Island Dispatch, 2006-04-21

              ISLAND Dispatch Niagara Frontier Publications For Home Belfcrery of the Island Dispatch Call 773-7676 proud publishers of Niagara-Wheatfield Tribune Island Dispatch " Lewkton-Porter Sentinel Grand Island Penny Saver www.wnypapers.com V01.62 No. 5 April 21, 2006 40 Pages Plus 2005 Citizen of the Year Pullout $1.00 Soldier, Mom reflect on Iraq page 5 Citizen of the Year Inside today's paper is an insert for the Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year Banquet. The event will be held at the Holiday Inn Grand bland Resort and Conference Center on Thursday, April 27 at 6 p.m. The Chamber extends a special invitation to past award recipients to celebrate its 40th anniversary. For tickets, call 773-3651. Adelphia Cable Channel 13 will broadcast fhe event j on April 29, at 7 j p.m. and Sunday, April 30, j at 3 p.m. j Greenway Commission wants to hear from you by Karen Keefe Longtime Grand Island resident Paul Leuchner is amazed that with 2&-miles of Niagara River shoreline around our town, Grand Islanders leap at the chance to go somewhere else - like Buffalo or Hamburg - to enjoy a kayaking competition. He dreams of the day when Grand Island will be the home base for all kinds of eco-tourism and water-based recreation - not only kayaking, but boating, bicycling, and fishing, and opportunities to walk in the woods and observe heron, red-winged blackbirds, salamanders, frogs and deer. He's just the man to bring that dream to reality - with your help. Leuchner is one of seven members of the Niagara River Greenway Commission. He is looking for input from those who want more access to the Niagara River and all its benefits. "There exists great potential to pull all this together and make it a world-class destination for eco-tourism," he says of Grand Island. A series of workshops - perhaps sponsored by the town - would be ideal to bring the planning process right to the people, Leuchner says. It would be the kind of grassroots initiative that befits a "greenway" along the river. Environmentalists already know about the Greenway, and some have even come to commission meetings; if s the regu- lar people they are now trying to reach. There is a general meeting of the Niagara River Greenway Commission on Tuesday, April 25, at 7 p.m. in the Beaver Island State Park Clubhouse. (See related story, page 5) The commission, established by state law last September, is charged with the planning and development of a greenway of interconnected parks, river access points and waterfront trails along the Niagara River from Lake Erie at Buffalo to Lake Ontario at the site of the historic Fort Niagara. The plan is to be completed by March 2007. Public input is welcome The panel's job is to develop a greenway that will be used and enjoyed by generations of Western New Yorkers. The best way to do that, Leuchner says, is for the public to set the agenda, and for the commission to help make it happen. The Greenway would be best designed under the laws of the parks, he says, but it should be "a plan thaf s built by the public." Leuchner previously worked as a biologist and held environmental management positions in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Buffalo office. He currently serves as environmental consultant for the proposed Paul Leuchner, left, a member of the Niagara River Greenway Commission, and Rob Belue, the commission's administrative coordinator and a state parks employee, point out restoration projects that are explained in a kiosk at Beaver Island State Park, Both men are from Grand island, (photo by Karen Keefe) Three people are shown with their fishing lines in the Niagara River off the new pier in Ferry Village at the end of Cox Road. The pier is part of the East River Marsh Restoration Project, (photo by Paul Leuchner) Islander Days tribute to Dad in Relay For Life by Terry Duffy The month of June usually means special times in the lives of area residents. We have beautiful weather to enjoy, proms and graduations I to look forward to, family gatherings, picnics, festivals and outdoor activities of all kinds to experience, as well special occasions and times for celebration. On the Island, beyond this multitude of happenings that occupy our busy lives, there's also a special time of both celebrating life as well as honoring those we have lost. It's called the American Can- cer Society Relay For life - an occasion when we reflect on the impact this disease had has on our lives and our families. Kicking off at 6 p.m., Friday, June 9, on the Grand Island High School running track and concluding at 8 a.m. on Saturday, June 10, Relay For life, now in its third year, has truly become an event which envelops the Island community like no other. As it does in dozens of other Western New York communities where its held, Relay For life offers friends and families of victims a time to reflect on the consequences of this dreaded disease - those we have lost - and for survivors, hope - an opportunity to stand up in defiant celebration on having overcome its grip. Much more than just a walk around the track, to the thousands who join and participate in this annual event, Relay For life is a time for us to reflect on the impact of cancer. And considering that hard dose of reality we see in the form of troubling cancer statistics affecting thousands in the Western New York area, it indeed touches all of us. Inspiring Hope Perhaps that may explain why so many put so much effort into the Relay - on the Island and throughout Western New York. Yes it is a time to come together and raise awareness of this awful disease as well as contribute to the American Cancer Society in the hopes for a cure. But Alan's Angels was formed by Donna Elia Tompkins in memory of her father, Alan Elia Sr. continued on page 12 continued on page 13 Monday Madness LARGE CHEESE PIZZA $*T95 m plus tax <^^^§ 2131 Grand Island Blvd. Kutzbachflf^l Associate Broker W&jkm #1 Island Agent IF^flH #1 Company in WNY 743-73M©r 628-1719 Qm Bo yon need to buy or • sell a hone? 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