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In Our Opinion

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 ...

Vatican’s Reversal Of Holy Apostles Merger Is Good For City

The reversal of the merger of Holy Apostles Parish with St. James Roman Catholic Church comes as a surprise. That’s no slight toward the Save Holy Apostles Parish group who banded together quickly, raised money and made a compelling argument that Holy Apostles Parish is strong enough to remain on its own and that the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo hadn’t followed Canon Law when it sought to merge the church. The prospect of taking the appeal to the Vatican was a prospect that likely scared off many parishes scheduled for closure or to be merged - but not for the Holy Apostles ...

Moving Crisis, Homeless Teams To Jamestown Is Good Move

Chautauqua County legislators recently approved the rental of more space in Jamestown’s City Hall by the Department of Mental Hygiene and Social Services. It’s a good decision. The move brings the county’s Mobile Crisis Unit as well as its homeless team and family center case management team into City Hall. The Mobile Crisis Unit, a group of behavioral health professionals including a social worker and peer specialist who can provide care and short-term management for people who are experiencing several behavioral /mental health crises, has been located in West Ellicott since ...