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In Our Opinion

Public call for DRI, NY Forward grants is late in process

It’s good that local residents are getting an opportunity to have input in the plans for Jamestown’s $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative and Falconer’s $4.5 million NY Forward grant. Local planning committees have been created in Jamestown and Falconer, and local residents are now being asked to bring any project ideas they have to the committee for possible inclusion in the final plan for the state grants. In Jamestown, an open call for projects is taking place from Aug. 21 through Sept. 25, with an information session scheduled for Aug. 27 at the Robert H. Jackson ...

Amount of benefits fraud in county is beyond shocking

It is shocking, though not surprising, that two county Social Services Department employees have been charged in the theft of money from the people they were supposed to be helping. Amounts weren’t disclosed during a news conference last week, nor was the name of a second person allegedly involved in the alleged theft, but we’ve seen enough thefts of public money in the past to know that where there are large sums of money being passed around someone will eventually try to take some for themselves. We’ve been through this a time or two over the past couple of decades. That ...

In Our Opinion

Over the years we’ve seen duties that were once handled by volunteer firefighters taken on by paid government crews. The move really began with the advent of the Chautauqua County fly car system in 2017 to provide quicker response, particularly in remote areas of the county where struggles to staff volunteer fire departments were most acute. Over the ensuing nine years the fly car system has expanded to meet growing needs throughout the county, including the April decision to station a fly car at the Clymer Volunteer Fire Department. For many Chautauqua County residents the use ...

City has opportunity to build on 10 years of Chadakoin River work

The Chadakoin River looks a lot different in 2026 than it did in 2016. Comedy Park behind the National Comedy Center is beautiful. Two pedestrian bridges have been constructed. Kayakers are seen on the river, something that seemed like a heavy lift 10 years ago, while projects to clear brush, debris and vegetation from the Chadakoin River’s shores have made the area virtually unrecognizable over the course of a decade. Now, city officials have a chance to build on that work. Projects included in the city’s DRI application include a performance area including tiered natural ...

Hard to believe this phase of Army Corps’ work is nearly complete

It’s hard to believe it’s been two years since the Army Corps of Engineers began its project on Chautauqua Lake. While we continue to deal with many of the typical issues on the lake - algal blooms, removal of newer invasive species like starry stonewort and the water chestnut and maintenance of longstanding invasive species - the Army Corps of Engineers has spent the past nearly two years working in the background. The Army Corps’ work has been so quiet that many area residents may have forgotten they were even here. Engineers are working to address questions about excess ...

Supporting rural suicide council should be easy decision for Hochul

In April, we called on state lawmakers to pass - for a second time - legislation creating a Rural Suicide Prevention Council to address increasing rates of suicide in rural counties. Lawmakers have done their part. Now it’s time for Hochul to do hers. The numbers haven’t changed since April when we called on the legislature to create the council. According to the 2026 Chautauqua Opportunities Inc. Community Needs Assessment, the age-adjusted rate of hospitalization for self-inflicted wounds is 8.5 per 10,000 people in the county compared to 5.6 per 10,000 statewide. The ...