Archive: Around Town

Z Idol"It was just alright for me..."  "You made it your own."  "You have to work on your eye contact."  "It was a bit pitchy."  "I'm going to say yes."

Those familiar phrases were repeated at the Shops at Ithaca Mall over seven days through Wednesday as contestants vied for a spot in round two of Z Idol, Z95.5's version of the enormously popular American Idol.

"We've seen some very, very talented people," says Z95.5's Keara Riley. "I was very impressed with some of the people who came out."

When Lansing High School opens its doors in September a new principal will be at the helm.  After interviewing 73 applicants the Lansing Board Of Education approved the appointment of Eric Hartz to fill the seat vacated by Michelle Brantner, who left this summer to become the Moravia Superintendent of Schools.  Most recently he was principal at Groton High School.

"It was really an honor to even get an interview in the Lansing School District as a principal," Hartz says.  "I do realize how this district is very valued for a lot of the traditions it has.  It has an incredible academic base from K-12.  Just take a look at graduation rates and where students are going to school.  To even be able to be considered as a candidate was an honor."

For nine hours today, Justin Wright and Mike "Birdman" Bird hammered the plea for donations to cover the Tompkins County American Red Cross cost of helping the victims of last week's West Hill Overlook Apartments fire. Today they scraped their usual programming format and threw the programming open to the public. Officially, today was Flush the Format Day. For a donation of any size, they would play any song on Z95.5 from 6 am to 3 pm. They even had to sing several songs - but of course, that cost extra. By the end of this fund-raising day, they had raised $3,025 for the Tompkins County American Red Cross - all donations from area residents, willing to lend a helping hand to their neighbor and have a little fun while doing it.

Barry Stein has been named the new Executive Director of the Tompkins County American Red Cross and will assume the position on July 27, 2009. He joins the Chapter after being Executive Director of the Jewish Family Service in Rochester for 13 years. In that position, he oversaw all functions of the agency including a $1.6 million annual budget, $400,000 in endowments and supervised a staff of 30. During his tenure there, the agency generated $1 million in new annual operating revenues, increased fund-raising by 400%, initiated its first capital campaign and secured $600,000 in additional grants and contracts.

In a statement, Barry shared his thoughts about assuming his new position. "I'm very excited to work for the Tompkins County Red Cross and I'm strongly committed to its humanitarian role." He feels the Chapter has a solid foundation in the community - "All the elements are in place to move the Chapter forward, a good reputation, backing of the National organization and a dynamic giving community. I look forward to expanding the position of the Chapter in Tompkins County and reaching deeper into the community," he said. 

 

The art and science of designing a workout is pretty complicated. The real dilemma is knowing what exercise to "prescribe" yourself. Crunches? Bicycles? Back extensions? Woodchops? Gyms (and exercises) are like a shelf full of drugs; how do you know which one(s) you need or which can be done unsafely without realizing? Luckily doctors go to medical school to know what drugs to prescribe their patients. For you and your fitness, here is a tip in exercise prescription for a better, stronger, healthier core.

 

Core musculature can be generalized into two categories: frontside and backside. There are also side muscles (obliques) that are trained more with rotational and side-to-side movements. The frontside is exactly what it sounds like, what you see in the mirror. Most people exercise their frontside core without thinking (sit-ups, crunches, etc). The backside is everything that you don't see in the mirror...but you know it is back there, looming large.

 

18 chefs, aged 7 to 14, divided into two teams bustled around the kitchen, cutting ingredients, mixing dough, improvising recipes.  They only had 45 minutes before their creations would be judged.  There was excitement, but not panic.  Neither team's pizza dough cooked through -- Team 1 decided to adapt by eliminating the dough altogether.  Which team would win the Iron Chef competition?

That was the scene in the Sincredible Pastries kitchen last Friday, the last day of 'Iron Chef' camp.  "I thought it would be exciting for them to learn techniques all through the week," says Sincredible Pastries Executive Chef Marion Cardwell-Ferrer.  "They put it all together Friday to see what they remember and to have fun creating something."

The joint Vacation Bible School between the Lansing United Methodist (LUMC) and All Saints Catholic Churches wanted to marry a real-life project with the lessons they learned this summer.  Kids studied the story of Exodus that tells of how God helped Moses lead his people from adversity in Egypt to their new home in Canaan.  At the same time the kids raised $575 for Habitat For Humanity to bring a Lansing family to their new home.

"That was the tie-in," says Vacation Bible School Director Bonnie Blair.  "We were looking for some way to do something for habitat, whether it was Vacation Bible School or another youth project.  This tie-in was too good to pass up."

Hey there my name is Bootiful. I am a black and white cat who is almost three years old. I am a great cat who is indeed bootiful. So come and visit me at the SPCA soon to see if I'm the right cat for you.

Visit the SPCA Web Page

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Crossword Puzzle

Sudoku

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You need Java enabled to view the crossword applet. If you do not have Java installed you can obtain it from java.com. If do have Java you may need to check your security settings to make sure that applets are enabled, especially if you are viewing the puzzle from your hard disk. In Windows XP you may be able to enable the applet by clicking on the yellow bar at the top of the window and selecting "Allow blocked content".

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Word Jumble

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Rearrange letters to form four words: Average Puzzle Score=2 Correct Hold mouse over 'Answers' below for solution Word Jumble

Most people agree that Myers Park is the crown jewel of Lansing.  The 24 acre park on the shore of Lake Cayuga is used year 'round, but especially bustles with activity in the summer with campers, boaters, swimmers, picnics and barbecues, a very successful day camp, sports, playing children, concerts, and, of course, the Lansing Harbor Festival.  This month marks Myers Park's  50th birthday, and, fittingly, it will be celebrated at Harbor Festival.

Today the park is beautifully manicured, but when the land was first given to the Town of Lansing it was more like a swamp.  "It was  a big weed patch," recalls Harris B. Dates, then Town Supervisor. "Our first trip through it, we used saws and knives to hack our way from the tracks to the lake."

Between the ball games, chicken barbecue, can and bottle drive, and farmer's market there wasn't enough room to park around the Lansing Town Hall Saturday.  It was the first day of the Farmer's Market, and organizers were very pleased with the turnout.

"I'm just so happy this finally came to fruition," says Lansing Deputy Supervisor Connie Wilcox.  "It's been three years in the works.  We were planning on five to seven vendors and we've got 19, so we're just ecstatic."

Nearly 700 people participated in Ithaca's Relay For Life Friday night, raising $152,800 (and counting -- the final tally will come next month) to fight cancer.  This year's theme was Dr. Seuss, which meant multiple Cat In The Hats, Thing Ones and Thing Twos, Sneetches, and all the other beloved Seussical characters.

"We're here to celebrate, remember, and fight back," says event chair Alexis Falise.  "We celebrate our cancer survivors.  We remember the people that we've lost.  And we're here to fight back and take a stand in our community.  We raise money that stays right here in the Southern Tier of New York State that is allocated based on need.  So people can feel good about donating money that stays right in their community."