The County That Was Too White
https://www.westernjournal.com/county-wh...western-journal

By Jake Harp
Published February 25, 2021 at 11:04am


Tucked in the westernmost corner of the state, Chautauqua County is not what comes to mind for most people when they think of New York. In many ways, the county has more in common with the Midwest than it does Midtown Manhattan.

Lake Erie dominates the northwestern border of the county. From its shores the landscape rises gently, flattening out into farmland that is passed down from one generation to the next. A slightly steeper ascent inland leads to wooded hills that teem with hunters when the season is right.

As in most of its Rust Belt neighbors, there is an inescapable sense that Chautauqua County’s best days are somewhere in the past, if not the distant future. Its population has declined every decade since peaking in 1970. Two small cities anchoring the north and south of the county and an array of even smaller towns scattered in between add up to a population of just over 125,000.
[...]

Using that index, Chautauqua County was flagged by the Biden administration as a prime candidate for a vaccination site. With one of the lowest median household incomes in the state and an aging population, it’s no surprise that Chautauqua County scored high on the vulnerability index.

But New York state officials weren’t happy with the suggestion from the White House, according to NBC. They argued that Chautauqua County would not be a good location for one of the four vaccination sites.-- excerpt, rest at link above --

It is clear that the US has plunged off of the cliff and is tumbling to ruin.....