Island Dispatch, 1996-12-20

              Island DISPATCH ■■f "As the voice ofT-rand Island_~^^ ""Dy Cleaners 937% Caramel laland Bfv<l TOWN MAU. SQUAHe' telenet OwnW « Opaanaf,a- CALL 77KLEAN or 773-4114 Vol. 53 • No. 37 (716) 773-7676 20 Pages 650 December 20,1996 And the winners are... by Jerry Reiter The winners in Grand Island's 1996 Reflections of Lights Contest were chosen Saturday. The event was the first of its kind here, and received over -40 entries, mainly in the residential category. The winners in the residential category are as follows: First Place - Lynn and Bob Syracuse at 54 Schutt Court Second Place - Keith and Karen Call at 104 Marilyn Drive Third Place - Mauro and Rosemary Bravetti at 49 Pleasant Trail. The winners in the business category are as follows: First Place-Chambers Radiator Repair at 1765 Grand Island Boulevard Second Place-H.M.S. Electric at 1988 Grand Island Boulevard Third Place-Kelly's Country Store at 3121 Grand Island Boulevard. Honorable Mention goes to Convenient Food Mart at 2397 Grand Island Boulevard, and Holiday Showcase Restaurant at 2352 Grand Island Boulevard. The prizes were $100 for First Place, $50 for Second Place, and $25 for Third Place. Sponsors of the event were the Grand Island Business Council, Town of Grand Island, Chamber of Commerce, Niagara Frontier Publications, M&T Bank, Marine Midland Bank, Wetern New York Auctions, John Lexo, John Simon and Andy Chambers. Judges for the competition were Mike Sendlbeck, Betty Harris, Linda Sobieski, Ken Morgan, Jerry and Susan Reiter. THE RADIATORS WERE HUNG BY THE CHIMNFV wrrii r»DB ____■ ready for the holidays and won First Prize in the 1996 R,nlt rr ■? 7? Chambers Repair is all Photo by Bert Brochey of Lights Contest in the business category. GRAND ISLAND'S MOST OUTSTANDING DECORATIONS! Without a doubL Western New York Auctions has the most dazzling display of lights around. The 15,000 lights drew front-page coverage from many local papers, a mention on local radio, and spots on TV news programs. Owner Mike Sendlbeck took himself out of the running for the 1996 Reflections of Lights Contest so he could get others involved through his efforts as chairman and judge for the first annual evenL which be helped make a huge success. Photo by Bert Brochey ")oa!cSIiEEI lh!i9 What Bob and Lynn Syracuse wrote on their application for the residential catconrv in iiv Sbf Bert **' ~* *« SLue fanSyS£Ss fa *" Contest's biggest winner by Jerry Reiter Without taking anything away from the people whose hard work won tbem a prize in The 1996 Reflections of Light Contest, it's obvious that the biggest winner of all in Grand Island's first holiday lighting competition is ... drum roll please...Grand Island! All of us who live here and enjoy the beautiful lights this year benefit from the new contest. And the lighting around the town center has helped create a feeling of community. OVERVIEW The event is sure to become an annual one, and talk is already underway about how to make it bigger and better next year. With nearly 50 entries submitted, this year's contest was received better than expected, especially in view of the fact that it was put together so late in the year. The idea for the holiday lighting contest came out of discussions at the Grand Island Business Council in November, just weeks before everything had to be in place. "We put it together - the lights I for the town center, the connections from Niagara Mohawk, the entry forms at the chamber of commerce - all in about ten days. It's amazing when you think about it!" enthused event chairman Mike Sendlbeck, of WNY Auction and Sales on Grand Island Boulevard. The name for the lighting contest came from Linda Sobieski, who noticed how beautiful the reflections of lights look across the river that makes our town an island. Sponsors of the event were the Grand Island Business Council, Town of Grand Island, Chamber of Commerce, Niagara Frontier Publications. M&T Bank, Marine Midland Bank, Wetern New York Auctions, John Lexo, John Simon and Andy Chambers. The holiday lighting contest was seen by many who worked on it as a positive sign that cooperation between the Grand Island CONTINUED ON PACE 10