The Buffalo News from Buffalo, New York • 4

SOUTH EDITION TheBuffaloNews riday August6(2004 D3 Neighborhood News: Southtowns LOCAL NEWS BRIES LITERACY New mothers to receive reading information Starting Monday every new mother at Women Hospital will re ceive materials on the importance of reading to children immediately after birth Literacy Volunteers of Buffalo Erie County will also include in the decorative packet a library card application and a copy of the classic Night literacy programs have prov en to str engthen families and provide the tools and support to become self suffi according to the organization The Reading Right Now project also offers book recommendations INANCES Event offers chance to obtain tax credit Low and moderate income taxpayers will have a chance to lower their federal tax bill as part of Catch up from 9 am to 3 pm Saturday at irst Shiloh Baptist Church 15 Pine St Volunteers at the church will provide free electronic tax return preparation for taxpayers who are eligible but have not claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit The credit is a tax break for people who work but do not earn high incomes Those who qualify could pay less federal tax or no tax or even get a tax refund Tire event is sponsored by the Asset Building Coalition of Western New York in part nership with the Internal Revenue Ser vice or more information call Dietra Grant 686 4882 CONSERVATION Tree planting program aims to cut power costs Energy savings are made in the shade according to proponents of a program that has led to the planting of tens of thousands of trees The New York Power Authority this year distributed 1096 trees to 13 munici pal electric systems statewide with the idea that they will cool the homes and of fices they are planted near and cut down on the use of air conditioners Trees planted in the right location ideally on the west side of a building can cut a cooling cost by as much as 40 percent with the more mature trees at least 25 years old doing the most good Com and more: estival kicks off in Eden i 'I' 1 1' Y': I JI Ronald ColleranBuffalo News Dessert tune: Amanda Preischel 2 left of East Eden and her sister Samantha 3 concentrate on ice cream Thursday as they attend opening day of the 41st annual Eden Com estival on the grounds of Newell aulkner Post 880 American Legion on Route 62 The festival which continues through Sunday offers ice cream rides live entertainment fireworks Saturday night a parade Sunday and of course plenty of freshly picked sweet com TOWN ORCHARD PARK Board broke meetings law By Elmer Ploetz NEWS SOUTHTOWNS BUREAU The Orchard Park Town Board vi olated one open meetings law Wednesday night but its previous was legal according to the executive director of New York Committee on Open Govern ment The Republican majority on the board had met in party caucus and drafted a letter listing questions they wanted answered by Assessor Linda Yancey adjustments to the assessments have sparked a major controversy in the past three months After Wednesday meeting Orchard Park Supervisor Toni Cud ney said she would question as a vio lation of open meetings laws the four Republican board caucus in which they drafted the letter with out her input But that caucus would have been legal according to Robert reeman of the Committee on Open Govern ment The committee is part of the New York State Department of State and offers advisory opinions on open meetings and freedom of information laws a situation like this where 4 1 the four can get together and do whatever they want and call it a polit ical reeman said State law was changed to allow that in 1985 after the Democratic majority was challenged to open its caucuses reeman said Where town officials erred was in meeting Wednesday night in a sec ond floor meeting room after they had already adjourned their regularly scheduled meeting in the first floor expert says courtroom There was no public notice of the meeting and apparently no official vote to go into executive session There is no official difference be tween and meetings with governmental reeman said A meeting is a meet ing executive session is part of an open meeting it has to be a motion in public it has to indicate a reason it has to be approved by a majority of the reeman said Board members said they hastily scheduled the meeting when they found Yancey make their session next Wednesday Yancey is expected to attend an executive ses sion Aug 18 preceding the open part of the meeting mail eploetzbunewscom CITY LOCKPORT Police rule death a homicide By Gail Norheim NEWS NIAGARA BUREAU LOCKPORT The death of a 30 year old woman whose body was found in her Washbum Street apartment early Thurs day morning has been ruled a homicide but details about how she was killed are not being released said police Detective Lt Richard Podgers The body of Tina Boyer was found on the floor of her studio apartment on Washbum Street by her boyfriend just af ter midnight said her mother Debbie Boyer The boyfriend then ran two doors down the street to her house to tell them what he had found Boyer said She said that she and other family mem bers went to the apartment before calling 911 at about 12:30 am According to family members and neighbors the deceased woman had been arguing with an ex boyfriend Niagara County Jail records showed that the 39 year old man was released from jail Mon day after serving a little less than a month on a charge of unauthorized use of a mo tor vehicle and failing to make a court ap pearance The ex boyfriend also served time in the county jail after being convicted of ar son for trying to set her apartment on fire in 2003 had some trouble with her ex boy friend That was the only trouble she ever said Boyer Podgers said police are looking for the man who does not have a fixed address for questioning Police will not verify how Boyer died and have instructed the family not to re lease any information Shannon Brown manager of the Wal Mart on Transit Road where Boyer had worked as a sales associate for three years said of our associates are trying to raise money for her family We lost a very dear associate and devastating to all of Services will be at 10 am Monday in Prudden Kandt uneral Home 242 Genesee St Burial will be in Cold Spring Cemetery mail grumheinibuffnewsaim PIONEER SCHOOLS Study of operations maintenance planned YORKSHIRE Plans to review the Pioneer School $19 million op erations and maintenance services will move ahead along with a study of build ing facility needs School Board members Tuesday agreed to having the state Association of School Business Officials perform an effi ciency study which may explore issues such as employee overtime staffing and facility needs in the four county district Superintendent Jeffery Bowen said head custodians are in charge of opera tions and maintenance at each of the dis four schools instead of having one overall director of operations and main tenance Cleaning services are contracted out at Delevan and Arcade Elementary schools while such work is done by exist ing staff at Pioneer High School and Mid dle School ORCHARD PARK School principal announces departure from the district This is the fifth resigri(ition by an administrator in the past few months By Mary Pasciak NEWS SOUTHTOWNS BUREAU Another principal in the Orchard Park School District has resigned to take a job in a neighboring district bringing to five the number of adminis trators who have announced their resig nations in the past few months Dennis itscher principal of Ellicott Road Elementary School is taking a job with the Hamburg School District Or chard Park Superintendent Paul Grekalski confirmed Thursday itscher has been in Orchard Park since 1976 and has served as principal for two years Grekalski who has been superinten dent for a month said he is not con cerned by the departure of so many ad ministrators in so short a time Their resignations come at a time of great upheaval in the district with bud get cuts pending and relations between the administration and some board members often tumultuous Grekalski said his selection of inter im appointments will rely largely on the advice of the three assistant superinten dents The School Board will be asked Tuesday to approve interim appoint ments at Windom and Eggert elemen tary schools No deadline has been set for naming any of the permanent replacements right in the middle of the chess Grekalski said Suzanne Thomas who was a house principal at Orchard Park High School in mid July began her new job as princi pal at Sweet Home High School Jona than Wolf a former guidance counsel or is now the House 1 principal Also former Windom Elementary Principal Charles Galluzzo has gone to Maple West Elementary former Eggert Elementary Principal Gordon Kerr has gone to Union Pleasant Elementary School Orchard Park Middle School Princi pal Joan Thomas in June submitted a letter announcing her retirement She is now asking the board to delay her re tirement by a few months Grekalski said that in a number of conversations with her saw a gal who was struggling with her decision to Thomas said: of the many many many transitions in the district the superintendent asked me if I could stay on a little while mail: mpasdakbuffnewscom POLICE COURTS Suspicions box closes the Rainbow Bridge NIAGARA ALLS Ont The Rain bow Bridge was closed to traffic Thurs day night for about 3 l2 hours after a sus picious looking box was seen on the bridge an odd officials said The Niagara Regional Police sent its Explosives Disposal Unit to the scene af ter being alerted by Canada Customs at about 7 pm The bridge reopened lanes to Canada at 10:25 and lanes to the US half an hour later That unit imploded the package with a water device and no evidence was found of any explosive material police said today Customs asked us to evacu ate the bridge and shut down the bridge said Brent Gallaugher the manager of agency relations and security for the Niagara alls Bridge Commission He said traffic was rerouted to the Peace Bridge and the Lewiston Queens ton Bridge Gallaugher said Canada Customs offi cials noticed the suspicious package the bus lane of the customs area and called authorities It was about the size of a shoe box and was resting by itself The bridge was closed as a precaution while crews worked to remove the box Convicted burglar faces possible life term A Buffalo man faces a possible life term on his conviction Thursday in a home invasion Jailed since he was arrested last Aug 15 while bicycling from the Humboldt Avenue crime scene with two bags of sto len property Carl McClelland 44 of Cambridge Avenue did not react as the verdict was announced to Erie County Judge Shirley Troutman at about 3 pm After about 90 minutes of delibera tions at the end of a two day trial a jury found him guilty of second degree bur glary possession of stolen property and possession of tools He was or dered held pending his Oct 6 sentencing Trial prosecutor James Bargnesi said he Mil urge Erie County District At torney rank Clark to seek a life term for McClelland who also goes by the street name of Willie White because of his two prior sex crime convictions Robert Cutting attor ney said the conviction will be appealed Burglar steals $1000 in food from grocery A burglar forced his way into a gro cery store on the 700 block of Amherst Street on Wednesday night and stole about $1000 in groceries according to Northeast District police rank Gallo the owner of the busi ness said he discovered the burglary at 8:10 pm The thief broke in through a rear door police said Woman hurt in crash is in good condition A Clarence Center woman was up graded from fair to good condition late Thursday in Erie County Medical Center after a two vehicle collision Wednesday afternoon on North rench Road that left her with at least one broken leg Amherst police said Alissa Server 22 was eastbound on North rench between Sweet Home and Campbell roads at about 2:30 pm when Xx xj Xx Vs she attempted to pass two other vehicles and collided with a westbound sport util ity vehicle driven by Craig Connock 36 of the Town of Tonawanda police said He was not injured in the crash Amherst police ticketed Server for fail ure to keep right Capt Enzio Villalta said Officers said it was raining at the time of the crash Man shot nine times suspect quickly arrested A Buffalo man who was shot nine times early Thursday on the East Side was listed in fair condition late Thursday after undergoing surgery in Erie County Medical Center Police quickly arrested a suspect Jonnie White 30 of Cloverdale Ave nue was shot in the stomach foot and calf at 1:48 am on Genesee Street at Jef ferson Avenue police said Arthur Lewis 23 of Crossman Ave nue later was arrested by erry illmore District Officers Michael Strobele and Chad Maloney The officers spotted Lewis fleeing from the scene in a 1994 Buick Park Ave nue and stopped him at Walden Avenue and St Marys Road The officers who noticed his vehicle was spattered with blood took Lewis back to the scene where he was identi fied by a witness who gave police a state ment according to Major Crimes Unit detectives His car was impounded as evi dence Lewis was charged with assault crimi nal possession of a weapon and driving without a license Troopers charge teen with making false report State troopers have charged an 18 year old Town of Tonawanda man with falsely reporting an incident after troop ers said he falsely claimed he had been carjacked Wednesday aftemoonand driven around on the Thruway for more than 12 hours Robert Cotton called state troopers at 5:30 am Thursday from the Pem broke service area an hour after he said he had been dropped off by the cafy acker The young story contained sev eral inconsistencies and he later admit ted he had hatched the tale after missing his curfew said Trooper Joseph Zupo who arrested him on the misdemeanor charge SOUTH EDITION A.