Living in Dryden

Pheasants from Farm to Food Banks

The colorful pheasants of Game Farm Road will be no more - Governor Paterson announced the closing of the Reynolds Game Farm to "save up to $750,000 in annual operation costs".

Pheasants pondering at Reynolds Game Farm

And the 8,000 pheasants?

DEC considered several options in preparation of the farm's closure. However, it found neither relocation nor release to the wild viable. A small number of pheasants may be taken by private game breeders or farms. However, stocking facilities were either unwilling or ill-equipped to accept the entire pheasant flock. The pheasants have had their wing feathers clipped and are unable to fly, an unsuitable condition for release into the wild. Cornell University will perform avian influenza disease testing and certification free of charge. Once the pheasants are processed and packaged, they will then be donated to a food bank in the Southern Tier.

I'm not really sure how you cook pheasant, though I doubt it's that hard. (And weren't we releasing birds with clipped wings into the wild before? That doesn't quite make sense either.)

Now we can watch for the real question, over the land. I'm guessing Cornell will get it eventually, but who knows.

Update: Here's the Journal article and the New York Times article.

Donations

(An annual story...)

People often seem to make their donations at the end of the year, both for holiday and tax reasons. This is a list of organizations in Dryden that could take donations. I believe, though I'm not entirely certain, that these are non-profit organizations, and therefore tax-exempt, but I could be wrong. Check with the organization if you have a question about that.

I've posted a list of churches earlier, and I'm sure they'd all happily accept donations, with the exception of Ellis Hollow Community Church, which has closed.

Other possible Dryden organizations for donations include:

• Bethel Grove Community Center
  1825 Slaterville Road
  Ithaca, NY 14850

• Dryden Community Center Cafe
  P.O. 801
  Dryden, NY 13053
  website

• Dryden Kitchen Cupboard
  Tompkins County Food Pantry
  800 Enfield Falls Road
  Newfield, NY 14867
  website

• Dryden Town Historical Society
  36 West Main Street
  P.O. Box 69
  Dryden, NY 13053
  website

• Dryden Veterans Memorial Home
  2272 Dryden Road
  Dryden, NY 13053

• Dryden Youth Opportunity Fund
  Make checks out to Community Foundation of Tompkins County/DYOF
  DYOF
  P.O Box 1076
  Dryden, NY 13053
  website

• Ellis Hollow Community Center
  111 Genung Road
  Ithaca, NY 14850
  website

• Etna Community Center
  P.O. Box 425
  Etna, NY 13062

• Freeville Food Pantry
  Freeville United Methodist Church
  PO Box 229
  Freeville, NY 13068

• Neptune Hose Company & Dryden Ambulance
  26 North Street
  Dryden, NY 13053
  website

• Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts
  P.O. Box 6607
  Ithaca, NY 14850
  website

• Southworth Library Association
  P.O. Box 45
  Dryden, NY 13053
  website

• Tompkins County SPCA
  1640 Hanshaw Road
  Ithaca, NY 14850
  website

• Varna Community Association
  PO Box 4771
  Ithaca, NY 14852-4771
  website

• Varna Volunteer Fire Company, Inc.
  14 Turkey Hill Road
  Ithaca, NY 14850
  website

• W.B. Strong Fire Company
  21 Union Street
  PO Box 129
  Freeville, NY 13068

• Willow Glen Cemetery Association
  P.O. Box 299
  Dryden, NY 13053-0299

If you have additions or corrections, please let me know in the comments. I'm guessing I missed a few.

Village sidewalks

City sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style...

The City of Ithaca's sidewalk-clearing policy seems mostly to annoy people without getting a lot done. They plow the streets, of course, but property owners have to clear the snow from their sidewalks within 24 hours or face escalating fines. This ensures that the first 24 hours after a snowfall will present pedestrians with a crazy patchwork of shoveled and not shoveled, and gives people lots of reason to complain about their useless city government imposing on them.

So much for "Ithaca values," right? I mean, I've had fun for a few years telling my poor oppressed Ithaca neighbors that it doesn't have to be that way. Even a Republican-run village like Dryden has its own DPW crews out clearing sidewalks, ensuring that the major pathways are all walkable. The response I get from Ithaca folks is usually muttering under their breath about how things need to change in Ithaca but never will.

Unfortunately, though, it sounds like the Village of Dryden is gearing up to be just as short-sighted as the City of Ithaca. Village Trustee (and Deputy Mayor) Robert Witty is "not in favor of being in the sidewalk business":

He suggested the Village adopt a policy similar to the City of Ithaca, which aggressively maintains homeowner responsibility for the clearing of sidewalks.

Police Chief Margaret Ryan said Dryden local laws state that it is up to homeowners to clear their own sidewalks within 24 hours of snowfall.

Right. I'm sure the village is spending a fortune on their sidewalk plowing, and after all, it's a lot more fun to charge people for the privilege of being a public right-of-way than to have the public maintain a public right-of-way.

I'm not entirely surprised by this, but of all the "Ithaca values" these Dryden Republicans had to choose from....

Sungiva's ninth month

Sungiva is nine months old today. She might have mistaken Christmas for her birthday, as she got a lot of things and had a lot of fun, but I don't think she quite figured out what it was all about.

The mouse-bear sleeps.

Sungiva explores the mirror in a trash can.

Sungiva studies.

Sungiva enjoys her rocking horse..

One of her more fun Christmas gifts, which you can see above, is a 3-in-1 highchair. It's a highchair, but it's also a desk (shown above) and a rocking horse. She also got exciting toys, clothes, and dishes, which I'm sure you'll see in future installments.

As always, for those who want to see more Sungiva, I've also posted a gallery.