Have you ever been in your local paper ?

ha yea

ummm once or twice, actually a few times for random crap, town of 25,000 btw i guess /claim

Evan's annoying? At least he knows proper grammar.

Learn the different between "your," and 'you're," before you post.

I've been in the paper twice I think. Once for sports the other for biotechnology.

The day after a meeting at the Town of Grove discussing local and regional support for Swain Resort, the Sawyers Group, USA, LLC. announced it will be holding a 3 p.m. press conference at the Allegany County Industrial Development Crossroads Building in Belmont to make an announcement regarding Swain.
What appears to be the announcement of a pending purchase of the facility will cap a roller-coaster week for Swain residents, who met Tuesday night to talk about the future.
“We fell like there is some information that needed to get across ... Obviously one of the concerns is that we hope we have a buyer for Swain ski center. We need to get the message out to potential buyers that we are here to support businesses in this town,” said Grove town Supervisor Mike Johnsen of the support he says the area has given to Swain Resort during the past decade.
“There are a lot of good things that we think the county and the town has done to try to support Swain ski center over the years,” he said.
Johnsen produced a fact sheet with seven different points that maintains Swain has received support from the community and county.
The first pointes out that the Allegany County Industrial Development Agency brokered a deal for Swain that effectively allowed it to pay no property taxes after a previous IDA plan was terminated by Swain owners.
Allegany County IDA Director John Foels attended the meeting and said Swain benefitted from $539,219 in tax reimbursements from entering into a Empire Zone in 2003. Johnsen said additional land was provided in the zone for the expansion of the business, but Swain never took advantage.

Foels said Swain will be entering its last year of the Empire Zone next year and that a new buyer will have to meet with the IDA to decide what type of deal is best for their needs.

“I never do the same deal twice,” said Foels.

Johnsen later pointed out that Swain receives 37 percent of all Allegany County tourism dollars to promote the ski center.

“Swain does receive all of the marketing dollars for skiing and winter activities in our region,” said Sherry Grugel, Greater Allegany County Chamber of Commerce director of tourism. She said those funds do not include promotion in the regional tourism brochure.     

Johnsen acknowledged there has been opposition to owner Phil Saunders and the purchase of the town hall, but said it was a minority of residents. He claimed resentment from an IDA deal that raised taxes more than 9 percent in 2000 and a lawsuit with the town over Swain’s 2000-01 tax assessment created bad blood between the business and some town residents.

Among Johnsen’s other examples of support were the paving of Mill Street to accommodate ski center traffic, special effort by the highway superintendent to keep access roads clear for skiers and sustaining the cost of ambulance service for injured skiers.
“We pay contractually to Canaseraga to provide that service. If you go back and calculate out what it costs the town to pick up injured skiers we estimate that the town foots the bill for $7,000 annually to pick up injured skiers,” said Johnsen. After this point he said every $3,000 of expenses in Grove represents a 1 percent tax increase and that paying for that the bill represents an investment in the ski center.

Eric Stearns, general manager of Swain Resort, said after the meeting he disagreed with how high the figure was, but didn’t argue that it was costly to the town.

Johnsen said Grove is billed over $200 per ambulance call. 

Stearns announced last week that operation costs have been between $300,000 and $600,000 more than net revenue in recent years.
Towards the end of the meeting resident Steve Hooker, owner of The Oaks and Green Acres trailer parks in Arkport, said he placed a viable purchase offer for the resort. Foels said he is interested in meeting with Hooker and gave him a business card.

Saunders, interviewed by phone prior to the meeting Tuesday, said he has been contacted by several potential buyers and that he will try to sell Swain, rather than liquidate equipment and supplies at the resort.

“I’m not trying to put a nail in the coffin of this town,” said Saunders, adding, “If someone offered me $1.8 million to buy it and I could make $2 million off liquidating, I’d make sure it had a new owner.”
Swain employs the equivalent of 85-90 full time employees with a $970,000 payroll. It has been in business since 1947.

thank you for ending my night on a good, humorous note..