The Grand Island Chamber of Commerce has named Linda Tufillaro and Wavelengths Hair Design as recipients of the Citizen of the Year Award.

The Beach House has won Niagara Frontier Publications' second annual Best Fish Fry contest. Following a record number of entries, the Grand Island restaurant netted 13.1 percent of the 268 votes - more than double the tally of the second-place winners.

Bennie and the Jets will divide $2,000 in scholarship money following the 15th annual Grand Island School and Business Corporate Bowl, held Tuesday night at the Grand Island High School auditorium.

The Grand Island Chamber of Commerce will honor Beverly Kinney and Jim Watz on Thursday, April 25, as Citizens of the Year.

A fundraiser for the Relay For Life is in full swing. A Relay quilt, generously and beautifully handcrafted by Sue Miles and Colleen Eddy of Grand Island, was donated to Grand Island's Relay For Life, to be raffled off to support Relay and its ongoing fundraising for the American Cancer Society.

Assemblyman John Ceretto, R-I-C-Lewiston, met earlier this week with James Tomkins, Grand Island highway superintendent, in the Assembly chamber. They discussed the importance of increasing state support for the region's roads and bridges.

The Kelly family of Grand Island received the Grand Island Rotary Club's Vocational Service Award at a meeting Feb. 27 at the Buffalo Launch Club.

The Kellys' own Kelly's Country Store celebrated a 50th anniversary last year.

The Grand Island Chamber of Commerce has recognized Michael Keating, Grand Island KeyBank branch manager, and Yvonne Michaels, KeyBank's client service manager for their generosity and support of the chamber's Citizen of the Year community event.

The Grand Island Chamber of Commerce has recognized Life Technologies for once again showing their support for one of the largest community events held on Grand Island, the Citizen of the Year Dinner and Awards Ceremony.

On Feb. 18, Sam's Club in Niagara Falls held its 20th year of operation celebration event.

The 2013-2014 school year budget was discussed again at the Feb. 11 meeting of the Grand Island Board of Education. Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance Joe Giarrizzo told trustees that he has adjusted his previous budget gap estimate from $1,514,000 to $1,644,199. The increase is due to higher wage and salary estimates for the coming year. Basically, 68 percent of the budget forecast increase is due to step increases in salaries. Giarrizzo also indicated that the mandated percentage that the district must contribute to the Teacher Retirement System is 16.25 percent, up 4.14 percent from the last reported estimate.

Directors from the Grand Island Chamber of Commerce, elected officials, RE/MAX North agents and friends all joined Peg Eisenhauer, broker and owner of the new RE/MAX North office, at a ribbon-cutting.

The Grand Island Chamber of Commerce has recognized Fahim Mojawalla, owner of Creative Leather Concepts and Island Ship Center, along with Liz Wilbert of Realty USA, for their generosity by stepping up as a Bronze sponsors for this year's Citizen of the Year Awards event.

The 2013 Relay For Life season began in a full sprint with a kickoff rally Wednesday.

New teams and veteran Relayers gathered at Grand Island High School to award medals for 2012 and to begin the 2013 event, which will have an Olympic theme of "Going for the Gold."

With its opening performance of "Inherit the Wind" on Friday, Feb. 8, the Niagara Regional Theatre Guild celebrated its 90th year of community theater in Western New York.

The Grand Island Board of Education worked through a lengthy agenda of approvals, reports and tabling of items.

The board also had a new look, which included new Interim Superintendent of Schools Paul Hashem, Vice President Paul Krull presiding and trustee Tak Nobumoto in attendance via Skype. Trustee Joan Droit was absent due to a medical problem, and the board is functioning without a president since David Goris' resignation earlier in the month.

The Town of Grand Island has received a grant of more than $200,000 to improve sidewalks in the Ransom Road neighborhood near Grand Island High School and Veronica Connor Middle School.

Members of St. Stephen School Mission Club lovingly decorated special placemats to be given to incarcerated men and women, through the Kairos prison ministry.

Young Island singers have a new outlet for their talents.

As part of a yearly tradition since 1999, members of the boys junior varsity basketball team at Grand Island High School and the members of the GIHS Venture Yearbook have teamed up for a noteworthy cause.

Students in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades at St. Stephen School diligently created unique Christmas ornaments for the clients of Western New York's Veteran's Housing Coalition.

Grand Island Venture Yearbook staff and editors spread their Christmas spirit this year by fundraising a little harder for a great cause. The group, which includes students from all grades in the high school, raised an extra $500 to donate in gift cards from the Boulevard Mall to the Ray family of Grand Island.

The kindergarten students at Sidway Elementary School entertained parents and grandparents with the annual Kindergarten Holiday Show.