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In Our Opinion

Sharing School Programs Should Be Start Of Something More

We’re encouraged by a bit of news from a recent Clymer Central School board meeting. Clymer board members are set to share an occupational therapist with Cassadaga Valley Central School. Such shared services are becoming more and more commonplace, and it’s good to see such partnerships growing. But what’s really encouraging is the possibility of Clymer starting a new shared program with Chautauqua Lake Central School. Chautauqua Lake students would be able to participate in Clymer’s agriculture programs while Clymer students would be able to take part in programs in Chautauqua ...

Consistency Is Key In How City Handles Downtown Parking

Joe Town’s request for a loading and unloading zone in front of his Third Street business is certainly understandable. It’s annoying to worry about feeding parking meters if you’re unloading restaurant supplies. It’s annoying to get a ticket because you get a phone call or find yourself in the middle of something that took longer than expected and end up forgetting to put more money in the meter or move your car. We can understand Town’s frustration because other downtown restaurants have, over the years, had exceptions made in areas where there is more competition for ...

Illegal Marijuana Sales A Problem With No End In Sight

State Taxation and Finance officials have conducted numerous adult use cannabis inspections in Jamestown and Ellicott. So far, they’ve only cited one business, a smoke shop on East Second Street that state officials found were selling illegal adult-use cannabis. We have no doubt there are more shops selling cannabis illegally. We also have no doubt there is still a thriving black market for marijuana. There are too many people in the Jamestown area using marijuana for the sales to be coming from legal shops that largely don’t exist here yet. Stop us if you’ve heard this ...

Council Requests For Information Show Engagement

Last week, we opined in this space that we’d prefer tough questions about projects be asked before money has been spent, not after. That opinion hasn’t changed. But we are encouraged by the fact that Councilmen Jeff Russell, R-At Large, Bill Reynolds, R-Ward 5, and Regina Brackman, D-Ward 3, are asking for additional information they don’t feel they’re getting. There is already more information about issues coming before the City Council available now than at any time before 2020. Former Mayor Eddie Sundquist deserves credit for that, as does Mayor Kim Ecklund for ...

State’s Climate Chickens Come Home To Roost In City

There are more than a dozen options in the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities’ study of options to retool its district heating system. Three options make the most sense - exiting the district heating business altogether and letting 70 downtown building owners install their own boilers, extending the district heating loop to the BPU’s wastewater treatment plant to Kennedy so it can use heated and treated wastewater as the heat source for district heating or, if test wells are successful, using geothermal wells drilled on BPU property to provide the heat source for district ...

Can Right-Sizing Fire Protection Work Here?

A new fire district in the Mayville area will provide an interesting test case for many rural volunteer fire companies in Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties. The Mayville, Hartfield and Dewittville fire departments are likely to have a merger completed by sometime in early July. The new North Lake Fire District will cover most of the town of Chautauqua, except for the area covered by the Chautauqua Fire Department, which covers the Chautauqua Institution and that end of the town, and a small portion covered by the Sherman Fire Department. It’s expected the merger can save money, ...