Town of Niagara resident Nick Occhipinti and his grandson, Vinny, drop off a donation at the bin in Town Hall supporting the second annual "Peanut Butter & Jelly Drive" to help area food pantries feed less fortunate families with children.

The Kiwanis Club of Niagara-Wheatfield began September participating in the Lewiston Peach Festival, inducted its newest officers early in October and assisted in the Electric Lights Parade just before Halloween.

Memorial recently invested more than $1 million in advanced cardiac telemetry technology for its ER1 Emergency Department, ICU and inpatient Heart & Stroke Center.

The next Wheatfield Business Association meeting will be Monday, Nov. 21, at the Wheatfield Community Center at the corner of Maple and Church roads.

Online home of Sentinel, Tribune and Dispatch offers new photo galleries, sliders and ad module.

University at Buffalo Associate Professor of Psychology Jamie M. Ostrov's work on understanding the development of bullying behavior in pre-school children has won him some influential admirers and boosters.

A fox found Nov. 4 off of 21st Street under the Lockport Road Bridge in Niagara Falls is presumed positive for rabies.

Members of FOAR SCORE, the oldest race fan club in America, presented a plaque to Salisa's All American Diner in Wheatfield.

Town Supervisor Robert B. Cliffe got a nod of approval for a second term in office from Wheatfield voters on Tuesday, easily winning re-election.

Organizers of the annual Electric Lights Parade are so excited about the results of the "care a ton" food drive, they've decided to extend the collection.

Horizon Health Services has applied to the New York State Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services for permission to establish an addiction service satellite center at the Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center.

If approved, the integrated center for primary care and addiction would be the first of its kind in Niagara County and one of the first in the state.

"This is a groundbreaking approach that will meet a very pressing community need. The integrated center takes a one-stop approach to serving patients, making it more convenient for patients to access a broader range of services at a single location," said Memorial Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Sheila K. Kee.

The Niagara-Wheatfield Board of Education, reeling from an audit report received at last week's regular meeting, is looking at extra workshop meetings in upcoming off-meeting weeks to deal with some hard decisions on future school district spending.

On Nov. 2, Wayne Drescher of Drescher & Malecki presented a report on the district's external audit, which showed the district could end up having a deficit as high as nearly $8 million for the 2012-13 school year.

The Niagara-Wheatfield Senior High School Band will play a free concert at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9, in the school auditorium at 2292 Saunders Settlement Road in Sanborn.

The American Legion Wheatfield Post 1451 will conduct Veterans Day ceremonies at 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 11, at the Wheatfield veterans monument on Ward Road.

On Election Day, Holy Ghost Lutheran School will have hundreds of homemade baked goods for sale starting at 6 a.m.

The Niagara-Wheatfield Board of Education will accept requests from any individuals interested in serving on the 2011-12 budget committee.

Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8, for Election Day.

Wheatfield has the most contested town races (supervisor and two Town Board seats), while Town of Niagara has only one (highway supervisor). In county races, all voters will vote in the county clerk race, and depending on district, some also will vote for County Legislature candidates.

Wheatfield Supervisor Robert B. Cliffe is seeking re-election to a second term, running on the Republican, Conservative and Independence lines, while Donald J. Wallace is running on the Democratic and Working Families lines. Wheatfield councilmen Larry L. Helwig (R, C, I) and Gilbert G. Doucet (R, C, WF, I) are seeking re-election. Opposing them are Robert J. Pino (D) and Barbara A. Lange (D). Town Clerk Kathleen M. Harrington and Superintendent of Highways Arthur F. Kroening are running unopposed.

Joe Petrozzi and his son Russ of Capitol Cleaners are again collecting, cleaning and giving gently used coats and other winter wear to the needy families in Western New York. The days for distribution to the community are Saturday, Nov. 5, and Saturday, Dec. 3, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center has set an early November project start for $400,000 of building renovations and technology upgrades at the Summit Healthplex in Wheatfield.

The new digital mammography suite will feature a state-of-the-art, full field digital system with a computer aided detection program, a dedicated workstation for image display and interpretation; and a digital picture archiving and communication system.

This digital technology will shorten a patient's exam time, lower the radiation dosage, enhance physicians' image interpretation capabilities and reduce the need for retesting.

Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center will conduct a weekday flu shot clinic for adults 18 and older from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, in the hospital's auditorium, 621 10th St., Niagara Falls.

The United States Army Reserve's 99th Regional Support Command will conduct a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open the Niagara Falls Armed Forces Reserve Center later this morning.

VA Western New York Healthcare System is celebrating Veterans Day with ceremonies at both the Batavia and Buffalo sites. All veterans are encouraged to wear their medals as America recognizes the legacy of veterans on Friday, Nov. 11.

The North Tonawanda History Museum and the Niagara Frontier Chapter of New York State Women are joining forces to present a program by Dr. Sally Roesch Wagner, an authority on Matilda Joslyn Gage. The program begins at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, at the museum, 54 Webster St., North Tonawanda.

The show is over for The YellowJackets from the University of Rochester on NBC's "The Sing-Off."

St. Vincent De Paul Parish's Youth Ministry is holding a pumpkin sale fundraiser through Oct. 31.

Shown are the youngest members of Rotary Club of Niagara County Central.

The full spectrum of residential health care services for seniors will be highlighted from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 29, during an open house at ElderWood's Crestwood Community, 2600 Niagara Falls Blvd., Wheatfield.

Wheatfield residents are invited to a free pancake breakfast on Sunday, Oct. 30.

Girls from Girl Scout Troop 70294 presented Hawk Creek Wildlife Center with a check for $370.

Get your candy bags ready!

Calling all ghosts, mummies, Draculas and Disney princesses -- get your candy bags ready! Trick-or-treating is just around the corner, literally. Local towns and villages have announced their respective Halloween trick-or-treat hours, along with a host of parties and parades, ensuring all little monsters can gather as much of their favorite treats in one evening as possible.

Sylvia Virtuoso is seeking a fourth term as town clerk for the Town of Niagara.

by Olivia Bitetti

Take a break from raiding the Halloween candy this Saturday and head to Military Road in Town of Niagara for the annual Niagara Electric Lights Parade.

Organized by the Town of Niagara Business and Professional Association, the event is designed not only to get the upcoming holiday season rolling, but also to ensure needy local residents have full bellies when Thanksgiving arrives.

Cut short by a power outage at its Oct. 19 meeting, the Niagara-Wheatfield Board of Education passed a resolution naming Harris Beach PLLC, as its attorney in a lawsuit filed against them by Superintendent of Schools Carl Militello.

Wheatfield residents might see an even bigger tax decrease in 2012.

The YellowJackets from the University of Rochester had a tough time with Hip-hop Week on NBC's "The Sing-Off" on Monday, landing in the bottom two in the a cappella competition, but surviving as one of the seven finalists for next week's show.

At a press conference Monday afternoon, the Niagara County Sheriff's Office and the Town of Niagara Police Department announced the arrest of two people in connection to a July 20 house explosion at 3225 Military Road. Crystal D. Knepp of the Town of Lockport and Eric S. Waterstram of Niagara Falls were arrested on charges of burglary in the second degree, criminal mischief in the second degree, and petit larceny.

The Niagara County Auxiliary Police hosts a pair of open houses.

The Wheatfield Farmers Market is sponsoring a Customer-Family Appreciation Day on Wednesday, Oct. 26, which is the last day of operations for the market's second season.

The market provides a source for local fresh produce, specialty food items and crafts. For its closing day, it also will provide free hot dogs to all customers, courtesy of the Hot Dog King. The YMCA will provide a bounce house, face painting and a fall-themed crafts table for children.

Hours are 3 to 7 p.m. in the Town Hall parking lot.

Niagara-Wheatfield grad Michael Pittman and fellow members of the U of R's YellowJackets are still singing and dancing their hearts out on NBC's "The Sing-Off."

This year's message from the National Fire Protection Association was "Protect Your Family From Fire."