Live Better, Be A Good Witness God’s Love

To The Readers’ Forum:

This is an open letter of response to an editorial from Rev. Mel McGinnis published in the January 25th edition of the Post Journal.

You taunt “Play stupid games, win stupid prizes” Really? What an immature response to the fatal “prize” awarded by the unrestrained, untrained, out of control ICE agent who shot Renee Good at point blank range! No ICE agent is empowered to be judge, jury and executioner for the “stupid game” of not following instructions. You are blaming the victim. And this is an Immigration Customs Enforcement agent! What immigration or customs work was this officer doing in barking orders to a US citizen and murdering her because she didn’t do as he said?

You are quick to emphatically declare Renee Good and her wife Rebecca as breaking society’s and God’s laws. The snide, judgements you proffer are an embarrassment to your position in the community and a leader of the church. You are not their judge. God alone will judge them. How was your editorial a blessing to anyone, least of all to Ms. Good and her wife Rebecca?

You and I are on the same team, Rev. McGinnis. We both follow Jesus. We are brother and sister in the faith. I am grieved by fellow Christians that are an obstacle to bringing others to faith; by fellow Christians whose judgemental lives and words are a bad witness to the abundant mercy and love of our Savior. Many times I have asked an unbeliever why they are not a Christian and more times than not, they point out the hypocrisy of the words and actions of those who profess Jesus yet don’t live out Jesus’ teachings. For the salvation of unbelievers, do better. Live better. Be a witness to God’s love, not to your own judgmental ego.

Marie Vos

Jamestown

Funding Freeze Would Harm Chautauqua County

To The Readers’ Forum:

On January 6th, Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a $10 billion funding freeze impacting five states including New York. The $10 billion includes $7 billion for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), $2.4 billion for Child Care and Development Fund, and $870 million in social services grants for children. The time frame is noted because if this is published, by the time it goes to print the $10 billion freeze may be buried and forgotten after the next hatchet job on much needed funding for low and middle income Americans.

HHS stated it would halt $10 billion in social services and child care funding to California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York “following serious concerns about widespread fraud and misuse of taxpayer dollars in state-administered programs” and, “ACF has also identified concerns that these benefits intended for American citizens and lawful residents may have been improperly provided to individuals who are not eligible under federal law.” Note the use of the word “concerns”, but not the words “evidence” or “proof”. Note also that only certain blue states are impacted.

The threat of a funding freeze seems safely distant and abstract until you see how it would impact Chautauqua County. These are people in our community; Our neighbors, family members, maybe even you.

Temporary and Disability Assistance Statistics October 2025. Source: otda.nygov

Chautauqua County

Temporary Assistance

Cases: 2390

Recipients: 4356, 2113 are children

Family Assistance

Cases: 790

Recipients: 1918, 1361 are children

Safety Net Assistance

Cases: 1600

Recipients: 2438, 752 are children

This impact on funding would be on top of cuts to SNAP already done in the 2025 Big Beautiful Bill.

Chautauqua County

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

13,171 Households, 23,167 individuals

For reference, the US Census estimated the July 2024 population of Jamestown at 27,699 and Chautauqua County at 124,105.

The only reason the funding freeze wasn’t immediate is because of a temporary restraining order.

RFK Jr., head of HHS, claimed funding was being frozen because these states “refuse to cooperate with developing plans that would end the fraud.” To “cooperate” means to meet HHS’ legally questionable demand that states hand over the personal data of everyone who had received benefits. HHS bypassing Congress, withholding funding already approved by Congress, and then demanding states violate privacy laws in order to restore this funding is certainly an interesting approach to addressing criminality.

Legality aside, states spending hundreds of hours and millions of dollars to meet HHS demands is a fool’s errand as it’s clear it is about retribution, not solutions. The goalposts would be moved and there would be another demand, another freeze, then another. Nothing proves how much the Trump administration cares about low and middle income Americans and their children better than this collective punishment of people struggling to make ends meet.

Andrea Hatfield

Jamestown