Archive: Around Town

Sweet Sasha has the most soulful, charming eyes - you'll fall in love instantly! Not only is this pup beautiful, but she is also gentle and loves to cuddle. We don't know very much about her history, but we do think that she was loved by someone at some point due to her very people-oriented personality. She would be happiest as the only pet in the home, but has so much love to give you won't need any others! Because she can be a little shy when first meeting someone, we recommend she go to a home with high school aged kids or older. At only one year young, Sasha has a full lifetime to devote to her new human best friend. Will you be the lucky one to take her home?

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Sunday was a beautiful warm day, perfect for the Run for Polio 5K at Myers Park.  The race was sponsored by the Lansing-Ithaca and Dryden Rotary Clubs.

The winner, Paul Kempkes, came with a time of: 0:21:07. He was someone who might not have been expected to win, since he has two new hips.  Alex Reimer (left), a 7th grader at Boynton, came in second with a time of  0:21:43, while Chris Miller came in third with a time of  0:23:30.  Gwynne Mapes came in fourth with a time of 0:23:34.  She was the first woman to complete the race.

As part of America Recycles Day 2014, Tompkins County is joining a statewide campaign to remind residents to donate all unwanted clothing, footwear, and other textiles, such as belts, purses, blankets, towels, sheets and pillowcases, and drapes.
 
On Thursday night, the County Legislature went on record demonstrating its strong support of this first-of-its-kind statewide campaign coordinated by several trade organizations to recover more textiles from the solid waste stream.

Wine Enthusiast Magazine recently named New York State as their "Wine Region of the Year."  New York was chosen over other renowned regions from across the world, including the wine producing regions of France, Italy, and California.  
New York State is the Nation's  third largest wine producing state with over 375 wineries, including 119 in the Finger Lakes region alone. The greater Finger Lakes region has become the center of New York's booming wine industry.  The Finger Lakes wine industry has recently been recognized by the New York Times, Wine Spectator magazine, Yahoo, and now Wine Enthusiast magazine as one of the premier wine producing regions in the world.

"This is a great accomplishment for New York State and the Finger Lakes region in particular," said Senator Mike Nozzolio, who represents the Finger Lakes region in the New York State Senate. "Our local wineries have been producing world-class wines for years now, and it is an honor for our State and our region to be formally recognized as the wine region of the year."

Dagobert has already had a pretty adventurous life, and he's probably happy to be safe and secure here at the SPCA. He was found hiding out in a house in Ithaca that was in the process of being demolished. He was harboring quite a few fleas and his skin is still a little scabby from all of the bites. Despite all he has been through, Dagobert is content to interact with visitors, and will be happy to make the acquaintance of anyone who offers petting and gentle conversation. Needless to say, he will be even happier not to be on his own during the upcoming winter. He looks forward to living in a house with both a family and heat! Dagobert gets his name from the King of Austrasia and all the Franks in the 7th century; wouldn't he make a terrific king in YOUR home?

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	A few years ago, my heart stopped functioning properly. A cardiac artery was blocked, and I felt some strange and scary symptoms. The blockage was relieved with a stent, and the hospital that installed it included a detailed lecture to all such patients. They don’t want to see us again. Heeding that information has kept me healthy, and I want to share what I’ve learned.

For the past several weeks, I’ve been working on a rabbit recipe, and it’s time to publish it, or launch it, or roll it out. Whatever is the current expression.

Incidentally, a California meat producer says, “Rabbit is the meat of the future.” This from one who grows beef, lamb, goat, pork, rabbit, turkey, chicken, pheasant, quail, and squab. Beef is the most expensive meat to produce, partly because, especially for beef that’s good for you, it requires the most water and real estate. Good pork doesn’t have to be heart-cloggingly greasy, either, but as with beef, healthy hog husbandry — plenty of pasture, little or no grain — doesn’t scale up economically. Unless you grow meat in a factory system, your profit per animal doesn’t increase dramatically.

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On October 18, Ithaca High School's FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Code Red Robotics Team 639 attended the local "Rah Cha Cha Ruckus" event, an off-season FIRST Robotics Competition.  A new robot is built by each FIRST Robotics team during January and February, and the official competition season is during the spring.  As this event is during the off-season and has a very relaxed competition atmosphere, it is a great opportunity for new members to experience a competition-like event, and try their hands at performing specific roles in the competition game.

Freshman rookie member, Mark Westwig says, "I was given the opportunity to drive the robot and be a human player, and it was very stressful, but very fun at the same time."

November 10th is the 239th Marine Corps Anniversary, just a day before Veterans Day.  The Marine Corps has a proud tradition.  Any Marine will tell you there are no ex-Marines.  In 1944 Ithaca High School graduate Robert Boda joined and in 1945 he found himself in the Fifth Marine Regiment, First Marine Division, Second Battalion, Fox Company on the front lines in the thick of the Battle of Okinawa, the last major battle before the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

"Eighty eight percent of the 55th Replacement Draft got killed," says Boda.  "I'm one of the twenty percent that came back home."

The Ithaca Public Education Initiative (IPEI) announced the first round of its quarterly Red and Gold Grants for the 2014–15 school year. Twenty-four grants totaling $10,671 were awarded for projects and programs that will serve more than 3,500 ICSD students. The grants assist teachers, students, and community members with projects that strengthen and enrich the Ithaca City School District (ICSD) curriculum, have a positive impact on students, and actively engage students.