Archive: Around Town

Dear Margaret: I have always been what you would call a public servant by both occupation and my involvement in the community. I care deeply about my community and important issues affecting it. However, lately I seem to be stressed and can attribute it to my full schedule. The dilemma is, I don’t want to quit doing any of the activities that pull from the reservoirs of my time and energy. It’s such a paradox that what I love to do is also the cause of my anxiety. I don’t know where to begin to find balance. What advice can you give me?
Weary Public Servant

by Emily Selland

This very handsome all-black cat is named Thom Yorke (after the lead singer of Radiohead.) Only 2 years old, Thom was found as a friendly stray without a home... and boy is he ever, friendly! He has SO much love to give and just wants to find his forever home. He loves to be pet, and when you meet him, it will only take a moment to see how SWEET this boy is! He has been neutered, vaccinated, microchipped, and checked out by our medical staff here at the SPCA. Thom is FIV positive, but can certainly still live a long, happy, healthy life. He should be an only cat (or housed with other FIV+ cats), stay indoors-only, and receive twice yearly vet visits. Simple as that. (And lots of love!) Are you ready to accept this loving boy into your life? Come and visit him today, and ask us how to adopt at the front desk. He will love you forever!

Visit the SPCA Web Page

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Local Boy Scouts celebrated the success of their hard-working volunteers at their annual dinner on Friday, April 28, 2017 in Dryden. Adult leaders and scouts from the scouting groups in Tompkins and Cortland Counties came together to celebrate another successful year. Those successes for the two-county Taughannock District included increased youth membership from 2015 to 2016, 20 Boy Scouts earning their Eagle Scout award, one Sea Scout earning the Quartermaster Award (the highest award in Sea Scouts) and thousands of hours in community service.

Callie Kaplan-Wright of Trumansburg, the Sea Scout Quartermaster Award recipient, also received the Order of the Gorget, a local recognition of the youth member who had done the most for Scouting in the past year. Michael Stoll, a scouter with over 40 years of service to scouts throughout the two counties as well as Roman Catholic scouts, was awarded an honorary Gorget for his extraordinary effort in working with all levels of scouts.

IPEI announced Teacher Grants and Red and Gold Grants awarded during the third round of 2016-17 applications by teachers and others working with Ithaca City School District students.

According to Grants Committee Chair Connie Patterson, "Over $10,000 was allocated for 20 Red and Gold Grants and 2 Teacher Grants. We will soon be able to tally the grand total for all three rounds of grants including several Connecting Classrooms Grants."

Gerald R. Beasley, vice provost and chief librarian at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, has been named the next Carl A. Kroch University Librarian at Cornell University. The appointment, effective Aug. 1, was made by Provost Michael Kotlikoff and approved by the Executive Committee of the Cornell Board of Trustees.

"Gerald brings a deep understanding of the complexities and richness of academic life, and the role of the library in a modern globally relevant research university," said Kotlikoff. "He is a proven administrative leader and recognized scholar, who fosters collaborations across and outside the university. I look forward to welcoming him to Ithaca."

Over one hundred people offered their opinions on the taste of water supplied by seven municipal water treatment plants in Tompkins County, with the Southern Cayuga Lake Intermunicipal Water Commission, commonly known as Bolton Point Water System, receiving the highest number of favored votes.

The Tompkins County Health Department held the annual Tompkins County Drinking Water Taste Test on Sunday, April 30th, during Streets Alive! on N. Cayuga Street.

The black bear population in southern New York has grown and expanded its range since the early 1990s, which has led to increased encounters with humans. But details about bear populations in the state have remained understudied.

New Cornell University research, published in the March issue of the Journal of Wildlife Management, estimates the densities of black bears in southern New York and examines how bears are distributed relative to the amount of forest, agricultural lands and human development across the study area.

For the first time in over a decade, United Way of Tompkins County leaders are projecting that its community campaign will not meet its annual fundraising goal.

"This is a reality that none of us anticipated," said Campaign Chair and Tompkins County Administrator Joe Mareane.   "Our volunteers and staff have worked hard and thoughtfully from the beginning to this final stage, and it is difficult to say what we could have done differently."

On a cool and clear Friday morning, workers from the Parks and Recreation Department planted nearly a dozen trees at Myers Park. The trees, obtained by a beautification grant from Tompkins County, replaced willows that had died over the last decade.

The work crew, consisting of Patrick Tyrrell, John Howe, and Wayne Straw along with Katrina Binkewicz, planted nine River Birch Trees along the shoreline of Salmon Creek. With each tree weighing over 1,000 pounds, the workers used great caution and gently lowered each plant into its new home. Local residents who walk in the park on a regular basis welcomed the new trees and expressed their gratitude to the town for maintaining the natural beauty of Myers Park.

Spring is here and so are the ticks! It's time to get outside and enjoy the season. It's also time to take steps to prevent tick-borne diseases.

New tick-borne diseases have been discovered in recent years with infections steadily increasing, Lyme disease being the most commonly reported. Most tick-borne diseases, including Lyme disease, can be successfully treated with antibiotics especially if treatment is started early. Preventing tick bites is your best defense against tick-borne diseases.

	For more on the Energy Smart Community project see our articles from February: Power In, Power Out - The Future of Electricity Comes To Tompkins County and The Electricity Future Comes To Lansing, Dryden and Ithaca

Cornell Cooperative Extension, Avangrid, and NYSEG was at the Lansing Town Hall Tuesday for the first of seven 'smart meter' information sessions.  In the next few months 12,400 homes and businesses within the Energy Smart Community area -- the northeast potion of Tompkins County -- will have their analog electric meters replaced with smart meters that can radio accurate electric usage data to NYSEG. 

"One of the benefits of the NYSEG program in particular is that not only are you getting a smart meter, but you're also getting enabling technology," says Cooperative Extension Energy Smart Community Liaison Rosalyn Bandy.  "If you are computer-savvy you can log into a program and actually track your energy use hour to hour and day to day."

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Dear Margaret: I've been with my wife for about 25 years. We've had a fairly steady relationship, with the normal ups and downs. Here we are in our later years, and I feel like I suddenly don't know who she is anymore. Over the past few years she's become more engaged with politics, environmental concerns, women's rights issues, and generally departing from a more subdued life to one of activism. We don't argue about her new persona by any means, but I'm worried she's leaving me behind. I'm not disinterested in the current political landscape, but I don't share her fervor. Will I lose her if I don't jump on the bandwagon? I don't want to be left behind.
Worried about Her Change