Island Dispatch, 2007-06-22

              ® Niagara Frontier Publications proud publishers of island Dispatch Lewiston-Porter Sentinel Grand-Island Penny Saver Niagara-Wheatfield Tribune www.wnypapers.com Island Dispatch Vol. 63 No. 14 June 22, 2007 24 Pages For Home Delivery of the Island Dispatch Call 773-7676 773-7676 $1.00 Plans under way for 2008 bridge work by Donna M. Webb Summertime is here, and you know what that means - construction projects and traffic tie-ups. However, there's a reprieve for Grand Island bridge commuters this summer. Bridge repairs won't begin here until 2008. Plans are now in the works for a redecMng project on the northbound South Grand Island bridge. With that in mind, on June 15, more than 20 people gathered at Town Hall for the second meeting of the Grand Island Bridge Committee. Pictured clockwise: Mark Kandel of the state Department of Environmental Conservation and Chris Hulse of the Thruway Authority take a plunge to find and band baby peregrine falcons on Tuesday at the North Grand Island Bridge. Tom Moore of the Thruway Authority and Mark Kandel of the DEC work on banding the chicks.The fuzzy peregrine falcons are carried in a bucket during the banding procedure, (photos by joe Eberle) Lions Install Officers page 3 Bridge tie-up is for the birds State team bands baby peregrines nesting under span Doctor's Life Inspires page 10 Trail Recipes page 13 by Karen Keefe A quartet of peregrine falcon chicks literally stopped traffic for two hours Tuesday morning on the northbound North Grand Island Bridge. The birds were the focus of a successful state effort to band, identify and bolster their chances of leading long, healthy lives in their home underneath the north bridge span. Workers couldn't get to the chicks without causing a traffic jam, so they planned for the tie-up and warned the public to find alternate routes or prepare to wait The rarity of these endangered birds made the banding project special and important to both state Department of Environmental Conservation experts and the Thruway officials who own the bridge the birds call home. ConstructionConstruction cones and a convoy of state trucks provided a barricade as staffers worked quickly to capture, band and return the fluffy chicks to their nest without ruffling too many feathers. Planned Parenthood DEC regional wildlife manager Mark Kandel and Thruway staffer Chris Hulse climbed into the bucket of a cherry-picker and went over SEE THRUWAY, continued on page 2 SEE CONTINGENCIES, on page 9 Kufxbaeh IP^W | 628-1719 W'Mj} • 1 773-2573 W Mfji i jQ; Do jo« Beerf to buy j | or sett a home? I lA* Call Linda Kutdtach, 1 ! s/ie fcjMws ftow a»«f j j wokW fove to M/> job/ j j w, ] | Each office independently t? ! ] owned a opened §4 NOftll t mmsm if '''9BWPiif!il " "llfilli eC«Ii Joan for « FREE No Obligation Market Analysis on your home joanaiugoKinsld@eentury2l .com