County Parks Commission to meet

The Chautauqua County Parks Commission will meet Thursday at 4 p.m. at the Chautauqua County Airport conference room in Jamestown. The public is welcome to attend.

Brocton/Portland Dems seek candidates

The Brocton/Portland Democratic Committee will be seeking candidates for the Village of Brocton and Town of Portland to run in the Nov. 4 General Election.

The positions are two Brocton Village trustees, town of Portland Town Supervisor, town clerk, two town council members, town highway superintendent, and town tax collector. All positions are for four year terms. Anyone interested should contact Dan Schrantz at 716-785-2723 for more information. “We need Democrats to step forward to get involved in becoming a member of the committee or would like to help in any way,” said Schrantz.

Al Tech/Dunkirk Speciality Steel Retirees to meet

The Al Tech /Dunkirk Specialty Steel Retirees will meet on Saturday, March 1 at 8:30 a.m. at Demitri’s Restaurant, 6 Lake Shore Dr. W., Dunkirk. All retirees are welcome to attend.

Baha’i Faith to be explored

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Northern Chautauqua, located at 222 Temple Street in Fredonia, holds a Sunday Worship Service at 11 a.m, both at their physical location and on Zoom. For those wishing to join virtually, please visit https://tinyurl.com/caluucnc. Click on “Worship Service” on the date you are attending and scroll down for the Zoom link. For those attending the in-person service, please follow the driveway and park in the lower lot behind the building. Handicapped parking is located between the two buildings and directly behind the second building.

The theme for March is Trust.

On Sunday, March 2 will be “Exploring the Baha’i Faith” with guest speaker Jennifer Borgioli Binis.

Jennifer Borgioli Binis is a freelance editor, researcher, and fact-checker. She, an agnostic, lives in Lancaster with her husband (atheist), two cats (who believe humans should be worshipping them), and entirely too many books. One of her earliest research projects involved inquiry into faith, religion, and communities and included time with Baha’i communities in New York state and while she was an exchange student in Belgium. The talk will provide a general introduction, from an observer and researcher perspective, to the faith and its history.

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Northern Chautauqua strives to be a vibrant, welcoming, multigenerational, diverse community enlivened by the power of radical love. For more information, visit www.uucnc.org, like the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/uucnc, or call 716-679-7944.

Ripley Hawk Watch seeks volunteers

RIPLEY – Every spring a spectacular migration occurs in Chautauqua County along the shore of Lake Erie. A small group of dedicated individuals have been witnessing and documenting the spring migration of raptors for approximately 50 years in Ripley. There the escarpment is closest to Lake Erie and the migration is easily viewed.

Volunteers for the Ripley Hawk Watch count migrating hawks, eagles and falcons passing through between March and May, which number between 15,000-20,000. Numerous other birds also migrate along the same corridor at the same time. Count data collected by the volunteers at the Ripley Hawk Watch is submitted to the Hawk Migration Association here where count data from numerous other locations in North America are collected and used for research and conservation efforts.

Two informational meetings will be held to recruit individuals to assist with the count at the Ripley Hawk Watch:

Friday, March 7 from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Kelly Family Auditorium, SUNY Fredonia Campus

Saturday, March 8, from 11 a.m. to noon at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute, Jamestown

While no previous experience is required, individuals with birding and hawk identification skills are most needed. At the meetings Ripley Hawk Watch volunteers will deliver an informal presentation on the mission and importance of the Ripley Hawk Watch, answer questions and recruit interested individuals to assist with the count.

More information about the Ripley Hawk Watch can be found on its Facebook page or by reaching out to ripleyhawkwatch@gmail.com.

Westfield Planning Board meeting rescheduled

WESTFIELD – The March 2025 Westfield Planning Board meeting regularly scheduled for Tuesday, March 11 has changed to Tuesday, March 18 at 4 p.m. in the North Room of Eason Hall.