Island Dispatch, 2002-02-15

              Island DISPATCH Vol. 57 No. 51 Kvbrtian 15, 2002 W Pages! 85c* Rising To The Occasion Page 13 57 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 A Night Full Of Fun Page 5 The Farmer's Almanac predicts: Gold & SBI9W A.; !.,'■•: i <■ 7.' J*hQne:i7l6);773-7616.-.Fax: (716) 773-7190.,* &M&^Ymfywi<%a^VikJ - Founded 1944 • Complete Community Coverage Search called off after recovery of car, driver still missing by Ray Pauley, Public Info Officer and Jon Sandino On early Monday evening, despite poor visibility, freezing temperatures and an underwater current, the vehicle that carried Travis Hennigar, 19, and Jeff Critelli. 18, both of Grand Island, was finally recovered from the Niagara River. The search spanned approximately 27 hours, and involved Mutual Aid Alert participation, including dive teams from Hamburg, North Tonawanda, the city of Tonawanda, the Erie County Sheriff's Department, the Buffalo Police Department, as well as rescue boats from the U.S. Coast Guard and Fort Erie and Niagara Regional Fire Departments. Additional assistance was received from the ECSD Air One helicopter, New York State Police, New York State Park Police, Marty's Towing and numerous other individuals. According Grand Island Fire Company Chief Skip Mrkall, after the New York State Power Authority lowered the water level by 18 inches,, the car was spotted from the Sheriff's Department helicopter.Officials said, a sophisticated sonar unit, provided by a Buffalo State College technician, also proved instrumental in finally locating the vehicle in 12 to 15 feet of water late Monday afternoon. Up until that point, divers had to be rotated in and out of the frigid 34-degfee water every 10 to 15 minutes, as a safety precaution to minimize personal risk factors. The divers were closely monitored by Grand Island Fire Department Paramedics in on scene rescue vehicles, for any possibility of adverse reactions to the The Erie County Sheriff's helicopter first spotted the vehicle around 3 p.m. on Monday afternoon. The vehicle was pulled to land several hours later, (photo by Joe Suppa)  The car that carried two Grand Island teenagers was recovered from the Niagara River Monday evening. The passenger escaped, but the driver is still missing, (photo by Joe Suppa) Despite finding the vehicle, officials decided to call the search of for the I missing driver late Monday evening, (photo by Joe Suppat 'Scream' teens robbery attempt foiled by chef photo and story by Jon Sandino Three Grand Island teenagers wearing costumes from the horror film "Scream," burst into Cathy and Jim's/Del and Herb's, 1270 Baseline Road, early Saturday morning in an unusual robbery attempt, but were foiled when chef Mike Litzel deep-fried any plans the teenagers had. According to Erie County Sheriff Patrick Gallivan, Litzel grabbed one of the perpetrators by the hair and struck her in the head with a mallet she yielded during the robbery attempt. The trio panicked, and fled the scene in a getaway car, only to be caught minutes later on the 290. "I think they were caught off guard," said restaurant owner Ilona Lang. "There were only two cars in the parking lot. I don't think they expected to see four people sitting inside." The teens, who were yielding BB pistols, a hacksaw, a pry bar and a steel mallet upon entering the restaurant around 1 a.m. Saturday morning, started yelling for everyone to get to the ground. Litzel, 38, did not think much of the incident at first. "At first, I thought it was customers coming back from a party and playing a joke on us." Mike Litzel, center, foiled an attempted robbery at Cathy and Jim's/Del and Herb's early Saturday morning. Standing with Litzel from left is co-owner Cathy Driscoll and owner Ilona Lang. continued on page 20 B3g* continued on page 2 SW MARTY'S TOW1N0, INC. T1 Rfc EE Si NYS INSPECTION • AUTO REPAIRS • BRAND NAME TIMS • SATTERIES 24 hr. Emergency j5g"^' Road Service & .Recovery • - ■-• - • * ■■******• ST^ 1/41 Baseline Rd. mmmmm tm ' *" •>-«i mmmmt jiif""»iW' JwSSk at a Glance] |. . Saturday . 1 I - Annual Spaghetti Dinner j 1 Charles DeGlopper V.F.W. #9249. ! I 2121 Grand Island Blvd., 4 to 7 p.m. J Music with 'Mark go the Guitar' j from 6 to 9 p.m. j Wednesday j ' Grand Island PTA 'Council Meeting i I . Connor Middle School, 1 I ! !00 Ransom Rd., 6:30 p.m. J I For more information call 773-1722 1 ' Friday j Lenten Fish Fry I St. Stephen's School, Cafeteria, | 2080 Baseline Rd., 5 to 7 p.m. I and every Friday through March 22 I j Takeout available by calling 1 RV Show - By Mantelli & Trailer Land Feb. 21-24 featuring over 50* RV $ FREE Admission Open Mall Hours 297-0206 or 773-7618