Archive: Around Town

Wells College announced Thursday that alumna Pleasant Rowland ’62 will be the speaker for the College’s 146th Commencement ceremony, held at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 17, in front of Macmillan Hall on the Wells campus in Aurora. An innovative and dedicated educator, award-winning business woman and highly respected philanthropist, Ms. Rowland’s career and life reflect the substance and values of the liberal arts education she received at Wells—the same received by the graduating class of 2014 that Ms. Rowland will address in May.

Rowland is a successful business executive best known for her creation and leadership of American Girl, the collection of books and dolls lauded for teaching history to millions of girls over the past 30 years. She is the author of reading and language arts textbooks for primary grade students used widely throughout the country today and chairman of the Rowland Reading Foundation, publisher of innovative curriculum materials and provider of training and professional development for classroom teachers. Through the Pleasant Rowland Foundation, her philanthropy focuses on her lifelong interest in the arts, education and historic preservation.

Camp Invention, a national educational program recognized for fostering innovative-thinking, real-world problem solving, and the spirit of invention, is coming to R.C. Buckley Elementary the week of August 11 - 15, 2014. The weeklong day camp experience for students entering grades 1-6 encourages inventive young minds through hands-on problem solving, using science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in a fun and creative atmosphere.

"We are thrilled to be offering Camp Invention to more children this year interested in these focus areas", said Barbara Myer -- Camp Invention Director at Allen ISD and District Advanced Academics/Gifted and Talented Coordinator. "Selecting a camp is an important decision for parents and our goal is to provide children with a curriculum that allows them to fully express their inventive young minds by exploring different types of technology, through real-world problem solving challenges, building things and taking them apart, while still having fun and developing new skills. Every year I am impressed by not only the level of thinking and time that goes into the curriculum, but also by the level of fun and excitement that I see on my students’ faces."

Tuesday evening 33 members of Ithaca High School’s Code Red Robotics Team 639 boarded a bus with ten mentors bound for St. Louis, Missouri, excited to compete in the World Championships of the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), April 23 - 26.  The team earned the right to participate by winning last month’s Buckeye Regional Competition in Cleveland, Ohio, in an alliance of teams from California and Michigan.

In the weeks since qualifying the team has been busy fundraising and putting in place plans for Championships.  The budget for the event exceeds $30,000, doubling the support needed to fund the ‘regular’ season. With the strong help of the Ithaca community the team has almost met the full need.  Sponsors such as CBORD, Cayuga Family Medicine, Datapoint Labs and Tetra Tech made extra contributions, and new donors such as M&T Bank, Sciarabba Walker, and Cornell’s College of Engineering, Center for Computational Sustainability, and Computing and Information Sciences joined dozens of individuals in making the trip to Championships possible.

More than 60 South Hill Elementary School first graders received a surprise invitation this month to attend Ithaca’s 25th Taste of the Nation, a gala fundraiser that has raised more than $750,000 for local hunger and poverty relief services.

An Ithaca Public Education Initiative (IPEI) Community Collaboration Grant titled 'Farm-to-Table: Healthy Food for All People' brought Jerry Dietz, chair of Share Our Strength’s local Taste of the Nation event, to South Hill this month to discuss his volunteer work in the community. At the end of his talk, Dietz invited the three first-grade classes to join 'Team No Kid Hungry' and attend the June 17 event at Ithaca College. Their role will be to help raise money for the cause by selling their handmade trivets, bean soup kits, and recipe collections.

Parents often tell their children to get their minds out of the toilet.  Lansing Girl Scouts are the exception that proves the rule.  Six Lansing scouts are planning a major renovation of the town ball field restrooms to earn their Silver scouting award.  Last year the same troop built a beautiful garden at the entrance to the Lansing Center Trail.  This year they wanted another project that would make a real and lasting difference to Lansing people.

"They felt very strongly about that," says Assistant Scout Leader Amelia Massi.  "This is something that is potentially used by everyone in the community.  When their school busses go by the Lansing Center Trail garden they feel they helped the community.  To think about driving by those restrooms, they wanted to make a lasting impressing.  That's what you hope with any of the awards, that you are making a lasting difference in the community.  They felt like this one was something they could actually do and make a lasting difference."

We may not need mittens to keep our hands warm much longer, but Mittens needs you! She is about 11 years old and came to us when her owner passed away. She is a bit shy at first, but warms up to people quickly. Because of her shy nature, we recommend her to a home with patient, cat-savvy people that will give this girl the time and love that she deserves. Could you be her special person?

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As the last bell rings, dozens of Ithaca High School students, coats and book bags in hand, pack themselves into English teacher Jeffrey Miller’s classroom and settle into desks. A student officer leads the group in a discussion about recent news of Hopi Indian masks being auctioned despite opposition from tribe members. Over the next hour, students voice a range of moral and legal arguments, citing historical cases dealing with cultural identity, imperialist powers, gender and racial minorities, affirmative action, and poverty.

This is just one example of the types of topics I.H.S. students research and discuss during weekly meetings of the Model United Nations club. The group of nearly 60 students simulates the work of UN ambassadors, debating issues on the UN agenda involving peace and security, human rights and global health.  This year, students have studied gun control, obesity and the Ukraine crisis.

Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport Manager (ITRA) Robert Nicholas announced this month that he will retire as manager of the airport following 25 years of service. Born in Oxfordshire, England, you’ve probably heard his distinctive accent from his many radio spots for the airport over the years.  He became an American citizen in 1990. Nicholas is only the third airport manager since Tompkins County began its ownership of ITRA in 1956.

Nicholas and his family came to the Ithaca area in 1989 after he applied for the opening at ITRA and was offered the position. The job location aligned nicely with the Nicholas family’s interest in seeking out better schools for their young children.

Cornell Plantations has announced that the lower section of the Cascadilla Gorge Trail will open to pedestrians, today, Friday, April 11, 2014.

The Cascadilla Gorge Trail, between Lynn Street and Stewart Avenue, is now reopened after being closed for the winter.  The trail weathered the winter relatively well, having only minor railing damage upon initial inspection.  Major repair work on upstream sections of the trail will commence this spring, with contractors starting where they left off last year, rebuilding the large staircase sections below the College Avenue Bridge.

This year has been full of popular programs and new initiatives for the Lansing Community Library (LCL).  As patron numbers continue to rise, so does the buzz in the community about the wonderful opportunities and resources that exist at LCL.

The library recently launched it’s first-ever logo contest.  The winning design, which will be featured on LCL newsletters, its website, and T-shirts, will be selected by the trustees and announced at the upcoming annual meeting April 28th.  Nearly 40 children and adults participated, submitting designs on the cover of blank books that depict what comes to their minds when they think of our local library.

"I am so excited to announce that a warm hearted and very generous friend of the SPCA has offered us a challenge: She will match, dollar for dollar, every donation made between now and May 31st, up to $30,000! This ‘matchmaker’ is challenging our community to rally in their support of us,” says SPCA of Tompkins County’s executive director Jim Bouderau. “A $30,000 challenge at this time of year is crucial to our work in the upcoming busy summer months.”

In 2001 the SPCA of Tompkins County became the first open-admission, No Kill shelter in the United States and opened the first LEED certified Animal Shelter in 2004. Last year, the SPCA celebrated a milestone of saving the lives of over 30,000 companion animals since transitioning to No Kill. This May marks the 10th Anniversary of the completion of the Dorothy and Roy Park Pet Adoption Center and the shelter is planning events surrounding Celebrating 10 Years of Sheltering' for this anniversary.

The weather was warm and sunny Saturday, rare for a Spring that wants to wallow in Winter.  That worked perfectly for Team RWB (Red, White & Blue), which held a 'Run As One' event on Lansing Center Trail.  A combination of 25 veterans and civilian community members ran two laps around the mile and a half trail.  Army veteran and Ithaca Team RWB member Jase Baese organized the event.

"It's social, community service and athletic events to help veterans reintegrate with their community after returning from service overseas.," he says.  "Team RWB is a national non-profit.  Our goal is to enrich the lives of America's veterans by connecting them with their community through athletic and social events and community service."