Allegany County Community Source 12-2-2022

Wellsville firefighters responded to WNY snow emergency

BY KATHRYN ROSS

WELLSVILLE — The City of Good Neighbors doesn’t start or stop at the city limits.

A little less than two weeks ago, when the city of Buffalo, known as the City of Good Neighbors, and the South Towns were hit with massive amounts of snow, they weren’t the only ones who were neighborly. Eight firefighters from Wells ville showed their good fellowship as well.

At Monday night’s village board meeting, Fire Chief Kevin Fleis chman told trustees the firefighters — Rod Winans, John Fleis chman, Mike Lutz, Bill Cavanaugh, Ryan Nixon, Brock Stonemetz, Gabe Dennis and Tony Guyot — made the trip to Angola in Erie Coun ty. There, they spent 24 hours of an assigned 18-hour shift helping out the Evans City fire department.

“They were there a little longer than expect ed,” Fleischman said.

The crew responded after a request was sent out for volunteer crews, he explained, adding that other departments from around the county also responded, includ ing Allentown, Bolivar, Clarksville, Friendship and Willing.

Wellsville’s crew took Wellsville 2, a pumper; Wellsville 6, a brush truck; and an ATV, Wellsville 604. The

equipment and firefight ers were all covered under the auspices of mutual aid.

“Wellsville was still well-protected in case of any emergencies,” Fleischman said.

Mayor Randy Shay ler commented, “Its commendable that these individuals would take time from their own lives to go outside their area to help someone else. It speaks well of the individuals who went and well of this village.”

Fleischman said the last time Wellsville firefighters responded to the Buffalo area was eight years ago.

While the chief didn’t have to ask the board’s permission to send the department’s men or equipment out of town, he did have to ask to hold a fundraiser at the Bowl-M-Over bowling alley in February.

Shayler explained that, according to state municipal law, even if it doesn’t include closure of streets or involve the department’s buildings, village fire departments are required to ask permission from their village boards to hold fundraisers, such as the annual bowling tourna ment.

The board gave its approval for the Feb. 25 event, but the fire department’s business didn’t stop there.

Fleischman said that this past weekend, while getting ready for

the annual craft show, firemen had to purchase some light fixtures to have enough light in parts of the building for the show. The Depart ment of Public Works had the changes on its agenda but had not yet had time to get to the “winter project” before the bulbs blew. Dean Arnold, head of the department, told Fleis chman that he expects to get to the project on Wednesday.

Trustee Mike Roeske, however, said there is another problem at the fire hall, brought to his attention by the Wom en’s Firemen’s Auxiliary, concerning access to the fire hall basement.

He explained that the women have to go all the way around to the upstairs of the fire hall and then downstairs

to unlock the door so that they can load their vehicles when they are providing support for the firefighters in the field.

“Some of these wom en are older and it’s hard for them to navi gate the narrow stair way to the basement where their kitchen is

located, so that they can open the door to load their vehicles,” Roeske said, wondering

$2M capital campaign underway at Jones Memorial Hospital

WELLSVILLE —

If you have driven through downtown Wellsville lately, you cannot help but notice a change to the skyline at Jones Memorial Hospi tal.

The $17 million Transformation and Modernization project is well underway.

The project includes a third-floor addition that will add more than 14,000 square feet of clinical space, as well as

more than 4,000 square feet of renovations that expand the surgical de partment, and a perma nent, fixed MRI tower that provide multiple levels of added clinical space.

To complete the project by the fall of 2023, the hospital has launched a $2 million capital campaign.

“We are very excited about this project and how it will enable us to increase access to prima

ry care and change how we deliver care here in Allegany County,” Jim Helms, CEO at Jones Memorial, said.

“With the increases in construction costs and enhancements to the project beyond the orig inal plan, there is a gap between the cost of the project and the amount of the grant.”

While the public campaign was an nounced at the JMH Auxiliary’s Gala and

Silent Auction on Nov. 12, a silent campaign has been going on for several months.

“Members of the campaign executive committee have helped us identify and ap proach a number of major donors,” Helms said. “These corner stone donors, primarily consisting of private in dividuals, have pledged over $1.4 million over

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Firefighters continued on PAGE 2

Photo provided

Wellsville’s firefighters, who helped out in Western New York’s recent snow emergency, are (from left, standing) Brock Stonemetz, Rod Winans, Ryan Nixon, John Fleischman, Mike Lutz and Tony Guyot. Seated (from left) are Gabe Dennis and Bill Cavanaugh.

Cuba First Baptist plans busy holiday season

CUBA — After a couple years of virtual worship and canceled events, Cuba First Baptist is finally mov ing back to “normal.” Things will not be the same, but there is a feeling of life and mis sion at the church.

On Dec. 3, the Holiday Market, craft fair and vendor show returns from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event will start with coffee and freshly baked cinna mon rolls, followed by shopping opportunities from many of the favor ite vendors plus a few new additions. A Soup and Side luncheon will be served from 11 a.m to 1:30 p.m. Take

outs will be available.

To top off the day, the “Not Your Everyday Bakesale” will offer all kinds of cookies, pies, candies, heat and eat entrees and more.

On Dec. 4, the morning worship service at 10 a.m. will be a Service of Carols. Everyone is welcome to join the church family as they sing the old familiar Christmas hymns. Organist Phillip Higgins will be offering some of these seasonal songs, and the congre gation will be given the opportunity to sing to their heart’s content.

This is a great oppor tunity to rejoice with family, friends and

neighbors.

On Dec. 11, the church will host “A Night of Christmas Laughter” at 5 p.m., a light-hearted evening of a delicious home cooked meal followed by the CFBC Players presentations. The pub lic is invited to attend, but are requested to call the church office (585) 968-1531 to make a reservation before Dec. 5. Donations will be accepted to offset the cost of the meal.

The youth of CFB will be providing the service on Dec. 18. This will provide the chil dren and teens of the church to be a part of the holiday season and bring their voices to the manger as we all await the birth of our King.

A Christmas Eve family service will be held at 6:30 p.m. as we welcome the events at Bethlehem and share in carols and a time of fellowship for all. The

First Baptist continued on PAGE 5

if something can’t be done to allow the door to be unlocked from the outside.

Arnold said that he would look into it.

And Arnold said he had looked into the matter of the malfunc tioning traffic light at the intersection of Mad ison Street and the Arte rial that Roeske brought up at the board’s last meeting. Roeske said the light failed to func tion properly causing traffic to back up on Madison Street.

Arnold contacted the New York State Depart ment of Transportation as requested and found that the traffic signal was not malfunction ing. He said, “DOT changed the location of the signaling device, a small metal plate on the road, and people aren’t pulling up far enough before they stop in or der for it to trigger the light. Drivers must pull up to the stop line.”

When Roeske asked if the plate can be paint ed so drivers can see it, Arnold replied, “You can’t mess with DOT.”

Which led Roeske to comment, “DOT isn’t maintaining the Arterial the way they should.”

He pointed out that broken fencing and overgrown weeds along the north end of the Arterial are detrimental to the image of Wells ville. “If you want to present a good image of Wellsville,” he said, “the broken chain link and overgrown brush aren’t doing it.”

Arnold said he would contact DOT about the problem.

In an unrelated

village bulletin board and possible funding, Shayler agreed that it is a problem and said that he would look into the creation, funding and location for such a project.

In a moment of re membrance, the board adjourned its meeting in honor of longtime board member William “Bill” Hendricks, who passed away on Nov. 22.

The board next meets prior to its regu larly scheduled meeting on Dec. 12 at 5:45 p.m.

FRIDAY 12/2

MONDAY 12/5

THURSDAY 12/8

the next five years.”

One of the first cor nerstone donors was the JMH Auxiliary, which pledged $100,000 over five years.

“All money raised by the Auxiliary will go toward paying off that pledge,” said Kay Eich er, auxiliary president. “This is a very exciting project with long-lasting benefits to our commu nity and we are delight ed to play our part in completing it.”

Community Bank is also one of our cor nerstone donors. Bank representatives deliv ered the first installment of the $50,000 pledge, which will be paid over five years.

“We are so thankful for the support of Com munity Bank and all of our donors,” Helms said. “This is such an exciting time for the hos pital and, thanks to the impact these enhance ments will have on local healthcare options, it is an exciting time for the community.”

To find out how to contribute to the project, contact foundation coor dinator Jodi Pearson at (585) 596-2053 or email Jodi_Pearson@URMC. Rochester.edu. To make an online gift, go to jones.urmc.edu.

Sisson, Mauro join JMH board

TUESDAY 12/6

Rhiannon Sisson of Bolivar and Steven Mau ro of Alfred have joined the Hospital’s Board of Directors.

Sisson, a Bolivar native, earned her bach elor’s degree in business at Niagara University. She and her husband, Scott, are the second generation to run Sisson Chainsaws & Stoves in Bolivar, where Rhiannon is the office manager. She is an active member of the Boli var American Legion Women’s Auxiliary. Two active — now teenage — children have led to her involvement with a number of youth sports programs.

“Healthcare in our rural area faces a variety of challenges and it’s important to the com

munity that we have people guiding our hospital who are directly affected by the decisions the board makes,” Sis son said. “I hope to be a voice for our commu nity.”

Mauro is the Alfred State College presi dent, having recently moved to Alfred with his wife Melissa and sons Quinn and Owen. Having spent more than 15 years in administra tion at Mercyhurst and Gannon universities in Erie, Pa., Mauro cites a desire to be involved in the community and to support the hospital as his reasons to serve on the board of directors.

He attended the University at Buffalo, where he earned both a bachelor’s degree and a doctorate in biology.

In welcoming the two new members, the board said goodbye and thank you to Dr. Robert Gilfert for his 10 years of service as a board member.

The the reorgani zation meeting also involved the election of new officers for the board.

Karol Marciano of

Andover takes over the role of chair from Rich Ewell. Dan Johnson of Wellsville was elected vice chair, Jenny Bilotta of Cuba is treasurer, and Mary Kate Cole is the secretary.

Also serving on the board are Ewell, Saman tha Gilkey, Ian Jones, and Jim Knapp, as well as UR Medicine repre sentative Dr. Michael Apostolakos, Stephen Goldstein, and Dr. Mark Taubman. Dr. Andres Rubert attends the meet ings as the chief of staff.

DAISY Award nominations sought

The nomination pe riod for the 2022 DAISY Awards for outstanding nurses at Jones Memo rial will be open until mid-December.

Nominations may be submitted electron ically using the link on the hospital website: jones.urmc.edu. Paper nomination forms can be found throughout the hospital.

All nominations received will be re viewed by a committee and the selected nurse will be announced in May during the Hospital Week festivities.

Photo provided

Standing in the newly renovated surgical waiting area for the check passing are (from left) Jones Foundation coordinator Jodi Pearson, Jones CEO Jim Helms and capital campaign committee member Jack Emrick, and Community Bank representatives Gina Elliott, branch manager at the Highland Avenue office in Wellsville; Julie Hall, vice president and senior district manager; and Bessie Davidson, branch manager of the Main Street office in Wellsville.

What to do about headlight glare when driving at night

In recent years, many a motorist has noticed how much more glare they en counter on the road at night than they used to. The headlights that are now standard in many vehicles can be a catch-22. Drivers of vehicles equipped with LED lights often find the road in front of them is much more illuminated thant it was in the days when auto manufacturers built cars and trucks with incandescent lights. However, the bright light emitted by LED headlights can increase glare for oncoming motorists, making the

roads more dangerous for all.

Headlight glare has long been a problem for many drivers. In fact, as far back as 2001 the Highway Traffic and Safety Administration sought input from the public regarding head light glare. A subse quent report noted that the issue compelled more responses than any other safety con cern, and it’s likely that a similar request would generate an even great er response today.

LED lights might be a problem for millions of motorists, but the efficiency and longevity of these lights makes it

unlikely that auto man ufacturers will shift to an alternative light source anytime soon. Until that time comes, drivers can try these strategies to combat glare when driving at night.

• Avoid looking directly at oncoming headlights. It’s im portant that drivers keep their eyes on the road at all times, but they should be able to do so with out staring directly at oncoming lights.

In North America, where oncoming traffic is always on the left, drivers can slightly shift their focus to the right as lights are oncoming. Doing so should allow them to keep their eyes on the road without staring directly into oncom ing lights.

• Purchase night driving glasses. Drivers can consider night driving glasses if they’re having a lot of trouble with glare. Such glasses differ depending on the manufacturer, but they’re generally intended to reduce glare and reflections from headlights and street lamps.

• Investigate wiper blades. Glare from

oncoming head lights contribute to visibility problems when driving at night, and old wiper blades can exacer bate those problems. Old wiper blades can be compro mised by a buildup of dirt and often wear down over time. When coupled with glare, this can significantly reduce visibility at night. Each manufactur er is different, but Ford recommends replacing wiper blades once every 12 months.

• Clean the interior of your windshield. A dirty windshield interior also can ex acerbate glare. Grit and dirt build up inside of a vehicle over time, and they can accumulate on the windshield just as easily as they do in a cup holder, on an armrest or on the dashboard. Various products are de signed specifically for cleaning interior windshields, and these could help re duce glare at night. Glare can make nighttime driving very difficult. Fortunately, drivers can take many steps to reduce glare from oncoming head lights.

Drawings, decorating contest added to Wellsville’s holiday season activities

WELLSVILLE — The Wellsville Area Cham ber of Commerce’s Hometown Holidays celebration now in cludes the Chamber Holiday Drawings. It’s a tradition that has drawn shoppers downtown during the holiday sea son for decades is back, but cash isn’t part of the prize.

This year the event involves basket give aways with local busi nesses contributing to every basket.

Bruce Thomas, head of the Wellsville Area Chamber of Commerce, said, “The Chamber is incredibly grateful to participating member businesses who have graciously donated var ious items to be placed in our holiday drawing baskets.”

He went on to say that a winner will be chosen each week during Hometown Holiday season and the baskets will increase in value each week. Those who want to participate should drop their entry

BY KATHRYN ROSS Holiday

ticket into a designated drawing collection box at a participating busi ness. The entry should include the name phone number and e-mail of the contestant. While only one name will be drawn each week, par ticipants may enter at any of the participating merchants.

Each Saturday that week’s winner will be announced at 4 p.m. on the Wellsville Area Chamber of Commerce Facebook page and on WJQZ 103.5 FM, 790 AM or WLS V 100.3 FM. Winners can stop into the Chamber to pick up their prizes.

The drawings start on Dec. 3 and continue through Christmas Eve.

The Chamber is also taking advantage of another tradition, the plethora of residents who string white, red and green lights and inflatable characters to decorate their lawns. For the first time in many years, the Cham ber has organized a Residential Decorating

Baptist

community is invited to come together as 2022, a year of chal lenges, comes to an end. Christmas Day will begin with our 10 a.m. service as we cele brate the birth of Jesus.

2023 begins with a 10 a.m. service on New

Year’s Day. An infor mal time of worship will be held and all are invited to attend.

The last days of 2022 will be filled with the joy and hope of the church. The area community is welcome at all events.

➡

home improvement

(BPT) — As days get shorter, tempera tures fall and we begin to spend more time indoors, many of us are looking for ways to make our homes more

snug and cozy. After all, the winter months can be much easier to withstand when our homes become havens of warmth, calm and comfort. As British poet Edith Sitwell once wrote: “Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand, and for a talk beside the fire: It is the time for home.”

The good news is that creating your own home haven need not be difficult if you un derstand how to create such environments through smart decor choices. With that in mind, here are five key decor elements that can go a long way toward making your home seem luxuriously warm and inviting - for both residents and guests.

Soft and luxurious textiles

The upholstery, drapes, curtains, linens, bedding and throws you pick can have a major impact on comfort levels. It may be worth spend ing more to purchase high-end textiles with high thread counts. One hundred percent cotton,

bamboo or silk often feels best against the skin, but some luxury brands also use syn thetic blends to their advantage.

Rich-looking hardwood floors Hardwood floors offer unparalleled warmth and beauty to any home regard less of its architecture and design style. And thanks to technology, engineered hardwood flooring now offers the extra protection needed to keep them gorgeous even under duress. LL

Flooring’s Era Collec tion line of engineered hardwood flooring, for example, is three times more impact- and scratch-resistant than traditional white oak hardwood flooring. These floors are even water-resistant, built with cutting-edge 5G locking technol ogy to help stand up to winter’s toughest effects. What’s more, this collection features ultra-wide, ultra-long planks in stylish Euro pean oak.

“Engineered hard wood floors are a great home decor choice that offer the timeless ap peal of hardwood with modern durability,” says Jen Meska, Direc tor of Merchandising at LL Flooring. “They’re built to withstand changes in temperature and humidity in your home through all four seasons, while deliver ing the warm, organic

benefits of hardwood that can make your home feel cozy and wel coming.”

Peaceful atmospheric lighting

Our natural human

circadian rhythms dictate that warm yellowish-white light (as opposed to cooler blue light) helps us relax and unwind. In

home improvement

general, light bulbs marked “soft white” or “warm white” will warm up any room.

Lighting experts recom mend using ceiling and non-symmetric wall lights to create the most comforting settings, but firelight and candlelight can also add a relaxing ambiance.

Comfortable furniture

Plenty of manufac turers create furniture that’s stylish but not

particularly comfort able. If your pieces fit that description, you may wish to exchange them for styles that allow you to come in from the cold, settle in and fully relax. Perhaps it’s time to invest in a new pillow-top mat tress, a cushy sectional couch that can seat your entire family around the TV or dining room chairs comfortable enough for game-play ing and lingering con versations.

Warm color schemes

Because warm colors such as reds, yellows, oranges and yellow-greens tend to remind us of sun, sand, and heat, they can make us perceive rooms as warmer and cozier. You may wish to boost that phenomenon by paint ing one or more of your rooms in those colors, or by choosing a neu tral, subtly tinted tone in one of those shades.

Many decorators

suggest balancing the effect of intensely warm colors with accents in cooler hues.

With colder weath er on the way, there’s much you can do to make your home a haven of comfort for your family. Take steps now to evaluate your home and think about improvements that could make it warmer and more wonderful throughout the winter months.

Sempolinski doesn’t want ‘blank check’ for Ukraine

BY RICK MILLER

U.S. Rep. Joe Sempo linski doesn’t “want to give a blank check” for aid to Ukraine.

“Do we know where this money is going?” asked Sempolinski, R-Canisteo, elected in August in a special elec tion to fill the unexpired term of former Rep. Tom Reed of Corning.

“Was any divert ed?” he added during his weekly phone conference earlier in

November. “I’m going to have to look at this very closely. I’m very concerned about a blank check.”

Russian troops invaded neighboring Ukraine almost nine months ago, attack ing civilian areas and infrastructure including power and water sys tems. Sanctions against Russia have led to spikes in energy prices.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine has already

caused “significant economic disruption” in the U.S., Sempolins ki said. “My concern isn’t that we shouldn’t support Ukraine. My concern is that there is a blank check.”

President Joe Biden last week asked Con gress to act in the lame duck session on a $38 billion request for weapons and human itarian aid to Ukraine rather than wait until ‘Blank

January when Repub licans will narrowly control the House.

Sempolinski con gratulated Republicans on taking control of the House for 118th Congress. Without being specific, he said he would continue “to fight against the far-left policies” of Democrats that have hurt this

country.

He also told report ers he was “very con cerned” what the last weeks in power Dem ocrats “will mean for a radicalized agenda.”

Sempolinski said to expects congres sional investigations into Biden and his son, Hunter, which will lead to full transparency

and accountability. Democrats ignoring Hunter Biden amounts to a double-standard — especially in relation to former President Donald Trump’s adult children, the congress man said.

“No one should be above the law,” he said. “One-party rule has led to a lack of transparen cy.”

The next thing Congress is going to have to do is work on funding the federal government, Sempolins ki said. “In recent years, they have waited until

the last minute to pass a stopgap measure.” A National Defense Authorization will also have to be approved ahead of Dec. 6.

Asked by the Times Herald whether he could support changing the way the national debt limit is increased to allow the president to increase the limit subject to a vote by Congress, Sempolinski indicated it was the only way a minority party can have some impact.

“I’m concerned about how the debt limit has become a dead

letter,” Sempolinski said.

He said he is expect ing a large number of session days during the lame duck session.

Republicans often don’t know what they are voting on until a short time before a vote.

Sempolinski is a former aide to Reed and won the special election over Democrat

Max Della Pia. He said he expects to return to his former post as chief of staff for Assem blyman Joseph Giglio, R-Gowanda, in January.

New York Republi can Chairman Nicholas Langworthy won the regular election in the 23rd Congressional Dis trict over Della Pia and will be taking the oath of office in January.

➡Holiday Activities

continued from PAGE 5

Contest to compliment the annual business district decorating con test. There are prizes for first, second and third places. Karen Kania of the Chamber said that next year, depending on how well it goes this year, the contest may be divided into categories.

For this year there will be only first, second and third as decided by a committee from the Chamber membership.

However, these folks aren’t just going to be driving around and picking just any ole dec orated house as its blue, red or yellow winner. Those who want to be part of the contest, must register.

health & Wellness

The judging will be Dec. 15 so contestants must get their names, and addresses into the Chamber office before then to be considered. Register in person at the Chamber office or call (585) 593-5080 to be part of the contest. Both vil lage and town residents are eligible.

Winners will be con tacted by Dec. 19 and winning houses will also be posted on the Chamber’s Facebook page. Winners will re ceive Chamber of Com merce Gift Certificates, which may be used in any Chamber busi ness, which includes businesses in Andover, Belmont, Bolivar Scio, Swain and Whitesville.

The relationship between milk and health

“Drink your milk” is a familiar refrain in households across the globe. Though that statement is often direct ed at children, adults also may feel they need to drink more milk. But the relationship between milk and overall health is a complex one that’s only been made more complicated by some long-held but poten tially misleading beliefs about milk.

Milk and bone health

Calcium, vitamin D, phosphorous, and protein have all been linked to bone health. Milk contains each of these nutrients, so it’s natural for people to think milk can help to establish and maintain healthy bones. Accord ing to the International Osteoporosis Founda tion, evidence strongly supports the sentiment that dairy products promote healthy bones and muscles. However, a 2001 study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that countries with the highest intakes of milk and calcium had the highest rates of hip fractures. Two separate meta-analyses of pro spective cohort studies, one in 2011 and the oth er in 2019, did not find an association between milk consumption and

hip fracture risk. So what do these studies have to say about milk and bone health? That’s uncertain, and acknowl edging that uncertainty is important for people who are looking to milk to build strong bones. In such instances, individ uals should look to ad ditional measures aside from drinking milk, such as daily exercise and avoiding tobacco, which the Mayo Clinic reports has been linked to weakened bones.

Milk and long-term weight control

The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health notes that re search does not support the somewhat popular notion that milk helps with long-term weight control. Though studies have found that milk and dairy could help to reduce body fat in the short-term when it was included as part of a cal orie-restricted diet plan, that benefit was not ev ident when individuals stopped restricting their calorie intake.

Milk and cancer

The potential re lationship between milk and cancer also is

complicated. A me ta-analysis of more than 100 cohort studies by the World Cancer Research Fund found that higher milk intake lead to a reduced risk of colorec tal cancer, though this benefit was mostly in men. However, the Chan School of Public Health notes that other studies have linked dairy and milk intake to an in creased risk of prostate cancer and early stage prostate cancer.

The relationship be tween milk and overall health is complex. Indi viduals who want to get healthy can speak with their physicians about whether or not increas ing their milk intake can help them.