Island Dispatch, 2005-12-16

              ISLAND Dispatch For Home Delivery of the Island Dispatch Call 773-7676 ff.T\ Niagara ffn pj Frontier Publications proud publishers of Niagara-Wheaffield Tribune Island Dispatch Lewiston-Porter Sentinel Grand Island Penny Saver www.wnypapers.com V01.61 No. 39 December 16, 2005 28 Pages $1.00 Rezoning  request  revisited  j page 3 j Lady Vikings say thanks page 4 Santa visits Holiday Inn page 24 Help Neighbors Foundation share holiday spirit by Donna M. Webb j Once again, the Neighbors Foundation of Grand Island is working to bring some holiday cheer to j families in need. j Foundation President Hank Kammerer is a 1 bit concerned, however, since donations to their I "Share Your Happiness" drive are down compared to previous years. "The needs are probably higher than ever this year but the income is below the usual," Kammerer said. He explained that the natural gas and electricity price increases will hit families especially hard this winter. The foundation has been collecting canned goods and other nonperishable foods, along with promises of free/reduced price turkeys and hams? and gifts of clothing and toys for children. All of these items will be distributed right before Christmas to some 50 to 60 Island families. Students Help Out Donations are coming from an array of individuals and groups. Most of the canned goods, for example, are from students in Grand Island schools. Collections began last Thursday and continue until today. Veronica Connor Middle School Principal Bruce Benson noted that this year's goal is 3,050 cans, just a bit higher than last year's donations. Kammerer also received a check from Mary Jane Fonte's eighth-grade Home and Careers class. This represented the money they collected after preparing homemade food and selling it at the middle school's International Night this month. Two other special gifts to the Neighbors Foundation this year came via individual middle school students. Joe Green, a sixth-grader, entered Connor Middle School into a "Back to School" sweepstakes that WegmansWegmans held at the start of the school year. His entry was picked, and the prize was a whopping $500 in Wegmans' gift certificates. He presented these to Kammerer on Wednesday. Also, at that time, the Student Council President Brett Brennan handed Kammerer a check for $150, which was raised during International Night Significant Donations A number of other groups and organizations have aided this special holiday drive. Significant donations were received from: •The offering from the Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service on the Island.i Joe Green, a sixth-grader at Con■j nor Middle School, entered a corif test and won $500 in Wegrnans j gift certificates that he presented jto the Neighbors Foundation on Wednesday. The Neighbors Foundation first collection of toys and?gifts for families in need is now at the Nike Base Community Center. The donations will be sorted, along with other gifts and toys yet to come. Town employees from the Waste Water, Highway and Water Departments were on hand for the first delivery. Mike Gallagher and Justin Bridenbaker of the Water Department and Mary Leavy, treasurer of the union at the Waste Water Department, joined with Hank Kammerer of the Neighbors Foundation for the presentation. The donations will be moved the Knights of Columbus Hall by Dec. 20, to coordinate with food donations, and distributed to the families, (photos by Barbi tare) continued on page 2 Monday Madness LARGE CHEESE PIZZA $T95 M plus tax J 2131 Grand Island Blvd. j Kutzbachff^i Associate Broker Br * jmm j #1 Island Agent V^flHF j #1 Company in WNY 1 or 628-1719 Qm Do yon need to bay or •sell a home? | Linda Kutzbach, j •••she knows liow and would love to help yon. mil Community newspaper gives readers a voice at www.wriypapers«€om Earlier this year, the Niagara Frontier Publications Web site, www.wny- • Local news that matters to you. From hard-hitting town and village papers.com, was upgraded to better suit our readers. links to articles, reports to community events and profiles on special people and places calendar listings, obituaries and contact information were reconfigured that make Western New York a great place to live and work. and made more accessible. Today, nearly 45,000 unique visitors later, 'Exclusive entertainment stories, band interviews, movie prepositive comments continue to roll in to our Grand Island office. views/reviews and television features. This week, we are introducing a new feature to our Web site: 'Town •Archived stories of top news items from the Niagara-Wheatfield Talk." Tribune, Grand Island Dispatch and Lewiston Sentinel. 'Town Talk" is a weekly question, posed by the editorial department, • A full calendar of events, announcements, obituaries and rewhich is answered by our readers. It's a way for the community to pro- union notices. vide feedback on important local and national events and subjects. • A full classifieds* section. The debut question is: What should local government's role be in re- •Links to local clubs and organizations. to hoHday/religious displays? Niagara Frontier Publications Each question is multiple choice - there is no right or wrong answer "» y community news t£2s£££z£'•"*"* c~-whkh may be ta- n^—ss^ While online, take a moment to enjoy our many features. At www.wny- your community neeas lpapers.com, you'll find: J* ' Your community newspapers.