Tournament Chairman Captain Steve Drabczyk of Lewiston Bait & Tackle sends word of another successful walleye tournament held on the lower Niagara River Aug. 24. All fish entered were caught at the Niagara bar in front of Fort Niagara.

The Opportunities Unlimited of Niagara Foundation held its 16th annual "Celebrity Bartending" fundraiser at the Brickyard Pub & B.B.Q., raising more than $17,000 for people with developmental disabilities.

The Kiwanis Club of Lewiston hosted its annual get-together for the Peach Queen candidates at Pletcher Road Park. The event featured a meet-and-greet of the candidates with Kiwanis members and visitors, a picnic and games.

The Historical Association of Lewiston presented the Heenan Brothers and their "Canal Blues" music at the Hennepin Park Gazebo.

Bass. You can catch them from shore; you can catch them by boat; catch them on live bait; catch them on artificial bait; you can troll for them or still-fish for them and it makes no difference. This summer in Western New York, we have enjoyed some of the best smallmouth bass fishing available anywhere.

Alan Hastings has made a name for himself on the Lewiston waterfront, working with his father, Richard, to transform a coal silo into one of the village's most popular restaurants.

Now, he hopes to do the same with the long-dormant Frontier House.

CWM Chemical Services in Porter announced Wednesday that the state Department of Environmental Conservation has approved its application for renewal of its 6 NYCRR Part 373 overall site wide/RMU-1 permit for its Balmer Road hazardous waste landfill facility.

"The NYSDEC has reviewed all public and CWM comments, including those made during the legislative public hearing and have not identified any substantive and significant issues specifically related to the CWM Permit renewal application," wrote David S. Denk, DEC regional permit administrator, in a letter to Jill A. Banaszak, CWM technical manager.

"The NYSDEC has reviewed all public and CWM comments, including those made during the legislative public hearing and have not identified any substantive and significant issues specifically related to the CWM Permit renewal application," wrote David S. Denk, DEC regional permit administrator, in a letter to Jill A. Banaszak, CWM technical manager.

Members of the public have received their first look at the proposed Ellicott Development project eyed for Center Street. At Monday's Village of Lewiston Planning Board meeting, David M. Hall, planning and development coordinator for the Buffalo-based property management firm, informed attendees - including four members of the Village Board of Trustees - of his company's intention to build the village's first north-side plaza.

The development would begin on Center Street and lead down to Onondaga Street. Potential tenants include a fast food restaurant, a bank and a drugstore.

Park improvements and SPCA issues occupied significant portions of an otherwise low-key Porter Town Board session this past Monday.

Niagara Jet Adventures of Youngstown, a new jetboat operation expected to debut this fall in the lower river region, announced the winner of its "Name our Fleet Member" contest.

Families enjoyed a summer sunset and movie at Artpark's fifth annual free Family Movie Night, presented by the Lewiston Kiwanis Club. Special guests included the Peach Queen, Peach Fuzz and Peach Blossom, and this year's Peach Queen contestants.

Old Fort Niagara was once a strategic encampment that controlled access to the Great Lakes and was the setting for some of some of America's notable revolutionary era battles.

Susha Shoes, a new shoe boutique in the Village of Lewiston, celebrated its grand opening and ribbon-cutting with the Niagara River Region Chamber of Commerce, local elected officials, business owners and friends and family on Friday, Aug. 9.

The Village of Youngstown announces its annual Community Picnic will take place on Saturday, Aug. 24, from noon to 4 p.m. at Falkner Park.

Held each August since 2004 when the village first offered the event as part of its 150th year celebration, the picnic has become a family-oriented affair.

The weather was perfect and the art exceptional as record crowds descended on the Village of Lewiston last weekend for the holding of the 47th annual Lewiston Art Festival, presented by the Lewiston Council on the Arts.

Lewiston-Porter High School Team No. 1 took second place in the annual KeyBank Chalk Walk Competition, held Saturday at the 47th annual Lewiston Art Festival in the village. Above, Team No. 1 members Elizabeth Gatto, Janine Cubello and Alexis Morford appear with their entry.

Members of the Kiwanis Club of Lewiston, organizers of the 56th annual Niagara County Peach Festival, report final planning is underway for the annual fall favorite, set to take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 6 to 8, at Academy Park in the Village of Lewiston.

The common snapping turtle was adopted in 2006 as the official New York state symbol. The naming came from a vote of the state legislature.

Lynyrd Skynyrd drew a sold-out crowd at Artpark Tuesday. The classic rock all-stars performed a slew of hit songs for the happy audience.

The Greater Niagara Ballet Company brings "Coppélia" to the Artpark & Company Mainstage Theater for two shows on Saturday, Aug. 17. Ballet's great comedy will be performed at 2 and 8 p.m.

The Lewiston Council on the Arts released a list of winners from this past weekend's Lewiston Art Festival.

Lynyrd Skynyrd will perform "Sweet Home Alabama," "Simple Man," "Free Bird" and a slew of other hits when the band takes the Artpark stage in Lewiston on Aug. 13.

A longtime business expansion plan has finally come to fruition in the Village of Lewiston. Angel to Apple has opened its own shoe department within its current location at 451 Center St.

The 40th - and final - version of the Youngstown Yacht Club Level Regatta played out last weekend on the Lake Ontario waters and in the Village of Youngstown, much to the delight of participants, visitors and organizers.

Artpark & Company celebrated 40 years with the "Artpark Opening Night 1974 Anniversary Concert." The Mainstage Theater event was a recreation of the program that was presented on the performing arts venue's first night, and featured JoAnn Falletta conducting the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.

Women's Medicine of Niagara celebrated the grand opening and ribbon-cutting of its new offices located at 5927 Military Road in Lewiston.

Luxe Lewiston celebrated a grand opening and ribbon-cutting with owners AnnMarie DiMarco Valencio and Debbie DiMarco, as well as friends, family, elected leaders and Niagara River Region Chamber of Commerce members.

Chase's Dog Wash held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, July 11. The building has a new makeover, and owners Sue Torcasio and David Moyer are excited about the new look.

Lewiston's Apple Granny is known for its fish fry, a wide assortment of sandwiches and a killer bacon cheeseburger basket.

It's also known for history. That is, its promotion of the village's storied past.

The Center for Women at Mount St. Mary's Hospital has earned a "Five Star Excellence Award" for scoring in the top 10 percent nationally in patient satisfaction for the second consecutive year.

Pleasant weather greeted the folks who came to Hennepin Park in Lewiston Sunday afternoon for the Marble Orchard Players production, "The Spirits of 1813."

The Friends of the Lewiston Library group has announced Patricia Cassick and Joseph Nasca are the winners of its 2013 "Passport to Lewiston" raffle, held during the recent Lewiston GardenFest.

On Saturday, Sept. 7, St. Peter's School in Lewiston will host a celebration to commemorate the 60 years of academic excellence and prestige that it has maintained. The event will begin at 4 p.m. at St. Peter's R.C. Church, where a Mass will be held. It will be followed by a reception at the nearby Barton Hill Hotel & Spa.

Food and refreshments will be available, and an evening program will feature a number of festivities. Alumni, former students, parents, faculty, and those who have shared an experience with St. Peter's are welcome to attend.

On Sunday, the Historical Association of Lewiston celebrated 40 years of preserving and promoting Lewiston's rich history.

The Niagara County Central Rotary Club presented Olde Sanborn Days last weekend on the Sanborn Volunteer Fire Co. grounds.

As the Lewiston Civic Center referendum vote was revealed Monday night, a stoic Steve Reiter said it all.

"The public spoke. The public spoke," the Town of Lewiston supervisor said.

The Village of Lewiston complex once known as Fairchild Manor has been sold and is slated to become a 24-unit condominium complex. Brooklyn-based Goldin Management purchased the former nursing home.

Not your typical day out on the lake. ... Over the past several years my boating experiences have involved the usual fare - cruising, sightseeing, plenty of swimming, sunning, skiing, some fishing, and overall good times on-board, even some Wednesday night sailboat races out on Lake Erie off Buffalo.

News broke Sunday that the Village of Lewiston created a petition seeking support for restoration of the historic Frontier House. Throughout this week, residents visiting the mayor's office in the Red Brick Municipal Building have been encouraged to sign the document. To date, more than 500 have obliged. In doing so, they asked one question: What's going on with the Frontier House?

As Artpark prepares for an eight-show run of the popular musical "The Sound of Music," it is impossible to forget Brother Augustine Towey, C.M., the late visionary leader of Western New York's theater community and how special he was to Artpark's theater program development.