Visitors to the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall for the opening ceremony Thursday evening numbered in the hundreds. The wall will be stationed at Lockport Town Hall through Monday morning. (SCOTT LEFFLER / ENP STAFF)

By +Scott Leffler 
scott.leffler@eastniagarapost.com

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More than 58,000 names adorn the 3/5 scale wall — just like on the original version in Washington, D.C. (PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY ELIZABETH GRIMMER)

TOWN OF LOCKPORT ― The size of the "miniature" Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall was only outmatched by the size of the crowd visiting it for the opening ceremonies Thursday evening.

As the clock drew closer to 5 p.m., people milled around the front lawn of Lockport Town Hall. Some quietly talked with friends. Others silently stared at the American flag hoisted above. Many meandered down the length of the nearly 300-foot wall, gaping at the more than 58,000 names of those lost to the war.

Many had programs in their hand, listing the events planned for the wall's time in Lockport, as well as the names of the 79 Lockport-area service members who lost their lives during the war.

Rifles broke the near-silence at 5 o'clock, beginning the opening ceremonies for the wall's four-plus day visit to the Town of Lockport. Taps played and the town's flag was replaced with the POW/MIA flag.

The speakers were mostly somber — including Town Councilman Paul Siejak, former Niagara County Sheriff (and Vietnam veteran) Tom Beilein, and Town Supervisor Marc Smith and Mayor Anne McCaffrey, who jointly coined June 10 through June 15 as "Vietnam Veterans Memorial Week."

Friday, a ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. with a declaration of "Law Enforcement/Fire Fighters/1st Responders Day." Sheriff Jim Voutour will be the keynote speaker. Saturday is "Military Service/Civic Day" with Col. William Bryndle - USAF retired and state Sen. Rob Ortt offering the keynote speeches for the 10 a.m. ceremony. Sunday features a Flag Day ceremony put on by the Lockport Elks Lodge #41.

Niagara County Sheriff Jim Voutour salutes during the singing of the National Anthem Thursday at the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall. (SCOTT LEFFLER / ENP STAFF)

RELATED LINKS:

• Photos from the opening ceremony Thursday evening
• Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall receives hero's escort
• Photos of the motorcade escorting the wall to Lockport Town Hall

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Anne McCaffrey

Mayor Anne McCaffrey and the Lockport Common Council issued a public challenge to Town of Lockport Supervisor Marc Smith and the Lockport Town Board tonight.

The mayor, during the Common Council meeting at City Hall, publicly challenged Smith and the Town Board to a tug-of-war as part of the city's sesquicentennial celebration.

The tug-of-war is to be held at 3 p.m. on June 30. It is one of 150 events scheduled to be held during the nine-day sesquicentennial celebration.

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo intends to turn this map blue by 2018. Lockport business owner — and Town Supervisor — Marc Smith announced his support for the plan today. (FILE PHOTO / CONTRIBUTED)

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ALBANY — Nearly 100 businesses across New York State have signed on in support of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's call for faster more reliable broadband Internet.

The governor's office says that broadband plays a crucial role in supporting economic activity in both rural and urban communities, and New York’s competitiveness and overall business climate would be dramatically improved by the implementation of the #Broadband4All campaign.

"Access to broadband is critical for businesses to compete and succeed in the global marketplace," Governor Cuomo said. "That's why we need to make a bold investment to strengthen New York's tech infrastructure. Our proposal will transform the landscape of broadband access for all New Yorkers, and I urge the legislature to join us in making it a reality this year."

Nationwide, the amount of annual e-commerce sales from web-only merchants grew from approximately $9.72 billion in 2003 to nearly $106 billion in 2013. It is also closely linked to job creation – regardless of industry, broadband is considered responsible for 43 percent of all new jobs created by businesses across the country since 2013.

One of the 95 businesses to offer their support for the governor's proposal is AM Smith Insurance, owned by Town of Lockport Supervisor Marc Smith.

The Republican is reaching across the aisle on the issue because as a business owner, he relies on broadband Internet — and as town supervisor, he's reminded that other businesses do, too.

According to the governor's office, more than 4,000 businesses statewide cannot get access to broadband at the state’s previously established minimum speed standards of 6 Mbps download and 1.5 Mbps upload – speeds that are already too slow. This fact holds true for 3 percent of Niagara County residents. Additionally, 113,000 businesses across the state cannot get access to broadband at 100 Mbps — the minimum speed a 2014 survey of economic developers said was needed to attract and grow businesses. This includes 70 percent of Upstate New Yorkers and all of Niagara County, according to the governor's office.

"I keep hearing from business owners — even people in the city — that there's issues with reliable broadband," Smith said.

"If I didn't have a connection, I might as well close the doors," Smith said this afternoon, explaining that nearly 90 percent of his business now gets conducted over the internet. "It's becoming more and more depending on that connection."

Smith's Woodhaven Drive home also has a decent high-speed connection. But some of his neighbors go without.

"I know just a little further out ... the high speed connection ends," he said. "There's huge gaps even in the town of Lockport."

Of course, those gaps get wider and more prevalent the further East Niagara residents get from Lockport — especially in areas like Appleton and Barker.

Gov. Cuomo launched the #Broadband4All campaign last week to rally support for his New NY Broadband Program proposal, which will help meet the goal of ensuring that every New Yorker has access to high-speed Internet service by the end of 2018. Since then, more than 30 health care organizations and related groups have announced their support. The Governor’s administration also launched ny.gov/broadbandforall, which encourages New Yorkers to become involved and provides more information on the proposal and its importance.

The plan calls for the state to invest $500 million to jumpstart the New NY Broadband Program utilizing capital funds from bank settlements to incentivize the private sector to expand high-speed broadband access in underserved and unserved areas. It also calls for matching funds from broadband providers and will require them to offer nearly universal 100 Mbps service.

RELATED LINK:

• Cuomo unveils broadband plan

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Niagara USA Chamber President John Benoit speaks during the grand opening ceremonies at the new Walmart Supercenter on South Transit Road in the Town of Lockport. (HEATHER N. GRIMMER / ENP PHOTOGRAPHER)

BY SCOTT LEFFLER
scott.leffler@eastniagarapost.com

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Store manager Diane Waters leads the grand opening ceremony.

TOWN OF LOCKPORT — With a line of customers waiting to be the first to shop at the long-awaited Walmart Supercenter, dignitaries and Walmart employees held a grand opening ceremony and ribbon cutting this morning.

Store manager Diane Waters led the ceremonies, which included "go Walmart" cheers from Lockport High School cheerleaders and store associates, a prayer by Pastor Michael Foster, introductions of department managers, certificates of appreciation to employees who have been with Lockport Walmart since the year the original one opened — 1995 ― and the cutting of a silver ribbon.

Waters discussed her own time with Walmart and praised the employees of the store, who, as she pointed out, had to endure Black Friday, the Christmas shopping season and opening a new store all within a matter of two months.

Dozens of Walmart employees were on hand for the opening ceremony.

"We want to say goodbye to the old building and hello to the new," Waters said to a crowd of more than 100, including several dozen customers. "The associates in this building are absolutely incredible. To say the least."


Town Supervisor Marc Smith joked to the Walmart-friendly crowd: "I can't tell you how many days I understood that it was going to be a cold day in January when this store opened."

Smith said the grand opening, which was more than a decade in the making, "really feels like Christmas to me."

He noted that his son was driving around in a battery powered toy car when the idea of a Supercenter was proposed. "He's driving something much faster now."

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