Archive: Around Town

Hey there, my name is Baby. I'm a two-year-old domestic shorthaired/ mix. I'm a friendly girl who is looking for a loving home so please come and visit me at the SPCA to see if i'm the right cat for you!

Visit the SPCA Web Page

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A celebration was held Monday after eight Lansing school employees were granted tenure by the Lansing Board Of Education.  Teachers Amy Winslow, Erin Martindale, Rhody O'Donnell, Matther O'Donnell, Matthew Scheffler, Nicole Lamie, and Megan Conaway, and High School Principal Eric Hartz were granted tenure Monday.  Teacher Morgan Brath, who was granted tenure earlier this year was present for the celebration.

I’d like to start with a comment I received from a reader regarding my last column on tipping.  While I described how I determined the size of my tip based on the service I received at each meal, she brought to my attention a very different point of view.  When she visits a neighborhood restaurant where she dines frequently, she always tips well, even if the service isn’t good, because she wants to receive a warm welcome on her next visit.  My father felt that way too.  It meant a lot to him have the server say something like, “Welcome back Mr. Stark, It’s so good to see you again.” I can certainly identify with this point of view and you might too.

Now, let’s move on to some berry important thoughts about blueberries.

Notre Dame High School Grades 7 – 12, based in Elmira, New York has announced busing transportation from Immaculate Conception School (ICS) in Ithaca, beginning for the 2012-2013 academic school year for families from Tompkins County wishing to enroll their children in the only 7-12 Catholic high school in the region.

Busing service, contracted with Birnie Bus Service, Inc., will leave daily from ICS at 7:15 a.m. and depart Notre Dame daily at 3:45 p.m. with return to ICS. The cost for busing from the Ithaca area is $30-$40 per family per week based on 20 families. Notre Dame students may participate in Immaculate’s after-school program daily until 5:30 p.m.

All 330 South Hill Elementary School students in grades Pre-K through 5, their teachers, and many family members and friends gathered in the Ithaca High School gymnasium on the evening of May 17 for a Latin American Fiesta culminating a three-week artist residency with Jorge Cuevas.  Dance, music, visual arts, storytelling, history, geography, culture, and food preparation were included in the school-wide program made possible through an Ithaca Public Education Initiative (IPEI) Community Collaboration Grant, a Fine Arts Booster Group Mini-Grant, and an Ithaca College Partnership in Teaching Grant.

Each grade wore a different bright- colored t-shirt— green, orange, blue, purple, red, and yellow. The gym was decorated with colorful flags from Latin American countries hung behind the bands Rising Sign and Jorge T. Cuevas and the Caribe Jazz Allstars. Principal Colleen Ledley welcomed the large crowd and thanked all of the collaborators: “While our educational goal was to have students explore Latin American cultures through the arts, we also learned about ourselves. Many of our South Hill families and staff have cultural connections to Latin American countries including Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Chile, Ecuador, Brazil and Colombia.”

More than a century ago, Sonora Louis Smart Dodd aspired to create a holiday to honor fathers. The daughter of a single father and Civil War veteran was inspired by a Mother’s Day sermon and wondered why there was no holiday for fathers. After securing support from ministers in Spokane, Wash., her idea came to fruition with the first Father's Day celebration at the Spokane YMCA on June 19, 1910.

On Sunday, June 17, the YMCA of Ithaca and Tompkins County joins the nation in celebrating Father’s Day and recognizing the impact fathers and adult male role models make in children’s lives. Nationally, one out of three children lives in a home without their biological father, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Two of Ithaca’s Climate Showcase Communities will break ground in late June: the TREE neighborhood at EcoVillage at Ithaca and the Aurora Pocket Neighborhood (APN) project in downtown Ithaca. TREE will add 25 new homes and 15 apartments and the Aurora Pocket Neighborhood will add 3 new homes to the community.

Full build-out for both communities is expected to be completed by September 2013. These two residential developments are designed to achieve Tompkins County’s 2050 goal of an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions today—using existing and emerging technologies and practices. The homes in the TREE and APN neighborhoods are designed to be 80 percent more efficient than current residential buildings in the U.S.

The second annual Lansing fireworks is slated for July 1 this year in Myers Park.  The event will feature Technicolor trailer Park at 6pm and The Dixie Kats at 8:30pm, and hamburgers, hot dogs, and sausage will be available.  Dave Hatfield and the Lansing Community Council will be providing food for the evening.  A portion of the procedes will support the Community Council.  Fireworks are scheduled to begin at dark.

This event is free and open to the public.  Free shuttles will be running from the Lansing School parking lots.  A rain date has been set for July 7th.

The month of May showed Tompkins County’s positive support of Get Your GreenBack Tompkins. This community-based campaign challenges all residents and local businesses to take steps toward increased energy efficiency. The benefits are two-fold: save energy and money! During May, the campaign focused on transportation and got Tompkins County moving in the right direction.

In celebration of National Bike Month, local biking advocates organized Bike to Work Day on Friday, May 18 from 7:30 to 10 a.m. Eight stations located throughout the city offered breakfast to participants in recognition of their healthy and economical transportation decision.

Hey there, my name is Segway. I'm a two-year-old retriever, labrador/ mix. I'm a handsome fellow who is looking for a loving home so please come and visit me at the SPCA to see if i'm the right dog for you!

Visit the SPCA Web Page

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A public hearing was held at Ithaca High School's Kulp Auditorium Wednesday to gather input on whether the enrollment cap for the New Roots Charter School should be lowered from 225 to 200 students.  The Ithaca Board of Education held the hearing because the charter high school is within the boundaries of the Ithaca School District.  42 people spoke at the hearing with 35 of them speaking in favor of the change and in support of the school, including New Roots students.

"It's a minor change," says New Roots Principal Tina Nilsen-Hodges.  "It's actually a change downward, which means there will be fewer total students that we will be billing area districts for. In that respect the cap is beneficial to other school districts."

Hey there, my name is Tao Tao. I'm a two-year-old domestic shorthaired mix. I'm a pleasant fellow who is looking for a loving home so please come and visit me at the SPCA to see if I'm the right cat for you!

Visit the SPCA Web Page

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