Archive: Around Town

May is prom season, and typically prom means both wholesome fun and the kind that has the potential to be harmful.  School officials and Lansing parents are proactive in planning for the event.  This year's after-prom party included laser tag, and took place in the high school, eliminating one piece of driving.  Each year Lansing students are also proactive in illustrating to their classmates the consequences of making ill-conceived, destructive decisions.  It seems to work.

"I always like to say no statistics are the best SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) statistics," says SADD advisor Kevin Wyszkowski.  "We've been proud to have that for the past ten years."

Last year deer and other wildlife decimated residents' gardens at Lansing's Woodsedge Apartments.  Much of the produce was nibbled down to the ground.  Last Saturday residents and volunteers fought back, installing raised beds in what will be a fenced garden space particularly suited to senior residents.  And residents are responding to the improved conditions.

"In the past few years only three residents were gardening because of the poor soil," says Kathleen Wadell, who is managing the new garden project.  "Now with the raised beds and the amended soil 11 people have signed up to do this.  It will help with their overall general health.  It gives them physical exercise to be out here, and a sense of being good stewards to the land."

The Town of Lansing Department of Parks & Recreation is offering many summer programs with a wide range of diverse choices. Currently the Myers Park Day Camp sessions are sold out; however, Limited spaces are still available in many other camps. The listing of classes and camps include: Band & Orchestra Camp, Instructional Swimming, Intro to Art Camp, Arts & Crafts in The Park, Chinese Brush Painting, Electricity and Magnetism, Intro to Computer Programming, Tennis, Golf Camp, Horse Riding Camp, Rock Climbing Camp, Soccer Camp, Performance Sailing, Reading Bonanza, Spanish Camp, Instructional Bowling, Girls Basketball Camp, Boys & Girls Basketball Day Camp, Cross Country Camp, Track & Field Camp, High School Musical Program, Karate, Cooking Camps, Cake Camp, Outdoor Adventure Club, Gymnastics, Youth Wrestling, BMX & Skate Camp. Also, enjoy the Summer Concert Series in Myers Park on Thursdays.

Specifics regarding all listings are located on registration forms and on our web page www.lansingrec.com or call the Recreation office 533-7388.

Hey there my name is Kara; I am a three-year-old domestic medium hair/mix. I'm a beautiful girl with golden black fur who's 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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When cable first arrived it brought television to Tompkins County, which has no broadcast television stations of its own.  Since then, cable has become the best option for broadband Internet connectivity, as well as telephone and security services.  As these uses have grown more vital, a disconnect has grown between those who have access to it and those who don't.  Meanwhile more uses such as Internet-based medical diagnosis could be a viable way to keep health care costs down.  If people can access it.

"Any solution is years off," says Hurf Sheldon, the sole member of the Town of Lansing's Rural Internet Committee.  "It's clear that the current government funding mechanisms are in disarray.  There are TARP funds for doing this, but there is not any clear regulation on how it's to be done."

Lansing seventh grader William Lewis won highest honors in this year’s WordMasters Challenge-a national language arts competition entered by approximately 220,000 students annually, which consists of three separate meets held at intervals during the school year.

Competing in the very difficult Blue Division of the Challenge, William made only three errors in the course of the year’s three meets.  He is one of the 15 highest-scoring seventh graders in the entire country in the year-end cumulative standings.

Tompkins Trust Company honored two local non-profit organizations, three couples and five individuals with “Awards for Excellence” on May 17, for their outstanding volunteer service to the community.  Three Lansing residents, Susan Rosenkoetter and Dennis and Louise Osika were among the honorees.

A total of $12,000 was donated to local charitable organizations from the bank’s endowment fund through the Legacy Foundation of Tompkins County. The honorees each designated their $1,200 award to not-for-profit organizations of their choice.

Is she roosting or just resting?  A wild turkey has chosen the planter that runs alongside the Village of Lansing Office, a scenic spot to incubate her eggs.  Two weeks ago we reported that she was laying eggs there.  Typically turkeys lay up to a dozen eggs over a two week period.  Then they incubate the eggs for another four weeks.  This turkey began incubating about two weeks ago, so the blessed event should take place some time near Memorial Day at the end of this month.  She has chosen a spot where she can watch cars come and go in the Village Office parking lot.

Lansing history students had a victorious run in the New York State History Interest Project (SHIP) competition last weekend.  Nine Lansing High School SHIP/Yorkers Club students competed against 400 students from seventeen other New York schools, earning  first and second place in the History Bowl competition.  The competition tests student's knowledge of the New York State Social Studies Standards, and takes place at an annual convention.  This year's victory set a record for the first time Lansing took both first and second place in the History Bowl.

"Nine kids came back victorious," Lansing social studies teacher Dan Ferguson told the Board Of Education at their Monday meeting.  "All of our kids placed in first or second place.  We took two history bowl teams this year, and our teams came in first and second place.  Where it gets interesting is that it's a playoff challenge, and our two teams ended up having to play each other in the final round."

Hey there my name is Mouser; I am an eleven-year-old domestic shorthair/mix. I'm a lovely girl who's looking for a good family to take good care of me. 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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Seventy years ago last Tuesday Fred Voss came to America.  He was 20 years old, and had escaped the Nazis with his parents and grandmother via Austria and England.  They had no money or belongings -- the Nazis had taken everything they had.  But they were the lucky ones. Six million of their fellow Jews had been murdered, and that was just a fraction of the 50 million people who lost their lives in the war.

"Before we were expelled from the schools in Nazi Germany, we had lost our lives as human beings," Voss says.  "We were dehumanized.  We were forced to sit apart from our Christian classmates.  No matter how well an essay was written by a Jewish student he never got an A or a B."