Archive: News

Did you know: ~ 1 in 3 Tompkins County high schoolers are current alcohol users. ~ 1 in 6 are current marijuana users. ~ Tompkins County 10th and 12th graders report more alcohol and marijuana use than national peers.

These results come from the Youth Development Survey, given in October, 2010 to 4,788 students in grades 6-12 from Dryden, Groton, Ithaca, Lansing, Newfield and Trumansburg School Districts.  First given in 2008, the survey measures risk and protective factors that predict problem behaviors such as delinquency, violence, dropping out of school, and youth substance use.  It also provides valuable information about students’ out-of-school time, family life, connections to school and school climate.

Over 100 people gathered at the Lansing Middle School Auditorium Wednesday for a presentation on hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking, or simply fracking).  With so much rumor and emotion injected into the fracking issue in Tompkins County, the purpose of the presentation is to present known facts, putting them together to form a realistic picture of what the real impact of drilling could be in Tompkins County.  Their task force took the information and superimposed it onto maps to present the information visually, mixing what could be with the familiar landscape here.

The session was presented by two members of the Tompkins County    Council    Of Governments (TCCOG) Task Force on Gas Drilling, Tompkins County Planner Darby Kiley    and task force member Art Pearce.  They have been taking their show on the road, visiting towns across the county with estimates based on facts gathered from drilling sites in Pennsylvania extrapolated and superimposed on maps of Tompkins County.  They tailor their presentation to each township, showing maps of leased land, and estimating the number of potential wells and their impact based on that and New York State regulations (current and proposed).

Neighbors concerned about the proposed Lansing Reserve development in the Village of Lansing piled into the Village Planning Board meeting Tuesday, but the meeting was not what they expected.  A joint meeting between the Board of Trustees and the Planning Board had been scheduled for Tuesday, but when villagers arrived they found a regular Planning Board meeting at which questions by the board were answered by the developer.  The session was not for public questions, though Planning Board Chair Mario Tomei said there will be public hearings in the future.

Legislature Moves to Divest of Home Health Agency
Culminating months of discussion and in-depth review, the Legislature has reached the difficult decision of deciding the future of the Certified Home Health Agency (CHHA), operated by the Health Department.  The Legislature, by a vote of 9-6, following nearly two hours of thoughtful discussion, authorized the County to move to divest of the agency, seeking another qualified provider to purchase the Agency license.  (Legislators Leslyn McBean-Clairborne, Dave McKenna, Kathy Luz Herrera, Dooley Kiefer, Pam Mackesey, and Health and Human Services Committee Chair Frank Proto voted no.)

The New York State Legislature passed legislation Monday night to boost State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli’s ability to catch those who abuse the state pension system. The bill grants the Comptroller’s office access to State Department of Taxation and Finance's wage reporting system to identify New York State and Local Retirement System retirees working for local governments who exceed the state’s post-retirement earnings limitation. If a state or local government employee earns more than those limits, the Comptroller has the authority to suspend and recoup any excess pension payments.

NYS Senator Mike NozzolioNew York State Senator Mike Nozzolio announced that the Senate has adopted legislation he fought to enact that establishes stronger restrictions on demonstrations seeking to disrupt military funerals, burials or memorial services.

“We have no greater obligation than to honor the lives of those military heroes who have paid the ultimate price in defense of the freedoms we enjoy in this Nation,” said Nozzolio. “Unfortunately, some individuals misuse those freedoms by hatefully disrupting the dignified burial of our fallen servicemen and women, adding to the unspeakable grief of their families and loved ones. This important legislation protects our gold star families from these unconscionable demonstrations and allows them to peacefully mourn the loss of their loved ones with respect and honor.”

State Senator Mike Nozzolio announced that the Senate has adopted legislation (S.1324) he is sponsoring requiring State prison inmates to make co-payments for health care visits, the same policy that is in place in the federal prison system and 2/3 of the states.

“Hardworking taxpayers are being forced every day to change or even drop their health care coverage because of rising premiums, unbearable co-pays and outrageous State taxes on healthcare benefits.  Meanwhile, those convicted of violent crimes, murder, rape, robbery and drug offenses enjoy unlimited access to free health care at taxpayer expense,” said Nozzolio who serves as Chairman of the Senate Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee. “It is simply unacceptable to me that those who have been removed from society for breaking the law enjoy the health care at no charge that so many hardworking taxpayers can no longer afford.”

How would the Town of Lansing look with active drilling in the area?  Presenters from the Tompkins County Council of Governments Task Force on Gas Drilling will be in Lansing next week to try to answer that question.  The task force's mapping workgroup has compiled a look at what impact fracking could have on county municipalities including Lansing, and will be presenting the information to interested town officials and residents Wednesday.

Tompkins County Planner Darby Kiley says that the presentation next Wednesday and others being conducted in other townships in the county are primarily aimed at municipal legislators to give them more solid information on what risks hydrofracking bring to their towns, and what tools they have available to regulate drilling in a way that does not interfere with municipal long term planning and local quality of life.  It is also for residents who want to learn more about the issue, facts, rather than rumor, fear, and hyperbole that has played a major role in the debate in Tompkins County.

Reflecting on lessons learned and questions yet to be answered about the hydrofracking and the economy, a Cornell expert today told members of the Tompkins County Council of Governments (TCCOG) that New York State is already being affected by such shale gas drilling, even though wells are not yet permitted here.

Economic Geographer Susan Christopherson, of Cornell’s Department of City and Regional Planning, has been studying the economic effects of hydrofracking, looking at the experience in nearby Pennsylvania and effects in New York.

Ladoga Park resident Dave Heck has been on a crusade to help Lansing taxpayers, especially seniors, pay their taxes.  In February Heck approached the Lansing Town Board to talk about extending the deadline for taxes past the end of the month to allow those on fixed incomes, pensions, or Social Security to receive a payment before the tax is due (click here for that story).  Last month he made the same request at a Lansing Fire Commissioners meeting.  Monday Heck went before the Lansing Board Of Education to make his case.

"The main reason is to ease payment by the taxpayers, the general taxpayer and specifically with senior taxpayers," Heck told the board.  "The problem with the current 9/30 date is most ... until the end of the month.  When it comes time to pay a four figure tax payment you have to transfer from savings.  You lose interest.  Some banking institutions penalize you even more if you transfer money out."

School boards and municipal bodies in New York State are required to meet only in public, but an exception is made when legal, personnel, or other matters requiring confidentiality is required.  In that case boards go into 'executive session' where the discussions are confidential.  Monday's lansing Board Of Education meeting revealed a rare look into the dynamics of board relationships and behavior when Board Vice President Glenn Swanson read a statement condemning a statement board member Christine Iacobucci had read at a previous meeting on may 23rd.

In that statement Iacobucci explained why she was about to vote no to a resolution confirming a new hire for the school food services leadership position.  She said it had nothing to do with the person, but that the hiring process was questionable enough to her that she would be forced to vote no.  She outlined the process, as she saw it, in some detail, including that a motion was made after an hour's discussion in executive session.

The Accidental Hoarder: An elderly resident of Dryden needed help: his 4 unaltered cats had grown to a population of 50.  While he was able to provide ample food, water, and shelter to the cats, he had become completely overwhelmed and the majority of the cats were in very poor health.  We learned of this about two weeks ago and began helping immediately by catching and removing the cats and kittens from the property, providing medical care, spayed and neutered everyone possible, and placed kittens in foster care in the hopes that they will grow up healthy.