Jan 11, 2021
WESTFIELD The Westfield Fund, a Community Donor Advised Fund affiliated with the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation, recently held its Annual Reorganization Meeting. The Westfield Fund provides grants to charitable projects and organizations within the Westfield community. Those grants are made possible by contributions from individuals, families, and businesses.
Members of the Advisory Committee are Martha Bills, Bob Dyment, John Hemmer, Marilyn Hemmer, Cristie Herbst, Al Holbrook, Deanne Manzella, Rick Mascaro, Sue Poster, Vinny Samzo, Joel Seachrist, Mike Vande Velde, and Rachel Willow. Members of the Grants Committee include Pete Holt, Jean McCausland, Nancy Walker, Dan Willow, Sue Poster, Rick Mascaro, and Cristie Herbst.
jward@observertoday.com
Submitted Photo
The Lake Shore Street Rod Association (as well as others) donated funds for Chautauqua County Rural Ministry to purchase gifts and food for needy families.
Gifts were given and meals were shared recently at the Rural Ministry in Dunkirk during the holiday season. In all, 225 gifts for children were given out as well as 85 food baskets to needy families and 45 meals in to-go containers on Christmas Day.
“The food baskets included a traditional Christmas meal with either a ham or a turkey and all the sides,” director Katleen Peterson said. “The Christmas meal was down a little bit. Sometimes it’s a good thing that people are able to prepare a meal at home and things are getting better for people, but weather sometimes plays a role as well and we did get all that snow.”
Special to the OBSERVER Emily VanDette, left, and daughter Ellie with a few of the gift bags they created for the meal recipients on their route. A young crafter at School 7 puts the finishing touches on a holiday ornament he created for Meals on Wheels
Emily VanDette, left, and daughter Ellie with a few of the gift bags they created for the meal recipients on their route.
Dunkirk-Fredonia Meals on Wheels is blessed to operate in a community where sharing is a way of life. During Subaru’s Share the Love Event, which runs through Monday. The agency invites everyone to Share the Love with our homebound neighbors during what might otherwise be a lonely time of year for them.
PATTY HAMMOND
Many believe solar power is better than using fossil fuels for energy. They argue solar technology has the potential to help the environment and make communities more energy independent. Federal and state incentives have also made renewable energy very attractive to developers.
As with any relatively new technology, solar energy is not all sunshine and rainbows. There are downsides and potential pitfalls to consider. It is only by addressing all the issues up front, and by planning carefully, that communities will benefit and avoid problems.
One of the first things people mention when considering solar energy in our area is the sun. There are significant seasonal variations in daylight hours in our region and, thanks to cloud cover from the Great Lakes, the sun doesn’t always shine brightly here. There’s no doubt that a solar panel in a cloudless Nevada desert will generate much more electricity than a panel in Western New York based simply on how often solar ene
gbacon@observertoday.com
Rick Davis has served as the executive director of the 1891 Fredonia Opera House since 2005. Although the Opera House hasn’t had any events since the pandemic began, they’re as busy as ever, getting ready for when things do return.
Two years ago, the village of Fredonia received a $2.5 million grant, of which $1.3 was for the Opera House’s remodeling. Davis called the timing of the pandemic “fortuitous,” noting that they’ve been able to use their downtime to completely gut and remodel the bathrooms, replace the windows and do some heating, ventilation and air conditioning work.