Town Supervisor Fran Pordum led the Club in the Pledge of Allegiance at the February meeting of the Evans Democratic Club.

The Club is holding a Casino Run on Sunday, March 21; the bus leaves from Commercial Street near the Angola Fire Department at noon sharp.  Tickets are $30; this includes $20 slot credit and $5 credit to the buffet.  For tickets, contact Bob Beck.

Raffle tickets are available for the annual March Hooley raffle.  The prizes include $100 in lottery scratchoffs, Guiness beer, and a bottle of Bailey's Irish Creme.  The Club thanked Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul for prize donations, and thanked John Latimore for donating the raffle tickets.  Club members can get their set of tickets from John Latimore. 

The 2010 annual picnic planning is underway.  There should be a date established by the time of the March meeting.  The date will work around the dates for the Eden Corn Festival and the Erie County Fair.  There was discussion about a golf tournament in the summertime. 

Reports of elected officials were presented by Town Supervisor Fran Pordum and Deputy Town Supervisor Paul Cooper.  Pordum announced that for the 2nd year in a row, there is no tax increase in the town of Evans.  He talked about efforts to save money.  "Even something as simple as switching to LED lights in parts of the Town Hall means we will save Evans residents hundreds of dollars in overhead.  I am committed to continue to find ways to save taxpayer dollars." 

Pordum and Cooper both congratulated club member Tom Marks for his work on preventing Asian carp infiltration into the Great Lakes.  Marks is the Chair of the Town's Conservation Advisory Committee.  He was interviewed for a Buffalo News article about Asian carp that was in the Sunday edition on February 14, 2010.  "The Lake Erie fishery is an economic boon to the Town of Evans," noted Pordum.  Cooper continued "It's important that we maintain the integrity of Lake Erie from invasive fish species that would imperil native fish like bass and walleye.  We commend Tom Marks for his leadership on this issue."

Town Clerk Jonica DiMartino could not be present as she was maintaining evening hours for Town residents to pay their taxes.  "The integration of the tax receiver duties with the Town Clerk has been a success," noted Pordum.  "I've had a chance to observe how well everyone is working together, its like a well-oiled machine.  And its going to mean saving of hundreds of thousands of dollars to Evans taxpayers over the next few years."

Pordum noted that New Era Cap Company will maintain its plant in the Town of Evans.  "There are over 300 local employees at the plant, so that is good news."  He credited the team effort to keep the plant here instead of Alabama.  That team included Governor Patterson, the Erie County Industrial Development Agency, and officials from the federal, state and local levels of government. 

The March meeting will be held at the VFW on Tuesday, March 16, at 7:30 p.m.  The drawing for the Hooley Raffle will be held that night, so members need to sell their tickets and turn them in by that night.