Current News

The St. Johnsburg Fire Co. Ladies Auxiliary will host its annual basket auction on Sunday, March 16, at the firehall, 7165 Ward Road, Wheatfield.

A public information meeting to discuss remaining concerns on Benderson Development's Military Place project will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 19, at the Town of Niagara Town Hall.

Students and staff lined up to be sheared at the "Bald For Buck$" portion of the Buffalo Sabres Alumni vs. Faculty basketball game fundraiser at Niagara-Wheatfield High School. The event raised $8,156.76.

Residents continued to call on the Wheatfield Town Board on Monday to block Quasar Energy Group's plans to build a storage building at its Liberty Drive facility for equate.

The Niagara County Genealogical Society will host two free programs March 15 at 215 Niagara St., Lockport.

The Wheatfield Business Association inducted its 2014 officers and board members on Feb. 17 at the Meeting Place in Bergholz. Wheatfield Supervisor Bob Cliffe welcomed the WBA members in attendance and proceeded to swear in the following slate of officers:

Niagara Cerebral Palsy is celebrating its 60th birthday with a slew of events and new initiatives for 2014.

In March, the agency is holding its fifth annual Snowflake Basket Auction, the proceeds of which benefit the programs and services provided to developmentally disabled individuals and their families. The event will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. March 21 and from noon to 5 p.m. March 22 at the Niagara Falls Elks Lodge, 1805 Fashion Outlet Blvd., Town of Niagara.

All proceeds are used to benefit the persons served by NCP.

Charles James Arthur Farrell visited Mount St. Mary's Hospital recently as part of his and his mom's check-up visit after being the first baby born at Mount St. Mary's in 2014. The staff presented the family with a gift basket in recognition of Charles being the first baby in 2014.

While the weather outside might still be frightful, the Lewiston Garden Club is already thinking spring. Plans are underway for the ninth annual Lewiston GardenFest, slated for Saturday, June 21, and Sunday, June 22, along Center Street in Lewiston.

Congressman Brian Higgins invites local high school students to participate in the annual congressional art competition. All artwork submitted from students in Higgins' district will be featured in a public gallery and available for viewing in an online gallery. The winning piece will be displayed in the tunnel to the U.S. Capitol.

State Sen. George Maziarz, R-C-Newfane, has announced the Senate approved legislation (S.2031-A) to change how members of the New York State Board of Regents are selected. The 17-member Board of Regents is responsible for supervising educational activities in the state, including the public education system and the SUNY system.

Community Missions of Niagara Frontier Inc. has announced plans to participate in "Spring It On," a 24-hour online fundraising event designed to raise awareness and funds for nonprofit organizations throughout Western New York. "Spring It On" will be held the first day of spring, March 20, from 8 a.m. until 8 a.m. March 21.

Mayor Paul Dyster is requesting the Niagara Falls City Council approve a $250,000 grant for Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center to assist in funding the construction of a state-of-the-art cardiac/stroke care center at the hospital.

As production begins on the new pilot "Constantine" - from executive producers Daniel Cerone and David S. Goyer and director Neil Marshall - NBC, Warner Bros. Television and DC Entertainment are today releasing the first official image of series star Matt Ryan in character as John Constantine.

Cooking Channel invites you to pull up a seat for the debut of "Dinner at Tiffani's," a primetime special hosted by Tiffani Thiessen premiering Sunday, March 23, at 8 p.m.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo declared a state of emergency Wednesday for the following counties as the latest winter storm crosses the state: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Ontario, Orleans, Oswego, Wayne and Wyoming. The National Weather Service declared a blizzard warning for these counties.

The storm is expected to bring significant snowfall from Wednesday into Thursday in the western, central, capital and north country regions of the state. As part of the state of emergency, the governor ordered the activation of the state's emergency operations center at 6 a.m. Wednesday morning.

2014 ACM Award-nominees The Band Perry was recently announced as featured in the Annenberg Space for Photography exhibition "Country: Portraits of an American Sound."

On Wednesday, hundreds of students, parents and community members from across New York showed up at Gov. Andrew Cuomo's door calling for the resurrection of their school's programs, classes and resources, which have been cut over the past five years.

Falls account for more than 1 million injuries in the U.S. annually. There are four types of walking accidents, with the most common being the slip and fall. That's the type of fall that happens when one falls due a surface not cleared of snow or ice.

Winter may be overstaying its welcome this week as a mix of snow, ice and wind are predicted today and tomorrow across National Grid's upstate New York service region. National Grid crews, as always, are ready to respond to any damage that may result from this latest round of severe winter weather.

The New York Lottery today announced the jackpot for Friday's Mega Millions drawing has been increased to $353,000,000. The $44,000,000 jump from Tuesday's advertised jackpot is due to brisk sales across all 44 participating Mega Millions states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Due to weather conditions, UB CareerFest '14 will be rescheduled to a later date. Information and details regarding the new date will be posted as soon as confirmed at www.studentaffairs.buffalo.edu/career/calendar.php and via Twitter and Facebook @UBCareerSvs.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce today presented Congressman Chris Collins, R-NY-27, with its annual Spirit of Enterprise Award in recognition of his support of pro-growth, pro-jobs policies during the first session of the 113th Congress.

"It is an honor to be recognized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for my support of pro-business policies during my first year in Congress," Collins said. "As a member of the House Committee on Small Business, and having been a businessman and entrepreneur myself, I recognize how important it is to support legislation that encourages business creation and growth."

Assemblyman John Ceretto, R-C-I-Lewiston, voted Tuesday against all incumbent members of the Board of Regents as a rebuke for their handling of the rollout of Common Core. Instead, Ceretto voted for Niagara County native Dr. Walter Polka, a professor at Niagara University who taught Ceretto while he was in college.

In accordance with Gov. Andrew Cuomo's vision and strategy for building a world-class nanotechnology workforce in New York, the New York State School Boards Association and SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering announced nominations will be accepted for the third annual "Be the Change for Kids" Innovation Awards, which recognize educational programs that help students gain important 21st century learning and career skills.

Seneca Gaming Corp. will host its eighth annual Spring Career Fair Wednesday, March 19, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Seneca Niagara Events Center in Niagara Falls, 310 Fourth St. Recruiters will be available to meet with job-seekers for more than 150 available full- and part-time positions at two Seneca Casino locations in Niagara Falls and Buffalo.

The third annual "Red Carpet Raffle" to benefit the Ghostlight Theatre will be held from 6-11 p.m. on Saturday, March 22, at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 755 Erie Ave., North Tonawanda. The doors open at 5:30 p.m.

The following activity occurred Monday, Feb. 24, to Saturday, March 1, as reported by the Lewiston Police Department. LPD logged a total of 100 response calls during this period.

Among the many news items covered at Monday's Lewiston Town Board work session came a bombshell: Town Supervisor Dennis Brochey revealed the state Department of Environmental Conservation has moved on approving four permits with Quasar Energy of Ohio, allowing for use of upward of 2,500 acres of lands in the Town of Lewiston for the injection of processed equate from a Quasar facility in Wheatfield. State DEC approved the permits last summer; they allow for the injection/spreading of equate on lands in the town to begin almost as soon as the ground thaws.

It was learned Monday the permits were approved by DEC last August. That information was conveyed via correspondence from DEC to then Lewiston Supervisor Steve Reiter where it sat with no response.

Niagara County government offices will be closed Wednesday due to an anticipated major late-winter snowstorm that is currently projected to be centering its effects on counties bordering Lake Ontario.

Niagara County Community College hosted the Western New York ACE Network for Women in Higher Education organization on Friday, March 7, with a luncheon and guest speaker to celebrate Women's History Month. More than 30 members of the organization and their guests attended the annual event held on the Sanborn campus.

America, originally scheduled to perform on the "BPO Rocks" series Friday, March 28, has been postponed to June 5.

Linda Hamilton ("The Terminator") will star as an admiral of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier battling an ancient monster in the new Syfy Original Movie "Bermuda Tentacles," premiering Saturday, April 12, at 9 p.m.

The Western New York Regional Economic Development Council recently held a roundtable summit in Niagara Falls to discuss strategies and programs to assist Niagara County with regional economic development priorities. Participants were joined by members of the WNYREDC, elected officials, industry leaders, economic development partners and other invited members of the county communities for participatory roundtable discussions.

The summits focused on learning more about the role of the WNYREDC, the New York State Consolidated Funding Application process, the components of a successful funding application, and ultimately how to cultivate an increase in Niagara County projects that successfully receive state resources and support through the next round of the CFA funding process.

Fidelis Care, a statewide health plan with more than 975,000 members, reminds New Yorkers March 31 is the deadline to apply for coverage through NY State of Health: The Official Health Plan Marketplace.

The New York Lottery today announced a top prize winning ticket for the March 9 TAKE 5 drawing was sold at the Rite Aid at 3636 Ransomville Road in Ransomville. The winning ticket is worth $59,577.

As part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's "NY Open for Fishing and Hunting" initiative, the Angler Achievement Awards Program established a new state record for brook trout, New York State Department of Conservation Commissioner Joe Martens announced.

"Almost 200 entries were submitted into the program in 2013 with more than 75 percent of those qualified under the Catch and Release Category, indicating the sound stewardship ethic of New York's anglers," Martens said. "Not only does the Angler Achievement Awards Program provide deserved recognition to those anglers catching trophy fish, it also provides a useful snapshot of the quality of the state's freshwater fishery."

You may have diabetes and not even know it. According the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 25.8 million people have diabetes. Of these, 7 million have undiagnosed disease.

"Dancing with the Stars" is back, and, for the first time ever, the show will premiere with a massive opening number featuring all pro dancers as they perform live with musical guest Jason Derulo.

From Twinkies to Tastykakes, Goldfish Crackers to Pretzel Rods, and potato chips to doughnuts, viewers will experience all the fun and tastiness of iconic snacks in the new culinary competition "Rewrapped," premiering Monday, April 21, at 8 p.m. on the Food Network.