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Gowanda News /Saturday, January 03, 2015
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Take the Fast Lane to homemade cooking
By Phil Palen
NEWS CORRESPONDENT
NEWS CORRESPONDENT
PHOTO BY MEGAN PANKOW-WALKER
TWO-FOLD The Fast Lane offers goods for sale and a dining area to meet in South Dayton. community and having the family atmosphere is important to Koningisor. “I like that people have a place to go… a family atmosphere,” Koningisor said. The space, formerly Jenny Lee, is equipped with tables, chairs and bar seating for customers to enjoy their food and spend time with friends and family. When deciding to open the business, Koningisor said she sat down with her children and discussed the opportunity and what it would mean for them to be part of the journey. Koningisor said after their discussion they all decided “Let’s do it.” It was their passion for racing at Holland Speedway that the family decided on Fast Lane for the shop's moniker. After owning the Jenny Lee store once in the 1990s, Koningisor was familiar with the business and workload end
of owning and running a business. After owning the business she also worked at Jenny Lee, giving her an extra advantage in understanding all sides of the operation she was about to open. As an investment not only for herself, but for her children, Koningisor hopes to see her children own Fast Lane one day and it remains a “family” business. Eventually the store will see deep-fried food items, milk, eggs, Lotto and beer, Koningisor said, “It all takes time.” In the meantime, Koningisor said, “Town people can come and eat great food, be in great company. We are very upbeat and a happy-go-lucky place.” Fast Lane Country Store and Diner is open seven days a week: Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 03, 2015
Veterans' exemptions a go in Gowanda
By Megan Pankow-Walker
Opened early last November, Fast Lane Country Store and Diner is right in the heart of South Dayton on Park Street, and offers homemade cooking and friendly service to its patrons locally and those passing through. Owned by Noreen Koningisor along with her children, Destiny York, 18 and James Spruce, 11, the restaurant and convenience store offers soups, sandwiches, pies, a breakfast and lunch special every day and convenience items like pop, candy and gum. The store’s Facebook page (search “Fast Lane”) posts daily specials and upcoming events. On Jan. 10 there will be a Chili Cook-Off from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. inviting contestants to bring their chili to the store (sign up by Jan. 5). The public may purchase tickets for chili samplings and then vote for the best. The store also plans to participate every local event. A table at the restaurant's front was set up on Dec. 6 for visitors to sit and frost a cookie free of charge after patrons visited with Santa and attended the craft show at the fire hall down the street. “I want to do fun things like that when other events are going on,” Koningisor said. Being part of the
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Cloudy with 30% chance of frozen mix
The Gowanda Village Board approved offering property tax exemptions to military veterans at the Dec. 18 board meeting. Qualified veterans can receive a 15 percent exemption from village taxes; combat veterans, 25 percent; and disabled veterans can receive an exemption equal to the percentage of their VAapproved level of disability. The exemptions will be available beginning in fiscal year 2016. Treasurer Cynthia Schilling commented on the property tax cap override that the village board previously approved. The 2.98 percent increase in the total village tax levy will actually be only 1.07 percent. She said the upcoming village tax levy was being compared to the amount from two years ago instead of last year’s figures. Thus the village is in full compliance with Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s tax cap goals, and village taxpayers may be eligible for a small refund. Trustee Carol Sheibley attended a tax cap workshop and brought back an information packet for the board to study. The state wants the village to have a plan in place for joint projects with other municipalities that result in cost savings. The Gateway Park construction on Palmer Street was mentioned as an example of inter-municipal cooperation. The board approved a draft contract with Healthy Community Alliance for the Safe Routes to School program which will provide a 100 percent grant of $150,000 for improvements to sidewalks and crosswalks near school zones. Under the grant, the village will receive $15,000 for administrative costs, plus $135,000 in construction funding to be paid quarterly over three years. Funds proposed for the now-postponed Creekwalk from School Street to Aldrich Street will be used for sidewalk construction. The project zone includes Aldrich Street from West Main to North Water
Street, St. John and College streets, as well as extending sidewalks on Caroline Road and Allen Street from Seneca Street to Aldrich Street. Design and construction work will be done by New York State. Sheibley gave Disaster Coordinator Nick Crassi’s update on FEMA flood relief. The village is awaiting an engineering study of the Point Peter Reservoir which should arrive shortly. Once that comes and a cost estimate for repairs is received, the process of financing the project can begin, Schilling said. Money for street repairs and asphalt should be coming soon, Schilling reported. She said about $23,000 approved by FEMA will be put back into the village’s general fund. Crassi’s report said there has been “no action at all” on removing the trailers parked at the east end of Chestnut Street. They were used as temporary space for the medical center until a permanent addition was built last year. TLC Health Network, which owns the trailers, was to have them removed months ago. However, progress has been stalled by TLC’s ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. “We need to put the bankruptcy trustee on notice,” said Village Attorney Deborah Chadsey. Public Works Superintendent Jason Opferbeck said he would check the street inventory list to see if the trailers are in a public right-of-way. “We always plowed beyond the (neighbor’s) driveway,” Opferbeck said, indicating the trailers may be parked in a public roadway. Chadsey said the village should send TLC a notice that the village will remove them and sell them for scrap if TLC doesn’t move them. “Their bankruptcy hearing is winding down,” Chadsey said. “We are close to knowing if their properties are to be sold and their assets liquidated.” Clerk Kathleen Mohawk gave the November police activity report. There were 190 total calls answered, three domestic complaints, three motor vehicle
accidents, 10 arrests, 10 traffic summonses issued, and 4,229 patrol miles logged. The village received $2,897.25 from the 2013 Stop DWI program, $6,271.73 in reimbursements for new vests, and $250 in court fines from the Town of Collins. Mayor Heather McKeever commended the Gowanda police and the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force for recent drug arrests. McKeever said that beginning in January, the village board will hold one regular business meeting a month, on the second Tuesday, beginning at 7 p.m. The same time slot on the fourth Tuesday will be reserved for public hearings or special purpose meetings. “This gives us the ability to get more things done at the business meetings,” McKeever said, noting that some meetings have been running upwards of three hours, including public hearings and discussion. In other business, the board: • Acknowledged receipt of $89,000 in CHIPS funds for local street repairs. • Approved hiring Brianna Stelley, Jenna Stelley and Ben Tessmer as winter recreation employees on an “as needed” basis at minimum wage. • Accepted the fire protection contract with the Town of Perrysburg. • Acknowledged a donation from Edward Palen to be applied to the shade tree budget. • Authorized Village Attorney Deborah Chadsey to negotiate renewal of the cable TV contract with Time Warner Cable. The village wants a maximum renewal term of seven years, and Chadsey is asking the cable company for a definition of revenue under the contract. • Declared a 2000 International dump truck with an old plow and sander as surplus to be put out for bids on an Internet auction site. The next regular board meeting is Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015 at 7 p.m. in the Village board room, 27 East Main Street.
Final tones for Helmuth
PHOTO BY MEGAN PANKOW-WALKER
FAMILY TIES-Noreen Koningisor, center, is flanked by her children, Destiny, left and James, at the entrance to South Dayton's newest business, the Fast Lane Country Store. PHOTO COURTESY KAREN RICOTTA
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OBITUARIES ............................................. SECT. A PAGE 5
CLASSIFIEDS ............................................. SECT. B PAGE 7
AROUND TOWN........................................ SECT. B PAGE 3
SECT. B PAGES 6-7 SERVICE DIRECTORY ...........................SECT.
LETTERS .................................................... SECT. A PAGE 4
POLICE BLOTTER ...................................... SECT. A PAGE3
SPORTS................................................ SECT. B PAGES 1 –2
SECT B, PAGE 4 ANTIQUE ALLEY ......................................SECT
CLOSED-Helmuth Emergency Dispatch Center, located on the grounds of the Gowanda Correctional Facility, closed Dec. 30 ,a day earlier than expected. At left, Head Dispatcher, Midge Lillie and D-6, Peter Loretto, hold the original 1955 log book. Residents are reminded to phone 911 for all emergencies in Collins, North Collins and the Seneca Cattaraugus Territory.
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