Archive: Around Town

Lansing's Tompkins County Legislator Pat Pryor threw down the gauntlet to other Tompkins County communities Tuesday to fill out and return the 2010 census mailers.  Mailers are the most cost-effective way of collecting census data, saving taxpayers the cost of sending census workers from home to home, trying to chase down residents.  Pryor says that in the 2000 census Lansing had the highest return rate at over 80%.

"According to the map on the wall in the Legislature chamber, from what I could see Lansing is the only municipality in Tompkins County that had an over 80% return rate throughout the whole town the last time the census was done," Pryor says.  "I have challenged my Legislature colleagues to join Lansing in having an over 80% return rate, and I assured them that we would also do that this time."

Andrew Dunn, a senior at Charles O. Dickerson High School in Trumansburg, has been chosen to represent Tompkins County in the 2010 Students Inside Albany program, sponsored annually by the League of Women Voters of New York State Education Foundation, Inc.  First alternate is Robin Presthus, from Lansing High School, and second alternate will be Zolzaya Enkhbayar, also from Charles O. Dickerson High School in Trumansburg.

Judges for the selection process were Tompkins County Legislature member, Jim Dennis, retired Ithaca High School social studies teacher, Carolyn Corson, Deputy Director and Vice President of Government and Community Relations at Cornell University, Gary Stewart, and Voter Services co-chairs for the LWV in Tompkins County, Sally Grubb and Deborah Levin.

The Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) and its Museum of the Earth unveil their latest exhibit -- One Fish, Two Fish, Old Fish, New Fish*: Exploring the Evolution of Biodiversity which details how new species arise through a process called speciation. This exhibit was designed and developed in cooperation with Dr. Richard Harrison, chair and professor in the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University, and is the continuation of a nearly $700K grant that was awarded Harrison from the National Science Foundation.

In honor of Black History Month, Autumn Leaves Used Books reissued the 1839 slave narrative "Chains and Freedom." "Chains and Freedom" chronicles the life of Peter Wheeler, once a slave in Lansing, New York. The piece is unique among the approximately 200 known slave narratives because about half of the story takes place in the area of Central New York that would later be known as Tompkins County.
    
"Chains and Freedom" chronicles the enslavement, flight to freedom, and life as a sailor of Peter Wheeler. Wheeler was born into slavery in New Jersey in 1789, and at the age of eleven, was separated from his family and sold to Gideon Morehouse. Morehouse moved from New Jersey to settle in Ludlowville in 1800. Although Morehouse was horribly cruel to Peter, Peter found support and aid from abolitionist neighbors in Ludlowville, including Thomas and Henry Ludlow, two of the brothers for whom the hamlet was named.

The PING PONG for HAITI tournament and benefit held Saturday, March 6 at Trumansburg High School raised $2,500 for Partners in Health, ACDI/VOCA and The Lambi Fund of Haiti, three organizations providing support to Haiti after the devastating earthquake. The event was sponsored by Westhill Graphics , Inc., an Ithaca-based graphic design and marketing firm.

The Noyce Foundation, in collaboration with the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC), the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and the Moore Foundation, has selected Lara Kimber, Associate Director of the Sciencenter, as a Fellow for the 2010-2011 Noyce Leadership Institute (NLI) Program. 

Kimber is one of 18 leaders selected from the international science center field to work as change agents at the crossroads of societal trends, global issues, and informal science education to increase the public impact of science centers globally.  As a Noyce Fellow, Kimber will develop a new program to train youth to use science and advocacy in solving real-world issues.

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Ithaca, NY—Tompkins Community Action has received $2.7 million in funding to construct 14 new units of homeless housing in Ithaca, NY. The grant was awarded by the State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance as part of its Homeless Housing and Assistance Program (HHAP).

The new project, named Magnolia House, will serve single women and women with children who are homeless and in recovery from drug and/or alcohol abuse. “Magnolia House has been a vision of many people in our community,” states Lee Dillon, Executive Director of TCAction. “We are so excited that we can bring it to fruition with this wonderful grant from the State of New York.” 

The Hagedorn Fund recently awarded $45,000 to Wells College. Of this gift, $30,000 was designated to support the purchase of equipment for the physiology laboratory. Additionally, $15,000 towards the College’s annual fund will immediately benefit the College’s daily operations.

Physiology, the study of the function of organisms, is an integral part of the biology curriculum at Wells. Courses promote learning by practice and emphasize hands-on laboratory learning.  Understanding physiology is critical for students entering the health professions, and the planned purchase of laptops, treadmills, and equipment kits for measuring oxygen and carbon dioxide in exhaled breath will allow students to investigate the connections between metabolism, diet, and exercise.

When Lansing votes on the school budget this May two school board seats will also be on the ballot.  Board of Education (BOE) members David Dittman and Michael Cheatham's three year terms are up this year.  Lansing School Superintendent Stephen Grimm says the district is looking for candidates.

"This is probably a good time for me to let the public know I am not seeking reelection," Cheatham told the board.  "I'm done.  Three years was good."

Cortland, NY — The Habitat for Humanity of Tompkins and Cortland Counties (TCHFH) Board of Directors unanimously approved the newest Habitat Partner Family, The Hutchings, for the next Cortland build. Chad Hutchings, Courtney Stark, and Emma Hutchings, 5 years-old, will live in a new single-family home to be built by volunteers on 33 Arthur Avenue. Construction is slated to begin this spring.

“Everyone at our organization is so excited about partnering with the Hutchings Family,” says executive director Christy Voytko, “Habitat’s Family Selection Committee met the family first and enthusiastically recommended them to the Board to be selected for this build. Last Monday, the Board had the opportunity to meet them. Emma, who completed her 100th day of school that day, took charge and decided to write all of the Board Member’s nametags while Courtney and Chad helped her sound out everyone’s name. It was obvious that they are a family that supports one another.”