The Buffalo News du lieu suivant : Buffalo, New York • 9

Tuesday August 29 1989 Local News Inside Editorial Page B2 Metropolitan News B4 Classified B5 Puzzle Corner B14 Pickets at West Seneca Town Hall protest an ordinance banning selective picketing of private homes ROBERT KIRKHAMBuffalo News A cu A i jML js MaB aww JR Board rescinds ban on picketing in West Seneca 2 By ANTHONY CARDINALE News Staff Reporter The West Seneca Town Board Monday unanimously rescinded an ordinance enacted'July 10 that prohibited selective picketing of private homes The meeting was preceded by an hour of picketing at the Town Hall by 30 members of the anti abortion movement including several ministers Councilmen William alkner and Robert Jamot who are running for re election with the support of the Right to Life Party were singled out by pickets for having voted for the ordinance which was passed unanimously certainly our intent to restrict or abridge the Constitution when we passed an said Councilman Christopher Walsh who moved to strike the law from the books alkner seconded the motion the recommendation of the town attor ney and in view of the recent US Supreme Court decision interpreting an ordinance simi 31ar in content to our Local Law No Walsh said hereby move to rescind the action of the board effective Explaining the federal ruling Tdff AlidN ney James Kelleher said Supreme Court decision interpreting an ordinance simi lar to this did not say that the ordinance was unconstitutional It interpreted the manner in which the ordinance seemed to be applied in certain circumstances Based upon that deci sion the board felt it best that the law be you for rescinding this said the Rev Tom Stiles pastor of irst Baptist Church of West Seneca who had opposed the ordinance The Rev Daren Drzymala said just have one question: Would you be willing Council man Jarnot and Councilman alkner to say publicly that you apologize for taking our free dom away that it was said acting Supervisor Mi chael Graber in voting for the motion they in effect did that no longer before Earlier while on the picket line Mr Drzymala said did they vote on some thing that the Supreme Court already decided (against) in risbee vs Schultz in 1988? This is' not a religious issue simply out here to protect the Constitution not saying what (the ordinance) was motivated by saying it does affect the union It does affect the pro The union issue referred to the current NY NEX Corp strike and the right of telephone employees to picket the homes of company officials who perform union jobs during the strike The ordinance had banned before or about private in West Sen eca The rally was led by Mr Drzymala director of Defenders of the aith ederation and the Revs David Hernquist of ull Gospel Taber nacle Orchard Park rank Lowinger of Con gregation Hadoshah Town of Tonawan da and David Anderson of aith ellowship Church Lancaster VA grant aids new UB scanning center By HENRY DAVIS News Medical Reporter The University at medical school will receive $34 million from the federal government to help fund a new center devoted to a non invasive technique that produces images of the cellular and chemical processes School of Medicine and Bio medical Sciences and Veterans Hospi tal will share the grant for positron emission tomography or PET scan ning It is an emerging technology con sidered highly valuable for investigat ing the brain and heart as well as detecting tumors and studying drug treatment The Veterans Administration in Washington awarded the grant one of four this year from funds Congress made available for new medical tech nology is part of an ongoing effort to establish centers of excellence in health care here equal to any in the coun try and UB President Steven Sample said today Plans are under way to house the PET Imaging Center which will cost a total of $12 million on the ground floor of Veterans Hospital and have it operating by the end of 1990 A cyclo tron a device that will make the low level radioactive materials used in PET scanning will be built in the Parker Engineering Building on the Main Street campus by the end of 1991 A scan is expected to cost about $1500 UB officials also anticipate the cy clotron will allow the medical school to become a regional distribution center for the medical radioactive materials as more hospitals here and in the North east install PET scanners "The PET scanner will enhance the quality and access of patient care and it will enhance our research said Dr John Naughton UB vice president of clinical affairs and dean of the medical school In March the UB oundation Inc announced a $1 million gift to help fund the new medical center from James Cummings oundation Incy a charitable non profit corporation that provides funds to further medical research and education Sample said UB has an additional $11 million for the project The balance about $65 million will come from a of funds at UB and state money Sample said The UB VA PET scanner will be one of about two dozen in the natiori? three of them in New York State at North Shore Hospital and Brookhaven National Laboratories both on Long Island and at Memorial Sloan Ketter ing Cancer Center in New York City Packing Up The Peace Mural BOB METZButfalo News iy i i I ll Iwf rf A Mfr III life 1 Jiidi Gary Dawson rolls up the lengthy Peace Mural Mon day as Jacqueline Krahling unfastens it from the sup port posts The mural featuring paintings depicting peace was put up at the Buffalo Zoo on Aug 6 as part of the observation of International Peace Day The zoo was the site of the second annual Children and Youth Peace estival that day Group buying WUTV will air Sabres games Religious network eyes team's Channel 49 slo By ALAN PERGAMENT News RadioTV Critic A broadcasting group headed by leg endary television producer Norman Lear today announced that it has com pleted a tentative agreement to buy both WUTV Channel 29 and the pro gramming of WNYB Channel 49 group Act III Broadcasting will merge the programming of Chan nel 29 and Channel 49 the station' owned by the Buffalo Sabres The Sabres simultaneously an nounced a tentative agreement to sell' Channel license tower and anten na to Tri State Christian TV of Marf? on Ill which currently runs stations in Illinois and Michigan and is affiliated with the Trinity Broadcasting Network That means Channel 49 will carry reli gious programming In return the Sabres have received equity position in Act III and their road games will be carried by the merged Channel 29 In addition Seymour Knox III chairman of the Sabres will serve as one of nine mem bers of Act national board of dl Gorski rules out strategy With the Bills despite words By SHARON LINSTEDT News Staff Reporter The verbal sacking of Erie County by Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson Jr has left no permanent scars County Executive Gorski said Monday He said statements from the football team owner last week regarding plans to move the Bills out of county owned Rich Stadium in 1998 have had no impact on the relationship with the team Wilson made a prediction about the future and cer tainly entitled to do Gorski said "However none of us can know for sure what will happen in the course of the next nine years lot will happen in the NL and a lot will happen in Erie he added Gorski who was on a week long trip to Israel when Wilson made his threat said he sees no need to hold an emer gency meeting with Bills officials to discuss comments about pull ing the team out of Rich Stadium and possibly out of Western New York met with Bill Polian (Bills gen eral manager) in the past and meet with him in the future no need for us to rush into Gorski said He said he has made no attempt to contact Wilson or Polian in the wake of the comments and said neither man has called his office Gorski echoed recent re marks that his statements have generated merely tempest in a tea In the storm of media attention that followed Wilson's comments Polian said he wants to concentrate on getting a football team on the field and not be hounded by questions about where the team is going to play nine years from now Gorski said he also would rather concentrate on running county govern ment instead of wrestling with what he termed county executive I do play a major role in preserving a good work ing relationship with the Bills but at this time no reason to upset the status quo which by the way is a positive Gorski said Higgins budget nears $22 million By SHARON LINSTEDT News Staff Reporter Erie County Sheriff Thomas Hig gins is seeking nearly $22 million to run the Sheriff's Department and Erie County Holding Center in 1990 a fig ure that surpasses the budget target by approximately $2 mil lion Higgins who made his case to coun ty Budget Director Sheila Kee in a de partmental budget hearing Monday is hoping to add 28 positions buy 22 new vehicles and install a state of the art computerized dispatch system budget totals $217 million with $99 million earmarked for the Sheriffs Division and $1 18 million for the Holding Center The administra tion has targeted $86 million and $108 million for the Sheriffs Division and Holding Center respectively just come up with a figure they think we should operate at and they even run the Higgins said of the administration Undersheriff William Paine said the extra positions and new equipment are necessary to maintain the current level of protection (Gorski administration offi cials) seem to have a horse and buggy mentality about what Vc need to prop erly run this Paine said Ms Kee said the administration is not ignoring the needs shortsighted for him to say turning our backs on she said doing everything in our See Sheriff Page B5 rectors and one of five members of the board of directors of the newly formed Act III Broadcasting of Buffalo No purchase prices were announced in the complicated deals However Electronic Media a trade publication previously has speculated that Act III would pay Citadel Commu nications about $32 million for WUTV The Sabres' equity position in Act III is presumed to cover much of the $58 million the National Hockey League team paid for the station merger will provide the com munity with a strengthened Channel 29 which can compete effectively in the rapidly expanding spectrum offer ing TV programming to the Buffalo community" said Robert Swados vice chairman and counsel of the Sa bres Swados also will be on the five member local board of directors of The deal expected to be ap proved by the ederal Communica tions Commission until the end of the year As a result the Sabres road games will start the season on WNYB and move over to WUTV once the deals are closed Similarly the ox Broad casting Network shows will move from WUTV to WNYB as scheduled this weekend and then will return to WUTV once the deals are finalized After the programming merger WUTV also will carry the Arsenio Hall talk show and Buffalo Bisons baseball games that had been carried by WNYB Swados said the deal was attractive to the Sabres because it protects the televising of Sabres games with a long term agreement and allows the games to enter Canada via cable Swados and Bertram Ellis presi dent and chief executive officer of Adt III Broadcasting said they antic ipate any job losses from the merger I Curtin finds Occidental liable for costs of cleanup at Love Canal By MICHAEL BEEBE News Staff Reporter US District Judge John Curtin has rejected an Occidental Chemical Corp contention that it is not responsible for costs of the toxic waste cleanup at 'Love Canal because it had sold the canal to the 'Niagara alls Board of Education 1 Curtin dealing Occidental another setback in its attempt to avoid a cleanup bill now estimated at $250 million and rising ruled Monday that a former Occidental subsidiary Hooker Chemicals Plastics 'Corp created a public nuisance by dumping 40 Imillion pounds of chemicals at Love Canal ruling is a great victory for state Attorney General Robert Abrams said ina statement lays to rest principal defense thatselling the landfill to a school district relieved thecompany of its responsibility for the harmful healtheffects caused by dumping on the land jn fact the company palmed off what it knew to bean enormous toxic waste site for one decision Abrams said the liabili ty back bn shoulders exactly where it In the one small victory for Occidental on Monday Curtin said he would consider the compa contention that New York State assumed some risk for Love Canal when it acquired about 2 percent of the southern part of the area to build the LaSalle Expressway Occidental has 60 days to appeal the decision Curtin ruled in ebruary 1 988 that Occidental was liable for cleanup costs under the federal Superfund law which authorizes funds for cleaning up toxic waste sites until the responsible companies are iden tified and billed Occidental objected to that ruling but did not file an appeal That ruling was buttressed by Curtin on Monday when he said that under state law Occidental had created a public nuisance by dumping 21800 tons of chemicals into Love Canal from April 1942 to April 1953 before selling the canal area to the School Board He also said it was undisputed that those chemi cals many of them toxic formed leachate that mi grated from Love Canal to contaminate ground water and soil in areas surrounding the canal John Stuart director of Western New York public affairs for Occidental said company officials re ceived the decision late Monday afternoon and have not yet reviewed it given the previous summary judgment ruling against Occidental in ebruary 1988 on the question of liability under Superfund this decision is not completely unexpected nor do we anticipate that it will change the scope of the case Stuart said decision does not affect the several cross motions brought by Occidental on the question of liability against the other parties involved nor does it establish any ruling far from settles the question of who will pay the enormous costs of cleaning up Love Canal and relocating its residents On eb 8 1979 then Presidcnt Jimmy Carter declared a federal emergency affecting a 10 block area of Love Canal and 728 families were evacuated Occidental under both Curtin rulings still has the right to pursue its counterclaims against the City of Niagara alls the School Board and New York State to determine whether they have any liability in the case In 1984 Occidental paid a $20 million settle ment to 1300 former Love Canal residents Once Curtin rules on the question of liability for all parties who is to blame for what the case is expected to go to trial to decide who should pay how much in damages Abrams said that in light of ruling Mon day the state would seek punitive damages against Occidental j' Occidental as Hooker had done previously has long contended that its legal liability for Love Canal ended in April 1953 when Hooker sold the canal to the School Board and included warnings about the chemicals in the deed Built under the direction of William Love in 1 894 the canal was to have connected the upper and lower reaches of the Niagara River for a power project which was later abandoned Hooker negotiated an agreement to dump chemi cals in the unfinished canal The company bought the 16 acre site in 1947 A law clerk for Curtin said all parties in the case are to meet Sept 19 to determine a schedule for further motions leading to eventual trial in the case A.