Island Dispatch, 2004-07-23

              Island DISPATCH Founded 1944 • Complete Community Coverage 60 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 I'lionr. (716> 773-7(>76 * , a\: (7I(» 773-7190 • 1.-\luil: NlTN.W'clmail.com \See&On'!heWeb~ai} I www.wnypapers.com: The farmer's i Al'iii'tiac prt'^icl*-' Sunny Hot & tiutwo /_ / rirl i l I.iik iii mi 'hii i".,.' . Hugeeillo I Open [ Page 3 Fire Lights Up Tourney Page 14 \ol. 60 No. 20 .lul> 23, 2004 Si.oo 24 Pages Town board adopts zoning code for Island by Robin M. Woolson In a 4-1 vote, the Grand Island Town Board adopted the zoning code for the Island at Monday's board meeting. For almost three years, the Town Board has been working on putting together a code that would work for the Island. There have been five public hearings and two public meetings as well as input from the-residents in both verbal and written communications."This took a little bit longer than we had anticipated," Supervisor Peter McMahon said. "We kind of thought that it would be done in a year and it has taken almost three." McMahon said that a lot of time has been put into this code, not only from members of the Town Board and other town departments, but from the residents as well, speaking about what they liked and didn't like about the code. "This (code) is a lot better than what we had before," McMahon said. Council member Mary Cooke said that this was a "long, long process." "Many hours were spent into preparing for this and we are finally at the end of this," she said. Cooke said that not everyone got what they wanted, but the zoning code is the best for Grand Island as a whole. Councilman Daniel Robillard had the lone nay vote in adopting the zoning code. "I think this is a great document, I'm happy with it," Robillard said. "But I have to go with my gut feeling on this. I am concerned about those who aren't happy with it." The biggest changes to the code were in the lettering. The dimensions remained the saiheraltlibugfi the designations have changed. Residents who were in RIA districts have been split to RIB for those who don't have sewers and to RIC for those who do have sewers. Those who were in RIB are now 200 riders take to the road for Friends of Lynnette Bike Tour Nearly 200 bikers of al! ages joined the tour around the Island last Saturday, raising funds in memory of Lynnette Grisanti to be donated to the Roswell Park Cancer Institute. Pictured above are several bicyclists making their way along the trek. A basket raffle also was conducted with more than 90 baskets offered. Refreshments were waiting for the bikers as they returned, (photo by Barbi Lare) Islander running for Roswell in marathon Come October, Island resident Nicole Gerber will participate in a Marathon in Lake Tahoe, Calif., for the Roswell Park Team Cure Challenge. This is a new fund-raiser for Buffalo's Roswell Park Cancer Institute, where participants raise money for the cancer center by collecting sponsors for the marathon. Gerber has been running since 1996. Not many miles each run, usually three to four, but faithfully rising early every weekday morning for a jog down the road. "I started running as a way to relieve stress as I was working on my thesis," she said. "It was a nice way to relax and I felt energized for the day." With years of running the same route, she exchanges many friendly waves with passing vehicles that travel the same route each work day. And Gerber has enjoyed her years of running, throwing in a competitive race here and there, with the annual Dick Bessel Independence Day Run being one of her favorites. Dedicated Training In April, Gerber decided to train for the half-marathon that is held .on Grand Island every spring. Her training involved rising even earlier in the mornings to fit in long runs as well as adding long runs on the weekends. She found the halfmarathon to be a challenging and rewarding event and now feels ready for the next challenge in her running career, running the Roswell Park full marathon in October. As part of her training, she spends every Saturday at Chestnut Ridge Park (because of the hills), which is something she doesn't encounter a lot on Grand Island and what she will be facing when she arrives in Lake Tahoe. Nicole Gerber, right, takes a moment with her mother, Carleen, and her dog, Monty, during one of her morning runs. continued on page 18 & continued on page 18 eg* ~_____ Monday I Grand Island School Board Meeting! Administration Building 1 District Conference Room j 7:30 a.m. I Morning meeting. " 1 Tusidsa ' 1 Home Bureau II Annual Picnic 1 Island Presbyterian Church 1 1822 Huth Road | 10 a.m. 1 1 Catered event. •■- I j For a complete listing of area events, | I • visit NFP's Web site at 1 3 www.wnypapers.com j |1 I7"-' •- \ Complete I [ /VtilMlf CfiPlMlf' 1""n COMPUTER SYSTEM Software Package g hl#l__r tfll _!__!«_ I fIMI j j ___f -j'""" 2.0 GHZ CPU .256 MB SDRAM . With COffiDltter PUrChiSg Ckilllw* g.„,^^"WWH WBH »»«*!®WSHi r^BP*c «<»e roar LociffleKfaurff