Town of Wheatfield attorney Robert O’Toole on Monday encouraged voters to ignore a questionable piece of campaign literature that was delivered to several homes on the eve of Election Day.
O’Toole said the document in question, which suggested some town officials want to turn the former Summit Mall into a home for sex offenders, has “absolutely not one word of truth” in it.
“As a town government, we really want people to know that there’s no truth to what’s being said in that flier,” O’Toole said.
The piece of literature was attached to several mail and newspaper boxes in the town on Monday. It suggested the plan for housing sex offenders was being endorsed by a current candidate in the race for town supervisor and several town councilmen. It encouraged “neighbors to unite to stop sexual predators from living in our backyards” and suggests it was written by a mother of two who is “angry” and “worried” for all of the town’s children. It also encourages residents to contact the town councilmen and the supervisor candidate.
“They say it will be secure, however, we do not this type of housing in our town,” reads the notice.
O’Toole characterized the delivery of the material as a political dirty trick, saying town officials have never discussed such a plan. He added that it would be “virtually impossible” for the mall building to be converted into living quarters under town code.
“It’s nonsense,” O’Toole said. “The town has not considered any proposal to use the Summit Mall to house sex offenders of any kind. The town wants people to know that there’s no truth to it.”
Jim Anthony, whose company Oberlin Plaza One owned the site for many years, also said the flier has no basis in truth and characterized it as unethical and “tragic” election season behavior.
“Nobody has ever, ever, in the history of our ownership of the property talked to us about anything remotely like a home for sexual predators,” Anthony said. “It’s obviously a political maneuver.”
Local News
WHEATFIELD: Odd flier causes stir
Sex offender mall plan described as dirty campaign trick
- Local News
-
-
SLIDESHOW: Memorial Day Weekend 2012
Niagara Falls celebrates Memorial Day Weekend activities on Saturday with a parade on Pine Avenue, a memorial service and viewing of the new Veterans Memorial at Hyde Park, a concert series on Old Falls Street and free boat safety inspections by the Niagara County Sheriff Department Marine Division at the City of Niagara Falls Boat Docks on Buffalo Avenue.
-
Legislation protecting Falls air base units moves forward
The effort to protect jobs at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station got a boost from a committee in Washington, D.C. on Thursday.
-
Korean student robbed at gunpoint in Falls
Detectives are investigating the robbery of a 25-year-old woman Wednesday night in front of a motel in the 400 block of Main Street.
-
Davis will not seek Murphy removal
Lawyers for accused killer Matthew “Bones” Davis say their client will not ask to have Niagara County Court Judge Matthew J. Murphy III removed from his case.
-
Labor group laments economic development efforts
Economic development in New York state has become a joke to some in the area. And many of them are demanding changes to a process which spends approximately $3 billion a year.
-
Repaving work on Old Military Road rises to $790K
Sometimes a change is good. Sometimes a change is bad. For the Town of Lewiston, a change can be pretty costly.
-
Fifth-grader presents list of 400 names asking for new playground
A 10-year-old boy carrying a petition containing more than 400 signatures asked members of the Niagara Falls School Board on Thursday to consider building a new playground at his school.
-
Bomb threat leads to arrest at NT school
A North Tonawanda teen was arrested Thursday morning for sending a one-sentence bomb threat to the computer of a fellow high school student, resulting in a brief lockdown of the school.
- Sense of resignation on AES pact
-
Marching to the new veterans memorial
It's the unofficial beginning of summer.
Memorial Day may mean cookouts with hot dogs and hamburgers, a trip on the river in a boat or simply a day off from work Monday.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
Raw Video: Fight Erupts in Ukrainian Parliament
Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought
Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington
Police: Man Arrested in Etan Patz Disappearance
NYC Protests: the Revolution Will Be Scripted
Chicago U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald Resigns
Neighbors of Etan Patz's Suspect: It's Shocking
Gulf Fishermen Reel From Seafood Troubles
Stuntman Makes Skydive Without Parachute in UK
