Island Dispatch, 2006-08-25

              Island Dispatch August 25, 2006 For Home Delivery of the Island Dispatch TT4 TATA Call 773m 7070 /TX Niagara In PI Frontier Publications proud publishers of Niagara-Whearfield Tribune Island Dispatch Lewiston-Porter Sentinel Grand Island Penny Saver Mrww.WYiypapers.com V01.62 No. 23 $1.00 24 Pages Pre-K Open House page 10 Islettes win big page 14 Happy Birthday Shirley page 24 Dunlop building: Speed bumps on the road to recovery by Karen Keefe Trie former Dunlop Building on Long Road may be an eyesore on the road to a makeover, but teens are continuing to find the abandoned building an "attractive nuisance." Despite efforts by Town Board members and the Economic Development Advisory Board, the building has been off the tax rolls and deteriorating for a decade. Over the years, the structure's broken windows, graffiti-laden walls and run-down appearance have seemingly sent out a siren call to rambunctious, risk-taking youths who want to explore its nooks and crannies. And residents have complained that the building presents a poor image of the Island, sitting in plain view from the Thruway and the North Grand Island Bridge. Now there's renewed hope of reinventing the site as an industrial park, called the Grand Island Gateway Center, after a decade of Mcd attempts to reuse the building and reduce its risk-to the community. One Grant OK'd for Study Yet it remains a good-news, bad news scenario for the troubled site. •On Monday, Town Board members spoke encouragingly about a new grant that could help to either rehab or remove the former Dunlop North American Headquarters and develop the surrounding 140 acres on the south At left, the former Dunlop Building, 2761 Long Road, has a warning sign painted on to discourage trespassing. At right, graffiti, broken glass and weeds show the toll time has taken on the abandoned building, (contributed pnotosj A 'treasured' day at the library Story and photos by Donna M. Webb Nearly 50 children in grades 1 through 6 sat in front of folk singer Nan Hoffman last Thursday at the Grand Island Memorial library, eagerly anticipating her presentation. Her singing and playing of the autoharp and guitar were the highlights of the library's fun-filled celebration that marked the end of the summer reading program called "Books: A Treasure." Children's librarian Anne Slater explained that all the libraries across the state were doing this same program. At the Grand Island branch, about 25 to 30 young people showed up each week. "Every time they came, they had a different symbol that they colored," she said. These were related to the "treasure" theme. Posters were created with these symbols attached, and they formed, a bright mosaic on the walls of the library's community room. As the students came in to each weekly session, they would show a list of the book(s) they read during the prior week. Then they would listen to a story and make a craft related to that tale. Four girls waited for a special balloon animal at the Grand Island Memorial Library on Aug. 19. This was part of the celebration for children who'participated in the library's "Books: A Treasure" reading program. From left are Giara Howley, 10; Isabel Dengos, 9; Libby Koyn, 5; and Genna Koyn, 7. Libby and Genna said they both read 20-25 books this summer. GI residents: 'Protect habitats' by Donna M. Webb Conservation Commission members address Power Project relicensing Grand Islanders stressed the importance of protecting and preserving aquatic life at Beaver Island and Buckhorn state parks at a recent meeting to gather comments on the relicensing of the Niagara Power Project. "Please protect, enhance and restore the rich, diverse ecosystem that we have here on Grand Island," pleaded Mark Lazeration, a member of the Grand Island Commission for Conservation of the Environment. He was one of about 30 people who spoke last Thursday at the second of two meetings calledthat day by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. About 70 people had attended the earlier afternoon meeting at Niagara Falls High School. The purpose of these meetings was to hear public comments regarding the Draft Environmental Impact Statement that FERC recently prepared. This impact statement is one of the requirements for relicensing the Niagara Power Project, which generates hydroelectricity for Western New York. continued on page 17 continued on page 2 continued on page 17 11 Monday 11 1! Madness 11 I ! LARGE CHEESE PIZZA ! I ! I $795 I J : I M plus tax j j j 2131 Grand Island Blvd. } ! WmmmmmMm, II I I 1 tr-IMmm I I j KutzbachflSf I 1 ; Associate Broker fiFjJMI i ! #1 Island Agent | I j #1 Company in WNY !I' 743-73*1 or ] I 628-1719 [ Q» Do you need to buy or i •sell a home? j I Jjk •Call Linda Kutzbach, [ ~**she knows how and j ! would love to help yon. ji HHHI 1 1