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VOLUME 6 ISSUE 25
JUNE 23-29, 2017
The Official Newspaper of the Village of Ellicottville, the Town of Ellicottville, Ellicottville Central Schools and the Towns of East Otto, Great Valley and Mansfield, New York
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Your Hometown Newspaper Serving Ellicottville, East Otto, Great Valley, Little Valley, Mansfield, Olean, Randolph, Salamanca, Springville and Beyond
Summer Break Is Here!
Upcoming Events
By Alicia Dziak
Woo hoo! School is out for summer! If you live in Ellicottville, you know there’s plenty of awesome activities to keep kids (and parents!) busy for the next couple months. Now open daily throughout the summer, head to Holiday Valley’s Sky High Adventure Park. Sky High is made up of three components: the Aerial Park, the Climbing Forest and the Sky Flyer Mountain Coaster. The Aerial Park, the largest of its kind in New York State and third largest in the U.S., combines a series of platforms and bridges built in a 4-acre section of the woods near the resort’s Tannenbaum Lodge. The Aerial Park includes 142 platforms, 170 elements and 43 ziplines, with the tallest platform at 68 feet and the longest zip line measuring 350 feet. For rates and to make reservations, visit www. holidayvalley.com/summer/ sky-high- adventure-park/. Those ages five and up can enjoy the Climbing Forest, which is like a 3D version of a rock wall, and only one of three in the country. There are 10 trees outfitted with colorcoded climbing holds and the difficulty ranges from very easy (yellow) to very challenging (purple). Each climber is fitted with a harness that is clipped into an Auto Belay system. Once a climber reaches the top of the tree at up to 45 feet, they just let go and the belay system slowly lowers them to the ground. There is also a kids’ area with two trees where the youngest climbers can climb about 6 feet up and climb back down. For rate info, visit www. holidayvalley.com/summer/skyhigh- adventure-park/climbingforest/.
June 29 Gazebo Series The Buffalo Five featuring Carolyn Lamson June 29- July 2 Ellicottville Championship Rodeo June 30 Stroll the Streets 5 - 8pm Ellicottville June 30 - July 2 Summer Music Festival Ellicottville
Ellicottville Saddles Up for Annual Rodeo See Summer page 2
By Elizabeth Riggs
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! That’s right. It’s time for the Ellicottville Championship Rodeo, which will be saddling up from June 29 through July 2. Located at 6319 Sommerville Road, just outside Ellicottville, the Ellicottville Championship Rodeo marks its 29th year, and is one of the largest International Professional Rodeo Association/APRA sanctioned rodeos in the Northeast. The fun-filled weekend will bring in more than 600 cowboys from all over the world who will compete in nine rodeo events, including: bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, team roping, junior bull riding, cowgirls barrel racing, calf roping, cowgirl breakaway roping and bull riding. “Cowboys come from all over the world,” said John Kent, who owns and runs the rodeo
See Rodeo page 5
Haley Saunders, ECS Valedictorian Hannah Chew, Salutatorian
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July 3 Independence Day Celebration at Allegany State Park July 6 Gazebo Series Miller and the Other Sinners July 28 - July 30 Jazz and Blues Weekend Ellicottville August 11 Shakespeare in the Square Ellicottville
Ward Leads His Final ECS Board Meeting By Elizabeth Riggs
ECS School Board President Carl Calarco and Mark Ward with sign presented to Ward announcing the naming of the new school gym.
In his last Ellicottville Central School District Board Meeting as Superintendent, Mark Ward said his heartfelt goodbyes to the Board, which announced that the high school gymnasium and multi-use facility would be henceforth named “The Mark J. Ward Center for The Arts and Athletics” or “The Ward.” At Ward’s retirement party, which was held last Thursday at Holiday Valley’s Yodeler Chalet and gathered more than 150 people, the naming of the facility was announced. “It’s hard to even say anything,” Ward said See ECS Board Meeting page 4
Locals Day at Sky High Holiday Valley
Holiday Valley invites all Cattaraugus County residents to the annual Locals Day on June 28, 2017. “We would love to have everyone who lives nearby come experience the excitement of Sky High Adventure Park and the Sky Flyer Mountain Coaster, so that you can tell visitors about how much fun they are!” says Dennis Eshbaugh, President of Holiday Valley. During Locals’ Day a 3-hour ticket for the Aerial Adventure Park is only $10, or $12 for the Aerial Park and a ride on the Mountain Coaster. See Sky High page 2
See page 4
Allegany State Park News page 6