SILVER CREEK — First responders in the village of Silver Creek have reportedly had one of the busiest months in recent memory coming out of February.

A report given at the village board meeting last week listed a total of 59 calls during the 28 days of the unusually busy month, averaging out to at least two emergencies or accidents a day.

In total, Village EMS responded to 26 calls, Village Fire had four, Town EMS had 19, Town Fire had three, Town MVA (motor vehicle accidents) handled three and there were four service calls, in addition to helping out other municipalities at a moment’s notice, including a recent fire that engulfed a house, car and boat in Sunset Bay.

“On top of the 59 calls, our ambulance goes to Buffalo-area hospitals on average five to six times a month,” Silver Creek Volunteer Fire Department Chief Jeff Griewisch noted at the meeting. “We had a gentleman three weeks ago in full cardiac arrest … we got him to Buffalo General that night. He’s back home recovering with a pacemaker. It (the ambulance) is a life-saver.”

Village board members were well-aware of the many forms of chaos that transpired in February, and took the time during their comments to commend those involved, and thank them for their commitment and hard work. “It seems like they’ve been extremely busy lately,” Trustee Marv Cummings stated of the fire department. “You do an excellent job, we’re very lucky to have the volunteer firefighting crew that we do.”

Mayor Jeffrey Hornburg also lauded the water and DPW departments for handling the hectic water main break on Main Street and Central Avenue the week prior. “I’d like to commend water and the street department for the quick response that we had to the water main break,” Hornburg said. “It was a 12-inch line that actually split, it didn’t break, it split four feet along the top.”

The break required some of the sidewalk to get torn up, but damage could’ve been much worse. “I’m told that the tower up in Alfred Heights is roughly a million gallons, and we emptied it,” Hornburg stated. “There was a lot of water that came out real quick. Luckily, the crews were aware of that and got the water shut off, and the pumps running to refill the thing.”

Hornburg also mentioned the brief boil ban scare, but noted the only affected business was the Food King Chinese restaurant because of their direct proximity to the break. “There was some concern about going on a boil ban for the village, but that didn’t happen,” Hornburg said. “The Chinese restaurant had to go on a boil ban, but they were the only ones because of their proximity.”

Griewisch also provided some food for thought regarding the recent flooding issues, during his comments to the board. “I know the mouth (of the creek) is the topic of discussion,” Griewisch said. “After the all-night flood, I honestly believe the whole base of the creek loosened. They dug however many feet out of there three years ago … I think it’s right back. The level of the creek is actually raised constantly to where it doesn’t take as much water to spill over the bank.”

Griewisch also pointed out that rainfall accumulations remain a flooding concern for the village as well. “If you guys meet with the Army Corps of Engineers, maybe raise or put some kind of brim around behind the houses on Oliver and the basketball court area,” Griewisch stated. “That’s usually our first place that gets water. Ice jams are ice jams, they come up, we babysit them for a couple of hours, they go out, but the rain storms tend to be our issues more than the ice jams.”

In other village news:

¯ Hanover Deputy Supervisor Louis F. Pelletter noted some concern over pending grants for both Hanover and Silver Creek, following State Sen. Cathy Young’s recent resignation announcement. “I’m very concerned about our future and the town of Hanover’s,” Pelletter said. “I’m very sorry to see her (Young) go, and I’m hoping her replacement is going to be as active as she was. We both (Hanover and Silver Creek) have grants pending, I’m hoping for the best.”

¯ Village Clerk Tom Postle was authorized to sign an agreement with Young Explosives to secure the date of July 3 with a rain date of July 5 for the village fireworks display. Young Explosives Corporation is a family-owned, Rochester-based display fireworks company with 68 years of experience providing fireworks shows for events.

¯ Mayor Hornburg was authorized to sign a pricing renewal agreement with NOCO for natural gas. The current fixed rate is $.443/ccf, and the new rate will be $.466/ccf.

¯ Trustee Warren Kelly announced that there will be a TAP grant meeting today at 3:30 p.m., while the next regular Silver Creek village board meeting will be March 18 at 7 p.m.