DOT Retreats on Truck Ban

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Threats to drinking
water discussed ..........page 2
Jail alternatives report
sparks debate................page 3
T-burg samples food
education ........................page 4
County sells Biggs site
to medical center ......page 5
Opinion, letters ........page 6
FREE
DOT Retreats on Truck Ban
By Tina Wright
Local citizens’ groups and
elected officials were waiting this spring for the New
York State Department of
Transportation (DOT) to
finalize regulations that
would ban many large
trucks
from
passing
through our region on
seven specific state highways. Implementation was
expected this summer.
Or how about never? The
DOT suddenly scrapped the
truck ban, announcing on
April 12 after public hearings, regulation review and
Governor David Paterson’s
support for traffic-relief in
Finger Lake’s communities,
the plan was dead.
Ithaca is a hub for some
of the state routes targeted
by the DOT for restricted
truck traffic, including
Route 79, both east and
west, Route 96 north and
Route 89.
In spring 2008, Paterson
stood with Senator Charles
Schumer (D-NY) and other
bigwigs in the Village of
Skaneateles and bragged
about being “the new sheriff in town.” Garbage
trucks, especially those
headed to the mega-landfill
in Seneca Falls, and other
large trucks using Finger
Lakes routes as shortcuts to
avoid the Thruway and
Route 81 would be required
to use interstates and designated
roads.
Paterson
charged the DOT to develop
and implement these regulations.
Pamela Mackesey, a
Tompkins County Legisla-
tor representing the City of
Ithaca and part of the Town
of Ithaca, has worked for
years on mitigating truck
traffic passing through the
Finger
Lakes
region.
Paterson
appointed
Mackesey to the Trucking
Industry and Community
Relations Task Force set up
Safe and Sound
Photo by Kathy Morris
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE…
Volume 4, No. 29 • April 26-May 2, 2010
Tim Rumsey of the Tompkins County Sheriff's Department fits a free
bike helmet for Serena Exantus, 11, at the Community Wellness Day
event held at Boynton Middle School in Ithaca on April 17. The helmets
were donated by Chemung Canal Trust Company, one of the seven event
sponsors. Over 50 business and community groups put on displays and
demonstrations about healthy living.
to monitor the proposed
regulations. She attended a
task force meeting in
Albany two weeks ago when
the DOT announced its
reversal.
DOT officials presented a
survey to task force members,
according
to
Mackesey, on which they
based their new decision.
The DOT said that only
about 6 percent of the truck
traffic was causing problems in the region.
“[The DOT] had gone out
and surveyed for six hours
for one day from 8 until 2 at
six locations around the
Finger Lakes and, based on
that survey, they scrapped
the whole thing,” Mackesey
says. “This is two-and-a-half
years of work, this process
we had gone through. It felt
like somebody had just
pulled the plug. It was not a
very pleasant feeling.”
As for why the DOT
changed
direction,
Mackesey says, “We don’t
really understand. We certainly have ideas about
what we think happened
but
we
don’t
know.
Certainly, the trucking
industry from the get-go
was very much opposed to
this and had been working
Please turn to page 16
By Lori Sonken
Personal history
explored on stage ......page 8
Lorson regroups with a
new band ........................page 9
In Business Weekly:
technology is recycled at
new store; personal
growth through he written word ..................pages 10,11
Creating a local food
system ..............................page 14
President Abraham Lincoln
likely would be pleased to
know that the Southworth
Library in Dryden is using
the proceeds from the sale
of his handwritten White
House
speech
given
November 10, 1864, just
after his re-election, to fund
an expansion of the local
library.
Auctioned at Christie’s in
New York City on the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth,
February 12, 2009, the fourpage text, known as a “victory speech,” sold for about
$3.4 million, including fees,
says Michael Lane, secretary of the library’s board
of trustees.
When Lincoln gave the
speech from a White House
porch there was a significant celebration, because
many people were not certain that Lincoln would be
re-elected, Lane says. The
speech includes themes of
reconciliation.
The Southworth
Library’s Lincoln Center
Addition is expected to cost
more than $1 million; the
money remaining from the
auction sale will be used to
generate income to support
library operations, such as
utilities and staffing, Lane
adds. As a library association, Southworth Library
does not receive funds
directly by taxation, unlike
the
Tompkins
County
Public Library.
The story behind the
library’s ownership of the
Lincoln document dates
back to 1916, when Lincoln’s
son, Robert, gave the speech
to New York Representative
John A. Dwight in appreciation of Dwight’s efforts to
secure funding for the
Lincoln
Memorial
in
Washington, D.C. Dwight
represented Dryden in
Congress, served as whip
under Speaker Joseph
Cannon and also was on the
board of trustees of the
library, Lane says. Dwight’s
widow, Emma, subsequently gave the speech to the
library.
“We debated whether or
not to sell it,” Lane says,
noting that the trustees
took a decade to reach a
decision to put the manuscript on the auction block.
Originally designed in
1893, the library will
remain on Main Street in
Dryden, but the new facility
will be two to three times
the size of the existing
space, says Steve Hugo,
Photo by Lori Sonken
Library Builds on Lincoln Speech
The Southworth Library in Dryden will expand signficantly with an addition to cost some $1 million.
project architect and principal associate with HOLT
Architects in Ithaca.
The challenge is to
expand the library’s footprint without overpowering
the historic nature and
scale of the existing building. Hugo grew up in
Dryden, one-half block
from the library where his
parents still reside, and
says he finds it exciting to
work on the project and
have an impact on his
hometown.
“In the design of a major
building project, the careful
balancing of programmatic
needs, quality of building
materials, budget and aesthetics is never easy,” Hugo
says. “The Southworth
Library Trustees have
worked countless hours seeing that the right decisions
are made, and the future
library expansion will benefit the Dryden community
for decades to come. I’ve
been honored to work with
them,” he adds.
Listed on the National
Register of Historic Places,
the library was designed by
William Henry Miller, who
also planned several hisPlease turn to page 16
Forum Outlines Risks to Drinking Water
By Sue Smith-Heavenrich
Drilling for natural gas is inherently risky, and should not be allowed
in the New York City watershed or
near any water supply in the state.
That was the message Dusty
Horwitt shared with citizens, scientists and county and municipal officials early last week.
Horwitt, senior counsel for the
Environmental Working Group,
addressed the risks of gas drilling
and drinking water in a forum at the
Unitarian Church on April 18. The
following day he brainstormed with
scientists and elected officials about
strategies and the need for further
research.
Marcellus shale is attractive to
drillers because of the vast reservoir of natural gas trapped in the
rock, Horwitt said. It’s getting it out
of the ground that’s difficult; the
rock must be fractured to allow the
gas to migrate to the surface. That
means mixing water with sand and
chemicals and injecting the fluid
into the well under high pressures ,
Horwitt noted.
“The water shooting out of Ithaca
fire company hoses is 100 psi –
enough to knock you over,” Horwitt
said. “Frack pressure is hundreds of
times more.” But the actual process
of hydro-fracking a well presents
only one avenue of risk for water
contamination.
Horwitt and Steve Penningroth,
who directs the Community Science
Institute, outlined the numerous
ways water might be contaminated
during the drilling process.
“Surface water is particularly at
risk,” Penningroth said. Chemical
spills could happen during transport to a drilling site, from leaks of
2
Tompkins Weekly
April 26
chemicals stored at the drill site, or
during transport of waste fluids
away from the drilling site.
“If there were only a few hundred
trucks involved, that would be one
thing,” Penningroth said. “But
we’re talking about thousands of
truck trips.” He also raised concerns about dumping drilling flowback and brine into public wastewater treatment plants. Undisclosed fracking chemicals may not
be detected by the plant operator
and may end up in public water supplies.
Unknown fracking chemicals are
only part of the problem. For the
past year Horwitt has been investigating known petroleum-based
fracking chemicals used by drilling
companies. Federal exemptions
allow companies to inject kerosene,
mineral spirits and a number of
other petroleum distillates into
wells.
The problem, says Horwitt, is that
these distillates often contain high
levels of benzene, a carcinogen so
toxic that EPA’s “safe level” for benzene in drinking water is only 5
parts per billion (ppb). That’s the
equivalent of five drops of contaminant in 500 barrels of water.
Because of high benzene levels,
the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) regulates diesel fuel
under the Safe Drinking Water Act
(SDWA). Companies wishing to
inject the fuel as a friction-reducer
must obtain the permits through
the EPA.
“Ironically, these other petroleum
distillates, chemicals they are
allowed inject without permits, can
contain 93 times more benzene than
diesel,” Horwitt said. Petroleum
naphtha, for example contains
93,000 ppm (parts per million) benzene — 18.6 million times higher
than the EPA standards.
The drilling companies will tell
you there is no problem, that these
are the same petroleum distillates
used in cosmetics, Horwitt said.
“But these chemicals are banned
from cosmetics in the European
Union.”
Citing the DEC’s Supplemental
Generic Environmental Impact
Statement (SGEIS), Horwitt noted
that horizontal wells in Marcellus
and other shales will require from
one to eight million gallons of water
and fracking chemicals. The companies insist that they only add small
amounts into the frack fluid.
“Point zero eight (.08) percent,”
Horwitt said. “It sounds like a
miniscule amount, but do the
math.” His calculations show that
even at that low level, anywhere
from 800-6,400 gallons of petroleum
distillates could be injected for a single fracking job.
“That would be enough to contaminate more than 100 billion gallons
of water, more than 10 times the
amount the entire state of New York
uses in a single day,” Horwitt noted.
Horwitt thinks the exemptions for
oil and gas drilling should be eliminated, with permits required for
any chemical drillers inject into the
ground. “Why require a permit for
only one type of petroleum chemical,” he asked.
Furthermore, when he asked DEC
officials whether they checked to
see what chemicals companies are
injecting, the response was no.
“They [drillers] could easily be
injecting diesel,” Horwitt said. And
indeed, Halliburton, Schlumberger
and other companies have admitted
doing just that in some states.
One of the ironies of drilling
waste is that even though it contains
substances that, under any other
circumstance, would be considered
hazardous, federal exemptions from
the Resource Conserva-tion and
Recovery Act (RCRA) allow it to be
treated as “non-hazardous.”
The FRAC Act would help close
that loophole, Horwitt told a small
group of geologists, soil scientists
and others. But the FRAC Act won’t
address concerns about radioactive
elements in the wastewater and
drill cuttings. Local landfills, including the one Chemung County, are
accepting cuttings from Marcellus
wells in Pennsylvania.
Ellen Harrison, former director of
the Cornell Waste Management
Institute, expressed concern about
radioactivity in drilling wastewater
that is shipped to public treatment
plants. The radioactive elements
will be concentrated in the sludge,
she noted. And that sludge may end
up applied to farmland as a “beneficial use.”
Physicist Bill Podulka pointed out
endocrine disruptors might slip
through wastewater treatment
plants undetected as well, ending up
in the effluent. He wondered
whether scientists might be able to
develop cheaper and better testing
technologies.
One of the problems is the lack of
good science. “The 2004 EPA study
on hydro-fracking was deeply
flawed,” Horwitt said, and he suggested that New Yorlk scientists
might want to create a group for
those investigating issues related to
natural gas drilling.
By Anne Marie Cummings
The Tompkins County Legislature’s Public Safety Committee has
released a cost analysis evaluating
three of the County’s Alternatives
to Incarceration (ATI) programs.
The analysis, which began eight
months ago, evaluates Ithaca
Community Treatment Court
(Misdemeanor Drug Court), Felony
Drug Treatment Court and Day
Reporting (located in the lower
level of the Community Justice
Center).
While the findings demonstrate
cost-saving benefits for ATI programs, not everyone is convinced
ATI is the best way to deal with the
county’s criminals.
Deana Bodnar, program development specialist at the Department
of Social Services, conducted the
cost analysis. She wrote, “The
study estimates that three ATI programs’ net cost to the county at just
under $250,000 (from 2004 to
September 2009 for the two drug
courts and from June 2006 to
September 2009 for Day Reporting),
coupled with estimated economic
benefit of more than $4.8 million
from increased employment, education and reduced public assistance resulting from participants
in these programs.”
The Felony Drug Court has been
in place since 2000, Day Reporting
since 2002 and The Ithaca
Community Treatment Court since
1998, 10 years after the first drug
court was established in Miami,
Fla. Drug courts are based on the
premise that those incarcerated
because of alcohol and drug
charges continue to revolve
through the criminal justice system because of their addiction
problems. In response, treatment
services are coupled with the criminal justice system in drug courts.
“The ATI programs are for nonviolent offenders who are often in
court because of alcohol and/or
drug addiction,” says Tompkins
County Legislature Chairperson
Martha Robertson. “Twelve or so
years ago we were looking at a
crowded jail. This community took
a very hard look at what works in
preventing crime. If you turn an
addict into someone who is taking
care of his family and holding
down a job, everyone benefits.”
Robertson explains that drug court
programs have been widely accepted around the country and that
some people may be surprised to
learn that the Bush White House
strongly supported drug court programs.
Robertson says that the cost
analysis of these three ATI programs was conducted in response
to questions that County Legislator
Frank Proto had as to why these
programs hadn’t been evaluated.
She said that all three of these ATI
programs have been evaluated, in
2002 and in 2003. “If you keep incarcerating people without treatment,” she said, “you won’t
improve public safety and you’ll
continue to spend money with no
benefit. This is a waste of people’s
lives.”
Proto says he hasn’t had a chance
to complete his review of the cost
analysis, but he notes
that
although Bodnar did what she was
asked to do, “This analysis does not
address one very key and basic
question: What is the recidivism
rate of the individuals participating in the program?’ If you have a
person that has been through the
program and then slips and then
goes through it again, but each
time improves, then maybe the
crime that precipitated them going
through the program the second
time wasn’t as serious in nature as
the first crime. Do you consider
that success? And how do you
measure success?”
According to the report, Judge
Judith Rossiter, who presides over
City Drug Court, focuses more on
the engagement of participants
and uses fewer jail sanctions. For
inpatient referrals she often uses
crisis centers for waits, rather than
remanding individuals to jail
where they would be held until they
are transported to an inpatient
facility. In the analysis, Bodnar
wrote, “Together these have significantly reduced the number of jail
days for Ithaca Community
Treatment Court in the past three
years.”
Bodnar also found that 7,606 jail
days were saved by felony drug
treatment court between January
2004 and September 2009. Day
Reporting saved 7,924 jail days from
June 2006 to September 2009. The
estimated savings for time spent in
jail are based on “board-out” costs
incurred by the county jail.
Robertson says, “This estimate of
jail days saved is based on the
judges’ professional experience
about what would have likely happened to these participants. They
would know, because they are the
ones doing the sentencing.”
Rossiter says, “We've had a few
people that we have put through the
ATI programs a second time, but
that’s a handful of people over a 12year period. In those cases, what
we find is that the person who goes
through them the second time
Photo by Anne Marie Cummings
Jail Alternatives Analysis Sparks Debate
Judge Judith Rossiter presides over City Drug Court.
comes back and says, ‘I thought I
had this under control and now I
see that I have to work harder.’”
Overall, Rossiter believes that the
analysis shows that ATI programs
are useful to the county.
Proto is concerned that a group
of legislators is committed to ATI
programs and that, however the
programs are being measured,
these officials want to show that
they are successful. “While cost is
not the only measure of whether
these programs are worthwhile,”
he says, “we need to know what
measures they are using. One has
to remember that these are taxpayer-supported programs and one of
the measuring sticks is cost. You
have to be able to show that people
have responded positively, that they
are trying to get their lives straightened out and that they are productive members of society. We need to
know what each of the ATI programs, and there are more than
three, are costing per person and
then we can evaluate if they are
worthwhile.”
In response, Rossiter says that
there are a number of dispositions
of a court case that could be included under the broad definition of
ATI. “Alternatives to incarceration
can be probation, community service, conditional discharge, fines.
Not every case results in a jail sentence.”
County legislator Peter Stein
says the cost analysis states that
the ATI programs cost the county
$50,000 per year more than the cost
of incarcerating the individuals
who graduate from these programs.
And while Stein supports the programs, he wonders why it is considered an economic benefit to the
community when individuals in
ATI programs gain employment.
“When a person takes a job, that
person isn’t injecting more money
into the community. You really
can’t credit the ATI programs with
that because if a graduate of an
ATI program wouldn’t take the job,
someone else would,” Stein says.
He would like to see if the benefits
of these programs for those individuals who have graduated from
them is worth the $50,000 that it
costs the county to provide them.
“We are dealing with people
whose interaction with the economy is that they’ll steal to get money
to pay to a drug dealer to buy illegal
drugs,” says Rossiter, “and that’s a
net loss to the community. They are
involved in an illegal market for
which the government receives no
tax dollars. That will cost each one
of us money. If you get them out of
the illegal drug stream, and they
are working for a living, then they
earn money, pay their taxes and
spend money that goes into the
community.”
Nathan Shinagawa, chairman of
the Ithaca City Public Safety
Committee, who’s also been on the
county legislature for four years,
says that the cost analysis was compiled at this timje because of budget pressures. “We are increasingly
trying to assure that the ATI programs are run efficiently and that
they are worth the money,” he says,
adding that among both Republican
and Democratic legislators ATI
programs are contentious. “It gets
to people’s belief about whether or
not people can change, and I see
people changing,” he says
Please turn to page 16
ECK is Offering
a series of four presentations
April 27, May 4 & 11
7-8 p.m.
Women’s Community Bldg,
Corner of Seneca & Cayuga Sts., Ithaca
Topic:
“The Call of Soul”
Discussion of topic.
Opportunity for all to
share love of God.
Public Invited,
Families Welcome
Info. 800-749-7791
www.eckankar.org
Sponsored by
New York Satsang Society Inc.
Chartered affiliate of ECKANKAR
Tompkins Weekly
April 26
3
Students Get a Taste of Food Education
Back to Democracy recently hosted a panel discussion on food literacy and the pending plans
for an edible schoolyard garden at the
Trumansburg Elementary School. Panel participants included Antonia Demas, president of the
Food Studies Institute and a visiting scholar at
Johns Hopkins University; Ariel Demas, whose
current thesis is on the role of foods in the
schools; elementary school principal Jeannie
Wiggins and food educator, Anthony Ouckama.
The forum was a follow-up to a public meeting
last fall where residents were encouraged to air
their concerns about local children’s views on
foods and their understanding of what entails
good nutrition. After that meeting Demas,
whose award-winning curriculum “Food is
Elementary” has been taught in 2,000 schools in
33 states, approached Wiggins and Trumansburg
Superintendent Paula Hurley to see if they’d be
interested in implementing her program in
Trumansburg.
The answer was a resounding “Yes!” and
Demas subsequently obtained a grant from the
Park Foundation and hired Ouckama to begin
providing food education to students in kindergarten through grade four.
Ouckama is enthusiastic about Demas’ program, saying that its strength lies in its focus on
food acceptance. “We don’t make judgments
about foods; we just offer more choices,” he
explains. There’s also a hands–on educational
component that appeals to children.
Recently kids in his class explored “food as
art” and Ouckama recalls one student who fashioned a food sculpture of two dogs watching television. He believes that the secret to his success
is engaging the classroom leaders, because once
they try an unusual fruit or vegetable then all of
the other kids will want to taste it, too. By using
positive peer pressure he creates an environment where the cool thing to do is eat the most
exotic vegetable.
His enthusiasm and genuine interest in the
subject matter are apparent when he interacts
with second-graders. “Today we’re learning
about whole grains. Who knows what a food
with whole grain is?” he asks the class. They
talk about where the grains come from, draw a
picture of them growing, go to cutting stations
and slice the breads and corn and rice cakes,
arrange them on plates, and serve samples to
their classmates.
“You’re eating your plate full of grass. Grass
seeds from all parts of the world!” Ouckama
jokes.
Ouckama has read all of the research theories
claiming that if you take a new food that hasn’t
4
Tompkins Weekly
April 26
Photo by Sue Henninger
By Sue Henninger
Food Educator Anthony Ouckama works at a cutting station with Trumansburg second-grader, William Pritchard
during a “Food is Elementary” lesson on grains.
been properly introduced through the program
and try to get kids to eat it they’ll probably resist
because it’s unfamiliar to them. But if you allow
the children to play with it, explore it and learn
facts about it, they’ll most likely try at least one
bite of it.
One day, while wheeling his cart down the hall
after getting his class to eat Brussels sprouts,
watermelon radishes, and cabbage, he decided
to test out the theory himself and stopped in a
classroom that he had never visited. When he
offered the vegetables to the children, “They
only took a few carrot sticks,” he says, shaking
his head in disbelief.
There are other benefits of food education,
and Demas firmly believes that many kids don’t
have role models (especially male ones) who
encourage them to take care of themselves
through eating fresh, healthy and colorful foods.
Which is why she feels that Ouckama’s role
within the elementary school is so important.
She’s also concerned about how disconnected
Americans have become from the foods they eat.
To her, good nutrition should begin with composting (which Trumansburg schools already
do) from which a healthy soil develops, ultimately resulting in food filled with wholesome nutri-
ents. Demas explains that people who actively
engage in the process of making foods that are
both beautiful and healthy to eat will usually
become more connected to where their food
comes from and less likely to choose foods with
too many calories and two few vitamins, choices
that can result in long-term health problems like
Type II Diabetes.
Even the most well-intentioned parents can
run into trouble when reading food labels
because items listed as “natural” usually aren’t,
says Demas, adding, “Drugs are regulated but
food chemicals aren’t, so is it good for them to be
interacting in our kids’ bodies?” She asserts that
adults should retrain kids’ palates, which are
confused by all of the artificial tastes and ingredients that they’re exposed to on a daily basis.
Eventually she’d like to see food education
become a subject in every school’s curriculum.
“As adults we’re educated by the food industry,
which sends mixed messages that are hard to
decode,” she says. For example, she adds, one
day you’re told that coffee is bad for your health
and the next day it’s touted as having certain
health benefits.
Panel members concluded that ongoing
research, including documenting data and anecdotal evidence, and continued food education,
combined with a strong level of community
involvement in the project, will all contribute to
the program’s ultimate success. Wiggins and
Hurley note that they’ve already begun planning
phase two of the program, which is designing
and implementing an Edible Schoolyard garden
to provide produce for the cafeteria lunches.
To learn more visit www.foodstudies.org.
May Day Rally Planned
On Saturday, May 1, a broad coalition of local
groups will celebrate International Day of
Labor, combining a march across the Cornell
campus with a rally on the Commons in downtown Ithaca.
Several people will speak briefly on pressing
issues that affect the wider community, including farm labor, immigrant rights and the Dream
Act. The rally will be followed by a free concert.
Everyone is welcome, including families and
children.
The March starts at 2 p.m. at the Purcell
Community Center on Cornell’s North Campus
(Jessup Road near Pleasant Grove Road), continues to Central Campus (Ho Plaza), Collegetown
and finally to the Commons joining the rally.
Festivities downtown start around 3 p.m.
For more information e-mail gm236@cornell
.edu, call Carlos Gutierrez at 277-8699, or e-mail
[email protected].
Medical Center to Purchase Biggs Site
By Nate Robson
Tompkins County has reached a
tentative agreement to sell the
Biggs Building that currently houses the County Health Department
to the neighboring Cayuga Medical
Center for almost $1.06 million.
Tompkins County Legislature
Chairwoman Martha Robertson
says the sale includes nine acres of
land surrounding the building on
West Hill adjacent to the hospital
and that the proceeds will be used
to offset the costs of moving the
health department to a newly renovated facility on Brown Road in
Lansing.
The county decided to move out
of the Biggs Building because
maintenance costs for the building
were getting too high due to its age,
Robertson says.
“We had concerns for the long
term, problems with big maintenance issues,” she explains. “For
the long-term future of the health
department, we couldn’t stay in
that building without putting lots
of money into it. The county couldn’t justify putting significant
resources into that building.”
Current plans call for the medical center to take possession of
the property on Aug. 1 if the
Legislature approves the sale during its May 18 meeting.
John Turner, a spokesperson for
Cayuga Medical Center, says the
property gives the medical center a
chance to expand in the future in
order to meet future needs for the
community or patients.
While information issued by the
county said the medical center
intends to make the building avail-
able for office tenants, Turner says
there are no immediate or future
plans for the facility.
Robertson says the health
department should move into the
Brown Road facility by late June or
early July.
Renovations are being finalized,
but Robertson says last minute
problems have delayed the project’s completion. “The work is
nearly finished but the renovations ran into a problem with the
floor tile,” she says. “We bought
green tiles, or bio friendly tiles,
but there is a problem with them
and it’s very frustrating. The tiles
curl up at the edges and we can’t
use them. We are trying to work it
out, but if you are going to redo the
floor, there is work that comes
afterword that you cannot finish
until it’s done. Things like moving
in the furniture.”
When the floor is finished, all of
the building’s renovations will be
completed, Robertson says.
In addition to cheaper maintenance costs, Robertson says the
new Brown Road facility provides
better space and has a central location within the county that would
allow health department employees to more easily travel to schools,
clients and other job-related destinations.
“It’s a great place, it’s closer to
the population centers in our community,” she says. “Our health
department employees spend a lot
of time on the road and the location is more convenient for them.
It’s also a more efficient building.
We looked at a number of different
sites and we are excited to move
into this location.”
Legislature Pushes for Immigration Reform
By Tompkins Weekly Staff
Citing the county’s ongoing commitment to protecting human
rights and civil rights, its diverse
immigrant population and the
Legislature’s belief in “the dignity
of all county residents regardless
of
immigration status,” the
Tompkins County Legislature on
Tuesday approved a resolution
that maintains “Tompkins County
has a major stake in a just and fair
federal immigration system that
would help protect the health and
richness” of its diverse population
and that the nation “urgently
needs legislation to correct the
failings of our immigration sys-
tem.”
The measure ultimately was
approved by a 12-3 vote after more
than an hour of discussion. While
stressing that he supports immigration reform, Legislator Mike
Lane expressed concern about
process, and moved that the member-filed resolution, advanced by
Legislators
Leslyn
McBeanClairborne
and
Kathy
Luz
Herrera, be referred to committee,
a motion that failed by a vote of 411.
The resolution was proposed in
advance of a community gathering
on immigration reform May 1.
There also was considerable discussion of proposed language to
endorse
the
Comprehensive
Immigration Reform for America’s
Security and Prosperity Act of
2009, introduced in Congress late
last year, legislation about which
several legislators said they did
not have specifics; endorsement
language ultimately was withdrawn.
The Legislature “calls on the
U.S. Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform that will
include replacing our ineffective
enforcement-only policy; ceasing
the practice of warrantless raids;
and providing a pathway for
undocumented immigrants toward
earning legal permanent status
and citizenship.” The action also
expresses the Legislature’s appreciation “to all people from around
the world who have made
Tompkins County their home and
in so doing have helped to make
Tompkins County one of the most
vibrant, safe, and attractive communities in the United States.”
Legislator Frank Proto noted his
no vote came “with reluctance,”
that he respects the proposal but
saw the need for more discussion.
Legislator Robison called immigration reform “a passionate issue
for the entire country,” but said he
could not support it as a national
issue over which the Legislature
has no jurisdiction.
Tompkins Weekly April 26
5
Letters
Coffee Party Enlightens
The first Coffee Party USA Ithaca
Metro Area Chapter meet up was a
pleasure for me to attend. It was the
closest chapter to where I live.
People with different ideologies
came together discussing, listening
and contributing to rationale discourse about the political sphere.
The issues we come together on
common ground, we work on, to
help contribute toward making a
better place for us, our children and
our children’s children.
There was a collaborative, welcoming atmosphere at the meet up,
unlike the divisiveness we see
around the country today. Aaah! A
breath of fresh air! Join up, join in
and be a part of this positive
group’s growth. See their Web site
for more information: www.meetup.com/CoffeePartyUSAIthacaCha
pter or e-mail lynandglenn2002@
yahoo.com.
Lyn Stone
Moravia
Hanna Represents Hope
In mid-April we are all reminded of
the burden of taxes. We are grateful
for many of the benefits taxes fund,
while also frustrated by the ever
growing encroachment of government “services” that are unwise
and unsustainable. The Tea Parties
are an overdue civic response that
give us hope for a more principled
and
restraining
trend
after
November’s elections.
Richard Hanna, running for
Congress in the 24th district, is
another reason for hope. A businessperson who has sustained a
private business in New York (creating jobs for many) is the kind of
leader we desperately need. He
properly identifies our great threat,
out-of-control
spending
in
Washington which cannot coexist
with our historic freedoms.
April 15 was also a campaign
finance disclosure deadline. Behind
the massive spending is a continuous flow of interest group donations calculated to prop-up incum-
bents and influence their votes. For
a disturbing picture of campaign
funding, click through www.FEC.
gov (and enter the incumbent
“Arcuri, Michael”).
We need a congressman who will
vote against the growth of government and for personal freedom and
responsibility.
Congressman
Arcuri voted for the massive health
care bill before he voted against it.
We need new representation in the
24th district.
Jim Crawford
Freeville
Moratorium on Drilling
Recent news articles relate that the
Philadelphia City Council requested the Delaware River Basin
Commission to ban gas drilling
until the completion of the Federal
EPA’s study of effects of hydraulicfracturing on drinking water; that
Harrisburg demanded a moratorium of gas drilling; and that even
the state of Montana requested a
cease and desist of gas drilling
along its northern border to insure
the landscape is not encroached
upon. And many of us know New
York City demanded no gas drilling
and hydro-fracking in its watershed.
Why this list? It poses the question: Why doesn’t Ithaca write a resolution for a ban on gas drilling in
Tompkins County because of risks
to the city’s drinking water,
encroachment — from well heads,
heavy traffic, gas pipelines, even
air pollution — on areas of natural
beauty that are tourist draws, possible encroachment into wine country (another tourist draw) including risk of pollution to grape-producing soil? These and other risks
to the health of people and the ecology should prompt a statement
demanding a moratorium to gas
drilling until the government and
the industry can guarantee zero
risk from every aspect of the industry.
Mary Ann Barr
Brooktondale
Letters Policy
Tompkins Weekly welcomes letters to the editor. In order to run letters
in a timely fashion, they should be no longer than 300 words. Letters
should be e-mailed to wrols@ twcny.rr.com, or mailed to P.O. Box 6404,
Ithaca, NY 14851. Please include name, address and the best way to reach
you for confirmation.
Published by Tompkins Weekly, Inc.
Publisher
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Briefly...
Town of Caroline Holds Open House
The Town of Caroline will host an open house on Saturday, May 1, from 10
a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Town Office Building, 2668 Slaterville Road, next to the
historic Caroline Town Hall.
Citizens are welcome to explore the building, experience the geothermal heating/cooling system, new library, ease of access and space for town
offices and records storage. The new office building houses the Caroline
Town Clerk, Supervisor, Code Office, Library and Records Storage.
The program will include recognition of volunteers, along with
Information on the solar electric system, geothermal heating system, sun
tubes and super-insulation. There will also be Information on the latest
landscape designs (volunteers needed).
Nominees Sought for Service Awards
In May, the Tompkins County Community Mental Health Services Board
will hold a celebration to recognize achievements in the areas of mental
health, developmental disabilities and chemical dependency issues. The
celebration will take place on Tuesday, May 25, from 5-7 p.m. at the Ithaca
Holiday Inn.
The goal of this event is to highlight the system of care in our community and to recognize the accomplishments and service of individuals,
families, programs and organizations, and to celebrate successes.
This year, along with presenting several awards, Tom O’Clair, will be the
guest speaker. O’Clair is a leading parent advocate who was instrumental
in getting Timothy’s Law passed. An important part of this event is to recognize individuals, programs and organizations in our community. The
board is accepting nominations recognizing accomplishments or contributions in the areas of mental health, developmental disabilities and/or
chemical dependency issues.
The nomination form is posted at www.tompkins-co.org/
legislature/advisory/Nomination form 2010.pdf.
Rotary to Serve Chicken Barbecue
The annual Lansing High School International Night Chicken Barbecue
and Fancy Cake Auction will be held Tuesday, April 27, from 4:30-8 p.m. in
the Lansing High School cafeteria. The event is sponsored by the IthacaCayuga Rotary Club, the Lansing Faculty Association, Lansing students
and the Lansing Lions Club to support the Lansing’s Rotary Foreign
Student Exchange Program.
This year’s exchange student is from Argentina. He lives with host families in Lansing and attends Lansing High. In addition to his academic
studies, he is very active in sports. Next year’s student will be a girl from
Germany.
Full dinners are $8 for a half-chicken and $6 for a quarter-chicken.
Proceeds also support student scholarships awarded by the Lansing
Faculty Association and various Lansing Lions Club community projects.
Yoga Instructors Join Forces for Series
One of the common misperceptions about yoga is that it’s mainly for
young, slender, flexible females. Four Ithaca area yoga teachers, Erin
Fitzgerald, Kathy Morris, Jessica Rodgers, and Lisa Tsetse, have teamed
up to challenge these assumptions by sharing their combined passion for
the Iyengar yoga method.
Beginning May 8, they’ll offer a Saturday morning eight-week series at
Soma Yoga and Living Arts on West State Street in Ithaca. The series features a cross section of Iyengar Yoga themes, complementing flexibility
with the strength, stamina, and postural alignment that make for a safe
and balanced yoga experience.
This series offers an opportunity to study with four different instructors who collectively embody 50-plus years of training with advanced
teachers in the Iyengar lineage (named after B. K. S. Iyengar, the 93-year
old yoga master in Pune, India). Their teaching expertise includes working with all ages from children to older adults, and all body types and levels of ability. Drop-in as well as series enrollment is possible.
For more information and registration details call or e-mail Jessica
Rodgers at 273-2555, [email protected]; or Kathy Morris at 2775656, [email protected].
Contact Us:
A dve r t i s i n g & B u s i n e s s :
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Contributors:
Patricia Brhel, Anne Marie Cummings, Ross Haarstad,
Sue Henninger, Stephen Kimball, Ann Krajewski, Nate Robson,
Sue Smith-Heavenrich, Lori Sonken, Tina Wright
Tompkins Weekly publishes weekly on Mondays.
Advertising and Editorial Deadline is Wednesday prior to 1 p.m.
Member Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce.
For advertising information or editorial business, contact our offices at PO Box 6404, Ithaca, NY 14851,
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writer, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the publisher. No parts of this newspaper may be
reprinted without the permission of the publisher.
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Tompkins Weekly
April 26
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Artists Sought for Airport Juried Show
The Ithaca Tompkins Regional
Airport is hosting its first juried art
show. Frank Robinson, the Director
of Cornell’s Johnson Art Museum,
Brett Bossard, Director of the
Community Arts Partnership, and
Barbara Mink, the Artistic Director
of Light in Winter, will be judging
the show.
The first place prize will be a $500
travel voucher good for flying out of
ITH. The second prize will be a $250
travel voucher and all other participants whose work is picked will
receive one-time long term parking
vouchers good for $25.
“The airport has shown art for
years, but we felt that by having this
group show and working closely
with
the
Community
Arts
Partnership, we would be showcasing our place in the community,”
said Bob Nicholas, airport manager, in a statement. “We will be
donating the entry fees for the show
to CAP.”
The theme for the show is “flight”
which can be interpreted loosely.
Painting, photography, outdoor
sculpture and other mediums will
be accepted. The deadline for submissions is May 1.
For more information you can go
read the guidelines on the blog at
www.flyithaca.com or www.facebook.com/flyithaca.
Street Beat
The word on the street from around
Tompkins county.
By Kathy Morris
Question: Do you have spring fever?
“More so when it was warm.
We walked outside, hiked,
went on the swings.”
Unity House Opens Ithaca Facility
Unity House of Cayuga County
announces the grand opening of its
new facility in Lansing Village
Place, 15 Catherwood Road, Ithaca.
Elizabeth Werner, executive director of Unity House, invites the
Ithaca community to a ribbon-cutting ceremony and reception to celebrate the agency’s move. The event
will take place from 3-4:30 pm on
Saturday, May 1.
In October, Unity House sold its
property at 408 E. State St. in Ithaca
to local businessman Avi Smith,
who plans to renovate the building
and turn it into an inn. Unity House
owned the historic mansion, also
known as the McCormick-Cowdery
House, for 12 years.
About 35 Unity House employees
work in the new office space. For
more information about Unity
House see www.unityhouse.com.
Northeast Pediatrics and
Adolescent Medicine
- Madeline Decker-Gutierrez and
Graciela, Danby
“Definitely. I can’t wait to get
out on the lake, go to the
gorges, be done with winter.”
- Alex Recchio, Trumansburg
Kids Are Our Specialty!
Accepting New Patients
“Not exactly.”
- John Inman, Ithaca
Northeast Pediatrics and Adolescent
Medicine welcomes Dr. Melissa Woo
Dr. Woo graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College
and received her Medical degree from Dartmouth Medical School. She completed her internship and residency at Tufts: New England Medical Center/Floating
Hospital for Children. Dr. Woo was most recently at
Massachusetts General Hospital where she performed
her Fellowship in Pediatric Endocrinology. During this
time, Dr. Woo worked in the lab of Dr. Mary Elizabeth
Patti with a focus on discovering mechanistic origins of
obesity and Type 2 Diabetes. She is Board Certified in
Pediatrics and Pediatric Endocrinology.
Providing Complete Care From Newborn to Age 21
• Lactation Consultants/Counselors on Staff
• All Physicians board certified in Pediatrics
• Same Day Sick Visits • Se habla espanol
• Full spectrum newborn and inpatient care at CMC
• Travel and Pediatric Infectious Disease Consults
• Separate Adolescent office, including Adolescent GYN Care
“Yes. We’re knocking down
walls and doing construction,
planting flowers. We welcome
good weather.”
- Mary Diamond, Interlaken
Submit your question to S t re e t B e at . If we choose your question, you’ll
receive a gift certificate to GreenStar Cooperative Market. Simply log
onto www.tompkinsweekly.com and click on Street Beat to enter.
Call to Schedule an Appointment
M-F 7am - 4:30pm • Sat 8am - 11:30am
10 Graham Road West, and at
821 Cliff St., (Rt. 96), Ithaca
Northeast Pediatrics 257-2188
Adolescent Medicine 257-5067
www.northeastpeds.com
Tompkins Weekly
April 26
7
A Remarkable History Brought to Life
By Ross Haarstad
A monumental hunger drives Ain
Gordon’s In This Place…, now at
the Kitchen Theatre in an absorbing production directed by the playwright. The hunger lives in the
ellipsis in his title — in the forgotten, neglected, abandoned and
intentionally suppressed gaps of
history.
The phrase “in this place,” comes
from the historic plaques Gordon
found all over Lexington, Ky., where
a local arts organization had commissioned him to create a piece out
of some facet of local history.
Gordon stumbled upon an ancient
house with no plaque, but one compelling fact: it was the first house
built and owned by a freed black
man in that city. His name was
Samuel Oldman. Even less was
known about his wife, Daphney,
whom Samuel had bought out of
slavery, along with her two children.
It’s Daphney who haunts the play,
literally. She is a ghost, circling the
remnants of a past, of a lost connection to Sam, forgetting more
than she can ever remember.
Michelle Hurst plays her in an
unforgettable performance that
mixes the largeness of Greek
tragedy with the smallness of
everyday life, such as fixing a meal
on a stove (a pivotal memory in the
play.)
Daphney enters and is immediately dismayed to find an audience.
“They didn’t tell me this was a for-
Photo by Victor Jouvert
I n T h i s P l a c e … b y A i n G o rd o n ,
c o n t i n u i n g A p r i l 2 8 - M ay 2 a t t h e
K i t ch e n T h e at r e ( 2 7 3 - 4 4 9 7 ) .
Michelle Hurst in In This Place... at the Kitchen Theatre
mal affair,” she mutters as she
begins an exit, explaining she is no
good talking to crowds. Words keep
failing her, so she refers to the two
stage managers on stage, who send
words to two big monitors. One crucial word is “scale,” something the
story about her and Sam “lacks.”
Now and then, a Lexington historian, also a black woman, appears on
the screen to talk about the house.
Another time, the screen takes us
on a silent tour of the relics of the
present-day house.
Themes of scale, remembering,
documentation, the bits and pieces
of social history are the fabric of
this play and of Daphney’s anxious
quest. Most of the memories she
has to relate are extraordinarily
commonplace: “In this place… Sam
first talked to Daphney.” But they
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8
Tompkins Weekly
April 26
are the moments of big change in
her life; a life lived in the space
between the dots.
What haunts her most is a gap in
her memories. There is one time
she is sure she was happy, the four
years they actually lived in the
house. The pain of that missing
fragment is the heart of the second
act. In this act, one screen shows
Hurst in live close-up, sometimes
freezing a moment in time, while
the other continues with shards of
text. The most fraught image is
Hurst onstage facing us, while on
the monitor her anguished face
faces the date 1839, when Sam
abruptly sells the house and happiness ends.
By turns obstreperous, warm,
cajoling, funny, pissed off and
above all ferociously determined,
Hurst creates a fully dimensional
woman, her bristling energy and
scathing honesty creating a tight
bond with the audience. In the way
of storytellers, she also imitates
Sam, a stone of a man, so precisely
that often two ghosts appear to be
on stage.
The mediating layers that
Gordon employs, not only live electronic/visuals, but also moments of
referring to the script, moments
when Daphney literally retraces
her steps in search of a lost phrase,
keep alive a certain tension, while
stripping away any cloying sentiment. It’s the tension of the gap…
we desperately want Daphey to
remember, to complete her story,
yet we are constantly reminded
that the “real” story is lost, a few
fragments upon which actress and
playwright unloose their imagination.
In the final, glorious moments,
Hurst as Daphney calls out to the
audience for their help. Our own
stories interweave with hers. This
lovely moment brings up even more
questions about what lasts, what is
memorialized, what gets a historical marker.
For, of course, there is something
monumental in this women’s life: a
man in pre-Civil War Kentucky
buys himself out of slavery, then
frees his wife and builds and owns a
house. The enormous distance
Daphney travels from enslavement
to freedom, from solitariness to a
family, and back into a strange
oblivion is a national story. But one
which must continually be re-excavated and reimagined.
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~ Rachel Houseknecht
Ithaca’s Lorson Launches New Band
By Stephen Kimball
Mary Brett Lorson is one of the
musicians I point to when discussing what a great music scene
we have in Ithaca. Her career got
its start in the early 1990s with the
band Madder Rose. This band was
pretty successful, producing four
records and touring widely. Head
on over to youtube.com and search
for “Madder Rose” and you’ll find
the videos as well as live clips. (For
more information on Mary’s earlier career please see my previous
interview with her at www.dynamicmeter.com.)
After Madder Rose she has
played solo as well as with the
bands Piano Creeps and Mary
Lorson and Saint Low. She currently has a new project, Mary
Brett Lorson and the Soubrettes.
The band will play at Felicia’s
Atomic Lounge on Sunday, May 2,
at 7 p.m. Felicia’s is always a great
place to go for some of the best
drinks around. But they also have
great live music on a regular basis.
In addition to her music, Lorson
is writing a novel, works as an
English teacher and is a mother.
As an independent musician she’s
trying to raise money to fund a
recording by the Soubrettes. For
more information on this, check
out
her
site
at
www.myspace.com/marylorson.
As a side note, there are many
bands taking this approach to making records. If you are a fan of one
of these groups, please consider
making even a small donation to
support its work. In this time of
the ever-changing music industry,
supporting independent music is
something we can all do to play our
part in supporting the arts. Also,
go to shows. Tompkins Weekly
recently was able to ask Lorson
about her music.
Tompkins Weekly: You have relatively new band. How did it come
together?
Mary Brett Lorson: I've been
working with Jen Middaugh (backing vocals) for about a decade, and
had been playing at Leah and
Amelia's venue [Felicia’s Atomic
Lounge] for a few years, but we
only started collaborating a year
ago, when I had a brainstorm
about it.
TW: What’s a Soubrette?
MBL: A soubrette is a vaudeville
term for a comic female side play-
er, one who might play the
ingénue’s best friend, or her
enemy or a maid.
TW: Who is in the band?
MBL: Jen Middaugh plays percussion, Leah Houghtaling plays
banjo, Amelia Sauter plays
standup bass, and we all sing.
TW: How is it different from
your other projects?
MBL: This group isn’t predicated on the complement of instruments you find in a rock band, so
that is the biggest difference.
TW: You also write fiction. Is
there a different approach to writing songs versus the longer form of
fiction?
MBL: Good question — as different as the end products can be,
both forms are kind of mysterious,
and both involve craft and lots of
editing.
TW: How do you approach your
career now? You also work as an
English teacher.
MBL: Somehow all of the disparate parts of my life contribute
to something that feels like a
whole.
TW: How do you view the current state of the music industry,
since you’ve been signed to a major
label and are now independent?
MBL: I think there is a lot of
opportunity now if you’re willing
to work at it.
TW: As a parent, how do you balance your creative process with
the requirements of family life?
MBL: Perilously!
TW: Who, or what, are your
influences, both musical and otherwise?
MBL: I like contrasts, so film
soundtracks are among my earliest
and favorite things to listen to; I
listen closely to the music when I
watch a film and try to experience
the effect of the combination of
image, narrative and music. My
friends are my biggest influences, I
think, life-wise. I am fortunate to
have a job where I get to steep my
brain in the best old books over
and over again, and I always discover something new in those old
favorites.
TW: Who are you listening to or
reading now?
MBL: I just read an excellent
novel, “After Life” by Rhian Ellis,
who happens to live in Ithaca. I do
like the new Gorillaz record, at the
same time that I’m discovering
Ferde Grofe’s music.
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Tompkins Weekly
April 26
9
Technology for the Masses at eCenter
There’s a new store in town. An outgrowth of Finger Lakes Reuse, the
eCenter not only keeps material out
of the landfill, it’s selling technology that anyone can afford.
On April 15, at the grand opening, the store was crowded with
people: the curious, volunteers and
those interested in finding used,
but tested and renovated equipment for their homes and offices.
The eCenter has a lot to offer,
including desktop and laptop computers, scanners, printers, computer cases, speakers, cords and just
about anything else in the computer world that you can imagine.
There is lots of storage shelving, a
neat work area, test benches and an
area set aside for education, with
classes expected in the future.
Carol Cohen, mother of eCenter
executive director Diane Cohen,
traveled from Albany for the grand
opening. “I’m proud of my daughter,” she says with a smile. “Diane
has taken our lessons in recycling
and used them in two businesses.
This is the second grand opening
I’ve have the privilege to attend.”
Diane concurs, saying, “My parents always talked about recycling,
both to save money and to save the
planet. We probably threw out less
trash than anyone else in the neighborhood, but mom always made it
seem like fun.”
The eCenter grew out of Cohen’s
original operation, which is a nonprofit operation dedicated to recycling building materials, appliances, furniture and household
supplies. It soon became clear that
there were a lot of computers and
office equipment coming in that
needed a home of their own and
people who knew how to evaluate,
renovate and get these items back
into the community, she says. “We
thought that once we announced
that we’d take computers that there
would be great interest, and today’s
opening is the proof,” she adds.
Bailey Phipps, program coordinator for eCenter, was hired just a
few weeks ago. On opening day he
was
busy
checking in
the computers
and
equipment
being donated and taking money
for the items
sold.
“I’ve
had a few different jobs,
including as
a preschool
teacher, but
making computers accessible
for
those
who
can’t
just
run out and
buy new is a
great
idea
and
I’m
happy
to
help,”
he Program coordinator Bailey Phipps at work at the eCenter.
says.
“I’m
hoping that we’ll be able to change teaching them video and audio editthe lives of at-risk kids, including ing, programming and other skills.
We’ve been working with the
Computer All Stars and their director at the Ithaca Youth Bureau and
hope to expand on that program.”
Volunteer Forest Kennedy has
been putting in about 16 hours a
week, doing everything from painting the store to assembling computers. A student at the Leman
Alternative School, he became
interested in computers when he
joined the Computer All Stars.
Seated at a machine that he’s programming to communicate with
other machines, he’s busily clicking and scrolling, multitasking
while we talk. “I think that open
source, or what’s known as alternative software is important. I’d
rather the developers make their
money through advertising, to keep
the programs available to those
who need them, Kennedy says. “We
had two computers at home when I
was growing up,” he relates. “Here I
get to learn about all kinds of
machines and equipment. I like the
idea of making computers available for everyone and enjoy showing kids how to use them.”
Another volunteer, Frank James,
was recently laid off from radio station WVBR. He’s using this time
between jobs productively, keeping
his computer skills sharp while
making sure that machines are
available and affordable for those
who can’t just plunk down hundreds of dollars for a new one.
The eCenter’s mission is to
enhance community, the economy
and environment through the reuse
of computer technology and all
computers and equipment sold goes
to support this. The center offers
financial assistance to customers
who participate in a federal or state
aid program such as food stamps,
Medicaid, WIC, HEAP, the reduced
school lunch program or have similar financial challenges.
All eCenter equipment sold
comes with a 30-day warranty,
minus the usual exemptions for
physical damage and tampering.
They accept computers, monitors,
printers, scanners, speakers and
other related equipment as well as
DVD players, CD players, game consoles, PDAs, electronic games,
office electronics, medical electronics, bank and much scientific
equipment.
They don’t take lab glass, cracked
or broken monitors or TVs, or TVs
Photo by Patricia Brhel
By Patricia brhel
Please turn to page 16
10
Tompkins Weekly
April 26
By Ann Krajewski
With institutions of higher learning all around us, writing workshops are nothing new in Tompkins
and surrounding counties. One particular workshop is called “Writing
through the Rough Spots,” the
brainchild of educator Ellen
Schmidt of Ithaca, who offers
courses through her business,
Writing Room.
“It’s different from other writing
workshops in that the focus is not
on perfecting style or with an eye
on publishing, but instead, it’s
about the process,” says Schmidt.
”While a fair amount of my students are in fact published writers,
I have just as many who have never
written anything that’s personal to
them.”
After teaching at many venues
over the years, including 15 years
as education director at a crisis
center, Schmidt developed her
workshop concept when she realized her own education and personal background, as well as her
career, put her in a strong position
to offer people knowledge that
could improve the quality of their
lives.
“The idea originated from my
own experiences with the benefit of
writing during challenging times
throughout my own life, and
Writing Room braids together the
strands of my life’s work in writing, teaching, leading workshops
and counseling,” she says.
In describing what one should
expect from attending the 10-week
course, Schmidt says, “I wanted to
create an atmosphere in my classes
in which I would feel comfortable if
I were attending myself and to
make others feel welcome. Working
through the Rough Spots is intend-
ed to be personal rather than academic.”
In what way, exactly? “Writing is
different than speaking or thinking,” she explains. “By putting
memories and emotions into written words we give them parameters,
size and shape, and they become
more manageable.” Schmidt offers a
favorite quote from E.M. Forster:
“‘How do I know what I think until I
see what I say?’ That really speaks to
me about what it is I’m putting forth
here.”
While the writing has a therapeutic effect, she emphasizes that the
course is not group therapy. There
is no discussion of people’s situations, no problem-solving, no advice
dispensed.
“The class provides an opportunity and tools to create fresh, illuminating writing,” says Schmidt.
“How to bring an experience closer
or farther away, or how to create
greater clarity by writing from
another’s perspective are among
these tools. One gets to know oneself and others in new ways.”
Schmidt notes that each class
offers what she calls windows and
mirrors. “What I mean by that is
windows into others; gaining someone else’s perspective through reading aloud to each other and having it
down on paper before your eyes is
like looking at your own reflection.”
The subjects written about are
personal and diverse, she says.
“Employment concerns, old struggles and new ones, relationships,
losses, fears, memories, hopes and
dreams.”
Participants are encouraged to
write fiction, non-fiction, or a combination of the two for their weekly
in-class and at-home assignments,
or “sparks.” Sometimes writing fiction makes it easier to address tough
Photo by Ann Krajewski
Self Discovery Through the Written Word
Ellen Schmidt says her Writing Room students often find humor in complex personal
situations.
topics, she says.
The course has attracted attention
from Cornell, which has asked her
to bring “Writing through the
Rough Spots” to the campus so that
students and staff can use the class
as a means to creatively handle
stress.
While Schmidt works with people
individually, some of whom are
preparing to publish, she smiles
when expressesing a particular
interest in what she calls the “midwifery” of writing.
“Whether in my one-to-one work
or in classes, students make discoveries about their lives and often
find humor in complex situations,”
she says. “I love people’s stories
and hope to help in each person’s
unique unfolding process.”
Students include restaurant
servers, office workers, teachers,
beauticians, artists, professors,
people struggling with serious ill-
ness, health professionals and
social workers among others.
“Because we live in a small community, each person’s writing is
better with the knowledge that
what is written and said remains
confidential within the class.”
Participants introduce themselves by first name basis and then
more through the content of their
writing over the 10-week course.
As each session is different, many
participants continue or return to
the next or subsequent series.
Schmidt says it doesn’t matter
whether you’re a scholar or a bluecollar type.
“This is so different from a typical writing class,” she says.
“Anyone can write if they want to.
My goal is to make them feel that
way.”
Contact Ellen Schmidt by calling
273-4489 or by visiting www.writingroomworkshops.com
CMC’s Convenient Care Offices Receive Recognition
Cayuga Medical Center’s Convenient Care at
Ithaca and Cortland have received the Certified
Urgent Care designation, which distinguishes
them as noteworthy urgent care providers. The
clinic provides patients with walk-in, extendedhour medical attention with licensed providers
for a large scope of medical conditions and has
met all of the Urgent Care Association of
America’s (UCAOA) established criteria.
Convenient Care at Ithaca and Cortland have
been selected as the only urgent care centers in
Central New York that have met all of UCAOA’s
nationally-standardized criteria. “This award
will continue to distinguish us as a leader in
our field and demonstrate our commitment to
providing the highest level of service to our
patients,” said Kristina Gambitta, director of
Convenient Care at Cortland.
Urgent care is a convenient and viable option
for medical conditions that cannot wait for a
scheduled appointment with a primary care
physician. When a medical condition cannot be
handled by a patient’s regular doctor – such as
unexpected cuts, burns, sprains or fractures
that do not require a visit to the emergency
department, Convenient Care at Ithaca and
Cortland are equipped with x-ray, laboratory
services, and a licensed provider is always
available to perform minor procedures like
casting and suturing.
Urgent care fills the gap between primary
care and hospital emergency rooms, offering
increased convenience and cost savings for
patients. Convenient Care at Cortland and
Ithaca provide urgent care for unscheduled,
walk-in patients from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. every
day.
Cayuga Medical Center is a not-for-profit
health care organization that has been providing treatment services to the residents of
Tompkins, Cortland, Seneca, and Tioga counties for more than a century. With over 1,200
health-care professionals, Cayuga Medical
Center now serves more than 150,000 area residents each year. For more information on services available and its satellite campuses, please
visit www.cayugamed.org or call (607) 274-4498.
Tompkins Weekly
April 26
11
Tompkins County Community Calendar...
26 Monday
Baby Storytime, 10:30-11am, Tompkins Co. Public
Library, Caregivers and newborns up to 15 months old
are invited to join us each Monday in the Thaler/Howell
Programming Room for stories, songs, and togetherness. For more info, 272-4557 ext. 275.
Beginning Spanish Classes, 12:30pm, Ulysses
Philomathic Library, 74 E Main Street, Trumansburg,
Experience the delight of learning a new language, Free,
Info., 607-387-5623.
Cornell Cinema, WSH, 7pm, Promised Lands; 9:15pm, A
Single Man; For information visit http://cinema.cornell.edu.
Dryden Senior Citizens Meeting, 11:45am, Dryden
Fire Hall, Please bring your own table service. The
menu will be goulash, green beans, pears, Italian bread,
and cherry pie. The cost is $5 for members and $7 for
non members. The program will be Rick Hayes, singer.
Emergency Food Pantry, 1-3:30pm, Tompkins
Community Action, 701 Spencer Rd., Ithaca. Provides
individuals and families with 2-3 days worth of nutritious
food and personal care items. Info. 272-8816.
GIAC Teen Program 4-7pm, 318 N. Albany St., Ithaca,
Game Room, Video Games, Open Gym & Field Trips.
Grandparent’s Group, 6:30-8:30pm, Family & Children’s
Service, 127 West State Street. Supportive and educational support group for grandparents who are raising their
preschool & school-aged grandchildren. Free of charge.
Childcare can be provided, register 273-7494.
Hatha Yoga w/Dr. Kasia, 6-7:20pm, World Seishi
Karate, 989 Dryden Rd., Varna, Info.,277-1047 or
[email protected].
Hatha Yoga in the Svaroopa® Style, 10:1511:45am, Finger Lakes Fitness Center, taught by Shelley
Clark, Every Monday, Non-members welcome.
Ithaca College Lecture, 7pm, Klingenstein Lounge,
Egbert Hall, “The American Lenin: W.E.B. DuBois Helps
Me to Find a Framework,” a Center for the Study of
Culture, Race, and Ethnicity “Race and Immigration” talk
by Vijay Prashad, director and professor of international
studies at Trinity College.
Lansing Food Pantry, 3-5pm, Lansing Methodist
Church, 32 Brickyard Rd., Lansing, Bring your own bags,
Info., 607-592-4685.
Lifelong Schedule, 8:30–9:30AM, Enhance Fitness®,
Lifelong, 119 W. Court Street, Ithaca; 9–10AM, Enhance
Fitness®, Ellis Hollow Road Apartments, Tenants only;
9–10AM, Enhance Fitness®, Juniper Manor I, 24 Elm
St., Trumansburg; 9–11am, Full—Mindful Life ;
10–12PM, Clay Class; 10:15–11:15AM, Enhance
Fitness, Enfield Community Building, 168 Enfield Main
Rd.; 11–12noon, Beginning Spanish 1; 12:30–1:30PM,
Strength Training; 1–2:30PM, Cancelled--Polish II;
1:45–3PM, Senior Chorus; 2–3PM, Enhance Fitness®,
McGraw House Annex, 211 S. Geneva St.; 2–4PM,
Ingmar Bergman 106; 3–5PM, Documentary Series;
7–9PM, International Folk Dancing, All Ages Welcome,
Info., 273-1511 or www.tclifelong.org.
Loaves & Fishes Community Kitchen, Noon-1pm, St.
John's Church, 210 N Cayuga St., Meals and hospitality.
Open to all, no limitations or requirements. Info.,
www.loaves.org.
Mobile Food Pantry Truck, 1–2:30pm, Danby
Federated Church parking lot, The Mobile Food Pantry is
a converted beverage truck used to deliver fresh produce, dairy products, and other food and grocery products directly to distribution sites where people need.
Monday Night Seminar, 7:30pm, Cornell Lab of
Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, Topic:
"Flamingos at 14,000 feet: what lakes can tell us about
waterbird ecology", This talk will cover the results of studies
on the impact grazing flamingos have on their environment
as well as new insights on the birds themselves. Free, Info.,
(800) 843-BIRD, www.birds.cornell.edu.
Motherless Daughters Support Group, 7-8:30pm,
April 19-May 10, For women who are grieving the loss of
their mothers, Preregister at 272-0212.
Preparatory Workshops for World of Skills, the Job
Fair, 1-3pm, Tompkins Workforce NY, Center Ithaca,
Info., 272-7570 ext. 118.
Pre-School Story Hour and Craft, 10am, The SPCA
Annex at The Shops at Ithaca Mall.
Sciencenter Tactile Time, 10:30am, 4th Tuesdays.
Toddlers and preschoolers explore their world through
touch. Included with admission. Admission free for children
3 and under. Sponsored by Wegman’s Food Markets. 601
First St., Ithaca. www.sciencenter.org., 272-0600.
Senior Recital: Charles Palys, violin, 7pm, Ford Hall,
Ithaca College.
Senior Recital: Sarah Giordano, mezzo-soprano,
9pm, Ford Hall, Ithaca College.
Spencer VanEtten Kindergarten Registration,
Deadline to sign up is May 17th, Please return to the elementary office, M-F 8am–3:30pm. If you have any questions on your child’s eligibility, please don’t hesitate to
call 589-7110.
Spring Book Sale, 10am-8pm, Ulysses Philomathic
Library, 74 E. Main St., Trumansburg. Info., 387-5623.
The Cayuga Trails Club Full Moon Hike, 6pm, Ithaca
Shopping Plaza behind Taco Bell. Hike will be 2-3 miles,
For more information, call 539-7096 or visit www.cayugatrailsclub.org.
The Landlords Association of Tompkins County
Monthly Meeting, 4:30PM, Ramada Inn, N.
Triphammer Rd.,guest speakers will be Danielle
Harrington from Tompkins Community Action, and Fran
Manzella of the Human Services Coalition, discussing
housing resources in the county. For information write
PO Box 337, Ithaca, NY 14851 or call 697-0300.
Zen Meditation Practice, Every Monday 5:30-6:30pm,
Anabel Taylor Hall, Cornell, founders Room. Sponsored
by the Ithaca Zen Center. Prior sitting experience or
attendance of an orientation session required to participate.For information or to schedule an orientation, contact Tony @ 277-1158 or Marissa @ 272-1419.
27 Tuesday
Al-Anon, 12noon, 518 W. Seneca St., Ithaca, Meeting
open to anyone affected by another person’s drinking.
Info., 387-5701.
Alzheimer’s Support Group, 1-2:30pm, Office for the
Aging in the County Courthouse, 320 N. Tioga St.,
Meets 4th Tues of the month. Open to those caring for
someone with dementia, confusion or serious memory
loss. Info 274-5492.
Cayuga Trails Club Hike, short 2-5 mile hike on Tuesdays,
4pm, Ithaca Shopping Plaza behind Taco Bell. For information call 564-7938 or visit www.cayugatrailsclub.org.
College-Community Orchestra, 8pm, Dowd Fine Arts
Theatre, SUNY Cortland. Students, college faculty and
staff, and members of the community combine to present classical orchestral music at its finest. Under the
direction of Ubaldo Valli. Admission is free.
Cornell Cinema, WSH, 7pm, Import Export; 9:45pm,
Promised Lands; For info., http://cinema.cornell.edu.
Cornell Music, 8pm, Barnes Hall, Cornell, Student
Chamber Music Recital.
Cornell Sustainability Lecture, 3:30-4:30pm, 304
Fernow, Cornell, Darrick Evensen (Natural Resources),
The Eye of the Beholder: Accounting for Differences in
Perceptions of Wildlife Disease Risks; Info.,
www.ccsf.cornell.edu.
12
Tompkins Weekly
April 26
ECK Presentation, 7-8pm, Women's Community Bldg.,
Ithaca, Topic: "The Call of Soul", Info., 800-749-7791 or
www.eckankar.org.
GIAC Teen Program, 7-9pm, BJM, 318 N. Albany St.,
Ithaca, Game Room, Video Games, Open Gym & Field
Trips, 272-3622.
Graduate Recital: Bradley Burr, saxophones, 7pm,
Hockett Family Recital Hall, Ithaca College.
Harmony Helping Hands Pantry, 3:30-6pm, Harmony
UM Church, 726 Rt. 221, Harford, Free clothes from the
rummage sale.
Hatha Yoga w/Dr. Kasia, 12-1:20pm, 989 Dryden Rd.
(in Varna), World Seishi Karate, Info., 277-1047,
[email protected].
Hebrew Lecture Series Event, sponsored by Chug
Ivrit, 12noon-2pm, Ithaca College. Info., 274-1394 or
[email protected].
Immaculate Conception Church Food Pantry. Free,
fresh produce, breads, desserts, dairy and deli. Seneca
near Geneva St., Ithaca 1-1:45pm. For low to moderate
incomes, www.friendshipdonations.org.
Ithaca College Lecture, 4pm, Clark Lounge, Egbert
Hall, associate professor of history Michael Trotti will
deliver the annual Robert Ryan Lecture “An Obituary for
the Era of Lynching: Racial Violence in the Postbellum
South Reconsidered,” is free and open to the public.
Ithaca
Comprehensive
Plan
Committee
Meeting, 6:30pm, 215 North Tioga St., Aurora
Conference Room, Ithaca.
Ithaca Toastmasters Club, 7-8pm, 6th floor of Rhodes
Hall, Conference Room #655, Cornell University, Ithaca.
Info., http://cayuga.freetoasthost.us.
Jazzercise, 5:45pm, 119 W Court St., Ithaca.
Jazzercise combines dance, resistance training, pilates,
yoga, kickboxing and more to create programs for people of every age and fitness level. More info. 288-4040.
Lifelong Schedule, 9–12PM, Morning Watercolor
Studio; 9–11AM, Digital Foto Fundamentals; 10–12PM,
Open Computer Lab/Discussion; 11AM–5PM, Off-Site,
Hungarian Folk Art; Collection on Display at the History
Center, 401 East State Street, Suite 100; 1–3PM, Story
Circle; 1–4PM, Confidential HIV Testing and Counseling,
by appt, Call 274-6683; 1–4PM, Afternoon Art Studio ,
All art styles welcome; 2–3:30PM, Tuesday Book Club;
2–4PM, Open Computer Lab/Discussion; Info., 2731511 or www.tclifelong.org.
Much Ado About Nothing, 8-10pm, Ithaca College
Theatre, 201 Dillingham Center, Shakespeare invented
the genre of screwball comedy (complete with witty
lovers who cannot live with or without each other), and
this romantic comedy is filled with some of his most
memorable comic characters. Info., 274-3224 or
www.ithaca.edu/theatre, Tickets: $4.50-$10, 800-2848422 or 607-273-4497.
Overeaters Anonymous, 12:15-1:15pm, Henry St.
John Building, 301 S. Geneva St., #103, corner W.
Clinton St., 12 Steps & 12 Traditions meeting.
Meetings are free, confidential, no weigh-ins or diets.
Info., 387-8253.
Parent-Teen Information Night with New Roots
Charter School, 5-6:30pm, 116 North Cayuga Street,
Students, Parents, Faculty, and Staff Clinton House,
Downtown Ithaca, Registration Required, Call 607-8829220 x 100 or visit www.newrootsschool.org.
Percussion Ensemble, 8:15pm, Ford Hall, Ithaca
College. Info., 274-3717.
Rotary International Night Chicken Barbecue and
Fancy Cake Auction, Lansing High School Cafeteria,
4:30-8pm, Carry-out available.
For info., Chuck
Brodhead, [email protected]
Sexual Compulsives Anonymous, 5:30pm, This is an
anonymous 12-Step Group of men and women whose
purpose is to recover from sexual compulsion. Info.,
[email protected] or www.sca-recovery.org.
Spring Book Sale, 10am-8pm, Ulysses Philomathic
Library, 74 E. Main St., Trumansburg. Info., 387-5623.
Stress Management Group, 11am, Starlight Center,
301 S. Geneva St., Ithaca, Suite 110, 277-7337.
Sundown Sally, 7pm, The Pourhouse, 19 w. main,
Trumansburg, Info., www.tburpourhouse.com.
"Tell the Women of America", 7-9pm, Unitarian
Church, 306 N. Aurora Street, Ithaca, Info.,
http://www.instituteforcirclework.org.
The Cayuga Trails Club Hike, 4pm, Ithaca Shopping
Plaza behind Taco Bell for short 2-5 mile hike. For information call 564-7938 or visit www.cayugatrailsclub.org.
The Joy of Botanical Illustration Classes, 6:30-9:30pm,
10 Tuesdays from 4/27-6/29, Cornell Plantations, Ithaca,
$180 members and Cornell students, $200 non-members.
Info., www.cornellplantations.org.
Toddler Storytime, 10:30-11am, Tompkins County
Library, Thaler/Howell Programming Room, Toddlers (16
months to 2 years) and their care givers are invited to
join us for rhythmic stories and rollicking fun, Info., 2724557 ext. 275.
Toddler Time Storytime, 10am, Groton Public Library,
Enjoy stories with Mrs. Radford, Info., 898-5055.
Yoga for Women in Midlife, 6-7:15pm, 132
Northview Road, Ithaca, Explore the possibilities for
renewed strength and aliveness, calm and alert mind,
with acceptance and compassionate awareness.
Information 319-4138 or [email protected].
28 Wednesday
The Community Arts Partnership Workshops, geared
toward artists and arts organizations running from April
28th-June 10th: Digital Images 101; Facebook Pages;
Selling Art from Your Website, Overview of Intellectual
Property, Estate Planning for Artists and Grant Writing
Basics. More under Professional Development at
www.ArtsPartner.org or contact 273-5072, ext. 20 / [email protected] for a workshop brochure.
Babies, Books, and Bounce Time, 11:30-12noon,
Tompkins County Library, Thaler/Howell Room.
Basketball League, 5-7pm, Southside Community
Center, 305 S. Plain St Ithaca, 273-4190 x225, Ages
11-13, Jan 25th-May 24th, Info., [email protected].
Candor Food Pantry, 2:30-4:30 pm, Rt 96, across
from Post Office, Free, fresh produce, breads, desserts,
dairy and deli. For low to moderate incomes, limit 1
pantry per week. Info., www.friendshipdonations.org.
Cornell Cinema, WSH, 7pm, Bishar Blues; 9:20pm,
Home; For information visit http://cinema.cornell.edu.
Cornell Music, 8pm, Barnes Hall, Cornell, Guest
Ensemble: Janus Trio, Amanda Baker, flute; Beth Meyers,
viola; Nuiko Wadden, harp; Features new music for flute,
viola, and harp, including a premiere by Kevin Ernste.
Diversity 101: Youth Leadership Training, 6-8PM,
Thaler/Howell Program Room, This workshop will help
participants learn to uncover personal and cultural biases through activities and discussion, and will offer strategies for fostering tolerance. The workshop is intended
for teens ages 13-19 and is free and open to the public.
This program is a collaboration of the Ithaca Youth
Council and the Multicultural Resource Center. For
more information, or to register for the training, visit
www.ithacayouthcouncil.org.
Family Storytime, 11:30-12noon, Tompkins County
Public Library, Thayler/Howell Room, Free for everyone.
Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous, 7-8:45pm,
The 1st Congregational Church, 309 Highland Rd.,
Ithaca, No dues, no fees, no weigh-ins. Weekly meet-
ings, every Wednesday. Info., toll free 866-931-6932 or
718-321-9118 or www. foodaddicts.org.
In This Place, 7:30pm, Kitchen Theatre Company,
Clinton House, 116 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca, 1830: Samuel
and Daphney Oldham are the first free African-Americans
to build their own home in Lexington, KY. Five years later,
they disappear. Obie Award-winning writer/director Ain
Gordon imagines the full story behind these bare facts in
this new one-woman play. $18-$34pp, Ages 16+, Info.,
272-0403 or www.kitchentheatre.org, Tickets: 800-2848422 or 607-273-4497.
Ithaca College Concert Band, 8:15, Ford Hall, Ithaca
College. Info, 274-3717 or www.ithaca.edu/concerts.
Ithaca College Lecture, 2pm, Longview Auditorium, “A
Differential Diagnoses of Dementia,” an Ithaca College
Gerontology Institute workshop by Frederick Marshall,
M.D., professor of nuerology, University of Rochester
Medical School, Preregistration is required and there is a
fee; Information (607) 274-1967.
Jason Corwin Talk, 12:30-1:30pm,Art Exhibit Room,
Macmillan Hall, Wells College. 170 Main Street, Aurora,
Talk is entitled "Digital Storytelling for Youth
Empowerment and Eco-Justice". Info., www.well.edu.
Junior Recital: Elizabeth Faranda, soprano, 7pm,
Hockett Family Recital Hall, Ithaca College, Info., 274-3717.
Lansing Writers Group, 7pm, Lansing Community
Library, 29 Auburn Road, Lansing, Meetings are open to
adults and focused, mature minors who strive to improve
their writing skills and learn from each other. All genres,
skill levels, and writing types are welcome. Group will
meet weekly on Wednesday nights. Additional information available at www.groups.yahoo.com/group/lansingwritersgroup, Free and open to the public.
Lifelong Schedule, 8:30–9:30AM, Enhance Fitness®,
Lifelong, 119 W. Court Street, Ithaca; 9–10AM, Enhance
Fitness®, Ellis Hollow Road Apartments, Tenants Only;
9–10AM, Enhance Fitness®, Juniper Manor I, 24 Elm
St., Trumansburg; 9-12PM, HIICAP Health Insurance
Counseling, by appointment, Call 273-1511;
10–12Noon,
No
Classes
3/31-4/28--Current
Events/World Affairs: A General Discussion;
10–12Noon, Lifelong Spring Walk Program, Gone Fishin’
Trip and
Picnic, Stewart Park. Meet at Lifelong;
10–12Noon, Planning for Funeral Needs, FREE;
10:15–11:15AM, Enhance Fitness®, Enfield Community
Building, 168 Enfield Main Rd.; 10:30–11:30AM, Chair
Yoga, St. Catherine of Siena Parish Hall, St. Catherine
Circle; 1–2:30PM, Advanced German; 1–3:30PM,
Crafting Circle-Needlework and Quilting; 2–3PM,
Enhance Fitness®, McGraw House Annex, 211 S.
Geneva St., Ithaca; 2–4PM, The Play’s The Thing;
2:45–4PM, Full--New Date and Time Facebook; 5–7PM,
Alzheimer’s Project: an HBO Series; 7–8PM, T’ai Chi for
Balance; Info., 273-1511 or www.tclifelong.org.
Loaves & Fishes Community Kitchen, Noon to
1pm, St. John's Church, 210 N Cayuga St., Meals and
hospitality. Open to all, no limitations or requirements.
www.loaves.org.
Lost Media: What You Don't Hear About Occupied
Palestine, 7pm, Ithaca College Textor 103. Come learn
about independent media outlets as a form of resistance with journalist Jared Malsin, who worked for Ma'an
News before being deported from Israel.
Pete Panek Unplugged, 7pm, The Pourhouse, 19 w.
main, Trumansburg, Info., www.tburpourhouse.com.
Seidaiko “Taiko” Japanese Drum Classes, 78:30pm, World Seishi Karate, 989 Dryden Rd., For
beginning students. Info [email protected]
or 277-1047.
SSA Work Incentives Workshop, 10-12pm, Tompkins
Workforce NY, Center Ithaca, Info., 272-7570 ext. 126.
Teens Write! Creative Writing Workshops for Teens,
4-5:30PM, Thaler/Howell Program Room, Tompkins
County Library. There is no charge for the program,
however, advanced registration is required. Contact
Zahava at (607) 273-4675 or [email protected].
The Funeral Consumers Alliance of the Finger
Lakes Workshop, 10-12noon, Lifelong, 119 West
Court Street, Ithaca. All are welcome. Workshop
topic: planning for funeral needs, embalming, cremation,
anatomical donation, death away from home, and home
burial. The Alliance assists members and others in planning dignified funeral arrangements at reasonable cost
and provides consumer education, advocacy, and protection with respect to funeral-related issues.
The Ups and Downs of Cayuga Lake, 7PM, Lansing
Town Hall, 29 Auburn Road, Lansing, Bill Kappel (USGS
Hydrologist) will talk about the history of seasonal changes
in Cayuga Lake water level. Free and open to the public.
Twitter Power Users Workshop, 1-4pm, Alternatives'
2nd floor conference room, Ithaca, This hands-on workshop will meet for one three-hour session and emphasize
internet marketing for business. $30 fee, Registration
required: Contact Alison at [email protected] or
www.alternatives.org.
Wednesday Breakfast Club, Friendly’s Restaurant,
323 Elmira Rd., 8am. An informal breakfast get-together
for bereaved adults. Participants pay for their own breakfast. Info., Hospicare and Palliative Care Services email
[email protected] or 272-0212.
Women's Full Moon Gathering, 8pm, Tranquility
Room, Rasa Spa, Ithaca, Enjoy an evening relaxing, connecting, and creating a sacred space together around
the event of the Full Moon. Bring a dish to pass, a song
to sing, clothes to swap or anything else you'd like to
share. Info., www.rasaspa.com.
Zen Meditation Practice, Every Wednesday 5:306:30pm, Anabel Taylor Hall, Cornell, founders Room.
Sponsored by the Ithaca Zen Center. Prior sitting experience or attendance of an orientation session required to
participate.For information or to schedule an orientation,
contact Tony @ 277-1158 or Marissa @ 272-1419.
29 Thursday
Act! Speak! Build! Event sponsored by Habitat for
Humanity, 7-10pm, Info., email [email protected].
Cornell Cinema, WSH, 7:15pm, Home; 9:30pm, Get
Him to the Greek; For info., http://cinema.cornell.edu.
AL-ANON Hope for Today, Meeting open to anyone
affected by another person’s drinking. 7:30pm 8444210. 518 West Seneca St., Ithaca, main floor.
CU Music, 8PM, Barnes Hall, Christina Bratterud,
fortepiano with Dorian Bandy, viola, and Mathieu
Langlois, transverse flute, Features chamber music by
Stamitz, Vanhal, and C.P.E. Bach, and piano works by
Hummel and Schubert.
Depression Support Group, 5:30-7pm, Finger Lakes
Independence Center, 215 Fifth Street, Ithaca. Every
Thurs. The group is free, confidential and organized by
people who have personal experience with depression.
Info., 272-2433.
Energy
Engineering
Seminar
Series,
12:20-1:10pm, 255 Olin Hall, Cornell,Patrick Hale
(Chevron Energy Solutions) - Wind Energy and
Opportunities,
Info., www.ccsf.cornell.edu, or Mark
Lawrence at (607) 255-2178 or [email protected].
Fitness Training for Kids, 6:30-8pm, Southside
Community Center, 305 S. Plain St Ithaca, 273-4190
x225, Ages, 11-18, Jan 25th-May 24th, Info.,
[email protected].
GIAC Teen Program, 4-7pm, 318 N. Albany St.,
Ithaca, Game Room, Video Games, Open Gym & Field
Trips, Info., 272-3622.
Halsey Valley Pantry, 4–4:45pm, GAR building,
Hamilton Rd, Halsey Valley,
Free, fresh produce,
breads, desserts, dairy and deli. For low to moderate
incomes, www.friendshipdonations.org.
Hatha Yoga w/Dr. Kasia, 12-1:20pm, World Seishi
Karate, 989 Dryden Rd. (in Varna), Info., [email protected] or 277-1047.
In This Place, 7:30pm, Kitchen Theatre Company,
Clinton House, 116 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca, 1830: Samuel
and Daphney Oldham are the first free African-Americans
to build their own home in Lexington, KY. Five years later,
they disappear. Obie Award-winning writer/director Ain
Gordon imagines the full story behind these bare facts in
this new one-woman play. $18-$34pp, Ages 16+, Info.,
272-0403 or www.kitchentheatre.org, Tickets: 800-2848422 or 607-273-4497.
Japanese Woodworking Workshop, 6:00 to 8:00pm
at Historic Ithaca, 212 Center Street, Ithaca, For more
information and to register, visit www.historicithaca.org
or call (607) 273-6633.
Lifelong Schedule, 10–11:30AM, Poetry Writing; 1011AM, Cancelled, Mentoring; 11–5PM, Off-Site,
Hungarian Folk Art, Collection on Display at the History
Center, 401 East State Street, Suite 100;
12:30–1:30PM, Strength Training Class; 1–2:30PM,
Sing, Anyone Can®; 2–3PM, Senior Theater Troupe;
2–4PM, Open Computer Lab/Discussion ; 2-4PM,
English as a Second Language, Advanced; 3-4:30PM,
Aging Well: Strategies and Skills; 3:15–4:30PM, No
Class Today, Explorations in Empathy; 6–7:30PM,
Couples Pattern Dance Lessons; 6:30–8:30PM,
Exploring the Open Office Suite; 7:30–9PM, Line
Dancing Lessons; Info., 273-1511 or www.tclifelong.org.
Loaves & Fishes Community Kitchen, St. John's
Church, 210 N Cayuga Street. 6pm, Meals and hospitality. Open to all, no limitations or requirements.
Much Ado About Nothing, 8-10pm, Ithaca College
Theatre, 201 Dillingham Center, Shakespeare invented
the genre of screwball comedy (complete with witty
lovers who cannot live with or without each other), and
this romantic comedy is filled with some of his most
memorable comic characters. Info., 274-3224 or
www.ithaca.edu/theatre, Tickets: $4.50-$10, 800-2848422 or 607-273-4497.
Midday Music at Lincoln, 12:30PM, B20 Lincoln Hall,
guest pianist Ian Hobson, Features Roberto Sierra's 24
Preludios Caprichosos.
“Out of Bounds” Radio Show, hosted by Tish
Pearlman will feature CHERYL FINLEY. Finley is an
Assistant Professor of Art History at Cornell University.
Her major interest and research has been in AfricanAmerican and Afro Caribbean art. She has an important
book coming out soon: "Committed to Memory: The
Slave Ship Icon in Black Atlantic Imagination."
7pm: WEOS-FM (88.1 Ithaca, 90.3 & 89.7 Geneva)
Live Stream: Weos.org.
Prenatal Yoga Classes 5:30-7pm. Diane Fine. Info.,
[email protected] 564-3690 or dianefineyoga.com.
Preschool Storytime. Tompkins County Public Library,
3-3:30pm, Thaler/Howell Programming Room.
Thursdays. Pre-school-aged children (3-5years) are invited to join us for stories, songs, activities and fun, Info.,
272-4557 ext. 275.
Piano Chamber Ensembles, 7pm, Hockett Family
Recital Hall, Ithaca College. Info., 274-3717.
Save Energy, Save Dollars, 6:30-8:30 pm, Learn
about low-cost and no-cost ways to reduce your home
energy usage and programs that can help you afford
energy-efficiency improvements to your home. Each participating household will receive a free kit of energy-saving items worth $15. This workshop is free, but pre-registration is required. Call 272-2292 to reserve a seat and
an energy kit, or email Carole Fisher at
[email protected].
Spinknitters, 1:30pm, Ulysses Philomathic Library, 74
E Main Street, Trumansburg, Learn new techniques and
make new friends! For all skill levels, everyone is welcome. Info., 607-387-5623.
Storytime with Ms. Susie, 10:30AM,
Lansing
Community Library, 29 Auburn Road, Lansing, Join us for
stories, songs, and fun, Different theme each week, all
ages welcome, Free.
Symphonic Band, 8:15pm, Ford Hall, Ithaca College.
Syracuse Chiefs Clinic, 10am, Beaudry Park,
Cortland, Players and coaches from the Toronto Blue
Jays farm team will conduct a co-ed clinic for all youth
interested in baseball and softball. Get big leauguer's
autographs and advice. Info., www.cortland.org/youth.
Talk on Healthcare Decision Making/ Advance
Planning, 2PM, McGraw House, 221 So. Geneva St,
Ithaca, Persons of all ages are welcome to this free
presentation. On street parking only. For more information, call McGraw House, 272-7054.
The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol,
7:30pm, Kiplinger Theatre, The Schwartz Center, Ithaca,
Tickets: $8 and $10. For tickets, call the Cornell
Schwartz Center Box Office at 607-254-ARTS.
The Stringbusters, 7pm, The Pourhouse, 19 w. main,
Trumansburg, Info., www.tburpourhouse.com.
Toddler & Pre-School Storytime, 10:30-11AM every
Thursday, Cortland Free Library, 32 Church St, Cortland,
Info., 607-753-1042.
Writing Classes, 6:30pm, Brooktondale Community
Center's South Room, 522 Valley Rd., Thursdays, Come
learn to express yourself and tell us about your life in the
town of Caroline and it's hamlets, including Brooktondale.
Call Prof. Berry at 200-4122 or Pat at 539-9928 for
more information or to register for the class.
World of Skills Job Fair, 9-12noon, Holiday Inn, 222
S. Cayuga St., Ithaca, Info., 272-2433; or visit
www.TompkinsWorkforceNY.org.
30 Friday
18th Annual Wine & Herb Festival, 1-5pm, It’s
time to think SPRING as you receive an herb or veggie plant from each winery along the Cayuga Lake
Wine Trail. Sample herb prepared edibles paired with
fine wines. Souvenir wine glass and recipes are
included. Info., www.cayugawinefrail.com.
Al-Anon, Meeting open to anyone affected by another
person’s drinking. 7pm. Dryden Methodist Church. Park
in Rite-Aid lot. Info 387-5701.
Art in Motion Opening Reception, 5-7pm, CSMA, Beverly
Livesay Gallery, Competition/touring exhibit benefits WSKG.
Atlantic Flyway, 7pm, The Pourhouse, 19 w. main,
Trumansburg, Info., www.tburpourhouse.com.
Bakers Acres Geranium Weekend, 1104 Auburn
Road, Groton, Save 15% on all of our tender geraniums,
Info., www.bakersacres.net.
Birds and Blossoms: Bird Walk in the Arboretum, 89am, Cornell Plantations, One Plantations Rd., Ithaca,
Info., www.cornellplantations.org/event/birdwalk.
Borders Night at the Movies, 5:30pm, Borders,
The Shops at Ithaca Mall, Join us for a special night
at the movies with SpongeBob and friends. We’re
watching “Spongebob: to Squarepants or not
Squarepants.” Join us for a popcorn, giveaways and
lots of fun, Info., call 607-257-0444.
"Brown Bag Lunch" 1:15pm, Cancer Resource
Center, 612 W. State St.; open to women with any
type/stage of cancer.
Cornell Cinema, URIS, 7:15pm, Invictus; 9:45pm,
Youth in Revolt; WSH, 7:15pm, Help for Haiti! A Film
Fundraising Event; 9:30pm, Crazy Heart; For information
visit http://cinema.cornell.edu.
GIAC Teen Program After Hours Spot 4-midnight,
318 N. Albany St., Ithaca. Movies, open gym, game
room, video games, snacks, computers, skating &
more, Info., 272-3622.
Graduate Lecture/Recital: Rachel Fannick, piano,
6pm, Nabenhauer Recital Room, Ithaca College.
Graduate Recital: Sarah Toth, soprano, 7pm, Hockett
Family Recital Hall, Ithaca College. Info., 274-3717.
In This Place, 8pm, Kitchen Theatre Company, Clinton
House, 116 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca, 1830: Samuel and
Daphney Oldham are the first free African-Americans to
build their own home in Lexington, KY. Five years later,
they disappear. $18-$34pp, Ages 16+, Info., 272-0403
or www.kitchentheatre.org, Tickets: 800-284-8422 or
607-273-4497.
Interlaken Reformed Church Pantry, 3–6pm. Free,
fresh produce, breads, desserts, dairy and deli. For low
to moderate incomes, www.friendshipdonations.org.
Interviewing for Results Workshop, 10-11:30pm,
Tompkins Workforce NY, Center Ithaca, Info., 2727570 ext. 126.
Ithaca College Chamber Orchestra, 8:15pm, Ford
Hall,
Ithaca
College,
Info.,
274-3717
or
www.ithaca.edu/concerts.
Lifelong Schedule, 8:30–9:30AM, Enhance Fitness®,
Lifelong, 119 W. Court Street, Ithaca; 9–10AM, Enhance
Fitness®, Ellis Hollow Road Apartments-- Tenants only; 910AM, Enhance Fitness®, Juniper Manor I, 24 Elm St.,
Trumansburg; 9–10:30AM, Knitting Circle, All Levels
Welcome; 9-12PM, Duplicate Bridge Class, Beginner and
Intermediate Lessons and Practice Play, Seats Available;
9:30–10:30AM, Strength Training @ St. Catherine of
Siena Parish Hall, Room 3, 302 St. Catherine Circle,
Ithaca; 10–11AM, Chair Yoga; 10–12Noon, Garden
Time, Meet at Lifelong; 10:15–11:15AM, Enhance
Fitness®, Enfield Community Building, 168 Enfield Main
Rd.; 11AM–12Noon, French ll: Beyond the Basics;
11:30–1PM, T’ai Chi Class, All levels welcome; 12-2PM,
Coffee on Cushions, Coffee and snacks and conversation; 1–3PM, Mahjong Class; 2-3PM, Enhance Fitness®,
McGraw House Annex, 211 S Geneva St.; 2–4PM,
Square, Round, Line & Polka Dancing; 2–4PM, English
as a Second Language Beginner/Inter.; 2–4PM, Full-From Age-ing to Sage-ing; 3–4:30PM, Intergenerational
Game Time ; 3:30–4:30PM, T’ai Chi Class, Titus Towers
Apartments, Tenants only; 4–5PM, Square Dancing Dishto-Pass; Info., 273-1511 or www.tclifelong.org.
Loaves & Fishes Community Kitchen, St. John's
Church, 210 N Cayuga Street. 12Noon, Meals and hospitality. Open to all, no limitations or requirements.
www.loaves.org.
Much Ado About Nothing, 8-10pm, Ithaca College
Theatre, 201 Dillingham Center, Shakespeare invented
the genre of screwball comedy (complete with witty
lovers who cannot live with or without each other), and
this romantic comedy is filled with some of his most
memorable comic characters. Info., 274-3224 or
www.ithaca.edu/theatre, Tickets: $4.50-$10, 800-2848422 or 607-273-4497.
New England Contra and Square Dance, 8-11pm,
Bethel Grove Community Center, NYS Rt. 79, about 4 miles
east of Ithaca. For more information: Ted Crane, 607-2738678 or on the web at www.tedcrane.com/TCCD.
Newfield Community Square Dance, 7:30-9:30pm,
Newfield Elementary School Cafeteria, Jean Alve, calling,
No lessons required. $8/couple. Refreshments. Info.,
272-7620, 387-6314.
Night Hikes, 7:30pm, Cayuga Nature Center. Hike our
wooded trails, under the big sky of our back fields or
around our ponds. No need for a flashlight. Donations
appreciated. Info. www.cayuganaturecenter.org.
Pajamarama Storytime, 7pm, Barnes & Noble, Join
us for stories for preschool & elementary age children.
Juice & snacks provided, pj’s welcome. Info 273-6784 or
www.BN.com.
Preschool Story Time, 10am, Southworth Library,
Dryden, For preschoolers and their caregivers. Come for
stories, crafts and snacks. Info. 844-4782.
Rookie Reader Storytime, Barnes & Noble, 10:30am.
Join us for stories perfect for infants & toddlers.
Activities will follow. Info 273-6784 or www.BN.com.
Savage Club Vintage Rock Ensemble, 7-9pm,
Dryden Community Center Cafe, One West Main Street,
Classics from the 50's, 60's, 70´s and beyond, Info.,
844-1500, drydencafe.org.
Take a Tour of the Museum, 11:30am, Museum of the
Earth, 1259 Trumansburg Rd., The Museum of the Earth
is pleased to offer exhibit tours included with admission.
The tour is of the Museum’s permanent exhibition hall, A
Journey through Time, share the story of the Earth and
its life. Info., 273-6623.
The Last Sorcerer, 7:30pm, Community School of
Music and Art, 330 E. State Street, Ithaca, A fairy queen
tries to oust a sorcerer from her forest-green. This 19th
Century operetta uses masked performers and concert
singers to present a commedia dell'Arte inspired
romance.
Info., 844-4039 or http://ithacawomensworks.org.
"The Silver Whistle", 7pm, United Presbyterian
Church, 25 Church St. Cortland, Comedy by Robert E.
McEnroe, Presented by the Trope Troupe of United
Presbyterian Church, Directed by Bill Whiting, Reception
with refreshments following the play on Friday evening
only, Wheelchair accessible, Free, though donations will
be accepted.
Yoga for People with Cancer, 10:30am-12noon, Island
Health & Fitness. Gentle stretching, relaxation exercises,
healing visualizations, and meditation. For information,
contact instructor Nick Boyar at 272-2062 or Sharon
Kaplan at 277-0960 $10 per class. Scholarship available
through the Cancer Resource Center.
May 1 Saturday
18th Annual Wine & Herb Festival, 10am-6pm, It’s
time to think SPRING as you receive an herb or veggie
plant from each winery along the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail.
Sample herb prepared edibles paired with fine wines.
Souvenir wine glass and recipes are included. Info.,
www.cayugawinefrail.com.
American Red Cross Homeless Shelter, Friendship
Center, Food Pantry, 2-3pm, 1st Saturday, Catlin
Methodist Church.
Animal Feeding, Cayuga Nature Center. Noon. Feel
free to visit CNC as our animal volunteers feed our many
animals, then hike one of our trails or visit the tree
house. Free for members, low cost to visitors. Info
www.cayuganaturecenter.org.
Art-full Family Saturday: Zajal, 10am-12noon,
Johnson Museum of Art, Info., 255-6464 or www.museum.cornell.edu.
Art Exhibit Opening Reception: The Earth
Remembers: Reflections on the Holocaust, Gas Drilling
and the Haudenosaunee, 5-8pm,
The Main Street
Gallery, 105, Main St., Groton, Info., 898-9010 or
www.mainstreetgal.com.
Bakers Acres Geranium Weekend, 1104 Auburn
Road, Groton, Save 15% on all of our tender geraniums,
Info., www.bakersacres.net.
Benefit Concert and Fry Bread Brunch to Support
the Akwesasne Freedom School, 12noon-4pm,
Lehman Alternative Community School Amphitheater,
111 Chestnut St., South Hill. If it rains we will be in the
LACS gym. Suggested donation of $8 for the music and
inexpensive but mighty tasty fry bread with all the fixings
will be for sale.
BikeIt May Day Ride, Meet at DeWitt Park at 12:45—
1pm sharp leave time. Ride will take us up the East side
of the lake into the lovely rolling hills of Lansing and Freeville:
total is 28 miles. Moderate ride, approximately 13 mph
rolling average. No drop. We’ll roll onto the commons in time
for the speakers and musicians at the Ithaca May Day
Celebration! Info., [email protected] or www.bikeit.org
Book Reading, 4pm, Buffalo Street Books, DeWitt Mall,
Ithaca, Jaimee Wriston Colbert, professor of creative
writing at Binghamton University, will read from her new
book, Shark Girls.
Info., 273-8246 or email
[email protected]. This event is free and
open to the public.
Borders Kids' Storytime, 10am, Borders, The Shops
at Ithaca Mall, gather round for a new or irresistible tale,
fun activities and balloons; 2pm, a new activity each
week; Info., 607-257-0444 or email [email protected] for our local kids calendar.
Caroline Town Office Building Open House, 10am2pm, 2668 Slaterville Road, next to the historic Caroline
Town Hall. The new office building houses the Caroline
Town Clerk, Supervisor, Code Office, Library, and
Records Storage.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, 3pm, State
Theatre, State St., Ithaca, Adult $15, Senior $12, Child
$10, Five lucky children have found a Golden Ticket and
won the chance of a lifetime to tour Mr. Willy Wonka’s
Chocolate Factory. Info., www.stateofithaca.com.
Compost Fair, 12 Noon-5pm, Experience all aspects of
composting. Learn more than you ever thought possible
about making and using “black gold.” Master
Composters will be on hand to answer questions.
Interactive displays, activities for kids, tours of our composting demonstration site. Prize drawings at 3:30 pm.
For more information, contact Adam Michaelides at 2722292 or [email protected].
Cornell Cinema, URIS, 7:15pm, Invictus; 9:45pm,
Youth in Revolt; WSH, 7:15pm, Home; 9:30pm, Crazy
Heart; For information visit http://cinema.cornell.edu.
Cornell Music, 8PM, Barnes Hall, Transcending
Boundaries: Finding New Music through Bach and the
Violin, Joseph Lin, violin, Cornell Chamber
Orchestra;Chris Younghoon Kim, conductor, Features
music of J. S. Bach paired with new works by Takuma
Itoh and Jesse Jones.
Dances of Universal Peace, 7:15pm, Foundation of
Light, 391 Turkey Hill Road, Ithaca. Celebrating the
world’s spiritual traditions through music, song and
dance, Live Music, No experience required, $5 donation requested. Phone Diane for info: 607-272-7582.
Expectant Parent Workshop, Cayuga Medical Center,
9am-4pm. Meet the 1st Saturday of the month. Fee $75
per family. Info., 274-4408 or www.cayugamed.org.
Families Learning Science Together, Thaler Howell
Programming Room, Tompkins County Public Library,
2nd Saturday of the month, 1-2PM. Info., (607) 2548256 or [email protected]
Family Storytime, Tompkins County Public Library,
11:30am-Noon, Thaler/Howell Programming Room.
Saturdays. Children of all ages and their caregivers are
invited to join us for exciting stories, lively music and
family-friendly fun. Info., 272-4557 ext. 275.
Genealogy Study Club, 10am, Newfield Public Library,
198 Main St.
Gerard Burke, 7pm, The Pourhouse, Trumansburg,
www.tburpourhouse.com.
GIAC Teen Program After Hours Spot 4-midnight.
318 N. Albany St.. Ithaca, Music, movies, open gym,
game room, video games, computers, skating & more.
Info., 272-3622.
Hawaiian Dance Workshop, 7-9pm, Ithaca Youth
Bureau, Ithaca, Ages 8 and up, $8, pre-registration
required, space is limited, Contact: 273-8364.
In This Place, 8pm, Kitchen Theatre Company, Clinton
House, 116 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca, 1830: Samuel and
Daphney Oldham are the first free African-Americans to
build their own home in Lexington, KY. Five years later,
they disappear. Obie Award-winning writer/director Ain
Gordon imagines the full story behind these bare facts in
this new one-woman play. $18-$34pp, Ages 16+, Info.,
272-0403 or www.kitchentheatre.org, Tickets: 800-2848422 or 607-273-4497.
Ithaca College Choir and Madrigal Singers,
8:15pm, Ford Hall, James J. Whalen Center for Music
Ithaca College, Ithaca, Info., 274-3717 or
www.ithaca.edu/concerts.
Ithaca Dragon Boat Club, 10am-1pm, Cass Park
Docks (behind the pool/skating rink.) Join us for out first
outing of the year and try dragon boating. Free! For
information, please Contact Heather Swift at
[email protected].
Junior Recital: Mark Neville, trombone, 1pm,
Hockett Family Recital Hall, Ithaca College.
Ladies Garden Party, 4:30pm, Danby Federated
Church, 1859 Danby Rd., Ithaca, We will have table
games, a light supper, and special program on the
"Garden of Weedin' ". Please wear something flowery to
help brighten the Garden Party. Please sign up on the
clipboard in the Fellowship Hall with your name, contact
phone number, and number of ladies in your group
attending, or call Bonnie Rathbun at 272-1606 with that
information by April 25. The supper will be provided by
the Men's Fellowship of Danby Federated Church.
Lifelong Schedule, 9–12PM, Men’s Group, Newcomers
Welcome; 9:15AM, Lifelong Radio Show (WHCU 870 AM)
Sarah Jane Blake and Greta Colavito; 11AM–5PM, OffSite, Hungarian Folk Art Collection on Display at the
History Center, 401 East State Street, Suite 100
Info., 273-1511 or www.tclifelong.org.
Longview Open House, 10am-2pm, 1 Bella Vista Drive,
Ithaca. Info., 607-375-6315 or email [email protected].
May Day Rally and Free Community Concert,
Festivities begin at 2pm, Purcell Community Center on
Cornell North Campus (Jessup Rd. near Pleasant Grove
Rd), continues to Central Campus (Ho Plaza),
Collegetown ends at the Commons, Festivities downtown start around 3pm with music, followed by speakers
and a free concert on the Commons from 4:30-6pm.
For more information email [email protected], call
Carlos Gutierrez (607) 277-8699, or email [email protected].
Much Ado About Nothing, 2-4pm & 8-10pm, Ithaca
College Theatre, 201 Dillingham Center, Shakespeare
invented the genre of screwball comedy (complete with
witty lovers who cannot live with or without each other),
and this romantic comedy is filled with some of his most
memorable comic characters. Info., 274-3224 or
www.ithaca.edu/theatre, Tickets: $4.50-$10, 800-2848422 or 607-273-4497.
One Heart Community Drummers, Open
Community Drum Circle, 4pm, NW Corner Stewart
Park, Ithaca, Plenty of Drums to share.
“Our Brothers, Our Sisters’ Table” hot cooked community meal, 12noon, served at the Salvation Army, 150
N. Albany St. Ithaca. All welcome, No income guidelines.
Overeaters Anonymous, Henry St. John Building, 301
S. Geneva St., #103, corner W. Clinton St., 11am12:15pm. 12 Steps & 12 Traditions meeting. Overeaters
Anonymous is a worldwide 12 Step Anonymous Program
for people wanting to recover from eating disorders
(overeating, starving and/or purging). Meetings are free,
confidential, no weigh-ins or diets. Newcomers always
welcome. Info 387-8253.
Pancake Breakfast, 7:30-10:30am, Enfield Valley
Grange Hall, Enfield Main Rd., All you can eat, pancakes,
french toast, country sausage, fresh eggs, hashbrowns,
applesauce, beverage, Adults $5, Children 6-12 $3,
Under 5 is Free.
Saturday Storytime, 10am, Borders Bookstore, The
Shops at Ithaca Mall. We feature new or irresistible tales
and fun activities at Borders Kids. Info., call 257-0444.
Secular Organizations for Sobriety Meeting, 2pm,
Unitarian Church Offices, Basement at Aurora and
Buffalo Streets, S.O.S offers a secular approach to
recovery based on self-empowerment and individual
responsibility for one's sobriety.
Seidaiko “Taiko” Japanese Drum Classes, World
Seishi Karate, 4pm. For ongoing students. Info
[email protected] or 277-1047. 989
Dryden Rd. (in Varna).
Senior Recital: Elizabeth Teuke, French horn, 2pm,
Ford Hall, Ithaca College.
Senior Recital: William Downey, violin, 12noon, Ford
Hall, Ithaca College.
The Big Thaw Fundraiser, 7-11pm, The Museum of the
Earth, Trumansburg Road, Ithaca. Single tickets for the
event are $80 each or $150 per couple. Info.,
www.museumoftheearth.org.
The Earth Day 5K, Cornell Plantations Arboretum Cornell
Plantations, Forest Home Dr., organized by Roots and
Shoots, which is a student run environmental group at
Cornell University. All of the proceeds will go to the Finger
Lakes Land Trust in Ithaca. Registration will start at 10:00
and the race will begin promptly at 10:30. See you there!
Contact [email protected] with any questions. $10 registration fee (+active.com fee), + optional $5 tee-shirt.
The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol,
7:30pm, Kiplinger Theatre, The Schwartz Center, Ithaca,
Tickets: $8 and $10.
The Last Sorcerer, 7:30pm, Community School of
Music and Art, 330 E. State Street, Ithaca, A fairy queen
tries to oust a sorcerer from her forest-green. This 19th
Century operetta uses masked performers and concert
singers to present a commedia dell'Arte inspired
romance. Info., 844-4039 or http://ithacawomensworks.org.
The Metropolitan Opera Live in HD, 1pm, Regal
Cinemas, Ithaca Mall, Stadium 14, Armida Rossini.
The Raptor Project with Jonathan Wood, 10am,
12noon, 2pm, Waterman Conservation Education
Center, 403 Hilton Road, Apalachin, Info., [email protected].
"The Silver Whistle", 7pm, United Presbyterian
Church, 25 Church St. Cortland, Comedy by Robert E.
McEnroe, Presented by the Trope Troupe of United
Presbyterian Church, Directed by Bill Whiting, Reception
with refreshments following the play on Friday evening
only, Wheelchair accessible, Free, though donations will
be accepted.
Toddlers Yoga, Namasts Montessori School, 11:45pm. Walkers-3. Info 273-1673 or [email protected]. 1608 Trumansburg Rd.
Yard and Bake Sale, 8am-1pm, Ulysses Historical
Museum, 39 South Street, Trumansburg.
Youth Salad Farmers Program, Ithaca Childrens Garden,
Tuesdays, May 5-June 23; 3:30-4:30pm, For youth 6-12,
$35, siblings receive a $5 discount, Please register by May
1. For information or to register, contact Meghan Cerveny
at 272-2292 x122 or [email protected].
2 Sunday
18th Annual Wine & Herb Festival, 10am-6pm, It’s
time to think SPRING as you receive an herb or veggie
plant from each winery along the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail.
Sample herb prepared edibles paired with fine wines.
Souvenir wine glass and recipes are included. Info.,
www.cayugawinefrail.com.
A Woman's Life and Love, 4-5:30pm, All Saints
Church, 347 Ridge Rd., Lansing, Cost is $7-10pp, Info.,
533-4716 or www.flwcithaca.org.
Adult Kickball Tournament Fundraiser, 12noon-4pm,
Cass Park, Ithaca, Fee $150; Teams are 10-12 people;
prizes go to the top 3 teams and all registered team
members will receive a T-shirt; Info., Contact the Youth
Bureau at 607-273-8364 or [email protected].
Bakers Acres Geranium Weekend, 1104 Auburn
Road, Groton, Save 15% on all of our tender geraniums,
Info., www.bakersacres.net.
“Busted Belly Benefit”, 2–6pm, Rongovian Embassy,
1 West Main Street, Trumansburg, The requested donation is $8 with children 12 and under free. There will be
music by Nate & Kate and the Yardvarks. Silent auctions will be held on over 50 items. The public is welcome to attend and anyone wishing to donate to the auction, can contact Mary Ellen Salmon at 387-3493 or
[email protected].
Coffee Party Ithaca Area Chapter Meeting, 3PM,
Ithaca Bakery, Triphammer Mall, Join others who are
interested in the political sphere, civil discourse and an
exchange of ideas. www.CoffeePartyUSA/IthacaChapter.
Cornell Cinema, WSH, 7:15pm, Crazy Heart; For information visit http://cinema.cornell.edu.
Cornell Music, 3PM, Bailey Hall, Cornell Symphony
Orchestra, Chris Younghoon Kim, conductor, Features the
premiere of graduate composer Eric Nathan's Icarus
Dreamt and works by Tchaikovsky and Ravel; 8PM, Barnes
Hall, Studio 342: Voice Students of Judith Kellock.
Dan Berggren, Folksinger, 3-5pm, Danby Town Hall,
1830 Danby Rd., Ithaca.
Dino Toddler Tales, Museum of the Earth, 2-3pm.
Every 1st and 3rd Sunday, Dinosaurs in Popular Culture.
Join us under the Whale for dinosaur stories, fun and
games for our youngest toddler dinosaur friends. Info
www.priweb.org or www.museumoftheearth.org or 2736623. 1259 Trumansburg Rd., Rt 96.
Guided Bird Walk, 7:30am, Cornell Lab of Ornithology,
159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, April-September,
Bring binoculars and a field guide if you have them.
There are a few pairs of binoculars available to borrow.
Info., (800) 843-BIRD, www.birds.cornell.edu
Healing Meditation, 7-8pm, Ahimsa Yoga Center,
Dewitt Mall, Ithaca, $5 suggested donation, Info.,
www.ithacayoga.org.
“Icarus Dreamt”, 3pm–4:30pm, Bailey Hall, Cornell campus, Ithaca. Cornell Symphony Orchestra will give the world
premiere performance. The program also includes
Tchaikovsky’s Francesca da Rimini, op.32, and Suite No.2
from Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé. The performance is free and
open to the public; no tickets are required.
In This Place, 4pm, Kitchen Theatre Company, Clinton
House, 116 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca, 1830: Samuel and
Daphney Oldham are the first free African-Americans to
build their own home in Lexington, KY. Five years later,
they disappear. Obie Award-winning writer/director Ain
Gordon imagines the full story behind these bare facts in
this new one-woman play. $18-$34pp, Ages 16+, Info.,
272-0403 or www.kitchentheatre.org, Tickets: 800-2848422 or 607-273-4497.
Ithaca College Orchestra in Concert, 8:15pm, Ford
Hall, James J. Whalen Center for Music Ithaca College,
Ithaca, Info., 274-3717 or www.ithaca.edu/concerts.
Ithaca Farmers Market at Steamboat Landing,
10am-3pm, Farmers Market is open from 5/2-10/31.
More information available at www.ithacamarket.com.
May Celebration in Courthouse Park, begins at
12noon, Courthouse Park, Cortland. Sponsored by the
Unitarian universalist Church of Cortland. info.,
[email protected].
Much Ado About Nothing, 2-4pm, Ithaca College
Theatre, 201 Dillingham Center, Shakespeare invented
the genre of screwball comedy (complete with witty
lovers who cannot live with or without each other), and
this romantic comedy is filled with some of his most
memorable comic characters. Info., 274-3224 or
www.ithaca.edu/theatre, Tickets: $4.50-$10, 800-2848422 or 607-273-4497.
“Our Brothers, Our Sisters’ Table” hot cooked community meal, 3pm, served at the Salvation Army, 150
N. Albany St. Ithaca. All welcome, No income guidelines.
“Out of Bounds” Radio Show, hosted by Tish
Pearlman will feature CHERYL FINLEY. Finley is an
Assistant Professor of Art History at Cornell University.
Her major interest and research has been in AfricanAmerican and Afro Caribbean art. She has an important
book coming out soon: "Committed to Memory: The
Slave Ship Icon in Black Atlantic Imagination." 11:30am:
WSKG-FM (89.3 Binghamton, 90.9 Ithaca 91.7
Cooperstown/Oneonta, 91.1 Corning/Elmira, 88.7
Hornell/Alfred).
Live
Stream:
Wskg.org
Save Your Memories Workshop, 1–4pm, Southeast
Steuben County Library, Learn how to care for photos
and paper keepsakes. Experts from regional libraries will
offer lectures on the preservation and digitization of personal items, and provide an overview of handling and
storing photos. One-on-one consultations will be
offered; bring select keepsakes for advice. Admission is
free but registration is requested. Contact Jennifer
Russell, Southeast Steuben County Library, at 9363713, ext. 208.
Spring Bird Walk, 7:30-9:30am, Cayuga Nature
Center, Rt., 89, Ithaca, Join us at the lower parking lot
by the kiosk near bottom of the driveway for our
Spring Bird Walk Series. Beginners welcome. Bring
binoculars if you can.
Spring Open House and Arbor Day Celebration, 13pm, Ithaca Children's Garden, Rt. 89, Ithaca, Celebrate the
start of the growing season with May Day and Arbor Day
activities for all ages. The event is free, donations welcome.
SwampCats, 5:30pm, No Cover, Oasis Dance Club,
1230 Danby Rd., Ithaca, Rt. 96B, Open Blues Jam, Info.,
273-1505.
The Cayuga Bird Club, Meet at 7:30 am, Main
entrance to Dryden Lake. This will be a good time to see
early spring migration. Bring a snack and drink. All field
trips are open to the public, both experienced birders
and novices. For Information, call 257-1030 or
[email protected].
The Cayuga Trails Club Hike, Meet at 10am in the
Danby Park and Ride lot, corner of Rt. 96B and
Gunderman Rd. The hike is an 8.4-mile hike on the
Abbott Loop, Danby State Forest. For information, call
257-6906 or visit www.cayugatrailsclub.org
The Last Sorcerer, 4pm, Community School of Music
and Art, 330 E. State Street, Ithaca, A fairy queen tries
to oust a sorcerer from her forest-green. This 19th
Century operetta uses masked performers and concert
singers to present a commedia dell'Arte inspired
romance. Info., 844-4039 or http://ithacawomensworks.org.
Tree Walk, 2pm, TBA call Akiva at (607) 589-7937 for
directions, suggested donation: $5 per person, children
OK if accompanied by an adult, Pre-registration is not
required but recommended in the event that we must
cancel the walk – Come dressed for the weather.
White Hawk Ecovillage Open House, 2-4pm, The
event begins with a home tour, followed by a land walk,
live music by John Simon, and Q&A with the green building crew from Creative Constructions of Ithaca.
Wildflower Walk, 1pm, Meet at the Lab of Ornithology
visitor center, Sapsucker Woods, Ithaca, Walks are free
and will be held rain or shine. Pre-registration is not
required. Info., www.cornellplantations.org.
WVBR's Bound For Glory: Dan Berggren, 8-11pm, he
Cafe at Anabel Taylor Hall, Anabel Taylor Hall Cornell
University, Ithaca, Free, Info., 844-4535.
YMCA Annual Triathlon, The event registration forms
are on line at www.ithacaymca.com. Fees are $40 for
member, $50 for nonmember and $60 for teams. Shirts
are an additional $5. Teams can consist of two or three
people. Registration forms will be accepted till April 29
at 9pm, Donations of food product, and sponsorships
from $1500 to $100 can be directed to YMCA Tri for the
Y scholarship fund.
3 Monday
Baby Storytime, 10:30-11am, Tompkins Co. Public
Library, Caregivers and newborns up to 15 months old
are invited to join us each Monday in the Thaler/Howell
Programming Room for stories, songs, and togetherness. For more info, 272-4557 ext. 275.
Beginning Spanish Classes, 12:30pm, Ulysses
Philomathic Library, 74 E Main Street, Trumansburg,
Experience the delight of learning a new language, Free,
Info., 607-387-5623.
Caroline Clean-Up Week, 6am-4pm, May 3-8, Town of
Caroline Highway Department, 852 Valley Rd.,
Appliances, Furniture, Scrap Metal Accepted. NO construction materials, broken glass, hazardous materials,
household garbage, or tires, For questions, call Cindy or
Jessie at the Highway Department at 539-7610.
Cornell Cinema, WSH, 7pm, Leon Morin, Priest;
9:30pm, Invictus; For info., http://cinema.cornell.edu.
Cornell Music, 8PM, Barnes Hall, Student Chamber
Music Recital.
Emergency Food Pantry, 1-3:30pm, Tompkins
Community Action, 701 Spencer Rd., Ithaca. Provides
individuals and families with 2-3 days worth of nutritious
food and personal care items. Info. 272-8816.
Forum: “Disposal Wells: A Solution for Marcellus
Waste?” Women’s Community Building, 100 W. Seneca
Street, Ithaca, Doors open at 6:30; the program will be
from 7–9:15pm, the forum will be held to public dialogue
about consequences of drilling for natural gas in NY.
GIAC Teen Program 4-7pm, 318 N. Albany St., Ithaca,
Game Room, Video Games, Open Gym & Field Trips.
IC Music, 8:15pm, Ford Hall, Ithaca College, Vocal Jazz
Ensemble; Info., www.ithaca.edu/concerts.
Loaves & Fishes Community Kitchen, Noon-1pm, St.
John's Church, 210 N Cayuga St., Meals and hospitality.
Open to all, Info., www.loaves.org.
Motherless Daughters Support Group, 7-8:30pm,
April 19-May 10, For women who are grieving the loss of
their mothers, Preregister at 272-0212.
Overeaters Anonymous, 7:30-8:30pm, Henry St. John
Building, 301 S. Geneva St., #103, corner W. Clinton St.,
Speakers meeting, Meetings are free, confidential, no
weigh-ins or diets. Info., 387-8253.
Pre-School Story Hour and Craft, 10am, The SPCA
Annex at The Shops at Ithaca Mall.
Volunteer Opportunities in Tompkins County, sign-up
for various volunteer opportunities with flexible hours.
Information available online at www.volunteer tompkins.org.
Zen Meditation Practice, Every Monday 5:30-6:30pm,
Anabel Taylor Hall, Cornell, founders Room. Sponsored
by the Ithaca Zen Center. Prior sitting experience or
attendance of an orientation session required to participate.For information or to schedule an orientation, contact Tony @ 277-1158 or Marissa @ 272-1419.
Submit Your
Calendar Listing:
• visit tompkinsweekly.com
and click on submissions
• email: [email protected]
• fax 607-347-4302
• write: Tompkins Weekly
PO Box 6404,
Ithaca, NY 14851
Tompkins Weekly
April 26
13
‘Groundswell’ Builds for Local Food System
By Joanna Green
This is the latest installment in our
Signs of Sustainability series,
organized
by
Sustainable
Tompkins. Visit them online at
www.sustainabletompkins.org.
Let’s say you’re a young adult, or
maybe a not-so-young adult, and
you’re interested in learning about
small-scale farming as a potential
livelihood. Where can you go to find
out what farming is all about and
get the training you need to farm
successfully?
Or let’s say you’re an individual
or small-business owner who wants
to play a role in building a strong,
sustainable local food system in our
community. How can you plug in
and support the next generation of
farmers and local foods businesses?
The Groundswell Center for
Local Food & Farming is addressing the need for hands-on training
and education to support beginning
farmers, urban market gardeners
and other local foods entrepreneurs
in the region. Groundswell was
launched in 2008 by the EcoVillage
Center
for
Sustainability
Education (a project of the not-forprofit Center for Transformative
Action, formerly CRESP) and has
been spearheaded by a hard-working bunch of local foods boosters
including farmers, community
members, Cornell Cooperative
Extension, and faculty and students from Cornell, Ithaca College
and TC3.
In two years we’ve launched
some groundbreaking educational
programs, and we are putting
Ithaca on the map as a destination
for high quality farm-based education. I’ll just mention a few highlights; you’ll find more information
at www.groundswellcenter.org.
Beginning this summer, Groundswell is partnering with the
Environmental Studies Program at
Tompkins Cortland Community
College to offer a “Summer
Practicum in Sustainable Farming
and Local Food Systems.” This
eight-week course is geared for students, community members and
professionals interested in learning
more about sustainable agriculture, local food systems and smallscale farming. Much of the instruction will take place at West Haven
Farm at EcoVillage, as well as other
farms, local food businesses and
organizations in the area.
Students enrolling through TC3
will receive six college credits, and
a non-credit option is also offered
directly through the Groundswell
Center. A small mini-grant from
Sustainable Tompkins will support
a partial tuition scholarship for one
of our students.
The Summer Practicum enrollment is already almost full, but
applications are still being accepted and a wait-list will be established in the events some students
withdraw. Contact info@ground
swellcenter.org for the latest information.
Briefly...
SVE Opens Kindergarten Registration
Registration Packets for eligible students planning to be enrolled for the
2010-11 kindergarten class at the Spencer VanEtten Elementary School are
now available for pickup at the elementary school office. Children who
will have reached their fifth birthday on or before December 1, 2010, are
eligible for registration. If your child is currently attending the SVE
Universal pre-K program, your registration packets will be sent home via
their go-home folders.
Registration packets need to be returned to the elementary office by
May 17. The packets must be accompanied with the following: proof of
age (birth certificate), child’s social security number and official medical
documents that indicate that their child is adequately protected against
hard measles, rubella(three-day measles), mumps, polio, DTP, hepatitis B,
and varicilla (chicken pox). If your child needs additional immunization
shots, or you are unsure of requirements you may contact the Tioga
County Health Department at 687-8583. As required by the state, physicals
for students entering kindergarten need to be given within 90 days of the
first day of school.
For more information call 589-7110.
Benefit Planned for Artist
Fellow artists and friends of Alex Solla from Cold Springs Studio Pottery
are hosting the “Busted Belly Benefit” on Sunday, May 2, at the newly reopened Rongovian Embassy in Trumansburg from 2–6 p.m.
14
Tompkins Weekly
April 26
Groundswell is also partnering
with a group of experienced organic farmers to launch the Finger
Lakes
Collaborative
Regional
Alliance for Farmer Training
(CRAFT). The CRAFT approach
was first developed by farmers in
the Hudson Valley/Berkshires
region, and builds on the training
provided by individual farmers to
their interns and employees during
the course of the growing season.
Finger Lakes CRAFT Mentor
Farms for 2010 are: West Haven
Farm, Kingbird Farm, Northland
Sheep Dairy, Remembrance Farm
and Sweetland Farm. These farms
are offering a series of eight fullday training sessions on Mondays,
May through November. Each session will include an in-depth farm
tour, BYO picnic lunch, a workshop or demonstration on a specific production, marketing or management issue, and plenty of time
for informal mentoring and networking. Membership in the
CRAFT is open to beginning and
experienced farmers, farm interns
and employees.
Groundswell has also partnered
with the Full Plate Farm Collective
to organize the new “Ithaca Crop
Mob.” Modeled after crop mobs
first organized in North Carolina
in 2009, the Ithaca Crop Mob is a
high-energy work party held at a
different farm each month. We
held the first Mob on April 11 at
the Good Life Farm in Interlaken,
where 39 volunteers dug about 200
holes, planted 125 apple trees and
helped install irrigation lines for
beginning
farmers
Melissa
Madden and Garret Miller. In turn,
they treated us all to a delicious
farm-fresh meal and farm tour, and
taught us some great tree-planting
skills to boot. Next Mob: Kestrel
Perch Berry Farm in May.
Groundswell depends on a growing community of supporters who
believe in the importance of local
foods and local farms. We’re beginning a community fundraising
drive to support Groundswell’s
programs and our ambitious
vision for the future. We’re looking
for individuals, groups and local
businesses to become partners in
our work. Please contact us at
info@ground swellcenter.org to
find out how you can be involved,
or visit our website at and click on
“join.”
Joanna Green is Director of the
Groundswell Center for Local Food
& Farming.
The requested donation is $8 with children 12 and under free. There will
be music by Nate & Kate and the Yardvarks. Silent auctions will be held
on over 50 items.
Solla went into the hospital for what was supposed to be fairly routine
surgery and ended up in ICU in septic shock. Like most artists, Alex does
not carry any disability insurance. He was out of work for months and is
looking at two additional surgeries. He is currently unable to work at any
where near his previous capacity and he and his family need help getting
back on their feet financially.
Anyone wishing to donate to the auction may contact Mary Ellen
Salmon at 387.3493 or [email protected].
Students Make United Way Grants
The Danby Focus on Community Understanding Service Program
(FOCUS), a United Way of Tompkins County Program, awarded $3,000 to
local nonprofit organizations that serve the community of Danby.
Students read through grant applications totaling $5,600. The Danby
FOCUS Council decided to grant funds to the following three organizations: Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service received $600 for Community
Based Suicide Prevention Training for residents of Danby; the Danby
Community Park Association received $1,000 for a Commercial-grade picnic table and recycling receptacle in Dotson Park; and the Town of
Danby/Volunteer Fire Company received $1,400 for street address number
signs to be posted at the entrances of driveways or attached to the mail
boxes of individuals with disabilities and the low income and the seniors
populations.
Danby FOCUS) members are Tivin Fowler, Gabriel (Gabe) Gaydos, Sam
Stromswold, Sandra Stromswold and Jaffre Aether.
Classifieds
Antiques
Significant Elements Architectural
Salvage Warehouse:
Great
resource for old house parts, such as
recycled doors, lighting, hardware,
tubs and lots more. 212 Center St.
Ithaca. Open Tues -Sat. 607-2773450 www.significantelements.org .
The Collection Antiques
One of the largest selections
of quality antiques
in the Finger Lakes
Thurs-Sun 1-5 • 387-6579
9 W. Main St., Rt. 96, Trumansburg
Ithaca Antique
Center
Fresh
Antiques
www.ithacaantiquecenter.com
1607 Trumansburg Rd • 607-272-3611
PONZI'S
18th & 19th Century
Country & Formal
Furniture & Accessories
Announcements
Upcoming at
SewGreen
Join our beginning sewing
classes for teens and adults.
Learn to use a sewing machine and
make a easy project to take home.
Sign-ups for kids' classes
are happening now.
Check our website for dates & times.
Fix up your old sewing machine at
our monthly Fix & Stitch classes.
Visit our fabulous reuse
sewing store in the DeWitt Mall,
downtown Ithaca.
SEWING FOR ALL AGES
Details: www.sew-green.org
Free* Kids Spinal Health Screening!
thru 4/30 at: Spinal Wellness Center, 114
1/2
W.
Buffalo
St,
Ithaca.
SpinalWellnessIthaca.com 277-2570.
*A $20 min. donation requested for Haiti
Relief (All proceeds are sent to
International Rescue Committee for
Haiti). Call to get your kids checked!
The Cancer Resource Center seeks
compassionate volunteers to provide
support for people with cancer.
Sharon Kaplan [email protected]
Assistants Full-Time. Benefits include:
Blue Shield Medical, Dental, Vision and
401K Plan. Generous vacation and personal time. Come join our growing
team, serving Ithaca and the surrounding communities for 33 years. Family
Medicine Associates of Ithaca 209 West
State Street, Ithaca, NY 14850. E-Mail:
[email protected] Phone:
(607) 257-5263. Fax: (607) 216-0902.
Women’s Opportunity Center
offers employment and computer
training services to low income
parents and displaced homemakers of Tompkins County. Check us
out to find out if you qualify at 315
North Tioga St, 607-272-1520
www.womensopportuntycenter.org
Seconds on Court is a training program through the Women’s Opportunity
Center & a boutique selling new & used
clothing to the public! Check us out from
10-5 Mon-Sat at 110 West Court St,
www.secondsoncourt.com 256-9957
Writers Wanted - Interested in writing
for Tompkins Weekly? We’re looking to
expand our group of writers. Contact
Editor Jay Wrolstad, 607-539-7100 or
email [email protected]
having a work meet the Sunday Prior.
We will also be having a returnable
deposit bottle drive (don’t forget the
new water deposit bottles). Also, we
will be having a penny/loose change
drive. Donate any pennies, loose
change for this worthy cause. All day
starting early, early......... at Bob’s
house 2019 West Creek Rd., Newark
Valley. There is a huge garage. To
make donations contact Bob at
[email protected] and or
607-427-8135.
For Rent
Ithaca Rentals & Renovations, Inc.
Apartments - All Kinds! All Sizes!
Office: 323 N Tioga St., Ithaca 2731654 www.ithaca-rentals.com
Two Bedroom three miles from
Buttermilk State Park.Clean and
roomy living space in this country
duplex. On public transit bus route.
Beautiful views, ample parking, seperate laundry room. Utilities included at
$900/month. [email protected]
607 564-7921.
Insulation
Entertainment
Automotive
RESTORATION
AVAILABLE
• Refinishings
• Repair Work
• New & Old
For Sale
Paul and Connie Polce
9838 Congress St., Ext.
Trumansburg, NY 14886
607-387-5248 Open Daily 9-5
www.ponzisantiques.com
SNOOTY FOX ANTIQUES
Come and Shop with Dick & Jane Classen
Open Saturdays 9-7
and by appointment
Education
Wiles Guitar Studio
Suzuki Guitar Lessons
Children thru Adults
Community Corners Ithaca
592-2591
Charity Garage Sale. Relay for Life
and Diane Potter Medical Bills May
8th. We are looking for all types of
donations, used, new..... Furniture,
electronics, anything of value. We will
be picking items up on Fridays and
Photography
Book your Family Portrait. Also
wedding and Resume Photos. Call
Studio 97 Photography by Kathy
Morris 277-5656.
607-564-3369
21 Taber Rd • Newfield NY
Just off Rt. 13 at the Newfield Exit
Employment
We're growing our staff. Nurse
Practitioner, Billing Specialist, Front
Desk Receptionist, Certified Medical
Sell It Fast!
We'll run your classified line ad for
only $5! (per 10 words)
Mail to: Tompkins Weekly Classifieds, PO Box 6404 Ithaca NY 14851,
fax this form to: 607-347-4302, (Questions? Call 607-327-1226)
or enter your classified information from our website www.tompkinsweekly.com
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6. We cannot print your ad without the following information.
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Tompkins Weekly
April 26
15
DOT
Continued from page 1
to defeat it. When you have fulltime lobbyists in Albany, which
they have, you have more of an
opportunity to make your case and
to push an agenda.
“I said this before and I absolutely believe it,” she notes, “the people
in our area were the losers. Those
powerful folks in Albany were the
people who won in the end. It’s not
the people’s business that’s being
promoted in Albany.”
What about trucking and agricultural interests that found the regulations burdensome and applauded
the DOT reversal? “Talk to people
who live along these highways, and
that includes farmers,” says
Mackesey. “They’re just dying. If
we think we can maintain a tourist
industry with our scenic byways
filled with garbage trucks dripping
garbage off the back of them on
these narrow highways…No bicycle groups are going to want to go
down Route 89. We have no reason
to think [trucks] aren’t going to
increase. Why wouldn’t they?”
And Mackesey is skeptical that
the transportation department will
take other measures to mitigate
Finger Lakes truck traffic as the
DOT said it would, especially given
budget restraints and the lack of
political will. “I’m not very optimistic,” she says, “I felt it was just
window-dressing to make it a softer
blow. I would be very surprised if
we saw increased inspections and
things like that.”
The Upstate Safety Task Force, a
citizens’ group, pushed for these
truck rules for years. Mackesey’s
leadership in that group prompted
her appointment to the governor’s
task force. Other local officials,
16
Tompkins Weekly
April 26
such as Assemblywoman Barbara
Lifton and Caroline Supervisor
Don Barber, have supported truck
restrictions. The task force met last
week in Aurora to discuss the
group’s next move after this setback.
Mackesey describes residents
who cannot sell otherwise nice
houses because of constant truck
traffic. “The people who live on
these roads have a role in this.
That’s why we’re doing this,
because people were having such a
horrible, horrible time,” she says.
The Democratic county representative from Ithaca is not giving up
the fight, but she is a little off-balance. She uses a baseball metaphor,
saying “We thought we were on
third base running toward home
and, lo and behold, we just came up
to bat.”
Library
Continued from page 1
toric buildings in the area, including Cornell’s McGraw Tower and
Uris Library. Though the Dryden
library was not required to consult
with the New York State Historic
Preservation Office, the library
trustees and architects decided to
do so anyway.
The planned addition “is worthy
of a design award,” writes James
Warren, historic sites restoration
coordinator for New York State
Office of Parks, Recreation and
Historic Preservation, in a letter to
Hugo.
The expanded library will be
handicapped-accessible, include a
sloped and flat roof, host an outdoor
children’s reading area and more
space in general for the children’s
area, and have enough room for up
to 20 computer terminals. The
library is not seeking LEED certification, although the plans include
some sustainable features, Hugo
says.
The library association plans to
take construction bids by early
summer and begin construction as
soon
as
possible
thereafter.
Construction is expected to take
about a year.
“We just heard that last year
library usage was up 17 percent.
We expect usage to continue to be
up. In tough times, libraries are
used,” Lane notes.
Jail
Continued from page 3
Shinagawa recalls growing up on
the south side of Santa Rosa, Calif.,
surrounded by gang violence and
high school dropouts. “I saw people
get locked up, get out, deal more
drugs, go back to jail and then stay
there for the rest of their lives.
They didn’t have a support structure,” he says. “ATI programs are
saying, ‘We notice that you have a
problem and we are going to help
you.’” Rossiter notes that, “We are
talking about individuals with very
strong drives. We aren’t claiming
that we can change somebody’s
nature; we are shifting their focus
from their addiction to something
positive. It’s my hope that they will
attack recovery with the same
ferocity that they embrace addiction.”
Stein concedes that ATI programs are controversial, reflecting
a deep moral and ethical dilemma
about crime and punishment.
“There are those who are redemption-oriented and those who believe
that individuals must be punished
for their sins. If you look at the
Bible it says that people should be
punished for their sins, but the
Bible also has stories such as the
prodigal son, a story that emphasizes redemption as opposed to punishment. The ATI controversy is
based on deep notions of what is
right and what is wrong.”
To read the ATI cost analysis contact the public safety committee at
274-5434.
Technology
Continued from page 10
over 27 inches (unless they are
LCD/DED).
Staff members removed the data
from all donated computers using a
secure three-pass rewrite, so people
can donate without worrying about
their privacy. If you have special
security issues they can, for an
additional charge, wipe the data to
Department of Defense standards
or even destroy the hard drive.
Most computers donated will not
need this extra security, but it is
available.
For more information or to volunteer, visit the eCenter in the
Triphammer
Mall,
2255
N.
Triphammer Road, call 257-9699, email [email protected]
or visit www.fingerlakesreuse.org.
Candidates Sought
At a meeting in early June the
Tompkins County Democratic
Committee will endorse candidates
for the positions of County Judge,
City Judge, County Sheriff and
County Clerk.
Anyone interested in running for
one of these positions or in obtaining additional information should
call County Democratic Chair Irene
Stein at 266-7579.