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APRIL 3 - 9,2020
TIMES
VOLUME 9 ISSUE 14 DIGITAL EDITION ELLICOTTVILLETIMES.COM
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, NewYork
Ellicottville family raising awareness for rare genetic liver disease By Deb Everts An Ellicottville family is working to raise awareness about progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC), a rare genetic liver disease that affects infants and children. Todd and Shannon Palmatier, along with their three sons, Evan, Brayden and Camden, have been on an urgent mission to help people understand this ultra-rare pediatric disease. Their oldest son, Evan, and youngest son, Camden, both have the disease, and the family is struggling to find a treatment. “There is a lack of information out there about this disease and we are trying to be advocates to get the word out to the public. When Evan was diagnosed about 18 years ago, there was very little information,” said Shannon Palmatier. “Evan and Camden have what is called PFIC3, and I believe there is a fourth and fifth form. I think they are all hereditary, but the difference is how the forms manifest themselves and how the disease progresses.” Palmatier said Evan was diagnosed nearly 18 years ago after he began experiencing problems with his liver and developed a severe form of itchiness known as pruritus. He was found to have cirrhosis and eventually was diagnosed with PFIC3. When Camden developed similar symptoms and was diagnosed at the same age of 18-months, they were devastated. “When Evan was born, he was jaundiced
See Ellicottville Family, page 2
Photo submitted The Palmatier family of Ellicottville is spreading an urgent message of awareness about the ultra-rare liver disease that two of their three sons are battling. Shannon and Todd Palmatier are shown in 2018 with their sons (from left) Brayden, Evan and Camden.
School or no school, ECS faculty and staff keep educating students By Deb Everts
Times file photo In the face of the COVID-19 epidemic, the faculty and staff at Ellicottville Central School are working hard to provide its students with continuing education.
As with most schools in this country, COVID-19 has brought on a different kind of challenge for faculty and staff at Ellicottville Central School (ECS) to educate their students. The way the district’s students received their instruction took a twist March 16 when Governor Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order directing all schools in New York to close by March 18 for two weeks, ending April 1. However, on March 29, he extended that order until April 15 to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. Superintendent Robert Miller said the first day of no school for students was March 16 as per a directive from the Cattaraugus County Department of Health. “I am impressed with the way the faculty and staff at ECS have responded to this situation,” he said. “Everyone is eager to help in any way they can. I feel the first week went as well as could
UPCOMING EVENTS
be expected.” Miller said the majority of families in his district were ready to receive curriculum instruction packets when buses delivered them on March 18, or they picked them up at one of several drop-off locations. “As of March 19, only three packets had not been delivered or picked up,” he said. “This means 99.5 percent of the students received their packets within 24 hours of starting deliveries. The district would like to say ‘thank you’ to all the families that helped us accomplish this.” On March 25, Miller provided district residents clarification
See ECS, page 2
Ellicottville pulls welcome mat amid concerns over NYC coronavirus cases
By Rick Miller
The welcome mat has always been out in Ellicottville — until now. With the novel coronavirus raging in the New York City area, officials in Cattaraugus County’s tourism hub — Ellicottville — have noticed an uptick in out-of-town families at local Airbnb and other vacation rentals. On March 25, Ellicottville Mayor John Burrell and the Village Board put out a statement on social media urging families seeking to get out of New York City not to come to Ellicottville due to fears they will bring COVID-19 with them. The village’s Facebook post had been shared over 560 times and had tens of thousands of views as of noon on Monday. Burrell told the Olean Times Herald that’s just what village officials were looking for. They want to get the message out. Consider the welcome mat pulled for now, Burrell said. “We’re very fortunate,” the mayor said. “Cattaraugus County has no confirmed cases. That’s good news.” The village has fewer than 1,500
residents. Some have reported to Burrell and other village officials that families have recently begun staying in Airbnb and Vrbo rentals. This is unusual since the ski resorts have closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the mayor said. The assumption is that these are people from the New York City area who were seeking safety at a resort community Upstate. Officials at Airbnb and Vrbo (Vacation Rental By Owner) have not responded to Ellicottville officials requests to take down the local rentals during the coronavirus crisis. Why did the Village Board take the step of asking people not to come to Ellicottville? “Some of it was public input,” the mayor said. “We saw what Lake Placid had done” to dissuade visitors and put out much the same information. “People have noticed that the house next door had a family living in it and that family might be from New York City,” the hotspot of coronavirus in the
See Village Board, page 3
April 13
Ellicottville Bicentennial Birthday
May 9
Happy Half Marathon and 5K
June 5-7
Girls Getaway Weekend
June 20
Holiday Valley Mudslide
July 3-5
Summer Music Festival
July 17
Ellicottville Old Home Weekend
July 24-26 Jazz & Blues Weekend
Aug. 8 & 9
Taste of Ellicottville
Aug. 15
Rock Autism Concert
Sept. 18-20 Rock ‘n’ Roll Weekend
Sept. 25-27 EVL Lacrosse Festival
Oct. 10 & 11 Fall Festival
Oct. 18
Times file photo On March 25, Ellicottville Mayor John Burrell and the Village Board put out a statement on social media urging families seeking to get out of New York City not to come to Ellicottville due to fears they will bring COVID-19 with them.
HoliCX 4 Weekend