Island Dispatch, 2008-02-08

              Island Dispatch Niagara fn PI Fr^n*iel' YJ Publications proud publishers of Island Dispatch Lewiston-Porter Sentinel Grand Island Penny Saver Niagara-Wheatfield Tribune www.wnypapers.com For Horn® DeUvwry. of the Island Disp&Hh Call 773-7676 V01.63 No. 47 February 8/ 2008 20 Pages 773-7676 $1.00 Overcoming Cancer : page 5 Off to Japan i page 9 Valentine's for Vets page 10 Inside The Dispatch I School 7 Sports , '.... 13 Classifieds ', 15 Crossword 16 I Service Directory 19 i . . Picture Page 20 I- .- -.-.■:"' Battle on ice The ice breaker Niagara Queen is shown hard at work, opening the Niagara River at the New York Power Authority intakes last week. A break in the Lake Erie ice boom brought cascades of ice downriver, resulting in flow problems for the Niagara Power Project's Lewiston power generating plant. The Lewiston-Queenston bridge operations were among the many affected, with cross-border traffic halted for hours due to power outages, (photo by Dave Young) Island Relay For Life Kick-Off set for Feb. 12 The 2008 Relay For life Kickoff is scheduled, for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 12, in the Grand Island High School Large Cafeteria. Committee members are asked to arrive at 6 p.m., with team captains scheduled to meet at 6:45 p.m. The Kick-off begins four months of activities and planning leading up to the Relay For Life on June 6. The event is a community gathering that raises money for the fight against cancer. Teams of participants take turns walking around a track to fulfill pledge donations. The event also honors survivors of cancer and their families. The 2007 Relay For Life on Grand Island raised approximate-, ly $128,000. An estimated 2,500 people took part in the event Participants can go to the Grand Island Relay site to register a team before the Kick-off by logging on to www.relayforlife.org. The Kick-off will include information, suggestions for fundraising, music, and a chance to win prizes. On hand as well will be the honorary survivor chosen for 2008, Lisa Dudley, a native Grand Islander, who is a two-year breast cancer survivor. (See page 5 for a letter to the editor from Dudley.) This year's theme is 'Team j Up For A Cure." The relay will i take place at Grand Island High School's Masters Field on Friday evening, June 6. Mary Dunbar-Daluiso and Peter McMahon are. back as co-chairs for the Relay. Below is the list of meeting dates: Meeting Dates for the 2008 Relay • Feb. 12:5:30 p.im., Large Cafe, Committee; 7 p.m., Kick-off, Large Cafe •Wednesday, March 12,6 psn., Large Cafe, Committee; 7 p.m, Large Cafe, Team Captains •April 8: 6 p.m., Large Cafe, Committee; 7 p.m., Large Cafe, Team Captains •May 6: 6 p.m., Large Cafe, Committee; 7 p.m., Large Cafe- Team Captains •May 27: 6 p.m., Large Cafe, Committee; 7 p.m., Large Cafe, Team Captains', Final bank night and T-shirt distribution •June 6, Relay For Life Modern roundabout proposed for GI Blvd.- Staley Road intersection by Alice E. Gerard Between Jan. 1,2001, and Dec. 31, 2003, there were 15 accidents at the corner of Grand Island Boulevard and Staley Road. This, according to Thomas Romano of the New York State Department of Transportation, is considered to be a "50 percent higher accident rate than you would expect at this type of intersection."The higher than expected accident rate earned the Grand Island Boulevard and Staley Road intersection the DOTs designation as a "safety deficient location."As a result of that designation, the state DOT has proposed putting in a modern single-lane roundabout at the intersection at a cost of approximately $1.1 million. The cost includes both the construction of the roundabout and the replacement of a box culvert on Grand Island Boulevard. The alternative to the proposed roundabout would be a project that would make improvements to the current intersection. It would provide for a dedicated left-turn lane and a left-turn arrow, among other changes. The roundabout is considered to be the preferred change, according to Romano, because it is "the only alternative which improves safety and reduces delay at the intersection." According to Romano, "Roundabouts are generally considered to be the safest type of intersection. One of the main reasons for that is that the traffic is forced to slow down before entering the intersection. Typically, there is a reduced accident rate at the intersection where roundabouts are introduced. One of the greater factors is. that the severity of the accidents is greatly reduced." * Romano explained why the modern roundabout is safer than a-conventional intersection with a traffic light. 'Traffic circulates around the central island. There are .splitter islands, which bring in traffic and get it going. What the splitter island does is to get traffic heading in the right direc- tion. It also- serves to slow traffic down. One of the issues that, we have at this intersection is that traffic enters at a very high speed coming down Route 324 (Grand Island Boulevard) to get onto the 1-190. By having these splitter islands here, it is a visual cue that traffic should slow down. Traffic also must yield before entering the roundabout" Speed is dangerous, Romano said. "The speed entering a conventional intersection, like the one we have now, approaches 50 miles per hour. Cars would go around a roundabout at a much lower speed because of the splitter islands. Your braking distance, when you're going 20 miles per hour, is 115 feet It's 425 feet if you're going 50 miles per hour. If you're traveling at a slower speed, you've got a lot more time to react. You don't need this long stopping distance if something is happening in front of you." Romano referred to a type of accident that could occur when a car runs a traffic signal as a "right angle accident." 'Typically, these accidents can be very severe. That's one of the main accident types that you won't have in a roundabout," Romano said. According to statistics from the Insurance Institute of America, Romano said, there are far fewer A roundabout such as this could be constructed at the Grand Island Boulevard/ Staley Road intersection. (Department of Transportation graphic) SEE ROUNDABOUTS, on page 2 rZT, 7Z Mon€imy 1 LndojKubbach Mil#e~3^H[ #IB|Rt %= *«•« -ju zimt- 0 /.-so li „m?<sSSjsji 773-2573 B:-il I £te**£l uMuSttflf.2j»«ftSpHi 2131 Grand Island Blvd. «§p www.lindakllteboch.com / ™e'"takeearg f For more information please visit 774-0020 v" PLUS TAX . Y«g*«ac • 6airStS"*y the Other of www.summitniagara.com y < | j »• Norß> ■ ■ ;' p—"^