MARCH 6, 2020
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VOLUME 5 ISSUE 10
CAR. TR. MKTG MAIL US POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 244 BRADFORD, PA
L I L V E G SP RIN TIMES
The official newspaper of the Town of Concord, and the Village of Springville. Serving Springville, the surrounding communities and Springville-Griffith Institute Central Schools
The Springville Area Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce the winners to be recognized at the 2020 Awards Gala to be held on March 28. The award winners were chosen by the Chamber of Commerce Awards Gala Committee following nominations submitted by the general public. The awardees are: Helen Brogan, recipient of the President’s Award CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley (CHBWV), recipient of Business of the Year The Meat Shoppe, recipient of Small Business of the Year Springville Volunteer Fire Department,
Springville Chamber announces 2020 Awards Gala recipients
recipient of Non-Profit of the Year Dennis Dains, recipient of Citizen of the Year David Sullivan, recipient of the Community Service Award Max Borsuk, Joe Rumfola, D.D.S. and Liesle Neureuther, recipients of the Young Professionals Award Gentner Commission Market and Lawrence’s Tavern, recipients of the Longevity Award The Chamber of Commerce invites the entire community to celebrate the accomplishments of the award winners at the annual Awards Gala, which will be held on Saturday, March 28 at
Springville Volunteer Fire Department Hall located at 405 West Main St., Springville. This year’s Awards Gala will also be a
celebration of the Springville Area Chamber of Commerce’s 70th Anniversary. The event begins with a social hour at 5 p.m.,
a catered dinner will be provided by Julie’s Restaurant at 6 and the award presentations at 7. The evening’s entertainment will be provided by Hintz of Thunder. A cash bar, silent auction and 50/50 will also be available at the Awards Gala. Tickets for the dinner are $35 each, two for $60 and tables of eight are available for $240. Tickets can be purchased through March 23 at the Springville Area Chamber of Commerce office, open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Ticket purchases can be made via cash, check or credit card. Please inform
organizers of any dietary needs at the time of ticket purchase. Those interested in tickets but cannot stop by the chamber office during office hours can call (716) 592-4746 during office hours or email director@ springvillechamber.com anytime for an alternative arrangement. The Springville Area Chamber of Commerce wishes to thank those who submitted nominations for this year’s awards and hopes to see everyone at the Awards Gala on March 28. For additional information, call (716) 592-4746, email director@ springvillechamber.com.
Good times ahead Springville residents, village board express concerns with at The New Waverly of Otto Spectrum service By Kellen M. Quigley
Before the village of Springville goes into a new Cable Franchise Agreement with Charter Communications for services such as television and internet from Spectrum, the Board of Trustees held a public hearing March 2 at its regular meeting regarding the agreement. During the hearing, some village residents and board members expressed their concerns with Spectrum’s services. “This is a required hearing when the village renews their cable franchise,” said Mayor Bill Krebs. “We are negotiating that franchise agreement right now, so we are not going to comment on the particular items in the agreement. We are here to give the public the ability to comment on the services Spectrum is giving village residents.” Virginia Krebs, wife of Mayor Krebs, expressed much frustration Spectrum’s services,
saying it has gotten worse over the years even has technology has improved. “We’ve gotten new routers, we’ve had service people come out, and it’s always the same thing,” she said. “It goes out, you have to go unplug it and plug it in again. A new router doesn’t fix it.” Krebs said she doesn’t feel the village is getting the best service they can for the prices they pay and would love to see another provider come in. Another village resident who has been a cable customer for about 40 years said his bills from years ago used to be about $20 a month and now it’s over $130 a month. “Being a senior citizen, I’m wondering if there’s a possibility of getting a reduction in cost,” he added. Village trustee Nils Wikman said when Spectrum first came to the area and absorbed Time Warner, many residents were excited about the new cable option as well as the expanded internet
service to come with it. Wikman said one of Spectrum’s promises was to expand service to more rural spots in the area, but there are still many residences in the towns around Springville who cannot get cable or internet service. “They aren’t denied electricity or landline phone service, but we think it’s okay to deny them cable and internet?” he said. However, Wikman said his main concern with Spectrum is the affordability, saying $75 a month for internet service is ridiculous compared to the income of many residents. He said internet connection has become nearly as essential as heat and water in today’s world, yet prices remain high. “Their business model allows them to continue to escalate the price of internet to capitalize on a monopolistic position in a market,” he added. “They know that we don’t have a choice.” See Village Board page 4
Photo by Deb Everts The New Waverly, located on Otto-East Otto Road in the village of Otto, hasn’t changed much since the building was constructed in the 1850s, but the renovated restaurant inside is expected to open any day now.
By Deb Everts A small town with huge community spirit has made it possible for The New Waverly to open any day now. When that happens, residents and other patrons will have a cozy place to gather where they can enjoy good times. Once the liquor license arrives, owner Barbara Gubala will open the doors to her new bar and restaurant that once
housed the Waverly Inn. Over the last six years, friends and family have come together and volunteered to bring the old building back to life. According to Gubala, they gutted the building upstairs and downstairs. An incredible 26 tons of old wallpaper, plaster, lath and other debris was removed. The outdated kitchen in the back has been torn off and a 40-by-30-foot addition put on. Three
new bathrooms have also been installed, and insulation has been added. “This place is now well-insulated. Back in the day, they used to say if there were less than six people in the bar room, the beer would freeze,” she said with a laugh. Gubala said they constructed two private, residential apartments upstairs. The back apartment is larger with See New Waverly page 3
A Look Back:
Anniversary of the K9 Corps By Jolene Hawkins
Looking back in history, I was researching what events happened in March to give me ideas about stories to write, and I stumbled across one I had not heard of. On March 13, 1942, the United States officially recognized the military working dog by creating the K9 Corps. There have been dogs, along with horses, mules and pigeons,
that have been used in battles all along, but now they were their own unit. “The Guard dog was incorruptible, the police dog dependable, the messenger dog reliable. The human watchman might be bought, not so the dog,” says Ernest Harold Baynes, author of “Animal Heroes of the Great War.” “The soldier sentinel might fall asleep; never the dog. The battlefield runner might fail, but not the dog, to his last breath he would follow his line of duty.” Dogs like Sergeant Stubby who was both the most decorated war dog
of World War I and the only dog to be nominated and promoted to the rank of sergeant through combat. He served with the 102 Infantry for 18 months. During this time, he participated in four offensives and 17 battles. He was injured several times, but always seem to recover and return to his regiment. Sergeant Stubby had his own specially designed gas mask so he could return to the trenches with his regiment when there were mustard gas attacks. He was able to give warnings of the poison gas attacks, help locate the wounded soldiers and alert his unit to incoming artillery shells.
A military war dog, or military working dog, is trained to sniff out explosive devices, locate weapon caches downrange, guard against the entry of illegal
narcotics or substances into military installations. They are exposed to a variety of simulated war scenarios that include explosions, fire, machine guns and rifle fire. These
dogs must also scale walls, navigate underground tunnels and climb ladders without showing hesitations or distress. MWDs are trained to See A Look Back page 2