Island Dispatch, 2001-09-14

              Island DISPATCH The Farmer's Almanac predicts: Cooi & Rain Is it right? died the weather on pj> 2 . More Reflections on National Tragedy Page 4 57 Years As the Voice of Grand Island % w£vY| The Official Newspaper of the Town of Grand Island Award Winning Newspapers and the Grand Island School District Americans asked to fly flag at half staff -Founded 1944• Complete Community Coverage Entertainment page 9 Vol. 57 No. 26  September 14,2001 Pages  651 Tragedy in New York City affects everyone by Paul Lane and Jon Sandino The tragic turn of events in New York City will be felt throughout the country for some time, and Western New York is no exception. As is well known by now, two passenger jets crashed into and caused the collapse of the twin towers of the World Trade Center in Manhattan Tuesday morning. Another jet crashed into a portion of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and a fourth jet crashed into a field in southwestern Pennsylvania. The attacks are believed to be the result of terrorist actions. Currently the federal government has been focusing on Osama bin Laden, a' wealthy terrorist leader in Afghanistan. According to new releases from the government, at least one of the highjackers is believed to have ties to bin Laden. As of press time, New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliania confirmed that there were 94 deaths and another 4,763 people missing, including an estimated 370 police officers and firefighters that are unaccounted for. All 266 individuals aboard the four planes have been confirmed dead. The New York City Medical Examiner's office initially sought to increase its stock of body bags to nearly 11,000 Thursday morning. The city originally had 900 bags in stock. As of press time, an additional 20,000 bags were requested, bringing the total close to 30,000. . Throughout New York State, pri- Mary elections were postponed ■• with no make-up date scheduled as of yet. Locally, primary races include Democratic, Republican, Independence and Conservative races for the Erie County Family Court Judge; Independence Working Family and Conservative races for town councilman; Independence and Working Family for town justice and county legislator; Conservative raccfortownJustice and county controller and the Independence race for town superintendent of highways. "What can you do during a time like this?" Grand Island Town Councilman Mike Heftka asked. "Obviously this event is more important right now then the primary elections." Though Grand Island was not a direct target of the terrorists, Town Supervisor Peter McMahon told the Dispatch that there were two extra Grand Island "police cars on patrol. They were instructed to make sure everything was being monitored on the island, especially around the schools and voting areas. . "It was purely precautionary, we wanted to maintain.an adequate level of police protection," McMahon said. Many schools in the area canceled classes and/or after-school activities following the disaster. All of the schools in the Grand Island district were put on lockdown. Visitors attempting to enter any of the schools were searched before being permitted entry. According to McMahon, the Grand Island Fire Department was not on alert, and carried on business as usual. However, the fire company has offered to sponsor a blood drive in the wake of Tuesday's tragedy. The Red Cross of Grand Island has also been put on a list for future blood donations. "As of now I Have been told they (Red Cross) will be in contact with us when our turn comes," said Elizabeth Auclair, president of the Grand Island Branch and Buffalo Chapter of the Red Cross. Other groups on Grand Island such as Trinity Baptist Church have set numerous prayer memorials. St. Martin's has-been hosting similar gatherings. According to McMahon, the town recreation department has decided to gather as many American flags as possible and line them up on Grand Island Boulevard in front of Town Hall. The student council at Grand Island High School, under the guidance of student council advisors Kathy Scarafia and Mary Walter, started collecting donations earlier this week. "The money, which is being collected during lunch periods, 10:45 a.m. to 1:25 p.m., will go towards helping the people of New York City and the Red Cross of New York City," said Grand Island High School Principal Dr. James Dempsey. International travelers to Canada have had to wait in traffic for hours since Wednesday morning, and in some cases overnight. Bridge crossing was. temporarily banned at all bridges in Western New York Tuesday, as well as most border crossings to and from Canada and Mexico across the country. Crossing was allowed to resume shortly after, but a combination of enhanced security checks at the borders and a wave of travelers held up by the day's events caused lines that extended several miles down the 1-190. ■. Governor George Pataki, in New York City at the time of the attack, announced that New York State has The unfortunate attack on New York City has brought forth the best efforts of Western New Yorkers. Individuals donating blood at the Blood Donation Center at 786 Deleware Aye. had to wait up to two hours Wednesday morning. James Ruffin of Buffalo anticipated long lines, but that did not prevent him from helping out. Jim Klein, a donor specialist staff member for the Red Cross, is shown here making sure everything ran smoothly with Ruffin. (photo by Jon Sandino) Flags across-Western New York have been flying at half staff since Tuesday's horrific events. Governor George E. Pataki is urging all people in New York State to hang flags from their houses, office buildings and windows in memory of the victims, (photo by Terry Duffy) continued on page 2 USF Blood donation sites Friday Gateway Trade Center, 3556 Lakeshore Rd., Buffalo, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. ' Blood donation center, 502 Dick Rd„ Cheektowaga, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Blood donation center, 64 Broad St.. Tonawanda, 8 a.m.-l p.m. Saturday AH above listed blood donation centers, plus blood donation center at 5161 Camp Rd., Hamburg, 8 a.m.-1 p.m.