Story by Kouki Yatani

Alfred University announced in July last year that they plan to make a new sports complex on top of Jericho Hill. 

This new sports complex consists of an eight lane track, a second turf football field, a merged turf soccer/softball field, a full sized baseball field, a grass rugby field, a multi-purpose press box with VIP seating, and several parking lots. This new facility is made to support the athletes and to promote the balance of education and athletic life at Alfred University. 

The university believes that the facility would help with athletic recruitment and attraction because the facility will be able to compete with other universities around the area. However, Alfred University’s main purpose and reason for this project is to increase the student population and enrollment. 

After the sports complex is built they expect an annual increase of 100 students per year of enrollment. Building this complex will cost up to 30 million dollars and could take more than 16 months to complete. 

Although Alfred University thinks highly of this project, some community members have mixed feelings. Grace Harris is a student who goes to Alfred Almond. She happens to live on Jericho Hill right in front of the construction site. 

She believes that the sports complex will be a “great addition” to the community but she does not look forward to the long construction period. Overall, Grace believes that “this project will have a great impact and influence on the community and sports.” 

As the writer, I believe that this project has more cons than pros. The pros are the fact that it is a great addition to the community and can possibly help to attract students. However, it does not justify the 30 million dollars that can definitely be spent elsewhere. 

Will this complex actually live up to its expectations? I guess we will find out in the fall of 2025.

Story by Kouki Yatani

Five Below just opened one of its new stores in the Hornell Plaza on the 17th of November. Five Below is one of the most popular stores due to its trendy products and inexpensive items. Their slogan is “hot stuff, cool prices,” which quite literally portrays their products and prices. 

Surprisingly, most products in the store are five dollars or below with only some exceptions. This is great marketing because unlike stores such as the Dollar Tree, the name of the store does not lie. 

The store is broken up into several sections. These divisions include a corner with snacks, electronics, women’s fashion products, dog section, makeup, daily supplies, toys, and a stationary section. The store is very well divided and is fairly easy to navigate. It could be used as a great place to shop for small gifts that are trendy and fun. 

AA students Katen Donlon and Jonas Lockner also agree with Five Below being a huge success. They both used words such as excited and ecstatic when describing how they felt hearing that Five Below was opening. Katen, when asked how she felt walking into the store, responded exuberantly, “I didn’t even know where to look!” 

They both agreed that the products were fun and exciting. In addition they were presently surprised by how cheap the prices were for the quality of the products. When asked about his opinion on the products, Jonas enthusiastically replied, “cheap products!” Katen enjoyed the beauty section while Jonas enjoyed purchasing his cheetos socks. 

The prices and products are extremely appealing to any age group, but especially to people in their teens. Walmart may finally have some serious competition as Five Below continues to attract customers with its inexpensive and up-to-date items. 

Story by Amelia Lawrence

A new addition has been added to the village of Alfred. Several vacant storefronts in the village have been needing a purpose and something to occupy them. Ndulge, a new cakes and pastries bakery, has just opened this past November. 

Ndulge can make custom cakes and pastries for any special event. Since the opening of Ndulge some people have been questioning if the Terracotta has any competition to look out for. The Terracotta has been a popular coffee shop in the Village of Alfred for several years now, it has always been the go to place, and the only place for coffee and pastries. Now that there is another shop like this in town, the Terracotta better watch out. 

Throughout the years prices have gone up, most evidently at the Terracotta. The several people that I have talked to about this topic have openly shared their frustration with the expensive overpriced items in the Terracotta. Kouki Yatani recently visited Ndulge shortly after it opened, he stated. “It was a really cute bakery, and it was nice to have another coffee and bakery shop other than the terracotta in the village.” He ordered a pistachio cannoli and said it was delicious, as well as the prices being more reasonable. Ndulge has not started selling drinks yet, but if they do this could be a huge game changer if the prices are more reasonable. 

Story by Quinn Palmer

Since 1906, the Hornell Area Humane Society has been caring for animals in need of loving homes. HAHS is a non-kill shelter so animals can stay there for as long as it takes to find them homes, but they need help! The HAHS operates entirely off of volunteers and donations. Without help from the community, the HAHS wouldn’t be able to survive.

There are tons of adorable animals that need love and care. Fortunately, there are many different ways that people can help. Volunteers can help out in all sorts of ways. They can clean kennels and litter boxes, or walk dogs. There are also many housekeeping and groundskeeping jobs as well.

People can also foster pets; they temporarily adopt them until they find a permanent home. This both helps pets find permanent, loving homes, but it also frees up the limited space at the shelter. This is also great for the animals because they get used to living with a new family so they can more easily transition when they are adopted. Alfred Almond’s own Barrie Clark has fostered over 200 cats for the Hornell Humane Society. She told the Observer “There is so much to be done by volunteers, that they rely on volunteers”.

The HAHS also offers services to help people take care of their pets, such as their low cost spay and neuter clinic. They also sell items to help pet owners care for their beloved animals like flea and tick collars.

The people working at the HAHS genuinely care about the animals they help. Without people’s generosity, the HAHS can’t care for these animals. If you care about animals, maybe you should consider volunteering. Let’s get some pets adopted!

Story by Abby Hurd

During the summer of 2005 the Bromeley-Daggett Equestrian center was up and running meaning Alfred University equestrian teams and classes were ready to form. The center was donated by two Alfred University alumnus, Rob Daggett and his wife Catherine Bromeley-Daggett. 

The Facility is located about 5 minutes from the campus, making it very accessible for students who are a part of the program. All students have the option to board their horses at the facility while they are away at college, but are not required to. The facility is home to about 40 university owned horses, and 14 student owned horses meaning barn and horse care is very important. Freshman Ali Hurd stated, “Both students and faculty take horse and barn care very seriously to ensure the barn is clean and safe for both people and horses.”

 She walked me through the steps on how certain horses get medication provided to keep them healthy and in good physical condition, and how the horses get exercised and prepare for shows. She also talked to me about how each member on the equestrian team is responsible for taking care of two horses to ensure that all the horses get the same amount of attention and care. 

Alfred University's western equestrian team has earned Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA) Zone II, Region I Western High Point Team every year since the 2013-14 season. Individual rider accomplishments include multiple trips to the IHSA National Championship Show. The riders have produced multiple Top-10 finishers at the national level, meaning the program is very successful.  

Coaches Steve and Peggy Shank have been a part of the Equestrian studies and head coaches of the Western Equestrian team for 10 years, they are now stepping away to pursue a new career at a different equestrian center in Virginia. Their absence will be missed by many of the members of the program, and Associate Vice President for Student Experience, Athletics & Recreation, Deb Steward said "Steve and Peggy have made a tremendous impact on our equestrian program."

Many members of the Alfred University Equestrian Center have shown great leadership when it comes to the health and wellness of the horses, meaning the horse quality is considered high. The riders are also successful due to the leadership of the coaches and guidance of the horses, which will have a positive impact on the students in the upcoming seasons.