Archive: Around Town

Lansing history spans well before the Revolutionary War.  A nondescript building in the Town Hall complex that holds the town's historical and municipal records is deteriorating to the point that Highway Superintendent Jack French says it should be demolished and replaced.  While no decision has been made, the Town Board considered a new, more suitable building, possibly with a small museum space at their working session Wednesday.

"Mrs. Bement wants to put in new gutters, new paint... there are a whole lot of things that need to be done to that building," French said.  "My own opinion is that the best thing to do is tear it down and start over.  It's in pretty sorry shape."

In recognition of individuals diagnosed with autism, as well as their families and the dedicated professionals who work with them, State Senator Mike Nozzolio is helping to commemorate April 2013, as Autism Awareness Month.  The State Senate adopted a Special New York State Legislative Resolution sponsored by Nozzolio recognizing this important month as a vital opportunity to learn more about the particular challenges that families affected by autism face.

“It is now estimated that 1 out of every 88 American children is affected by an autism spectrum disorder. There are literally thousands of families in the Finger Lakes region affected by autism,” said Nozzolio. “Autism Awareness Month  is an important time to gain a better understanding of the services and programs that are available to these individuals and their families, as well as to commemorate the courage and determination of those living with this diagnosis.”

The Just Be Cause Center for Not-for-Profit Development (JBCC) will open its doors this coming June in the former Ithaca Paint Company building at 1013 W. State Street in Ithaca. The JBCC will fulfill some of the functions lost when the Women’s Community Building closed, with five office spaces, a conference room, and two multi-purpose activity rooms for use by local non-profits. An extensive renovation is under way; the approximately 5,100 square foot building will have new bathrooms, air conditioning, heating, carpeting, kitchen, WIFI and shared office equipment.

“The building is dedicated to Judy Dietz, to honor the spirit of how she lived her life: caring for other people and always working to make sure the community is a better place to be,” said Jerry Dietz of his late wife. JBCC will be owned by the newly formed Just Be Cause Foundation and will be managed by Dietz’s company, C.S.P. Management, LLC.

Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton (D/WF-125) and a broad coalition including Cornell, Ithaca College, SUNY Cortland, Tompkins County Chamber, Sustainable Tompkins, Sustainable Cortland, businesses, youth groups, and local governments, announced today a major regional conference, “Climate Smart & Climate Ready,” to be held from Thursday April 18 - Sunday April 21 in Ithaca and Cortland.

The conference, coordinated by Sustainable Tompkins, will kick off on Thursday evening (4/18) with a keynote address by Mark Hertsgaard, one of our country’s leading environmental journalists and author of HOT – Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth. His speech – focusing on how communities nationwide are responding to climate change - will be at the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca and free of charge. On Saturday April 20, the climate change topic gets “local” with a panel discussing the major impacts on our region, followed by workshops tailored to four main audiences – business, community, youth and local government.

The Ithaca High School’s FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology) Robotics Team 639, Code Red Robotics, won the Buckeye Regional Competition, held March 28th - 30th in Cleveland, Ohio. During qualification matches, Code Red seeded second of 53 teams. Then, paired with FIRST teams 2252 and 2834, Code Red advanced to the finals where they secured the win and the title of Regional Champions. “This is an incredible and hard earned accomplishment for Code Red.” said Istvan Burbank, team president and I.H.S. senior. The team plans to attend the World Championships in St. Louis, Missouri, April 25-28, as they did in 2012.

On Thursday, March 28, 50 Ithaca High students and ten adults boarded a bus at 1:00 a.m.and drove six hours to Cleveland, Ohio. Once the team arrived at the Wolstein Center at Cleveland State University, they unloaded a 120 pound robot from the bus to compete along with 52 other robotics teams from across the United States and Canada. Each team was competing with a robot they had built in six weeks for the same challenge; a game called Ultimate Ascent. The objective is to score as many Frisbee discs into targets as possible, and to climb a 120-inch pyramid constructed from metal tubes.

Friends of the Ithaca Youth Bureau (FIYB) has allocated $15,929 help support Ithaca Youth Bureau (IYB) programs. The funds are being allocated among ten programs. In 2012, FIYB raised more than $24,000 from donors, allowing the organization to increase its support and continue to fund programs adversely affected by budget cuts. 

Jeff Love, FIYB board chair, is pleased that the organization is growing and gaining community supporters.

	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.

This week, we’re concentrating on a few guidelines for breakfast and lunch. Don’t skip breakfast! You’re not loading up on fats any more, so you have less reserve in your tank, so to speak. Refuel at least three times a day.

At breakfast, learn to like oatmeal, or another high fiber cereal. Oatmeal may be the best breakfast, but I hated it until I learned how to make it. It’s a multi-step process, but it’s quick, and it comes out like a fluffy, whole grain cereal instead of wallpaper paste. Just poach one minute and steam one minute. To do this, have a saucepan of water boiling. Measure your Old Fashioned rolled oats (NOT quick or instant) into a sieve that fits into the saucepan without falling in. Cover and boil one minute. Pour off most of the water and return the assembly to the heat to steam one minute. Serve.

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It may not have felt much like the first day of spring last Wednesday, but two Ithaca City School District (ICSD) kindergarten classes got a warm welcome from youth librarians on their Kids Discover the Trail! (KDT!) field trip to the Tompkins County Public Library (TCPL) in downtown Ithaca. Peggy Weber of Caroline Elementary School and Sandy Rouleau of Northeast Elementary School brought their classes together to read books, learn about the library, and get to know each other.

After the two classes arrived on the same school bus, two youth librarians sang a song to the kindergarteners in the Storytime Room, which boasts a fantasy mural painted by a local artist. The children divided into two groups. One group, lead by youth librarians, went through the Alice-in-Wonderland-reminiscent door into the TCPL Youth Services Department. They went on a quest to find the Library Lion by following its multi-colored paw prints. On the way, they learned about a number of library services, including how to use the self-checkout, the reference desk, and the book-drop table.

The Sciencenter is making a big deal about the smallest science! Funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, the Sciencenter conceives, develops, and tests educational activities that foster public awareness, engagement, and understanding of nanoscale science, engineering, and technology. These programs and activities reach over a half million museum guests throughout the U.S. during NanoDays. An annual science festival, Nanodays is held at over 300 science museums in the U.S., organized by the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (NISE Net), of which the Sciencenter is a lead partner.

NanoDays takes place in Ithaca on Saturday, April 6, 12 – 4 pm at the Sciencenter. Guests can explore nanoscale science and technology with 30+ hands-on activities, family-friendly presentations, and the Nano exhibition, all available in both English and Spanish. Admission to the Sciencenter is free for NanoDays.

The Southern Cayuga School District and surrounding community are busily planning activities, including a June ceremony featuring Marion Blumenthal Lazan, co-author of Four Perfect Pebbles, to celebrate the arrival of the Anne Frank tree sapling granted to the school district by The Anne Frank Center USA.The sapling, which has been in quarantine to ensure its health, is now in Southern Cayuga and soon will be planted at the school.

The district has scheduled a planting ceremony during the school day on Friday, April 12 for all students and staff.   To correspond with the planting ceremony, the Aurora Free Library and the Hazard Library have announced that this year's book for the Southern Cayuga Community Read is Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl.  There will be a book discussion on Wednesday evening, April 10, starting at 7 PM in the Emily Howland Elementary School Library.

City of Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick will unveil a commemorative mosaic during the April 7 dedication ceremony for “Get-Up State,” three days of live mural painting, being held in conjunction with “Hip-Hop: Unbound From the Underground—an Ithaca Community Celebration.”

The unveiling and dedication will take place at 1 p.m. at the Cornell University Press Services Building, 770 Cascadilla Street, and will celebrate the work of more than 40 of the world’s most respected and recognized graffiti artists.  The artists will work to transform the stark gray building into a colorful work of graffiti art from April 4 through 7.

The Ithaca Public Education Initiative (IPEI) has awarded $11,729 in its third quarterly round of Red and Gold Grants for the 2012-13 school year. The 26 new grants will assist teachers, administrators, students and community members with projects that strengthen and enrich education at the Ithaca schools.

"Our Red and Gold Grants are a wonderful opportunity to provide students and teachers with hands-on projects that enhance their learning,” said IPEI President Terry Byrnes. “It is amazing what a teacher can do with a small amount of support. We are so thankful to all our donors who make these grants possible.”