The Niagara County Law Enforcement Academy is immediately accepting applications for its next class of sworn recruits and pre-employment students.

Throughout the month of February, Shoppe On Main will display different quilts created by quilters who got their start at "Martha's Cupboard," the original quilt store in Newfane. Martha Ferguson, along with several other area women, taught the art of hand quilting in the store.

Rivershore Inc. has received a generous donation of land in Youngstown from village residents Richard and Karen Phoenix. Rivershore will explore ways to meet the housing needs of the Village of Youngstown through this donation.

The Lewiston Public Library, 305 S. Eighth St., announces the following programs, events and activities for February.

The Niagara River Anglers Association will hold its 29th annual Lower Niagara River Steelhead Contest on Saturday, Feb. 16, from sunrise to 2 p.m. Awards and picnic will be held at the 3F Club, Swann Road, Lewiston.

The Niagara River Region Chamber of Commerce recently traveled to Albany to attend the Chamber Alliance of New York State Winter Conference.

Legacy Drive, green space, zoning, recreation, water and CWM issues were among a host of items covered at an active Lewiston Town Board regular meeting, Monday night at Town Hall.

The Village of Youngstown is currently searching for a historian.

The Niagara Falls Country Club announces the following events of note taking place at its Country Club Trail clubhouse in Lewiston:

Unbelievable. The real Jesse Owens? The most successful athlete at the 1936 Summer Olympics? Well, no, but to hear Ed Mort tell his fishing story, you would think it was the real Jesse Owens that was born 100 years ago.

Congressman Chris Collins, NY-27, announced Friday that his office was able to help Old Fort Niagara in Youngstown receive long-stalled federal grant money it was awarded several years ago.

Weather permitting, the Lewiston Family Ice Rink at Academy Park will remain open through Sunday, Feb. 10.

The Lewiston Council on the Arts has announced the "Lewiston Discovery Series," a new program for curious minds. The aim of the series is to share the "art of" an interesting mix of creative cultural topics. The series will be presented every other month beginning in February at the Historic Opera Hall, 732 Center St.

The programs will begin at 7 p.m. Light refreshments will be offered. No advance registration is required. A suggested $5 donation will benefit the LCA and the Opera Hall restoration fund.

The New York Power Authority will display historic photos and projects focusing on the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation during Black History Month in February at its admission-free visitors center, the Power Vista, 5777 Lewiston Road, Lewiston.

Niagara University's Family Business Center will hold its February breakfast forum Tuesday, from 7 to 9:30 a.m., at the Sonoma Grille, 5010 Main St., Snyder. William Wadsworth of Planned Futures Financial Group will speak on "The New Healthcare Laws and Changes that Business Owners Need to Know."

The phrase "lucky dog" will have added meaning this February at Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel, as the casino hosts and sponsors "Wags, Whiskers & Wines," a fundraiser to benefit the Niagara County SPCA. The event takes place Sunday, Feb. 24, at 2 p.m. at the Bear's Den Showroom.

Illustrator Kristen Raimondi, author Suzanne Simon Dietz and publisher Amy Freiermuth recently created a children's book called "Johnnie's Adventures - The Search for Guinevere." The historical fiction work celebrates the history of the Town of Porter, its Village of Youngstown and Hamlet of Ransomville.

Assemblyman John Ceretto, Congressman Chris Collins and State Sen. George Maziarz attended the Lewiston No. 2 Volunteer Fire Co. installation dinner last weekend.

A community education program by one of Niagara's leading cardiologists, a free community lipid panel screening, promotion of the "Go Red For Women" awareness campaign of the American Heart Association, and a hospital-wide information event are just some of the activities Mount St. Mary's Hospital is offering as part of "Heart Month" in February.

Niagara University hosted the first EMS Niagara Conference on Jan. 26. It provided advanced training to more than 80 emergency medical service professionals and volunteers.

The Lewiston-Porter Alumni Association seeks candidates for its 2013 "Distinguished Alumni Award." Any Lewiston-Porter graduate of at least five years or more is eligible.

The issue of grease trap maintenance, or lack thereof, is once again rising to the surface in the Village of Lewiston.

Friday, a local citizens group joined an area resident at the Lewiston-Porter Intermediate Education Center with a message of being "instruments of change."

Current Ransomville Speedway competitor Randy Chrysler has announced that he will field a DIRTcar 358 Modified ride for DIRTcar superstar Danny Johnson at Ransomville Speedway for the 2013 season.

Most of us have only seen curling on television or at the Olympics. But next weekend, we'll be able to get out on the ice and throw a rock or two of our own.

Victoria's Hair Care in Youngstown held ribbon-cutting last month for its newest offering - the Bella Faccia Skin Spa. Operated under the direction of Christine Gaffney, licensed cosmetologist and estheticist, Bella Faccia offers facials, body waxing and make-up services, including airbrush makeup.

Lack of snow didn't slow down the annual snowshoe event at Old Fort Niagara. Folks didn't get a chance to actually walk on snowshoes or play the game of snow snakes, but everything else was available to show visitors how people worked in and survived the winters in the 1700s.

Jennifer Pauly, president of the Niagara River Region Chamber of Commerce, and chamber employees Suzanne Raby and Linda Antonucci braved the snow and cold weather Thursday to show off this brand new sign.

Like its counterparts in other towns throughout the county, the Porter Town Board set the stage for 2013 with a number of appointments, policies, fees, rates and procedures approved at its organizational session earlier this month.

Niagara County Sheriff James Voutour was elected third vice president of the New York State Sheriffs' Association at the 79th annual Winter Training Conference this week in Albany. Above, Lt. Gov. Robert J. Duffy (left) with Sheriff Voutour following the swearing-in ceremony.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Wednesday for Cornerstone Community Federal Credit Union. The newest branch of the largest locally owned credit union in Western New York opened this week at 721 Center St. (formerly HSBC Bank).

The Village of Lewiston offered information Tuesday on what it would cost residents to merge services with the Town of Lewiston.

Get ready to lose those winter blues. Toast & Jam, now in its 14th year, begins on Monday, Feb. 18, at 7 p.m. inside The Brickyard Pub and B.B.Q., 432 Center St., Lewiston. This jazz-jammin', blues-rockin', poetry-reading coffeehouse event continues until March 25.

Niagara University will host the first EMS Niagara Conference on Saturday, Jan. 26. The conference provides advanced training for emergency medical service professionals and volunteers. Participants will receive six community medical education credits.

Dr. Glenda R. Rose and Dr. Thomas G. Barba, of Rose Chiropractic P.C. in Lewiston, announce they will be sponsoring the 23rd annual "Doctors with a Heart Day" on Saturday, Feb. 9, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for their patients.

While Lewiston readies for its first-ever Cocktail Festival in March, folks up in the Village of Youngstown have been busy in their own forms of fun to help ward off the winter doldrums.

Monday evening, staffers from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation hosted two public hearings in the Lewiston-Porter High School auditorium. Their purpose was to gauge public comments on a draft permit renewal application on file with DEC by CWM Chemical Services LLC.

Residents For Responsible Government announced this week it will hold a press conference on Friday, Jan. 25, at 9:30 a.m. in front of Lewiston-Porter High School on Creek Road.

The Lewiston-Porter Board of Education accepted, with regret, the resignation of Don Rappold, assistant superintendent for administrative services. Rappold joined Lew-Port on Aug. 1, 1987 and will leave the district at the end of business on June 30.

News of a returning summer festival at Porter on the Lake, finalizing a new park committee and complaints of a derelict property owner on Youngstown-Lockport Road were among issues discussed at Monday's Porter Town Board meting.