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Opinion

Electric School Bus Delay Is Tip Of The Iceberg

In Our Opinion

A five-year delay in the state’s electric school bus mandate would be a reasonable compromise if it is included in the state budget as some Albany insiders say it will be. The electric bus mandate was always far too optimistic that technology would be ready quickly. Early adopters of electric buses have found the technology isn’t ready for New York’s winters. And, in a state where Gov. Kathy Hochul has proposed relatively flat state aid for many smaller districts, the cost of bonding for electric school buses was going to be more than most districts’ taxpayers were going to be ...

DOT’s Busti Project Is Action That Doesn’t Accomplish Much

In Our Opinion

When was the last time you drove through the five corners of Busti and thought what would really make the intersection easier to navigate are new pedestrian signals, sidewalks and curb ramps? When was the last time you drove through the five corners to find a pedestrian? These are the great problems the state Transportation Department is going to spend your money trying to fix by acquiring private property near the intersection and then performing what has to be a limited reconstruction. What a waste of money. We’d prefer the state do something to redesign the entire intersection ...

Democrats Are Having An Election

Local Commentaries

There hasn’t been much publicity about it, but the Democrats are having a Primary Election on Tuesday, June 23rd. Democrats are noted for being somewhat scrappy and independent-minded, so this should not be a surprise. As a matter of fact, having elections is a good thing. There are two individuals who are now vying for the Democratic nomination to run against our current Congressman in the fall election—Aaron Geis and Kevin Stocker. Since Geis is from the Southern Tier (Olean,) he might be deemed the favorite as the 23rd Congressional District is primarily a Southern Tier ...

When Did Closing Inferior Housing Become ‘NIMBY’?

In Our Opinion

Here we are, once again, feeling the need to write about the homeless in Chautauqua County. We’re moved to do so by a comment that may never have seen the light of day were it not for a lawsuit seeking to keep the former Econolodge on Route 60 in Fredonia that houses many homeless county residents open as the Fredonia Village Board seeks to vacate the hotel and possibly demolish it. We’re frankly not concerned with the legal back-and-forth between the hotel’s attorney and Fredonia officials. We are concerned by the conditions described by Fredonia’s code officers, as we ...

A CAFO By Any Other Name

Letters To The Editor

When I hear the words, ‘dairy farm’, the mental image from childhood is a green, wide-open pasture, white fences, blue sky, a red barn and some black and white cows scattered about. The news of the plan to build a new dairy farm in Cherry Creek was not objectionable, at first. The proposed farm is to be built on 45 acres and support 7,000 cows, according to news reports. That seems like a lot of cows. I did a little research and found that a common planning guideline is that a cow typically requires about 1.5 to 2 acres of average-quality pasture for a full grazing season. To get ...

Voters Allow School Spending To Soar

Editor's Corner

Eighteen school districts using your taxpayer dollars are continuing to prove they are major economic engines for Chautauqua County. Each year at this time, they expect a stamp of approval from residents when it comes to spending plans. When the annual vote occurs across the state on Tuesday, ...