Archive: Around Town

Students in Cheryl Bott's Spanish Communication and Culture class are quickly learning how important a helping hand can be.

The class recently began a bracelet sale through the Pulsera Project, a non-profit organization that connects the artists in Third World countries with students in the United States through the sale of handwoven bracelets, or "pulseras" in Spanish.

Once a year the Lansing Volunteer Fire Department takes a night off to enjoy dinner, dancing and awards for the achievements of the previous year.  Last year the department responded to 967 emergency alarms -- 463 fire calls, and 504 EMS.  Department members logged over 2,229 hours of training.  The calls included the Cargill mine rescue, a mutual aid response for the Chapter House fire in Ithaca, a roof collapse at the party and auto parts stores at the Cayuga mall, and a multitude of vehicle and structure fires, accidents and medical emergencies.

"The most important people the office of the Chiefs would like to thank are their spouses, significant others, and the families of the emergency responders of the Lansing Fire Department," said Fire Chief Scott Purcell.  "We understand your loss of family time and all your sacrifices you made day in and week out.  I want each of you to know that the Chief's Office and the Commissioners of the Lansing Fire District do truly appreciate your support.  Without your support and understanding we would not be able to effectively respond to the calls we received this past year."

"Who doesn't like chocolate?" asks Lansing Recreation Director Steve Colt.  Obviously it's a rhetorical question.

That's why Colt expects a new class, 'For the Love of Chocolate', will have no trouble filling up.  On February 6th kids will gather at the Lansing Community Center kitchen to cook some traditional chocolate dishes... and some not so traditional.

"The flavor of unsweetened chocolate really enhances a chili recipe," says 7th grade English teacher Stacie Kropp, who will teach the four-hour class with 5th grade science teacher Carolyn Shaw.  "It adds a real depth of flavor to it.  It makes it very rich.  it mixes really nicely with spices.  There is quite a thing going on now with spicy chocolate.  You can buy truffles made with hot chili peppers.  It's that same idea, only a savory version of it."

The Cortland and Ithaca branches of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) have been awarded a $5,000 grant to help fund Tech Savvy, a daylong event designed to show girls firsthand how science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields can lead to exciting careers. Conference registration will open in mid February.

Up to 120 sixth- to ninth-grade girls and their families will gather at Tompkins Cortland Community College on April 9, 2016. The day's schedule will include hands-on STEM and skills workshops for girls, as well as programming for parents to help them reinforce girls' interest in STEM.

by Sarah Post

Hi there - I'm Plinko the wonder pup! I am a perfectly medium-sized athletic girl who loves adventures. I'm a bit shy at first, but if you're calm and speak to me sweetly, I'll be your sidekick in no time. Young children and exuberant dogs overwhelm me, but a calm four-legged friend would be just fine. I am from a home where I was kept outside all of the time, so I'll need some help adjusting to a home. With a few crate training lessons and a good routine, I'll figure things out in no time. The wonderful vet staff at the SPCA also found out that I have a condition called central diabetes insipidus. It's managed by daily drops in my eyes, but my new person will have to work with their veterinarian to make sure I'm as happy and healthy as I can be. If you have room in your home and heart for me, please come in and say hello! I can't wait to show you how special I am!

Visit the SPCA Web Page

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Groton — There is a new place to get books in Groton. Actually, two places! Over the weekend of January 16 and 17, 2016, two new Little Free Libraries were installed in the Village, one at the Elementary School, and one on Main Street outside the Groton Historical Museum.

A Little Free Library (LFL) is a free-standing structure where community members may, "Take a book — Return a book." In Groton, the LFLs resemble a doll house approximately two feet wide by one foot deep by two feet high, with a green roof and a glass front that swings open. They sit atop a single post. Each has books lined up on two shelves. Both are registered with the nonprofit group, LittleFreeLibrary.org, and included on a map showing the location of LFLs worldwide.

Groton Central School district welcomes new Food Services Director Kelley Neville. An outdoor enthusiast who loves camping, it is no surprise then that some of her favorite foods to cook include creating unique soups, stews and chilies, the perfect accompaniment to outdoor activities. A 1997 Groton graduate, Mrs. Neville studied culinary arts as high school Senior through the BOCES Career and Technical program.

After graduation she then earned her Associates degree from Paul Smith College and began her career in food service at local businesses before she found her niche at SUNY Cortland were she was employed for nine years as Executive Chef. In her new role, she will be working to ensure the new state guidelines are implemented and the cafeterias in both schools continue to undergo positive changes in the direction of sustainability and healthy food choices.

Are you worried that you won't get enough skiing time in this unusually mild winter?  Lansing Recreation Director Steve Colt isn't.  Colt says that the popular Rec Department program was delayed a week, but he expects to get all six sessions in before Spring.

"That's not rare.  We've delayed one, we've delayed two weeks and still gotten it in," he says.  "This winter is certainly not like any other.  We went last week with one of our larger turnouts for the middle and the high school in quite some time.  The bus was full.  We couldn't have taken anybody else.  I drove all the equipment in the Code Enforcement Office pickup truck.  That was packed.  We were lucky nothing fell off of it, and we had equipment in side the cab.  It's good, but it's a little nerve wracking.  You've got to make sure you don't hit a bump on the way over there."

by Sarah Post

Handsome Appleby was rescued from the territory of North Aurora Street by a good citizen who realized at once that even a cat as special as Appleby would not be particularly happy or healthy without a roof over his head, good food and loving people. So here IS Appleby, hoping to acquire all three of those desires in this holiday season! He loves to sit and watch the birds at the outdoor feeder, so if your home includes a bird feeder with visual access by a resident cat, Appleby will be VERY happy to have found you. Or vice versa. He is FIV+, so Appleby will have to be your only faithful feline companion. Thankfully his personality is so big, you won't need anyone else!

Visit the SPCA Web Page

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Ten girls, ages eight to ten, sit quietly, knee-to-knee, in a circle under tall windows in Beverly J. Martin Elementary (BJM) School's music room just before dusk on a winter day. Marie Vitucci, BJM enrichment coordinator and children's yoga teacher, sits in the circle and leads the group in an exercise in which they breathe in, then out, exhaling the word "peace." She then asks the students to visualize a "yoga star," instructing them to put it in their pocket to access anytime they need to be calm and present.

After a closing "Namaste," the girls rise and grab large sketchpads, placing them by their socked feet, as teaching artist Stiller Zusman guides them through various positions and movements that they will soon draw.  "Our mission here is to draw ourselves from the inside out," Zusman tells the students who float gently around the classroom to soothing music, then "freeze" every so often to sketch with crayons their poses by recalling the energy of their previous movements.

Cornell Plantations recently expanded the Fischer Old-Growth Forest Natural Area in the Town of Newfield through a gift of 17.43 acres.  The new property, named the Bandler Family Tract, was donated by David K. Bandler, emeritus professor in the Department of Food Science at  Cornell University. The preserve now protects nearly 60 acres, with almost 30 acres of old-growth forest.

The Bandler Family Tract is characterized by herbaceous and shrub-dominated old fields and young successional forests. These habitats, together with historic stone walls and old plow lines, evoke the past agricultural uses that reshaped this landscape. The addition also provides an important buffer to the old growth forest, which now collectively protects a one-half mile stretch of small gradient stream within the Cayuga Inlet Valley.