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Gowanda News / Saturday, November 08, 2014
JOINT FOOTBALL EFFORT A SUCCESS
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WEEKEND FORECAST FRI SAT SUN 39o/29o 40o/34o 41o/34o Mostly cloudy with frozen mix
VOL 12 NO. 44
CATT LITTLE VALLEY CLAIMS CROWN
CASTING CALL IN NORTH COLLINS
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Incognito in Gowanda By Mary Pankow NEWS EDITOR
The drizzly and rainy weather didn't deter area youth from trick or treating on Halloween. Armed with umbrellas or semi-waterproof costumes, or just attempting to dodge the raindrops, trick-or-treaters braved the elements to parade from the Gowanda Central School District bus garage to the Gowanda Fire Hall Oct. 31 to enjoy cider and donuts while waiting for the annual Costume Contest to get under way. Dozens of parents with youngsters in tow, along with more mature individuals taking advantage of the opportunity to "dress up," filled the fire hall to dry out a bit and wait for the judging to begin. Kicking off the Costume Contest was the 0-5 years of age group, the largest. After the judges collaborated on their choices, winners were determined as follows: Bentley Turner (fire hydrant), first place; Jaina Moyer (Gramma Walker), second place; Rori Hales (Scarecrow), third place; and Mason and Colton Gernatt (Circus Wagon Animals), fourth place.
NEWS CORRESPONDENT
At the regular meeting of the Cattaraugus-Little Valley Board of Education held on Wednesday, Oct. 29, the BOE heard from teachers on how the school year is going so far, and also were honored for their service. Showing appreciation for the Board of Education during NYS Board Recognition Week, Special Education teachers Dona Fredrickson and Kristin Stoll gave the board a dessert made in Stoll’s class. Superintendent Jon Peterson followed the teachers, giving certificates of appreciation to the board members. Peterson continued on to introduce Pre-K teachers Kelli Spink, Rebecca Singer, Kelli Russell and Jaclyn Winship. The teachers gave an ample presentation on how Pre-K has been going so far this school year by providing a slide show of photos of students from their
0-5 AGE GROUP — From left are Tonya Crouse with Bentley Turner, Amanda Hales with Rori Hales, Dan Moyer with Jaina Moyer, and Michael and Stephanie Gernatt with Mason and Colton Gernatt. Winners in the 6-10-year-olds category were: Julianna Speers (Land by the Sea), first place; Zachary Hammond (Robin Hood), second place; and Austin Greinert (Lizzie Borden), third place. Henry Jarzynski as Sasquatch took first place in the 11-18-year-olds category, with
Autumn Pierce as Gumby placing second and Melissa Briggs as a penguin coming in third. The last category for those over 18 years of age found Pat Hojnacki as a Viking Woman winning first place, Carrie and Kendra Tomszak (Elsa and Olaf from "Frozen") taking second, and Vampire Joe Hendrix com-
ing in third. Once the contest was over, everyone headed out to see how much candy they could collect during the trick-or-treat hours of 6 to 8 p.m. For the fire department, it was another Halloween celebration in the books, as the tradition continued. More photos on page 2
classes participating in this year’s activities. Some highlights the teachers mentioned were the Meet and Greet- where students came to their classroom for an hour the day prior to their first day of school- and the Class DoJo Smartphone application for parents and students- where the teacher can send messages to parents and show students’ progress and participation in daily activities. Board member Eric Pritchard asked if there was anyone who did not have the Class DoJo app. Each teacher said there are a few who do not, so they continue to send notes home with students. Both the event and app mentioned, however, are believed to be beneficial and recommended they be continued into the future. The board asked how the students are handling the Common Core modules. All responded the students seem to be doing well, and Singer said, “The rigor is appropriate” when it comes to Math, and the students are pick-
ing things up “pretty good… especially with the hands-on [activities] like singing” when it comes to ELA. Following the Pre-K presentation was a report given by grades 5-7 Principal and Director of Special Education Gayle Pavone. Pavone began her report by mentioning the AIMS Web is up and running, and handed the board a graph from the data submitted through the program of an evaluation. The graph showed 46 percent of the fifth-grade students and 54 percent of sixth-grade students rated “at or above grade level.” Pavone hopes to see the percentages increase. Lastly, Pavone showed a “year in review” regarding the Special Education aspect of her position, from when she started at the district to date and commented on how much has changed- and in a positive way. Tony Giannicchi, eighthgrade and high school principal, reported next to the board, mentioning that the requirements
for Regents graduation have shifted. He explained that this 4+1 option for students will be able to replace an exam with one that is more geared toward their career path. No further criterion has been available for specifics. Giannicchi then handed the board a list of questions he obtained while at a Social Studies conference he attended the prior Friday. The questions are aimed to get students to get many resources in order to conclude an answer. He mentioned this is the direction other areas of education, such as math, English and science, are going as well. The Homecoming Dance, Giannicchi said, had about 200 students attend and was a “unifying thing” when a majority of the students joined together to form a Congo line. Elementary Principal Aaron Wolfe followed Giannichi by handing the board a calendar including events and activities.
See “C-LV BOE” on page A2
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Collins passes budget NEWS CORRESPONDENT
PHOTO BY MARY PANKOW
OBITUARIES ............................................. SECT. A PAGE 9
CLASSIFIEDS ............................................. SECT. B PAGE 4
SECT. A PAGE 12 AROUND TOWN.......................................SECT.
POLICE BLOTTER ...................................... SECT. APAGE 3
LETTERS .................................................... SECT. A PAGE 4
REFLECTIONS ...........................................SECT SECT B PAGE 8
SPORTS................................................. SECT. B PAGES 1–3
SECT A PAGE 4 EDITORIAL ................................................SECT
Mostly cloudy with 50% chance of frozen mix
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 08, 2014
By Richard Westlund
Students prepare dessert for BOE By Megan Pankow-Walker
Mostly cloudy with 30% chance of frozen mix
The town of Collins held a public hearing Monday evening (Nov. 3) regarding the new budget for the coming year. Collins Town Superintendent David Tessmer went over the budget in detail. The proposed salaries of various town officials were presented as follows: Town Councilpersons -- $6,000 each per annum, for a total of $24,000; Town Supervisor-- $18,000 per annum with an additional $1,500 to supervise the Water Department; Town Clerk-- $39,119.07 per annum; Superintendent of Highways -- $52,284 per annum, with an additional $2,000 to supervise the Parks and Transfer station. To sum up, the effective result of the proposed tax code for next year does not reflect precisely, as different parts of the town receive different services and thus the effect is different in different places. To give an example, however, Tessmer said that a typical home valued at $100,000 would pay $9.99 per thousand of assessed valuation, which would amount to a tax on said property of $619.38. Tessmer also presented a history of Collins tax rolls that showed overall, the taxes in Collins since 2011 have increased an average of onetenth of 1 percent per year. The President of the Collins Historical Society, Linda Munro, then addressed the board. The main thrust of her address was to decry the great number of vacant, deserted houses in the town, with an urgency to deal with them. Some of them appear to be in good shape, but they all must be dealt with. She suggested one step would be to get more active with the Land Bank, which is a system set up to get properties back on the tax rolls. She was anxious to help in any way she could. Town Supervisor Tessmer agreed to meet with her for a bit of a brainstorming session on what steps may be taken. Town Clerk Becky Jo Summers reported transactions in her office in October were $6,352.65, of which the town’s portion was $4,931.01.
Code Enforcement Officer Gene Degman, reported three building permits issued in October, valued at $182,200, which included one new residence. Highway Superintendent Dennis Jensen reported that the town received $3,375 for the 1984 surplus Ford dump truck that was taken to auction. In other matters, the board: • Adopted the preliminary town budget. • Noted the public hearing for 8 p.m. was uneventful, with the result being the board adopting the contract with Gowanda, who will supply fire protection to Fire District #1, which is the Rosenburg District, at a cost paid to Gowanda of $20,141 in 2015; $20,342 in 2016; and $20,546 in 2017. • Agreed to solicit bids for the purchase of a 4-wheel-drive tractor, with a front loader. Specifications are available at the Collins Town Clerk's Office. Bids receivable at the Town Clerk's office on or before 4 p.m. Dec. 12. • Resolved to file a PO-17 job description with Erie County for the non-competitive position of Park Crew Chief, to allow Mark Mangano to split jobs between the transfer station and the supervision of the beautification program. • Authorized the use of the designated corridor trail through the Collins Town Park by the Southern Tier Snow Drifters snowmobile club. For the 2014-15 season. • Set a Public Hearing for Monday, Dec, 15 at 7:30 p.m. to review dog kennel specialuse permits on the following applications: Claudia Beaton, Cemetery Road, Collins; Linda M. Bowdish and Sarah A. Bowdish, Woodside Road, Springville; Karen Feddick, Brewer Road, Collins; Sandy Maloney, Collins Center Zoar Rd, Collins; Todd Struble, West Becker Road, Gowanda; and Richard Young, Lenox Road, Collins. The next regular meeting will be on Monday, Nov. 17, at 7 p.m. in the Collins Town Hall. The town hall will be closed on Tuesday, Nov. 11 for Veterans' Day. There will be no trash day in November. Editor’s note: Lenox Road is now open to traffic.
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