The Scribe’s Melissa Shepard sat down and talked about her music journey with Miranda Shepard. Melissa Shepard has previously tried out for the hit T.V. shows, The Voice and American Idol. She talks about her journey and performs an original song that she wrote in high school.
Hawks Edge Keuka
Hilbert college men’s basketball team won a nail-biter over Keuka College earlier this month, by the score 98-97.
The game was an extremely exciting contest for the fans as it went back and forth all afternoon long with the Hawks holding on after Keuka had a chance to win the game with the game’s final possession.
Hilbert started the game on fire being up as many as 13 points at one point in the first half, before going down early in the second half. However, they closed out the game strong and ended up winning the game by one point.
Any fan who bought a ticket was definitely entertained, but these games can be tough for the coaching staff to watch. Head coach Rob deGrandpre was happy that his team managed to hold on to the game and get the win, but not overly pleased with how they played.
“I like our start, I don’t like the fact that we give up a lot of points,” deGrandpre said. “It puts a lot of pressure on us to rally. I’m sure the people who bought a ticket tonight got their money’s worth but that’s not how we draw it up,”
One key to the high score was the amount fouls taken by Hilbert’s defense. To start the second half the hawks had seven defensive fouls in the first five minutes. That’s a lot of free points to be handing out to the opposing team.
“Usually in practice we certainly harp on defending without fouling,” deGrandpre said regarding the Hawks’ foul troubles. “It really comes back to being fundamental. You’ve got to be a disciplined team if you want to have success. And while we try to take advantage that when other teams do it, we can’t do that and expect to win games”.
A huge positive in Saturday’s win was the way bench stepped up for the Hawks, scoring 39 points. deGrandpre pointed out, “The good news for us is we have other guys that can step up and contribute and they did for us tonight. One of the keys going into the game was for the bench to contribute and give us a lift.”
One of those bench players that provided the team a huge lift was Kyreese Fisher who had five points in the Hawks win Saturday afternoon. He provided a spark on defense and was trusted to be on the floor in the final minute with the hawks protecting a lead.
“Coming off the bench I just try to focus on my defense because I need to ty and bring energy to the game,” Fisher said. “The easiest way for me to do that is being up on defense and pressuring the opponent.”
Another Hawk who really brought his game was senior Alex Karamanos, who played 27 minutes for the hawks and scored 24 points in the contest. He was very energetic and physical all night long being hard to handle for Keuka.
“We’re all really close and we all trust each other that any five of us can make a shot and I think that’s how we keep our composer and it worked out pretty well,” Karamanos said.
The Hawks are now 4-1 on the season and will play their next game on Tuesday November 26th at 6:00pm in University of Pittsburgh Bradford.
New Apartment Going Up at Immaculata Site
Immaculta Academy, directly next door to Hilbert Colleges, is under renovations to become a large apartment complex called The Oaks.
RANE Property Management purchased the 27-acre plot of land to turn the former academy into a residential apartment complex. RANE Development received $1.85 million in property tax breaks and is in the process of starting the $26.7 million project which is projected to create 171 temporary construction jobs and seven full-time jobs, according to the Buffalo News;
As for the Immaculate Academy building itself, RANE Property Management decided to keep the structure. The gymnasium and the auditorium currently will be fully renovated into a clubhouse community center to allow for the pool, fitness center, and an updated gymnasium center inside.
As for Hilbert College itself and according to on market rated apartments, this will be an eye-opening sight for future potential students seeking next door apartments close to campus which will hopefully allow for a greater growth of student enrollment at Hilbert College. The expected completion date for The Oaks is before the end of next year, Catia said.
“We plan to begin moving people in before the holidays of 2020,” he said.
AFC Playoff Predictions
It’s currently week 15 in the NFL and the playoff race is starting to get hot. For the first six weeks it looked like only the NFC would be a competitive race down the stretch but here we are in week 15 and it’s pretty tight for those beloved spots. So let me give you my not so biased, bills favored playoff bracket predictions.
In this article we’re going to focus on the AFC. right now as it stands the Patriots lead the east, the Ravens lead the north, the Texans lead the south, and the Chiefs lead the west. I’m not so certain all of these teams are leading their divisions at the end of the year with the Bills, Steelers, Colts, and Raiders all breathing down their necks respectively. Anyway let’s categorize the tiers of the Afc.
THE LOCKS
New England Patriots– The defense is hanging tough but people are slowly starting to score on them, not their biggest worry with the way the offense has been struggling and that can be a major issue that even Bill Belichick and Josh Mcdaniels might not be able to fix. Dare I say Tom Brady has hit the wall? And yes of course another cheating allegations looms large.
Remaining schedule: @ CIN; vs BUF; vs MIA
Final record: 12-4
Baltimore Ravens– They’re the hottest team in football winning 9 in a row and holding onto the win vs Buffalo by sixteen yards. Lamar Jackson is by far getting it done and the defense is the hottest in football. BLITZ BLITZ BLITZ
Remaining schedule: vs NYJ; @ CLE; vs PITT
Final record: 13-3
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS– The offense speaks for itself, Andy Reid is pushing all the right but and the defense is even making plays which could make the Chiefs the scariest team in football.
Remaining schedule: vs DEN; @ CHI; vs SD
Final record: 11-5
BUFFALO BILLS– That win in Dallas was so huge for national attention but more importantly for their playoff hopes. The defense is top 3 again this season and the offense is starting to hit their stride. WIN AND YOU’RE IN BUFFALO!!!!
FInal record: 11-5
Remaining schedule: @ PIT; @ NE; vs NYJ
BUBBLE TEAMS
HOUSTON TEXANS– The path to the playoffs is beat the Titans twice, easy as that. Their defense isn’t looking too hot with Clowney gone and Watt hurt but Desean Watson will keep you in any game, but it’s very possible that the Texans miss the playoffs.
Remaining schedule: @ TEN; vs @ TAM; vs TEN
Pittsburgh Steelers– For the longest time the Steelers were dead in the water but the Defense has brought them all the way up to sixth place and the offense is staying out of their own
Remaining schedule: vs BUF; @ NYJ; @ BAL
Final Record: 10-6
TENNESSEE TITANS– The Ryan Tannehill resurgence is happening!!. I’d like to pat myself on the back for predicting him taking over for Mariota when he signed there. Their defense is a real threat now it’s a matter of them vs the Texans twice that will ultimately determine their season especially with the Saints coming to town in between.
Remaining schedule: HOU; vs NOLA; @ HOU
Final record: 9-7
IN THE HUNT BUT NEED A MIRACLE
OAKLAND RAIDERS– They would need to win out and hope for some help but stranger things have happened so it’s not impossible
Remaining schedule: vs vs JAC; @ LAC; @ DEN
Final record 8-8
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS– To me the Brisset injury weeks ago took the wind out of their sails but with the Titans and Texans playing each other twice a win out from INdy could give them a shot.
Remaining schedule: @ NOLA; vs CAR; vs JAC
Final record 8-8
The rest of the crew
SAN DIEGO CHARGERS– Did I say San Diego, whoops I meant Los Angeles. The fan base in LA is atrocious and the stadium gets filled by opposing fans week in and week out. Anyway the Chargers need to start thinking about life after Phillips Rivers.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS– Foles needs to come back better next year because of that contract or Minshew mania needs to make everyone forget about that so far putrid Foles deal. Either way Doug Marrone is out the door and has no fingers left to point at other people. Just two years ago they were one stop away from a super bowl appearance. Funny how that works doesn’t it?
DENVER BRONCOS– The Broncos defense is good and really good at that but their offense is very poor and they can’t find a way to win tight games, hence the -21 point differential. All in all they aren’t in bad shape for the big picture but John Elway better find his quarterback of the future unless Drew Lock is the answer.
CLEVELAND BROWNS- MAybe next year Brownies and maybe next year Odell Beckham jr. will stop being selfish and Freddie Kitchens will figure it out.
MIAMI DOLPHINS– the Dolphins definitely aren’t the 2016/2017 Cleveland Browns dilemma as the Fitzmagic is getting them a couple wins and I really like Brian Flores as a coach. Maybe this full on rebuild works but I want to see Josh Rosen to get put in a good system with good players around him because he’s been thrown in the worst offenses back to back seasons and hasn’t gotten a fair chance.
NEW YORK JETS– J-E-T-S suck suck suck! Remember when some national media had the Jets in the playoffs in the summer, welp that died pretty fast just like the ghosts that Sammy Darny sees on the field apparently, and yes Adam Gase should be canned too.
CINCINNATI BENGALS– Their defense sucks and they were starting Ryan Finley at quarterback. Clearly this is a rebuild and they’re definitely going after the likes of Joe Burrow, Tua taga, Jusstin Herbert, and Jaylon Hurts. But as buffalonians we will always love Andy Dalton
AFC PLAYOFFS
Wild Card
4v5 Bills @ Texans
3v6 Steelers @ Chiefs
BYES: Patriots and Ravens
That’s my outlook and projection to date, hopefully reality includes the Bills with a bye and a home game.
Flag Football Tournament Benefits People Inc.
When it comes to autumn, football comes to mind. SIM 410 Sports Events and Operations put on an extraordinary event for a great cause.
Hilbert College student, Shannon Stokes ran a flag football tournament this past Saturday on campus. This event was for her class that Professor Daniel Roland teaches. The tournament ran on Saturday November 9th, from 3pm to 7pm. They used Hafner Recreation Center, for indoor play use.
“The tournament benefited People Inc.; a non-profit organization that provides services for individuals with disabilities and seniors,” said Stokes. Professor Roland said, “The group raised $314 from the teams participated in the tournament, concession sales, and raffle baskets.
Five teams participated in this event: Baked Bean Blowouts, Wheel & Deal, Hilbert, The Ducks, and Red Raiders. The games consisted of five vs five, one point per touchdown, two seven min halves, and a two min halftime break. The first round bye was given to the first registered team. Baked Bean Blowouts got the first round bye, for that matter of pre-registration.
The tournament was very competitive and hard fought by all teams. It came down to two teams for the championship. Wheel & Deal vs The Ducks was for the trophy. That game was really tightly contested, but Wheel & Deal came out victorious. After the tournament concluded, Wheel & Deal hoisted their trophy and got a team photo with Shannon and her event helpers. Shannon was greatly appreciated for the teams that benefited this event.
Buffalo Fanatics Bring Unique Perspective
The Buffalo Bills fan base keeps on growing each year. In particular, The Buffalo Fanatics, a fan-run media group is the strongest and largest fan base community. For example, their Instagram account has 62.5k followers. They state in their social media bios that they are the largest Bills community on social media. Buffalo Fanatics (formerly known as Bills Fanatics) was created in 2013 by Pierre Gabart, known as Kingpin, in the lead up to the NFL draft. Kingpin is his online persona nickname. This started off originally as a Facebook group. The aim was to gather like-minded Bills fans and them a platform to share their thoughts and opinions about their beloved team. Social media has played a crucial role for them, and keeps getting fans from other states and countries.
They are currently on almost all social media platforms, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube, Discord, along with a podcast network that uploads on all the podcasting platforms. Their mission is to deliver striking, unfiltered and unapologetic Buffalo Bills content for fans.
Kingpin stated their goal. “One reason for this media company, is not to regurgitate the same news. Buffalo Fanatics wants to be there for the fans. Their goal is to keep football fun and to bring a unique take to the wide agglomeration of Bills Media.”
Buffalo Fanatics recently held an event in September to engage with fans. This was during the home opener for the Buffalo Bills. It was called the Buffalo Fanatics Tailgate and consisted of food, meeting the BF team, games, music, and a good time. Over the summer, they had raffle a raffle for a BF swag bag which included a t-shirt, wristbands and lanyards. Also they had a raffle to win 2 tickets for the opener that day. The person who won, go to sit with the BF team.
One of the main purposes for this event, was to show love for all over their fans. People who follow BF are from many states and countries, not just from Buffalo. Some members of Buffalo Fanatics grew up in Buffalo. They are all die hard Bills fans. BF wants to engage with their fans, and to spread their awareness.
The Scribe had the chance to speak with BF President, Pierre (Kingpin) Gabart.
The Scribe: How do you feel engaged with Bills fans for BF?
Pierre Gabart: It’s probably the most enjoyable part of Buffalo Fanatics. Being able to interact with the fans, and build those relationships with Bills fans. That is probably the most part of Buffalo Fanatics takes pride in. This is not cookie cutter. It is brash and direct. No sugar coating, and that is why Bills fans enjoy BF. I personally enjoy the fan engagement, like interacting with their comments. Throwing jabs back and forth is what fans do, and that is pretty enjoyable.
TS: What is the importance of spreading BF content?
PKG: The one thing that I learned over the years, is that the many fans are from other states. Fans that don’t have a lot of avenues to gather information from social media. Not all the fans are on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. Being able to tap in all the markets to share content where the fans are at. Content is king. Spread the news as best as we know how, at the end of the day!
TS: How was meeting the fans at the BF Home Opener Tailgate?
PKG: That was absolutely awesome! We were able to talk to fans throughout the year. Being able to put a face to the name was pretty cool! We have debates with fans all the time. We know who we are talking to, and to put a face to them is really cool. Many fans showed up to take pictures as well. Being able to make it bigger and better for the years to come, is our goal.
Transfer Students Play Important Role at Hilbert
Transfer students are an important part of any post-secondary institution And Hilbert College is no exception.
There are many reasons for students to transfer colleges. Whether it be a student wants to live closer to home, a student might transfer for athletic purposes, or a student might have gone to a two year program out of high school and it’s now time to move into a four year school to get a bachelor’s degree.
Growing the college is important for Hilbert College as it is not a big college to begin with as it roughly only has about 800 students attending it. Transfer students grow the school by providing a second chance at recruiting students and can lead to growing the number of people enrolled at the school.
Erika Schwegler, the associate director of admissions at Hilbert College, brings in roughly sixty transfer students per semester.
Schwegler refers to transfer students as educated consumers.
“They’ve tested out the waters and know what they want out of a school,” Schwegler said. “They have gone through it before sat another school and they understand what they want.”
Transfer students come to the school with a knowledge of what they want as they have been through it before at a previous intuition. This benefits the school because they have clear picture of how they want go about things at the next school.
“Transfer students know what they want out of life now, they want to make this last ride what they wanted out of college in the first place,” Schwegler said.
“Roughly sixty per session, although that changes depending on the year. I also might bring in more in the fall semester rather than the spring semester,” she added.
Sixty transfer students a semester is quite a number considering the small number of students the college has to begin with. If sixty are brought in each semester that would be that a large portion of the school are transfer students.
One of these transfer students is a Transfer from Erie community college named Zach Scharett.
“Basically because of the proximity to Erie (Community College),” Scharett said. “It made the most sense as I play baseball and I wanted to continue my athletic career at the college level.”
With the new field being built on campus the baseball team has been able to obtain a lot of transfer students who might have passed on Hilbert out of high school.
“The field and head coach was definitely a huge draw for me,” Scharett added.
Schwegler said transfer students do a lot for the college and it is important that the keep them coming in to grow the Hilbert Community.
“I think they (transfer students) are our best ambassadors and they are the best retention for the school,” she said.
International Athletes Bring Their Game to Hilbert
Being a college athlete is almost every high school athlete’s dream, including those who grow up outside of the United States.
According to NCAA.org over 20,000 international students are enrolled and competing at the NCAA level.
International student-athletes bring much more than talent to intercollegiate athletics such as different bonds, friendships, and great opportunities.
Connor Buziol, a freshman basketball player from British Columbia, Canada, said he wanted to play collegiate athletics in America to meet new people and have new experiences.
“I wanted to branch away from where I grew up my whole life,” Buziol said.
Brandon Job, a junior baseball player from Ontario, Canada, came to Hilbert after playing his first two years at Erie Community College.
“I chose Hilbert because it was a nice and small, enjoyable environment,” Job.
Jessie Price, a freshman basketball player from Brisbane, Australia, came to Hilbert for basketball and new opportunities.
”I thought Hilbert was actually closer to New York city,” Price .
When we talked to each athlete the second question we asked them was what major was.
Brandon Job, is an English major, who is currently 1 full year away and looks to continue his education here at Hilbert and play baseball.
”I look forward to finishing my degree here at Hilbert but planing to move back to Canada after school, ” Job.
Connor Buziol is a business management major he currently is a freshman so he still needs 4 years before he gets his bachelor’s degree.
”I plan on staying in the united states after I graduated, I want more experiences, and a new place to start my life, ” Buziol.
Jessie Price, is a business law major in his first semester of college.
”I plan on staying in the United States after I graduate because there is better opportunities, jobs, plus I have family and friends here, ” Price.
All 3 athletes came for different places around for two reasons. The first one being to play their sport at a college level. But the most important reason is schooling being able to graduate with a college degree when their time is up at Hilbert.
Roller Rink Continues to Make Memories
Frank Young has seen a lot of memories made at his roller rink over the years
The owner of Frank Young’s Sports Arena, also known as the Orchard Park Roller Rink has been in business for 15 years. A lot has changed in the past 15 years. Way back when, roller-skating was the hot thing to do. Every Friday or Saturday night, teenagers, families, just about anyone would go skating. Going to the roller rink was the “in” thing to do at the time, but as technology advances and new trends come to be, some roller rinks find themselves struggling to keep themselves open for business.
Young said the industry has changed significantly since he first bought the business, especially with all of the advances in technology. It complicates things sometimes.
“I bought this place in 2004,” he said. “I saw a sign that the building was for sale when I came one day, and the rest is history. Over the years, I’ve made many updates and have changed things up quite a bit, but am lucky to be one of the few roller rinks left in business.” He mentioned he has faced some struggles over the years, but has always found a way to push through. The people in the community seem to have an attachment to the rink and have started bringing their own kids!
Young said the secret to running a successful business is finding something you want to do.
“You have to be passionate about what you do,” he said. “It’s not easy running a business today. I’m selective with the staff I hire and the essential decisions that I make. I also make sure there is something for everyone, meaning, we have hockey leagues for all ages, birthday parties, open skates, you name it.”
Trey Czumaj and Elijah Rodriguez, regular customers of Young’s said, they keep coming back because it is a place of nostalgia for them.
“It’s the place to be,” the pair said. “We’ve been coming here for years and every time you walk in you are reminded of your childhood.”
Young hopes he can keep providing opportunities for young people to make memories.
“Schools even come here for field trips,” Young said. “You don’t even have to skate. There’s an arcade in the back, and sometimes people just rent the building to hold events. There is literally something for everyone.”
Hamburg Volunteer Fire Department Works to Recruit Members
For most of us, when we see an ambulance or a fire truck in our everyday lives, it is a casual sight. While driving down McKinley Parkway or Route 219, you could see an ambulance with lights and sirens, and once you pull over and let it pass you, it is out of mind almost as soon as it’s out of sight. And then, our mind continues to wander as if nothing happened.
The sight of an ambulance or the sounds of sirens in the distance may seem inconspicuous at times, but when your life is in danger or you are in need of help, the lights on that ambulance or fire truck can easily be mixed up with the lights from heaven, and for good reason.
In the suburban town of Hamburg, NY, with a population of almost 60,000 people, one fire department consisting of about 60 volunteers is in charge of being there when we need help. Keep in mind, for every member in the department, there is another thousand people that could need help, which this department has done so without missing one single call for over seven years, despite having a dense workload of about three to five calls every day. That is around 1,300 calls every year, which was confirmed by Hamburg firefighter Josh Preshoff.
The Hamburg Fire department is located on 301 Union St, with an impressive number of clean, well-kept fire and EMS apparatus’s, ready at a moment’s notice to help those in their community.
“The department has made me a more open, and a more outspoken person. I feel as though because of the department, I became a more approachable and selfless person” Firefighter Josh Preshoff claimed. Sharon Dimpfl, who has been a member of the department for 32 years, agreed.
“I get to see extraordinary things” Dimpfl said. “It makes me feel lucky to be able to help others”.
Preshoff of the Hamburg VFD stated:
“It’s like being in a big family. They include you in what they do, they teach you and help you grow. Everyone here will help you with anything”.
Similarly, four-year EMT Brendan Moses stated “The people in your community, and the experiences you go through definitely make it interesting and worthwhile. Also, your coworkers are what makes the department feel like a big family”.
Moses said, like volunteer companies around the country, Hamburg is eager to recruit new members.”
We are always wanting and accepting more volunteers. Feel free to stop by at 7:00 pm every Monday and Wednesday” Moses added.
The Scribe 