VOLUME 2 ISSUE 51
FREE
THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE VILLAGE OF ELLICOTTVILLE AND THE TOWNS OF ELLICOTTVILLE, GREAT VALLEY AND MANSFIELD, NEW YORK
www.EllicottvilleTimes.com facebook/theEllicottvilleTimes
FEBRUARY 28 - MARCH 6, 2014
Your Hometown Newspaper Serving Ellicottville, Great Valley, Little Valley, Mansfield, Olean, Salamanca, Springville and Surrounding Communities
There’s something magical about hitting the slopes after dark. Heading down Tannenbaum at Holiday Valley, surrounded by snow-covered pine trees, the snow is lit up before you, beckoning you to ski down its winding and shimmering path. Over at Cindy’s, the wide trail unfolds in front of you, unveiling a spectacular view of the resort after dark. Each trail at Holiday Valley has its own unique features, and traversing them at night feels like you are exploring entirely new trails. Although certain lifts close after dark (Boardwalk, Eagle, SnowPine and Spruce), skiers can still access a majority of the lifts and, in turn, the trails they service, well after the sun has lowered behind the hills. There are currently 37 slopes and nine lifts (Chute, Cindy’s, Creekside, Mardi Gras, Morning Star, Ski School Tow, Sunrise, Tannenbaum and Yodeler) open for night skiing at Holiday Valley. Night skiing is a thing of beauty, and a huge part of the Ellicottville skyline is seeing Holiday Valley’s lights illuminating the sky as you head into town from any direction. While it might be hard for some to imagine this town without the sights of these lights during the winter, there was a time when they weren’t there. Yodeler and the Ski School trail were the first trails to be lit for night skiing in the 1968-69 season. It ran for three seasons, but didn’t take off, and closed down after the 1970-71 season. In 1974, Holiday Valley gave it another shot and this time it was successful. After the original two trails were relit, other trails followed, one at a time throughout the next two decades, with Sunrise being the most recently lit trail in 1992. Besides the beauty of it, there are many advantages to skiing at night on the slopes of Holiday Valley.
Calendar of Events
It’s All About the Night Moves Ski Holiday Valley After Dark
February 28 Telestock Telemark Festival Holiday Valley March 1 Ken Brown 700 Club Fundraiser • 1pm Auction Holiday Valley March 4-5 BOCES Winter Carnival Holiday Valley Tubing Park March 6 Ski Day for United Way HoliMont March 7 Tele-Fest HoliMont March 7 Celtic Thunder Fundraiser Ellicottville Town Center March 8-9 Mardi Gras & Winter Carnival Ellicottville • Holiday Valley March 13-16 Freestyle B East Coast Championships Holiday Valley March 14 Quarterpipe Contest Holiday Valley March 22 Pond Skimming Party Holiday Valley Mar 23 Northwind Super G Holiday Valley © 2014 Keystone Designers Inc.
By Alicia Dziak
See HV After Dark 7
April 11-13 Enchanted Mountain Music Festival Holiday Valley June 6-8 Cycling Weekend Holiday Valley
Holiday Valley Unveils Holiday Valley Hosts Freestyle EQS Championships EV Charging Station East Coast Freestyle Skiers Compete March 14-16 80-Plus Charging Stations in NYS
The latest publicly available electric vehicle (EV) charging station was unveiled on Feb. 21, 2014, at Holiday Valley Resort in Ellicottville, as part of a partnership with National Grid, the New York State Energy Research and Development
Authority (NYSERDA) and ChargePoint. The Holiday Valley Resort location is one of more than 15 charging station located in Western New York under the program, and is one of 67 installed or planned across National Grid’s upstate New York service areas. The $1 million public/private partnership between ChargePoint and NYSERDA provides more than 80 EV charging stations throughout New York state. Of those stations, 67 will be located in National Grid’s service area across upstate NY, and Holiday Valley is one of more than 15 stations in WNY. Important to note is that Holiday Valley not only hosts this particular EV charging station, but will also pay for the electricity consumed at their station. The charging station is located in the parking area at the Inn at Holiday Valley. Al Wager of National Grid, and Jane EshNew York has one of the highest growth baugh, Marketing Director at Holiday Valley, demonstrate the new EV Charging Station, located at the Inn at Holiday Valley.
See EV Charging Station page 8
Bed Tax Allocations Promote Communities Regional Chambers of Commerce Support Tourism
By Jann Wiswall
When Cattaraugus County distributes bed tax funds each year, the three major chambers of commerce in our area — Ellicottville, Olean and Salamanca — have the ability to promote their
municipalities in national, regional and/or local media for the entire year. And according to all three chambers’ executive directors, these funds are critically important in getting the word out about all the reasons to come to their towns for a day, a weekend or a nice long vacation. According to the county, a portion of the bed tax funds must be used for “advertising and promoting various … events, festivals, attractions and experiences that will attract more visitors” to the region. In 2013, bed tax revenues were down by 3 percent countywide. Ellicottville alone, however, was up by 8 percent. In 2013, the bed tax generated $221,706 to be used for these purposes throughout the county during 2014. The Ellicottville Chamber See Promote Communities page 8
Holiday Valley Resort will host the Freestyle Eastern Qualifying Series (EQS) Championships March 14-16. One hundred sixty competitors from the northeastern U.S. will compete in moguls, aerials and slopestyle diciplines. These skiers, who are divided into two groups, the “Young Guns,”
ages 10 and under, and the and competitors are judged on “Youth,” ages 11 to 18, have their turns, line, air and speed. In aerials, taking place on earned enough points through events this season to qualify Foxfire, the skiers hit a single large jump and do various for this competition. All of the EQS competitions tricks while in the air. The slopestyle course, on can be viewed from base areas and spectators are encouraged. Snoozer, is made of jumps and The mogul course, which other features made of snow, will take place on Yodeler, is rails and boxes. Slopestyle is made up of bumps and jumps, See EQS Championships page 11
2014 Odyssey of the Mind Begins March 15 Special Preview March 13 By Jann Wiswall
Six groups of Ellicottville Central School students are working hard during and after school to prepare for the upcoming regional Odyssey of the Mind competition at Wellsville Middle/High School on Saturday, March 15. And in order to give them a great send-off, the entire community
is invited to a preview of their creative, dynamic, multidimensional performances on Thursday, March 13 at 6 p.m. in the ECS high school cafeteria. Odyssey of the Mind (OM) is an international educational program for teams of elementary through college students to solve problems
using creative thinking, brainstorming, teamwork and problem solving skills. The program is designed to teach the concept that “a group is a more powerful thinking force than an individual.” ECS has been participating in the Odyssey of the Mind program for decades. Every
See Odyssey of the Mind page 11
ECS Preparing for GEA Rally Next Year’s Budget Challenges By Jann Wiswall
ECS is hosting a regionwide “Rally to Restore GEA (Gap Elimination Adjustment) Funding Cuts” on March 10 at 7 p.m. The rally is being organized by CA-BOCES District Superintendent Lynda
Quick and is sponsored by the Allegany Cattaraugus Association of School Boards and the Chautauqua County School Boards Association. The featured speaker will be Dr. Rick Timbs, executive director of the Statewide
School Finance Consortium. The rally will draw public attention to issues schools have been dealing with as the state has withheld funding for the past several years in order to balance its budget. Now, as See GEA Rally page 7