SPECIAL SHORTS
(05/15/2009) By Gerlind Dubey

The Ladies of Elkdale enjoyed a beautiful day at the Decorators Show and Luncheon on Monday, May 11th.

A Special Day… Three of our local residents, floral designers MJ Brown, and Lauri O’Leary owners of Tangled Twigs and Shirley Rhienhart contributed their talents and time to the 2009 Decorators Showcase home now on display in Snyder NY.

Mary Fox organized a tour, for Monday May 11, of the spectacular home including lunch at the 20TH Century Club in Buffalo and elegant Limo Service to and from Ellicottville. This coincidently happened to be my birthday. My friends surprised me with champagne and treats along the way. What a Special day it was for me.

Relay For Life of Cattaraugus County… The Relay for Life for Cattaraugus County is on June 06, 2009 at Ellicottville Central School. If you, a friend or family member has been affected by cancer please come on out for a variety of fun, food and activities! you will have an incredible experience participating in this year’s event. Special –E- Fects is collecting donations for a Garage Sale to be held in front of the Visitor’s center on Memorial Day weekend- All proceeds will be given to Relay for Life Cattaraugus County.

I Might As Well Be Using Carrier Pigeons… After all of the “Can You Hear Me Now Commercials” Verizon Wireless still has an incredible amount of Dead Zones to fill. Verizon wireless boast about their team, which to me is a lot of bunk!!

You see I live in a Dead Zone; a bare 3 miles outside of Ellicottville on top of a hill with a clear view of southern sky! This means that my phone messages don’t reach me for three or four days after they are sent- quire the rip-off since Verizon is holding me to a contract they can’t fulfill.
Promoting Downtown Salamanca… Salamanca businesses, the Cattaraugus County Department of Tourism, and Salamanca Area Chamber of Commerce are working to attract more tourists into downtown Salamanca. A new marketing rack card will be distributed in and around the county promoting a fun day in the downtown

The rack card encourages visitors to go to the Salamanca Antique Mall, have lunch at one of three nearby restaurants, and end the day at the Railroad Museum and Salamanca Area Historical Society Museum.

The rack card is the brainchild of the Salamanca Chamber’s Business Action Team, a recently formed group of downtown Salamanca businesses focused on improving business results for Main Street businesses…The Team didn’t rest on this success, and have two new projects in the works. A downtown cleanup day is scheduled for Saturday, May 16, 2009. Businesses are encouraged to wash their windows, clean their facades, and sweep their walks… The Team is also developing incentives for walking downtown and is working with another Salamanca group, ACHIEVE, to promote community wellness. Sandi Brundage, an ACHIEVE representative, previously met with the group to discuss ideas. The Team also thought of ways to incorporate local history and Seneca culture into its projects… The next meeting of the Business Action Team will be held at the Salamanca Area Chamber of Commerce office (26 Main St.) on Wednesday, June 3, 2009 from 5:45 pm to 6:00 pm. Anyone interested in revitalizing downtown Salamanca is invited to attend.

Little Valley…The Little Valley Area Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce plans have begun for the annual “Cheers to Little Valley” wine tasting. The event will take place on the evening of June 6th at VFW Post 8734 Pavilion in Little Valley. Directors of the Chamber are delighted for the response this fun-filled event receives… The tasting begins at 7pm and will feature wines from a relatively new winery, Liberty Vineyards & Winery. Wine will be offered for tasting and purchase. As always, there will be refreshments, raffles, prizes with musical entertainment provided by Take 2. This year the theme will be grape vines, grapes and the colors gold, green and purple. Tickets for the event are $8.00 pre-sale (2 for $15 pre-sale) and $10.00 at the door. Pre-sale tickets will be available at Cattaraugus County Bank and VFW Post 8734. They are currently on sale

The second annual “Bark Around the World” is coming on May 30th …at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse New York. “Bark” is an educational event dedicated to share information about puppymills and the abuse dogs suffer in them as well as sharing awareness of ways to put a stop to this barbaric practice. Be inspired by educational speakers and learn how to take action to bring an end to puppymills.

Springville Center for the Arts presents a Photo Seminar ….Award-winning photographer and local author David Lawrence Reade will present ‘The Art of Photography’ at Springville Center for the Arts, 37 North Buffalo Street, on June 30 from 7:00 to 8:30 pm….Often our photos do not match the beauty we see with the naked eye.  David helps students change their approach and think about photography before snapping the shutter and subsequently capture much improved images.  This course is for photographers of all abilities.  A general understanding of how cameras function (whether digital or film) is helpful, but not required… David Lawrence Reade has been selling his work professionally for well over a decade and has produced three best-selling books featuring our area including his latest, Western New York Wild. He has exhibited at premier art shows throughout the east and has won literally hundreds of awards for his work…Cost for this seminar is $35.  Seating is limited, so call the Center for the Arts at 716-592-9038 to reserve your space today!

The Memorial Library of Little Valley…In Conjunction with the Little Valley Community Lawn Sale, the Memorial Library of Little Valley will be holding its annual book sale on Saturday, June 6, from 9:00am until 2pm. The Bag Sale will begin at 1pm. The sale will feature hardcover and paperback adult and juvenile books as well as videos, DVD’s and CD’s.

Donations of books are now being accepted -- please do not bring encyclopedias dated before 1999 or Readers Digest condensed books as they do not sell. Pick-ups can be arranged by calling the Library at 938-6301.

Library hours are Monday and Tuesday,10:00-4:30 and 6:00-8:00; Thursday, 10:00-6:00; Saturday, 10:00-12:00- Closed Wednesday.