November 06, 2005

After-school programs, elementary school foyer

I missed covering last week's Dryden Courier, and there are only a few days left to get the current issue. I've chosen some especially unfortunate issues to cover late. If you want to get a feel for all the candidates up for election Tuesday, I strongly recommend getting this week's Dryden Courier. It includes answers to a questionnaire from Legislative...

Posted by simonstl at 04:43 PM

November 02, 2005

Hall Pass to jazz

This morning's Ithaca Journal features Hall Pass, a group of Dryden teachers who play jazz together. If you want to hear them, they have a "semi-official gig on the second Friday of the month at the Dryden Hotel." The rest of the Dryden-relevant news is mostly politics. There's a piece on the 13th District legislative race, pitting incumbent Democrat Martha...

Posted by simonstl at 12:07 PM

October 23, 2005

$50,000 for firefighters; working for better math scores

This week's Dryden Courier leads with a picture of last week's press conference at which County Legislator Mike Lane and Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton announced $50,000 in funding for firefighting equipment at Dryden's Neptune Hose Company and Freeville's W.B. Strong. $35,000 at Dryden will pay for an emergency generator to let the fire hall operate as an communications center in case...

Posted by simonstl at 08:55 PM

October 03, 2005

Foxglove and Wizards

This week's Dryden Courier leads with stories on Freeville's Foxglove Bed & Breakfast, which has been in business since 1997, and the upcoming visit of the Harlem Wizards to take on a team of Dryden school staff and coaches. The Wizards game will be held on Wednesday at Dryden High School at 7:00pm, and is a fundraiser for the Dryden...

Posted by simonstl at 07:36 PM

October 01, 2005

Dryden and Ithaca still have JV Football

I hadn't realized it, but the Dryden and Ithaca school districts are among the few in the county that still have a junior varsity football program. Lansing also has one, and Trumansburg's closed this fall. The pictures with the article are of the Dryden team, and there's some good discussion of why JV is a good complement to varsity football...

Posted by simonstl at 01:33 PM

September 28, 2005

Corgis on Baker Hill Road

The Our Towns section of today's Ithaca Journal and the paper generally have lots about Dryden today, but I'll start with the most fun article, about a Corgi at a house just up the hill from mine who won the American Kennel Club's Master Agility Championship. Cecilia Madsen and her dog Sage won the award on June 25th, and perhaps...

Posted by simonstl at 12:30 PM

September 27, 2005

County budget, DA's race

There isn't much in today's Ithaca Journal about Dryden, except a reminder that school taxes in Dryden are due Saturday to avoid a penalty. (In the Ithaca district, they're due October 31st.) There's lots of county news, however. A front page article visits last night's county budget meeting to see what the public had to say about the proposed no-tax-levy-increase...

Posted by simonstl at 08:52 AM

September 25, 2005

Town Board meeting conflicts

I was planning to spend this weekend catching up on a number of stories, but instead wound up resting (for the first time in too long), painting and fixing storm windows, and replacing my windshield wiper blades after a chunk of what appears to have been wet cornbread came flying across Route 13 by the airport. Fraternity prank? Fortunately, the...

Posted by simonstl at 08:46 PM

September 23, 2005

Stabbing at TC3 dorms

A Tuesday stabbing at the TC3 dorms will put a Spencer man in Dryden court today, charged with second-degree felony assault, as well as fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Dryden firefighters took the victim to Cortland Hopital. In brighter news, math scores for elementary students throughout the county improved, while middle schools were mixed. In Dryden, elemenary math scores...

Posted by simonstl at 01:06 PM

September 19, 2005

Dryden Katrina aid collected today

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that today is the last day to donate to Hurricane Katrina victims through the drop boxes at school and athletic offices in the Dryden schools. An article on Town Supervisors candidates notes that Dryden Town Supervisor Steve Trumbull is running unopposed this year. Only Danby and Enfield appear to have races for supervisor this November....

Posted by simonstl at 07:29 AM

September 12, 2005

Dryden defeats Trumansburg at Carrier Dome

I don't normally report on sports here, but how many high school football games happen at the Carrier Dome, and get off to a quick start with a last-minute finish? Dryden defeated Trumansburg 24-18 last night. In county news, the Journal's online edition is missing news about TCAT employees rejecting a contract offer yesterday. There's no word yet on whether...

Posted by simonstl at 08:06 AM

September 11, 2005

School construction, HANDS

This week's Dryden Courier takes a detailed look at the contstruction at Dryden Elementary School and efforts to keep it from disrupting the school year, which just started. There's also an article on Help A Needy Dryden Student (HANDS), a program which proves help to district students and families facing hard times and difficult situations. There's mention of the upcoming...

Posted by simonstl at 08:09 PM

September 06, 2005

Fixing schools, moving creeks

With the Labor Day weekend, I almost forgot to report on last week's issue of the Dryden Courier. It leads with articles on the Dryden School District's rush to finish renovations on the elementary schools, and with the successful completion of the Virgil Creek restoration project, which put Virgil Creek back in its original bed along Lake Road. Inside, there's...

Posted by simonstl at 07:05 PM

August 29, 2005

Playground built

This morning's Ithaca Journal visits Saturday's playground build at Dryden Elementary School, talking to volunteers and people who helped raise money for the project. I'll have to stop by and see what it looks like now that it's completed....

Posted by simonstl at 07:31 AM

August 27, 2005

Work day at Dryden Elementary

I spent most of the morning at Dryden Elementary School, taking pictures and helping rake gravel for the new playground. New sign on a new playground. Spreading mulch. Testing out the fun. I've posted a gallery of pictures if you want to see a lot more, and the build continues today until 5:00pm if you're inclined to go over with...

Posted by simonstl at 02:11 PM

August 26, 2005

School construction

This morning's Ithaca Journal has lots of Dryden news, starting with a report on construction at the Dryden elementary schools that concludes with mention of Saturday's playground work. Briefly in Tompkins notes that the Eight Square Schoolhouse on Hanshaw Road will be hosting a festival tomorrow from noon to 4:00pm. Three Dryden and Freeville residents are listed for awards at...

Posted by simonstl at 12:31 PM

August 21, 2005

Hay rides and playgrounds

This week's Dryden Courier visits last Saturday's Farm City Day, with a picture of a horse-drawn hay ride and coverage of the displays and activities as well. They also have an article and photo about work being done at the Dryden School District's elementary schools. There's still a build to come at Dryden Elementary School on August 27th. Inside, there's...

Posted by simonstl at 07:54 AM

July 31, 2005

Collecting fire trucks, gathering volunteers

This week's Dryden Courier leads with an article about Dave Perkins' fire truck collection, which at one point included 14 motorized trucks (now down to seven) and two buggies. There are pictures of the buggies on the cover and inside. Perkins seems to be dispersing his collection as he prepares for retirement, but hopefully some of it will stay around...

Posted by simonstl at 08:46 AM

July 27, 2005

Fire in Freeville

A four-apartment building at 12 Railroad Street in Freeville caught fire last night. Firefighters from the Dryden, Freeville, Etna, Groton, McLean and Cayuga Heights fire departments responded at 6:30pm, and had the blaze out by 7:15pm. No one was injured, but one apartment was destroyed with the others damaged. The Dryden Central School District is using a "Solar Express Bookmobile"...

Posted by simonstl at 07:04 AM

July 26, 2005

Dryden Elementary recognized for performance

There's lot of Dryden news today, starting with New York State's recognizing Dryden Elementary School as a Higher Performing/Gap Closing School for its work during the 2003-4 school year. The Cornell news for this week includes informaiton on Cornell's participation in the Fall Creek Watershed Comittee, as well as a question about public access to the Game Farm Road weather...

Posted by simonstl at 08:12 AM

July 24, 2005

Construction and planning

This week's Dryden Courier comes folded very strangely, to accomodate an "Ithaca Times Menu Guide" that I suspect was sized for the larger Ithaca Times. Inside, though, there's plenty of information. There's an in-depth look at the summer construction at Cassavant, Freeville, and Dryden elementary schools, including information on the disruptions construction will cause at Dryden into the school year...

Posted by simonstl at 09:12 AM

July 15, 2005

Anderson Young new Dryden School Board President

This morning's Journal reports that the new school board president in Dryden is Anderson Young, with Russ Kowalski as vice-president. In Community News, the Journal notes that Erin Radford, who grew up in Freeville, got a master's degree in international studies from the University of London and is "a program assistant for the Middle East/Africa Division of the International Foundation...

Posted by simonstl at 07:52 AM

July 10, 2005

Creating a place for kids

This week's Dryden Courier leads with articles on improving life for Dryden children. There's an article on Opportunity, Understanding, Respect, and Success (OURS), a group providing activities in Conger's Mobile Home Park started by Jessica Houle, a Cornell student who grew up there. Houle got a grant through Cornell Cooperative Extension, and is working toward buying a meeting place, and...

Posted by simonstl at 10:20 AM

July 04, 2005

Graduation, trails

This week's Dryden Courier leads with the Dryden High School graduation, as well as congratulations given to the Dryden school board and superintendent. Inside the paper, there are articles on the plans for a Freeville-to-Dryden trail and one on the walk Rebecca Elgie and Bernie Fetterly took, including a stop at Dryden's Time Square park, to highlight health care issues...

Posted by simonstl at 04:07 PM

June 30, 2005

Dryden school repairs, much more

Since it's all going to vanish in a week, it's probably a good idea to report what's been in the Ithaca Journal for the past few days. The most Dryden-specific story is one on the renovations in progress at the Dryden elementary schools. Around Dryden, we have articles on the Town of Caroline raising funds for the Brooktondale Community Center,...

Posted by simonstl at 12:39 PM

June 27, 2005

Dryden graduation

This morning's Ithaca Journal has an article on Saturday's Dryden High School graduation, complete with a photo of exuberant graduates in purple and white robes. In his weekly column on Schuyler County, Neil Chaffie gives an entertaining explanation of how candidates get on the ballot in New York State. Right now, Democrats and Republicans are carrying petitions for candidates in...

Posted by simonstl at 08:04 AM

June 22, 2005

Dryden graduates

There's lots of Dryden news in the Ithaca Journal today, on a wide variety of subjects. The Journal lists the Dryden High School Class of 2005, and an article on choosing between the military and college at graduation talks with Dryden graduates Dan Harrington and Chris Ezell, as well as Ezell's father Kevin and Dryden guidance counselor Lisa Bustamente. Commencement...

Posted by simonstl at 08:37 AM

June 19, 2005

School to summer; changes at WHCU

This week's Dryden Courier looks at the transitions from the school year to the summer. There's an article on the Montgomery Park summer concert series, which starts this coming Wednesday at 6:30pm with the Burns Sisters. A full list of the concerts (and everything else on the recreation calendar) is available at the Recreation Department site. There's also a piece...

Posted by simonstl at 11:24 PM

June 15, 2005

Dryden swim team captain killed in crash

This morning's Ithaca Journal leads with sad news: Christopher Ackley, a Dryden High School and BOCES student, was killed in a car crash yesterday on Lake Road. 13-year-old Scott Adams was also injured. In happier news, there's an article on how the Dryden Youth Opportunity Fund's grants are providing new opportunities for kids in Dryden. The first Briefly in Dryden...

Posted by simonstl at 02:23 PM

June 14, 2005

Courier on Hattery, retirements, Dairy Day

I should probably write about last week's Dryden Courier while it's still available on newsstands. The front page has an article about Town Councilman Mike Hattery's run for the County Legislature seat held by Mike Lane, as well as a picture of bicycle rodeo and a long piece recognizing retiring Dryden school employees. (Those profiled include high school assistant principal...

Posted by simonstl at 12:22 PM

June 08, 2005

Dairy Day this Saturday

This morning's Ithaca Journal takes a look at Saturday's upcoming Dairy Day, with a schedule of events and a photo from one of last year's floats. Cathy Wakeman's Dryden Town Talk column visits the Dryden Disaster Partnership Group, "future visionaries preparing the community for any eventuality." They'll also have a booth at Dairy Day. Wakeman also notes that the Methodist...

Posted by simonstl at 07:34 AM

May 29, 2005

Schools, annexation

This week's Dryden Courier takes a look at Dryden Superintendent Mark Crawford's first year. A few of the key points are the formalizing of the HANDS program, creating an after-school program at Cassavant Elementary School, and the recent passage of the budget on the first vote. Crawford is also holding regular meetings with the faculty and staff meetings, and starting...

Posted by simonstl at 02:08 PM

May 25, 2005

Dryden 4th grader wins art award

Devontae Sims, a fourth-grade boy at Dryden Intermediate School, "was awarded Best Design honors by the National Education Association of New York in the kindergarten through fourth-grade division of the first ever Great Public Schools Art Contest," for a poster of the "perfect school." Coming right after high school students' success, it seems that Dryden is doing very well in...

Posted by simonstl at 08:06 AM

May 24, 2005

Walsh named Dryden Middle School principal

It's another quiet Dryden day in the Journal, except for a report on last night's Dryden School Board meeting. The board appointed Ted Walsh, who had been teaching English at the high school until he became assistant principal of the middle school last fall, to be middle school principal following Roger Fedele's resignation. Walsh will start June 30th. The board...

Posted by simonstl at 08:23 AM

May 22, 2005

Art competition, recreation

The Dryden Courier leads with an article on Dryden High School students placing at the New York Olympics of the Visual Arts. (The article is available online from the Ithaca Times.) There's a picture of students modeling a Louis XVI ball costume that took second place in Fashion Design, and an article inside that looks at the recent school board...

Posted by simonstl at 08:05 AM

May 19, 2005

English test scores mostly improve

This morning's Ithaca Journal has an article on the latest test scores for fourth- and eighth-grade English released by the State Education Department. Across the state, fourth-graders are doing better while eighth-graders show little change. The article focuses on individual schools within the Ithaca district, and a sidebar provides overall district results. Ithaca's results on the fourth-grade test improved overall,...

Posted by simonstl at 07:38 AM

May 18, 2005

Dryden, Ithaca school budgets pass

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that both the Dryden Central School District and Ithaca City School District budgets passed, Dryden's by a 916-678 vote and Ithaca's by a 2032-1481 vote. All of the propositions for both districts also passed. In the school board elections, despite a confusing table on the front page that only shows two winners in Dryden, incumbents...

Posted by simonstl at 07:54 AM

May 17, 2005

School budget and board elections today

This morning's Ithaca Journal has both an article and an editorial on the elections today for school boards and school budgets. In the Dryden school district, four incumbents (Rachel Dickinson, Chris Gibbons, Karin LaMotte, Amanda Kittelberger) and two newcomers (Brad Rauch and Linnett Short) are vying for four seats. The budget up for a vote is $26.69 million, which includes...

Posted by simonstl at 08:23 AM

May 15, 2005

Dryden prom, school budget

This week's Dryden Courier starts with the Dryden High School prom, and then spends a lot of time looking at the school district. The article looks at both this year's James Bond-themed prom and parents' memories of the proms of the past. There's an article reviewing the Dryden schools budget, and there's a question and answer piece with candidates for...

Posted by simonstl at 08:02 AM

May 14, 2005

Candidate for District Attorney announced

I'm happy to see that the Democrats have a promising candidate for DA, Gwen Wilkinson, who announced her candidacy yesterday. The occasional writings of the current District Attorney, George Dentes, are substantially responsible for getting me interested in local politics. (One of the earliest Living in Dryden entries was on drug courts, actually.) While DA is a countywide position, I...

Posted by simonstl at 09:05 AM

May 13, 2005

Running for office

While the Ithaca Journal may not have any interest in encouraging political activity by publicizing party events, they apparently do want to make sure that prospective candidates have some idea what's involved in running for local office, with an article briefly explaining the petition and caucus processes. If you're interested in running for office in Dryden this year, contact me...

Posted by simonstl at 07:45 AM

May 11, 2005

Jail, probation for Freeville DWI

The Ithaca Journal reports this morning that Jason Kelly was sentenced to 90 days in jail and five years probation for a DWI last June that cost the lives of two friends riding in the car. Dryden Town Talk reports that the Dryden Grange honored Bob and Sue Cardwell "in recognition of their dedication to the Dryden community," and also...

Posted by simonstl at 08:08 AM

May 10, 2005

Dryden Middle School Principal Fedele leaving

This morning's Ithaca Journal has a brief notice that Dryden Middle School principal Roger Fedele resigned last night, after being on the job since last spring. Dryden Mutual Insurance is sponsoring a broad campaign to raise funds for the American Red Cross, as 19 groups try to raise $25,000. Tompkins Community Action will be sponsoring the Child and Adult Care...

Posted by simonstl at 07:55 AM

May 05, 2005

Dryden Town Hall site selected

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that the Dryden Town Board decided where to put the new Town Hall in a meeting yesterday afternoon. There were several locations on the 47-acre parcel they purchased, and the board chose the easternmost site. The costs of infrastructure for a location elsewhere in the parcel figured into the decision, as did other possible uses...

Posted by simonstl at 08:08 AM

May 03, 2005

Dryden schools budget, candidates forums and vote

Kathy Zahler writes in to let us know: For voters in the Dryden School District, this year's official budget hearing will be on Monday, May 9, at 7 PM in Room C-13 in the MS/HS. The regular board meeting will follow (in C-13, not at Cassavant as originally published in the school calendar). A meet-the-candidates forum will be held Thursday,...

Posted by simonstl at 09:19 AM

April 28, 2005

Dryden Hotel reopens; duck or not duck?

This week's issue of the Dryden Courier leads with the reopening of the Dryden Hotel, starting with a party last Friday night and returning to its usual schedule this week. Closed for four months because of a flood from the sprinkler system, the Hotel has been repaired and reopened. The mural of Dryden has been retouched where necessary by the...

Posted by simonstl at 12:11 PM

April 27, 2005

Upcoming Dryden events

Between Cathy Wakeman's Dryden Town Talk column and the Briefly in Dryden section of today's Ithaca Journal, there's a lot going on in the Town over the next few weeks: The Ithachords, Beyond Measure, and six other a cappella groups will perform Saturday at the Dryden High School auditorium at 8:00pm. Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for others....

Posted by simonstl at 07:58 AM

April 23, 2005

Iraq; lacrosse; school races

This week's Dryden Courier is packed with news about the town, on levels from local lacrosse to the county legislature to a protest at Congressman Boehlert's office to a Dryden dentist returning from Iraq. Once again, if you don't read the Courier, now's a good time to start. George Birman, a dentist practicing in Dryden and Groton, turns out to...

Posted by simonstl at 08:43 AM

April 20, 2005

Not much Dryden news, many Dryden events

Posted by simonstl at 08:25 AM

April 14, 2005

School aid numbers ease school district budgeting

Today's Ithaca Journal is quiet about Dryden, except for an article that looks at how having state aid numbers on time means school districts aren't guessing about the actual size of their tax levies. It notes that the Ithaca school district's aid has increased, allowing them to call for a 4.32% tax levy increase while spending increases 6.28%. Dryden assumed...

Posted by simonstl at 08:23 AM

April 13, 2005

McLean afterschool; TC3 tech award

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on the evening youth programs at Cassavant Elementary in McLean held each Tuesday and Thursday night. Tutoring and time in the gym give kids academic help, exercise, and social times. There's also a picture of students playing basketball in the gym. Tompkins-Cortland Community College "was named top digital community college for 2005 earlier this month...

Posted by simonstl at 08:11 AM

April 12, 2005

Dryden school budget cuts teachers

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that in its difficult quest for a tax levy increase under 9%, the Dryden school board approved a budget with cuts including "money for a fifth-grade teacher, a half-time reading teacher, a full-time aide, and a full-time director of technology out of the administrative budget," and reduced "supplies, maintenance, board development, staff development and athletics."...

Posted by simonstl at 08:44 AM

April 09, 2005

Dryden Central School reunion

I just got a notice from Gail Finnerty Keech '71 announcing the July 23rd multi-year Dryden Central Schools dinner. 2005 DCS Multi-year Dinner Questions please email DrydenReunion@mindangle.com. Hope to see you this year, Gail Finnerty Keech '71 We MUST have 40 earlybird registrations to meet the minimum required by the venue. Please mail your check right away and take advantage...

Posted by simonstl at 03:23 PM

HANDS becomes a trust

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on the Dryden Central School District's making Help a Needy Dryden Student (HANDS) into a tax-exempt charitable organization. Jennie Daley reports on how "the small fund has been used for almost 20 years to buy items such as shoes, review books or eyeglasses in cases where families were unable to provide them." The fund is...

Posted by simonstl at 08:47 AM

April 05, 2005

Dryden school budget; more on flooding

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on a possible 9% levy hike in the Dryden schools budget for next year, though the recently-passed state budget "would drop the levy increase by 2 percent" if all goes well. BOCES services and a GED program at TC3 were among the items the board was debating. The board's final budget vote will be April...

Posted by simonstl at 08:27 AM

April 03, 2005

School project news good, school budget complicated

This week's Dryden Courier leads with good news: bids for elementary school renovations came in $180,000 under the expected $9.4 million budget. The referendum authorizing the project had been passed two years ago, and the board was very concerned about costs having increased. Fortunately, they didn't. There's also an article on the challenges of the "strong-willed" Dryden school budget, which...

Posted by simonstl at 10:29 AM

March 30, 2005

School board candidates, Dairy Day theme

This week's issue of The Shopper includes an ad from the Dryden Central School District, calling for school board candidates. Residents of the district who are U.S. citizens and have lived in the district for one year are generally eligible, though you can't hold an incompatible public office, reside with another board member, be a current employee of the school...

Posted by simonstl at 05:20 PM

Dryden school budget plans

I picked up the Cortland Standard last night, and it had the Dryden school budget article I've been watching for in the Journal, with plenty of detail. The current budget plan includes cutting the Director of Technology, the elimination of a copy aide and a half-time music teacher, then adding an English and language teacher and a half-time reading teacher,...

Posted by simonstl at 08:16 AM

Helping education through recipes in memory

Cathy Wakeman's Town Talk column in today's Journal looks at "Heavenly Recipes," a cookbook dedicated to the memory of Michele Longo Ferris. The cookbook is available at Hill's Drugs in Dryden, and all proceeds will be dedicated to education. Wakeman also notes the memorial plates in many Southworth Library books, a reminder that people have left bequests to support their...

Posted by simonstl at 07:13 AM

March 23, 2005

ICSD redistricts Varna children to Caroline

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that the Ithaca City School District voted 6-2 last night to implement a plan moving 23 students in Varna from Cayuga Heights Elementary School to Caroline. I need to take a look when new maps come out to see if that's the longest distance to an elementary school in the district; it feels likely to...

Posted by simonstl at 08:49 AM

March 21, 2005

Sustainability

This morning's Ithaca Journal spends its editorial on the difficulties of sustainable power including hydropower and wind. It doesn't mention Dryden, but in some ways it echoes recent resistance to windmills here. Planner George Frantz, who has been the consultant on Dryden's Comprehensive Plan, has a guest column about house size and sustainability, announcing the Sustainable Tompkins Welcome Salon to...

Posted by simonstl at 02:52 PM

March 18, 2005

Freedom of Information in Dryden

This morning's Ithaca Journal devotes its entire editorial page to New York's Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), which gives citizens access to government documents at the state and local levels, complementing the federal government's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). They have four pieces on the subject: Their editorial provides an overview of FOIL, arguing that "while it is true that...

Posted by simonstl at 08:12 AM

March 15, 2005

Village candidate perspectives

I just got this past week's Dryden Courier, and should cover it while it's still available. It's also extra-appropriate today because it includes candidate questions and reponses for the Village of Dryden candidates. Polls will be open from noon to 9:00pm at the the Dryden Village Hall (map) and the Freeville Village Hall, although the Courier doesn't cover Freeville's uncontested...

Posted by simonstl at 12:15 PM

Village elections today

This morning's Journal reports that there are elections today in the Villages of Dryden and Freeville. Polls will be open from noon to 9:00pm at the the Dryden Village Hall (map) and the the Freeville Village Hall (map). Freeville's election is uncontested, with Rachel Dickinson and Tom Lyson running for trustee. In Dryden, the mayor's race is uncontested, with Reba...

Posted by simonstl at 08:58 AM

March 10, 2005

Wind power on Mount Pleasant?

This morning's Ithaca Journal includes a first look at Cornell's plans to put up to eight wind turbines on Mount Pleasant, near its current observatory. Cornell is "still in the study phase of this," and has put "a 50-meter weather station near the WHCU transmission tower." The project, which would provide 10-15% of the university's energy, would be large, nearly...

Posted by simonstl at 08:53 AM

Wind power on Mount Pleasant?

This morning's Ithaca Journal includes a first look at Cornell's plans to put up to eight wind turbines on Mount Pleasant, near its current observatory. Cornell is "still in the study phase of this," and has put "a 50-meter weather station near the WHCU transmission tower." The project, which would provide 10-15% of the university's energy, would be large, nearly...

Posted by simonstl at 08:53 AM

March 06, 2005

Village sewer plant may block TC3 expansion; snowmobile benefit

This week's Dryden Courier leads with an article on roadblocks to TC3's expansion. Governor Pataki's veto of funding for it last year has stalled it, but even with the money, there's another large problem: needed repairs for the Village of Dryden sewer plant, which have resulted in a moratorium "on any increased inflow to the Village of Dryden's sewage treatment...

Posted by simonstl at 10:41 AM

February 27, 2005

Village Board on housing, parking, volunteer fire benefits

This week's issue of the Dryden Courier includes a detailed story on the Village of Dryden's January Board meeting. There's some explanation of the continuation of the multiple unit housing moratorium extension and its future: Mayor Reba Taylor said Tompkins County Planner Ed Marks questioned the extension, but conceded the village was doing its homework with studies and with and...

Posted by simonstl at 07:37 AM

February 25, 2005

Dryden superintendent writes on schools' mission

On the opinion page of today's Ithaca Journal, Dryden Superintendent of Schools Mark Crawford writes about the changing mission of schools and the challenges of living up to it. Crawford writes of Dryden: I would also like to mention that in our Dryden community, as in other local communities, bridges have been and are being built by churches, service clubs,...

Posted by simonstl at 08:34 AM

February 24, 2005

Village of Dryden election ad, school board election coming up

Jerry Carbo, running for Village of Dryden Trustee, has the first ad of the campaign season in this week's issue of The Shopper, and notes that the election will be March 15th from noon to 9:00pm. Looking forward to the next election season: The Dryden Central School District is seeking community members who are interested in serving on the Board...

Posted by simonstl at 09:27 PM

February 20, 2005

Club Dryden success; high school profiles

This week's Dryden Courier has lots and lots of Dryden news. The cover stories include a continuation of last week's profiles of the two Dryden student school board liaisons, focusing on Amanda Christofferson's accomplishments this time. The Courier reports that the Club Dryden event the town held on Febuary 5th was a huge success, with 240 participants instead of the...

Posted by simonstl at 11:43 AM

February 13, 2005

Courier will accept local political letters

The Dryden Courier's editorial this week reverses a policy it had set after the last round of local elections, when it decided "to no longer print letters supporting local candidates." They've changed their minds because: Local elections hit closer to home than any state or national contest. While bureaucrats on Capitol Hill argue over policies that will never have an...

Posted by simonstl at 01:56 PM

February 06, 2005

Helping students, a cappella recognition

This week it looks like I'll manage to cover the Dryden Courier while it's still available, unlike my way-late reporting of the previous two weeks. There's lots in it this week. The lead article look at the Help A Needy Dryden Student (HANDS) program, which began informally as the work of math teacher Howard Clafin, "has quietly diverted unused portions...

Posted by simonstl at 09:33 AM

February 04, 2005

Possible dog park in Dryden?

I don't often find news in the paper that would make my dogs happy, but today they're lucky: the Journal reports that the Tompkins County SPCA is considering creating an off-leash dog park on 12 acres of its own land. Muncipalities and the state haven't been particularly interested in the idea, and while the SPCA facility isn't convenient to the...

Posted by simonstl at 08:21 AM

Possible dog park in Dryden?

I don't often find news in the paper that would make my dogs happy, but today they're lucky: the Journal reports that the Tompkins County SPCA is considering creating an off-leash dog park on 12 acres of its own land. Muncipalities and the state haven't been particularly interested in the idea, and while the SPCA facility isn't convenient to the...

Posted by simonstl at 08:21 AM

February 03, 2005

Final suspect convicted of kidnapping

This morning's Journal reports that Mao-Sheng Lin was convicted of kidnapping in a robbery of the Song Tao restaurant in November 2003. Lin had disappeared after posting $200,000 in bail and was returned from Texas in November 2004. Two other suspects pleaded guilty earlier. An article on students raising money for tsunami aid includes a list of student projects at...

Posted by simonstl at 08:18 AM

January 28, 2005

Dryden schools consider fiber-optic line

This morning's Journal looks at a proposal to connect Dryden to fiber-optic lines for distance learning possibilities, and notes the resignation of Debra Cox, who is leaving her position as principal of Dryden Primary School for a job in the Tully school district. Kevin Vallely, Dryden resident and UPS delivery man, is quoted in an article about how to stay...

Posted by simonstl at 08:46 AM

January 25, 2005

Beyond Measure on "Best of High School A Cappella 2005"

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that the Dryden High School a cappella ensemble Beyond Measure has a song, "Fever," on a collection CD, "Best of High School A Cappella 2005." The CD is not yet available, bit should be out soon, and Beyond Measure's next performance will be April 29th. The Ithaca School Board will be examining redistricting tonight at...

Posted by simonstl at 08:48 AM

January 13, 2005

Land purchase on tonight's Town Board agenda

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on the space shortage in Dryden Town Hall and a possible land purchase to build a new one which will be discussed at tonight's 7:00pm board meeting. They have a nice collection of pictures illustrating the problem, which is hard to miss if you visit Town Hall. The question of recreation land as part of...

Posted by simonstl at 07:48 AM

January 10, 2005

After school in McLean; tax issues

This morning's Ithaca Journal looks at a new after-school program in McLean, giving kids more to do in the hamlet. Lack of transportation keeps kids in the area after school, and there isn't a place for kids to hang out in McLean. The program will offer tutoring, open the gym, and have pizza on Tuesday and Thursday nights. A Cornell...

Posted by simonstl at 08:42 AM

January 07, 2005

Etna fire coverage, schools out yesterday

Today's Ithaca Journal provides more information on the Etna fire coverage agreement that was discussed at Tuesday's Town Board meeting. The article looks at the agreement between the four Dryden fire departments as well as the new Mobile Response Vehicle that Dryden Ambulance is keeping on the west side of town on weekdays. An article on yesterday's snow day talks...

Posted by simonstl at 07:53 AM

January 05, 2005

Montessori School, Varna Fire Company profile

In this morning's Ithaca Journal, Cathy Wakeman looks at the opening of the Integrative Montessori Nursery School, which will be having an open house Friday through Sunday: The public is invited to visit and learn about this new classroom at 4 Thresher Place, off of Spring Run Road in the Yellow Barn area of Freeville. A multi-day open house will...

Posted by simonstl at 08:52 AM

December 24, 2004

Merry Christmas, You Old Building and Loan

This week's Dryden Courier leads with an article on Dryden's connections to the movie It's a Wonderful Life. They have a picture of John Bailey standing in front of George Bailey Insurance and an article comparing the claims of Seneca Falls and Dryden to be the Bedford Falls of the movie. There's lots of other Dryden news as well. Also...

Posted by simonstl at 10:33 AM

December 04, 2004

Drug busts, wood stove safety, jail

The Monitor reports on two cocaine busts in Dryden, one tied to an arrest earlier this week, and one marijuana arrest. The Journal has an article on the fatal fire in Slaterville this past week, exploring safety measures needed to keep wood stoves safe. It notes that 5.6% of Dryden residents have woodstoves, fewer than many towns in the county...

Posted by simonstl at 09:34 AM

December 03, 2004

Passing schoolbuses; school assault

There's not a lot of Dryden news in this morning's Journal. Dryden school bus driver Becky Colbert writes about a large problem on her route along Route 13 from Irish Settlement Road to Pinckney Road. Motorists keep driving through her red lights and stop signs, endangering the children who need to cross the road to get home. The Monitor repeats...

Posted by simonstl at 08:21 AM

December 02, 2004

Education money questions

The announcement earlier this week that a court-appointed panel would require the state spend $23 billion more on New York City schools has created all kinds of questions, including where the money will come from and whether poor rural districts will get the same kind of assistance. The Journal covered the state story yesterday, and today it talks to local...

Posted by simonstl at 07:42 AM

November 21, 2004

Etna fire contract, Pirates of Penzance

This week's Dryden Courier is stuffed full of Dryden news. The front page leads with coverage of Dryden Middle School's presentation of The Pirates of Penzance, including both a picture and a story on the musical and its production. An article on the Etna Fire Department's troubles quotes Town Board member Steve Stelick extensively, saying: "They just have nobody to...

Posted by simonstl at 11:05 AM

November 20, 2004

"The very model of a modern major-general"

I was very impressed last night with Dryden Middle School's production of the "Pirates of Penzance". I only got to see a few minutes of it (I'd driven up from Washington, DC earlier in the day, and can't make it tonight), but what I saw was amazing. I can't manage to speak the "Model of a Modern Major General" song,...

Posted by simonstl at 08:36 AM

November 15, 2004

Quiet weekend on Dryden

The only mention I can find of Dryden in today's Ithaca Journal comes in an editorial congratulating the Dryden boys' soccer team for winning a sectional championship November 6th. There's also a piece from Ithaca City School District Superintendent Judith Pastel on ICSD redistricting. At the state level, the Journal has a number of articles and editorials, though I notice...

Posted by simonstl at 07:42 AM

November 14, 2004

Victorian Festival coming to Village of Dryden

This week's Dryden Courier leads with a Victorian Festival that businesses in the Village of Dryden will be sponsoring on Friday, December 3rd. Nineteen businesses have come together in the past three weeks to do this. Businesses will have open houses and specials. There will be performances by the high school band and caroling, as well as the Village's tree-lighting...

Posted by simonstl at 01:05 PM

November 12, 2004

Preparing for Penzance

Dryden Middle School's production of The Pirates of Penzance is in its last week of rehearsals, getting ready for performances next Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Rehearsing The Pirates of Penzance at Dryden Middle School. Here's the press release, with many more details about the play and the production. Dryden Middle School Presents Gilbert and Sullivan's musical farce The Pirates of...

Posted by simonstl at 08:24 AM

November 10, 2004

Visiting the Crackerman of Etna

Today's Ithaca Journal Our Towns section visits the Crackerman of Etna, a baking business run by John and Beverly Bender of Etna. They've revived old-style crackers, and bake them in their house, a real cottage industry. If you want to try them but don't want to drive into Ithaca, Ludgate Farms carries the crackers, as well as cookies and biscuits....

Posted by simonstl at 08:30 AM

November 09, 2004

Dryden school audit clean

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that Dryden Central School District got good marks in an audit, and that the board is looking at academic intervention support and energy management. The Journal also takes a look at TC3's alcohol awareness programs as part of a look at local colleges' efforts to fight binge drinking. The Tompkins County Legislature will be having...

Posted by simonstl at 08:25 AM

October 31, 2004

Decorating funds, wonderful schools, letters

This weeks' Dryden Courier takes a look at the Dryden Decorating Committee's efforts to raise funds, as they look for an additional $4,000 for wreaths to decorate village lightposts. The Village Board turned them down this time. There's also an article on psychologist Ellen deLara, who concluded after a four-month study that Dryden High School is largely a safe place,...

Posted by simonstl at 02:47 PM

October 20, 2004

New Dryden Intermediate principal, gift box drive

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on Sandra Sherwood, the new Dryden Intermediate School principal, who came to Dryden from Marathon this September. In the Our Towns section, there's a report (with complete directions for how to participate) on the "Home of the Brave" gift box drive at Dryden Veterans Memorial Home. Donors should bring items, possibly in shoe boxes, with...

Posted by simonstl at 08:39 AM

October 08, 2004

School board doors too closed?

This week's Dryden Courier has lots of Dryden news, plus an editorial that looks at the Dryden Central School Board's most recent appointment, and color photos front and back. The front page starts with an article on the unanimous appointment of Amanda Kittleberger to the Dryden Central School Board. The article notes that: Discussions on the candidates were conducted during...

Posted by simonstl at 07:41 PM

October 05, 2004

Dryden graduate in Wells College protest

Several stories in this morning's Ithaca Journal touch on Dryden, so I'll start with a mention I didn't expect to see, given the article's setting up Cayuga Lake in Aurora. The Journal's contact among students protesting Wells College trustees decision to go co-ed is Railey Jane Savage, who graduated from Dryden High School last year. Nearly half the students are...

Posted by simonstl at 08:37 AM

October 04, 2004

Lawnmower trouble

I seem to have read and enjoyed last week's Dryden Courier without reporting on its contents. The lead story is about people in the Village of Dryden riding lawnmowers on sidewalks for transportation and the problems it causes. The mowers seem to have become a transportation mode rather than a grass cutter: Moreover, the lawn tractors have had their cutting...

Posted by simonstl at 12:23 PM

Selling anti-depressants in school

This morning's Ithaca Journal is pretty quiet about Dryden, with the first mention of Dryden in the Monitor. A 15-year-old girl at Dryden High School was selling prescription drugs to other students, and she and a 14-year-old customer were arrested over the sale of sample packets of Lexapro, an anti-depressant. There was also a theft reported on Midline Road. On...

Posted by simonstl at 08:23 AM

October 01, 2004

Keeping farms alive; McLean crossing guard

Today's Ithaca Journal explores the many issues around land-use planning and agriculture in Dryden. The article looks at farmers' concerns about disappearing ag land, their financial needs, and different possible ways of addressing the issue. There's also an article on 14-year crossing guard Margie Albern, who helps kids cross the street safely at Cassavant Elementary School in McLean. Elia Kacapyr...

Posted by simonstl at 05:37 PM

September 28, 2004

Meet Dryden Superintendent Mark Crawford tonight

This morning's Journal looks at last night's Dryden School Board meeting. The Board appointed Amanda Kittelberger to the seat Tricia Edgecomb resigned, and worked on annual goals, the strategic planning committee, and the public relations committee. Following state mandates, they increased the number of credits required for graduation has increased from 20.5 to 22. There will be a reception for...

Posted by simonstl at 08:27 AM

September 24, 2004

Sometimes a conversation breaks out

I'm not entirely sure why - maybe Google? - but one of my entries keeps getting comments. It's Dryden resident running for ICSD; county news, though most of the comments are actually about the Dryden school board elections, which didn't get a proper article until about two weeks after that one. I'm curious why it is that people seem to...

Posted by simonstl at 05:41 PM

September 23, 2004

Church magic, teachers' contract

This week's Dryden Courier visits a Saturday Kids Club event at the Dryden Assembly of God Church, as Gary Croniser II presented a magic show combined with a religious message. They duplicate a story from last week about having the state purchase development rights from farms, but further inside the paper is an article that examines the "great sense of...

Posted by simonstl at 02:20 PM

September 16, 2004

Dryden school board approves teachers' contract

It looks like the contract negotiations in the Dryden Central School District have finally reached a positive conclusion, as the school board voted unanimously to approve the contract that teachers approved September 2nd. Meanwhile, in the Ithaca District, negotiations with the service union reached an impasse. At the county level, District Attorney George Dentes relived last year's failed attempt to...

Posted by simonstl at 12:41 PM

September 09, 2004

Students back at school

Wednesday morning's Ithaca Journal reports on the return of students to schools. Dryden schools opened Tuesday. The Dryden Recreation Department is hosting fall sports events, including an eight-week field hockey program and the NFL Pepsi Punt, Pass and Kick contest, which will be held Saturday. Fewer houses should see their assessments increase next year, though some of those are in...

Posted by simonstl at 01:13 AM

September 04, 2004

Schools watch roofs; county transportation

Dryden appears briefly in this morning's Journal, mentioned once in an article about schools inspecting their roofs after a collapse in Washingtonville, and once in an article on the start of football season. The county is working on a long-range transportation plan. There will be a public meeting on the plan from 6:30pm to 8:30pm on Thursday at the Tompkins...

Posted by simonstl at 10:11 AM

September 03, 2004

Dryden teachers approve contract 128-2

Dryden teachers finally have a contract, after working four of the last five years without one. The Dryden Faculty Association (DFA) approved a new contract yesterday, and teachers will start the school year with a contract in place. The Board of Education still has to approve the contract at its September 13th meeting. The Journal quotes DFA president Mary Ellen...

Posted by simonstl at 07:33 AM

September 01, 2004

School renovation costs rise; festivals coming

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that 10 to 15% increases in the cost of materials may force changes in plans for elementary school renovation. The Dryden Central School Board will have to look at a list of options and choose priorities. In the Our Towns section, Jennie Daley reports on the double festival weekend coming September 11th, with both the...

Posted by simonstl at 08:27 AM

August 25, 2004

Teachers' agreement, water issue

This week's Dryden Courier explores the happier feelings coming out of the Dryden Central School District's negotiations with the Dryden Faculty Association. If all goes well as seems possible in the September 2nd vote, teachers should have a contract in place before the school year starts. The other front page article looks at the water contamination problem at 730 Midline...

Posted by simonstl at 06:43 PM

$5,000 for Dryden Youth Opportunity Fund

Posted by simonstl at 08:29 AM

August 24, 2004

Crawford starts well; Gingrich to speak for Boehlert

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that new Dryden superintendent Mark Crawford "has made a positive impression in a short time." Crawford made progress quickly in reaching a contract agreement with the Dryden Faculty Association that will be voted on September 2nd, and has a strong emphasis on keeping morale up. In the Republican Congressional Primary, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich...

Posted by simonstl at 08:09 AM

August 20, 2004

Dryden teachers, district reach agreement

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that the Dryden Central School District and Dryden Faculty Association have reached a tentative four-year agreement. (Because of the delay in reaching a contract, it covers from July 2002 to June 2006.) Teachers will vote on the proposed contract September 2nd, and it sounds like there's more optimism this contract will pass than the last:...

Posted by simonstl at 07:40 AM

August 12, 2004

Accused restaurant robber skips bail

This week's Dryden Courier has a lot of detail on Mao Shen Lin, who failed to show up to his trial for kidnapping and attempted grand larceny last week after posting $200,000 bail. Mao Shen Lin was arrested in connection with an attempted robbery at the Song Tao restaurant in the Village of Dryden last November. In brighter news, the...

Posted by simonstl at 12:53 PM

No Dryden headlines, much Dryden news

There aren't any headlines that mention Dryden in today's Ithaca Journal, but there's lots of news relating to Dryden. There's an article on state aid to local schools that cites Dryden Central School Board President Rachel Dickinson: "Dryden's tax rate was planned to jump 74 cents to $22.56 for 2004-05, but Dickinson said the levy cut will reduce that increase...

Posted by simonstl at 08:39 AM

August 11, 2004

School numbers arrive, jail numbers don't

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that the New York State Legislature has finally passed an education bill, so schools will know their aid levels before they send out tax bills. Dryden will be getting $12.85 million this coming year as opposed to $12.22 million last year, and Ithaca will be getting $19.71 million as opposed to $18.48 million last year....

Posted by simonstl at 08:47 AM

August 10, 2004

Catching up with the Courier

A new issue of the Dryden Courier will be out tomorrow, and I'm still catching up on last week's. (Unfortunately I missed the week before, but I'll track one down.) The lead stories are on the Dryden Central School District's decision to subsidize summer school only for 11th and 12th graders, not for those in lower grades, and the Village...

Posted by simonstl at 08:54 PM

August 03, 2004

School lunch price hike

This morning's Ithaca Journal talks about impending increases in school lunch prices as well as additional costs (driven by the increasing cost of steel) for a heating and ventilation system. The Dryden Central School Board will vote on what to do at their August 31st meeting. There's also mention of the Dryden Central School District in an article on "mobile...

Posted by simonstl at 09:26 AM

July 29, 2004

School summer program

There isn't much in today's Journal about Dryden, but what there is seems bright: a piece on how Dryden Elementary School managed to keep a summer program going on a much smaller budget than before. The Journal's editorial is on ten possible targets for taxation. It's plainly a joke, but it strikes me as sad that half of their suggestions...

Posted by simonstl at 02:19 PM

July 23, 2004

Dryden school planning, "Headstone Controversy"

This week's Dryden Courier takes a look at the Dryden Central School District's formation of a strategic planning committee to "map out district goals for the next five years," as well as the board's reorganization at its first meeting of the newly elected board. The Courier also notes Patricia Edgecomb's departure from the board. There's also a piece on a...

Posted by simonstl at 12:06 PM

July 21, 2004

Principal, roads, 2-for-1 cats

Wednesdays are often busy Dryden days in the Ithaca Journal, but today's issue is overflowing. Doug Premo, Dryden Intermediate School Principal for grades three through five, is leaving for a job in Ballston Spa after fifteen months in Dryden. He'll be departing July 30th, and the board is looking for an interim principal and a replacement. In happier news, the...

Posted by simonstl at 08:29 AM

July 19, 2004

Fishing, opinions

This morning's Ithaca Journal has a picture of nine-year-old Brandon Elia fishing at Dryden Lake as part of the Wal-Mart Kids All American Fishing Derby that was held Saturday. The State Police seem to have been busy along Dryden's borders, making DWI arrests on 34B and 13. The opinion page carries two letters that are very similar to letters published...

Posted by simonstl at 08:02 AM

July 17, 2004

Teachers' contract negotiations, stream monitoring

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that there may be hope for Dryden's stalled teacher's contract negotiations, as new Superintendent Mark Crawford sets up informal meetings and the personnel involved shift. There was a brief mention of a Six Mile Creek volunteer water quality monitoring workshop this morning at Bethel Grove. It's too late to go now, but I took some...

Posted by simonstl at 01:40 PM

July 16, 2004

Tower, serendipity, making a difference

This week's Dryden Courier looks at the protracted saga of the Crown Castle Atlantic cell phone tower that the Town Board approved last week. They also visit the Dryden Historical Society, looking through the collections and talking about the programs. Inside, they examine grants made by the Dryden Youth Opportunity Fund and a challenge faced by Dryden High School students...

Posted by simonstl at 12:49 PM

July 15, 2004

School budgets, boards, lots of small news items

The Ithaca Journal has lots of news stories on Dryden today, though Dryden plays only a small part in many of them. On the schools front, Tricia Edgecomb is resigning from the Dryden school board a year into her term. Dryden's 1979 High School Class Reunion will be July 17th at 4:30pm.There's also a piece on prospects for resolution of...

Posted by simonstl at 08:27 AM

July 11, 2004

Updates in The Shopper

I've been a bit more lax about covering The Shopper, but there's been less in it lately that I haven't covered elsewhere. I do scour it every week, though. This week's Shopper contains, among many other things: An ad for the new Place Names of Tompkins County, published by the Office of the Tompkins County Historian and available at Wildflowers,...

Posted by simonstl at 09:26 AM

July 10, 2004

Busy day for fund-raising in Dryden

It was a busy day for fundraising in the Village of Dryden this morning. At the Neptune Hose Company, Adam Pamel was working on his Eagle Scout project, Supplies for Success (51KB PDF), using a car wash to raise money to "supply needy children in grades K-2 with basic school supplies that they can not afford." Scouts washing cars at...

Posted by simonstl at 12:20 PM

Volunteer fire companies, jail, laurels

Today's Ithaca Journal has a strong focus on volunteer firefighting, with a piece on families volunteering and the difficulties of recruiting volunteers, the latter of which quotes Dryden Chief Ron Flynn about the sign in front of the Neptune station. Neptune Hose Company needs volunteers There's also a piece on options for the Tompkins County Jail that quotes County Legislator...

Posted by simonstl at 10:32 AM

July 08, 2004

Intergenerational Band, Fish tales

This week's Dryden Courier takes a look at the Dryden Intergenerational Summer Band and Chorus, which formed to help Dryden celebrate its 1997 bicentennial but "discovered they were having too much fun to disband". They'll be performing August 14th at 7pm at Groton High School and August 15th at 3pm at Dryden High School. They also take a look the...

Posted by simonstl at 12:38 PM

July 01, 2004

TC3 awards tech funds

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that Tompkins-Cortland Community College has awarded $45,000 in technology funds to local schools, including a Civil Engineering and Architecture Community Collaboration project at Dryden High School. The Journal also has a cheerful picture from the Dryden Summer Skies Program. In more challenging news, legislation to reorganize TCAT is in limbo, and County Highway Division Manager...

Posted by simonstl at 08:31 AM

June 28, 2004

Dryden graduation, state legislation (or not)

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on Saturday's Dryden High School graduation ceremony, highlighting speeches by 1970 graduate Tim Tyson, valedictorian Emily Rivest, and salutatorian Daniel Perkins, as well as a farewell from retiring Superintendent Patricia Archambault. The editorial page is dominated by last week's conclusion of an unproductive state legislative session, including an editorial, a guest column from a Newfield...

Posted by simonstl at 07:51 AM

June 25, 2004

Catching up with the Dryden Courier

I've been falling behind lately as work has been more and difficult, but fortunately the Dryden Courier is maintaining its weekly schedule. I just have to get around to reading it! This week's lead articles cover the retirement reception for Dr. Patricia Archambault, superintendent of the Dryden Central Schools, and volunteer monitoring of Six Mile Creek. Inside the paper are...

Posted by simonstl at 12:52 PM

Emergency radio breaks down, school aid cut

It was a quiet day in Dryden yesterday - too quiet in some ways. The Ithaca Journal reports that Tompkins County emergency radio system was off the air from 9:30am to 12:40pm yesterday, after a circuit board in a tower failed. The system also failed on May 19th, and tempers are rising over delays in its replacement. The federal government...

Posted by simonstl at 07:50 AM

June 24, 2004

Dryden teachers' contract rejected 116-45

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that that the Dryden Faculty Association voted down a proposed contract because of "finances and lack of respect by the district to the collective bargaining process." DFA president Mary Ellen Bossack is quoted saying "Other districts that used to be below us are doing far better for their teachers than Dryden is, so the sense...

Posted by simonstl at 07:15 AM

June 23, 2004

Revised Dryden budget passes 3-2

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that the revised Dryden Central School District budget was approved by a 1287-860 vote, avoiding a contingency vote. The original budget failed on a 718-718 tie. On a related note, the Our Towns section focuses on high school graduations, with a lead article that talks to students, as well as a listing of the Class...

Posted by simonstl at 08:42 AM

June 22, 2004

New Dryden superintendent

Today's Ithaca Journal reports that the Dryden Central School District has hired Mark J. Crawford as superintendent. Crawford is currently middle school principal in the Williamsville Central School District, and will take over from Patricia Archambault, who retires July 1st. There's also a letter from Arthur Barry of Dryden describing the war in Iraq as "the effect of sin" and...

Posted by simonstl at 08:00 AM

June 21, 2004

Car crash kills two on Fall Creek Road, blood drive Friday

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that two Freeville residents were killed and a third critically injured in a one-car crash on Fall Creek Road south of Malloryville. The paper also announces a blood drive sponsored by the Varna Community Association in honor of 8-month old Aidan Raffe. The drive will be held at the Varna Community Center (map) from 1pm...

Posted by simonstl at 07:54 AM

June 19, 2004

Ithaca redistricting, Dryden budget

Today's Ithaca Journal reports on prospective Ithaca City School District elementary school redistricting, and links to the school district's report on the matter (694KB PDF). I was hoping for detailed demographics of the areas served by the schools, but didn't find them. There's lots of other information there, though! On the opinion page, there are letters pro and con on...

Posted by simonstl at 08:18 AM

June 18, 2004

Family reunion, TC3 tuition hike

This week's Ithaca Journal seems to be overflowing with Dryden-related news. This morning's paper brings an article on an upcoming family reunion for Freeville resident Donna Freedline supported by the Fairygodmother Foundation and an article on TC3's 5.4% tuition hike, adding $75 a semester. TC3 president Carl Haynes notes that that tuition is still well within the aid level available...

Posted by simonstl at 07:33 AM

June 16, 2004

Dryden Dairy Day, school budget

The lead article in the Our Towns section of today's Ithaca Journal is Dryden Dairy Day brings town together, which takes a look at last Saturday's event from the parade to events to the current state of dairy farming. Pictures on the web site are in color, while they're black and white in the paper. The Dryden Briefs include lots...

Posted by simonstl at 08:45 AM

June 15, 2004

Preschool, Reagan, specialized degrees

Today's Ithaca Journal mentions Dryden in two stories, while the editorial focuses on TC3. In an article on New York State's efforts to back preschools, Dryden Superintendent Patricia Archambault discusses space problems and the instability of state funding as reasons Dryden doesn't have a pre-kindergarten program. Steve Scott of Dryden ranks Reagan in the "top 10 of all time" among...

Posted by simonstl at 08:23 AM

June 12, 2004

Solar powered school, absentee ballots

I'm sorry to have missed it, but the Ithaca Journal covers last night's "School Power Naturally" event, where presenters discussed the two kilowatt system that was installed with a NYSERDA grant. The school's $1500 contribution should be made back in two years, but the system is deisgned more for educating students than powering the building. NYSERDA provides a site where...

Posted by simonstl at 07:39 AM

June 11, 2004

New Town Hall to be on site of old

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports from last night's Town Board meeting that the board settled on the location of the existing town hall (map) as the best of their options for building a new Town Hall. The combination of its having water and sewer, already being owned by the town, being familiar, and not needing to take more property off...

Posted by simonstl at 08:19 AM

June 10, 2004

Schools mourn teacher, student

This week's Dryden Courier is heavy with Dryden school district news. The lead article reports on the district's loss of science teacher Dennis Pollack to a stroke and student Jamie Cutting to an ATV accident, and the other front-page article covers the school budget being put to voters on June 22nd. The paper also has an article on this Saturday's...

Posted by simonstl at 05:45 AM

June 09, 2004

Dryden Dairy Day and more

This morning's Ithaca Journal is overflowing with Dryden news. That's not unusual on Wednesday, when the Our Towns section features Dryden and Groton, but today there's news throughout the paper, much of it even good. A cow greets readers at the top of the paper, pointing them to to an article on Dryden Dairy Day, a schedule for Dryden Dairy...

Posted by simonstl at 08:44 AM

June 07, 2004

Contingency budgets, Ithaca Festival

The Ithaca Journal has an article today about the impact of contingency budgets on local school districts, looking at how they're calculated and what their past effects have been. Dryden faces a contingency budget if voters reject the second budget proposed by the board. There are also an article and a thank-you editorial on Laurel Guy's stepping down as director...

Posted by simonstl at 07:53 AM

June 05, 2004

Dryden budget, IDA, Sodom and Gomorrah

Today's Ithaca Journal takes a close look at the numbers in the revised Dryden school budget, which will increase the tax rate from $21.92/$1000 to $22.56, a 3.39% rate increase. The tax levy increases 10.69%, though spending increases only 7.11%. There's also a story on delay in state approval for borrowing Empire Zone acreage from Schuyler County, including some discussion...

Posted by simonstl at 08:28 AM

June 04, 2004

Dryden school budget changes, children among the eskers

This week's Dryden Courier looks at the Dryden School District's challenge in assembling a new budget after the 718-718 tie. Some challenges the board has to face: a 15% increase in gas prices since January a 14% increase in health premiums this year, on top of 19% last year retirement expenses increasing while investment returns diminish a decline in state...

Posted by simonstl at 07:30 PM

Guilty plea in robbery; school testing results

Today's Ithaca Journal reports that one of the three men accused of robbing the Song Tao restaurant in Dryden in last November, Cam B. Quan, has pleaded guilty to first-degree burglary. Two other accomplices, also from Texas, have not yet gone to trial. In schools news, test scores for elementary and middle school English weren't encouraging for local school districts,...

Posted by simonstl at 07:37 AM

June 03, 2004

Dryden school budget, TC3 criminal justice

Today's Ithaca Journal reports on last night's budget-cutting at the Dryden School Board meeting, as the Board tries to modify their budget for a second round of voting after the original budget failed on a 718-718 tie vote. The article includes a long list of items being cut, and the Journal's editorial today warns about what contigency budgets will look...

Posted by simonstl at 08:22 AM

June 01, 2004

Alumni dinner, creek training

Catching up on yesterday's Ithaca Journal, there was an announcement for the Dryden Central School District all-year reunion dinner, which will be on Saturday, June 12th, at the McLean Fire Station. Festivities start at 4pm, with dinner at 6pm. Today's paper notes training for volunteers monitoring Six Mile Creek, to be held from 10am to noon on Saturday, June 5th...

Posted by simonstl at 08:40 AM

May 30, 2004

Superintendent retirement, county legislation

Yesterday's Ithaca Journal has an article on Dryden Superintendent Patricia Archambault's upcoming retirement, looking over her last five years in Dryden as well as a career that went from South Seneca to Newfield through BOCES and around the state to Dryden. The Dryden Elementary PTA will be hosting a farewell reception for her on Wednesday, June 16th, from 7pm-8:30pm at...

Posted by simonstl at 10:07 AM

May 29, 2004

Solar school

I saw this poster at the McDonalds/Mobil station in the Village of Dryden on Thursday: Poster advertising Tompkins County's first solar-powered school Following the web link in the poster took me to a description of how this works. Like other state-funded energy programs I've mentioned previously, this comes from NYSERDA, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. The...

Posted by simonstl at 10:32 AM

May 27, 2004

Journal on fire company finances, superintendents

Today's Ithaca Journal catches up on the long-running story of audits of fire companies in the Dryden Fire Protection District. They report that the Etna audit, the last to be done, is in progress, while the Varna, Neptune, and W. B. Strong audits are complete. (I posted the audit report (2.6MB PDF) for the companies completed so far in March.)...

Posted by simonstl at 08:08 AM

May 26, 2004

All kinds of Dryden news

Today's Ithaca Journal has lots and lots of Dryden-related news. The lead story is on the Dryden School Board's efforts to develop a new budget after the tie vote on the previous one. Developing that budget seemed difficult to start with. The board will take action June 2nd, and the second budget vote is June 22nd. In the Our Towns...

Posted by simonstl at 08:32 AM

May 24, 2004

New Dryden school offices

Today's Ithaca Journal has a brief article on the Dryden school district offices' move to the High School/Middle School, as well as a report on a state BOCES championship in which two Dryden High School students, Daniel Carpenter and Bert Barned, won awards. On the opinion page, there's a duplicate of a letter that was published Saturday supporting Sherwood Boehlert...

Posted by simonstl at 07:56 AM

May 22, 2004

Republican County Chair controversy in ICSD

Dryden news is quiet today in the Ithaca Journal, but the opinion page has some sparks which affect at least part of Dryden. In today's letters from readers, Tompkins County Republican Committee Chairman Mark Finkelstein complains of criticism for his "decision to write a personal letter to local Republicans encouraging them to vote for a certain candidate for ICSD school...

Posted by simonstl at 12:41 PM

May 21, 2004

TC3 graduates 563

Tompkins Cortland Community College had its graduation ceremonies yesterday, reports the Ithaca Journal, which takes a close-up look at Susan Pelfrey, a student who earned her degree while battling cancer. 249 graduates were from Tompkins County, 134 from Cortland County, and 24 from Tioga County....

Posted by simonstl at 05:45 PM

May 19, 2004

Dryden school budget fails in tie; Ithaca budget passes

The Dryden Central Schools budget failed to pass with a 718-718 tie. The school buses proposal passed 738-592, and Anderson Young (1055 votes), Margaret DeGaetano (936), Russ Kowalski (902) will join the board, defeating Paul Lutwak (699 votes). Board President Rachel Dickinson said the district will create a new budget, not present the same one. In the Ithaca district, the...

Posted by simonstl at 08:11 AM

May 18, 2004

School elections today

School budget and board elections are today. The Ithaca Journal gives an overview of school elections in the county. In Dryden, the two largest districts by far are the Dryden Central School District and the Ithaca City School District. Voting for the Dryden district is at the the Dryden Middle School/High School Auditorium from 7am to 9pm today. According to...

Posted by simonstl at 08:19 AM

May 15, 2004

School elections

With school elections coming Tuesday, the Ithaca Journal has a collection of articles on different aspects of school elections, as well as lots of letters endorsing various candidates. Included today are: an article on voter apathy, with quotes from Dryden residents and retiring Ithaca School Board members Art Berkey and Henry Kramer, as well as a comparison of tax rates...

Posted by simonstl at 11:25 AM

May 13, 2004

Wage fraud, redistricting

Today's Journal looks at $107,000 in unpaid wages by a Dryden employer following a guilty plea by the firm's former owner. There are also articles on possible state pension fund changes that might ease the county budget, and Ithaca school board candidates' thoughts on elementary school redistricting. On the opinion page, Dryden resident and Ithaca school board member Henry Kramer...

Posted by simonstl at 08:58 AM

School happenings in The Shopper

Dryden school elections, budgets, and news dominate the Community News section of this week's The Shopper. There are advertisements from Paul Lutwak, Margaret DeGaetano, and Anderson Young, candidates for the board, as well as an ad from David Branagan opposing the school board budget. There are also reminders from the district about the budget proposition and a proposition to purchase...

Posted by simonstl at 08:27 AM

May 12, 2004

Candidates, proms, and Corvettes

This week's Dryden Courier leads with an article on students attending last weekend's Dryden prom, "when the cosmic powers that be dim the lights a little bit and put on music with real violins in the background and when a keepsake picture by Dryden Lake sums it all up." Inside the paper is a full page of conversation with Dryden...

Posted by simonstl at 08:14 PM

Meeting the candidates and the budget

Last night I went to the Dryden school budget hearing and meet the candidates session. School coverage has been one of the weakest areas on this site, and I figured this was probably the best event to dive into. While both my mother and my mother-in-law served on the Corning school board, I don't know enough about the Dryden district...

Posted by simonstl at 12:22 PM

Schools forum, Freeville people

Today's Ithaca Journal has lots of Dryden news, including the weekly Our Towns section. Last night's Dryden school budget hearing and candidates forum gets an article, examining reaction to the increases and listening to the four candidates for three seats on the board. There are two articles in the Our Towns section talking about Freeville residents. The first, Freeville woman...

Posted by simonstl at 08:50 AM

May 11, 2004

Dryden school budget, Ithaca school candidates

Today's Ithaca Journal includes an article on the Dryden Central School District budget, told mostly through the perspectives of candidates running for the board. It also mentions tonight's candidates forum. On the editorial page, the Journal endorses Dryden resident David Lee along with Robert DeLuca and Judith Maxwell. There are also a letter from Dryden resident Henry Kramer endorsing Allen...

Posted by simonstl at 08:26 AM

May 10, 2004

Tuesday night meet the candidates

There will be a "Meet the Candidates" session and school budget hearing for the Dryden Central School District tomorrow, May 11th, at 7pm in room C-13 of the Dryden Middle School/High School....

Posted by simonstl at 06:51 PM

May 08, 2004

School candidates, Ithaca Produce, more

After a quiet week, today's Ithaca Journal is bursting with Dryden news. The Journal profiles the four candidates running for the Dryden School Board: Margaret DeGaetano, Paul Lutwak, Russ Kowalski, and Anderson Young. Paul Lutwak also has a letter to the editor about the Journal's recent supplement containing school test scores. I had posted some expenditure data from it but...

Posted by simonstl at 08:22 AM

May 06, 2004

Courier looks at youth

This week's Dryden Courier cover stories look at what kids are doing in Dryden. There's an appreciative article on the Dryden High School a cappella group Beyond Measure's recent performance at Dryden Jazz Night. It also takes a look at the archery program at Klein's Archery, "the first program offered by the town's new recreation department that was run by...

Posted by simonstl at 05:12 PM

May 05, 2004

Schools, town news in The Shopper

There's a new Dryden Board Briefs in this week's issue of The Shopper, covering the April 27th meeting. (They're not yet posted on their site.) There's also an announcement about getting absentee ballots for the May 18th Board Elections, and a note that the "Dryden Central School District Office will be moving to its new location at the Middle School...

Posted by simonstl at 09:31 PM

April 30, 2004

School grades, expenditures

The print edition of today's Ithaca Journal contains a "Grading Our Schools" supplement which lists test results for schools and school districts in the area, including Dryden, Ithaca, and many more. It also lists spending per pupil for the 2000-2001 years (which is odd, given that the test results are for 2002-3). For comparison, here are the expenditures per student...

Posted by simonstl at 12:47 PM

April 29, 2004

Grange honors, Dryden school renovations lead Courier

The front page of this week's Dryden Courier has a picture of the Dryden Middle School production of Fiddler on the Roof. The lead stories focus on the Dryden Grange's honoring of farmer and school board member Tom Miller and Red Cross volunteer Marylyn Brooks, as well as the Dryden School Board's effort to 'resurrect' improvements for music classes at...

Posted by simonstl at 08:40 AM

April 28, 2004

Elementary principal retiring, open houses

I try to write my coverage of the Ithaca Journal in the morning before the workday starts, but apparently today I wasn't too awake when I did it. In addition to the stories I mentioned earlier, they also report that Paula Thoma, principal of Freeville and Cassavant elementary schools, has given notice that she will retire in 2007. The article...

Posted by simonstl at 05:05 PM

beyondmeasure, Grange recognition, more

Since the Ithaca Journal instituted the Our Towns section, Wednesdays have consistently been a busy day for Dryden news. Today's paper includes: a story on beyondmeasure, the Dryden High School a cappella group that recently recorded a CD (and recorded it at Masterview Soundcrafts, along Route 13 in Dryden); Cathy Wakeman's Dryden Town Talk, which looks at honors the Dryden...

Posted by simonstl at 08:50 AM

April 22, 2004

Dryden School updates in the Shopper

The April 20th issue of The Shopper includes the Dryden Board Briefs for the April 12th meeting. (Unfortunately this brief doesn't appear to be posted yet, but hopefully that will change. Update: It's been fixed.) I noted this meeting's coverage in the Ithaca Journal, and the Board Briefs are much the same. One interesting piece that the briefs provide is...

Posted by simonstl at 09:21 PM

April 21, 2004

This week's Courier

This week's Dryden Courier includes an article on Dryden Middle School's production of Fiddler on the Roof, which will be performed April 22nd through 24th at 7pm each night. On a similar note, the "Mind over Matters" column looks at a CD release party for beyondmeasure, Dryden High School's a cappella choir. There's also an editorial on open government, noting...

Posted by simonstl at 09:41 PM

A quiet Our Towns

Today's Our Towns section is mostly about Groton, though there are several Dryden pieces in that section and elsewhere in the paper worth attention: The Dryden Sertoma Club's 2004 Service to Mankind award goes to William Deming, superintendent of Dryden Central Schools from 1962 to 1980, and Director of the Rural Schools program at Cornell for nine years. Dryden Middle...

Posted by simonstl at 08:17 AM

April 20, 2004

Rape charges, bridge staying closed

Today's Ithaca Journal is especially unpleasant reading. The most prominent Dryden story is about a 16-year-old charged with raping a 4-year-old, after investigation of a February 4th incident. Elsewhere in the Journal, Freese Road bridge will stay closed until the 29th (and Route 13 through Ithaca will be down to one lane through Saturday.) Ithaca High School continues to have...

Posted by simonstl at 07:59 AM

April 14, 2004

Dryden Courier examines school budget, firefighter benefits

This week's Dryden Courier takes a close look at the Dryden school budget, particularly the business education position that was saved by the current proposal. There's also coverage of the proposed LOSAP benefit package for volunteer firefighters (which notably explains that the "buy-back" plan discussed at the board meeting would extend benefits five years back retroactively) and a look at...

Posted by simonstl at 07:25 PM

April 13, 2004

Dryden schools levy to increase 15%, avoiding drastic cuts

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that the Dryden Central School Board voted 7-1 for a budget that includes a 15% tax levy increase but avoids program cuts residents had opposed. Three teaching positions - two funded by a grant and one a retirement - are still eliminated. The tax rate will climb about 8%, to $23.57/$1000 assessed value. The board...

Posted by simonstl at 08:43 AM

April 12, 2004

Bullying, speeding

The Ithaca Journal reports that there will be a talk about character education and bullying tomorrow night at 7pm at Dryden Middle School/High School. The speaker will be Cornell Researcher Dr. James Garbarino, co-author of And Words Can Hurt Forever: How to Protect Adolescents from Bullying, Harassment, and Emotional Violence and Lost Boys : Why Our Sons Turn Violent and...

Posted by simonstl at 08:21 AM

April 09, 2004

School board news in The Shopper

This week's issue of The Shopper includes the latest edition of the Dryden Central School Board Briefs, from the meeting where, as item 4 notes: 35 community members addressed the Board about budget related concerns including: concern about too high a percentage tax levy increase; proposed music cuts; proposed modified sports cuts; proposed new math courses; proposed art cuts; need...

Posted by simonstl at 05:59 PM

April 07, 2004

Freeville government and teacher-parent communication

This week's Dryden Courier takes the recent uncontested elections as a good reason to take a close look at the Village of Freeville, how it operates, and what it provides to residents. There's also a piece on Dryden Central School's ParentCONNECTxp program for connecting parents more directly to their children's performance through a web site, and a story on TC3...

Posted by simonstl at 08:47 PM

April 01, 2004

Fair Housing Month, Art, Etna Community Association

This week's issue of The Shopper includes an ad proclaiming April to be Fair Housing Month in the Village of Dryden, an ad from the Dryden Schools Art Department asking for public support in keeping art programs from getting cut in the current round of budgeting, and a notice of the Etna Community Association's annual meeting, which will be in...

Posted by simonstl at 07:43 PM

March 30, 2004

300 attend Dryden School Board meeting

Difficult issues seem to bring people to meetings, and the Dryden school budget has certainly been difficult. This morning's Ithaca Journal looks at last night's meeting, the attendees seeking mostly to save programs, and the options facing the board. The Journal notes that the first speaker was one of the few to support budget cuts, and that most comments were...

Posted by simonstl at 07:15 AM

March 25, 2004

More on school, village budget pain

Once again I'm wishing that the Dryden Courier was available on the Web. This week's issue leads with detailed articles on the impact of budget difficulties on both the Dryden Central School District and the Village of Dryden, in greater depth than the Ithaca Journal provided on either the school or the village....

Posted by simonstl at 12:53 PM

March 24, 2004

Dryden schools issues in The Shopper

Today's Shopper includes two pieces from the Dryden Central School District: a new Board Briefs about a meeting with bleak budget news and a repeat of the invitation to run for the school board noted earlier. Two other items in The Shopper reflect school concerns - there's an ad from the Dryden Faculty Association that's brief enough to cite in...

Posted by simonstl at 05:56 PM

March 18, 2004

School report cards, budgets

Today's Journal reports that New York State issued school report cards yesterday, and the news is mostly good for the Dryden and Ithaca districts: "Ithaca City School District elementary and middle schools did significantly better on state tests than those the state deems as similar schools around the state, according to Russell. High school Regents exam performance also continued to...

Posted by simonstl at 08:47 AM

March 17, 2004

Schools testing, budgets, taxes

Today's Ithaca Journal has an extended article on schools looking forward to tomorrow's state test results, and opens with discussion of Dryden Intermediate School's fourth grade. There's also a piece on the Ithaca City School District's budget plan, which currently includes a tax levy increase of 5.82%, though a tax rate decrease of about 4%, reflecting increased assessmements. On the...

Posted by simonstl at 07:08 AM

March 16, 2004

More on school board budgets, affordable housing

Today's Ithaca Journal has stories on budgeting at both the Dryden Central School District and the Ithaca City School District. As noted yesterday, the Dryden district's budget looks especially bleak: "Last year when we said we'd keep it to 10 percent [tax levy increase], it seemed possible. This year the effect of the 10 percent, I think, will ruin our...

Posted by simonstl at 08:57 AM

March 15, 2004

Next year's school budgets look tight already

The Dryden Courier's March 10 issue leads with some difficult news about the Dryden Central School District's budget: mandates, inflation, health insurance, and retirement costs could inflict an 8.9% increase in in the budget (and larger increase in the tax levy), even with a zero increase in most budget lines and losing four teachers because of an expiring grant. The...

Posted by simonstl at 10:08 PM

March 13, 2004

Request for information on schools, history

Elsie Gutchess has a letter in the Cortland Area Tribune: To Area Senior Citizens, As we speedily move along in the 2000s, I am always interested in hearing personal recollections of bygone times from within the Town of Dryden. Many of you have already made contributions to the still-unpublished manuscript that will become the 2nd Centennial History of our Town....

Posted by simonstl at 09:10 AM

March 11, 2004

Dryden teachers rally; fact-finder's report recommends compromise

The Ithaca Journal reports this morning that members of the Dryden Faculty Association rallied to remind passers by that they have worked nearly two years without a contract, just as a fact-finding report, submitted Monday, suggests that both the District and the teachers need to make concessions. The union will be holding an informational meeting on the fact-finder's report this...

Posted by simonstl at 08:09 AM

March 10, 2004

Dryden school board updates

Today's issue of The Shopper includes the latest Dryden Central School Board Briefs, as well as a notice looking for candidates for the May 18 school board election. If you want to run, you have to have lived in the district at least a year, can't share a household with another member as a member of the family, can't be...

Posted by simonstl at 01:59 PM

Dryden busing, ICSD budget, vaccinations, Corinthians

Today's Ithaca Journal notes an April 1 deadline for Dryden Central School District residents seeking buses to non-public schools and a report from the Intermunicipal Recreation Partnership, and examines what next year's Ithaca City School District budget would look like if held to a 5% tax levy increase. On the opinion page, Dr. William Klepack of Dryden Family Medicine (and...

Posted by simonstl at 07:30 AM

March 06, 2004

Summer school, art scholarship, board briefs

Today's Dryden schools news comes from three different papers. The Ithaca Journal reports that the Dryden Central School District will include summer school funds in its budget, providing juniors and seniors who need to pass classes to graduate to take courses. The closing of TC3's summer school had left uncertainty about whether Dryden would participate in a new arrangement with...

Posted by simonstl at 10:26 AM

March 04, 2004

New principal, roof repairs, elections

Today's Ithaca Journal has a story on the new principal of Dryden Middle School, Roger Fedele, interviewing both Fedele and Dryden parents. There will be a welcoming reception for Fedele on March 8th, at 7pm in the Middle School cafeteria. In the Ithaca City School District, they're repairing lots and lots of school roofs with extra money that has become...

Posted by simonstl at 08:35 AM

March 01, 2004

Fifth grader to New Zealand, economy to improve

In today's Dryden Town Talk, Cathy Wakeman tells of Kody Kirkland, a fifth-grade student at Dryden Elementary who will be a "student ambassador to Australia and New Zealand" along with sixteen other kids from central New York and a dozen from Philadelphia. She also notes that registration for Kiwanis baseball and softball, for kids from kindgeraten through seventh grade who...

Posted by simonstl at 07:41 AM

February 24, 2004

Dryden elementary school among "most improved"

The Ithaca Journal has two stories on New York State's releasing the "most improved" list of schools whose test scores have increased, the first a more general story that looks at schools around the state, the second a close-up on the local schools in the list, including Dryden Elementary School for fourth-grade math. In Dryden, grade 3-5 Principal Doug Premo...

Posted by simonstl at 08:06 AM

February 21, 2004

New Dryden schoolrooms open

The Ithaca Journal reports that that the first stage of improvements to Dryden High School is complete, a few months ahead of time. The new rooms will ease the next few stages of the construction, which will continue through summer. (As noted earlier, the board is still considering additional work on music and science rooms.) The Journal also has a...

Posted by simonstl at 09:43 AM

February 13, 2004

Dryden school news

Dryden schools are getting out fifteen minutes early today as an "emergency go home drill". There's also a new Dryden Board Briefs posted (and in The Shopper). They don't seem to be archiving these, so I guess I'll try to collect them here. The Shopper also includes a notice for the next meeting of the Dryden Central School Board of...

Posted by simonstl at 10:43 AM

February 09, 2004

Dryden superintendent search meeting tonight

Residents of the Dryden Central School District are invited to a meeting tonight with Dr. Vincent Coppola, the consultant on the district's search for a new superintendent. This is not a board meeting; it's strictly a meeting for residents to share their thoughts on the next superintendent. The meeting is at 7:30 tonight in the Middle School/High School library....

Posted by simonstl at 09:04 AM

February 07, 2004

Lots of Dryden opinions

Today's Ithaca Journal includes three letters and a dart from Dryden residents: In Darts and Laurels, David Connor sends CBS a dart for refusing to run ads from MoveOn and PETA during the Super Bowl; A letter from Kathy Zahler on the Everyday Math program, in response to an earlier guest column; A letter from Charlie Hart on smoking and...

Posted by simonstl at 09:28 AM

February 06, 2004

Dryden elementary science fair

Dryden elementary school had a science fair for third- to fifth-graders yesterday,bringing science and a veterinerian to students from Dryden and Cassavant elementary schools....

Posted by simonstl at 07:46 AM

February 03, 2004

Dryden schools to look at upgrade costs

Today's Ithaca Journal reports that the Dryden Board of Education authorized planning for replacing the modular music and science rooms with permanent structures, keeping the proposal on time for a June referendum. They also looked at costs for next year. There's also a letter commending retiring board member Larry Chase....

Posted by simonstl at 07:20 AM

January 29, 2004

Dryden Central School Board Briefs

The Board Briefs in this week's edition of the Suburban Cortland-Ithaca Shopper (and online) are hardly brief, but they're an excellent way to share information. Twenty-one items under reports and comments, sixteen items the board approved, five other actions of the board, and four upcoming events plus a superintendent's coffee hour. The online archive looks a bit thin, and it...

Posted by simonstl at 08:52 AM

January 22, 2004

Dryden school board on open enrollment and more

The Ithaca Journal reports a Dryden school board meeting as a series of bullet points on decisions, including ones not to support open enrollment for kindgergarten unless there are extenuating circumstance and not to change the boundaries of the district in response to a request. They also kept the topic of summer school alive for future discussion in the budget...

Posted by simonstl at 01:43 PM

January 21, 2004

Dryden appoints middle school principal

Last night, the Dryden school board appointed Roger Fedele as middle school principal, hired Vincent Coppola as a consultant to find a new superintendent, and contemplated replacing modular music and science classrooms with new construction. Also in the Dryden schools, Dryden High School seniors Sam Glidden and Jared Delahanty received a $750 grant from NYSEG for a project designing a...

Posted by simonstl at 08:21 AM

January 20, 2004

Dryden Schools announcing principal

The Dryden Central School District will be announcing a new middle school principal tonight, as well as a consultant to help them find a new superintendent....

Posted by simonstl at 08:35 AM

January 19, 2004

Local school districts, state budget

While it'll undoubtedly be months before the state budget is settled, local school districts don't seem to be looking forward to Governor Pataki's budget, to be released tomorrow. The Newfield and Groton Superintendents hold out some hope for better education funding in an election year, but Dryden Superintendent Archambault doesn't sound particularly hopeful on that score, and notes that the...

Posted by simonstl at 08:11 AM

January 10, 2004

Cold doesn't stop the news

Posted by simonstl at 11:33 AM

Cold doesn't stop the news

Posted by simonstl at 11:33 AM

January 09, 2004

TC3 summer school closing

Today's Ithaca Journal reports that Dryden Central Schools may no longer have summer school, as Tompkins Cortland Community College is closing its Regional Summer Program after budget cuts by the SUNY Chancellor, and Superintendent Archambault said that Dryden may not have the money to participate in a possible BOCES replacement. The Ithaca City School District, Lansing, and others may participate...

Posted by simonstl at 08:33 AM

January 07, 2004

Dryden schools examine grades, audit, superintendent

The Dryden Board of Education had a meeting last night to plan grade weightings for average calculations, examine an audit, and plan the search for a new superintendent....

Posted by simonstl at 04:23 PM

December 17, 2003

Dryden teachers deadlock continues

It looks like the Dryden Faculty Association will be working without a contract for a while longer, as a meeting with a fact-finder produced no new results. Superintendent Patricia Archambault estimates that this will continue into February or March. Meanwhile, Ithaca City School District Superintendent Judith Pastel received a 3.2% raise....

Posted by simonstl at 08:43 AM

December 14, 2003

Comparative tax rates

The County Department of Assessment maintains files of current municipal tax rates and current school tax rates. I wish they also included historical information so I could examine the rate of change, and numbers for the total levy (not just the rate) would be helpful too. Guess I'll have to go down there sometime and see what I can find...

Posted by simonstl at 08:39 PM

December 11, 2003

Schools, small business, traffic

It's another quiet news day for Dryden, but there are some interesting pieces in today's Ithaca Journal. The Dryden School Board approved stipends and held off on a contract for review. The headline of the story seems backward relative to the article contents. Further afield, there's a piece on Senator Clinton promoting micro-enterprises (of less than five people) in New...

Posted by simonstl at 11:16 AM

December 03, 2003

Snow day in Dryden; superintendent retires

Yesterday was a busy day for the Dryden Central School District - it started with a surprise snow day, and concluded with the approval of the June 2004 retirement of superintendent Patricia Archambault. Archambault, who's retiring to Florida, noted "My hope is I left it a little better than it was when I started - but the snow days I...

Posted by simonstl at 08:44 AM

November 26, 2003

Resource sharing, school vote coverage

There isn't much news about Dryden in the Ithaca Journal today, but the opinion page has a piece on sharing resources between towns in the face of county cuts, and apparently I'm not the only one who thought the Journal's coverage of the Dryden schools vote was odd....

Posted by simonstl at 08:19 AM

November 24, 2003

Dryden Youth Opportunity Fund

In this week's Dryden Town Talk, Cathy Wakeman focuses on the creation of "a vehicle for realizing dreams by encouraging ideas that are forming in the community." (An earlier article on the DYOF is available here.) It looks like it's independent of both the school district and the town, though Paul Streeter, its chairperson, was President of the Dryden Central...

Posted by simonstl at 08:23 AM

November 19, 2003

Dryden school renovations pass 854-424

Funding for renovations in the Dryden Central School District passed overwhelmingly yesterday. The Ithaca Journal's reporting seems downright strange. While the margin was 2-1 in favor, they quoted three people against the proposal who were still fighting the battle to consolidate the schools, one who still longed for consolidation but voted for the renovations anyway, and one person who voted...

Posted by simonstl at 08:27 AM

November 18, 2003

Quiet day for news

The news today is quiet, though there are at least two votes today that will have a substantial effect on Dryden. The Tompkins County Legislature is voting on next year's budget tonight. In the Dryden School District, the renovation vote is today from 7am to 9pm, in the auditorium of Dryden Central School. Should make for a lot of news...

Posted by simonstl at 07:52 AM

November 09, 2003

Eight Square Schoolhouse

I hesitated before adding the DeWitt Historical Society of Tompkins County to my "Organizations" links, since they're based in Ithaca, not Dryden. Unfortunately, the Dryden Historical Society doesn't have a web site, and the DeWitt folks do cover Dryden as part of Tompkins County. I felt better about the choice when I found that the DeWitt Historical Society is the...

Posted by simonstl at 06:39 PM

November 08, 2003

No to a contract, yes to a budget

Teachers in the Dryden Central School District rejected a contract offer. Earlier this week, the Dryden Town Board passed next year's budget. The Journal says that the town tax stayed at $1.47 per $1000 assessment, while the fire tax increased from $1.53 to $1.57. My tax bill for last year agrees with the town tax number, but cites a fire...

Posted by simonstl at 09:07 AM