FREE! TAKE ONE! VOLUME 5 ISSUE 9
MARCH 4 - 10, 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 Hometown Newspaper Serving Ellicottville, East Otto, Great Valley, Little Valley, Mansfield, Olean, Randolph, Salamanca, Springville and Beyond
Upcoming Events
The Need for Speed
March 4 Telefest HoliMont
Ski Racing in EVL By Alicia Dziak
It’s been a ski racing season full of speed, dedication and forces to be reckoned with. As the season culminates with state-wide competition this weekend, local athletes prepare to compete with the best of the best. If you’re not one of the elite racers heading to serious competition this March, don’t worry. You can still get the thrill of the big race right here in EVL. NASTAR Racing New to racing? Check out the NASTAR course for an entry level race. NASTAR made its move this year to Holiday Valley’s Foxfire (from its previous location on Cindy’s). What exactly is NASTAR? Nature Valley’s NASTAR is the world’s largest recreational ski and snowboard race program. If you can comfortably ski Foxfire (below the headwall), you can handle this race. Register in advance at www. nastar.com or register on site at the Foxfire NASTAR start ramp. Once you get your NASTAR number, you can use it every year. Each time you race Nature Valley NASTAR, you could win a platinum, gold, silver or bronze medal depending on the handicap you earn. Depending
March 5 Phoenix Rise to the Challenge Race HoliMont
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March 11-13 Mardi Gras and Winter Carnival
See Racing in EVL page 11
HoliMont’s Patricia Mangan Makes Top 10 in Sochi
Two American racers, one a member of HoliMont’s race team, grabbed the first ever U.S. top-10 finishes at the FIS Junior World Ski Championships on March 1 in Sochi, Russia. Galena Wardle
(Aspen, CO, U.S. Ski Team/ Aspen Valley Ski Club) took sixth and Patricia Mangan (Buffalo, NY, U.S. Ski Team/ Holimont Race Team) took seventh in the combined alpine event on March 1.
2016 Maple Weekends on Tap March 19-20, April 2-3
By Mary Heyl
With more than 2,000 maple sugar-makers statewide, New York has the largest resource of tap-able maple trees in the country. The New York State Maple Producers Association
invites families to experience this delicious natural sweetener right at the source during this year’s Maple Weekends on March 19 and 20 and April 2 and 3. All over the state, participating “sugar houses”
welcome family and friends to learn how syrup is produced and sample its many sweet forms, including maple candy, maple wine, and the classic fluffy stack of pancakes soaked in maple syrup! For many, making syrup is a beloved family tradition that continues to be passed down to each generation. Dozens of people work together to set up taps, collect the sap, and boil off all the water to create the syrup, a process that usually takes three or four weeks. On average, a maple tree will produce ten to 20 gallons of sap per tap, and it takes about See Maple Weekends page 11
Party Time!
Mardi Gras and Winter Carnival Weekend March 11-13
By Alicia Dziak
Parades! Beads! Costumes! It can only mean one thing— March 11-13 brings Mardi
Gras and Winter Carnival to Ellicottville! Among other improvements to this year’s celebration, the
original “Mama of the Mardi Gras Parade” Carol Fisher has returned after several years out of the Mardi Gras spotlight to help breathe new life back into the old parade. Fisher organized the first village Mardi Gras parade as a way to bring people off the slopes during Winter Carnival time and into the village. She noted the main motivation for it was that she was working with Arlene Solly on getting her new store (Kazoo II) up and See Mardi Gras page 11
Also noteworthy was Nina O’Brien (San Francisco, CA, U.S. Ski Team/Burke Mountain Academy/Squaw Valley Ski Team), who was second in the slalom portion of the combined, which moved
her up from 26th in super G to finish 12th overall. “Though the conditions were challenging, the ladies executed well and didn’t give up. They had lots of fight,” See Mangan page 8
March 19 Pond Skimming Holiday Valley March 20 Northwind Super G Holiday Valley March 19-20 April 2-3 Maple Weekends April 10 Tentative opening for Holiday Valley Golf Course May 7 Happy Half & 5K Holiday Valley June 3-5 Cycling Weekend Holiday Valley June 18 Mudslide Obstacle Run Valley SeeHoliday Third in the East page 9
GV Cell Tower Returns to PB Agenda By Jann Wiswall
The task before the Great Valley Planning Board was straightforward. Horvath Communications, a cell phone tower company, requested a special use permit and site plan review to locate a cell phone tower on private property. The owners of the property had agreed. The board was to look g
at the application and approve or deny the permit. That was in March 2015. The planning board identified problems from the start. The original application was incomplete, and there were issues between adjacent property owners with property See GV Cell Tower page 9
Odyssey of the Mind Tourney’s Ahead By Mary Heyl
March is upon us and spring training has begun, but not just for Major League Baseball! Students at Ellicottville Central School have been busily preparing for the upcoming regional competition of Odyssey of the Mind. On Saturday, March 12, ECS students will be traveling
to Allegany-Limestone Central School to compete against students representing more than 20 schools in Western New York. 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.” OM asks students to engage their creativity, draw on the strengths of each team member, and take risks in order to find a solution See OM page 4
Town Highway Supt. Search Reopened Applications Due March 11 By Jann Wiswall
The search for a Town of Ellicottville Highway Superintendent has been reopened following the County Civil Service Commission determination that the
Superintendent must live within the town or move to the town within six months of their appointment. Mark Alianello, who was appointed Town Highway Superintendent by the Town Board in January, is not able to meet the residency See Highway Supt. page 2