Archive: Around Town

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25 townspeople gathered at the Lansing Town Hall Wednesday to plan a celebration of the Town's 200th birthday.  The brainstorming session kicked off a series of meetings that will lead to an event in early September.  Town Supervisor Ed LaVigne moderated, encouraging people to volunteer to handle the various parts of the event.

The group came about as a result of a Facebook post by Town Supervisor Ed LaVigne.  That led to the formation of a Lansing NY Bicentennial Group, that almost instantly attracted nearly 1,500 members.  Many said they wanted to bring back Lansing Day, an event that eventually morphed into the Lansing Harbor Festival.  But some attendees said they wanted to go back to the simpler celebration that originally took place where the Lansing Town Hall currently stands.

by Sarah Post

   This very handsome all-white cat is named Snowman, and he would love to meet you! Snowman was a friendly stray who was being fed by various different people, until someone figured Snowman might prefer to have a permanent home. So here he is at the SPCA, waiting to find his forever adopter! Although Snowman needs to be the only cat in your home, he has so much personality you won’t need anyone else! He has been neutered, microchipped, and vaccinated, so he is all set to go home with you. Could you be the one who gives this friendly white cat a place to call home? Come visit Snowman today!

Visit the SPCA Web Page

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	NYSEG is launching the Energy Smart Community in large portions of Lansing, Dryden and Ithaca.  Last week we took a look at an energy future for consumers that will be up and running in Tompkins County this summer.  This week we look at how the upgrades will facilitate alternative power sources like solar and wind power generation.

Power is generated at a big plant somewhere.  It is hooked up to a grid of wires with various switches and devices to provide an even flow of electricity, which goes through a meter and into your house so when you flip a switch in the wall, a light turns on.  All you have to care about it the switch and the light.  But a move away from centralized power plants to electricity generating facilities that can be as small as a solar panel or two on your roof, coupled with the high price of energy means change from that one way system -- power plant to grid to house -- will have to morph into a system that can accept power from just about anywhere, use it locally or push it back into the grid, plus provide data to help manage the flow that is now coming from multiple sources including solar panels, wind generators and batteries.

"We now have to plan for both load in a very different world, and we also need to provide information back out to the market on 'hosting capascity: based on how the grid is configured, where are good places to put more larger scale solar (not residential level - 2MW and above)," says Avangrid (NYSEG's parent company) spokeswoman Susan Mann.  "The grid wasn't designed to handle this.  It wasn't designed to handle two-way power flows, these fluctuations that are now happening as solar comes on and off, depending on the clouds moving over an area -- all the power quality issues that raises.  And yet it's an imperative.  New York State has got some very clear policy goals around trying to decarbonize our energy infrastructure."

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Dear Margaret: I'm middle management and am having problems with employee e-mail etiquette in my company. Even more than etiquette, just plain old common sense seems to be lacking in some of the younger staff members. For instance, one young man emailed the president of our company to ask if she knew what account should be charged for work performed on a project. (Instead of simply asking, "What account should I charge…" Of course she KNOWS what account!) Also, his salutation on the email was "Hey!"  And then there's the issue with global emails sent to individuals without a need to know. In addition, when I send tasks or appointments to junior subordinates, I seldom receive a response. What are they teaching, or better yet, not teaching in school? I've been correcting them on a case by case basis, but this is bothersome and a waste of time. Is there a fix for this?
Challenged by Non-Communicators

Hickey's Music Center of Ithaca, NY was honored with the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Milestone Award for 125 years of service in the music products industry. Presented annually by NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond, the Milestone Award recognizes music businesses that have flourished through changing business environments to reach a noteworthy anniversary.

"We're pleased to have been able to continue the legacy started by Joseph Hickey back in 1892." said David Zimet, co-owner of Hickey's Music of Ithaca, NY.

The town will decide who makes the best Mac 'n Cheese on March 18th at Ithaca High School. The 4th Annual Mac 'n Cheese Bowl will include live music, a children's corner, and our finest local Mac 'n Cheese dishes. The bowl supports Foodnet's meal delivery, and nutrition services for older adults and others in Tompkins County who are unable to cook or shop for their daily meals.

This year's event features 18 generous competitors. 
Bandwagon Brewpub, Cayuga Medical Center, and Ithaca Ale House will compete as last year's returning champions! By popular demand, the "Kid's Choice" award is back this year! Kids ages 5-12 will be able vote for their favorite Mac 'n Cheese.

The Rotary Club of Ithaca introduced three individuals who recently joined the service club. These community members volunteer in Tompkins County and bring professional experience from the business and not-for-profit sectors. Ithaca Rotary’s motto is 'Service Above Self.' Membership is open to all who share in this belief; new members are accepted year-round.

“The Ithaca Rotary Club is delighted to welcome these individuals,” said Rotary Membership Chair Ron Provus. “Our members come from all walks of life and have a wide variety of interests to match those of Rotary. As members of Ithaca Rotary, individuals give of their time and skills to positively impact the needs of our community.”

Celebrated director of the Tompkins County Public Library Susan Currie has announced plans to retire effective September 30.

During her eight-year tenure, Currie has helped establish TCPL as an award-winning model for peer libraries. Among her lengthy list of successes are a building-wide reorganization, which served to flatten the Library's supervisory structure, providing increased leadership opportunities for staff members; the development of the County Library Budget Working Group and community engagement process, designed to identify sustainable funding for the Library; the successful 21st Century Library Campaign, which helped raise over $3.5 million in support of library programs and services; increased collaborations with local businesses and not-for-profit organizations; a reduction in barriers to access for families and young adults and strengthened relationships with UAW 2300, the labor union representing the library's professional and support staff members. She is currently overseeing capital improvements and the construction of a 21st Century Learning Lab and teen center.

IPEI, the Ithaca Public Education Initiative, has announced the Teacher Grants and Red and Gold Grants awarded during the second round of 2016-17 applications by teachers and others working with Ithaca City School District students.

According to Grants Committee Chair Connie Patterson, "$7350 was allocated for four Red and Gold Grants and six Teacher Grants."

In addition, there are two Connecting Classroom Grants (max. $10,000 each) being implemented at Belle Sherman Elementary School and DeWitt Middle School (see lists below). IPEI's grants programs are funded by the Annual Adult Spelling Bee coming up on Sunday, March 5, and through the support of individuals, businesses, and organizations.

Steve Manley, executive director of IPEI, expressed, "We're excited to open up our third round of grants to Teacher Grants along with Red and Gold Grants, and to consider applications for activities that would go into effect at the beginning of the 17-18 school year!"

The Harbor Hotel in Watkins Glen is really quite spectacular. It was just voted the #1 best waterfront hotel by 10best.com. I was there looking at the hotel as an option for a convention in 2018, and it seemed to fit the bill. All the normal stuff – ballrooms, lobby, a place for registration and everything necessary for a good conference.

With the business, out of the way, we decided to visit the hotel restaurant, the Bluepointe Grille for a quick lunch before our trip back to Ithaca. As a rule, I'm not fond of hotel food. In many cases people eat there, not because it's great, but because it's convenient. And your overpriced meal can be charged to your room.

With these pleasant thoughts lurking in the corners of my mind, we entered a delightful and richly appointed dining room, fireplace cheerily burning, outside light sparkling off each piece of crystal and display cases full of Finger Lakes wine.

For most people the airport is the gateway to a destination.  But right now the Ithaca-Tompkins Regional Airport itself is a destination for art lovers.  Student work from Lansing High School and TST BOCES are on display in the terminal.  The exhibit went on display this month and will continue through the end of March

"It's a great venue, because we're really exposing our students and our community to people from all over the world," says TST BOCES art teacher Katrina Binkewicz.  "And it's exciting for the kids.  With technology as it is I can take pictures of the show and put it on a big screen, and it's like visiting the art gallery... their art gallery, as well as other art galleries around the country as part of their curriculum."