A look back at 2003

by Ralph Schwarz
Niagara Wheatfield Tribune

In a year that brought the war against international terrorism to Niagara County with many area residents participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom, the year 2003 nevertheless turned out to be busy and exciting time for local politicians, families, businesses, schools, and community organizations alike.

And as in the past, this year's Tribune photo review revisits some of the highlights of the many memorable community happenings of 2003.

The year started with the opening of the new Seneca Niagara Casino in downtown Niagara Falls on New Year's Eve. Widely regarded as a catalyst to spur a major increase in tourism and to create new jobs and businesses in the Greater Niagara Falls area, the $100 million facility proved to be a winner. It its first year, the casino created over 2,200 much-needed new jobs and is expected to pay $9 million in gaming revenues to the city of Niagara Falls.

The month of January also saw the grand opening of the new Outpatient Rehabilitation Center of Mount St. Mary's Hospital and Health Center. Located in the town of Niagara, the 4,500-square-foot facility offers a variety of rehabilitation services, including physical, speech and occupational therapy; sports medicine and athletic training; lymphedema treatment; and education wellness programs.

In an effort to foster strong literacy skills as a foundation for better comprehension and critical thinking skills, the faculty at Errick Road Elementary School launched its first Parents as Reading Partners program on Feb. 21. Using the theme "Blast into Reading: A Space Adventure," the five-week program promoted reading as a fun-filled activity for all students from Kindergarten to Fifth Grade.

With units of the 107th Air Refueling Wing and the 914th Tactical Airlift Wing dispatched to the Middle East to participate in Operation Iraqi Freedom, over 1,500 people from Erie and Niagara county packed the Summit Park Mall on March 31 to honor and pray for the U.S. troops and their families during a candlelight vigil. The one-hour long event also featured performances of patriotic songs and speeches by the commanders of the two units.

After six weeks of deployment to the Middle East as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, about 20 men and women from the 107th Air Refueling Wing of the New York Air National returned home to Western New York on April 21. The homecoming troops were greeted by about 40 family members, many of them carrying American flags, at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station.

On May 15, the Tuscarora Indian Elementary School reached out to the local community to share and celebrate native American Indian traditions by hosting its annual Culture Night. The event displayed the various projects done by the 140 students of the school. On stage, the event featured musical performances by Club Skarure and the Youth Singers as well as by the Tuscarora Dancers.

On June 13, the valuable lesson of working together cumulated for 65 kindergarten and first grade students at Errick Road Elementary School with the dedication an Alphabet Garden in front of the school building. Guided by their teachers, the students first researched different species of flowers before selecting and planting the 26 flower to represent each letter of the alphabet. In addition, the students made 26 decorative ceramic tiles in the style of renown artist Jasper Johns, depicting a letter of the alphabet.

With the Fourth of July only days away, area families had already a reason to celebrate on June 30 as they were reunited with their loved ones as 157 members of the 914th Tactical Airlift Wing returned home from the Middle East. After the six C-130 Hercules transport aircrafts reached their parking positions at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, hundreds of family members and friends, many of them carrying flags and banners, stormed the tarmac, looking for their own personal hero.

Twenty-five years after the Love Canal disaster taught America and the world about the dangers of toxic wastes, environmentalists and government officials continued to share different opinions about the safety of the now rehabilitated area south of Colvin Boulevard between 93rd and 103rd streets.

On Aug. 1, the 25th anniversary of the day when the first women and children were evacuated from an otherwise quiet neighborhood, former Love Canal resident and environmental activist Lois Gibbs made clear that despite all remediation and monitoring of the former chemical waste site, the history of Love Canal could very well repeat itself.

Only a week later, on Aug. 7, the Love Canal Area Revitalization Agency completed its 23-year mission of rehabilitating and reconstructing the former Love Canal neighborhood with the dedication of an historical marker. The 2,600-pound granite block, located on the site of the former 93rd Street School, marked the official end of the state agency which was formed in 1980 to handle the relocation of over 900 residents. Today, the community, which is now know as Black Creek Village, has been successfully rehabilitated and resettled.

Happy faces and good music dominated the area around the Summit Park Mall on Aug. 23 and 24, as 80 independent bands from Canada and the United States came to Wheatfield to display their skills at the "Rock The Border" concert. With blue skies and temperatures in the high seventies, the two-day event saw a steady stream of music lovers of all ages flocking to the mall to watch the rock spectacle. Although the event sparked some controversy among some town residents in regards to the event's overall security and safety, no notable incidents occurred.

After 20 years in the making, the town of Niagara officially opened its town park on Oct. 11 with the dedication of the 6,200-square-foot Calvin K. Richards Senior/Youth Activity Building. Prior to the ceremonial ribbon cutting, town officials and dignitaries did not hold back their praise and admiration for former Town Supervisor Cal Richards whose vision laid the foundation to the creation of the park. With three Little League diamonds, one baseball diamond, two multi-purpose fields for soccer, football and lacrosse, and 7,000 feet of stone-dust trails, the park offers on 121 acres plenty of attractions for all town residents.

On Nov. 4 -- Election Day -- voters in the towns of Niagara and Wheatfield demonstrated strong support for and confidence in their town and county officials in Tuesday's election. With 100 percent of the voting machines reporting, the official results released by the Niagara County Board of Elections showed all incumbent candidates in the two towns returning for another term.

On Dec. 12, Christmas came two weeks early for the Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center as the hospital received $1 million in federal funding for its new Heart Center of Niagara. The gift was delivered by U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY 28th District). The grant, which still has to pass the U.S. Senate in January, was secured by Clinton and Slaughter as part of an appropriations bill that passed the House on Dec. 8.

And on Dec. 18, Sam Tsirtsakis, owner of the Olympia Family Restaurant in Wheatfield, followed up on his promise to give back to the community by presenting a check in the amount of $1,000 to the Community Missions of Niagara Frontier. Encouraged by Tsirtsakis’ commitment to the community, other Wheatfield business also donated to Community Missions. Howard Hurst, president of Niagara Falls Attraction and Entertainment Corporation, helped out with a $250 check, while Terry Clark, co-owner of Twin City Ambulance, contributed with a $500 donation.

Indeed, the year 2003 was a memorable one. Let's hope that 2004 will bring out the best in all of us to make this area a better place to live.