Breaking News

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

This axiom has been my belief since I can remember. It was a part of my upbringing. It was taught to me by my parents and reinforced by teachings from the Bible— “By their deeds you shall know them.” As kids we also soon learned that there are usually more “talkers” in the world than there are “doers.” People are to be judged more by what they do than by what they say. This translates, of course, into observing the actions vs. the words being daily issued by our President. He is always tweeting or saying things to get people stirred up, but he is also doing ...

Seasonal Church Visit That Was A Gift

Dear Richard and I were in Niagara-on-the-Lake on Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend. We had matinee tickets for “White Christmas”, the holiday musical, on stage. When I bought the deep discount tickets, I thought it would be a great way to jump into the mood of the holiday season. We stayed at a friendly B&B and had a fun, chatty breakfast with the two other weekend couples. After breakfast, there was time before our theater afternoon for the Sunday service at St. Marks Anglican Church downtown. It was a good decision because for the past week, I’ve been chewing on a few ideas I ...

The Truth Behind Sleep In Heavenly Peace

It’s the season of “sleep in heavenly peace,” which to me has always meant finishing the dishes, leaving the stove light on, locking the doors, and listening to the winter wind as I fall asleep in flannels. Sleep is life’s great escape—a reward for getting through the day, especially days like last weekend when chaos seemed to reign. We close our eyes and we are literally unconscious, for what we hope is eight hours of warm bliss. But I’m not letting us off that easy. We humans have a tendency to just accept biological habits without really looking at them in a curious way, ...

For Tax Entities, It’s Better To Receive

Stalling and stumbling through 12 months has become a tradition of futility for many who are elected here. Due to consistently forgetting they hold positions to represent constituents, not the government they are overseeing, 2025 may have been one of the most brutal years in recent history for ...

Purple Heart Trail Is Worthy Of Support

A trail to honor the efforts of area veterans is in the works. An advisory committee envisions a three-year project that will create a trail from the Dunkirk Lighthouse and Veterans Museum to the Yorkers Museum in Sherman for Purple Heart recipients. According to a press release, the plan is to gather donations, grants and sponsorships this year; complete the Dunkirk Lighthouse site in 2026; and finish the Sherman site in 2027. “The Chautauqua County Purple Heart Trail will be a lasting tribute to the veterans who shed their blood for our many freedoms,” the trail committee ...

Thumbs Up To Falconer Teacher; Thumbs Down To A Bad System

Kudos to Molly Gustafson, a pre-kindergarten teacher at Temple Elementary School in the Falconer Central School District, for her work spearheading the Temple Sunshine Closet. The non-profit’s mission is to help alleviate hunger, improper clothing or a lack of necessary hygiene products for students to help get the children’s school careers off on the right foot. The organization has received 501(c)(3) status and has an independent board, of which Gustafson is president, to allow the group to receive outside grants for supplies. “It’s an awesome project and undertaking to ...