Dr. Sharon Watkinson, chair of Niagara University's department of theatre and fine arts, awarded several scholarships this spring to outstanding students in memory of deceased friends of the theater program and in honor of a College of Nursing alumnus with ties to the program.

Hailey Crawford, a kindergarten student at the Catholic Academy of Niagara Falls, was recently awarded honorable mention for her poster entry in the Diocese of Buffalo Vocation Awareness Contest.

The Niagara-Wheatfield School District's $61.78 million budget for 2012-13 failed Tuesday by a 2,004 (no) to 1,713 (yes) vote in what was described as the largest voter turnout in recent memory.

Representatives from the New York State Association of Realtors and Buffalo Niagara Association of Realtors were present to award two scholarships at a recent reception ceremony at BNAR headquarters.

With Mother's Day now on the back burner, Niagara University's Office of Continuing Education is offering a great gift idea for all the fathers out there.

This summer, 10 Niagara University theater studies students and a number of students from the university's College of Business will study abroad for eight weeks at London's Anglo-American University.

Niagara Catholic Jr./Sr. High School will honor the members of the Class of 2012 as part of its baccalaureate mass and senior awards night on Tuesday, June 5, at St. Leo's Church, 2748 Military Road, Niagara Falls.

At its annual meeting, in conjunction with the Teacher Appreciation Banquet, the Catholic Academy of Niagara Falls Home School Association elected its slate of officers for the 2012-13 academic year.

The Castellani Art Museum of Niagara University's popular "Meet Me at the CAM" film and lecture series is back for a fourth year with "Paris: La Ville Lumière (The City of Light)." This year's series celebrates the Castellani Art Museum's loan of Pablo Picasso's 1905 drawing, "Leo Stein," for the exhibition "The Steins Collect: Matisse, Picasso and the Parisian Avant-Garde."

Niagara University presented "Sing for Somalia," a benefit concert organized by NU junior Jeannine Alsous.

Sisters Sophie and Lexi Lindamer received perfect scores on their 2012 NYSSMA Spring Evaluation Festival solos on April 21at Royalton-Hartland. Sophie and Lexi are both students at Lewiston-Porter Intermediate Education Center and take private lessons at Lewiston Music.

Twenty-one colleges and universities from the northeastern U.S. attended this year's Eastern Colleges Science Conference, held April 14 at William Paterson University in Wayne, N.J. Most of the 267 students and 74 faculty members in attendance made research presentations (in the form of a poster, oral, or manuscript) in search of one of the ECSC's 16 awards.

PHOTO GALLERY: Henry J. Kalfas Elementary School teachers Randy Broeker and Chris Kusk brought three-dozen sixth-grade students to Niagara Falls State Park Wednesday to plant new trees.

John Curtin knows what it's like to be bullied. The Niagara University junior communication studies major acknowledges that he was harassed by his peers from age 8 through his freshman year in high school.

Eleven Niagara University students became lifetime members of Lambda Pi Eta, the honor society for undergraduate communication students, during an induction ceremony held April 28.

The winners of the 17th annual Lewiston Kiwanis and Lewiston Service Guild Spring Fling One Mile Race for Kids (held on Sunday, April 29) are: Brandon Castellani for the boys in a time of 5:52 and Alexandra Whitney for the girls in a time of 5:44.

The Greater Niagara Ballet Company, well known for its traditional holiday production of "The Nutcracker," is adding a spring ballet to its repertoire.

Niagara County Community College will kick off its 50th anniversary year July 27 to 29 with the return of the Balloons Over Niagara weekend.

Niagara University secondary education students will share their achievements, accomplishments, theories and methods of education with members of the larger community on Friday, April 27, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Niagara Catholic Jr./Sr. High School, 520 66th St., Niagara Falls.

Niagara-Wheatfield School District voters will have another chance to speak out about the proposed 2012-13 budget, as well as meet the candidates for the Board of Education on Wednesday, May 2.

The Niagara Index, the student newspaper at NU, unveiled its third annual list of "The 20 Most Intriguing Students on Campus" as the kickoff event to the college's annual "RidgeFest" celebration on Monday.

Niagara University's College of Business Administration presented awards to six area business leaders, alumni and students during its 22nd annual Business Appreciation and Accounting Banquet, held Tuesday night at the Conference Center Niagara Falls.

The Hotel Lafayette, a downtown Buffalo landmark since 1904, is undergoing what the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation has called "the largest privately financed historic preservation effort currently under way in the nation."

Niagara University has announced that two of its students were presented with awards for presentations they made at the Conference for Undergraduate Research in Communication, held April 18 at RIT.

St. Peter's R.C. School in Lewiston celebrated Earth Day on Friday, April 20. The entire school donned gloves and, armed with garbage bags, cleaned up around Lewiston.

The Lewiston-Porter Board of Education will ask district voters to approve a budget of $40,472,775 for 2012-13. That figure reflects a 3.51 percent increase in the tax levy. However, the budget for next year is less than a 1 percent increase from the 2011-12 budget of $40,233,491.

Anika Loeffler, a student matriculating toward a dual degree from NU and the International University of Applied Sciences in Germany, recently received the Best Paper Award at the 2012 Korea America Hospitality and Tourism Educators Association Conference in Las Vegas.

The 11th annual Duffy Dance will be held on Saturday, April 28, in the Bishop Duffy Alumni Gym at Niagara Catholic Jr./Sr. High School, 520 66th St., Niagara Falls.

For the seventh year in a row, students from Tuscarora Indian School were busy collecting pennies during the month of February for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

A statewide conference on early childhood education is coming to town this week and Niagara University will be heavily involved. Representatives from NU's College of Education will attend, provide information on Niagara's programs, and serve as featured presenters during the New York State Association for the Education of Young Children's annual conference.

The Niagara Falls Family YMCA will offer an inclusive summer day camp at its Town of Wheatfield Youth Center location - the only one of its kind in the area. The Y is partnering with Heritage Christian Services, an agency that serves more than 1,600 children and adults with developmental disabilities, which will enable it to provide an inclusive camp experience for children with and without developmental disabilities.

For just the second time in 36 years, Niagara University will hold its commencement ceremonies on Monteagle Ridge. Since moving graduation off-campus in 1976, in favor of more spacious locales such as the former Niagara Falls Convention Center and the University at Buffalo, the only time that commencement has occurred at NU was during its sesquicentennial in May 2006.

On Tuesday, the Rev. Joseph L. Levesque, C.M., president of Niagara University, announced the completion of "The Promise of Niagara ... the Next 150 Years," campaign - the single largest fundraising initiative of the institution's 156-year history.

The students of Grand Island High School recently had the unique opportunity once again to "shadow" a career for a day.

Beginning the day with breakfast and inspiration from guest speaker, the Hon. State Supreme Court Judge Henry Nowak, the students were prepared for a peek into the world of work. Locations this year included: the Buffalo FBI office, 98.5 WKSE radio station, Sweet Beginnings Bakery, Cannon Design, and local Grand Island schools.

The Niagara-Wheatfield Board of Education last week gave its approval to proceed with planning for an Adult Education Program for fall 2012, despite budget constraints.

Niagara University is ranked among the country's most environmentally responsible colleges, according to The Princeton Review.

Niagara University is pleased to announce the successful completion of "The Promise of Niagara...The next 150 years," an $80 capital campaign that began in May 2007.

As part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the Niagara County Community College Wellness Center and the Niagara County Trauma Task Force are hosting the nationally recognized Clothesline Project exhibit beginning Monday, April 16. The exhibit will be on display in the Dolce-Valvo Art Center (D168) on the Sanborn campus through Thursday, April 19.

On Tuesday, April 10, Niagara University will hold a press conference to announce the successful completion of "The Promise of Niagara...The next 150 years," an $80 capital campaign that began in May 2007.