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In Our Opinion

County Has Limited Choices To Bring Down Temporary Housing Costs

Rising costs for temporary housing have been a drag on Chautauqua County’s budget for the past few years. This year is no exception. County legislators are moving another $1.2 million from the county’s surplus to help pay for the nearly 200 people currently in temporary housing. That comes after moving another $1.5 from the county’s surplus in September on top of the $4.5 million originally budgeted this year. County officials are trying to be proactive, with plans to begin a new program called “Family Driven Case Management Services” to work with families to get them out ...

Governor’s Inflation Checks Are A One-Month Reprieve

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s State of the State plan to send a $500 check to New York families is an incredibly short-sighted plan to fight inflation and, frankly, boost her flagging approval ratings as Democrats come out of the woodwork looking to mount primary challenges against the governor. The governor made the inflation reduction checks the first centerpiece of her January State of the State speech, following former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s lead of trying to generate excitement by releasing bits and pieces of their goal-setting speech a full month before the speech actually takes place in ...

Will Legislature Have Political Will To Follow School Aid Proposal

The Rockefeller Institute of Government is proposing several changes to the way state aid to schools is distributed. Perhaps most controversially is the institute’s suggestion to change what is known as hold harmless aid. The stipulation in the existing Foundation Aid formula guarantees school districts will receive a minimum increase of $500 per pupil in Foundation Aid, with schools given the option to choose that level of funding if other options under the Foundation Aid formula would generate less state aid. Gov. Kathy Hochul wanted to cut the hold harmless aid as part of her ...

Route 394 Sidewalks Shouldn’t Be A Done Deal

We’re heartened to see that the state Transportation Department is taking the concerns of Lakewood residents to heart as it plows ahead with plans for sidewalks along Route 394. The original project involved installing sidewalks on both sides of Route 394 from Elmcrest Avenue on the south side and from Shadyside Avenue on the north side to Route 474. The original project would have required 155 property rights of way adjustments, utility pole relocations, and the removal of about 163 trees when construction started in 2027. Village residents have voiced their opposition, and the ...

Extend Gridiron Success Into The Classroom

Congratulations to the Clymer/Sherman/Panama Wolfpack for winning a third state championship in seven seasons. A lot of things had to go right over the past decade to have the type of success C/S/P has enjoyed since the three rural schools made the decision to merge football teams. There’s a lot of give and take needed amongst administrators, athletic directors, athletes and parents to make a three-team merger work - and those in Clymer, Sherman and Panama have put in the work behind the scenes to allow athletes to have success on the playing field. It truly has been a community ...

On Being A Lucky Man

I have always thought that one of the great moments in the history of sports was that day in 1939 in Yankee Stadium when Lou Gehrig addressed a crowd who knew that he was retiring because of a fatal disease. He said to them: “I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” It is hard not to feel that way on Thanksgiving. I remember how tough it was on all of us during COVID time when we couldn’t get together. We were back to full-normal this year with 22 gathered for the big day. I have been married into this family now for over 50 years and every Thanksgiving, ...