It has been four years since the last election of a Town of Sheridan supervisor and two years since the election of a new board member. The election on Tuesday brings two new people seeking seats on the board. They have diligently been working behind the scene for a few years for the greater good of Sheridan township. They are both endorsed by the Republican and Conservative parties.

Running for a seat on the Town Board to replace Richard Feinen is Eric Gentry. Gentry has been a Sheridan resident since June 2010 and has a history of townsmanship as a member of the Sheridan Zoning/Planning board since his appointment by the late supervisor, John Walker in 2021, and in 2023 was elected to the Sheridan Fire District Board of Commissioners, as well as being a fire fighter for Sheridan Fire Department.

Gentry grew up in nearby Cattaraugus County in the town of Otto, where he was raised on a dairy farm until graduating from Cattaraugus Central School, now known as Cattaraugus/Little Valley, in 1995.

Following graduation, he attended Monroe Community College and studied Criminal Justice where he earned an Associate Degree. He then moved on to Rochester Institute of Technology and graduated with a Bachelor Degree of Science with a major in Criminal Justice and a concentration in Environmental Studies.

After graduating in February of 2000 he moved west to work with a custom harvesting crew and worked from Middle Texas to the Canadian border in Montana combining wheat. He then moved to Chautauqua County and lived and worked in the Jamestown area for Community Development Corp. where he was foreman. He reunited with an old high school friend while in Jamestown and the relationship with his wife, Kimberly, began. The two moved to Virginia to pursue his law enforcement career which was realized with Stafford County Sheriff’s Office in Stafford, Va. During his time with the sheriff’s office he was promoted to field training officer before recognizing the family strain that comes with a career in law enforcement and made a very difficult decision to give up the life he worked so hard to get and moved back”home” and was hired as a mechanic for Northland Contracting Inc., a concrete construction company in Fredonia, where he is currently employed. Since that time in 2008 he has grown into management at Northland and is responsible for the day-to-day operations related to vehicles and equipment.

Gentry would ask the late Walker, on occasion, how to get involved with the town’s business as he has a passion for serving and contributing to making our community a better place to live. He was later appointed to the Zoning Board, where he currently serves, and in 2023 ran and was elected to serve on the Fire District Board of Commissioners.

As a Fire District Commissioner, he has gained some great experience as it relates to calculating, proposing, heeding public concerns, and passing municipal budgets. It is the duty of the board to propose and adopt and pass budgets while critically thinking about how to purchase much needed equipment while maintaining a responsibility for keeping taxes as low as possible and still providing the services necessary for all of the town’s people. This responsibility is a direct parallel to the duties incumbent upon a town council member and he looks forward to the challenge.

“I have a lot of relevant life experience that is directly correlated to the town’s business, be it legal matters, construction issues, mechanical issues or even balancing budgets. Having a current relationship with everyone involved in the town, will greatly assist with a seamless transition and I look forward to working together with the residents and other members of the board as well as the incoming supervisor.”

Stephen Roach Sr. is seeking the seat for town of Sheridan supervisor, replacing retiring present supervisor Tom Wik. Steve was raised and resided in Falconer until 1999. He graduated from Falconer High School in 1970 and then attended Jamestown Community College, majoring in Criminal Justice and Business.

While living in Falconer he was Republican Party chairman for 3 years, served as a part-time Village police officer (1973-1982), and served 26 years with the Falconer Volunteer Fire Department, including Assistant Chief, and Chief from 1993-1996.

He worked at Falconer Printing & Design, a family owned business for 42 years, retiring in 2015 as co-owner and president. The business is still running today under the ownership of his brother and son Stephen Jr.

Steve has served as a member of the National Ski Patrol at Cockaigne and served as the group’s treasurer and also is past treasurer and current member of the Northern Chautauqua Rifle & Pistol Club in Fredonia.

Presently he serves on the Sheridan Fire District Board of Commissioners and is chairman of the Sheridan Zoning/Planning Board, having been appointed by Walker.

Both will continue moving forward on projects worked on by the current town board. A few of these are the Route 20 fire site, which is now in the hands of the county, Sheridan Bay Park upgrades, the Route 5 Waterfront Revitalization Area (WRA), and the renting of the Community Center for social events. They both request your support at the booths on Election Day and during early voting.