Island Dispatch, 2003-11-14

              Island DISPATCH 58 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 Founded 1944 • Complete Community Coverage Brownies Give Holiday Gifts Page 8 Lady Eagles Victorious Page 12 The Farmer's Almanac predicts: Mild ii i Showers j hii ntfu' l Clu-ikt'H ndi'hsr : | on /;_; 2 Ph0ne:(716)773-7676 • Fax:(716)773-7190 • E-Mail: NFPNcws@clniail.com Vol. 59 No. 37 No\ ember 14.2003 20 Pages 85i- Veterans Day service well attended despite rain by Lisa Ariganello Sprinkling rain kloudi and Ci-!d winds did not prevent Grand Island rcsiJcms fiviv. vcniui mg tun Veierans n Park to tuiiun past and prc.ieiu veterans 'lucsday morning || NearK '_» pcopli. were in (.itemi.ince for the sm i._c. ■! .. u .1. . .!. ,\. f i. '.. t. ... * .1 . I WI !!<.!', lOIIN j.mV.(. tlittklll 111 llv'lll l>l I Ilk" H i'Jil LU! UlI Wall - nciii llie Bedell Road eniratike nl the juik. The ewni commenced when, limn .Mipei wsor Peter YL'Mjhoii liUii.duted \oicuns H Kireiyn \V:ns ; Post 9249 Commander Mike Curini. Cutini led the ; gathering in a Pledge to the S;lag. following the pledge. \ fAY Po.o 924l> Chaplain Mike Rogan gave the invo: cation. '.. MiMahon then stepped forwaul and delivered a heart xv.nmmg speech Mis woids reflected a intical time , I'm members ol the Armed [Vices nirrentlv stationed in the Middle last and aiouinl the woild. ".More than 130.000 brave men and women ..re risking ihcii lives lor u» in (ij(|. 1 can't lciueiHvr a -angle day since the major hostilities ended that there hasn t been at least o.ie slorv of jn attack, which resulted m an injiirv or deatli to a member of our 'Vrmed l-Viees,," McMahon said. He lontinuej. "While ir.iq occupies the I/O!.' page, n.anv more, peihups tens of thousands more members of mir Armed l-orce** are serving m other pl.iies. like Afghanistan, which are eciuuil) •;! The speech concluded with the recognition of the importance of ; Veterans Day and a general dunks to oui kiirrent and pas! vcicians for i- their brave and selfless contribution to our nation's safety. '!' Commander of Amencan Legion. RoLv-it Solan, commai'der of the i. 11 ■ ! Dis-iblcd Amencan Veterans, Paul Kane, and Culini then placed a wreath in front of the Memorial Wall. The |] (1 pit to nghl): Commander of Amoncnn Legion, Robert Scian. Commander of VFW Post 9249. Miko Cuiin:.| and Commander of the Disabled American Veterans, Paul Kane placing a wreath in front of Veteran's Park Memorial Wall. Supervisor McMahon speaks o! trie importance of Veterans Day and gives a general thanks to our cuuent and past veterans, dangerous." Supervisor McMahon ijeft) dedicates the VFW Post 9249 pavilion to two Grand islanu veleians and prisoners of war. Pfc Walter "Lefty" Kendzierski (center); and Lt. Col. Torgeir B. Faaum (right). Trumpet players Kevin Laurendi j (left) and Joe Orsoiits (center) from | Grand Island High School per- ; formed Taps during lhe Veterans Day ceremony. Also pictured is Grand Island High School music teacher Martin Alien (right). Residents question the town's spending on health care, new hires by Lisa Ariganello The Grand Island Town Board's comprehensive 2004 town budget was the topic of discussion at a public hearing last week. With seven budget sectors in question, residents felt most concerned with the board's spending on personal health care benefits, and the hiring of new town employees. Budget Overview Supervisor Peter McMahon commenced the public hearing with a brief overview of the preliminary. town budget figures - all funds to be raised by taxation: •General budget fund: $1,606,384, less than 1 percent increase from last year. The total general fund appropriation is $5,032,775. •Fire protection fund: $714,835, an increase of 1 percent from last year. •Highway fund: $1,525,115, an 8.8 percent increase from last year. •Sewer fund: $442,463, a 7 percent increase. This rate is based on land value only. •Water district fund: $709,436, an 11.5 percent increase from last " year. •Lighting district fund: The rate varies among the 39 districts. •Debt service fund: This comes from the other funds and has no - impact on the taxpayer. •Refuse and garbage: $741,456; cost, $114 a year per single dwelling unit. The Town Responds McMahon then opened the floor to the public for discussion. With nearly ten residents in attendance, three stood up to speak in opposition of the town budget and make suggestions on how the town's money could be better spent, or saved for that matter. Mark Major asked the town board to "slow down, take a step back and try and see if every penny that is spent needs to be spent." Major pointed out that most state and federal employees are required to pay for at least half of their health insurance benefits. His suggestion is that the board members kick in their "fair share" and start paying for their personal health benefits instead of using taxpayers' money. This topic has been surfacing at Grand Island Town Board budget hearings since 2000. In the past, Councilman Kevin Rustowicz has consistently been, the only member to speak in favor of the board supplementing 100 percent of their health insurance benefits. Island resident Charles Morell approached the stand to voice his opinion. "I work for a relatively large company and we all contribute 50 percent of the health care costs, and it's continually going up. I think that everybody should pitch in around here too," he said. McMahon was quick to reply. continued on page 7 igp r'l'ir/i.'ifrr/ tin pun* 'i I 1 Sunday I Historical Society I Open House River Lea , J 2 to 4 p.m. Free admission and refreshments Thursday GIHS National Honor Society Spaghetti Dinner for Charity High school cafe Take-out from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Dinner 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. For a complete listing of area events, visit NFP's Web site at ' www.wnypapers.com Meaeh@wes'BOromHomes(m@r9o,oooKeadem) AM*. *'d*'* <U-* <irV«t"> e.v-*i •- -'\&%*:'<- ■ SPECIAL 4 PAPER DEAL \^&iJs^^j- - *&.'?'* tk ;■, "."*.■: ■'■^■-, '," V'?"- '".£"p." ;..'-■. .' .-. ' '____"' ' _*_. '!" __L " I l"'" _ * "'"^\__'*____*' '