Archive: Around Town

Despite the flooding earlier in the season Myers Park is raring to go.  The park staff has repaired most of the flood damage, Myers Point is out from under water, and reservations are hopping.  A new flag pole has being purchased with grant money, and work has been completed on the lighthouse.  The Parks & Recreation Department has been very busy both repairing and preparing the park for the summer onslaught of park visitors, events, and recreation programs.

Registration for summer recreation programs has been hectic for the past five weeks.  The Parks & Recreation Department has already taken in just under $57,000 in recreation program fees.  Eight new programs are set for the summer and fall booklet, which was finished this week.  Baseball and softball programs have wrapped up and the travel teams are starting now.  This summer six levels of travel teams will play from the end of June through the end of August.

On Thursday June 16th, phones rang off the hook at Cayuga Radio Group as callers pledged donations towards a worthy cause: aiding Tompkins County with the cost of a new Police K-9.

Starting at 6AM, all seven of Cayuga Radio Group's broadcast stations worked together to promote a fundraiser aiding Tompkins County with the loss of its only Narcotics K-9, "Major". Major passed away in late March after a brief battle with cancer, leaving the Tompkins County Sheriffs Department without a K-9.

Last Saturday kids got to have their first ride in a small aircraft, and even got to take the controls at the Experimental Aircraft Association's (EAA) Young Eagles day.  Almost 100 kids from 8 to 17 were invited to the East Hill Flying Club to get a free ride and a taste of what it takes to become a pilot.

"It's to try to stir the pot in terms of their interest level," says EAA Chapter 811 member Dale Anderson, who organized this year's event.  "The first flight is the key to get them up in a plane and experience what a light plane is all about, how it works, and give them the controls and let them fly a bit."

Something exciting is brewing in the Finger Lakes region – and it’s all about beer! It’s no secret that the Finger Lakes is home to over 100 wineries, but few people realize it’s also home to a number of craft beer brewers as well. With over a dozen microbreweries in the region, plus another dozen or so brew pubs and tap houses, we have the makings of a beer trail – the Finger Lakes Beer Trail that is.

Local beer-enthusiasts, Adam Smith and Theresa Hollister, recognized the need for increased awareness and promotion of the region’s growing beer culture, so in February they co-founded Finger Lakes Beer Trail Marketing & Tourism Associates. While Smith and Hollister modeled the concept of the Finger Lakes Beer Trail after the wine trails of Seneca, Cayuga, Keuka, and Canandaigua, the beer trail is not limited to just the outlines of the lakes.

Hey there, my name is Cora. I am a three-year-old domestic shorthair/mix. I'm a gorgeous girl who is looking for a loving home. So 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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The first ceremonial shovels of earth were thrown last Friday, to celebrate the launch of a nearly $2.5 million upgrade to the Tompkins County Recycling and Solid Waste Center, a project that speakers said is the product of productive partnerships, innovation, and forward thinking.  The upgrade is part of the ten-year service agreement between the County and ReCommunity (formerly FCR LLC), based in Charlotte, NC.  ReCommunity began operation of the Recycling and Solid Waste Center in February.

Manager Barbara Eckstrom, who has led the County’s Solid Waste Management Division for the past 25 years, noted that the significant improvements, accomplished through a public-private partnership, will greatly expand the opportunities to divert an ever-increasing amount of waste from the county waste stream, and will enable the County to reach its ambitious goal of 75% diversion by 2016—and look ahead to an 80% diversion goal by 2030.

Passengers arriving from across the country to the Ithaca Bus Station, 710 W. State St., now have a bus shelter where they can escape the elements and wait for a TCAT bus to get them to where they need to go in the Tompkins County area.

Construction workers relocated the shelter to the bus station this past week from State and Geneva streets, where it was underused, McLellan said, adding that it will get much more use at its new location.

Hey there, my name is Proteus. I am a one-year-old domestic shorthair/mix. I'm a handsome fellow who is looking for a loving family. 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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Five years ago Sensei Robin McColley and Sensei Gail Lejoie told Lansing Recreation Director Steve Colt that they would need 12 students to make a Seido Karate program fly in Lansing.  They got 31, including five adults.  Today they teach about 60 people in Lansing and about 50 more in Trumansburg.  Last Saturday their own teachers Kaicho Tadashi Nakamura and Nidaime Akira Nakamura came from New York City along with other teachers and students to join in the fifth anniversary of Cauga Lake Seido Karate.

"I am just humbled by where we are," McColley says.  "To find that we have this thriving , strong community... I'm happy with where we are.  That doesn't mean we're going to stop trying to spread Seido and help people learn the value of it.  It's always my hope I can share with them the importance and the strength and the values that I've received.  So I want to keep moving forward."

The Blue Frog Café of Cortland has opened a new location in Ithaca.  The Shops at Ithaca Mall welcomes The Blue Frog Café to its diverse collection of stores. 

“The Shops at Ithaca Mall is the perfect move for us,” says The Blue Frog Café owner Karina Murphy.  “When the opportunity presented itself I was very excited.”