Island Dispatch, 2008-01-11

              Island Dispatch V01.63 No. 43 January 11,2008 S Niagara Frontier Publications proud publishers of Island Dispatch Lewiston-Porter Sentinel Grand Island Penny Saver Niagara-Wheatfield Tribune www.wnypapers.com For Home Delivery of the Island Dispatch Call 773-7676 773-7676 $1.00 20 Pages Islanders Hang Out with NHL Commish page 5 Praxair Promotion page 7 Artist of  the Month page 9 Inside The Dispatch Business 7 School 8 Sports. 12 Classifieds 16 Crossword 17 Service Directory 19 Picture Page 20 Scibilia song used in Ron Paul campaign by Joshua Maloni A song penned by Marc Scibilia, a Grand Island native working locally and in Nashville, has become part of Ron Paul's presidential campaign. The 21-year-old performer's piece has become the backdrop for numerous You Tube videos generated by Paul's grassroots supporters. "Hope Anthem," Scibilia said, "resonated with what (Paul) was saying." In the song, he says,"The freedom sound rings past politics and all its empty words/ Can't be put down, the broken bell will be heard/ Would you listen to a poet or a prophet/ Journal all this world's injustice or try and stop it/ Can you feel the com'n change, though hell is here today/ Hope is on its way." Scibilia said the song, which he had previously in parts, became whole when he learned about the Republican congressman from Texas. "I felt like it was a really good fit," he said. "I felt it was applicable for the message of freedom that he promotes." The singer spoke Wednesday from New Hampshire, where he performed late Tuesday for members of Paul's team. He said he first learned of Paul, and his "rEVOLution," from his friend, "God's iPod" creator Israel Anderson.The New Zealand-bred podcaster is a Paul supporter, and encouraged Marc to find out more about Paul's message. "I started reading and studying and asking around, and (Paul's campaign) seemed Eke it was really legitimate," Scibilia said. He called the candidate, "very trustworthy" and said, "He's a man of integrity. Period." Scibilia created a Web site, www.hopeanthem.com, to show his support for Paul. After Anderson used the song in one of his podcasts, it went global, and Paul supporters quickly picked it up and ran with it. The singer, himself, created a video for "Hope Anthem." Though, nothing more than his picture and the song, the tune climbed last week to No. 2 on You Tube's music chart. "I thought that was kind of funny," Scibilia said. Last weekend, Julian Smith, a renowned Nashville filmmaker whose credits include Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi, came to Scibilia's home on Grand Island. Over the course of 24 hours, the two hammered out a proper video to accompany the song. Filmmaker Julian Smith, left above and below, worked with Marc Scibilia in creating a video for "Hope Anthem," a rallying song for presidential candidate Ron Paul, (photos by Matt Brown/WNYacoustic.com) Pay up Anger over the cost of ! crossing the j Niagara River i on bridges to | Grand Island j hit another high • water mark Sunday with a toll increase of 25 cents. i The New York j State Thruway j Authority new \ cash toll rates \ along the system went into effect Sunday, Jan. 6, at midnight. The 10 percent increase in cash rates along the ticketed portion of the system was approved in April of 2005. E-ZPass customers did not see an increase in tolls. Tolls at the Grand Island Bridges, however, were rounded up to the nearest quarter, meaning a 75 cent toll was raised not to 80 or 85 cents, but to $1, a 33.3 percent increase. "Its a punch in the face, is what it ends up being. It's not a slap," said Grand Islander Rus Thompson, founder of NoGltolls.com, a Web site dedicated to removal of tolls over the bridges and in the Thruway system in general. 'This is a punch as far as I'm concerned."Thompson said even a toll taker he spoke to when he drove across the Grand Island Bridge Sunday night was shocked that the. New York Thruway Authority had raised the toll to a full dollar. As a result, NoGltolls.com has received another 200 signatures to its online petition in the last few days alone. "We've gotten blasted in the last three days because of the increase in the tolls. We've been hit with a couple hundred more signatures," Thompson said Friday afternoon. They're tired of the authorities, they're tired of the politicians not representing us right down the line," Thompson said of the online petition signers. "The 33 percent increase in the tolls just really outraged a lot of people, and rightfully so." The rise in tolls gives the drive to remove the Grand Island toll barriers "a huge boost," he said. Last week, the site boasted 6,980 signatures. The total had risen to 7,204 on Friday. That, along with 1,000 signatures on a petition for the Niagara Falls group LaSalle PRIDE, put the total at 8,204. Rus Thompson of NoGltolis.com Town Board holds 2008 reorganization meeting by Alice E. Gerard Appointments of members to town advisory boards and the other business of the annual reorganization meeting were on the agenda of the Jan. 7 Grand Island Town Board meeting, with most of the sparse audience made up of high school students fulfilling a government class requirement. In a series of motions, the Town Board unanimously: • Requested from the New York state Office of the State Comptroller, a 30-day extension of the April 1 deadline for Grand Island's annual Update Report for Fiscal Year 2007. Last year, the town requested a 60-day extension, as the deadline at that time was March 1. In both situations, Supervisor Peter McMahon explained that the state's deadline "does not allow enough time for closing our books and proper review by our auditors," and that he expects to file before the extension deadline. •Was informed that Town Board member Dick Crawford will serve as deputy supervisor and Elizabeth Zilbauer will be McMahon's secretary. •Set mileage at 50,5 cents per mile for town officials performing town duties. •Authorized the methods of assessments for water, sewer and SEE BOARD, continued on page 14 SEE SCIBILIA,on page 14 Find out everything you need to know Un*°s^£hach BPij *f §&—~~\ * Ml€»n€§&y about your Hometown! tlVlll CH ' Msa&n&SSS ✓TS HIASARA FKOHTiiH PUBLICATIOMS ammmm Wjm / Vcur>Wegi {M2s®M® sfI^BMIIMSMJ 1 RJ Niagara-Wheatfield Tribune • Lewisfon-Porfer Sentinel fee/Si if JIWBI / , ' fe//l/««j M 1 Vfj/ Island Dispatch« Grand island Penny Saver «p> www.lindakuf2baeh.com / J 2131 Grand teland Blvd"  *" .?•< *«*>*s<»ww»*«n —~__ "eother a/ i*mr,:. plus tax * r,} owned Soperateii "mimmmmEr . -