Archive: Around Town

Tomorrow (May 12) kids of all ages will get to see all kinds of trucks in a carnival-like atmosphere.  18 Wheelers, Dump trucks, The TCAT Trolley, Motorcycles, 4 Wheelers, Sports Cars, Construction Vehicles, John Deere Tractors, Go Carts Ambulances, Fire Trucks, Police Cars, Delivery Vehicles, Classic Trucks, and Cement Mixers will all be on display from 10am to 3pm at the Ithaca Community Childcare Center (IC3) on Warren Road.  "There are probably about eight acres of parking lot that we're using," says the center's marketing director Bill Russell.  "It's a huge site and the vehicles are going to be everywhere.  There are 40 to 50 vehicles, all huge trucks.  It's going to be a big hit with the kids."

Mark LewisI am pleased to provide this report to the voters of the Lansing Central School District regarding the 2006-07 school year. I realize that this report contains but a portion of the overall activity within the school district during 2006-07. I will highlight those situations, events, and circumstances from my perspective as superintendent of schools, noting that a comprehensive review would require extensive documentation on the part of countless individuals who affect and are affected by the everyday activity within and about the school district.

Personnel: A year ago the district administration included two interim appointments (the elementary school principal and the school business administrator), and two members with less than six-months of service to the district. In addition, during the summer of 2006, the middle school principal departed, resulting in the completion of a search process for a new principal. At this point, the overall level of stability and permanence within the administrative staff has increased significantly with the appointment of Mr. Jamie Thomas as middle school principal and Mr. Larry Lawrence as school business administrator. In July, Ms. Chris Pettograsso, will join our ranks as the newly appointed principal of R.C. Buckley Elementary School.

Ask IMOAsk IMO

 Lansing's Advice Column

Dear IMO,

My daughter has been dating this young man for nearly a year. She is a junior, and he is a senior. We were thrilled when he asked her to the Senior Prom, and she, too, is very excited about this important event. There is an after prom party at one of their friend’s home. The friend’s parents will be at home, but they won’t be chaperoning the party. We are concerned about this and would like some advice. Should we let her attend this party? Aren’t the parents responsible for this event? Can we do anything to assist them with this event?

Cathy

Dear Cathy,

The Senior Prom is an important event in the life of a high school student. The fact that they are going to an “After Prom Party” is another great idea, but the fact that it will lack any direct parental supervision raises many red flags. Safety is the first concern. With ma and pa tucked snug in their bed and not expecting to check in on their guests, who will be responsible for the young adults that will be arriving throughout the wee hours of the morning? Who will call the fire department when the cheese fondue pot is accidentally knocked over catches fire?

Pet of the WeekHi there, my name is Ripple. I am a female cat who is looking for a home, please come and visit me at the SPCA.

Visit the SPCA Web Page



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The Lansing Older Adults Program (LOAP) held its annual banquet Saturday at Lansing United Methodist Church.  The entertainment was provided by local singing group 'Vitamin L' and van drivers and leaders were honored.

Lansing’s Troop 48 participated this past weekend in the Baden Powell Council “Blue and Gray” camporee held in Greenwood Park . It was a beautiful spring weekend for camping and outdoor fun.

Troops from all over the Baden Powell Council area which includes troops from Cortland, Broome, Tioga, Tompkins counties and parts of the Northern tier of Pennsylvania converged on Greenwood Park in Center Lisle for what was billed as the “Second Battle of Greenwood Park.”

Pet of the WeekHi there my name is Spruce! I am a neutered male who is in great need of a great home. I am the longest term resident. So please come and visit me at the SPCA.

Visit the SPCA Web Page



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Everybody loves trains.  There is something romantic about the old notion of riding the rails.  And model railroads go way beyond being simply toys.  Enthusiasts all over the world machine their own parts exactly to scale to make their trains historically authentic.  Each year the trains come to Lansing when the Cornell Railroad Historical Society (CRHS) holds the annual Finger Lakes Railfair, the second largest rail show in New York State.  "The show draws 1500 fans of railroading to get their yearly fix of fullsize railroadiana and models, kits and parts, videos, books, photos, and toys," says past club president John Marcham.

The show took over both indoor fields at The FIELD, drawing exhibitors and vendors and plenty of enthusiasts.  7th grader Patrick Putnam came with his parents both days.  His father Ken says he's loved trains since he was two or three years old, and that they have HO and O guage, and N guage layouts at home.  Patrick dreams of attending a week-long class at Steamtown in Scranton, Pennsylvania, but has to wait another year to be olde enough to qualify.  Club member Rich Moore says the club has sponsored other kids at the camp, and that one of them now works for a railroad.  "I've wanted to be an engineer since I was ten," Patrick says, adding that he still hopes to get a job driving the big trains when he grows up.

At Lansing High School D-Day isn't June 6th, 1944.  It's a Different Day of Learning that occurs approximately every two years.  This year D-Day was last Friday, and it meant a varied and eclectic schedule for high school students and teachers alike.  "We try to provide a range of just fun, goofy, let-go stuff, and some serious educational topics," ," explains English Teacher and D-Day advisor Julie Berens.  "The other piece is that faculty are right in there with the students learning and presenting.  It really brings people together in very unusual combinations."

Berens says that a student coined the term 'D-Day' the first time it was offered nine years ago.  Berens brought the idea from a previous teaching job  in Chappaqua, NY.  "They had something they called 'Seminar Day.'  Sometimes it would be two or three days at a time," Berens recalls.  "It would include field trips to the Metropolitan Museum, overnight trips to Boston -- it was very elaborate, and they often were more thematic than what we have here.  I thought, why can't we do something like that here?  So Julie Miller, who used to teach art here, and I spearheaded it in 1992."

Ask IMOAsk IMO

 Lansing's Advice Column

Dear IMO,
I have been a stay-at-home parent for several years. My wife is a lawyer, and I am a social worker. We decided that I would stay at home with the children until they reached an appropriate age. Our children are now in school full time, and I am considering going back to work. Do you have any thoughts on this topic? Can you provide any help?

Thanks,
Andy

Dear Andy,

As a stay-at-home parent, you have been working. You have put in some very long days, and many nights raising your children. Although you haven’t received a salary for your work, you have been refining important and desirable workplace skills like time management, people management, resource and organizational management.

Imagine your middle school teacher making you stand at the front of the class while leading a song that exclaims that you and all people of your religion should be killed.  You are regularly taunted and beat up.  You are not allowed to enter your own house when returning there for your confirmation party.  Your neighbors and teachers watch your church being torched, cheering when it goes into flames.  Imagine that your government sanctions all these things, and chases you down with the intention of murdering you. 

You say that couldn't happen in Lansing?  Nobody imagined it could happen in Germany in the 1940s.  But it did.

The Tompkins County Human Rights Commission announced this year’s recipients of county Human Rights Awards. The awards were presented at the Commission’s 25th Annual Awards Dinner on Saturday, April 21st.

The Corrine Galvin Award will be presented to William Myers, Chief Executive Officer, Alternatives Federal Credit Union, and to Jessie Brown. This award is presented to recognize an individual’s work on a single human rights issue, devoting time to advance the goals of human rights, resisting and combating oppression, and advocating for the rights of the diverse communities within Tompkins County.