THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE TOWN AND VILLAGE OF ELLICOTTVILLE, NEW YORK THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF GREAT VALLEY, NEW YORK
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 18 FREE www.EllicottvilleTimes.com
FRIDAY, JULY 6, 2012
by Jeff Cole
The Ellicottville Championship Rodeo is underway for its 24th year of roping, riding, & family fun. The four-day event began at 7 p.m. Thursday and will be held at that time tonight and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday at 6319 Sommerville Valley Rd. The cost to attend is $17 for ages 13 and up, $9 for ages 12 and under, and free for kids 5 and under. Tickets can be purchased at the gate. Gates will open two hours before each show time. John Kent, founder of the Ellicottville Championship Rodeo, said that nine events are shown each day: bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding, calf roping, team roping, team penning, junior bull riding, steer wrestling, girls’ barrelracing and big-bull riding. “The rodeo is really exciting. It’s a real Wild West rodeo,” he said. “It’s the real deal.” New to this year’s rodeo are rodeo clown Dusty Myers, a mechanical bull, trick riding and Roman riding. Food and items such as cowboy hats and stick horses will be for sale. Fireworks will take place right after each show, except for the one on Sunday. Spectators at the rodeo this year will be able to watch more than 350 rodeo athletes while sitting on either bleachers on one side of the ring or on benches on the other side on a bank. For the little cowpokes, a bounce house and a bounce slide will be available and children can sign up at the gate to participate in a stick horse race.
e l l i v t t o c i l l E s i h T o e d Ro d n e Week
“It’s gre at famil y entertai nment an d good cle an fun!!”
Allegany State Park Event Schedule See Page 9
Seneca Nation Pow WOW 2012!
13TH ANNUAL 6 HOURS OF POWER BICYCLE RACE
Veterans Pow Wow July 13-15 Seneca Pow Wow 2012 July 21-22
Photos submitted by Stephanie Crowley, SNI Official Newsletter
ECS Board Elects Spell and Hellwig Also Appoints New Board Officers By Jennie Acklin
By Susan Whistler
Summer is finally here and with it the usual assortment of beer festivals and country fairs. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve never met a funnel cake or bratwurst I didn’t like and I still can’t resist a man in lederhosen; but if you’re looking for something completely different from the
oom-pah bands and contests involving small children and greased pigs, I’ve got a great suggestion. Check out one of the annual Seneca Nation pow wows this July. It’s an opportunity to learn about our area’s oldest native culture and have a lot of fun in the process. The Seneca Nation is one
of the original Five Nations of the Haudenosaunee or Iroquois Confederacy which boasts a democratic government that pre-dates the United States Constitution. Haudenosaunee means “People of the Longhouse and is comprised of chiefs from the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk. This union was later expanded to include the Tuscarora, becoming the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. At the time of the formation of the Iroquois League, the original five nations See Seneca Pow Wow page 4
The Ellicottville Central School Board of Education elected Roger Spell as its president and Connie Hellwig as its vice president July 3 during the board’s reorganizational meeting. The board also re-elected Spell to a one-year term as a board member and elected Aimee Kilby to a five-year term on the board. The board made numerous other appointments and policies that evening and posted its 2012-13 Board of Education regular meetings schedule, (see page 7). Mark Ward gave the superintendent’s report, in
which he discussed a recent visit to the West Valley Demo Center. During that meeting with Brian Bauer and Paul Bemba, Ward explored developing a relationship with the center as a possible career path for students. “We would be remiss if we didn’t look into it,” said Ward. “It is possible that the center will be in operation for many many years to come.” Ward also reported on summer training opportunities, SLO’s (student learning objectives) and attending the School Board Conference October 25-27 in Rochester. See Board of Education page 7
By Jeff Cole Five hours of power are simply not enough for an upcoming bicycling race at Holiday Valley's Mountain Sports Center. The 13th annual 6 Hours of Power will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 15 at Holiday Valley's worldclass 10-mile course and will feature cyclists from all around the country. Cyclists competing in a solo and two-person tag-team mountain bike race format will attempt to complete the most laps in order to land within the race's winner circle, which means cash, trophies, prizes or a combination of these. To participate, cyclists can preregister or by enter the day of the race. In an email interview with The Ellicottville Times, Mark See Bicycle Race page 9