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VOLUME 2 ISSUE 18
MAY 5 - 11, 2017
Your Hometown Newspaper & The Official Newspaper of the Springville-Griffith Institute Central Schools
I Love My Park Day May 6 By Alicia Dziak
In Western New York, we’re lucky to have an abundance of natural beauty everywhere we look. From the gorges at Letchworth to the roaring waters of Niagara Falls to the wooded rolling hills of Allegany, there are endless places to explore within our state park system. One day every May, there’s a chance to give back to these places that offer visitors so much in return. I Love My Park Day, this year being held on May 6, is a statewide event organized by Parks & Trails New York (PTNY) in partnership with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) and local Friends groups, to celebrate and enhance New York’s parks and historic sites and bring visibility to the entire park system and its needs.
By Mary Heyl
Upcoming Events May 6 SCA Art Crawl Springville May 6 I Love My Park Day State Parks
By Derek M. Otto
Projects being tackled by volunteers on these days include clearing brush from trails, picking up litter, painting cabins and other structures and much more. Participating area parks in the WNY region include Allegany State Park, Artpark, Evangola State Park, Golden Hill State Park, Knox Farm State Park, Long Point State
Park, Niagara Falls State Park, Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve, Whirlpool Park, Wilson Tuscarora State Park. Additional parks in the Finger Lakes region include Catherine Valley Trail, Cayuga Lake State Park, Chimney Bluffs, Fair Haven Beach State Park, Fillmore Glen See Love My Park page 5
Make Memories with Mom this May
Treat Mom to a fun Mother’s Day weekend by taking part in one (or more!) of the special events taking place throughout the weekend of May 13 and 14 in Erie County. Take in a live performance of Steel Magnolias in Springville, enjoy an invigorating hike in Zoar Valley, or drive up to Buffalo for special events at the Buffalo Zoo and the Botanical Gardens. No matter which activity you choose for Mother’s Day weekend, the best gift of all is a memorable experience with Mom. The Springville Center for the Arts, located at 37 North Buffalo Street, invites you to enjoy a live performance of
Springville to Receive NYS DOT Grant
Steel Magnolias, the classic story of Truvy’s beauty salon and the tried and true female friendships that started there. There are several opportunities to see this great show during Mother’s Day weekend: take in an evening performance on Friday and Saturday, May 12
and 13 at 8 p.m. or enjoy a Mother’s Day matinee at 2 p.m. on May 14. Tickets are $12 or $10 for students and seniors. Call the SCA at (716)592-9038 for more details. Explore the great outdoors with Mom at Zoar Valley! See Mother’s Day page 6
Kids Can Make a Difference:
SGI Seventh Grader Works With African Refugees By Alicia Dziak
Sophia Bus (second from right) with some of the Gonkanou family, who is from the Ivory Coast
It’s a busy time of year for SGI’s seventh graders, as they work on completing their Kids Can Make a Difference (KCMAD) projects. These projects, a combined assignment for their social studies and ELA classes, challenge students to choose an organization and work with them in various ways throughout the course of the school year. SGI seventh
See Kids Make a Difference page 4
EMERLING
The Village of Springville Board of Trustees held its regular meeting on Monday, May 1. During her report, Liz Melock announced that the Village of Springville was awarded a NYS Department of
Transportation grant that will allow the village to enhance its pedestrian and bicycle traffic. The proposed project will allow for bicycle paths, improved sidewalks and even solar powered bicycle pumps. The areas of the village to See Village Board page 5
A LOOK BACK: Cows in the Village about 1860, the fence
Two calves hitched outside businesses near the intersection of Main and Buffalo Streets around 1880. The American Hotel and later Concord House can be seen in background. The calves are hitched to a hitching post, in those days it was a two dollar offense to tie or hitch cattle or horses to any shade or ornamental tree in the Village of Springville. By Derek M. Otto
Last week, I wrote about Fiddler’s Green Park and noted that in the picture from
and turnstiles around the park were there to keep animals out of the common green space. One of my readers posted on Facebook about picket fences and how they were designed to keep animals in rather than keep animals out. Recently, there have been issues relating to animals and livestock in the village. My neighbors had chickens and roosters in the village when I was a toddler (not that long ago), and every so often, we find a loose animal from the auction wandering among us. It is one of the unique things about Springville. I became interested to see what laws were in place in the 1860s to better understand the relationship between the village and livestock. The May 18, 1858 by-laws of the village of Springville was the law of the village at the time. The document, which is a single sheet, has 20 by-laws
May 10-June 28 Campus Series Mountain Bike Races Sprague Brook May 13 Springville Crafts Beer and Wine Festival May 14 Grinder Trail Race Sprague Brook May 20 Artisan Outdoor Festival June 2-4 WNY Dairy/Ag Festival that prescribe the local policy on everything from public nudity to fire prevention. It is by-law number 11 that deals with livestock. It states: “No horses, cattle, sheep, swine, or geese shall be permitted to run at large in the village of Springville, under the penalty of fifty cents for each horse or horned cattle, twenty five cents for each sheep or swine and twelve and See A Look Back page 7
Grinder Trail Race May 14
‘Tis the season for actionpacked trail runs and what better place to participate than in our very own backyards at Sprague Brook Park? On May 14, the 2017 Grinder Trail Race takes place at beautiful and challenging Sprague Brook Park. Runners gear up for this wild and wicked 3.5-miler through park trails including single track, grass sections, creek crossing and hills. A mass start sends entrants up and over Skunk Ridge, down creekside across the creek, back toward the Pines, up and around near the upper campground and descending back to home base at the Casino Building.
A warm lodge, post-race party and awards ceremony is all a trail runner could ask for on this beautiful day in May. One water stop on the course keeps runners fueled. T-shirts to the first 150 or those registered by May 5 are guaranteed. Registration starts at 9 a.m. at the Sprague Brook Park Casino Building. Pre-register
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and save a bit or come down on race-day to enter. Grinder Kids Race is free for all kids just prior to the awards ceremony around noon. Proceeds from the race helps support HEART Animal Shelters and the East Concord Vol. Fire Dept. For more info, visit www. heartrateup.com.