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St.
John's pastor promoted to Williamsville. Fr. Joseph Gatto has only been at
St. John the Baptist RC Church for about four years but he's been promoted to the position
of Pastor of St. Gregory the Great Parish in Williamsville effective about July 14th.
St. Gregory is one the largest and richest parishes in the Buffalo diocese.
No replacement has been named for Fr. Gatto at Saint John's. (6/18/06)
State Road now
1-Way. The section between West High Street and S. Transit (pictured) was
changed to out-bound from downtown only recently. A signal light on Transit was
removed to make traffic flow into downtown smoother. (5/26/06)
Hardball. Longtime Lockport School District educator, Terry Carbone, was down to the only remaining finalist for replacing retiring Superintendent Bruce Fraser. But this week she refused, according to one published report, terms of a contract being offered even though it would pay her $135K/year compared a lesser amount now being paid Mr. Fraser. The School Board now could be back to Square One in trying to hire Fraser's replacement. (5/26/06)
New Pastor for St. Joseph's & St. Anthony's. Rev. Daniel Young, who grew up in Wilson, NY, has been appointed pastor of the two Lockport Catholic parishes. The two churches have operated for nearly six years now in combination, sharing one priest. Father Young's appointment is effective immediately. (5/26/06)
Urge YMCA to build downtown. Lockport Mayor Mike Tucker and city developer, David Ulrich have urged officials at the YMCA not to move the Y headquarters out of the city. The Y is seeking to extract nearly $10-million from the community to move out of its East Avenue facility to a huge new complex they would build in the Town of Lockport off Snyder Drive. The existing facility would be downgraded to a satellite office. Tucker points out there is plenty of room behind the present Y for expansion. Ulrich is offering the Y $25,000 in a donation if they will expand downtown. The move to the town, most observers see, as an effort to compete with athletic clubs for the upscale suburban customers and give-up on in-city residents. (4/27/06)
End of an era: High Street Deli closes. How many generations has it been who have attended John E. Pound Elementary School and snacked at the store across the street. First operated under the family name by the family of former Lockport Mayor Tom Rotondo, the new owners added take-out meals but cut out most of the grocery items for sale. Just a block away two gas and convenience stores made for tough competition. The building (pictured below) is now for sale. It is like so many local neighborhood groceries that have folded in the past 30 years. (4/17/06)
Widewaters Drive-In open for season. Another sign of the season was the opening of the drive-in feeding station across Market Street from the marina on the canal. The opening was Saturday, April 8th, well before water began to re-fill the canal for the season. No charge this year for boaters using the canal. All expenses will be paid by motorists paying tolls on the New York State Thruway. (4/15/06)
Intersection widening work. South Transit Road is being widened to produce a "turning lane" at Transit and Lincoln. Also seen in the background in this view is new construction on the site that Lockport's newspaper occupied before being bought out by an Alabama chain. The new construction is on the now-Eckerd Drug Store site where additional business and retail outlets are being built. Traffic congestion at this intersection will greatly increase. (4/13/06
Road work begins at Transit and Lincoln. Traffic jams sometimes back up to the north for blocks as south-bound traffic endures one-lane traffic near the intersection of Lincoln and Transit. Work has begun to enlarge the intersection next to where the city once had a large water storage tank. Turning lanes will be added so that, in the future, traffic should move more smoothly through this busy area. The work is being done mainly with State funds. (4/7/06)
White named Lockport City Treasurer. Deputy Niagara County Treasurer Michael E. White on Thursday has been sworn in as City Treasurer by Mayor Michael W. Tucker. White succeeds James W. Ashcraft Jr., who retired Dec. 31 after 26 years in the elected office. The 50-year old Republican said he will run for the final year of Ashcraft's un-expired term in this November's election. White's appointment puts State Senator George Maziarz (R) in more solid control of Lockport City politics. White is the brother-in-law of Maziarz. (3/4/06)
City DPW Chief quits. Gary Andes, hired by the former Lockport Mayor, Tom Sullivan, has given a brief two-week notice that he is quitting his job for "family reasons." Andes has been under pressure to take the New York State (Civil) Engineer exam but hasn't done it. When hired by Sullivan his background had all been in electrical engineering. He was making about $63K/year, a salary reduced from what Sullivan hired him at due to his failure to get a state engineering license. (2/3/06)
Expansion construction continues at Presbyterian Home. Contractors have been going at it for most of 2005 and now, still into 2006 on a multitude of project expanding and improving the Presbyterian Home along High Street, just east of Washburn. Over a million dollars in private money is reported going into the construction. (2/2/06)
New sports bar opens. It was known for decades as Rosie's but has been completed renovated and has re-opened under the name of Dool's. The new watering hole is off Stevens and Ohio streets and uses the slogan, "The last stop before you go home." (1/2/06)
Brewer gets $40K/year part-time plum for city project. The proprietor of The BrewHaus coffee cafe at Washburn and Chestnut Streets has landed another cash grant. Previously it was a low/no interest loan (over $100K) to start up her coffee house in a former factory/warehouse that had stood idle for many years. This week it was announced that Barbara Brewer has been named "Clerk of the Works" for the city's "Flight of Five" canal restoration project. The position will give her $40K/year for three years. (12/23/05)
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