Poor Don Glynn.

The dean of Western New York newspaper writers has fallen to such a lowly station he cannot even protect his family from attack in his own publication. Don Glynn announced his retirement from the Niagara Gazette some years ago, but he didn't stop writing for them.

Over the past year, local developer Frank Parlato has all but called Don's brother, Jimmy, a crook, denigrated his nephew Chris Glynn and accused Don himself of being the family shill in the local news media.

Don has responded with a series of columns detailing what he considers to be the overall shabbiness of Parlato's project at One Niagara, the former AquaFalls building and pit adjacent to the Rainbow Bridge.

But now an interesting thing has occurred. Parlato has been given regular guest columnist status in Glynn's newspaper. Management couldn't have kicked Don more viciously had they been wearing steel-toed boots.

Don was always the class act of Niagara Falls journalism. A close friend of such newspaper legends as Jerry Brydges, Justin Reardon and John Hanchette, he managed to carve his own niche as a columnist who never blinked in the face of danger and always called a spade a spade.

All the while serving up a heaping helping of his own wry humor.

He was formerly a habitue of the Press Box and, later in the evening, the Arterial Lounge, but the only time I see Don these days is when he's grabbing a quick lunch, solo, over at Eddie Gadawski's on Falls Street. He seems nervous and high-strung.

As Don is the only remaining reminder of the once glorious days of the Gazette, I've urged him to join his former colleagues Bob Kostoff and John Hanchette on the pages of an actual newspaper.

He's Irish, though, and the Irish don't listen to anybody, especially other Irish.