He enjoyed his politics. He liked his football. He appreciated a
good cigar and a dirty joke. But most of all, he loved his auto
racing.
That’s how I will remember Andy Waterman, who died Sunday in
Olean, N.Y.
Andy, 53, had his byline appear regularly in The Era for over
four decades.
A practicing attorney by trade, Andy wrote a weekly auto racing
column that ran April through September on Saturday mornings.
Once the local tracks had concluded their weekly racing cards,
he shifted his attention to the NFL, inking a weekly column for
Saturday’s edition.
In his early years, Andy covered St. Bonaventure University
basketball and wrote a weekly college football column. In addition,
he made several trips to Watkins Glen, N.Y., to cover Formula One
racing for The Era.
Andy’s last column appeared Oct. 21.
“He (Andy) was quite a character,” said Rod Biehler, a promoter
at McKean County Raceway. “He loved racing. He was not always able
to get to the track, but he was always in touch with what was going
on locally. He was always interested in the car shows.
“He will be missed. You couldn’t help but like him. He was a
great friend for racing.”
Andy’s death is the latest tragedy to strike The Era’s sports
department. Two weeks ago, Brian Kloss – son of former Era sports
editor Ronald Kloss – died of a heart attack at the age of 34.
Kirk Stauffer, head golf professional at Pine Acres Country
Club, was named Player of the Year for his peerless record as a
player in the WNYPGA Section tournaments.
A PGA member for 17 years, Stauffer has been the head
professional at Pine Acres since 1990.
He is an active member of the WNYPGA board of directors, serving
as tournament chairman in 2006.
Stauffer won five individual titles outright this year including
the Callaway Western New York Open at Niagara Falls Country Club,
the Seneca Allegany Casino Pro-Am at Elkdale Country Club, the Lake
View Country Club Charity Pro-Am, the YMCA Pro-Am at Lake Shore
Country Club, the Bradford Hospital Foundation Pro-Am for Kids at
Pine Acres Country Club, shared top honors at the Midvale Country
Club Pro-Am and finished as runner-up in both the Western New York
PGA Professional Championship and the Coors WNYPGA Section
Championship.
This is Stauffer’s sixth Player of the Year award, having also
won in 1991, 1997, 2003, 2004 and 2005.
Brookville’s C.G. Mercatoris and Elk County Catholic’s Emily
Riddle earned state medals at the PIAA Golf Championships at
Heritage Hills Golf Resort and Conference Center last week.
Riddle, a junior, finished tied for seventh place with a
two-round score of 158.
In the boys tournament, Mercatoris finished in a five-way tie
for sixth place after shooting a two-round score of 151.
Elk County Catholic’s Kevin Smith finished in a four-way tie for
28th place with an 18-over-par 160.
