Memorial Day Celebration on Page 12 FREE • Compliments of Our A day dver Fri tise rs ry ve E d e sh Veteran Outreach Event See Page 2 Friday, June 3, 2011 Volume 22 Issue 22 Visit us at www.EllicottvilleNews.com Pu bli untain and Valley News Mo THIS WEEK’S ENTERTAINMENT Wilkens Receives Community Action Award Friday, June 3rd TerraNova (7-11) DJ (9) Saturday, June 4th The Hudsons (5-9) DJ (9) Saturday, June 4th TRUFATE (9-1) Mondays Rick Bowers (7) Wednesdays Wings, Wagner & Winston (8-12) Thursdays A Moment’s Notice (7-11) Back row left to right: Carey Frich standing in for Cheri Liddle (personal Achievment Award), Christina Ehlers (Cindy Woods Memorial Service Award), Sherman Wilkens (Visions and Values Award). Front row: Jane Folts (Leadership Award), Maureen Curry (Volunteer of the Year Award) It is no secret that Ellicottville draws amazing people. In 1982, Sherman Wilkens moved from Buffalo to Ellicottville full time, adding to our eclectic community. Over the years, people have come to know him as compassionate, opinionated, comedic, humanitarian, loyal, and trustworthy. He has been there for friends and family, welcoming new people into his life without question or judgment. Wilkens is a man who spends a great deal of his time volunteering and helping Ellicottville Memorial Library Turns 50 Community and Charity Built It, Everyone Can Use it By Chad Neal the Saturday, June 4th Roll the Dice (9-1) PUB others and expects nothing in return. So, it is no surprise that Wilkens was presented with the Visions & Values Award from the Cattaraugus Community Action during their annual dinner at Holiday Valley’s Tannenbaum Lodge. The award read: “Like in the agency mission statement, he is a man who is dedicated to helping people and changing lives. ... His dedication to the support of his community is something to aspire to. ... The list of Sherman’s good works is lengthy. His example has encouraged and inspired many in our community.” Deb Laskey, of Community Action, said, “He just exemplifies every aspect of the award. He helps people and changes their lives.” Wilkens said, “I never wanted to be recognized for any of this. That is not why I do it!” Sherman is humbly flattered to receive such an award. Wilkens, on his own, is much bigger than even he knows. He helps the local food bank, people in need, and collects cans and wayward items, just to name a few. He will find a deserving home for all sorts of items needed to set up a home – things like beds, stoves, furniture, and utensils. Wilkens began volunteering at CCA about 10 years ago as a driver. About two years ago, he found the need to place his items with people who truly needed them. While talking to Laskey, they decided Laskey would screen the poten- tial recipients and, if they qualified, she would pass them to him. Laskey said, “I had an older couple that came from Texas. They were so upset. I started to talk to them and found they had rented a house but they weren’t able to bring anything with them. If it weren’t for Sherman, they wouldn’t have had anything. He helped them with pots, pans. You name it – he gave it to them. They acted like two little kids when they came in.” There is no end to Wilkens’ compassion or willingness to help. Laskey worked with Sherman for the first year but never met him, until one day when she called him and said, “I am on my way back from Buffalo with my daughter. Can I meet you?” Obviously, Wilkens obliged and they have been working together ever since to help others in need. Wilkens has been a big part of our newspaper since the passing of former owner, Hank Dubey. He jumped in and started delivering papers and writing the Entertainment column to help. Through the years, he has helped in more ways than can be counted, and we are so very proud and excited that he received this award. We know how truly deserving he is, even if he is too humble to take credit for all he has done. Wilkens is an inspiration to all and deserves huge praise for all he does. “Thank you, Sherman, on behalf of our paper!” In This Issue... Community & Regional News ........................... pg 3 Entertainment ............ pg 4 William Thomas........... pg 5 Business Cards ........... pg 5 Police Reports ............ pg 6 Meaningful Green ....... pg 7 Obits ............................ pg 7 Classified .................... pg 8 Down to Earth .......... pg 11 IN CHILDREN’S DEPARTMENT – Monica Andrews, an Ellicottville Central School junior working under Job Corps program, reads a story to Elizabeth, Stephen and John Clark, children of Mr. and Mrs. Thaddeus W. Clark, in Ellicottville Library (photo not dated). Imagination and wisdom, using every word imaginable, can be easily discovered at the local library. A plethora of endless knowledge and information so simply awaits in buildings in most every town and city. Organized statistical data is freely available in the library. Libraries have been an integral part of communities since Gutenberg’s revolutionary invention, the printing press. The lust for knowledge is as carnal in the human persona as feeding is for the rest of life. Fifty years ago, a few Ellicottville citizens, who craved the words of books, organized the community library and it has been memorialized ever since. The Ellicottville Memorial Library is turning 50 this year and the storied institution has been “unbelievably successful” since the new building has been erected. The history of the library See LIBRARY on page 2 Raffle Offers Excellent Odds to Win Potter Original Art by Eva Resident Attributes Health Problems to Hydrofracking Contaminated Water Blamed on Gas Company By Chad Neal Natalie Ware Brant is inflamed about the adverse effects she and her family have been dealing with concerning hydrofracking. Brant recently spoke at the Town of Ellicottville board meeting. Hydrofracking is the controversial process of extracting natural gas from pockets under the ground in rock formations, using drills and a pressurized water-chemical mixture that is blasted into the ground forcing the precious fossil fuels out of the earth. Brant is the main proponent against U.S. Energy Corp., which she alleges is contaminating ground and well water through the hydrofracking process. A mother of two, Brant recounted how her children were getting sick and suffering from headaches and other ailments. She and her husband have been searching for the causes, including inspecting their residence for black mold, which was not found. They even considered school-spread illnesses until her husband saw the movie “Gasland” on television. On a whim, Brant said, they “checked the water and it lit on fire.” “We are currently working with (New York State) Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and senators. They (U.S. Energy) are illegally dumping frack water. They leave it in open pits and then just bulldoze over them. That is against the law,” said Brant. Brant is very adamant about her proclamations, and she has done her homework on her crusade against the hydrofracking company. “They always have a representative from the companies at the meetings I speak at, but they never call me out,” she said, adding, “I’m looking forward to going head to head with them. “When the problems first came to light, U.S. Energy put a separation tank in between the drilling and our well, but it didn’t work. It made the water soapy and it was a different color every day – green, yellow and orange. Even the chief engineer of Erie County couldn’t describe the odor.” William P. Albert, Manager of Media and Community Relations at U.S. Energy, sent a report from the DEC and a small note explaining the DEC’s stance. “The DEC report shows no correlation between the company’s drilling and the methane gas being reported in the water well,” said Albert. “Please keep See HYDROFRACKING on page 11 Nance Jackson, Under the Stars, Acrylic on Canvas If you knew you had an excellent chance of winning an original piece of art valued at hundreds or even one thousand dollars or more, would you buy a raffle ticket? The Cattaraugus County Arts Council is offering these better-than-good odds at their second annual Cause for Celebration art raffle. The drawing party takes place on June 18 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at 100 Main Street in Allegany. Extremely high quality works by repeat donors Mikel Wintermantel, Sean Huntington and Peter Jones, as well as new supporting artists including Dug Stein, Nance Jackson, and Judson Brown, will go home with six lucky winners. The collection has a total net worth over $9,000! Pieces are currently on display at CCAC in Allegany. “The artwork is new and different. It’s absolutely gorgeous!” said Anne Conroy-Baiter, CCAC’s executive director. As a past and present raffle ticketholder, Jane Eshbaugh said, “There’s an incredible amount of talented artists in our county and who belong to the arts council, and we need to support them.” Eshbaugh and her husband hosted two Routes to Art artists at Tamarack Club this year and have enjoyed taking CCAC’s pottery classes. Raffle tickets cost $100 each and admit two adults to the semi-casual drawSee ART on page 2