NIAGARA FALLS COUNCIL MEETING

Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster and City
Administrator Donna Owens last night
filled the City Council in on their trip to
Washington last week for the meeting of the
US Conference of Mayors. He said they were
addressed by the President's economic
advisors first, and then by Vice President Joe
Biden, and finally by President Obama who
took questions afterward. Dyster said he
talked about the city's rail proposal with
various officials from the Department of
Transportation and that he met with the Mayors
of the three cities that are on the other end of
the Direct Air flights operating out of the Falls
Airport. He said they talked about inexpensive
ways to market each others communties so
that the flights would be full. City Administrator
Donna Owens attended a session with the
First Lady, who talked about childhood
obesity. Owens said Michelle Obama planned
to launch a national initiative to focus on the
problem. Dyster and Owens were in Washington
from last Wednesday thru Friday.

QUALITY MARKETS ARE SOLD

A bankruptcy court yesterday approved
Tops bid to buy the 79 supermarkets owned
by the Penn Traffic Company. The purchase is
expected to close by Friday. It includes the
Quality supermarket in Lockport and 12 others
in Western New York.

CORRECTION

County Judge Matt Murphy yesterday corrected
two mistakes made in the sentencing of a former
Newfane teacher who was found guilty of sending
lurid e-mails to a female student in the Fall of 2008.
Fifty-one year old Alan Grogan of Hamburg was
resentenced to 1 1/2 years in State Prison and ten
years of post release supervision. Murphy had
sentenced Grogan to 1 1/3 to 4 years on January
13 but felony sex crimes must have a fixed sentence.
The Judge also made no mention of post release
supervision on the 13th, and defendants have a
legal right to know what their maximum sentence is
before pleading guilty. The two errors would
probably have caused the Appelate Division of
State Supreme Court to overturn Grogan's guilty
plea if they had not been corrected.

DRUG BUST IN LOCKPORT

A Lockport woman and a Buffalo man were
arrested around 5:45pm Monday when the
County Drug Task Force raided an apartment
at 185 Monroe. Twenty year old Lisa Kessler
of that address was charged with two counts
of possession of a controlled substance. Officers
say they seized a quantity of suspected cocaine
and $573 in cash. Twenty-one year old Odarious
Hamilton of Buffalo was there at the time. Police
said they also found a quantity of suspected
cocaine on him along with $138 in cash. It was
seized and he was also charged with two counts
of possession of a controlled substance.

SECOND SON OF GOD

The convicted rapist who told his victims he
was the second son of God was sentenced
Monday to 22 to 24 years in State Prison.
Thirty-nine year old Daryl Burton of Champlain
Avenue in the Falls was found guilty last
November. He had been accused of beating,
drugging, and raping a 17 year old Falls girl in
an apartment on Park Avenue in Lockport for
8 days in 2008, and of choking a North Tonawanda
woman in her home in February. The sentence
was less than half of the maximum Burton could
have received. He plans an appeal.

MOLSON TURNS DOWN PLEA DEAL, TWICE

One of the two men accused of shooting a 27
year old Falls man to death last June turned
down two offers of a plea deal yesterday in
County Court. He's 26 year old Darrius
Molson. He, and 21 year old Phillip Holloway
of Texas are charged with killing Deion Wood.
Wood was shot six times June 13 as he sat on
a porch on Ferry Avenue. Judge Matt Murphy
granted a request for seperate trials. Holloway
used to live in the Falls but fled to Texas after
Wood's murder.

NEW FLIGHTS

The NFTA announced Monday a new charter
service will begin flying two 50 passenger jets to
the Falls May 28 from Newark's Liberty International
Airport. Rainbow Tours will charge $495 for the
round trip ticket and it will include tours of the
US and Canadian Falls, a ride on the Maid of the
Mist, and lunch. The announcement means local
travellers will have another flight to chose from if
they are headed to the New York City area. An
NFTA spokesman said they could add extra
flights if the demand is there.

VOUTOUR TOWN HALL MEETING

More than three dozen residents of the Porter
area last night attended the first in a series of
Town Hall meetings held by Sheriff Jim Voutour.
The session focused on crime stats for Porter,
Ransomville, and Youngstown, the sex offender
registry, snowmobile and boat patrol efforts,
and general public safety. Voutour plans to
hold more meetings throughout the year around
the County.

OBAMA WATCH PARTY

County Democratic Chief Dan Rivera...and Erie
County Democratic Chairman Len Lenihan...hope
to raise donations for Haiti at a party in North
Tonawanda Wednesday night where they'll watch
the President's State of The Union address. It'll
start at 8pm at Witters Sports Bar at 300 Oliver.
Refreshments will be provided.

LEWISTON

A longtime member of the Lewiston Town
Board resigned last night so he could take
the job of part time Budget Director. Mike
Johnson will be paid $41,000. He had
filed for personal bankruptcy in the past,
but Supervisor Steve Reiter said he had no
reservations about giving him the job, he
believes Johnson's experience will be an
asset. Johnson said it happened a long
long time ago, that it involved the sale of
a piece ofr property, and it had no bearing on
his hiring.