(nee Walsh) of Binghamton, NY. May 14th, 2023. Beloved wife of the late Matthew Robinson. Devoted mother of Madelyn Teresa Slocum and Olivia Kathleen Slocum. Dear daughter of Teresa and Joseph Walsh; dear sister of Michael, Paul, Mark, and Kathleen Walsh. Also survived by many aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. Celebration of Life to be held soon at the convenience of the family.
Joseph Donald Schlaerth, Jr., age 62, of Newburgh, IN, passed away Thursday, June 22, 2023, at his home.
Joseph was born December 7, 1960, in Buffalo, NY, to Joseph Donald Schlaerth, Sr. and Sally Gallagher Schlaerth. He graduated from Amherst Central High School in 1978 and earned his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Buffalo. Joseph was the News Director for 14 News WFIE in Evansville for eight years. Before coming to Evansville in 2015, Joe worked for nearly 15 years at WIVB in Buffalo, starting as Producer, moving up to Executive Producer and finally to News Director for 10 years.
Joe enjoyed swimming laps in his pool and the company of his dog, Toby. Mostly he loved being with his children and watching them grow. A broad smile would cross his face as he talked about their many accomplishments.
Joe’s newsrooms were perennially successful, almost always #1 in every time slot. He and his teams won multiple Emmy, Edward R. Murrow, National Society of Professional Journalists’ Sigma Delta Chi awards just to name a few. The Indiana Broadcasters Association declared 14 News the 2018 Station of the Year. 14 News is currently nominated for an Emmy award for News Excellence because of Joe’s leadership.
Joe always insisted on an unwavering commitment to the highest journalistic and ethical standards. He painstakingly searched out and found the very best talent possible to bring onto the 14 News team so that the station would carry on its legacy of news and weather leadership in Evansville.
Joe was a former President and longtime member of the New York State Associated Press Broadcast Board, an adjunct professor at Buffalo State College (State University of New York), and served on the American Red Cross Leadership Council, Southwest Indiana.
Joseph is survived by his wife of 23 years, Vicki Ehrenberg Schlaerth; twin children, Aurora Paige and Joseph Donald Schlaerth: sisters, Katherine Curriden (Scott) of San Diego, CA, and Sharon Sharth (Mark Bryan) of Arcadia, CA.
Joseph is preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Sally Jo Schlaerth, who passed away in 2014.
A Celebration of Life will be held at 7:00 p.m. CST, Thursday, June 29, 2023, at Methodist Temple, 2109 Lincoln Avenue, Evansville, IN with Pastor Randy Moore officiating. Burial will be private.
Joseph D. Schlaerth Jr., 62, award-winning former news director at WIVB-TV
Joe Schlaerth had just guided the TV news department he directed to the nomination for an award – an Emmy for News Excellence – when he died unexpectedly June 22 in his home in Newburgh, Ind., a suburb of Evansville. He was 62.
Since the early 1990s, Mr. Schlaerth had regularly achieved high honors as a broadcast journalist. During nearly 10 years as news director at WIVB-TV in Buffalo, he and his teams had collected several of them.
The station’s coverage of the crash of Flight 3407 in 2009 brought him two national Edward R. Murrow Awards.
He also received two National Society of Professional Journalists’ Sigma Delta Chi awards – one in 2007 for an interview with Lynn DeJac Peters after she served 13 years in prison on a wrongful conviction for the murder of her daughter, and one in 2012 for an investigative series on bullying in schools and online.
Born in Buffalo, one of four children, Joseph Donald Schlaerth Jr. was the son of J. Don Schlaerth, radio-television columnist and TV Topics editor for The Buffalo News, and Sally Gallagher Schlaerth, head librarian at The News.
“I’ve always loved television news,” he told News TV columnist Alan Pergament in 2005. “I remember sitting there with my father, my mom and sisters watching the (casualty) numbers from Vietnam. When I was in school, I rushed home to watch the Watergate hearings. I always had the media bug.”
A 1978 graduate of Amherst High School, he worked his way through Erie Community College and the University at Buffalo. He was a bartender at a racquetball club and a hopper for The News, jumping off trucks to deliver bundles of newspapers to carriers and stores.
He was a year away from graduating from UB when he landed a job in 1985 as an intern at WIVB after another intern didn’t show up for work.
Mr. Schlaerth went on to become assignment editor, then was co-creator and first producer of “Wake Up!,” the station’s morning program, which gained top ratings.
He had similar success as producer and executive producer of news programs at 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. He was WIVB Employee of the Year in 2001.
“He’s done it the right way and the hard way,” WIVB anchor Jacquie Walker told Pergament after Mr. Schlaerth was promoted to news director in 2004. “He’s a journalist through and through and knows what’s important in news in this community.”
Under his guidance, WIVB won New York State Emmy Awards for documentaries on Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown in 2006 and development of Buffalo’s waterfront in 2007. The station won three regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for investigative coverage in 2013-2014.
His tenure ended in July 2014, a year after the arrival of a new general manager who was unhappy to see the station’s newscasts slipping in the ratings.
He went on to become news director for WFIE, an NBC affiliate in Evansville, ranked 107th among the nation’s TV markets. Under his leadership, it was named Station of the Year in 2018 by the Indiana Broadcasters Association.
“He insisted on an unwavering commitment to the highest journalistic and ethical standards. Joe painstakingly searched out the very best talent possible,” WFIE anchorman Randy Moore said after his death.
He was former president of the New York State Associated Press Broadcast Board, a board member of the Associated Press Broadcasters Association, a former adjunct professor of broadcast journalism at what was then Buffalo State College and served on the American Red Cross Leadership Council, Southwest Indiana.
Survivors include his wife of 23 years, Vicki Ehrenberg Schlaerth, an occupational therapist; twin children, Aurora Paige and Joseph Donald III; and two sisters, Katherine Curriden and Sharon Sharth.
A celebration of his life was held June 29 in Evansville.
Dr. Robert Lee Conschafter, a chiropractor for 60 years, died July 6 following a short illness, four days before his 93rd birthday.
He had continued seeing patients in his office on Harlem Road in Cheektowaga until he was 90.
Born in Buffalo, the younger of two boys, he was the son of Dr. Victor S. Conschafter and Mildred Weber Conschafter. His father, a chiropractor with a clinic on Humboldt Parkway, developed a visualizing device to help treat spinal problems.
He played drums in the marching band at Amherst High School, where he graduated in 1948, and was right tackle on the school’s undefeated football team his senior year.
At Bowling Green State University in Ohio, where he earned a degree in 1952, he played in the Army ROTC marching band and was corresponding secretary of his fraternity, Sigma Chi. He and a classmate, Joan Thompson, were married Dec. 27, 1952, in Cleveland.
Commissioned as an Army officer when he graduated, he served as an intelligence officer in I Corps Artillery with the 159th Field Artillery Battalion in the Korean War and attained the rank of first lieutenant.
Returning from service, he enrolled at his father’s alma mater, Palmer Chiropractic College in Davenport, Iowa. Both he and his older brother William became associates in their father’s clinic.
Dr. Conschafter was a former vice chairman of the board of New York State Chiropractic College, now Northeast College of Health Sciences in Seneca Falls, and a member of the New York State Chiropractic Association, District 17, and the New York State Chiropractic Council, District 8.
He received an outstanding service award from the Regents of the State of New York Board of Chiropractic in 1997. He also was honored as Chiropractor of the Year in 1994 and was given the Pioneer Award in 2013 for his service to the profession.
A Clarence and Amherst resident since the early 1970s, he was a member of the Park Country Club for more than 50 years and captain of the usher team at Calvary Episcopal Church. He also a member of the Crystal Beach, Ont., Tennis & Yacht Club for many years and the Buffalo Yacht Club. He was a former member of the board of directors of the Kiwanis Club of Buffalo.
In addition to his wife, a retired Williamsville elementary school teacher, survivors include two sons, Jeffrey and Bradley; a daughter, Sally Porter; four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Another son, Dr. David Conschafter, who had a chiropractic office in his father’s building, died in 2017. His brother William died in 1992.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. July 29 in Calvary Episcopal Church, 20 Milton St., Williamsville.
There’s been lots of smiles all season from Texas catcher Jonah Heim, left, who celebrates with right fielder and fellow All-Star Adolis Garcia after the Rangers closed a 10-inning victory last month against the New York Yankees. John Minchillo, associated press
(By Mike Harrington – The Buffalo News) The Pride of Amherst High has a tattoo of the Buffalo skyline on his arm and has carried it deep in the heart of Texas to a regular role in the major leagues.
But the 2023 season has turned into much more than that for Rangers catcher Jonah Heim.
Texas is the surprise leader of the American League West Division, by two games over the defending World Series champion Houston Astros, and Heim has been voted as a starter in his first All-Star Game on Tuesday in Seattle.
He’s the first player from a Western New York high school to make the game since Philadelphia’s Dave Hollins (Orchard Park) doubled in his lone at-bat of the 1993 game in Baltimore.
“It’s exciting, I don’t think it’s truly set in yet,” Heim told Texas reporters last week.
The lineups revealed Monday show that Heim will bat ninth and catch AL starter Gerrit Cole of the Yankees in the midsummer classic at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park.
The 28-year-old trailed Baltimore star Adley Rutschman by more than 300,000 votes in the first phase of voting but finished second to be named a finalist. Votes then reset to zero and Heim won Phase Two, 52% to 48%.
“I was pleasantly surprised, because usually guys that are relatively new to the league don’t get that much recognition,” said longtime Bisons radio/TV analyst Duke McGuire, who saw Heim’s entire high school career at Amherst while working as an attendance officer at the school. “But this year was totally different. There’s young guys on his team and a lot got voted in. You think about it and I wasn’t shocked because he’s having that kind of year.”
It was a long flight from Washington, D.C., to Washington State on Sunday night for the game, and Heim has traveled a long road in his career to get there.
Heim was a former Western New York Player of the Year who spurned a collegiate career at Michigan State after the Orioles made him a fourth round pick in 2013, the year he graduated from Amherst. He spent seven years in the minors – five in Class A ball – and was traded to Tampa Bay and Oakland before finally breaking through with the Athletics thanks to solid performances at Double-A Midland and Triple-A Las Vegas.
Heim made his major league debut for the Oakland A’s during the pandemic season of 2020, batting .211 in 13 games, before he was traded to Texas in the offseason. He played in 82 games with the Rangers in 2021, batting .196 with 10 homers and 32 RBIs.
One of the highlights of Heim’s season was a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays in Sahlen Field, where he had watched many Bisons games as a child. With dozens of family and friends in the crowd, Heim got lots of applause that weekend and even delighted a big Friday night house with a base hit in the first major-league game by a Western New York native in Buffalo since 1915.
Heim played 127 games last year, batting .227 with 16 homers and 48 RBIs, but the weight of the long season came through as he batted just .147 over August and September. He has been a full-marks All-Star this year, batting .282 with 12 homers and already blasting past his career high with 59 RBIs.
The 6-foot-4 Heim leads all MLB catchers in batting, home runs, RBIs and doubles (20), and is second in hits (82), slugging (.474) and OPS (.812). He’s fourth overall in the AL with a .408 average with runners in scoring position.
You want consistency? Heim batted .303 in March/April, .265 in May, .272 in June and is at .320 in July.
“Learning from experience was the biggest thing for me,” Heim said last week in a reference to his slump at the end of last season. “To know what a full 162 (-game season) takes on your body and mental stability, I’ve learned from that.”
The Rangers have a franchise-record five starters in the game, with Heim joined by infielders Marcus Semien, Corey Seager and Josh Jung and outfielder Adolis Garcia. They got off to a 40-20 start and although they have tailed off recently, they still lead MLB in runs and remain solidly in a playoff spot under new manager Bruce Bochy.
“I think the numbers speak for themselves,” Bochy said of Heim heading into the second phase of voting. “That’s pretty strong evidence that this man should be considered to start the All-Star Game. He’s leading a staff and doing a very good job. I think you look at the defensive metrics and where he’s hitting in the order (No. 6), with the damage he’s done … That’s not being biased, it’s just looking at the numbers.”
Behind the plate, the numbers are also impressive. Heim’s catching strike rate of 50.4% is fifth among MLB catchers, according to MLB Statcast. The team ERA of 3.78 with Heim catching is more than a run better than the 21 games when he has not been behind the plate, and he has thrown out 31% of runners trying to steal. That’s third in the AL with at least 10 outs made.
“An old catcher, so you know he appreciates what Heim can do behind the plate,” McGuire said of Bochy, who led the San Francisco Giants to World Series titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014. “Jonah is just so soft with his hands and just massages balls into the strike zone. That’s why I hope they don’t go to ABS (Automatic Balls and Strikes) because it will lose a good piece of his value right there in framing pitches.”
From his earliest days in the minor leagues, organizations always valued Heim’s defensive ability. He had a big body and a big arm and it was just a matter of his bat catching up.
“He was a lot of at-bats behind because a lot of those guys play year round in other parts of the country,” McGuire said. “He was a switch-hitter and people knew he was a real athlete. Played pretty decent basketball too. As a catcher, his receiving is off the charts and he’s got a cannon for an arm.
“I usually follow his at-bats every day, and slid a little bit but now he’s back up over .280 again. He’s been so consistent all year long and he’s driving in a ton of runs.”
The Rangers have 12 tough games to open the second half, with threegame series against Cleveland, Tampa Bay, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston. But after losing 94 and 102 games, respectively, the last two seasons, they’re quickly back in the hunt for the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2016.
“It all started in spring training when ‘Boch’ came in and gave that speech about all of us playing as one,” Heim said last week. “I think we all took it to heart and now we’ve shown we’re a team to be reckoned with.”
Died peacefully on Saturday, July 1, 2023 after a brief period of declining health. She was 98 years old. Beloved wife of the late Richard C. Lyons, Jr. Loving mother of Karen Lyons (Steve) Goodman, Mary (late Mark) Stein, Melissa Lyons Eyeington, Richard N. (Sheila) Lyons, Jennifer Lyons Greco and the late Catherine A. Lyons. Cherished grandmother of 14 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild. Devoted sister of Patricia Fornes, and the late Alice Anderson. Friends may call Friday, July 7, 2023 from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM at PERNA, DENGLER, ROBERTS FUNERAL HOME, 1671 Maple Rd, Williamsville, New York 14221. A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered Saturday, July 8, 2023, 9:00 AM at St. Benedict RC Church, 1317 Eggert Rd., Eggertsville, New York. Peggy, the second of three sisters, was born on May 27, 1925 to Herbert S. and Catherine Nielsen in Buffalo and was a lifelong Snyder resident. She was a graduate of the Amherst High School Class of 1943, where she was on the synchronized swim team. She attended Denison University. During WWII, she returned to Snyder and worked as a dental assistant. She married Richard C. Lyons, Jr. and together they raised six children. They were active members of St. Benedict Church, where Peggy was a Eucharistic minister, a member of the Rosary Altar Society, and a member of both the Ladies Golf and Bowling Leagues. She and her husband co-chaired many events over the years, such as the Canisius College Regents Ball and Canisius High School Gambit. Childhood summers at her family home in Angola instilled in her a lifelong love of water and swimming.
Peggy never met an ocean, lake, river, or pool she didn’t eagerly dive into. Everyone was welcome at the Lyons family pool for weekly Sunday gatherings. She was a 50+ year member of the Park Country Club, where she was an avid golfer and swimmer. She was also a competitive card player in her long-standing Bridge Club. Another highlight of Peggy’s life was her service to others. For more than 20 years, until the age of 93, she worked every Tuesday at the St. Vincent DePaul Soup Kitchen in Buffalo. She loved everyone she worked with and served there. She worked with special needs children at The Children’s League in Springville, NY. She was also a dedicated volunteer at the Amherst chapter of Meals on Wheels. Peggy was known for her sunny disposition and being a friend to all. She will be dearly missed. Flowers gratefully declined. Donations in her memory may be made to St. Benedict School, for the Kara Stein Scholarship Fund, 3980 Main Street, Eggertsville, NY 14226.
Tiger Tracks 