THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE VILLAGE OF ELLICOTTVILLE AND THE TOWNS OF ELLICOTTVILLE, GREAT VALLEY AND MANSFIELD,
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 51 FREE www.EllicottvilleTimes.com
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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2013
AMSOIL Snocross Premiers This Weekend Event Televised by CBS Sports BY JEFF MARTIN
Seneca Allegany Casino & Hotel is ready to host high-speed, heart-pounding snowmobile races for southwestern New York’s first-ever national circuit of events. Races will take place all day Carl Schubitzke, throughout the weekend – but the top President and Race Director of ISOC, talks professionals will race under bright about this weekend’s lights on Friday and Saturday from 6 AMSOIL Snocross, at to 9 p.m. a press conference Tickets for the events are affordably Thursday afternoon. Photo by Joelle Wolters priced, with an all-weekend pass available for $30. Daily admission is $25 for Friday, $25 for Saturday and $15 for Sunday. Admission is free for children ages six and younger. Purchase tickets at the Logo Shop inside Seneca Allegany Casino & Hotel or at www.isocracing.com.
qualifying and final races will be held on each of the three days of competition. The event culminates on Sunday with a final race where winners will earn much-needed points as they advance. Snocross is a relatively
Lt. Col. Matt Calarco on “48 Hours”
Prosecutor in Burke Case by Eva Potter
If you happened tune in to the television show “48 Hours: Honor and Dishonor” on Feb. 16, then you already know that the guilty verdict of
new sport, Schutte said. After motocross became popular in the late 60s and early 70s, racers branched out in subsequent years, eventually creating snocross. For years, snow-related competition, like See Snocross page 11
Sergeant Brent Burke, a military policeman and former guard at Bagram prison, seemed nothing short of miraculous. Four previous trials had failed to convict him of murdering his wife and her mother in Kentucky on Sept. 11, 2007. After the fourth trial ended in a hung jury, Burke was released back to the military. Because the crimes were committed while Burke was on active duty, the Army took up the case and began their own investigation. The trial was headed by prosecuting attorney Lt. Col. Matt Calarco, who grew up in Ellicottville and graduated from ECS in 1991. With modesty, Lt. Col. Calarco’s brother, local resident Carl Calarco, said he feels Matt is “a good representative of our community and our town and what our school has produced. I’d like people around here to know there are a lot of people who have done a lot of good things once they left the Ellicottville area and have been very successful.” Carl, who still lives in Ellicottville, said the show was taped over a year ago and doesn’t know why this particular case was chosen to air on “48 Hours,” but he said he’s happy and proud that his brother could represent his hometown and country with honor. As the story of Burke’s crimes unfolded on the show, members of the Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG) serving as military prosecutors during the court-martial were interviewed, including Lt. Col. Calarco, although he spoke very little. Lt. Col. Calarco’s team had their work cut out for them as they sifted through four years of previous trials in order to prove Sgt. Burke murdered his wife and her mother. See Calarco page 5
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For anyone who enjoys snowmobile sports, there’s nothing quite like the AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series. And for Pat Schutte, spokesman for AMSOIL, there’s nothing quite like Western New York in winter. A Michigan native, Schutte is full of nothing but praise when it comes to the area and its generous supply of cold and snow — and snowmobile trails. “The main reason we’re here — it’s just a snowmobilefriendly region,” Schutte said a few days before several hundred snocross racers descend on the Seneca Allegany Casino and Hotel parking lot. “There’s already a huge built in fan base here.” The snocross event in Salamanca, to begin on Friday, Feb. 22 and conclude Sunday, Feb. 23 is one of eight national events on the AMSOIL Series schedule, which takes professional snowmobilers to North and South Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan and New York. This is the first time a championship series of this magnitude has been held in the Buffalo area. The event will be televised nationally by CBS Sports. On Monday, crews were busy forging the track through the giant mound of snow in the casino parking lot. The giant machine, similar to a bobcat, snaked its way up and down the mound, creating a course that will deliver racers into mid-air launches — much the same way motocross racers have thrilled fans for decades. John Damon, who was walking across the parking lot on Monday after having dinner at the casino, stopped and watched track preparations. “Should be really cool,” he said. A Collins resident, Damon said he snowmobiles with his cousin when he gets the chance. Racing in this capacity, however, isn’t tempting; he plans on coming to the show, though. “I already have a few friends planning to come with me.” As many as 15 snowmobiles will be on the track at one time. Approximately 50 practice,
Ellicottville Town Board ECS, Nannen Arboretum Committee Heard By Jann Wiswall
Ellicottville Supervisor John Burrell began the Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013, Ellicottville Town Board meeting with some good news: Ellicottville received a letter from New York State Assemblyman Joe Giglio stating that the town will receive $82,021 from the State’s Consolidated Local Street and Highway Program (CHIPS) and $7,425 from the State’s Aid and Incentives for Municipalities program. This announcement was followed by two presentations from the public. The first, Ellicottville School
Board Member Carl Calarco described the proposed school capital improvement plan. He explained that 85 percent of the project is related to maintenance and renovation of the sections of the building constructed more than 50 years ago in 1962. The remaining 15 percent – including a 100’ x 50’ addition – is a practical and cost-effective way to create a multi-purpose gymnasium that can safely accommodate sports, performances, graduations, etc., and provides updated locker and restroom facilities for students. Calarco also explained that
65 percent of the approximately $9.9 million project would be funded by the state. Three percent will be covered by the district’s capital reserve. The last 32 percent (about $3.5 million) would cost taxpayers roughly $16 to $42 a year per $100,000 in assessed property value, depending on the owner’s STAR rating. Calarco and School Board Chair Roger Spell pointed out that if the project is voted down, the district will still have to do some $5 million in repairs without state aid. So voting against the project See ECS Town page 7
Mansfield Board Approves Highway Barn Plans By Jann Wiswall
Since its last monthly meeting, the Town of Mansfield board has been busy working with Town Engineer Mark Alianello on drafting and finalizing plans for the new highway barn that will replace the old barn that burned down in October 2012. At its meeting Monday, Feb. 18, 2013, the board approved the final version of the plans and passed a motion to advertise for bids. The bids being requested at this time include: Contract No. 1 for a pre-engineered
metal building; Contract No. 2 for new concrete floor slab; Contract No. 3 for concrete materials only for floor slab; and Contract No. 4 for new overhead doors. Depending on pricing, the town will select either Contract No. 2 or No. 3. If the materials-only bid is accepted, the town will subcontract out the flooring installation on its own. Bids will be opened at a special meeting of the board at 7 p.m. on March 11. While the cost of the new 60-foot by 180-foot barn is
still to be determined, initial estimates put it in the $540,000 -$650,000 range. The insurance settlement should cover approximately $360,000 of that. The town likely will have to borrow a portion of the difference. Town Supervisor Bob Keis reviewed monies received and expected from the insurance company in detail at the meeting, saying that the total received to date is $874,739, which probably represents about 75 percent of the final See Mansfield Plans page 10