Island Dispatch, 2001-03-30

              Island DISPATCH 56 Years As the Voice of Grand Island Award Winning Newspapers and the Grand Island School District The Official Newspaper of the Town of Grand Island Imagination page 9 f> Mighty Viking ?; page 13 l Solar Stop I page 20 W* %f*P vS w _______■ __y____ — Founded 1944 • Complete Community Coverage 65c V01.56 No. 47 (716) 773-7676 20 pages + 4 pg tab section MARCH 30,2001 Good news and budget talks at the Board of Ed meeting by Cassandra Fallacaro It was a night of" celebration at the most recent meeting of the Grand Island Board of Education this past Monday. March 26 as student and district achievements were recognized.Superintendent Paul Fields began the meeting by announcing a list of "good news" events that had taken place since the last meeting. He opened the floor to High School Principal James Dempsey who congratulated the "Eternal Champions" the most recent winners of the Grand Island Corporate Bowl, some of whom were in attendance at the meeting. Fields and President Richard McCowan also took the opportunity to announce Grand Island's most recent recognition, Expansion's Blue Ribbon Award, Grand Island was selected out of 2,300 schools all over the United States as one of the six school districts in Western AND THE BLUE RIBBON GOES T0... - At the most recent meeting of the Board of' Education Superintendent Paul Fields and President Richard McCowan announced that Grand Island Central School District has been honored with Expansion's prestigious Blue Ribbon Award. Cannon Design honored with GSA's highest design award Cannon Design, with facilities located on Whitehaven Road, was recently recognized with the General Services Administration's (GSA) prestigious Honor Award for Architecture for their work on the Lloyd D. George U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building in Las Vegas, NY. The prestigious ceremony took place on Thursday, March 29 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC. The courthouse received one of three Honor Awards for Architecture, one of eight categories established by the GSA to signify this highest recognition by the government. Held every two years since 1990, this year's competition attracted 143 total entries nationwide. The courthouse was commissioned under the GSA's Design Excellence Program, an initiative to create and preserve a legacy of outstanding public buildings that embody the finest in contemporary architectural thought. The design jury praised Cannon Design's entry. "It is surprising to find such urbanity and elegant restraint in Las Vegas," said Mehrdad Yazdani, of Design Principal. Additional Cannon Design work in the Mid-Atlantic includes capital improvement programs for Clarkstown Central School District in New York City and Cornwall Central School District in Cornwall, New York; a wrestling center and boathouse for Cornwall University; a 339-bed replacement hospital for Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx; an expansion and renovation program for Pelham Memorial High School and Middle School in Pelham, New York; renovations to the Carey Farber Sherman School of Medicine at SUNY at Buffalo and design services for 24 facilities for Continental Airlines nationwide. Cannon Design is consistently ranked among the leading U.S. firms in planning and design for healthcare government, higher education, sports and recreation, as well as corporate facilities and commercial development. At present, with a staff of over 500 delivering services though eight regional centers, the firm is working in 32 states and 15 countries in Latin America, the Middle East, the Far East and Europe. Grand Island gains, county loses in latest census by Paul Lane The numbers for the 2000 United States census have recently been released, with the news as a whole unencouraging for the region. Grand Island, which totaled 17,561 people in 1990, saw its population increase six percent to 18,621 as of April 1, 2000. Erie County's population dropped 1.9 percent to 950,265, with Buffalo suffering a 10.8 percent decrease in population. Niagara County's population also declined, but only slightly. After registering at 220,756 in 1990, it fell .4 percent to 219,846. The City of Niagara Falls suffered the most drastic loss in Niagara County, dropping 10.1 percent to 55,593. New York State's total count increased 5.5 percent to 18,976,457, with most of the gains seen in and around New York City. There, the population rose above 8,000,000. The shift in population downstate will likely mean a realigning of state assembly and senatorial districts. Locally, Byron Brown, who represents the 57th State Senate District of Grand Island, Tonawanda, Buffalo and part of Niagara Falls, figures to see the biggest change. In addition, New York State will lose two of its 31 seats in the House of Representatives. Texas also surpassed New York as the second most populous state in the country. Tops donates items for Lion's Club fundraiser The Grand Island Lions Club is holding a spaghetti dinner Monday, April 2 at 5 p.m. at the Holiday Inn. The dinner, which is open to the public, will benefit the Lions annual picnic for children with disabilities which will take place in July. Tops Markets on Grand Island Boulevard is donating the food for the dinner to the Lions. Pictured are Lisa James, service operations manager of Tops, Lions Club Chairman Spencer O'Boyle and Tops store manager Mike Suchan. (photo by Cassandra Fallacaro) continued on page 2 Weekend at a Glance Friday LENTEN FISH FRY St. Stephen School's Cafetorium, 2080 Baseline Rd., Grand Island 5 to 7 p.m. (early bird admission at 4:30) Saturday TONAWANDAS' 2001 EXPO Department of Public Works Facility, 758 Erie Aye., North Tonawanda, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (continues April 1, noon to 4 p.m.) Sunday OPEN HOUSE RETIREMENT FOR DOROTHY ROWSWELL Grand island Golden Age Center, 3278 Whitehaven Rd., 1 to 4 p.m.