I'll let you guess which couple are my great grandparents. This is my dad's father's father and mother.

This really should be a concern for all us including those many miles away. The amount of toxins entering our great lakes is alarming. I would assume hydraulic fracturing would add greatly to the amount of hazardous material handled by Chemical Waste Management.

Every time I go to Florida I am amazed at how much cleaner the air is compared to living here in Buffalo. Florida just does not have as much industry and the air from the Gulf and the Atlantic is so pleasant.

WNY is home to 7 of top state polluters
EPA data lists CWM Chemical, Huntley Station, 3M Co. as top 3 in the region
By Aaron Besecker
NEWS NIAGARA REPORTER
Published:
December 28, 2010, 7:44 AM

Seven of the state's 25 biggest polluters are located in Western New York, according to recently released data from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Erie and Niagara counties are each home to three of the top sites, and another is in Cattaraugus County, according to the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory for discharges made in 2009.

The area's largest polluter, according to EPA data, is CWM Chemical Services, a commercial hazardous waste landfill in Lewiston and Porter in northwest Niagara County.

CWM ranked seventh in the state, with its representatives reporting to federal regulators it released 765,544 pounds of waste, 99 percent of which it buried in its landfill.

Here are the other local sites that which ranked in the top 25:

• No. 8 -- Huntley Station, Town of Tonawanda.

• No. 14 -- 3M Co., Town of Tonawanda.

• No. 16 -- AES Somerset, Somerset.

• No. 18 -- DuPont Yerkes plant, Town of Tonawanda.

• No. 19 -- Niagara Generation, Niagara Falls.

• No. 21 -- Cooper Power Systems, Olean.

A CWM spokeswoman called the agency's methodology for its Toxics Release Inventory "misleading and counterintuitive."

"What is in fact an activity that provides a high level of community protection is inappropriately reported as a 'release' to the environment," spokeswoman Lori Caso said in a written statement.

The data, released earlier this month, is compiled by the agency from reports made by the companies. It includes releases into the ground, water and air, both on-site and off-site.

Regulators said the data does not reflect what exposure there may be to the public from the chemical releases.

Finch Paper in Glens Falls released nearly 3.8 million pounds of waste into the environment in 2009 and was the state's biggest polluter, according to the data. Eastman Kodak's Eastman Business Park in Rochester ranked second in 2009, releasing more than 2.9 million pounds of waste.

Statewide, total overall releases dropped about 26 percent to 18.3 million pounds from 2008, the EPA said.

The agency's latest annual inventory includes information from 646 facilities in New York.

Nationally, about 3.37 billion pounds were released into the environment last year, down 12 percent from 2008.

For more information on the Toxics Release Inventory, visit www.epa.gov/tri.
abesecker@buffnews.com

I just love it. It is the sturdiest I have ever seen. Opening and collapsing it is so easy. I love the Amish!



It is nice to know that I can extend the life of my clothes and also reduce my carbon footprint just a bit. I'm not going to use it for everything but I can avoid at least 1 load of laundry in the drier a week. It also adds moisture and a fresh laundry smell into your home.

I got Coco a grass ball. Here he is after I gave it to him. He kept on chinning it which really means he is marking it as his.



This morning Mike and I had a nice breakfast by my kitchen window after opening our gifts to the sounds of the Chipmunk's Christmas album. Mike got me a glass butter dish which I have been wanting.



My friend Lydia gave me this Amish made clothes horse. I love it so much. Can't wait to hang my clothes to dry.



Mike got me the Mason Pearson brush I have been dying for. It is everything I ever dreamed of. I'm so happy he got it because he kept on going on how he would not buy me such a ridiculous thing.





He also got me these salt and pepper shakes that I loved at the store.



I also got a down winter coat from my Mom which I didn't take a picture of. I love that too. So far, I love everything.

General Information
After 12 years the club is permanently closing on Friday, December 31, 2010 at 5 pm. It's been a great run and we are grateful for everyone that supported our franchise over the years. The property has been sold, but the new owner will convert the property to other purposes; it will not remain a health club. Anyone that has prepaid for membership and/or locker rentals will receive a pro-rated refund by March 15, 2011.

Members with rental lockers should remove their belongings by the close of business on December 31, 2010. Any remaining items will be donated to local charities.

Much equipment has already been sold, but there is still some equipment, accessories, furniture, and many miscellaneous items throughout the club for sale. Almost anything you see is available for purchase at great prices.

The club phone numbers will be disconnected on December 31, 2010. If you wish to reach us, please use the "Contact Us" tab on this website.

We wish our current and former members the very best and look forward to our paths crossing in the future. Thank you!

It's too bad they have to close. Seems like they were probably struggling to hold on for a long time. In January I will be joining JCC. I'm sure many of the people I knew at Allentown will now be JCC members. Former members of Allentown are being offered a discount, not sure if that is a better one than is offered to RPCI employees.

Does anyone want any of this? I think I might put it on craigslist. I really do not have enough room to keep hoarding everything. I also have a garbage bag full of plastic grocery containers that are not recyclable in Buffalo yet. I think I might have to hold them until April when the recycling changes occur.

I can't wait to start working out again. This was only 15months ago and I had much better muscle tone and definition. I couldn't afford the gym membership and now I am really dying to go back. Hopefully the gym I want to go with will give me a reasonable deal when I sign up after the holidays. If not, I'm out.





I also can't wait to go see my fam in FL. My skins is dying for some sunlight. Psoriasis hates the sun. At the same time I love shade and dark shadows.

I want this brush so bad. It only costs $130 and (e:mike) won't let me have it.

Why settle for an ordinary hairbrush when you can have one that will give you a lustrous, healthier head of hair every time you use it? Mason Pearson handcrafts this brush with a blend of the finest boar and nylon bristles. Special spiral tufts draw your hair’s natural oils along the entire length of the hair shaft for added strength and a healthy shine. The pneumatic cushion stimulates the scalp without irritation. True, this brush is expensive, but it's worth every penny.
Features a combination of natural boar bristles and nylon bristles, and a pneumatic cushion
Handcrafted in England since 1885
8½" long.
Mason Pearson hairbrush stimulates the scalp and creates lustrous hair.

My friend Marion died last week. Her memorial service was at our Buddhist community center on Saturday. Every time I saw Marion she always encouraged me and gave me her undivided attention. I really am going to miss her and her amazing spirit.

This photo really shows how high of a life condition she had right up until the last breath. Her type of breast cancer was particularly painful as it ate away all of her chest. It was like being burned alive very slowly. In this picture she was on Morphine and Methadone. Despite this she was so alert and so determined to overcome her illness. When her doctor told her that she only had two weeks left (at the time of this photo), she fired her doctor.

I dreaded going to the memorial service. It turned out to not be as painful as I thought it would be and at one point it really felt like she was sitting next to me with her arm around me. When she died in her daughters house, all of the lights and cell phones went dead. I'm really not surprised considering the amount of energy she had stored up. Marion has six, very loved children.