Wednesday was a day of celebration at the downtown United Way building, as 16 area high school students awarded grants to local not-for-profit organizations.  Youth And Philanthropy program leader LeNorman Strong was the master of ceremonies for what was as much a celebration of the student leaders as of the grants they handed out.  "This group thought it was particularly important to fund a complete project if they could," Strong said.  "They wanted to look for projects for which this would be a stand-alone investment in the community that would be a gift that would keep on giving."

The Youth And Philanthropy program gives students a real world experience of awarding grants to needy organizations.  17 applications were received, but with limited funds, only 12 actually got grants.  Students had to decide which were most deserving, and what practical good they could do with the $25,000 donated by the Park foundation for this purpose.  Paring down $89,332 in requests, they fully funded nine of them, and gave partial funding to an additional three.  "That's a record for this program," Strong said.  "Typically the council has to do a lot more piecing to meet all of the community needs they think are important."

Ask IMOAsk IMO

Lansing's Advice Column

Email your questions to IMO at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Dear IMO,

For Christmas this year my wife and I are going to buy gift cards for the children and grandchildren.  It’s a change from previous years where we normally went out and bought gifts for everyone. Though we were able to exchange most of the gifts in person, we had to mail some of them out of state.  It is a real challenge trying to figure out what people want/need, sizes, colors, brand names, and all the rest.  We like to see a tree that has lots of presents under it, but it can be quite a hassle to purchase, wrap, and present the whole family with presents.  And that doesn’t take into account the disappointments with what was in the package.  What’s your take on gift cards?  Is it the easy way out? 

Bill

Dear Bill,

Each year shoppers across this great land of ours buy billions of dollars in gift cards during the Christmas season.  It is estimated that this year shoppers will buy nearly $25 billion in gift cards.  Yes, 25 billion dollars! The gift card is a great idea.  It takes all the pressure off you and your wife, and allows the recipients to get what they really like.  In some cases, they actually purchase something they need or have wanted for a very long time, but have had some reservation about buying it.

This spring the Lansing Head Start class will be launching the “More Peas, Please” gardening project, a hands on approach to learning about planting and maintaining a vegetable garden for children and families. The Lansing School District’s Board of Education has agreed to host a container garden for the project.  The Head Start families began the planning process in November at the monthly Parent Action Group meeting.   Among the many decisions that will be made are: which vegetables will be planted; what types of containers are needed; what type of fence would be appropriate as well as where the materials will come from.

The goal for this project is two-fold.  It includes increasing the consumption of vegetables by the children, as well as fostering a healthy interdependence in the community by bringing families and community members together in a common goal.

Cooking Christmas dinner is a lot of work at a time when you already have a lot to do.  If you could get a freshly cooked pork roast, hot and juicy on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, and by doing so help to put a roof over someone's head, isn't that what Christmas is about?  Spending more time with friends and family, and helping those in need?  Jeff Sandsted is making that easy by cooking and selling pork roasts to raise money to support his mission work repairing houses in poor, rural South Carolina.   "I don't do it just to raise the money," Sandsted says.  "It's also a lot of fun."

Sandstead barbecues the roasts for Thanksgiving, on December 22, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  He likes to makes the cooking days an occasion.  He cooks a big pot of seafood bisque and a beef roast and hot sauce to share, and invites people to hang out while he cooks the roasts.  He plays Christmas music, and says that last year people brought cookies to join the party.  Last Christmas Day he cooked and sold 41 roasts.  Sandsted's wife Reenie helped with the cooking and daughter Sarah brought friends to hang out for a while.  "It turned into the best Christmas Day I've spent in many years," he says.  "This is only the second year, but I hope it turns into a tradition.  To me that's the kind of Christmas that people should spend.  I'm looking forward to it again."

Pet of the WeekHiya! My name is Murphy! I am an adult male coonhound. I am very friendly and I love to play, especially with balls! I am learning a lot of stuff here at the SPCA. So please come and see me at the SPCA!

Visit the SPCA Web Page

----
v3i44

Pet of the WeekHi there my name is Meatball. I am a buff cat. I am 7 years old and I need a great home. Will you come and visit me at the SPCA?

Visit the SPCA Web Page

----
v3i45

When people talk about Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services (INHS) they think about... well... housing services in Ithaca neighborhoods.  But for the past year the nonprofit INHS has been reaching beyond Ithaca's borders to offer loans and assistance with energy smart projects ranging from home insulation and windows to furnace and water heater replacements, from air conditioners to solar panels, from smoke detectors to wood pellet stoves.  "For 30 years we've been limited to the Ithaca city limits," says Education Coordinator/Loan Associate Pamela Douglas Webster." This is an opportunity for us to stay with our mission of making sure that housing stays affordable for people, and that housing is sustainable.  Now we are able to do this county-wide."

The program is a result of INHS partnering with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA ) to provide loans and grants to homeowners of all incomes within Tompkins County.  The loans are specific to high efficiency heating systems, insulation, replacement windows, Energy Star appliances, and solar or geothermal energy systems.  At a fixed rate of only 2% for up to a 10 year term, the loans make transforming your home to save energy more affordable than buying a car.  The interest rate is actually 6%, but NYSERDA buys it down to 2% to help achieve that organization's mission of reducing the state's petroleum consumption.  Monthly payments are typically under $200, and Webster notes that most clients payments are much less.

Ask IMOAsk IMO

Lansing's Advice Column

Email your questions to IMO at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Dear IMO,

I'm a long time resident of the Lansing Community. I have seen a lot of things come and go and am always a bit skeptical about things that are "best for the community." Recently, I've read where there is going to be a vote to fund a library here in Lansing. Now, I think that's great, but as a retiree living on a fixed, but comfortable income, I'm just not so sure that's what we need right now. My wife and I are at odds over this vote as she says the library is a source of pride and accomplishment for Lansing. I see her point, but where does the asking for extras stop? Can you offer some of your thoughts?

Sincerely,
George

Dear George,

You raise some good points about the upcoming Library referendum. It seems that a lot of folks are confused about the vote. If you want to get all the details about the library and the benefits it will bring, then search the archives of the Lansing Star. The paper does a far better job of answering the "nuts and bolts" questions you have.

Lansing Community Library Center (LCLC) officials have reason to be optimistic that the library will receive a $20,000 grant to fund a computerized system, but using it may hinge on a successful vote in December.  LCLC Fund Raising Committee Co-chair Donna Scott says applying for the grant now is part of forward-looking planning by library officials to meet the requirements of becoming a chartered library.

"If we get the charter, then we have to buy the Polaris system," Scott explains.  "The great thing about this grant is that if we get the charter this will save the library money.  It's a good example of another way we have been fiscally responsible and conservative.  This will make it so we can easily stay within our budget and we will not have to ask the voters for an increase in the budget to pay for this."

Hi there, my name is Teeter. I am a spayed black and white female. I need a wonderful loving home where I can live out my life. Will you come and visit me at the SPCA?

Visit the SPCA Web Page

----
v3i43

Lansing United Methodist Church will hold a Dessert Auction on November 18 beginning at 12:15 in the fellowship hall. For a donation of $5.00, participants may taste all of the desserts that will be available. At one, auctioneer Charlie Cuykendall will auction off identical desserts. Proceeds from the auction will be sent to two schools that the church supports in Banique and Verrettes, Haiti.

Some folks went to learn about recycling.  Others just wanted to shop at the mall.  But everyone had a good time at the 10th annual Tompkins County America Recycles Day.  This year more than 80 exhibitors filled half the Shops at Ithaca Mall from Dick's Sporting Goods to the food court.  "The reason we're here today is because we're celebrating the 10th anniversary of Tompkins County's America Recycles Day," said Tompkins County Solid Waste's Linnett Short.  We have lots of things going on."

That was an understatement.  Aside from demonstrations, activities, games, and giveaways by exhibitors the event included performances by Tom Knight Puppets, Cornell University's EcoPlayers, Cayuga Club Toastmasters, a reading and performance of Nancy Young's 'Fingers to the Sky: A Sacred Tree,' and Compost Theatre.  Level Green's Patricia Haines wore a compact florescent light bulb costume, while Wendy Sasaki crocheted hats and bags out of reused plastic grocery bags and Lynn Leopold helped kids make paper out of recycled materials.  You can even be buried green at Greensprings natural Cemetary.