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Local News Archive - 2007-2014

Ilion Central School District - Last Graduation .....

Links:

Herkimer Evening Telegram - Ilion graduates its final class
WKTV Mohawk and Ilion seniors graduate and say goodbye to decades of traditions
(July 3, 2013)

Ilion Graduates - Victims of Gun Violence.....

Three Ilion graduates have been the victims of gun violence this year. They include John Seymour IHS '66 and Dan Haslauer IHS '65. Both are recovering from the shooting rampage, that occurred in Mohawk on March 13, 2013, where six people were randomly shot. Four people died and John and Dan survived.

Deborah Massocco Castellano IHS '83 was found shot and killed inside a vehicle in a parking lot, on May 4, 2013, in Columbia, Maryland.
YNN John Seymour is Glad to be Home
YNN Herkimer County shootings
WKTV Shooting Stories
(May 21, 2013)

Condolences

Robert Weeden Applegate Esq., age 60, of West Winfield, died unexpectedly on April 20, 2013. He was born in Rochester on April 3, 1953, the son of the late Dr. Arthur H. and Betty Weeden Applegate. Bob was a graduate of Ilion High School class of 1971, and earned his bachelor's degree in English from Hamilton College, where he was a member of the class of 1975. Bob received his degree from Albany Law School in 1979. After graduating from law school, he went into private practice in the Village of West Winfield. On October 9, 1982, at the Hamilton College Chapel, he married Kathleen Conway of Clinton. In 1991, he joined the legal practice of Getman & Franchi on Morgan Street in his hometown of Ilion. He cared greatly for his clients. Bob was involved in his community and in a number of organizations. He was a member of the New York State and Herkimer County Bar Associations, New York State Grievance Committee, a member and past president of the West Winfield Rotary Club and the Ilion Conversation Club, a former volunteer firefighter for the West Winfield Fire Department, and a member of the Mid York Library System Board. He served as an attorney for the Village of Ilion, the towns of Schuyler and Frankfort, the Village of West Winfield, Mount Markham School District, and the Ilion and Herkimer Housing Authorities.

Robert Weeden Applegate

Robert Weeden Applegate
April 3, 1953 - April 20, 2013

Bob was an avid runner, participating in local 5K races and several Boilermakers. He loved the beach and loved to swim. He had an eclectic taste in music, was an avid fan of the New York Yankees and Broadway theater, and had a superb collection of neckties. Bob had an unmistakable sense of humor and an unshakable ability to see every situation in a positive light. He was intellectually curious, well read, and current in his interests. Well respected by his peers and clients, nothing mattered more to him than family.

Bob is survived by his wife Kathleen, his sons William and Thomas, his daughter Margaret, his brother The Rev. Stephen H. and his wife Terry Applegate of Granville, OH, his sister Mary and her husband Brady Boyd of Ilion, and several brothers and sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews and cousins. A memorial service for Bob will be held on Saturday April 27, 2013 at 11 am at the Hamilton College Chapel, with Rev. Stephen H. Applegate officiating. Friends may call on Friday April 26, 2013 from 4 to 8 pm at the Whiter-Hendrix Funeral Home Inc. 100 Otsego St. in Ilion; and are asked to consider memorial donations to the Mohawk Valley Heart Institute, 2209 Genesee St. Utica, NY 13501, the Masonic Research Laboratory 2150 Bleeker St. Utica, NY 13501 or ones favorite charity. Envelopes are available at the funeral home. On line condolences may be sent by going to www.whiter-hendrix.com. (April 28, 2013)

South Fifth Ave Ballpark - Fund Raising Event.....

Sunday, August 5th 2012 from 2 pm-6 pm join in on the fun and raise funds for New Dug-Outs at the park! This event will beheld at South 5th Ave Ball Park in Ilion.

"Make it a day with neighbors, friends & family and help to improve the community! This benefit concert in the park is featuring local talent such as John Seymour, Steve Rigo and members of Showtime! There will be a Charity Auction featuring gift baskets, gift certificates and a hand made Adirondack chair! Fun children's activities such as a bounce house, games and face painting. If you get hungry, you may purchase items from the bake sale or Maine's Food Truck. However, you are welcome to bring your own picnic! Donations will be taken at the gates that will go toward Dug-Out materials and improvements to the park. There is limited parking. We encourage being dropped off, walking or riding your bike. Don't forget your lawn chair, blanket or tent." - submitted by Elaine Retzloff Mabry (August 2012)

Mott Marathon 2012.....

Ilion Seniors will run this year's Mott Marathon as the Run to Cure Kayleigh/Mott Marathon Challenge. This year, participants will run the 26.2 mile marathon in honor of Kayleigh Coupe IHS '10. Half of the proceeds will go to Hope House, the residence where Kayleigh stays when receiving her treatments in New York City. The other half of the funds raised will benefit Livestrong and will be used to support cancer research and cancer patients.

Event Date is June 7, 2012 at 3 pm and will be at Ilion High School Track.

To support a runner, contact Mr. Mott at jmott@ilioncsd.org or call 315-895-7118 or visit Kayleigh's Livestrong Fundraising Page. (April 27, 2012)

2011 Ilion Mott Marathon Winner - Max Koenig

2011 Winner - Max Koenig
(overall winner)
men’s division winner 4:40:41
Ilion's Foreign Exchange student - Germany
Photograph courtesy of Ilion Central School District

School District Merger .....

At special meetings, the Ilion, Herkimer, Mohawk and Frankfort-Schuyler boards of education each passed resolutions to move the proposed merger to a public advisory referendum (straw vote) on Jan. 19. (Jan 14, 2012)

Leadership Alliance for a Vital Community - Herkimer and Oneida Counties.....

The Community Indicators project for Herkimer and Oneida Counties is sponsored by the Leadership Alliance for a Vital Community.

"The Community Indicators project for Herkimer and Oneida Counties is sponsored by the Leadership Alliance for a Vital Community. The project examines data and trends from a number of governmental and other sources to illuminate the state of the economy and educational system, explore the condition of families and youths, and identify the complex challenges facing our communities."

"The vision for this Community Indicators study is that it will provide an opportunity for local not-for-profits, municipalities and businesses to establish shared goals toward increasing the community's economic viability, well-being and sustainability. With this information, organizations and individuals can be inspired to form partnerships and take action to build a vital community." (Sept26, 2011)

Gracie

Gracie Margaret Lawton, age 21 months, passed from the loving arms of her family into the arms of the angels January 17, 2012.

Golf for Gracie Benefit

Sunday, October 2· 12:00pm - 10:00pm
Cedar Lake Golf Club
Please join us at one of Mohawk Valley's finest golf courses for a great round of golf, fun and to help Gracie!!

Gracie Lawton is the 16 month old daughter of Geoff and Lisa (Mocko) Lawton. In May of 2011 she was diagnosed with a rare type of childhood cancer called rhabdoid tumor. She is currently undergoing chemotherapy at Albany Medical Center and just completed her 6th cycle of chemotherapy. Treatment plans include surgery at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia in the near future. Lisa, Geoff, and Gracie currently travel to Albany multiple times weekly for her care. Gracie's grandfather, Bob Mocko has organized this event to help raise funds for continued costs they have and will incur which are not covered by insurance.

Cost is $100 a golfer which includes lunch, green fees with cart, automatic entry in skins, buffet dinner and prizes.
Format is captain and crew
Registration and lunch of burgers and hotdogs begins at noon. Shotgun start at 1:30 pm. We will play rain or shine.
Buffet dinner will be ready when you are finished and prizes will be announced during dinner.
Drawing for winner of Polaris four wheeler will also take place during event.
Checks can be made payable to "Golf for Gracie" and mailed to
Bob Mocko
24 Forge Hill Drive
Ilion, NY 13357
315-868-5469

or
Kyle Luke
221 Avery Road
Ilion, NY 13357
315-717-5617

We will need headcount and checks by 9/20

If you do not have a foursome, we will mix and match
If you are interested in a shirt contact Courtney Burger Valasek - cvalasek@westcanada.org
Anyone that is golfing in Gracie's tournament... Geoff had golf shirts made up. They are gold polo shirts and are $20 a piece. Let me know if you want one and we will save you one. They say the same thing as the pink Gracie shirts, except they are polo shirts. Probably look real sharp on all you golfers!!! (September 26, 2011)

Labor Day History - The Mohawk Valley Formula - Ilion, NY.....

Thanks to Mr. Francis Cunningham for introducing me to this infamous Ilion event. Mr Cunningham described Ilion's role, in the labor movement during the 1930s, by teaching us about 'The Mohawk Valley Formula'.

Wikipedia describes The Mohawk Valley Formula as a document purportedly written by the president of the Remington Rand company James Rand, Jr., describing a plan for strikebreaking during the Remington Rand 1936 strike at Ilion, New York.

Wikipedia: Remington Rand strike of 1936-1937 contains even more juicy information such as:

"Remington Rand armed the deputies with Remington handguns and billy-clubs, and bought civilian automobiles to serve as squad cars. While these deputies and the town police remained under the control of their respective governmental authorities, the company worked closely with county and town officials to heighten tensions within the town. Squads of six sheriff's deputies and one police officer were armed with shotguns and stationed at every road and path leading into the town. Local citizens had to obtain passes from the Remington Rand company to enter the town."

The June 10, 1936 strike-busting tactics are also described in The Mohawk by Codman Hislop on Google Books. Details include how Mayor Whitney declared martial law in Ilion, NY.

The Department of Labor site defines The Mohawk Valley Forumla as the following: "Developed by James Rand, president of Remington Rand, in 1936 to break strikes. The formula included discrediting union leaders by calling them 'agitators,' threatening to move the plant, raising the banner of 'law and order' to mobilize the community against the union, and actively engaging police in strike-breaking activity, then orgaÂnizing a back-to-work movement of pro-company employees. While the National Association of Manufacturers enthusiÂastically published the plan, the National Labor Relations Board called it a battle plan for industrial war." (Sept 4, 2011)

4th Annual Dave Whalen Memorial Golf Outing


The 4th Annual Dave Whalen Memorial 
Golf Outing 
(4 person scramble format) 
Saturday June 18th at 
Hidden Valley Golf Course 
on Castle Road, Whitesboro, NY 
start time is 12:00 NOON
Lunch PRIOR to golf 11:00AM 
cost per person: $75.00 
includes golf, cart, lunch, & steak dinner 
1st Place Prize $200
Non-golfers welcome for dinner $20.00 
  
Questions, please call Larry Woody at 894-3773  
please make checks payable to: 
  
David P. Whalen Memorial 
and mail to 
Larry Woody, 160 Barringer Road, Ilion, New York 13357 
All proceeds donated to the David P. Whalen Field Improvements Fund 
----------------------------------------- 
Anyone wishing to sponsor a golf hole for this outing, 
the fee is $25.00.Please call Larry Woody 
at 894-3773

Friends, Family Plan Benefit for Jody (Tanner) Karla IHS '95 Memorial Scholarship

The fund-raiser will be held at 7 pm on December 31st, 2009 at the Ilion Knights of Columbus and will feature a silent auction, live entertainment by Jon Leibing and DJ, hors d'oeuvres, and a free champagne toast at midnight. The committee hopes to raise enough money to provide Ilion graduates approximately forty $500 scholarships over the next several years.

For more information regarding the 'Jody Karla Memorial Scholarship Fund-raiser,' please visit www.jodytannerkarla.webs.com (Nov 11, 2009)

Benefit for Marilyn Paragi

To assist in paying for medical related costs for a liver transplant.
*$10.00 Donation

DATE: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009.
TIME: 5PM. - ?
WHERE: ILION ELKS CLUB
LIVE ENTERTAINMENT (8PM - ?)
FOOD & REFRESHMENTS
50/50 RAFFLE (TICKETS PRE-SOLD AND AT BENEFIT; $5.00 PER TICKET
CHINESE AUCTION
WHEELBARROW OF CHEER
LOTTERY TICKET TREE ($5.00 PER TICKET)

*Please support Marilyn Paragi and her family during their time of need. Thank you (Oct 2, 2009)

Condolences

Jack Manley

Jack Manley (John Steele Manley Sr.), died peacefully in his home in Sterling, Virginia on Tuesday, August 25 after a short illness. He was born on April 6, 1917 in Fairmont, West Virginia to parents C. Roy Manley and Velma Rex Manley. He is survived by his son Jack Manley Jr. and daughter-in-law JoAnne Loomis Manley (7361 Willow Brooke Dr., Spring Hill, FL 34606); his daughter-in-law Lois Murphy Manley of Ilion, NY; three daughters and two sons-in-law, M. Kathleen Manley (248 Remington Lane, Lyndonville VT, 05851), Susan M. Homyk and Daniel Homyk (12627 Heritage Farm Lane, Oak Hill VA, 20171), Lynn A. Reichard and Dr. Peter Reichard (8 Cliffside Way Boonton Township, NJ 07005). He is also survived by his sisters-in-law, Sr. Mary of the Assumption of Springfield, Ma. and Selma Manley of Forest Hills, NY and his grandchildren: Jon Manley, Joan Schubert, Jeffrey Manley, Janet Austin, Heather Manley, Shannon Manley, Kelley Calkins, Alyssa Homyk, Kaylee Homyk, Thad Reichard and Tess Reichard as well as eight great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife Mary M. 'Rusty' Manley and his son Robert R. Manley.

Jack attended Fairmont University, graduated from West Virginia University and in 1941 received a degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence from West Virginia College of Law. He was admitted to practice law in West Virginia in 1941 and in New York State in 1953. Jack was also admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals in the Fourth Circuit (1945) and the Second Circuit (1966) and the United States District Courts of Northern New York and Northern West Virginia. Jack and his life-long friend Paul Carter started their own firm, Carter & Manley, where they practiced law from 1953 to 1988. Jack was a proud member of the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, and was president of the Herkimer County Bar Association. Jack also served as Ilion's Village Attorney and Urban Renewal Attorney, and as school board attorney for Ilion, Herkimer, and Poland for 25, 10, and eight years, respectively. He served on the Board of Directors of the Mid New York Legal Aid Society, was the attorney for the Ilion Board of Water Commissioners for 17 years, and was a member of the National Panel of the American Arbitration Association. Jack served two terms as the mayor of Ilion from 1955-1959, during which time he organized the first Mayors Conference of Ilion, Mohawk, Frankfort and Herkimer, which then became the Mohawk Valley Conference of Mayors and Other Municipal Officials and the Central Mohawk Valley Alliance.

In 1965 Jack was appointed as the first administrator of the County Indigent Defendants Program where he organized and established the first program of its kind in Herkimer County.

Jack also had many personal and social interests. He was a member of the Syracuse Opera Club, the Piseco Yacht Club, the Piseco Fish and Game Association Clubs, the Ilion Conversation Club, the Ilion Shakespeare Club, the Ilion Little Theater Club, and was a life member, Exalted Ruler, and presiding justice for the Ilion Elks Lodge. He was most recently a member of the Galilee United Methodist Church of Sterling, Va. and was formerly a member of the First United Methodist Church of Ilion, NY where he served as the superintendent of the Sunday school and was on the board of trustees and administrative council.

Jack was a family man with a zest for life. He and his wife Rusty traveled extensively throughout their lives together but there wasn't a family dinner, cocktail hour, birthday celebration, or family social occasion that he missed. He was fond of sailing, a hobby he most recently enjoyed at his camp on Piseco Lake in July 2009, and also loved fishing, skiing, reading and listening to music.

Services will be held at the Galilee United Methodist Church in Sterling, Va. on Aug. 28, 2009 at 11 a.m. A committal service will be held at a future date in Ilion, NY. In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to Capital Hospice, 6565 Arlington Blvd., Suite 500, Falls Church, Va. 22042 or Galilee United Methodist Church, 45425 Winding Rd., Sterling, VA 20165. (Aug 29, 2009)

BOSS V Reunion Dance....

Rick DeJohn '69 sent BOSS V reunion plans...

On July 18th, the Saturday night of 'Ilion Days 2009', The 'Boss V Reunion Band' will be playing at a dance at the Knights of Columbus. This is an occasion for those in town for that weekend to get together and enjoy the feel of being able to go to a Boss V Dance again. We are not sure of the exact hours yet, but we will post it here when we find out. It should start around 8PM. If anyone or any group would like to take advantage of this time to get together informally, this is the time to do it. Keep checking here for further updates. (May 15, 2009)

Jerry Walsh "CakeEater Classic" Memorial Golf Tournament

"My Dad, Jerry Walsh, was a 1966 graduate of Ilion High School. Unfortunately, he passed away on August 13, 2008 after a 15 month battle with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). Our family has decided to hold a golf tournament in his memory to benefit ALS of Utica for patient/family care and national research. We invite all Ilion alumni to join us on Sunday May 31 at Hidden Valley Golf Club in Whitesboro. For more information please call Carol Walsh at 894-9115 or email carolwalsh@twcny.rr.com or visit our website at www.cakeeaterclassic.com. We hope to see as many alumni as possible. It is our hope that we can save other families from experiencing such a painful loss due to this horrible disease." Chris Walsh (May 5, 2009)

1992 Alumnus - Plans Film about Ilion, NY.....

1992 Alumnus - Michael Patrei is working on a documentary film about Ilion, NY. see www.ilionfilmcompany.com. "The history of Ilion, New York is A History of the United States of America. This documentary film takes a look at one small American town and how that town and its people have quietly yet potently moved through American history, from before the founding of this country to the present. It is not the dull and dry history learned from textbooks, it is the very real, very personal story of the people of Ilion, NY and how their lives are a reflection of this country as a whole."

If you or anyone you know has a story to tell about the history of Ilion please send email to: history@ilionfilmcompany.com

More information is available from The Evening Telegram. (July 13, 2008)

Day seeking Republican Nomination for Coroner

John Day - IHS '73 is seeking the Republican nomination for the office of Herkimer County Coroner/Medical Examiner, in District 4, which covers the towns of German Flatts, Frankfort, Litchfield, Columbia and Winfield. He is currently the incumbent coroner and is a licensed funeral director-home manager with Applegate & Day Funeral Home and the Graves-Applegate-Day Funeral Home. In July of 2004 the Enea, Applegate and Day merged to jointly operate four funeral homes in the valley. (July 11, 2007)

1st Annual Todd G. Wheelock Memorial Golf Tournament

The friends and family of Todd G. Wheelock (1996) are hosting the 1st Annual Todd G. heelock Memorial Golf Tournament. This tournament is held in memory of our dear friend, Todd Wheelock who died in 2003 as a result of a motor vehicle accident.

The 1st annual Todd G. Wheelock Memorial Golf Tournament is being organized to fund a scholarship to be given to an Ilion High School senior who displays the many exemplary qualities that Todd did.

The tournament will be held on Sunday, September 16, 2007 at 10 am (shotgun start). The event will be held at Pine Hills Golf Course in Frankfort.
Cost for the event is $65 per person or $260 per team. Captain and crew format.

Price includes 18 holes of golf, cart, hamburgs and hotdogs on the course, steak dinner to follow, assorted beverages.

There will be raffles, skins, and a 50/50 raffle at the course. Contact Mike Paragi at 733-1454 or 527-5332 to register or for more information.

Thank you!! We appreciate all the support we can get from the community in helping to fund this scholarship. (June 27, 2007)