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Letters To The Editor

Congress Must Take Care Of Federal Employees

To The Reader’s Forum: I learned as a very junior Marine Corps Infantry Officer some 70 years ago the following: Rank has its privileges but rank also has responsibilities. I read and hear like so many Americans that because Congress cannot agree on the budget, all federal employees will not be paid, until the votes can be mustered for an agreement. The Senate has failed to approve the temporary spending bill to keep the government open. We can all imagine the hardship this causes to the individuals who serve us all, and who are currently not receiving paychecks. I ask the ...

Issues To Keep In Mind In Lakewood Elections

To The Reader’s Forum: My name is Rich Fischer and for approximately five years I was a trustee in the Village of Lakewood. As I was voted in by the residents of Lakewood it was my duty to represent them and not outsiders. Saying that I currently see members of the current board that in my opinion often do not really represent the residents of the village. Here are just a couple of reasons why I make that statement. The first deals with Airbnb’s or short term rentals. Back in early 2024 the village board after many meetings, public hearings, conversations with consultants and ...

If We Can Shop Local, We Should Vote Local

To The Reader’s Forum: We’ve heard the slogan “shop local”. Spending our money close to home grows our local economy. Well, I’m encouraging you to “vote local.” While the national elections get a lot of media attention and bring out a lot of voters, the off-year elections usually see very few voters. Local elections give us a chance to have a bigger say in who will be serving us in the next term because each vote is a piece of a smaller “pie”. Voting is our chance to influence how our government works for Chautauqua County. If you don’t vote, do you really have ...

More Effort Needed To Find Root Of High Gas Prices

To The Reader’s Forum: In a recent P-J article the County Executive said about high local gas prices that he can’t explain the reason. “This is probably the third or fourth time I’ve looked into this as county executive and we get the same comment – there’s nothing nefarious. There’s nothing wrong. If they’re going to charge it and we’re going to pay it, that’s where we are.” How about a little more effort for your constituents there gang? Who are “they”? Who’s getting that 40 cents a gallon? Is it the convenience store, their employees or owners? Is it ...

Funding The Country

To the Reader’s Forum: The Jamestown BPU is facing $27 million in cuts to vital energy infrastructure projects, collateral damage in the Trump Administration’s crusade to dismantle government as we know it. Leading the charge is Russel Vought, head of the Office of Management and Budget, who is taking advantage of the government shutdown to terminate $8 billion worth of these projects, primarily in states run by Democrats. Consider his words in the infamous Project 2025, where he called for “aggressive use of the vast powers of the executive branch” to “bend or break the ...

Time For Republican Majority To Hold The Line

To The Reader’s Forum: As a proud resident of New York’s 23rd Congressional District, I am writing to express my strong support for President Donald J. Trump and the Republican members of Congress who are standing firm against the Democrats’ reckless spending demands amid the current government shutdown that began on October 1, 2025. This impasse is not the fault of Republicans — it’s the direct result of House Democrats and their Senate allies refusing to negotiate in good faith on a responsible funding bill for fiscal year 2025. President Trump has been crystal clear ...