PAGE 5 PAGE 2

DYSTERÊ’S CELLPHONE SPEED-DIAL

LINCOLN IRRELEVANT

TO NF “PC” CROWD

FREE MAY 8 - 15, 2012 SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS VOL. 13, NO. 19 FREE

Watchdog council demands answers ...

Story:Page 3

(Publisher’s note: This is the finalinstallment of a three-part investiga-tive series by Niagara Falls ReporterEditor in Chief Mike Hudson examin-ing spurious claims that the city was amajor hub of the Underground Rail-road in the years prior to the Civil War,claims that are now being used to jus-tify the spending of millions of tax-payer dollars celebrating a history thatnever happened.)

Even the most disinterested amongus are aware that the Niagara Frontierpossesses a rich and varied history, oneinvolving undeniably important histor-ical and cultural figures of just aboutevery race, creed and ethnicity.

Why then is the administration ofMayor Paul Dyster already spendingwhat will amount to millions of tax-payer dollars to celebrate a dubious,though undoubtedly politically correcthistory that – even if it were true andverifiable, which it isn’t -- would belargely insignificant in comparisonwith the region’s well-documentedpast?

Let’s take a look at some of thecity’s actual history, much of whichgoes completely without commemora-tion, and compare it with the largelyconcocted history put forth in the re-cently released Niagara Falls Under-ground Railroad Heritage AreaManagement Plan, which points up 23sites in the city that allegedly “servedimportant functions during the forma-tion and operation of the Underground

Railroad.”Even the most fervent advocates of

Underground Railroad history couldnot argue that its ill-documented activ-ities here were as important to the his-tory of the region or, indeed, of theUnited States itself as did the century-long conflict between the Europeancolonists and Native American Indiantribes that played itself out violentlyright in our own backyards.

The French and Indian Wars, Pon-tiac ’s Rebellion, the RevolutionaryWar and the War of 1812 – the bicen-tennial of which is now being crimi-nally ignored by the Dysteradministration – were all but episodesin the larger game that would deter-mine who would control what was thenAmerica ’s western frontier.

There was the burning of theFrench Fort du Portage in 1759 and thelater burning of Fort Little Niagaraduring the Revolutionary War. The OldStone Chimney – perhaps the oldest ar-chitectural artifact west of the HudsonRiver in New York State – standscrumbling and neglected in a formerfactory parking lot on Buffalo Avenue, bore witness to both of these events.

On Sept. 14, 1763, a wagon trainloaded with supplies bound for OldFort Niagara was attacked by a largeforce of warriors under the command

of the great Seneca war chief Farmer’sBrother in the city’s North End, wherethe trail crossed a small stream knowntoday as Bloody Run.

Led by a cowardly colonist namedJohn Stedman – who fled the scene andsaved himself – the entire 25-manwagon train party was wiped out,along with a British relief columnmade up of about 80 members of thevaunted 80th Regiment of LightArmed Foot, by experienced Indianfighters trained in guerilla tactics.

The battle, popularly known as theDevil’s Hole Massacre, was the largestsingle defeat suffered by the British atthe hands of solely Native Americanforces during the entire colonial pe-riod. Whole books have been devotedto the battle and its repercussions, butthe names of Farmer’s Brother, JohnStedman and Lt. George Campbell, thebrave but headstrong commander ofthe British relief force, are all but un-known here. The state has erected asmall marker to commemorate the bat-tle, while the city has done nothing.

Contrast this with the reputed trainride taken by Harriet Tubman in 1856or 1857, she couldn’t quite remember.

Like Davey Crockett killing a b’arwhen he was only three or John Henry,that steel-driving man who died in arace against a steam-powered hammer,much of Harriet Tubman’s life hasbeen relegated to the quasi-historicaland often whimsical status of lore andlegend.

The story of her brief passagethrough what would eventually be-come the city of Niagara Falls is basedon a single paragraph in a highly prob-lematic booklet, “Scenes in the Life ofHarriet Tubman.”

Although billed as her autobiogra-phy, Tubman, who was illiterate, had aghostwriter named Sarah H. Bradfordactually write it. Only about 40 error-riddled pages of the 132-page book isTubman’s spoken word story, the restbeing letters from well wishers aboutwhat a nice person she was.

The book was published in 1869,more than a decade after Tubman al-legedly passed through Niagara Fallson a train bound from Rochester toCanada , crossing over a bridge locatednear the present day site of theWhirlpool Bridge .

Even if her account was factual,her time in what is now Niagara Fallsamounted to about 15 minutes, assum-ing that the train was traveling at thethen-normal speed of 25 miles perhour.

Talk about 15 minutes of fame!Now that the ridiculous stories of

Tubman leading 300 escaped slavesacross the bridge have been put to rest,does the city of Niagara Falls reallyneed a park, a museum and walkwayon the bridge dedicated to commemo-rating an event that was so unimportantTubman herself couldn’t rememberwhat year it happened in?

Let’s contrast Tubman’s vague rec-ollection with a more concrete NiagaraFalls experience by another individualwho had a little bit to do with freeingthe slaves, Abraham Lincoln.

Not being illiterate, Lincoln wastherefore able to jot down his ownawed impressions of Niagara Falls fol-lowing an 1848 visit. The following isan excerpt from a 500-word account inLincoln ’s own hand, originally pub-lished in the nine-volume “The Col-lected Works of Abraham Lincoln.”

“ Niagara Falls! By what mysteri-ous power is it, that millions and mil-lions, are drawn from all parts of theworld, to gaze upon Niagara Falls ?”the future president wondered.

“There is no mystery about thething itself, every effect is just such asany intelligent man, knowing thecauses, would anticipate. If the watermoving onward in a great river reachesa point when there is a perpendicularjog of a hundred feet in descent… It isplain the water will have a violent andcontinuous plunge at that point.

“It is also plain the water, thusplunging, will foam and roar and sendup a mist, continuously, in which last,during sunshine, there will be perpet-ual rainbows.

“The mere physical of NiagaraFalls , is only this. Yet this is really avery small part of that world's wonder.It's power to excite reflection, andemotion, is it's great charm.”

Lincoln visited Niagara Falls dur-ing his return trip from Boston toChicago , between Sept. 23 and Oct. 5,1848. Later, on July 25, 1857, he re-turned here, signing the register at thefamous Cataract House Hotel as “A.Lincoln and Family.”

Comically, absurdly and ultimatelytragically, the former site of theCataract House is one of the 23 Niag-ara Falls sites identified in the Under-ground Railroad Heritage AreaManagement Plan as being important,though not because the Great Emanci-pator whose Proclamation freed all theslaves then living in the United Statesbut because the hotel was known toemploy black waiters.

“Many of these waiters had born inthe South and had likely escaped fromslavery,” the report notes dryly.

NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAY 8 - 15, 20122

Lincoln no friend to the slaves?MIKE HUDSON

NIAGARA FALLS REPORTERP.O. Box 3083, Niagara Falls, N.Y. 14304

Phone: (716) 284-5595E-mail: info@niagarafallsreporter.com

Website: www.niagarafallsreporter.comSite hosted by Niagara Internet

“The Truth is Always Fair”

PUBLISHERFrank Parlato Jr.

EDITOR IN CHIEFMike Hudson

MANAGING EDITORDr. Chitra Selvaraj

SENIOR EDITOR Margaret Coghlan

CITY EDITOR Ron Churchill

CONTRIBUTORSTony Farina

Lenny PalumboMichael Calleri

Frank Thomas CroisdaleMARKETING DIRECTOR

Michelle Reeb

All contents copyright © 2012 Niagara Falls Reporter

NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAY 8 - 15, 2012 3

Council majority to probespending at Holiday Market

By Frank Parlato Jr.

They may have thought it was over when theysubmitted their final report on April 30 to the city.Apparently it is not.

Global Spectrum made the final report for theHoliday Market - the outdoor vendors market on OldFalls street that operated last year from November26 to December 31.

The Market was developed by Idaho developer,Mark Rivers with $450,000 of public money -$225,000 from the city and $225,000 from the statethrough USA Niagara.

Mr. Rivers was supposed to match the $450,000of public money with an equal amount of privatemoney or in-kind goods and services to create a$900,000 market.

Global Spectrum is an international managementcompany that locally operates the Niagara Falls Con-ference Center and was assigned to monitor the ex-penditure of public money for the Holiday Market.

Now there seems to be a problem.A majority on the Niagara Falls City Council feel

the report made for Mr. Rivers’ is “totally insuffi-cient,” and “vague.”

Council Chairman Sam Fruscione told the Niag-ara Falls Reporter that the Holiday Market’s final re-port “was a mere outline, with a whole bunch of fluff.…I need to see invoices and bank statements. Proofof expenses. Receipts. I want the actual books. WhatI have instead is a summary and based on that sum-mary, they must have assumed the council are dum-mies. This is what I call a make-believe audit. It’slike the Wizard of Oz. Where is the man behind thecurtain?”

Mr. Fruscione is not alone in suspecting the suf-ficiency of the report, and is joined by two of hiscouncil colleagues, Robert Anderson and GlennChoolokian.

Mr. Choolokian told the Reporter, “I think it isunbelievable that they said they spent over $700,000on an event like that…. There is no way there was$700,000 spent down there. There is no way this wasa $700,000 market.

“I want proof that it was spent. I want to seeevery nickel. I want proof of how much money camein and how much was donated in in-kind services.

“This is a very poor report for determining whathappened to $450,000 of the public’s money.”

Mr. Fruscione said he was troubled by the lackof receipts for tens of thousand of dollars Mr. Riversor his company got in reimbursements.

“We need the real ledger. Anybody can make upa receipt on a computer. I want proof of every reim-bursement.”

Council Member Robert Anderson said he won-dered how $700,000 could have been invested intowhat was supposed to be a successful market and thecity got none of its money back.

“They made nothing?’ he said, “I’m pretty surewe took a nose dive. It was not an investment at all.It was like going to the race track.”

Referring to the shabby, undersized and under-

developed appearance of the Market, he added, “Wegot nothing, nothing but a joke.”

Mr. Fruscione was equally blunt: “I think wewere defrauded on the market we got. The city andstate put up the money and Rivers disappeared. Hedid not deliver what he promised. It was a solid ripoff. Nothing was done right

“$144,000 was spent on the ice skating rink andhe took in just $6,000. That’s as stupid as it comes.Some vendors were not paid. The state paid an addi-tional $32,000 to the Buffalo News meaning the pub-lic investment was close to $500,000 and nothing toshow.”

Gerry Genova, head of the tourism advisoryboard, was with Mr. Fruscione during the interviewand agreed to be interviewed also.

He said that his board had initially voted againstthe market and that Mr. Rivers set up some “makebelieve businesses” he said would be at the marketto make it look like he had actual vendors in order topersuade the city to give him money.

“Mr. Rivers met those first critical hurdles withmake believe businesses and you could tell: specialtycookies and pretzels etc. So he could say, ‘we havevendors’” Mr. Genova said. “Something is not righthere and that’s the next phase here. ‘Are we thepatsy?”

As early as March 2011, the Holiday Marketcame on the public horizon.

Reported in local newspapers as, “A European-style holiday market along Old Falls Street in down-town Niagara Falls,” Mr. Rivers, president and chiefexecutive officer of Brix and Co. of Idaho, emergedto partner with the city and state in a total investmentof “between $900,000 and $1 million,” according tothe Niagara Gazette.

It was billed as “an indoor-outdoor market thatwould feature 80 vendors offering regional, nationaland international goods and food and a regular sched-ule of entertainment and events. An estimate pro-vided to the city council (by Mr. Rivers) suggests theproposed market could draw as many as 250,000people to Old Falls Street by year’s end,” accordingto the Gazette.

Mr. Rivers informed city lawmakers that hiscompany would run the event as a nonprofit opera-tion. He said he would contribute his efforts free ofcharge.

With questions swirling, the Reporter contactedRyan Coate of Global Spectrum who supervised thereport. Mr. Coate said Global Spectrum, the escrowagent for Mr. River’s company, has nothing to hide.

“The report was audited by Freed Maxick CPAof Buffalo NY.,” he said. “They went through all theauditing tests that are proper procedures. Everythingwas done legitimately. Everything has passed the testof the CPA firm. The council is more than welcometo go through it with Freed Maxick at the city’s ex-pense.”

The formal agreement states that Global Spec-trum will provide the city, USA Niagara and Brixwith a “full and complete” accounting of the event

and that Mr. Rivers’ firm will assist Global in the ac-counting and providing all relevant information.

Last week, Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dystertold the media that he has no concerns about the han-dling of dollars — public or private — by Mr. Riversor any of the market organizers.

Mayor Dyster said he believes Mr. Rivers’ firmdid a quality job of both organizing and running themarket under the circumstances.

Still the report leaves many questions unan-swered. It does not mention that Mr. Rivers was him-self a vendor. He operated seven of the 30 booths.

Were his employees paid by taxpayers? Was hisinventory paid by taxpayers? Who got the moneyfrom the sale of these products?

USA Niagara President Chris Schoepflin saidthe project was expected to create 300 part-time jobs,$30,000 in sales tax for the city, $35,000 to $50,000in added parking revenue, and $3,000 more in bedtax from increased hotel stays

In the report there is no proof of any of this.The market in reality was four concerts, an ice-

skating rink, 30 wooden booths, not unlike tool shedsand several tents for vendors, a 21-foot-tall Christ-mas tree, some decorations and scattered events – thelatter mostly paid by sponsors.

One interesting detail – in terms of what waspromised and what was delivered - is that while Mr.Rivers said 250,000 people would likely come to themarket, the Global report places the figure at 75,000.

Another promise was one where Mr. Rivers, re-peatedly, including in a written email to the boardmembers of USA Niagara, said that the market will“include 80 vendors.”

There were only 35, of which seven were oper-ated by Mr. Rivers himself.

Looking further into the report, one learns thatthe cost of the 30 vendor’s booths was around$100,000.

The Reporter contacted Dominic Cortese, ofCortese Brothers, who built the sheds. He confirmedthat the price of $100,000 was accurate.

The Reporter contacted John Echel, Brix Nia-gara's lead operational and logistics person for themarket to get a handle on other costs.

When contacted by the Reporter, Mr. Echel said,“I did not get paid in full for what I worked. I waspaid the first couple of months and the last paymentI had to settle for substantially less than the amountI billed for…. Mark Rivers shorted me….I think hewas in over his head.”

The Global report also reads that “Advertisingwas critical to raising awareness of the Market anddriving traffic to specific events… a number of pro-motions/giveaways... were successfully executedwith the media partners.”

One of these media partners Mr. Rivers utilizedwas Western New York Family Magazine. Accordingto Michele Miller, owner, publisher and editor of themagazine, founded in 1984, she said was stiffed ona bill owed by Mr. Rivers to the tune of more than$1,000.

(Contd on page 4)

NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAY 8 - 15, 20124

Ms. Miller told the Reporter, “Weassumed Mr. Rivers word was good.We tried every way possible to politelyrequest our unpaid bill for advertisingbe paid. Mr. Rivers ignored us. I justsent the bill to a collection agency… Iam sure the entire community wouldbe upset. I mean this gent had to knowhis reputation was going to ruined oneway or another if he does not pay hisbills.”

Moving into the category ofbizarre and foolish decisions, the re-port speaks of the concerts.

“There was no profit earned fromany of the concerts,” the Global reportsaid “The concerts were designed tobring awareness of the event, providea unique holiday experience, generatefoot traffic and elevate the stature ofdowntown Niagara Falls as a venue forworld-class entertainment.… The con-certs did not perform well and were alarge expense of the overall market....Global Spectrum is hopeful that thisseries of concerts has allowed the op-portunity to raise awareness to thevenue as a concert destination in Niag-ara Falls, New York.

Of course, this is odd. NiagaraFalls is to be a “concert destination,”but concerts here “do not performwell.”

Here are the Facts: The CanadianTenors ticket sales grossed $9,334.85.According to the report, the act cost$40,000, plus production.

Aaron Neville grossed $9,240.55.He cost $25,000.

BPO grossed $7,062.94 and cost$17,500.

Elisabeth Von Trap grossed$2,817.04. She cost $3,500 plus pro-duction,

$86,000 was allegedly spent onacts. Sales were less than $30,000.

But this was nothing compared tothe ice skating rink. The alleged costof the rink: $146.448.

During the event, the rink at-tracted only 366 paying customers fora total income of $6,463.

Someone decided to spend$144,448 on an ice skating rink for a37 day event and it lost $138,000.

Where is the rink now?

Perhaps most telling is the incomegenerated by paying customers.

Here is the list:

Vendor Rental: $17,238.50Food show Rental: $11,350.00Concert Income: $48,630.38Consignment sales: $6,930,00Ice Rink Revenue: $6,463.00

Holiday Market: lots of questions; Rivers’ rebuttal Dyster needstime on FOILsFor those who have followed the

Niagara Falls Reporter’s repeated at-tempts to get information from thedecidedly non-transparent Dyster ad-ministration, we are pleased to an-nounce that we have received wordfrom Nadine Wasson, Principal Clerkof the Niagara Falls City Clerk's Of-fice.

As her letter below indicates, theDyster administration requires 25days to determine if the Reporter’sFOIL requests seeking to find outhow the Dyster administration isspending the public’s money will berevealed to the public or will continueto be kept a secret.

Ms. Wasson’s letter reads in full:

“Date: May 1, 2012To: Info@niagarafallsreporter.com

“From: Nadine Wasson“Re: FOIL Requests made by

Frank Parlato“The City of Niagara Falls is in

receipt of numerous requests fromFrank Parlato pursuant to the NewYork State Freedom of InformationLaw. Specifically, those requests in-clude material pertaining to the courthouse / municipal building, NFC,Peter Kay, legal consultants, Hope VIProject, LiRo Engineers, LegendsBasketball Courts, authorized person-nel/ City bank accounts and docu-ments pertaining to Kevin Cotrell andthe North Star Project.

“No later than May 25, 2012,the City of Niagara Falls will notifyyou that your various requests will ei-ther be granted or denied.”

The Reporter will announce thenews one way or the other.

(Contd from page 3) The expenses were:Ice Rink: $145,106; Concerts:

$113,220; Advertising/Marketing:$103,770; Booth Construction:$103,280; Salaries: $100,677; Tents$61,182; Food Show Expenses$22,833; Insurance: $21,000; Land-scaping: $19,585; Travel: $15,100;Part-time salaries: $13,495; Retail &Ice Rink: $10,222; Propane: $8,342;Decorations: $7,122; and varioussmaller items totaling another $22,000.

The Holiday Market cost $782,423and brought in $83,682, a business thatlost $698,741 in 37 days.

The report raises many more ques-tions. How much money was reallyspent? One item, $61,000 for tentsseems high. Did the ice rink really cost$144,000? Who got salaries of$108,677?

There is no breakout as to whatvendors showed up. There are no fig-ures about who made money sellingwhat goods.

It appears there was no mechanismin place to calculate attendance.

Were there the 300 temporary jobsMr. Shoeplin said would be created?

Where were the media schedules,the proof of ads running and at whatcosts?

Of course, this story would not becomplete, if we did not speak to Mr.Rivers.

I asked him about WNY familymagazine.

He said, “they either have or willbe paid.”

He scolded next.“You could not pick me out of a

police lineup yet you character assas-sinate me every chance… You do nothave journalistic integrity”

I asked, “Why did you get in-volved in this project at a not for profitlevel?”

“I wanted to try to do somethinggood and meaningful in the commu-nity,” he said.

Why?“Because some people actually

care about their community. Somepeople care about doing good. Somepeople are actually interested in tryingto make places better. I know you liketo tear everything down by being neg-ative and being a liar, being untruthfuland being a horrible reporter but someof us actually like to try to do good inour community.”

Is Niagara Falls your community?“I’m a Western New York guy.”Was the market a success?“Sure it was. By the standard that

was drafted for it, it was of course.”Did you personally pocket any

money?

“I never received any money....The money was placed into a trust ac-count that Global managed for the en-tirety of the market. No one ever wrotea check to me except for some reim-bursements on behalf of the marketthat I made in advance.”

Is there any missing money?“Read the audit. There is no miss-

ing money. I am sure you will go outand lie. There is more accounting andauditing of this project than most pub-lic projects.... You’re a liar you’re anegative Nelly. You serve no societalpurpose. Why for a second should Italk to you?... I have no reason to be-lieve that you have it in your DNA towrite a fair and balanced story…. I didinvest personal money and I did investan extraordinary amount of personaltime on this.”

The promises you made were a lotdifferent than what the public actuallygot.

“There were a number of projec-tions and targets that were made. Partof the challenge that we had … is thatthe council did not decide to make itsfinal approval of the project until Oc-tober leaving us with about 90 days toput together a project that should havetaken nine months or more.”

So what was the value of this proj-ect?

“It brought thousand of peopleinto the heart of downtown at a time ofyear when there are usually onlydozens. It generated commerce. Itshined a light on Niagara Falls as aholiday destination. It brought familiesdown to a safe and secure environ-ment, proved that downtown NiagaraFalls after dark in the winter can be asafe pedestrian place; it generated ac-tivity; it generated business; it sup-ported existing business.”

Did you make a profit?“No. I wasn’t paid a nickel. I spent

thousand of dollars out of my ownpocket and hundred so hours of mytime and my staff time.”

Was it pure altruism?“I always felt Niagara Falls could

do better and I would love to be a partof its renaissance… If we could buildsomething great out of this maybethere would be a business opportunityof some kind.”

Mr. Fruscione said he, Mr. Ander-son and Mr. Choolokian will be meet-ing with corporation counsel, CraigJohnson to determine how to pursue avigorous legal probe of this matter.

He also said he intends to meetwith Mr. Coate of Global Spectrum.

The Reporter will be following thismatter closely in the coming weeks.

On May 1,Robert Restaino officially announcedhe was running for New York State As-sembly for the 145th district.

He will likely face RepublicanJohn Ceretto.

Mr. Restaino’s kick-off event washeld at Antonio’s Banquet Center , onNiagara Falls Blvd. It commenced at5:30 and, by my watch, ended prettymuch around 7:30.

It was a free event. Our roughcrowd estimate was 400 people at-tended.

Among the crowd were what somemight call a galaxy of stars, a “who’swho” of Niagara Falls notables. Therewas former school superintendent andbusinessman, Carmen Granto, busi-nessmen Frank Accardo, George Satar-ian, Bobby Tavano, Steve Reddy ofGross PHC, lawyers Robert Viola,Joseph Leone, David Boniello, AngeloMassaro and several others wholooked like lawyers.

Niagara Falls Memorial HospitalCEO Joseph Ruffolo was there and Ni-agara Falls School board membersDon King, Nick Vilardo, RussPetrozzi, Jimmy Cancemi, and ArtJocoy were there too.

Kyle Andrews, the Niagara Coun-try treasurer, Niagara Falls Councilmembers, Glenn Choolokian Chair-man Sam Fruscione, Bob Anderson,Robert Anderson and KristinGrandinetti, County legislators, DennisVirtuoso and Jason Zona, Mark Car-penter, a council member from thetown of Niagara, Sylvia Virtuoso, thetown clerk of Niagara, and JosephOhol, the councilmember from Cam-bria were among elected officials pres-ent.

Bruce Battaglia a former publisher

of the Reporter and formercouncil member was alsoseen in the audience.

There was Niagara Fallscity court Judge AngeloMorinello and Dr. Melvin

Dyster, Mayor Paul Dyster’s father.Former Mayor Vince Anello was alsoin attendance and was greeted with un-usual warmth by dozens in the crowdas if it were a homecoming.

It was not lost on this observer thatthere were a fair number of young peo-ple who you might not ordinarily seeat this kind of event. Not only AliciaLaible, who was there, and who hascome to represent locally the ideal ofyoung people taking an interest in gov-ernment, but also a great many others.

Perhaps they see something in Mr.Restaino, something a little differentthan the usual politician.

Perhaps it is their naive hope thatgovernment can be a force for good ina positive sense, instead of only as anegative force that restrains and con-strains.

To so many – Albany has an odi-ous reputation for self serving and amandate to drive every young, intelli-gent person out of New York State togo to places where government is lessof a burden on its people.

The food served was not unrea-sonable - for events of this kind. It wasalmost sumptuous. There was pasta inAlfredo and in Tomato sauce and roastbeef, turkey, Buffalo chicken wings,cheese, veggies and dips, and beer,wine and soda.

Bill Gallagher, a former councilmember in the early 1970’s, and a for-mer writer for this publication, was theMaster of Ceremonies.

After a crisp, neat speech, Mr.Gallagher introduced Mayor Paul Dys-ter to speak. Honestly it was peculiar

I was unprepared by the solemnityof his demeanor, the monotone of hisvoice and the clear unimportance ofwhat some might call near-drivel that

emerged from his mouth.He spoke as if what he had to say

was of world importance, but his sen-tences, of what I could hear, were long,tortuous and hard to follow. Indeed Ihad to creep closer, to hear him sinceas his speech rambled on from five toten to 15 minutes, people were clearlynot paying attention.

They were talking to each other.Picture a room of 400 people. The

Mayor of the city is speaking and no-body is listening. It was almost as if hewere the background music.

It did not seem to me that theMayor was cognizant that few werelistening to him and the bulk of thepeople were enjoying the party, dis-cussing the candidate and doing whatpeople do at political events – social-izing, making contacts and discussingbusiness.

I crept a little closer because thedin of the audience grew louder andlouder. People were laughing andshouting and frankly some spokelouder so that they could be heard overthe crowd which prompted others tospeak louder… and louder.

Nobody in the back could hearone word or seemed to care either.

From what I could gather, the

NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAY 8 - 15, 2012 5

Restaino announcement party well-attendedBy JosephF. Donovan

mayor did not care to talk much aboutMr. Restaino but seemed content toenter into a long soliloquy about him-self and things going on in the city andissues that confronted the city, the stateand the world.

As the audience ignored him.One of the organizers, was it Tony

Restaino, I believe so, tried his best toget the crowd to pay some attentionbut people were just not interested inMayor Dyster on himself.

It was extremely awkward. I wassurprised myself when Mayor Dysterspoke of the powerful connections hehad.

He held up his cell phone andsaid, “I have Governor Cuomo on myspeed dial.” He spoke also of havingthe President’s and US Senator KristinGillbrand’s private phone numbers, ifI heard him correctly.

All told, it was a 25 minute speech.When it was finally over – and indeedit was no burden to the audience- sincethey were not listening anyway - Mr.Gallagher got up, got the audiences’ at-tention and introduced Mr. Restaino.

Mr. Restaino, for a Democrat – oras we call them in my neighborhoodwith our accent – a Demon-rat - is a lot

(Continued on page 8)

If you’re growing tired oflosing money at the Seneca Niag-

ara Casino, where the odds are worse than anycasino in Las Vegas , you might consider sports bet-ting.

First, consider the “house edge,” the built-in ad-vantage every casino has for every game. The houseedge varies from game to game, but whether you’replaying blackjack, craps or slot machines the end re-sult is the same: If you play long enough you loseall your money.

Seneca Niagara has one of the highest house ad-vantages anywhere. Few serious gamblers go there.An inside joke amongst pros is that Seneca oncethought of giving its customers a complimentarydunce cap as a consolation prize.

Betting on sports is a smarter gamble. And if youknow what you are doing, you can play and winmoney indefinitely.

Sports betters are offered a 10-cent line or “dimeline” with point spreads set by the odds-maker.Whichever team you place a wager on, whether it isthe favorite or underdog, you risk 10 percent morethan you can win. If you bet $110 you can win $100.The $10 is the house’s commission or “vigorish” fortaking whatever bet you want to make. It’s howsportsbooks and bookmakers make money on theirwagers. Betting the 10-cent line requires you to win52.38% of your wagers to break even. When you areable to consistently achieve a percentage higher thanthis, you are no longer “gambling” you are an in-vestor.

This is often a better plan than betting on stocks,bonds or the commodities market.

Baseball is bet differently than the dime line. Amoney line based on odds is used. All your team hasto do is win. What makes betting on the money linea challenge is that popular or successful teams likethe New York Yankees often require a wager of$170, $180 or $200 to win $100. These odds helpthe bookmaker balance his bets by encouraging cus-tomers to bet on both sides and a reason differentbooks offer different odds. You have to shop around.

In case I might be misunderstood, I am not ad-vocating anything illegal. In repressive and anti-free-dom countries and states, it may be illegal for acitizen to bet on sports, a curious form of tyranny.Some governments are so hypocritical and repres-sive that less profitable forms of gambling are al-lowed, particularly if they are controlled through thegovernment or through tricky schemes the govern-ment makes with certain tribes or Sovereign Nations.

In the backwards, nearly third world state known asNew York, the people there may legally bet on horseraces or poor-odds lotteries if they bet through thestate, or walk into Casinos operated by people of adifferent race, with horrible odds, but should thepeople themselves do the same thing, or offer betterodds, they head straight off to prison.

This article is meant for the citizen of the worldwho lives in a liberty-loving land. And for thosereaders in New York with its repressive culture ofdominating the individual, while taxing him to theextent that he always has an excellent incentive toleave the state, as so many have done, this article ismeant as purely informational. Head to Nevada ifyou want a little taste of freedom and lower taxes.

Meanwhile, a bit of detail: Be aware that mostpeople tend to bet favorites. Odds-makers know itand factor it into point spreads and money lines,forcing favorite players to pay a premium for theirpreferences. This makes betting underdogs a bettervalue. Sometimes betting underdogs alone, withsome selectivity and strategy, can be an entertainingway to supplement your income.

Similarly, most gamblers prefer to bet “overs”rather than “unders” when betting on totals - thegamble of betting over or under the total number ofpoints or runs scored by both teams. Those who betovers get the short end of the stick from odds-makerswho know people tend to bet that way. This makesunders the more desirable option.

Betting against “public opinion” is the best wayto go. In the world of sports-betting, like most otheraspects of life, the majority is usually wrong. That’swhy sportsbooks and bookies rarely go out of busi-ness. If the public could accurately gauge the out-come of sporting events, there would be nobody leftto take their bets. Find out what teams the public“likes” and look for reasons to bet the other side. Themore lopsided the percentage of people backing ateam, the greater the probability it is destined to bea losing bet.

Get used to watching movements of the point-spread or money line. Line moves occur when thereis disproportionate action on one team and enablethe bookmaker to balance his action. Some linemoves are precipitated by over-zealous amateursrushing to cash in on what appears a sure thing. Oth-ers are the result of syndicates or “sharps” who ac-tually know a good thing when they see it and aremaking the most of the opportunity. Line moves to-ward favorites are usually the result of amateur ac-tion while line moves toward underdogs are usuallythe handiwork of sharps.

Perhaps the most important tool for success ismoney management. Undisciplined gamblers bet toomuch per game, looking to strike quick. These usu-ally don’t finish the season. Professional gamblers

generally consider betting 1-2% of their bankroll pergame as the safe way to avoid going bust. For exam-ple, if your bankroll is $100,000 you shouldn’t bewagering more than $1,000 or $2,000 per game.

The law of probability makes winning and los-ing streaks inevitable. If you’re betting too much andexperience a losing streak early, you won’t be aroundfor the winning streak to follow.

Also, avoid betting your favorite team or tele-vised games just to have “action”. Remember, youare not a gambler; you’re an investor. You have nofavorite team. This is business.

Prior to the start of the season, line up yourbookies or offshore sportsbooks so you have enoughoutlets to get your bets in. Nothing is more frustrat-ing than not being able to place the last solid $10,000or $20,000 of solid, disciplined plays.

If you’re going to sign up with an offshoresportsbook, be certain to research them. Some aremore reputable than others. Most are dishonest.Many a story has been told of big winners being sud-denly dropped as customers without collecting whatis rightfully theirs. Many sportsbooks are located incountries like Costa Rica and Jamaica where thereis no Better Business Bureau to hear your grievance.

With Major League Baseball in full swing, let’slook at some helpful hints that will keep you in theblack: The analysis of “starting pitchers” is the bigfactor in determining odds. Successful baseball bet-tors devote most of their time charting pitchers.Some pros insist analyzing pitching match-upsamounts to 75% of baseball handicapping.

Another useful strategy is to bet winning streaks.Baseball lends itself to long winning and losingstreaks. Many successful baseball bettors bet on ateam after it wins three games in a row and ride thestreak as long as it lasts. Often odds-makers are slowto adjust their lines accordingly. In any event, if youmake a habit of betting against teams on a winningstreak you’re asking for trouble.

When betting on baseball totals, pay close atten-tion to each team’s average runs scored per game,earned run average of starting pitchers, weather andumpires. Wind speed and direction can turn routinefly balls into home runs, affecting total runs and out-comes of your wagers. Also, know umpires like youknow pitchers. Each one has his own strike zone.Those with large strike zones are pitcher’s umpires.Those with small strike zones are hitter’s umpires.Factor this in.

Ultimately, every successful gambler will de-velop his “style.” If you stay in long enough, youwill acquire a “feel” for making smart plays andmake money, instead of flushing your hard-earneddough figuratively speaking down the toilet at thecasino.

LennyPalumbo

NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAY 8 - 15, 20126

Don’t bet stupidly at the casino, win big with sports betting

(Contact Lenny at lennyp99@aol.com)

The date is official. Aftermonths of negotiation, Nik Wallenda will attempt hiswire walk over Niagara Falls on Friday, June 15, infront of what are expected to be huge crowds on bothsides of the gorge and a worldwide television audi-ence. While many had hoped for a later date, extend-ing the busy tourist season into mid-September andpossibly even into October, the debate is over andWallenda will officially begin training for his stunton Thursday, May 10, on the grounds of the SenecaNiagara casino, for next month’s event. Visitors willbe welcome.

Wallenda will attempt the walk of his dreamsover the gorge near the falls without a rescue heliz-copter hovering nearby, although cable cars at eachend of the two-inch wire rope will be ready to try andsave him should he have trouble in the crossing.While Wallenda is a trained and highly experiencedperformer, the risk of his crossing is part of the spec-tacle and he is the latest in a long line of daredevils,in all sorts of contraptions or by wire, to brave the

falls to make their case for history. The difference isthis time the whole world will be watching. We wishNik, a brave young man of unquestioned acrobaticskill, all the best and hope the event is a grand chap-ter in the history of Falls’ daredevils and boosts theappeal of the world wonder as a tourist destinationfor many years to come ….

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo made a dar-ing splash of his own last week when he added some$450,000 to his more than $14.4 million campaignwar chest in a Buffalo stop, one of biggest hauls bya politician in local history.

The Campaign 2014 event was held at the newlyrenovated Hotel Lafayette in downtown Buffalo, andfeatured a smiling Cuomo mingling briefly withsome 100 well-heeled donors (minimum $5,000) in-cluding Russ Brandon, the CEO of the Buffalo Bills,who is in the midst of negotiations with Erie Countyand the state over how to pay for more than $200million in stadium renovations the team wants as partof a new lease deal. Taxpayers still don’t know howmuch that deal is going to cost them.

Brandon must be hoping he will do as well withthe state as the Hotel Lafayette and developer RoccoTermini, who in a touch of irony given the Cuomofund raiser, received a $2 million grant last Januaryfrom Empire State Development, the primary agency

overseeing the governor’s Regional Economic De-velopment Councils. Cuomo says he’s in favor ofcampaign reform but he has not offered his plan asyet and he’s raising money at a fast clip, perhaps withan eye toward the White House in 2016. a run his fa-ther never made ….

There was more than Wallenda’s upcoming walkinto history to talk about last week in Niagara Fallsas the Niagara Falls Reporter, in an exclusive story,disclosed that city planning chief Tom DeSantis hadquietly spent $36,000 to redo his kitchen in 2010without obtaining the necessary city building per-mits. We have learned that DeSantis has since ob-tained the necessary permits at a cost of more than$1,000, including penalties, and will face a new as-sessment now that the work has been revealed. Byall accounts, DeSantis is a top professional, well-schooled in the city’s planning code and thorough inmaking sure businesses meet the standards the cityhas set. It is unfortunate that he didn’t abide by theletter of the law in his own case and that oversightcertainly tarnishes his image as a no-nonsense de-fender of the city’s code. In the end, you can’t haveit both ways because somebody might catch you.That’s what happened to poor Tom, a top profes-sional who stumbled badly on this one and seriouslyundermined his credibility.

By TonyFarina

NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAY 8 - 15, 2012 7

Wallenda’s daring, Cuomo’s money, Desantis’ blunder

NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAY 8 - 15, 20128

more conservative than the liberals in Albany andwhen he spoke of his “heart found commitment” torun, to “initiate an effective change…” you could haveheard a pin drop.

There was no one talking now. All eyes were fixedon him.

“Along with the majority of New Yorkers, I havegrown sick and tired of elected officials who claimthey care, yet sit idly by as we continue to lag behindother areas of New York State…” and etc.

It was not what he said but how he said that com-manded attention.

When the speech was over, Mr. Restaino who saidwhat he had to say in about seven minutes, received acongratulatory applause.

Who knows? Perhaps 200 of the 400 people camethere to see if Mr. Restaino could be the one Democratwho will not sell his soul to the lobbyists, not brokerbad deals for the community at the behest of Assemblyleader Sheldon Silver. Some clearly seem to believethat Mr. Restaino can make a difference.

But will he, if he is elected?Isn’t that the billion dollar question?Curiously the one best argument John Ceretto

makes is the fact that he is aRepublican among a bunch oftax and spend liberals – andthat he does not need or ex-pect anything from SheldonSilver- so does not have to dohis bidding.

There is no fancy officefor him that mr. Silver cantake away, no special perks,or appointments to commit-tees with stipends and grandchances at lobbyist money.

What Mr. Restaino mayoffer is at best the goldenmean. A man who can workwith the majority, but not sellout to them.

Who knows if that is pos-sible?

Youth came out; audience listened intently to Restaino(Continued from page 5)

Laborers Local #91 business managerRichard Palladino told the Niagara Falls Re-porter last week that the local “through our Ex-ecutive Board and through our membership” issupporting school board candidate Vincent“Jimmy” Cancemi.

“He is one of the more intelligent people andwe are thrilled just that he asked us," said Mr.Palladino. "I honestly believe that if Jimmy isnot on the school board, the community loses.”

With the upcoming referendum wherenearly $70 million in school upgrades and cap-ital improvements – to be financed through aplan that will see New York state paying for 100percent of the costs – with no local monies beingused - to improve all 11 campuses in the district,local 91 has a lot at stake.

If the referendum passes, Local 91 memberswill find plenty of work over the next five years.

“All work is going to be done by unionworkers, that’s part of the contract,” said Cyn-thia Bianco, Superintendent of the Niagara Fallsschools.

Mr. Cancemi has been one of the leadingfigures on the board in developing the capitalimprovement plan and shepherding it to thepoint where it is on now the ballot.

It will be up to voters both for Mr. Cancemiand the referendum. School board election is onMay 15. The referendum will be held on Sep-tember 25.

Laborers Local 91endorses Cancemifor school board

Sign seen in a local nieghborhood, portrays a tender example of toler-ance for one another’s beliefs.

HOUSEHOLD SALE2711 Independence Ave., N.F.Fri. May 11 & Sat. May 12 @ 10 a.m.Craftsman riding mower, Lawn& garden tools, Grandmothersclock, oak glider rocker, sofa,frames prints & pictures, lamps,Queen bed, walnut dresser/chest of drawers & night stand,mini oak ice box, refrigerator,stove, loads of CDs, DVDs &VHS, Collectibles, bedding,clothes & many more items toomuch to mention!!!boshaneliquidators.com__________________PAT BOSHANE, MANAGER

— LEGAL NOTICE —Notice of Formation of a

Domestic Limited Liability CompanyRainbow Vineyard, LLC has been formedas a domestic limited liability corporation(LLC) by filing Articles of Organization withthe New York Secretary of State on May4, 2012. Office location is Niagara County.The Secretary of State is designated asthe agent upon whom process against theLLC may be served. The Secretary ofState shall mail a copy of any processserved upon him or her to 5645 YoungRd., Lockport, New York 14094. The pur-pose of the Corporation is to engage in thesale of produceto local supermarkets.

5/8/12 5/15/12 5/22/12 5/29/12 6/5/12 6/12/12

NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAY 8 - 15, 201212

Cancemi the logical choice for Niagara Falls School BoardBy Frank Parlato Jr.

Vincent “Jimmy” Cancemi is running for reelec-tion to the Niagara Falls Board of Education. Elec-tion day is May 15th. He is contesting for one openseat with Joseph Marinello Jr. of LaSalle Avenue .

There is perhaps something that could be writtenabout what the board completed in the last few yearswith Mr. Cancemi among its members that might in-terest readers, particularly those who vote.

For example, the settlement of all union con-tracts, upgrading every facility using state money, in-cluding electronic whiteboards in every classroom,streamlining programs, without eliminating any clubor extracurricular activity; reducing energy con-sumption and selling surplus electricity; streamliningmaintenance and participating in a now 19-year-oldstreak of not increasing the tax levy – a modern dayrecord in New York State.

“I looked at every budget scenario gap,“ Mr.Cancemi said of his work on the board. “There werefour different plans given to us by the State. And thething that is so beautiful, of the 13 positions this yearthat we had to cut, nine left because of attrition. Andthe other four will be able to come back in anothercapacity. As far as major layoffs, there were none.We completely reevaluated our entire maintenanceprogram by unifying teams of four people takingcare of three schools and streamlined enough to savejobs.”

Mr. Cancemi spent a quarter of a century teach-ing special education, working with children withlearning disabilities, attention deficit disorders, men-tal retardation and physical handicaps. He retired 10years ago.

A little of his history may be of interest to voters.Mr. Cancemi’s mother and father were born in Sicily,making Mr. Cancemi a first generation American.The family lived at 316 Memorial Parkway near 12thand Niagara Street . His father died when Mr. Can-cemi was seven. And, after his father died, Mr. Can-cemi worked as a shoeshine boy on East Falls Streetthen as a paperboy. At age 16, he got his first real jobat the old Treadway Hotel, in 1957, as a busboy. Nexthe became a room service waiter.

Bruno Scrufari was apparently a guest at thehotel at the time.

“I didn’t know who he was,“ Mr. Cancemi re-called. “I was just a kid coming out of high school.Bruno was going through a divorce at the time. I wasthe room service waiter and he would insist I sit in

his room and have coffee with him. I had more thanmany arguments with him because I was workingand I would get in trouble, never realizing that heowned the hotel…. After a number of days of this,he told me he owned the hotel and said ‘how wouldyou like to go to work for me at Scrufari Construc-tion?’”

Mr. Cancemi agreed and rose to chief clerk ofthe works, supervising cost estimating, insurancequalifications, New York State Labor dollars, pay-rolls, submissions, affidavits, and was involved inworking on the Niagara River blowing up ice withdynamite, opening up the flood intakes, the heat in-takes and building the Hooker Building .

Starting in 1961, he worked for eight years withthe Niagara Falls Police and Fire Departments as acommunications officer. Meanwhile, as he worked,he went to college, first at NCCC and then BuffaloState in the Special Ed program, completed in 2years.

Mr. Cancemi was a Special Education Teacherfor a total of 25 years with the Niagara Falls SchoolDistrict . He was named Teacher of the Year. He wasonce Director of the Child Find Project/No ChildLeft Behind. And, for those who may not know, Spe-cial Education is for children who are handicappedby New York State definition, who need extra timeon tasks, and require a revision of materials that arepresented.

“A lot of tender care,” Mr. Cancemi explained,“a lot of counseling…and I am proud to say NiagaraFalls special education rate of graduation in NewYork State is up over 18% over other cities of thesame size.

“When I went into education, Special Educationchildren were looked on as a burden. Many felt weshouldn’t spend money on them because they wouldalways be on some sort of social subsidy. I alwaysfelt we could teach more academics in what theycalled at that time ‘home schooling wards’ wherethey took care of their bodily needs and little things,that’s all. They didn’t have reading scores to go fur-ther and if a child can’t read, where is he going togo?

“What we had to do was streamline the courses.I couldn’t teach an 8th grade book on an 8th gradelevel. I would have to rewrite it down to about a 4thgrade level and then teach it that way. Otherwise itwould be like teaching a foreign language with nobackground. I have many of my old students outthere working now. Yes, often they are menial jobs.

But they are working, being productive members ofsociety, being part of their community, self-suffi-cient, living on their own. Just because they arehandicapped doesn’t mean they go away on gradua-tion. They’re around for 50, 60, 70 years, just likeeverybody else.”

Long before he was a teacher, as he worked toput himself through college, he started a business,out of the trunk of his car, using catalogues, sellingfurniture door to door. He called it Cancemi furni-ture.

After becoming a teacher, he worked this busi-ness nights and weekends and grew his furniturecompany to a store on Pine Avenue with 12 employ-ees. Cancemi Furniture is presently located at 5516th Street .

While he was a teacher, he met his future wife,Kathleen, who was also a teacher, a speech therapistwith the Niagara Falls School District . The two metat work, married and had two sons, now grown, Vin-cent Jr. and Anthony, both of whom still live in Ni-agara County .

During what might be arguably a fairly activelife, Mr. Cancemi found time to be and still is co-Chairman of the Italian Festival, a member of the Ni-agara Falls Boys Club, the Boys Club Auction, theFoundation for Niagara Community College forhigher education and President of the Niagara FallsEducation Foundation.

What do you still need to do on the board thatprompts you to seek reelection?, the Reporter asked.

“We need to get mandate relief from the State,’Mr. Cancemi promptly answered. “The state createsmandates that cost the School Board so many dol-lars, but does not pay for their implementation. Wehave made cuts. We have taken out of our reserves.We are involved with BOCES because they get moremoney than we get and we use their money to pur-chase things on state contract less expensively. Weteam with Niagara University , Buffalo State and Ni-agara Community College and use the resources ofall their students taking all their educational pro-grams coming into our programs at really no cost toour school district. We have programs where ourchildren are taking advanced level courses in highschool. By the time they graduate from high school,some of them have 15-18 hours of college done, al-most the first year done when they finish highschool. These are great achievements. But above all,we need to curb state mandates.”

(Continued on Page 16)

Before, during and after the Holiday Market, which ran from November 26until December 31. 2011, developer Mark Rivers advertised the market on hisweb site: www.niagaramarket.com.

While the website is inactive now, during the event, never once were thereposted actual pictures of the Market.

Instead, Mr. Rivers used pictures of real European markets clearly intendedto make people believe these were photos of the Niagara Holiday Market. Ablurb at the left top of the home page, near the misleading photos, claimed theNiagara Market is the largest such event of its kind in the country.

While advertising his vendors row of shops, he used these pictures.

Below is what the Niagara Holiday Market actually looked like.

In describing Market attractions, the website claimed the Market had a"spectacular Christmas tree."

However Mr. River’s never posted a true picture of the Niagara HolidayMarket’s Christmas tree, which was 21 feet tall, but chose insetad to post acropped picture of the lighted 70-foot-tall spruce at Rockefeller Center.

NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAY 8 - 15, 2012 13

Holiday Market : what was promised and delivered

On the left is thetree that was ad-vertised on hiswebsite.On the right theactual tree.

While advertising his skating rink, Mr. Rivers did not show a picture ofthe actual rink at the Market but a picture of Wollman Skating Rink(lowerleft) in Central Park in Manhattan. The picture was cropped so that onedoes not see the well-known New York City skyline in the background.On the right (below) is the actual rink at the Holiday Market.

Readers of theNiagara Falls Reporter may have no-ticed an advertiser on our cover, a ban-ner lusciously laid out across thebottom of the cover page, with an in-telligent looking man with an honestface endorsing it.

The banner is for FinditQuick.Founded more than ten years ago

by Ron Halleen Jr. of Niagara Falls ,the company was born out of his on-line efforts to promote his father’sbusiness, Halleens Automotive onMilitary Rd. in the town of Niagara .

In time, Mr. Halleen modified aninternet coupon buying concept to em-phasize local businesses and with theintent to generally avoid the vanillaand often uninspiring coupon offers ofthe national chains.

This is about local businesses andthe deals they offer.

If one subscribes, a simple enoughtask, found in your email each day isinformation about a “daily deal,” eachone an offer to purchase a coupon re-deemable at a local business with aguaranteed minimum 50 percent sav-ings off what regular customers pay.To subscribe, it is free.

A subscriber only purchases thecoupons he wants.

Recently, I found in my email boxa chance to purchase a $15 coupon atOld Man River in North Tonawandafor $7.50.

I paid $7.50 online with my creditcard, printed out the coupon andbought $15 worth of food off the menuat the lovely riverside restaurant: sixhot dogs instead of the usual three.

Another day, a coupon costing $7bought $15 at Mikes’ Subs in Ken-more .

On another day comes anotheremail. This time a $50 coupon thatbuys $107 worth of range shooting atNiagara Gun Range .

Better Smile in East Amherst of-fered a $242 coupon for $50 for newpatients. United Auto in Niagara Falls

offered $5 car inspections. It’s nor-mally $21. Rapids Bowling Center of-fered $50 worth of bowling for $15. Ihaven’t bowled in years, but at thatprice, why not?

Wagner’s Farm Market and Grilloffered a coupon for $10 that permitsthe bearer to buy $20 of market prod-ucts. I’m saving that one for my nexttrip to Sanborn.

DJ the Dee Jay Limousine Serv-ice: $150 for the $300 service of a sixhour night on the town in a limo. NowI just have to choose which of manysuitors I want to go with to the prom.

Every day there is a new deal andnever any obligation to buy. You don’thave to use the coupon that day either.Most offers last 30 to 60 days.

To subscribe, you don’t need acredit card or even prove you have theability to buy a single coupon ever.

Half the fun is the surprise ofopening your email to see what localbusinesses are offering what discounts.

Ryan Pritchard is in charge ofmarketing for the company. He toldthe Reporter about opportunities forlocal businesses to use FinditQuick to

offer coupons without incurring anyprinting expenses.

“Businesses looking for new cus-tomers can take advantage of Find-itQuick’s large subscriber base,” hesaid.

Besides email, FinditQuick mar-kets “daily deals” on Facebook, Twit-ter, a newsletter, a business profilepage, banner ads, text ads, Widget adsand more.

“For advertisers, this lets themtake advantage of a large network ofsubscribers and publishers to reach outto discretionary spenders, young ur-banites and other target audiences,”said Mr. Pritchard. “Advertisers appre-ciate the fact that FinditQuick com-mission fees are among the lowest inthe industry. Once a deal is featuredand a buyer buys and prints out thecoupon, we send the advertiser acheck.”

FinditQuick is located at 8962Porter Road in Niagara Falls , NY .

To subscribe, just go online atwww.FinditQuick.com.

(Contact Shellene Reich atinfo@niagarafallsreporter.com)

NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAY 8 - 15, 201214

Shellene Reich

Open your email every day and save $$$ Niagara Falls’ FinditQuick offers daily savings at local businesses

NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAY 8 - 15, 201216

Dr. Timothy Murphy to leadMemorial’s Osteopathic FamilyMedicine Residency Program

Dr. Timothy Murphy

Niagara Falls Memorial MedicalCenter has appointed Timothy G. Mur-phy, D.O., director of its OsteopathicFamily Medicine Residency Programeffective June 18.

The appointment was announcedby President & CEO Joseph A. Ruffoloand Vice President & Chief MedicalOfficer Vijay Bojedla, M.D.

Dr. Murphy is a graduate of SUNYCollege at Buffalo and the University

of Health Sciences College of Osteo-pathic Medicine in Kansas City, Mis-souri. He served his family practiceresidency at Niagara Falls MemorialMedical Center and has spent much ofhis career practicing family medicinein North Carolina. He returned toWestern New York in 2010 to eventu-ally assume the position of Medical Di-rector of the PACE/LIFEprogram/"Care of the Frail Elderly"along with hospitalist duties at MercyHospital, Buffalo.

Dr. Murphy holds board certifica-tion from the American Board of Fam-ily Medicine and is fluent in bothSpanish and American Sign Language.

The Osteopathic Family MedicineResidency Program at Niagara FallsMemorial Medical Center is a clinicalaffiliate of the Lake Erie College ofOsteopathic Medicine, a member ofthe Lake Erie Consortium for Osteo-pathic Medical Training (LECOMT)and is accredited by the American Col-lege of Osteopathic Family Practice asan Osteopathic Family Medicine Resi-dency Program site.

Then there’s the referendum wherevoters on September 25 can decide ifthey want the state to pay 100 percentof capital improvements to the 11 cam-puses in the district at around $70 mil-lion.

“That’s a no brainer,” Mr. Cancemisaid. “If they turn it down this year, Idon’t know what we’re going to do.The people have to understand, it is re-imbursed by the State. There are somany demands – mandates required bythe state, that costs us money. Now wehave an opportunity to improve ourbuildings with state money. If we up-date our buildings they will be more

energy efficient.”Considering he went to the Niagara

Falls School District as a student, thentaught there for 25 years, has knowl-edge of construction, budgets, is a life-long Niagara Falls resident, and hasdeveloped a successful, now 30 yearold Niagara Falls business, along withhis many unpaid volunteer duties formainly educational and youth charities,it strikes us that Mr. Cancemi has theright blend of experience, work ethicsand motivation to represent the inter-ests of taxpayers, teachers and stu-dents, for the challenges that face theschool district in the next five years.

(Continued from page 12)

Referendum top priority for Cancemi

There wasshocking news last week that 43-year-old former NFL star Junior Seau com-mitted suicide, renewing the debateover the damage caused by concussioninjuries to football players during theircareers and what effects those injurieshave on their post-football lives.Chronic Brain Encephalopathy is abrain dysfunction caused by blows tothe head and researchers want to studySeau’s brain to help in their work.What most of us will remember is thesight of Seau chasing down a ball car-rier during his prime with the SanDiego Chargers, a clearly hard-nosedand talented player who was a big con-tributor to the success of the teams onwhich he played. For him to take hisown life at such a young age, not farremoved from his playing days, is cer-tainly a tragedy and may involve morethan the effects of brain-damaging in-juries. It is clear that many athleteshave difficulty coping with life oncethey retire, no matter the state of theirbrains. Personal family issues as wellas financial decisions gone awry canalso lead to destruction and we maynever know the reasons why Seau tookhis own life. What we do know is thatit seems like such a senseless tragedyand who was not moved by the sight ofhis grieving mother sobbing uncontrol-lably over the loss of her son. Seauwasn’t the first athlete to depart in such

a way and he won’t be the last. But itis disturbing when it happens andcauses us to pause for a moment towonder abut the physical and mentaltoll on a fallen star after their playingdays are over.

On another sports note, not quite asdisturbing but a tragedy nonetheless,famed Yankee closer Mariano Riverasuffered what could be, at age 42, a ca-reer-ending knee injury while shaggingflies in Kansas City . For Yankee fans,and I know there are many of you outthere, losing Rivera in what was likelyhis last year anyway, is like losing abest friend. Seeing No. 42 walk to themound with the game on the line wasa reassuring sight, one that we willnever forget. Rivera would usuallyclose out the game with hardly a peepfrom the opposition, using the cut fastball they knew was coming but stillcouldn’t hit. Rivera is the all-timeleader in regular season saves with608, the all-time leader in post-seasonsaves with 42, a five-time World /Se-ries champion, and a 12 time all star.The numbers speak for themselvesabout what kind of pitcher he was, butRivera was, much like his good friendDerek Jeter, one of the classiest ath-letes ever and one that you could beproud to talk about with your childrenand grandchildren, and that’s not some-thing you can say about a lot of athletesof our time. Rivera may have thrownhis last pitch given the severity of hisinjury, but he won’t soon be forgottenby those of us who have had the pleas-ure of seeing him take the mound anddo his thing. Best of luck, Mariano, andyour next stop will be the Hall of Fameon the first ballot.

NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAY 8 - 15, 2012 17

Sport’s notesBy TonyFarina

Unlike the Hard Rock Café summer concerts or the Niagara Falls BluesFestival, the Main St. Music and Art Festival is funded entirely by privatesponsorships and does not burden taxpayers for its existence. It smacks ofgood old fashioned Americanism where the people who want to present en-tertainment find a way to pay for it themselves and make it profitable.

NIAGARA FALLS REPORTER MAY 8 - 15, 201218

Founders of the Feast

State Senator George Maziarz and Assemblyman John Ceretto were instru-mental in bringing Nik Wallenda to the Falls.

Mr. Wallenda said last week that he will likely be wearing jeans and a t-shirtfor his walk across Niagara Falls on June 15. He will be wearing very thin elk-skin shoes, made by his mother, so that his feet can "feel the wire.”

At a press conference in which about 50 local, national, and international

reporters attended, Mr. Maziarz and Mr. Ceretto introduced the dare devil, whosaid he will not be wearing any type of safety harness.

“I’ve done walks longer. I’ve done walks higher. I’ve done walks in the rainthat were longer and higher, but none of them will compare to this. This is thewalk of my lifetime,” Mr. Wallenda said.

The event has captured the imagination of the world. It has reminded mil-lions of people around the world of the glamour and the glory of Niagara Falls.Of course, we have Nik Wallenda to thank for his intrepidity and courage. But,

had it not been for the efforts of State Senator George Maziarz and State Assem-blyman John Ceretto, who together provided the political will, energy and risk-taking, this historic event would not likely have been scheduled to take place.

State Senator George Maziarz and Nik Wallenda Nik Wallenda State Assemblyman John Ceretto and Mr. Wallenda

Photographs by Ron Churchill

MAY 8 - 15, 2012 19

— LEGAL NOTICE —Notice of Formation of a

Domestic Limited Liability Company

Name of LLC: Monaco Food and FarmsLLC. Date of Filing of Articles of Organi-zation with the New York Dept of State:Jan. 10, 2012. Office of the LLC: 4775Upper Mountain Road, Lockport, N.Y., Ni-agara County. The NY Secretary of Statehas been designated as the agent uponwhom process may be served. NYSSmay mail a copy of process to the LLC atC/O United States Corporation AgentsINC., 7014 13th Ave., Suite 202, Brook-lyn, N.Y. 11228. Purpose of LLC: FoodService and Produce and Fruit Sales. Nospecific duration attached to LLC.

4/3/12 4/10/12 4/17/12 4/24/12 5/1/12 5/8/12

— LEGAL NOTICE —Notice of Formation of a

Domestic Limited Liability Company

ROZAN GARDEN, LLC (the “LLC”) filedArticles of Organization with the NY StateSecretary of State (“NYSSS”) on March23, 2012; the LLC is located in NiagaraCounty; NYSSS is designated as agent ofthe LLC upon whom process against itcan be served; a copy of any processserved upon NYSSS will be mailed to theLLC at 15 Shadowdale Drive, StoneyCreek, Ontario, Canada L8E5Z4; the pur-pose of the LLC is to engage in any lawfulact or activity.

4/17/12 4/24/12 5/1/12 5/8/12 5/15/12 5/22/12

•1237 SWANN ROAD. 3 br Ranchw/tons of possibilities. Breezeway &finished garage could add extra livingsp. Garage door still in place if you pre-fer a standard garage! Oak kitcabinets, lr/dr, CA & hw floors. Sliderdoor to patio & private yard w/ 2 lgsheds. Fantastic starter or retirementhome! $94,900•4652 UPPER MOUNTAIN ROAD.Beautiful raised ranch w/ 4 brms upand full bath. Lower area has familyrm, kitchenette, apt set-up with laundryand storage area. 2-car attachedgarage and 2-plus detached garagew/220 line. Above ground pool, greatlot and fantastic school district.$159,900•610 20TH ST. 2-family that is current-ly rented out as a single. Separateelectric, 1 furnace, upstairs apt has 1/2bdrms & downstairs has 1 br. Updatedsiding, windows & roof. 2 porches,parking & newer rugs. Tenant pays$550 per month + all utilities. $29,900

Lewiston 754-3301Niagara Falls 213-6070

ROOM FOR RENT. Furnished, sharedkitchen/ bath, 19th Niagara St. $200/wkor $450/mo. 716-417-0604

DEAL REALTY

DealRealtyOnline.com

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING