March 27, 2013 by Challenger News

As appreciation of the rec-

INSIDE ROCHESTER

Will a Black Woman Become the Next Mayor of Rochester? “I believe the best man for the job for mayor just happens to be a woman.”

ovely Warren announced her intentions to run for Rochester Mayor at Fight Village Apartments for a reason. “Just a block from here in 1964, a riot broke out that dramatically altered the course of this city.” Warren said too much recently has been focused on downtown development, and not enough on the city’s other neighborhoods. “I believe if the city taxpayer’s money is going to be invested in major projects, that the people should see something in return, like jobs and affordable housing.” Warren wants safer streets, good schools, and community policing. She was short on specifics. “ That’s what we’ll do. I’ll lay out my platform and so that stuff will be coming out in the next couple weeks. Today is just about the announcement.” Dr. Ruth H. Scott former president of the Rochester NY City Council , former candidate for mayor and President and CEO Scott Associates Consulting Inc., offered the following statement to The Challener in reference to Council President Warren’s run for mayor: “Lovely Warren’s run for Rochester Mayor is a natural development from those days more than twenty years ago

MARCH 27, 2013

Mount Olivet Baptist Church Holy Week Mount Olivet Baptist Church is hosting Holy Week of Sacrificial Worship now thru March 29 at 5 a.m. daily. Rev. Dr. Rickey Bernard Harvey is Pastor. There will be a country styled breakfast each morning Also on March 29 at7 a.m. Mount Olivet Baptist will present the 7 Last Words of Christ from the Cross featuring seven young preachers. Mount Olivet is located at 141 Adams Street in Rochester. For more information call 585.232.6742

Rochester Council President Lovely Warren annouces candidacy for mayor.

Resurrection Easter Egg Hunt

when I ran for mayor. She is a thoughtful, intelligent lady with as much breadth of skill as any man who has sought and won the job. History tells us that there is a tendency to downplay the skill and experience of women when they seek high office or any office. Why should voters give Lovely Warren a fair assessment? She knows the city like the back of her hand. She grew up in Rochester and is raising her child in the heart of the city. She has experience as chief of staff, is a lawyer and has considerable experience in Albany with all that means to the city of Rochester. Her presidency of city council and experience on the Rochester Economic Development board gives her intimate knowledge of the economic issues in getting business to locate and grow in Rochester. And she knows how to hold them accountable to the promises they make for

the tax breaks and economic assistance they receive. In addition Lovely realizes that the core of Rochester cannot be stronger than the neighborhoods which surround the core if we are to be a truly viable city. Small businesses and neighborhood based economic activity is essential to a strong future focused city. To say she must wait her turn is to turn back to the days when African Americans were told “go to the back of the line”. Thoughtful Rochester voters should give her a fair shot, look at her vision and think about her statement in her announcement press conference, “ this time the best man for the job,just happens to be a woman!.”

A Resurrection Easter Egg Hunt sponsored by Jesus The Christ Church, will be held at the Thomas Ryan Community Center School #33, 530 Webster Avenue in memory of Sahmir “Tubby” Williams on Saturday, March 30 from noon to 3 p.m. Rev. Britt M. Pledger, is pastor and founder of Jesus The Christ Church. For more information call 585-305-1127.

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*Last Friday Heritage Jazz Series: LIVE Music with Culture Clash Friday, March 29, 7 pm Admission: $10. Refreshments served.RSVP

Are you 30 days or more behind on your mortgage payment?

585.546.3700

WE CAN HELP AT NO COST

www.TheHousingCouncil.org AvoidForeclosure@ThehousingCouncil.org

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738 UNIVERSITY AVE. ROCHESTER* 585-563-2145

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PROFILED: RACE IN CIVIC CIRCLES Series - Race, Arts & Culture Thursday, March 28, 7 pm RSVP

*EDUCATIONAL SERIES African World History Class Tuesdays, 7:30-9:00 pm. Hosted by Kiah Nyame $5 donation requested per session.RSVP - Walk ins welcome! *EDUCATIONAL SERIES West African Drumming and Dance Classes with Fana Bongoura. Drumming: Saturdays, 10:30am-12:00pm at the Baobab. Dance: Sundays, from 2:00-3:30pm at DancEncounters, 215 Tremont St. NO CLASS EASTER SUNDAY, MARCH 31ST. Open to students of all levels. Tuition for either class: $15 per session drop in; $10 for students with ID. No preregistration necessary.

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Who Really Ran the Underground Railroad?

ne of the most common myths about the Underground Railroad is that Well-intentioned White abolitionists, many of whom were Quakers, ran it. Often well-meaning White people crafted "romantic adventure stories -- about themselves," as historian David Blight puts it, stories that placed White "conductors" in heroic and romantic roles in the struggle for Black freedom, from supposedly helpless and nameless African Americans (who braved the real dangers). Indeed, the truth reveals unheralded heroism. The Underground Railroad and the abolition movement itself were perhaps the first instances in American history of a genuinely interracial coalition, and the role of the Quakers in its success cannot be gainsaid. It was, nevertheless, predominantly run by free Northern African Americans, especially in its earliest years, most notably the great Philadelphian William Still. He operated with the assistance of white abolitionists, many of whom were Quakers. How many slaves actually escaped to a new life in the North, in Canada, Florida or Mexico? No one knows for sure. Some scholars say that the soundest estimate is a range between 25,000 and 40,000, while others top that figure at 50,000. The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati says that number could be as high as 100,000, according to Elizabeth Pierce, an official there. Very few slaves escaped from slavery. The "Underground Railroad" was a marvelously improvised, metaphorical construct run by courageous heroes, most of whom were black: "Much of what we call the Underground Railroad," Blight writes, "was actually operated clandestinely by African Americans themselves through urban vigilance committees and rescue squads that were often led by free Blacks." The bottom line for Blight...was that "running away was a frightening and dangerous proposition for slaves, and the overall numbers who risked it, or for that matter succeeded in reaching freedom, were 'not large.' '' It (the Underground Railroad) did succeed in aiding thousands of brave slaves, each of whom we should remember as heroes of African-American history, but not nearly as many as we commonly imagine, and most certainly not enough. (-By Henry Louis Gates Jr. Excerpted from The Root -- Amazing Facts About the Negro: No. 24)

MARCH 27, 2013

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WNY AREA BRIEFS

Juneteenth Committee Chairs / Volunteers Meeting Cheryl Jones Chairperson

Olive:

Event

Mayor Brown

Mary B. Talbert Civic Mayor Brown Officially Club to Host Annual Kicks Off Campaign for Awards Banquet Third Term The Mary B. Talbert Civic and Cultural Club will Hold its annual Awards Banquet and Scholarship Benefit on Saturday April 20 at Salvatores Italian Gardens 6461 Transit Rd. at 6 pm. This year four talented musicians and artists will be honored. The 2013 honorees are Adolphus Allen, musician and choir director; Donna Chapman, pianist, composer and soloist; Boyd Lee Dunlop, legendary jazz pianist; and Karen Williams, musical director, Educator And Vocalist. Cheryl Jones Olive is the event chairperson and Debra E.J. Thompson is club president. For tickets and information call 896-4203 or 8352273. The entire community is cordially invited.

Man Shot Sitting In Car A man sitting in a car in the 100 block of Ruhland Avenue on Monday at around 5:30 pm was shot and killed. At press time the victim had not been identified, but was declared dead at the scene. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call or text the police Confidential TIPCALL line at 847-2255 or email the department at www.bpdny.org

Have a Safe and Happy Holiday

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown stood before a crowd of hundreds as he officially kicked off his campaign for a third term last Saturday at the Rev. B.W. Smith Family Life Center on Michigan Avenue. Supporters chanted “four more years” and “three-peat,” referring to another term in office. Mayor Brown touted a lower crime rate than when he first took office and pointed out downtown development. “I come here today to continue the progress and take it to a new level,” said Brown. Brown cited the 400 jobs that were brought to the East Side with the opening of the Erie County Medical Center’s nursing home there and $3 million in improvements coming to the Martin Luther King Jr. Park neighborhood on the East Side.

Kensington Little League Baseball Registration for the 2013 Kensington Little League Baseball season is being held at the concession Stand at McCarthy Park Monday thru Friday from 6 to 7:30 p for ages 5 to17, boys and girls. Players cannot turn 17 prior to May 1 Travel team for ages 13-17. Practice starts April 13 and opening date is May 4. For more information call 491-1253.

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Merriweather Library Celebrates 7th Anniversary! A True Community Treasure!

t’s our anniversary! The Frank E. Merriweather, Jr. Library was first opened on April 1, 2006 and it’s been a very busy seven years with programs and activities for all ages. Join us this month as we continue serving the community. •Two-day Poetry Marathon hosted by Latrice Simone Green aka “Goodness”. Saturday, April 6 from 2-5pm with the theme: “For Adults – By Adults” and on Sunday, April 7 from 1-4pm with the theme: “Kid Friendly – Family Oriented”. Either day you may read your own work or a poem form your favorite poet. •Computer classes: “ Intro to Google” on April 6 and “Google Maps” on April 13. Both classes will be held from 10:30-12:30 and registration is required. •The Buffalo Genealogy Society of the African Diaspora and the Frank E. Merriweather, Jr. Library presents Slave Genealogy of the Roulhac Family: French Masters and the Africans They Enslaved, Saturday April 13 2013, from 12:30 to 3:00pm, featuring the author, Roy L. Roulhac. •On April 16th, 2013, the 50th anniversary of the day that Martin Luther King, Jr. began writing his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” we will sponsor a program entitled “Letter from Birmingham Jail: A Worldwide Celebration.” •“Tell Me A Story – 5”, the fifth annual storytelling festival featuring workshops and performances. Pick up registration forms at the library. •Ongoing children’s programs include Lego Night every Monday at 6:00pm and the First Hand Science program every Friday from 3:30-5:30pm. The Frank E. Merriweather, Jr. Library is located at 1324 Jefferson Avenue, on the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Utica Street. All events are free and open to the public. Call 883-4418 for further details on library programs and services.

College Fair The final day of the annual Buffalo National College Fair will be held March 27 in Buffalo Niagara Center. The event is free and open to the public. The fair will allow students and parents to meet one on one with admissions representatives from over 200 colleges. The event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon. For more information go to www.buffalocollegefair.com

Girl Scouts Seeking Nominations for “Women of Distinction” Awards

Do you know an outstanding woman making significant strides in her community? Consider nominating her for the “Women of Distinction” awards. “Women of Distinction” awards are presented at the Girl Scouts of Western New York’s signature fundraising event where women are honored throughout Western New York for their strength in character, dedication to community service and commitment to mentoring and encouraging girls and young women. “The Western New York region has a wealth of talented business and community-oriented female leaders and we would like to recognize their contributions,” says Cindy Odom, Chief Executive Officer for the Girl Scouts of Western New York. She adds, “According to our Research Institute, girls’ future career choices are more influenced by inspiring role models and this event exposes girls to women who have accomplished extraordinary success in their lives.” Submit nomination forms by Friday, May 31, 2013 to wod@ gswny.org or by mailing to Girl Scouts of Western New York, c/o Kristie Foster, 3332 Walden Ave., Suite 106, Depew, NY 14043. “Women of Distinction” Awards Dinner will be held Thursday, September 19, 2013 from 5:30-9:00 p.m. Location to be determined.

EOC Seeks Alumni To Celebrate 40th Anniversary The University at Buffalo Educational Opportunity Center will be hosting an alumni meeting on Thursday, April 11 in the 6th floor auditorium, 5:30-7:00pm at EOC, 465 Washington Street, Downtown Buffalo. The meeting will provide alumni an opportunity to meet the recently appointed EOC director Dr. Julius Gregg Adams and receive updates about the 40th Anniversary Celebration planned for September. To RSVP or receive more information about the commemoration events, please contact Sandra Bunkley at 716-849-6727 ext.164 or via email sbunkley@buffalo.edu

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A Juneteenth Committee Chairs/Volunteers meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 4 at the Frank E. Merriweather Library, 1524 Jefferson in the Meeting Room.VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED in the following areas: *Juneteenth Sankofa Days;*Praise & Worship *Juneteenth Parade *Health Pavilion *Holistic Health *Children’s Activities *Youth Activities *Book Sharing *Entertainment Stage *Heritage Tent *Arts & Culture Stage *History Reenactment *Underground Railroad *Art Chalk Walk *Basketball Showcase *MAAFA There are many other activities and areas to get involved in. Come join us, as we continue OUR history towards the future, and help make this year’s festival GREAT. Juneteenth 2013 marks the festival’s 38th consecutive year. The theme is “Breaking the Invisible Chains.” This year also marks 150 years since the Emancipation Proclamation.

Celebrate Local Black History! All Year RoundVisit The Nash House Museum Visit the historic home of the late Rev. J. Edward Nash and Frances Jackson Nash. Hours: Thursday and Saturday 11:30 - 4. $10 Group tours and additional hours by appt. 36 Nash Street 8564490

National/International NEWS Nigerian Writer Chinua Achebe, Author of ‘Things Fall Apart’, Dead at 82

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One of Nigeria’s most celebrated writers, Chinua Achebe, has died at 82 Achebe is best known for his 1958 best seller “Things Fall Apart”, a masterpiece about Nigeria, which has sold more than 12 million copies. The book has also been translated into dozens of languages. In addition to writing, Achebe served as a professor at several universities, most recently at Brown University. In an interview with The Paris Review, Achebe, when asked about ‘the image of Africa today in the Western mind’. discussed the importance of African writers being willing to tell their own stories: “I think it’s changed a bit. But not very much in its essentials. When I think of the standing, the importance and the erudition of all these people who see nothing about racism in Heart of Darkness, I’m convinced that we must really be living in different worlds. Anyway, if you don’t like someone’s story, you write your own. ...”

ATTENTION FORMER COKE OVEN EMPLOYEES

Coke oven emissions from Bethlehem Steel, Donner Hanna and other Western New York coke oven facilities are a potent cause of lung cancer and other cancers. If you or a family member is suffering from or died as a result of a cancer from work on coke oven batteries, you may be able to file a legal claim against the manufacturers of coke ovens and collect significant financial compensation.

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MARCH 27, 2013

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BlackAgenda Report Detroit Residents Robbed of Equal Voting Rights By drastically diminishing the power of Detroit’s elected officials, Michigan’s governor has violated the Voting Rights Act and constitutional guarantees of one man-one vote, said Butch Hollowell, general counsel for the Detroit NAACP. Kevyn Orr, a Black partner in the rightwing law firm Jones Day, was named the city’s emergency finance director, with near-dictatorial powers. Jones Day represents Wells Fargo – “which has done more foreclosures in Detroit and the state of Michigan than any other firm,” said Hollowell – as well as Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and CitiGroup. Stop-and-Frisk on Trial Every year, New York City cops violate hundreds of thousands of Black and brown people’s fundamental constitutional rights, stopping and frisking them for “being likely to commit crimes, rather than having actually committed a crime,” said Vince Warren, executive director of the Center for Constitutional Rights. “The vast majority of those stops are for harassment and crowd-control purposes,” said Warren. The trial phase of a class action suit seeking damages for those unlawfully profiled, began recently. Ten Years After Invasion, Most Americans Remain Terrifyingly Insane “You have a majority of Americans believing that Iraqis benefited from this war, while the United States suffered,” said David Swanson, publisher of the influential website War Is A Crime. “A plurality of Americans believe Iraqis are grateful for the invasion,” which killed 1.4 million and maimed, sickened or displaced many millions more, said Swanson. Venezuela Part of Global Shift Venezuela’s resistance to U.S. domination is “a symptom of a real shift in the balance of power that has been occurring in the world for a while now, and has startled the United States,” said Omali Yeshitela, chairman of the Black Is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations. Racial realities are part of the new dynamic. “Chavez himself was aware that one of the reasons there was so much antagonism between him and the upper classes, was that he was not white.”

UNREST IN BROOKLYN: Police officers arrest a demonstrator during a march after a vigil held for Kimani “Kiki” Gray in the East Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn. Dozens of arrests have taken place after three straight nights of vigils that turned into protests and rioting. The 16-year-old was killed on March 9 after he allegedly pulled out a gun as two plainclothes officers approached him on the street. His death sparked a week of angry marches in East Flatbush from residents fed up with what they call aggressive police tactics including stopping and Kimani “Kiki” Gray searching young black men without good reason. The two officers fired off eleven rounds, hitting Gray seven times; according toatopsy reports, three of the seven hit him in the back. One person who lives down the street told investigators that he heard the shots, and then a child screaming, “Please don’t let me die.” His funeral drew hundreds of mourners. Both officers involved in the fatal shooting of Brooklyn 16-year-old Kimani Gray have been named in five federal lawsuits — which cost the city a total of $215,000 in settlements, court records show — all alleging various civil rights violations including illegal stop and search and false arrest. Punish Civil Rights Violations, Obama! Coalition for Change, or C4C, representing current and former Black federal employees, is circulating a petition urging President Obama to sign an executive order that mandates discipline for managers that violate workers’ civil rights. At present, it’s a “toothless mandate,” said C4C co-founder Tanya Ward Jordan. The petition drive is called Unleash No FEAR.

National March and Rally at the White House  for Saturday, April 13  to demand a halt to the killing of thousands of people through U.S. drone strikes in the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Horn of Africa. 315-491-6987 -

Obama tells Israelis that settlement activity hurts peace

Reuters) - President Barack Obama, delivering a keynote speech to Israeli students, said on Thursday that continued settlement activity was “counterproductive” to peace and urged Israelis to accept the Palestinians’ right to selfdetermination. But he also insisted that now was the time for the Arab world to “take steps toward normalizing relations” with the Jewish state, which has been shunned by most of its neighbors. “Israelis must recognize that continued settlement activity is counterproductive to the cause of peace, and that an independent Palestine must be viable, that real borders will have to be drawn,” Obama said in a nationally televised speech to an Israeli public that has given him a rousing welcome despite lingering suspicions about his diplomatic policies.

MARCH 27, 2013

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SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS. Index No. 2012608111. STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY COURT - COUNTY OF ERIE HSBC BANK USA, N.A., Plaintiff, -vs- THE HEIRS AT LARGE OF WILLIAM P. GARNER, deceased, and all persons who are husbands, widows, grantees, mortgagees, lienors, heirs, devisees, distributees, successors in interest of such of them as may be dead, and their husbands and wives, heirs, devisees, distributees and successors of interest of all of whom and whose names and places are unknown to Plaintitff; ALICE H. GARNER, WAYNE E. GARNER, WENDELL E. GARNER, WARREN E. GARNER AND WILLIAM E. GARNER ALL AS POSSIBLE HEIRS TO THE ESTATE OF WILLIAM P. GARNER, deceased; NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION AND FINANCE; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK; ERIE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES; “JOHN DOE” AND “JANE DOE” said names being fictitious, it being the intention of Plaintiff to designate any and all occupants of premises being foreclosed herein, Defendants. Mortgaged Premises: 140 WECKER STREET, BUFFALO, NY 14214. TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANT(S): YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the Complaint in the above entitled action and to serve a copy of your Answer on the plaintiff’s attorney within twenty (20) days after the service of this Summons, exclusive of the day of service, or within thirty (30) days after completion of service where service is made in any other manner than by personal delivery within the State. The United States of America, if designated as a defendant in this action, may answer or appear within sixty (60) days of service hereof. In case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the Complaint. In the event that there is a deficiency in the sale proceeds, a deficiency judgment may be entered against you. NOTICE YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME If you do not respond to this summons and complaint by serving a copy of the answer on the attorney for the mortgage company who filed this foreclosure proceeding against you and filing the answer with court, a default judgment may be entered and you can lose your home. Speak to an attorney or go to the court where your case is pending for further information on how to answer the summons and protect your property. Sending a payment to your mortgage company will not stop this foreclosure action. YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF (MORTGAGE COMPANY) AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT. That this action is being amended to add the Heirs at Large of William P. Garner, deceased, Alice H. Garner, Wayne E. Garner, Wendell E. Garner, Warren E. Garner and William E. Garner, as Proposed Heirs of William P. Garner, deceased. That this action is also being amended to add New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, United States of America, The People of the State of New York and Erie County Department of Social Services as necessary parties to the action. ERIE County is designated as the place of trial. The basis of venue is the location of the mortgaged premises. Dated: January 24, 2013 /s/____________________ Mark K. Broyles, Esq. FEIN, SUCH & CRANE, LLP Attorneys for Plaintiff Office and P.O. Address 28 East Main Street, Suite 1800 Rochester, New York 14614 Telephone No. (585) 232-7400 (SECTION: 90.81, BLOCK: 2, LOT: 27). NATURE AND OBJECT OF ACTION The object of the above action is to foreclose a mortgage held by the Plaintiff recorded in the County of ERIE, State of New York on August 26, 1997, in Liber 12754 of Mortgages, at page 9821, said mortgage was then assigned by HSBC Mortgage Corporation (USA), f/k/a Marine Midland Mortgage Corporation, f/k/a Marine Midland Mortgage Servicing Corporation to Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. as nominee for HSBC Bank USA, N.A., by virtue of an Assignment of Mortgage, recorded in the ERIE County Clerk’s Office on January 13, 2012, in Liber 13563 of Assignments of Mortgage at Page 5288, which mortgage was further assigned by Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. as nominee for HSBC Bank USA, N.A., to the Plaintiff by virtue of an Assignment of Mortgage, recorded in the ERIE County Clerk’s Office on April 19, 2012, in Liber 13577 of Assignments of Mortgage as Page 8287. TO THE DEFENDANT, the plaintiff makes no personal claim against you in this action. To the above named defendants: The foregoing summons is served upon you by publication pursuant to an order of the Hon. Michael Pietruszka, a Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of N.Y., dated February 15, 2013 and filed along with the supporting papers in the Erie County Clerk’s Office. This is an action to foreclose a mortgage. The premises is described as follows: All that tract or parcel of land, situate in the City of Buffalo, County of Erie and State of New York, being part of Lot Number 44, Township 11, Range 7 of the Holland Land Company’s Survey and according to a map filed in the Erie County Clerk’s Office under Cover Number 519, is known and distinguished as Subdivision Lot Number 102 in Block “B”, bounded and described as follows: Beginning at a point in the easterly line of Wecker Street, distant 55 feet easterly from it intersection with the easterly line of Ericson Avenue; running thence easterly along said line of Wecker Street 30 feet; thence northerly parallel with said line of Ericson Avenue 117 feet; thence westerly parallel with said line of Wecker Street 30 feet; thence southerly parallel with said line of Ericson Avenue 117 feet to said line of Wecker Street, at the place of beginning. Premises known as 140 Wecker Street, Buffalo, N.Y. 14214.

Services Held for Willie Lee “Bill” Davis

uneral services were held for Willie Lee Davis on Saturday, March 23 at Pilgrim Baptist Church on Michigan Avenue where the Rev. Frank Bostic is pastor. Affectionately known as “Bill,” he was born on January 20, 1935 to the late Rev. John and Jessie Davis. He made his transition on Sunday, March 17. Bill graduated from the Buffalo Public School system and confessed his faith in Christ at an early age. He was baptized by Rev. H.B. Shaw and became a member of Pilgrim Baptist Church. Hard working and ambitious, he joined the United States Navy in 1952. He was honorably discharged in 1960 and reenlisted in the United States Merchants Marine Corps in 1968. Bill had many interests and hobbies. He enjoyed remodeling and was an avid hunter, fisherman and music lover and had a vast record collection. He was an excellent cook; his specialty was his barbeque sauce and crab salad. Bill was sick for a very long time and fought a courageous fight until his death. He stayed optimistic, believing until the end that he would one day be well again. He will be missed by all who knew and loved him. Bill was preceded in death by his two brothers John and Arthur (Bobby) and one sister, the late Rosemary McCall. He leaves to cherish his memory his loving wife Ethel (Peebles), two daughters, Pamela (Gregory) Mack, Elise, one son Willie Lee Jr., two sisters, Avery Key, Jessie (Cortez) Wells, seven grand children, one great grand, a host of nieces, nephews and friends. He also leaves to mourn a special niece, Victoria (Vicky) Nathan. Rev. Herman Potts delivered the Eulogy. Interment was in Forest Lawn Cemetery.The family expresses their heartfelt gratitude for the acts of kindness, love and concern shown them in their time of bereavement.

HEALTH MATTERS

The Danger of Belly Fat!

By Mehmet C. Oz, MD, and Michael F. Roizen, MD If your waist is more than 35 inches around for women, 40 for men, it’s time to get real about the fat you keep pretending is a “no big deal” muffin top or beer belly. We’re talking belly fat, also known as abdominal fat or ab fat. Belly fat is lethal. That spare tire is as deadly as a pack-aday smoking habit or sky-high blood pressure. Ab fat dumps fatty acids and chemicals into your bloodstream that boost dangerous, bodywide inflammation. If you’re among the 28.3 million North Americans with heart disease, even a modest tummy pooch doubles your odds for an early death. Belly fat infiltrates your liver and squeezes your heart. If you saw Mehmet on that unforgettable Oprah show a few years back, where he dangled thick, swollen sheets of omentum -- the curtain of abdominal fat that stretches from your stomach to your pelvis and that should be lacy and thin -- you know how ugly this stuff can get. Fat that accumulates in your omentum oozes out to threaten your organs. One in nine adults now has a fatty liver, which is a gilt-edged invitation to diabetes, heart disease, and serious

liver trouble. Belly fat is bad for bones, joints, brains, breasts, and prostates. It weakens your skeleton, increases arthritis risk and pain, raises your odds for dementia by 80%, increases at least one kind of breast cancer, and likely prostate cancer, too. Oh, yeah, and it makes migraines more likely. Belly fat is dangerous even if the rest of you is slim. Up to 45% of thin women and 60% of thin men have some. It takes a tape measure, not a bathroom scale, to find this nasty stuff. But if it’s there, you don’t have to morph into Richard Simmons (or wear sparkly exercise outfits!) to shrink it. Dropping just 3% to 5% of your body weight (about 5 to 9 pounds if you weigh 180) could shrink ab fat by 20% and liver fat by 40%! And what does it take to do that? Just make a diet u-turn. Rein in supersized portions, and banish two foods that make ab fat expand: refined grains (anything made with white flour) and trans fats (also known as partially hydrogenated fats). Either or both are found in many, many baked goods and other processed foods. Trans fats are particularly gruesome: Not only do they add belly fat, they also coax fat from other

body zones to pack up and move there. (Let flavonoids melt away belly fat.) Switch to whole grains and good fats. Simply eating three servings a day of whole grains (oatmeal, two slices of 100% whole-wheat bread) could slash belly fat by 10% if you limit refined grains to one serving (aim for none; we do). Then, use olive and canola oils instead of butter; munch a few nuts instead of chips; add sliced avocado to sandwiches instead of mayo or cheese. These delicious monounsaturated fats encourage your body to move fat from your belly. Overindulge in blueberries and green tea. These low-cal treats are rich in plant compounds that turn up your body’s immune defenses and may help burn off more ab fat. Walk for 30 minutes today. Repeat tomorrow. No need to train for the New York Marathon. Moderate, consistent exercise blasts ab fat. Got kids in your life? Take them with you. More and more children and teens have bulging bellies, and active fun slims their middles. Always on the go? Pack your own road food. A steady diet of fast food can increase your ab fat by 41% in just 1 month!

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MARCH 27, 2013 Challenger Community News â&#x20AC;˘

MARCH 27, 2013

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Women’s Prayer Breakfast

The Potter’s House Christian Community Church will host their Annual Women’s Prayer Breakfast weekend Friday, April 19 at 7p.m. at the Potter’s House located at 723 7th Street, Niagara Falls. This event is free and open to ALL women. The Prayer Breakfast is on Saturday, April 20, 9 a.m. at Antonio’s Restaurant located at 7708 Niagara Falls. Ticket donations are $20 for adults and $15 for youth 12 and under. WOMEN ONLY! The guest speaker is Co-Pastor Celestine Booze of Potter’s House. For additional information please contact the church at (716) 285-3445.

The Black Church: More than the Gospel

rom soup kitchens to health fairs, clothing giveaways and developing housing, responding to the AIDS crisis to hosting scouting troops, area Black churches in Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Lackawanna and Rochester provide more than a place for their congregations to praise God and study the Bible. Historically African-American churches have reached out into the community to provide support, strength, stability and a place to socialize as well as advocated for social change. And despite some critics who feel that the church is not doing enough, it can’t be denied that “the church is a major artery, if not the heart, of the black community," according to the Rev. Derik E. Jones, pastor of the 188 year old First Baptist in Richmond, Virginia. "It was the pulpit that provided the voice for the least of these and the left out. The black church has a mandate to stand up and hold people in power accountable. We exist to empower the community around us." The importance of the black church goes back to the days

The

PATHWAYS TO CARE PROGRAM is your road to access free medication and health care for people living with HIV/AIDS in Erie and Niagara County. • The Pathways to Care Team provides free and confidential screenings for ADAP, Medicaid, Child Health Plus, Family Health Plus, and/or other public and private health insurances. • The Pathways to Care Team conducts confidential screenings at the MOCHA Center located at 1092 Main Street, Buffalo, New York 14209 and a variety of other locations. • To schedule a free and confidential health care screening, you can contact… Health Access Specialist at 716 852-1142, ext. 17 or www.mochacenter.org This publication was supported by grant number X07HA00025 from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). This grant is funded through Title II of the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act of 1990, as amended by Part B of The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009. Its contents are solely the responsibility of Health Research, Inc. and do not necessarily represent the official view of the funders.

The Historic Michigan Street Baptist Church of slavery. Then religion was the one institution over which blacks could exert some control, said Dr. Samuel K. Roberts, professor of theology and ethics at Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education in North Richmond. The Black church continues today as a social center, a place for fellowship and a place where the civil rights movement was nurtured. "After bending over in the fields picking cotton and tobacco, the church was the one

place where we were somebody. Black American leaders today will tell you they got their start in the church," said the Rev. Daryl Kearney, pastor of Third Street Bethel AME Church, also in Richmond. Kearney's denomination, African Methodist Episcopal, was born after "Black people were pulled up off their knees in Prince George Church in Philadelphia so that white people could worship," he said. "I believe that was the first civil rights movement. [The slaves] walked out of that church, never to cross that threshold again. It was not an issue of theology or doctrine. It was a social issue on which the AME church was founded. It was started to give persons of African descent the opportunity to fulfill their need for personhood and dignity." Thus the African-American church grew to respond to the ills of its community. During the African-American Civil Rights Movement, it was the Black churches that held the leadership role. Black churches were the main points of operations in regards to the Civil Rights Movement. One example would be the late Civil Rights leader, Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr., a Baptist minister. "It's not enough for me to preach you happy on Sunday when you don't receive proper health care on Monday. The gospel that Jesus Christ preached and lived was not just a Sunday morning worship experience. It was every day in the week," he said. (Excerpted from The Times-Dispatch.com)

he Michigan Street Baptist Church, erected in 1845 by its African American congregation, has been a central part of the African American community in Buffalo’s history and culture for nearly 170 years. It’s one of the oldest properties in the region continuously owned, operated and occupied by African Americans. The building was an important Underground Railroad station, providing safehaven for hundreds of freedom seekers. They were hidden in a concealed area of the basement before crossing the Niagara River to Canada by darkness of night. The Michigan Street Baptist Church was also a central meeting place for abolitionists and later for anti-lynching activists during the early 1900s. Over the years, luminaries such as Frederick Douglass, William Wells Brown, W.E.B. DuBois Henry Highland Garnet, Martin Delany, and Booker T. Washington were among those that have graced its sanctuary. Mary B. Talbert, an active parishioner, lived two doors from the church at 521 Michigan Avenue. Mrs. Talbert earned a national reputation as a reform activist. In 1905 W.E.B. DuBois and other prominent African American leaders met at Mrs. Talbert’s home and adopted the resolutions that led to the founding of the Niagara Movement. DID NOAH FISH? A Sunday school teacher asked, “Johnny, do you think Noah did a lot of fishing when he was on the Ark ?” “No,” replied Johnny. “How could he, with just two worms.”

Worship This Week

ENTERTAINMENT

Bobby Womack

Bobby Womack Diagnosed with Colon Cancer “Music is the weapon of the future” Fela Anikulapo-Kuti (October 15, 1938 – August 2, 1997)

Broadway Sensation FELA! Comes to Shea’s! The Broadway sensation FELA! will rock the Sheas Theatre Friday and Saturday April 5 and 6. Tickets ($27.50-$57.50) Tickets ($27.50-$57.50): are on sale now at the Shea’s Ticket Office 650 Main St.; open MondayFriday 10am-5pm, Saturday 10am-2pm, and through the first intermission of a show; Doris Records, www.ticketmaster.com, or call 1-800-745-3000. Group Discounts are available. Call Caitlin at 716-829-1154 for more information. are on sale now at the Shea’s Ticket Office (650 Main St. open Monday-Friday 10am-5pm, Saturday 10am-2pm and through the first intermission of a show); Doris Records, www.ticketmaster.com, or call 1-800-745-3000. Group discounts are available. Call Caitlin at 716-829-1154 for more information. This new tour which features Michelle Williams in the role of Sandra, one of the many African-American sisters who turned Kuti’s head during his formative years stateside, hosts a stellar cast, many of whom have sung, played and danced with this piece since its origins in 2009. It was the most critically acclaimed musical on Broaday in 2010 and earned an ipressive three Tony Awards for Best Choreography, Best Costumes and Best Sound A spectacularly inspiring and triumphant tale of courage, passion and love, FELA! is based on the life of Fela Kuti, who created Afrobeat—a blend of jazz, funk and African rhythm and harmonies that ignited a generation —and mixed these sensual eclectic rhythms with simple but powerful lyrics that openly assailed Nigeria’s corrupt and oppressive dictatorships.

continued page 10

Legendary R&B singer Bobby Womack has been diagnosed with colon Stage 1 cancer, according to his good friend, bassist Bootsy Collins.Womack was reportedly hospitalized with pneumonia recently when he was diagnosed with the condition. He is reportedly very up beat about his future.

Reality TV’s ‘Real’ Diagnosed Cancer “Real Chance of Love” star Ahmad “Real” Givens has been diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer, TMZ reports. The reality star first became ill in January with what he believed to be the flu. Doctors initially thought the issue was with his liver, but last week confirmed it was colon cancer, which has now spread to his lungs and liver. Real will remain hospitalized while doctors consider treatment options.

See you at the EVENTS!

MARCH 27, 2013

Challenger Community News • ChallengerCN.com

Niagara Falls’ Alissa Todd Performs Off Broadway in Smokey Joe’s Café Alissa Todd recently performed in an Off Broadway production of the Grammy Award winning and Tony Nominated show Smokey Joe’s Café. The songs for this theater production are from Leiber and Stoller. The performance took place at the newly renovated 777 Theater in Manhattan, NY. Alissa reprised the role performed by B.J. Crosby in the original Broadway production. She performed several solos including, the legendary “Fools Fall In Love”. Alissa is a 2007 graduate of Niagara Catholic High School where she was a member of the Drama club. She is also a 2011 graduate of Marymount Manhattan College with a BA in Musical Theater Arts.

Alissa Todd

Alissa is the daughter of Arthur and Jackie Todd of Niagara Falls, NY.

MARCH 27, 2013

Challenger Community News • ChallengerCN.com

See you at the EVENTS! *FELA! The Musical, April 5-6, Shea’s Theatre, tickets from $27.50 @ Shea’s Ticket Office; 1-800-745-3000 www.sheas.org or www.felaonbroadway.com *Comedy Festival, featuring Sheryl Underwood, Arnez J, Tommy Davidson, Tony Rock and Don D.C. Curry, May 3, Rochester Blue Cross Arena; tickets at all ticketmaster locations. *Harold Melvin’s Blue Notes, Easter Weekend Soul Celebration, Friday, March 29, The Tralf Music Hall; tickets at Ticketmaser, Tralf Box Office, Wal-Mart & Doris Records; hosted by Buffalo King of Comedy C. White. *1st Saturday Night Out , April 6; first show featuring Musicians & Comedy Show , Golden Nugget, doors open at 6 p.m; band 7p.m. , comedy 8:30 p.m.;2nd show 11 p.m. w/ lyricist Keith Murray.

Jodeci Booed Off Stage in London R&B group Jodeci was booed off the stage at London’s Wembley Arena last night after a performance that can only be described as a piping hot mess. The group was part of a bill titled “The Show,” which featured an array 1990s R&B groups. Blackstreet, Dru Hill, SWV, Damage and Changing Faces were also on the bill.

*Bloody Sunday and Then Monday [Plays You Won’t See Anywhere Else] at Buffalo East 1410-12 Main St. near Utica Sunday, April 14 @ 4pm Monday, April 15 @ 7pm Admission: Free Our first offering: 16671 by Frank Canino A play for National Holocaust MonthA young seminarian is sent to Auschwitz in late 1941. There he discovers the beginning of the Holocaust, which will test his faith and his very identity. Featuring: Kathleen Betsko Yale, Hugh Davis, Adam Rath, David Hayes, Jon Elston and OtherCfrankvcanino@verizon.net 716-883-0995 [H] 716-432-0238 [C]

According to Soul Culture, Jodeci showed up late for their headlining final slot, sang out of tune, and even had Dru Hill perform a track for them at one point. Original member DeVante Swing was not in attendance, while Mr. Dalvin jumped off stage just 30 seconds into the performance, and was unable to climb back up. Someone had to help him. Crowd members starting booing after the first song, with the band apparently singing out of sync with each other and begging the crowd to let them continue.

Johnny Gill Denies Gay Rumors

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For years, Johnny Gill has been a suspected homosexual, but on a recent episode of “Unsung,” the New Edition star denied the rumors.At one point, some suspected he and close friend Eddie Murphy had a thing for each other. Scoffing at the rumors, he declared himself “150,000 percent heterosexual.”

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WASHINGTON DC! JUST SOLD OUNT’TINMISS OUT IN BUFFALO! DO

You saw her at the Superbowl Now see her LIVE in Buffalo! ONLY 2 PERFORMANCE S

April 5-6, 2013 SHEA’S PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

FEATURING R&B SUPERSTAR

Michelle Williams OF DESTINY’S CHILD

TICKETS! . IR ED A N AT IO N .. H IS S TO R Y INUS SP IC IN S P IR ES TH E W O R LD ! H IS M Shows, dates, times, prices, artists subject to change.

from $27.50 1-800-745-3000, Shea’s Ticket Office,

www.ticketmaster.com

www.felaonbroadway.com www.sheas.org

GENERATIONS

MARCH 27, 2013

Challenger Community News • ChallengerCN.com

TAO TE CHING 29-

Do you want to improve the world? I don’t think it can done, The world is sacred. It can’t be improved. If you tamper with it, you’ll ruin it. If you treat it like an object, you’ll lose it. There is a time for being ahead, A time for being behind; A time for being in motion, A time for being at rest; A time for being vigorous, A time for being exhausted; A time for being safe, A time for being in danger. The Master sees things as they are, Without trying to control them. She lets them go their own way, And resides at the center of the circle.

Pictured at this event (counterclockwise) are NAACP readers Reva Betha (Education Committee Chairperson), Claudia Brown and Earline Williams. Children seated around them are JiannaCrawford, Sarai Betha, Jamiyah Jones, Tyriese Parker and an unidentified guest.

Buffalo Branch NAACP Participates In “Read Across America Day” In honor of the 109th birthday of Dr. Seuss (Theodore Geisel), the National Education Association designated Friday, March 1 its 16th annual “Read Across America Day.”Throughout the country more than 45 million participated in the nation’s largest reading celebration to highlight the importance of developing a love for reading at an early age. Children gathered in the Frank E. Merriweather, Jr. Branch Library and were read Dr. Seuss’s “The Cat in the Hat.” by NAACP volunteers. The children then turned the tables and each child read from the book to the group. For their participation on March 1 and 2 each child was awarded a “Certificate of Seussational Achievement.”

FELA! continued

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The road to College Begins in Kindergarten. At King Center Charter School, we believe that all children must be college ready and college bound from an early age. Join us as we expand to the middle school years. We are a school community of experienced and expert educators, committed to providing the best academic, social, and emotional skill development to insure your child's future.

Now Accepting Applications, K-7 Applications due Monday, April 1, 2013 Apply online or in person. Please contact the school for more information. King Center Charter School, 938 Genesee Street, Buffalo, NY 14211 - 716-891-7912 – www.kccs.org

Featuring many of Fela Kuti’s most captivating songs performed by a combined cast of the original Broadway production and the Royal National Theatre production all under Bill T. Jones’s visionary staging, FELA! reveals Kuti’s life as an artist and human rights activist and celebrates his pioneering music in what has been hailed as one of the most exciting, exhilarating and vital stage experiences in recent memory. Fela’s story inspired a nation. His music inspires the world. Motivated by his mother, a civil rights champion, he defied a corrupt and oppressive military government and devoted his life and music to the struggle for freedom and human dignity. But he had paid a steep price for his bravery in the face of powerful and implacable enemies, with 200 arrests and countless beatings that left scars all over his body. But even these beatings didn’t stop him. “Ah well, they didn’t kill me,” he would proclaim as he wrote yet another acerbic lyric and gave inflammatory quotes to the press. Fela died in August 1997. AIDS, they said, but as far as those close to him were concerned, he died of one beating too many. He was a giant of a man, but a man nevertheless. The system can only take so much. One million people attended his funeral. His legacy was a testament of incredible courage, together with almost 50 albums of music that are now available globally through Knitting Factory Records. His message of transparency, honest government and justice for all is still as relevant today as when it was when first released 4 decades ago—not just in Nigeria, but globally. Audiences in their many hundreds of thousands on both sides of the Atlantic, including a triumphal series of performances in Fela’s beloved Lagos, have risen to their feet in admiration of the play’s ethos and execution. We would be surprised if you do not do the same. The show is back on tour in the United States. Don’t miss it! (See ad page 9)

“As above, so below...”

MARCH 27, 2013

Challenger Community News • ChallengerCN.com

NEWS & VIEWS

In Defense of Posta Workers and Saturday Few Elected Officials Mail Delivery! Helpilng the People of Dear Editor: Recently, the Postmaster General of the US Postal Service announced that the service was going to soon eliminate Saturday delivery due to “poor finances.” But you may be surprised to find the reason isn’t based on the ability of the Postal Service to compete in the marketplace. Most importantly the postmaster can’t unilaterally make that decision, Congress will have to approve the elimination of Saturday delivery and they may make a decision by the end of March. So, before you think “I don’t care if I get mail on Saturdays” it’s important to understand the effects this will have on jobs in the public/private sector; seniors; veterans; the economy; shipping costs; small businesses and delivery services to rural areas . Let me remind you that the Postal Service does not use your tax dollars to find their operations. The US Postal Service’s last financial quarter showed a profit from its delivery operations yet showed a loss for the quarter! How does that happen? Well, the USPS was mandated by Congress to prefund its retiree’s healthcare fund to the tune of 5.5 billion a year for 10 years starting in 2006! So every quarter approximately 1.25 billion of revenue earned by the service goes to this retiree fund. No other entity in the world, public or private has that kind of mandate on its reve¬nues! This find has a positive balance of 47 billion dollars. Congress has put the USPS into it’s poor “financial condition” by forc¬ing it to fund retiree health benefits for workers it hasn’t even hired yet! So you may ask yourself” why doesn’t Congress eliminate the mandate? Well there are ideological and corporate opponents of the Post Office that would love to see the Post Office go away and they have their friends in Congress. They see no reason to help the Post Of¬fice out of this congressionally made “financial crisis.” But how will no Saturday service affect you and the country?

“We wish to plead our own cause. Too long have others spoken for us.” - John Russwurm, Freedom’s Journal. 1827 America’s 1st Black Newspaper

First it will affect our sluggish economy by killing jobs. There is a private sector 1.3 trillion dollar national mailing industry that employs 7.5 million private sector workers that will be impacted by losing Saturday service. So private sector workers and Postal workers (many who are veterans) will lose their jobs as well which means, more peo¬ple on public assistance, less people paying taxes because of some artificially made crisis. Can we really afford to lose more jobs in this economy just because congress has other priorities or just doesn’t care? Also, less competition in the package delivery market means the cost of sending and receiving packages will go up particularly in rural areas where the private companies make little or no profit and are not mandated to provide service to those areas like the Post Office is. The NALC (the union representing Letter Carriers ) hired the independent business consulting firm Lazard to analyze the future prospects for the Postal Service to let them know whether the Post Office could survive in the current economic and technological environment they’re in. The NALC was prepared for bad news but Lazard’s study was upbeat about the Post Office’s ability to compete due to showing strong growth in specific product areas and improved efficiency this, despite a slow economy. The study also said to eliminate service on Saturday would be a mistake as it is a competitive advantage. The study stated the most important way to improve the service’s financial condi¬tion is to end the pre-funding mandate. The Postmaster General is attempting to cure the financial problem without addressing the Elephant (pre-funding) in the room. This is misguided and will result in unnecessary loss of service and jobs across America. Those are just a few reasons as to why I am asking you

McCarley Gardens...

Dear Editor, I am a long term resident of McCarley Gardens and I want to express my displeasure over the lack of support we have from our elected officials. Over a period of years we have been fighting to maintain our homes and to stay in the neighborhood many of us younger folks were born in. For years now, the power elites have tried to sell our homes out from under us and give them to the University of Buffalo. I say give because the amount of money they are offering to pay St. John Church is not enough to compensate them for what the property is truly worth. We are also disappointed that the only elected officials who will even listen to us has been Legislator Tim Hogues and all the County Legislators and Councilmember Darius Pridgen. -NameWitheld Upon Request

Community Predator?

Dear Editor: The city and authorities need to look into a tattoo shop on Genesee Street. We are concerned parents who have been told that a man with AIDS is using underage girls for prostitution and engaging in other disturbing activities with the youth. This place needs to be investigated. We have to protect our youth. -Concerned Parent in the Genesee Street Area

to contact your US Senators offices quickly and tell them you want six day a week delivery just like you’ve been receiving it all along. By doing so you’ll be helping yourself, your community, veterans and the economy with just a few calls and you’ll preserve a postal system that provides its service at the lowest cost in the world and is also the most efficient in the world. Francis C. Franklin Buffalo, NY

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Parent Group Responds to Board of Education “Attacks” (Ed Note: The School Board Race heated up a notch last week when some members of the Buffalo Board of Education said they were concerned that the District Parents Coordinating Council was supporting candidates against Board members ; such a move according to the legal counsel board members sought, would be a conflict of interest. Sam Radford, president of the parents group, in a response letter to the board assured that his organization “has not endorsed and will not endorse candidates and will not engage in partisan political activity.” However he defended the group’s right and responsibility to “ Inform parents about the importance of voting in the Board of Education elections on May 7th... Educate parents about the school board election process... and conduct non-partisan voter education and awareness about issues that DPCC has on its ongoing advocacy agenda...”) It’s election time for the Board of Education. It’s time for our so-called representatives to be held accountable by those of us who are paying attention to the dismal state of affairs over which they preside. It’s time for those of us who understand the stagnation, failure, and theft of our children’s possibilities to choose change, and the board knows it. That explains the blistering attack that was launched against parents at a recent Board meeting, where, curiously, only the board members who are up for re-election participated. Sharon Cottman called DPCC (District Parent Coordinating Council) President Sam Radford a “loose cannon,” and said that one parent told her that parents in the group don’t have a voice, that his opinions are forced on the body, and that they are intimidated by him. Board member Jason McCarthy claimed to have heard from parents who said they felt that Mr. Radford has “hijacked the group.” Ralph Hernandez and Mary Ruth Kapsiak accused the DPCC of promoting opposition candidates for office, and pushed Sabirah for legal action against the parents. The most striking thing about these lies is the Muhammad fact that DPCC meetings are televised from start to finish – five times a day - every day. Right there on cable channel 20, anyone with eyes can witness for themselves the content and the tone of the meetings. Anyone can hear 2nd Vice President Jessica Bauer-Walker stating on camera that the DPCC does not endorse candidates. Anyone can listen in on the Plus/Delta closing session, where each parent is asked at the end of the meeting to state what was done well at the meeting, and what could be done better. They’ll hear comments like: “good information,” I learned a lot,” and “keep doing more of the same.” They’ll hear former and founding officers come forward to praise the tremendous growth, obvious effectiveness, and positive direction that current officers have brought to the group. Right there on camera, viewers can watch the DPCC elect its officers, including Mr. Radford. Not RADFORD only did parents elect him for the third time unanimously, he wasn’t even challenged. Hijacking? Seriously? Regarding the accusation that parents don’t have a voice, viewers can watch heads of committees come forward to report on work their sub groups are doing, watch parents ask questions, make motions, and vote on each and every issue. That inclusion is extended to community partners who are welcomed on the agenda to gain access to this active, aware, attentive and robust group that keeps growing and refining its work on behalf of children. And therein lies the real problem for board members who are up for re - election. The sleeping giant is awakening. Parents are realizing that in a school system where they outnumber board members, teachers and administrators by tens of thousands, there’s no reason our schools don’t reflect our vision of education. Parents have shown no hesitation, for example when taking on the Teachers Union for their squandering of millions of dollars for the schools because they don’t want to be held accountable. Some on the board have watched them sabotage our children and continued to make back room deals with them, even now taking money from them for their current re-election campaigns. The district has had a requirement that those who teach in Buffalo should live in Buffalo for years, but the board refuses to enforce the rule. What if parents decide that our children need some courageous representatives whose allegiance is to our children more than to their own selfish interests? In fact, DPCC leadership comprises officers who are far more qualified, far more competent, and far more committed than the board members themselves. It is mind boggling to sit at meetings with board members and administrators as the DPCC executive council raises issues of law and procedure that the administrators are not even aware of. It is frightening to come face to face with inept, ineffective policies (like millions wasted on ill-planned bus routes), and stolen or mismanaged money into the millions while those responsible say as little as necessary to keep their cover. The fact is that parents are spending the kind of time that full time jobs require in order to secure a future for our children – as unpaid volunteers. In the coming weeks, it is our responsibility to become acutely aware of what’s at stake with the upcoming election, and get involved.

• Published every Wednesday • News Deadline: Friday 5 p.m. • Ad Deadline: Friday 5 p.m. • Classified Deadline: Thursday 5 p.m. We respectfully submit that the opinions expressed on the editorial pages of this newspaper are not necessairly those of Challenger Community News Corporation or its advertisers.

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Pratcher & Associates 1133 Kensington (716) 838-4612

Dogman Joe Dog Trainer 1963 Fillmore * 807-8163

Bellamy’s Liquor Store 405 E. Ferry * 884-4066

AUTOMOTIVE

EATERIES

ONE STOP

Colslton Mobile Auto Repair 720 E. Ferry * 896-3910

The Corner Store Deli & Grill 1733 Genesee * 895-2009

BAIL BONDS A Bail Company Inc. Ken Thomas-716-867-0073 Judy Bunk-716-830-1512 Southtowns-716-570-0849 Rochester-585-749-7879

BARBER SHOPS Klassic Kuts 1471 Kensington 836-3260 Master Touch 1283 E. Delavan 901-5909 Solo Unisex 3081 MainSt. 833-2553

CAFE’S

EM Tea Coffee Cup * 884-1444 2nd Cup * 840-0048

CHILD CARE Cookieland Day Care 24 Barthel Miss Cookie*893-0590 Dean’s Day Care 61 Montana Ave. 716.896-1751 Debbie’s Little Scholars 484 Hickory St. (716)304-6820 First Impressions Day Care 847 Walden Ave. 716-533-8075 Kim’s Building Blocks Day Care 1479 E. Delavan Ave. 895-8693

Home Away From Home 84 Courtland Ave. (716)238-1455

DELI / VARIETY Grant’s Variety Shop 1055 E. Ferry St. 893-0704

DJ’S DJ Kenny Kutz (716) 400-7358

Tomatoes 1393 Kensington*835-3663

ELECTRICAL EMPIRE ELECTRIC 716-634-0330

HAIR SALONS Althea/Hair To Go Natural 727 Main St. (716) 563-1734 Karen’s Salon & Spa 413 Jefferson Ave. 812-9666 Miracle Transition 2 3339 Genesee * 481-1321 Serenity Hair Boutique 221 Jefferson Ave. (716) 812-0663 Salon Toss 2527 Delaware Ave. 894-8737

HAIR SUPPLY Main Hair & Beauty Supply 3067 Main St. (716) 862-4247

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Boost Mobile 1286 E. Delavan * 551-0304 360 Eggert Rd * 939-3900 441 William St. Town Gardens Plaza * 768-3887

PHOTOGRAPHY Princess Photography (716) 563-0994

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Event Photography (716) 510-5167 rporter7244@yahoo.com

PROPERTY INSPECTION Majadi Enterprises, Inc. Willie A. Price, CSI (716) 316-7776

TAILORS F&S Tailors 2930 Genesee St. (716) 894-3742 F&S Tailors & Fashions (716) 894-3742 wwwfandsfashions.com Ann Rhod’s Tailoring 3185 Bailey Ave. (716) 838-5633

TAX SERVICE

Joseph Burch Insurance 2317 Main St. 551-0006 / 510-4729

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1650 Fillmore (716) 894-4904

Priced Right Windows USA 710 Kensington Ave. (716)833-2500 * 578-7873 DID YOU KNOW... Black America Represent a half-Trillion Dollar Consumer Market?

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Mandella Market & Citgo Gas 272 E. Ferry cor. Jefferson 716-882-0288

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MARCH 27, 2013 Challenger Community News •

The No More Tears organization presented the owner of Price Choppers with a plaque and certificate of appreciation last Thursday at the store’s 1580 Genesee Street location. According to No More Tears founder and president Tina Sanders, Price Choppers owner Jimmy and his son A.K. have supported the community group “tremendously” over the years. “We do a Family Unity Day each year and Price Choppers supplies everything from the bounce houses to the cotton candy!” said Ms. Sanders. “They just want to give back to the community and we just wanted to show our appreciation.” No More Tears, a member of the Buffalo United Front, is very works with both youth and parents alike. “If we can help the parents we can help the children,” said Ms. Sanders. Pictured with two unidentified youngsters are (left to right) No More Tears members Sonya Thomas and Kim Thomas, Price Choppers owner Jimmy and Tina Sanders.

A Neighborhood Retail Marketing Study & Commercial Revitalization Plan for the Perry Choice Neighborhood will be subject of a public input Thursday. The study is the work of the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority in partnership with Seneca Gaming Corp. and the Perry Choice Planning Initiative. The public is invited to attend the open house to review the Commercial Revitalization Plan for the South Park and Perry Street corridors and offer feedback. The open house will be held March 28 between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. at the BMHA Planning & Information Center, 400 South Park Ave.The plan is designed to set a course for rebirth along the neighborhood’s primary commercial corridors of South Park Avenue and Perry Street, identifying businesses and services needed to serve the community and greater region.

MARCH 27, 2013

CLASSIFIEDS

Challenger Community News • ChallengerCN.com

COMMOM COUNCIL REPORT Meeting Summary For March 19, 2013

BUFFALO EMPLOYMENT & TRAINING CENTER – The Council adopted a resolution, sponsored by Majority Leader and Masten District Council Member Demone A. Smith, and co-sponsored by Council Members Fontana, Golombek, Pridgen, Russell and Scanlon, showing its full support for the efforts of the Buffalo Employment & Training Center (“BETC”) as it pertains to assisting City residents in finding employment or reemployment. Furthermore, it supports the development of a Career Path Program that will assist City of Buffalo High School students in finding a profession of interest which will assist them in becoming successful citizens in their chosen career of interest. \. COMMUNITY CHESS PROJECT FOR NIAGARA SQUARE – The Council approved a resolution, sponsored by Ellicott District Council Member Darius G. Pridgen, supporting the University at Buffalo Chess Club in their goal of hosting chess tournaments and events in Niagara Square. FORMATION OF FRUIT BELT NEIGHBORHOOD ADVISORY COUNCIL – The Council adopted a resolution, sponsored by Ellicott District Council Member Darius G. Pridgen, establishing a Fruit Belt Advisory Council to provide recommendations to the Council regarding activities within the Fruit Belt. The Council maintains that community contributions are most effective when they are presented in an organized and detailed manner. Any person interested in helping to form the Fruit Belt Advisory Council is an invited to attend an organizational meeting on Monday, April 22, 2013 at 12 noon in City Hall Room 1417. ESTABLISH AN ONLINE PAYMENT RESOURCE AND STATUE OF LIMITATIONS FOR OCCUPANCY TAX LIEN – The Council adopted a resolution, sponsored by Council Members Christopher P. Scanlon, Michael J. LoCurto, and Demone A. Smith, requesting that the City of Buffalo Treasury Department offer an online resource for residents of the City to pay any

outstanding balances owed to the Occupancy Tax and retrieve proof of said payment. WAIVING OF FEES The Council adopted a resolution, by Majority Leader and Masten District Council Member Demone A. Smith, waiving the Park Rental and Event fees for the following events: *The 8th Annual School #87 Reunion to be held on June 22, 2013 *Buffalo Caribbean Islands Caribana to be held on August 16, 17, and 18, 2013 *The 4th Annual “Walk for Hope” to be held August 24, 2013 *Buffalo Funkfest to be held August 24, 2013; and *Praise, Prayer and Worship at MLK to be held on August 31, 2013. APPOINTMENTS •The Council appointed Donald O. Allen as a Marriage Officer in the City of Buffalo for the period ending September 15, 2013: *The Council approved the appointment of Dominique Matthews to the position of Intern VI within the Masten District Council Office. For any questions, concerns, or further information regarding the above, please contact your District Council Member, or the Common Council Legislative Staff Office, at 851-5105

EAST SIDE APARTMENTS AVAILABLE

*Two and Three Bedroom Apartments starting at $395 plus security. Apartments Section 8 Ready. Call 836-8686.

Hundreds Of Work   Opportunities With Seneca Casinos

EM P loyment

As all three Seneca Casinos in Western New York continue to grow and the expanded Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino prepares for a fall 2013 opening, Seneca Gaming Corporation will provide multiple job fairs this spring to increase its team member base. From now through March 31, Seneca Gaming Corporation is hosting a “Virtual Job Fair” online for hundreds of new opportunities with the soon-to-be expanded Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino. Interested applicants should visit www.SenecaCasinos. com and click on “Seneca + Buffalo: The Real Deal” to submit a resume and cover letter. Upcoming opportunities at Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino include: table game dealers and management; count team supervisors and clerks; cage shift supervisors and cage cashiers; slot supervisors and slot attendants; slot technicians; marketing representatives; beverage bartenders, bar backs and servers; snack bar attendants, restaurant servers and management; culinary chefs and cooks; security officers and supervisors; valet attendants, and; maintenance and environmental services.

Accounting Supervisor: Supervises 3 or more employees & participates in various financial statements & reports. Maintains general & subsidiary ledgers, accounts receivable, payables, depreciation etc. BS in Accounting 2 yrs work exp. Spreadsheet & data base exp. 1 yr supervisory exp. Apply @ caohr@ roadrunner.com or CAO 70 Harvard Pl. Buffalo, NY Catholic Charities has an excellent professional development opportunity available for the following: Social Worker I Experience working with atrisk youth aged 14-24. Ideal candidate must possess a BA in Education, Counseling, Guidance or related field. For a full description visit our website www.ccwny.org Refer to Job #201322 when applying. Catholic Charities, 741 Delaware Ave, Buffalo, NY 14209. Attn: HR. EOE/ M/F

BIDS NFTA Procurement Invitation to Bid 4283 - VIDEO BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEM Download Bids from www. nfta.com

bids COUNTY OF ERIE NOTICE TO BIDDERS EAST ROBINSON & NORTH FRENCH ROADS PROJECT NO. FA-299-13 FEDERAL PIN 5755.43 The Department of Public Works, Division of Highways, is seeking sealed bids for this road reconstruction project. Sealed proposals will be received at the DPW-Division of Highways Conference Room, 95 Franklin Street, 14th floor, Buffalo, NY at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, April 11, 2013. Bid deposit of $500,000.00 required. DBE 11% required. Plans will be available for purchase at $100./set from Thursday, March 21, 2013 through bid date. Pre-let meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 28, 2013 11:00 a.m. at the DPW-Division of Highways Conference Room, 95 Franklin Street, 14th floor, Buffalo, NY. Bid submittal details are on the Erie County website at: http://www2.erie.gov/dpw

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Full-Time Minister of Music needed to administer and implement True Bethel Baptist Church music programs including Children, Youth and Adult Choirs/ Praise Teams. Coordinate music for Bible Study and 4 worship services, special events including weddings/ funerals. Requirements: A degree in music or comparable training/experience as an organist/choirmaster, administrative/organization skills, ability to problem solve a must. Submit your resume to lgamblin@ truebethel.com.

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Catholic Charities has an excellent professional development opportunity available for the following:

MST Therapist

Seeking individuals who want to help at risk youth by collaborating with families, youth, schools, neighborhoods, social services & probation. Ideal candidate must possess a MSW or Master’s in a mental health field or bachelor’s with extensive experience. For a full description visit our website www.ccwny.org Refer to Job #201324 when applying. Catholic Charities, 741 Delaware Ave, Buffalo, NY 14209. Attn: Human Resources. EOE/M/F

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NOTICE TO CONTRACTOR CITY OF NIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS Sealed proposals will be received by the City Engineer or his designee of Niagara Falls, New York, at his office located at 745 Main Street, Room 303, in said City not later than 1:30 P.M., on April 16, 2013, at which time they will be publicly opened and read for the following Bridge Maintenance project: City of Niagara Falls Bridge Painting Project, Porter Road over CSX Railroad, B.I.N. 2-03956-0 City of Niagara Falls, Niagara County P.I.N. 5760.18 in the City of Niagara Falls, N.Y. Each bidder must include with his bid, a certified check or bid bond, payable to the order of the City of Niagara Falls, in the amount of not less than FIVE (5) PERCENT of the price bid, subject to the conditions in the Instructions to Bidders. The successful bidder will be required to furnish a performance bond and labor and material payment bond, in form and substance, and with sureties approved by the City Corporation Counsel, in the amount of not less than ONE HUNDRED (100) PERCENTUM of the total amount of the accepted proposal. All proposals must be made on blank forms, which together with other requirements, may be obtained in the Office of the City Engineer. Contractor is required to complete the Insurance Information Form, Performance and Payment Bond Information Form, and other documentation specified in the Instructions to Bidders, when submitting a proposal. The City Administrator reserves the right to reject any and all bids and to waive all informalities. Copies of the set of bid documents, drawings, and specifications may be obtained from the Office of the City Engineer upon deposit of $50.00 (CHECK ONLY) for each set. The deposit is not refundable to non-bidders unless they are returned prior to the bid date and time. Bidders requesting a refund must return all plans and specifications, in good condition, within forty-five (45) days after the bid date. A pre-bid meeting will be held at the OFFICE OF THE CITY ENGINEER, CITY HALL, ROOM 303 at 1:30 P.M., on April 3, 2013. Jeffrey Skurka, P.E. City Engineer Advertise: March 27 & April 3, 2013

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MARCH 27, 2013 Challenger Community News •

EVENTS CALENDAR

NEW YORK STATE LOTTERY NUMBERS SUN 3/17

MON 3/18

TUES 3/19

WED 3/20 THURS 3/21

FRI 3/22 SAT 3/23

MID-301 MID- 590 MID-552 MID- 321 MID-468 MID-197 MID-294 EVE-028 EVE-075 EVE- 277 EVE-733 EVE-758 EVE-853 EVE-185

3-WAY

MID - 7725 MID- 6237 MID-6002 EVE- 0611 EVE-4177 EVE-7931

WIN 4

6-10-22-23-24 9-25-28-34-36 5-8-12-14-16 6-8-32-33-34

TAKE 5

LOTTO

MID-8405 EVE-0182

HOT TIPS

202

648

910

Zakiyyah’s Run Down 562-670-106-860-103-675-748-905-198-657-648-920-907546-986-676-198-238-901-659-685-553-679-807-978-101432-098-034-567-476-578-768-890-219-345-086-657-651230-856-789-456-578-646-689-201-107-145-897-461

Billy Bye Bye Sez:

110-761-566-618-447 MARCH 2013 Monthly Vibrations 874-254-594-890-347-123-662-788-919 quick money $$$$ 189-809-444 886-980-422 322-522-355 800-592-390 394-833-924 127-909-418 927-313-466 124-550-525 583-269-508

THE NUMBER BOOK

grandma’s MARCH pics

322-666-302-176-743-435-165 “MOMMIE-O” 133-202-333648-1993

Board of Education MEeting: 5:30 p.m., 801 City Hall

MID- 8195 MID-3147 MID-9435 EVE- 3473 EVE-4796 EVE-7048

4-15-17-19-25

THURSDAY MARCH 28 BMHA Open House for Perry Choice Economic Plan: 4-6 p.m., 400 Sout Park Ave. ; public input wanted. See Page 12 FRIDAY MARCH 29

Term Care Facility; 898-4947 for info.

5-26-27-31-38-49 #9

666

Family Fun Bowling Day: Every Wednesday, Kerns Bowling Center, 163 Kerns; 5-8 p.m.; $1 bowling; hosted by Buffalo United Front.

ECMC Women’s History Month Celebration “Women In Busi3-14-18-27-36 1-7-29-32-34 ness Celebration” : 8-9:30 a.m., 462 Grider, Terrace View Long

11-20-21-26-43-58 #9

514

WEDNESDAY MARCH 27 Dorie Miller Rifle & Pistol Club Meeting: 6 p.m., Merriweather Library; Jefferson @ Utica.

911

400

CHALLENGER HITS MIDDAY

301-ZR (bx) 590-ZR (bx) 552-Quick $$$ (bx) 321-Hot Tips (bx) 468-Hot Tips (bx) 294-Hot Tips (bx) 197-Hot Tips (bx)

EVENING

750- (St) 123-March Vibes & Luckie Duckie (bx) 189-Quick $$$ (bx) 525-Quick $$$ (bx) 176-GrandMa Pix (bx) 648-Hot Tips (bx) 103-ZR (bx) 905-ZR (bx) LUCKIE DUCKIE

134-431-143

648*123*104 980-422-809

981-989-970-990-080-800 390-196-102-581-752-319408-378-352-126

189-444-886

322-522-412-432-421-423

3-Way Winning Numbers this Time Last Year

04/04/2012 Evening 04/04/2012 Midday 04/03/2012 Evening 04/03/2012 Midday 04/02/2012 Evening 04/02/2012 Midday 04/01/2012 Evening 04/01/2012 Midday 03/31/2012 Evening 03/31/2012 Midday 03/30/2012 Evening 03/30/2012 Midday 03/29/2012 Evening 03/29/2012 Midday 03/28/2012 Evening 03/28/2012 Midday 03/27/2012 Evening 03/27/2012 Midday

6-5-9 4-3-3 5-9-9 5-0-5 9-8-7 2-9-6 5-9-2 1-2-5 2-8-7 9-0-3 8-1-4 6-7-2 9-2-3 9-1-1 2-9-6 3-3-2 3-4-2 7-6-6

Westy’s Sycamore Reunion Family & Friends Skate: New Skateland, 33 E. Ferry St., 6-9 pm, adults $10 children under eight $5;for tickets call Ray @ 783-0099 or Moe @ 578-4717. SATURDAY MARCH 30 WUFO EASTER EGG HUNT: Mt. Olive Baptist Church, 701 E. Delavan Ave., noon – 3 p.m. www.wufoam.com or 8341080 for more info. MASTEN DISTRICT COUNCIL OFFICE EASTER EGG HUNT: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., MLK Park Casino, Children 12 and under; also adult scavenger hunt. Utopian Euphoria Women Making History Gala: 6 p.m., Templeton Landing. debbieallen@utopiann.com or www.utopiann. com It Takes A Village Recognition Dinner: 5-11 p.m., St. George’s Hall, 2 Nottingham Terrace; 6:15 p.m. honoring John Johnson, William House, Ronald Peoples, Carl Johnson and the late General Bass. For tickets call 854-8896, 844-8046 or 832-7364. SUNDAY MARCH 31 Open House Birthday Celebration for Sis Eula M. Nailor: Buffalo East, 1412 Main St., 4-11 p.m.; RSVP 894-0895. WEDNESDAY APRIL 3 “Black America After the Assassination of Dr. King” Community forum: short film and discussion; 5:30-7:45, Merriweather Library, hosted by We Are Women Warriors; event free and open to the public. Family Fun Bowling Day: Every Wednesday, Kerns Bowling Center, 163 Kerns; 5-8 p.m.; $1 bowling; hosted by Buffalo United Front. WNY Muslims Community Outreach Event: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. two locations, UB North Campus Student Union and Lafayette Square Downtown Buffalo; peaceful attempt to change how Muslims are viewed; Roses will be distributed. THURSDAY APRIL 4 G.I.R.L.S Sports foundation Basketball Showcase/WNBA Fundraiser: St. Mary’s School for the Deaf, 2253 Main St., 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., admission $5; cost to participate is $10. For more info 931-2180 or 247-8544.

Line Dancing Classes The Niagara Falls Housing Authority offers Line Dancing classes every Wednesday evening from 5:30p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The classes are held at the Doris W. Jones Family Resource Building located at 3001 Ninth Street, Niagara Falls, NY. Class instructor is Ms. Joan Harris. Classes are free and open to the public. For more information, please contact the Resource Building staff at 285-5374.

MARCH 27, 2013

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Politics:

Grant, Kennendy & the xxth District Senate Race: Will the Real Democrat PLEASE Stand Up?

MARCH 27, 2013 Challenger Community News â&#x20AC;˘