Archive: Around Town

Q Country’s Chris Allinger took to the airwaves Monday Morning to announce his new fundraising project.  Allinger is going to hit the road again this year for the Food Bank of the Southern Tier’s BackPack Program™. Like last year, Allinger plans to strap a backpack to his own back and walk to every town in Tompkins County filling the backpack with donations.

Allinger explains, “This is an important program that helps children that are going hungry right here in our community.”

A 'Little Free Library' has been installed at Myers Park, on the lake side of the playground.  The Lansing Pathways Committee heard about the organization building these small free-standing libraries which hold a small supply of books and decided to sponsor the construction of one of them.  Kids from the Art in the Park class directed by Robin Schuttenberg and Lee Iannone got involved by decorating it with a bird theme. 

“It is already bringing people together at the park when they stop by to visit the LFL, and I believe it’s building a sense of community in the area”, says Sue Ruoff, a Lansing Pathways member.  "The way the LFLs work is simple.  The sponsors stock the library with a variety of good quality books that they hope will interest the neighborhood and community.  Anyone can stop by and take whatever book they desire.  You can return again and bring books to contribute.  The LFL books are always a gift, never for sale!  It’s a free community book exchange."

Atlanta, GA - The National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS) announced Tuesday Lansing High School Student Elena Gupta has been selected to become a member of the esteemed organization. The Society recognizes top students who have demonstrated outstanding leadership, scholarship, and community commitment. The announcement was made by NSHSS Founder and Chairman Claes Nobel, a senior member of the family that established the Nobel Prizes.

“On behalf of NSHSS, I am honored to recognize the hard work, sacrifice, and commitment that Elena has demonstrated to achieve this exceptional level of academic excellence,” said Mr. Nobel. “Elena is now a member of a unique community of scholars—a community that represents our very best hope for the future.”

	Before the end of this year the NYS Public Service Commission (PSC) will rule on whether or not the Cayuga Power Plant remains open.  The Lansing Star is featuring a three-part series that will explore the plant's citizenship in Lansing, Tompkins County and the larger community.  Last week we looked at the repowering proposal and what led to it.  In this article we report on the plant's reputation as a clean coal-powered facility.  Next week we'll look at the plant's participation in the community.

Those who had the stamina to stay at the Public Service Commission meeting until the end on July 29th heard several people testify that the Cayuga Power Plant is among the cleanest coal-fired plants in the nation.  Cayuga is one of two plants purchased by Upstate New York Power Producers (UNYPP) after they were placed in bankruptcy by the previous owner, AES.  UNYPP Chief Operating officer Jerry Goodenough says that even under the previous owner the Cayuga and Somerset plants were leaders in clean coal-powered plant operation.

"They're two of the cleanest plants this side of the Mississippi," he says.  "The Somerset plant is extremely clean.  So is this one.  We scrub for NOx.  We scrub for SO2.  We have electrostatic precipitators that remove particulate, and both facilities have intricate water treatment systems."

The Cayuga plant has two units that together are capable of producing 306 megawatts.  Goodenough says both units have scrubbers to remove SO2 (Sulfur Dioxide).  The plant also installed SCRs (Selective Catalytic Reduction units) on Unit 1 to scrub out NOx (Nitrogen Oxide) well ahead of regulations requiring plants to use them.  He notes that the plant has been ahead of the regulations in cleaning technology.

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TST BOCES Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Matteson addressed the Lansing Board Of Education for the first time Monday.  Matteson began his duties as District Superintendent of TST BOCES on June 1.  He said BOCES will be there for Lansing schools to help offer quality education within tough budget limitations.

"We know there are still challenging times ahead," he said.  "There was another article in the paper this weekend about our tax cap calculation that is going to be limited to a multiplayer of 1.66% it's pretty tough trying to make budget with escalating costs that are out of your control.  We pledge as a BOCES to do our best to stay within the expectations you have to try to make your budget and still offer quality services."

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As students return, and the demand for Ithaca rental properties increases, the Ithaca Board of REALTORS® would like to take this opportunity to notify the public to beware of scam artists, particularly on Craigslist. Scam artists are aggressively searching through public records to better disguise themselves as the property owners or rental agents.

This is not unique to Ithaca; these scams take place all over the country.  The Ithaca Board of REALTORS® wants inform consumers of the risks and help them avoid losing thousands of dollars to these criminals.

Hi! I'm Tomahawk- the sweetest guy you'll ever meet! A nice person brought me to the shelter after I had been wandering around Collegetown looking for a new forever person. I'm an all around good guy and am ready to be my new person's most loyal companion. When you sit down, I'll be in your lap. If you're having a bad day, I'll sit next to you and share some purrs with you. If you're excited, I'll run around and play with you! I do have something called FIV, but I can live a completely normal life with it, and at 5 years young, I have plenty of life to live! Please give me a second chance at life- I deserve it!

Visit the SPCA Web Page

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	Before the end of this year the NYS Public Service Commission (PSC) will rule on whether or not the Cayuga Power Plant remains open.  The Lansing Star is featuring a three-part series that will explore the plant's citizenship in Lansing, Tompkins County and the larger community.  This week we look at the repowering proposal and what led to it.  Next week we'll report on the plant's reputation as a clean coal-powered facility, and in the third week on the plant's participation in the community.

Over the years we have heard that the Cayuga Power Plant, previously AES Cayuga and before that Milliken Station has been a good citizen in the Tompkins County community.  In recent years the news has been about the tax impact, especially on the Lansing school district, of the quickly declining coal-powered plant's value.  Most recently the Cayuga and Somerset plants were purchased by investors who hope to convert to natural gas to allow the plants to function competitively in the New York energy market.  The problem is simple: in today's market a plant powered by expensive coal can't complete with those powered by less costly natural gas.

"The power from this plant and the power from any merchant facility, is sold into the New York Independent System Operator (ISO), says Upstate New York Power Producers CEO Jerry Goodenough.  "The ISO gathers data from all the facilities on a day-ahead basis.  The utilities say 'this is how much load is going to be required between factories and houses and so forth.'  Then the ISO says, 'OK generators, what can you generate and how much does it cost.'  They match that generation to the amount of load."

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Hi! I'm Jake! I'm a very handsome Labrador Retriever mix who came to the SPCA of TC when my owner could no longer care for me. I can seem a bit wound up at the shelter environment, but I calm down as soon as I get outside. I would be a great hiking partner, and I like to buddy up and will attach myself to people quite quickly! If you have cats and kids, we probably wouldn't make the best match, but if you are looking for a dark, handsome boy to go on long walks with, the beach or otherwise, then I just may be the man you are looking for!

Visit the SPCA Web Page

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The Legislature convened its first meeting in its new Legislative Chambers Tuesday, marking the historic occasion with a brief ceremony and open house for the public.  The Legislature has moved its Chambers and offices to renovated quarters on the second floor of the Governor Daniel D. Tompkins Building (formerly known as the Old Courthouse) next to DeWitt Park, after leaving the space it had occupied for 80 years at the Tompkins County Courthouse to meet the needs of the New York State court system.

"Tompkins County was formed in 1817.  One of the first acts we passed as a county was to build a courthouse so we could avoid being annexed to Seneca County," said Legislature Chair Martha Robertson.  "In April 1917 they erected a little building on the corner of this parcel, a wooden structure that lasted for 37 years.  This building was built in 1853 and '54.  The Tompkins COunty Board of Supervisors entered this room and stayed for 80 years.  In 1933 what was then called 'the new courthouse' was built, and the Board of Supervisors moved into that building.  80 years since then, here we are again."

The Board of Directors of the Ithaca Public Education Initiative (IPEI) announced this week that Christine Sanchirico has been hired as its first executive director.

Sanchirico, who will begin the position in September, brings more than ten years of experience directing community-based nonprofits to IPEI. Formerly executive director of Catholic Charities, executive director of the Ithaca Breast Cancer Alliance (now the Cancer Resource Center), executive administrator of the Women’s Community Building, and interim executive director of Literacy Volunteers of Tompkins County  (now Tompkins Learning Partners), she also has served on many community nonprofit boards. Most recently Sanchirico has been an administrator at Cornell University. She has an M.S. degree in organizational communication from Ithaca College and a B.S. from Cornell.