The Friends of the Lewiston Library are hosting a "Friendly Gathering" on Wednesday, Oct. 24, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Lewiston Library, 305 S. Eighth St. There will be hearty appetizers, wine tasting, champagne, desserts and music - plus friendly faces.

Shown is Warren's Village Hardware entry in the 2012 Niagara River Region Chamber of Commerce Scarecrow Display. Titled "iScarecrow," it was created by Ashley and Tim Warren and is interactive, allowing visitors to have their photos taken as one of three scarecrows.

For the fifth consecutive year, Mount St. Mary's Hospital will host "A Conference on Healthcare for Women" to raise awareness among women in the local community on a wide array of issues and actions that can help improve their health.

Stella Niagara officials announce the annual "Be an Angel" tribute dinner for the Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 10, at The Buffalo Club, 388 Delaware Ave., in downtown Buffalo.

A basket auction is one feature of the Lewiston-Porter gala, to be held at the Seneca-Niagara Casino & Hotel on Saturday, Oct. 6. Baskets will on display for viewing at Lewiston-Porter High School Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, Oct. 3 to 5, from 12:30 to 4 p.m. Setup will be in the main lobby outside the main office.

Lewiston Volunteer Fire Co. No. 2 will hold its second annual Autumn Festival from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6, at the firehall, 1705 Saunders Settlement Road, Lewiston.

The Lewiston Public Library, 305 S. Eighth St., in the Village of Lewiston, announces the following programs, events and activities for the month of October.

The Village of Lewiston and the Niagara River Region Chamber of Commerce are about to finalize a deal wherein the tourism and event-planning organization will move into the Lewiston Welcome Center.

Artpark & Company President George Osborne presented Lewiston Police Department Chief Chris Salada and Town of Lewiston Supervisor Steve Reiter with a check Wednesday for the LPD, recognizing outstanding work during the 2012 season.

Highlights of recent games in Lew-Port Youth Football include the following:

A total of 925 runners weathered cold, rainy conditions for a good cause as the first-ever Mighty Niagara Half Marathon to benefit Niagara Hospice took place Saturday morning along a course from Artpark in Lewiston to Porter on the Lake.

Richard (Pete) Taylor, Ken Kenny and the late Bill Bradshaw Sr. were voted into The Niagara Falls Sports Hall Of Fame. The three, all with strong ties to the Lewiston area, are among 11 new inductees that comprise the Class of 2012.

Amid tight economic times besetting Lewiston, two separate meetings of interest to area residents - both focusing greatly on financial issues - took place Monday.

Over the past two bathing seasons, the Niagara County Department of Health has been gathering data in an attempt to determine the source of the high bacteria counts in bathing beach waters of Olcott/Krull Park.

Fire and rescue demonstrations, fire safety education, blood pressure checks and fire truck rides will be among the activities offered to the public on Saturday, Oct. 6, when the Upper Mountain Volunteer Fire Co. holds its annual community open house.

The American Bus Association has announced the "War of 1812 Encampment - the Capture of Fort Niagara," held Sept. 1 and 2, was designated as one of the "Top 100 Events in North America for 2013" by an experienced tourism industry selection committee.

Plus the Cat in the Hat!

William F. Farnham Sr., of the Tuscarora Nation, passed away on Monday, Sept. 24, 2012, in Our Lady of Peace Nursing Care Residence. He was a member of the Beaver Clan, born in Buffalo on Aug. 16, 1933, the son of the late Frank and Carrie (Green) Farnham.

The Niagara University Family Business Center kicks off the 10th season of its breakfast forum on Tuesday, Oct. 2, at Sonoma Grille, 5010 Main St., Snyder. The special guest speaker is Frank Curci, CEO and president of Tops Markets.

Retired Col. Vanessa D. Barron, a 31-year veteran of the U.S. Army and 1978 Niagara University graduate, will return to her alma mater Oct. 4 to speak about the federally funded "Troops to Teachers" program.

First Today wins Beneteau First 36.7 North American Championship for third time; Jug 4-1 wins North American J-22 Championship in Tawas Bay, Mich.

On Tuesday, the Grigg-Lewis Foundation proudly announced a pledge of $4 million to the Lockport Ice Arena and Sports Center, or LIASC, to go toward the construction of a two-pad ice arena in downtown Lockport.

"It was through the efforts of the Grigg-Lewis Foundation and State Senator Maziarz that we were able to take an idea, construction of a state-of-the-art hockey arena in Lockport, and get to this point," said LIASC President John Ottaviano. "Their partnership allowed our board to bring in experts to craft a business plan, secure the ideal downtown site, and create a real and implementable design for our vision. For the Grigg-Lewis Foundation to go a step further and commit this level of funding is amazing. I greatly appreciate the trust they have put in us."

The board of associates of Mount St. Mary's Hospital and Health Center is sponsoring its annual pancake breakfast on Sunday, Oct. 7, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at St. John de LaSalle Parish Hall at 8477 Buffalo Ave., Niagara Falls. The menu includes all the pancakes you can eat, plus sausage, orange juice and coffee.

Youngstown Lions Club President Debby Comerford announces this year's Lions International Peace Poster Contest will take place at the Lewiston Public Library Community Room. The public is welcomed to visit the library during the regular hours to view 20 student posters on display from Monday, Oct. 22, until Friday, Oct. 26.

In January, the first cohort of 10 child care centers graduated from the Niagara County Early Child Care Quality Improvement Project's professional development certificate program.

Lewiston No. 2 Firehall would like to announce its annual Fire Prevention Poster and Coloring Contest for students in grades 3 to 5.

Despite threatening weather at times, the annual Harvest Festival saw mostly sunshine and large crowds over the weekend.

The Castellani Art Museum of Niagara University will present "The History of Tourism in the Niagara Region," a lecture presented in conjunction with the exhibition "The Picturesque and War: Visual and Literary Aspects of 19th Century Tourism," at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 23.

This past Wednesday, a group of authors representing communities from both sides of the border gathered in Youngstown to announce draft release of a new book, "From the Mouth of the Lower Niagara River, A Story From Four Historic Communities."

Catherine Schuyler Chambers Boericke, the first female president of Artpark, passed away in December 2011. She was recognized by Artpark this past summer.

Lewiston No. 1 Volunteer Fire Co. continues to make progress each week in its ongoing firehall renovation. Within the past two weeks, the company finished its plumbing and electrical work in the existing hall, and a shipment of steel is due to arrive Oct. 2, allowing construction of a new structure to begin.

The New York Farm Bureau is encouraging area high school seniors who have been involved with agriculture and plan on continuing studies in this field to apply for the New York Farm Bureau Agricultural Youth Scholarship sponsored by the New York Farm Bureau Promotion and Education Committee. Scholarship awards are $1,500 for first place, $1,200 for second place and $1,000 for third place. The first-place winner will be invited to present his essay at a New York Farm Bureau spring event.

The Niagara County History Center will hold a Tuscarora beadwork class this fall featuring award-winning Tuscarora beadwork artist Rosemary Hill.

The Youngstown Recreation Commission and community wish to thank Ken Young Paving and Mark Fox, of Fox Fence, for the assistance in making the children's dream of a new basketball court a reality.

Students from the Lewiston Dance Center took first place in the Dance and Drill Team category in the Youngstown Field Days Parade held on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 3.

At 6:44 p.m. on Sept. 9, Lewiston police were called to a Saunders Settlement Road home after getting a report of suspected fraudulent activity. The complainant had received a phone call from an alleged employee of Microsoft, who actually went so far as to give a fake employee identification number. After convincing the complainant that his computer had a virus, the suspect lead him to turn on the Remote Assistance feature of Windows, allowing full access to the computer. After removing several personal documents, the complainant's computer crashed.

The Lewiston-Porter Alumni Association has announced its gala, celebrating the 60-year history of the Lewiston-Porter Central School District, will be held on Saturday, Oct. 6, at the Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel.

Assessments - a key word in education today and one that has teachers focusing on outcomes and addressing the needs of today's student. The Lewiston-Porter Board of Education received its lesson Tuesday in how Lew-Port is handling the new directives from the New York State Education Department.

Celebrate the beginning of autumn in the historic Village of Lewiston with the work of Western New York's most talented crafters and jewelry artists. The 29th annual Lewiston Harvest Festival and Craft Show will take place on Saturday, Sept. 22, and Sunday, Sept. 23, along Center Street in Lewiston.

The New York Power Authority will host the 27th annual Wildlife Festival from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 22 and 23. The free family event will take place at the Power Vista, the Niagara Power Project's Visitors Center, and its surrounding grounds at 5777 Lewiston Road, Lewiston.