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Opinion

Support Remains Strong For School Merger — So Far

In Our Opinion

After almost a year of kicking the tires on a potential merger, support for a combined Clymer, Sherman and Panama school district remains strong among those who are engaging in the process early. Voters on the 2025 school budgets in the districts approved starting the discussion process with 73% approval in May 2025. Almost a year later, results from a community survey distributed to households in the three districts showed 78% of the 798 households responding still supporting the idea of a merger. That’s an encouraging sign as the talks head into the merger study phase. Residents ...

Support For Homeless Is Heartwarming

In Our Opinion

There are many things wrong with Jamestown, but a lack of compassionate residents isn’t one of them. Throughout the winter, community residents led by Diana Scott have been buying meals for the homeless spending the night at the ROME Code Blue shelter on Washington Street. Others have been donating clothing or hygienic items. Recently, a group named El Equipo held its own event at Joy Fellowship Church before making donations at shelters throughout the city. Conduit has continued its meals in Brooklyn Square on Sundays. The St. Susan Center remains as busy as ever. Community Helping ...

Readers’ Forum

Letters To The Editor

Nicotine Pouches Not Approved For Cessation To The Readers’ Forum: As expected, Gov. Hochul’s proposed excise tax on the sale of nicotine pouches, similar to taxes on other non-cigarette tobacco products, has supporters and detractors. I urge you not to accept claims that nicotine pouches, like Zyn, should be exempt from tobacco excise taxes because they are approved for smoking cessation. That’s wrong. There are a variety of FDA-approved, medically backed, safe nicotine replacement therapies (NRT), available both over-the-counter and by prescription. They provide controlled, ...

Keep The Truth In Sight

Local Commentaries

Do your eyes lie or is it your mind struggling to erase what your eyes have seen? If you never saw the videos of Renee Good and Alex Pretti’s deaths, you could just accept the news that they were provocateurs and deserved to be shot. You could choose to believe what you hear. The operative word here is choose, but your mind can’t erase what your eyes saw, you don’t have a choice to unsee what you saw! That is a hard mental disconnect! Our pledge of allegiance says, “we believe in one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Justice ...

Is Anybody Sorry Anymore?

Local Commentaries

In today’s generation, the simple phrase “I’m sorry” is used far less than it should be. Instead, many people play the blame game or deflect responsibility rather than taking personal accountability for their actions and choices. Receiving an apology for an unprovoked action of another can feel wonderful, but the crucial question remains: Does an apology reflect true sincerity, or is it a strategic avoidance of consequences, or quite possibly it’s merely a passive phrasing like “How are you?”, “Dude”, or “Man” but really has no substance? Google defines an ...

Just One Well-Aimed Snowball

Local Commentaries

Frankly, I don’t throw a snowball very often these days. Occasionally I might toss a mischievous handful at Richard in the driveway. I do remember though, back when I was first aware that a good snowball is a weapon. I’ll never forget what happened: I was in the fourth grade. In the winter we couldn’t wait to blast out of school and race home for snow play. My classmate, Nancy, and I built a tall snow fort behind the front yard low hedge. It was a fun place to snuggle out of the wind and we kept fortifying and smoothing its sides with each new snowfall. We dug out peep holes so ...