Archive: Around Town

Congratulations go to the IthacaSTEM Hexaplexes for winning the 18th Annual IPEI Adult Spelling Bee on Sunday, March 6 at the Ithaca High School Wellness Center Gym. Team members, Karen Trible, Suzanne Nussbaum, and Mark Chao won without a single misspell! Words they spelled correctly when other teams could not included idiosyncrasy, diphtheria, boutonniere, xerosis, zaibatsu, desiccant, and oeuvre.

We Spell Krazy Good from WSKG, the Fine Arts Word Boosters, and Spellicans were the other teams that advanced from the four preliminary rounds to the championships.

U.S. Congressman Tom Reed visited the Boiceville Cottages community in Caroline Wednesday to listen to concerns from local builders and tour the innovative development.  A group of local contractors, builders, engineers, and suppliers gathered in the Boiceville community meeting house to visit with Reed, after which he was given a tour of the development, including a job site on which the final 17 cottages are under construction.  After the tour Reed sat down to hear about concerns and initiatives the local building industry wants his help with.

"You put a lot of people to work and bring value to the economy," Reed said.  "We want to make sure we get our tax code done correcting.  Things like the low income housing tax credit, which we were able to pass on the last extenders package on a permanent basis.  We've had some big successes in 2015.  In that extenders package we talk about things like allowing you to take those deductions for capital equipment, and immediately deduct it.  It gives you the cash to invest in the business so you can grow the next project.  That's a big piece of policy that was elusive for decades, and we got it done permanently."

Today, March 4th, from 6AM-6PM, News Talk WHCU's Lee Rayburn is hosting the second annual Wine & Dine Radiothon to benefit the United Way of Tompkins County.

Listeners will have the opportunity to call in every hour to bid on packages that includes a $200 gift certificate to a local restaurant, as well as a case of wine or craft beer from world-renowned wineries and breweries in the Finger Lakes. Last year's radiothon raised $5,350.00 for the United Way of Tompkins County.

Lansing Pack 48 Cub Scouts were well represented at the Taughannock District Pinewood Derby held on Saturday, February 27th at TST BOCES on Warren Road in Ithaca.  Cub Scouts and parents were there bright and early to register their cars in time for the 9 am start.  Cub Scouts from Packs in Tompkins and Cortland counties were racing to determine the fastest car in each Cub rank. Representatives came from Cortland, Homer, Virgil, Newfield, Trumansburg, Ithaca, Freeville and Lansing.

The 'Circle of Courage' room in which the race took place was packed tight with Cubs and family members.  The youngest boys, the Tigers, who are in first grade raced first.  Local Boy Scout Kirklyn Golden from Troop 48 started each race:

"Are you ready to race?"

Lansing's Fire Commissioners voted Tuesday to approve service awards for 23 of Lansing's emergency responders, recognizing their service in 2015.  Service awards recognize volunteer firefighter and EMT participation with a $700 contribution to a fund the member may access after reaching retirement age.  The awards are based on a system that awards points for various activities each year.

The Service Awards were established 14 years ago to encourage and reward volunteer service.  A member must earn the award for a minimum of five years in order to be vested -- otherwise monies earned go back to the department.  The point system encourages members to participate in department activities.

by Ashley Fleming

Hi folks, I'm Hercules! I came to the shelter when a good Samaritan found me without a home...maybe I could find one with you? I am super, super sweet. I will jump up to give you nuzzles and kisses. If you're looking for a total love bug, I'm definitely the guy for you! The shelter vets estimate my age at about 6-7 years. They got me the dental work I needed, and set me up all ready to meet YOU! Really, the only issue I bring to the table is that I am FIV+, so I need to be an only cat or with other FIV+ kitties, and kept indoors. Don't you think I'm friendly and handsome? Please consider taking me home today.

Visit the SPCA Web Page

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Janaishia Frost, senior at New Roots Charter School, is a participant in the intensive IMPACT ZONE Student Leadership Training Program founded by Vince Lombardi Trophy winner and Super Bowl Champion Corey Harris. Ms. Leanora Erica Mims, a professional trainer with degrees in international business, finance and marketing, approached Frost about joining IMPACT ZONE at Ithaca's Congo Square Market where she was modeling Mim's original African clothing designs as a market intern. Frost was hand picked because of her can do attitude and because of her potential to develop as a IMPACT ZONE student leader standout. Janaishia's qualities of determination, hard work and willingness to continuously improve in learning about her leadership style and to maintain her lead in this innovative program, makes her the ideal candidate.

Frost's work with Mims has given her inspiration and understanding needed to be a young entrepreneur and leader. According to Frost, "being an entrepreneur, is being a lot of things."

Tompkins Connect, in collaboration with Tompkins Trust Company, Tompkins Chamber of Commerce and the United Way of Tompkins County, celebrated the winners of the first annual Young Professional Fab 5 Awards last night at local Farm to Bistro restaurant, Coltivare. The Fab 5 Awards, which have been highly publicized throughout the community, caught fire with 120+ nominations.

The winners were congratulated at the awards event with 140 attendees.

Several TST BOCES Exceptional Education students visited the SPCA of Tompkins County to learn about the humane treatment and protection of animals recently.

The classes took the field trip in honor of 'Responsible Pet Owners Month,' 'Love Your Pet Day' and also to fulfill a TST BOCES Board expectation (Policy #7150), which reads that all elementary students should receive instruction on the "part they play in the economy of nature as well as the necessity of controlling the proliferation of animals that are subsequently abandoned and caused to suffer extreme cruelty."

Many aspects of daily life at the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) have changed since the 1980s—presidents have come and gone, faculty have joined and retired and research programs have changed and evolved—but for most of the last 32 years, the BTI board has included a member of the Park family.

Roy H. Park Jr., president of Park Outdoor Advertising and Triad Foundation Inc., is a highly committed and influential member of the BTI board of directors, like his father before him. Roy H. Park, the founder of Park Communications, became involved with the board in 1984 after an invitation from then-president Roy Young. The senior Park served on dozens of boards, but his directorship on the BTI board was the only one he retained until his death in 1993.

The Ithaca Health Alliance Board of Directors is pleased to announce the selection of Norbert ("Norb") McCloskey as its new executive director. He fills the vacancy created by Abbe Lyons departure in January. The selection was made after a comprehensive nationwide search and selection process. McCloskey brings more than two decades of nonprofit and corporate experience to the IHA, most recently heading the Clinical Outcomes Group, Inc. in Pottsville, PA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing public health resources to underserved disparate and rural populations. With a mission to "Improving the Health of Our Communities," COGI provides programs and services to 12 counties making up central Pennsylvania.

"We are extremely pleased to announce this appointment," said C. Kelly White, Board President. "The board is excited to have Norbert join the Alliance team. His leadership and breadth of perspective and experience are vital as we work with our dedicated staff and over 120 volunteers to grow and expand the Alliance's programs and services that play such an important role in the healthcare safety net in our community."

On February 20 and 21, a team of students from Ithaca High School (IHS) beat ten teams from Cornell and other universities, taking first place in the inaugural Make-a-thon, a 24-hour competition for design of tech gadgets on the theme of "Smart Living."

The event was organized by Life Changing Labs, a nonprofit organization that provides experience and mentorship for Cornell's top entrepreneurially minded students.