Archive: Around Town

For us, Buffalo is 'The Big City', home of pro football and hockey, chicken wings and lake effect snow. Since big cities aren't our favorite place for a vacation, it takes a major event for us to leave our quiet rural abode to dive into the metropolis.

The reason was the PPSNYS Photographer's conference, Focus NY. As an officer, I'm kinda required to go and be the face of the organization. My lovely and long suffering wife Janet reluctantly agreed to come along. She thinks of Ithaca as 'The Big City', so Buffalo was going to be a major shock.

Aurora, New York—Wells College's Louis Jefferson Long Library was chosen to receive a grant from the South Central Regional Library Council for the digitization of selected items from the library's archives. The Regional Bibliographic Data Bases and Interlibrary Resources Sharing (RBDB) Grant, totaling $6,464, will fund digitization and cataloging of the Albert Leffingwell Collection, the Frances Folsom Cleveland Collection, the Victor Hammer Collection, the Ella Wells Stone Collection of Henry Wells Papers, and the Book Arts collections. Priority will be given to the Book Arts Center items, which includes more than 3,000 books, pamphlets and other publications focused on the history and technologies of printing and typography.

"Of all the materials in the Long Library Archives, the Leffingwell, Cleveland, and Hammer collections are by far the most often requested by scholars. Digitizing these will make them more accessible to researchers, and will allow others to see and understand the quality and scope of our collection," said Library Director Carol Henderson.

The Lansing Community Library is gearing up to host its 9th annual Summer Reading Program. The 2017 Summer Reading theme will be 'Build a Better World.' Kathryn Miller, a library patron and former teen worker, is this year's Summer Reading event coordinator.

Miller said planning is well underway and, "I am so excited about our theme because I believe that libraries help to build better communities, and better communities are the building blocks to a better world."

In celebration of Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services' 40th anniversary in 2016, INHS helped raise money for two other local non-profits: Loaves and Fishes of Tompkins County and the Ithaca Health Alliance. Called the 'Giving Gratitude' campaign, each organization received $4,404, which came mainly from individual donors and small business donations.

"We knew we wanted to celebrate all the great things INHS has accomplished these last four decades, but we also wanted to spread the love, too. We're grateful that our loyal donors gave so generously," said Executive Director Paul Mazzarella.

Tucked away near the bottom of Burdick Hill is a little church building that just celebrated a big milestone last June.  It is the home of the Robin's Nest preschool, which graduated it's 40th class of kindergarten ready kids last summer.  The little lake view church has housed the school for close to the lifetime of the congregation, teaching kids the basics they need to be successful kindergartners and to be kind and forgiving in a nondenominational Christian setting.

"Every child comes in to the Robin's Nest with their own personalities, their own level of abilities, their own experiences, their own social involvement or lack of social involvement," says Robin's Nest Director Dianne Walter.  "When we get a class in the fall, other than some kids who have returned, it's like a bouquet of flowers that you have never smelled the aroma of yet.  You get this bouquet of children, and you gradually get to know them.  Through trial and error as you are working with them in the classroom setting you start to see that this child has more struggles here, and this child tends to excel here... and you try as much as possible to put everybody on a level playing field, while still meeting each individual need and helping them be the most that they can be at this early age."

The Rotary Club of Ithaca introduced six individuals who recently joined the service club. These community members volunteer in Tompkins County and bring professional experience from the business and not-for-profit sectors. Ithaca Rotary's motto is 'Service Above Self' Membership is open to all who share in this belief; new members are accepted year-round.

"The Ithaca Rotary Club is delighted to welcome these individuals," said Rotary Membership Chair Ron Provus. "Our members come from all walks of life and have a wide variety of interests to match those of Rotary. As members of Ithaca Rotary, individuals give of their time and skills to positively impact the needs of our community."

Dear Margaret: My neighbor and I had a run in. She became enraged when I quit the small, volunteer organization that she headed and lambasted me in front of the group. It was hurtful and embarrassing. After thinking about it, I too became angry, called her up the next day, and told her she was a Witch with a capital B. The problem is, we have small children that go to school together and, living in a small community, I will run into her often. I'm embarrassed that I let my own temper get the best of me. I don't want to go back to the friendly relationship we had, but I don't want to feel sheepish whenever I see her. How can I make this a win/win so that our children can play together?
Embarrassed by Behavior

by Emily Selland

Hello friends, I'm Sam! I found myself at the shelter after my person lost their home, but thankfully I get a second chance at finding a loving forever home! I'm as sweet as can be and am truly an easy keeper. A quieter home would be best, and hopefully it will be one with a big sunny window for me to look out of. I am declawed, so it's important that my next person keep me safely indoors. If I sound like the right feline lifetime companion for you, come in and say hello!

Visit the SPCA Web Page

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Officials from the State Department of Transportation, State Thruway Authority, State Police and the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee kicked off the 18th annual work zone safety week by reminding motorists to slow down and drive carefully through highway work zones. National Work Zone Awareness Week is April 3 through 7.

"Highway maintenance and construction workers are on the road every day making sure we can get to where we need to go," State Department of Transportation Commissioner Matthew J. Driscoll said. "Drivers must pay extra attention in highway work zones and take every precaution to keep themselves, other travelers and highway workers safe so that everyone can go home at the end of the day."

Children's author Brian Yanish visited all eight ICSD elementary schools, hosting workshops and assemblies organized by the school librarians and designed to inspire technological ingenuity and environmental activism.

The program was funded through an IPEI Connecting Classrooms Grant. Connecting Classrooms Grants support large-scale projects that enhance student engagement and support learning consistent with school and district goals. They intend to foster collaborative partnerships between teachers within a school, across grade levels and/or between schools.

Aurora, New York— Alumna and music industry icon Pamela Lewis '80 will address the Wells College Class of 2017 at this year's Commencement ceremonies. Commencement will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 20, on the front steps and lawn of Macmillan Hall on the College's campus in Aurora, N.Y.

In the third week of June, when the final bell sounds, most students will pour out of school primed for a vacation of rest and ease. No more homework! No more exams! No more stressful deadlines!

But for 37 students in the Technology Student Association (TSA) chapters at Ithaca High School (IHS) and DeWitt Middle School, that week is when the most formidable tests of the year will be just beginning.