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FEBRUARY 15-21, 2019
LOCAL
VOLUME 4 ISSUE 7
SPORTS
ENTERTAINMENT
Richie and Rosie to perform at SCA Feb. 22 ....see page 3
Holimont to host ‘Frosty CX’ fat bike races next weekend ....see page 2
CAR. TR. MKTG MAIL US POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 244 BRADFORD, PA
Varsity Girls Vs. Tonawanda ....see page 10
Wastewater treatment plant malfunction causes concern in Springville Village systems still operational, residents report loud boom
By Kellen M. Quigley A malfunction at the wastewater treatment plant on Mill Street in the village of Springville caused a loud sound and concern from many residents Saturday evening. At about 6:20 p.m. Feb. 9, a malfunction in the primary digester at the plant led to it overinflating, which caused it to burst, according to Superintendent Ken Kostowniak. “We’re still piecing together the details,” he explained. “It was a combination of things.” Luckily, no one was at the plant during the malfunction and no equipment was running, Kostowniak said, so no one was hurt and did not affect overall operations in the village. “It’s just on autopilot when it’s not manned during off-hours,” he added. “There was no power outage and no fireballs.” Kostowniak said the extremely cold temperatures, the age of the plant and a couple pieces of equipment malfunctioning all could have contributed to the incident. The two digesters hold waste sludge and trap methane gas. The malfunction with the primary digester’s cover caused the loud boom that was heard throughout the village. “It was just like your bike tube blowing
Photo by Alex Simmons A recent malfunction with a digester at the Springville Waste Water Treatment Plant caused a loud sound and concern from many village residents over the weekend. Luckily, officials say no one was hurt and village utilities were unaffected.
out really badly, but on a much larger scale,” Kostowniak explained. News of the incident spread quickly on social media as numerous posts from
After office move last year, EG Tax ready to help Springville community
village residents wondering what the loud boom was flooded Facebook feeds. “Loud explosion shook the entire house on South Central, heard and felt
Springville board approves hydrant relocation in Shuttleworth parking lot
By Kellen M. Quigley
By Kellen M. Quigley
The busy season for tax preparers is underway. At EG Tax Services in Springville, things are better than ever since moving to their new location at 65 East Main St. last year. And for the new supervisor, Jason Downing, things are also busier than ever. But his experience in the business is good news for local residents looking to get the most out of their tax returns this year. “I worked for EG Tax for eight years prior to starting here in Springville last year,” Downing said. He had been an office supervisor for six of those years before coming to the
The village of Springville Board of Trustees had several routine items of business to approve for the Department of Public Works at its last meeting held Feb. 4. The board approved a resolution to relocate a fire hydrant located in the Shuttleworth parking lot. Superintendent Ken Kostowniak said the hydrant comes off of Main Street and runs down an alleyway that the village does not have easement to. “We need to have an engineer do a design and a report on it,” he said. Marquis Engineering PC would design the relocation of the fire
See EG page 4
Photo by Morgan Bonn After moving to its new location at 65 East Main St. last year, EG Tax Services and its new Springville office supervisor are better than ever and ready to help the community this tax season.
ck
a B k o o L A
as far as Chestnut, anybody else hear?” one person posted in the Be Neighborly Springville Area group. “I live on Glen street and my entire house just shook and sounded like A-bomb went off under the ground, 5 of my neighbors down the street as well are all wondering what it was and their houses shook as well,” another posted. Others took the situation in a more humorous direction with posts joking about the sound specifically. “There was a lot of chatter, but nobody called 911,” Kostowniak said. “They were all talking about this huge boom that shook their house and rattled their windows, but nobody picked up the phone.” The Springville Volunteer Fire Department and village employees responded to the event. After it happened, Kostowniak said he received a text from a village employee who lives near the plant, so he immediately drove to the site. “I called the chief operator and our water and sewer lead man,” he said. “We could see from the gate and from across the creek that one of the covers was down and the other was partially inflated.” According to Kostowniak, there were no visual indicators of fire, gasses venting or spillage at the plant. He said everything inside the building was still See Malfunction page 6
hydrant for $4,600, which would come out of the water budget fund balance. “We’re going to move it over at the end of the parking space that come off of Pear (Street),” Kostowniak said. “There’s a little bump of an island coming off there, so we’re going to put it right there.” L2 Engineering PC has also completed and submitted its 2018 annual sanitary sewer report to the state DEC, Kostowniak said. “There was a lot of work done that’s just in sewer,” he said. “It’s definitely something I think everybody should put their eyes on.” A copy of the report will be available at the village office for the village
trustees to review. On another note, Kostowniak said MDA Engineering had scheduled smoke testing along Waverly Street last week and all the results will be submitted when complete. IN OTHER BUSINESS, Fire Chief Marc Gentner reported to the village board on the fire department in January. He said the department was dispatched for 48 calls during the month. Gentner said they are working on a grant for a power stretcher for one of the department’s vehicles. Last weekend, the department held their annual OSHA training, he said. See Hydrant page 5
A Look Back:
Having fun in the snow
By Jolene Hawkins groups. Games were played and parties were Looking back into the past when the had where kids would come on the ice and cold winds blew and snow everyone seemed to have fun. Ice skates could be homemade or purchased at several fell, and we were in a deep stores in the area. winter, what did our forefathers and While fun was had, tragedies happened as families do for fun? Well, of course there was always sleighing — that well. In 1848, a young man fell through the ice and drowned before anyone could get to was a popular event. It could be a sleigh for one to a toboggan that several people could ride on that would rush down a hill covered him. Now, the ice is thick, but not everyone in snow. like to skate, so ice fishing was also popular. Or even better, a carriage with bells on the horses so you would Holes cut into the ice and sometimes a little hear the jingling with a buffalo or wolf robe over your lap. Now where would you get a good lap robe for the cold sleigh rides? Most shed was nearby to help block the wind and blacksmith shops would carry them and the dry good stores. I am sure keep you warmer while you fished for that trophy fish. there were always and always will be snowball fights. From the 1800s through the early 1900s, Now, once the ice got two inches thick on the ponds and waterway, ice was harvested off waterways and stored it would hold the weight of a man. Ice skating was very popular, as See A Look Back page 3 folks would glide around gracefully on the ice in twos and in large
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