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The West Seneca & Elma Sun / Saturday, January 17, 2015
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Iroquois Prepares to Dazzle with Production of ‘My Son Pinocchio, Jr.’ By Kathryn Danaher SUN CORRESPONDENT
For Katie Bruno, being on stage in front of an audience is a feeling like no other. “When I am on stage, whether I am singing or dancing, it’s just really fun and I love it in general,” Bruno said. Bruno is in the midst of preparing for her school’s rendition of Disney’s “My Son Pinocchio, Jr.” The Iroquois Middle School eighth grader plays the role of the Blue Fairy, a lead character who turns Pinocchio from a puppet into a real boy. “When I first saw the cast list, I started crying. I couldn’t believe that I was assigned this part,” Bruno added. The school’s Drama Club puts on a musical annually, and is in its thirteenth year. Club advisor and Social Studies teacher, Kym Robare described the production as, “The beloved story we all know from our childhood, but told from Geppetto’s point of view.” Robare joins together with her two other advisors, Jennifer Hand and Lauren Fox to turn this tale from a story on script to real life magic. “There’s some of the songs featured that everyone knows and loves, like ‘When You Wish Upon a Star’ and ‘I’ve Got No Strings’, and it’s a cute spin on a well-known tale,” she said. The entire production requires lots of hands and creative ideas. Robare said more than 50 students will be on stage throughout the duration of the play, singing, dancing and showing off their acting abilities. She said 28 additional students are also part of the stage
WEST SENECA SUN EDITOR
The Town of West Seneca will now have two new police officers as they were sworn in at the latest town board meeting held Jan. 12. Ryan Miller and Christopher Bednasz were both unanimously approved by the board to be appointed police officers for the Town of West Seneca and will start their training Jan. 19. They were both sworn in by Assistant Police Chief
THE SUN
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SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 2015
Crawford extension, updates to calendar among topics at board of education meeting By William Homan SUN CORRESPONDENT
PHOTO BY MAX BORSUK
The Iroquois Middle School Drama Club rehearses a scene from thier play “My Son Pinocchio, Jr.,” which is set to open Friday, Jan. 30. crew, to make sure the lighting and sound are impressive to attendees. “There are lots of different roles and each one is super important,” explained Robare. “Our club is very popular, so it was tough assigning roles, and this is the first year our fifth graders had the opportunity to try out.” Robare said that is because fifth graders joined Iroquois Middle School this year. “We were very impressed with all of the student’s energy, enthusiasm and talent.” It’s something the Drama Club can’t wait to showcase in just a few weeks. “We’ve worked so hard, and have been practicing since November, so it’s going to be a great show,” exclaimed Druno. All ticket sale proceeds from the community directly benefit the Drama Club
and ensuring that its productions can continue each January. “Our auditorium is a bit outdated, so we have to rent special lighting and all of the sound equipment,” Robare said. “We are self funded, so performing in front of a sold-out crowd allows us to keep putting on shows year after year.” Robare credits local businesses for assisting in the success of the show. She said the program book that all guests receive when walking in the door includes ads from West Seneca small businesses and shops. She said the students and club advisors are responsible for selling those ads with funds directly benefiting the production. She added that a handful of parents also have played an integral role in costume creation and set design. “It takes an army,” Robare joked.
The students continue to hold practices Monday through Friday after school and into the evening hours, working diligently to prepare for opening night. “Certainly a very dedicated crew, and we can’t wait to show off the talent and hard work,” said Robare. So, will Pinocchio’s nose grow and will Jiminy Cricket make a guest appearance? “You will have to wait and see,” said Bruno. “My Son Pinocchio, Jr.” is open to the public and is happening on Friday, January 30th at 7 p.m. and Saturday, January 31st at 2 p.m. Individual tickets are $6.00 and go on sale beginning next week. They will also be available for purchase at the door. Please contact Iroquois Middle School at (716) 652-3000 or log on to www.iroquoiscsd.org for details.
West Seneca Town Board swears in police officers, reinstates public comments at meeting By Max Borsuk
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LIONS CLUB HOLDS FOOD DRIVE
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Michael Boehringer. In other personnel matters, the board approved the retirement of Detective Gary Pauly after working 35 years for the town of West Seneca. Both Supervisor Sheila Meegan and Councilman Eugene Hart thanked Pauly for his tenure and wished him the best in his retirement. “It was with great reluctance that he walked out the door,” said Boehringer. “It was a job that he loved and it was hard for him to leave. He just knew it was time
to enjoy the life that he set himself up for.” The board also approved the resignation of town prosecutor William Bond, who was appointed to the position at the Jan. 5 reorganizational meeting. It was found that Bond had committed a violation in his past and once the board found out, they asked for Bond’s resignation, which he willingly submitted. Town Attorney John Fenz will take over the position until a replacement is hired. ““Mr. Bond, apparently,
about 20 years ago, was censured for giving a client a loan and according to the ruling by the appellate division, they understood his reason for doing it, trying to help somebody. But it was clearly a violation,” said Hart. In the last town board meeting held Dec. 29, 2014, it was decided that the public comment portion of the meeting would be changed
See Town Board Page 5
The West Seneca Central School District’s Board of Education announced at their meeting on Monday, Jan. 12, that they would be extending the contract of current Superintendent, Dr. Mark Crawford, until the year 2020. The news, which was delivered by Board member Janice Dalbo, was received with a standing ovation. “I would just like it to be known that we have 20/20 vision here in West Seneca and we have extended Dr. Crawford’s contract to 2020,” Dalbo informed those in attendance. Dr. Crawford, who previously spent time as principal at Northwood Elementary and served as the Superintendent for the Hamburg School District, joined the West Seneca Central District in 2010. Coming aboard during an eventful time for the district, Dr. Crawford has been at the helm for a number of changes in the district, including state funding cuts and the closing of two schools. “I just want to say thank you everybody. I love being in West Seneca. We have a great team, as evidenced by our Social Workers tonight. We have at this time in our history all of our major constituent groups working together in harmony and we have a great alignment- our school board, our teachers, our classified staff, our administrators. It’s just a pleasure,” Crawford said. “We have great parents who love their children and support the school system and we have a great community of taxpayers and the town government who we work very well with. So I feel so lucky here in West Seneca. I’m so proud to be associated with the school system and as long as my health does what I want it to do, I’ll be here as long as I can. So, I’m grateful and I thank the board for its efforts.” As a result of the inclement weather the town has faced, the Board of Education made it a point to remind parents that they are able to sign up for alerts via the district website and also approved the following changes to the 2014-2015 student calendar: - Change high school flex days scheduled for Dec. 3 and March 12 to full day student attendance days. - Change middle school flex days scheduled for Dec. 4 and March 11 to full day student attendance days. - Change the elementary school full day scheduled for Jan. 29 to a half day for the purposes of parent teacher conferences. - Change the vacation day scheduled for May 22 to an instructional day. -Change the vacation day scheduled for Feb. 20 to an instructional day. The Board also noted that if there were additional closures due to weather, the vacation days in February would be switched to instructional days starting with Thursday, Feb. 19.. If there are unscheduled closures after the February vacation, the Board will also look to change the vacation days in April to instructional days starting with Friday, April 10. Those in attendance were also treated to presentations by the district social workers, who spoke about their involvement in their schools, and by students, Matthew Dembski and George Shea, who had the opportunity to attend the New York State School Board Association Conference in New York City. The students, along with a handful of board members, and Colleen Christmann, a business teacher at West Senior and the director of the Finance Academy gave presentations on the role of the Academies in the West Seneca Central School District. The West Seneca Central School District along with Matthew Bystrak also honored Jessica Hunger, a West Middle School teacher, as one of 4,000 nationwide, and only eight in Western New York to earn National Board Certification from The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards during the 2013-2014 year. The next board of education meeting is scheduled to take place at 6:30 p.m., on February 2, at West Seneca West Elementary.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
LETTERS .................................................... SECT. A PAGE 4
STUDENTS OF THE MONTH ....................SECT. SECT. A PAGES 3
COMMUNITY EVENTS.............................. SECT. B PAGE 8
SECT A P.AGE 2 CHAMBER MEMBER OF YEAR ................SECT
LIONS CLUB FOOD DRIVE ....................... SECT. A PAGE 3
POLICE BLOTTER ..................................... SECT. A PAGE 5
SPORTS............................................... SECT. B PAGES 1 – 4
SECT A, PAGE 8 ST JOHN THE BAPTIST HONOR ROLL.....SECT
SECT. B PAGES 5-7 CLASSIFIEDS .........................................SECT.
SECT A, PAGE 2 OLDE STEEPLE SHOP ................................SECT
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