| Aktion Club changes guard
Story and photo by Joshua Maloni
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, October 24, 2009
New Aktion Club President Shane Nest, left, shakes hands with his predecessor, club founder Richard Hermanson.
In front of family, friends and colleagues, the Niagara County Aktion Club recently celebrated its second anniversary with a dinner and installation of new officers at Lutheran Church of the Messiah in Lewiston.
The Aktion Club is a joint venture between Rivershore Inc. and the Lewiston Kiwanis Club. Members are adults who live with developmental disabilities who wish to give back through community service.
“It’s amazing how many people … have helped the Aktion Club,” Rivershore Executive Director Jeff Sanderson said as he looked out on a full cafetorium.
What began with a small group of dedicated volunteers quickly grew into something much larger. Today, 40-plus-members-strong, the Niagara County branch is the third largest Aktion Club in all of New York.
This year alone, Aktion Club members spent time with the residents at Fairchild Nursing Home, sent cards to terminally ill children, participated in the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life, collected food outside of Artpark for Community Missions/Heart and Soul, and walked in the Peach Festival parade. In the next two months, the club will make Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets for the needy, and ring bells for the Salvation Army.
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Lew-Port BOE hears food service update,
good news on audit
by Janet Schultz
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, October 24, 2009
After only three meetings, the Lewiston-Porter Board of Education subcommittee on food service has made strides in making sure that Lew-Port students have healthy choices at lunchtime, according to board member April Fideli, chairperson of the committee.
At this point, the committee has focused on the Primary Education Building and has worked whole wheat, 1 percent milk and fresh fruit into a menu that says Lew-Port is proud of using locally grown produce. In addition, the group has a color-coded menu selection on the serving line to make it easier for children to make healthy choices.
“The other big announcement is that the high school will be adding a salad bar,” said Fideli.
The Lewiston-Porter BOE, which in previous years has been criticized for not working as a cohesive unit, held a retreat, which included school administrators.
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Imagine the possibilities at the Lewiston Opera Hall
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, October 30, 2009
by Michelle Ann Kratts
Lewiston Public Library
michellekratts@yahoo.com
It was odd and it was spine tingling. It was a brisk Saturday evening sometime in March. The sky was clear and frosty as I drove into Lewiston and parked in front of the old Lewiston Opera Hall. Like a cake with yellow frosting, the Opera Hall sweetened all the other buildings that were layered beside her. She was bashful and welcoming. Tonight was her night and her upstairs windows blinked with light and anticipation. The ghost hunters from Niagara Falls Paranormal were coming to play and she was ready.
Eva Nicklas, the artistic director of Lewiston’s Council on the Arts and a member of the local Sacarissa- Bell Rose Lodge of the Odd Fellows in Lewiston, was our most gracious host for this spectacular evening. She lifted the crinkled veil that dangled carelessly at the bottom of the wooden stairs and invited us back in time as she told of the history of this remarkable building.
With intimate detail we learned that the Opera Hall had been the heartbeat of Lewiston. That old Hewitt place, or so it was called, had been the hub: of the early telephone operations; a butcher and slaughterhouse; the town hall; a meeting place of Christian celebration for those poor “river folk” not admitted to the regular churches; a unique musical experience for Lewiston’s young people who would rush out of their own churches and into this place in order to experience the passion of the off-beat music that had accompanied the “river folk;” the backdrop for masquerade balls; and, a gathering place for various secret societies, such as the Odd Fellows and the local temperance society. Today it functions primarily as the local IOOF Hall. It also features a dance studio and a collection of specialty shops and businesses.
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St. Peter’s names new school principal
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, October 17, 2009
St. Peter’s R.C. School in Lewiston announced this week that Maureen Ingham was named new principal, effective Oct. 26.
“After consultation with the principal search committee, we are happy to announce that Mrs. Maureen Ingham has been named the new principal of St. Peter’s School,” said St. Peter’s church pastor, the Rev. Sebastian Pierro.
Ingham succeeds Kami Halgash, who has accepted another administrative position.
“All of us wish her well as she begins another part of her academic career,” Pierro said. “I am energized and excited to declare that Mrs. Ingham will bring her dynamic personality, many years of experience in education, her maturity and energy to her role as the new administrator of St. Peter’s School.
“Maureen is a native of Lewiston, an active St. Peter’s parishioner whose four children are graduates of St. Peter’s School; who will bring to St. Peter’s a wealth of knowledge and over 34 years of education expertise,” he continued. “She has excelled in the Niagara Falls School System as a teacher and New York state-licensed administrator.
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NU receives grant for breast cancer research
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, October 17, 2009
Dr. Mary McCourt, chair and associate professor of chemistry (center), accepts a
$150,000
award
from the
Avon
Foundation for Women at the seventh annual Avon Walk
for Breast
Cancer in New York
City Oct. 11.
She is
pictured
with Carol Kurzig, president
of the
foundation (left),
and Suze Orman, the foundation’s special ambassador.
Dr. Mary McCourt, chairperson and associate professor of chemistry at Niagara University, has received a $150,000 grant from the Avon Foundation for Women to conduct research exploring the development of a new, noninvasive test for breast cancer that may replace the annual mammogram.
McCourt’s research will examine if biomarkers collected from urine samples can be used to differentiate healthy breast tissue from diseased breast tissue, potentially replacing mammograms as a primary method of breast cancer screening. She will also investigate the use of these biomarkers in identifying metastatic disease, and whether the methodology could be used to follow the progression of disease and help plan treatment. Dr. Larry Mielnicki, an expert in breast tumor screens and an adjunct professor of chemistry at NU, will collaborate with McCourt on this research, which will be conducted through the university’s Academic Center for Integrated Sciences.
“Avon has provided a tremendous opportunity to help us develop a simple urine test for identifying breast cancer,” said McCourt. “This inexpensive, noninvasive technology will improve health care and make breast cancer testing available to groups of women that are not able to access more expensive technologies.”
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NU to honor three at annual President’s Dinner Nov. 14
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, October 17, 2009
Frank and Barbara Layden, along with the Brannen and Montani families and Joyce Fink, will be honored at the annual Niagara University President’s Dinner Saturday, Nov. 14, at the Seneca Niagara Casino Hotel Event Center, 310 Fourth St., Niagara Falls.
The event, which will be held from 6 p.m. to midnight, benefits the university’s scholarship program. It is being chaired by Carol and Michael Cassell. Mrs. Cassell is a 1979 graduate of Niagara University; Mr. Cassell is a 1980 Niagara graduate.
Frank Layden, the former Niagara men’s basketball coach from 1968 to 1976 and award-winning coach and executive of the Utah Jazz, and his wife, Barbara, will receive the St. Vincent de Paul Award from the Rev. Joseph L. Levesque, C.M., president of the university. The Laydens are known for the charitable endeavors in Utah and consistent loyalty to Niagara. Also receiving the award are Joyce Fink, a former member of the Foundation of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo Inc., and the Niacet Corporation of Niagara Falls, along with members of the Brannen and Montani families: Augusta Brannen, Kelly and Joanne Brannen, and Larry and Mary Montani.
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