This morning's Journal reports on the dwindling of Mike Hattery's lead over Mike Lane to 20 votes in the District 14 legislative contest, with 30 possible ballots still out there. A report on snowmobile safety starts with a quote from 14-year-old T.J. Frost of Dryden: "You get to go out and see what's in the woods, the scenery - just...
Cathy Wakeman's Dryden Town Talk column looks at tomorrow night's "Barbershop Stories with Bob and Beachy", talking about McKeon's barbershop where many of the tales were told. The Dryden Town Historical Society will be hosting the event, tomorrow at 7:30pm at Village Hall (map). Wakeman also notes next Friday's Sertoma Spaghetti Dinner, to be held at Dryden High School. Briefly...
I always thought that state colleges and universities were supposed to be paid for by the state, but it's become clearer and clearer lately that the state, or at least the people currently running it, doesn't like that idea much. Hence, we get TC3 kicking off a $3 million dollar capital campaign, off to a good start with $1.7 million...
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...
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...
There's one Dryden note in today's Ithaca Journal, as a Briefly in Dryden item mentions that TC3 will be sponsoring a trip to Nicaragua this winter, and students can earn credits for the trip. There's also a report on a hearing about the possible ban of household garbage burning in the county, and a piece on the ups and downs...
Yesterday's Ithaca Journal had lots of Dryden news, but today is pretty quiet. There's an article on community college tuitions increasing across the state, including a $150 increase at TC3, slightly above the state average of $130. The County Legislature will be discussing whether to build three new buildings over the next five years tonight....
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...
Varna firefighters and the Sheriff's Department responded to an accident at the intersection of Lower Creek Road and Route 13 that sent four people to the hospital. Among the roads I drive most frequently, that intersection and the Brown Road intersection with 13 are the two I feel I have to watch most carefully to avoid disaster. I noted part...
This week's Dryden Courier leads with the success of two community volunteer initiatives: the Dryden Lake Golf Club and Dryden Dairy Day. The Lakeview Golf Course is running once again as the Dryden Lake Golf Club, with a crew of volunteers operating it. While George Szlasa still owns the course, the volunteers have been working on it since April 28th,...
This morning's Ithaca Journal is pretty quiet about Dryden news, but the editorial supports the County Legislature's vote to commit $625,000 toward TC3's master plan while the state gets the finances for it together. Just outside of Dryden, there was a false report of a bomb at the airport. Ithaca schools' service employees are voting on a contract Friday. There's...
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...
This morning's Ithaca Journal writes about tonight's County Legislature vote on providing money to TC3 to get started with work on its master plan project. The state approved financing in this year's budget, but it will take time for the money to actually arrive. If the legislature approves the $625,000 financing, the college will be able to start work on...
Tompkins-Cortland Community College (TC3) will be raising tuition by $150 per student next year, continuing a trend from last year that President Carl Haynes isn't happy about - "a college shouldn't have to lean so heavily on its students." 4-H will be having a fly-fishing sale today and tomorrow at 4-H Acres (map) from 9:00am to 3:00pm, selling gear from...
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...
This morning's Journal has two stories on Dryden happenings, one upbeat, one more challenging. In upbeat news, Tompkins Cortland Community College graduated 557 students yesterday, 224 of whom live in Tompkins County. The State Senate and Assembly passed resolutions making May 21st Angelman Syndrome Awareness Day, and the article discusses Dryden residents Rob Hickey and Erin Sheldon efforts to increase...
After having a good time taking aerial photos last month, we thought we'd try it again with today's excellent weather. I tried to make sure we got subjects I didn't capture last time, but there are still plenty of places left to capture in the future. McLean Tompkins Cortland Community College, dorms, and Lee Road Ellis Hollow and Ellis Hollow...
Normally, even when there's lots of Dryden news, I can come up with a single clear headline. Today, there's just too much on too many different subjects. There's a profile of TC3 adjunct professor Paul McCabe, whose play "Get Off" won the Jean Kennedy Smith Playwriting Award. The Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts now has a new energy-efficient administrative building...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that funding for a $10.6 million expansion at Tompkins Cortland Community College is finally in the state budget, after last year's veto of the money and the slowly unfolding failure to override that veto. As the Dryden Courier noted earlier, there are still sewer issues to work out for the expansion. TC3 also got increases...
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...
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...
This week's Dryden Courier has a must-read article on the March 11th auction of the Lakeview Golf Course, where it was purchased by its current owner, George Szlasa. It's definitely worth getting up now and going out to buy the paper if you haven't already. The paragraphs that generated the most shock in me are: [Szlasa] was stunned the town...
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...
This morning's Ithaca Journal has all kinds of Dryden news. There's an article on last night's informational meeting on the Town Hall land purchase, "a 47-acre parcel adjacent to the current town hall location for $100,000 from ELM Acquisition Corporation." Near the Dryden VFW, there was a snowmobile accident that put a Richford man in intensive care. Getting to the...
This morning's Ithaca Journal takes a look at library funding issues, noting that the Tompkins County Public Library is seeking help from the Ithaca and Lansing school districts through a referendum. Dryden's Southworth Library seems likely to have unique status if these pass: In Tompkins County, three libraries currently use a public referendum or a similar mechanism. Those libraries are...
This morning's Ithaca Journal takes a look at library funding issues, noting that the Tompkins County Public Library is seeking help from the Ithaca and Lansing school districts through a referendum. Dryden's Southworth Library seems likely to have unique status if these pass: In Tompkins County, three libraries currently use a public referendum or a similar mechanism. Those libraries are...
This morning's Ithaca Journal includes a profile of TC3 multicultural coordinator Jean D'Arc Kakusu Campbell, exploring how a man born in the Democratic Republic of Congo came to Dryden "to make TC3 a place that embraces and celebrates every culture." The paper also finally sheds some light on the impact of Ithaca City School District elementary redistricting on a small...
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...
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...
Today's Ithaca Journal Our Towns section mostly focuses on the other towns that share Wednesday, but the Briefly in Dryden section mentions two upcoming events: TC3 will be holding Alumni Fun Day on February 5th, and free tickets are available to alumni who register by January 28th. "Mad Science: Marvels in Motion" will start the day with a collection of...
There isn't much specific to Dryden in today's Ithaca Journal, but there is plenty of new that affects Dryden or some part of it. The Ithaca City School District will be reviewing a report on its special education programs tonight. The article notes some ways in which Ithaca students vary from state and national averages. I've mentioned green construction in...
TC3 Communications and Media Arts professor Christine Xaver and her husband Scott Weatherby, also a TC3 employee, were both injured in Sunday's tsunami. The couple was vacationing in Thailand while their son attended boxing camp. The Journal also published an email from Xaver with pictures. An article on how to spend New Year's Eve mentions that: Tompkins County Country Dances...
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...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that no contaminants were found in TC3's water supply after a break-in last week. Initial testing had been negative, but these are more complete results. At the county level, the Civil Service Employees Assocation (CSEA) has withdrawn from representing TCAT bus drivers, leaving the UAW as the sole union. While this makes TCAT's future clearer,...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on an intrusion at a water tower at Tompkins-Cortland Community College. Initial testing found no contaminants, but they're waiting for further results. The Journal has a piece on fire safety and the elderly and a piece on establishing fire escape plans. On the opinion page, Harry Applin of Candor writes about the proposed TC3 expansion:...
Today's Journal reports on Governor Pataki's apparently sustained veto of $325,000 in aid to TC3. The article left me wondering if the college aid was included in a list of vetoes the Senate couldn't override because the Assembly hadn't overridden it, but this Newsday article makes clear that it is. The $325,000 was for operating expenses, and the college has...
There's not much directly about Dryden in today's Ithaca Journal, but there's plenty about issues that affect Dryden. They've published a list of TC3 students receiving scholarships, including several from Freeville and Dryden. Negotiations between TCAT and its unions, required for the transition to a non-profit organization, seem to keep hitting snags. This all has to sort out by January...
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...
The Syracuse Post-Standard continues its series of articles on the Governor's, Senate's, and Assembly's borrowed slush fund money, concluding with a list of 1720 recipients since 1997. Highlights include: Play Ball or Else, a piece on how the funds process is used to keep members in line; A look at a college's funding and a portrait based on the Senator...
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...
The Ithaca Journal seems to have found yesterday a quiet day for Dryden. I didn't see anyone from the papers at last night's Town Hall with Senator Seward. WHCU was there interviewing him, but I don't see a piece on their site. They repeat the piece from yesterday on voter registration and absentee ballots. It's important enough that I'll rerun...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that the chiefs of the four Dryden fire companies have sorted out how to spend out-of-state insurance funds. The Neptune Hose Company will get 32 percent of the money, Varna Volunteer Fire Company and W.B. Strong each 27 percent, and Etna 14 percent. TC3 is resolving a shortage of space in its Dryden dormitories by...
The Wednesday Ithaca Journal isn't what it used to be. As I noted last week, the Our Towns page is shrinking. Ads eat half the page, the demographic chart is gone, and one of the columns is on the other side of the spread. The Dryden Briefs and Groton Briefs which had condensed into Town Briefs are just gone now....
An Ithaca Journal article on a celebration of 100 years of the Tompkins County Pomona Grange discusses how only two of its founding nineteen local granges still exist: Enfield Valley and Dryden. The Ithaca City School District is studying why only 254 of 298 students repeating classes finished summer school, while the Dryden district had 32 of 33 finish and...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on a range of new courses at TC3, from General Genetics to Web Design Solutions to Writing Romance Novel and Other Genre Fiction to Introduction to Sociology. The county's application for a grant to seek more carriers at the airport was denied, which makes US Airways' current trouble seem even more threatening. On the opinion...
The Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts, on Ellis Hollow Road, gets an Ithaca Journal article about its Artist Colony program today. Five artists at a time spend a month at the colony working on projects. There's more discussion of the impact of Governor Pataki's vetoes on capital spending at TC3 and Cornell, and TC3 also faces $325,000 less operating...
Governor Pataki's budget vetoes struck TC3 and Cornell yesterday, as the governor vetoed all capital funds for higher education, including $10.6 million for TC3's expansion and $12 million for Cornell renovations. A legislative override seem uncertain, though there's definitely some anger in Albany. I suspect the Senate will wait until after the Republican National Convention to do anything in any...
The state legislature has approved $10.6 million for TC3 to build a new athletic facility, though Governor Pataki's veto remains a possibility for now. The project overall will cost $23 million, with Tompkins and Cortland counties providing a local share, and the article notes that they're working to raise funds privately as well. Moving the athletic facilities will free space...
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...
This morning's Ithaca Journal visits the open house at Cornell's Freeville Organic Research Farm, looking at the experiments underway and visitor reactions. Also in Freeville, Congressman Sherwood Boehlert will be hosting a forum on homeland security and first responders at the Freeville Fire Department (map) from 7 to 8pm tonight. In Dryden Town Talk, Cathy Wakeman discusses last week's 4-H...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on the sudden death of Rere Hassett, a professor at TC3 and head of the Public Assistance Comprehensive Employment (PACE) program there. They also report that senior coupon booklets for the Farmers' Market will be available at the Dryden Food Pantry, at the Dryden Presbyterian Church (map), from 11am to noon on Friday the 23rd....
This morning's Ithaca Journal has two articles on the race for Congress in the 24th District. Democrat Brian Goodell of Lansing has left the race and endorsed Jeff Miller of New Hartford. Meanwhile, Republican incumbent Sherwood Boehlert has raised a million dollars as he battles David Walrath, who has filed to run against him in the primary and on the...
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...
This morning's Ithaca Journal includes a letter from Dryden Town Supervisor Steve Trumbull about the Lakeview Golf Course. It doesn't say that the town is buying the course. Instead, "We want to dispel the notion that the town board is blocking private enterprise in order for the town to take over the course. Rather, the board wants to encourage those...
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...
[I know, June is almost over, and I've not nearly finished covering the June Town Board meeting. I'm trying to finish it within the month of June, but definitely before next week's Town Board meeting. The town's minutes are available if you're impatient for more.] Recreation issues were thornier at the June Town Board meeting than they've been previously. Disagreement...
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...
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...
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...
Dryden Youth Commission Chair Tracey Kurtz presented the Commission's 2003 Annual Report to the Town Board. Tracey Kurtz presents the Dryden Youth Commission Annual Report Kurtz came back later in the meeting to propose that the board remove the Dryden Schools Athletic Director from the Dryden Recreation Commission, where the position has a permanent seat. Councilman Marty Christofferson was concerned...
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....
[Note: I wrote this last week but held it for documents I'd requested from the Town under the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL). Most of those are now enclosed, but there's one document here which the Town didn't have, and I only requested it from the Village today. It doesn't make sense to hold up the story further, so I'll...
Ron Space, the first Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3), gave a presentation to the Dryden Town Historical Association Monday night, shedding some light on how exactly the college came to be, and how it came to be in Dryden. County Legislator Mike Lane introduced Space, and suggested that that "this union of two...
Mary Hornbuckle of the Dryden Town Historical Society sent this announcement for an event to be held at the Dryden Village Hall (map) a week from tonight: Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3) sits on a hill overlooking the town of Dryden. Founded in 1968, it offers a wide range of educational opportunities to students of all ages. On Monday, April...
A lot of Thursday night's Town Board meeting was spent on infrastructure issues, ranging from sewer issues to cell phone towers to roads. The meeting included two public hearings on sewer districts, one affecting the area north of the Village of Dryden and one affecting the Varna area. The Board changed the billing for the Cortland Road Sewer District so...
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...
The town has posted minutes for the joint meeting of the Dryden Town Board and the Village of Dryden Board of Trustees. Most of the minutes focus on the remarkable complexities of the Cortland Road Sewer District, north of the Village, and water service in the area, though later parts of the meeting reflect a separate Town Board meeting that...
Today's Ithaca Journal reports that Tompkins-Cortland Community College is planning to add associate's degree programs in computer support and Web design. The New York State Education Department must approve the proposal. Also in today's Journal is news of two indictments of Dryden residents, one for forgery and one for felony DWI....
The Ithaca Journal reports on last night's joint meeting between the boards of the Town and Village of Dryden. The village provides services to about 5000 people in the town, including the Dryden High School complex and TC3, as well as to approximately 2000 of its own residents, but the contracts are ambiguous and the village needs to upgrade its...
I ran out of time yesterday to cover most of the local reactions to Governor Pataki's budget. (I had to drive to Albany and back.) The state budget at this point seems to be the largest determining factor for local taxes - mostly county, though the county's troubles may affect the towns as well. The Ithaca Journal had a piece...
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...