The West Valley varsity Wildcats defeated the Brocton Bulldogs 4-3 in their away match on May 10.“It was a good all around defensive game,” said West Valley Head Coach Bryan Hansen after the match. He noted that there was only one error during the match. Hansen said that, before the match, he had told his players “to keep the score down.” He also said that he told his team, “We can’t get into a hitting match with them and win.”The varsity Wildcats started the game by scoring the first run at the top of the first off an RBI from Dylan Westfall that brought Austin Kopp home. In spite of the run scored...

The Cordelian Club of Springville donated $10,000 to Bertrand Chaffee Hospital, the largest sum given since the club’s inception 48 years ago.The check was presented on May 10 to CEO Nils Gunnersen, to be used to purchase new infusion pumps and help renovate the parking ...

Athletes from Springville-Griffith Institute competed at Pioneer High School in the Pioneer Invitational on Saturday, May 5, as both the boys and girls track teams were present. Springville senior Cody Schweickert was named track most valuable player of the meet, leading the boys squad to third place in the event.Schweickert finished first in the 100-meter dash, edging out Iroquois’s Jeremy Horn’s time of 11.49 seconds with an 11.41 mark. Springville sophomore Talon Berry placed 10th with 11.89. That mark was second among sophomores.In the hurdles, Schweickert finished first in both the 110-meter...

With just three events to go, Springville-Griffith Institute’s boys track team held a 63-59 lead over the boys from East Aurora, but Springville fell to the visitors 77 - 64 on Tuesday, May 8.S-GI’s Cody Schweickert finished first in several events, including the 110-meter hurdles at 16 minutes 80 seconds, 100-meter dash at 11.2, long jump at 19-2 1/2 and 400-meter hurdles at 1:01. In the 110 hurdles event, Tom Michaels and Tom Schweickert of Springville placed in second and third, respectively. Michaels had a time of 17.80 and Schweickert’s was 19.20.[photo2]Talon Berry finished right behind Cody...

When Springville-Griffith Institute competed with other local schools on Saturday, May 5 in track and field events, Tia Woodarek was named the field most valuable player. Her performance helped Springville earn a third place finish in the invitational, keeping up with the boys from S-GI, who also finished third.Woodarek, a sophomore, took first place in the pole vault with a mark of 8-6. Alena Woodarek, also a sophomore, finished fourth in that event, sporting 7-6. In the high jump, Tia Woodarek ended up just behind Iroquois’s Madison Roberts, to finish in second. She jumped for 4-10 and Drew McCarthy,...

The West Valley girls track team defeated Cassadaga Valley 89-43 in a meet held on May 8.According to Coach Kristopher Fuller, Rachael Zimmer, Jordan Seltzer and Taylor Williams led the girls team at the meet, as each had multiple first place finishes. Zimmer quadrupled at the meet, as she garnered first place in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 17.5 seconds, and the 200-meter dash, which she finished in 27.9. Zimmer also came in first in the long jump, with her leap of 13-7.75, as well as in the 4 x 100-meter relay.Seltzer also quadrupled, as she earned first place in the 400-meter hurdles,...

CLARENCE - Tom Rosenecker has found himself a pretty good job. The new owner of American Eagle Fireplace spends his warmer months building things to keep kids entertained and he'll spend his winters keeping families warm and safe. Whether it's a stove to keep you warm in January or a swing set to keep you happy in June, American Eagle Fireplace has something for you. "It's fantastic spending my day talking to people who are investing in their backyard to give their children something to play outside with," Rosenecker said. "Just to see how happy the kids are and how much fun they're having coming...

NORTH TONAWANDA - Cheryl O'Connor has always told her boys to place nice together.This season, as members of the North Tonawanda Lumberjacks baseball team, Bobby and Tommy O'Connor have been doing that better then ever before.Bobby, a senior in year two of his varsity career, and Tommy, a sophomore in his rookie campaign have indeed made the most of their first and only season together on varsity."Just go out there and give a hundred percent every day," Bobby O'Connor said of the example he tries to set for his younger brother.Ironically though this isn't the first time the O'Connor have worn the...

LANCASTER- The Village of Lancaster sanitary sewer system backup that occurred a few weeks ago has been corrected, but as to whom illegally dumped cooking grease into the system, the board is still investigating, according to Village of Lancaster Mayor William G. Cansdale, Jr. With workers of the village’s Department of Public Works (DPW), and the hiring of a private contractor, the incident had the crew out at the scene pumping from dusk till dawn to avoid Park Boulevard, Colonial Avenue, and Cayuga Avenue residents from seeing their basements flood. The problem occurred behind Empire Automotive...

LANCASTER - The Lancaster High School baseball team has seen a number of strong pitching performances from a variety of pitchers this season. It's no coincidence that Tyler Hoffhines is behind the plate for the Redskins. The senior catcher has been as asset for the Redskins at the plate - and behind it. That's a big reason why the Redskins have remained in contention in ECIC-I. "Every once in a while I'll give him a few signs," Lancaster coach Mark Dalfonso said, "and he usually looks at me like he already knew." "Hoff knows where the pitches should go and he can read a swing really well. That's...

Town of Hamburg Police are investigating a missing person and are asking the public for their assistance. Stephen Ross has been reported missing by his wife, who last spoke to him on May 14 at 4:30 p.m. Ross stated he was on his way to work but he never returned home and then failed to report to work on May 15 and May 16.  Ross was last known to be in the City of Buffalo near Broadway Avenue and was operating a blue two-door 2009 Mini Cooper bearing New York plate ETM5463.Ross is a white male, 48 years of age, 5"7" and 170 pounds, wears glasses and has grey hair and brown eyes....

As one of the town of Boston’s first insurance companies, Alfred W. Dye Insurance boasts 92 years of continuous operation and three generations of ownership.In 1920, Perry H. Dye began offering fire insurance in Boston with an affiliation with the Erie and Niagara Insurance Association. His son, Alfred Dye, and daughter-in-law Marilyn took over the business in 1956, working out of the family home on Boston State Road. When that couple was ready to retire, the growing company was sold to the Dyes’ son and daughter-in-law, Jewel and Jeffrey Dye.“We’ve always been in Boston,” Jewel Dye said. “It’s...

The 50th anniversary of the Springville Pageant of Bands will take place on May 18 and 19. To help commemorate the event, the Springville-Griffith Institute High School business of music class is hosting the Springville Jazz Orchestra on Friday, May 18 at 7 p.m. in the Lyle G. Palmer Auditorium at the high school.The Springville Jazz Orchestra, which was formed in 2009, has performed at the Springville Oktoberfest and the Erie County Fair and has been featured at fundraisers for local and regional civic organizations, including the Springville Relay for Life, Springville Community Foundation and...

Eric and Denise Lawton announce the wedding engagement of their son, Dennis Paul, to Kristin Elizabeth Hobson, daughter of Susan Kendall Hobson. The wedding is planned for July 7 at Avon Gardens in Indiana.Dennis is a 2006 graduate of Springville-Griffith Institute. He received his bachelor’s degree from Wittenberg University and is currently an eighth grade science teacher at Beech Grove Middle School in Indiana.The bride-to-be received her bachelor’s degree from Wittenberg University in English and psychology and is currently completing her master’s degree at the University of Indiana in occupational...

The annual spring concert at Springville-Griffith Institute High School on May 24 will feature the orchestra, chorus and concert band. The Tuesday Night String Ensemble and the jazz band will perform at 6:30 p.m., followed by the concert at 7.An anonymous community member recently donated a piano to S-GI, and the Springville-Griffith Community Education Foundation will be acknowledged for its contributions toward the piano’s repair, tuning and purchase of a moving dolly. There will also be a presentation for this year’s senior class musicians. The concert, which will be held in the High School’s...

With two losses to open the season, the modified baseball team at Springville-Griffith Institute was on the road against the Pioneer Panthers on Tuesday, May 8 in pursuit of its first victory.The Griffins fell behind 2-0 after three innings of play.Matt Woodarek was the starting pitcher and lasted four innings, striking out seven batters.“From innings four to six, the boys’ bats and base-running skills came alive with timely hitting and aggressive base-running,” said Coach Robert Gainey.From that point on, Springville outscored Pioneer 7-2 to clinch a 7-4 victory, the team’s first of the year.Matt...

Coming off a 17-1 win that pulled the Springville-Griffith Institute team to 7-7 on the season, the boys varsity baseball team hosted Cheektowaga on Friday, May 4. After that initial victory, the boys lost five games in a row. An 11-6 win on Wednesday, April 18 in Cheektowaga was part of five wins in six games for Springville.Cheektowaga gave the home team a 4-1 loss. The road team built a 4-0 lead, scoring once in the third inning, twice in the fourth and once in the seventh before Springville finally broke the shut out in the bottom of the seventh, the final inning. Tyler Conklin earned a single,...

Shawn Patterson, a senior at Eden Jr./Sr. High School, will be heading for Germany this summer for an additional year of schooling.Patterson, the son of Adam and Amy Smith of Eden, was recently awarded a full scholarship through the U.S. State Department funded Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Program to study a full academic year at a German high school.“This is such an opportunity, to totally immerse oneself in another culture,” Patterson said.Although not of German descent, Patterson decided in sixth grade that he wanted to study German.“I wanted a challenge and I felt studying German would...

The future may hold a fun way to beat the heat for Blasdell residents, as village officials’ discussions over the implementation of a splash pad at the Silver Street playground have continued in a recent, steady manner. Parameters for the splash pad could include eventually accommodating as many as 60 children and persons who would visit the location, which had up to this spring included a basketball court with hoops. However, following a lengthy process, the decision was made by village board members for the basketball court and hoops to be removed, with Blasdell’s Department of Public Works following...

Lisa Palma realizes exactly what she has in Bridget Hogan. It was getting the supporting cast to rally around the junior’s elite ability that could potentially separate Hamburg from the pack. The Bulldogs’ head coach has received that type of effort and commitment from this year’s group.While Hogan may be the subject of conversations around Western New York high school softball circles — arguably not even enough of those conversations, it’s her teammates that have helped become the guiding force to an unblemished 14-0 mark heading into the team’s regular season finale at West Seneca West on Thursday...