Image of the Day – March 1, 2016

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March – Comes in like a lion, goes out like a lamb. So far, half true.

The Soapbox with guest Vince Anello – February 29, 2016

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Local Radio talk show host and former Mayor of Niagara Falls Vince Anello stopped by the NiagaraHub for a Soapbox interview. Craig and Vince discuss a topic that concerns all. We’d love to hear from you – either comment below or please send us your comments and your thoughts – theniagarahub@gmail.com.

Watch video here:

Image of the Day – February 29, 2016

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Niagara Falls, New York – USA

Image of the Day – February 28, 2016

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Morinello Announces Viable Alternative to Proposed Methadone Clinic Location

[Press Release]

Retired Judge and Assembly Candidate is Working Directly with Paladino

The Honorable Angelo Morinello, retired Niagara Falls City Court Judge and candidate for the New York State Assembly District 145, announced today that he has been in contact with Carl Paladino, founder of Ellicott Development Co., which owns 606 6th Street. This building is the proposed site for the Northpointe Council’s expanded methadone clinic, a move that has sparked significant concern with city residents. Morinello stated that following his discussions with Paladino, there is a viable alternative to this issue.

“I met with Mr. Paladino recently. He indicated to me that should Northpointe Council make a request, he would be agreeable to releasing them from their legally binding lease agreement for the property,” said Morinello, a practicing attorney with significant contract experience.
Morinello cited that Paladino believes that an education center, such as the proposed BOCES nurse training center, would better serve the neighborhood’s needs.

As an alternative location for the Northpointe Council methadone clinic, Morinello recommended that the city allow the vacated police station on Hyde Park Boulevard to be offered to the agency. “It’s a vacant city property that is not in a densely populated area, easy to secure, yet conveniently located off Buffalo Avenue and Pine Avenue, and is on a bus line, affording easy access,” he explained. “The building is not only large enough to support the methadone clinic expansion, but Northpointe could conceivably locate their other services there as well.”

With regard to possible remediation needs for the building, Morinello suggested that federal funding might be available due to the federal focus on opiate-dependency treatments. “This is the right time and opportunity to make this building viable and solve a concern for this city.”

“We need an elected representative who can think outside of the box, come up with solutions, and be willing to act on them,” Morinello concluded. “This is not a time for finger pointing. This is a time for action. We can’t continue to react to issues in crisis mode. We need to be proactive and seize the opportunities so that everyone wins. This is my goal.”

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Image of the Day – February 27, 2016

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Avery seeks support for City Administrator

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In 2008, a nationwide search was conducted to find the most qualified individuals to manage the City of Niagara Falls under the new leadership of Mayor Paul Dyster.  A major increase in pay rate for several positions was included to attract the best of the best. Comparisons to other local municipalities’ salaries shows the Falls was paying much more, but what the heck, we’ll be getting the best.

An economic development director was hired amidst the fanfare of his experience and charisma.  He failed miserably in his responsibilities, and the council voted to remove his position from the budget, encouraging him to find gainful employment elsewhere.

The fire chief was hired, and soon into his tenure fell to sickness, fell in a parking lot, took vacation, and rubbed a lot of people the wrong way with poorly choiced verbal interaction.  He was let go before the fire even started.

A city engineer was put on the books until they found out he didn’t have a license. (Maybe the second page of the resume didn’t print.)

The City Administrator was hired at a $110,000 salary, plus benefits.  To add to her value, it was made known that this represented a cut in pay for her to leave her previous job in Atlanta.

As her experience and talents became evident, she began to receive criticism within City Hall. The city council suggested cutting her salary to match her performance.  A cut was voted on and agreed to, the Mayor vetoed the cut.  Subsequently, the council was able to cut her pay in the budget to $70,000, after needing to override another Dyster veto. As a display of her loyalty, she remained on the job at a little over half the rate she was hired for.

This person is charged with running the City.  Managerial skills, people skills, communication skills, and relationship skills are all required, and assumed, in order to effectively and successfully do this job.

This writer has been openly critical of her performance and suggested she resign after her program of recycling and refuse management met with disaster.  She chastised small business owners who could not understand what she was saying, there was no plan for educating the public on changes to curbside pick up, and she was incapable of communicating her experience to the general populace.  Recently, she could not answer basic questions related to the plan for managing parking meters before the council was to approve spending $350,000 to purchase them.  Questions related to the lease and operation of the new train station still remain unanswered, just a few months from the anticipated grand opening.

I have advertised for support of my observations, as her removal is not my quest.  Although my views are painfully universal in discussions around the city, not many have stepped up to sing with me.  So I must be wrong.

I now am asking for those who are aware of the benefits the current city administrator is providing us, to stand up and tout her accomplishments.  There must be a city department head who can say what a good motivator she is.  Perhaps she holds her employees accountable in a way they know is good for the city.  Her committee work must be documented somewhere, but most who serve on committees with her have told me she doesn’t attend meetings. (I must be talking to the wrong people, ‘cause anyone this bad would have been fired long ago.)  I am appealing to the secretaries of any committees she serves on to share the meeting minutes with us to confirm not only her participation, but her leadership.

I hope I am wrong in my evaluation, but if I’m not, it’s not the waste of money to pay her salary for doing nothing that I worry about.  It’s the lost opportunity that effective leadership brings that we are missing and has cost us the most.  Ineffective leadership in city hall creates misdirection, scattered vision, and general conflict.  Department heads are forced to do more than their job description to make up for an absentee or incapable leader.  The trickle down effect can never be quantified, because things that may happen for the good, never do.

It’s time to resolve the issue: is the city administrator, charged with directing and managing our future, capable, and is she demonstrating her abilities to keep her job and lead this city forward?

PLEASE COMMENT, RESPOND, WRITE LETTERS

Write your thoughts to the Niagara Gazette, or email to:  theniagarhub@gmail.com

Niagara Hub will  post your letters, comments, and offer video interview time as well.  We must address this issue once and for all.       

 Let us know if we should rest at ease or do something to change our course.

 

Craig E. Avery

Erdco Development, LLC     

     

Cancer screening can lower death rate [Guestview by Renae Kimble]

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and the Cancer Services Program of Niagara County is urging everyone to talk to their doctor about screening and testing options for colorectal cancer (also called colon cancer).

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in New York state (excluding skin cancer) and the second leading cause of cancer deaths. Each year, more than 10,000 New Yorkers develop colorectal cancer and more than 3,500 die as a result.

It doesn’t have to be that way. With recommended screening, the number of people who die from colorectal cancer could be reduced by at least 60 percent.

When colorectal cancer is found and treated early, it can often be cured. In some cases, screening can actually prevent the development of colorectal cancer by finding abnormal growths called polyps so they can be removed before they become cancerous.

Racial/ethnic disparities are seen in colorectal cancer incidence and mortality rates, with higher colorectal cancer incidence and mortality rates in African Americans than whites. Hispanics have a lower incidence of colorectal cancer and mortality than whites.

The most striking difference is by gender, where men have 30 percent higher incidence of colorectal cancer and a 40 percent higher mortality rate than women.

Nonetheless, all men and women age 50 and older should get screened for colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer may not cause symptoms, especially at first, which is why regular screening is needed to catch the disease in its earliest stages. We want people to know there is more than one screening test for colorectal cancer and screening is easier than ever. The important thing to remember is to talk to your doctor, decide which screening test is right for you, and get screened.

The Cancer Services Program of Niagara County can help people who are without a doctor or without insurance. Call us at (716) 278-4898.

Although this disease can occur at any age, most people who develop colorectal cancer are over age 50. Anyone with a personal or family history of colorectal polyps or colorectal cancer, or with a personal history of inflammatory bowel disease is at a higher risk for developing colorectal cancer. Those individuals should talk to their doctors about when to begin screening and how often they should be tested.

Spread the word! Talk to your parents, siblings, children, co-workers, and friends about getting screened. The Cancer Services Program of Niagara County provides free colorectal cancer screenings for uninsured and underinsured men and women age 50 and older. If you have insurance, talk to a health care provider about when you should start getting screened. There are no excuses!

Celebrate Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month! Dress in blue on Friday, March 4, for “National Dress in Blue Day” to call attention to this disease. Give the ‘winter blues’ a different meaning this year and help to save lives, even your own!

The Cancer Services Program of Niagara County, an affiliate of Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center, is part of the New York State Department of Health’s Cancer Services Program. That program offers colorectal, breast and cervical cancer screening to eligible uninsured individuals in every county in the state.

The Cancer Services Program of Niagara County works to increase breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening among the residents of Niagara County through public education, policy and systems changes and the provision of free cancer screening for the uninsured.

For individuals insured through Medicaid, Medicare, and commercial health plans, including those participating in the New York State of Health, colorectal cancer screening is covered with no cost to the patient.

To learn more about screening options, visit: http://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/cancer/colorectal/screening.htm

Renae Kimble, Program Coordinator

Cancer Services Program of Niagara County

A service of Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center

(716) 278-4898

Image of the Day – February 26, 2016

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Just doin’ some duck hunting… no big deal.

Mayor Paul Dyster’s Statement On 606 6th Street

[Press Release]
“It is my strong opinion, as is has been since August 2015, that the highest and best use for 606th Sixth Street is the proposed Orleans/Niagara Board of Educational Cooperative Services (BOCES) Medical Training Facility, as presented in our 2016 Community Development Department Action Plan. This employment training facility has the potential to bring new professionals and students into a core neighborhood that is experiencing transformational investment with the Walnut Avenue Homes, Niagara City Lofts and Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center Golisano Center for Community Health. Between the intersections of Walnut Ave and Portage Road and 6th Street alone, $40 million of new housing, commercial, and health services development is happening simultaneously. Continued smart growth in the core of our City is essential, and it is exciting to see this unprecedented transformation underway. Conversely, the Northpointe Methadone Clinic proposed for 606 6th Street is not the highest and best use for this particular building or neighborhood. This use does not advance the city’s approved master plan or support the rest of the new development happening around it. We have made clear our strong opposition to the State of New York and the appropriate agency personnel. This statement reaffirms that opposition to all parties involved as well as strong support for the BOCES facility from the Office of the Mayor, Members of the Niagara Falls City Council and the community at large. As recently as today, we have been informed by the State that the facility has not received the necessary final approvals for locating at 606th Sixth Street. Our main priority is to continue working with the BOCES medical training facility to secure a lease to occupy the entire building.Western New York, and the nation as a whole, is experiencing an opioid addiction epidemic. The City of Niagara Falls is ready to assist New York State, and applicable service providers find the right location for these vital clinical services. Our residents deserve a voice in this type of decision making, and early education always helps prevent misunderstanding. It is imperative that any location isn’t determined until the Community has a chance to weigh in. We need to find a location for clinical services that is both appropriate for our neighborhoods and respectful of the clients trying to better their lives through treatment. 606th Sixth Street is not that location.”