Sunday, November 30, 2014

PUBLIC HEARING: DECEMBER 8th

The town of Royalton will have a public hearing at 7:00 PM on December 8th to consider two laws...

Local Law 4 of 2014, known as "Private Driveway and Covert Installation of the Town of Royalton", would amend Local Law 2 of 1991. It would prohibit concrete structures in the town's right-of-way and require permits for all driveway work done in the right-of-way.

Local Law 5 of 2014, known as "Dog Licensing and Control in the Town of Royalton", would amend Local Law 3 of 2010. This would change the 5-day hold to a 3-day hold before the Town's Dog Control Officer can transfer the dog to the SPCA or rescue group. 

EARTHQUAKE SHAKES AREA

If you heard a boom and felt the earth shake yesterday evening, you weren't alone. A lot of people experienced what was a small earthquake at that time --- epicenter: Lockport

The report from the East Niagara Post:

http://www.eastniagarapost.com/2014/11/earthquake-reported-in-south-lockport.html

Friday, November 28, 2014

BUY LOCAL WHEN CHRISTMAS SHOPPING

When out Christmas shopping, don't forget to "buy local." Help keep money in Gasport, drive our economy and support your neighbors by buying wine at Becker Farms and Vizcarra Vineyards, candy/jelly/honey at Schwab Farm Market, cheeses at Teacup Farm, meats at Hartland Abattoir Corp., Christmas items at Always Christmas, everything under the sun at Standish-Jones Building Supply and anything else you can think of at any number of local businesses.

FIRE DESTROYS WRUCK ROAD BARN

Yesterday's fire at a barn on Wruck Road destroyed that structure. Here's the report from East Niagara Post:

http://www.eastniagarapost.com/2014/11/fire-destroys-wruck-road-barn.html

Thursday, November 27, 2014

FIRE ON WRUCK ROAD

Hartland and Gasport fire have been dispatched to 3876 Wruck Road for a barn fire. Animals inside. Owners not home. Totally involved per firemen on site. Middleport has also been dispatched. House is in danger of catching -- just 20 feet from fire.

Monday, November 24, 2014

THANKSGIVING EVE AT BECKER FARMS

Becker Brewing at Becker Farms is having their annual Thanksgiving Eve celebration from 7:30 PM till midnight Wednesday. There will be live music with Dave Stockton and Pocket Change. Enjoy your favorite locally-brewed beers and Estate produced wine and their new BBC Traditional Hard Cider. They also have a full bar and drink specials.

GASPORT TEEN WINS I LOVE NY SCHOLARSHIP CONTEST




Family Travel Forum (FTF), the award-winning resource for family vacation planners, in association with Empire State Development’s Division of Tourism (I LOVE NEW YORK) congratulates the winners of the 2014 ILNY Teen Travel Writing Scholarship.

Designed to promote teen literacy, the merit competition challenged students to blog about what they love most about New York State, with college grants to be awarded for the top three teen writers.

According to Gavin Landry, Executive Director of Tourism at Empire State Development, “We love the idea of young voices in the market promoting New York State Travel. There is so much to see and do in our amazing state, and so many life-long memories to be made for young people traveling with friends and their families.”

Judging was done by FTF and I LOVE NEW YORK staff, the Society of American Travel Writers, and Eileen Ogintz, author of “The Kids Guide to New York City.”

Submissions ranged from tales of hiking the Adirondacks, to swimming in the Finger Lakes, to visiting grandparents along the Erie Canal, and to the excitement of Times Square.

They congratulate the winners of the ILNY Teen Travel Writing Scholarship, one of three merit scholarships offered this year by Family Travel Forum that drew more than 2,000 applicants. They encourage the young authors to continue exploring New York State and sharing their great travel adventures and memorable experiences.

1st Place, or $1,000, went to Samantha Carney, Age 15, Gasport.

Her winning entry -- entitled  Escape Into Letchworth: Sehgahunda, “Vale of Three Falls”--- can be seen here:

http://myfamilytravels.com/students/61073-escape-letchworth-sehgahunda-%E2%80%9Cvale-three-falls%E2%80%9D

ROY-HART BASKETBALL PREVIEW

The Lockport Union Sun and Journal's has published these season previews for Roy-Hart basketball...

Boy's: http://www.lockportjournal.com/sports/roy-hart-boys-b-ball-team-begins-new-era-with/article_9a13754a-a03f-5f71-8ace-538d390c4f76.html

Girl's: http://www.lockportjournal.com/sports/roy-hart-lady-rams-bring-attacking-style-back-for-a/article_3899ddbd-5f41-5524-8267-dd7857ed4a0d.html

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Saturday, November 22, 2014

TEACUP FARM SPECIALIZES IN RAW MILK

Finding a facility that serves raw milk -- which many say is exceptionally healthy --- is extremely difficult in New York, but we are fortunate to have one in the town of Hartland.

Teacup Farm and Tidbits is one of the very few farms allowed by the State to sell it. They are located at 2278 Johnson Creek Rd. just south of Town Line Road.

They sell both cow milk and goat milk and make a variety of cheeses and yogurt. They also sell eggs.

They have a stand on the farm which is open Saturdays and Sundays from 10 till 2.

Their website is: http://teacupfarmandtidbits.com/

Their blog is: http://teacupfarm.blogspot.com/

Their Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Teacup-Farm/270686485749

RESUME DEADLINE FOR ROYALTON POSITION

Please note, the Assessor is accepting applications for the position of Assessor's Information Clerk through November 26th

Friday, November 21, 2014

GOT NEWS? I'LL POST IT HERE

I've been running the Gasport blog since 2007 and the accompanying Facebook page since 2009. Even to this day, organizations, churches, businesses, and government functions based in Royalton or Hartland either forget about or feel uncomfortable with sending their news items, press releases, upcoming events, and fliers to me for posting.

Don't be afraid. I don't bite.

And I don't charge anything for the service. This isn't a commercial enterprise.

The whole point of the blog/Facebook is to share all news and the good things that are going on in Gasport as means to show just how special Gasport really is and promote the community, its people, and its organizations.
 
Just email all such items to me at bobconfer@juno.com  

4-H NOW HAS SHOOTING SPORTS

Niagara County 4-H now has a Shooting Sports program. Shooting Sports teaches youth marksmanship, the safe and responsible use of firearms, the principles of hunting and archery and much more. The program is run by CCE staff and volunteers who have earned the NYS Shooting Sports Youth Development certification. The focus of the program is to provide youth with the opportunity to develop life skills and conservation ethics. The archery part is open to youth 8 years old and up, the firearm portion is open to youth 12 years and older. Currently our archery program is full but another class will be offered in the springtime. If interested in signing youth up for shooting sports please contact Heidi Feltz 433-8839 ext. 241 or email, hmk3@cornell.edu

Thursday, November 20, 2014

GASPORT'S BURG CONCLUDES SOCCER SEASON AT SWEET BRIAR

The Sweet Briar College soccer team finished 2014 with a 7-8 mark, missing out on the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) playoffs on tiebreakers. The Vixens started a season 4-0 for the first time ever and equaled or bettered program marks for wins (seven), ODAC victories (four), winning percentage (.467) and shutouts (five).

Freshman Bridgett Burg (Gasport, N.Y./Middleport) played in two games as a rookie. She is pursuing a difficult engineering and mathematics double-major.

Story on Burg and her teammates balancing college soccer with an engineering major: http://vixenathletics.com/sports/wsoc/2014-15/releases/201409183xmpmm

Sweet Briar College is an all-women’s institution in Virginia, located on 3,250 acres near Amherst, Va. The College sponsors six NCAA varsity sports, along with a nine-time national champion riding program. The Vixens compete in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC), the second-largest multi-sport NCAA Division III conference in the country.

ROYALTON SEEKS ASSESSORS INFORMATION CLERK

The town of Royalton is currently accepting applications for an Assessor's Information Clerk

Michael Hartman, Town Assessor

Town of Royalton
5316 Royalton Center Road
Middleport, NY 14105
716-772-7826

716-772-2748
30 hours per week   
$13.00 per hour
ASAP
Permanent


Description:


HELP WANTED
Town of Royalton

Part Time Assessor's Information Clerk
 
30 hours per week; Starting Pay $13 per hour; Town Resident Preferred
 
Duties to include:

* Types, mails, or distributes correspondence in and out of Assessor's office

* Assists in the creation and completion of various list and exemption reports containing changes affecting the tentative and final assessment roll including the task of pro-rating of exemptions

* Creates, sorts, indexes and inputs data regarding title changes, change of address, requests and miscellaneous changes to the tax rolls
* Answers phone-calls and provides information on various subjects and makes appointments
 
* Receives, processes and analyzes the acceptability of information submitted by property owners applying for various exemptions including senior citizens, veterans, agricultural farmers, non-profit organizations and disabled persons. Arranges for the completion of all forms which may require a visit to the applicant's home
 
* Enters information into computer regarding building permits
 
* May assist in the preparation and maintenance of property inventory files and assessment rolls
 
* May maintain office supplies and equipment for the office
 
Graduation from high school or possession of high school equivalency diploma; Speaks Fluent English
 
This position is a Competitive Civil Service position that will require the successful candidate to take and pass a Civil Service exam

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

CHRISTMAS CUPBOARD

The 29th annual Christmas Cupboard show will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, November 21st and from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, November 22nd at Hartland Bible Church on West Avenue.

Crafters will have holiday ornaments, painted glasses, lawn ornaments, wreaths, snowmen, an assortment of lighted items, stocking stuffers, paintings, decorated trees, crocheted items, homemade all-occasion cards, decorated sleds and many inexpensive items. There will also be homemade jams, jellies, salsas, cookies, breads, sweet rolls, candy and more. Credit cards cannot be scanned onsite, so vendors will accept checks and cash only.

SPAGHETTI DINNER FUNDRAISER: POSTPONED



The Middle School's spaghetti dinner fundraiser originally scheduled for tomorrow has been postponed till January 8th

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

BRAUER ON THIS WEEK'S "OUTDOOR BEAT"

Gasport's own Scott Brauer will be the guest on this week’s Outdoor Beat on LCTV (Wednesday at 4 p.m.). An expert ice fisherman and the man behind Makiplastic (http://www.makiplastic.com/), he will be sharing information about how to get started, where to ice fish and what baits/lures work best.

Outdoor Beat airs on Channel 22 in the Lockport Time Warner market. If you don’t have Time Warner Cable you can go to www.lctv.net to watch the simulcast or a replay.

COVENANT YOUTH GROUP'S AUCTION FLIER


Monday, November 17, 2014

GILES MAKES COVER OF "INTERNATIONAL ARTIST"

The Niagara Gazette has a nice article about Gasport's own Kathleen Giles and how her article and artwork ended up on the cover of "International Artist". You can read the Gazette's report here:

http://www.niagara-gazette.com/news/communities/honors-keep-coming-for-local-watercolorist-kathy-giles/article_e75a3d44-4da9-573c-85a3-1ff50b36d56d.html

FMC'S LATEST STATEMENT

Here is the Monday morning update from FMC regarding what happened last week and the status of operations...


At approximately 10:00 a.m. Friday, November 14, 2014 the FMC Middleport, NY agricultural products formulation facility identified smoke coming from a vent associated with its Building 70 process, where blending and packaging of products occur. Operators immediately shut down the process and followed safety procedures by calling for outside emergency response. Facility suppression systems activated and the incident was under control in just a few minutes.

Through the weekend the facility temporarily ceased operations as we investigated the incident. The root-cause investigation continues to understand the cause of the incident. We are uncertain how much time the investigation will take. We are committed to being thorough. It is important to FMC to learn what happened, its cause and to use this knowledge for prevention.

As of this morning, the facility has resumed normal operations, except for the building that experienced smoke, as those were not affected by the incident. Building 70 equipment is being inspected and assessed.

On Friday, we notified the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation of the incident in an abundance of caution while we investigate. Also, FMC immediately notified the Royalton Hartland School nearby of the situation as a precautionary measure.

There were no injuries as a result of Friday’s incident.

FMC is grateful for all departments that responded and to our team of employees.

We remain committed to safe operations and regret any concern this incident may have caused to our neighbors and employees and their families

COVENANT YOUTH GROUP HOLDING LIVE AUCTION



Covenant Youth Group will hold their first Live Christmas Auction on Sunday, November 23 at 2pm. The auction will be at the church at 4449 Main Street, Gasport. Preview will be at 12 noon.

Area businesses have been very generous with their donations for the auction. Among the new and collectible items available are two 1970s vintage pinball machines with their original paperwork, Sabres tickets, new picnic table sets, hand stitched quilt, guided ice fishing trip, toys, jewelry, artwork, baked goods and many gift certificates for area businesses; truly something for everyone on your holiday shopping list. Lunch will also be available. Proceeds from the auction will be used for the group’s annual mission trip.

Pictured holding some of the donated items are left to right: Lindsay Yates, Ashley Bower, John Stoddard and Jamie Bower.

There is still time if you or your business would like to donate an item for the auction; please call Scott or Pam at 208-6306.