Let's Go Back for Aug. 23, 2013

40 Years Ago, Aug. 22, 1973

What's this overtime we pay to educators?

School budget watchers, who are near-kin to sidewalk superintendents and Monday-morning quarterbacks, and who keep the "team" on its toes, frequently ask the question of school administrators and business managers, "What do the administrators and supervisory personnel you hire to work summers really do when there are no kids in school?"

We thought that a reasonable issue to raise and admit to a certain curiosity in the bargain, so we asked.

Probably the most important, so far as the public is concerned, is the interviewing and hiring of new staff members. There are, likewise, the student's records to be reviewed, class assignments to be determined and finally mailed out, interviewing new students in the district and arranging for their placement, and taking inventory of equipment.

30 Years Ago, Aug. 19, 1983

Town departments save taxpayers money

The town engineering department designed and supervised the reconstruction, widening and resurfacing of town-owned Bedell Road from Stony Point to Baseline roads. The project was planned and budgeted over three years by the Town Highway Department to avoid borrowing money to finance it. Keeping the $300,000 engineering and roadwork within the town budget saved Grand Island taxpayers money, according to town officials.

Driving lanes were widened to 12 feet and shoulders were stabilized as part of the road construction. Landscaping and striping should be done and signs should be up within the next 30 days, according to the Town Highway Superintendent Norman J. Mrkall.

20 years Ago, Aug. 20, 1993

GIFC asks town to demolish former dairy

Continued deterioration of the fire-damaged Mesmer Dairy was pointed out to town officials by the Grand Island Fire Co. in a request that the town consider demolishing the structure.

The GIFC stressed that "action must be immediately taken to secure the structure or provide for its total demolition." It also noted firemen have answered a number of calls to the site involving gas leaks and an ammonia discharge.

Currently, according to the town attorney, the county may be able to foreclose on the building and put it up for auction. Meanwhile, the possibility of an explosion by a gas leak "causes a dangerous condition to exist," the GIFC contends.

10 Years Ago, Aug. 22, 2003

Town responds to power outage

Shortly after 4 p.m. last Thursday, a widespread power outage occurred which affected a significant portion of Grand Island.

Within minutes of the outage, town employees began to implement emergency plans to ensure continuation of vital services. Water and wastewater department managers and employees were called in to monitor these systems and begin efforts to operate on emergency power for what might be an extended period of time.

Highway department personnel assisted with traffic control devices while additional town police officers were called in as a precaution. The Town of Grand Island's water treatment plant is equipped with emergency power generators. This allows the plant to continue purifying drinking water indefinitely. The Niagara County water system, which is the town's alternative source of supply, does not have emergency generators.

The resulting water shortage shut down the town's pipeline under the Niagara River, resulting in concerns about water for drinking and fire protection.