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Falls School Board candidates cover teacher evaluations, other issues at forum

May 14, 2013, 10:30 pm
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NIAGARA FALLS – The six candidates for the Niagara Falls School Board spent the better part of two hours Tuesday night making their cases to voters about why they should be elected next week.

At a forum in Niagara Falls Public Library, the four newcomers and two incumbents tackled questions about teacher evaluations, the role of schools in poor cities like the Falls and how to deal with discipline, among other issues.

The challengers in the race, trying to unseat the two incumbents for five-year terms, are Anthony F. Paretto, an electrician who works for the city; Herbert L. Lewis, a security guard at Seneca Niagara Casino; Michael S. Gawel, an accountant and real estate broker; and Ronald J. Barstys, director of student services for the North Tonawanda City School District.

They face incumbents Kevin Dobbs, who has been on the board since 1997, and Don J. King, a board member for more than three decades.

The issue of teacher evaluations was one of the most heatedly debated issues of the night.

Dobbs said he believes the district should be there to support teachers and students who need help.

Paretto agreed, saying teachers shouldn’t have to worry about whether they’re “going to be on the unemployment line.”

King called for more mentoring of younger teachers by veteran teachers.

Barstys, who has master’s degrees in science education and school district administration, said he supports the “growth model,” in which teachers are evaluated on an even playing field by looking at the performance of students who have similar statuses and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Lewis said he believes the ability of a teacher can be seen in the performance of the students.

Gawel said he favors evaluating both teachers and students. Individuals get evaluated throughout their lives, Gawel said, pointing to people who work in sales as well as people in sports, who he said are constantly being evaluated.

Students need to be pushed more, Gawel said, adding that the district should keep pushing, keep testing and “punish the ones who fail.”

The only candidate who advocated for any change to the district’s residency policy was Barstys, who said he believes it should be modified so that after a number of years, perhaps 10, employees could move out of the district and live where they choose.

When asked about charter schools, none of the candidates said they would support creating new ones.

The candidates were asked whether they have any relatives in their immediate or extended families who work for the district.

Barstys said his wife is a tenured English teacher. Dobbs said two of his daughters are teachers, and another is a teaching associate. Paretto said his sister is a teaching assistant. Gawel and Lewis said they did not have any relatives working for the district. King said his wife’s second cousin had worked there. “I come with no strings attached,” Lewis said.

Corey Bower, assistant professor of leadership and politics at Niagara University, served as the forum’s moderator.

The event was sponsored by the Niagara Falls Block Club Council, the Rotary Club of Niagara Falls, the Niagara Falls chapter of the NAACP and the Kiwanis Club of Niagara Falls. About 40 people attended.

It was recorded for airing on LCTV, Time Warner Cable channel 22.

The board election, with two open seats with five-year terms, and budget vote is next Tuesday. The polls will be open from noon to 9 p.m.

For the first time in 20 years, the proposed budget would increase the tax levy. The 3 percent increase would keep all programs intact and cause no layoffs.



For comprehensive info about who and what are on the ballot in each district, visit BuffaloNews.com/schools. email: abesecker@buffnews.com
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North Tonawanda school budget raises tax levy by 2.56 percent

May 15, 2013, 4:25 am
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NORTH TONAWANDA – The North Tonawanda School Board is facing less public resistance to its $65.7 million budget proposal for the 2013-14 school year than it has in recent years.

Residents will vote Tuesday on a budget that would raise the tax levy by 2.56 percent, or an additional $53.60 per $100,000 of assessed value. That is below the district’s legal tax cap of 4.77 percent, said Alan Getter, assistant superintendent of administrative services.

The board would use $1.7 million in reserve funds to lessen the taxpayer burden and would avoid the deep cuts that made previous budgets unpopular with many residents.

In 2011, voters rejected a budget with a 1.95 percent tax levy increase that cut more than 40 programs and more than 45 full-time or equivalent staff positions.

A year ago, there was strong backlash to further layoffs and the closing of Gilmore School, but the budget was passed.

“The last several years have been extremely painful as programs were cut due to the imbalance of expenses to revenue,” Board President Frank DiBernardo said in a letter to residents. “This year, a priority was to maintain our current level of services, program offerings and athletics and the board tasked our administrators to achieve those goals.”

“The Board of Education worked hard to develop a budget that would preserve programs and activities for students,” Superintendent Gregory J. Woytila said. “Working to do this and stay within the limits of the Governor’s tax cap is extremely difficult.”

A $350,000 increase in state funding and an additional $625,000 in savings from the state legislature’s agreement to hold teacher pension fund contribution increases to 14 percent helped the board close the roughly $1 million budget shortfall the board was projecting earlier this year.

The district will also save about $400,000 because of 10 teacher retirements, Woytila said, and another $400,000 will be saved by cutting five elementary school classes next year and consolidating music and foreign language instruction.

The proposed budget drew just a few mild critiques from residents at Tuesday’s public hearing, most of them dealing with the continued reduction in music education.

Residents will also vote to fill two open board seats. The incumbent candidates are Art Pappas and Colleen Osborn. First-time candidates seeking the three-year term are Susanne Williams, Robert Schmigel and Randy Bradt.



email: citydesk@buffnews.com
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Ceremony planned to mark signing of treaty with Senecas

May 15, 2013, 5:13 am
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The annual commemoration of the signing of the Buffalo Creek Treaty of 1842, which restored the Seneca Nation territories of Cattaraugus and Allegany, is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at the Burchfield Nature and Art Center, 2001 Union Road, West Seneca.

A fraudulently manipulated treaty in 1838 had attempted to turn the territories over to the Ogden Land Company. The commemoration memorializes the agreement between the Seneca and the United States government and is cited by the Senecas as evidence that New York State cannot tax Indian Reservation activities.

From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Native Roots Artists Guild will feature art vendors on the grounds of the center, offering Native American-made items for sale. Meanwhile, an exhibit of art portraying Native American culture continues through June 2.
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Jolie's decision spurs local reflection

May 15, 2013, 6:38 am
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When news broke Tuesday morning that a healthy Angelina Jolie got a double mastectomy to prevent breast cancer, several people contacted Kelli Cravey.

They know that Cravey wants to have both of her breasts removed too.

“I can’t control cancer, but I can control what I do with my own body,” said Cravey, 35, of Eden, who is the mother of a 3-year-old daughter.

After watching her 44-year-old mother die of breast cancer when Cravey was in her teens, she already has decided to have the radical surgery even though she does not have cancer. At least, not yet.

“It’s crazy to say out loud,” she said. “Even to tell my dad that, it sounds radical to him.”

The swirl of publicity following Jolie’s revelation that she had the radical surgery as a precaution is likely to prompt other women to be tested to determine whether they carry the BRCA gene and consider having the surgery, according to doctors at Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

Jolie explained Tuesday in a New York Times article that she decided to be tested knowing her mother died of ovarian cancer. No doubt, her story will prompt many women to consider their family history, said Dr. Helen Cappuccino, a cancer surgeon at the hospital.

The genetic testing can be expensive, costing from several hundred dollars to as much as $4,000, although under the Affordable Care Act, new insurance plans are required to cover the tests.

The surgery is extensive and while it dramatically reduces the risk of cancer, it is no guarantee.

“These are not decisions you should make on your own. You need to talk to a genetic counselor,” said Cappuccino, an assistant professor of surgery at the University at Buffalo.

Roswell Park does about 50 to 100 preventive surgeries a year for women at increased risk for cancer because of family history or cancer in one breast, she said.

On average, fewer than 10 of these women had the surgery because of the BRCA gene Jolie has.

Its presence indicates a 60 to 87 percent increased risk of breast cancer, Cappuccino said. Risk drops to 5 percent or less when breasts are removed. That is enough to make the procedure irresistible to some.

In the last two years since Dr. Nicoleta Voian has directed genetic counseling and testing at Roswell Park, interest in testing has gone up slightly. About 10 new patients come in each week.

“The awareness about hereditary cancer syndrome is increasing,” she said.

The American Cancer Society estimates that this year, about 300,000 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in women. About 5 to 10 percent of all cases of the disease are thought to be hereditary, and the most common cause is the inherited mutation in the BRCA 1 and 2 genes, according to the society.

While the cancer society reports that new health insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act are required to cover the costs of counseling and testing for breast cancer risk as the law takes effect, Dana Saylor is feeling impatient.

Saylor, a self-employed artist and historical researcher whose aunt and grandmother both died of breast cancer, can’t afford genetic testing.

“I do have to accept this reality that I may have this risk factor and there’s not a lot I can do about,” she said. “I try to live as well as I can and be as healthy as I can, and I don’t know if that will affect it, but I can always hope.”

Saylor, 34, posted Jolie’s story Tuesday morning on Facebook in an effort to continue the public conversation.

“It made me happy that someone high profile was talking about it and had the actual mastectomy,” said Saylor. “I’ve thought to myself what if I did get that genetic test what would I do?” she said. “I would almost definitely go through the same procedure.”

For Robin Lally, an assistant professor at the UB School of Nursing, testing and what to do with results is a complicated question. It shouldn’t be rushed.

“There isn’t a particular right answer to whether you have a bilateral mastectomy or not. It’s not the only answer,” said Lally, who has studied what women do with the information. “It shouldn’t be a rapidly made decision, made out of fear. Or because some celebrity does it.”

Rose Ann Ross had the test two years ago, a decade after surviving a bout with breast cancer. She had part of her left breast removed and underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

Her test came back positive for BRCA 2, but she has decided to hold off on surgery for now.

“It’s a hard decision to make,” said the 61-year-old Town of Tonawanda woman. Ross feels that having the radical surgery won’t guarantee she’ll never get cancer. She gets regular checkups with doctors who screen her for a variety of cancers, and if they do spot anything of concern, she said, “I certainly would do it.”

Cravey, an events planner for the American Cancer Society, has not had the genetic test but has made up her mind to have her breasts surgically removed. She feels having the genetic test will help justify – to the health insurance company and her father – what she feels certain she has to do.

She has been thinking of her daughter, Coral. Cravey wants to be around for things her own mother missed. For her, living without breasts is not a sacrifice.

“The sacrifice to me is not to be there when my daughter graduates from high school,” she said. “I’m completely confident in the person that I am, with or without a chest. To me, knowledge is power.”

Now she just wants to find a good doctor. She wants someone who will know how to cut away every last bit of tissue. “You’ve got to do your due diligence to make sure you get every single piece,” she said.Angelina Jolie’s double mastectomy puts the spotlight on a tough medical choice

The surgery

Preventive double mastectomy, in which the skin covering the breasts is preserved and fillers are inserted to keep the skin elastic for reconstruction.

Why have the operation?

Jolie inherited a faulty version of the BRCA 1 gene. Doctors told her she had an 87 percent chance of getting breast cancer. She said the surgery reduced her risk to below 5 percent.

What is the risk factor?

Only a small percentage of women inherit BRCA, but women who have are about five times more likely than the average woman to get breast cancer.

SCREENING for BRCA

A genetic blood test can detect BRCA. The test can cost several thousand dollars, but 95% of patients have insurance that covers it. The average out-of-pocket cost is $100.

email: mkearns@buffnews.com
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Orphaned polar bear cub arrives but may not stay long

May 15, 2013, 10:53 am
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Buffalo rolled out the red carpet for its newest polar bear cub Wednesday.

But Kali’s time at the Buffalo Zoo may be short-lived.

“As far as we know today, the decision is just to keep Kali here through the summer. I don’t think they have decided where he will go next – that hasn’t been determined,” said Donna M. Fernandes, the zoo’s president, referring to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which has ownership of the bear.

“We’d obviously like to keep him,” she added later, “but that’s not under our control.”

The 5-month-old, 65-pound orphaned cub was recovered from his den in northwest Alaska at 2 months of age after his mother was killed by a hunter who said he was unaware she was nursing.

Kali arrived in Buffalo via UPS Airlines at 5:19 a.m., after a 14-hour trip from Anchorage that included a stopover in Louisville, Ky. The bear traveled in a stainless steel crate and was examined in Louisville by Buffalo Zoo veterinarian Dr. Kurt A. Volle, who found him to be in good condition.

The Saint Louis Zoo, which like Buffalo is about to build a new polar bear exhibit, is considered to have the inside track as Kali’s permanent home.

Whatever the length of Kali’s time in Buffalo, zoo officials were excited to about his arrival.

“I’m delighted to announce that Kali has arrived safely in Buffalo,” Fernandes said, hours after showing up at the airport with a small delegation to welcome the cub, and minutes before signing a ceremonial waybill accepting the bear cub’s custody from UPS.

“Obviously, Luna has become the darling of Buffalo, and we’re really excited that she will have a playmate that she will be meeting very soon,” Fernandes said.

As Fernandes spoke, the bear cub who is a month older and 15 pounds heavier than Kali frolicked in a pool of water behind her, in the exhibit that Kali will be introduced to in the coming weeks.

Kali attracted big crowds, too, at the Alaska Zoo, and will be missed, said Patrick Lampi, the zoo’s executive director, who made the trek to Buffalo with the zoo’s curator.

“There were long lines, and lots of giggling adults along with children having joy watching the cub grow and become more and more active,” Lampi said. “This is the best thing for the cub, to be with another one to grow up and be active with and socialize with.”

Kali will be kept in quarantine for a week to make sure he didn’t pick up a disease or parasites while in the wild.

After that, Kali will be slowly introduced to the outdoor exhibit he is expected to begin sharing with Luna in early June.

Fernandes said the two cubs will be gradually introduced to each other until they are allowed full physical contact, with multiple spaces present so neither could be cornered. She said the process of introduction – which is usually more difficult with adults – has begun.

“They are already aware of each other, can smell each other and hear each other vocalize,” Fernandes said.

Kali’s arrival was made possible through the combined efforts of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Alaska and Buffalo zoos, UPS and M&T Bank, which paid for the bear’s transport.

“We greatly appreciate the Buffalo Zoo for providing Kali’s temporary home,” said Kofi Fynn-Aikins, project leader for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “Polar bears are integral for the marine environment and depend upon it for survival in the wild.

He noted how habitat and population decline resulted in the species being added to the “threatened” list in 2008.

Buffalo’s new exhibit is being designed with orphaned bears in mind.

Because of global warming, sea ice is now melting earlier in the spring and forming later in the fall, putting more strain on polar bear mothers, who increasingly are unable to make it back to their dens from long fishing trips.

Kali will join Luna in helping rev up interest to close the $3 million gap that remains before bids can go out for the Arctic Edge exhibit in the target month of July, with construction then following after Labor Day.

The zoo’s new $4 million entrance is expected to open July 1.



email: msommer@buffnews.com
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Moody’s downgrades Niagara Falls' credit rating

May 15, 2013, 11:53 am
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NIAGARA FALLS – Moody’s credit agency has downgraded the city’s credit rating for the second time in five months.

Again, the agency said a key reason is the financial crunch caused by the casino revenue dispute between the Seneca Nation of Indians and New York State.

Niagara Falls has a “highly stressed liquidity position … given the continued delay in the remittance of casino revenue,” Moody’s said.

The city could run out of cash as soon as November, according to the agency.

The downgrade – from Baa1 to Baa3 – means that it will likely be more difficult for the city to borrow money and that it will cost more when it does.

Mayor Paul A. Dyster said he had hoped the credit rating agency would not revisit the city’s situation until the results of arbitration between the Senecas and the state materialize, or a negotiated settlement is reached.

Dyster has said he still expects the arbitration process to conclude by midyear.

“We were hoping that they would hold off for another month or so,” he said.

The Seneca Nation has withheld about $60 million in slot machine revenue owed to the city because it believes that the state’s racetrack casinos violate its gambling exclusivity agreement.

Last November, the New York Power Authority agreed to grant the city access to $13 million to plug budget holes, if needed.

The funding would amount to an advance on payments that the Power Authority owes the city over the next 44 years as part of a settlement agreement for the relicensing of the Niagara Power Project.

At the time it was offered, it was shot down by the three-member majority of the City Council who said they believed that the city would be better off taking the payments as originally scheduled.

Council Chairman Glenn A. Choolokian, a member of the majority, on Wednesday said he still opposes that proposed deal.

Because the scheduled annual payments equal $850,000 a year, taking a lump sum would cause an $850,000 gap in the budget going forward each year, Choolokian said.

The city has $65 million in long-term debt, and the latest rating puts the Falls on the low end of the part of Moody’s scale characterizing the city as a “moderate credit risk.”

In January, Moody’s downgraded the city’s rating from A2 to Baa1, which on its scale meant a shift from low risk to the high end of moderate risk.



email: abesecker@buffnews.com
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Furloughs for civilians at Niagara air base to begin in early July

May 15, 2013, 2:02 pm
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Furloughs for civilian employees of the U.S. Air Force Reserve’s 914th Airlift Wing at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station will begin on July 8.

About 360 employees will be furloughed one day a week for 11 weeks as the automatic budget cuts known as “sequestration” take effect, the unit announced Wednesday.

The 914th also will be closed for business on Mondays starting July 8.

Base employees should receive furlough notices later this month or early next month.

Furloughs were originally expected to begin in late April, but the date was not firm, officials said at the time.
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Ross, Lockport funeral director, to be appointed coroner

May 15, 2013, 7:12 pm
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LOCKPORT – Michael A. Ross, co-owner of two Niagara County funeral homes, is to be recommended for appointment to a vacant Niagara County coroner seat.

Ross, 52, of the City of Lockport, was chosen Tuesday night by a five-member search committee that interviewed four candidates to replace Richard W. Rutland, who resigned last month.

Ross, a Republican, said he will run for a full four-year term in November’s election in District 4, which covers the towns of Wilson, Newfane, Cambria, Lewiston, Porter and Niagara.

“I’ve always been interested in being a coroner. I grew up in a funeral home family,” said Ross, who is not related to Legislature Chairman William L. Ross, C-Wheatfield.

He said his grandfather founded Ross Funeral Home in Akron, and his father kept it going until it closed seven years ago.

Michael Ross and his brother then purchased Hamilton and Clark Funeral Home in Wilson three years ago, and the following year, they bought Gaul Funeral Home in Lockport. It’s now called Ross Funeral Home – Gaul Chapel.

“Availability was a key thing,” said Legislator David L. Godfrey, chairman of the search committee, when asked why Ross won the nod. “We didn’t want somebody who had an 8-to-5 job out of town.”

By being available steadily, he said, “you’re not calling on other people to cover your district.”

He also said Ross, as an active funeral director, has the equipment needed to remove bodies.

“I am empathetic with people. I care about the people left behind. It’s not just about the death,” Ross said. “Growing up in the funeral home business gives me a lot of insight into death.”

He said his grandfather and father had an ambulance business, too.

The other candidates considered were Tammy L. Broeker of Royalton, a licensed funeral director; Gary L. Darnell of Wilson, former Wilson Fire Company chief; and Troy A. Sellers, a Newfane High School history teacher who is also a Methodist minister.

Godfrey told the candidates that there are two other coroner seats available in this fall’s election, as the terms of District 2 Coroner Joseph V. Mantione, R-North Tonawanda, and District 3 Coroner Kenneth V. Lederhouse, R-Lockport, are expiring.

Coroners don’t have to live in the districts they represent. Each of the county’s four coroners is paid $17,500 a year.

“You don’t do this for the pay. You do it to give back to the community,” said Ross, whose nomination will go before the County Legislature for a vote Tuesday.



email: tprohaska@buffnews.com
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School election ballots and more for Erie, Niagara counties

May 15, 2013, 8:46 pm
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Voters in every Western New York community outside of Buffalo will head to the voting booth next Tuesday (May 21) to consider school budgets, school board candidates and propositions.

The following capsules include the financial information voters can use to see how their money would be spent. All figures related to tax rates and tax bills are estimates, either provided by school officials, or calculated based on information they provided. The taxes on a $100,000 (market value) home do not include the STAR rebate.

Erie County districts:
Akron | Alden | Amherst | Cheektowaga | Cheektowaga-Sloan | Clarence | Cleveland Hill | Depew | East Aurora | Eden | Frontier | Grand Island | Hamburg | Holland | Iroquois | Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda | Lackawanna | Lake Shore | Lancaster | Maryvale | North Collins | Orchard Park | Springville-Griffith | Sweet Home | City of Tonawanda | West Seneca | Williamsville

Niagara County districts:
Barker | Lewiston-Porter | Lockport | Newfane | Niagara Falls | Niagara Wheatfield | North Tonawanda | Royalton-Hartland | Starpoint | Wilson

ERIE COUNTY

AKRON

  • Candidates (elect two): Mark Bramley (i), Shannon Cinotti, Phillip Kenline (i) and David Penn (i).
  • Total budget: $29.14 million, up 2.93 percent.
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 5.21 percent.
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $9.32 million, up 3.75 percent.
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 or assessed value: Newstead projection is $15.93, up 3.1 percent. 
  • Taxes on $100,000 home (market value): $1,593.
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 32 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 48 percent.
  • Polls open: Noon to 9 p.m., 47 Bloomingdale Ave., Gym No. 3 (orange gym).
  • Web link: akronschools.org

Voters will consider a $29.1 million budget that will increase spending by nearly 3 percent from the current budget. Superintendent Kevin Shanley said the board has faced difficult decisions in recent budget seasons, but has taken a balanced approach using administrative and supervisory staff reductions, cuts in support staff, and faculty cuts. Shanley said negotiated concessions with the district’s employee associations have helped limit the amount of cuts and have helped bring forward a budget that is below the property levy tax cap.

Four candidates are running for three seats on the board; each with a three-year term:

  • Mark Bramley, 53, an incumbent, is seeking a second term.
  • Shannon Cinotti.
  • Phillip Kenline, 56, an incumbent who retired from the Navy and is a substitute teacher and Home Depot employee. He is seeking a second term.
  • David Penn, 42, an incumbent who is a mathematics teacher at Lancaster Middle School. He is seeking a second term.

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ALDEN

  • Candidates (Elect 1): James Yoerg (i).
  • Total budget: $33.23 million, up 3.56 percent.
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 4.68 percent.
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $14.55 million, up 3 percent.
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value: $37.74 in Alden, up 2.22 percent; $19.25 in Lancaster, up 2.23 percent; $41.84 in Marilla, up 2.30 percent; $19.25 in Newstead, up 2.23 percent; $21.78 in Darien, up 1.92 percent; and $44.01 in Bennington, up 1.88 percent.
  • Taxes on $100,000 home (market value): $1,925 
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 43.8 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 39.9 percent.
  • Proposition 2: Voters will be asked to approve the purchase of four 66-passenger buses at a maximum cost of $460,000. The money would come from a reserve fund and would not impact the 2013-14 budget.
  • Proposition 3: Voters will be asked to authorize the purchase of a one-ton pickup truck with plow package, a used 14-foot box truck and a snow blower attachment for a lawn machine for the Building and Grounds Department at a maximum cost of $63,000. The money would come from a reserve fund and would not impact the 2013-14 budget.
  • Polls open: 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the gym at Alden High School, 13190 Park St.
  • Web link: aldenschools.org.

Voters will consider a $33.2 million budget that would increase spending by $1.1 million over the current budget.

The rise in spending is driven by a $655,434 increase in spending for benefits and a $361,140 increase in salary obligations.

Incumbent James Yoerg is running unopposed for a five-year term.

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AMHERST
• Candidates (Elect 2): Dominic Vivolo, William Shaflucas.
• Total budget: $49.47 million, up 3.7 percent.
• Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 4.34 percent.
• Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $32.55 million, up 3.7 percent.
• Property tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value: $21.79, up 3.7 percent
• Taxes on $100,000 home (market value): $2,179.
• Percentage of budget from property taxes: 66 percent.
• Percentage of budget from state aid: 21 percent.
• Propositions B: Authorization to transfer $400,000 from the district’s unrestricted fund balance to the district’s Repair Reserve Fund, as established by the board in July.
• Polls open: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the south gym at Amherst High School, 4301 Main Street
• Web link: amherstschools.org

Voters will consider a $49.47 million budget that would increase spending by $1.77 million over the current budget.

The rise in spending is driven by rising personnel costs and a decrease in state aid. District officials are attempting to close a $1.7 million budget gap.

Two candidates are running for two three-year terms on the board. They are:

  • Dominic Vivolo, 47, a financial advisor and bank vice president who is vice chairman of the Amherst Youth Board.
  • William Shaflucas, 40, who operates a wedding disc jockey service in Buffalo and Rochester.

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CHEEKTOWAGA

  • Candidates (Elect 1): Heather DuBard and Dennis S. Kusak Jr.
  • Total budget: $39.9 million, up 2.09 percent.
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 3.58 percent.
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $22.43 million, up 2.93 percent.
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value: $28.44, up 2.97 percent. 
  • Taxes on $100,000 home (market value): $1,763.
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 56.2 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 30 percent.
  • Proposition 2: Voters will be asked to approve the establishment of a seat for a non-voting student member of the Board of Education.
  • Polls open: Noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday, May 21, in the band room of Cheektowaga Central High School, 3600 Union Road.
  • Web link: cheektowagacentral.org.

Voters will consider a $39.9 million budget that would increase spending by $817,039 over the current budget.

The rise in spending is driven by a $4.4 million increase in employee benefits and an increase of $3.1 million for retirement costs.

Two candidates, Heather DuBard and Dennis S. Kusak Jr., are running for one five-year term on the board.

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CHEEKTOWAGA-SLOAN

  • Candidates (Elect 1): Claire Ferrucci (i), Sean Kaczmarek, Richard Piontek (i)
  • Total Budget: $33.4 million, up 1.06 percent.
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 4.1 percent.
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $14.8 million, a slight decrease. 
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value: $52.87 in Cheektowaga, a 21-cent decrease; $72.87 in West Seneca, a 29-cent decrease.
  • Taxes on a $100,000 home (market value): $3,278
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 44.5 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 35.1 percent.
  • Proposition 2: Elimination of all mileage boundaries for transportation to schools.
  • Proposition 3: Reform Board of Education election policy to reward candidates with highest total votes.
  • Proposition 4: Allow a student position on the Board of Education with non-voting, non-compensation status.
  • Polls open: Noon to 9 p.m. at the John F. Kennedy High School gym, 305 Cayuga Creek Rd., Cheektowaga.
  • Web link: sloanschools.org

The Cheektowaga-Sloan School District is offering a slight tax decrease for its proposed $33.4 million budget, which raises spending by 1.06 percent.

The budget plan includes an increase in transportation for regular and handicapped students, benefits and instructional equipment and supplies.

Voters will also decide three propositions: one that would offer all district students transportation to schools; reforming the Board of Education process to reward the top vote getters seats on the board, instead of battling for individual seats; and allowing a student representative on the board that would not have voting power.

As for the Board of Education election, current vice president Claire Ferrucci is running unopposed for another five-year term, while incumbent Richard Piontek faces one challenger for his seat, Sean Kaczmarek, a 2012 co-valedictorian of John F. Kennedy High School and current University at Buffalo student.

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CLARENCE

  • Candidates (Elect 2): Tricia Andrews, Beth Bivona, Joseph J. DePasquale, Martha Root Dippold, Jason Lahti, Ian Scaduto, Roger Showalter and Matthew D. Stock.
  • Total budget: $73.3 million, up 1.1 percent.
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 3.8 percent.
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $43.6 million, up 9.8 percent.
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 or assessed value: $15.52, up 8.8 percent. 
  • Taxes on $100,000 home (market value): $1,552.
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 60 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 29 percent.
  • Proposition 2: Borrow to purchase 12 school buses and one pickup truck with plow – not to exceed $995,000
  • Polls open: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., High School gymnasium, 9625 Main St.
  • Web link: clarenceschools.org

Voters will consider a $73.3 million budget that would increase spending by $800,000 over the current budget. The district is attempting to cover a budget gap with a combination of staff and spending cuts, as well as an increase in the property tax levy.

Superintendent Geoffrey Hicks has said the budget being put before voters attempts to keep costs in check without cutting so deeply as to undermine the district’s educational programs. The budget will need at least 60 percent voter support to pass because it would exceed the property tax levy cap.

Eight candidates are running for two three-year terms on the board. (Two incumbents, Elaine Deiderich and Jean Ranney, are not seeking re-election.) The candidates are:

  • Tricia Andrews, 39, a stay-at-home mom and former physical education teacher.
  • Beth Bivona, 42, partner at Damon Morey.
  • Joseph J. DePasquale, 40, senior manager at VMware. 
  • Martha Root Dippold, 55, retired special education teacher.
  • Jason Lahti, 40, president of iQ Modular Homes and treasurer of Buffalo Tungsten Inc.
  • Ian Scaduto, 19, a University at Buffalo student.
  • Roger Showalter, 42, president of Niagara Refining LLC and vice president of Buffalo Tungsten.
  • Matthew D. Stock, 39, owner of Bexkat Systems LLC and IT service manager at University at Buffalo.

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CLEVELAND HILL

  • Candidates (Elect 2): Paul Kunkel (i); Robert Polino (i).
  • Total Budget: $30.1 million, up 1.36 percent.
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 4.76 percent.
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $12.18 million, up 3.49 percent.
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value: $45.83.
  • Taxes on a $100,000 home (market value): $2,841.
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 40.4 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 40.8 percent.
  • Polls open: Noon to 9 p.m. in Cleveland Hill High School auditorium, 105 Mapleview Rd.
  • Web link: clevehill.wnyric.org

With a $30.1 million budget plan that raises spending 1.36 percent and increases the tax rate by 3.49 percent, the Cleveland Hill Union Free School District wants to maintain the current educational programs it offers for students.

Two current Cleveland Hill School Board members are seeking reelection in uncontested races, as Robert Polino and Paul Kunkel are both seeking additional three-year terms.

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DEPEW

  • Candidates (Elect 3): Nancy Fumerelle (i), Patrick Law, Gabrielle Miller, Nicole Simon and President John Spencer (i).
  • Total budget: $38.9 million, up 3.04 percent.
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 4.31 percent.
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $16.6 million, up 2.97 percent.
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value: $34.31 in Cheektowaga, up 2.97 percent, and $21.27 in Lancaster, up 2.97 percent. 
  • Taxes on $100,000 home (market value): $2,127. 
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 42.57 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 40.93 percent.
  • Proposition 2: Voters will be asked to approve the use of $460,851 from a reserve fund to purchase two large school buses, four 28-seat vans and a plow truck for the Buildings and Grounds Department. The money would be taken from a reserve fund that was established in 2009 and would not affect the 2013-14 budget.
  • Proposition 3: Voters will be asked to allow the district to sell the Terrace Elementary School building for no less than $700,000.
  • Polls open: Noon to 9 p.m. May 21 in the library at Cayuga Heights Elementary School, 1780 Como Park Blvd.
  • Web link: depewschools.org.

Voters will consider a $38.9 million budget that would increase spending by $1.1 million over the current budget.

The rise in spending is driven by a $544,208 increase in pension payments and a $579,905 increase in health insurance costs.

Six candidates are running for three seats on the board, and the top vote-getters will each win a three-year term. They are:

  • Board President John Spencer, a 35-year Depew resident, seven-year member of the Board of Education and firefighter who also is president of the Aetna Hose Co.
  • Incumbent Trustee Nancy Fumerelle, 49, a resident of Depew for 42 years whose career includes planning, implementing and teaching preschoolers.
  • Patrick Law, 42, a labor relations officer with the Department of Homeland Security who also is president of Southline Little League/Southline Athletic Association. 
  • Gabrielle Miller, 48, a political newcomer who has volunteered with Depew schools for 20 years and attended board meetings for 15 years as a taxpayer and parent.
  • Nicole Simon, 36, a political newcomer who has lived in Depew all her life and who is the senior project contract administrator for a local construction company.

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EAST AURORA

  • Candidates (Elect 2): Judith A. Malys; Clark Martens or Terri Ohlweiler.
  • Total budget: $29.89 million, up by 2.7 percent. 
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 3.37 percent.
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $17.99 million, up by 3.37 percent.
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 or assessed value: $37.10 for Aurora; $33.08 for Colden; $313.66 for Elma (not on full valuation). All tax rates reflect a 3.37 percent increase.
  • Taxes on $100,000 home (market value): $1,521.
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 60.2 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 25.3 percent.
  • Proposition 2: None
  • Polls open: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Middle School cafeteria, 430 Main St. 
  • Web link: eastauroraschools.org.

The district’s $29.89 million budget plan ended up achieving the School Board’s ultimate goal of preserving programs and avoid cutting any teacher positions, given painful cuts that were made last year. The budget raises spending by 2.7 percent and factors in the maximum allowable tax cap of 3.37 percent.

After weeks of haggling about proposed cuts – recommended after some board members asked the administration to pare more - the board and administrators ended up increasing revenues estimates by $23,000 for sales tax and from unspecified miscellaneous sources, as well as trimming about $39,000 from the central administration and buildings and grounds lines, to help restore controversial items that had been on the chopping block. The district also is increasing its appropriated reserves by $225,000 to help balance the budget.

In the end, the seven-member board, which had been divided on the budget, unanimously supported it when it was adopted.

Earlier cuts of boys and girls modified sports, specifically soccer and basketball, have been reinstated in the budget, allowing for modified sports to be restored. A Middle School teacher position that had been a likely cut, also was re-instated.

What has been cut are two part-time clerical positions, one in central administration and another at Parkdale Elementary School; as well as two teacher aides, one at the high school and the other at the Middle School.

“We’re keeping the same programming, plus adding a few electives at the high school,” said Paul Blowers, district business manager.

Class sizes remain unchanged.

Three candidates are running for two, three-year terms on the board. They are:

  • Judith A. Malys, 64, a retired East Aurora school teacher, who has previously run twice for the board. 
  • Clark Martens, 49, an engineer, who ran for the board 11 years ago.
  • Terri Ohlweiler, 45, a stay-at-home mother of three children and treasurer of the Parkdale School Parent Teacher Organization.

Board incumbents Kathyann Lorka, currently the vice president; and Eric Sweet are not seeking re-election.

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EDEN

  • Candidates (Elect 2): Kristen D. Pinker (i), Patricia M. Krouse, Steven P. Cerne (i), Paul R. Shephard. 
  • Total budget: $25.72 million, up 2.1 percent.
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 2.9 percent.
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $13.05 million, up 1.99 percent
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value: $19.33 in Boston, up 1.7 percent; $41.60 in Concord, up 2.9 percent; $28.99 in Eden, up 2.2 percent; $19.14 in Evans, up .67 percent; $19.14 in North Collins, up .67 percent. 
  • Taxes on $100,000 home (market value): $1,914.
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 50.7 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 38.8 percent.
  • Proposition 2: Voters will be asked to spend up to $32,000 from the district’s repair reserve fund to purchase and install a new catalytic converter for the district’s co-generation plant, which is required by Environmental Protection Agency regulations. The purchase will have no impact on the 2013-2014 tax levy.
  • Polls open: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Eden Central Junior/ Senior High School, 3150 Schoolview Road, Eden.
  • Web link: edencsd.org

Voters will consider a $25.7 million budget that would increase spending by 2.1 percent over the current budget.

The budget, as proposed, would cut the equivalent of five full-time faculty positions and trim other expenses, but school administrators as of Tuesday were continuing to review the spending plan to determine if other changes could be made to reduce expenses.

Items under consideration to be cut included: gifted and talented programs for third and fourth graders, an assistant principal at the Junior-Senior High School and 5 p.m. bus runs. In addition to those proposed cuts, the budget would reduce spending on materials and supplies by 10 percent and reduce spending on non-mandated music, arts and athletic programs by 5 percent.

Four candidates are running for two three-year terms on the board. They are:

  • Kristen D. Pinker, 45, is an international marketing manager who is seeking her second term on the school board. She is currently the board’s vice president.
  • Patricia M. Krouse, 44, is a consultant for NutraMetrix who is running for her first term on the board. 
  • Steven P. Cerne, 48, is a management consultant. He has served on the school board for five years and is currently its president. 
  • Paul R. Shephard, 49, is an emergency medical service instructor who spent eight years in the Air Force. He is running for his first term on the board.

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FRONTIER

  • Candidates (Elect 2): *There is no board race this year, since voters last year approved a referendum downsizing the board from nine to seven members. As of July 1, board seats now held by veteran board member Nancy Wood, who has served for 30 years; and Jeremey Rosen, who has served for 5 years, will be eliminated.
  • Total budget: $73.21 million, up by 1.28 percent.
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 3.51 percent.
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $34.96 million, up by 3.5 percent.
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 or assessed value: $25.20 in Hamburg, up by 3.08 percent; $22.90 in Eden, up by 3.08 percent. 
  • Taxes on $100,000 home (market value): $1,534.
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 47.8 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 38.3 percent.
  • Proposition 2: Asking voters for approval to purchase $863,739 for a total of eight buses to help supplement a bus fleet that has some buses with high mileage that need to be retired. The purchase would include five, 66-passenger buses; two 30 to 35-passenger buses and one 35-passenger bus with wheelchair accessibility.
  • Polls open: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at just one polling site this year: The Frontier Community Learning Center at 4540 Southwestern Blvd., Hamburg.
  • Web link: frontier.wnyric.org.

Voters will consider approving a $73.2 million budget, which calls for the elimination of 24.8 full-time equivalent teachers and support staff for the next school year. The budget increases spending by 1.28 percent and uses the maximum tax levy cap of 3.51 percent.

The staff cuts would have been more severe, had the School Board last month not decided to apply an additional $500,000 of reserve money to the budget, hoping to restore some positions.
The district originally faced a $3.2 million budget gap in February, but was able to close the gap through revenue adjustments, additional state aid and staff trims. The district also refinanced bonds at lower interest rates in order to lower debt payments.

The district faced the tough choice of whether to dip into its piggybank again to lessen the impact of budget woes, and chose to do so. The administration has said it does not yet know what programs or staff could by restored by cushioning the budget with an additional $500,000 of reserve money.

“We’re just giving ourselves a little leverage to decide what we can restore,” said Board President Janet MacGregor Plarr. “If you think this year is tough, we have another few tough years ahead of us. Those retirement system rates are continuing to climb and we have no control over it. We are very nervous in adding this money. This is not a promise to restore all these positions. We will restore what needs to be restored.”

The administration also expects to freeze expenditures this year, as it has had to do in the past. “We will have to do a hard freeze on expenditures this year,” Plarr said. “Every nickel we can save, we have to.”

There is no board race this year.

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GRAND ISLAND

  • Candidates (Elect 3): Acting President Paul Krull (i), Donna Tomkins (i) and Lisa Pyc.
  • Total budget: $54.4 million, up 2.52 percent.
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 2.67 percent.
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $30 million, up 2.67 percent.
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value: $19.10. 
  • Taxes on $100,000 home (market value): $1,910 (Grand Island is in the process of shifting assessments to 100 percent valuation.)
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 56 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 29 percent.
  • Proposition 2: Voters will be asked to consider the purchase of school buses and other vehicles for an amount not to exceed $709,860. The Board of Education would determine the tax levied and the finance terms at a later date if the proposition is approved.
  • Polls open: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. May 21 at Grand Island High School, 1100 Ransom Road.
  • Web link: k12.ginet.org.


Voters will consider a $54.4 million budget that would increase spending by $1.3 million over the current budget.

The rise in spending is driven by an $886,033 increase in salary obligations and an increase of $764,250 for pension costs.

Three candidates are running for three seats on the board. The top two vote-getters will receive three-year terms, and the third-place finisher will be appointed immediately to fill out the last two years of the seat left vacant when Board President David Goris resigned in January. They are:

  • Incumbent Donna Tomkins, 54, a travel manager and 31-year Grand Island resident seeking her second board term.
  • Lisa Pyc, 40, a political newcomer and a state-licensed mental health counselor who has lived in Grand Island for more than a decade. 
  • Acting President Paul Krull, 48, a foreman at the Niagara Falls Housing Authority.

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HAMBURG

  • Candidates (Elect 3): Joan Calkins (i), John R. Callahan, Catherine Schrauth Forcucci, Laura Heeter, Gary R. Klumpp, Sheila Ruhland and David Yoviene.
  • Total budget: $60.25 million, up 6.45 percent.
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 5.4 percent.
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $33.51 million, up 5.4 percent.
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value: $33.62 in Hamburg, up 5 percent; $20.48 for Boston, up 5.14 percent. 
  • Taxes on $100,000 home (market value): $2,048
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 55.6 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 34 percent.
  • Polls open: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the high school gym, 4111 Legion Dr.
  • Web link: hamburgschools.org

The proposed budget continues current programming in academics, athletics and extracurricular activities for the 2013-14 school year, unlike the past three years where there were major staff and program reductions.

Two board members, Diane R. Reynolds and Matthew Dils, are not seeking reelection. There are seven candidates running for three School Board seats. They are:

  • Joan Calkins, 59, the incumbent board president who is a pediatrician.
  • John R. Callahan, 43, a financial analyst.
  • Catherine Schrauth Forcucci, 50, a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier.
  • Laura Heeter, 43, a homemaker and former special education teacher.
  • Gary R. Klumpp, 56, a baseball instructor and clinic director at New Era School of Baseball.
  • Sheila Ruhland, 50, an Erie County Probation Department supervisor.
  • David Yoviene, 55, part-owner of Sellmore Industries Inc., a wholesale building products distributor.

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HOLLAND

  • Candidates (Elect 2): Jenelle Broom Nadler, Brian Jones, Paul Rowe
  • Total budget: $18 million, up 5.5 percent
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 4.5 percent
  • Tax levy: $6.9 million, up 4.5 percent 
  • Property tax rates per $1,000 assessed value: $14.52, up 4.3 percent in Holland.
  • Taxes on $100,000 home (estimate): $1,457
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 37 percent
  • Percent of budget from state aid: 49 percent
  • Proposition 2: Purchase of one 66-passenger bus, one 34-passenger van, and one 10- passenger van for a total cost of $198,000.
  • Proposition 3: Authorize transfer of up to $150,000 from the unrestricted fund balance to the district’s Repair Reserve Fund
  • Polls open: 6 a.m. – 9 p.m. Middle School Cafeteria, 11720 Partridge Rd.
  • Web link: holland.wnyric.org

Residents in the Holland Central School District will vote on an $18 million spending plan that increases the tax levy by the 4.5 percent allowed under the tax cap formula.

Though the budget is a million dollars higher than last year, it calls for the elimination of varsity girls’ swimming, cheerleading and modified wrestling as well as several teaching positions.

A transportation proposal will also appear on the ballot, as well as, another proposition to add funds to the district’s Repair Reserve.

For the first time voters will elect board members at-large instead of by seat as was done in the past. There are three candidates vying for two seats which carry a five-year term:

  • Jenelle Broom Nadler, a Holland Central alumni, works in the health care field, is a mother of two, a former PTO president and recipient of Holland’s “triple H” award.
  • Brian Jones has lived in Holland for 14 years and is involved in the Holland Raiders, wrestling club, and the Boys and Girls Club. The father of five works at a specialty cement and adhesive manufacturer. 
  • Paul Rowe, father of three, moved to Holland in 2002 and is employed in the computer technology field. He is a former president of the Holland Raiders and a NYS certified snowmobile safety instructor.

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IROQUOIS

  • Candidates (Elect 2): Sharon Szeglowski, Daniel T. Behlmaier
  • Total budget: $44.1 million, up 1.39 percent
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 2.24 percent
  • Tax levy: $26.1 million, up 2.24 percent
  • Property tax rates per $1,000 assessed value: $340.76 for Elma, up 2.2 percent; $35.92 for Marilla, up 2.2 percent.
  • Taxes on $100,000 home (estimate): $1,653
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 59.2 percent
  • Percent of budget from state aid: 27.4 percent
  • Proposition 2: Purchase 3 (62-passenger) buses and 2 van at a maximum cost of $400,000
  • Proposition 3: Expend $60,000 from the district’s Capital Reserve Fund known as the “Technology Reserve Fund
  • Polls open: 7:30 a.m. – 9 p.m. Iroquois Intermediate Gymnasium, Girdle Road
  • Web link: iroquoiscsd.org

Residents in the Iroquois Central School District will decide on a $44.1 million budget that carries a tax levy increase of 2.24 percent- the lowest in 15 years. The spending plan maintains current academic programs and class sizes as well as all extra-curricular programs offered in 2012-13.

Two candidates are running unopposed for two seats on the Board. They are:

  • Sharon Szeglowski, a former teacher for 21 years, has a master degree in Social Studies Education, two children, and is active with the Iroquois Ambassador Group.
  • Daniel T. Behlmaier, whose two daughters attend Iroquois schools, works for Cintas where he has held positions in sales and branch management and been a director for 15 years. He also worked at the Stanley G. Falk School.

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KENMORE-TOWN OF TONAWANDA

  • Candidates (Elect 2): Bob Dana (i), Richard Harned, Stephen Hart and Todd Potter.
  • Total budget: $149 million, up .84 percent.
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 5.66 percent.
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $75.2 million, up 4.66 percent.
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 or assessed value: $45.20. 
  • Taxes on $100,000 home (market value): $2,124.
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 50.5 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 32.06 percent.
  • Proposition 2: purchase up to two diesel 65-passenger school buses; four gasoline 30-passenger school buses; and one gasoline wheelchair bus, at a total cost not to exceed $525,046.
  • Polls open: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in Herbert Hoover School, 249 Thorncliff Road.
  • Web link: kenton.k12.ny.us

Voters will consider a $149 million budget that would increase spending by $1.23 million over the current budget.

The proposed budget is the first, in four years, that doesn’t directly reduce student programming or increase class sizes. This year’s voting features the return to a single polling place – down from three.

Four candidates are running for two, three-year terms on the board. They are:

  • Incumbent Bob Dana, 67, a retired business teacher for the Williamsville Central School District, is seeking a second term, having served as president throughout his first.
  • Richard Harned, 67, taught social studies for more than 30 years at the district’s two high schools, as well as Hoover Middle School.
  • Stephen Hart, 31, a former employee of Ken-Ton’s Building and Grounds Department, is a teaching assistant at Amherst Middle School and also serves as a coach.
  • Todd Potter, 22, is a 2009 graduate of Kenmore East High School; 2012 graduate of D’Youville College – earning a bachelor’s degree in history; and is a student at the University at Buffalo’s Law School.

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LACKAWANNA

  • Candidates (Elect 2): Jennifer R. Grzybowski, Ronald S. Miller (i), Nicholas Sobaszek, and Richard P. Zybert.
  • Total Budget: $47.5 million, up 4.89 percent.
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 5.3 percent.
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $8.59 million, no change.
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value: Homestead rate of $12.43 per $1,000; Non-homestead rate of $32.02 per $1,000. 
  • Taxes on $100,000 home (market value): $1,255.
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 18.1 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 61.9 percent.
  • Polls open: Noon to 9 p.m.
  • Polling sites: First Ward, Bocce Court, 175 Madison Avenue; Second Ward, Queen of Angels Hall (St. Michael’s), 144 Warsaw Street; Third Ward, McKinley School, 245 South Shore Boulevard; Fourth Ward, Lackawanna Senior High School, 550 Martin Road.
  • Web link: lackawannaschools.org

Voters will consider a $47.5 million budget that would increase spending by $2.2 million over the current budget. The proposed spending plan, adopted April 22 by the Lackawanna Board of Education, would eliminate the equivalent of 11 of the district’s 154 teaching positions.

The rise in spending is driven primarily by increased pension and health care costs, and will be paid for through increased state aid and surplus spending.

Four candidates are running for two three-year terms on the board. They are:

  • Jennifer R. Grzybowski, a 2000 graduate of Lackawanna High School, who received a bachelor’s degree from the University at Buffalo and worked in the insurance industry before becoming a stay-at-home mother to three children. She is currently president of the Truman School parent-teacher association.
  • Board President Ronald S. Miller, a retired Lackawanna police officer, is the only incumbent candidate.
  • Nicholas Sobaszek, a 2004 graduate of Lackawanna High School, is a student at SUNY Buffalo State and works as a sales manager for Unicorn.
  • Richard P. Zybert, a retired Lackawanna police officer, ran the D.A.R.E. program in Lackawanna schools for many years

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LAKE SHORE

  • Candidates (Elect 3): Cynthia Latimore (i), William J. Connors Jr., Jennifer S. Farrell.
  • Total budget: $53.28 million, up 1.02 percent.
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 2.37 percent.
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $16.28 million, up 2.34 percent.
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value: $17.13, up 2.3 percent in Evans; $17.31, up 2.3 percent in Brant; $25.58, up 2.3 percent in Eden.
  • Taxes on $100,000 home (market value): $1,713.
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 30.5 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 49.7 percent.
  • Proposition 2: Purchase of three full-size, 71-passenger school buses for a total cost of $340,639.
  • Polls open: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the lobby of Lake Shore Senior High School, 959 Beach Road.
  • Web link: lakeshore.wnyric.org.

Voters will consider a $53.28 million budget for the 2013-14 school year, an increase in spending of $535,694. The increase is driven largely by growing retirement costs.

The budget picture was much gloomier, until recently, when the state restored aid in the amount of $902,023. Still, the board made a series of cuts, including chopping five instructional positions and one noninstructional position, to save the district more than $226,000.

Three candidates are running for three, three-year terms on the board. They are:

  • Cynthia Latimore, 46, an incumbent school board member who graduated from Lake Shore in 1985 and has been employed by Roswell Park Cancer Institute for 20 years.
  • William J. Connors Jr., 40, a software executive and 1990 graduate of Lake Shore, whose family runs Connors Hot Dog Stand.
  • Jennifer S. Farrell, 36, a lifelong Evans resident who is an attorney and partner in the firm of Farrell & Farrell in Hamburg.

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LANCASTER

  • Candidates (Elect 2): William J. Gallagher, Kenneth E. Graber (i), Julie Gies Kaska.
  • Total budget: $94.72 million, up 3.5 percent.
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 5.99 percent.
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $46.21 million, up 3.96 percent.
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value: $16.54, up 3.05 percent in Lancaster; $26.68, up 3.05 percent in Cheektowaga; $341.03, up 3.07 percent in Elma.
  • Taxes on $100,000 home (market value): $1,654.
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 48.8 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 29.8 percent.
  • Proposition 2: Spending $906,107 from the bus reserve fund to buy eight, 65-passenger replacement buses, with no tax impact.
  • Polls open: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in Lancaster High School’s Java Gym, One Forton Drive.
  • Web link: lancasterschools.org

Next year’s $94.72 million budget for the Lancaster School District would increase spending by 3.5 percent over the current budget while raising the tax levy by 3.96 percent.

District officials said the increase in spending is driven by increased costs for employee health insurance and retirement benefits.

The budget plan eliminates three elementary school teaching positions because of declining enrollment, and projects that five employees who are taking an early retirement incentive won’t be replaced.

The property tax rate rises by 3.05 percent and the owner of a home in Lancaster assessed at $100,000 would pay $49 more in school taxes next year. The district also covers a small portion of the towns of Cheektowaga and Elma.

Three candidates are running for two, three-year terms on the School Board. They are:

  • William J. Gallagher, 36, a math teacher at Frontier Middle School.
  • Board President Kenneth E. Graber, 62, an administrative law judge with the New York State Board of Parole who is completing his third term on the board.
  • Julie Gies Kaska , 44, a stay-at-home mother and active volunteer in the district, where she serves as a parent representative on the Advisory Council.

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MARYVALE

  • Candidates (Elect 1): Julianne Renczkowski.
  • Total Budget: $36.4 million, up 1.46 percent.
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 4.39 percent.
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $19 million, up 2.94 percent.
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value: Ranging from $30.29 to $30.44, which translates to 2.45 to 2.94 percent.
  • Taxes on a $100,000 home (market value): Between $1,878 and $1,887.
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 52.2 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 37 percent.
  • Polls open: Noon to 9 p.m. in Robert A. Brinner Educational Center, 1050 Maryvale Dr.
  • Web link: maryvale.wnyric.org

Maryvale Schools is proposing a $36.4 million budget plan that would raise spending 1.46 percent. The proposed budget would raise the tax rate up to 2.94 percent, but the increase may fall to as low as 2.45 percent when the tax rolls are finalized in August.

After years of staffing and program cuts, the Board of Education directed district administrators to develop a spending plan that maintained the current status quo.

Only one Board of Education seat is up for grabs in an uncontested election. Newcomer Julianne Renczkowski is running for the seat currently held by Board President Margaret Bourdette who is not seeking reelection.

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NORTH COLLINS

  • Candidates (Elect 1): Tammy Winter.
  • Total budget: $14.87 million, up 3.2 percent. 
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 6.2 percent.
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $5.02 million, up 2.92 percent.
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value: $21.05, up 2.9 percent in North Collins.
  • Taxes on $100,000 home (market value): $2,105.
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 33.78 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 47.63 percent.
  • Proposition 2: To purchase one bus and one vehicle at a cost not to exceed $220,000.
  • Polls open: Noon to 9 p.m. in North Collins Jr/Sr High School Gym, 2045 School St.
  • Web link: northcollins.com

North Collins could have raised the tax levy over 6 percent and still stayed within the tax cap, but the School Board wanted to say within the 3 percent increase range, according to Superintendent Benjamin A. Halsey.

The board also tried to strike a balance between the use of state aid, taxes and existing district funds.
“Having a balance of the use of three of those provides for more stability,” he said.

The budget uses more than $800,000 in fund balance and reserves to keep the tax rate down and protect existing programs. Current programming will remain in place, and the budget reduces a laborer’s position through attrition and a part-time high school science teaching position.

Incumbent Richard Foster is not running for reelection, and Tammy Winter is the only candidate for the seat.

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ORCHARD PARK

  • Candidates (Elect 3): Anthony Agnello, Dwight D. Mateer, Donna M. Omar (i), Natalie A. Schaffer, (i), Christopher T. Shively and Christine Gray Tinnesz.
  • Total budget: $86.04 million, up 2.87 percent.
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 3.29 percent.
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $54.81 million, up 3.28 percent.
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 or assessed value: $32.01 in Orchard Park, up 2.39 percent. 
  • Taxes on $100,000 home (market value): $1,857.
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 63.7 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 25 percent.
  • Proposition 2: To spend up to $700,000 to buy four buses, three vans and one wheelchair van 
  • Polls open: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in Orchard Park High School Gym, 4040 Baker Road. Use the Freeman Road entrance for ease of parking and entrance to gym.
  • Web link: opschools.org

Next year’s budget would keep class sizes within current School Board guidelines, with a net reduction in staff of 8.25 full-time equivalent positions. That includes the net addition of a 0.4 teaching position and a reduction of 8.65 support staff positions. The budget also preserves the gifted and talented program in the elementary and middle schools and increases counselor and social worker support on the elementary level.

Voters also will consider buying four buses, three vans and a wheelchair van. The vehicles will be funded through state aid and savings on staff contract concessions.

There are six candidates running for three School Board seats. The two candidates with the highest vote totals will be elected to three-year terms. The candidate coming in third will fill the remainder of the term of former board President Alfred McClymonds, which will start May 21 and end on June 30, 2015.

The candidates are:

  • Anthony Agnello, 65, a retired biology teacher, a football, track and wrestling coach at Orchard Park High School.
  • Dwight D. Mateer, 44, a civil engineer.
  • Donna M. Omar (i), 46, certified fitness specialist and owner of Anytime Fitness.
  • Natalie A. Schaffer (i), 44, an attorney and project manager for construction of a medical facility in Lancaster. 
  • Christopher T. Shively, 47, an assistant professor of elementary education at SUNY Buffalo State.
  • Christine Gray Tinnesz, 40, an instructor for the schools of education at SUNY Buffalo State and Medaille College.

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SPRINGVILLE-GRIFFITH

  • Candidates (Elect 1): William Bursee, Allison Duwe
  • Total budget: $34.9 million, up 3 percent
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 5.1 percent 
  • Tax levy: $14.7million, up 1 percent
  • Property tax rates per $1,000 assessed value: $17.20, up 1 percent
  • Taxes on $100,000 home (estimate): $1,720
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 42 percent
  • Percent of budget from state aid: 46 percent
  • Proposition 2: The purchase of four 66-passenger buses, two 16-passenger buses, and one 24-passenger bus with wheelchair lift at a maximum aggregate cost of $577,127
  • Polls open: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the following locations: High School Library Media Center, 290 North Buffalo St.; Colden Elementary School, 8263 Boston-Colden Rd., Colden and Collins Center Fire Hall, Main St., Collins Center. 
  • Web link: springvillegi.org

Voters in the Springville-Griffith Institute Central School District will decide on a $34.9 million budget, an increase of 3 percent over the current year. The spending plan maintains class sizes, athletic and extracurricular programs, returns team teaching to the Middle School, and allows for the implementation of a Family Support Center.

The one percent tax levy increase is below the 5.1 percent tax cap allowed for the district. A transportation proposal will also appear on the ballot.


The terms of three board members are expiring June 30, but due to a voter-approved Board reduction from seven seats to five, only one seat is vacant. Competing for the seat which carries a three-year term are:

  • William Bursee, a local business owner with 25 employees, who has lived with his wife and two children in Springville for 14 years
  • Allison Duwe, a graduate of Springville-Griffith Institute, who is former president of the Springville Center for the Arts. She and her husband will send the first of three children to kindergarten this fall.

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SWEET HOME

  • Candidate (Elect 1): Scott M. Johnson (i).
  • Total budget: $68.16 million, up 1.24 percent.
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 4.45 percent.
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $38.68 million, up 3.58 percent.
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 or assessed value: $14.99, up 3.52 percent in Amherst; $31.85 in Tonawanda, up 3.51 percent. 
  • Taxes on $100,000 home (market value): $1,499.
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 57.04 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 28.51 percent.
  • Proposition 2: Purchase four, 65-passenger school buses at a cost of $442,000.
  • Polls open: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in Vergils Community Center at Sweet Home High School, 1901 Sweet Home Road.
  • Web link: sweethomeschools.com

Voters will consider a $68.16 million budget that would increase spending by $833,386 over the current spending plan.

The rise in spending is driven by increases in health insurance premiums and retirement system contributions. The latter, by itself, increased by more than $1.5 million and would have raised the tax levy by 4.3 percent.

Scott M. Johnson, the School Board’s current vice president, is running unopposed for a five-year term. Initially appointed to fill a vacancy, this would be his second full term on the board.

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CITY OF TONAWANDA

  • Candidates (Elect 3): Geraldine Angelo, Fred Busch, Elizabeth Olka, Danielle Opalinski (i)
  • Total Budget: $29.8 million, up 1.07 percent.
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 4.5 percent.
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $11.2 million, up 3.2 percent.
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value: $17.84, up 3.2 percent
  • Taxes on $100,000 home (market value): $1,784.
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 37.6 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 51 percent.
  • Proposition 2: Approve the sale of Central School to David Capretto for $220,000.
  • Polls open: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Tonawanda High School Wellness Gym, 600 Fletcher St. 
  • Web link: tonawandacsd.org

After several years of developing budgets that kept the tax rate flat through the use of its reserve fund, the Tonawanda City School District is asking voters to approve a $29.8 million budget that will raise the tax levy rate by 3.2 percent.

Tonawanda’s proposed budget makes some reductions to the BOCES special education program and eliminates three full-time teaching positions. It also allows the district to add about $131,000 back into its reserve fund.

The district is also asking voters to approve the sale of the Central School building to developer David Capretto for $220,000. The building has not been used for instruction for years, and has been mainly used for equipment and student record storage. Capretto reportedly wants to convert the building into apartment spaces, although the district will still lease storage space from the owner if the sale is approved.

Four candidates will vie for three open seats, all three-year terms, on the Board of Education. Danielle Opalinski, an incumbent who was appointed to the board in February, is running for her first full term. Joining her on the ballot are former board member Elizabeth Olka and newcomers Fred Busch and Geraldine Angelo. The top vote getter will assume Opalinski’s seat immediately. The board’s current leadership – Jackie Smilinich and Demelt Shaw – are not seeking re-election.

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WEST SENECA

  • Candidates (Elect 3): Frank Calieri, Julie Goodwin, Timothy Elling, John C. Oshei, Karl Spencer, Carol Jarczyk (i), Christen Buchholtz and Kate Newton.
  • Total budget: $106.82 million, down 1.26 percent.
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 4.69 percent.
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $54.08 million, up 2.92 percent.
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 or assessed value: All are up 2.51 percent. $38.99 in West Seneca; $28.30 in Cheektowaga; $28.81 in Hamburg; and $30.25 in Orchard Park. 
  • Taxes on $100,000 home (market value): $1,755.
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 50.6 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 38.2 percent.
  • Polls open: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. West Seneca East High School, 4670 Seneca St.
  • Web link: wscschools.org

Voters will consider a $106.82 million budget in which spending is down by approximately $1.35 million over the current budget.

While there’s a reduction in personnel of more than 100 people, the costs related to dozens of pending retirements is almost $3.27 million.

Eight candidates are running for three seats on the board. The top two vote-getters will serve three- year terms and the person with the third highest total will serve a year.

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WILLIAMSVILLE

  • Candidates (Elect 3): Anthony J. Lafornara III, Michael Kane, Thomas J. Navarro Jr., Carrie Kahn (i), Peter U. Bergmann (i), Mohan Devgunn (i).
  • Total budget: $170 million, up 3.32 percent. 
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 4.34 percent. 
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $110.5 million, up 3.89 percent 
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value: $18.96 in Amherst and Clarence, up 3.29 percent; $29.60 in Cheektowaga, up 3.29 percent.
  • Taxes on $100,000 home (market value): $1,896.
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 65 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 19.78 percent.
  • Proposition 2: Voters will be asked to authorize the district to spend up to $920,000 from the transportation capital reserve funds to lease or purchase replacements for eight buses.
  • Polls open: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in North High School Gymnasium, 1595 Hopkins Road, Williamsville.
  • Web link: williamsvillek12.org

Voters will consider a $170 million budget that would increase spending by 3.32 percent over the current budget, but remains within the district’s tax cap.

The budget maintains the current level of academic and extracurricular programming, district administrators have said, and includes money to enhance school security, to restore a full-time middle school social worker and to return two BOCES classes to the district. It also reallocates technology funding for a universal iPad program for fifth-graders.

A $3.1 million increase for pension costs makes up more than half of the increased spending in the budget.

Six candidates are running for three three-year terms on the board. They are:

  • Anthony J. Lafornara III, 47, a teacher in the Buffalo City Schools, who has three children attending school in Williamsville.
  • Michael Kane, 24, a local attorney and a 2006 graduate of North High School. 
  • Thomas J. Navarro Jr, 50, a local attorney and a parent in the school district.
  • Carrie Kahn, 59, executive dean of workforce development at Erie Community College and the mother of a South High School graduate. She is currently board president.
  • Peter U. Bergmann, 42, president and CEO of Sisters of Charity Hospital, who has three children attending school in the district. He was appointed to the board in late August.
  • Mohan Devgun, 70, a professor at SUNY College at Buffalo and the father of an East High School graduate. He was first elected to the board in 2010.

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NIAGARA COUNTY

BARKER

  • Candidates (Elect 2): William Smith (i); Mary Jo Clemens-Harris and John McDonald.
  • Total budget: $19,018,424, down 2.4 percent.
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 90 percent.
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $3,914,401, up 3.5 percent.
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value: $15.96, up 54 cents
  • Taxes on a $100,000 home: $1,596
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 20.5 percent 
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 34.4 percent
  • Proposition 2: Proposal to convert Barker Free Library into a school district library with a $75,000 budget.
  • Proposition 3: Candidates for Library Board (Elect 7): Roy Anderson, James Trinder, Pamela Atwater, Terrence Upton, Henry Charache, Marilyn Zaciewski and Seanna Corwin-Bradley.
  • Polls open: Noon to 8 p.m. in the Barker High School Auditorium, 1628 Quaker Rd.
  • Web link: barkercsd.net

Voters will consider a $19 million budget that cuts spending nearly $467,000 from its current level, a 2.4 percent reduction.

“While our expenditures have steadily risen, our revenues have decreased, primarily from our PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) with the Somerset coal plant (now Upstate Power Producers) , which will drop $3 million in 2013-14,” said Superintendent Roger Klatt.

To help cut down on costs, Barker and the Royalton-Hartland districts will share a superintdent. Effective July 1, Klatt will oversee both districts.

The district has also taken on other collaborative agreements with Roy-Hart “by sharing our football program and we will share wrestling and some special education programs and a business teacher. We are also eliminating 6 full-time positions and will not fill vacancies created with retirements,” Klatt said.

Voters will choose from a field of three candidates for two school board openings.

Candidates are:

  • Incumbent William Smith, 73, retired Barker elementary teacher who has served on Barker School Board for 18 years. Was board president for seven years and currently serves as vice-president.
  • Mary Jo Clemens-Harris, 44, is an optician. This is her second time running for a seat on the board.
  • John McDonald , 65, retired General Motors toolmaker. Also taught vocational education for BOCES for 10 years. First time running for elected office.

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LEWISTON-PORTER

  • Candidates (Elect 3): Jodee L. Riordan (i), Anna D. Bouley Wright, Betty VanDenBosch Warrick.
  • Total budget: $40 million, down 1.16 percent.
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 4 percent.
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $23.6 million, up 5.52 percent.
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 or assessed value: $24.06 in Lewiston, up 5.22, and $20.69 in Porter, up 4.86 percent. 
  • Taxes on $100,000 home (market value): $1,966. Percentage of budget from property taxes: 59 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 34.8 percent.
  • Proposition 2: $26 million capital improvement project for interior and exterior reconstruction and renovation work for code and safety measures and upgrades throughout the district, as well as a number of enhancements and upgrades including the pool and locker room and air conditioning for the computer labs.
  • Polls open: 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in Community Resource Center [board room], 4671 Creek Road.
  • Web link: lew-port.com

Despite an overall decrease from budget to budget, the proposed $40 million dollar Lewiston-Porter budget would affect taxpayers with a 5.5 percent tax increase. The increased tax levy exceeds their district’s tax levy threshold and the proposed budget will need a 60 percent majority to pass.

Superintendent R. Christopher Roser said the increase is caused by the loss of state aid from New York State’s gap elimination adjustment, which for each of the past three years took away $2.4 million in state aid from their district.

“This is the fourth year in a row we are trying to operate with significantly less funds than we had four years ago.” He said they have attempted to avoid increases, staying at the same tax level for three years and at the threshold this past year, but he said this past year they were one of eight districts in the state operating with no fund balance.

The proposed budget also cuts 23 positions – nine teachers, nine support staff and five they are not filling. “There is not a stash of money floating around in our budget. We’ve cut lots of positions, but this year we hit the wall. This [budget] will maintain the programming that our community wants for our students,” said Roser

Three candidates are running for two three-year terms on the board. They are:

  • Board President Jodee L. Riordan, 44, of Youngstown, the mother of four, just completed her first three term, serving as president for two of those years. She has been active in a number of community organizations and served as president of the Lewiston-Porter Parent Teachers Association, including her first year as president of the Board of Education, serving for one year as president of both boards. She has lived in the district since 1987 and is a graduate of North Tonawanda High School and has a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Buffalo. She is employed in sales as a contract administrator at Modern Disposal. 
  • Betty J. VanDenBosch Warrick, 45, of Youngstown is seeking her first term on the board. She has lived in the district for the past 20 years and is the mother of three children. She previously served as treasurer, vice president and president of the Lewiston-Porter Parent Teachers Association. She works as the general manager of U.S. operations for Yorkville Sound and has a strong credit management background .
  • Anna D. Bouley Wright, 32, of Youngstown has lived in the district for the past seven years. She is the mother of two children and is seeking her first term on the board. She has worked in management for 15 years and is currently employed as a general manager for a retail denim store.

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LOCKPORT

  • Candidates (Elect 3): Diane Phelps (i); John Williams (i); Randall Parker; Marietta Schrader; Edward Sandell (i); Todd McNall.
  • Total budget: $83.06 million, up 3.96 percent.
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 5.04 percent.
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $35.2 million, up 2 percent.
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value: about $25.37, up 2 percent.
  • Taxes on $100,000 home (market value): $2,537.
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 42.4 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 47.8 percent.
  • Proposition 2: A $22.2 million capital project package including improvements to the kitchens of four elementary schools, and added security cameras and upgraded Internet connections and fiber optic cable at all schools. If approved, the district intends to borrow $19.2 million on a 15-year bond at 2 3/8 percent interest. The state will reimburse the district’s costs at 92 cents on the dollar, but the district must spend the money up front. The remaining $3 million will be appropriated from a reserve fund.
  • Polls open: Noon to 9 p.m. in Washington Hunt Elementary School, 50 Rogers Ave. (1st Ward); Board of Education, 130 Beattie Ave. (2nd Ward); Anna Merritt Elementary School, 389 Green St. (3rd Ward); Charles Upson Elementary School, 28 Harding Ave. (4th Ward); Roy B. Kelley Elementary School, 610 E. High St. (5th Ward); Lockport High School, 250 Lincoln Ave. (towns).
  • Web link: lockportschools.org

Spending rises $3.1 million, or nearly 4 percent, in the $83 million budget voters will consider May 21.

The major increases are in state-mandated pension contributions, driving a $3 million increase in employee benefits, according to a district newsletter. The budget also includes $1.2 million to pay debt incurred for the 2008 high school renovation project. On the other hand, retirements and the closure of Washington Hunt Elementary School this June have produced $1.3 million in saings. The board deleted nearly $500,000 it had intended as a contingency fund in case of federal budget cuts, assuming Congress will restore the sequestration of funds for local schools.

Six candidates are running for three three-year terms on the board. They are:

  • Incumbent Diane Phelps, 49, is seeking her second term. She was elected as a write-in candidate three years ago. She holds a doctorate in English education and has taught education at Niagara University and the University at Buffalo.
  • Incumbent Jon A. Williams, 66, is running for his third term. He has been a professor of public communication and speech at Niagara County Community College for the past 29 years.
  • Randall J. Parker, 52, has been a City of Lockport firefighter since 1986, and has served as president of the Lockport Professional Fire Fighters Association.
  • Marietta G. Schrader, 60, served on the board for 12 years, including four years as president, before stepping down in 2011. She is a retired nurse practitioner.
  • Incumbent Edward P. Sandell, 55, is running for his third term. He is an engineering manager at the Delphi Thermal technical center in Lockport.
  • Todd G. McNall, 35, is a former shop chairman of United Auto Workers Local 686 at Delphi. He now works at the GM Powertrain plant in the Town of Tonawanda and is the son of Niagara County Legislator W. Keith McNall, who was a previous School Board president.

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NEWFANE

  • Candidates (elect 3): Donna Lakes of Charlotteville Road; Michele Malone (i) of Corwin Ave.; James Schmitt of Rounds Road; Margaux Lingle of Chrlotteville Road; Joseph Flagler (i) of Lockport-Olcott Road, Lockport.
  • Total Budget: $33.69 million, up 2.31 percent.
  • Tax Levy increase allowed under tax cap: 2 percent.
  • Tax Levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $12.78 million, up 2 percent.
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value: Newfane, $28.35; Lockport, $26.08
  • Taxes on a $100,000 home (market value): $2,608.
  • Percentage of budget from taxes: 38 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 52 percent.
  • Polls open: 8 a.m.-8 p.m., Newfane Elementary School, Main St.
  • Web link: newfane.wnyic.org

Voters are being presented with a budget that holds the tax increase to a flat two percent, the amount usually referred to as the tax levy limit.

Instead of seeking a larger increase, the district will cover more than nine percent of its budget from its reserve savings or about $3.2 million, officials said.

Although the state tax levy limit is frequently believed to be two percent, districts are permitted to make adjustments for items such as indebtedness and pension obligation increases. Such adjustments usually allow districts to seek a larger tax hike without needing a super-majority of voters or 60 percent to pass the budget.

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NIAGARA FALLS

  • Candidates (Elect 2): Ronald J. Barstys, Kevin Dobbs (i), Michael S. Gawel, Don J. King (i), Herbert L. Lewis, Anthony F. Paretto.
  • Total budget: $124.06 million, up 1.32 percent.
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 3.77 percent.
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $25.82 million, up 3 percent.
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 or assessed value: $19.21, up 3 percent. 
  • Taxes on $100,000 home (market value): $1,922.
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 21 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 73 percent.
  • Polls open: Noon to 9 p.m. at eight neighborhood polling sites. Polling places can be found on district’s website.
  • Web link: nfschools.net/nfschools

Voters will consider a $124.06 million budget that would increase spending by $1.62 million over the current budget.

The budget is the first in 20 years to include a tax levy increase.

District officials say the increase is driven by employee pension contributions and other contractual items.

Six candidates are running for two five-year terms on the board. They are:

  • Incumbent Don J. King, 80, a more than 30-year veteran of the school board who is a retired retail business owner.
  • Incumbent Kevin Dobbs, 58, a school board member since 1997 who is a retired supervisor for Occidental Chemical.
  • Ronald J. Barstys, 40, director of student services for the North Tonawanda City School District.
  • Michael S. Gawel, 56, an accountant and real estate broker.
  • Herbert L. Lewis, 41, a former city council candidate and security guard at the Seneca Niagara Casino.
  • Anthony F. Paretto, 46, an electrician for the City of Niagara Falls.

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NIAGARA WHEATFIELD

  • Candidates (Elect 2): Lorna Tilley-Peltier, Lori Pittman (i) and Amy Deull.
  • Total Budget: $62.75 million, up 3.69 percent
  • Tax Levy Increase allowed under cap: 5.91 percent
  • Tax Levy: $30.35 million, up 5.91 percent
  • Property Tax Rate per $1,000 of assessed value: Town of Niagara, $29.27 (homestead), $39.35 (nonhomestead); Wheatfield, $24.71 (h), $33.78 (n); Lewiston, $20.86 (h), $28.06 (n); Cambria, $17.11 (h), $17.11 (n).
  • Taxes on a $100,000 home (market value): $1,711.
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 49 percent
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 46 percent
  • Proposition 2: Whether to allow a representative from the high school senior class to sit on the school board as a member who would not have voting rights or be allowed to attend executive sessions. Students who apply to be a board member would have to meet specific criteria and would be selected by the board.
  • Polls Open: 8 a.m.-9 p.m., Adult Learning Center, 2292 Saunders Settlement Road, Sanborn, N.Y.
  • Web link: nwcsd.k12.ny.us/nwcsd/site

Voters will decide on a budget that had to address a $1 million deficit by eliminating six teaching positions, but not touching kindergarten, as threatened, or sports and the arts programs.

According to school officials, the cuts to cover the budget shortfall total $1,070,296. The instructional cuts come to the equivalent of six teaching positions while other items in the savings are $414,975 in retirements, $40,975 for three school monitors, one cleaner at $29,415, and $115,000 for 18 hours a day in teaching assistants.

School board members had suggested cutting kindergarten back half-time or even entirely until they were approached by dozens of residents who objected.

If the budget goes down, they said kindergarten, a non-mandated program, would be reduced or eliminated for a second budget vote.

This budget represents the third year the district has had to make significant program and personnel cuts and increase taxes since it was pressured into depleting its reserve fund by the State Comptroller’s Office.

Voters will elect two members. The highest vote-getter of the three candidates would begin serving on May 21, immediately after the vote to fill the remaining term of a previous vacancy to June 30. The term would continue to June 30, 2016. The term of the second highest would begin Jul1 for three years.
They are:

  • Lorna Tilley-Peltier of Ward Road, Wheatfield
  • Lori Pittman (i) of Lauer Road, Town of Niagara
  • Amy Deull of Millville Circle, Wheatfield.

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NORTH TONAWANDA

  • Candidates (Elect 2): Colleen Osborn (i), Arthur Pappas (i), Robert Schmigel, Susanne Williams, Randy Bradt.
  • Total budget: $65.74 million, up 1.53 percent.
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 2.56 percent.
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $26.83 million, up 2.56 percent.
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 or assessed value: $21.48, up 2.558 percent.
  • Taxes on $100,000 home (market value): $2,084.
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 41 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 49 percent.
  • Polls open: 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Alumni Center at North Tonawanda High School, 405 Meadow Drive.
  • Web link: ntschools.org

Voters will consider a $65.74 million budget that would increase spending by $987,861 over the current budget.

The rise in spending is driven by benefit costs, primarily the retirement system and contractual increases in salary, said Alan Getter, assistant superintendent for administrative services.

This year nine retirements helped the district keep costs down. “Last year we had zero,” Getter said.

Five candidates are running for two three-year terms on the board. They are:

  • Colleen Osborn, 38, an incumbent, is a medical office manager studying for a master’s in nursing, running for a second term. She wants to continue to find ways for the community to use school buildings and to encourage the district to share information in a transparent, accountable way.
  • Arthur Pappas, 68, an incumbent, served on the board for 15 years, a decade of those as president of board. A retired elementary and middle school teacher with the Starpoint Central School, he is now running for his sixth term. He aims to collaborate with the city to save costs on such things as snow plowing and bring an educator’s perspective to the board. “With education it’s the students that should come first, discussion should revolve around that,” he said.
  • Robert D. Schmigel, 44, a father of three and store manager at CVS, wants to balance school needs with keeping the budget and taxes down.
  • Susanne Williams, 46, an office manager in dental and medical practices, would work to maintain sports and art programs and draw on her experience developing an educational program with her son. 
  • Randy Bradt, 42, a father of three and an accountant and owner of Nicastro Accounting Services in Amherst.

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ROYALTON-HARTLAND

  • Candidates (Elect two): Daniel Bragg (i); Sara Fry. 
  • Total budget: $22.02 million, down slightly.
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 6.1 percent. 
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $9.36 million up 3 percent.
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value: $22.49, up 3 percent.
  • Taxes on a $100,000 home (market value): $2,249.
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 42 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 49 percent.
  • Polls open: noon to 8 p.m. in Roy-Hart High School gym, 54 State St., Middleport.
  • Web link: - royhart.org 

Voters will take to the polls to consider a $22 million budget, which represents a .17 percent decrease in spending from the current budget, according to Superintendent Kevin MacDonald.

“We made significant cuts in the past four to five years and while the cuts were made in past years, they have had significant benefits that continue,” he said.

One of the cuts included a new agreement with Barker schools to share a superintendent. Barker’s Dr. Roger Klatt will oversee both districts, while MacDonald leaves Roy-Hart to head Genesee Valley Educational Partnerships.

Other cost-saving moves have inclded laying off teachers “and we have had a fair number of retirements that has helped,” MacDonald said. “We’re trying to be understanding of the community’s needs, while still managing the cuts in state aid we suffered years ago and not balance the budget on the backs of the taxpayers. We feel we’re as close to bare bones as we can get.”

There are two candidates running unopposed for two three-year terms. They are:

  • Daniel Bragg, 58, completing ninth year on board and current vice-president. He is manager of Standish Jones Building Supply.
  • Sara Fry, 46, office manager for Hypertherm, Lockport. This is her first time running for a seat.

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STARPOINT

  • Candidates (Elect 4): Susan M. Brooks, Jeffrey D. Duncan (i), Michael D. Zimmerman (i), Eugene E. Stanwich, Andrea L. Wick, Kevin P. Duffy, Dennis P. Toth (i), Sherri Weber.
  • Total budget: $46.55 million, up 2.6 percent.
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 4.86 percent.
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $25.81 million, up 3.18 percent.
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value: $22.23, up 1.99 percent in Cambria. 
  • Taxes on $100,000 home (market value): $2,223.
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 55.4 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 39 percent.
  • Polls open: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the middle school gymnasium, 4363 Mapleton Road, Pendleton.
  • Web link: starpointcsd.org. 

Superintendent C. Douglas Whelan said the proposed Starpoint budget of $46.55 million, which shows a spending increase of less than $1.2 million, doesn’t really cover the district’s cost increases.

“The cost of doing business as usual is [an increase of] $3.5 million,” he said. “We have reduced quite a bit, about $950,000 [during the budget process}, plus $300,000 in extra state aid.”

He said the district has had 24 retirees in the last four years that haven’t been replaced.
Eight candidates are running for four seats on the board. The top three finishers receive three-year terms; the fourth-place finisher wins a one-year term.

The candidates are:

  • Susan M. Brooks, 42 of Pendleton, a director of nursing at Buffalo General Medical Center.
  • Incumbent Jeffrey D. Duncan, 40, of Pendleton, who is running for his second term. He is a service account engineer at Siemens in Amherst.
  • Incumbent Michael D. Zimmerman, 47, of Pendleton, is a chief master sergeant in the 914th Airlift Wing at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, working as a load master superintendent on C-130 cargo planes. He is seeking his third term.
  • Eugene E. Stanwich, 64, of Wheatfield, has a doctorate in education and retired after 32 years as a librarian in Amherst schools.
  • Andrea L. Wick, 38, of Pendleton, works at a Buffalo accounting firm.
  • Kevin P. Duffy, 42, of the Town of Lockport, served two terms on the Lockport School Board when he lived in that district. He is a psychologist in the Buffalo public schools and in private practice.
  • Incumbent Dennis P. Toth, 57, of Pendleton, is a captain in the Niagara Falls Fire Department, where he has worked for 27 years. He is running for his second term.
  • Sherri Weber, 42, of the Town of Lockport, is a professor of elementary education and reading at SUNY-Buffalo State.

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WILSON

  • Candidates (Elect two): Timothy F. Kropp (i), Mark Randall (i); and Amy Phillips.
  • Total budget: $24.29 million, up 3.5 percent.
  • Tax levy increase allowed under tax cap: 5 percent.
  • Tax levy (total amount to be raised through property taxes): $11.32 million, up 4 percent.
  • Property tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value: $27.42, up 4 percent.
  • Taxes on $100,000 home: $2,523.
  • Percentage of budget from property taxes: 47 percent.
  • Percentage of budget from state aid: 48 percent.
  • Polls open: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. in R. Zipp Gym at Wilson High School, 412 Lake St.
  • Web link: wilson.wnyric.org.

Voters will consider a budget that increases spending 3.5 percent due to debt service, salaries, BOCES contracts, materials and supplies, according to school officials.

There are three candidates running for two board seats. The candidates for three-year terms are:

  • Timothy F. Kropp, 63, an incumbent, has served on the board 18 years and is current board president. He is a retired lineman for the New York Power Authority. 
  • Mark Randall, 57, an incumbent, is a truck driver and has served on the board for six years. He also serves as vice president of Niagara-Orleans School Board Association.
  • Amy Phillips, 36, is executive secretary for the chief of surgery for Kaleida Health Systems and chairman of the department of surgery at SUNY Buffalo. This is her first time running for public office.
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Environmentalists decry plan to truck weapons-grade N-waste through N.Y.

May 15, 2013, 9:53 pm
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Accident. Fire. Terrorism.

Sometime this summer, high-level, weapons-grade radioactive waste is expected to pass through New York State – maybe through the Buffalo Niagara region – on flatbed trucks traveling from Ontario to a South Carolina facility. Local environmental activists are concerned about the inherent risks in the transport and that the public is unaware that it could be coming.

That’s why local members of the Sierra Group and others rallied in downtown Buffalo on Wednesday afternoon, calling on Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to block the planned transport of the materials over New York’s roadways from Chalk River Laboratories northwest of Ottawa to the U.S. Department of Energy’s nuclear reprocessing facility at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C.

“This is unprecedented that liquid nuclear waste such as this will be trucked across bridges, through communities without any public review,” said Lynda H. Schneekloth, a University at Buffalo professor and chairwoman of the Sierra Club’s Niagara Group. She said her group became aware of the planned shipments only a few weeks ago following a series of articles published by the Ottawa Citizen.

The newspaper reports state that more than 6,000 gallons of “nitric acid solution containing highly enriched uranium” would travel in specially engineered casks south from Chalk River in one to two heavily guarded truck convoys at a time. Those trips, to occur weekly during summer months, would require an estimated 76 shipments in all – about a four-year process, according to the newspaper.

Maureen Conley, a spokeswoman with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, confirmed to The Buffalo News on Wednesday that the agency received an application from Georgia-based NAC International requesting it approve its design for packaging the liquid waste for transport by Aug. 1. Each shipment, she said, would carry up to four containers containing 17 gallons each of the liquid nuclear waste.

“It is still under review,” Conley said of the application.

Conley said the purpose of the shipment is to return weapons-grade nuclear material to the United States.

“It’s part of the program to bring this stuff back here,” she said. “We’re trying to bring all this stuff under our security.”

The activists aren’t buying that.

“The nonproliferation excuse is being used to make it sound very patriotic,” said Diane D’Arrigo, radioactive-waste project director of the Nuclear Information & Resource Service, a network for citizens and environmental activists.

“The travel is such an enormous danger, and it’s completely unnecessary,” said Gordon Albright, a professor at York University in Toronto.

Conley said that maintaining safety is paramount in such an endeavor and that there are requirements regarding the issues of accidents, fires and terrorism. “In order to be certified, the design has to go through all sorts of testing,” Conley said.

Those include puncture and drop tests, accident testing, fire testing to 1,475 degrees and several others. “They have to show the packaging can withstand all those,” she said. “I can just say, it will be well-protected.”

The exact route that the convoy would take is unknown and is believed to be protected in the interest of national security. That bothers the activists, who say the public has a right to know if they’re being exposed to potential harm.

Possible routes could include entering the United States at:

• The Thousand Islands Bridge accessing Interstate 81, a 1,159-mile total journey over an estimated 18 hours, 22 minutes.

• The Lewiston-Queenston Bridge accessing the Niagara Thruway, 1,162 miles over an estimated 19 hours, 13 minutes.

• The Peace Bridge accessing the Niagara Thruway, 1,158 miles over an estimated 19 hours, 8 minutes.

If, as activists demand, shipments are kept off New York’s roadways, the next-quickest avenue would appear to be through the Windsor-Detroit area – a trip of 1,248 miles and roughly 20 hours, 38 minutes.

Officials in Cuomo’s press office did not return calls seeking comment Wednesday.



email: tpignataro@buffnews.com
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Falls roofer admits defrauding now-destitute elderly man out of $600,000

May 15, 2013, 11:39 pm
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LOCKPORT – A high-rolling roofer pleaded guilty Wednesday to defrauding a retired Lewiston businessman out of more than $600,000 over a six-year period and squandering it at Seneca Niagara Casino.

David L. Marsh, 52, of 10th Street, Niagara Falls, avoided prison in a plea deal that calls for him to make monthly payments to the now-destitute 73-year-old victim.

“He pulled on the heartstrings of a good, generous elderly victim and destroyed him emotionally and financially,” Assistant District Attorney Heather A. DeCastro said.

The deal also includes an agreement that Marsh’s fiancée, Tennille Pelfrey, 37, will be allowed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor in Lewiston Town Court.

DeCastro said Pelfrey allegedly forged what appeared to be legal documents that were used to convince the victim that Marsh’s reasons for needing money were honest.

When Niagara County Judge Sara Sheldon Farkas asked Marsh what he did with the money he stole, Marsh replied, “It was invested in a business.”

The judge pointed out that Marsh was a member of the “Chairman’s Club” at the Niagara Falls casino. DeCastro called it the “Biggest Losers Club.”

“I’m not a loser,” Marsh said.

“Oh, you only win,” Farkas said sarcastically.

“Everybody loses,” Marsh conceded.

According to the casino website, it takes $136,000 in wagers within six months to qualify for the Chairman’s Club. Seneca Gaming spokesman Tony Astran said the amount could vary depending on the games played and the player’s level of success.

Marsh, owner of D&L Roofing, Siding and Home Improvement, got to know the victim when he did work on his house in 2006, DeCastro said.

But soon, Marsh was tapping the till for more than what the retired business owner owed for home improvements. It was “one fabrication after another,” DeCastro said, citing information from a yearlong probe by Patrick G. Weidel of the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office.

The forged papers used to convince the victim of the need for help for the Marsh family included bail receipts, building inspection reports and a document that purported to show that Pelfrey’s children had $17 million coming from a settlement in a lead-poisoning lawsuit.

DeCastro said that was meant to “prove” that they could pay off all the money they had “borrowed” from the victim. However, publicly available court records show that Pelfrey’s lead lawsuit against a Falls landlord resulted in a settlement of $75,000, not $17 million.

After paying attorney’s fees, Pelfrey’s son ended up with $47,302 in the lead suit.

Public court files also reveal that in September 2006, the same month the thefts began, Marsh had lost a lawsuit to a Hamburg woman in a default judgment, and was ordered to pay her $192,320.

A spokeswoman for the Lipsitz Green law firm, which represented the Hamburg woman, said that it was a personal-injury action resulting from work Marsh did at the plaintiff’s home and that the damages have never been paid.

Other publicly available files show that Marsh has been hit with more than $22,000 in judgments for delinquent child support since 2001 and owes $1,558 in delinquent county property taxes on his home, dating from 2009. City and school tax figures were unavailable Wednesday.

Farkas said that in a conference with DeCastro and defense attorney Rodney A. Giove, a minimum restitution figure of $700 a month was discussed. But when Marsh talked about having a successful business, the judge reacted strongly.

“So you have a thriving business. Then you should be able to pay more than $700 a month. I’ll keep that in mind,” Farkas said.

She ordered Giove to bring a financial plan to the Aug. 1 sentencing, when Marsh is to be placed on five years’ probation for fourth-degree grand larceny.

The exact amount to be repaid is still undetermined, DeCastro said. Farkas put a limit of $800,000 on it. “You’re not going to be able to pay that in five years, but you put a small dent in it,” Farkas told Marsh. “You will owe that money until you pay it or until you die.”



email: tprohaska@buffnews.com
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Powerball jackpot soars to $475 million

May 15, 2013, 11:49 pm
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DES MOINES, Iowa — So you didn’t win Wednesday’s $360 million Powerball jackpot? Make that you and everyone else.

A message early today on the multistate lottery’s website said the jackpot has soared to $475 million after no tickets matched the winning numbers in Wednesday night’s drawing.

The winning numbers drawn Wednesday night: 2, 11, 26, 34, 41 and a Powerball of 32. The next drawing will be held Saturday.

Wednesday’s jackpot was considered the third largest in Powerball history and the seventh largest overall. A jackpot of $475 million ranks as the second largest for Powerball and third biggest overall.

Lottery officials expect jackpot totals of this size to continue to climb in shorter amounts of time, thanks in part to a game redesign in January 2012 that increased the odds of winning some kind of prize, but also lowered the possible number combinations to win the Powerball.

There’s also “cross-selling” of Powerball and Mega Millions tickets — states being able to sell both Powerball tickets and Mega Millions tickets — that began in January 2010. As a result, large jackpots will continue to surpass all-time jackpot records set years ago, said Mary Neubauer, spokeswoman for the Iowa Lottery. Iowa is one of the founding Powerball states.

“It usually took a handful of months, if not several months, for a jackpot to reach this large amount,” she said. “Now it’s achieving that within a handful of weeks. I think the redesign is achieving exactly what we had wanted it to achieve, which is the bigger, faster-growing jackpot.”

The redesign means players don’t necessarily have to strike big to get lucky. A $1 increase and new $1 million and $2 million prizes means the odds of winning something have increased. Just last Saturday, there was no Powerball jackpot winner, but more than a dozen tickets won $1 million prizes in 10 states.

In fact, more than half of the all-time jackpot records have been reached in the last three years. The top two all-time jackpots — $656 million from a Mega Millions jackpot and $587.5 million from a Powerball jackpot — were achieved in 2012.

The last major jackpot win came when a New Jersey man won a $338.3 million jackpot on March 23. It is now considered the fourth largest Powerball jackpot in history.

Players aren’t complaining about the large sums. That just gets them thinking.

“I’d hire someone to tell me what to do with the money,” said R.J. Konyek, 36, an engineer for Union Pacific in Omaha, Neb. “I’d definitely be up for the challenge (of spending the jackpot).”

Insurance agent Joe Williams, of Middleton, Wis., is trying like so many others to get lucky with Powerball. He won $500 several years ago and now wants to score a little higher. Williams doesn’t necessarily spend more when the prize is high. But his $4 investment in the quick-pick option means he does spend.

“I know rationally it makes no sense,” he said. “But at the same time, without a ticket, I have zero chance.”

Ervin Torok, a truck driver from Sioux Falls, S.D., also is looking for his second chance. He won a $500 prize a few years back.

“You never know,” Torok, 52, said while checking some lottery tickets from a gas station. “Maybe one day you’ll get lucky and win.”

Tom Powers, 52, a janitor from Omaha, Neb., bought several tickets Tuesday from a convenience store. He said he would definitely walk away from work if he won the jackpot, but he’s not sure how he would spend all the winnings.

“It’s really unfathomable the amount of money this is putting out,” Powers said.
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Tops in Lewiston redone

May 16, 2013, 4:18 am
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One of Tops Friendly Markets’ five franchised locations has undergone an extreme makeover.

Anthony DiMino cut the ribbon on his newly renovated Center Street store in Lewiston Wednesday. He spent $900,000 over the last two years upgrading every department in the store.

The store has eco-friendly upgrades, such as LED lighting and energy-efficient coolers, all new decor with earth tones and dark wood, and expanded produce, deli, cheese, carry-out cafe, organic and natural food sections.

DiMino’s father, Alphonso DiMino, first opened the Tops franchise in 1964. Most of the original franchised Tops locations were bought back by the company during the 1970s, but five of Tops 153 grocery stores are still franchised.

The Tops Markets on Grand Island Boulevard on Grand Island, a non-franchise store, will unveil its $1 million renovation Monday.
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Lockport Common Council OKs leasing paver

May 16, 2013, 5:49 am
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LOCKPORT – The Common Council voted Wednesday to lease a paving machine for future purchase, using state highway aid.

The paver will cost $302,500 on a state contract, but the city will enter a lease-to-own arrangement, using Consolidated Highway Improvement Program, or CHIPS, funds.

Mayor Michael W. Tucker said City Treasurer Michael E. White “is still waiting for confirmation that it’s CHIPS-fundable, but there’s no doubt in my mind that it is.”
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Newfane seeks vendors for August Festival

May 16, 2013, 5:50 am
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NEWFANE – Organizers are now taking craft and business vendor applications for the Newfane August Festival, which is set for 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 17.

Applications are available at Wilson’s Pizza Shop, 2730 Main St.

Spaces are $10 for Newfane residents and $25 for all others, available on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information, call Shoppe on Main at 778-5273.

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SPCA event to honor man who drowned trying to rescue dog

May 16, 2013, 5:52 am
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The Niagara County SPCA will hold a 1.5-mile walk in honor of those who love their companion animals and in memory of Pascal Scrufari, who drowned in February 2012 trying to rescue one of his dogs on the ice.

The walk, dubbed the Hyde Park Hound Hike, will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 1. Registration gets under way at 10 a.m.

Frank Cacciatore, the firefighter who tried to rescue Scrufari and later adopted the three dogs that day, will lead the walk with Adam Benigni of WGRZ-TV Channel 2.

Registration for adults is $20. Registration is free for walkers 17 and under. To register or for more information, go to www.niagaraspca.org.

All proceeds will go to the Niagara County SPCA, which intends to open a spay/neuter clinic for low-income residents.
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Cocaine, guns seized in arrest of Falls man

May 16, 2013, 5:54 am
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NIAGARA FALLS – Narcotics detectives seized about $3,000 worth of powdered cocaine, five long guns and cash when they served a warrant at 10 a.m. Wednesday for a suspect who was selling drugs at two locations. Warrants were served at 1115 Niagara Ave. and at 2022 Lockport St. by narcotics detectives and the U.S. Border Patrol K-9 Unit.

Rashawn M. Martin, 34, was charged with two counts of felony third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal use of drug paraphernalia.

Martin had been staying with his parents at the Lockport Street address and was in the process of fixing up the Niagara Avenue home, said Narcotics Detective Capt. David LeGault.

Detectives seized packaging materials, digital scales, five long guns, 2.5 ounces of powdered cocaine worth about $3,000, a little over $1,200 in cash and a 9 mm handgun magazine.
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Victoria Day Weekend means heavy border traffic

May 16, 2013, 6:01 am
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Brace yourselves for extraordinarily heavy border traffic this weekend.

Canada’s Victoria Day Weekend begins Friday, with the holiday observed Monday.

Never mind that Queen Victoria actually was born on May 24, and not on May 20.

For motorists heading across the border via Western New York, U.S. Customs and Border Protection recommends:

• Preparing for the inspection process before arriving at the inspection booth. That includes having documents in hand, ending cellphone calls, rolling down the windows of your vehicle, and removing sunglasses and hats.

• Visiting the “Know Before You Go” section of the Customs and Border Protection website at www.cbp.gov/travel.

• Allowing for extra time and checking border wait times in case of exceptionally heavy traffic. Wait times can be viewed at www.cbp.gov.

Cross-border travelers are encouraged to participate in the NEXUS program, which allows prescreened, low-risk travelers to proceed with little or no delay entering either country.

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Flying a kite is a good way to remain grounded

May 17, 2013, 2:34 pm
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CAMBRIA – Ted Shaw was coming off a depressive period when the sight of people painting the sky with kites along the Niagara River at Gratwick Park was the beginning of a hobby that opened up his life again.

“It helped bring me back to normal,” he said of kite flying. “Just being outdoors in the sun and watching the kite in the sky, it’s uplifting.”

In the 20 years that have gone by since, his collection of kites has grown to about 80, including one painted by hand with flowers and a 125-square-foot model in rainbow colors. And as past director and current president of the Great Lakes Kiteflyers Society (flyglks.com), he flies with the group of about 30 at Gratwick twice a month – noon to 4 p.m. the first Saturday and third Sunday – and goes to special kite events.

For the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, he’s arranged for two Canadian guest flyers to come to Gratwick Park with giant kites and kites shaped like eyeballs, a penguin family and an octopus. The appearances will be part of the May 25 kite fundraiser for homeless veterans. From noon to 4 p.m. organizers will collect donations, serve hot dogs and give away 800 free kites to children. Registration is encouraged, but not essential, at kitesforvets.com.

When Shaw, 66, first got into kiting, he was attracted to kites with two lines that steer and control direction. Now he prefers single-line kites because he can tether them to the ground and visit with fellow kite flyers.

“We put stakes in and it flies by itself, and then we walk around and talk to each other,” said Shaw, a retired former highway engineer with the state. “If it’s a steady breeze, you don’t have to stand there and manage it. The advantage of staking down is you can put two or three kites up. You’re not stuck with just one.”

What kind of kites do club members fly?

We have kites that are anywhere from 2 square inches to 450 square feet.

One of our main purposes of our club is to expose people to kiting and get ’em started if they want to … There are a lot of people that don’t have any idea that this is going on.

Two square inches?

You use a sewing thread for string. It could be made out of a turkey feather. Anything light. Toothpicks and light fabrics or paper. Those are miniature kites. You only use two or three feet of thread. There’s a whole field in that. For some people, that’s all they make.

Do you fly those?

I like the bigger stuff. I used to fly two-line and four-line kites. Now it’s mostly just single-line kites. The four-line kite goes in every direction. It can go forward, reverse, stop, sideways and spin.

I like the social aspect of it. When you’re flying stunt kites, you’re kind of removed from the crowd.

Several of us have taken up sewing, too. We have workshops where we get together and make our own kites. It’s like a room full of 25 men sewing kites and a couple of women. It’s fun. You can save some money. It’s fun to work with a group. These kites can cost a few hundred dollars, and you might be able to make one for a hundred dollars.

Can you tell me a memorable kite-related story?

There was an amusing incident this weekend. There was this guy that made a kite that had a red hat lady on it. Appliqued. He made the kite for his wife. She was flying it and she dropped the spool of twine. It flew up Gratwick Park to the other side of Grand Island. About 30 minutes later, it came back in a boat. Two men brought it back. We thought that was pretty amazing. The boaters see our kites all the time. A lot of times, you’ll see them shut the motors down and just kind of drift by.

A few years ago at the Niagara International Kite Festival at Reservoir Park, in Niagara Falls, there was a fellow here from Japan who flew his 10,000-square-foot kite. I think it was called the “Mega Moon.” It’s the size of an Olympic swimming pool. But it’s open on the long side. It takes about 20 people to fly it. You want to see it in action search for “mega moon” on YouTube.

It’s a $50,000 kite. There’s only three of them in the world, or maybe four. You could park 22 school buses inside it. Just to be that close is just amazing.

What do you love about kite flying?

One of my biggest joys is to stand in a crowd of observers and hand the kite to different people and let ’em fly it. It’s just sort of magical to see people’s faces. Sometimes they’re afraid to take it. They think they’re going to break it. I’ll explain to them why it’s flying and give them instructions on how to fly it.

Why do they fly?

The air hits the front of the kite and gives it some lift. The other part of the air passes over the front end of the kite and that creates a vacuum on the back that lifts the kite just like an airplane wing. It all works because the kite is tethered and the air flows over.

Was Benjamin Franklin’s kite experiment with electricity one of the more famous kites in history?

He discovered static electricity. I don’t fly in the rain or lightning. One of the most interesting events in this area, though, was the story of Homan Walsh.

When they wanted to build the first bridge across the Niagara Gorge, they had a contest to see who could fly a kite across the gorge. As a young boy, he made two attempts; he finally got across on the second attempt. And then they used his kite string to pull successively larger lines across. And, eventually, steel cables to build a suspension bridge. It wasn’t too far from the whirlpool I think, but I think it’s gone now. (Find the story at kitehistory.com.)



email: mkearns@buffnews.com
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Niagara Honor Roll / Recognizing the accomplishments of WNYers

May 17, 2013, 2:47 pm
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Dr. Alan Meholick and Douglas Mooradian will head the 22nd annual Niagara Cup Classic fundraiser for Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center on June 4 at the Niagara Falls Country Club.

Meholick, who is board certified in internal medicine and cardiology, is an invasive and clinical cardiologist with Buffalo Heart Group and a clinical assistant professor of medicine at the University at Buffalo.

Mooradian, who returns for a fourth year as tournament co-chairman, is the director of marketing and public relations for Health Systems Services, providers of home medical equipment and the developers of customized injury prevention programs for health care workers in long-term and acute-care settings.

Since the inaugural tournament in 1992, the Niagara Cup has raised more than $1 million for medical equipment and health care programs at the hospital. The tournament is presented by the Medical Center Foundation.

Money raised at this year’s tournament will support health care programming at the hospital, particularly cardiac and stroke services.

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Air Force Airman Joseph F. Mulcahy graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas. Mulcahy is the son of Patty and Joseph Mulcahy of Niagara Falls. He is a 2009 graduate of Niagara Wheatfield High School.

Airmen who complete basic training earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force.

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The following area businesses recently became members of the Niagara River Region Chamber of Commerce:

Stu StuStudio, owned by Michael and Nicole Stuart, 736 Center St., Lewiston (inside the Lewiston Opera Hall); Slender Inspirations, owned by Margaret Mokhiber, 7311 Porter Road, Niagara Falls; Domova, owned by Ed and Kylie Evanz, 421 Center St., Lewiston; Chris Fit Personal Training owned by Chris Tybor, 734 Cayuga St., Lewiston; and Lovely Nails, owned by Mary Nguyen, 769 Cayuga St., Lewiston.

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Renee Cerullo is the new first vice president of New York State Women Inc. She has been a member of the Buffalo Niagara New York State Women Inc. for seven years and was the chapter president from 2010-12. She is responsible for the chapter’s website and social media presence.

Cerullo received her master’s in informatics from the University at Buffalo. She started her own business in 2000, called RL Computing, a Web and print design company. She previously served as an adjunct professor at UB, Bryant & Stratton College and Niagara University, and continues as a consultant for colleges in the United States and Canada. Cerullo is the president of the Educational Technology Foundation of Western New York, which helps provide technology to kids in underserved areas. She has been involved with the organization since 2003.



email: citydesk@buffnews.com
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