Island Dispatch, 2000-01-28

              Island DISPATCH  We D.A.R.E. You! page 2 Great Grandopoly page 3 On the Job page 9 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 JANUARY 28. 2000 20 pages 65c Vol. 55 No. 41 (716)773-7676 LENDING ABELPING HAND -Brittney Wall seven year old daughter of Rotarian Richard Wall, stirs up the "super bowl" of chili being prepared for the club's annual Chili Sale, which will be held this Saturday at Grand Island High School. Turn to page 20 for more information. - _____ A PARTY A THOUSAND YEARS IN THE MAKING - Sidway School was the site of a millennium party to end all millennium parties yesterday as several festivities and events were planned for a day-long welcome to the year 2000 party. As part of the celebration, teachers and members of the faculty got dressed up in their most classy outfits to put on a skit to welcome the new millennium in. Veterans Memorial Wall to be dedicated The dedication ceremony of the Veterans Memorial Wall will be held on Sunday, June 11 announced co-chairmen Shirley Luther and Nancy Sandford. "The enthusiastic input and cooperation of the total community has been wonderful," said Luther. "Plans have moved ahead due to the expertise of Cannon Design. Michael Dlugosz, member of the firm as well- as our committee, is the Project Manager. Town Engineer John Phillips has been assisting the project. Stone Art Co. has ordered the granite panels and they should be on site the end of Grant funds new Senior Citizen Bus Grand Island Supervisor Peter McMahon has announced the receipt of- a $33,756 grant as a result of the Erie County Consortium Community s,:E},eveJQpnieM Block Grant, Program. "We will be using the grant money, along with money from a Testamentary Bequest to purchase a small bus for our Senior Citizens Transportation Program," McMahon said. "This program handles approximately 6,051 units of service per year." The new bus will replace an older van, which has been driven well over 100,000 miles. In addition, the-new bus makes it much easier for seniors to board and exit. This is accomplished through a full height door and a center aisle. A Testamentary Bequest, for $10,000, which is to be used for the Senior Citizen Transportation Program was included in the will of the late Laura Monko, McMahon said. In 1999, the Town received a Community Development Block Grant of $51,000, which will be used to resurface roads in the Duplex area. . OUT OFTHE.COLD - To avoid weather delays, a plastic cube has been put over the working area on the site of the new Tops Market, The weather barrier is allowing construction workers to continue putting up part of the back wall and address several other utility issues in the project without having-to worry about Mother Nature. The company is determined to have the new store open to Island residents by mid-June. _____ 2000 tax bills have been mailed out Town Clerk, Nancy J. Samrany announces that the 2000 town/county tax bills have been mailed. Anyone who should have received a bill and has not (those not paid by a bank and especially new owners), please call the office at 773-9600, ext. 622. Checks are made payable to "Town Clerk". Please verify that the amount written on the check is accurate. Payments are due Feb. 15 without penalty. Mailed payments must show a post office postmark by Feb. 15. A 1.5 percent penalty is added Feb. 16. continued on page 2