September 14, 2012

Catching up with the Journal

I've missed a few articles in the Ithaca Journal worth noting: An amazing examination of Dryden's first murder Girl Scouts grow vegetables for the Dryden and Freeville Food Pantries More on the greening of Ellis Hollow Road's expanded shoulders A...

Posted by simon at 10:53 PM

September 8, 2012

Ellis Hollow Fair postponed to tomorrow

As there's a warning about high winds and rain, I think this was very smart. We will go with safety first and postpone the 2012 Fair to tomorrow Sunday the 9th, set up to begin at 8:00am and run the...

Posted by simon at 9:02 AM

August 25, 2012

Shoulder color

Update: Angelika reports that they've started painting at least some of it already. Never mind. Ellis Hollow Road got worse and worse for years because residents weren't thrilled about the County Highway Department's plans to widen it in a major...

Posted by simon at 5:42 PM

August 24, 2011

September 10th a busy day for fairs

It looks like the Ellis Hollow Fair and the Freeville Harvest Festival will once again be on the same day - September 10th this year - as Cathy Wakeman reports in Dryden Town Talk. I wonder if the Etna Yard...

Posted by simon at 5:22 PM

July 20, 2011

Dog survives overdose

Dogs are notorious for getting into and eating yucky things. Combine that with someone throwing out a pile of what seems to have been marijuana gone bad, and you have a very unhappy dog: "Usually we have a presumed diagnosis...

Posted by simon at 8:40 AM

June 28, 2011

A very Dryden Honeybee Democracy

I'd heard about Tom Seeley's Honeybee Democracy from a wildly diverse array of places - the radio, friends, work, beekeeping lists, catalogs, and probably more. I'd been planning to buy it, but Angelika surprised me with it last week, borrowing...

Posted by simon at 5:23 PM

May 16, 2011

A miracle kid in Dryden

The first part of this article about a Dryden 6-year-old is terrifying, but fortunately it has a happy ending. I'm delighted to see TC3 creating open source textbook material "for math, introduction to psychology and introduction to biology". Live on...

Posted by simon at 9:24 AM

August 30, 2010

The curse of water and sewer

When I was buying my house, there was a small problem. The mortgage folks wanted a water test, and we hadn't done one. Why hadn't we done one? Because although the house has a well, it only goes to the...

Posted by simon at 8:45 PM

August 28, 2010

More quick hits from the Ithaca Journal

It was a pretty quiet week for Dryden in the Journal. Harvestation, though, may be one of the best applications of technology to come out of Dryden in a while: Harvestation.com, a local online bulk buying marketplace which went live...

Posted by simon at 10:01 PM

What became of the Ellis Hollow Church?

While looking for something else, I stumbled on this set of videos showing the remodeled Ellis Hollow Church and its carriage house. They're advertising vacation rentals - 3000 square feet for the church, 1500 square feet for the carriage house....

Posted by simon at 9:16 PM

Why would you want to ban the corner grocery?

The closer I look at Dryden zoning - both the existing zoning and the proposed zoning - the more I wonder about the value of zoning. I recognize that it's a compromise, meant to keep people with no interest in...

Posted by simon at 7:47 PM

August 11, 2010

Ellis Hollow Road dangers

Apparently closing one lane of traffic for construction isn't working out so well - motorists seem to go the wrong direction enough to be a problem. Be careful!...

Posted by simon at 6:45 AM

July 19, 2010

Ellis Hollow Road Construction meeting tonight, 7pm

The Tompkins County Highway Department will be hosting a meeting on the rebuilding of Ellis Hollow Road tonight at 7:00pm at the Ellis Hollow Community Center on Genung Road. I thought I'd posted this earlier, but apparently not - sorry...

Posted by simon at 12:37 PM

November 10, 2009

Finger Lakes Land Trust expands Ellis Hollow preserve

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that the Finger Lakes Land Trust has added to its preserve in Ellis Hollow with a purchase of 39 more acres and a conservation easement: The Land Trust had made protecting the land a priority...

Posted by simon at 8:12 AM

October 29, 2009

Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts offering residencies

The Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts, located on Ellis Hollow Creek Road, is now taking applications for artists and writers who'd like to spend a month there in 2010. They have openings for poets, fiction writers, photographers, painters, sculptors, and...

Posted by simon at 1:56 PM

September 14, 2009

Freeville Harvest Festival, Ellis Hollow Fair

The Saturday after Labor Day is always a busy day in Dryden. I was worried Friday night about rain, but the rain came overnight, leaving the Freeville and Ellis Hollow events with a gray but dry day. After buying a...

Posted by simon at 6:23 AM

March 2, 2009

From Staff Reports

I noticed Saturday that the Journal seemed behind on reporting the approaching conclusion of the Shirley Kinge case. I picked up this morning's Journal, and noticed the headline at the top of the front page: "Judge to decide damages owed...

Posted by simon at 8:52 AM

September 13, 2008

Ellis Hollow Fair, 2008

Last Saturday's Ellis Hollow Fair was as busy as ever, despite some occasional raindrops. Varna Fire Company at the Fair entrance. Riding on a horse cart. Explaining the Pie Run course. White Elephant sale. I've posted a much larger gallery...

Posted by simon at 1:40 PM

May 17, 2008

Getting to Nodal Development in Dryden

[Update: I no longer think this is a good idea. See the category listing for more information on why. This piece in particular is a concise summary.] [This is long - it's a complex subject and a couple of years...

Posted by simon at 4:32 PM

February 27, 2008

State liable for falsified evidence

This morning's Ithaca Journal has a story on the continuing echoes of one of the darker stories of Dryden's past, the Harris family murders of 1989. The New York State Court of Claims - which pretty much decides which lawsuits...

Posted by simon at 12:20 PM

November 27, 2007

Cornell gas line changes

This morning's Journal includes Gary Stewart's report on Cornell's modifications to the gas line it will be building to connect its power plant to the pipeline that runs through Ellis Hollow. It sounds like it will be narrower and generally...

Posted by simon at 8:53 AM

September 12, 2007

Ellis Hollow Fair started well, continued through rain

This Saturday's Ellis Hollow Fair got off to a bright and sunny start, filling up both the main parking area and the overflow parking area as people came to enjoy the annual event. Clowns at the Ellis Hollow Fair. The...

Posted by simon at 12:57 PM

September 7, 2007

Garage sales tomorrow

The latest issue of the Etna Volcano brings news that the 17th Annual Etna Community Yard Sale will be tomorrow, Saturday, September 8th, from 9:00am to noon at Houtz Hall (the Etna Post Office and Community Center building), 2 Lower...

Posted by simon at 8:57 AM

September 6, 2007

Ellis Hollow apartment built with Hammond Hill wood

I couldn't remember what Ithaca Artisan, one of the business links on this site did, so I visited. Then I took a look at their piece on building a new apartment on Ellis Hollow Road, and was amazed to find...

Posted by simon at 7:02 PM

September 4, 2007

Fair and Festival

I'm very happy to report that it looks like the Ellis Hollow Fair and the Freeville Harvest Festival will be on different days this year, making it easier for Dryden residents to attend both. The Ellis Hollow Fair will be...

Posted by simon at 12:09 PM

June 20, 2007

Summer in Dryden

Cathy Wakeman declares the start of summer now that Dairy Day has passed. She reports on the upcoming Music in the Park events, starting tonight at Montgomery Park from 6:00pm to 8:00pm with Steve Southworth and the Rockabilly Rays, and...

Posted by simon at 9:14 AM

May 8, 2007

Church becoming home

The former Ellis Hollow Community Church is undergoing major conversion into a large house for rent. The original structure will remain within its current footprint, as required by its historic designation, but with a very different interior. A second building...

Posted by simon at 12:41 PM

April 28, 2007

Cornell t-GEIS study looks at roads

Back on the 18th of April, the Cornell Transportation-General Environmental Impact Study (t-GEIS) held an open house event much like the one they held in May. While the one in May started with a clean slate of maps, this one...

Posted by simon at 4:24 PM

November 18, 2006

Cornell to pipe gas through Ellis Hollow

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that Cornell is planning to build a three-mile natural gas pipeline through Ellis Hollow to feed its central heating plant, which is expecting to increase the university's consumption of natural gas by a factor of...

Posted by simon at 10:15 AM

November 6, 2006

Dryden publisher offers Thanksgiving help

I like to get press releases like this: Ellis Hollow-based Publishing House Releases New Book that Makes Thanksgiving Prep Easy FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE New Thanksgiving "how-to" book saves the day for harried cooks; published in Ellis Hollow Ithaca, NY USA...

Posted by simon at 8:04 PM

September 11, 2006

Fairs Saturday

Dryden had an action-packed Saturday this past weekend, with the Etna Community Association yard sale, the Freeville Harvest Festival, and the Ellis Hollow Fair as well. A busy Etna yard sale. Booths at the Freeville Harvest Festival. Eating at the...

Posted by simon at 5:44 PM

September 7, 2006

Community fun Saturday

There are fairs, festivals, and fun all over town this Saturday: The Etna Community Association will be having a yard sale on Saturday, September 9th from 9:00am to noon at Houtz Hall, at the intersection of Lower Creek Road and...

Posted by simon at 8:56 AM

July 13, 2006

Rebuilding Ellis Hollow Road

The print edition of this morning's Ithaca Journal has a brief mention of last night's meeting about Ellis Hollow Road reconstruction, and the online edition describes the meeting in detail. About sixty people showed up - not as many as...

Posted by simon at 7:53 AM

June 14, 2006

Ellis Hollow residents reject water district

Ellis Hollow residents filled the Varna Fire Station tonight, requiring Varna to make a mutual aid call to the Dryden Fire Department for more chairs than the 99 they already had out. Engineer Andy Sciarabba explained the basics of the...

Posted by simon at 10:03 PM

May 25, 2006

How much land does Cornell own?

One of the interesting features of the County's presentation on Natural Features Focus Areas was the maps for their Education and Research sections in various areas. I'd always known that Cornell owned lots of land in the areas around Varna...

Posted by simon at 7:44 AM

May 13, 2006

Ellis Hollow water, continued; alternative energy

Town Board member Mary Ann Sumner has written a brief description of Thursday's four-hour Town Board meeting. The only thing I'd add to it is that it looks like the proposal for a water district on Ellis Hollow Road will...

Posted by simon at 9:18 AM

November 30, 2005

Moving into the barn

This morning's Ithaca Journal visits Karel Westerling's barn-to-house conversion in progress. Westerling has moved a barn 75 feet, and is working to create two four-bedroom homes inside of the space. The Saltonstall Arts Colony is looking for resident artists in...

Posted by simon at 12:18 PM

October 25, 2005

Buttoning up for winter

This morning's Ithaca Journal looks at energy-efficiency improvements in houses, visiting Freeville resident Derek Osborne, who sounds like he's doing about the same work to his 1920s house as I had done to mine a couple of years ago, and...

Posted by simon at 5:12 PM

September 11, 2005

Ellis Hollow Fair

After enjoying yesterday's Freeville Harvest Festival in the morning, I went over to the Ellis Hollow Fair in the afternoon. I spent a lot of my time at a booth registering voters, or trying to, but I did get to...

Posted by simon at 2:27 PM

September 7, 2005

Busy Saturday ahead

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on two big events to be held this Saturday: the Ellis Hollow Fair, from noon to 4:00pm, and the Freeville Harvest Festival, from 8:00am to 3:00pm. Briefly in Dryden lists even more events, with a...

Posted by simon at 12:14 PM

August 12, 2005

Too little water, too much traffic

Jennie Daley reports on last night's Dryden Town Board meeting, highlighting problems residents reported with their water systems and traffic. Cathi Calori and Art Berkey presented their work on a possible water district for Ellis Hollow Road from Game Farm...

Posted by simon at 8:21 AM

July 24, 2005

Visiting an artists' colony

I've written a few times before about the Saltonstall Foundation, the arts colony on Ellis Hollow Creek Road, but I'd never actually been there before this afternoon. They held the second of their Open Studio Sundays, showing off the work...

Posted by simon at 5:37 PM

May 10, 2005

More flying over Dryden

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...

Posted by simon at 6:57 PM

May 4, 2005

Play; Saltonstall building; ATVs

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"...

Posted by simon at 7:51 AM

April 2, 2005

Dryden opinions, ICSD levy

Posted by simon at 9:22 AM

February 4, 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....

Posted by simon at 8:21 AM

October 28, 2004

Ellis Hollow silt, county planning

This morning's Ithaca Journal takes a look at the silt problems in Ellis Hollow that came up at this month's Town Board meeting. Jennie Daley talks with residents near the intersection of Turkey Hill, Ellis Hollow and Quarry Roads about...

Posted by simon at 8:18 AM

October 18, 2004

Water issues of all kinds

Although it's not yet clear what the cause of or the solution to water problems along Ellis Hollow Road might be, those problems were a major topic of discussion at last Thursday's Town Board meeting. Charles Demotte discussed in Citizens'...

Posted by simon at 7:59 PM

September 26, 2004

Planning Board on subdivisions, trails, agriculture

The Dryden Planning Board met Thursday night, first approving a subdivision and changes to an existing subdivision, and then focusing on two of the more difficult parts of the Draft Comprehensive Plan, agriculture and trails. The first item on the...

Posted by simon at 2:32 PM

September 14, 2004

Fair and Festival

I wasn't able to make it to this weekend's fairs in Freeville and Ellis Hollow, but my lovely wife Tracey went and took some pictures. Here's a sampling of the weekend's fun. Freeville Harvest Festival sign. Enjoying a meal at...

Posted by simon at 9:34 AM

September 13, 2004

Ellis Hollow fair, ICSD redistricting

This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on the Ellis Hollow Fair, saying: As it has for more than a half century, the second Saturday in September brought legions of locals to the annual fair, with its booths, games and other traditional...

Posted by simon at 10:16 AM

August 26, 2004

Artists' haven; college veto frustrations

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...

Posted by simon at 8:26 AM

August 6, 2004

The Ellis family

The Ithaca Journal was quiet on Dryden this morning, and as I'm stuck an extra day at a conference in Montreal, I can't take more pictures of Dryden. Fortunately, I brought George Goodrich's Centennial History of Dryden with me, so...

Posted by simon at 4:30 PM

June 7, 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...

Posted by simon at 7:53 AM

April 25, 2004

Populations for Ellis Hollow and Bethel Grove

After the Greater Varna calculations, I thought I'd take a look at Ellis Hollow, Bethel Grove, and Snyder Hill. Unfortunately, the U.S. Census Bureau uses Snyder Hill Road as a dividing line between blocks that front Ellis Hollow Road and...

Posted by simon at 3:20 PM

April 10, 2004

Early settlement

Back in December, I posted George Goodrich's telling of the first resident of Dryden with a valid claim to his land, George Robertson. The following chapter looks at the people who arrived shortly after Robertson and the work they did...

Posted by simon at 10:22 PM

April 8, 2004

Saltonstall Arts Colony profiled

This week's Ithaca Times includes a detailed profile of the Saltonstall Arts Colony, which is located on about 200 acres in Ellis Hollow, and the Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts....

Posted by simon at 12:30 PM

March 16, 2004

Ellis Hollow Community Church to close

Today's Journal reports that the Ellis Hollow Community Church will be closing in June, as the church needs a new roof and paint while facing dwindling attendance....

Posted by simon at 3:30 PM

March 14, 2004

Highway discussions at Town Board meeting

Thursday's Town Board meeting had a relative brief highway session, though what there was was interesting. During citizens' privilege, Peggy Walbridge asked what the status was of the proposed work on Hunt Hill and Genung Roads. Highway Superintendent Jack Bush...

Posted by simon at 4:13 PM

February 25, 2004

Traffic calming meeting in Varna

Last night's meeting on "Speed Control on Rural Roads" at the Varna Community Center was very different from a similar meeting in West Danby, but brought up lots of issues specific to the Town of Dryden, especially Varna, Etna, and...

Posted by simon at 5:20 PM

January 3, 2004

Arts grants

The Ithaca Journal reports that the Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts, in Dryden's Ellis Hollow area, is accepting applicants for summer residencies and grants. Applications for both are due January 15, 2004....

Posted by simon at 10:14 AM

November 23, 2003

Disappearing state highways

While looking through the Cornell Plantations Path Guide, I noticed the Cayuga Trails Club's 1971 Cayuga Trail map in the back. Though it clearly wasn't the focus on the map, two small labels stood out: "Ellis Hollow Rd. NY 393"...

Posted by simon at 9:14 AM