LOCAL NEWS

Christmas invited in for the season
White clouds of breath hovered in front of people’s mouths, but a white glow of Christmas spirit hovered above Clinton Park Friday night. For the 20th year in a row, the City of Tonawanda was
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Area native returns and brings jobs
Never forget where you came from. That’s what Tim Godzich’s father used to tell him. And Godzich hasn’t.After spending the past 15 years in the Midwest, building a career and
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Bringing down the house
What goes up must come down.That age old adage is about to come true in North Tonawanda, where an abandoned structure at 986 Oliver St. is set to be demolished after years of
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Seneca Niagara holds tree lighting ceremony
The call came a couple days ago for the 85-member Buffalo Gateway Show Chorus.Staff at Seneca Niagara Casino needed a few of the members to help entertain the crowd during its annual
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Employer looking to hire 50 by the end of the year
NIAGARA FALLS — North Tonawanda resident Daniel Fritz wants to get his foot in the door.The 25-year-old is studying business administration at Niagara County Community College and works on
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Striking it rich
What started out as a day of bargain hunting turned into a profitable venture for a Lockport woman.Brenda Sargent won a $285,014 jackpot at the Seneca Niagara Casino in Niagara Falls last
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Democrats propose more budget cuts
LOCKPORT — Niagara County Legislature Democrats have come up with a plan to reduce a proposed property tax increase by about 2 percent, but it’s unlikely it will go anywhere.By embracing some
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Reminders of home
Col. George Waskosky knows what it’s like to be deployed on a military mission far from home during the holidays.“It’s not great,” he said.But the vice wing commander of the 107th Air
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Fire coordinator, sherrif merger on hold
LOCKPORT — A plan to put Niagara County’s fire service coordinator under the direct supervision of the county sheriff was put on hold Wednesday.County Manager Gregory Lewis had recommended
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Parks are also seeing the end
Isle View and Ellicott Creek parks could be locked up next year if Erie County Executive Joel Giambra’s red budget is adopted next week.If Giambra’s worst-case budget passes, the parks would
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Rallying the troops
Kate Wright sees her father every Saturday. But there’s a catch.Wright’s father, Joel, is a master sergeant serving with the 98th Division of the U.S. Army Reserves in Baghdad,
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‘Doomsday budget’ would close Isle View and Ellicott Creek
ERIE COUNTY: By Sandra Kelly[email protected]Isle View and Ellicott Creek parks could be locked up next year if
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Dolphins rejuvenated by West Coast junket
Miami's recently concluded two-game West Coast swing may have been what the Dolphins needed to turn their dismal season around.The 2-9 Dolphins went 1-1 out west, bowing to Seattle 24-17
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Most against Tops pumps
The City of Tonawanda’s Common Council heard an earful of reasons Tuesday night why Tops should not be allowed to build a gas station at its Niagara Street store.The fourth and most likely
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Town of Tonawanda adopts development policy
The Town of Tonawanda won’t let just anyone into their Empire Zone. It’s thinking big. It want large companies that will locate on vasts tracts of empty land, and offer high wages and good
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Getting a jump on the greenway
NIAGARA FALLS — Still early in the process, about 30 people from various groups and municipalities along the Niagara River were given a chance to add their input to plans for the recently created
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Police hunt suspects in shooting
NIAGARA FALLS — “It’s terrible, just terrible,” Taffy Confer said.The young mother stood outside her home in the 2200 block of Pierce Avenue and just shook her head. She was trying to
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Town road about to reopen
Thanks to a damaged gas pipeline, motorists on Wo odstock Avenue in the Town of Tonawanda have a little extra breathing room.A partnership with a private company, initiated when the pipeline
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Helping kids get ahead
Building on last year’s success, the City of Tonawanda’s Recreation Department plans to double the size of its Start Smart programs. The programs are designed to teach 3-through 5-year-olds
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Kenmore taking out trash
In Kenmore’s effort to combat rodents, nearly 1,000 warnings have been issued in the past month to people violating the village’s new garbage law.Beginning Wednesday, those warnings are
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Family business gives lift to NT man
They are to elevators what West Coast Customs is to “Pimp My Ride.”Lift-Avator in Lockport, like the California detail shop assigned to renovate cars on the MTV series, prides itself on being
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Reactions to Bass Pro Shop mixed
The news that Bass Pro Outdoor World will bring a 250,000-square-foot superstore to Buffalo was received Monday with an equal mix of excitement and indifference.Bass Pro, which will cost
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NT budget update coming Wednesday
In search of answers to a $750,000 questions, North Tonawanda elected officials are playing the waiting game.Mayor David Burgio has spent the past few weeks meeting with department heads and
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Developer presents plans to Town officials
A local developer presented his plans for a 100-acre business park on River Road to Town of Tonawanda officials Monday, adding that he hopes to acquire an additional 120 acres in the near
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Former students remember school as it goes on market
Christine Pierson remembers the day she walked into Lowry Middle School.“It seemed so enormous,” said Pierson, who attended the school from 1983 to 1985.The experience of meeting so
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Bosnian girl has more surgery
Gordana Baketaric is used to days like Friday.The 30-year-old Bosnian native spent more than 12 hours in the waiting room at Kenmore Mercy Hospital. Her daughter, 9-year-old Izabela, was
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Are you ready for the holidays? Some residents are
Bob Warner will be decorating more than just his home this holiday season. His dog will also get a little bit of Christmas cheer.“We’ll put a bow on him later,” Warner said.The
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McGahee, Bills run over Seahawks
Move over Roland Hooks.Willis McGahee scored four rushing touchdowns Sunday, tying Hooks for the most rushing touchdowns in one game in Buffalo Bills history in Buffalo’s 38-9 rout of the
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Fans weigh in on Bledsoe’s future
Niagara County Buffalo Bills fans have some advice about quarterback Drew Bledsoe for coach Mike Mularkey.“I think his better years are behind him,” said Bill Solberg, a 25-year-old Lewiston
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Porter murder trial to begin
NIAGARA — The process of picking a jury begins later today in the murder trial of Anthony Porter.Porter faces charges of second-degree murder, second-degree burglary and third-degree criminal
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Couple transforms 140-year-old home
There’s more than one way to make an old house new.Eric and Pam Leibring of Newfane took a lesser-known route to financing the home of their dreams. When nobody else would back their purchase
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Winter Walk kicks off season
More than 35 businesses in the City of Tonawanda and North Tonawanda will open their doors to the biting December winds next week as winter unofficially kicks off with the sixth annual Winter
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Heart of yellow: Tonawanda Middle School supports assistant principal with cancer
Tonawanda Middle School surprised its assistant principal with a heart of yellow last Wednesday. Taking the yellow wristband idea one step further, the school decided to don yellow shirts to
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Overpopulation is tricky issue
Nobody has to tell Nick Capitumino that the local deer population has exploded in the past two decades. “In 14 years, I’ve hit five deer,” the Lockport man says. Granted, on the way to work
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'Tis the season for crime
With the holiday shopping season now in full swing, shoppers are scoping out area stores trying to find the best bargain. Simultaneously, criminals are scoping shoppers out, looking for the best
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Local stores promise gift ease during the shopping season
This Christmas, Norah Smith is shelving some new items in her novelty gift shop, Norah’s Irish Imports, and bringing back popular products for her faithful customers.From Claddaugh promise
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Lockport man takes patrol car
The Niagara County Seriff Department arrested Jonpaul Oliver of the Town of Lockport at the Holiday Inn on Genesee Street in Cheektowaga, after he escaped from their custody and stole a patrol car
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Residents share tales of deer destruction
When they took out their homeowner’s insurance, Bill and Chris Tolfa thought they had everything covered. They couldn’t have guessed that one day they’d have to shell out more than $1,000 to pay for
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Damage is in billions
The velvet antlers may not be showing, but the damage that deer are causing around Western New York amounts to big bucks.In Amherst, deer-vehicle accidents were estimated to cost drivers
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Patriotic Pals
Three young men who grew up playing army together are doing it as adults — only now it’s not a game.William Misner, Daniel Misner and Darrel Kasprzyeki grew up together on Grove Street in the
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Tonawanda School Board denies Highland School is closing
The City of Tonawanda Board of Education insisted Friday there was no truth to rumors that the district plans to close an elementary school.But former board member Jackie Smilinich said she’s
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Shop till you drop
On Black Friday, the early bird really does get the worm.Or in this case, a $99 portable DVD player. That was just one of the deals the Bon Ton in the Town of Tonawanda featured for shoppers
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Four organizations DeGraff Memorial Hospital can't live without
One of the Tonawandas’ most enduring landmarks — DeGraff Memorial Hospital — celebrates its 90th anniversary this year.The hospital came into being through the hard work of concerned
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Flier spurs political fight
Democratic councilmen in the Town of Tonawanda are criticizing a flier mailed to residents by the Republican party, calling it “below the belt” politics. Republicans said they were trying to
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Learn to make them laugh
While most people were gearing up for one of the biggest party nights of the year Wednesday, Anne Kurtis was pacing nervously back and forth in front of the Comix Cafe showroom.Jeff Kuzniarek
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Waterfront commission seeks help
The North Tonawanda Waterfront Commission may have enlisted some help in accomplishing one of their main goals for 2005.State Assemblyman Robin Schimminger, D-Kenmore, was a guest speaker at
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Wheatfield gets $1.7 million reimbursement
Wheatfield will receive $1.7 million in federal funds for reimbursement of money spent installing sewers, a project that began in the 1970s and was completed in 1997. U. S. Rep. Tom Reynolds
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Majority caucus defends itself
[email protected]Citing unfriendliness, better organization on the GOP side of the aisle and a lack of an invitation,
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Layoffs still in limbo
North Tonawanda residents Brian and Patricia LaPlante sat quietly as the North Tonawanda Common Council discussed how they were going to raise $750,000 by the end of the year.The couple, who
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Fortune comes round
As something of a casino-going novice, Marilyn Bialo didn’t really know what was going on when the three Wheel of Fortune symbols lined up on her slot machine Sunday at Seneca Niagara
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Set fire offers hands-on training
Local firemen were licking their chops Saturday.They had an empty house all to themselves. So they did what they do best — put out a fire. Four local fire companies, Brighton,
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Reptile show combines laughter, education
The first rule was no screaming.But that’s all children did at the North Tonawanda Library on Saturday during a live reptile show by Nickel City Reptile. They didn’t scream in horror,
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Car theft: Taken for a spin
It was a Sunday morning in a church parking lot.Frederica Gerwitz came out of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Buffalo and reached into her purse for keys. When she got to the spot where she
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‘Culture shock’ to hit Erie County
Andrea Jackson sees a steady stream of suburbanites coming into the city of Buffalo to use facilities like Shea’s and the Buffalo Zoo.If they close, she said, those outside the city’s limits
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Child abuse cases continue to rise in Niagara County
Niagara County child abuse investigators continue to work on overdrive as they struggle to keep up with an increase in cases across the county.The spike in child abuse cases has been
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Waiting to reap rewards at Gateway Harbor
Alice Roth insists this is almost exactly the way she pictured it.She might have underestimated the amount of boats in the Western New York area, and she certainly didn’t see a Saturday night
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United Way behind its goal
Not all organizations have big, fat administrative budgets.Bill Miles, 2004 campaign chairman of the United Way of the Tonawandas Inc., said even though the group’s fundraising is behind
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