Current News

Buffalo Niagara Heritage Village, 3755 Tonawanda Creek Road, Amherst, hosts the following events in July.

League of American Orchestras Chairman Lowell J. Noteboom has announced the appointment of Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra board member Angelo Fatta, along with five others, to the League's board of directors. The League board elected the six new board members, who will each serve three-year terms, during its annual meeting in June.

Larry Ransom, a Lockport native and a key figure in the Lockport skateboarding scene, has announced that Pure Fun, the grassroots skate zine he started in 1990 with fellow Lockport skater Eric Shugats, will release a massive 10th issue on July 26 for the publication's 22nd anniversary.

Global Spectrum has named Jason LaMotte as the new head chef at the Conference & Event Center Niagara Falls.

"The Chew" welcomes guests Audra McDonald (Broadway's "Porgy & Bess"), Stacy Keibler (former WWE wrestler and model), Josh Elliott and Lara Spencer (hosts, "Good Afternoon America") and Aaron McCargo ("Big Daddy's House"), July 16-20 (weekdays, 1 p.m.).

Nationally-syndicated morning talk show "LIVE! with Kelly" announces the lineup of guest co-hosts who will join Kelly Ripa during the week of July 23-27:

What if the Village of Lewiston had its own version of the famous Pearl Street Grill & Brewery smack dab in the middle of Center Street? That's one proposal under consideration for the long-vacant Frontier House.

The Zonta Club of Grand Island awarded $750 scholarships to five women in ceremonies on June 26 at the Buffalo Launch Club.

Miss Bev's Dance Studio will sponsor its third annual "National Dance Day" celebration on Saturday, July 28. This day has been created to encourage people of all ages to get out and enjoy all that dance has to offer.

Before his death, Bill Litto dreamed of a co-op babysitting program that would give adoptive parents an opportunity to "swap out" babysitting with other adoptive parents, providing them with a chance to have a respite.

The Town of Lewiston Recreation Department announces it will offer a Red Cross-certified babysitting class this summer. The class is open to boys and girls ages 11 and up. It will be held on Friday, July 27, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Lewiston Town Hall, 1375 Ridge Road.

Casa Antica, 490 Center St., is offering all of your favorite menu items on the patio before each "Tuesday in the Park" concert at Artpark.

Before Kelly's Country Store put down roots on Grand Island, it began at tiny fairs along the East Coast where Walt Kelly and his son Mike would sell knick knacks and later the candy that would help make their company an Island institution.

The Grand Island Board of Education held its annual organizational meeting on Monday evening in the Veronica E. Connor Middle School Little Theater. The agenda included the election and swearing in of David Goris to his second term as board president and of Paul Krull as vice president. The board approved a lengthy list of appointments and designations with the Island Dispatch listed again as the official newspaper of Grand Island Schools.

In September 2010, Mary Forster was diagnosed with stage 4 follicular lymphoma. Since then, Forster has been receiving various tests and treatments. Because she has no medical insurance, her family and friends are holding a benefit to help alleviate the increasing costs.

A look back at past articles from the Island Dispatch 40, 30, 20, and 10 years ago.

The Grand Island Town Board issued a request to residents and businesses Thursday asking them to voluntarily reduce their water consumption.

Shortly before 11 a.m. on Sunday, July 8, Grand Island Fire Co. firefighters responded to a fire alarm at the Holiday Inn Grand Island, 100 Whitehaven Road on East River Road.

The following is a sampling of calls received by the Niagara County Sheriff's Office from the Town of Niagara and Wheatfield between June 25 and July 1.

The following activity occurred from Monday, July 2, to Sunday, July 8, as reported by the Lewiston Police Department. LPD logged a total of 111 response calls during this period.

In the case of the Robert Moses Parkway North, no news is, well, no news.

Dr. Walter S. Polka, former Lewiston-Porter superintendent of schools, was recently granted promotion to full professor with tenure at Niagara University.

The American Business Women's Association of Western New York has announced that Amy Christieson of Youngstown was named ABWA WNY's 2011-12 Woman of the Year.

Area law enforcement agencies had their hands full Tuesday night, as a larger than expected crowd for the Sublime with Rome concert at Artpark resulted in scores of arrests, many of them on Village of Lewiston streets.

On Friday, Dr. Gino Sementa, a veterinarian from Rochester, was visiting Three Sisters Island at Niagara Falls State Park when he observed a white dog on "Little Brother Island," which is just down stream from Three Sisters Island.

KeyBank has completed its acquisition of 37 retail banking branches owned by HSBC Bank NA in Buffalo and Rochester.

Aaron Radatz, the magician Time magazine calls "the magical entertainer to see" and about whom MSNBC says is "nipping at the heels of David Copperfield," will perform at Darien Lake from July 16 to Sept. 3.

Assemblyman John D. Ceretto, R-I-Lewiston, wrote to Gov. Andrew Cuomo Thursday urging him to nominate a Niagara County resident to succeed John Dyson on the New York Power Authority board of trustees, citing the critical role Niagara County plays in power production in New York state. Dyson's resignation is slated for Aug. 5 of this year.

Celebrating its ninth summer at Artpark, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra presents an afternoon performance of classical favorites from Berlioz, Mozart, Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky as part of Artpark's new "Sundays in July" matinee theater series.

While Saturday night's crescent moon won't give off a lot of light, locals and visitors to the Lake Ontario port of Olcott this weekend can still expect to spend their time there "Dancing in the Moonlight."

Star of "Glee," Kevin McHale, is set to co-host "Teen Choice 2012," alongside Demi Lovato. The 14th annual special airs live Sunday, July 22 (8 to 10 p.m.), on FOX.

The Historic Riviera Theatre presents Hugh Laurie with The Copper Bottom Band on Tuesday, Aug. 28, at 7:30 p.m., for one performance only.

Seneca Casinos will make it an October to remember will an all-star lineup of entertainment. Coming to Seneca Niagara Events Center on Oct. 5 is Grammy winner Tony Bennett, followed by country singer Martina McBride on Oct. 6 at Seneca Allegany Events Center.

HYDRO NF (Happening, Youthful & Driven, Reinventing our Niagara Falls) is hosting a drum circle every other Friday until Sept. 21.

The Historic Trinity Committee will present its final garden tour this upcoming Saturday, July 14, from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. The tour costs $15 after Thursday, July 12, and at the door.

Nine-year-old friends Mike Valle and Jack Dlugokinski have been friends since kindergarten. Even though they attend different elementary schools, one at Huth Road Elementary and one at Kaegebein Elementary, they still do things together. Mike and Jack decided to team up as business partners and participate in this year's KidBiz event held on June 23. This Grand Island Chamber of Commerce event allows students in grades 2 through 8 to get an idea of what it is like to run a business. Mike and Jack made 60 marshmallow shooters and sold them all at KidBiz for $5 apiece. After seeing just how successful their product was at KidBiz, they decided to make another 125 marshmallow shooters to sell up and down Grand Island Boulevard during the Independence Day parade. The students went to Town Hall and applied for a peddler's permit and got to work. Mike and Jack decided after reviewing costs to make the product and to decorate each shooter with paint and duct tape they made a business decision to sell the shooters for $6 apiece during the parade. They worked together and sold 115 shooters on the Fourth of July. After paying their parents back for purchasing the materials, they had a nice profit. Mike and Jack play hockey together and decided to put some of that profit towards a hockey camp, but first they wanted to make a contribution back to their community. Mike and Jack met with Kim McMahon of the Miracle League of Grand Island and Western New York and donated $115 towards the organization, which provides an opportunity for disabled baseball players to play games on an adaptive diamond. Both boys love baseball, but Mike has a cousin who is now 4 years old and has special needs. His hope is to someday play baseball with his cousin at the new Miracle League Field located at Veterans Park on Grand Island. Mike and Jack are looking to continue the growth of their business. Those interested in purchasing marshmallow shooters for gifts or party favors can contact them by emailing [email protected].

The family of Jonathan Miller, a member of Lewiston-Porter High School's Class of 2010 who died in a tragic car accident, announce that the upcoming J-Mill Memorial Charity Giving Fund's third annual golf outing and dinner will be the last. However, the cancellation of future fundraisers is not for a lack of generosity, support, kindness, and empathy from the Niagara Falls community.

The Erie County Sheriff's Office reports its officers responded to 163 calls from June 23 to 29. Below is a sampling of incidents the ECSO reported to the Island Dispatch.

The following incidents occurred from July 2 to 8, as reported by the Grand Island Fire Co. A total of 35 calls were answered by the department during this period. The GIFC has responded to 719 calls so far this year.