Island Dispatch, 2008-05-02

              Island Dispatch For Home Delivery of the Island Dispatch Call 773-7676 Niagara fn Ml Fronf'er proud publishers of Island Dispatch Lewistoh-Porter Sentinel Grand Island Penny Saver Niagara-Wheatfieid Tribune www.wnypapers.com 773-7676 $1.00 May 2, 2008 20 Pages V01.64 No. 7 Imagineers First in Region page 9 Artist of the Month page 10 Swish! page 13' % Inside The Dispatch Business 5 . School :....... 8 Sports 13 Classifieds.. 15 Crossword 16 Service Directory........ 19 Picture Page 20 Chamber says 'thank you' for Citizen of the Year Those who missed the Grand Island Chamber of Commerce's 42nd annual Citizen of the Year Awards banquet can watch the entire event on television. Cable Channel 22 will air the dinner on the following Saturdays: May 10, May 17, June 14, and every Saturday thereafter in June and July. All air times are scheduled for 8 p.m. Mark Traina from Mile Stone Video Production filmed the event for Time Warner Cable. More than 200 people joined the Grand Island Chamber of Commerce for the Citizen of the Year Award banquet, held on April 24 at the Holiday Inn Resort & Conference Center. The event honored Cannon Design, Tony Brindisi of Keller Insurance Group, Mary Dunbar-Daluisio, Dolly D'Orazio, Carol Horrigan and the Zonta Club of Grand Island for their dedication to mak- ing Grand Island a better place to live. In a statement, event Chairwoman Beverly Kinney and Cochair Andy Beyer thanked the award recipients "for allowing us a glimpse into their lives through the letters of their family, friends and co-workers. It was our privilege to get to know you. It was our privilege to honor you for your contributions to the Grand Island community." This week, the chamber thanked those who helped make the evening a memorable one for guests: Holiday Inn Chef Rick Arnold and Banquet Manager Marcia Malizie for a wonderful dinner with impeccable service; Teresa Costello and Dale Van Alstine and their staff at the Grand Island Holiday Inn Resort & Conference Center; Rev. Gerard Haberstro of Harbor Lights Fellowship for the invocation; Charles N. DeGlopper VFW Post 9249 Color Guard for the presentation of colors; Channel 4 News meteorologist and master of ceremonies Mary Beth Wrobel for singing the, "Star Spangled Banner," accompanied by Carol Horrigan on the piano; Judy Schmidt and Jennifer Peresie for creating the centerpieces; Jim Sharpe for his photography; Youth Ambassadors Ciara Morreale and Brittany Stallard for selling tickets for the chamber scholarship raffle; Administrative Director Laura Anderson for attending to all the details that made this event special; sponsors "whose g contributions make, this evening possible; and committee members Joanne Kud, Deborah Mann, Judy Schmidt, Jennifer Peresie, Jim Sharpe, Phil Buchanan, Laura Anderson, Dr. Sherry Bradford, and Sybil Kennedy. John Cannon Anthony Brindisi Dolly D'Orazio Wind chimes for life by Alice E. Gerard The soft tinkling of wind chimes gives a tender melody to a light breeze. People tend to find wind chimes soothing and their sound tranquil and pleasant. Wind chimes, which sound even in the faintest of breezes, sing all of the time. That constant song gave Stefani Perakis of Lewiston the idea to design wind chimes for Relay For life. "Cancer never sleeps," said Stefani, who,, with her mother, Connie Perakis, was selling the wind chimes at the April 26 roast beef dinner at the Knights of Co-" lumbus. Stefani and Connie are part of the Amazing Grace Relay For Life team, which includes this year's honorary survivor, Lisa Dudley, and her mother, Grace Aswad, a three-time cancer survivor, for whom the team was named. "The wind chimes are all handmade and are one of a kind," Stefani said. "No one else has them." Stefani designed the wind chimes at Ready? Glaze. Fire! in Lewiston. The suns, moons, stars and ribbon are purple, to match the theme of Relay For life. They are held together with fishing wire and decorated with beads. Stefani said that she came up with the idea of wind chimes as a fundraiser for Relay For Life because, "I was just thinking of something that would be unique and would be a keepsake for people who know Relay. Why not wind chimes? I looked up at my wind chimes at home one day and thought that it's something that you can keep. It's something thafs beautiful. It's decorative, but it serves a purpose." Because the wind chimes are ceramic, they are fragile and will not withstand a strong wind. "They are better placed in a window or in a sheltered area outside," Stefani said. . In addition to the wind chimes, Stefani has also designed permanent luminaria for people to use at Relay For life. "The luminaria are very special. At the Relay, there is always a luminaria ceremony. These are white paper bags with candles in them that are lit at dusk From left, Patty Veßost, Grand Island Relay For Life Co-Chair Mary Dunbar-Daluisio and Renee Gugino of the Relay For Life Committee sold purple bows ,and decorated the Town Commons on Saturday, April 26, in anticipation of the annual Paint the Town Purple Day or May 1. See the back page for more Relay For Life photos. Moosekateers upcoming fundraiser by Alice E. Gerard On a bright, sunny May 1, Dona Cameron and Maria Fox set up a table outside of M&T Bank at Grand Island Plaza to sell purple ribbons and to publicize Relay For Life Team Moose-kateers' May 10 chicken barbecue from 2 to 7 p.m. at the Grand Island Rod and Gun Club, 1083 Whitehaven Road. 'We're selling magnets and angels and barbecue tickets. We're really trying to get rid of those. We want lots of people to come out to our chicken barbecue," Cameron said. "We are going to have a huge basket raffle. I think that we're supposed to have over 100 baskets. They're all going to be great," Fox said. Cameron said that she was hoping that the chicken barbecue would be a big seller. "We're hoping to raise a ton of money," she said. "We really want everyone to come out. It's a great cause. Everyone's been touched by cancer. Everybody can help make a difference in research. We need research, not only for new people who are being diagnosed with cancer, but also for people who have cancer that comes back." 'This has been great. Everyone has been really nice, saying hello and a little bit of chit chatting," she noted. Fox added, "Grand Island is a great community for things like this. Everybody is so close. Like she said, everybody's been touched by cancer in one way or another, so the support on Grand Island is great." Cameron, the mother of 3year-old cancer survivor lan, said that her son, who loves trains, has been having a great time since he was given a little replica train station in the family's backyard on April 25 by the Make-a-Wish Foundation. "He loves it. It's been really hard to keep him in the house. All he wants to do is to go out there and play all day," Cameron said. SEE RELAX, continued on page 2 '" '" s __..., ___f__.4?_as.lZ'_Z'_Z"Z_l_n>as& 1 r "™' ™" ™"""* ""J-. "* ——— ■" - Linda Kutzbach CSMEkIi ___ ~ - (Jhrr™*^^! •Week May 16-tBth \<gM£o£ Family Trayl m%n Wm /\^X?J ««w._i_iK.«..»i. At Center Court: FREE Safe Child ,-, .*. I —*—, t*ix>XSM l mm owm, wand «yd. Ilf JM / *.*Q®rßom& f f- ;. .., lOT«gi*DogDtmonslr«ions '- - . t_fc#%n<l OFF W^M f 2<tUii»«* I "'; -, • Soto r(toy, May 17th & Sunday May ISthJj V- J 2131 Grand Island Blvd. ?/Vy Vfr i www.lindakur2bach.com / / . ' 774-tlf)9f) X' I iPwMtsf -•*»*«««>'. -. the other a/ * * Not valid with any other olfers. Expires 5.31i08 Tf. 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