Calling it a “landmark for the community,” Mike Ferrin of Castile says that he and his partner are equipped to pump new life into Valley View Lanes on Merchant Road in Warsaw.
“We’re very positive about this,” said Ferrin who, along with Rick Davis of Warsaw, has taken over ownership of the 12-lane bowling center/restaurant/bar. “This place is a landmark for the community, having been built in 1966. The whole idea is to keep it there and let the community take advantage of what it has to offer.”
Ferrin, 31, and Davis, 48, are working to convert the bar to a sports theme. The establishment closed a couple weeks ago after the previous owner, Jon Coykendall, encountered financial problems. As a result, the hall’s four bowling leagues had to cut their seasons short.
Jerry Hulbert of Silver Lake, secretary of the Tuesday Night Men’s League, admitted that it was a very difficult season.
“Many bowlers lost faith and trust in Mr. Coykendall, so we decided to end the season early,” said Hulbert, a bowler in Warsaw since 1974.
“It seemed to be a case of him (Coykendall) wanting to do too much too fast. The automatic scoring he put in wasn’t what he was led to believe it was. It was antiquated. His attitude towards the bowlers, however, was good.”
Ferrin said that he and Davis, both former employees at Valley View Lanes, are in the process of buying the entire building and property from Gary and Linda Herrmann, who had been holding the mortgage.
“Both of us have part-time jobs but we’ll be devoting much of our time to making this a successful venture,” Ferrin said. He added that they are considering changing the name of the place.
Their business plan is simple, Ferrin noted.
“We plan to touch each group in the community – teens, adults and senior citizens,” Ferrin said. “We’re doing the updates that need to be done … things that were promised to the bowlers -- and we hope that all the bowlers come back in September.”
He said that the lanes are in good shape but that he is not happy with the current automatic scoring system. “We will have new scoring by the time next season starts,” he said.
The new owners plan to reopen the business in mid-April, Ferrin said, with Thursday through Saturday night entertainment during the summer.
“We want people to stop in over the summer and see what’s happening here,” Ferrin said. “A lot of work is being done.”
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CALEDONIAN SHINES IN PERRY
Adam Philp of Caledonia became the first bowler to roll an 800 series since Brett Van Duser took over as owner five years ago, registering an 814 gem in the Miller Lite Giant League last Thursday.
Philp, 24, raised his average to 221 in the league with games of 279-267-268 for the Paul’s Auto Repair team. He said he now has six certified 800 series to go with “seven or eight” 300 games.
“I really made only two bad shots all night,” said Philp, a FedEx route driver. “I tugged one inside a bit in the second game and one fell off my thumb a little early in the third game, but I carried both of them.”
Bowling on lanes 1-2, Philp, a right-hander, said he played lane one three boards more to the right than lane two because the left lane was tighter. He said he used an Ebonite Gamebreaker bowling ball.
A regular tournament bowler, Philp said he twisted his knee a couple weeks ago at the Super Bud Bowl in Oswego and had been wearing a brace. “I took it off before bowling (at Perry) and the knee felt pretty good. After the fifth or sixth frame it still felt okay, and I had no problems the rest of the way.”
Van Duser said the previous high score during his tenure was Joel Dennis’ 795 a couple years ago.
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ALLIS WINS OAKFIELD MASTERS
Scott Allis of Knowlesville is used to bowling on tough lane conditions. So when he encountered something other than the house shot at Scopano’s Lanes in Oakfield, he was ready.
The 27-year-old right-hander outlasted 28 other bowlers Saturday to win the Oakfield Masters Tournament. He downed Scott Gibson of Oakfield, 204-176, in the title match.
“They had more oil on the outside (boards), so I played a straighter line to the pocket most of the day,” said Allis, who used two Storm balls – Attitude Shift and Gravity Shift. He needed to bowl just one game in the finals after leading the pack after six games.
Allis picked up some spending money ($140) before starting a new job at Growmark FS, a fertilizer company in Knowlesville.
Ed Doody of Pavilion placed third, followed by Paul Spiotta of Batavia, Rich Culver of Medina, Chris Bacon of Medina, Tony Martino of Batavia and Curtis Foss of Medina.
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WILKINSON STRIKES AGAIN & AGAIN
Chris Wilkinson of Portageville continues to put her stamp on men’s league action at Letchworth Pines in the Wyoming County village.
A veteran of bowling leagues in Warsaw and Letchworth for more than two decades, the right-hander rolled a pair of 700 series recently in the Friday Night Men’s League. On March 7, she shot 269—719 and two weeks earlier she posted 718.
In January, she recorded a 718 series in the Thursday Intertown League at Letchworth Pines.
Wilkinson is the office manager for the Ohri Medical Group.
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TOURNAMENTS ON THE MENU
Hopefully the snow will melt soon but there’s a flurry of tournament activity over the next several weeks.
Following are tournaments that may be of interest to bowlers in the Genesee Region:
-- The second annual Tim Campbell Memorial youth tournament is today (March 30) at Maple City Bowl in Hornell. Entry fee is $35. Call Bill Scheiwer at 1-724-986-7254 or log on to maplecitybowl.net for more information.
-- The Genesee Region USBC Association is gearing up for its second annual team, doubles and singles tournament April 4-6, 11-13. The four-person team event will take place at Oak Orchard Bowl in Albion while doubles and singles will take place at Cal Bowl in Caledonia. Entry fees are $20 per bowler per event -- $80 per team, $40 doubles and $20 singles – and $5 for optional nine-game all-events. Call 948-8757.
-- The Pavilion Fire Department four-person handicap no-tap tourney rolls into Legion Lanes in Le Roy from April 10-13, offering a $900 first prize based on 48 teams. Entry fee is $84 per team. The event is open to men’s, women’s and mixed teams, and handicap is based on 80 percent of 210. Squad times are 7 p.m. April 10-11, noon, 2:30 and 5 p.m. April 12 and 1 and 3:30 p.m. April 13. To enter, call Mark Brown at 716-474-7960.
-- The Adult-Youth Spring No-Tap event is set for April 12-13, 19-20 at Perry Bowling Center. The handicap tourney features two divisions – 11-and-under and 12-and-over. Teams are made up of one adult and one youth. Entry fee is $18 per team. The top three teams in each division will win trophies. To enter, call 237-6358.
-- The Frank Velletta Memorial Triples handicap tournament is scheduled for April 18-20, 25-27 at Scopano’s Lanes in Oakfield. First place, based on 150 teams, is $1,250, and the entry fee is $66 per team. Squad times are as follows: April 18 and 25, 6:30 and 8 p.m.; April 192-0, 26-27, 1 and 2:30 p.m. It is open to men’s, women’s and mixed teams. Call 948-9993 to reserve a squad time.
-- The annual Caledonia Volunteer Firemen’s five-person handicap no-tap tournament will take place April 18-20, 25-27 at Cal Bowl. First prize, based on 100 teams participating, is $3,500. Entry fee is $140 per team. To sign up, call Ken Benware at 538-6530.
-- The USA bowlers mart King & Queen mixed doubles handicap tournament will unfold on April 27 at Mancuso Bowling Center in Batavia. First place, based on 70 teams, is $750. Entry fee is $55 per team. Squad times are at noon and 2:30 p.m. (three games). Handicap is based on 80 percent of the difference in the team average and 410 with a maximum of 100 pins per game, using last year’s highest book average. Sixteen teams will advance to match play. Call 343-1319 to sign up.
(Mike Pettinella’s Pin Points bowling column appears every Thursday during the bowling season. If you have an item of interest for his column, please contact him at mikepett2002@yahoo.com or at 343-3736 or by mail at 55 Edgewood Drive, Batavia).