Island Dispatch, 2008-02-25

              Island Dispatch Vol. 63 No. 45 January 25, 2008 ® Niagara Frontier Publications proud publishers of Island Dispatch Lewiston-Porter Sentinel Grand Island Penny Saver Niagara-Wheatfield Tribune www.wnypapers.com Fan* '.'ome Delivery of the Island Dispatch Call 773-7676 773-7676 $1.00 20 Pages Trinity Concert page 6 An 'Amazing' Performance page 9 Vikings Defeat N-W page 13 Inside The Dispatch School... 8 Sports 12 Classifieds 15 Crossword..... 16 ; Business .19 Service Directory:. 19 Picture Page 20 Buffalo Niagara Boat Show opens The 2008 Buffalo Niagara Boat Show will turn The Summit in Wheatfield into Margaritaville. The show, which began Wednesday and will conclude Sunday, Jan. 27, is a major event for Grand Island's outdoor boating and recreation industry. John Zimdahl, sales manager at Collins Marine, said his company has brought 13 boats this year to the The Summit, located at 6929 Williams Road in Wheatfield. The show plants a seed in the buyer's minds and has become a necessity in the boat sales business, Zimdahl said. "You'll get a few sales, but it really is kind of the kick-off to the season," Zimdahl said. "It starts the whole buying process. Probably over half of what we'll sell during the 2008 model year will be initiated by this Boat Show." Based on last year's sales, the boating public is looking for family runabouts, 18 to 27 feet in length, and small cruisers, Zimdahl said. Collins Marine has been in business for more than 50 years and has a 250-slip marina by the South Grand Island Bridge in Tonawanda. Anchor Marine of Grand Island has brought 24 boats to the Buffalo-Niagara Boat Show. Staff from Anchor Marine spent five hours, beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, moving boats into the mall at their location near Macri's Italian "It's a lot of work, but it's worth it," said Kevin Hamm, service manager at Anchor Marine. He noted that the residual impact of the show on sales makes such events a winner. In addition to more than 150 new boats and personal watercraft on display, the event will Former Buffalo Sabres forward Rob Ray cut the ceremonial ribbon marking the opening of the 2008 Buffalo Niagara Boat Show. The event continues at The Summit mall in Wheatfield through this weekend, (photo by Larry Austin) Perception is reality when it comes to tolls John Bonora of AIG Advisor Group said he keeps a tray of dollar bills on his desk just for clients who travel the Grand Island bridges to reach his business. It's one small way Bonora, president of the Grand Island Chamber of Commerce, battles the negative impact of $1 bridge tolls on his customer base. Tolls are a "major burden on our businesses" and getting worse, Bonora told the Erie County Leg, islature last week during a public meeting hosted by Legislator Michele lannello. He said the chamber has received numerous calls from those upset by a recent toll increase, from 75 cents to $1, at the bridges. Robert Ratajczak of the Grand Island Economic Advisory Board, said convincing a business to loqate on the Island with its increased cost of doing business "is next to impossible. It's much cheaper for a company to locate in Niagara Falls or Tonawanda" because their trucks won't have to pay the added business cost of a toll. But Islanders pay a price for the tolls even when they don't travel the bridge. It's the mere perception of high tolls. , Robert Christmann, superintendent of schools for the Grand Island Central School District and a member of the Economic Advisory Board, said he's heard district reports that substitute teachers and school bus drivers, when given a choice of coming to Grand Island to work or to another district, go elsewhere because of the tolls. Robert Ratajczak Board approves certificates for police academy grads by Alice E. Gerard Two Grand Island residents who attended the Law Enforcement Training Academy in the Erie County Community College's north campus in 2006 will receive certificates that will enable THEM to become employed as police officers, said Gfcind Island CouncilwomanCouncilwoman Mary Cooke at the Jan. 22 Town Board meeting. In August 2006, the Town Board had authorized the two men, Peter Sukmanowski, of Colonial Drive West, and Thomas Dewey 11, of Whitehaven Road, to attend the police academy. According to Town Supervisor Peter McMahon, "The original resolution wasn't worded properly, so we're adopting a new resolution to make what we didn't do right the first time right." The resolution that was adopted at the Jan. 22 Town Board meeting called for Sukmanowski Public to speak on Staley Road, GI Boulevard intersection  by Alice E. Gerard Representatives from the New York state Department of Transportation will be on hand at 7 p.m., on Thursday, Jan. 31, in Town Hall, to present proposed plans to reconstruct the intersection at Staley Road and Grand Island Boulevard and to answer questions from the public.The Department of. Transportation has allotted $2.6 million for the reconstruction project The money was obtained by New York State.Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, said Grand Island Town Councilman Dick Crawford.According to Councilwoman Mary Cooke, "The DOT thinks that a roundabout is the best improvement that could be made." A manual produced by the Department of Transportation, titled "A Citizen's Guide to Roundabouts," describes a modern roundabout as "an unsignalized circular intersection engineered to maximize safety and minimize traffic delays." The manual referred to research conducted by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety and the New York state DOT, which stated that "total crashes declined by 39 percent, injury accidents by 76 percent, and fatal accidents by 89 percent." "The Town Board asked the New York State Department of Transportation to come and talk to our townspeople, and you'll get an education about roundabouts," Cooke said. . Crawford, the Town Board's liaison to the Traffic Safety Advisory Board, said, "The New York Department of Transportation will have diagrams, pictures, and people here to answer questions. It'll be a conversation to discuss traffic at Staley and Grand Island Boulevard, how the bridge ties in, all that stuff. They'll talk about lane closures and work during construction." 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