These have been difficult years for local governments, but I didn't realize the challenges were hitting this close to home: Eight local governments are dangerously close to exceeding their constitutional tax limit -- Cortland County, Binghamton, Gloversville, Jamestown, Lackawanna, New...
Dryden and especially Tompkins County have had to work overtime to keep their budgets in line, but at least I haven't heard any talk like this: Even as there are glimmers of a national economic recovery, cities and counties increasingly...
I haven't spent that much time looking at the intricacies of school budgets over the past few years. Dryden Daily KAZ has, and tells a painful story of rising expenses New York State only shifts around instead of addressing....
Successful Dryden Town Board candidate Linda Lavine wrote a thank-you letter in today's Ithaca Journal: Every workday, as I drive 12 miles through the back roads of Dryden, I give thanks for the beauty of this land. I pass homes,...
Don't let the Republicans frighten you. When I first followed a Dryden budget closely, I thought I was really going to be able to nail the then-Republican Town Board. True, they weren't raising taxes, but they were appropriating huge amounts...
All I can say is wow! (Other) Dryden bloggers have been on fire the last few days. The latest fantastic piece, Nineveh Makes Me Tyred, comes from Dryden Daily KAZ. From its opening reflections on Buffalo through its looks at...
Retiring Town Councilman David Makar's latest Advice to Natasha is a response to the latest Republican scare tactics (which they've now scattered across the countryside on bright yellow signs). I guess the Republicans have realized that their stance on hydrofracking...
Perhaps the most impressive feature of tonight's candidate forum at the Dryden Fire Station was the turnout. I'm guessing that 200 people were there, far far more than came out to the forum two years ago. Yes, a large group...
Once again, I've fallen behind. The main Dryden-centric piece of the past week was Cathy Wakeman's Dryden Town Talk, which included a few events that have already happened and many that haven't. She opens by discussing various projects to help...
The Ithaca Journal noticed "developer and Republican candidate for town supervisor" Bruno Schickel and has an article discussing his claims and the response from incumbent Democratic Town Supervisor Mary Ann Sumner. It's been a few years since I watched the...
Last year's edition of this was already a painful exercise in figuring out what the county is actually allowed by the state to cut, and it sounds like this year will be even darker. I'm sure the "slash government" crowd...
This morning's Ithaca Journal visits yesterday's TC3 graduation, focusing on the story of Jeremy March, who kept up a full slate of academic and athletic activities while fighting off a brain tumor. It was a busy night: In a filled...
Tompkins-Cortland Community College will be celebrating commencement this Thursday at 6:00pm: According to the college, 291 of the graduates are residents of Tompkins County, 152 are residents of Cortland County and 48 are residents of Tioga County. In the Journal's...
Once again, I've fallen far, far behind on keeping up with the Ithaca Journal. If you have more time than I do right now, here's some good reading: Dryden schools get award for composting TC3 students recognized for excellence Dryden...
It still doesn't sound delightful, but the school budget story seems slightly less dire than before as the state restored some funding to districts. Dryden has four candidates up for three school board seats, while Ithaca schools are still accepting...
I'm way behind in keeping up with the Ithaca Journal, and need to post these links before the articles vanish into the archives, so apologies for the not-lovely presentation. Dryden Town Talk - always a must-read Dryden schools property tax...
This morning's Ithaca Journal tells the story of Chris Muka and Common Land, Inc., mostly from their perspective. When we read the announcement for Common Land's auction, Angelika thought it was mostly an opportunity to pay taxes on the land...
When NYSEG upgraded the power lines between Cortland County and the Etna substation, I heard rumors that it was to strengthen Tompkins County's connections to the grid so that AES Cayuga (formerly NYSEG's Milliken Station) could shut down without major...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that the Dryden schools' tax levy may climb 6% this year in the face of state aid cuts and Governor Cuomo's proposed property tax cap. Even with that 6% tax increase, the budget's overall size...
The Ithaca Journal site has an AP story about 40 Democratic municipal officials who joined in a letter opposing budget cuts proposed by the Governor, but didn't note who signed it. The Albany Times-Union has the letter and further discussion,...
This probably affects Dryden more than many places because of Cornell's importance to the local economy, but state cuts in agriculture look pretty dire. I have no idea what genius in the Paterson administration thought abolishing the Integrated Pest Management...
Well, hopefully in spring it'll be to enjoy the flowers I planted last fall, if they can actually see them while driving. New York State counts 7383 vehicles going by my house daily, and at least some of those are...
I still need to sit down and look at what Governor Cuomo has proposed in his budget - though it will help when all the pieces are there. In general, I think New York State has substantial duplication and waste...
I noted earlier that Dryden police warned of thefts from cars, but yesterday someone apparently went further and stole a whole vehicle "containing pharmaceutical and medical items". In other news, the Tompkins County Council of Governments opposes the property tax...
The Ithaca Journal reports that the Tompkins County grand jury has indicted a 45-year-old Dryden man with possessing and promoting child pornography. There's an article about property taxes going up across the county that never actually gets to Dryden, so...
Dryden Daily KAZ reports on how to suggest state mandates to cut to newly elected Governor Cuomo. The list she starts with focuses on schools, but I think counties doubtless have their own long list. Towns and villages likely have...
Or at least that's what the Journal's print edition headlined their online article called Town of Dryden awards farm conservation easement funds. Faced with New York State's apparent inability to come up with money they'd committed to, the Town finished...
The Ithaca Journal hasn't published that much on Dryden lately, but I've been extra slack in posting it, so here's some catching up before the stories vanish. Some of the events in Cathy Wakeman's Dryden Town Talk have already happened,...
I don't, but the Governor seems to want it that way over in Greene County. This is an awful precedent, and I hope it doesn't stand. No, it's not exactly a Dryden story, but it's not too hard to imagine...
Dryden Middle School was very busy last night, with firefighters battling a blaze in the boiler room, where mechanical equipment seems a likely cause. The Dryden Fire Department will be having an open house Sunday with a demonstration of the...
I wondered why 13 was closed on Monday, and unfortunately it was an accident at the Ringwood Road intersection. Yesterday there was another crash, this time between a car and a tractor-trailer. Be careful out there! Update: Alas, yesterday's accident...
I'd just noticed the disappearance of Ithaca Produce, but now it looks like that building may soon be in use for its intended purpose once again. Cortland Produce is considering moving to that distribution facility, if they can sort through...
Travel and work have put me behind, so here's a quick catching up with the last few days of the Ithaca Journal. Little of it is specific to Dryden, but it's all relevant. Dryden schools got dinged by the state,...
Cathy Wakeman's Dryden Town Talk column discusses a free concert coming up September 16th at Dryden High School that will mix contemporary jazz with Indian classical music. She also notes the Dryden Historical Society's September 15th event on the Dryden...
All three of Dryden's county legislators - Martha Robertson, Mike Lane, and Brian Robison - came to the Dryden Community Center Cafe with County Administrator Joe Mareane to talk about the county budget Thursday night. The crowd filled the cafe...
I'd complained earlier that the salary averages the Ithaca Journal posted were weirdly meaningless, but today they've posted lists of salaries. It's oddly incomplete, with only some municipalities included, but the Town of Dryden, Village of Dryden, and Tompkins County...
Tompkins County Legislators will be hosting a meeting Thursday night to discuss the upcoming 2011 budget at the Dryden Community Center Cafe: Dryden Community Meeting on the 2011 County Budget - Thursday, September 2 The latest in a series of...
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...
The Ithaca Journal loves to publish on municipal consolidation, and today's push looks at Cortland, Candor, and Ithaca. They also have a list of the number of special districts in Tompkins County, many of which are in Dryden: District Type#...
Somehow "running his mouth" led to "severe head trauma" in a fight at a home on James Street. Enfield opted to change from collecting their share of sales tax to applying it as a credit to their county tax to...
Cathy Wakeman's Dryden Town Talk visits Junior Fire Academy, a week of drills, training, and competition for 10 to 16-year-olds. She also reports on Music in the Park and Music in the Hollow, plus the opening of the 4-H Fair...
Tompkins County has created a list of all of its programs (1.3MB PDF). This is the kind of thing I'd like every level of government to do - track down and make public the programs they spend money on. Reading...
This morning's Ithaca Journal Jerry Dell Farm, which seems happy ten years after converting from conventional dairy to organic: "In the conventional world, it's all about volume and efficiency," he said. "Organics is more about taking care of the farmland...
If putting dense-ish semi-suburban developments outside of cities is a bad idea, and creating them requires deeply disruptive cataclysmic change, how did we come to a point where nodal development seems like a great idea to mostly well-intentioned people in...
Cathy Wakeman's Dryden Town Talk has all kinds of news, leading with the Dryden Beautification Brigade's upcoming garden tour this Saturday morning. She also notes the new Dryden Methodist Church pastor, the Southworth Library's groundbreaking for its expansion, Eagle Scouts,...
Fire investigators will be working overtime to determine the cause of a fire early Sunday morning at the Etna house of Bryan Bangs, the Ithaca Police Sergeant recently cleared in the February Shawn Greenwood shooting. Officers were trying to arrest...
I was in the car when the area felt an earthquake, so I probably figured it was just a bumpy road. I still can't see earthquakes as a likely major disaster here. Cathy Wakeman reports on all kinds of upcoming...
The Ithaca Journal reports that Dryden High Eagle Scout Ajax Hayes's project coordinated 20 people to build new houses for bats at the Lime Hollow Nature Center, supporting these useful bug eaters while encouraging them to stay out of the...
I'm very very glad that the Dryden Democrats didn't schedule a highway clean-up this weekend. Pickup on those orange bags might take a while, and they don't improve sitting in the sun and rain....
Yesterday's Journal noted that Governor Paterson wants to shift dog license manufacture and tracking to the counties to save a grand total of $157,000. I haven't seen what it would cost counties - though I'm sure license vendors are excited...
If you can get to TC3 tomorrow night for a 6:30pm-8:30pm hydrofracking chemicals discussion, please do, or consider watching the live stream or replays the Ithaca Journal website will be hosting. Also in the Journal, sentencings for Dryden burglaries and...
This doesn't sound good: The district will likely owe $1.2 million in additional retirement costs, will have $1.3 million less in state aid because federal stimulus aid will have run out, and won't be getting any funding increases from cash-poor...
Every now and then the Ithaca Journal goes out of its way to demonstrate that it's not actually a local paper, but rather the local office of a huge company with little genuine interest in the landscape it supposedly serves...
As the economy continues to slide and everyone speculates on what the government will do next to stem the tide, there's been a lot of discussion about infrastructure spending, public works on a scale similar to the 1930s. Always trying...
There's not much at Town Board meetings that's less exciting than detailed talk about water and sewer districts. Once you get past the basic "is this a good idea?" question, which draws lots of attention, engineering drawings, infinite questions about...
Wow! I'd known that the Town was working on an annual report, but I was still surprised and pleased to see it arrive in my mailbox this week. There's all kinds of stuff in, stuff that I once felt I...
You pay the heat and lights for your own home, but do you ever wonder about the share of your tax dollars that go to pay for your share of government bills? Are they closing the windows, turning off the...
This morning's Ithaca Journal is quiet on Dryden but has lots of regional and county news. In county budget news, the County took a step away from administering the WIC program directly with a committee vote. (The headline is misleading,...
It's been a busy few days. If you have the chance, please go to the Recreation master plan discussion tonight. Recreation's been a key topic in Dryden for years, and an area that the Town has pushed hard to improve...
As financial institutions keep reporting staggering losses, the strongest financial engine of the state is looking pretty wobbly: Now, economists and city and state officials are acknowledging that 2008 could turn out to be far worse than their already dampened...
The County Legislature passed an amended 2008 budget last night, cutting TCAT funding but adding funding for an additional corrections officer. It sounds like rural bus routes will likely be cut - I'll keep an eye out for changes that...
There always seems to be more sewage than expected, but there had to be an exception. Matt Cooper reports in this week's Dryden Courier that the Cortland Road Sewer district appears to be sending less sewage to the Village of...
The election pretty well wiped me out, and I haven't kept up with the past few days of either the Ithaca Journal or the Cortland Standard. Here's a quick look at Dryden-related stories in the Journal: Democrats across the county...
This site's been a bit derelict for the past week, as I was in San Francisco. For work, I was at a conference where every other attendee seemed to be either a venture capitalist or someone with big dreams looking...
Former County Legislator Mike Lane is asking hard questions about the county's sales tax on clothing and shoes. Cortland has removed the tax on items below $110. On the opinion page, Harvey Baker of Dryden writes about the defacement of...
This morning's Ithaca Journal opinion page has a letter from Hans and Doris Fuchs of Freeville wondering how their school taxes skyrocketed - "more than 150 percent higher than last year's bill." They've heard that "Star and Enhanced Star" were...
The Journal has been pretty quiet on Dryden so far this week, with a thank you for supporting the Eight Square Schoolhouse Festival from The History Center yesterday. There was also an article on the county budget that seemed to...
The Dryden Town Board will be meeting tonight at the old Dryden Town Hall, 65 East Main Street, Dryden (map) at 7:00pm. One of the items on the agenda is "Discuss Moving to New Town Hall", which makes me wonder...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reads a bit like an echo of this blog last night. I worried about 13's bridge over Fall Creek, and there are reports on how the state has diverted money from the highway fund for years...
This morning's Ithaca Journal leads with a terrible story, a a 2-year-old held underwater by her babysitter on Ringwood Road, and the update reports the girl has died. I thought 2007 had started horribly, but it doesn't seem to be...
The Town Board meeting stretched past midnight last night, for the first time that I can remember. It was a long meeting, though actually more focused than many recent meetings, and fortunately they took a five minute break at one...
This morning's Ithaca Journal brings two letters to the editor from the conservative side of the political spectrum. Edgar Seymour of Freeville calls for the prosecution of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi for her recent trip to Syria, while...
Today's news seems to be at the county or state level. It's assessment season again, with houses now assessed at 85% of full value. 1500 property owners will be getting notices that the value of their property has increase. Next...
A house on Hickory Circle burned early Sunday morning, sending seven people to the hospital. The Varna Volunteer Fire Company responded to a call about smoke, finding the house catching fire shortly after their arrival. Lack of water meant that...
This morning the County held a somewhat unusual information meeting at the Dryden Fire Station, looking for input on residents' priorities for the county budget. It was a long meeting - a bit over three hours long - but it...
I worry that I may be a werewolf. Or something similar. There's no fur, there aren't any extra fangs or even howling, but listening to state legislators argue that New York State government - or at least their house of...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that a grand jury has indicted a Dryden resident for several counts of robbery in last month's home invasion robbery. On the opinion page, the editorial congratulates the county for their budget process, and mentions...
It's not the eleven feet of snow further north, but a real storm looks likely to hit Tompkins County tonight and tomorrow. Heavy snow, freezing temperatures, and plenty of wind are on their way. Beyond the Lifton explanation of her...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on the creation of the Tompkins County Council of Governments, a new organization including all of the municipalities in Tompkins County - villages, towns, city, county. They "will meet on a monthly basis to discuss...
The Local section of today's Ithaca Journal has photos of the Cornell Law School's mock trials. The online version lacks captions and the accompanying story, but the top photo there is Tompkins County Assistant District Attorney Andrew Bonavia, while the...
The Village of Dryden tree-lighting will be tonight at 7:00pm, at the Village Green between the Methodist and Presbyterian churches near the intersection of Routes 13 and 38. Santa and Mrs. Claus will be coming in their usual fire truck....
This morning's Ithaca Journal looks at the prospect of extending the closing time for bars to 2:00am in Tompkins County. The focus on the article is on college students, but I suspect bars out in Dryden would also stay open...
The Dryden Town Board passed its 2007 budget last night, after discussion of tax collection, recreation, community centers, and the general openness of the process. The Town Board has indeed held its required meetings and hearings, and made the budget...
This morning's Ithaca Journal looks at automated polling techniques being used in the Congressional race and questions about the validity of data collected by touch-tone keypad. In the print edition, Frank Row of Dryden is pictured at the top of...
The "let's send property owners money right before the election" check for $170.55 just arrived at my house. I guess I'll cash the silly thing, but it's an annoying reminder of just how broken Albany has become. They drop program...
The opinion page of this morning's Ithaca Journal includes two letters to the editor supporting candidates in the November 7th election. Ian and Melissa Garrett write in support of David Makar for Town Board, while County Legislator Martha Robertson writes...
Cathy Wakeman's Dryden Town Talk column reports on the upcoming Magical Evening of Delectable Music and Decadent Desserts, to be held at the Dryden United Methodist Church this Sunday at 4:00pm. The event ($20, $10 for seniors) is a fundraiser...
I'm behind on, well, everything, lately, but here's what the Journal's reported this week. On Monday, they reported that the Tompkins County housing market is steady, with the median price of a home sold January-June climbing from $150,000 in 2004...
This morning's Journal sort of suggests that the Town Board passed an alternative energy law last night, though it was only introduced: Residents of the Town of Dryden moved one step closer to generating their own sustainable energy Thursday night,...
This morning's Ithaca Journal includes a look at what's coming to local schools this year, and notes the completion of the Dryden elementary school renovation projects. There's also an article on the county's likely 2007 budget. The budget to be...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that every school budget in the county except Lansing's passed yesterday. In Dryden, Jeff Bradley, Brian June, and Brad Rauch were elected to the school board unopposed, while in Ithaca, Carol Warshawsky, Deboran O'Connor, and...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on the legislature's state budget. It's not a final budget for the state - the governor and his line-item veto are yet to come. It looks like among the winners and losers, Dryden schools came...
Dryden High School senior Simon Horrocks will be speaking at an FFA state competition in May, having placed first in the regional Extemporaneous Public Speaking competition, second while delivering a prepared speech, and second in a Job Interview contest. Dryden...
The front page of this morning's Ithaca Journal is dominated by an article on the county's expansion of the plastics it will accept for recycling, shifting from plastics coded 1 and 2 to everything from 1 to 7 except 4....
A pair of articles in this morning's Ithaca Journal suggest that property tax payers will be facing a larger bill from schools soon. The Dryden School District is looking to further reduce a 12.87% tax levy increase in a budget...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on a new effort to expand the TC3 honors program by giving 15 full scholarships to Tompkins and Cortland County students who enroll in at least 30% honors classes, and are either in the top...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on progress toward a new Town Hall. Jennie Daley reports on progress on contracts with architects and engineers, as well as a current cost estimate from $2 million to $2.4 million. (The 2002 estimates were...
After years of seeing "Support Dryden Teachers" bumper stickers and reading about contract negotiations and protests, it's nice to see "Dryden board approves teachers' contract," with this news: Both sides were enthused that this [6-2] approval came five months before...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on the appointments of Dryden County Legislators Mike Hattery and Martha Robertson to the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency, and includes a fair amount from them on what they hope to accomplish. For Hattery, it...
This morning's Ithaca Journal (which isn't online yet) reports on the re-opening of the Freeville food bank at the Methodist Church, talking with volunteers, supporters, and visitors. There's also an article on an accident that jammed up Route 13 between...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that yet another Dryden resident has been accused of rape, this time in Caroline. I believe that's the fourth incident in just a few months, and have no idea what could explain this strange surge...
This morning's Ithaca Journal visits Nancy Carver and Lorraine Buonviri's Christmas spectacular in their home in Freeville. Fifty Santas on a piano? Is that enough? Perhaps not. It takes three days to set up the decorations, starting the day after...
County Legislator Michael Lane is in the news again, this time because the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency, which he chairs, passed tax abatements for the Cayuga Green project over his opposition. Lane had reasons which go beyond this project...
This morning's Ithaca Journal includes an editorial reminding readers that shifting to a three year assessment cycle is not tax relief, but still generally supporting it. The Journal summarizes the reason County Legislator Mike Lane has supported the change: Critics...
Cathy Wakeman's Dryden Town Talk column reports on Margaret Brownell Lorenzen's donating her latest book, Petunia Patchpockets and the Golden Locket, to the Southworth Library. As Wakeman tells it: Her latest book offers a human main character that interacts with...
County Legislator Mike Lane looks poised to deliver on one of his key campaign issues, the need for a three-year cycle on assessments to reduce the annual shocks. This morning's Journal reports that the legislature will hold a public hearing...
This morning's Journal talks about drivers getting ready for winter to avoid accidents, and the print edition includes a map of dangerous roads. In Dryden, those include Route 34B, Turkey Hill Road, Irish Settlement Road, North Road, Ferguson Road, and...
Citing new responsibilities as Ithaca deputy police chief, Dryden school board member John Curatolo resigned from the board Monday night. Curatolo has been on the board for five and a half years. The board has 90 days to appoint someone...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on the passage of the 2006 county budget and the 9-6 approval of bonds for TC3 to construct a new dormitory. The article provides more detail on the bonds: Finally, the Legislature approved having the...
This week's Dryden Courier leads with a look at the prospects for a new Town Hall, which Town Supervisor Steve Trumbull says will probably cost around $2 million, up from estimates long long ago when they started saving of $300,000....
The front page of this morning's Ithaca Journal has a picture of Mindy Sills of Dryden firing at a turkey shoot in Lansing and quotes Sills about the event: "This is the first time I've ever done a turkey shoot,"...
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...
I know I shouldn't start my endorsements with a round of negativity, but it's best to get that out of the way. Proposition 2, the generously named "REBUILD AND RENEW NEW YORK TRANSPORTATION BOND ACT OF 2005", looks like: PROPOSAL...
The Journal may not be making endorsements today, but I will. I'll start with an item that's going to be in small print at the top of the ballot, Proposition 1, a proposed amendment to the New York State Constitution:...
I always find it strange that local politics is frequently so, well, local. At least when it's convenient for someone's argument, they don't look beyond the borders of their own municipal unit to see if anyone else is sharing the...
The Town Board approved the budget on Thursday night with minor corrections (which I've added to the list). The budget has a property tax rate of $1.436410 per thousand, down from $1.477628, for a decrease of 2.8%, while the tax...
The Tompkins County SPCA's Hanshaw Road facility is bulging with dogs and cats in need of homes. Built for 38 dogs, they now have 54, as well as 291 cats. The usual fall drop-off in occupancy hasn't happened this year,...
Reading the town budget is unfortunately a pretty difficult exercise. While it clearly presents comparisons of this year's spending to last year's spending by category, those categories are often pretty vague. On the revenue side, there's no simple listing of...
I haven't been able to write about the budget like I did last year, but I'm afraid it's harder when there's an election going on. Since the budget hearing is Thursday night at 7:00pm at the Dryden Town Hall, it...
There isn't much Dryden news today, but at the county level, the Legislature passed a preliminary budget with a tiny tax levy decrease by a 13-0 vote yesterday. There will be a public hearing November 9th and a final vote...
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...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that the death of a Freeville man in an ATV accident Saturday has been reported accidental. There's also more reporting on the county budget, including $45,195 for the Board of Elections, $39,193 for the Department...
It's not quite in Dryden, but 50 years of Milliken Station, now AES Cayuga, seems worth noting. Despite the magic of the grid, it's reasonable to suspect that electricity generated there in Lansing may have been used in Dryden. In...
Today's Journal is largely quiet about Dryden, though the Groton Town Talk notes food pantries from 1:30pm to 2:30pm on October 8th and 22nd at the McLean Community Church. There will also be a steak dinner fund-raiser at the McLean...
This morning's Ithaca Journal is quiet on Dryden news, but the county legislature is busy with the budget. The Journal looks at the votes for the sheriff's department. Dryden legislators Mike Lane and George Totman pushed for three new deputies,...
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...
This morning's Ithaca Journal presents opinions from a few Dryden residents. The Journal's article about weekend war protests talks to Nancy Suci, who is identified as an Ithaca resident, but she lives on Turkey Hill Road here in Dryden. Suci...
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...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that the County Legislature approved applying for an Empire Zone that includes part of the Town of Dryden as well as Lansing and the City of Ithaca. County Legislators Martha Robertson, Mike Lane, and George...
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...
Today's Journal is mostly quiet on Dryden (except for a correction announcing that the Ellis Hollow Fair will be September 10th), but there are stories on two important fronts in county news. County Legislator Mike Lane is quoted in article...
There's all kinds of Dryden news in this morning's Ithaca Journal. They have a story on the Dryden Youth Conservation Corps' work on trails in the area, including a bridge at 4-H Acres, signs at the O.D. von Engeln Preserve...
I complained yesterday that the Journal didn't provide a breakdown of who voted how at the county legislature, and today they make up for that with both analysis and a list of votes on tobacco bond restructuring, an increase in...
How do you get state government to respond to a problem quickly? Apparently articles in the New York Times can work. After the embarrassing revelations in Monday and Tuesday's papers, Governor Pataki has ordered changes: Gov. George E. Pataki yesterday...
I try hard to stay focused on Dryden, but sometimes things at other levels get so rotten that it's hard to avoid the stench. The New York Times seems to be doing some basic research on Medicaid that the New...
I've wondered a bit about the Tompkins County Coalition for Change, not having been able to find much about it. Tom Hatfield, the Dryden Republican Committee chairman and the apparent spokesman for the group, was on WHCU this morning to...
This morning's Ithaca Journal doesn't look at what's happening in Dryden, but it has three pieces in which Dryden residents are involved in Ithaca. In an article about the approval of tax breaks for the Gateway II project in downtown...
This morning's Ithaca Journal doesn't say much specifically about Dryden, but there are bits and pieces. The McLean Fire Department, which covers the northeast corner of Dryden, is raising funds for EMS equipment, and there's an article on Diane Martineau...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
The entire Chiefs committee came to last Thursday's Dryden Town Board meeting to present a summary of status and to express concerns about a proposed emergency services consultant the board had been discussing since November. Neptune Hose Company Chief Ron...
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...
In today's Ithaca Journal, reporter Jennie Daley talks with Freeville resident Tim Gallagher, one of the two ornithologists who rediscovered the ivory-billed woodpecker in Arkansas after over fifty years without a confirmed sighting. Gallagher, who had to keep the discovery...
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....
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that taxable assessments in Tompkins County are up 9.13%. Tracking down the more detailed breakdown from the assessor's office (14KB PDF), the Town of Dryden is listed with an 8.18% increase and the Villages of...
I'm late getting to the Dryden Courier this week, and their article on the Dryden schools budget getting close to a 10% levy increase has been made obsolete by this morning's Journal article on their staying below 9%. There's lot...
I've been fond of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority for a while now. I first heard about them when I had work done on my house and received a rebate, but they also audited that work...
The Town Board passed the 2005 284 Agreement at their March meeting. The agreement lists the major projects the Highway Department will take on this year, as well as costs for each project. You can see last year's agreement (686KB...
Last night's fog seems to have contributed to a two-car head-on collision that sent six people to the hospital last night on Yellow Barn Road. Dryden firefighters had to extricate both drivers, and a MedEvac helicopter couldn't help because of...
Minutes are available for both the March 2nd hearing on the possible annexation of the Dryden Mutual Property to the Village of Dryden and the Town Board's regular meeting on March 10th, which I missed. The March 2nd minutes are...
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...
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...
I mentioned an earlier Ithaca Journal article on the possibility of a county income tax to replace all or part of property taxes, but it seems like a non-starter for a lot of reasons, including the need to pass any...
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...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that an Etna man faces 25 charges after a high-speed chase through Collegetown and along Route 366 Saturday night. Timothy Troy allegedly hit multiple vehicles, including a head-on collision, and was arrested the next day...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that the Dryden Town Board will be meeting tonight at 7:00pm in the Dryden Village Hall (map) for a public information session about the purchase of land for a new Town Hall and other possible...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that the Dryden Hotel will reopen sometime around April 1st, after repairs from water damage are completed. Briefly in Tompkins lists several upcoming Dryden events: The Dryden Town Board will be meeting tonight at 7:00pm...
I've been slack in covering the February Town Board meeting, and the minutes are now available if you want full details on what happened. Some key moments stand out in the meeting, so here are some highlights. I've bolded subjects...
Sergeant Matthew Cornell, who graduated from Dryden High School in 2002, helped rescue two Eqyptian technicians from kidnappers in Iraq on February 7th. Two of the three men who fled the vehicle were captured. The Journal has a long piece...
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...
I'm a little late getting to this for 2005, but updating last year's tax summary with 2005 data produces a table showing some troubling trends. Description2003 Levy% Changefrom 20022003Rate/$1000 2004 Levy% Changefrom 20032004Rate/$10002005 Levy% Changefrom 20042005Rate/$1000 Tompkins County Tax $25.1M17.7%6.468300...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on last night's hearing on the revised Draft Comprehensive Plan. Residents expressed concern, and some hope, about changes that would eventually come to their neighborhood, and as the article notes, the Dryden Lake area was...
Dryden County Legislator Mike Lane is cited in this morning's Ithaca Journal as saying "he wants the Legislature to vote on changing the cycle to every three years, a move he proposed twice last year but was shot down both...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on last night's public meeting to discuss the possible annexation of an area north of Dryden to the Village. Dryden Mutual Insurance has applied to be annexed to the Village, and there are large questions...
The only explicit mention of Dryden in today's Ithaca Journal is in a report on recent ticketing of dog walkers at Allen Treman State Park who were allowing their dogs off-leash mentions the prospect of a dog park at the...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on an accident which killed two horses which wandered on to Route 38 Sunday night. The Dryden Fire Department replied, and the vehicle involved was towed away, but the people involved weren't injured. Briefly in...
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...
County Legislator Mike Lane is quoted in an article on the Ithaca City School District's interest in a seat on the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency board, noting that because the IDA grants tax abatements, "We are directly affected by...
In this morning's Journal, Cathy Wakeman's Town Talk column visits a local business that grows coral, Reef Encounters. As Wakeman notes, their photo section is especially stunning, especially on a cold January day. Wakeman also mentions a a 4-H spaghetti...
As I mentioned yesterday, one of the major issues at Thursday night's Town Board meeting was the purchase of land for the town hall, and the interest expressed by a number of board members in including recreation land in that...
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...
Last night's town board organizational meeting was a lot like last year's, passing a huge number of routine resolutions, but there were some interesting bits, notably around investments, appointments, the abstract of bills, tax collection, and fire coverage in the...
The only explicit mention of Dryden in today's Journal is a quote from County Legislator Mike Lane, in an article about town and county tax bills going up, mostly showing an increase: "I think we did a lot better than...
I had a few questions after Friday's Ithaca Journal article on fire company news, which says: Stelick and Michaels have long served as town liaisons to the emergency service providers and have found themselves wishing they had permanent, experienced staff...
It's a quiet day for Dryden in the Ithaca Journal. There's an odd short recap of Tuesday's county budget vote that seems to repeat yesterday's article on the budget. I did talk with County Legislator Michael Lane yesterday, and he...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on the quick thinking of an off-duty sheriff's deputy that led to the arrest of a Dryden teen for the theft of $53 from the Santa Claus photo booth at Pyramid Mall. The County Legislature...
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...
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...
The Ithaca Journal reports this morning (as I reported Thursday) that FEMA has decided to restore the $170,000 in funding they had removed because they claimed the project had changed since it was authorized. The McLean Fire Department has purchased...
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...
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has agreed to pay Dryden $170,000 it was contesting, according to a press release from Congressman Sherwood Boehlert's office. FEMA had been unhappy with changes made to the Virgil Creek Stabilization project after their initial...
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...
While I'm grateful that there haven't been many accidents inside Dryden lately, there seem to be more and more nearby. Yesterday, Dryden rescue workers were among those responding to tractor-trailer crash on Route 13 in Cortland that left one of...
Today's Ithaca Journal has lots of news about McLean, a hamlet that crosses the Groton/Dryden town line. McLean residents are working on new activities for youth, preferably run by teens themselves. There's also an article on Turtle Dreams, a bed...
I've been meaning to post the Town Budget for most of this week, but have had problems scanning and converting it. Here, finally, if you're interested, is the Town of Dryden budget for 2005. Cover page - clearer (80KB PDF)...
Today's Ithaca Journal includes an article by John Marcham on the history of the Lehigh Valley's Auburn Division, giving a brief overview of many lines, including the ones that crisscrossed Dryden. The History Center of Tompkins County has just published...
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...
Thursday's town budget meeting made very few changes to the budget beyond those made at the much longer budget workshop, but the few changes were significant, and there was a lot of conversation about some potentially major changes to be...
While Town Hall is occupied with voting machines right now, on Thursday night it will be the scene of a budget hearing. [Update: No, it won't be. The budget hearing has moved to the Village Hall (map).] With all the...
While the Ithaca Journal seems to have finished with local opinion about the election on Saturday, there's still a lot of detail about election mechanics in today's paper. The number of absentee ballots, military ballots, and ballots for citizens living...
There's not much Dryden news in today's Journal, but there's a fair amount that applies to Dryden in some way. The Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) is starting up again for the winter, and the Tompkins County Office for the...
Continuing with the tentative budget into the district budgets (fire, lighting, water and sewer), here are more details. The fire protection budget comes as one big "Contractual Expenditures" number. It's declined from $701,145 in the 2004 budget to $649,839 in...
Looking past the front page, I went through the appropriations and revenues listed in the tentative town budget. There will be a budget workshop tonight, October 25th, at 5:00pm at the Neptune Hose Company (map) to discuss this tentative budget...
I picked up a copy of the tentative budget at the Dryden Town Hall this week, and have to admit that it's nearly as opaque as last year's budget. I think part of it comes from its level of abstraction:...
The Town of Dryden's Public Notice page announces three upcoming Town Board meetings, two of which are explicitly budget meetings: There will be a budget workshop Monday, October 25th, at 5:00pm at the Neptune Hose Company (map) A budget hearing...
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...
The Syracuse Post-Standard continues its series on the slush funds of the governor, Senate, and Assembly by looking at the "give and take" of political contributions and money rolling out of Albany. Our State Senator Seward gets mentioned for steering...
The Syracuse Post-Standard has a special report on New York State slush funds, including a story that mentions moving 47 graves in a cemetery in Dryden. I suspect I'm happier about that than air-conditioning for a golf dome in Tonawanda,...
Congressional candidate Jeff Miller came to Ithaca yesterday and spoke to a group of us from the 24th Congressional District. (At one point we'd considered having the event in Dryden, as he was going from an event in Cortland to...
The county budget is coming to a conclusion, but it sounds like a muddle. Capital spending issues, especially for the jail and highways, drove the budget beyond the 3% levy increase cap. $48,000 for a half-time prosecutor, which seems to...
Ithaca Journal reporter Jennie Daley provides details on a subject that wasn't addressed directly at last night's meeting: the budget, and a likely 7% tax levy increase. Highway equipment, recreation, and a decline in state and federal aid are all...
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...
The minutes for both the September 9th and September 24th Town Board meetings are available. I missed the September 9th meeting, so it's good to catch up. Highlights include: A very quiet public hearing on increased costs for upgrading the...
Dryden news today is light, peaking with an announcement that the Varna Community Association will be selling chicken halves for $4 each on Saturday, starting at noon at the Varna Community Center (map). In county news, legislators voted themselves a...
In today's Dryden Town Talk, Cathy Wakeman reports that Adam Pamel's Eagle Scout project, raising money for school supplies for 33 children, was a success. Pamel set up collection boxes, held a car wash, and was noticed by Cayuga's Helping...
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...
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...
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...
The most Dryden-specific news in this morning's Ithaca Journal is a notice calling for volunteers to help Project CARE, a volunteer program of the Tompkins County Office for the Aging. There are two opportunities to help people in Freeville and...
It's Wednesday, so the Ithaca Journal's Our Towns section is focusing on Dryden and Groton. This week, there's lots of Dryden news. They lead the Our Towns section with an article on the 25th anniversary of Willowbrook, the senior-citizens' complex...
This morning's Ithaca Journal notes a community yard sale that will be held in Varna on Saturday, August 21st. There will be tables at the Varna Community Center (map) and maps for other local yard sales will be available. There's...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports on the shooting of a reality TV pilot show in Etna, as "UltiMutt Makeover" combines home remodeling reality show with pet care. Richard Parker and Nancy Douglas and their St. Bernard, Shasta, have left for...
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...
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...
After yesterday's burst of stories, today's a quiet day for Dryden in the Ithaca Journal. County Legislator Martha Robertson is quoted in a story on whether boarding in prisoners could help finance a larger jail, discussing the risks of the...
This week's Our Towns section in the Ithaca Journal focuses mostly on Groton, but there are a few pieces about Dryden. Kiwanis "Kids Against Drugs, Alcohol, and Tobacco" winners and a notice for the Dryden High School Class of '84...
[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...
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...
Over in the Corning Leader, I found an article on county leaders lobbying in Albany and meeting with school officials. It looks like a bipartisan effort, including Republicans like Chemung County's Tom Santulli as well as Democrats like Tompkins County's...
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,...
Today's Ithaca Journal covers a complicated problem that's come up at two recent Town Board meetings. Reporter Jennie Daley takes a close look at the water contamination problems at Cindy and Craig Basl's home and their struggles with the county...
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...
Today's Journal reports that the County Legislature voted 9-5 against a proposal for a public hearing on shifting to a three-year assessment cycle put forward by Dryden County Legislator Mike Lane. Lane voted for it, while the other two legislators...
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...
This week's Dryden Courier features an article on prospects for a new Town Hall, a project that's been in the works for a while but which was deferred to executive session at the May Town Board meeting. It seems there's...
The Ithaca Journal reports that the Tompkins County Board of Assessment Review is meeting today to review 290 scheduled grievances plus walk-ins. Scheduled sessions are from 10am to 2pm, while unscheduled sessions are from 4pm to 8pm. Both will be...
I'm way behind in covering last week's Town Board meeting. One of the briefer topics they discussed was insurance for the town, with John Bailey of George B. Bailey Insurance presenting their current insurance and the prospects for the future....
County Legislator Mike Lane put forward a resolution to shift assessment from every year to every three years, citing rapid increases in the last few years, but the meeting of the Government Operations Council wouldn't move on it. (I stopped...
The Town Board had The Computing Center review its computer usage, and the board briefly discussed the report (625KB PDF) at the very end of their meeting on Thursday. Board members Christofferson and Stelick were concerned with the costs of...
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...
Today's Ithaca Journal includes schedules of assessment hearings and comprehensive plan meetings. The local advisory board for assessments will meet at the Dryden Town Hall (map) on Thursday, May 20th, from 3pm to 6pm to hear property owners who wish...
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 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...
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...
[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...
Today's Ithaca Journal reports that a Town of Dryden resident, David R. Lee, was the first to file petitions for a school board campaign in the Ithaca City School District. The rest of the Dryden-relevant news in today's paper seems...
This morning's Ithaca Journal reports that County Legislator Michael Lane is proposing legislation to shift from annual assessment to a three-year cycle., though it isn't clear how much support there is for that in the legislature. A simultaneous combination of...
After yesterday's relative torrent of Dryden news, today's Ithaca Journal is fairly quiet about Dryden. Three pieces definitely affect Dryden, though: The state Department of Environmental Conservation's Wildlife Management Unit 76, which includes Dryden south of Routes 13 and 366,...
The Town Board spent some time in its April meeting discussing the organization of town government, as well as on hiring a grant-writing firm to focus on new projects. The board followed up on the presentation made at the February...
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...
This morning's Ithaca Journal has lots of county news. Last night's legislature meeting included tourism grants and a preliminary budget showing a 10% tax levy increase but no increase in the tax rate. TCAT is facing problems because state regulators...
Today's Ithaca Journal takes a close look at the costs driving a 10.8% tax levy increase in the Village of Freeville. Costs beyond their control - retirement, workers compensation, and their contracted police coverage from the Village of Dryden -...
Today's golf course article does what I'd hoped the Journal would do in the Our Towns section - take a deeper look at an issue that's been building for some time. The article captures some of the division on the...
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...
Today's Ithaca Journal contains lots of notices for public hearings to be held at the Town Board's April 8 meeting. The full text of the notices follows, but a quick description of the hearings is: There are two hearings on...
New York State Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton held a public forum last night at Dryden Town Hall, and the audience brought issues very different from the ones I've seen at the Town Board and Planning Board meetings in that same room....
Today's Ithaca Journal reports on the 11% percent increase in the tax levy proposed in the Village of Dryden, driven by a 7% increase in total spending and reflected in a 4.5% tax rate increase. Health insurance, retirement, legal, and...
Another issue that came up at the Town Board meeting last Thursday was the question of health insurance for full-time elected officials: the Town Clerk and Highway Superintendent. The town pays the full cost of either single or family health...
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...
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...
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...
The March 10 issue of the Dryden Courier has an article on what last year's controversial audits have turned up. Tony Hall reports that Sciarabba, Walker and Company, LLP, have submitted complete audit reports for three of the four companies,...
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...
This morning's Ithaca Journal includes two articles looking at issues affecting towns throughout the county, though neither has much Dryden-specific detail. The first looks at how towns outside the City and Town of Ithaca plan not to accept marriage certificate...
The Ithaca Journal's editorial today examines the annual assessment process. This process has come under fire lately, largely because taxes and assessments have risen at the same time. I think the Journal is right that annual assessment and a central...
I didn't make it to this month's Town Board meeting, so I was especially interested to see the minutes which recently appeared. As a number of issues were discussed at different points in the meeting, the summary below attempts to...
There are lots of small pieces in the Journal today on property taxes: STAR Enhanced and Senior Citizen's renewals must be returned to the Department of Assessment by Monday Tompkins County is considering increasing the mortgage recording taxes Farmers spoke...
Last night's special Town Board meeting on fire department issues was more like an informal get-together than a formal meeting. Instead of the usual board at a front table facing an audience, there was a circle of tables, with the...
On January 20, I sat down with Duane Testut, the Varna Volunteer Fire Company's treasurer, to talk about how our fire protection taxes are being spent. He'd seen my earlier post about the fire tax levy climbing 31.8% this year,...
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...
After nearly a day, the Town Board meeting last night seems to have had four main Dryden-related themes: More interest in efficiency than public input Sewer pump with problems Storm water a growing issue Recreation and trails as important services...
There doesn't appear to be much news focused on Dryden this morning, although I suspect the US Airways plane which had trouble lowering its landing gear (but landed safely) flew overhead at some point. There should be news tomorrow, as...
After Tuesday's county press conferences to pressure the state on Medicaid, I was hoping that Pataki might reply to these problems in the State of the State. As the Ithaca Journal's editorial page notes, he mentioned these problems, but didn't...
The Elmira Star-Gazette has an article on a press conference in Elmira yesterday including leaders of Tompkins, Chemung, Steuben, Schuyler, Broome, Tioga, and "several other" counties. The press conference comes in advance of Governor Pataki's "State of the State" speech,...
I picked up my 2004 tax bill at the Town Hall today so I could sort out some questions I have about my mortgage escrow. The staff was pleasant, found my easily-misfiled name quickly enough, and gave me a copy...
The minutes for Dryden Town Board meetings of December 3, December 10, and December 18 are now available on line. I'd worried earlier this week that there might not be new minutes, but we seem to have a complete set...
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 County Legislature voted 9-5 last night to reject the proposed budget. Of the Dryden legislators, Martha Robertson voted for it, while Mike Lane and George Totman voted against it. The future of the budget looks pretty complicated, so I...
Most of the Dryden news today seems to be financial. The Ithaca Journal explores snow removal in a period of tight budgets. There is also a guest column from Rachel Dickinson, president of the Dryden Central Schools Board of Education...
The Ithaca Journal has a story on last night's town council meeting. While I'm disappointed in the results of the Town Board elections, and can't say I'm thrilled with views of the people now running the place, I can take...
County taxes seem to be the main local story in the Ithaca Journal today, with stories on a County Legislature public hearing on the budget, notes on other counties' tax plans, and a report blaming the state for high local...
Today's Ithaca Journal has a piece on taxes in Tompkins County, noting that assessments have gone up for many people as well as taxes. One comparison is especially interesting for Dryden: "In the villages selected for this article, a Village...
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...