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In Our Opinion

Some Voices May Be Irritating – But We Need To Listen To Them

What do discussions over wetlands regulations and Jamestown’s homeless have in common? The alarm bells over both situations were raised largely by people operating outside the typical government apparatus set up to deal with those issues. Remember, back in February, that it was Jim Wehrfritz who called attention to wetland regulations he worried could end up hurting property values and make it more difficult to use what he feels are proven strategies to help manage invasive weeds in the lake. Wehrfritz’ role was worth remembering this week when County Executive PJ Wendel went ...

Examination Of FBI Failures Deserves Action

People should be gravely concerned about reports that the FBI is falling short in referring allegations of child sexual abuse to local and state law enforcement. More than concerned — people should be furious. In a review prompted by the FBI’s mishandling of allegations against former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nasser, the bureau’s inspector general found that there is no evidence that the FBI followed mandatory reporting requirements in about 50% of cases. According to an Associated Press report in Friday’s edition of the Sun-Gazette, the FBI appears to have referred ...

The Wheels Of Justice Turn Too Slowly In New York

What happened last week on Victoria Avenue is just one example of what is frustrating many New Yorkers with their state government. For all of the statistics that state Democrats want to cite that bail reform hasn’t led to a rash of reoffenders walking the streets, there are situations like last week’s in Jamestown that should upset people regardless of their political leanings. Reoffenders happen - not always because of bail reform but because it takes far too long to get a case from a charge to a courtroom. To recap, regional police officers spent hours at the scene of a ...

On This Day, Spend Time In Reflection

On this day 23 years ago, many Americans had hardly gotten settled into their workday when the day was shattered by the news that jetliners had struck both towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, another jetliner had crashed into the Pentagon and a fourth plane still was in the air over Pennsylvania and was headed in the direction of Washington, D.C. Of course, that last plane ended up crashing in a field alongside a wooded area just outside of Shanksville, Somerset County, miraculously sparing that community and neighboring Indian Lake Borough of what could have been a ...

Local Property Owners Voice Their Opinions

We can understand residents’ concerns over a $70 million housing project at a former golf course near Dewittville. A room packed with local property owners opposed to the project made their views crystal clear during a recent presentation on the project. And while we aren’t ready to say the project is the best thing for Dewittville, we aren’t ready to say the land should be donated either - as was suggested during the recent public meeting. Let’s start there. Chautauqua Lake property owners pay some of the heftiest prices in the county for their homes and, by extension, ...

County’s Oversight Of Battery Storage Site Is Only Beginning

The sale of nearly 12 acres of vacant land in Ellicott for battery storage likely won’t see any development for a few years as required studies are completed. And that’s a good thing, because a rash of fires at three such facilities in New York last year alone raises some questions about how local fire departments will handle such storage facilities. Within a two-month period from late May to late July 2023, a battery at a substation on Long Island caught fire, followed by a fire in one of two battery units in Orange County and then another fire in a battery on a solar farm near ...