FREE! TAKE ONE!
VOLUME 5 ISSUE 43
OCTOBER 14 - 20, 2016
The Official Newspaper
www.EllicottvilleTimes.com facebook/theEllicottvilleTimes
of the Village of Ellicottville, the Town of Ellicottville, Ellicottville Central Schools and the Towns of East Otto, Great Valley and Mansfield, New York
Your Hometow Hometown Newspaper Serving Ellicottville, East Otto, Great Valley, Little Valley, Mansfield, Olean, Randolph, Salamanca, Springville and Beyond
Peak Leaf Season is Now!
By Alicia Dziak
© 2016 Ellicottville Times / Keystone Designers Inc.
Enjoy the height of leaf peeping season this weekend! Check out the brilliant shades of gold, crimson, copper and more as the forests and hillsides are transformed. Don’t know where to begin? How about right here in Ellicottville with a view from above? Enjoy the last weekend of chairlift rides at Holiday Valley. Ride the Spruce Lake chair to the top, enjoy the view and either ride the chair down or hike around the lake then take the new 1.25 mile Orange Trail back to the base. Rides are offered from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday through Oct. 16. Tickets are $7, children age 2 and under are free. If you want to be even closer to the leaves, make your plans for Sky High, where you can climb through the trees, fly down the mountain or zipline your way through the color in the Climbing Forest, Mountain Coaster and Aerial Park, open through Oct. 30. For more info, visit www.holidayvalley.com. Enjoy a hidden gem and take time out to explore Nannen Arboretum, in the heart of the village, which offers paved and stone paths for leisurely strolls. Nearby Griffis Sculpture Park displays fall’s hues amid more than 250 gigantic artistic sculptures on hillsides, in fields and forest — even in a pond. Hike the newly-opened Rails to Trails in Springville, or head to Glenwood’s Sprague Brook Park and roam miles of wooded trails. Allegany State Park provides you with more than 65,000 acres of leaf peeping paradise along lakes, hiking/biking
Fri • 2 Guys Drinkin’ Beer• 9pm Sat • West • 9pm Wed • Wagner & Winston • 8pm Thursday • Freddie & Friends • 8pm 20 Washington St • 699-2530
Fri • Miller & the Other Sinners• 7pm Sat • Jeremiah Johnson • 6pm 20 Monroe St • 699-4162
Upcoming Events Through Oct 30 Pumpkinville
Open Daily 9a.m. - 7p.m.
Sept. 30 - Oct. 30 Nightmare Hayrides
Check out our Halloween Coloring Contest - page 6. Win great prizes!
See Leaf Season page
Fall at Allegany State Park By Alicia Dziak
Just because Columbus Day weekend has come and gone, doesn’t mean that the fun is over at Allegany State Park (ASP). Make your plans now to enjoy this year-round park. Special Events Get out of the house and enjoy the Third Saturday Trek on Oct. 15. These treks have been held on the third Saturday of the month since April, and are led by park staff, members of the Allegany State Park Friends Group, or Historical Society members; each focuses on a different area of the park. Come test your park knowledge at the last trek of the year, during a nature/trivia hike around Red House Lake. Meet by the front doors of the Red House Administration Building at 10 See Allegany State Park page
Lady Eagles Soar High at 6th Annual Volleybash By Indrek Kongat s
On Saturday, Oct. 8, Ellicottville Central School’s JV and Varsity Girls Volleyball teams competed at the massive 16-team tournament, dubbed the “Volleybash” at St. Bonaventure University. Over 160 competitors, representing eight schools from Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties showed off their skills in some of the finest high school women’s volleyball action ever seen in the Southern Tier. The host team Olean High School ended up defeating Allegany-Limestone in two sets for the Varsity title, but not after narrowly See Lady Eagles Volleyball page 4
Special Meeting of the Village Planning Board to be Held By Caitlin Croft
This past Tuesday at the Village Planning Board meeting, a Site Plan modification was discussed pertaining to the new build at 35 West Washington Street. The Site Plan that was initially approved by the Planning
Board (PB) was not adhered to. During construction, there were issues with ground water leading to the foundation being 16 inches higher than approved. The PB moved for the Village to enforce a Stop Build Order until a plan of correction
can be decided upon. Due to the construction season coming to an end rapidly, a special meeting will be held this, Friday, Oct. 14 at 4:30 p.m. to have a new Site Plan Review. Two Public Hearings were held, one regarding PB-2106-
See Village Planning Board page 11
Ellicottville Students Succeed on Regents Exams By Dave Dahl
Ellicottville Central School students have performed well on Regents exams compared to students in other schools in the Cattaraugus-Allegany BOCES group. The district had 20 percent of its students score in the 85to-100 range on the Regents Common Core algebra 1 exam in June. Other schools in the region showed 17.81 percent in that range. On the Regents Common Core English Language Arts exam in June, the Ellicottville district had 51.11 percent score at 85 or higher, while other schools in the region showed 54.6 percent in that range. Board of Education members saw those numbers Tuesday night in a presentation by Connie Poulin, elementary school principal and chairwoman of the Committee on Special Education and Committee on Preschool
Special Education. “We’re really a highachieving school district in terms of students doing well on their Regents exams,” she said. In addition, 34.29 percent of Ellicottville students scored between 80 and 84 on the algebra 1 exam, compared to 23.68 percent of students in the rest of the region. On the English Language Arts exam, 35.56 percent of Ellicottville students placed in the 65-to-79 range while 18.2 percent of students at the other schools placed in that range. The Ellicottville school showed 6.67 percent of students scoring from 80 to 84 on the English exam, while 15.12 percent finished in that range throughout the rest of the region. As for the Regents Common Core geometry exam, 35.14 percent of Ellicottville students scored between 65 and 79, 8.11 percent scored between 80 and
84 and 5.41 percent earned an 85 or better. Throughout the region, 47.1 percent of students placed from 65 to 79, 12.05 percent scored from 80 to 84 and 13.63 percent earned an 85 or higher. The geometry exam ranks among the most difficult, said Superintendent Mark Ward. “Geometry is a difficult test,” he said. “It’s tough.” On the Regents global history exam, 76.74 percent of Ellicottville students scored 65 or better while 72.92 percent placed in that range throughout the region. Ellicottville students’ performance on the Regents U.S. history and government exam also rated higher than the rest of the region as 93.48 percent scored 65 or better, while 87.19 percent of other schools’ students received grades in that range. See ECS Board page 6