Archive: Around Town

Review

This review takes us to the Elm Tree Inn in the little hamlet of McLean. Most of us have passed through McLean at one time or another on our way to Route 81, or to Cortland for shopping; some of you may have stopped at the quilting store that was next door to the Inn. There may even be a few of you that remember the checkered past of the Inn- we will leave that in the past were it belongs. The Elm Tree Inn is a ‘peach’ of an eatery, and has a fine place in the present for those of you in search of good food at a great value for the whole family.

 

The proceeds of this auction will help a workteam of 6 local people that will be leaving for Haiti on Dec. 31st. The mission of this workteam is to add more classrooms to a school in Banique, Haiti so additional funds are vitally important for materials and local labor.

In 1998 when our first local team went to Banique, there were 80 students in the school. During that visit the first school scholarship was initiated and since then the attendance has steadily grown to over 145 students sponsored students. There is now a hot lunch being served in the school with over 350 students attending.

Classes are overcrowded and classrooms have expanded into the church, schoolyard and any building they can find. As a result, new classrooms are desperately needed.
In the past, the Haiti Team Dessert Auctions have been a lot of fun, a culinary delight and ultimately a huge success because of your enthusiasm and generosity.
So please come out and support this Haiti Workteam by attending the Dessert Auction on this Sunday, November 19th at 12:00 noon, and bring your sweet tooth.

DENVER, Nov. 15, 2006 – The Tompkins County SPCA was recently honored by the American Humane Association as a national leader in the animal welfare field for its innovative and effective pet fostering program. When Tompkins County SPCA has more animals than space, it turns to foster parents to handle the overflow. Foster parents are recruited from the volunteer bank and all veterinary services are provided. They are able to save between 90 and 95 percent of perspective pets, and the animals receive rich socialization in a home environment.

The Tompkins County SPCA is one of 42 organizations across the country to be recognized for “best practices” as part of American Humane’s national initiative “Getting To Zero: Ending Euthanasia of Healthy & Treatable Animals.” The initiative, which kicked off at American Humane’s annual conference in September, is based on the profound belief that American society can reduce to zero the number of healthy and treatable dogs, cats and other companion animals that are euthanized in animal care and control facilities. In launching the initiative, American Humane evaluated dozens of programs and recognized organizations whose programs were deemed to represent best practices that can help make this goal a reality.

You may not have wanted to be a turkey last Sunday.  It's not that they were being shot at the Lansing Rod and Gun Club's annual Turkey Shoot, but over 200 of them were being awarded as prizes to winners of the annual target shooting competition.  "We have a lot of people who come here, said club president Micky Brill.  "We have a lot of turkeys to give away."

Healing Well A person who possesses effective listening skills is someone who deals honestly and openly with another individual. Such a person does not enter into dialog with preconceived notions. He or she shows a nonjudgmental attitude focusing on the content of the message as well as the feelings behind it. This approach demonstrates a heartfelt interest in the speaker’s words. It sends a message of caring and concern without losing one’s balance on an issue.

Effective listening requires both a keen mind and open heart. Since feelings are often the means by which people communicate an important message the listener must respect the speaker, accepting the message as genuine. Emotions and passionate statements can reveal a person’s innermost feelings. Validation of someone’s feelings, concerns, beliefs, fears, and hopes is the first step in building a relationship with that person.

This week the Lansing Community Council officially announced the first annual Lansing Harbor Fest, a major event planned for August 25, 2007.  And to kick if off, they also announced a logo contest from students of all grade levels.  "The logo contest is our first kick-off to promote awareness and participation in the event," says Community Council member Gina Shattuck.  It is open to all students in the Lansing school District as well as school age children in the Village of Lansing.

The theme of the contest is, "What does 'community' mean to you?"  The council is asking students to create their entries on an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper in landscape orientation (a regular piece of paper turned sideways), and to get entries in by December 8th.  That will give the council time to use the logo on all promotional materials starting at the beginning of 2007.

Lansing United Methodist Church's Harvest Fest featured many sweets, items for sale, a quilt show, and delicious dinner last Saturday.

Pet of the WeekHi there I’m Benny! I am a fully grown male hound mix. Young kids make me nervous but the older ones are just fine. I am a very handsome boy, and I would like to share your home. Please come and visit me at the SPCA.

Visit the SPCA Web Page

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Ithaca YMCA formally announced its participation in YMCA Activate America™, a national initiative that is rallying YMCAs across the country to further enhance their service and support to kids, adults and families who want to lead a healthy lifestyle, but struggle to do so. An innovative public health initiative, YMCA Activate America is helping to make healthy living a reality in communities across the country.

Over the past 20 years, unhealthy behaviors, including physical inactivity and unhealthy eating, have led to an epidemic of obesity and related chronic disease in the United States. Today, obesity is associated with a series of chronic health conditions – including Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke, breast cancer, colon cancer, gallbladder disease, arthritis, sleep disturbances and breathing problems – putting the United States in the middle of a serious health crisis and reducing the quality of life of millions of Americans.

Last Friday wood was flying at Jim and Mary Sullivan's house.  Actually the logs were being tossed by members of the USA Team Handball Women's National Team.  The Sullivans needed the wood stacked, and the women took the opportunity to get a little practice in while getting the job done.  "They are really nice hard-working women," Mary says.  "They deserve to make it to the Olympics."


And that is the goal.  Under the guidance of Coach Christian Latulippe and Assistant Coach Dawn Allinger-Lewis, the team has converged on SUNY Cortland to train for the 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing, China.  Four of them, Tabitha 'Tabby' Lowey, Anne Coulter, Erin Kizer, and Chelsea Wagner, have rented a Lansing house together and formed 'Coaches Cleaning' to help pay their expenses.  "We're pretty much up for anything somebody wants to throw at us," Lowey says.  "So if someone wants us to come and help man a party and pour drinks we'll do that.  If someone wants us to stack wood we'll do that.  If someone wants us to clean the bathroom, we're up for it.  We'll do whatever to make this thing work."

When you take your pet to the veterinarian you're usually thinking about vaccinations, or the more common treatments.  Ultrasound, hydrotherapy, and physical therapy may not be the first things that come to mind.  But animals are like people in that physical therapy helps them recover from surgery, and may help them lead better, healthier lives. 

On Saturday Colonial Veterinary Hospital held an open house at their new Wellness Center located in the green strip mall in front of the Pyramid Mall.  "It's a natural added service to maximize the benefit to those patients of the surgery we are doing," says Veterinarian Catherine Hegarty, who owns Colonial Veterinary Hospital with her husband Tom Ross.

Mark S. Lewis One of the biggest issues facing all public school districts in the age of technology is how best to ensure that those within the community served by the district are aware of the educational issues confronting the district and their impact on students, staff, families, and the community at large. It is important that school officials utilize all available mechanisms to engage the public around matters of extreme importance. Those matters include state and federal mandates and their effects on the schools, curricular changes to ensure the academic success of the Twenty-first Century learner, school finance and taxation issues, school safety, and other matters of specific local concern and interest.

For these reasons (and more) I have graciously accepted Lansing Star’s invitation to write a regular column within which I will endeavor to address the questions and concerns of the Lansing community regarding its schools. I invite readers to submit topics to the Lansing Star at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Submissions will be reviewed and those seemingly of greatest general interest and/or importance will be addressed.