SUSPICIOUS BOTTLES/LOUD NOISES

Two members of the Erie County Sheriff's Office
Bomb Squad helped the Niagara County Sheriff's
office yesterday after suspicious bottles were found
in front of two homes on Beach Ridge Road in
Pendleton. The Sheriff's office says one of them
was a bottle of The Works toilet bowl cleaner and
they were able to trace it's purchase to a local
Wal-Mart. They said three men had bought it
Sunday and they were able to give them a photo
of their vehicle. A neighbor then gave them the
names of three suspects, two of which are students
at Niagara Wheatfield High School. One of the
victims said she and her husband heard two loud
noises outside their home around 9:30 Sunday
night. The entire matter was turned over to the
departments Criminal Investigation Bureau.

SABRES-BRUINS

He probbaly won't be playing tonight, but Sabres
coach Lindy Ruff said last night the injuries
suffered Saturday by right winger Thomas Vanek
were not as bad as originally thought. Ruff
telling reporters "when a player comes off like
that you obviously think the worst....that was
his initial thoughts...but then after the game
after he was looked at, he was pleasantly surprised,
the damage isn't severe." Vanek was hurt near the
end of the first period when he got tangled up with
the Bruins Johnny Boychuck and smashed into the
end boards. He'll make the trip to Boston and if he's
not cleared to play, the Sabres could put Drew
Stafford in in his place. Ruff said he would be tested
and if he's cleared, he will be available to play. But
he said, "they're dealing again with a player that is
going to step in without any physical contact of any
sort. He said Stafford would obviously play if he's cleared,
but can he ramp it up enough for a play-off series. Buffalo
lost Saturday's game at HSBC to the Bruins 5-3. Boston
coming back in the third after the two teams had tied
it up at the end of the second period. The series is now
tied at one game each. Tonight's face off is at 7pm.

TWICE THE NATIONAL AVERAGE

New York is one of the worst states in the Nation
when it comes to traffic accidents involving
pedestrians but hundreds of New Yorkers will be
trying to fix the problem today as part of National
Volunteer Week. Don't be surprised if you see
observors with clipboars abd bright red vests at
major intersections as you drive to work. AARP
New York will be documenting safety features
that are there ...and those that are lacking.
They'll be trying to save lives because right now
New york has the third worst pedestrian fatality
rate for Americans aged 65 & over. One out of
every four traffic accidents includes a pedestrian,
twice the national average. The volunteer effort
will continue all this week as part of AARP's
"Create The Good Effort." You can find out where
they'll be and identify dangerous intersections
by going on line to www.createthegood.org. Once
all the information is gathered, they will pass on
reccomendations to city and state officials so
improvements can be made. A senior citizen
in Lockport was killed in a car-pedestrian
accident two weeks ago and another senior
citizen was injured last week.

LAUNDROMAT FIRE

Investigators are trying to determine the cause of
an overnight fire in a one story brick laundromat
at 8656 Buffalo Avenue in the Falls. Fire Chief Bill
MacKay telling WLVL they do know the blaze
originated in the back right hand corner of the
building in a room that was used for storage
and a smll office. He estimated the damage to be
around $25,000. The blaze was reported by a
neighbor around 4:15 and it was out by 4:50. It
was closed at the time and there were no injuries.
The building was adjacent to a barber shop that
had recently opened in a building that was
previously operated as a cobble shop.

THE FIRST EVER

About 200 tour group leaders and travel planners
will be in the Falls this week as Niagara USA hosts
the African American Travel Conference for the
first time. They are the industry's only
organization dedicated to the growing African
American group travel market. Representatives
will be here from Chicago, Detroit, Louisville,
Columbus and Cincinatti, Pittsburgh, and
from Louisiana and Mississippi. Five full
motorcoaches are expected. The group will be
here from Tuesday thru Thursday. Officials
say African American group travel is growing and
they have included it in their two year marketing
plan. It includes family reunions and church
groups and heritage tourism involving the
Underground Railroad. The representaives
will have time while they're here to check out
county attractions. A Niagara USA Wine Trail
tour is scheduled for Wednesday and they
will have supper at Lockport Locks & Erie
Canal Cruises. The African American
Travel Conference is an association of
2,500 travel planners. It was formed in
2000 and has previously met in such cities
as Detroit, Nashville, Cleveland, and Kansas
City.

HIRING FREEZE

The Majority Leader of the County Legislature
will ask for a hiring freeze for department heads
and their deputies at tomorrow night's meeting.
Rick Updegrove says he doesn't want to hire
anyone for a top job until a new county manager
is chosen. He says current county manager
Greg Lewis was afforded the chance to have input
into his team when he arrived on 2003 and they
should give the new manager the same opportunity.
The resolution wouldf affect plans to fill the
position of the Director of the Office of the Aging.
It's former director, Chris Richbart, passed way
in February. The Committee charged with finding
a new county manager has not yet met. The contract
for current County Manager Greg Lewis runs out at
the end of November.

LOCKPORT MAN NO LONGER MISSING

A 22 year old Lockport man who had been reported
missing by his family Sunday morning showed up at
the Sheriff's department around 3:30 am today. Brandon
Teschemacher of Maplewood Drive said he saw himself
on TV as a missing person and wanted to turn himself
in. He told deputies he fell off the wagon from his
addiction t6o pain killers last Wednesday and it turned
into a weekend binge. He asked to be taken to a facility
for treatment. The Sheriff's department sent him to
ECMC by ambulance.

DISTURBING PHONE CALL

A Wheatfield couple telling Sheriff's deputies
they got a disturbing phone call around 11pm
Sunday. They're Jewish and got what sounded
like a computer generated or recorded message
that said "Hitler will return and all you Jews..
Jews...Jews...will die." The husband said he hit
redial but got a recording saying the number was
not in service at this time. The number on the caller
i-d indicated it had originated from area code 418.

RABIES SHOTS

A 27 year old Wheatfield man will begin taking
rabies shots today after he was bitten by a dog
last wednesday on Plaza Drive. The victim said he
was walking his dog near his apartment when it
was attacked by another dog that was being
walked by a woman. The man said he was bitten
on the right tricep when he seperated them and
it broke the skin. He went to the VA Hospital for
treatment. Attempts by him and the sheriff's
department to find the dog have been unsuccessful.

ALCOHOL,MARIJAUANA & DRUGS

Lockport police say they found marijuana, pills,
and alcohol when they pulled a 17 year old over
for a traffic infraction around 12:30 am today on
Erie Street. Casey Podsadowski of 6343 Robinson
Road was stopped for not obeying a stop sign. Police
said the marijuana and several open bottles of
alcohol were in plain view and they found a bottle
with six orange tablets inside. They were
determined to be EZOL #3, a controlled substance.