Island Dispatch, 2001-08-10

              Island DISPATCH Supervisor Helps Celebrate Birthday page 4 A Field ;Trip to: ;France.-page 7 '~,, Friday Scattered T-Storms Hi 83 !<> 59 .Vi- P«i;c J Entertainment page 9 Founded 1944 • Complete Community Coverage 56 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 ~- -"-- - Vol. 58 No. 23 August 10,2001 « 20 Pages 650 Grand Island residents protected from Seneca Nation lawsuit  photo and story by Jon Sandino On Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice cleared Grand Island land owners from liability in the landclaim lawsuit filed on behalf of the Seneca Nation of Indians. Governor George E. Pataki visited Niagara Falls to announce the move, which was promised back in January. "This important victory means the homeowners and property owners of Grand Island will never pay a dime regardless of the outcome of the Seneca Land Claim," Pataki said. "We promised to fight for this protection, and today, thanks to Attorney General Ashcroft, we have kept our promise." , Grand Island Town Supervisor Peter McMahon was relieved that the issue finally moved forward. "1 think it is a giant step forward. I want to thank the governor and his staff for their help and support as we worked to get the Department of Justice to move forward with their promise." he said. Pataki's announcement came after the federal Department of Justice earlier in the day filed motions in Federal District Court for the Western District of New York in Buffalo to dismiss the.private land owners as defendants in the Senecas Grand Island Land Claim. "This is great news for the people of Grand Island. They should have never been through this lawsuit," Erie County Legislator Charles Swanick told the Dispatch. "They were not here 250 years ago, and they knew nothing about what went on with the lawsuit between the government and the Seneca Nation." "I'm excited for the residents of Grand Island. Since this thing started seven years ago, this town board and other town boards stuck by the issue that the land should not be part of this lawsuit," Grand Island Councilman Richard Crawford, Jr. told the Dispatch. "It's good to see the Department of Justice, with help from the letter campaign the town board has always continue to do and the governor's office being able to get this issue resolved." Despite the positive step forward, the issue is by no means close to being completely settled. The Department of Justice's decision provides important protection for landowners, but the Seneca Nation j could bring individual lawsuits against homeowners. Though according to the governor's office, it would seem improbable to occur..; Even, if the.Seneca,Nation won the, liability phase, they would face more than 6,000 individual cases, making the threat a practical impossibility.The, possibility of it occurring still bothers State Assemblyman Sam Hoyt. "This situation is no doubt a positive, but it doesn't mean the problem is solved," Hoyt told the Dispatch. "It's being portrayed as Grand Island residents don't have to fear the loss of property. The feds have dropped the ejectment, but the Senecas haven't. Losing the property to them is unlikely, but it is still a possibility." Though Crawford was pleased with Friday's announcement, he feels it would have been more enjoyable had the governor announced the Senecas were dropping the land claim. Governor George E. Pataki visited Niagara Falls last Friday to make a major announcement. Pataki informed the crowd that the federal Department of Justice answered his call to protect the residents of Grand Island from the Seneca Land Claim. Despite the giant step forward, island residents are not in the clear yet. The Senecas are still refusing to drop ejectment on the land claim. A GOOD TIME FOR ALL - Some of the individuals that attended the Grand Island Chamber_of Commerce Picnic Wednesday night pose for a group photo. The evening represented the camaraderie between chamber members and residents of Grand Island. The picnic was held at the Granson and Sue Geis residence of Stony Point Road. The chamber provided beer, pop, wine, hamburgers, hotdogs and sausages for alt in attendance. Grand Island skateboarders given two new places to go by Ryan Zernentsch The Grand Island Town Board not only approved the re-opening of the town's skate park on Monday night, but developer Paul Irving also confirmed his plans to build a larger private skate park on the island. "I've been in the dark about what they (the town) were going to do," Irving said. "Now that I've got my information, we're back on track." Irving stated at the July 23 town board meeting that he would not start the construction of his park until he knew exactly what the town's intentions were. The town board agreed to pay more than $10,000 for improvements at the current skating area in Veterans Park. This temporary park will be used until the town is able to build an expanded permanent facility, which will be used for skateboarding and in-line skating in the summer, and ice skating in the winter. At a cost of about $1,300, the town will build an orange construction fence around the • temporary park. The remainder of the money will be used for the addition of new equipment, which will include a four-foot wave, a four-foot launch, a breaker and a quarter pipe. "The temporary park could be up and operating within a few weeks," Town Supervisor Peter McMahon said. Linda Tufillaro, the town recreation director, reported to the board it would cost an estimated $110,000 to build the all-seasons skate park. Meanwhile, Irving hopes to have his park open by this fail, and anticipates construction being completed no later than next spring. He plans to build his park over a 30,000-square-foot area at 2094 Grand Island Blvd. Local law number seven of 2001 was passed, which gives a tax exemption to Gold Star parents. Gold Star parents are the parents of children who lost their life during war. "This law is long overdue, these parents deserve this," said Joseph Synakowski, a Love Road resident. Town Councilman - Michael Heftka received an invitation to participate in Niagara Mohawk's first Community Renaissance Awards program. The program will recognize the exemplary community development work being continued on page 2 BS" continued on page 2 uST Weekend at a Glance Saturday & Sunday Sandy Beach Yacht Club Bth Annua! Middleport Rendezvous Boats depart Saturday morning Sjijidax. The Legend and Lore of Wiidflowers Walk Beaver Island State Park 10:30 a.m. to noon Call 278-1728 to pro-register 7th Annual Martin's Fantasy Island Old Fashioned Car Show 2400 Grand Island Blvd. Registration 8 to 11 a.m. . Day-of-show registration.available. For more information, call 773-2530 or 69,2-1564 * |