• CHEER: Niagara Falls High School junior Dan O’Grady is being credited for his quick thinking in helping a fellow student in crisis recently. Dan and fellow Falls junior Aiden Hewitt were at lunch when Aiden began choking on some food. Dan said his instincts took over and he rushed over and began performing the Heimlich maneuver. “I was pushing hard on his stomach and I just remember thinking I hope I am doing this right.” He apparently was doing it right as Aiden began breathing again and was rushed to the nurse’s office. As it turns out, Dan should also be credited for paying close attention to whatever medical drama he enjoys watching. He says he’s never been trained on how to perform the Heimlich, but he had seen it happen on television. “I just went on instinct.” Pretty good instincts, we must say.
• CHEER: For those concerned about rising cases of measles in the US and Canada, the news is good for Niagara County, which is currently measles-free, according to Dr. Fauzia Khan, public health director. The highly contagious illness logged more cases last year — 2,144 — than in the past three decades, according to the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. Last week, the CDC confirmed 733 measles cases nationwide. There’s good news on the vaccination front, too. Khan said Niagara County has a vaccination rate of 89% for the measles, mumps, and rubella immunization, while the state’s rate is at 81%.
• CHEER: Kudos to the Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls, USA and the Town of Niagara, who recently handed out $50,000 to various charitable groups and organizations as part of the annual Give Fashionably event. There were more than 30 community organizations that received a portion of the funds this year. Over the past 20 years, the Town of Niagara and the Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls have partnered on the program, donating more than $1 million locally. “There are many vital community organizations that are in need of additional support,” said Sylvia Virtuoso, Town of Niagara supervisor.
• JEER: More bad news for the former Summit Mall property in Wheatfield, as it could be heading for foreclosure with a lender claiming that property owners have failed to meet the conditions of its mortgage. Toronto-based Windsor Private Capital filed a complaint in the state Supreme Court in Niagara County, claiming they are owed a $1.5 million loan balance on the property. It also states its listed defendants, including property owner Zoran Cocov, did not pay the principal and interest on taxes, assessments, water rates, insurance premiums, and/or escrow. It’s the latest downturn for the ailing structure for which various grand projects have been pitched, including a sports and entertainment site, a home for a brewing company and Cocov’s ambitious plans in 2020 for a $2.2 billion redevelopment that would have added restaurants, a 600-room hotel, an indoor water park, a 10,000-seat hockey arena for an Ontario Hockey League team, and a senior living residence. The shuttered mall is home to Niagara International Sports & Entertainment and Play University, operating inside the former Sears on the property’s north end but it’s looking less and less likely we’ll see a revitalization of the whole property.