Published: October 19, 2007 12:53 pm            

GRAND ISLAND HISTORY: The week of Oct. 20 - Oct. 26

50 years ago

• The first of the year would see work start on a second South Grand Island Bridge at a cost of $6 million. The new structure would parallel the current bridge, which was already more than 20 years old. The new bridge, which would be built about 100 feet north from the extant one, would feature narrower sidewalks and wider roadways, according to the Oct. 17 edition of the Island Dispatch. According to the report, town officials had “long pressured” the state to begin construction because of congestion from the opening of the Niagara Thruway last fall.

• James Shaw was named GI’s board of education treasurer, replacing current postion-holder LaVerne Harding, who submitted his resignation during the summer because of personal business matters.

• Arson was suspected in the burning of a barn on Whitehaven Road that was storing a bus. The early morning blaze reportedly started outside the structure.

• John Diringer, Jack Paganaud and Burt Conway Jr. were pint-sized Scouts selling “doughnuts” at 25 cents a baker’s dozen.

• Robert Kaiser was elected to another term as tax collector. He was a Purple Heart medalist, and at 24, the youngest tax collector ever on the Island.

        

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