David Gustafson, a Jamestown Board of Public Utilities’ electric and gas resource manager, for self-publishing his first book, “The Shrine of Arthis,” more than 30 years after he first conceived of the story’s basic premise. It’s wonderful that Gustafson stuck with his project over the years. Evidently, his work has found an audience on Kindle, Nook, iBook, Kobo and Smashwords. The free portion of “The Shrine of Arthis” has been downloaded 400 times already with 10 people purchasing the 99 cent section portion. Another 30 or 40 people have requested a hard copy. Kudos, Mr. Gustafson, to a job well done.

In Our Opinion

Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down

Thumbs up to a series of presentations at the Gateway Center, 31 Water St., Jamestown, presented by Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES. The Employer Series will help participants learn about local companies, interviewing techniques, hiring practices and get tips and advice from experts. Sessions are from 11 a.m. to noon the next three Wednesdays at the Family Learning Zone in the Gateway Center. We hope the sessions are well attended and beneficial for those attending. And thumbs up to BOCES and the Gateway Center for doing their part to help area residents who either need a job or who are looking for a better job to do just that. This is the sort of community partnership that can only have a positive impact on Jamestown.

Thumbs down to those who threaten other people online under the cloak of anonymity. Conversely, thumbs up to local police and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for wading through the murk and morass of online messageboards to file charges against a Jamestown man who is alleged to have threatened someone on Topix. Assistant U.S. Attorney Caleb J. Petzoldt, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, on Feb. 26, Michael Bush, a former officer with the Jamestown Police Department, posted a threat on the “Jamestown, New York Topix” forum page. The post contained a threat against two individuals. The charge carries a maximum of five years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both. We hope such action provides a deterrent to those who act inappropriately online.

Thumbs up to a remarkable career, even though we’re not happy to see if come to an end. Jeffrey Victor, who retired from full-time teaching at Jamestown Community College in 2001, also retired recently as an adjunct sociology faculty member. Dr. Victor, whose teaching career at JCC spanned 50 years, authored two books, nine book chapters and published 24 articles in professional journals. He earned a doctorate in sociology at the University at Buffalo in 1974 and received the State University of New York Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence in 1988. Victor is well-traveled, well-spoken and a wealth of wisdom for those who have taken his class or had the opportunity to speak with him outside the classroom. Happy retirement. Dr. Victor.

In Our Opinion

Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down

Thumbs up to the Zonta Club of Jamestown for helping Chautauqua County’s Nurse Family Partnership and Maternal and Infant Community Health Collaborative encourage families to read to their children. Unfortunately, the Nurse Family Partnership and Maternal and Infant Community Health Collaborative doesn’t have money in its budget to purchase books for families who can’t afford them. The nurses who take part in the project try to get infants to play with books as objects, point out colors, shapes and familiar objects to the child, helping an older baby to turn pages, and getting into the habit of holding and reading a book with a baby, even if it’s only for a few minutes at a time. Thumbs up to Zonta Club members who, as they always seem to do, committed themselves to help a worthy community program. For more information on the Zonta Club of Jamestown, visit ZontaJamestown.org. To make a donation to Books for Babies of new or gently used board books or other books geared to very young children, contact Catherine Burgess, register nurse project director, at 753-4783.

Thumbs down to a New York state budget process that leaves too little time for lawmakers to properly digest what is in a mammoth policy statement. Earlier this year, state Sen. Catharine Young, R-C-I-Olean, told The Post-Journal the closed-door meetings between the governor, Assembly speaker and Senate majority leader aren’t exactly three-men-in-a-room because each legislature member in the room is charged by their respective body’s members to negotiate on their behalf. While we would prefer a more open process, we understand Young’s logic. What we don’t understand is using the governor’s message of necessity to circumvent the typical three-day sitting period before any vote on a proposed bill. The message of necessity means legislators are asked to vote on thousands of pages of specific legislative language without the time to properly read it. If three-men-in-a-room negotiations are allowed to continue, then using messages of necessity to expedite a vote on the budget should not.

Thumbs up to former Jamestown High School standout Jaysean Paige for his inclusion in last night’s Reese’s Division I College All-Star game Friday. The game will be televised at 1 p.m. today on CBS Sports. Paige was named the Big 12 Conference’s Sixth Man of the Year earlier this month and averaged 13.7 points, and 3.7 rebounds in 22.5 minutes per game for the West Virginia Mountaineers this season. It’s nice to see Paige will still have a chance to shine on a national stage even though West Virginia was knocked out of the NCAA Tournament in the second round.