SEPTEMBER
16 2022
SCHUMER, GILLIBRAND ANNOUNCE $500,000 IN FEDERAL FUNDING FOR SUBSTANCE USE RECOVERY PROGRAMS IN CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY WASHINGTON D.C. Monday, September 12, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand are announcing $500,000 in federal funding for the Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County. The funding was allocated by the Appalachian Regional Commission’s (ARC) Investments Supporting Partnerships In Recovery Ecosystems (INSPIRE) Initiative, which aims to fight the substance use disorder crisis across Appalachia. This grant will provide recovery support, pre-employment development, and vocational training to individuals struggling with substance use disorder and establish partnerships with local employers to help these individuals re-enter the workforce. “Western New York is on the frontlines of the opioid crisis, and this funding will tackle the heart of this epidemic in Chautauqua County by expanding access to care, giving people the support they need to get back on their feet, and saving lives,” said Senator Schumer. “We need an allof-the-above approach: more interdiction, prevention, treatment and recovery, to fight the flow of drugs, and more effec-
tively assist those who are suffering from addiction. That is why I am proud to deliver this funding today and why I fought for historic increases for addiction services in the COVID relief bills, and why I will keep fighting increases to these federal programs to give Western New York all the resources they need fight the fentanyl fueled opioid crisis.” “The pandemic exacerbated our nation’s ongoing substance use crisis and Appalachian communities like those in Chautauqua County have been disproportionately impacted,” said Senator Gillibrand. “This funding will allow the Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County to continue to provide free, comprehensive support to individuals struggling with substance use and will give these individuals the tools they need to obtain and maintain stable employment and enter long-term recovery. Community-based initiatives like this one are key to overcoming the substance use crisis and I’ll keep fighting for more federal funding to ensure that organizations like the Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County have the resources they need to help as many people as possible.”
Schumer and Gillibrand have been leading advocates for the Appalachian Regional Commission. In the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Schumer and Gillibrand delivered a historic $1 billion for the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) over the next 5 years. Earlier this year, Senator Gillibrand joined six of her Senate colleagues in calling for $235 million in federal funding for the Appalachian Regional Commission to support initiatives that address workforce challenges caused by the Appalachian Region’s drug crisis and help diversify the economies of Appalachian communities. The ARC is a federal-state partnership that invests in projects designed to support economic development in 423 counties across the 13 Appalachian states, encompassing more than 25 million Americans. In Fiscal Year 2021, ARC supported 465 projects totaling over $163 million in federal investment. This federal investment helped attract over $1 billion in local, state, and private funding that resulted in the creation or retention of over 20,000 jobs in Appalachia.
Photo Credit WailOn The outlaw country tribute band WailOn will perform Saturday at Gowanda’s Historic Hollywood Theater in memory of a former Little Valley school superintendent and father of WailOn frontman, Chris Wisniewski.
Country concert in memory of LV superintendent planned for Gowanda theater BY KELLEN M. QUIGLEY
GOWANDA, N.Y. - The music of Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and classic country is alive and well in Western New York with the outlaw country tribute band WailOn. Gowanda’s Historic Hollywood Theater will host WailOn at 7:30 p.m. Saturday for a special performance in memory of former Little Valley Central School superintendent Tim Wisniewski. WailOn was created and led by Chris Wisniewski, son of Tim Wisniewski. The family lived in both Frewsburg and Little Valley, where Chris graduated in 1988. Tim Wisniewski was a principal in the Ashville BOCES for many years in addition to being superintendent at Little Valley.
Tim Wisniewski was a big fan of “Waylon and Willie,” so Chris grew up listening to them played around the house regularly. The family moved from Western New York in 1988. Sadly, Tim was taken by an early onset of Frontotemporal Lobe Degeneration — which presents similar to Alzheimer’s — in 2017. A portion of the proceeds goes to the Association for Frontal Temporal Lobe Degeneration. A representative from the Association for Frontotemporal Lobe Degeneration will be available at the theater to provide more information about this terrible disease. Chris Wisniewski and WailOn are proud to play for friends and family in the area in memory of Tim and will donate all merchandise sales to the AFTD. They look forward to seeing many friends and family at
the show. The Nashville-quality tribute show hosted by the Hollywood is dedicated to celebrating the classic country sounds of the 1960s and ’70s, as embodied by country superstar Waylon Jennings and his band, the Waylors. WailOn has pulled together some of the world’s best players to pay loving homage to the music Waylon and his band produced. The electrifying stage show features top-notch musicians who have played with members of Lynard Skynard, Government Mule, Levon Helm and The Band, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Chet Atkins, Bonnie Raitt and many more. Tickets are $22 each and available at Honk’s Grape & Grain, Jesse’s Home and Gifts, McCormack’s Hardware, Brenda at Community Bank, NA and gowandahollywoodtheater.com.