Island Dispatch, 2004-02-13

              Island DISPATCH r^\V>l.s9 No. 49 February 13. 2004 iBBBBBafIiBBBBBBBBBfIBIB^BBBBBBBBfaBBBBtafaBBBBBBBTiBBBBBafIiBBBBBBBBBfIBIB^BBBBBBBBfaBBBBtafaBBBBBBBT-24 Pages  Plus American Profile ■ ■■■* <  Founded 1944 • Complete Community Coverage Phone: (7.16) 773-7676 * Fax:(716)773-7190 * E-Mail: NFl>Ng\\sfrclmaiUM>m_i_ 59 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 Wendy's, Tim Hortons Celebrate Page 4 The Farmer's Almanac predicts: Cold, Snow Showers l; ,: fi'iW..' Ctit.i :'h i\;\;tiici "/.';?$: J The Art of Igloo Making Page 3 Grand Island seniors celebrate years of marriage photos and story by Lisa Ariganello Carmen and Nell Roberts were celebrating their 59th anniversary at the Sweetheart Luncheon. Carmen was in the service during the war, and while visiting a friend, met a special next-door neighbor, Nell. "We knew each other for 52 days before we got married," Nell said. "It was during war time and everyone said that it wouldn't last." Well it did. The Roberts have one daughter and two grandsons. Douglas and Eleanor Henderson will celebrate an amazing 64 years of marriage this November. They met at University Presbyterian Church in Buffalo during a Youth People's Association event. They had to wait six years until they could get married due to financial difficulties. "It was during the Depression and we didn't have any money to get married," Douglas said. The Henderson's have been living in Grand Island since 1964 and have seen many changes. They have two children and six great-grandchildren. Who ever said that love doesn't last? Well, the Golden Agers have proved them wrong. Members of the Grand Island Senior Center gathered last Wednesday for the annual Sweetheart Luncheon, in celebration of Valentine's Day. Numerous couples and single folks mixed and mingled, discussing their current and long-lost loves. The center honored couples who have been married for 50 years or more, by providing them with a free lunch. Lovers Unite The Dispatch was provided the opportunity to speak with a few extraordinary couples, whose love has lasted all these years. As a Valentine's Day special to the newspaper, they shared some romantic stories of when they met and where their love has taken them over the years. John and Kathy Stickl met in 1943 at a youth gathering in Hungary and were married a short time later. After being displaced during the war, they immigrated to Buffalo together. Celebrating 60 years of marriage and 37 years in Grand Island, the Stickls seem like a perfect couple. "We have three children, nine grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren," Kathy said proudly. Stella and Don Hess have been j married for 58 years. They met on a | blind date and married a year later I after a lengthy long-distance j romance. According to Don, it was t the "best date ever." They have j spent 40 years in Grand Island and jj have four grown children, six grand- j children, and three great-grandchil-1 dren, with one more on the way. "My | life got closure because of Stella," | said Don. 1 Hank and Nonnie Carroll are well known in the Grand Island senior community. They have both served as president of the Golden Age Center. During World War 11, Hank was stationed in Nova Scotia, Canada and Nonnie was living there and working at the Royal Bank of Canada, where they met. Hank had to go overseas during the war and Nonnie waited patiently. "I wanted to wait until after the war to get married," she said. Fifty-eight years later, the Carrolls have three children, eight grandchildren, and three-and-a-half great-grand children (one due in August). BOE discusses technological improvements, sets public budget meeting by Amanda Glowish The increasing need to have updated technology resources for the Grand Island Central School District is an ongoing concern for the Board of Education. Deby Eppolito, director of the Technology Department, presented the board with various technologij cal accomplishments throughout the | district and made projections for the 2004-05 school year. Currently, the only computers in the schools are models that are six years old or i younger. Replacing them is a goal I that Eppolito tries to accomplish I every year. The computer labs \ across the district have had the abil! ity to expand, and the library media centers in the high school and middie school have recently been updated. Huth Road and Kaegebein library media centers are expected to be updated in April. The board announced that the district Web site is constantly improving and growing, giving many benefits to the community. With the click of a few keys, parents can now register their kids for kindergarten through the Web site. There are a variety of calendars online containing much useful information, including the district's athletic calendar, which among other things, provides access to directions for away games. Need to Update A major goal for the Technology Department is comprised of three factors that all involve updating, Eppolito told board members. The local area network, which is the systems technology running within a building, must be updated, considering it was last performed in the early '90s. The wide-area network, which is the connection between the district buildings, likewise needs to be updated. The Grand Island School District seems to be "behind the times," as they are one of the only school districts in Western New York that do not have their schools connected through electronic fiber, the board learned. In addition, all five schools are connected on the Internet through a conduit which is too small for the amount of traffic on the web. If the bandwidth is increased, the system would offer more options for faculty and students. Currently, mini interactive informational videos are available on the Internet. Teachers want to infuse these into the classrooms as a learning tool. With the " connection the schools have now, if three teachers simultaneously tried to show these videos no one would be able to log on the Internet. Professional Growth Activities In other news, it was learned the faculty at Huth Road Elementary is very much involved with Professional Growth Activities to . enhance learning and teaching methods. The district provides many professional growth opportunities and the teachers at Huth continued on page 24 US' .mum 111H in iiium nnti'HiwniH iim Mill Ml llii ilr-il .iiMJJJUlMMlllil.'llllbMiUlllll WlllMl "'" —-—— ■■ -■ *T**" —■"■"' - ~ -nad iJ:n"4rj«ii Jlj| A community's winning pride  Through good times and bad, Centralia, 111,, has managed to hold « Pork and bean bread B«^6fei^^fiSi onto a constant source of community pride, its high school basket- lifUMWWli\fl}ffJlWh) MLm^ii^_| ball team. The Centralia Orphans are the winningest high school IP—&3GlNl_l [""""""At a Glance j I Friday - Sunday . J j 'Oklahoma!' | I St. Stephen's Parish Players | 1 School cafetorium j I 2100 Baseline Road j Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 8 p.m.; j Sunday, 8 p.m. I Friday j I Basket Raffle and j 1 Family Fun Night I J Sidway School j j Baseline Road 1 6 to 8:30 p.m. I For a complete listing of area events, I visit NFP's Web site at j www.wnypapers.com \ RESTAURANT I iellMiiSiSF-'liiiFliaSiii^ faemfgrn «*» SB 1 __ Available to Qualified Buyer-Could Be Great Sports Bar II If IMH.E 5.3 Acres Seats 290 Patrons, Parking for 120 Cars (includes real estate) 7300 Sq. Ft. of Space $245,000.