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Let's Go Back for May 18, 2012

by jmaloni
Thu, May 24th 2012 12:40 pm

40 Years Ago, May 17, 1972

New taxi service on Grand Island

Walter Rivers, manager of the Grand Island Taxi Service, which officially opens for business today (was welcomed) by Supervisor Raymond P. Griffin and Councilman Samuel Long.

Owner of the new service is August Giambra of 1654 Huth Road. Most people are agreed that the town is certainly in need of a cab service and Rivers promises a modern, up-to-date business, which will answer the needs of the community.

30 Years Ago, May 14, 1982

GIFC expansion program well under way

Work on the addition to the Grand Island Fire Co.'s main headquarters on Baseline Road is well under way, although to an onlooker the building appears to have been struck by a tornado.

Contracts for the work, including plumbing, heating, roofing and construction, have been let to the lowest bidders. Cannon Design of Whitehaven Road is architect for the project.

The local fire company was one of the first in the country to take advantage of the Volunteer Fire Department Equity Act, enacted into law last August. It allows volunteer fire companies to borrow at a lower interest rate now available to municipal fire departments. However, an upcoming building fund drive and additional borrowing are necessary to meet the cost of expanding and renovating the 30-year-old building.

20 Years Ago, May 22, 1992

Multimillion Isle business center planned

Plans for a $30 million business center were announced Wednesday afternoon at a meeting of the Town Board and a Canadian developer.

The project proposed by Colin Stanger of Mississauga, Ontario, will be a mixed-use development, located in the heart of the town at the intersection of Grand Island Boulevard and Baseline Road, with rear acreage extending to Whitehaven Road.

"The development is very compatible with the Grand Island Master Plan and will provide the residents of Grand Island with an attractive alternative to off-Island shopping and entertainment," Supervisor James H. Pax said after the meeting.

According to the plans shown, the so-called center will include a grocery supermarket, an enclosed shopping area, a mix of restaurants, a cinema complex, and a health and fitness center. An exhibition hall, under a Birdair roof, at the center of the complex, will provide a venue for a variety of events, such as tennis tournaments, boat, auto, fashion and antique shows, and a number of community social events. As demand indicates, four low-rise office buildings will be constructed at the perimeter of the complex to accommodate local professions and services, the developer said.

He also said a five-acre site at the rear of the center has been set aside for the construction of a nursing home, separated from the center by a man-made lake, and buffered to the north by an area of woodland.

Potential traffic problems have been mitigated by acquiring land at the eastern boundary of the site to allow for an alternative access to Whitehaven Road, the Town Board was told.

Cannon Design of Grand Island has been chosen as architect for the project, which it views as an exciting opportunity to design such a significant project in its "backyard," Pax said.

The site is currently zoned for its intended use, and it is anticipated that the planning approval process will proceed quickly to allow for an early start of construction, with a scheduled completion by the fall of next year.

10 Years Ago, May 17, 2002

Coppola selected as interim superintendent

The search for an interim superintendent of the Grand Island Central School District did not take long. On Monday, the Grand Island Board of Education chose Vincent A Coppola, a former superintendent of the West Seneca and Corning-Painted Post districts, to serve as interim superintendent and consultant in the search for a new district superintendent to replace Dr. Paul Fields.

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