Island Dispatch, 1989-09-29

              ISLAND DISPATCH With The GRAND ISLAND NEWS GRAND ISLAND. NY • 773-7676 VOL. 46 NO. 29 • Sept. 29,1989 40 PAGES Grand Island Leads The Way Uphill At The Optimist Meet For Story And Results, See Page 32. PWto k*r BatW Un Weather THE OLD Farmer's Almanac says: Sept. 29-30: heavy showers then clearing. October average temperature to be 52 degrees (two degrees above normal). Oct. 1-3: clear, very warm. Oct. 4-6: severe cold wave. Swanick Seeks PSC Gas Line Meeting JUST WHERE is the gas line, proposed by Empire State Pipeline, going to be built on Grand Island? Will its construction involve blasting or cause traffic tie-ups? Will the project affect drainage on or near property involved? And what is the expected timeframe for the installation? These are some of the questions Grand Island residents would like answered, especially those whose property is now being surveyed by Empire's contractors. Legislator Charles M. Swanick says another important question put to him was: "Is there any opportunity for public input or has a formal channel been established to deal with resident concerns and/or complaints?" In an effort to get answers, Swanick is conducting a survey here to show support for a public information meeting he is attempting to have the Public Service Commission (PSC) schedule on Grand Island. The original route was filed with the PSC June 6,1988 and, according to Empire, public statement hearings were held along the proposed route. None were held here even though the line is proposed on a route starting at West River shoreline to the East River. Swanick has offered PSC to personally secure a meeting site on Grand Island and to publicize it, as well. "Despite my efforts, the Public Service Commission still refused to send a representative to discuss the Empire State pipeline project with our community because they claimed not to have received any resident input at hearings, and, therefore, assumed the public was already knowledgeable about this proposed project," Swanick has informed property owners involved.However, results of Swanick's survey (in the form of letters) will be forwarded to PSC within the next week, he says. MEK River Oaks Marina Harbor Ready To Roll THE TIME IS almost here when 26,235,000 gallons of water will leave the Niagara River to form the harbor of the $5 million River Oaks Marina on East River Road next to Holiday Inn. Timothy House, president of. Rivet. Oake. Marino,. Inc.. Wednesday said the major part of the excavation into the site is complete. "A crane arrived on shore this morning to do one of the final stages of driving the sheet piling," he said. And boaters can now see what the CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 1 Weekend At A Glance SATURDAY LOBSTER BAKE, St. Timothy Lutheran Church, 6:30 P.M. Gl ROD & GUN CLUB SPAGHETTI DINNER, 4:30-7 P.M. VARSITY VIKINGS VS. NIAGARA WHEATFIELD, away, 2 P.M. FRIENDS OF LIBRARY BOOK DROP, Nike Base, 3278 Whitehaven Road. 10 A.M. to noon. SUNDAY EMMANUEL UM CHURCH PANCAKE BREAK FAST, 1136 Baseline Road, 11:45 AM. to 2 P.M. ROD & GUN CLUB ALL STAR TRYOUTS, noon to 3 P.M.