The Buffalo News from Buffalo, New York • 6

The Buffalo NewsTuesday November 18 1997 Briefly Alden Town Board OKs apartment building plan The Alden Town BoardMonday approved a site plan and accepted lead agency status for a four unit apartment build ing on Two Rod Road south of Carey Road to be built by Matthew ilipowicz Board members said the site was zoned R3 before the new zoning ordinances were ap proved and so the R3 zoning can continue The PlanningBoard reviewed the project and 'recommended it to the board inebruary Supervisor Richard Savageasked the board to approve a budget transfer to cover electric bills for the town park andbuildings that are overbudgeted Iby $4000 this year Savage said had budgeted $21000 butactual costs are coming in at' $25000 The transfer was approved unanimously Savage said Alden MayorMichael Retzlaff had requested a joint meeting with the town Board to discuss water service to the town park and highwaybam The meeting has been tentatively scheduled for 7:30 pm Dec 4 The Niagara rontier Trans portation Authority has contact ed the Town Board asking that someone shovel out the bus stops in town Highway Super intendent Harry Milligan saidhe does not want to assume any liability and doesn't haveenough workers to do it Seneca administrators get 212 percent raise West Seneca school adminis trators were awarded a per rcent pay increase for the yearby the Board of EducationMonday The raise is in line withraises negotiated earlier this year by the union Superintendent Richard Sagar who will earn $101731 this year had his contract ex tended through 2001 This is his third extension since joining the district in 1994 Gary Pogorzelski director of pupil personnel will earn $90831 Brian Shulz district treasurer $81000 Michael Bat taglia director of personnel $82000 and Delores Mendolia district clerk $37000 Deputy Superintendent John Schleiffer who is not included in this negotiating group will have his contract ratified at another session Taxpayers group to air school tax relief program The Depew Cheektowaga Taxpayers will meet at 7:30 pm Thursday in the Bellevue ire Hall Como Park Boulevard Application forms for the new STAR School Tax Relief program will be available at the meeting Buffalo Crushed ex pansion plans also will be dis cussed Without topic of Kurtz lecture Paul Kurtz a leading propo nent of secular humanism will lecture on Without Re at 5 pm Wednesday on the University at Buffalo North Campus in Amherst A professor emeritus of phi losophy at UB Kurtz is the founder of the Center for In quiry The lecture which is open to the public will be in Room 225 of the Natural Sci ences Building near the Sweet Home Road entrance to the campus Kurtz will discuss the advan tages of approaching life's ev eryday issues without relying on religious teachings Elsewhere Regional Red Cross seeks Type 0 blood donors The New York Penn Region of the American Red Cross is sued an appeal for Type blood donors Monday after snowstorms caused one third of potential donors to miss their appointments riday and Satur day Normally about 20 percent of donors fail to keep their ap pointments A Red Cross spokeswoman' said that Type blood supplies had shrunk to two day reserveType is the most commonvariety of blood and is most frequently used in transfusions The Red Cross urged donors to make appointments before Thanksgiving to ensure that blood supplies are adequate for the long holiday weekend To'make an appointment call toll free 1 800 272 4543 Van fire briefly closes Scajaquada Expressway A section of the Scajaquada Expressway was closed briefly evening as firefighters ''doused a blaze in a van con taining at least one propane tank The fire was reported at 77:39 pm in a van along east bound Route 198 near the Kensington Expressway en trance No injuries were report ed according to Buffalo fire dispatch The eastbound expressway was closed at Parkside Avenue Mor about 45 minutes until the 1 scene was cleared Amherst budget trims tax rate slightly The Amherst Town BoardMonday adopted a 1998 budget that reduces the tax rate for Amherst property owners next Ijear The tax rate will fall from $610 to $599 for each $1000 1 of assessed valuation Residents who live in Wil liamsville will pay $648 Council members approved $85 million budget 5 1 Council Member Michael McGuire voted against the bud get Council Member William Kindel was absent Akron to seek funding to improve sewer plant The Village of Akron will submit an application for feder al Community Development 1 Block Grant funds for sewer 1 plant improvements Mayor Mi 1 chael Charles said Monday 1 night Officials earlier this year ad el dressed some ongoing problems 1 at the sewer plant and determined work was needed 1 The board authorized Vil 1 lage Clerk Treasurer Raymond I Carlo Jr to borrow $3900 for the work Officials plan to use the $90000 community develop 1 ment grant to help cover costs for the sewer plant project estimated at $134000 Charles added that he has a 1 list of necessary improvements at the sewer plant and also is other sources of revenue" In another matter Charles said the Village of Alden has expressed interest in exploring ways to exchange services and work together on some opera tions to keep costs down He also mentioned that he is re viewing possible cooperative ventures elsewhere including partnerships with the Village of Corfu on water issues East Aurora board mulls demolition request The East Aurora Village Board Monday night named it self lead agency on a request by owner Ronrie Kobis to de molish a fire ravaged building at 39 Grove St The building is on the historicRoycroft Campus The board now has 20 days to determine if the demolition poses an undue economic envi ronmental health or historical burden or if the structure is worth saving The building one of the original structures on Elbert turn of the century arts complex has been placed on the historic preserva tion list meaning it may be protected by state historic pres ervation efforts Town of Niagara study fails to find tumor link TOWN NIAGARA Although some residents of the Belden Center neighborhood have suffered brain tumors dur ing the last 14 years a new state Health Department study has failed to link these cases to hazardous industrial wastes disposed nearby The study found fewer than six brain tumors among the more than 300 residents of Bel den Center between 1983 and 1996 and the state Health De partment said there was no clear indication of any single cause for the tumors The de partment said the exact number of tumors observed was reported in order to protect But a broader study on all types of cancer in the commu nity is being conducted in re sponse to concerns Hamburg sets moratorium on rezoning applications The Town of Hamburg will not accept applications for re zonings or site plans for three months starting today The Town Board approved the halt in applications at its work session Monday after noon so the town can review changes in some of its zoning ordinances is not a Councilman Mark Cavalcoli said after the board action Town Board members said this is the slow time of year for rezoning requests and site plan reviews With no new applica tions coming in the board and town officials will have time to review drafts of the proposed zoning changes A public hear ing on the changes was sched uled for the Dec 22 meeting SUBURBAN CENTRAL Central Suburban News Page 5 LANCASTER $147 million budget has little impact on tax rates By CHARITY VOGEL News Northtowns Bureau The Lancaster Town Board Monday unani mously approved a 1998 budget of nearly $147 million that contains a minimal tax increase for residents except for Depew residents who will see no hike at all Under the new spending plan the town tax rate for Depew residents will remain at $299 per $1000 of assessed valuation Village of Lancaster residents will see a small increase to $299 amounting to an extra 41 cents on the tax bill for a home assessed at $70000 The residents outside the two villages will see a 168 percent increase to a rate of $622 could have gone down dangerously low this year and played Russian roulette with the budget" said Supervisor Robert Giza I don't want to find myself raising taxes again next year and I'm keeping an eye on that" Residents are still recovering from this tax hike which averaged about 18 per cent for town residents outside the villages ac cording to speakers during a short public ses sion at the meeting it comes to spending yes has been the answer too often and for too long a time" said Ransom Road resident red Hammer glad to hear that the tax increase is less than originally anticipated 1 still think the tax increase could have been nothing" The new budget contains $147951 that was added to preliminary budget figures for the four fire companies within the fire pro tection district Giza said The 1998 garbage fee which applies to all residents except those in Depew will in crease by 41 cents a year to $11565 per unit The Town Board also voted unanimously to spend $32000 from the town's conservation ac counts to buy a 16 acre parcel adjacent to Westwood Park The site is north of existing park lands said Councilman Donald Kwak sponsor of the purchase resolution money in our conservation account so in reality not a burden to the Kwak said a welcome addition to our In other business the board: Appointed Kenmore resident Theodore Berg to the full time civil service position of youth counselor in the town's Youth Bureau at an annual salary of $31684 effective today Berg has six months to move into the town to meet it residency requirement Giza said The position is not a newly created post but was left vacant by a resignation he added Approved a zoning change from to 2 residential zoning for a parcel north of Walden Avenue and east of Impala Parkway in the town The rezoning was sought by Marra noMarc Equity Corp The parcel an extension of the Trentwood Trail subdivision is restricted to single family dwellings Set a public hearing for 9 pm Dec 1 to consider a proposal to improve the Iroquois Pump Station in the Sewer District 2 by removing and replacing a fuel storage tank The estimated cost of the project is $32500 Voted to approve a 1998 contract with the Depew based Southeast Community Work Center Inc for services to the town's retarded adults at a total cost of $2500 for the year Voted to hire the Buffalo firm of Clough Harbour Associates to review an updated traffic study for the Tops Markets warehouse and distribution center on Genesee Street at a total cost of $2500 to be paid by Tops The updated study is a requirement for the Tops facility after one year of operation Council woman Donna Stempniak said DEPEW Residents to review Broadway widening plans By CARL ALLEN News Staff Reporter Depew residents will have an opportunity Wednesday to review state Department of Transporta tion plans for widening Broadway at a meeting in Depew High School 5201 Transit Road Village officials and volunteer firefighters Monday night got a preview of the proposals that could widen the main roadway in the village to as many as five lanes and replace an aging bridge near the Plaza But if the reaction of village of ficials is any indication residents are likely to raise a wide range of concerns from the loss of frontage for businesses along Broadway to access to residential streets are trying to come up with a plan that will make everyone Kevin arry DOT assis tant regional design engineer told about two' dozen persons Monday in the Senior Citizens Center in the village Municipal Building The DOT has about $11 million to reconstruct Broadway from Transit to Central Avenue in the Village of Lancaster It would take an additional $15 million to recon struct Broadway through Depew Thomas Romano a DOT senior design engineer said arry said the main DOT ob jective in rebuilding the road is to simplify the Broadway Transit in tersection to decrease delays and to replace the bridge built around 1938 near the Plaza arry conceded that the bridge has been an issue in the community for years but he said traffic studies have held up the planning process Three alternative construction plans will be on display from 4 to 10 pm Wednesday at the high school for viewing by the public After a short DOT presentation residents will be able to comment on the plans from 8 to 10 pm A fourth alternative would be to leave the road as it is now this point we have not made a decision There is no final design arry said The construction alternatives in volve widening Broadway to five lanes with center turning lanes at Transit and other intersections widening Broadway to four lanes with left turning lanes at Transit and Penora Street and a combina tion of three four and five lanes along Broadway in the village The plans include a proposal to close Litchfield and Bloomfield av enues to reduce cut through traffic to Transit and Broadway on those residential streets not drop down to three lanes all the way Trust ee John ragale asked those businesses along Broadway we can save their Businesses along Broadway the village's main commercial strip could lose between 4 and 5 feet of their frontage depending on how many lanes Broadway is divided into state officials said arry said DOT officials are willing to work with individual owners on ways to save their frontage or improve ac cess to their property with clearly marked driveways Village firefighters Monday raised concerns about closing Bloomfield and Litchfield off Ter race Boulevard because they use them to travel west and east re sponding to fire alarms arry suggested a flashing signa at Broadway and Meridian Street and improved visibility at the in tersection but firefighters said heavy traffic on Broadway pre cludes them from using it pay attention to emergency vehicles now" Chief Dave Strohm'enger said easier to get through an intersection with a traffic control device than no device at As sistant Chief Ron Maciejewski said He said a regular stop light at Broadway and Meridian would be the proper solution but arry said putting a regular stop light at that intersection would slow down traf fic too much arry said the DOT hopes to have a final design plan by next summer and to start construction by the year 2000 HAPPY HUNTING ROBERT KIRKHAMBuffalo News mg AllLS Hunter rank Ekes left of Holland talks Monday with state Senior Wildlife Technician John Curtiss of North Java at a checkpoint on Route 16 in Holland as Curtiss examines an eight point buck that Ekes bagged in Sardinia In the background are Jade Orrange left and Elana Vazquez students at McKin ley High School in Buffalo who wait to get data for an ecology program project CHEEKTOWAGA amily arcade fills vacancy in 2 Walden Galleria a By JAY REY News Northtowns Bureau The Walden Galleria has a new family entertainment arcade as a tenant Jeepers! Inc a Massachusetts based indoor entertainment com pany has leased the 25000 square foot former Birdies and Bogies space which has been vacant since 1994 I he Cheektowaga Town Board granted a variance for the project Monday night 1 he amusement arcade offers games miniature amusement rides soft play areas and other activities for families with children under 12 according to the company Jeepers! also serves food and holds birthday parties and other events at the arcade Jeepers! joins another entertain ment complex Qzar a high tech laser tag game aimed at the pre teen and teen crowd which opened at the Walden Galleria several weeks ago A Cheektowaga ordinance bans amusement arcades within 500 feet of a school church or residential district The arcade is 420 feet from a residential buffer zone between the north side of Galleria Drive and Nokomis Park town officials said at Town Board meeting The entertainment com plex however is actually more than 500 feet from any residential property so it would not have a negative impact on the area offi cials added In other matters the board: Went on record against the Private Property Rights Implemen tation Act of 1997 enacted by the House of Representatives in Octo ber The bill allows developers in a dispute over zoning and land use rules to short circuit local process es If a local government denies a permit this bill would allow devel opers to bypass state courts and sue in federal court The town considers this to be federal intrusion on local issues said Councilman Thomas John son Jr The bill still has to go be fore the Senate Set a public hearing for 7 pm Dec 1 on a local law to exclude veterans disability compen sation as income when considering senior citizen tax exemptions This should make it easier for seniors to receive senior exemptions offi cials said STATE SUPREME COURT Couple admits robbing 9 stores allegedly to feed drug habits By MATT GRYTA News Staff Reporter A Batavia couple pleaded guilty Monday to robbing nine Buffalo area stores in three days allegedly to feed their drug habits Robert Rebban 37 and Darlene Weber 35 pleaded guilty before State Supreme Court Justice Russell Buscaglia to charges of felony robbery and at tempted robbery for holdups from Aug 30 to Sept 1 at convenience stories and gas stations in Cheek towaga Alden Depew and Lam caster Both face mandatory prison terms when they are sentenced Jan 23 They have been in jail since Sept 1 when Town of Lan caster police arrested them shortly after the attempted robbery of a Kwik ill convenience store at 6439 Transit Road Buscaglia said he would sen tence Rebban who used a knife during the nine robberies to a prison term of five to 10 years The judge said Ms Weber will get a prison term of one to three years for her role as the driver of the getaway car Prosecutor Mario A Giacobbe told the judge that he contacted representatives of six of the nine stores and that agreed with the pre indictment pleas He rep resentatives of three other stores did not return his calls Court officials said a clerk at the Lancaster Kwik ill store stopped the robbery spree by hit ting Rebban with a thermos Rebban fled in Ms waiting car but a description was broadcast on the police radio Of ficers halted the getaway car on Genesee Street moments later oT ficials said Police said the couple commit ted the robberies to buy drugs but neither they nor their attorneys would comment Monday Court officials said they have no figure on the amount of money the couple took during the robbery spree SUBURBAN CENTRAL.