Archive: Around Town

Jim Bouderau, executive director states: “I couldn't be more pleased to report that, as of today, the 2011 March for the Animals raised over $81,208! Sponsors, marchers, supporters, and volunteers made this the biggest fundraiser in our history. On top of this, the $20,000 Match Challenge, made by a local family foundation, was also met in October!”

The top individual fundraiser for the March was event co-chair Amy Dickinson, with a total of over $2,100. Many people formed teams with names like the Friends of Fur Persons, Diverse Dogs, Wacky Woofers and Fur-bulous Duo. Deb Roe, a member of Friends of Fur Persons, raised over $2,100 of her team’s $4,700 contribution. The top youth fundraising team was the Purple Catz, a group of 6 young girls who raised over $1,000.

• “Are youse guys ready to order?” These were the first words my friends and I heard after we were seated at our table at a recent lunch. Perhaps I’m being overly demanding but I actually prefer to be greeted by my server before we get down to business.   A simple “hello” will suffice. When our waiter combined the absence of a greeting with a grammatically incorrect inquiry, you can imagine that no one at the table, including me, was happy.  You had to be there to here the discontent expressed by the females to the inclusive term “guys”.  One actually chastised the waiter, “I don’t know who you’re talking to when you call us guys but you’re certainly not talking to me!”  Reasonable alternatives might be,“Good Afternoon, how are you all doing?” or “How are you folks doing today?” or “Welcome to Deb’s Diner.” You can probably think of a lot more.

Hey there, my name is Purissa. I am a one-year-old domestic short hair/ mix, I'm a gorgeous 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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Tompkins County Mental Health Commissioner Robert De Luca, who has led the County’s Mental Health Department for the past decade, died this weekend, after bravely battled significant health challenges over the past year.

“In spite of failing health, Bob's dedication to his job, his clients, his staff, and his community never faltered,” County Administrator Joe Mareane noted in a message to County department heads, staff, and legislators.  “As recently as two weeks ago, he represented his department at its legislative budget review---using his time to remind all of us of the importance of our programs in the lives of so many, and of his pride in living in a community that embraced quality mental health care.

The Legislature, by unanimous vote, recognized the “extraordinary contributions” and expressed its “sincere appreciation” to long-time legislator and Chair Harris B. Dates, who died September 26. 

Mr. Dates, who always called himself just a “Country Boy from Lansing,” served the County for 29 years—first on the old County Board of Supervisor, then became the first Chair of the new Board of Representatives (now the County Legislature) in 1970, serving as Chair for a total of nine years, until his retirement in 1986.  The resolution of appreciation, advanced by Legislator Frank Proto, the only member of the current Legislature  to serve under Mr. Dates’ leadership, recognizes Mr. Dates as “having a profound and positive impact” on the community, which benefited both county residents and County government.

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There are rummage sales and there are rummage sales.  And there's the Lansing United Methodist Church Rummage Sale with is a RUMMAGE SALE.  The mother of all local rummage sales was last weekend, attracting shoppers from all over to sift though thousands of items including clothing, electronics, furniture, and more.  Doors opened at 8am Friday, and the sale ended Sunday at 1pm.  As always, most items Sunday were all you could fit into a bag for $1.

"Once again it was a huge success based on tangibles and intangibles," says Ed laVigne, who co-chaired the sale with Shelley Stark.  "For the tangibles, we made over $8,500.  We also made clothing available for people in need."

Based on sales, it’s evident that wine drinkers who live in the Finger Lakes region like to drink semi-sweet or sweet wines.  I, on the other hand, prefer dry wines. This makes me wonder…how many people really understand what these adjectives mean?  So much of wine talk is difficult to understand.

I sometimes feel that so-called authorities in the business of growing grapes and producing and marketing wines want to keep it that way.  Do they think that if they create and maintain a mystique about wine that they can charge more for it?  Well here comes a simple, and I hope clear, explanation of what makes a wine 'dry', 'semi-sweet' or 'sweet'.

Not all of the class of 2011 graduated in June. Eight students completed additional work over the summer.  Tuesday they were celebrated at their own commencement ceremony.  Family and friends filled the Lansing High School Library where school administrators and the Board Of Education honored the students.

"I know what each one of these students have had to go through," said Principal Eric Hartz.  "One of the hardest things to do is call a parent and call a student to the office and have a discussion on the last day of June about not graduating.  These students have overcome different trials and tribulations throughout their time here."

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September 9th was a very bad day for Owego.  The National Weather Service reports the Susquehanna River crested a record breaking 40 feet that day, 10 feet above flood stage.  Two key bridges leading into the town were closed, half the residents were evacuated, and a curfew was imposed the next night to try to contain looting.  Everything ground to a halt, and that included canceling a girls soccer game between Owego and Lansing's varsity teams.  Wednesday of last week Lansing went to Owego to make up that game and to surprise their opponents at half time.

"Each one of our players handed one of their players a gift card," says Lansing Athletic Director Adam Heck.  "It wasn't just about playing the game.  I think they had this idea that after the devastation they wanted to go down there and give everything they could to reach out to them."

On Wednesday, October 5, 2011, author and motivational speaker Randy Kearse visited the Finger Lakes Residential Center in Lansing, New York. Kearse is the author of five books, his most famous being Changing Your Game Plan, which tells his story, the salvation of a man once deemed a menace to society by a judge who sentenced him to 15 years. Randy Kearse served 13 years, 6 months and 2 days in federal prison. He returned to life as a free man with a new perspective, a fresh focus, and a strong determination to succeed.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y. Kearse grew up in the Farragut housing projects. In his books and in his presentations, he provides people with a formula to turn a negative situation into a positive opportunity.

Public transportation representatives from all over the continent recently gathered at a ceremony in New Orleans to celebrate the achievements of TCAT and two other transit agencies in North America that have been deemed the “best of the best.”

TCAT was named the 2011 Outstanding Public Transportation System in North America by the Washington, D.C.‑based American Public Transportation Association (APTA). TCAT won in its category (under 4 million annual trips) and the award was based on both quantitative and qualitative data it submitted last April to APTA for 2008, 2009 and 2010.