Archive: News

Lansing School officials tried to understand why their capital project failed last week when Superintendent Mark Lewis presented the results of an exit poll to the Board of Education.  91% of no voters said the top reason they nixed the project was concern about rising property taxes.  62% said the tax increase the 20.8 million dollar project would have cost was unreasonable, and 45% were not convinced the high school addition was necessary.  "It's self-explanatory," Lewis said.  "The number one reason they voted yes was the aging infrastructure -- renovations. The number one concern from those who voted no was concern about rising property taxes."

Deputy Supervisor Bud Shattuck informed the Lansing Sewer Committee that Town officials have received a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request from Hugh Bahar, an outspoken opponent of the proposed sewer project.  According to Town Attorney Guy Krogh, Bahar has asked for ten year's worth of documents that have anything to do with sewers in Lansing.  "He broke it down into different categories, but basically he requested any document communicated by any person remotely associated with the Town to any degree that used the word 'sewer' in the last ten years," Krogh explained.

Bahar has spoken against the sewer at several meetings, and is behind the nolansingsewers.com Web site that he developed to be a focus for sewer opponents.  He has publicly challenged the project and the motivations behind it, the environmental justification, and the cost of the $18.2 million project.  He has written against the project more than once in this and other publications.  Last week he was approached by the Star for comment, but was ill and unable to respond in time for this story.

Lansing Fire Commissioners approved service awards for members of the Lansing Volunteer Fire Department at their March meeting Tuesday night.  Chief Scott Purcell told commissioners that 28 fire department members have earned service awards for 2006, up from 25 in 2005.  Service awards reward volunteer participation with a $700 contribution to a kind of retirement fund. 

The Tompkins County Legislature, by a vote of 10-3, urged New York State to “enact measures to bring significant reform” to New York State’s unemployment insurance system. (Legislators Sigler, Proto and Hattery voted no; Legislators Mackesey and Randall were absent) The resolution, sponsored by Legislator Nathan Shinagawa, calls for the state to provide a “meaningful increase” in the state’s current maximum weekly benefit of $405 dollars, that it increase the calculation for lower wage workers and that it eliminate the denial of access to unemployment benefits for hourly paid employees of educational institutions.

Because of current state law, the resolution notes, hundreds of educational institution hourly employees in Tompkins County cannot access unemployment benefits when temporarily laid off between academic terms or during school break periods, creating hardship for working families, even though similar employees in most other fields are able to do so. The presidents of the United Auto Workers Local 2300, representing hourly workers at Cornell University, and the Ithaca City School District’s Paraprofessionals Union were among nine members of the public who urged legislative support of the resolution, prior to the vote.

Deputies recently charged three subjects for allegedly making 16 prank phone calls to the Tompkins County 911 Center over a three-day period. Out of these calls, the following incidences led to arrests:

It is alleged that on 02-10-07, at approximately 10:08 AM, Corey J. Bruneau, age 17, of 584 Lansingville Road, called the 911 Center and reported that he was Osama Bin Laden and needed to speak with the police. He allegedly called again at 10:15 AM and reported that he had gotten his penis stuck in a shampoo bottle while masturbating and needed the police to respond to a fake address.

On 02-21-07, deputies arrested George Washington Jr., age 47, of 116 Glenwood Ave., Syracuse, NY. Washington was arrested on a warrant charging him with two counts of Grand Larceny 4th, Class E Felonies.

On both 05-26-06 and 05-27-06, deputies received complaints from the Lansing Extra Mart located at 32 Peruville Road, Lansing, NY. Both complaints involved several subjects entering the store and stealing several thousand dollars worth of cigarettes from a back storage room. Two male subjects stole the cigarettes, while unidentified female subjects distracted the store clerk. Washington is alleged to be one of the male subjects.

When Village of Lansing Trustees took a first look at a $1.8 million budget in their regular meeting Monday they found that Village taxes are likely to go down this year.  "The proposal is for the tax rate to be $1.40, down from $1.59," said Clerk/Treasurer Jodi Dake.  "Our assessed base has gone down, too, but with North Triphammer Road being pretty much done the rate is going down."

Starting March 12, construction will begin at the Seneca Street bus stop located in the same block as the parking ramp. A new passenger shelter will be built that will feature a curving canopy roof and a blue beacon light to help riders find the bus stop at night. The project also includes improvements to the streetscape, new curbing, sidewalks, plantings, benches and improved lighting.

During the 4 month project, TCAT will need to temporarily discontinue using Seneca Street as a bus stop. Instead, bus routes will use three relocated bus stops.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Representative Michael A. Arcuri (D-Utica) voted for critical investments in improvements and repairs to ensure that our nation's aging wastewater and water infrastructure can provide clean and accessible water to families across the county.

"Upstate New York is known for its natural beauty, from the Finger Lakes to the lakes and streams of the Adirondacks," said Arcuri. "Clean and safe water must be one of our top priorities and this legislation enables communities throughout Upstate New York to invest in much needed water infrastructure."

Starting March 5, riders on TCAT routes 11, 12, 60, and 65 will have a new downtown bus stop. These routes will be detoured around the bridge on South Aurora Street, and the bus stop at Aurora Street and the Ithaca Commons will be closed. Riders are asked to please use the stop at Cayuga and State Street.

Congressman Michael Arcuri's Field Representative Robert Messenger sat in on the Lansing Sewer Committee meeting Wednesday as they considered the future of both the sewer and the Town.  Noel Desch filled Messenger in with a brief history of the project, with the hope that Arcuri will be able to find Federal aid to help bring sewer to Lansing.  "The Ithaca area was successful in getting a large part of the Environmental Bond Act of the Central New York Finger Lake Region grant," Desch explained.  One of the unique parts of the grant is $4.8 million set aside for the collection and trunk sewers that are part of this district.  The money is laying there.  It's fragile.  That's why we need to move along and get the district formed and underway, so that money is not lost."

But that's nowhere near enough to pay for this," added Andy Sciarabba.  "That's the problem.  That's why you're here, because I'm hoping the Federal government can step in in some way."

Claes Nyberg asked for an update on plans to gate off the park at Salt Point at the Lansing Town Meeting Wednesday.  Nyberg owns property north of the park, which is the best access for dropping off groceries and materials.  he has expressed a keen interest in plans for Salt point as plans have been developed for the Town to manage the property.

The Town plans to convert the area from the free-for-all space it has become to a controlled quiet park where visitors can  hike along nature trails and use non-powered boats, among other things.  "Weather permitting we'll be putting a gate up at the end of April," Town Supervisor Steve Farkas explained.  "We'll start doing what we need to do to construct the project."