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Let's Go Back for March 22, 2013

by jmaloni
Fri, Mar 29th 2013 04:00 pm

40 Years Ago, March 14, 1973

New directories distributed

Dr. Samuel Long, chairman of the Grand Island Chamber of Commerce committee for revising the local telephone directory, stopped in the Dispatch officers with Town Supervisor, Raymond P. Griffin, to display the new town directory.

The book, featuring a colored plate on the cover, which was afforded through the courtesy of the Kiwanis Club of Grand Island, was distributed to citizens last Friday and Saturday at Town Hall.

Its comparative number of pages is one quick way to measure the town's growth over Dr. Long's first production three years ago.

The updated book includes the names and telephone numbers of hundreds of new citizens who have taken up residency in the town in the past here or four years.

Also included is an up-to-date street map showing all the new subdivisions and listing the names of streets often asked about by deliverymen and even townspeople.

A revised list of the town's service organizations and businesses is also part of the new directory. ...

30 Years Ago, March 11, 1983

Town Board approves water improvements

The Town Board after a public hearing Monday approved the expenditure of $500,000 for improvements to the aging water treatment plant. The project will rehabilitate badly worn, deteriorated and outdated facilities at the plant. It includes the replacement of filters, drains, valving and chemical handling equipment. Installation of the new equipment will take place during the summer and fall of this year.

Councilman James H. Pax, chairman of the town special districts committee, said the work is the third of a multi-phase program first undertaken in 1974. Since then the town has improved the connection to the Niagara River Water District lines at the river and, in 1980, completed installation of a one million gallon storage tank at the plant to aid in the filtration process. The third phase will bring the plant infiltration system into the 1980s. ...

In future years, the committee plans to continue this program, as funding allows, to include additional storage, improvements to water mains and upgrading the filtration.

20 Years Ago, March 19, 1993

Blizzard fails to bury Grand Island

There was no safer place to be than Grand Island during the Blizzard of '93, thanks to manpower and equipment provided by the town's fire, highway, water and sewer departments.

Highway Superintendent Normal Mrkall said his department began full-scale operations at 1 p.m. Saturday and switched to further emergency steps at 4 p.m. by adding more plows.

"We remained in full operation for the next 31 hours," he said, trying to keep all roads open "all of the time not let the storm get ahead of us." ...

There was little or no sleep for any of the town workers for hours while the storm raged Saturday and part of Sunday.

True to form, the Grand Island Fire Co. and its volunteers were also on the job throughout the blizzard. ...

Schools were closed Monday throughout the area, including Kenmore, Buffalo and Niagara Falls. Not so on the Island. Concentrated efforts on the part of all involved in keeping Grand Island a safe place to live turned what was termed the "Blizzard of the Century" into just another bad snowstorm. ...

10 Years Ago, March 14, 2003

5th annual Corporate Bowl under way ...

The first portion of the fifth annual Grand Island Corporate Bowl kicked off Wednesday night at Grand Island High School as 11 teams, consisting of four GIHS students each, squared off in head-to-head action as they answered questions covering subjects in English, math, science, history, geography, music, art, current events, sports and business. D.R.A.G. Force, Juggernaut of Genius, Midnight Funk Express, and Team Mrs. Wang advanced to the finals.

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