‘Gasland’ documentary sheds light on hydraulic fracturing
Published:
October 24, 2010, 12:00 AM

Updated: October 24, 2010, 6:47 AM

A free showing of the documentary “Gasland” and a discussion with filmmaker Josh Fox will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday in Buffalo State College’s Bulger Communications Center.

The documentary about the natural gas drilling process known as hydraulic fracturing—which is causing controversy in Collins and other parts of Western New York—was awarded a special jury prize at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

The presentation is sponsored by the college’s Communications Department, Students for Peace and State Sen. Antoine M. Thompson, D-Buffalo.

I received a message on my home phone yesterday. It was a robo call about one of my neighbors lost pets. I think it is kind of abnoxious but understandable at the same time. I did some pretty crazy things to try to get my bike back but I never thought about robo calls. I don't think this should be legal. I'm really getting sick of political robo calls too. It is my phone and I don't want anyone calling it unless I have given you the number. I am on the do not call list.

They charge A LOT of money and I kind of doubt that they really work. I'm sure a lot of people who pay for this really can't afford it in the first place. Check out their pricing plan which ranges from $85 for 250 calls to $850 for 10,000 calls.



Sorry about your lost kitty, but I think you should stick with signs and advertisements in the paper or craigslist.

Maybe the next time Basra runs off you can robo call the neighborhood (e:PMT)?

I want to bring some food to share for my family's Thanksgiving day dinner. It will also be celebrating my Grammy's 80th birthday. I really would like to bring something special so I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions? It would have to be something I could make the night before and that I could travel with in a cooler for 3-4 hrs. It could be a dessert but would like to stay away from the pies. My family never has seafood on Thanksgiving and I was thinking that might be a nice change but I can't think of anything I could make the night before.

I spilled some pure tea tree oil and I wish it was milk! It is so strong. I do like it diluted but full strength is overwhelming. It spilled on my clothes, on a bag of plastics I am hoarding and on my kitchen floor. I can't get it out of my nose. Thankfully it wasn't a full bottle but some I had saved in a plastic container because I had over poured.

I miss my conejo. He is my life just like my (e:mike).

Updated: September 22, 2010, 6:51 PM

Homicide investigators late this afternoon were at the scene of what was described as a murder-suicide at 54 Tuxedo Place in the city's Riverside neighborhood.

Police described the victims as a woman in her late 40s and man in his early 50s -- boyfriend and girlfriend. The violence, police said, erupted during a domestic dispute.

Further information was unavailable.

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Nevermind, guest. I found what you were referring to. I had no idea it was so recent. I almost was killed once because of domestic violence. I had a knife to my throat and thought I was going to die. I was lucky but Valerie and this unfortunate woman were not.

A Tuxedo Place woman about to escape an abusive relationship was killed Wednesday by her estranged boyfriend, who then took his own life inside the apartment they shared, police said.

Loud quarrels between Joy Rizzo, 49, and Andrew Soos, 51, were said to have been frequent in their lower flat. Often -- and as recently as three days ago -- they ventured outside, in full view of neighbors, according to Trina Pena, Rizzo's friend.

"She was trying to leave him," Pena said. "She was scared. She feared for her life, and [Soos] took her life."

Neighbors said Rizzo was packing her belongings into boxes and planned to move to Florida with another man she had known since childhood and had befriended again on Facebook.

That was the reason for the loud quarrel that neighbors heard earlier this week.

"[Soos] was standing on his porch saying, 'Over my dead body,'" Pena said.

The other man, who neighbors called "Steve," was supposed to have been picked up by Rizzo earlier Wednesday. When Rizzo did not show up, he called her unsuccessfully before showing up on Tuxedo Place, which is north of Hertel Avenue, a few blocks east of Military Road.

When there was no answer at the apartment, police were summoned.

Northwest District officers responded after 2 p.m. to make "a welfare check" on the two, and the landlord arrived with a key to let them in.

"Police arrived on scene, gained access to the home, and, once inside, they found the bodies," said Michael J. DeGeorge, Buffalo police spokesman. "Right now, it appears to be an apparent murder-suicide that appears to be domestic in nature."

Police would not say what type of weapon was involved. However, neighbors described hearing two gunshots at about 1:45 p.m.

Authorities released few details of the crime, saying only that it remained "under investigation" by homicide detectives. Police did not release the names of the victims.

Nancy Young, a neighbor, said she had been friends with Rizzo since childhood. The two attended Hoover Elementary School and Kenmore West High School together and had remained friends ever since. Soos, Young said, was the first man Rizzo let abuse her.

"I was surprised she stayed with a violent man," Young said. "She never put up with it before. She tried to leave him several times. He had some kind of fear of God in her."

Young described Soos as a controlling man who once cut the brake lines to her vehicle to keep her and Rizzo from attending a concert together at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center. She said Rizzo liked the outdoors, including hiking in Zoar Valley, camping, volleyball and football.

The couple leaves behind a 12-year-old son who was met at school Wednesday by police. The child is now in the care of relatives. Neighbors said the boy would often be seen walking down the street and stopping to visit during quarrels between his parents.

Neighbors said Rizzo's older son from a previous relationship, Nick Rizzo, now 22, spent time in jail after coming to the defense of his mother by hitting Soos in the head with a baseball bat. The Nov. 22, 2004, police report states that the incident occurred at Chadduck and Ontario streets. Soos was taken by ambulance to Erie County Medical Center.

Nick Rizzo is now serving up to seven years in the Attica Correctional Facility for robbery, burglary and grand larceny, according to state Department of Correctional Services records.

Soos' wife of two years, the former Valerie Wilkins, 43, was found slain behind a Niagara Street bar in November 1996. Her ring finger was cut off after her death, but before authorities found her nude body in her car behind Campbell's Pub, 1591 Niagara St.

"Cold Case Squad detectives were recently looking into that cold case," Dennis J. Richards, chief of detectives, said late Wednesday, "and furthermore were conferring with homicide detectives who were at the scene of today's find."

This was written by By T.J. Pignataro for the Buffalo News.

Please read the comments of this journal by clicking on the bubble with the letters abc.

I wasn't able to reply to your message to me because I didn't have an email address. I'm really sorry for your loss. I hope that my journal has not caused any further pain. If it has, or you think it will hurt her family, please contact me again and I will remove it. To hurt anyone that knew her more would be the last thing I want. From the memorial I knew she meant a lot to those around her and that she is missed very much.

I suspected her husband but was afraid to say so, and I am glad he is dead. I'm sorry that he was able to kill another. Do you have the news story? I wasn't able to find it. I really want to express my sympathies to her daughters. I'm really surprised that the police weren't able to link him to the crime. Was there really no evidence or were they just not investigating?

I did pray for her and that she would get justice. I really wanted her murder to be solved. Every single time I ride by the place they found her body I think about her, thanks to the memorial...

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guest says: Andy just killed himself and his current wife it was on the news. That guy should rot in hell. Valerie was a close family friend. So sad. But its interesting how you went about investigating her. She was a sweet woman.

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Probably haven’t gotten to the point that it is a major problem, but I cleaned my closets out recently and am getting a little scared.

I saved almost all of the boxes that I moved with because I want to move again and don’t want to have the hassle of getting more.

I save all the bubble wrap I get and it turns out I have a garbage bag and a medium sized box full. IF you need some let me know.

I save gift bags and tissue paper.

I have a vacuum that I garbage picked but it doesn’t work and I don’t want to throw it out in case somebody can fix it.

I have many of my notebooks and folders from high school and college, despite the fact that I NEVER look at them.

I had a HUGE collection of adapters, cords, wires and crap that I saved in case I ever need it. I got so freaked out that I was hoarding that I am getting rid of a lot of it….

The stuff I plan on getting rid of I also save so that I can find a place to recycle it….

This year was the year of fried chicken and I have about 6 gallons of used oil that I am saving so I can find a place to recycle it.

I save plastics that aren’t recyclable in Buffalo so I can bring them to other municipalities that do recycle more than #1 and #2 plastics.

There are piles of documents that I refuse to deal with. I want to but I never do.

A lot of books I have I will not ever read again or ever and they are still here.

I do keep some clothing for sentimental reasons. Not sure if that is totally abnormal or not.

This is really awful, but there is a box I have of crucifixes and I can’t throw them away. It just seems wrong for so many reasons. My grandparents gave me them and one of them is handmade by my grandfather. They also have my name inscribed in them. So they sit in this shoebox for all eternity because I can’t give them away, I can’t bury them and I definitely will not burn them!

I’m pretty sure that this will get worse as I get older. I think it is something I always have to keep in check and it traces back to when I was much younger. At one time, I saved all of the greeting cards I ever got. Then one day I threw almost all of them out. I guess a real hoarder would never do that, but I can purge and actually would never live like a true hoarder…at least I hope not. I swear to God, I will never have cat shit piling up in a corner.

I just read this article about the Kenmore West teacher who was killed in an accident. I was really touched until I got to the end and found out that the school organized a balloon release in memoriam. I can't believe the ignorance of such actions and for this to be done as an official act by a school. The article ends with "When a bagpipe player finished the last strains of “Amazing Grace,” the balloons were let loose. Heads turned to watch them dance like free spirits toward the heavens." They are balloons, not spirits and they don't go to the heavens, they go to our water ways and imperil our struggling wildlife and make everything ugly. They get entangled in trees and rocks and there they sit for who knows how long until they photo-degrade and break into smaller pieces which get eaten by plankton and thus passed on up the food chain. Death is sad but adding more death and destruction makes it even sadder.

It is really sad what happened. I really like the beginning of the article where the girl shares her experience about his encouragement. What a huge loss for the school.

School grieves loss of teacher
After football victory, Kenmore West says goodbye, with love
By Matthew Spina
NEWS STAFF REPORTER
Published:
September 19, 2010, 12:00 AM

Laura Doxbeck was an insecure sophomore, certain there was no place for her at the Tinsel Ball, Kenmore West High School’s holiday season gala.

She would know no one. She would have no one to talk to. She would stick out like a sore thumb. But she went.

“Mr. Dugan talked me into it,” she said Saturday, almost two years later.

“He said that no matter who you know, you will always meet people. Because, no matter what, people are going to be friendly. Everybody’s friendly. Nobody’s mean. You just have to give them a chance.”

He encouraged her to buy a nice dress—the calming color of green so that if she became nervous she could look at herself and feel at ease. He told her she would look beautiful and would have a great time.

Apparently, she did. She posted a picture of herself at the Tinsel Ball on her Facebook page. And the memory of it all brought a smile to her face on an otherwise sad day.

“That was Mr. Dugan’s whole perspective,” she said. “He was so intelligent, with so much insight into everybody’s life, and with so much intuition that it just blew me away.”

Kenmore West’s football team played Lockport High on Saturday and thrilled the huge home crowd with a come-from-behind victory — 14-13—on the last drive of the game.

The teams congratulated each

other and then several hundred people fell silent.

You could hear only the wind as the players, cheerleaders and about 200 more people assembled at midfield. Balloons in the school colors of blue and white were handed out.

The Kenmore West community was gathering to remember Brian C. Dugan, its “beloved colleague and friend,” as the school superintendent called him.

Dugan, an English teacher at the school since 1995, active over the years in coaching football and basketball, a husband and father to boys ages 7 and 8, and the teacher most likely to pull any young student out of a funk, was hit by a car and killed while jogging Wednesday on Sheridan Drive.

He was just 37.

“He loved kids. He loved being with kids. And he loved the kids he taught,” said Sam Drago, who taught with Dugan in the English department. “Whether in the classroom, or on this football field, he taught by example. He taught with love. With compassion. With honesty. And with sincerity. It’s for all those reasons that he’s a hero to so many kids.”

He taught students in the ninth and 10th grades, young teenagers sprinting toward adulthood and fretting about their place among their peers. Dugan’s students said he taught them to relax and to have a laugh or two while learning.

He would throw a few outlandish choices into his multiple-choice tests. He’d read Shakespeare with his best British accent.

“He taught us to laugh, to make things a joke. Not everything was so serious. He made it OK,” said Haley Lewandowski, now a senior.

When a bagpipe player finished the last strains of “Amazing Grace,” the balloons were let loose. Heads turned to watch them dance like free spirits toward the heavens.

Students will be dismissed early Monday to allow them to attend the Mass of Christian Burial for Dugan, to be offered at 11:30 a. m. in St. Amelia Catholic Church, 2999 Eggert Road, Town of Tonawanda. The Brian C. Dugan Children’s Education Fund—PO Box 2, Buffalo, NY 14223—has been set up for his children.

District Superintendent Mark P. Mondanaro handed a bouquet of flowers — again in blue and white — to Dugan’s widow, Ann Marie. Minutes earlier he had urged everyone to live the way Dugan had lived, with a sense of purpose, passion and heartfelt love to those around him.

Some students were asked later how Dugan had changed their lives.

“I’ll just look at things in a much lighter way,” Doxbeck said. “I’ll find the comedy in the most terrible situation if I can.

“Mr. Dugan told me there’s always a bright side.”