Archive: Around Town

Star of the Month: Sharon Bowman

: By Sharpless, Farkas, Bowman; Around Town; | Sep 30, 2006 |

Sharon BowmanThis month Kathy Sharpless nominated Sharon Bowman as Star of the Month.

Kathy Sharpless, friend

I would like to nominate Sharon Bowman for Lansing Star of the Month. Even though I have only lived in Lansing for five years I have come to know and love Sharon. Sharon is my friend, she took a day off from work to sit by my side when my husband had to have surgery. Sharon is my neighbor, she gathers my mail when I am away and is my emergency contact for my children.

Late one evening when my husband was away she kept my daughter Abby for the night while I took my daughter Bethany to Convenient Care. Sharon is a devoted Christian, she guides the children with love while teaching them their Acolyte duties at church.

Sharon is a volunteer, she provides delicious home cooked meals for the workers at the semi-annual rummage sales. As most everyone knows Sharon has worked in the Supervisors Office for many years. Any question I have for Sharon she knows the answer or knows how to find it, and always with a smile. These are only some of the ways to explain what a Lansing Star Sharon Bowman is. We are all truly Blessed to have her in our Town and our Lives!

Steve Farkas, Lansing Town Supervisor

I feel that Sharon is the key to the operation of the Supervisors office. When I became Supervisor in 2000, Sharon was the individual I could count on, 'to bring me up to speed' as to what I needed to do to keep the Town moving forward. That still continues today. When someone in the Town needs something, Sharon is always there to help. I don't know where she gets the energy, but she is always ready to assist. I certainly support Sharon being chosen as Star of the Month.

Sheila Bowman, daughter

My mom has been an active member of our community for as long as I can remember. My earliest memories date back to my days of playing softball for the Lansing Recreation Department. Mom coached and took on the role as the LSP commissioner and held that position for many years. As Brian and I grew up my mom always helped coach our baseball and softball teams. She played recreational softball herself for many years. Mom was also very active in our sports careers at Lansing while Brian and I attended high school, and this was all while working a full time job at the Town of Lansing. My mom was the co-president of the Lansing Sports Booster Club. Mom took on the job of coaching the modified cheerleading squad for Lansing. She also helped Jodi Dake coach our Varsity Cheerleading squad during my senior year of high school.

Throughout the years mom has been a member of the Lansing United Methodist Church. Within the past year she has taken on training and scheduling the acolytes at LUMC. She was a recent mentor to Marissa Paradise as she went through confirmation.

With son Brian on the Lansing ball field last year

I must say that my mom is very deserving of being named Lansing’s Star of the Month. She has given much of her time and energy to our community as well as being a wonderful mother and devoted wife. She has seen the growth of our town over the years and has loved lending a helping hand whenever it was needed. My mom has set an amazing example for my brother and I on how and why we should give back to the community that gave so much to us. Her dedication and love of helping the youth of our community has greatly influenced Brian and I while we were choosing our careers.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate my mom for all of her accomplishment, for being named Lansing’s Star of the Month and for being such a wonderful and supportive mother.

----
v2i37 superstar

Wishing Upon An Aster

: By Daniel Segal, The Plantsmen Nursery, Lansing; Around Town; | Sep 28, 2006 |

Dan SegalEurybia macrophylla (formerly Aster macrophyllus), and Eurybia divaricata
(formerly Aster divaricatus)
“…Eurybia who has a heart of flint within her." - Hesiod, Theogony 233

A Bit About the Two Asters
Unless you live in a cave and never leave, or you’re strictly nocturnal, you’ve probably noticed the annual fall explosion of the asters. We’re lucky this group seems to like trailside and roadside habitat, because most of us walk in the woods and drive places. White wood aster (formerly Aster divaricatus, now Eurybia divaricata) is the most abundant in deep shade and in the heart of the woods, and for this reason it’s an easy one to know when so little else in this habitat is flowering. White wood aster also defies horticultural gravity by thriving in a combination of conditions that make most plants quake in their roots—any combination of 100% shade, clay, dry soil, compacted shallow root matrixes of trees, unstable shady slopes, variable pH, and almost whatever else you can throw at it. As a plus, in the garden it adapts beautifully to good conditions, including sun and moisture (more on that later).

Living History in the 5th Grade

: By Dan Veaner; Around Town; | Sep 28, 2006 |

It's one thing to study history. But it's quite another to be a part of it. That's what Lansing's 5^th graders learned in the first few weeks of school this year as they discovered family artifacts and learned a little about their families that they didn't know before. "We all have history around us," says Social Studies teacher Maureen Trowbridge. "First students brought them in if they were able to, or pictures of them. Then they wrote a paragraph telling us about their artifact. Then we set up a museum so that the students could share them with one another."

Elaine Cummings' grandpa was a barber who used these clippers to cut her great uncle's hair. He opened his own barber shop at age 18.

Whooping Cough Infects Lansing

: By Dan Veaner; Around Town; | Sep 28, 2006 |

"It chagrinned a couple of parents," Lansing School Superintendent Mark Lewis told the Board Of Education (BOE) at their meeting two weeks ago. "We received a few phone calls with allegations of over-reaction." Lewis was talking about a policy that requires students and adults to stay away from the Lansing schools if there is a suspicion that they have contracted pertussis. Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a highly contagious disease named for the "whoop sound that children make after a severe coughing spell or just trying to breathe.

According to Tompkins County's Public Health Director Alice Cole an outbreak of the disease is centered in Lansing. The first case was recorded in Lansing in mid-June. Since then many more cases have been reported in the county. "There have been 36 cases since June 15, 2006 in the county, mostly in Lansing," Cole says. "The case in June in Lansing started the outbreak."

SPCA Pet of the Week: Venus

: By Allison Veaner; Around Town; | Sep 28, 2006 |

Pet of the WeekHi I’m Venus, a pit bull/basset hound mix. I was found as a stray so I don’t really have many manners. But I am a loveable dog who loves to play and go for walks. So would you please come and meet me at the SPCA.

Visit the SPCA Web Page

----
v2i37

Ask IMO

: By Matthew P. Binkewicz; Around Town; | Sep 28, 2006 |

Ask IMO

Lansing's Advice Column

Dear IMO,

Our son is a senior in high school. He, his mother, and I have been visiting local colleges and universities that offer his major. He has narrowed it down to one private and two state universities. The difference is yearly costs are astounding. If I have done my math correctly, he can attend the state school for four years and still not reach one year’s cost at the private one. My wife wants him to choose the school, but I’d like to have some say. What’s your take?

Reluctant Dad

Thurston Bridge Remains Closed

: By Wendy Skinner; Around Town; | Sep 28, 2006 |

TCAT Routes Still on Detour

For safety reasons, the City of Ithaca, Cornell University, and TCAT have cooperatively agreed that the Thurston Avenue Bridge on the Cornell campus should remain closed for approximately another six weeks. The ten TCAT routes affected by the bridge closing will continue on the detours they have followed since September 8. The affected routes are numbers 12, 30, 32, 80-85, 92, and 93.

Several bus stops have been relocated, and riders are advised to follow on-site signage for the duration of the bridge closing. The City of Ithaca will announce a date in November for the re-opening of the bridge to one-lane traffic. At that time, the TCAT routes that use the bridge will experience further changes.

----
v2i37

Senior Housing Volunteer Position

: By Lansing Housing Authority; Around Town; | Sep 28, 2006 |

The Lansing (Senior) Housing Authority has an open volunteer position on the board for a Lansing resident that is interested in working with the Board to provide high quality and affordable senior housing in Lansing. The function of the Board is to coordinate with the management firm in planning for maintenance and upgrading of the existing 40 units, and becoming informed of future senior housing needs together with public or private financing possibilities for new senior housing.

Board members are appointed by the Town Board, usually for a five year term. Meetings are the 4th Monday of every month, 7pm, at Woodsedge. Anyone with an interest and/or questions should contact Board President George Gesslein 533-7237 or e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or US mail at 118 Sharpsteen Road, Locke, NY 13092.

----
v2i37

Barbecue Benefits Moon Funeral

: By Dan Veaner; Around Town; | Sep 28, 2006 |

When neighbors are hurting or in need, Lansing just rolls up its sleeves to help out. We've seen it time and again, but each time it seems special, and a little bit amazing. That's how it seemed last Saturday in the Car Quest parking lot when Penny Flora organized a barbecue to benefit the Moon family, who recently lost their son Charlie in an automobile accident. "They're sweet people, said Flora, who is the store manager at Car Quest. "It's bad enough losing their boy, and then the funeral expense on top of that. So we're having a barbecue to put towards the funeral.

Words can not express the gratitude we have for the people in the Lansing community and surrounding areas for the love and support they have given during this incredibly difficult time in our lives. From food, cards, flowers, and words of support the outpouring of kindness has been completely overwhelming. From this tragedy has come an enormous and unexpected amount of beauty and we can not thank you enough. It is truly what has made it possible for us to get through each day. We will all do our best to thank you each in our own ways as we can and please know that you all have a special place in our hearts.

Love always,

The family of Charlie Moon - The Moons and the Bartletts

School District Office Hazard

: By Dan Veaner; Around Town; | Sep 21, 2006 |

As an employer you want to provide your workers with a comfortable, safe and appropriate work space. And if you are a tax payer in the Lansing School District you are an employer. But the 1500 square foot District Office isn't comfortable or appropriate, and sometimes isn't safe for the seven employees who work there. "The district office is certainly in drastic need of having something done to it," says School Superintendent Mark Lewis, who moved into the building when he began working here last January.

A tarp has become part of the roof of the Lansing School District Office since rain cascaded through the roof into the superintendent's office below, damaging books as well as the building.

Rodeway Inn Opens

: By Doug Levine; Around Town; | Sep 21, 2006 |

ITHACA, NY – The Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that The Rodeway Inn and Suites, located at 654 Elmira Road, is now open. An official Chamber ribbon cutting was held Monday.

The 35 room Rodeway Inn and Suites is owned and operated by Jamma Hospitality, Inc. of Ithaca, NY. Guest rooms feature wireless internet access, ironing and ironing boards, coffee makers, hair dryers, and microwave and refrigerators. Room rates begin at $64.99, which includes continental breakfast and a daily newspaper. Discounts are available when booked in advance on a space-available basis for seniors, American Automobile Association members, business travelers, government and military personnel and groups. Children, ages 18 and under, stay free when accompanied by an adult.

Ask IMO

: By Matthew P. Binkewicz; Around Town; | Sep 21, 2006 |

Ask IMOAsk IMO

Lansing's Advice Column

Dear IMO,

I have been feeding a stray cat for nearly two months. When it first appeared in my yard, I checked the local newspapers’ lost and found, but there were no notices about a missing cat. Naturally, I gave it some dry food and water. Soon it became a permanent fixture on my porch. It wanders around the yard and often leaves for hours. By the end of the day, it’s back on the porch asking to be fed. But I’m getting worried as the weather changes. Winter will be here, and I cannot bring the cat into my house. I know it can’t survive outside during the winter months. Should I stop feeding it and hope it goes away? Can you help me out?

Thanks,

Terri

SPCA Pet of the Week: Inky

: By Allison Veaner; Around Town; | Sep 21, 2006 |

Pet of the WeekHi I’m Inky! I am an adult black cat. I am a neutered male who is very handsome. Would you please come and visit me soon at the SPCA.

Visit the SPCA Web Page

----
v2i36

Page 318 of 366