[From niagara-gazette.com]

Fritz Proctor and his art teacher share a motto — “Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work.”

Proctor, who has spent his senior year participating in a prestigious program at the Albright Knox Art Gallery, already has a painting hanging on the walls of the art gallery, an honor rarely given to a 17-year-old…

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: http://www.niagara-gazette.com/news/lifestyles/teen-curator-nfhs-teen-artist-gets-headstart-at-albright-knox/article_e00e3f3e-fd8c-11e4-a181-eff601248a71.html

[From niagara-gazette.com]

Like most World War II veterans, Stanley Butcher of Lockport served his country valiantly and then returned to his hometown to get a job, marry and raise a family.

Oftentimes, it’s not until long after a veteran passes away that his family finds out all the details about his service. That was the case with Butcher’s family…

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: http://www.niagara-gazette.com/news/local_news/old-letter-sheds-light-on-local-veteran-s-service-in/article_3cb1c557-e833-513b-a050-eecbbf4158fe.html

[From buffalonews.com]

More than a hundred bicyclists will take off at 7:25 a.m. Friday from St. Johnsburg Fire Hall on Ward Road in Wheatfield for the ninth annual Ride for Missing Children, a 100-mile educational bike ride through Niagara and Erie counties sponsored by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Riders will take rest stops and attend pep rallies at local schools in order to educate both parents and children about prevention and services, especially services available in Niagara County…

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/niagara-county/bike-ride-raises-funds-and-awareness-about-missing-and-exploited-children-20150524

[From niagara-gazette.com]

As additions are made to the Hyde Park Veterans’ Memorial, it has proven itself a meeting ground for the community to celebrate its soldiers, and Saturday’s Memorial Day celebration was no exception.

In front of the black granite tomb that bears the names of Niagara Falls’ fallen troops, winged by walls with engraved names of soldiers from all regions that are watched by headstones in formation commemorating medal of honor recipients, speakers celebrated the contributions of local servicemen and servicewomen…

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: http://www.niagara-gazette.com/news/local_news/memorial-day-parade-ceremony-held-in-falls/article_9bed3614-6576-51bc-bfda-4128f3a7da30.html

[From buffalonews.com]

A former school building shuttered for years is another step closer to gaining new life.

A state agency recently approved $5.7 million in funding for the Niagara City Lofts project, which would turn the former South Junior High School into 61 loft apartments…

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/niagara-falls/57-million-okd-for-loft-apartments-at-niagara-falls-site-20150524

[From buffalonews.com]

The fourth annual Niagara County Teachers Charity Softball Tournament, to benefit Camp Hope and Niagara Hospice, will be held May 31 in Fairmount Park on Nash Road in Wheatfield.

More than 125 teachers will participate this year, from Starpoint, Niagara Wheatfield, Lewiston-Porter, Niagara Falls, Lockport, Barker, Wilson, North Tonawanda, and Newfane…

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/all-niagara-county/niagara-county-teachers-plan-charity-softball-tourney-20150524