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MARCH 22-28, 2019
LOCAL
VOLUME 4 ISSUE 12
SPORTS
ENTERTAINMENT SGI students head to the theater ....see page 6
Learn More About Civil War genealogy at March 27th Presentation ....see page 2
CAR. TR. MKTG MAIL US POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 244 BRADFORD, PA
After another run to States, Fuller wants to improve on “Best year so far” ....see page 10
Springville, Concord officials support revamping outdoor summer concerts
By Kellen M. Quigley
A new partnership involving the village of Springville, the town of Concord and Springville Center for the Arts hopes to make free concerts an area attraction. Outdoor concerts at Fiddler's Green have long been a summer staple in the area, but in recent years attendance has begun to wane. Now, there’s a push to reevaluate the series and grow attendance. “This is such a perfect fit for us,” said Seth Wochensky, executive director of SCA. “We have developed great relationships with artists and booking agents with the concerts we program in our space. We'd love to bring that experience to the table to make the series a real attraction.” Discussions have included considering moving the series to the new Heritage Park, including food vendors in the mix and making changes to the performance lineup. At the March 14 Concord Town Board meeting, Town Supervisor Clyde Drake said there are 14 concerts held throughout the summer and he and other officials are hoping to get the events’ attendance up. “We are leveraging the knowledge and experience of the Springville Center for the Arts on local acts to get in here and come up with some concerts that will have a bit more appeal,” he said. Town Councilman Phillip Drozd said things such as the new restroom facilities at the park that are handicap accessible would be a big factor in “kicking this thing up a notch.” It's unknown what impact this partnership
Photo by Kellen M. Quigley Officials from the village of Springville and town of Concord recently voiced support for the revamping of the outdoor summer concert series with the Springville Center for the Arts, which could be held in Heritage Park starting this year.
will have in the first year, but over time there is a hope to make the concerts a regular destination with a strong economic impact.
Ellicottville Distillery releases
“It’s our goal to improve the enjoyment of the concerts in the park,” said Springville Mayor William Krebs at the village’s March 18 meeting. “It looks like a very promising
partnership.” Wochensky said from a personal perspective, he enjoys seeing the concerts and would like to see them be as successful as possible. From the SCA side, he said they are holding concerts all the time anyway and it seemed like partnering with the town and village would be a natural fit. “What I’d really like to do over time is get additional money into the program, and that’s something that we’ll be able to apply for funding,” he said. “So if the town and village can continue the funding for the concert series, I’m hoping we can get more money in.” Looking long term, Wochensky said they hope to make the series a real attraction in the region with a goal of making it accessible to everyone. “We want to have a nice, broad attendance for the community,” he added. The process begins with a survey, which is available online at survey.springvillearts. org that asks questions about music genres, location and other aspects of the series. Paper copies can be filled out at the Concord Clerk’s office at 86 Franklin St. or the Village Hall at 5 West Main St. “We want to get some feedback and let the town and village signify that we are taking a slightly new direction or trying to see and evaluate what’s working and what isn’t,” he said. “This will be immensely helpful as we try to sculpt the program this year and going forward.” For more information, contact SCA at 592-9038, the town of Concord at 592-4948 or the village of Springville at 592-4936.
Springville village budget could see 3.42 percent tax increase
18-month-old bourbon AIM funding restoration pending, could reduce tax levy By Deb Everts a full release in late September, which would
The Ellicottville also be the distillery’s Distillery recently released three-year anniversary. its 18-month-old bourbon “There’s a demand for whiskey both commercially bourbon and it doesn’t go and to the general public bad. Alcohol also mellows earlier this month. with age. The longer it sits, Chief Distiller Bryan the better it gets,” he added. Scharf said he wanted Scharf said he is still to get the bourbon to the considering distilling a two-year mark before his bourbon cream liqueur that next release, but a lot of would be similar to Baileys people have been asking Irish Cream and would be for it so he decided to do an a nice, sweet dessert drink. 18-month release on March He said they’ve 16. done some sampling and “The distillery had a it’s gone over pretty well, limited run last September but for now, his focus is at the one-year mark,” he on the bourbon and he’s said. “We had probably adding another 15 barrels 100 bottles out and it sold of the spirit right now that very well and very quickly will be aging. within two months.” According to Scharf, the The bourbon is getter production all starts in the closer to the two-year still, then it gets aged in mark, Scharf said, which barrels. he’s shooting for to do See Bourbon page 4
ck
a B k o o L A
By Kellen M. Quigley
The Village of Springville Board of Trustees held a public hearing March 18 on the tentative 2019-20 budget, which could see a tax levy increase go over the tax cap if the Aid and Incentives for Municipalities (AIM) funding is not restored. “We still don’t know whether the AIM funding will be restored to our funding,” said Springville Mayor William Krebs said. “It was taken out, and then put back the Governor under a resolution.” AIM funding would have brought about $35,000 to the village. Although the Legislative Budget has reinstated it, Krebs said the two budgets have not been reconciled. The state budget is expected to be approved April 1, but the village might not know until then if the AIM funds will be coming to Springville. “If the AIM funding is restored, then this budget will be adjusted,” he said. “Right now, we’re assuming it won’t be, but right now it’s looking like the Legislative Branch did restore it.” In the village’s 2019-20 budget has a proposed $3.6 million in appropriations for the general fund, about $1.8 million of which would come from real property taxes. The proposed budget would see a tax rate increase to
$17.85/1000 with the tax levy set at $1,832,980, or 3.42 percent higher than last year. The tax levy cap is $1,826,263, meaning the village would have to go over the tax cap just 0.4 percent or $6,717 if AIM funding is not restored. “We’re recommending that the tax levy would go down some, but we’re also recommending that the contingency line in the budget be increased to move forward with some projects,” Krebs said. Total appropriations would see an increase of about $157,000 from last year’s budget, which about a 4.6 percent increase from the 2018-19 budget. The village’s fiscal year runs June 1, 2019, through May 31, 2020. The Village pays for the appropriated $3,605,096 through the following budget lines through the property tax levy at $1,832,980, other revenues such as aid and fees at $1,522,116 and the unappropriated fund balance, which this year would be $250,000. The general fund is the plan to pay for village services and community development projects. Property taxes provide for 51 percent of this fund, with a large portion, 59 percent, going toward public safety and streets. Some of the projects the village has planned for the 201920 year that factor into the general fund increase include See Tax page 2
A Look Back:
Maple Producing Of Yesteryear
BY JOLENE HAWKINS The sugarhouses, where the boiling Looking back to making maple syrup occurred, were simple structures. “Our old sugarhouse, shown in the the old-fashioned way. At the rotating display in Concord photo, was a repurposed chicken coop.” Last year after retiring from his “day job,” Historical Society’s Heritage Building depicts making maple syrup “the Dave began boiling for Ploetz’s Maple Syrup. old-fashioned way.” “After describing to my dad how a Dave Ploetz, along with his wife, Debe, built the exhibit modern maple syrup evaporator operated, to recreate childhood memories of helping his father, Ken, make he noted how much maple sugaring, in maple syrup, also called maple sugaring. “Maple sugaring was my favorite job growing up on the farm,” general, had changed. Maple sugaring has now gone high tech.” Ploetz said. Items on display Saturdays from 10 a.m. The simple process they used in the 1960s hadn’t changed from to 2 p.m. in the Heritage Building include over a hundred years prior: manually gathering sap collected in buckets hanging from maple sugar trees, boiling the gathered sap a wood yoke used over 100 years ago by men, women and children to carry sap in in large syrup pans or kettles over wood fires to concentrate the wooden buckets. sugar, drawing off and filtering the finished maple syrup product See A Look Back page 3 into empty milk cans.
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