Saturday, June 29, 2013

CLEAN-UP CANCELLED FOR TODAY

Due to the weather, the town of Royalton is rescheduling the clean up of Mountain Ridge Cemetery. The clean-up will be scheduled closer to Labor Day. The exact day and time will be announced here at a later date.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

CEMETERY CLEAN-UP

This Saturday, June 29, the town of Royalton will be organizing a cemetery clean up day at the Mountain Ridge Cemetery on Royalton Center Road. They will be straightening stones, cleaning off stones, weeding, picking up branches and general maintenance. This will help to enhance the look of the cemetery.

All are welcome to come out and help. Volunteers will be working from 8:30am to noon on that day. They will be going row-by-row to do what they can. If you can come for 30 minutes or for the whole 3 1/2 hours, any help would be welcomed. If you will be working with them or if you know anyone or a group who would like to help on Saturday, June 29, please reach out to them and let town supervisor Jennifer Bieber know so she can have an idea of how many people they will have that day. Her phone number is 716 735-7335. Many hands make light work.

Friday, June 21, 2013

TODD BELFIELD ON HGTV TONIGHT

WLVL is reporting that 1981 Roy-Hart grad Todd Belfield will be on "You Live Where?" on HGTV tonight at 9:00.

Belfield’s shop, Jeddo Mill Antiques, is on the first floor of an old grist mill on Route 104 in Jeddo. Upstairs is where he lives: in a loft that features 150-year-old wood floors and a mix of midcentury furniture and antiques.

A 2012 Buffalo News article (http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121116/LIFE03/121119436/1064) caught the eyes of HGTV's producers.

For more information about the show, visit: http://www.hgtv.com/you-live-in-what/show/index.html

Thursday, June 20, 2013

ROYALTON HAS SOME OF THE OLDEST HOUSING STOCK IN WNY

Today Business First issued a report that answers the question: Which Western New York community has the biggest percentage of housing units that were built before 1940?

Based on their findings from Census Bureau data, of the 54 towns and cities in WNY with populations in excess of 5,000 residents, Royalton has the 17th oldest housing stock. Of the 2,984 housing units in Royalton, 43% were built before 1940.

43%!

Some folks might think this means our town is old and tired. I disagree. Royalton's housing has character and it harkens back to a bygone era. Most of those old houses are still sturdy, comfortable and lovely....they were also built with quality and attention to detail you don't see in today's construction. My home was built in 1860 and I'm proud to be a part of the 43%.

You can read Business First's report here:

http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/news/2013/06/20/which-wny-community-has-the-largest.html

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

ROY-HART HIRIND DEADLINES FAST APPROACHING

For the next school year, Roy-Hart is looking to hire for the following positions at the school...

Full-time teaching positions: Science (living environment, dual cert preferred); Social Studies 7-12; School Psychologist; Special Education (2)

Part-time positions: Library Media Specialist; Family and Consumer Science Teacher; Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant

Roy-Hart also has the following coaching vacancies:

Varsity Wrestling Coach
Varsity Assistant Wrestling Coach
Fall and Winter Cheerleading Coach

If interested in applying, the deadlines are fast approaching. Applicants for the teacher and staff positions must submit their resumes to the District by the close of business tomorrow, while coaching applicants have until July 1st.

For more information, click the employment tab at www.RoyHart.org

ROY-HART'S TOP 3 SENIORS

This past Sunday's edition of the Lockport Retailer featured a wonderful article about Roy-Hart's top 3 seniors -- Anthony Serianni, Eddie Pheil, and Tom Bragg. Check it out here:

http://www.metrowny.com/news/573-Roy-Hart_grads_prepare_for_future.html

LIBRARY BOOK CLUB

The members of the Royalton Hartland Library Book Club will be discussing the deep connection between twin brothers born into less than perfect circumstances in a compelling story set in Ethiopia and the United States at their Monday, June 24 meeting at 7 p.m. in the upstairs meeting room at the library, 9 Vernon Street in Middleport.

This month’s book selection for discussion is “Cutting for Stone” a bestseller by Abraham Verghese. This is an unforgettable story of love and betrayal, medicine and two brothers whose fates are forever intertwined.

Twin brothers, Marion and Shiva Stone are born of a secret union between a beautiful Indian nun and a British surgeon. The father disappears and they then are orphaned when their mother dies. Bound together by their familial connection and shared fascination with medicine, the twins come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution.

The Royalton Hartland Book Club meets monthly to discuss selected literary works, and they welcome other interested readers to join to share their ideas and opinions. More information can be found online at www.royhartcommunitylibrary.com.

Please call the library at 716-735-3281 with any questions or for more information.

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

ROY-HART'S GRADUATION RATE

Unlike most other schools in WNY, Roy-Hart has seen a marked decline in graduation rates over the past 3 years. In 2010, the rate was 88%. In 2011 it dropped to 84%. Last year, it was just 81%.

Read the Buffalo News' chart of progress for local schools:

http://www.buffalonews.com/assets/PDF/BN6269617.pdf

Monday, June 17, 2013

FLY-IN BREAKFAST

Gasport Masonic Lodge 787's annual fly-in and drive-in breakfast will take place Sunday, June 23rd at the Gasport Airport at Dale and Mackey Roads from 8:00 till noon. It's an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast. There will be pancakes with homemade blueberry sauce, eggs, sausage, coffee, juice, and milk.

Friday, June 14, 2013

BUSINESS FIRST'S RANKINGS

Today marks the finale of Business First's daily news releases about their annual school analysis. It concludes with the rankings of school districts and the issuance of their annual booklet summarizing their findings.

Based on four years of test data from New York State, Roy-Hart comes in at 75 out of 98 districts, a significant drop from 62 last year and 52 the year before.

See the list here:

http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/feature/schools/2013-wnyschools/2013/06/western-new-york-school-district.html?page=all

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

PAUL OATES AT HISTORICAL SOCIETY MEETING

The Town of Royalton Historical Society will be hosting this month's joint meeting with the Town of Lockport Historical Society on Monday, June 17, at 7 PM.

The meeting will be held at the Royalton Town Hall, 5316 Royalton Center Rd, Middleport.

They have a great guest speaker lined up for this month. Local celebrity and WLVL radio host, Paul Oates will be discussing the local dairies in Lockport and surrounding areas.

All are welcome to attend! If you have any questions please contact Jennifer Bieber at 716 735-7335.

UPCOMING FUNDRAISER

Unite for Juvenile Diabetes!

June 22nd at Royalton Ravine Park, 11am-7pm.

Be one of Owen's Team Mates by helping him to get a Diabetic Alert Dog from NIDAD.

Clor's Chicken Barbeque, Basket Raffle, 50/50 Split, High End Basket Raffle, Door Prize and Fun & Games.

Adult tickets: $20 Presale, $25 at the park.
Children: $10

Additional Gun Raffle supplied by K&K Guns
Smith and Wesson 642 Lady Smith s/s cyl or $375.00
Taurus Model 85 or $350.00
Taurus PT740 40 cal semi automatic or $390.00
Tickets: $20.00
Drawing: July 4th, 2013, 12:00 pm

Please contact Ron & Lynn Lomanto at (585) 535-0248 or lomantolynn(at)gmail.com

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS FOR ROYALTON'S FOURTH OF JULY

4 pm: Park opens
5 pm: Parade starts
5-7 pm: Music by Dixieland
6-8:30: Kids games
7-8:15: Music by Last Call
8:30- 10 pm: Music by Jonsie
10 pm: Fireworks

Friday, June 7, 2013

TEACHER ACCESS RANKINGS

Today's component of the annual school analysis from the folks at Business First looks at teacher access in the 98 school districts in WNY.

What is teacher access? It ranks schools on providing the best opportunities for students to interact with teachers, aides, counselors and other educators.

#1 ranked West Valley has a pupil-teacher ratio of 8.3-to-1 is the second-best in Western New York, considerably better than the 11.4-to-1 ratio that's the regional average.

According to today's news release, Roy-Hart is second to last in WNY.

Now, is that really a bad thing like the report makes it out to be?

8.3-to-1, even 11.4-to-1, is really pushing things. When my generation -- and those before us -- were kids, we had 20(+) students in a classroom. Most of those teachers served us well and we turned out just fine.

Read the article here:

http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/news/2013/06/07/west-valley-emerges-as-wny-leader-in.html

Thursday, June 6, 2013

GERVAISE IS A TEACHER OF MERIT

Business First has announced their 25 teachers of merit which spotlight outstanding work by Western New York teachers in the classroom and in extracurricular venues.

Among them is Anne Gervaise who teaches third graders at Royalton-Hartland!

Profiles of the 25 winners will be available in Business First's 2013-2014 Guide to Western New York Schools, which will be published on June 14.

Read about the awards here:

http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/news/2013/06/06/here-are-this-years-25-teachers-of.html?page=all

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

ROY-HART'S POVERTY RATE

In their annual comparison of the 98 school districts across Western New York, Business First looks at youth poverty rates as a means of determining expected performance.

The least impoverished district in WNY is Clarence at 5.14%. The poorest is Buffalo at a smidge under 39%.

What's surprising is that Royalton-Hartland -- a significantly rural district with very limited economic development beyond agriculture -- is the 17th least-poor district in the area, coming in at 10.35%, which isn't far behind #12 Amherst at 9.4%.  

A double-digit percentage is unacceptable; that means 150 Roy-Hart students are living in poverty. BUT, if there's a silver lining on that dark cloud, it's the fact that our district is one of the best-off in all of Western New York, by a significant percentage.

You can see the report here:

http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/feature/schools/2013-wnyschools/2013/06/youth-poverty-rates-in-western-new.html?page=all

THE "GAS" IN GASPORT

In 1826 the upstate New York settlement of "Jamesport" was renamed "Gasport" when engineers working on the Erie Canal noted the natural gas rising from local springs.

Most of those springs are long gone, but a few remain. One of those is located in a woodlot south of Slayton Settlement Road.

Here, a pipe was placed in it and a small vent was lit for an eternal flame. You can see how, decades ago, when hoboes traveled the land, they used such flames for cooking.






In this video you can see gas bubbling from the water and watch its effects on a kitchen match.