Lucille Ball Memorial Park. Celoron, NY (Google Maps)

The Village of Celoron has received $165,000 from the Regional Economic Development Council Initiative toward a new playground at Lucille Ball Memorial Park.

The grants from the Environmental Protection Fund are administered by the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

Mayor Scott Schrencengost said the current play structure at the park is 25 years old and is unsafe.
He said at a public meeting in July that Consolidated Funding Grant from the state requires the village to come up with a 25% match.

The village will use the funding from the state to building an accessible playground with inclusive equipment. They also will use the monies to further improve the park with site work and plantings, including new trees and benches

The town of Sheridan also is receiving EDC funds in the amount o $421,725 to upgrade the Sheridan Bay Campground located on Lake Erie. A new accessible bathhouse will be constructed, campsite electrical hook-ups upgraded, and the pavilion and check-in office will be replaced.

In addition to those upgrades, the town will be preserving lakefront green space while ensuring the continued use of needed campsites.

The “Lights in the Park & Annual Tree Lighting” will take place from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. at Lucille Ball Memorial Park.

The free event will include children’s crafts, music, hot cocoa, and a visit from Santa.

Celoron West Ellicott Seniors presented the donation to the Village Board at the Board of Trustees Meeting on July 11.

The village is submitting an application for a New York State Consolidated Funding grant to replace the current 28 year-old playground with a new playground that will be handicap accessible and serve all age groups.

Village of Celoron public input meeting on new playground for Lucille Ball Memorial Park

Celoron officials say public support may be the key to success in the Village’s grant application to New York State for a new playground at Lucille Ball Memorial Park.

The village held a public input meeting Tuesday night that was attended by a little less than a dozen people.

Mayor Scott Schrencengost said the current play structure is 25 years old, “It’s been built in a pit. It’s full of water every Spring. Nobody can enjoy it. We have such a large usage of this park all Spring, Summer, and Fall that we just have to have something that’s better for the kids.”

Schrencengost said the current quote for a project is $150,000 and that the Consolidated Funding Grant from the state requires the village to come up with a 25% match.

He added this is the seventh time the village is applying for the state grate for the playground project and that state officials recommended the village hold a public input meeting to gauge support, “We can take support letters from anybody, even outside this area. I think that makes our application even stronger. It shows we have multiple people using this, other than residents.”

The village has petitions that can be signed by those supporting the project and anyone who wants to write a letter of support is asked to submit those by July 25th to: Village of Celoron, PO Box 577, Celoron, NY 14720-0577.

Lucille Ball Memorial Park. Celoron, NY (Google Maps)

The Village of Celoron is holding a public meeting tonight to get input on replacing the playground at Lucille Ball Memorial Park.

The Village is considering applying for a Consolidated Funding Grant from New York State to replace the play structure.

The public is invited to review and give input on plans. The meeting starts at 6:00 p.m. in the Community Center at 47 Dunham Avenue.

Those who are not able to attend and would like to support this project may send a letter of support to: Village of Celoron, PO Box 577, Celoron, NY 14720-0577.

The all-day Dragon Boat Festival will feature a pancake breakfast, vendors, races throughout the day and a Rubber Ducky Race at 1:30 pm.

All proceeds of the Dragon Boat Race go to non-profits including the Chautauqua Lake Association, The Resource Center and The Chautauqua Lake Rowing Association.

Information on the race can be found at www.chqdragonrace.org.

Parks Manager John Williams, Sertoma Club Member Roger Edborg, Mayor Samuel Teresi, Allen Park Women’s Club Member Sandy Forsberg, The Easter Bunny, Allen Park Women’s Club Member Carol Winterburn, Parks Commission Chairwoman Cindy DiNapoli, Allen Park Women’s Club Member Audene Jarosz, Recreation Coordinator Julia Ciesla-Hanley

Easter is this weekend and several local communities have Easter Egg Hunts and other events scheduled to take place.

JAMESTOWN

The City of Jamestown Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department has scheduled the 70th Annual Easter Egg Hunt to take place at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday at Allen Park.

The free event will be held in the upper level of the park where the playgrounds are located. That area will then be divided into three separate age groups.

Over 3,000 eggs filled with candy will be “hidden” in the Hunt area. In addition, 36 toy prize eggs and two Gold and two Silver eggs will be hidden.  The Silver and Gold egg prizes are sponsored through a donation in memoriam of Mark Hess. The Child Advocacy Program is donating 6 stuffed animals to be given away as prizes as well. The Easter Bunny will arrive by fire truck to kick off the event.

There is a chance for rain in the forecast, and an announcement will be made by 9 a.m., Saturday if inclement weather necessitates changing the location to inside the former Allen Park Ice Rink.

The location change announcement will be posted to the city website at www.jamestownny.net, as well as the Parks & Rec Facebook and Twitter pages.

LAKEWOOD

An Easter Egg Hunt will take place at the Chautauqua Mall starting at 8:30 a.m. Saturday. Children divided into four age groups: 0-3, 4-6, 7-9 and 10-12. The event is part of the Autism Awareness Event coordinated by the mall and The Resource Center, which is taking place from 10 a.m. to noon.

CELORON

The Village of Celoron will hold its annual Children’s Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday in the Lucille Ball Memorial Park.  One bike will be given away in each of the four age categories.

Registration begins at 9 a.m.  The Easter Bunny will arrive on a Celoron Hose Company No. 1 Fire Truck at 9:30 a.m.  The Easter Egg Hunt will begin at 10. a.m.  A rain date has been scheduled for April 22.

ASHVILLE

The Chautauqua Children’s Safety Education Village is hosting its 7th Annual Easter Carnival on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Safety Village, located at 2695 Rt 394 in Ashville (next to BOCES).

A centerpiece of the Governor’s strategy to jumpstart the economy and create jobs, the Regional Councils were established in 2011 to replace the state’s old top-down approach to economic development, with one that is community-based and performance-driven.

In Western New York, a total of 105 projects across Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, and Niagara Counties received $62 million. For Chautauqua County, 23 projects received a total of $4.78 million.

Local award recipients included:

• City of Jamestown receiving $1,480,000 for Tracy Plaza Green Renovations;
• National Comedy Center – $600,000 – for National Comedy Center Gap Funding, and another $234,000 for National Comedy Center Tourism Capital;
• Village of Celoron –  $354,220 – for Lucille Ball Memorial Park Improvements- Phase II Construction;
• Jamestown Renaissance Corporation – $111,297 – for Downtown Jamestown Winter Garden Plaza Phase II;
• Village of Lakewood – $100,000 – for Village of Lakewood, Town of Busti Stormwater Management Engineering Study;
• Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District – $94,200 – for Chautauqua County Highway Erosion Control.
• $40,510 to Libera, Inc. for Employee Enhancement Project;
• $30,000 to Town of Ellicott for Collection System Study; and
• $16,945 to Chautauqua County Department of Planning and Economic Development for Marketing Chautauqua County’s Overland Trails.

County Executive Vince Horrigan said that a total of 50 projects in the county had submitted applications. He said the awards awards will go a long way to help keep Chautauqua County on the move, adding that together with the $10 million Downtown Revitalization award for the City of Jamestown, Chautauqua County is truly benefiting from Governor Cuomo’s Regional Economic Development Strategy.

For more information about the awards or the Regional Economic Development Councils, visit www.RegionalCouncils.ny.gov.

The fund will be used to receive donations towards the cost of the replacement of the sea wall and construction of a kayak/canoe launch, a boardwalk and a new amenities building in Lucille Ball Memorial Park.

Once enough funding is secured, the project will be led by Greenman-Pederson, Inc. Engineering and Construction Services.

Donations can be sent to:

Village of Celoron
P.O. Box 577
Celoron, NY 14720-0577
(with the notation of “Park Improvement Fund”)

The new statue of Lucille Ball, designed by Carolyn Palmer, was unveiled on Saturday, Aug. 6 and will be on display in Lucille Ball Memorial Park, Celoron NY.

CELORON – A brand new statue of Lucille Ball was unveiled to much fanfare and celebration on Saturday at the Lucille Ball Memorial Park in Celoron.

The brand new statue was commissioned by the village following a fundraiser, with nationally recognized artist Carolyn Palmer selected to do the work. The village took up the fundraising effort following public outcry to replace the village’s original Lucy statue created by local sculptor David Poulin.

Poulin’s statue – dubbed the “Ugly Lucy Statue” – received international notoriety in the spring of 2015 after a Facebook page entitled “We Love Lucy, Get Rid of the Statue” went viral.

Even with the new Lucille Ball statue being added to the park, village officials say that the Poulin’s statue will also remain in the park, since it has become an attraction for the village since it’s story went viral in 2015.

A birthday celebration was held after the unveiling, with the Junior Guilders of the Lucille Ball Little Theatre of Jamestown performing several songs.