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2006 – the good, the not so good, the frustrations by Terry Duffy
The year 2006 could best be viewed as a true mixed bag as far as northern Niagara County goes. Residents of the Lewiston and Porter area experienced a literal plethora of news, nationally as well as on the local front over the past year – the majority good and upbeat; some bad; and a fair amount surrounded with disappointment and frustration. Thanks to our rather fortunate location on the Western New York scene, we dodged a very major weather news event just this past fall – the October Surprise – which saw hundreds of thousands in the Buffalo area inconvenienced beyond belief from heavy snowfall, downed trees, power outages, damaged homes, and the like. Many locals, however, did experience the “joy” of being powerless much earlier last spring, as a freak transformer breakdown at a National Grid substation out of Swann Road kept many Lewiston and Porter households in the dark, with generators a humming for a fortunate few and TV sets gone dark for the masses -- just as the Sabres were battling Carolina in their unsuccessful quest for the Stanley Cup finals. Over the past months, Lewiston and Porter joined the country in the dissatisfaction expressed over an Iraqi War that continues to drag on with mounting casualties, uncertainties and bad sentiment; a continually struggling economy; choking gas prices; and general voter frustration and the resulting political fallout. But again there was much to feel good about, particularly on the local front. One thing for certain, you can’t say we were absent our share of news. Local Newsmakers What follows is a look at a select few of the many major headliners seen over the past months of ’06: •Senecas commit to golf course. Lewiston and northern Niagara received a good dose of positive news that had been long awaited by many, as the Seneca Gaming Commission, operators of the Seneca-Niagara Casino in the Falls, the Seneca-Allegany Casino in the Southern Tier, and the future Seneca-Buffalo Creek Casino in downtown Buffalo, announced plans for an upscale, championship-level golf course to be built out on Creek Road, projected to cost anywhere from $10 million to $15 million. “The answer is ‘yes,’ Lewiston will be getting its public golf course,” announced Town of Lewiston Supervisor Fred Newlin to great fanfare in late February, as news came that Seneca interests had at long last come to terms with attorney Michael Dowd and his Old Creek Development group to acquire a 257-acre tract of land for construction of what’s anticipated to be a five-star professional level golf course, complete with club house facilities that’s aimed to compete directly with those found just across the river. “Niagara Falls Gaming Corp is proud to be one of the newest landowners in all of Lewiston,” said then Seneca Nation President, Barry E. Snyder Jr. For many, the announcement seemed too good to be true, particularly for many of the area’s golfers, who had been campaigning with the town for well over a decade for a public golf course facility. What’s more, its cost to build and operate is expected to be fully borne out to the Senecas, with no financial burden whatsoever on Lewiston taxpayers. In coming months, residents can look forward to an actual groundbreaking of the much-anticipated project, with an expected opening eyed for 2008. CWM Frustrations •Environmental frustrations in northern Niagara continue. As noted, not all in 2006 was upbeat. Lewiston and Porter residents, particularly the area’s environmental interests, continued to experience frustration with the overall situation at the Lake Ontario Ordnance Works, especially that concerning CWM Chemical Services in Porter, as the company continued to move, albeit cautiously, on its long-term expansion plans at its Balmer Road facility in the face of many challenges. CWM newsmakers in 2006 included: •Company attempts to utilize the Lewiston Wastewater Treatment plant go down the drain. CWM plans to send pretreated wastewater to the Pletcher Road facility were met with significant opposition in the early months of ’06 by residents and officials from the town and village of Lewiston, village of Youngstown, as well as the Tri-Community Board. Issues included uncertainties over the type and hazardous waste volume of the planned discharges, and its impact on the aging plant and the health uncertainties for area residential users, among others. The CWM wastewater plan ultimately went down to defeat due to criticisms and is not likely to be revisited again. •Great Lakes Water Quality bill clears state Assembly and Senate, but ultimately fails on a veto by Gov. George Pataki. Area residents, particularly its environmental interests, were again stymied in ’06 as a concentrated effort to thwart future CWM expansion efforts, by means of raising issue of the company’s impact on Great Lakes water quality -- particularly that of Lake Ontario -- went down to defeat. The measure, a bill crafted by Niagara County environmental attorney Gary Abraham following consultation with area environmental concerns, was endorsed by the Niagara County Legislature, and saw the backing of both state Assemblywoman Francine DelMonte and Sen. George Maziarz in the form of sponsorship bills in the Assembly and Senate. It also saw the firm support of the town and village of Lewiston, village of Youngstown, and by a number of government officials in Niagara and Erie counties. Over a period of months, it built momentum throughout the state, as scores of communities, newspapers and media, along with various politicians and environmental groups endorsed the measure. “Gov. Pataki’s signature on this bill is needed for it to become law, we know he will get the job done,” commented Lewiston resident Amy Witryol, one of the chief proponents of the measure. Both bills cleared their respective houses in Albany, but the legislation ultimately went down to defeat as Pataki cast his veto, saying it lent uncertain impact on a yet-to-be-finalized and way overdue state DEC Siting Plan governing placement of hazardous waste landfills in the state. Despite a late year push, it was never resurrected in Albany. At this writing, planning and discussions continue among environmental interests towards the drafting of a new series of bills, expected to be presented in future months in Albany by DelMonte and Maziarz. Woes Persist •Protests to DEC over CWM expansion, and to CWM and local interests over trucks, hazardous waste and other issues continued to receive lip service as 2006 drew to a close. Two separate but similar news items – last July’s highly vocal DEC Public Scoping Session at Lewiston-Porter High School, and the recent concerns over leaky cargo and truck traffic by the Lewiston-Porter campus -- played out to much discussion but little in concrete action – much to the dismay of area residents and environmentalists. DEC conducted one of its procedural Scoping Sessions at Lew-Port, a well attended affair which saw significant opposition presented and recorded, but very little offered from DEC in the form of future directives. And similar frustrations were seen just recently, as following a PCB leak in November involving trucks en route to CWM, protests were sounded to DEC, CWM, the Lew-Port School District and others on the impact of the company on the community as long-term expansion talks continue. Expect this long-range uncertainty to continue, particularly at the state level as new leadership takes hold and new priorities are assigned, and to DEC in particular. Upbeat News •Despite the aforementioned negativity, there was much experienced over 2006 that our area can be rightly proud of. One being the appeal of our place on the WNY scene, which continues to grow, diversify and grow some more. Whether it’s the seemingly diverse selection of festivals, tournaments and happenings; the impressive concert/entertainment offerings – be it at Artpark, NU’s Theatre-at-the-Church, Stella’s Theatre in the Mist, at the Hennepin Park Gazebo, Youngstown’s Faulkner Park, in Ransomville or in Sanborn -- the region’s fascinating history; its wonderful restaurants; the many unique arts and boutique offerings found in both Lewiston and Youngstown; or the new Barton Hill Hotel and Spa now taking shape on the Lewiston waterfront, this part of Western New York continues to outshine other communities in more ways than imaginable. Over the past year, thousands of visitors have come and enjoyed such events as the Smelt Fest in May, the slate of summer happenings – the Art Festival, Taste of Lewiston, Jazz Fest, plus local weekly concerts, shows and productions; the fall happenings -- Youngstown Field Days, Lewiston Kiwanis Peach Fest, Harvest, Scarecrow and Cabbage fests, and wrapping up with the Lewiston Christmas Walk/Tour of Homes and more. Time and time again, northern Niagara came out the winner throughout the year in the form of multiple outside visits, increased consumer spending and increased seasonal economic activity. “It’s great to see so many people enjoying the music, the food, the shops … .” commented Village of Lewiston Mayor Richard Soluri of the throngs who visit the area annually. Look for more in 2007 as a full May-to-December slate of nearly 40 enjoyable festivals and happenings are already on deck. That by the way, doesn’t even include the many concerts and theatrical events in the works at Artpark, or the many still-to-be announced arts, concert or theatrical happenings eyed for the northern Niagara communities. Yes the northern Niagara region saw its share of upbeat as well as not so good news over the past year. We still have a ways to go in addressing many issues. But its quality of life offerings remain a strong selling point, both to the thousands of residents who call it home and the many, many more who visit. We’re doing a number of things right up here. Look for our region to grow from its problems, focus on its many good attributes and further prosper in 2007. Its residents won’t settle for anything less. |
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