Newfane Learning Center enjoys western themed dance

The students from the Orleans/Niagara BOCES’ Newfane Learning Center brought their school year to a close with an old fashioned hoedown. The dance was the site’s annual spring fling.

“The students and staff held a vote on this year’s theme,” explains teacher Margaret Hagan. “It was a team effort to create the beautiful decorations and prepare delicious treats for everyone to enjoy.”

Orleans/Niagara BOCES students in Mark Kurtz’s class at North Tonawanda High School helped to prepare and serve lunch to the dancers and joined in the festivities. “The kids had fun dancing and are already talking about what next year’s theme will be,” says teacher Sarah Koithan.

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Teacher Lindsay Fraley-Wilson, Coordinator Krista Macomber and student Brooklynn Cunningham. 

NCCC Graduates New Registered Nurses

Over four hundred guests attended a ceremony held last week to honor recent graduates of the Niagara County Community College (NCCC) Nursing program.  NCCC held a “pinning” ceremony on Thursday, May 18 on the College’s Sanborn campus.  Diane Roth, NCCC Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs for Nursing and Allied Health and Babette Strassburg, Assistant Professor, presented pins to 105 newly registered nurses. NCCC Officer in Charge and Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Luba Chliwniak welcomed the guests to the ceremony. Speaking on behalf of the graduating class was Timothy Hunter.  Board Chairperson Vincent Ginestre and Board of Trustee member Gina I. Virtuoso also attended the ceremony.  

 

Several awards were presented to outstanding graduates including the Professional Nurses Association of Western New York Membership award presented to Ellen Doyle, the C.A.R.E. award presented to Joshua Haseley, the NCCC Faculty Award for Clinical Excellence presented to Lyndsey Gubala, and the Elena T. Perone Faculty Achievement Award presented to Taylor Hauck.

 

NCCC is one of 30 community colleges in the State University of New York, the largest public university system in the country. The College provides more than 70 certificate and degree programs to over 7,000 students and is funded by the Niagara County Legislature, the State University of New York, and student tuition.

NCCC Nurses Pinning Ceremony May 2017

Brook D’Angelo to represent USW Local 9434 in Mexico

On February 19th, 2006, 65 miners perished in a mine explosion at the Grupo Mexico mine at Pasta de Conchos in the Mexican state of Coahuila. The situation began with (unfortunately common) horrible labor conditions and unfair compensation for workers. It climaxed with untold government and corporate corruption, leading to the deaths of dedicated laborers. Though they had been fighting for their rights as workers and as humans, they were consistently ignored by their employers, who were in favor of higher corporate profit.

The explosion seemed to be ignored as officials tried to sweep it under the rug. They had not even attempted recovery of the trapped miners. And when Napoleón Gómez Urrutia, the leader of the the national union of mine, metal and steelworkers (Los Mineros), denounced the killings, the government tried to remove him from office.

Enough was enough. In April 2006, the union called strikes across the country. Workers stood together to fight for basic rights. Government and corporations feared cuts to their profits if the workers were successful in standing up for fair wages and improved safety measures. Especially because they had such a capable Union leader and could actually win.

President Vicente Fox ordered an attack by police and military forces on the strikers. That order resulted in the deaths of Hector Ấlvarez Gómez and Mario Alberto Castillo Rodríguez, two union members at the steel mill in the Mexican town of Lázaro Cárdenas.

To commemorate their bravery and to stand in solidarity, annually thousands of members of Los Mineros are joined by more than a hundred United Steelworkers and members of Unite the Union from the UK and Ireland. They march to commemorate Hector and Mario and remind the world that the fight for safe and decent working conditions is not over.

This year, 4 people are going to join the march from the Western New York area to represent a portion of the District 4 United Steelworkers. Joe Vertalino, David Wasiura, Valerie Thomas (staff at the District 4 Office), will be joined by City of Niagara Falls employee Brook D’Angelo of USW Local 9434 (who is also their Women Of Steel Chairwoman).

Follow their journey as they travel to Mexico. This year they will be departing April 18 and returning April 22nd. Take this opportunity to promote the noble cause of international laborer unification and the support of the most basic of human rights and work safety. Ms. D’Angelo plans to extensively photo-document their journey. Consider interviews pre-trip and even see them off as they fly out of Buffalo.

United Steelworkers Presence in Western New York

USW District 4 has headquarters in Cheektowaga. The district covers CT, DE, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, RI, VT and Puerto Rico. It is lead by Director John Shinn. The USW Buffalo office opened around 50 years ago. Once on Genesee Street in Buffalo, now located in Cheektowaga on Cayuga Road.

The USW office serves as meeting space, a place for negotiation facilitation, mediation for conflict resolution, and even as training space. The staff are there to assist the membership in  any way that they can. They serve over 6,500 workers in Western New York alone and from many different industries. In WNY there are 70 plus Locals, from: steel, rubber, chemical, paper, public sector, mining, beverage distribution, and manufacturing, to name a few.

The United Steelworkers not only support their own members, but are very active within their communities. Groups like Women of Steel, Next Gen, and the Legislative committee groups are busy volunteering and often collecting items such as food, diapers and toiletries to help build stronger neighborhoods. They often work alongside other unions to ensure working families have good jobs and a bright future.

http://www.usw.org/districts/4

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Memorial to begin parking garage renovations

Renovations to the parking garage at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center will begin Monday, April 10.

The work, which will be completed in stages, is expected to last into the summer and will include structural repairs and maintenance on five of the structure’s seven levels.

The project is the first stage of Memorial’s plan to renovate and transform the parking garage and bridge connector into an aesthetically attractive interactive facility that will also host medical center and community activities.

“These repairs will ensure this nearly 40-year-old structure remains a safe and viable parking alternative for the patients, visitors and staff members who depend upon it,” said Steve Lewis, Memorial’s director of facilities management.

Although the garage will remain in operation, up to 180 parking spaces will become unavailable in order to maintain worker safety. Alternate parking arrangements will be made for hospital employees who use the garage to keep the remaining parking spaces accessible to patients and visitors.

“We will make every effort to minimize disruption and keep as much of the garage as possible available for use,” Lewis said. “However, we are asking those who park there as the project takes place to exercise extra caution when using the facility.”

In use since 1978, the 570-space parking structure also houses the nationally recognized Wound Center of Niagara and several physician offices. Its top level serves as a helipad for Mercy Flight helicopter.

Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center Guest View (by local physician Dr. Robert L. Bull Jr.)

Bull, Robert, MD 2017The Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center campus has undergone a tremendous transformation over the past 12 years.

The opening of the ER1/Heart Center of Niagara in 2006 and the Golisano Center for Community Health in 2016 have doubled the size of its downtown campus. The addition of a host of skilled and experienced physicians to its staff has resulted in greatly expanded high end surgical services and the opening of a primary care center, comprehensive wound care center, OB/GYN Center, bariatric surgery center and other vitally needed medical services along the 10th Street Medical Corridor.

All told, Memorial provided inpatient and outpatient services to more than 44,500 people (unduplicated count) in 2015 and again in 2016. In recent years, it has further solidified its status as a major economic contributor to the Greater Niagara Region with a stable work force of 1,200 employees, the creation of 150 well-paying new jobs during the past four years and an annual economic impact on Niagara County and the surrounding area of $275 million annually.

With this growth have come some serious challenges, especially at Memorial’s downtown campus. Its aging seven-story parking garage needs the kind of attention all such structures require after 40 years of service in a climate such as ours.

This structure is much more than a place to park. Its seventh floor houses vital hospital services including the Wound Center of Niagara and several doctors’ offices. The top level provides a helipad for Mercy Flight helicopter, a capability that will take on added importance in early April with the implementation of lifesaving cardiac catheterization emergency services at Memorial.

The growth being experienced along the 10th Street Medical Corridor has also added urgency to the need for Memorial to replace its aging emergency power generators.

The medical center and 1199SEIU, the union that represents more than 800 Memorial employees, recently launched a major joint initiative asking Governor Andrew Cuomo to provide state funding for needed capital and infrastructure improvements. The requested funds would renovate and transform the aging parking facility and bridge connector into an aesthetically attractive interactive facility that would host medical center and community activities.

They would also replace Memorial’s antiquated emergency power system with one that will guarantee adequate emergency power to support its critical role as a First Responder facility in the event of a public emergency situation.

Implementing these infrastructure upgrades will ensure Memorial’s continued ability to provide high-quality care by Memorial’s skilled and dedicated employees in a safe and secure setting for decades to come, as well as positioning the medical center for continued growth.

I urge you to show Gov. Cuomo your support for this project by visiting niagarafallsmemorialcares.org and adding your name to the petition at the bottom of the page.

[Robert L. Bull Jr., M.D., F.A.A.F.P., is a family physician at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center’s Lewiston Primary Care Center.]

Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center, 1199SEIU seek community support

image004Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center and 1199SEIU are urging the community to sign a petition imploring Governor Cuomo to provide $8 million in state funding for crucial infrastructure improvements to the medical center’s campus.

Improvements will include the restoration and transformation of the Tenth Street parking garage and connector. The ramp supports the parking needs of NFMMC’s 1,200 employees as well as patients and visitors. The bridge connector is in many ways the lifeblood of the medical center as it enables patients and visitors who park in the ramp to have weather protected, interior access to the entire campus including the hospital, nursing home, Heart Center of Niagara and Golisano Center for Community Health.

The opening of the Golisano Center for Community Health at NFMMC, combined with an expanding list of outpatient services have put a tremendous strain on parking in the neighborhood surrounding the medical center campus. A minimum expansion of 150 parking spaces is needed to accommodate this growth.

The final project will replace NFMMC’s outdated emergency power system to safeguard overall well-being on the medical center’s campus. This project will ensure adequate emergency power is available for all hospital functions in the event of a power failure.

Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center has been devoted to Niagara County residents for more than 120 years, addressing individuals’ needs and demands by offering patient-centered, compassionate medical care in a warm and caring environment.

Please visit NiagaraFallsMemorialCares.org and sign the electronic petition at the bottom of the page to urge Governor Cuomo to ensure these funds. Then share this message with your family and friends.

Bixler named HR director at Niagara Falls Memorial

Bixler, JacquelynJacquelyn P. Bixler has been appointed Director of Human Resources at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center.

Bixler, who has extensive human resources experience in the healthcare field, was most recently Vice President of Human Resources for the BryLin Behavioral Health System, where she managed labor relations, recruitment, employee compensation and employee health.

Prior to BryLin, Bixler served as Vice President of Human Resources at Lockport Memorial Hospital, United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia and the Weinberg Campus, Getzville. She is a former Human Resources Director at American Sigma in Medina and was a longtime Assistant VP of Human Resources at the former First Niagara Bank.

A graduate and former board member of Leadership Niagara, she is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management and the Medina Rotary.

#NFMMC

NFTA Offers Diesel and Auto Technology Students Inside Glimpse of Transportation Services

Students from the Diesel Technology and Auto Technology Programs at the Niagara Career and Technical Education Center recently got an inside look at the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA).

NFTA employs 1,500 people and provide transportation services to the Buffalo/Niagara area. They sent two buses to the Niagara Career and Technical Education Center, one diesel and one hy
brid. As the students were traveling to the NFTA Frontier Garage the students on both buses watched an educational film about the bus they were riding on and were able to talk to NFTA senior staff members about the buses and the company.
The students toured the NFTA Frontier Garage including the CNG fueling station and then the students switched buses on the next leg of their journey to the Cold Spring Garage where they rode the bus through a carwash.

Orleans/Niagara BOCES Certified Work-Based Learning Coordinator, Jackie Coyle, says the tours were a great experience for the students. “They were able to see many people in action and gain an extensive knowledge of the career paths within the NFTA. They fed us a wonderful lunch and showed us their state-of-the-art training board. I think it was a wonderful opportunity for the students to see all the opportunities at NFTA.”

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New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Recognizes Niagara Region Employee with Special Achievement Award

Tina Spencer, a certified Level 1 and Level 2 kayak instructor for the Niagara Region of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation has received one of the agency’s highest honors, the Special Achievement Award for 2015.  Spencer of Niagara Falls, was recognized for her efforts to develop a highly successful kayaking program for the parks in the Niagara Region. The award was presented by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commissioner Rose Harvey at a ceremony in Saratoga Springs, NY on November 16.

Spencer’s work led to the development of a kayak program to not only introduce kayaking to people who were thinking about purchasing a kayak , but to offer a beginner’s course to teach people the necessary skills to safely kayak.  In 2015, Spencer reached 300 participants with her program.

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Tina Spencer, center, receives the 20165 Special Achievement Award from New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commissioner Rose Harvey (right) and Deputy Commissioner Andy Beers (left).

From the TNBPA: Frosty Niagara Instagram Contest @frostyniagara

The Town of Niagara Business and Professional Association will be hosting a photo contest on Instagram (@frostyniagara) in conjunction with the Frosty Niagara Display for the Holidays.

Introducing the following members of the Frosty Niagara Snowmen cast are:

“FROSTY NIAGARA” @  2570 Military Road

“CASH” @ GNFCU 2901 Military Road

“WILL” @ Restaino Reddien, LLP at 3116 Military Road,

“DODGE” @ Cecconi’s Chrysler Complex at 2380 Military Road

“MR. AND MRS. NIAGARA”@ Niagara Square, 2429 Military Road (Benderson)

“FASHIONISTA” @ Fashion Outlet Mall, 1900 Military Road

“ELI GRIDDY” @ Corner of Military/ Road Packard Sponsored by National Grid

Take a photo with each (ALL) Snowman, post it to Instagram tag @frostyniagara, your name gets put in for a drawing for a Visa Gift Card. You can also take photographs and email to TNBPA@outlook.com. Contest ends December 31, 2016.

This promotion is sponsored by the Town of Niagara Business and Professional Association. The listed Businesses have agreed to participate and have purchased the Snowman, designed individually to their business theme.  Plans are to add more Snowmen each year and fill Military Road Shopping District with Snowman Cheer for all Niagara County visitors to enjoy!!

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