Bolivar-Richburg claims Class C2 crown in Sec. 5
BY J.P. BUTLER
HONEOYE — For the Bolivar-Richburg softball team, nearly two years without a sectional title probably felt like an eternity.
After all, the Wolverines had emerged from the lost 2020 season as the powerhouse they’d almost always been under Stan Harris, capturing Section 5 championships in each of the 2021, ‘22 and ‘23 seasons before being edged by Caledonia-Mumford, 2-1, in last spring’s semifinals.
Its bid to end that brief title drought, however, came essentially in
the blink of an eye. Indeed, due to a postponement which pushed their semifinal matchup against Dundee/Bradford from May 29 to May 30, the Wolverines went from playing, and knocking off, the top-seeded BraveScots in Bradford to competing for the Class C2 championship in Honeoye Falls-Lima roughly 21 hours later. In less than a day, B-R received its chance to reestablish its new reign under fifth-year coach Brooke Lovell. And behind star freshman pitcher Kylee Whiting, the Wolverines seized it.
WHITING continued her postseason brilliance on a chilly May 31, striking out nine and scattering four hits and three walks to key B-R to a 5-0 shutout triumph over No. 2 Oakfield-Alabama in the Section 5 Class C2 final. In four playoff contests, Whiting has tossed three shutouts and allowed just two runs — in the Wolverines’ 9-2 semifinal victory over Dundee/ Bradford. Fourth-seeded B-R, meanwhile, took out the Nos. 5, 1 and 2 seeds en route to their fourth sectional crown in five years.
Treasurer GOP contest leads June Allegany County primaries
BELMONT — A countywide race to head finances tops the ballot in Allegany County primaries this month.
The Allegany County Board of Elections reported that six primaries will be held in the county June 24, with polls open for in-person voting from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The only countywide race is the Republican primary for county treasurer, with Former county legislator Adam Cyr and Deputy County Treasurer Jenna K. Kelley seeking to earn the party’s nod to replace
retiring Treasurer Terri Ross. Another county government race will see a primary, as five candidates are on the ballot to earn the GOP’s three nominations to represent District 3 on the county Board of Legislators. All 15 county legislative seats are up for election to new fouryear terms this November, but only District 3 will see a primary.
Candidates include Charles Bessette, Bill Dibble, Ethen T. Marble, Bill Meunier and Ricky L. Whitney. Bessette was appointed to fill a vacancy in March. Dibble previously represented the district.
Whitney served as county Sheriff. Meunier is a town of Independence board member and deputy supervisor. Incumbents Debra Root and Dwight Fanton are not running for reelection.
The district includes the towns of Alma, Bolivar, Independence, Genesee, Scio, Willing and Wirt.
Town primaries include:
• Amity town Republicans will choose two nominees for town board from candidates Joshua Brown, Harold W. Mitchell, and James F. Schneider II.
• Town of Cuba Dem-
ocrats — the only Democrats set to vote June 24 — will have a write-in only primary for a single town board seat nomination.
• Independence Republicans will choose two nominees for town board from candidates Kimberly R. Howe, Danielle R. Freeman, and Jane Hall.
• Willing Republicans will choose two nominees for town board from candidates Chris Perkins, Monroe Rosemier, and Roy G. Gay.
EARLY VOTING
HOURS have been
set for two sites in the county. Belmont United Methodist Church, 7 Park Circle, will host early voting:
• June 14, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
• June 15, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
• June 16, 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
• June 17, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
• June 18, 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
• June 19, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
• June 20, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
• June 21, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
• June 22, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. The Wellsville village office, 23 N. Main St., will also host early voting hours:
• June 14, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
• June 15, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
• June 16, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
• June 17, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
• June 18, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
• June 19, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
• June 20, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
• June 21, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
• June 22, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
New York has closed primaries, with only enrolled members of a party being able to vote in a party’s primary. Anyone changing a party enrollment after Feb. 14 will remain in the party they were registered in previously until July 7. For more information, contact the board of elections at (585) 2689294 and 585-268-9295, or visit www.alleganyco.gov/departments/ board-of-elections.
Photo provided
The Bolivar-Richburg softball team takes a group photo following their Section 5 Class C2 championship on Saturday against Oakfield/Alabama in Honeoye.
4th annual HeartRaiser to benefit Hearts for Isabella
BOLIVAR —
The fourth annual Hearts for Isabella CHD HeartRaiser — an effort to raise awareness of and funding to benefit families with children facing congenital heart disease — is 1 to 8 p.m. June 7 at Bolivar Golf Club.
Planned for the event are tethered hot air balloon rides, a silent auction and raffle, 50/50, beverages and pulled pork dinners, a golf tournament, wine pull and live music.
There will also be costume characters to greet and interact with children, face painting
and air brush tattooing, a vendor craft show, appearance by noted artist Eric Jones, a children’s painting event and participation by the Bolivar Fire Department and EMS.
Hearts For Isabella hosts the family-friendly event with activities that bring the community together and raises awareness of congenital heart disease. Funds help send “heart warriors” facing CHD to Heart Camp as well as boosting hospital toy drives, hospital snow sculptures and research to find a cure.
The organization is still seeking corporate sponsors, volunteers, vendors, golf teams and basket donations. Call (607) 661-7782 or (716) 904-3420, or email heartsforisabella for information or to help.
Organizers offer a Paypal opetion for donations at HeartsForIsabella as well as Venmo, while checks may be mailed directly to Hearts For Isabella, Inc., 15 Elmwood Ave., Friendship, N.Y., 14739.
Hearts for Isabella is a non-profit organization created in memory of little Isabella Annelise Dombrowski, who passed away Isabella passed away at just 3 months old in February 2020 — she lived 97 days before losing her battle to CHD following complications of open heart surgery.
was born with half a heart, a condition called hypoplastic right heart syndrome (HRHS), a more complex CHD that is a one in 10,000 statistic.
One in 100 babies are born with a heart defect, the Dombrowskis note. In Isabella’s case, she
Her parents say Bella defied many odds in the short 3 months of her life, inspiring hope to those fighting CHD.
AUCTION
June 14, 2025
Enos A. Troyer 7884 Rt. 305, Belfast, NY
Woodworking Shop Equipment Lots of Hand Tools Household Furniture Lots of Small Household Goods Lawn & Garden Tools
Photo provided
The fourth annual CHD HeartRaiser to benefit the non-profit efforts of Hearts for Isabella is 1 to 8 p.m. June 7 at Bolivar Golf Club.
BY KATHRYN ROSS
WELLSVILLE —
“Who’s the best doctor in Andover?” Dr. William Coch asked a crowd at Tuesdays with Grace, a question he used to ask his patients to judge their mental acuity.
If they laughed, because he was the only doctor in Andover at that time, then he knew they were OK.
Laughter and its medicinal qualities was the subject of his talk at the Grace United Church’s Tuesdays with Grace recently. Coch said he had made a study of laughter and its impact on the body and health of the individual. The title of the program was “Laughter: The Best Medicine, The Medical Aspects of Humor and Laughter.
He opened the talk by telling the group about the case of Norman Cousins, a journalist in the 1960s. When Cousins returned to the United States after a long-term assignment in Europe he was wracked with body pain and fatigue. He entered the hospital for help.
Physicians ran a battery of tests on him but could not come up with a diagnosis nor how to deal with the unrelenting pain. They prescribed 75 aspirins
a day and injections of Bute, a drug used to treat horses. Nothing worked.
Cousins was so despondent that he checked out of the hospital and locked himself in a room. There he slept and watched reruns of “Laugh-In” on TV continuously for several days. He did nothing else but laugh and sleep. He came out of his room several days later completely cured of the pain he had suffered from for months.
Coch told the crowd that he didn’t know what cured Cousins — but the laughter must have helped.
He told the group that humans are the only species that can laugh several times at
one time. Some species of ape are able to laugh just once, he said. Humans are also the only species that stand upright which facilitates laughter. Coch explained that being on all fours compacts the diaphragm and other muscles that involve laughter.
He said laughter is composed of five vowel sounds and that laughter is the first action infants exhibit. A man in the audience said that he learned that the Navajo Nation holds a laughing ceremony for infants because it isn’t until after an infant’s first laugh that the tribe considers the baby to be a human.
Coch said studies have shown that chil-
dren laugh 300 times a day, while adults laugh only about 17 times a day. Studies also show that women laugh more than men and that most laughter is a social thing and not the result of something humorous.
As for the philosophical aspects of laughter Coch quoted Voltaire, who said. “The art of medicine is to keep the patient entertained while nature affects a cure.”
The doctor explained that laughter is a neurological event like a yawn or a sneeze and originates in the frontal lobe. He said that when we laugh our levels of dopamine dealing with pleasure and reward increase. Our level of serotonin increases helping to deal with depression. Oxytocin, which aids in social bonding and empathy, also increases and endorphins are released helping with pain control and well-being.
Coch said there are several kinds of laughter, including polite laughter, nervous laughter, contagious laughter, the belly laugh, silent laughter, canned laughter, irrepressible laughter and evil laughter
The doctor said that laughter is therapeutic, giving relief of pent up energy specifically regarding taboo subjects such as social or ethnic,
Laughter really can be the best medicine
emotional or sexual tensions.
Coch concluded that while it has not been scientifically proven that laughter can be used as a medical treatment, “it can’t hurt.
He advised the audience to feel better by laughing more often and increasing laughter by spending more time with others, nurturing relationships, trying to be funny by telling a joke, using laughter to make others comfortable and spending more time with children who laugh more readily.
“Count your blessings,” he said, “and smile more often.”
Photo by Kathryn Ross
Dr. William Coch prescribes laughing more during his recent talk at Tuesdays With Grace in Wellsville.
Get a ‘Clue’ with the Starlight Theatre Company in Wellsville
WELLSVILLE — If you’ve seen the movie, you will definitely enjoy the Starlight Theatre Company’s production of “Clue,” says Director Brian Keib.
He is having a great time, along with cast members getting the “Who Dun It?” ready for the June 6, 7 and 8 production in the Nancy Howe Auditorium at the David A. Howe Library on Main Street. The play will be performed at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and at a 2 p.m.
matinee Sunday. Even if you are an aficionado of the 1985 movie, it doesn’t mean you know how the play will end. Like the popular board game itself, anything can happen. “We’ve wanted to do ‘Clue’ for a while now,” Keib said. “Both our actors and our audience have asked for it. It’s a wonderful, campy performance featuring both veteran Starlighters and new actors and actresses. Each time we do a show, our ensemble and
our audience grows.”
While the Starlight Theatre Company’s performances usually take place at the former Christian Temple Church, “Clue” will be presented at the library.
“With all the restoration and what’s been done in the Nancy Howe Theater, the auditorium is the perfect venue for this production,” Keib said. “We’ve wanted to do some crossover with the library for some time now. ‘Clue’ in the library are symbiotic. We’ve already done a live game version of ‘Clue’ at the library, and it was great. The grandeur of the library and the auditorium really fit with this production. It is truly a hidden gem, and we want to do more crossover programming with them.”
It’s truly an ensemble with 13 thespians and 11 support staff working behind the scenes, Keib said.
Starlight is also working with The Shop At Main to promote the show. The boutique coffee shop is hosting a “Clue”-vent leading up to opening night. Customers win “Clue” cards and have an opportunity to win prizes throughout the week if they solve the mystery.
Keib said we really wanted to offer the community a “Clue” event and we’re hoping to include more downtown activities like that with our future productions. (The players will be producing the “Carol Burnett Show” in September.)
This production is a melting pot, merging new actors like Jonathan Young of Jamestown as the butler and veteran Starlighter and one of its founders Heidi Lawton as Miss Scarlet.
Keib, who himself is a veteran Starlighter, is wearing the director’s shoes this time and says it is a role he also enjoys. “I like collaborating with the actors,” he said.
The cast is as follows: Wadsworth — Jonathan Young Professor Plum — Jeff Apple
Colonel Mustard — Jesse Beaton
Mrs. White — Alexa Frank
Mrs. Peacock — Maddie Hogue
Mr. Green — Benjamin Lawton
Miss Scarlet — Heidi Lawton Yvette — Bella Wenslow
Mr. Boddy — Keenen O’Connor
The Cook & Singing
Telegram Girl — Izzy Tinder
The Unexpected Cop — Molly Green Ensemble: Genevieve Green, Marah Mellinger
The 90-minute show will have no intermission. Audience participation is a part of the performance, and Keib hopes the audience will “lean into” the performance as if they are playing their own version of the popular Who Dun It? board game.
The cost of a ticket is $10 across the board. Tickets will be available at the door. They can also be purchased ahead of time at L’ITALIA and at The Shop At Main and online at www. zeffy.com/ticketing/ clue
The Starlight Theatre Company has been in existence for more than a decade at its official home in the former Christian Temple Church on Maple Avenue. The community theater group attracts thespians from across Western New York and routinely offers both adult and children’s programming throughout the year.
Look on Facebook for more information as to what’s happening with the Starlight Theatre Company.
“I’m really proud of how resilient and mentally tough my players have become this season,” Lovell said afterward. “They had a goal in mind at the beginning of the season to get back into the sectional finals, and they were able to accomplish that and win.
“Winning a section-
al title means a lot not only to our team, but to our school and the community. This is a very special group who have worked countless hours in the offseason to get ready for this exact moment. They deserve this.”
AFTER A scoreless first inning, the Wolverines (16-4) took leads of 1-0
and 2-0 in the second and third innings, respectively.
In the former, Emma Sisson logged an infield RBI single with the bases loaded to score Rylee Whiting. One frame later, the Wolverines both scored and loaded the bases again before O-A escaped the jam. That, however, was all the offense tournament MVP Kylee Whiting needed. In the second, with two on and one out, Whiting notched a pair of strikeouts to end the inning. In the fifth, the Hornets had a runner at third with one out, but the Wolverines coaxed a strikeout and fly out to again get out of it. And in the seventh, after the first two Hornets reached, B-R collected three-straight outs, including two more strikeouts from Whiting.
In their latest shutout, the Wolverines also played stellar defense, committing no errors to Oakfield-Alabama’s five.
In the fourth, shortstop Cassidy Stives made a spectacular diving grab on a line drive, doubling up the runner at first base to make it a 1-2-3 inning. Outfielder Jayna Thomas had a nice catch in the fifth to again keep the Hornets at bay.
“The defense behind Kylee has been outstanding,” Lovell said. “Cassidy has made three huge plays in the last two games for us that really helped us propel the momentum. We put a lot of time into our defensive sets every time out. We do a lot of skill work, situational play, get a lot of reps in. It’s just absolutely phenomenal to see all of
that pay off for them.”
STILL CLINGING to a 2-0 lead, the Wolverines plated three sixth-inning runs to essentially put the game out of reach. Thomas hit a leadoff triple before being brought home on a Teegan Sibble bunt single. Kylee Whiting then ripped an RBI double to score Sibble from first and wound up coming all the way around on a pair of O-A throwing errors. Thomas, Stives, Sisson and Danica Loucks all finished with two hits for Bolivar-Richburg, which totaled 10 hits as a team. Savannah Durham was strong for O-A, also fanning nine and issuing three walks.
On May 7, B-R suffered a humbling 16-4 loss to Avoca-Prattsburgh, which Lovell described as “absolutely the turning point of our season.” Since then, the
Wolverines have been at their best, winning 12-straight games while outscoring opponents by a count of 33-2 in the postseason before losing 4-0 in their Far West Regional game Monday night to Bloomfield. B-R LOSES IN STATE QUALIFIER Bolivar-Richburg finished the season June 2 with a Class C state qualifier loss to Bloomfield, 4-0.
Both teams failed to score until the bottom of the sixth inning, when Bloomfield opened things up with four runs. Emma Sisson perfomed the best at the plate for B-R with a 2-4 day. Bloomfield pitcher Ashlyn Wright shut out the Wolverines lineup that scored 33 runs in five playoff games.
Brenton Ahrens Arianna Belcer Madison Burch Natalie Burrows Mason Colf Timothy Corke III Brian Dempsey Tessa Dunworth Tyler Dutton
Dean Frank Mason Frederick Skylar Gadley Alayna Huegel Breckham Hunt JoAnne Hupp Dyshawn Hurlburt Colston Jefferies Zachariah Kaffan
Lucas Keiser Reagan Kerr Elizabeth Kocsis Cloey Larabee Brynn Lavery Alexis Layman Ruth Letson Olivia McAnany Annaleece Melton
Greta Motil Chloe Peters Evan Peterson Kadin Pierce Julian Pixley Finnian Ricketts Dylan Rinus Jazmyn Roat Jasmine Roe
Landen Schappacher Anderson Seigel Adam Shaffer Olivia Shawl Lanson Skinner Eli Sleggs Kaylin Smith Sarah Stadler Lilah Stroud
Coleton Stupp Noah
OSWAYO VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL
home improvement
Get to the root of a dry lawn
Weather can be unpredictable, even during the warmest months of the year. Summer days may feature strong thunderstorms and downpours, followed by stretches of extremely hot and dry conditions. Weather extremes can take a toll on lawns, especially when drought is part of the equation. The results can be anything from dry patches to a scorched landscape, leaving homeowners wondering what they can do to repair the damage.
According to The Spruce, dry grass can happen in as little as a week without adequate care and water. Sometimes dry grass can be the result of disease, pets, or pests.
A healthy lawn will be lush and green; a dry lawn quite the opposite. It’s crunchy, uncomfortable and muted in color. Here’s how to address a dry lawn to restore it to it’s natural beauty.
Pet urine
Animal urine often is the culprit behind dry patches in a lawn.
Lawns need nitrogen to grow, which is why it is included in many fertilizers. But the nitrogen in dog urine is concentrated and directed in one area, so much so that
it chemically burns the lawn. This concentrated nitrogen causes the grass to dry out, turn yellow and eventually go brown and die. Rinsing areas where dogs urinate on the lawn or creating a separate potty area in the yard can help alleviate brown spots.
Lawn height Sometimes a lawn mower might be to
blame for a brown lawn. According to Scotts®, the higher a person mows, the deeper the lawn’s roots will grow. That can help the lawn thrive under restricted water conditions and insulate the lawn from some of the effects of hot, dry weather. Never remove more than onethird of the total height in a single mowing, as that can stress the lawn.
Diseases
Leaf blight, brown patches and powdery mildew are just some of the diseases that can affect a lawn. Fungal bacteria can spread on a lawn and contribute to these conditions, which makes it important to aerate and dethatch the lawn in cooler seasons to help prevent disease.
Improper pH
A lawn requires a
certain pH to grow well.
According to Weed Man Lawn Care Services, the ideal pH range for lawn soil is between 6.0 and 7.0. Anything outside of this range may result in poor, brown grass. A soil pH test will indicate if the soil is acidic, alkaline or optimal. Amend an acidic soil with lime and an alkaline soil with sulphur in small amounts until a balance is reached.
Wellsville softball wins Sec. 5 Class B-2 title
HONEOYE FALLS —
Wellsville (17-2) earned a fifth consecutive sectional title May 29, holding off Avon 2-1 in a complete game from Lions pitcher Makenna Dunbar.
Dunbar allowed just two hits over seven innings and struck out 11 batters without a walk for the defending Class B state champions.
Dunbar matched Avon ace Jessie Crye
through three innings, with both pitchers throwing scoreless frames. But Avon struck first with a leadoff triple in the fourth that netted a run, only to be answered by Wellsville in the bottom of the innings.
Teagan Burke hit an RBI single to tie the game, 1-1. In the bottom of the sixth, Dunbar led off with a double before
Kennedy Perry drove in what would be the game-winning run with a double of her own.
Wellsville had six total hits, with Lindsay Stuck, Hailey Cowburn and Brynn Hallock marking a single each. It was the first sectional title under first-year head coach Gia George.
Wellsville lost to Haverling 4-2 in the state playoff qualifier.
SECTION 5 BASEBALL
In Class D, Fillmore toppled defending state champion Arkport/ Canaseraga 5-4 on June
1 in an epic 12-inning marathon. Fillmore
the
won
overall Class D title
in Section 5. In Class B, Wellsville won the overall Section 5
title with a 4-3 win over LeRoy June 1 at Maple City Park in Hornell.
Photo provided
The Wellsville softball team celebrates after defeating Avon for the Section 5 Class B2 championship May 29. Winning 2-1, defending state champion Wellsville earned its fifth consecutive sectional championship.
