Archive: Around Town

Saturday August 22, 2015 marks the start of one of the biggest events of the year for Z95.5, the Build Your Backpack campaign. Each August, Z95.5 teams up with local sponsors to provide free backpacks and school supplies to area students and families. This year, Z95.5's morning show, The Morning Buzz, will give the community six opportunities to get stocked up on supplies beginning August 22nd at the Walmart in Ithaca.

"Every year, this is by far the event that I look forward to most," says Z95.5 Brand Manager and co-host of The Morning Buzz, Gabe Carrillo, "throughout the year we are constantly looking for and acting on opportunities to give back to our listeners and communities and Build Your Backpack is one of the events that I know makes a big impact for so many. I'm overjoyed to welcome back Fidelis Care and the Ithaca WalMart to our team to help make this happen. Their involvement, as well as our distribution sponsors, is so critical to us being able to make the event bigger every year and ultimately, help more families."

by Rochelle Davis

Greetings, kind stranger! My name's Cheerio. I came from the village of Lansing where my owner could no longer care for me. At 8 years young, I still have many years left to fill someone's days with head butts, snuggles, and purrs! I may be a little shy at first, but give me a second to get to know you and I'll be cuddling up a storm in no time! The staff here think I would do well in any kind of home, with humans of any age as long as they can respect gentle kitties like me. I loved my roommate here at the shelter, and may do well with your current resident animals. I am neutered, vaccinated, microchipped, and have a clean bill of health. Come visit me today!

Visit the SPCA Web Page

v11i31

Comfortably warm with sunny skies, August 1st was a great day for the Groton Alumni Reunion. The annual picnic stretched across the grounds of the Groton Rod and Gun Club under numerous tents. Professional Disk Jockey and Groton Alumnus Dale Harrington emceed the event and provided music for dancing and mingling until 9 o'clock that evening.

Old friends reconnected and reminisced about their younger years. Everyone had an interesting story to tell. Husband and wife Ted Pless and Shirley Brockway Pless met each other 45 years ago as Groton high school students.  Ted was a Senior and Shirley a Sophmore when they met. The Pless's currently live in Florida and have two children and 3 grandchildren. They remember Groton being a close-knit school that felt like family.

Holy Apostles Orthodox Church celebrated its fifth anniversary Saturday with a passel of priests and The Most Reverend Michael, Archbishop of New York and the Diocese of New York & New Jersey.  The Saturday service attracted record attendance, and celebrations continued throughout the weekend.  Archbishop Michael participated in the two day celebration, lauding the congregation for growing the church and encouraging further growth through spiritual discipline and hard work.

"It's a glorious day when you look back on the fact that the Lord planted in this place a good community," said Archbishop Michael.  "A good parish, a good church.  Like the leaven that the Gospel speaks of we see what has happened here.  People have been chrismated.  Babies have been baptized.  Scores of people have come to the sacraments.  Outreach is being doing in the community and to those in need.  The face of Orthodoxy is being manifest in this area."

The Community School of Music and Arts (CSMA) is pleased to announce that the Ithaca Children's Choir has been renamed the Ithaca Children and Youth Chorus (ICYC).  The new name more accurately reflects the ensemble's total population, elementary through high school age students from Ithaca and the surrounding areas.  Developed and led by Dr. Janet Galván since 1986, the Ithaca Children's Choir has been one of the mainstays of CSMA's music program. The Chorus welcomes new singers this fall!  Placement auditions will be held the first week of September.

"When I began the vision of the children's choir," said Dr. Galván, "ensembles throughout the United States were based on the European model encompassing much older students. I planned a group for children ages nine to fifteen, but as we became a 'choral home' for so many students, they wanted to stay longer.  We expanded to older ages, and the national trend has changed to call these inclusive groups 'youth choruses.' We look forward to continuing our strong tradition of providing a solid foundation of musicianship and a commitment to excellence in an environment of kindness and support."

Robots took over the second floor of Lansing High School Friday, competing to see which was best at performing three key tasks.  It was the culmination of a week-long robotics camp offered by the Lansing Town Recreation Department, and run by members of the high school robotics team.  65 fourth through eighth graders designed, built and programmed the robots in only five days before putting them through their paces Friday.

"I am impressed with how much they have been able to do," camp leader Emily Schweitzer says.  "I think to myself, at this age would i have been able to program a robot that can go through a maze all by itself?  I'm not so sure.  It's neat to watch them figure out how different gears fit, and how (doing it another way) affects it.  In one week, they did it all."

The Next Jennaration Dance Company attended Starpower National Championships July 18-23 in Ocean City, Maryland and not only excelled in all age categories but won another national championship. This will be the studios 3rd national championship in the last 4 years, having won in 2012 and 2014 as well.  The Next Jennaration dancers came home with several first place and high scoring trophies.

A burst of the refreshing scent of fresh cut grass, with the hint of citrusy top notes carried by the breeze, blends with sweetness of floral aromas diluted with a morning dew. Middle notes emerge in sensual carnality of ripening berries and the cooling, calming accords of young pine shoots. Then comes a base note: a pleasant surprise from the dense forest soils.

A musky scent of decaying woods emphasize earthy fragrance of mushrooms and aerial nuances of deep green leaves. Everything is coordinated and orchestrated by dazzling, evanescent and all-embracing sun. The hum of bees buzzing, the joyous singing of the birds, and a gentle fluttering of colorful butterflies, even the deep roar of thunder, celebrate enveloping a space of light, warmth and motion. Nature in the summer ascends to reach its full potential. So do we! Because we are an inseparable part of nature too!

by Rochelle Davis

Do you like extra-large, extra-playful dogs? Maybe this guy is the one for you! King is an energetic young Cane Corso cross looking for an owner with experience caring for a guardian breed. He is a talented escape artist, able to scale any fence, slip any collar, and evade any tethering system, so his new owner will need to be prepared to walk him on a secure body harness to prevent him setting off on his own adventures. He's also learning how to play fetch and tug politely, so his owner will have another way to tire him out. Once he's had a chance to run around, King likes to cuddle and tries to fit 105 lbs of dog into a lap. King's bouncy play and large size may be too much for shyer dogs. King doesn't like cats. King is also looking for an adult-only home. Like many guardian breeds, King can be cautious around new people, but bonds very tightly to the people he knows and works hard to please them. If King sounds like the dog for you, come meet him and talk with the SPCA staff.

Visit the SPCA Web Page

v11i30

Tompkins County Public Library, in collaboration with the Finger Lakes Library System, has announced the launch of Zinio, a digital service providing free access to current and back issues of more than 100 popular magazine titles.

With a valid library card and internet access, patrons will be able to read popular magazines like Car and Driver, Better Homes and Gardens, Cosmopolitan, Field and Stream, and The Advocate on their personal computer or Mac, or through a downloadable App on their iPhone, iPad, Kindle or Android device.

For the past 9-weeks, students from Cornell's Community Based Leadership Development Program (CBLDP) have been spending their summer as volunteers with the  Cayuga Medical Center Emergency Department's Patient Care Advocacy Team known as PCAT.

As the program comes to a close, the participants will be showcasing their volunteer experiences through digital stories that they have constructed at a showcase event at Cayuga Medical Center on Friday, August 7 at 6pm.

Where Are They Now? - Joshua Canfield

From Groton graduate to Hollywood actor, locally raised Joshua Canfield believes there are many opportunities to earn a living while doing what you are passionate about, but you must seek them out.

"College is really a job fair," Canfield commented of his experience studying at the University of Buffalo.