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A busy year in northern Niagara by Terry Duffy The year 2005 could best be described as an eventful one, both for northern Niagara area residents and the nation as a whole. The country continued to deal with its share of struggles, from a lingering Iraqi War, the escalating casualties and the growing disfavor that comes with it, to a still-troubled economy, exorbitant fuel prices, disastrous hurricanes along the Gulf Coast, and a mounting dissatisfaction with U.S. President George Bush. In Niagara County, we also dealt with struggles of various sorts – with the current financial difficulties at Delphi and uncertainties over its long-term future in Lockport being a case in point. But that’s not to say all has been bad in our neck of the woods. If fact, news-wise, a fair amount on the local scene indeed has been good – with such notables being the successful efforts of saving of the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, a new $200 million, 26-story hotel in Niagara Falls, marking the ever-growing presence of Seneca-Niagara casino operations and its extending impact on the economy, the promise of major new projects and investments in Wheatfield, and a rather exciting state Power Authority relicensing benefits package for neighboring communities of the Niagara Power Project. Yes, the newsmakers in Niagara throughout the year were many and varied. So much so, that in today’s Sentinel you’ll find separate Year-In-Review wrap-ups detailing the major news items from the Village of Lewiston (see Josh Maloni’s report), to this recap of newsmakers in the Town of Lewiston, Town of Porter, Village of Youngstown, the Lewiston-Porter School District, local businesses, events, and more. In today’s summary, we’ll focus on some of the major headline markers in 2005. Lewiston Wins Big Leading off, Lewiston and the Lew-Port School District came out among the major winners from years of negotiations as Niagara Power Coalition members with the New York State Power Authority, as the powerful state entity moved towards finalizing a relicensing package leading to its application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the granting of a new 50-year operating license for the Niagara Power Project. “This has been a very hard-fought agreement, but I can announce that this is a tremendous win for this town and its residents,” announced Town Supervisor Fred Newlin last summer. In a nutshell the overall agreement calls for the NYPA to provide Niagara Power Coalition members, which include Lewiston and the Lew-Port School District, $5 million in host community funds, $3 million annually in greenway funding, and for Town of Lewiston property owners – 3.5 megawatts in low-cost power. Those additional megawatts will substantially reduce the electrical bills of town residents in future years, by as much as 15 to 20 percent, according to Newlin. Seneca Golf Course? On another front, but equally intriguing, has been the ever-changing developments regarding a long-discussed golf course for the Town of Lewiston. Originally envisioned as a town-built, 18-hole municipal golf course with clubhouse facilities and separate housing possibilities, to be run by a private operator under contract, the overall golf course project has taken a new direction. Earlier discussions saw Old Creek Development Corp., led by Porter attorney Michael Dowd, being the major player in this project, but over past months behind-the-scenes talks have intensified between the Dowd group and the Seneca Nation of Indians, operators of the Seneca-Niagara Casino and a future Seneca-Buffalo Creek Casino to be built in downtown Buffalo. Latest discussions involve the Senecas emerging as the main player in this project. The group is eyeing a larger project and wishes to acquire additional acreage from the town for construction of what’s being billed as an “upscale” privately-built course intended to serve as a regional attraction for the Seneca’s Niagara Falls and Buffalo casino operations, and projected to compete with courses along the lower Niagara on the Canadian side of the border. (See related story in today’s Sentinel.) Chamber Grows
Speaking of “lower Niagara,” another prominent news story over the past year has been the emergence of a new Chamber – the Lower Niagara River Region Chamber of Commerce – that began operations on Jan. 3. Under the direction of Sandra Hays-Mies, Chamber president, its focus has been to reach out ever further to service residents, businesses, organizations and groups from communities in the northern Niagara County area. “The program of work that we had at the Greater Lewiston Business and Professional Association in many ways mirrors the program of work that we’re doing with the Chamber,” commented Hays-Mies earlier this year. “The big difference is that we’re expanding our service area to include Sanborn, Ransomville, Porter and Youngstown.” That the Lower Niagara River Region Chamber has done, and rather nicely. Some of the projects the Chamber moved on over the past year include: its ongoing promotional work with the numerous summertime festivals in the Lewiston area; its creating and marketing of new summer concert offerings in Youngstown and Ransomville; coordinating another successful Cabbage Festival in Porter; its efforts towards creating a new Sanborn Business and Professional Association; its forging of new partnerships with such groups as the Niagara County Wine Trail Association; and extended endeavors, such as the following news item. Cross-Border Ferry
Late last summer, following years of work involving a number of players, including 13th District Niagara County Legislator Clyde Burmaster, U.S. Customs and Immigration officials, Homeland Security, the Canadian Immigration Service, Youngstown Mayor Neil Riordan, Niagara-on-the-Lake Lord Mayor Gary Burroughs, state officials, and the Lower Niagara River Chamber and others, a plan was announced for a cross-river ferry promotion to gauge the public’s interest of such a project. Arrangements were made to use a boat from the Whirlpool Jetboat group and on Sept. 17 the experimental cross-border promotion proved a resounding success. “We’re riding a high wave,” exclaimed Burmaster on the response that day which saw 1,020 visitors – 558 Americans and 462 Canadians riding a specially equipped Whirlpool Jetboat across the river. Burmaster said he expects a permanent ferry service to become reality in 2006. As to how it will eventually work out, he added, “The only limits are your imagination.” Porter Master Plan Moving on, the Town of Porter moved progressively towards the future with its adopting of a innovative Master Plan document. The compilation of many efforts from local participants as well as input from such planning experts as Town of Pittsford Supervisor Bill Carpenter, who last spring shared his town’s secret for success with Porter Supervisor Mert Wiepert and Town Board members, the Porter Master Plan stresses the town’s traditions of agricultural integrity while also forwardly plotting out its future. Yet to be implemented, it is already having favorable reactions from potential developers, including Paul Oulahan of the Toronto-based Jedidiah Inc., who is currently in discussion with the town for a potential $14 million-plus retirement community envisioned east of Fort Niagara State Park. More to come on this and other projects in Porter in the months ahead. LOOW News
While the news from northern Niagara has generally been upbeat, the region still had its struggles. One of these involved the lingering environmental concerns facing the community with regards to portions of the old Lake Ontario Ordnance Works site as well the continuing worries over the operations at Chemical Waste Management in Porter. Just last month, discussions moved forward towards further identifying the many past issues at LOOW, including CWM, with the Community LOOW Project – an information gathering effort led by Paulette Kline, director of the Niagara County Health Department. This ambitious and rather complex effort aims to once and for all, comprehensively identify and categorize the numerous activities which took place at LOOW over 60-plus years, analyze their impact (if any) on the health and safety of Lewiston-Porter residents, and then establish a long-range plan of attack to addressing a literal multitude of issues. Very far from being declared solved, the environmental issue will remain one to contend with in northern Niagara for years to come. A Year of Change at Lew-Port We close this year’s wrap-up with a look at the continuing changes occurring at the Lewiston-Porter School District. Responding to cost concerns echoed in the community, the Lew-Port School Board, following voter approval, last spring adopted a zero-growth 2005-06 budget which set the stage for austerity planning in many areas of district operations. While some praised the move as progressive in containing costs and lowering the tax rate, it also resulted in significant fallout. Over the past year, the district has been somewhat in a state of flux, evidenced by the departures of Superintendent Dr. Whitney Vantine, Intermediate Principal David Livingstone, Middle School Principal Jill Sherman, High School Principal Michael Gallagher, plus a number of school administrators and instructors, the shuffling of coaching positions and sports programs, and more. Virtually all who departed earlier had stated differences in philosophy over education with the School Board as their primary reason for leaving. Despite this, the district remains on the forward track in a number of respects. It was part of a successful team that negotiated an impressive Power Authority package that will pay countless dividends for the Lew-Port district in years to come. It also has a very effective leader running the ship, albeit an interim one, in Don Rappold. And it has new and returning faces on the board and in its administration -- the latest being High School Principal Paul Casseri – all bringing welcome dedication and enthusiasm to guide Lew-Port in 2006 and years to come. Yes, 2005 was an exciting year of change in northern Niagara. 2006 promises to be even better. We hope. |
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