Archive: Around Town

Irene Sumbele, a medical parasitologist from war-torn Cameroon and visiting scientist with the Master of Public Health program at the College of Veterinary Medicine, has been named the 2020 Beau Biden Scholar by the Institute of International Education’s Scholar Rescue Fund (IIE-SRF).

Sumbele, hosted by Global Cornell, came to Cornell in October 2019 as an IIE-SRF fellow after fleeing Cameroon’s civil unrest and conflict. Her research has improved management of infectious diseases prevalent in Cameroon, including malaria and parasitic worm infections. She also led public health initiatives to reach communities in her home region.
Her recent research has focused on health challenges – especially those faced by children – in Cameroon’s conflict zones, where violence between government forces and separatists has killed thousands and left more than a half-million displaced and 2 million in need of humanitarian assistance.

Zoë Dubrow won 1st Place with her Summer Garden Cupcakes in the 5th Annual Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest organized by The Sophie Fund. Inspired by the vibrant flowers in her own backyard garden, Dubrow's cupcakes consisted of a chocolate and pistachio cake formed to resemble a terracotta pot topped with icing made from raspberry panna cotta, raspberry mousse, and pistachios.

"They have a lot of components and were a bit challenging to make," said Dubrow, a PhD student in plant science at Cornell University. "But, like growing a garden, baking them was a good reminder that dedicating time and focus to something you love can be very rewarding and, in this case, delicious!"

A virtual passport program was launched last week that will showcase the 200 craft breweries closely surrounding the Empire State Trail, in partnership with the New York State Brewers Association. A comprehensive new website providing Empire State Trail users with quick and easy access to trail information along the 750-mile route is now available. The Empire State Trail Brewery Passport, made available through the NYSBA's existing New York Craft Beer App, will encourage New Yorkers to visit breweries within 10 miles of the Empire State Trail along the 750-mile route that spans the state.

"During this unprecedented and challenging time, this new partnership will make it even easier for New Yorkers to experience both this great state's natural beauty and world-class craft beverages," Governor Andrew M. Cuomo said. "Tourism and recreation are at the foundation of our local economies, and as we near the completion of the Empire State Trail by the end of this year, this program will both benefit local residents and spur economic activity in communities across the state."

At Cornell, committed leaders, expert faculty, trained staff and student hires have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to create a winning strategy to reactivate campus and keep the community safe from COVID-19. Cornell's science-based program to administer 30,000 tests a week in collaboration with Cayuga Health System and return individual results within 24 hours has allowed the university to proactively contact trace and limit disease spread. A campus COVID-19 tracking dashboard reveals a weekly rate of positive infections that hovers barely above 0.01%.

None of this came easy. Teams of Cornellians have labored around the clock to build an efficient system from scratch – including the Cornell COVID-19 Testing Laboratory (CCTL) where the massive volume of tests are processed.

Lansing's permanent Chicken BBQ Pavilion was dedicated in memory of Bob Baker Saturday, with about 35 people in attendance.  The speakers included two of Baker's sons, Dale and Kermit, as well as Parks & Recreation Supervisor Patrick Tyrrell, and Town Supervisor Ed LaVigne. 

"He helped developed a sense of community." "We've had 70 years of chicken BBQ thanks to my dad. We're looking forward to 70 more years," said Kermit Baker.

Three local farms that grow pumpkins or winter squash will be the subject of the second "Virtual Open Farm Days", offered via Zoom on Saturday, October 17th from 10:00-11:00am. This online presentation includes farm tours and conversations with the farmers and is hosted and produced jointly by Cornell Cooperative Extension offices in Cortland and Tompkins Counties.

Theresa's Pumpkin Patch in Cortland County is a seasonal pick-your-own farm that grows pumpkins and winter squash, as well as cabbage, and a handful of other crops for the wholesale market. Located just 5-miles north of Homer next to Anderson's Farm Market on Route 281 in Little York, Theresa's pick-your-own pumpkin patch is open every day from late September through the end of October, Monday– Friday 3:30-6:30pm, Saturday 9:30am-6:30pm, and Sundays 11:30am–6:30pm. Visitors can pick pumpkins in the field, with prices varying by size. Theresa's also welcomes school tours by appointment.

United Way of Tompkins County (UWTC) welcomed four new members to its 2020-21 Board of Directors: Alex Adelewitz of Wegmans; Kevin Mietlicki of Alternatives Federal Credit Union, Jean McPheeters, Jean McPheeters Consulting, LLC; Michael Perehinec of Coughlin & Gerhart, LLP; Dominick Recckio of Tompkins County, and Kathy Schlather of the Human Services Coalition.

The six new members bring a variety of experiences and background to the organization. Alex Adelewitz most recently served UWTC as the 2019-20 Pacesetters co-chair and member of the Campaign Committee. Alex is also the recipient of UWTC's 2019-20 Pat Stage Volunteer of the Year Award. In those roles he fostered several new relationships with UWTC to meet community as well as local business needs. Kevin Mietlicki is an active community advocate, currently sitting on YMCA of Ithaca and Tompkins County's Board of Directors. Kevin's addition to UWTC's Board of Directors brings an important community partner to the table, Alternatives Federal Credit Union.

Museum of the Earth will celebrate it’s yearly program, Museum in the Dark, in cooperation with Cornell’s Astronomy Network, as a virtual journey to space this year. This event will be hosted on Tuesday, October 27, 2020 from 6 – 7 pm. This event will be virtual with free admission.

The night will include short programs about space exploration presented by graduate astronomy students. Activities include using household objects to creatively explore space and the solar system from home. Using everyday items like coffee filters, toilet paper rolls, and Legos, students will demonstrate galaxies, meteorites, and comets.

The Ithaca Rotary Club has created a series of posters promoting handwashing and distributed them to local schools to mark Global Handwashing Day, October 15.

"The concept of handwashing and proper hygiene is at the forefront of the whole pandemic awareness, along with social distancing and wearing masks," said Geoff Dunn, president of the Rotary Club. "This year, we sought to more widely distribute posters in the schools."

Source: WalletHub

New York ranked squarely in the middle of politically engaged states in a new Wallethub analysis, ranking 23rd of the 50 states. The state ranked 47th lowest in percent of registered voters in 2016 presidential election, 40th in the percent of the electorate who voted in 2018 midterm elections, and 43rd in the percent of the electorate who voted in 2016 presidential election. But New York ranked number one in total political contributions per adult population.

The analysis found that blue states are more politically engaged than red states with an average ranking of 18.2 for blue states, and 30.37 for red, where a lower number indicates more political engagement.

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