REMINGTON LOFTS

A ceremonial groundbreaking was held in
North Tonawanda Thursday morning for
a loft project in the former Remington
Rand Building on Sweeney Street.
Developer Anthony Kissling said "The
Remington Lofts on the Canal" would
have 81 working or living lofts plus a
restaurant and fitness facility. The project
represents an investment of over
$15-million and is projected to create
about 125 full time and 40 part time
jobs within two years. The first phase,
which includes the fitness center, is
expected to open by Thanksgiving.
The complete overhaul will take about
two years. Kissling got a milion dollar
grant from Restore New York to help pay
for it.

SAME SEX MARRIAGE

Surrounded by Congressional supporters, The
Teachers Union, and NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg,
the Governor said yesterday he would lead the
fight to legalize same sex marriage in New York
State. Paterson called it a civil rights issue. The same
bill was introduced last year by former Governor
Eliot Spitzer. It passed the Assembly but was
defeated in the Senate.

FLOOD RELIEF

Falls Mayor Paul Dyster says the City has put
together a plan to use community development
funds to help some residents whose homes were
damaged as a result of the recent water main
break in LaSalle. Application forms are available
from LaSalle Pride or by calling the Community
Development 0ffice at 286-8812. You must own
the property to qualify and it's meant to cover
damage considered to be a threat to health and
safety. Another meeting on the issue is set for
7pm Monday at the Vineyard Church.

COYOTE

The Mayor of North Tonawnada is urging
residents to take extra precaustions for
themselves, their children, and their
pets after another City man was bitten by
a coyote early Thursday morning. It
happened on Zimmerman Street, but this
time the animal was shot and killed by
police. The County Health Department
has sent samples of it's brain tissue to
Albany for testing for rabies and results
are expected back tonight. Mayor Larry
Soos says the State DEC has given the
City permission to hire a trapper to reduce the
population but they're waiting to see if
any more attacks occur. It's felt that
all of the recent bites could possibly have
been caused by the same animal. They're
also planning to hold a public meeting
next week on the problem.
It was the third coyote bite in recent
weeks. Another man was bitten by a fox.

DEMLER TO RUN FOR 8TH TERM

A large crowd was at the Shawnee County Club
last night as Wheatfield Supervisor Tim Demler
officially announced he was running for another
two year term. He promised to continue to fight
FEMA's new flood plain maps...charging they
were trying to extort money from residents.
Demler said about 600 homes have been removed
but theres about 400 left and they won't quit till
they're done getting them removed. He noted
the Town had completed a new Community Center,
a sewer system, a Youth Center and Gym, and
added law enforcement. He said the Town Board
would be accepting bids Monday for the painting
of the CSX Railroad Bridge crossing the
Boulevard and that CSX would pay for the work.
The job should be finished in June. Demler's
had no opponent in the last three elections but
vowed to earn every vote whether he has one
or not.

PLEA DEAL

An 18 year old Falls man accused of killing a 35 year
old woman last September has the weekend to
ponder a plea deal offered yesterday by County
prosecutors. DeQuanna White is being given
a chance to plead guilty to reduced charges of
first degree manslaughter and attempted first
degree assault, but he must give Judge Matt
Murphy an answer Monday. The North Avenue
resident is said to be a member of the Bloods
gang. Police say he shot Dorothy Banks to
death in September 5th in alley near 13th and
Ashland Avenue as she was trying to buy
cocaine. He's also accused of shooting
27 year old Doug VanWormer last August 31
during a disagreement over a dog in front of
Frenchys Pizza on Niagara Street. White's trial
will begin later this month if he turns the offer
down.

WYNDHAM LAWN

Two female residents of Wyndham Lawn were charged
yesterday after drugs were allegedly found in their
rooms. The Sheriff's Department says a baggie
containing 7 pills was found in a box in the room of
a 17 year old...and seven white pills and seven pink
ones were discovered hidden in a sock and in a hole
in a mattress in the bedroom of a 16 year old. They
will appear in Town of Lockport court.

DOG BITE

A medium sized labrador retriever will be confined
for ten days after it allegedly bit an 18 year old
Newfane girl on the left foot as she was riding her
bike last night on Fuller Road. The owner
admitted the dog was not on a leash. She
provided Sheriff's deputies with a copy of it's
current rabies vaccination but said the animal
was not licensed. The girl said her foot was sore
and a doctor at ENH-Newfane said she would
receive about three stitches on a later date.

FREE SMOKE DETECTORS

Miller Hose Company will give away free smoke
detectors to Town residents Sunday. Fire
Prevention office Rick Coleman says the program
was started after last year's fire that took the lives
of three children. The Town Council used fire
prevention funds to buy 400 detectors. They
started by giving them away to the neediest
at food pantrys. The distribution will be from
1 till 4 pm Sunday at the hall on McKee Street.

NO GO

State Senator George Maziarz says a company has
dropped plans to build a steel recycling plant in the
Orleans County Town of Shelby because the New
York Power Authority would not give them 30 megawatts
of cheap electricity. He said the Power Authority offered
them 17 1/2 at the beginning of the negotiations
and did not budge even though they knew it was a
deal breaker. The Senator said it would have meant
300 permanent jobs and a thousand construction jobs.
The company planned to make a $200-million investment
and would have generated a weekly payroll of several
hundred thousand dollars. Maziarz said he blamed the
Governor because he was in charge of the Power
Authority. The company decided to buld the plant in
Texas instead. A spokesman for the Power Authority
said they are working on other significant deals for
Western New York . He said if they had given the 30
megawatts there would not have enough left over
for any other business applying for hydopower.

SECURITY ON HOLD

A plan to move the court's metal detector to the
front doors of Lockport City Hall was put on hold
last night after Mayor Mike Tucker pulled the item
from the agenda. He said the negative reaction by
residents was behind the decision but promised to
bring the idea up for a vote at a future meeting. Council
President John Lombardi said he had received six
calls opposing the plan, more than he's ever gotten
on a budget issue. Alderman Joe Kibler suggested
bulletproof glass should be installed at counters
where employees interact with the public and
alderwoman Flora McKenzie complained Tucker
started working on it without informing the council.
However City Clerk and Budget Director Dick
Mullaney did say one of his female staffers is
being troubled by a stalker who comes into the
building, A resident who attends just about
every council meeting addressed the issue during
the public comment period. Doralyn Marshall said
it would be a case of punishing many for the bad
behavior of a few.

ARMED ROBBERY

Two men were caught by Lockport police
around1:15 this morning after they allegedly
robbed a man at gunpoint about a half an
hour earlier at the intersection of East Avenue
and Charles Street. Twenty-five year old
Leon Johnson of 409 Washburn and 26 year
old Marlo Jackson of 415 Hawley are both
charged with robbery, two counts of possession'
of stolen property, and possession of a weapon.
The victim said the pair pulled up to him in a
red Explorer as he was walking home, He
said Johnson got out and stuck the gun in
his ribs and demanded money. He reached his
hands into the victim's pockets and took $60.
The man also gave up a rosary necklace, his
cigarettes and lighter. The two left and
went west on East Avenue and were caught
on South Transit near the Holiday Inn. Police
said the gun, a Smith & Wesson was found in
the vehicle. It had previously been reported as
stolen. The victim positively identified the
two men.

COYOTE

Another North Tonawanda man has been bitten
by a coyote. The victim said he was walking
home from the store about 10pm Monday when
the animal approached him on the Boulevard near
the old Wurlitzer plant. He said he did not report
the incident till Tuesday because he thought he
had scared it away and he had not been bitten.
It turned out he was and he will have to undergo
rabies shots. Two other North Tonawanda men
were bitten late last month, one by a coyote and
the other by a fox.

SIGN

State Supreme Court Judge Richard Klock will
decide whether a Town of Lockport businessman
has to keep his new electronic sign turned off. A
hearing will be held May 7 on the Town's attempt
to stop Dave Mongielo from using the sign at his
Robinson Road auto repair shop. The Town
maintains it violates an ordiance that forbids
the use of signs whose display changes more than
once every ten minutes. Mongielo's attorney says
he wants Klock to order the Town Zoning Board to
give his client another hearing on a request for a
variance. They rejected his request last August.

STOLEN VEHICLES

Two vehicles were reported stolen around
4:30 am yesterdayfrom a home on Ward Road
in Sanborn. One of them, a '98 Ford Explorer,
was found burning near Lower Mountain and
Blacknose Spring Road. Deputies were
taking a report on it's disappearance when
another resident of the same home realized
his 2004 GMC Sierra was also missing. The
owner told deputies he left the keys inside
because he's a volunteer firefighter and it
saves time if he needs to respond to a call.
His vehicle is worth $15,000. The burned
Explorer, $4,000.

PROMOTION

The son of a Lockport couple has been promoted
to Lieutenant Colonel in the U-S Army. Stephen
Kneeland serves as the Executive Officer for the
10th Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Drum in
Watertown and is currently stationed in Iraq.
Lieutenant Colonel Kneeland has served in the
military for 16 years. He graduated from Newfane
High School in 1988 and is the son of Oliver and
Billie Kneeland of Ridge Road.

CREDIT UNION ROBBED

Several police agencies responded Tuesday after
three masked men wearing hoodies robbed the
West Avenue branch of the Niagara County Federal
Credit Union. It happened just before noon and at
least one them was armed with a large black
handgun. A Border Patrol chopper and bloodhounds
were used but no arrests were made. Police Chief
Larry Eggert said no one was hurt. The clerks were
yelled at and the girls got pushed around as the
robbers hurled over counters and rifled through
desk drawers. They got away with an undtermined
amount of cash and left through a door on the East
side and ran South on Webb Avenue. It was the first
armed robbery of a Lockport bank in three or four
years. Anyone who may have been in the area and
witnessed something is asked to call police at
433-7700.

BAIL REDUCED

County Judge Matt Murphy yesterday reduced the
bail for a suspended Newfane Middle School janitor
accused of sexually abusing four girls over a nine to
eleven year period. Forty-four year old James Taylor
of Fuller Road is now being held on $75,000 bail.
It was set at $250,000 when he was arrested March
13 but Taylor's defense attorney persuaded Town
Justice Bruce Barnes to reduce it twice last month
withthout the knowledge of the District Attorney's
office. The prosecution got it increased again after
Taylor's union allegedly told the School District
Taylor was entitled to come back to work if we was
released on $20,000 bail. Murphy said that seemed
too low, but $250,000 was too high, and he settled
on $75,000. The alleged abuse did not occur on
school property but at least one of the victims attends
classes at the school where Taylor is employed.
Assistant DA Elizabeth Donatello said Taylor had
confessed to abusing four girls but State Police
have only charged him with abusing two.

LOCKPORT HOUSING COURT

Lockport Judge Tom Dimillo yesterday sentenced
a convicted drug dealer to 75 days in jail for not
making repairs to the house he owns at 170 Genesee.
Forty-eight year old Calvin Burton is also awaiting
sentencing after pleading guilty in County Court in
February to a reduced charge of attempted sale of
a controlled substance. He was arrested last July
after selling crack to an undercover officer, He's
free on that charge on $100,000 bail and his plea
deal calls for him to be sentenced to no more than
5 years in prison. As for the Housing Court,
Lockport police say they made 41 visits to the
home in a two year period, Burton told the judge
he's been trying to make repairs to the house he
bought in July 2006, but Dimillo said he had turned
it into a crack house. He said Burton had been
buying time but he said his time ended today. The
US Attorney's office wants to take possession of
the home by drug forfeiture and a decision is
expected this week by a district court judge.

LASALLE WATER MAIN BREAK MEETING

About 40 residents of LaSalle decided last night
to form a committee to press local leaders for
help and to organize claims after last month's
water main break. The City's Water Board did not
send anyone to the meeting, but it's Executive
Director, Gerry Grose, did send a letter. It
said their investigation is ongoing and they were
not in a position to provide further information.
Several residents said they thought the Board should
be held liable for the damage. A Falls attorney
advised them to submit a claim within 90 days to
preserve their right to sue. The 20-inch main on
Frontier Avenue near 56th Street broke March 23.
It flooded streets and basements with as much as
five feet of water.

PARKING RAMP

The engineers chosen to build the new parking
ramp in downtown Lockport meeting with aldermen
and members of the city's business association last
night. Reactions to the $8-million plan were mostly
positive. The City doesn't have the money to start
work and has not yet decided whether to borrow it.
Lockport Locks and Erie Canal Cruises owner Mike
Murphy said the crucial thing was to get the project
done as soon as possible. He suggested they have
two shifts and that work should be done six days a
week. The current 35 year old five level structure
on Main Street was closed in August 2006 because of
crumbling concrete. The plan is to replace it with a
two level underground garage with about 200 parking
spaces. A park leading to the Erie Canal overlook
would be on top of the garage. Foit Albert Associates
is the lead architect.

DEMLER TO RUN AGAIN

Wheatfield supervisor Tim Demler will announce
his bid for another term tomorrow night. It'll
happen at a free reception running from 6 till 9pm
at the Shawnee Country Club on Townline Road.

BRIDGE HIT

The State Department of Transportation plans to
re-inspect a bridge at 2500 Main near Ontario in
the Falls after it was hit by a truck Tuesday morning.
The vehicle and span suffered very little damage but
police thought the rusted iron supports underneath
the bridge did not appear to be safe. The DOT said they
had inspected it last year and found nothing detrimental.

ERIIE COUNTY FAIR

The Erie County Fair will drop admission charges
for children under 12 this year, but the price for
adults will increase by a buck to ten dollars. Officials
also say the "America's Fair" monikor will be dropped
and it will once again be known as the Erie County Fair.
Three free concerts will be offered featuring a Beatles
tribute band, country star Jake Owen, and a Temptations
tribute band. The fair runs August 12-23.

SECURITY TO BE BEEFED UP AT CITY HALL

Security's about to be beefed up at Lockport
City Hall. Mayor Mike Tucker says he'll
propose a plan tomorrow night to require
visitors to go through a metal detector
before they can enter the building. The plan
calls for moving the detector currently
stationed outside the courtroom to the
front doors. The other doors would be
restricted to workers and the entrance to
city offices would be cut to one for non
personnel. Employees would be given
ID badges that they would wear during
working hours. It would cost about $57,000
and the Office of Court Administration would
pay for some of it, but Tucker says the
majority of the cost would be paid for by
taxpayers. He says this is the type of
security they would put into place the
day after an incident took place, so he
wants to do it before something happens.
Alderman Joe Kibler told us he had not
seen the plan, but doesn't like it at first
glance. He thought it would be pushing
toward a police state down at City Hall.
He said a lot of elderly people would be
confused and wondered who would man
the machine all day long. He also
said limiting access to one entrance meant
there would only be one way out if something
did happen. He said, however, that he would
wait to hear all the details before making up
his mind.

DRAFT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

The first of five meetings on the "Niagara
Communities Comprehensive Plan" will
be held next Monday night in the Gasport
Elementary School Auditorium. The plan
was put together for the County after
months of meetings, group discussions,
and reviews by Clough Harbour and Associates.
They've divided the County into five sub
regions to facilitate group discussion on
planning issues. The second meeting for
Lakefront Communities will take place next
Wednesday night in the Newfane Middle
School Auditorium, with another for
Central Communities the following evening
at Starpoint. Two more sessions will be
held the following week on the Western side
of the County. One for Lower River Communities
will be at Lew Port April 29 and the other, for
Upper River Communities, will be at Niagara
Falls High School Thursday April 30. Each
meeting starts at 7 and is slated to run two hours.

FIRST NIAGARA

First Niagara said yesterday they hope to raise
enough money in the next few days to pay back
the $184-million they received from the federal
government last year. The bank says it will
raise $300-million in a public stock offering
to bolster it's own capitol and repay the
Treasury. They also reported higher first
quarter operating earnings and revenues
grew.

FIRST YEAR CELEBRATION

Lockport's Tuscorora Inn will celebrate it's
first birthday tomorrow with a free lunch for
everyone. It'll be served from noon till 3
at the historic eatery at 128 Walnut. The
DeFlippo family bought the former Tuscorora
Club last year. It had opened in 1911 as an
exclusive private businessman's club but
declining membership and economic problems
caused it to close in 2007. The new Tuscorora
Inn specializes in hosting private parties. They
also have a public dining room open for lunch
during the week and they serve an extensive
Sunday brunch. Their long term goal includes
the renovation of several guest rooms on the
third floor to make the establishment into
a full service "bed and breakfast" style inn.

MESI GETS A JOB

Former boxer Joe Mesi has been hired to run the
new Senate majority office in Buffalo. He'll be
paid $70,000 a year to head an office that could
include as many as ten people. Senate spokesman
Austin Shafran said it would serve as a liason for
the majority leader with the local community. Other
offices will be opened in Rochester, Syracuse, and
Long Island. A staff already in place will perform
similiar functions in Albany and New York City.
Shafran said they will serve a different function
that the ones operated by the Republicans when
they were in control. The GOP centered around
communications. The Democrats plan to make them
a more representative prescence of the majority
in the community.

JAIL AIDES

Falls Police Superintendent John Chella said
Monday the city will stop using civilian detention
aides in the jail when it moves to the new Public
Safety Building next month. Chella said the State
has told them they can use tasars in emergency
situations in the new jail but civilians are not
allowed to use them. The State ok'd their use
because the layout of the new facility makes it
more vulnerable for a delayed response by
officers should a prisoner become violent.
Chella said the union wants the current female
aides transferred to some other city job. He'll
be meeting today with the Mayor and the City
Administrator to see if it's possible. Teamsters
Local 264 is considering challenging the
decision. They may ask for a hearing with the
Public Employment Relations Board.

ALUMINUM PIPE ATTACK

A 24 year old Falls man was charged with felony
assault early Monday after he allegedly hit a
neighbor with a piece of aluminum pipe. Police
reports say Miguel Diaz of Third Street asked the
victim if he was "bad" before he struck him around
3:30am. Diaz came up to two people and asked one
several times if he was bad, then left and came
back with two pieces of aluminum molding. He
put them together and allegedly struck the man
in the leg causing an 11 inch cut and substanial
pain. Diaz plead not guilty and was being held
on $3500 cash, or $7,000 property bond in the
County Jail.

DRUGS

A 23 year old Medina man is being held on $500
cash bail...or a thousand dollars property..after
sheriff's deputies allegedly found two ziplock
bags of marijuana in his car during a traffic stop
around 4:20 pm yesterday in Hartland. Brandon
Hoste of Shelby Basin Road was pulled over on
Hartland-Somerset Townline Road. Deputies said
he was extremely nervous and said he had not
taken any drugs and there were none in his
tan Cadillac. He gave them permission to search
and the pot was allegedly found inside a white grocery
bag inside a red grocery bag on the floor behind
the passenger seat. Deputies also seized $666
in cash and a cell phone. Hoste was originally
pulled over for having a hanging front license
plate.

DINGUS DAY

The annual Dingus Day celebration is planned
tonight at the Polish Nook in the Falls. It
starts with a sold out dinner and continues
afterwards...around 8:30 with plenty of live music. Four
time Grammy Winner Walter Ostanik will
stop by after another gig in Buffalo. Mayor
Paul Dyster and his wife Becky are among the
many movers and shakers expected to show
up for the fun. You might also run into the
former owner of John's Flaming Hearth. He's
now associated with the Nook and steaks
will be added to their menu in the future, but
not tonight.

STOLEN VEHICLE

A 41 year old Garden Street man was arrested by
Lockport Police around 4am todayat Grand and
Church Streets. Calvin Williams is charged with
taking a woman's 2004 Chrysler PT Cruiser from
the driveway of her Lock Street home Saturday
night. She told police a friend called and told her
the car was taken and she immediately suspected
Williams. She said she called him and he promised
to bring it back...and then she sent him a text message
shortly thereafter saying if it wasn't returned in 10
minutes she was calling police. The vehicle was
found around 1:30 Sunday morning in a parking
lot at 6558 Lincoln Avenue. Williams is charged
with unauthorized use of a vehicle.

WARME

The lawyer for former Falls police officer Ryan
Warme says his client will need two trials.
Joel Daniels says Warme will testify in his own
defense on charges he violated the civil rights
of three women and used his position to extort
sexual favors from a prostitute...but says a
second trial will be needed because Warme will
not stand the stand on charges he conspired to
distribute both powder and crack cocaine,
committed federal firearms offenses, and failed
to arrest a man who had a weapon. Daniels told
the Gazette if Warme is forced to stand trial on all
the charges against him at one time it would
result in "substantial prejudice" to his client.
He says Warme needs to testify on the sex charges
because he claims they were consensual. The
court has until the end of the month to respond.

WARLOCKS

The robotics team at Lockport High School will
be competing against 350 other teams from 14
countries later this week in Atlanta. The Warlocks
won a spot in the finals with a win at the Finger
Lakes regioal competition at RIT last month. The
competition is sponsored by a group called
"For Inspiration & Recognition of Science and
Technology," or FIRST. The competition starts
Thursday at the Georgia Dome. The 28 students
receive help and support from Delphi but the
trip will cost $20,000. Donations are still be taken
at 478-4451 if you can help.

LA SALLE PRIDE COMMUNITY MEETING

La Salle Pride has called a community meeting
for tomorrow night to address the damages done
by last month's massive water main break.
Spokesman Ken Sherman says it may be the
fourth time the main has broken. He's hoping
the Water Board will share the results of their
investigation, but they have not responded to
a request they attend. An attorney will be there
with forms and information on how to file a claim.
The two hour meeting starts at 7pm at the
Niagara Falls Vineyard Church, formerly
Saint Charles Roman Catholic Church at
5604 Lindbergh.

CLARK RIGGING

A 33 year old Lockport man was charged late last
night with stealing several radios from Clark
Rigging on Ohio Street. Anthony Ark of 6351
Robinson was stopped by sheriff's deputies
around 11:45 while riding a bicycle on the
by-pass. He allegedly admitted to stealing a
radio from a crane at the business. Deputies
called Lockport Police and Ark was allegedly
found with a Uniden radio and two hand held
radios. Police say they found a pair of wire
cutters, a screwdriver, and a flashlight on
Ark. He's charged with petit larceny,
trespassing, possession of burglary tools
and possession of stolen property. The radios
are worth about $260.

TOPS DISTURBANCE

Three young men are facing charges after a disturbance
Saturday afternoon at the Transit Road Tops. Nineteen
year old Michael Hixenbaugh of 317 Michigan in Lockport..
and 18 year old Rashan Ubiles of 1914 16th in the Falls
allegedly picked a fight inside the store with 20 year old
Cornel Johnson of 38 Erie in Lockport. He said the two
others jumped him while he was working and struck him
several times. An 80 year old resident of Tonawanda Creek
Road was knocked down during the melee and was taken
to ENH-Lockport for treatment of a bump on his head. The
victim, Johnson, was fired while officers were taking
the report. He allgedly yelled profanities an his boss
and caused a disturbance in front of customers and
was charged with disorderly conduct. Hixenbaugh and
Ubiles fled the store after the attack and were arrested
Sunday. They're charged with second degree
harassment. Tops provided police with a video tape
of the fight.