Island Dispatch, 1999-09-17

              Island DISPATCH Sun Rises on Fall page 4 Inn the Works page 7 Vike's Strike! page 15 -Complete Community Coverage 55 Years As the Voice of Grand Island Award Winning Newspapers The Official Newspaper of the Town of Grand Island and the Grand Island School District September it;:ws^^mmmmmmmmmmmmm®fflm®ffl& m^^mBUKHB*wmfflMFWp^-;~i■ ■'•|71Bra3r7fj.76i3;„ A CLASSIC SHOW - The 22nd AnnuaL Antique and Classic Boat Show was held at the Buffalo Launch Club last Saturday. As in previous years, dozens of unique boats were docked at the club and displayed to crowds of people. This year's attraction included over 80 brightly varnished mahogany boats from all over the Northeast and Canada. Pictured to the left is "Spiffy," a 1948, 20-foot, Chris Craft Classic Runabout owned by North Tonawanda resident Alan Frederick. "Spiffy," which was last year's "Best in Show" recipient, was not entered for judging this year. However, the amazing boat, which took Frederick nine years to restore, won the special Buffalo Launch Club Award. Pictured above is the R-2, a custom made, Whale-Back Racer built and owned by Richard Speas of Forestville, N.Y. The craft, which is 21 feet in length, would have fallen into the category of "Custom Contemporary" but was not entered forjudging. Check out page 2 for more on this year's show including the results and awards. (Photos by Jack Wiebel) Good Primary turnout sets stage for November's election by Rick Forgione Grand Island residents flocked to the polls in record numbers for Tuesday's Primary, but when the smoke cleared no changes on any of the lines had taken place. According to Town Clerk Nancy Samrany, the Island experienced one of the best responses it has ever had for a Primary. Samrany speculated that this may have been due to the heated Town Justice race, in which both candidates — Republican Timothy Mordaunt and Democrat Sybil Kennedy — attempted to steal each other's endorsed line. Despite .the fact that no major changes were made in any of the lines, a few interesting developments should be noted as a result of the Primary. These include: •In the race between Mordaunt and Kennedy, an interesting turnout for Kennedy may prove fatal for Mordaunt in November. As expected, both candidates held their lines and Mordaunt won the Conservative Line but not by the suspected margin. Kennedy clearly defended her Democratic endorsed line with a unofficial vote count of 538 to 256. However, Mordaunt's Republican line was much closer as he edged out Kennedy 695 to 604. The Conservative Line proved the same with Mordaunt posting a slight victory over Kennedy 65 to 53. What all the numbers mean is that Kennedy has solid support on both the Republican and Conservative lines, as well as, double the support on the Democratic line: This preliminary vote may put Kennedy as the favored candidate in November, but nothing is for sure in Grand Island, so it will be an interesting race to the finish line. Chamber committee, Town Board discuss GI economic issues by Rick Forgione The Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Committee and Grand Island Town Board met on Wednesday to discuss several pertinent issues regarding the Island at the Chamber of Commerce Building. Present at the meeting were seven members of the Economic Development Committee - Jack Hugill, Granson Geis, Hank Carrol Ted Bates, Gary Astridge, Chris Learman, and Jim Sharpe — and Supervisor Peter McMahon, Councilwoman Mary Cooke and Councilman Michael Heftka representing the Town Board. According to McMahon, meetingsmeetings between the two groups were started at the beginning of this year and have been very beneficial to the betterment of the town. During the meeting, the following issues were discussed: •An update was given on the Seneca Nation of Indians Land Claim Lawsuit. McMahon told those in attendance that nothing major has changed regarding the case and that pre-trial motions are still scheduled to begin in the first part of December. In an attempt to get some answers from key officials on their response to the claim, the Chamber had sent out dozens of questionnaires consisting of yes and no questions that are important to the case. The deadline was set for Sept. 15, and Chamber officials have said that a good portion were returned and will be evaluated in the upcoming weeks. A meeting is being scheduled by the Seneca Lawsuit Committee to report the results. •Members of the committee responded to the board's referral of the finished Town Center Concept Plan during its public meeting on Sept. 7. The plan, which had just been completed by the Long Range Planning Committee, was referred to the town advisory boards with a response due back by Sept. 18. Sharpe asked if the comments and Planning Board postpones Town Center comments by Kelly Gast The Long Range Planning Committee's Town Center Concept Plan was officially submitted to the Planning Board at Monday night's meeting. After hearing comments from John Trianda who is a member of the LRPC, the board agreed to hold a special meeting to review the plan in detail. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. at which time the board will discuss anxieties relating to the Town Center that they must submit to the Town Board by Oct. 18. In other discussions Monday night: •Thomas and Wendy Thompson were granted exception to subdivision regulations and rezoning of part of their 2487 Long Rd. property. The Thompson's plan to build a new 100 foot by 200 foot single family, ranch-type home. Planners agreed to approve the plan once the Zoning Board issues a variance. The Thompson's property has historical value, being the estate of a former chicken farm. They plan to restore the old barn into original condition. •Two ponds presently under inspection by the Department of Environmental Conservation, were also commented on by the Board. John Phillips, Town Engineer, clarified that the town's jurisdiction only deals with barriers to restrict access, dust control, hours of operation, zoning prohibitions, and clean-up. A proposed 4.27 acre pond and 2.23 acre wetland on the Daigler property at 2343 Staley Rd. was reviewed. The Board commented continued on page 5 continued on page 18 continued on page 5 Be in the Know every week! Subscribe to the Island Dispatch! for valuable savings, see page 17