Current News

The town budget and finances dominated for the most part at the Lewiston Town Board's recent session on Oct. 24. However there was also news of different sorts discussed at the session.

The New York Power Authority and Seaway Trail, Inc. have installed three history- and nature-themed Great Lakes Seaway Trail "Outdoor Storyteller" signage units at the Niagara Power Project locations in Lewiston and the City of Niagara Falls.

The "Fort Schlosser: Guarding the Upper Landing" panel is at the project's water intakes in a scenic overlook park that is part of the NYPA project, but located in the City of Niagara Falls on the shoreline of the Niagara River. The natural history-theme Great Lakes Seaway Trail "Outdoor Storyteller" featuring the "Great Cataract of Niagara" is also here.

Two of the panels chronicle the local area's role in the French and Indian War. The panel titled "Fighting for Homeland: American Indian Allies" is located next to the outdoor turbine exhibit at NYPA's Power Vista Visitor Center for the Niagara Power Project in Lewiston.

The following activity occurred Monday, Oct. 24 to Sunday, Oct. 30, as reported by the Lewiston Police Department. LPD reported a total of 74 calls during this period.

The Youngstown Free Library, located in the Youngstown Red Brick School village center, 240 Lockport St., announces the following activities for the month of November.

Assemblyman John Ceretto today invited Gil Quiniones, who has been nominated as the new president and CEO of the New York Power Authority by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, to visit Niagara County. The two would discuss Niagara County's role in the NYPA system. Quiniones currently serves as NYPA's acting president and CEO.

The Western New York Land Conservancy recognized the acquisition of the first protected property on the Niagara Escarpment, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday.

Lewiston-Porter Middle School was buzzing Monday, but not with noise, with hair clippers.

The Western New York Association of Historical Agencies has announced that five awards will be presented to groups for excellence in the museum field in the 11-county WNY area, including two organizations in Niagara County.

Close to 300 guests gathered recently to celebrate the 2011 season of Ransomville Speedway and the accomplishments of many. The night started out with a delicious buffet dinner catered by Johnston's Restaurant and was followed by an awards ceremony and music by Jonesie and the Cruisers. And the celebration lasted well into the night as guests enjoyed the festivities.

Lewiston-Porter Youth Travel Football will hold a Chiavetta's chicken barbecue fundraiser.

Presti Karate Centers hosted international black belt testing on Saturday, Oct. 8, conducted by an international board. Eight students were promoted to the rank of black belt or higher.

First-degree black belt recipients included: Lewiston's Robert Blakelock, 13; Rory McGuire, 13; and Jordan D'Angelo, 12; and Niagara Falls' Chris Smith, 15; Amanda Mrzygut, 16; Chris Drake, 13; and Philip D'Angelo, 15.

Carly Presti, 10, of Wilson ranked as the youngest-ever promoted to black belt. Presti has compiled more than five years of training.

Third-degree black belt recipients included Greg Bullock of Niagara-Wheatfield and Doug Boje of Pendleton.

Tables full of books of all types are available at the Youngstown Free Library's fall book sale.

During an Oct. 20 "Meet the Candidates Night," candidates for town offices were asked durng the question-and-answer portion of the forum: Do you believe the town should pay for the maintenance of sidewalks not owned by the town, and if so, how would you propose paying for it?

I was pleased to learn in a recent issue of the Island Dispatch that our Grand Island Community Federal Credit Union is expanding its services to anyone who lives, works, worships, attends school or volunteers on Grand Island.

Grand Island put together its most dominating performance of the football season last Thursday to win the Chuck Funke Memorial Classic, 28-0 over Hamburg.

Veronica Connor Middle School
Five musical groups performed at the Connor Middle School fall concert on Wednesday night in the Grand Island High School auditorium.

School Bus Safety Poster Contest winners from Sidway, St. Stephen, Kaegebein and Huth Road schools were treated to breakfast at Tops on Thursday morning.

The Erie County Sheriff's Office reports its officers responded to 207 calls from Oct. 22 to 28. Below is a sampling of only those incidents the ECSO reported to the Island Dispatch.

The following incidents occurred from Oct. 24 to Oct. 30, as reported by the Grand Island Fire Co. A total of 23 calls were answered by the department during this period. The GIFC has now responded to 1,256 calls so far this year.

On the cusp of breaking the $1 million mark in funds raised for the American Cancer Society, supporters of the Grand Island Relay For Life held a "reunion."

Tuesday's general election features a rematch of the 2007 race for town supervisor between Peter McMahon and Mary Cooke.

Cooke said four years ago after her defeat that some had urged her to run a negative campaign, which she declined to do. This year, she's pointed out what she considers McMahon's shortcomings and called a vote for the incumbent a vote for the status quo. McMahon's campaign has primarily focused on his tenure as supervisor, saying that with regard to his accomplishments in such areas as reducing debt and expanding green space, "leadership is the key."

For one county lawmaker retiring as the Niagara County Legislature downsizes in response to a public referendum, the final weeks of his term have provided an opportunity to bring a multi-year battle to a successful close.

Thursday night it was announced that InTENsity, the group that Paula Abdul mentored, was eliminated on "The X Factor." After Steve Jones announced that InTENsity and The Stereo Hogzz received the fewest votes, judges Simon Cowell, Abdul, L.A. Reid and Nicole Scherzinger asked the two finalists to perform their "song for survival" and then eliminated InTENsity.

The American Legion Wheatfield Post 1451 will conduct Veterans Day ceremonies at 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 11, at the Wheatfield veterans monument on Ward Road.

The Niagara River Region Chamber of Commerce hosts its next business "Blender" on Thursday, Nov. 10, at the Lewiston Village Pub, located at 840 Center St., Lewiston.

On Election Day, Holy Ghost Lutheran School will have hundreds of homemade baked goods for sale starting at 6 a.m.

The Niagara-Wheatfield Board of Education will accept requests from any individuals interested in serving on the 2011-12 budget committee.

Assemblyman John Ceretto, R-I-Lewiston, is urging state leaders to provide $10 million to the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority to help close the authority's $15 million deficit and avoid service cuts and layoffs.

ABC Family's "25 Days of Christmas," cable's biggest holiday programming event of the year, returns with 25 continuous days of holiday-themed entertainment for the whole family. From Dec. 1 to 25, viewers can ring in the holidays with original movies, holiday specials and returning favorites.

Seneca Nation of Indians President Robert Odawi Porter wrote Wednesday to the Cuomo administration scolding it for what he described as not negotiating in good faith about gaming money withheld from the state and casino host communities. However, Porter also agreed to waive the negotiation process required under the state gaming compact and proposed an expedited arbitration process to quickly resolve the issue.

Porter noted that he wrote to Gov. Andrew Cuomo nearly nine months ago. In that letter, the president proposed an alternative so the Nation could pay directly to Niagara Falls, Buffalo, Salamanca and other casino host communities.

Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8, for Election Day.

Wheatfield has the most contested town races (supervisor and two Town Board seats), while Town of Niagara has only one (highway supervisor). In county races, all voters will vote in the county clerk race, and depending on district, some also will vote for County Legislature candidates.

Wheatfield Supervisor Robert B. Cliffe is seeking re-election to a second term, running on the Republican, Conservative and Independence lines, while Donald J. Wallace is running on the Democratic and Working Families lines. Wheatfield councilmen Larry L. Helwig (R, C, I) and Gilbert G. Doucet (R, C, WF, I) are seeking re-election. Opposing them are Robert J. Pino (D) and Barbara A. Lange (D). Town Clerk Kathleen M. Harrington and Superintendent of Highways Arthur F. Kroening are running unopposed.

Joe Petrozzi and his son Russ of Capitol Cleaners are again collecting, cleaning and giving gently used coats and other winter wear to the needy families in Western New York. The days for distribution to the community are Saturday, Nov. 5, and Saturday, Dec. 3, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

VA Western New York Healthcare System is celebrating Veterans Day with ceremonies at both the Batavia and Buffalo sites. All veterans are encouraged to wear their medals as America recognizes the legacy of veterans on Friday, Nov. 11.

The United States Army Reserve's 99th Regional Support Command will conduct a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open the Niagara Falls Armed Forces Reserve Center later this morning.

Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center will conduct a weekday flu shot clinic for adults 18 and older from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, in the hospital's auditorium, 621 10th St., Niagara Falls.

Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center has set an early November project start for $400,000 of building renovations and technology upgrades at the Summit Healthplex in Wheatfield.

The new digital mammography suite will feature a state-of-the-art, full field digital system with a computer aided detection program, a dedicated workstation for image display and interpretation; and a digital picture archiving and communication system.

This digital technology will shorten a patient's exam time, lower the radiation dosage, enhance physicians' image interpretation capabilities and reduce the need for retesting.