Island Dispatch, 2005-08-26

              Island Dispatch sl.OO For Home Delivery of the island Dispatch Call 773-7676 sfs\ Niagara fn pl Frontier Publications proud publishers of Island Dispatch Lewiston-Porter Sentinel Grandlsland Penny Saver Niagara-Wheatfield Tribune www.wnypapers.com Vol. 61 No. 23 August 26,2005 28 Pages Stolen ATV recovered j page 2 i GIHS exchange student page 12 Hansen wins time trial 1 page 16 Kaegebein project on track, despite obstacles by Karen Keefe The renovation project at Kaegebein Elementary School is expected to be on time and under budget, despite the discovery last week of a 500-gallon underground fuel storage tank that posed a physical and financial obstacle. Workers stumbled onto the oil tank about a foot below ground level while installing new water lines to the building near the back parking lot. The cost of removing the tank won't exceed $7,000, district officials said at Monday's School Board meeting. Architect Trautman Associates was working within a budget of $2.7 million for the Kaegebein project, part of an $18.4 million bond voters adopted in 1999. Work Almost Complete There is a current balance of $133,933, according to a report presented by Richard Gehring. He told the board on Monday that the work is about 92 percent complete and should be ready for the start of school on Wednesday, Sept. 7. Nobody knew the underground fuel tank was on site. Not even Building and Grounds Supervisor Dorm Perry. "Had I known, it would have been pulled when we pulled all the rest of them in the district," he said, That was in 1998. "It had to be original with the building," Perry said as he watched a crew from Nature's Way extract the tank on Tuesday. Kaegebein opened in 1952. Contamination Noted "They're going to cut the top off, clean it, then they'll drag it out," he said. Gehring said there was contaminated material to remove, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation." "It's not a big problem," Perry said. "It's just an expense we didn't anticipate." The Kaegebein work began in June and has included asbestos abatement, new floors, enlarging and paving the front parking lot, repaying the back lot, new sidewalks, a new roof, new ceilings in some rooms and updating the heating and airconditioning systems. Rich Brown of Nature's Way is part of a crew of three working Tuesday to remove an old fuel tank buried near the back door of Kaegebein Elementary School. The other workers were Tony Kaminsky and Matt Watson, (photo by Karen Keefej Drawing on talent by Karen Keefe A love of animals and a love of artwork has come together for Sarah Webb in a comic strip she is debuting in today's Dispatch. "Paws and Pads," is a cartoon that's more than just lines and squiggles for Sarah. It's a world she has created and continues to invent. Sarah started the cartoon about two years ago. "I love to draw animals and I just did drawing in my spare time," she explains. "Paws" and "Pads" are two dogs that resemble a Rottweiler/Labrador mix. They philosophize about everyday life - albeit a dog's life. There's also a bunny, Candace, and assorted other creatures. Sarah describes her comic strip as "A mix of real life and what some people would wish real life would be." Paws and Pads' owner, Julie, who is about 20, lives with the two dogs in a house that seems to be surrounded by "a gigantic forest," as Sarah sees it. "The dogs never seem to be worried that they can communicate with humans," Sarah explains. They just talk, and Julie understands."Sometimes, I think all animals have one language," Sarah observes. Inspired by 'CaMn and Hobbes' The Connor Middle School seventh-grader's inspiration is "Calvin and Hobbs," the popular comic strip by Bill Watterston about a 6year-old boy, Calvin, and his tiger, Hobbes, a stuffed toy that is a real live animal to him, but not to his parents. The comic strip ran for 10 years through 1995. Sarah Webb's drawings are a creative outlet for her - and one that has earned her a couple of awards already. She was the sixth grade winner earlier this year of a poster contest and won a book from Barnes and Noble. In addition an essay she wrote won her a lunch with children's author Gordon Korman when he visited the Grand Island schools. Sarah, the daughter of Kent and Donna Webb, has a brother, Mark, 17. And their family has a special guest this year — Max Opaskiatikul, a foreign exchange student from Thailand - who will join Mark as a senior at Grand Island High School. The Webbs also have two cats, Blackjack and Hiver, and a parakeet, Sky. Career Goal in Arts Sarah wants to be an interior designer now, but her love of pets originally was leading her in another direction. "I used to hope to be a veterinari- an," she says. "But I'm not the type of person who could close a vein." Because she's squeamish about the sight of blood, pen and ink are her metier of choice. She fills notebooks and papers with various kinds of drawings. "I thought that she seemed artistically talented at a young age. I just figured it was a mother's bias," Sarah's mother, Donna, says. But two art teachers saw the same gift in Sarah. During one recent health clinic visit, Sarah "drew a beautiful cat Sarah Webb shows her latest cartoon, "Paws and Pads," about two dogs and their take on life, (photo by Karen Keefe) continued on page 2 continued on page 2 Monday LARGE CHEESE PIZZA $*T95 Jf plus tax 2131 Grand Island Blvd. KutzbochJBI Associate Broker MT'ZsM #1 Island Agent W^d&Bk #1 Company In WHY 74S-7W or 628-1719 Cm Do yon need to buy or * sell a home? A* Cat! Linda Kutxbach, •she knows how and would love to help you. EH