Archive: Around Town

If there's a silver lining in the wake of the pandemic, it's the increase in adoptions and foster families stepping up to take a pet into their home at a time when it's needed the most. After successfully finding forever homes for 3,325 pets in the past month, BISSELL Pet Foundation is once again aiming to Empty the Shelters across the country, by appointment only, starting Saturday, May 9 through Sunday, May 17, including at the Tompkins County SPCA.

You can adopt a pet from one of the 120+ participating organizations for $25 and BPF will sponsor the remainder of the adoption fee. Plus, for one week following this Empty the Shelters promotion, BPF will also cover the same cost for new foster families who fall in love and decide to adopt their pets. All adoptions will be facilitated by appointment only to adhere to social distancing guidelines.

'The Kid Who Only Hit Homers' by Lansing author Matt Christopher has been a best seller since it was published in 1972, with over a million copies sold to date.  The book is finally becoming a movie thanks to the persistence of two of his children, Dale and Duane, who, along with screenwriter and producer Wayne Chesler, have persisted for more than a decade to realize Matt's dream of turning his books into movies. 

"That was what he always said when we were growing up," Duane Christopher says. "Back in the 60s, in the 50s, he really had that idea that maybe some day one of his books would become movie. And, sad to say, he's not alive to see it happen. But Duane and I have been pushing and pursuing his dreams for all these years and it's finally paid off."

A blood test for COVID-19 is as different from a Swab test for the virus as a photograph of a person is from seeing them face to face.  The blood test detects the body's memory of having seen the virus. The Swab test picks up molecules of the virus itself from your nose and throat.

The blood test tells us that, at some time, your body had the virus. The Swab test shows the virus is still in and on you, and you are contagious to others around you. If your blood test is positive, you may or may not still have the virus. The blood test alone cannot tell you this important detail. Only the Swab test can tell you if you are contagious.

Cornell Botanic Gardens has modified access to its grounds and trails to keep them open and available to the public during COVID-19 containment. The 100-acre F.R. Newman Arboretum is closed to vehicular traffic so that pedestrians can readily maintain the recommended six-foot distance from others.  While New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo's executive order restricts some organized and group recreational activities, time spent outdoors while maintaining safe distancing and hygiene practices is permitted, beneficial, and in many cases, encouraged.

"Research shows that time spent in nature—even as little as 10 minutes—boosts physical and mental well-being," said Christopher Dunn, the Elizabeth Newman Wilds Executive Director of Cornell Botanic Gardens. "Providing opportunities to be outdoors at Cornell Botanic Gardens is all the more important for our mutual protection while stay-at-home orders are in place."

The school buildings have been closed for weeks due to COVID-19, but the Lansing schools are far from closed.  Teachers and students alike have had to adapt to the shift from classroom learning to education over the Internet.  When the schools were first closed the focus was on reviewing materials covered up until that time.  But at the April 13th Board of Education meeting Lansing School Superintendent Chris Pettograsso reported that the New York State Education Department (NYSED) now requires that new material be delivered to students.

"So it's become a much more critical for students to engage, whereas we were doing a lot of review," she said. "We're really just getting used to life as we know it, social distancing and isolation and we're very compassionate and empathetic with families in which we'll try to support in any way we can. But the expectation is now that students are engaged online and doing some things and if there is not a capability to do the remote learning digitally, we will make sure we provide it on paper and other formats for students to be able to access the material."

A website developed by a Cornell University team offers insight into the rate of coronavirus infections across New York state over days, charting daily and cumulative totals of new cases to help users see whether they’re flattening the curve. The site, updated daily with data from all 62 of the state’s counties, provides easy-to-use interactive visualizations depicting the virus’ spread or slowdown by county or statewide.

“When we had to shut down our lab, we wanted to see what we could do with our expertise in systems engineering to help the public and provide timely information,” said energy systems engineering professor Fengqi You, who is leading the effort.

When the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools in March, New Roots Charter School leveraged a decade of experience with real-world learning to incorporate the coronavirus crisis into nearly every course across the curriculum.

“New Roots is designed for innovation and real-world learning,” said Tina Nilsen-Hodges, founder and principal of the public high school in Ithaca. “This is business as usual.”

The Ithaca Public Education Initiative (IPEI) announced the first recipients of funding from its new Situational Grant program - short term funding currently available to teachers and staff of the Ithaca City School District to support projects, programs, and supplies related to distance learning and supporting students' well-being during these unprecedented times.

"Our grants strengthen ICSD schools by supporting the innovative ideas of teachers, staff, and leaders," says Monica Touesnard, president of IPEI. "This new grant is meant to enhance the incredible efforts being made to deliver critical education during this unique period of social distancing."

State Senator Pam Helming urged local residents Thursday to take precautions to help prevent Lyme and other tick-borne diseases as National Lyme Disease Awareness Month is upon us in May. Experts are predicting a much earlier start to the season due to the warmer winter we experienced.

"It is important to know about tick bite prevention before going outdoors. Many people are taking part in outdoor activities with their families due to the COVID-19 PAUSE order, creating an increased risk for contracting tick-borne diseases. Lyme and other tick-borne diseases impact thousands of individuals and families across our region. We have to continue to educate and raise awareness to ensure that people can enjoy the outdoors safely," Helming said.

The Tompkins County Health Department announced Wednesday that essential businesses that need cloth masks for their employees are encouraged to make requests through an online form. Guidance on what businesses and organizations are essential is given by Empire State Development.

Public transportation riders must wear masks or face coverings starting 8 p.m., Fri., April 17, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said this week in announcing stricter coronavirus prevention measures.

Those exempt include children 2-years-old and younger and those who cannot cover their faces for medical reasons. Acceptable face coverings include store-bought medical or workplace safety face masks, or those made from cloth, such as scarves, T-shirts and bandanas.

A blue collection box appeared in the foyer of the Lansing Town Hall Tuesday.  The box is part of an effort to provide essential workers with face masks to protect them from COVID-19, especially when there is a shortage of commercial face masks due to the pandemic.  So Sew Many volunteers are sewing the masks at home, and the informal team organizing the effort placed the collection boxes at around ten locations around Tompkins County.

"The idea of the blue box is that they need people to make masks, and then put them in a blue box," said Lansing Town Clerk Debbie Munson at Wednesday's Town Board meeting. "The masks that are going in there are meant for employers to hand out to their employees, because that's mandatory now that they have to wear masksand mandatory that the employers have to provide them. The masks are going to Angelo's Dry Cleaners downtown to make sure they are completely clean, and the people who come in contact with the public the most are being moved to the top of the list to receive them."