Archive: Around Town

School's out for summer. In an ideal world, that means the ease of lazy mornings, exciting days of outdoor adventure and evenings that lead to later bedtimes as even the sun seems to wants to hang around and play. But, for many Lansing families, summertime also brings the worry and stress of food-insecurity as school-based breakfast and lunch programs go away. That's why a group of community members have come together to launch the Lansing Summer Lunchbox, a program to provide free, nutritious food to students in the Lansing School District (LCSD).

The Lansing Summer Lunchbox was born out of the realization that hunger and food-insecurity are real issues in Lansing. Current statistics indicate that over 25% of students in the Lansing Central School District participate in the free and reduced price school breakfast and lunch programs. It is likely that this official number is an underestimate of need as not all families who qualify come forward to sign up and, importantly, families who do not meet income qualifications may still be struggling. While 25% is well below the regional average, it still means 1 in 4 kids in LCSD is at risk of not having enough food to eat, especially over the summer.

Reston, Va. - Anthony R. Ingraffea, Ph.D., P.E., Dist.M.ASCE, was named a Distinguished Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). This is the highest honor to which a civil engineer can aspire. A pioneer in researching computational and experimental fatigue and fracture mechanics, he has been a teacher and mentor to many throughout his career. Ingraffea will be inducted on Friday, October 11, 2019 at the Celebration of Leaders Luncheon during ASCE's 2019 Convention, in Miami, Fla.

"ASCE is proud to present the 2019 class of Distinguished Members. Distinguished Members are the most eminent members in ASCE. The nine professionals recognized in 2019 are well-deserving of this recognition for their contribution to the civil engineering profession," said Robin A. Kemper, P.E. "Each member has attained a level of excellence that sets the standard for their peers, paving the way for engineers of the future. These civil engineers will join the ranks of 220 other current ASCE members who have received this honor."

On June 30th, 2019, Tompkins County Sheriff Derek Osborne sent 13 deserving children to the New York State Sheriffs' Institute Summer Camp. The Sheriffs' Summer Camp is located on Keuka Lake in the Finger Lakes Region of Yates County, for a week of wholesome summer fun.

Now in its 43rd year of operation, the camp will accommodate over 900 boys and girls between the ages of 9 and 12 from across New York State this summer. The campers attend at no charge.

If it's the 4th of July it's the Lansing Lions Club 4th of July Chicken Barbecue.  This year was the club's 58th Independence Day barbecue.  The club cooked 1,050 chicken halves and 400 pounds of potatoes, plus baked beans, drinks, and cookies.  Lions Club President Anne Drake said that so many people turned out this year to help that some had to be sent home.  As always local Boy Scouts came out to handle the drinks and to help clean up afterward.

"This is our big fund raiser  of the year," said Drake. "It supports the Lions Club scholarships for Lansing High School seniors.  It's going great.  We have a lot of help.  The lines are moving."

By Adam Kramarsyck

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Visit the SPCA Web Page

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Aurora, NY - Wells College has named Gerard Turbide, an accomplished enrollment leader, as its new vice president for enrollment services. Turbide—who comes to Wells with a deep expertise in enrollment management, recruitment marketing and institutional strategic planning—will begin his position on July 1, 2019. He succeeds Kishan Zuber, the current vice president for enrollment services, who will depart Wells for a position at Wilkes University on June 25.

“Gerard Turbide is a proven leader and strategic thinker who is extraordinarily skilled at leveraging institutional research findings and predictive analysis to inform long-term planning and decision making,” said Jonathan Gibralter, president of Wells College. “I know he will be an excellent addition to our senior leadership team,” added President Gibralter.

Children visiting the Southworth Library in Dryden will not only be checking out books this summer. They will also be building and launching rockets, creating models of the solar system, and making spacesuits at the library's Summer Kid's Club. The six-week program featuring science experiments, guest speakers, and free children's books is based on the theme, A Universe of Stories!, developed by the Collaborative Summer Library Program, a national consortium that promotes summer reading at public libraries. A $2,750 grant from the Sandy and Jay True Fund at Community Foundation of Tompkins County will pay for activities materials and books for the children to take home.

"Without that funding, we wouldn't be able to do these amazing, cool things," says Diane Pamel, the library director. "Getting rockets and engines for 12 to 15 kids — that's not something most small libraries can afford."

The Tompkins County Department of Recycling and Materials Management recently installed a second public space recycling station in the Village of Trumansburg, as part of a plan to expand the program in 2019.  There are now 11 public space bins at nine different locations in Tompkins County.

Staff from the village Department of Public Works had expressed interest in adding a second public space bin in response to the success of the first one sited along Main Street, in the heart of Trumansburg's business district. The second location is outside the Little Venice restaurant, where previously there was a trash bin but no recycling option. The stations feature two receptacles - one for on-the-go trash items like coffee cups and snack wrappers, and the other for single-stream recyclables like cans, bottles and newspapers.

Alexander Colvin, has been named the Kenneth F. Kahn '69 Dean of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Provost Michael Kotlikoff announced June 20. The five-year appointment, effective July 1, was approved by the Cornell University Board of Trustees and by the State University of New York Board of Trustees.  Colvin, the Martin F. Scheinman Professor of Conflict Resolution and associate dean for academic affairs, diversity and faculty development, has been serving as interim dean since October, when Kevin Hallock became dean of the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business.

"I am delighted that Alex has agreed to serve as dean. He has demonstrated exceptional dedication to the ILR School, with a deep understanding of the school's distinguished history and an outstanding expertise in a broad range of academic areas," Kotlikoff said. "He's been an active leader, helping faculty develop their own research, teaching and academic careers, and has made significant progress in diversifying the ILR faculty during his brief tenure as interim dean. Alex offers innovative ideas about the future of the school and will be an excellent addition to the university's senior leadership."

Lansing School Superintendent Chris Pettograsso reported over the last two Board of Education meetings that an exit poll at the May budget vote that passed the 2019-20 school budget by 84% showed that the main reason the other 16% voted no was that they can't afford tax increases.  559 district residents for the budget $30,794,650 budget, and 111 against.  Pettograsso said the statistic is typical of districts across the region and New York State.

"Voters who voted 'no' voted simply because of the tax increase," Pettograsso said at last week's school board meeting. "When it comes to tax increases maybe we need to get out and educate more, because there is not a significant tax increase, and there is money back (from New York State) that should be covering that tax increase."

Senator Pam Helming announced Wednesday that she is partnering with local public libraries to support our school-age children and prevent summer setback through the New York State Senate’s Summer Reading Program. Stopping summer setback – the loss in skills that children can experience when they are not in school during summer vacation – makes summer reading programs crucial to children’s academic success throughout their school years.

Parents, guardians, or children can visit helming.nysenate.gov and click on Helming’s Summer Reading Program at the top of the page. Here, people can submit the titles of three books that their children read throughout the summer. Children who keep track of their reading progress and complete the program will receive a Summer Reading Certificate.

Newly tenured teachers, retirees, and outgoing school board member Aaron Thompson were celebrated Monday at the final Board of Education meeting of the 2018-19 school year.  all eight teachers were present to hear the school board officially approve their tenure, and retirees received a golden apple and a framed aerial view of the school campus, after which there was a short party.

"As you can tell from the people who are going out tonight, in addition to being great instructors, we really take pride in hiring quality people," said School Superintendent Chris Pettograsso. "And you're that.  Congratulations to you. We really look forward to our continued time with you."