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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
8th annual Springville Fiddle Fest ready for Saturday By Kellen M. Quigley The Springville Fiddler’s Green Country & Bluegrass Festival returns to the village Saturday, July 27 for music lovers from all over the region to enjoy a mix of music from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sponsored by the Concord Historical Society, the festival will feature a dozen bands, clogging, jam sessions, music lessons, historic demonstrations, an antique car cruise-in, crafters and merchants, food, raffles and more. A special presentation is happening this year at 1:30 p.m. when the Spirit of Spring
Photo submitted The 8th annual Springville Fiddler’s Green Country & Bluegrass Festival is set for Saturday, July 27 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Shown are the Mercantile Musicians from a previous Fiddle Fest.
Brook, a kinetic wind sculpture by local artist Tim Hare, will be officially presented to the residents of Springville at Heritage Park. There will be continuous music
all day at a number of different venues including Fiddler’s Green Park, Heritage Park and Concord Mercantile General Store. For more musical entertainment, stop by the Jam Tent
and The Trading Post. Chairperson Debbie Hintz said many of the musicians/ bands are local, but some are from Angola, Cattaraugus, Buffalo, Wilson and Williamsville.
“There will be a banjo raffle and another raffle for 20 different items from local vendors and supporters of the Fiddle Fest,” she said. Don’t miss the See Fiddle Fest page 2
Concord Town Board SGI students go hears solar field proposal international this summer on Genesee Road By Kellen M. Quigley A recent push for renewable energies in New York state has lead to the possibility of constructing a solar field that would be partially located in the town of Concord. At its last regular meeting, the Concord Town Board heard a presentation from Ryan Storke, a renewable energy developer from Storke, LLC, concerning the proposed Genesee Road Solar Energy Center Project. The project would encompass about 3,000 acres of land spread across portions of both Concord and the town of Sardinia. Storke said they would build on about 2,600 acres, which would include roads, set back requirements and meeting requirements of the landowners. Storke said although this EDF Energy project
is in the early stages of planning, he wanted to talk with the board early to get the town familiar with the project. According to Storke, EDF is a market leading independent power producer and service provider based in San Diego that owns about 2,000 megawatts of projects in New York state that are either in development or under construction. “That’s what we’re qualifying under right now, working with NYSERDA to have this built,” he said. Storke said the project build zone is anticipated for a five-mile radius from the interconnection point to the powerlines at Genesee Road in Sardinia. He said road usage and construction agreements will be used for the project, and all the trucks shipping equipment are standard weight.
Energy storage is not a part of the project currently, but may be in the future. For the layout of the project, Storke said it wouldn’t be like the solar farms of old where the ground would be clear cut. “Solar projects are built today with sheep and bees and replanting the natural habitat, and we don’t black tar anything between the arays,” he said. “It’s not just fenced off and never touched again.” Storke said there would be some local benefits to the project, such as about 300 prevailing wage jobs during the construction. He said projects are normally sourced locally for materials. The expectation for construction and build is for 2023 and 2024. He said the state review process usually takes two years. See Concord page 7
Submitted photo Several Springville-Griffith Institute High School students had the opportunity this July to take a trip to Greece and Italy. Organized by social studies teacher Shawn Bullard, many students considered the trip a life-changing experience.
By Ely Schosek Student Reporter Students at SpringvilleGriffith Institute High School are always being presented with new and unique opportunities to learn and prosper, and last
year they were given the opportunity to travel to Europe in 2019. Social studies teacher Shawn Bullard organized a trip to Greece and Italy for July of 2019, and many students were immediately interested.
For those who went, it was a “life changing experience.” Emily Schlemmer said the trip made her “appreciate everything in this world a little more.” After reiterating that the
See SGI Students page 3
A Look Back:
Old Home Week and the Firemen’s Convention
Looking back in our newspapers, I discovered that in 1911 they combined Old Home Week celebrations with the Firemen’s Convention. The town’s enterprising businessmen and citizens had recognized the opportunity to entertain the absent ones whose faces have been gone for awhile and to visit with them and show off how beautiful the village can appear. They connected it with the Convention
By Jolene Hawkins of the Western Street. The line was New York equipped with 60 watt Volunteer Firemen’s Tungsten Lamps placed Association. 12 feet apart. Through ads in the A dance was given at paper, the people who Waite Hall with music lived in town were by Lieb’s orchestra of encouraged to have Buffalo, and lunch was every home, every included all for the price lawn, every backyard, of $1.25! J.R. Furman, every business place a professional decorator and every street to be of Buffalo was hired to made to appear at its best decorate the streets of during the week of July Springville. A hot air 23 through July 29, the balloon and parachute week of the Old Home were hired and contracts Week. signed. As Part of the There were plans decorations for the event, for each day of the the village had electrical week. Monday was the lines put over the center Fireman’s parade with of Main Street from four divisions with the Central Avenue to Pearl Springville Cornet Band
marching in it, showing off their new uniforms. They had a new permanent band stand erected. A committee of W. Warner, I.C. Woodward and W.W.
Blakeley worked on the arrangement. Tuesday morning there was a reception at the Fountain Hose Company, followed by the 12th annual
convention that was held at Goddard Hall. These officers were elected that day: For President was E.N. Thurber of Springville; Vice See A Look Back page 2