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In Our Opinion

School Threats Merit Harsh Consequences

Enough is enough. It’s time to play hardball with the miscreants who wreak havoc on school districts here and across the country by making threats of shootings or bombings. Almost every time, the threats turn out to be unfounded and were simply an attempt to disrupt the educational process. But because we live in these times when school shootings are all too familiar, school and law enforcement officials must take them seriously. When a threat — real or perceived — is made, the people and entities charged with keeping our children safe must operate with an abundance of ...

Bemus Point Electric Bus Vote Should Be Wake-Up Call For State

Voters in the Bemus Point Central School District aren’t the first to reject New York state’s mandate to begin buying electric school buses by 2027. We’re sure they won’t be the last, either. It should be obvious after the litany of such resolutions turned down throughout the state earlier this summer that voters have serious concerns about the cost of the buses, reliability in the colder winter months and a nagging feeling they’re being pushed into something they’re not comfortable with. The only unfortunate part of Bemus Point voters rejecting the electric school ...

Regents Make Good Choice Delaying Gender Neutral Sports

The state Board of Regents quietly delayed approval of a regulation that would have approved more gender neutral sports in New York’s high schools. It was a good decision to do so - and we hope the delay is lengthy. There was no explanation for the delay nor discussion at the most recent Board of Regents meeting, though a state Education Department spokesperson said the delay was prompted by the amount of comments received during the 60-day public comment period over the summer. There is a lot of general unease among many members of the general public with the regulations, ...

In Aftermath Of Church Closing, What Happens To Ss. Peter And Paul Building

There are no winners or losers in the recent church closings by the Buffalo Diocese of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church isn’t the only denomination struggling under the weight of declining membership, rising costs and, in the Catholic Church’s case, Child Victims Act lawsuits. The Methodists have been closing and merging churches for years, as have the Lutherans. It’s all an unfortunate reflection of changing social values and our region’s declining population. Our question, moving forward, is what happens with Ss. Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church when the ...

Everyone Needs To Pull In One Direction To Help Homeless

Last week’s targeted sweep of the homeless near the Chadakoin Riverwalk in Brooklyn Square, once again, needed to happen. Sheds in the area are a mess. Wellnow is now requiring people to be buzzed into the building, a change from earlier this year. And some of the homeless are becoming increasingly aggressive toward police officers and city officials. The situation was untenable. It’s been two months since Mayor Kim Ecklund issued her State of Emergency regarding Jamestown’s homeless. There have been some productive meetings since then, some led by the Chautauqua County ...

A Bad Year For Gun Violence Gets Worse

The death of a 68-year-old Doug Howie last week in a shooting on the city’s south side is concerning on many levels - not the least of which is the continuance of gun violence in Jamestown in a year when such violence is decreasing in other cities. This could be a blip. Perhaps Jamestown is having an outlier of a year, or other cities’ lack of gun violence is an outlier. Perhaps both sets of statistics will regress to the mean. What if it doesn’t? One would think a state with gun laws that are among the most strict in the nation wouldn’t need to spend money trying to ...