December 13, 2017

F R E E D e c e m b er 1 3 , 2 0 1 7 / V o l u m e X X X V I I I , N u m b e r 1 6 / O u r 4 6 t h Y e a r

Online @ ITH ACA .COM

Garden Power The Fate Of The Community Gardens Is Unknown, Again.

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Building A

Affordable

Maplewood

Cornell Students Set To Work On Lake Treman

Arbitrary Codes Hold Back New Home Development

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Better Lake

To build here?

A New

The king

Will The Massive Complex Open On Schedule?

Hangar Marks First Winter Show This Christmas

Examining An Upcoming Elvis Impersonator

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Delayed

Tradition

is back

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 19 4PM-8PM Enjoy wine and beer tastings from over 20 local Finger Lake Region wineries and breweries. The first 2,000 guests will receive a del Lago wine glass.

TASTING

Free to Massimo & Elite players, $5 for Premiere & Signature, and $10 for non-carded guests.

All money raised will go to a local charity!

T U E S D AY S

ROCKIN’ AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE! Rock and Roll Hits and Holiday Classics of the 50’s and 60’s

20 | 2PM Buddy Ra

Rock and Roll Christmas Party

From LUBBOCK to LIVERPOOL!

23 | 10:30PM

A Yuletide journey from Rock’s roots in the 50’s to the British Invasion of the 60’s.

FLEETWOOD MAC MANIA

27 | 2PM

DEC

DEC

16 | 2PM

y Vons

The

DEC

ROCKIN’ AROUND THE

DEC

VIETNAMESE CHRISTMAS TREE SHOW

THE RETURN OF BUDDY HOLLY

“Jingle Bell Rock”, “Frosty”, ‘Rudolf”, “Blue Christmas” and, of course, the most memorable songs from music’s most exciting era.

DEC

29 | 8PM

JOHNNY CASH

RICHARD MARX JAN

FRANK CALIENDO

DEC

You’ll be smiling and singing with holiday cheer… and you may even learn to Hand Jive!

THE SPIRIT OF

30 | 2PM

5 | 8PM

COMEDY NIGHT EVERY THURSDAY IN DECEMBER!

FOR A COMPLETE ENTERTAINMENT LINEUP, VISIT DELLAGORESORT.COM. Ideally located halfway between Rochester and Syracuse

Must be 21 or older. For help with problem gambling call 877.8.HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369).

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Newsline

VOL.X X XVIII / NO. 17 / December 13, 2017

Garden Power ��������������������������������� 8 The community gardens is at risk. Again..

Fancy Fibers ���������������������������������� 19 A national movement is felt locally.

Trumansburg

T’Burg Teacher Under Investigation For Relationship With Student

C

hristine Ibert, an English teacher at Charles. O. Dickerson High School in Trumansburg, is currently under investigation by state police after allegedly carrying on an inappropriate relationship with one of her students for at least a year. Ibert, who is in her mid-40s, was put on paid administrative leave on Oct. 6 of this year, according to the minutes of the Trumansburg Central S c ho ol D i s trict Board of Education meeting on Oc t. 16. She is entering Christine Ibert her 19th year with the Trumansburg school district.

“Several weeks ago, the District received information f rom a t h i rd pa r t y a l leg i ng that Christine Ibert, a tenured te acher, had b e en i nvolve d in an inappropriate intimate relationship with a particular Trumansburg student,” said interim superintendent Kimberly Bell in a statement for this story. “The District acted sw if t ly in response to t hose allegations. We immediately forwarded the information we received from the third party to the New York State Education Department as well as the New York State Police. Additionally, the District also began its own thorough investigation into the allegations.”

While the school district’s investigation is still ongoing Bell said she cannot comment on any information obtained or conclusions drawn, or comment on what actions, if any, the Education Department or state police may have ta ken after being notified of the inappropriate relationship. continued on page 10

NE W S & OPINION

Newsline ������������������������������������������������3-12 Sports �������������������������������������������������������� 12

SPECIAL SEC T IONS

Business Times ������������������������������������ 13-18

ART S & E N T E RTAINME N T

City Of Ithaca

Cornell students sift through detritus at the site of Lake Treman on a recent afternoon.

Building A Better Lake Treman

a choice between whether to restore the area into a more lakelike environment, by removing the sediment and other operations, or to maintain the land as it currently stands.

Lake Treman was initially formed in 1930 by a dam that was constructed in Buttermilk Creek. With the creation of the dam and subsequently the lake, the area has turned into a 16 acre reservoir which, due to the passage of time, has gradually gathered sediment in its basin.

The lake’s current benefits were listed, which include preventing sediment flow downstream into Cayuga Lake and providing a suitable habitat for several unique plant species, as well as its aesthetic value.

T he Restorat ion Ecolog y class set to work when the school year began, with some direction from the state to explore invasive species and the stress sediment

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ew York State will continue mulling the future of Lake Treman after a class from Cornell University presented findings of a monthslong study into the lake’s fauna, flora and everything in between – i nc lud i ng i f t he site w i l l undergo large-scale changes in the coming decades.

Teaching Assistant Audrey Stanton said the information gathered during the study could be used to assist the state make a decision about how to manage the lake’s future: over time, Lake Treman has taken on more of a marshy wetland environment than its name would suggest.

So the state’s then faced with

T a k e ▶ What did we learn in this year’s election, exactly? On Wednesday, December 13 from 5:15 – 6:45 p.m. in the Borg Warner Room West at Tompkins County Public Library, a forum for candidates, public workers, local elected officials and the general public will be held to reflect on the past election and the future of the participatory political space in Ithaca and Tompkins County.

There will be snacks. ▶ At 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday night, Tompkins County Connect will be hosting an ugly sweater party up at the Carriage House Loft on Stewart

Stage ���������������������������������������������������������� 21 Stage ���������������������������������������������������������� 22 Film ������������������������������������������������������������� 23 Music ���������������������������������������������������������� 24 Dining �������������������������������������������������������� 25 TimesTable ������������������������������������������26-29 Classifieds ������������������������������������������30-32

and water are placing on the dam. According to the study, there’s about 80,000 cubic yards of sediment around the dam, which means the lake is about 30 years from becoming saturated and less capable of preventing sediment from traveling downstream possibly into Cay uga Lake and swimming areas.

Professor Tom Whitlow, who has been teaching the class and organizing similar projects for years, said the point of the students’ work was not to make the decision themselves, but to provide as much information as possible so that whatever is decided is well-informed.

The class set out to find the benefits and drawbacks of having the dam in place, such as whether it disrupted the natural “continuum” of the creek to an unnecessary extent. In the end, they found that in terms of bac-

Cover Design: Marshall Hopkins Cover Photo: Jo Todd

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x 223

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S o u t h R e p o r t e r @F l c n . o r g M a t t B u t l e r, S t a ff R e p o r t e r

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x 216 P r o d u c t i o n @I t h a c a T i m e s . c o m G e o r g i a C o l i c c h i o, A cc o u n t R e p r e s e n t a t i v e , x 220

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l i s a @ I t h a c aTi m e s . c o m S h a r o n D a v i s , Cy n d i B r o n g , x 211 A d m i n i s t r a t i o n Chris Eaton, Distribution J i m B i l i n s k i , Publisher, x210

j b i l i n s k i @ I t h a c aTi m e s . c o m

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Ave. The organization is also collecting new toys for the Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC) for children ages 5-7. The gifts do not need to be wrapped and we have a goal of donating 25 gifts this year. The Loft will be providing a discounted drink options and TC will provide pizza. ▶ The Rutabega Curl is on Saturday! Go to the Farmer’s Market this weekend before noon. Sign up for the event.

Participate. You’re not really an Ithacan if you don’t.

In the organizer’s words: The sport of Rutabaga Curling was born on a cold December 1996 Market day, the last market day

of the season. The few vendors present (perhaps 25 or so this time of year and point in our history) huddled together for warmth and camraderie waiting for an occasional customer.

Talk at some point in the day turned to unusual winter sports.

Curling of course came up in conversation. None of us knew the rules; but before we knew it vendors’ wares were being “hurled” or “curled” down the market’s wooden floor. Potatoes, cinnamon rolls, cabbages, loaves of bread, and even frozen chickens were fair game in this impromptu outburst.

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F r eel a n ce r s : Barbara Adams, Rick Blaisell, Steve Burke, Deirdre Cunningham, Christie Citranglo, Jane Dieckmann, Amber Donofrio, Karen Gadiel, Charley Githler, Warren Greenwood, Isabella Grullon, Vaughn Golden, Warren Greenwood, Ross Haarstad, Rich Heffron, Peggy Haine, Austin Lamb, Steve Lawrence, Amanda Livingston, Marjorie Olds, Cassandra Palmyra, Lori Sonken, Henry Stark, Jason Warshof, Elizabeth Williams and Bryan VanCampen.

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All rights reserved. Events are listed free of charge in TimesTable. All copy must be received by Friday at noon. SUBSCRIPTIONS: $69 one year. Include check or money order and mail to the Ithaca Times, PO Box 27, Ithaca, NY 14851. ADVERTISING: Deadlines are Monday 5 p.m. for display, Tuesday at noon for classified. Advertisers should check their ad on publication. The Ithaca Times will not be liable for failure to publish an ad, for typographical error, or errors in publication except to the extent of the cost of the space in which the actual error appeared in the first insertion. The publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising for any reason and to alter advertising copy or graphics deemed unacceptable for publication. The Ithaca Times is published weekly Wednesday mornings. Offices are located at 109 N. Cayuga Street, Ithaca, NY 607-277-7000, FAX 607-277-1012, MAILING ADDRESS is PO Box 27, Ithaca, NY 14851. The Ithaca Times was preceded by the Ithaca New Times (1972-1978) and The Good Times Gazette (1973-1978), combined in 1978. F o u n d e r G o o d T i me s G a z e t t e : Tom Newton

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N e w s l i n e

INQUIRING PHOTOGRAPHER

By C a se y Mar tin

If you had a big slab of ice, what would you carve into it?

“The SNUG PLANET logo with a nice pair figure skates.” ­—Sarah Cox & Pope

Tompkins County

Downsizing For Affordability? Good Luck.

W

hen Tompkins County revealed the results of a long-awaited housing needs assessment sur vey last year, few were surprised by its main message to policymakers countywide: We need more housing, and we need it now.

Its recommendations: that more housing choices be available, and that policies be created to encourage such change county-wide. Of those categories, one in-demand category symbolizing one’s willingness to reside in – and invest in – their community, was the for-sale, owneroccupied category, one area that has historically been difficult to build in the era of soaring tax burdens and increased land values.

From the 2016 study: Development costs make it extremely difficult to build new for-sale housing, such as condominiums and single family homes, for under $200,000 without public assistance in the form of financing, infrastructure or other support despite the demand for these units. In recent years, single family home construction has averaged 165 units per year primarily costing above $200,000, and there has been negligible condominium construction.

“A convertible!.” ­—Red

• “ Probably a drum set.” ­—Nick Fraizer

The estimated demand for single family homes is 313 units annually, with 28% needed in the

Tompkins County

“A giant horse with wings and a human face.” ­—Matthew Wheeler

The

I thaca Time s

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ore details have come out on a non-pipeline alternative to supply the thermal energy needed to support growing economic development in the Town of Lansing.

Speaking to county legislators last Thursday, Town of Caroline councilmember Irene Weiser – who has spearheaded the effort for several years – presented details for the construction of four small compressor units that NYSEG will be installing to ensure safe and reliable

“A giant sandy clam.” ­— Casey Lucier & Jillian Merulla

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Details Emerge On West Dryden Pipeline Alternative

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$150,0 0 0 to $199,999 price range.

The estimated demand for condominiums is 80 units annually, with 41% needed in the $150,000 to $199,999 price range.

To fulfill the needs of the bottom end, affordable options for housing in Tompkins County are needed, and fast. A lofty task already, this needs to be accomplished in an environment where land values increase seemingly every year, leaving few choices for those who wish to own a home on a cheap other than options beyond downsizing.

Some companies, like Dryden’s Tiny Timbers, have attempted to do just that by changing their building process and above all, looking small.

“People are really lucky if they can find something under $200,000 that’s livable,” said Anne Koreman, a recently elected County Legislator and building inspector. “If you can get a tiny house for $100,000 or less and still build up equity, without paying rent – because rents are averaging at around $1,000 for a one-to-two bedroom – buying a tiny house might be a better deal in the long run.”

Yet, despite the need and the potential for lower home values that would therefore, lower one’s tax burden, the system hasn’t smiled too kindly on regulations that would allow this type of operation of their gas distribution system in the Lansing area.

The compressors, which are to be installed on existing natural gas infrastructure in the area, are part of a two-pronged approach to address thermal energy needs in the area without increasing the county’s use of natural gas.

NYSEG hopes to have all four compressors in place by the 20182019 heating season. Weiser, speaking by phone Sunday night, said this plan “is consistent with both the state’s and the county’s goals to decrease greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.

The County’s Energy Roadmap demonstrated that we will need to decrease our consumption of natural gas by at least 50 percent to achieve this goal.”

N YSEG’s Env i ron ment a l Assessment Form submitted to the Public Service Commission states the following:

An example of a tiny house in Lodi.

development.

A re Tin y Houses Good Options?

With high land costs – and the increasingly mobile population of Tompkins County’s working class – Koreman said she’s not iced a n i ncrea si ng trend among individuals interested in tiny houses as well as in mobile, tiny homes – basically tiny houses on wheels. Over the past several years, trends she’s noticed rising include tiny houses on wheels, which are classified “NYSEG proposes to install and operate four (4) complete reciprocating, skid mounted electric driven compressor packages placed strategically within NYSEG’s existing gas distribution system. The compressors will be designed to boost the pressure of the distribution system in stages during times of peak natural gas usage and are intended to reinstate reliability by returning system pressures in the Lansing area to within design pressure drop levels. The compressor packages will be approximately 10’ X 15’ in size and placed within weathertight buildings.

Four potential site areas have been tentatively identified but are subject to change based on final engineering design and negotiations with potential landowners.”

The currently proposed locations for the “mini compressors,” as they’ve been described,

under state and local law as vehicles (and therefore are financed and licensed as RVs) and tiny houses on permanent foundations, which are classified more along the lines of a standard house. This trend, she said, could be partly due to a lack of job security, or a lack of affordable options for home ownership in a market where the average home price sits at around $225,000.

(Fun fact: Nationally, most firsttime homebuyers only stay put for about 12 years, according to the National Association of Home Builders.)

continued on page 11

include: Weiser notes that the compressors NYSEG plans to use are considerably smaller than the much larger Borger Compressor Station in Ellis Hollow, which has been the subject of community concern. The Borger compressor station has recently undergone a number of upgrades to enable the fifty-year-old interstate Dominion Pipeline to expand the volume of gas it can transport.

In contrast to Borger’s 23,000 horsepower compressors situated on seven acres on Ellis Hollow Creek Road, NYSEG proposes three compressors of 85 horsepower each and one at 200 horsepower, each situated on a parcel less than an acre in size. For comparison, a Nissan Leaf electric car generates 107 hp.

Site plan review for each site continued on page 5

N e w s l i n e

Ups&Downs

Treman

contin u ed from page 3

City of Ithaca

Maplewood Complex Behind Schedule

T

he Maplewood Apa r tments Redevelopment on East Hill is trying to beat the calendar after it was revealed Tuesday the project is close to one month behind schedule.

In a presentation to Town of Ithaca officials last week, it was revealed construction crew had lost 37 full or partial days total and, overall, was 25 days behind schedule. In order to make up the deficit, they are asking for approval to add regularly scheduled Saturday hours from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. from now until the project’s completion, anticipated to come sometime this summer.

The project had requested weekend work hours on a caseby-case basis on 18 previous Saturdays due to weather cancellations during the week, which had been approved by Ithaca Town Director of Code Enforcement Br uce Bates. It seems inevitable that construction will incur more delays as snow rolls into town this week, according to the latest forecasts from the National Weather Service.

A domino effect of the numerous delays has been a weakening workforce, with laborers traveling elsewhere to they can find longer and more stable hours, compounding the delays. Art Thompson, Senior Project Manager for the Maplewood project with construction firm LeChase Building Company was unable

Pipeline

contin u ed from page 4

is expected to be carried out by each municipality with the cooperation of NYSEG. Thoug h Weiser does not know details of NYSEG’s gas distribution system, she said typical local gas distribution systems have pipes ranging from 4 to 8 inches in diameter and operate at pressures between 45 and 60 pounds per square inch (psi), far

Maplewood Apartments, under construction. (Photo: Casey Martin)

to be reached for comment.

“Any project of this complexity and this scale, in a climate where there’s less labor than there might be,” local architect Scott Whitham of Whitham Planning and Design said in an inter view. “There will be concerns until the day it’s done but LeChase has been doing a splendid job keeping up with the complicated details of bringing this home, and we remain certain that’s going to happen but we clearly need to make sure we have the time to do so.”

Adding some pressure to an already precarious situation, Jeffrey Resetco. Vice President of Real Estate Development for the project’s developer, EDR, confirmed that students have begun to sign leases to live at Maplewood du r i ng t he 2018-2019 school year. The full project is a 27-building, 440 unit behemoth with 872 beds aimed at housing Cornell University graduate students. There has not been communication with students who have signed up for leases yet, he said, due to the construction team’s confidence in their ability to meet their deadline.

“We have been accepting applications and signing leases for the last couple of months,” Resetco said, adding that there are several different dates on which Maplewood leases start, the earliest being August 1. “We scheduled our leases to have the f lexibility to incorporate the project’s schedule right now, so we’re not anticipating having to adjust anyone’s lease at the moment.” below that of Borger station’s four 30-inch-diameter pipelines each at 900 psi for interstate transmission. Weiser notes that NYSEG’s pressure boosters will operate only intermittently, when temperatures are below 20 degrees and pressure in the system drops below optimal operating range.

In July NYSEG submitted a petition to the PSC proposing a two-part solution to address Lansing’s thermal energy needs - proposing four small compres-

For its part, Cornell’s Real Estate Department does not seem to be ringing any alarm bells just yet either. Senior Director Jeremy Thomas expressed much the same sentiment as the rest of the development team.

“EdR has been actively engaged w it h t he universit y throughout the process,” Thomas wrote in an email. “While we understand that weather delays and other circumstances have caused the project to fall behind schedule, we have full confidence that the project will be completed on time.”

Confidence aside, one thing that was clear as the developers made their pitch to the Town of Ithaca Planning Board, though, is that the work-week extension would be nearly essential to meet the deadline. There are 33 Saturdays between now and August 1, which would theoretically allow construction to make up the time they have lost already, with eight extra days as a cushion in case of more delays.

In terms of a backup plan in case the project is late, Whitham said that would be a reality the development may have to face if the deadline is missed, but did not mention specifics.

“We have hundreds of graduate and professional students who will be looking to move into the new community in July and August, so if we don’t have housing available to them we’ll have to look into some other plan,” Whitham said.

–Matt Butler

sors to ensure the system maintains adequate pressure on very cold days when gas demand is at its peak, and then issuing a request for proposals (RFP) for non-pipe alternatives to address ongoing thermal demands. The PSC approved NYSEG’s petition at its Nov 16th meeting.

The RFP is expected to be issued December 18t h w it h more details.

▶ The City Of Ithaca for closing off Ezra’s Tunnel. While we understand that, after several deaths in the gorges, the city had to do something, it seems off that the course of action they took was universally unpopular among all to attend the meeting. There’s only so much of the nanny state we can handle, especially when it comes to accomodating our landscape for those who don’t understand very tall waterfalls are dangerous.

teria, the dam did not actually make much of a difference in its passage down the creek, according to the study.

One particular aspect the study found that may need to be addressed in the future is the continuing in-fill of sediment.

Though there are no current plans for this, the state could choose to dredge the site in front of the dam to remove much of the sediment, though this carries the inherent risk of harmful methane release; however, from the class’ calculations such an action would not carry with it a significant methane release into the atmosphere or the water.

Stanton said the class spent a few hours every week of fall semester in the field, observing different aspects of the Lake Treman site and the environment surrounding it. With an abundance of students eager to hone their craft, Stanton said the class was able to expand their focus beyond the state’s suggestions. That included a bacterial analysis of the lake’s water, a stream and soil analysis and a pollution investigation through the site’s organism’s tolerance levels of pollutants (the results stated “moderate pollutants”).

Severa l ot her i nterest i ng nuggets came about as a result of the study, including Stanton’s personal favorite factoid: the role beavers play in spreading the invasive Japanese knotweed tree by using its wood for their own dams.

New York State Park Manager Jim Brophy, who was in attendance and manages Treman State Park, said the analysis was valuable in that it served as a deeper, more scientific-based approach to what the state had been using anecdotal evidence to support. Brophy called the class’ work a “tremendous help”.

He also said that while this is New York State Parks’ first time working with the class, he’d be interested in working with them as the state continues examining the dam.

“A lot of the stuff we had some assumptions about, but we did not have the tools for the in-depth analysis that these guys provided, so it was affirming in a lot of ways about things that we had guessed but hearing it presented in such a scientific manner is going to help us,” Brophy said.

▶ Uncertainty on Ithaca’s West Hill Will the decision to eliminate a lane of traffic on 79 make the West End a more walkable and friendly place for pedestrians? Or will this be another nightmare for emergency vehicles trying to get up the hill with haste during our alreadychaotic rush hour? I suppose we’ll find out.

If you care to respond to something in this column, or publish your own grievances or plaudits, write upsanddowns@ithacatimes.com, with a subject head “U&D.”

Heard&Seen ▶ 401 Lake Street has been demolished The old house near Ithaca Falls that once served as a quirky bridge between Ithaca’s past and present was torn down this week. Let’s hope they bring back the gorge walk, shall we? ▶ Top stories on Ithaca.com this week are...

1) Bank robbery investigated 2) Netflix’s ‘Godless’ reinvigorates the western genre 3) Trumansburg Elementary School partners with Challenge Workforce 4) How the GOP’s plans for tax reform could impact Tompkins County 5) T’burg concerned about Smith Woods Fence

question OF THE WEEK

Should Ezra’s Tunnel have been closed?

Please respond at the Ithaca Times Web site www.ithacatimes.com.

L ast Week ’s Q uestion : D o you think a cash bail system still has merit in the justice system?

75 percent of respondents answered “No” and 25 percent answered “No.”

–Matt Butler

–Nick Reynolds

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Community Connections

surrounded by reality

By M a rjor i e O l d s

By C h a r l ey G i t h l e r

Wrecking Ball Blues

Building Healthy ‘Hoods

I

s there anyone out there who does not want to live in a healthy neighborhood, in a safer home? No one we’ve met so

far.

Maya Puleo, part of the Health Department’s Healthy Neighborhoods program is too good to be true. This engaging young woman and her teammates Pat Jebbett and Mariama Chambliss are available to come to your home (or apartment, Airstream, RV, mobile home, yurt) and help you and your neighbors live a healthier life. Plus, Maya brings along a large shopping bag filled with some extra treats for your household!

Before the Healthy Neighborhood visit, Maya writes:

“Hi Allegra, Thank you for reaching out to us about the Healthy Neighborhoods Program. We would be delighted to set up a home visit with you!

How the program works is we come directly to your home and we go over a quick home safety checklist with you to see what home safety products you have and what ones you do not have or that are out of date.

After completing the quick check, we can provide you with a variety of different home safety products for free. We have products

ranging from fire safety, child safety, pest control, and cleaning products.

We can also test for lead paint and radon in your home.

We can set up a visit for as soon as next week or whenever is most convenient for you.

Please let me know what works best.”

Best, –Maya Puleo Tompkins County Health Department Healthy Neighborhoods Program (607) 274-6688 Here’s what we observed during Allegra’s home visit: After Maya came in there was chat about smoke alarms, fire extinguishers, carbon monoxide detectors. Maya brought along samples of each of these in case Allegra wanted any of the above. Then a radon test and lead paint screening was offered. The equipment and the testing are free and all parts of the visit are voluntary and confidential. Because Allegra no longer has children in her home, and her grandchildren are pretty grown up, she looked at the neat baby safety items available, but contin u ed on page 7

A

ye, ‘tis the Christmas season, when, while visions of bitcoins dance in their heads, folks submit their purchase orders and plead their cases to a jolly, diminutive, elfin character known the land over for the twinkle in his eye: Svante Claus.

It’s our own tradition...younger and hipper than Santa, he’s just as full of miracles as the real guy. In the holiday spirit, Julian Assange managed to hack into his email and retrieve the following messages from his inbox:

Best, The Shops at Ithaca Mall

Dear Svante Claus: Due to a series of misunderstandings, I’m back on the comedy circuit. I feel pretty strongly I should still be on the nice list. Anyway, I could use some gigs. Could you hook me up?

Dear Svante Claus: Teacher says every time a bell rings, an Ithacan gets more self-righteous. Is this true?

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Merry Christmas, Zuzu Bailey

Your friend, Al F.

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Best wishes, Minnesota Liberals

Sincerely, Visum Development Group

arlier this year, Governor Cuomo established the New York State Drinking Water Quality Council to determine what courses of action the state should take in protecting our most vital resource. The Council is responsible for making sure that our communities have access to clean and healthy drinking water while also addressing other major water quality issues, including setting limits on extraordinarily dangerous and currently unregulated contaminants that have been linked to increased risks of various cancers, hormonal disorders, and birth defects.

In the face of crumbling water infrastructure, the presence of toxic and industrial pollution, and the slashing of the EPA at the federal level, it is more crucial than ever that New York takes the strongest measures toward protecting every water supply throughout the state.

We as New Yorkers must use our voice to urge the New York State Drinking Water Quality Council to put forth the strictest health standards for unregulated water contaminants, to grant our water infrastructure an adequate budget for improvement and safety, and to guaran-

I thaca Time s

Dear Svante Claus: Could we get a new set of heroes this year? Our old ones broke.

Dear Svante Claus: Online merchants are being really naughty and we’ve had a hard year.

Could you jack up the prices in the downtown parking garages so people will come back to us again?

Know What’s In Your Water!

The

Merry Christmas, Garrison K.

Dear Svante Claus: We’ve been real good this year. Do you think you could see your way clear to surrendering the last vestiges of Collegetown? No need to wrap them.

YourLetters

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Dear Svante Claus: Me, too. (Yes, I hear the irony.)

contin u ed on page 7

tee that we know what is in our drinking water. This council has been granted an enormous task, and the public must be part of the process to ensure that it is fully completed.

The New York State Drinking Water Quality Council is taking public comments via email, at dwqc@health.ny.gov.

To learn more about the quality of your community’s water, visit www. nypirg.org/whatsinmywater.

–Ethan Gormley NYPIRG Organizer

On The Occasion Of Christmas

T

here is a beautiful Christmas hymn that is familiar to many. “Oh Little Town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie…” This little town of Bethlehem is the place where the Christ child of the Christian story was born.

This child; central to the Christian faith, born into poverty to an unmarried, refugee couple in a foreign land; came to save us from ourselves, from our “sin,” from our inability to reach our full potential on this beautiful planet that we, for a brief time, call home.

The Christ child, born in a stable, became a holy yet humble man who brought a message of reconciliation to a

SurroundedByReality contin u ed from page 6

Dear Svante Claus: What I want for Christmas is for you to put CNN and the New York Times and Mr. Mueller on the naughty list. Also, a real helicopter that flies.

Yours, Donald ‘Fredo’ Trump, Jr. Dear Svante Claus: Could y’all do my Christmas shopping for me this year? I’ve got a passel of young pages, bless their wide-eyed hearts, and I ain’t supposed to be within 500 yards of a shopping mall. I’m very much obliged.

Best wishes, Senator-elect ‘Judge’ Roy Moore Dear Svante Claus: Mommy and Daddy say that Ithaca’s high taxes mean you can’t bring us presents this year. I’m not bitter about it, but merry f#@%ing Christmas.

Sincerely, Tim Cratchit Dear Svante Claus: Before you delete this, hear me out.

If I could just get a time machine for Christmas, I could go back, maybe do a few things differently, and get back on the nice list. It’s a win-win. Please?

Your friend, Louis C.K. Dear Svante Claus: I hope you’ve had a good year. Mine’s YourLetters contin u ed from page 6

hurting world, a world where the power brokers earned money off the hard labor of others, a world where the those of different traditions or cultures were despised, a world where women were mere dogs not even worthy of the crumbs from the table, a world where it was easy to persecute those who were different because they threatened a narrow world view.

This Christ child became a man who taught through his stories and his life that the best way to a fulfilled life, a thriving community and a peaceful world was to follow his “Way,” and to treat others as we would like to be treated, to feed the hungry, to heal the sick, to welcome the stranger, and to care for those who have the least among us.

But sadly, today the little town of peace and symbol of divine love is embroiled in violence, death and destruction. And the City of Jerusalem is at the center of a power struggle again. If we learned anything these past 2000 years, it should be that peace -- peace through word and deed are the only ways to save the world, the planet and all life thereon.

–Rev. Barbara Blom, Spencer

been OK. If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, could I please have a smoking gun for Christmas?

Affectionately, Bobby Mueller Dear Svante Claus: Now that the United States has chosen sides, can we still sing Christmas carols about our city?

Affectionately, Jerusalem Dear Svante Claus: Do you know where an A-list movie star could get a drink at this hour? Also, a role to jump-start my career would be real festive. I don’t know if there’s a chimney in rehab, but you could leave my presents by the metal detector at the front desk.

Stay real, Ben A. Dear Svante Claus: Thank you for keeping hope alive!

Maybe next year this time we’ll be asking for those Seneca salt mines. ‘Twould be a Christmas miracle. We’ll leave the customary sack of gold doubloons with your milk and cookies by the fireplace at corporate headquarters.

Very truly yours, Crestwood Midstream Partners, LLC Charley Gither is a columnist for The Ithaca Times. His column, Surrounded

By Reality, appears bi-weekly.

On Tom Reed’s Tax Vote

T

ax reform presents a fresh opportunity to directly address the nation’s public policy priorities.

That is why it was very encouraging to see key provisions of U.S. Representative Tom Reed’s legislation, H.R. 1090, the Technologies for Energy Securities Act, included as part of the recently passed House tax reform bill. The legislation would restore the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for numerous clean energy sources, which would put them on a level playing field with traditional energy resources like oil and gas.

Innovative energy projects like fiberoptic solar energy, small wind energy, and geothermal heat pumps, among others, are often capital intensive but deliver significant economic and local energy production benefits over the long term. The tax credit is important because it could motivate investors to back such efforts in New York state and across the country. These projects would help to secure America’s energy future and serve to create jobs and drive economic growth in your region.

Hopefully other legislators will follow his example.

–Heather Reams, Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions Forum.

communityconnections contin u ed from page 6

News Quick Hits

didn’t need any. Maya also chatted about healthy cleaning projects that did not generate any toxicity in the home or in disposal. Wow! Allegra took samples.

Turns out this delightful young woman who arrived with a big bag of healthy goodies and a radiant smile grew up in Trumansburg. After studying and graduating in Global Health Studies from college, her parents and three brothers are glad to have her close to her roots. Maya loves working for the Health Department and finding ways to help all families have access to whatever will improve their health.

While many of us admire the Tompkins County Health Department for their ability to provide essential health care to all Tompkins County residents from birth on— in programs like flu shot clinics (for those six months and up), WIC, Lead Poisoning Prevention, MOMS Program, and Children with Special Care Needs Program. And to provide resources about all the critters who live with us, invited or not—free rabies inoculation clinics for our dogs, cats and ferrets, advice on pest control and bats.

Always on the watch for more ways to enhance preventive health, the Tompkins County Health Department applied for the Hea lthy Neighborhoods Program grant from the New York State Department of Health, and is now in its second five-year grant. Bravo!

So, if you want to enhance fire safety and child safety and prevent indoor air pollution Maya’s offer can’t be beat. You get to stay in your own digs, spend less than an hour with a lovely, trained and committed neighbor. During Maya’s free and confidential visit you can receive child safety products - furniture straps (to keep bureaus from falling on top of occupants), corner guards (for toddlers); outlet covers to protect young children and other things to prevent falls and burns and accidents.

You can sleep more sound ly at night knowing you have sufficient smoke detectors and fire extinguishers nearby. Plus, you can ask Maya to test for radon (which can lead to lung cancer) and lead paint. At no charge.

Sounds good? Yes. So pick up the phone and call (607)274-6688 or send out an email and this charming guest or one of her teammates will help you button up in a healthier, safer home this Fall. If that won’t work for you, Maya and teammates are also open to group presentations and will bring supplies to share.

Trumansburg Residents Concerned About Smith Woods Fence Since 1909 the 32-acre patch of land known as Smith Woods in Trumansburg has been protected as a forever wild and natural space, but some residents have concerns that recent changes to the woods impede on the goal to keep the land natural.

Now, there are plans to put a fence around the natural space to help control the number of deer that enter the woods. One of the concerns from residents is that the posts of the fence are pressure treated wood, and the fence material itself is a vinyl netting, neither fitting in with the idea of an area meant to be kept natural.

Read FLCN Reporter Jamie Swinnerton’s full coverage of the issue on Ithaca.com.

Legislators look to regulate public spaces After a politically slanted press conference by local officials was held in the Legislature Chambers last month, the governing body is now considering what activities are proper to allow on county property.

While a few county rooms are restricted by rules imposed by their associated departments, there is no standard rule in place to outline exactly how a county room should be used. The discussion was spurred in part by a press conference held in the days leading up to election day, when legislators Martha Robertson, Rich John and legislature chairman Michael Lane held a press conference in the Legislature Chambers on a topic – supporting a New York State Constitutional Convention – the legislature, as a whole, had not formally weighed in on.

While there was no mention of restricting the use of county property for meeting space – legislator Will Burbank mentioned one of the county’s great traditions is the provision of free public space – he added there should be some restrictions to the types of meetings that could be held there and that each department with a conference room should have its own permitting process.

Bravo to Tompk ins Count y Health Department!

Marjorie Olds is a columnist for The Ithaca Times. Her column, Community Connections, appears monthly.

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Stable Soils

Wanted

Its Fate Uncertain For Several Years, Ithaca’s Community Gardens Warily Eyes The Future... Again.

By M att Bu tler A peek around Ithaca’s Community Gardens these days is unimpressive. A mix of faint green, brown and gray populate both fenced-in areas, split by an access road in between. This isn’t a symptom of neglect or incompetence, simply a seasonal reality as morning dew turns to frost.

In warmer weather, the Gardens are a wellspring of life and activity, with sunflowers growing so high they can be seen from Route 13 among more flowers, fruits and vegetables than you can count. The 150 plots of garden space are tended to by a diverse mix of people, and yield everything from the most common dinner table fruits and vegetables to foreign seeds planted by the Northside’s immigrant population, the likes of which can’t be found in a Tops or Wegmans. Students from places like Southside Community Center come to learn gardening on one of the community plots.

The gardens, founded in 1976, were originally located in the Northside neighborhood, behind an old P&C Grocery store (And, later, the Community Pride Grocery Store) that is now home to the 210 Hancock affordable housing project. A few years after that the gardens, now backed by a non-profit called Project Growing Hope formed from gardeners around the city, were forced to move to the stretch of land it occupies now, a two acre spot in what has become Carpenter Business Park just off Route 13. With New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG) power lines severely limiting any upward building that can be done on that particular parcel (but not elsewhere in the Business Park), it is a fairly natural fit for a garden.

But whether or not the Community Gardens will continue to reside there for the foreseeable future has been uncertain in recent years as potential developers,

P hotos By A koko Se mon

eyeing the scarce open land left in the city, has targeted the site. Their two-acre oasis is now surrounded by eight acres of land, now in the possession of Cayuga Medical Center who, even months after purchasing the site, have yet to say anything publicly. CMC Spokesman John Turner said the hospital’s intentions have not changed since they announced the property’s purchase in June for $10 million. At that point, a press release issued by CMC said they wanted to work with Project Growing Hope to “come up with a permanent plan that will sustain the community gardens.”

One of those possibilities appears to be working the garden into the construction of some unnamed development to come, so that the site could still be developed but the garden wouldn’t be uprooted.

“Our goal is to come up with a workable solution, and we’re in the process of doing that,” Turner reiterated this month. He said whatever is developed on the site will be mixed use, and a combination of “healthcare, housing, retail and commercial.”

Park Grove Realty, LLC has been chosen as the site’s developer, a relatively young Rochester firm founded by former Conifer Realty partners that is most

Possible New Garden Location

Black Diamond Trail

Ithaca Children’s Garden 8

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known under that name for a controversial townhouse project in Lansing. Conifer is a more familiar name to Ithacans, responsible for projects such as the Cayuga Meadows affordable senior housing on Cayuga Lake.

One potential landing spot that has been floated, if the gardens do end up relocating, is a small slice of Cass Park near the Children’s Garden. While the specifics of that proposal are cloudy, the community garden’s members argue the move would be significantly negative for the garden’s membership and for the health of the plants themselves. The area of Cass Park that could host the garden is in the shadow of West Hill and can act like a natural draining area during wet seasons, many members claim, both of which would be problematic for a healthy garden.

Beyond that, though, they say access to, and thus participation with, the gardens would be profoundly reduced. According to a survey collected by Project Growing Hope in 2015 of around 110 community garden members, 82 percent of its gardeners at that time traveled less than two miles to get to the garden, 61 percent of which answered they travel less than a mile.

2017

Cass Pa r k nlet Th e I

Moving the gardens farther beyond Route 13 and over the Inlet would hamper many members’ willingness or ability to participate said board member Devon Jenkins, either because they would no longer have the time to make the trek or don’t have a car to shorten it. Many of the gardeners don’t have much expendable income, with that same survey revealing 43 percent have a household income less than $32,000 per year. In theory, it would alienate the population who find themselves economically forced to use community gardens in the first place.

“The people who need it most would be the ones most affected,” Jenkins said.

There are potential legal complications to such a move as well. Gardening is not an approved usage of parkland, so if the gardens were to move to Cass Park it would require a passing vote in the New York State Legislature, and due to the Public Trust Doctrine, the city would have to find an equal amount of parkland elsewhere in Ithaca and substitute it for the land leased to the community gardens. That process, particularly at the state level, could be very lengthy.

Community Gardens members still harbor some resentment, and some wari-

gardens feel as if the place they love is in a constant state of limbo, especially now with the added pressure of development around them seeming imminent.

The only way out of that limbo, in the minds of the garden’s members, is permanence. The preferred method by which that permanence could come about changes depending on who is talking, but it boils down to more commitment from the city.

“Unless the city changes their approach to community gardens and to actual quality of life issues not just development and housing, unless they directly address those issues, this is not going away,” Jenkins said.

“The city needs a much more aggressive stance when it comes to these quality of life issues.”

When asked, Mayor Svante Myrick reiterated his preference that whatever the future course for the site, the community gardens are consulted and included during the process.

“We really need more medical services downtown, in the heart of the city, I think it would make it easier for the people who live here,” Myrick said. “But I think there has to be a way to achieve that, and also keeping the community gardens in a form that works for them. Maybe that’s staying

who are able to benefit from it, their lives are made better by it and that makes our city a better place.”

Jenkins said he feels the gardens exist at the intersection between liveability and development. As development continues, the community amenities that might seem unnecessary but which carry subtle benefits become more essential but also more threatened, he said. Housing is obviously necessary, Jenkins said, but it should come hand-in-hand with space for things like parks and gardens, things that reach beyond the concrete jungle to connect people.

Whatever the garden means to the city, it’s clearly made an impact on those who have plots there. A community has formed among those within the wooden fences, perhaps best exemplified by the volunteer plot that bears a sign “In Memory of Chao,” a gardener who passed away several years ago. Food from his plot is passed out among other members when it is ripe to harvest. The garden has become popular among Ithaca’s Burmese immigrant population, who use it to plant vegetables normally unique to the soils of Myanmar.

Common Council member Seph Murtagh, who represents the Second Ward

on and the building’s going up,” Murtagh said. “There’s a sense that you don’t want to lose what makes Ithaca special, and the small-town stuff that makes it an enjoyable place. We’re not Manhattan or San Francisco, there’s a reason people come here and it’s often to get away from those places.”

Expressing support for the gardens, Murtagh said if they are “unwilling to move, that’s going to be a big complicating factor in this whole thing.” He said his ideal situation is that CMC works out a deal with the community gardens that’s mutually agreeable.

The gardens’ predicament is a microcosm of the city’s evolution as a whole.

New Ithaca is picking the elements of Old Ithaca it wants to bring with it, guessing, sometimes haphazardly, along the way at which parts are serviceable enough to help the city achieve what it wants to be. Garden members make a compelling argument that the value it brings for the lower-income population, and Ithaca’s health as a overall community, merit not only continued existence but government funding and support. The community garden is not, as members asserted again and again, just a place for people who don’t have enough

ness, after negotiations between Project Growing Hope and the city over the garden’s last lease extension soured in 2012 and 2013 and almost didn’t happen, saved by a last-minute public push. Eventually a new lease was agreed upon, but with a new wrinkle: a revocable clause that could be invoked via Common Council vote at any time, which would terminate the lease one year after the vote.

According to Sheryl Swink, a long-time gardens board member, those negotiations, and the new inclusion of the revocable clause, are still a source of tension. The

exactly where they are, maybe that’s moving to another site, whatever that is we are ready to work with them.”

As for the benefits the garden yields to the community at large, Myrick was measured while balancing the benefit Carpenter Business Park development could have on the city. New zoning on the waterfront has greatly increased the options for future construction.

“I think it’s a real benefit, and I don’t want to lose it,” Myrick said. “We should be careful not to imply that thousands of people benefit from the gardens. But those

where a high number of the gardeners come from, said he understands the need for livable aspects of the city, and thinks it makes up an important ingredient in the attractiveness of Ithaca. A cautious approach is needed to preserve the middle ground Ithaca comfortably inhabits between big city and small town, and it’s still a priority for the city’s government shown through the ongoing formulation of a new Parks Master Plan.

“I think there is a sense that the city is changing very rapidly, with the cranes everywhere and the construction that’s going

room on their lawn. Trade-offs are inevitable, but ultimately the decision rests with the city, and what its priorities and values are going forward.

“It seems like it kind of fits with our vision of the place,” Murtagh said. “The question though is how does that happen in conjunction with the city’s desire to develop this big eight-acre parcel? [...] If there was a way we could snap our fingers and allow them to stay, I think we would do it, but there’s also a real interest in developing that parcel.”

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ents, students, and members of the community that we are constantly committed to making the Trumansburg CSD a safe, inviting, and professional learning environment for everyone,” Bell said.

Senior investigator with the New York State Police, Richard Haas, confirmed that state troopers were investigating allegations of an inappropriate relationship between a teacher and a student. Haas said that the nature of the investigation right now is for charges of Sexual Assault and Endangering the Welfare of a Minor, but the investigation could bring up other charges.

The parents of the student involved, who will not be identified because he is a minor, have reason to believe that the relationship started as early as November of 2016.

“It’s disgusting,” said the student’s mother. “I’m disgusted.”

The parents are currently looking for a lawyer to help them pursue a civil suit and would like to get a restraining order against Ibert. They said Children’s Protection Services were notified of the relationship when Ibert’s husband, Matthew Herman, found out about his wife’s affair and told a mandated reporter (someone who has regular contact with vulnerable individuals and are therefore legally required to report suspected or observed abuse) at the Ithaca City School District, where he works. From there, CPS called the administration of Charles O. Dickerson High School, who then notified the state police.

“I am a mandated reporter in the State of New York and I have acted in accordance with my responsibilities as such,” was Herman’s only statement for this story.

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The student’s father said he was notified of the investigation involving his son when a family friend in law enforcement called him.

He brought his son to the state police soon after to give a statement.

“These teachers spend more time with your kids than you do,” the student’s father said, “so if you can’t trust them, who can you trust?”

The parents said state police are currently working on getting Verizon to release text messages between Ibert and the student from the student’s previous phone. Haas confirmed that phone records have been obtained as part of the investigation. Text messages between Ibert and the student from Nov. 4 to Nov. 12, obtained from a source close to the family, that are being considered as part of the investigation indicate that Ibert was banned from the TCSD campus but planned to fight that decision with the help of a new lawyer. In the text messages Ibert refers to superintendent Bell as “that skinny bitch” that she would “definitely take on.”

“New York State law expressly forbids school districts from revealing any details about disciplinary matters against tenured teachers,” said Bell. “Therefore, I can neither confirm nor deny any information about disciplinary decisions the District has made involving Christine Ibert. The law simply prevents me from discussing it at this time.”

Ibert confesses, in the text messages, to feeling guilty about being with the student, and the possible harm their relationship could cause him in the future. But in later messages she tells the student he isn’t like other students his age.

“With all this bullshit that has happened over the past month I keep saying to myself that it’s not going to be like one of those sto-

ries in the news where the teacher was with a student,” Ibert said. “Because you are not a typical [redacted] year old by a long shot.”

In the hundreds of messages Ibert sent to the student over the week, she tells him numerous times that she is in love with him, often using pet names like baby, honey, and my love. At one point she even does his homework, using a Google Doc to write and edit a paper for the student to turn in.

At several points Ibert updates the student on how her divorce proceedings are going.

“I hate him so freaking much and right now i (sic) hate that he is my children’s father,” Ibert said. Several times she suggested that the student imagine causing Herman physical harm to motivate himself.

Ibert often asked the student who he was with and what he was doing. The text messages indicate that she had intimate knowledge of the student’s schedule, including when his after-school activities were. She even reminds him what day he has physical education class.

The last text messages Ibert sends to the student that week are in reaction to learning that the student’s father is bringing him to the police station.

“Tell him I will never speak to you again please,” Ibert said. “I am so sorry. Oh my god this is awful.”

When the student does not answer her initial messages, where she reminds him she has children and she will do whatever the student’s father asks, Ibert continues her pleas.

“Every single piece of information you share is used against me,” Ibert said. “Please help me. I swear I will do whatever. I can’t take this.”

–Jamie Swinnerton

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Tiny houses

contin u ed from pg. 4

However, she said, legislation’s ability to keep up with these trends has been rather slow due, in part, to the blessing and curse of New York State’s status as a home rule state: Other than minimal compliance with New York State code, municipalities can set whatever rules for housing it wants.

And in Tompkins County, several builders have told The Times, those rules can be quite restrictive.

“It’s not possible to build houses around the county,” Buzz Dolph, owner of Tiny Timbers, laughed in a recent interview. “It isn’t just tiny houses.”

The main reason comes down to policy: Across the county, a lack of cohesive building codes from municipality to municipality lead to unpredictable building environments for developers, particularly in the realm of owner-occupied home construction.

Some municipalities have minimum house sizes (places like the Town of Ulysses have begun to reconsider this for the express purpose of encouraging tiny houses) from 1,000 square feet to higher. And that’s just the size of the building: each municipality also has its own restrictions on things like lot sizes and other municipal-specific requirements, like sewer hookups and well requirements that could restrict a homeowner from employing a ladder for second floor access, rather than stairs (a requirement that could impact the square footage of a home), or installing something like a composting toilet over more traditional plumbing.

At one point, Koreman said, she was even told that in order to install a composting toilet in an accessory apartment on her

property, she would first need to install a proper flushing toilet with a septic hookup before they could move forward. That, Koreman said, is a $12,000 to $15,000 delay with no clear benefit.

“To me, that kind of defeats the purpose,” said Koreman.

While local building codes have to at least meet New York State building code, many municipalities often exceed it.

“The closer you get to the center of the county, the more difficult it becomes,” said Dolph. “For instance, if I’m building in Dryden or if I’m developing Lansing, or I’m getting a building permit in Enfield, it’s exponentially easier than getting one in the Town or City of Ithaca.”

The restrictions in the Town of Ithaca, one developer wrote in an email, are so restrictive they may as well be “the antithesis of getting s**t done.”

How Does This A ffect A fforda bil it y?

In the case of movable homes, part of the reason to restrict them could be tied to a municipality’s ability to levy taxes or for the lack of space to legally leave them longer than several months, Koreman said. But for tiny houses and other properties, their lack of construction is largely due to arbitrary reasons that can add to construction times and costs.

Under normal conditions, Dolph said he can built a house in just about nine weeks. But in the city, due to zoning processes and the nature of its building code, approvals could stretch that timeline to several months from the initial application to several rounds of site plan approval (a generally arbitrary process).

If you want something even remotely unique that isn’t catered special to the site, you would then be required to go through the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals. For reference on how long that takes, one of Dolph’s projects – which exceeded its allowed lot coverage by about three feet – took two months to get that approval.

And even after that, he and his architect faced several months more delays before they were finally able to tear down the eyesore of a house they planned to replace and break ground.

Municipal codes may say one thing, but Dolph argues there may be some overreach in how planning boards apply comprehensive plan and neighborhood character guidelines in order to stall projects for totally subjective reasoning, unlike judgements that would otherwise come from the quasi judicial BZA. After you get approvals to build, developers are then faced with the licensing requirements of each individual municipality. Dolph named one example where, when working on approvals for a development in the city, he was told his longtime electrician – whom he pays $40 an hour – was not eligible to work in the City of Ithaca. Why? Because the City of Ithaca’s licensed electrician rates dictated by the city’s Board of Electricians are $65 an hour, meaning he would either have to form a new LLC in order to draw up a new contract specifically for the job to keep his man, or otherwise resort to one of the 53 individuals licensed to work in the City of Ithaca. (29 of which are residents of Tompkins County.) By the time you’re ready to go, you then have to wait in line for one of the few code inspectors that municipality has at its disposal to evaluateAgent your project.

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from a company’s profit margins. Dolph estimates a minimum $20,000 add-on in cost for each house he builds, making it possible some developers could adjust their upfront costs to clients in order to get ahead of delays and unexpected revisions their projects may have to undergo.

These policies, Dolph hints, have consequences: over the past several years, the city has issued more than 300 building permits for rental properties yet, over the past 15 years, the city has averaged just around three permits within city limits each year for new homes, according to figures Dolph acquired from from the head of the city’s building division, Mike Niechwiadowicz.

Change, according to emails received from county officials on the topic, will ultimately come down to each individual municipality. As County planner Megan McDonald responded to an inquiry from the Times: “I’d say in terms of ‘how far we are from a more standardized, easy to understand zoning code,’ I don’t think we really have an answer to that at this point.”

Ultimately, Dolph implied that if the building processes – not the zoning – were only simplified, he’d be more able to fulfill a need the county itself stated is in highdemand.

“Why do I want to build houses close to the urban center – where houses need to be built – when I can build them five miles out of the urban center and do what I’m able to do and know what my schedules are?” Dolph said. “It’s crazy.”

“All I want is a process that works, because I know my houses are something people want, and I know I fill a need.”

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n an era when so many young people spend so much time sitting and staring at some screen, it was a great experience to see dozens of kids at Cornell on Sunday, scratching that primal itch to look at a mountain, or a tree, or a climbing wall, and get from the bottom to the top.

At the Lindseth Climbing Center on Sunday, nearly two-hundred people showed up for the Community Climbing Day, an event that celebrates the life of Ithaca native Tim Starr. Tim – who lost his life in an auto accident 3 years ago at age 31 – loved climbing, and teaching young people the necessary skills was among his greatest passions. His wife, Kelly, told me, “Tim learned at Lindseth, and he loved to take people out climbing. He was always looking for new climbers.”

Ti m’s mot her, Li nda, added “Some friends - including Kath Fenzel, who is a family friend and is connected to Cornell Athletics – put the event together in Tim’s memory, and this is the third year.”

Eric Weissinger was Tim’s classmate at Ithaca High School, and he said “Tim and I were acquaintances in high school (IHS class of 2001), but we connected at Clarkson (where Tim got a degree in Electrical Engineering), and with our shared history and interests, we became fast friends.” Eric added, “Tim was a really special person, and the positive energy just flowed out of him. It was amazing how he could be such an expert on a subject, but he was just so welcoming and he connected with people so deeply that his knowledge or expertise was never intimidating.”

The Community Climbing Day uses all the funds raised to pay the instructors from the Cornell Outdoor Education to spend the time teaching novices to use the equipment safely, follow instructions with the hope of drawing new climbers into the fold. “That’s why we make it a free event,” Kelly offered, “to make the Wall available to families that might not have an opportunity to experience it otherwise.”

One of the dads I approached was kind

enough to talk to me while his two children – ages 4 and 7 – anxiously awaited their turn. “We came last year,” said Owen Vajk, “and it was such a great opportunity to learn something new. The kids were really excited to come back again.”

John Udall was clearly enjoying the event as much as anyone, and when I asked him to tell me about his history with Tim Starr, it was easy to understand why. John was Tim’s Boy Scout leader when Tim was a youngster, and the two became climbing partners when Tim was an adult. “I really like being able to participate in this event,” Udall stated, “and seeing so many kids climbing today is wonderful. Tim always felt that kids – particularly girls – were underrepresented, and it was always his hope that they could be given an opportunity and stay involved.” As John checked his harness and prepared to belay another wide-eyed young climber, he added, “I really miss Tim. He was a great friend and a fine climber.”

Understandably, the packed facility and abundance of positivity warmed Linda Starr’s heart more than anyone else’s. She motioned to her daughter and said “Allison was afraid of heights, but on Tim’s birthday, she – belayed by John Udall – made it to the top of the wall.”

Linda Starr recalled her son’s first visits to the Lindseth Climbing Center all those years ago, and she said “When the Wall opened, I took the belay course – you know, a mother doing her best to make sure her son stayed safe – and now it seems that this is the best way to keep Tim’s memory alive. I hope the event goes on long enough so that people can say ‘I learned to climb here, at the event in Tim’s memory, and now I’m bringing my kids here to learn to climb too.’”

Linda looked at the throngs of people waiting in line to get a chance to clip in and defy gravity, and she said “I like to think that in heaven, Tim is just thrilled that so many kids are getting this opportunity.”

BusinessTimes

Business Index pg. 14 ToGo Results pg. 16 Business Briefs pg. 18

Investment In Motion Given a large state grant to work with, lansing’s advanced design consulting shows the impact it would have.

M

By Nick Reynolds ADC Machining’s Eric Van Every and Rebecca Schindler stand in front of two hutches Cornell University hired them to build for an upgrade to its synchrotron

facility, using a $15 million grant from New York State estimated to generate 12 new, local jobs in Lansing. (Photo: Nick Reynolds) anufacturing, as far as public perception is concerned, space was needed. isn’t always the most visible statewide to benefit from a recent, multi-mil- since.

Today, the facility not only has a massive On the wall when you enter, the comlion dollar New York State grant to upgrade industry.

Their facilities don’t Cornell University’s synchrotron facility, has pany’s client list reads off like a laundry list shop floor, but it also counts a preliminary stand out from the landscape and most of experienced steady growth since its begin- of the world’s most advanced research facili- testing room, office space for its engineers nings at Cornell’s Langmuir ties, an impressive set of destinations for and a specially-designed, highly-versatile us never have any reason to Labs in 1995. Founded that year products fabricated and engineered largely space for assembly and quality control, visit them in the first place.

“This is actually

by Cornell alum and former by people in our own backyard. Walk past where the company is able to test their prodSo some, if you told them, one of the best Ford Motors engineer Alexan- the front desk and the rows of office space, ucts under various conditions. And while might be surprised to learn examples you can der Deyhim, the business has where engineers click away at components plenty of machine shops have the ability that a company exists right get of government come a long way from the origi- coming together on CAD programs on their to manufacture components on their own, on Ridge Road, in Lansing, funding coming nal 100 foot by 30 foot facility he computer screens, and you enter an expan- similar to the way ADC does, very few have that has done work for clients in and actually built on three acres in Lansing sive shop floor, most of which has only been the ability to fabricate the components as such as NASA, Brookhaven increasing the job (The building, just to help you in commission for a year or so. In past years, well as assemble a final product from those Nationa l Laborator y and base.” chart the company’s progress, all the work – product testing, assembly, components and test them in-house, the way numerous other high-progrew from that to 15,000 square machining – was done in front half of the ADC is able to. file organizations across five feet before its latest addition.) space but, in order to take on more complicontinents.

The workshop of Lansing’s Advanced and, walking the shop today, you can see cated projects (like their current deal workDesign Consulting, one of 20 companies quite plainly all that has been accomplished ing on the Cornell Synchrotron), additional Contin u ed from p 15

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B usiness T imes

IthacaBusiness Index

Holiday Shopping Statistics T

By E l i a K ac a py r

Deloitte has an interhe holiday season can be make-orbreak for many retailers. The U.S. esting take-away from one of its surveys: Census Bureau reports that jewelry 85 percent of shoppers planned to make instores do almost 29 percent of their business store purchases over Thanksgiving weekend, during the holidays. Department stores and while 91 percent planned to buy something electronics sellers are heavily invested in the online. Apparently, most people do a little of season as well. Lawn and garden stores… not both these days.

The Department of Economics at Ithaca so much.

In most cases, holiday sales are consid- College is forecasting $321 million in holiday sales for Tompkins ered to be any retail sale County, an increase of 3.5 The Department of occurring in November or Economics at Ithaca percent over last year. Like December. Staunch traditionalists consider the College is forecasting $321 the National Retail Federperiod between Thanks- million in holiday sales for ation, that figure considers Tompkins County the holiday season to be giving and Christmas to this year.

November and December be the holiday season, but and includes online sales it is hard to find figures for this circumscribed period. Sur veys generated in the area. Unlike the National show anywhere from 20 to 40 percent of Retail Federation, gasoline, automobile, and households begin holiday shopping before restaurant sales are included.

The forecast for Ithaca is based on local Thanksgiving. Regardless of how the holiday season is defined, retailers are jazzed about retail sales for the first ten months of the 2017 because this holiday season has an year. Those are up just over 3 percent comextra day between Thanksgiving and Christ- pared to last year. The extra shopping day and relatively high consumer confidence mas and that day falls on a weekend.

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The National Retail Federation is forecasting about $680 billion in holiday sales, an increase of almost 4 percent over last year.

That figure excludes gasoline, automobiles, and restaurant sales. But it includes online sales which are projected to be about $100 billion. So about 15 percent of holiday sales are online. Online sales are rising faster than overall holiday sales. Cyber Monday is a big deal and easily ranks as the highest volume day for online sales every year. While overall holiday sales are expected to rise 4 percent, online sales are projected to soar anywhere from 14 to 17 percent depending on the forecaster.

boost the projection to 3.5 percent.

According to a survey by Prosper Insights & Analytics, the average consumer plans to spend about $1,000 this holiday shopping season. This is an interesting statistic in several respects. The first thing to notice is that this is the amount consumers themselves say they plan to spend. What actually occurs could be far different. But more importantly, the world can be divided into two sorts of people: those who are pleased with themselves for spending less than the average and those who are pleased with themselves for spending more•

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“There is competition in what we do,” Rebecca Schindler, the Business Manager for ADC said on a recent visit. “However, most of those companies are not as broad as we are. We hit a lot of the markets that others don’t. Some companies just focus on optical tables. Well, we do too. We have a lot of eggs in our basket, and there’s really not a lot of companies as versatile as we are.”

This unique ability has a tendency to land them the type of jobs where, oftentimes, the projects they work on often are being built for the very first time. Every job is completely custom, Schindler explained, and for this, the company has seen some significant changes in the past year. Their recent contract with Cornell, for example, will result in the addition of 12 new positions, from machinists to welders, just to live up to the company’s current contract. This gain in employment will help the company to leverage new contracts and, in turn, allow ADC to continue to grow even more: Through the company’s most recent contract, ADC expects to have the capacity to step up into potential contracts with the likes of Argonne National Laboratory to a facility in Brazil that the company, otherwise, would not have been able to step into.

The company has grown so much recently that Deyhim – once responsible for overseeing all the in-house operations – has abdicated his role to focus solely on selling the company’s products to even larger clients, pitching them on the company’s ability to make even their most ambitious plans into

realities.

“We take ideas and we commercialize them,” said Schindler, pointing to a conceptual drawing of one of the company’s $180,000 cryocoolers on the wall of their board room – one of the concepts developed

by Cornell engineers but developed in the workshops of ADC. “Obviously, it doesn’t look like what they did in the lab, but we made it pretty and made it ready for sale.”

Think a piece like that has a niche market? You’re right – the company has only sold five of these. But top-level scientists, working on sophisticated technologies, have a difficult time finding those niche, specialized markets on their own, much less handle the marketing and face-to-face sale of the finished product once it leaves the lab. And this is where ADC has found its own niche: capitalizing on a specialized need that, given the right investment, can lift a whole community. ADC’s employees can come in as a welder, for instance, and learn on-the-job how to take on other roles in the shop, giving them a level of mobility from the blue-collar jobs on up that few other employers can offer.

“This is manufacturing jobs at work here all because of New York State’s programs[…] they’re dumping money back into New York State and you’re looking at where it went,” said Eric Van Every, ADC’s operations manager.

“This is actually one of the best examples you can get of government funding coming in and actually increasing the job base,” he added. “It shows it can actually be done, it’s not all smoke and mirrors.”•

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ToGo Awards Honor Community Changemakers annual event an occasion to celebrate those who work to build bridges between campus and community

By Matt Butler

T

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The

he annual Town-Gown Awards celebrat i ng t he yea r i n collaboration between Tompkins County and the higher education institutions within it work-

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ing to improve life for the county’s citizens and beyond.

This was the 20th year of the awards, held at Ithaca High School, dubbed a “Special Edition” by organizers looking to honor

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the arrival of three new college presidents into town. Shirley Collado of Ithaca College, Martha Pollack of Cornell University and Orinthia Montague of Tompkins Cortland Community College each briefly

addressed the crowd, all attending their first ToGo awards.

While a celebration, this year’s ToGos signaled something of a changing of the guard, as Tompkins County saw a considerable part of its governing structure retire as the area’s new educational leaders arrived.

The new presidents spoke about some of the challenges facing their schools, but they all also voiced hope that through taking advantage of the opportunities which exist in a place with such a focus on higher education. To highlight the importance and potential of town-gown relationships in Ithaca, Pollack mentioned Cornell’s new New York City campus and the advantages it could provide to the area in the short- and long-term future.

The event began with the announcement of awards for Town-Gown partnerships, collaborations between the colleges and different programs around Ithaca and Tompkins County to enrich the community.

Leadership Tompkins was honored first, a joint venture between Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce and TC3 meant to teach students county and regional issues and connect them with people who can help get them involved. Along with that, three partnerships between Tompkins-SenecaTioga Board of Cooperative Educational Services (TST-BOCES) and each of IC, Cornell and TC3 were recognized for various educational programs they have been running centered around furthering students’ careers and facilitating the transition from high school to college.

The reception then turned to those leaving their posts in public service or who had risen to visibility over time through their work in the community. Honored separately was Carl Haynes, the longtime TC3 president who retired in August clearing the way for Montague to take over. Haynes had served as the school’s third president since 1994, the longest presidency in TC3’s history.

As was noted in his introduction by Cornell VP for University Relations Joel Ma lina, he guided TC3 to new grow th both structurally and into the community, including adding nearly 90,000 square feet to the campus and many renovations of central campus buildings. He also oversaw the installation of a solar plant that now supplies almost all of the campus’ energy.

Haynes was the only winner to give an acceptance speech, and received a standing ovation. He spoke about the intersection of the area’s three colleges and how, over the years, they each have come to support one another while also filling in specific needs throughout the community.

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Above: All the ToGo Award winners, gathered in a group onstage at Ithaca High School’s Kulp Auditorium.

Left: TC3 President Orinthia Montague, Cornell University President Martha Pollock, and Ithaca College President Shirley Collado.

Below: The three presidents, with outgoing TC3 president Carl Haynes.

THIRD PLACE OVERALL DESIGN EXCELLENCE DIVISION 1 “Very attractive front pages, and the open feel was carried throughout.”

(Photos: Cornell University Media Relations)

it was not uncommon in this community to hear at public gatherings people questioning ‘Why on Earth do we need another college?” Haynes recalled. “But I want to say that in these recent decades that the synergy and the relationship that we have with Ithaca College and Cornell University has really brought just a wonderful impact on our community.”

Haynes also paid tribute to the new presidents of each college, saying he, former IC president Tom Rochon and former Cornell president Hunter Rawlings all had abundant optimism for the future of their respective schools.

“Whether it be quality of life, or economic i mpact, each of ou r institutions have a very unique contribution to be made to these communities,” he said. “And even just the pride we all shared in calling Tompkins County our home.”

The full list of honorees was (all former): Ithaca Police Chief John Barber, Ithaca’s Deputy Pla n ni ng Di rec tor of Economic Development Philly DeSarno, Common Council Alderperson Josephine Martell, Tompkins County Legislators Carol Chock, Dooley Kiefer, Jim Dennis, Peter Stein and Will Burbank, Tompkins County Administrator Joe Mareane, former Ithaca Mayor and director of Cornell’s Office of Community Relations John Gutenberger, Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services Director Paul Mazzarella, Tompkins County Public Library Director Susan Currie, Kitchen Theater’s Artistic Director Rachel Lampert, Cancer Resource Center Executive Director Bob Riter, Learning Web Executive Director Dale Schumacher, Tompkins County Social Ser vices Commissioner Patricia Carey and Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit Operations Manager Nancy Oltz.

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B usiness T imes

Business Briefs Tompkins Financial Names Abby Peterson Marketing Communications Manager

T

ompkins Financial Corporation has named Abby Peterson as Marketing Communications Manager. She will be based in their Downtown Ithaca headquarters.

Peterson will be responsible for overseeing the marketing communications efforts for Tompkins Financial’s four community banks: Tompkins Trust Company in Central Abby Peterson NY, Tompkins Bank of Castile in Western NY, Tompkins Mahopac Bank in the Hudson Valley, and Tompkins VIST Bank in Southeastern PA. “Abby’s experience in the marketing industry, her time with Tompkins Finan-

cial and her deep commitment to our communities and customers will allow her to excel in this roll,” said Susan Valenti, EVP, Marketing, Sales and Service. “I look forward to her continued contribution to our organization.”

Prior to joining Tompkins as a Marketing Communications Business Partner in 2016, Peterson served as a marketing and public relations specialist at Hagan Associates in Vermont where she planned and managed marketing and public relations initiatives for multiple clients. She received her bachelor’s degree in Integrated Marketing Communications from Ithaca College in 2011 and has resided in Ithaca with her wife since 2013.

Peterson is an active member in the community and serves on the Downtown Ithaca Alliance Board of Directors and marketing committees, Historic Ithaca Development Committee, is a Leadership Tompkins Graduate, and Fab5 Planning Committee Member/Tompkins Trust Company Representative.

Ursa Space Systems Receives $7 Milllion

U

rsa Space Systems Inc. (“Ursa”), a Space 3.0 analytics-as-a-service company, announced it closed a $7 million Series A equity financing from experienced financial, security, and strategic investors. The financing was led by Paladin

Capital Group and included participation from New Enterprise Associates (NEA), RRE Ventures, S&P Global, and other strategic investors. Ursa was formed by leaders in the satellite and software security fields with the vision to unlock the potential of data and insights derived from radar satellite imaging.

Ursa Space Systems Inc. (Ursa) is a Space 3.0 analytics-as-a-service company that brings transparency to global markets to help traders and analysts in the finance and energy industries make more informed decisions.

Based in Ithaca, NY, Ursa was founded in 2014 by leaders in the satellite and software security fields with the vision to unlock the potential of data and insights derived from radar satellite imaging.

Ithaca Airport Continues Upward Trajectory

O

n October 30th, the IthacaTompkins Regional Airport (ITH) celebrated its transition to all jet service to its three hubs. TCAD’s President, Michael Stamm, is the Chair of the Air Services Board and participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony at the celebration.

In other important news for ITH, Delta Airlines resumed their late night and early morning services between Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) and Ithaca

Tompkins Regional Airport. Those flights had been temporarily canceled in September.

Finger Lakes Technologies is changing its name to FirstLight

A

s a result of our recent acquisition by Oak Hill Capital Partners, Finger Lakes Technologies Group, Inc. has combined its operations with FirstLight. Headquartered in Albany, New York, FirstLight is a leading provider of Internet, high-speed data, data center, and voice services.

This merger creates one of the largest fiber-optic networks and IT solutions providers in the Northeast. Through this combination, we have expanded our network reach and enhanced our capabilities while maintaining our commitment to provide the best, most advanced services that our customers need to thrive in the digital age.

Furthermore, our solutions are backed by locally based service and support teams, so you can be confident that should an issue arise, one of our local experts can quickly resolve it. In order to create a single and unified brand, Finger Lakes Technologies Group will now operate under the FirstLight brand.

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Fiber

By Christie Citranglo

A look behind the local fiber movement in Central New York

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small nook just off The Commons, Sew Green has brought used and sustainable sewing materials to designers and artisans for 10 years. Piles of buttons, scraps of fabric and knitting tools outline the inside and outside of the store, greeting new and veteran artists into the realm of do-it-yourself fashion.

And that realm grew just a bit wider this December with the LocalFiber Pop-up Shop.

In Sew Green’s usual classroom space, eight different farms display their fibers from Merino wool to alpaca and Icelandic. Cleared out by the team at Sew Green, the once-cluttered space full of boxes and scrap material is now filled with tables of raw fiber and yarn — all made and dyed locally and sustainably.

The LocalFiber Pop-up Shop opened Dec. 1 as part of First Friday Gallery Night, and the shop has held several lectures and yarn workshops featuring Cornell doctoral candidates and local artisans. Each of the events focuses on sustainable crafting and how people in the community can get more involved with local, DIY art. The shop will be open until Dec. 23.

The pop-up joins the local fiber movement, an effort by artisans to source their garments from local farms in order to shrink their carbon footprints. Dana Havas, one of the co-founders of LocalFiber, created the pop-up to help farmers and designers work together for sustainable and local fashion.

“The goal of LocalFiber is to help the farmers in solving the infrastructure issues that they face when producing yarn or end fiber products,” she said. “Those infrastructure problems are many fold … the shipping of the fibers, the processing time of fibers — every part of the chain is broken.”

The local fiber movement unofficially began in 2010 in the San Francisco Bay Area by artisan Rebecca Burgess, the founder of Fiber Shed.

Burgess challenged herself to create and wear a wardrobe sourced entirely from a region no larger than 150 miles from her headquarters.

One of the challenges Burgess faced was a

lack of manufacturing equipment, as most of it had been lost in her area over the past 20 years.

With the rise of fast fashion — cheap garments that are produced quickly and often unethically in overseas sweatshops, typically sold at most big-box retailers — sourcing clothes locally and sustainably has become a significant challenge.

The demand for local textiles plummeted with the fast fashion revolution. With the current business model of fast fashion, the fashion industry is the second-most wasteful and ecologically unfriendly industry — second only to the oil industry.

But this revolution was beginning in California — the demand for fibers in a warm climate is low. In an area like Central New York, where the average low temperature during the winter is roughly 15 degrees Fahrenheit, the need for wool fibers is much greater than in California.

And yet, many fiber processing mills in Central New York have recently shut down.

Dozens of fiber farms are scattered all throughout upstate New York, but only about 15 processing mills exist in the state. While there isn’t a shortage of farmers to produce raw wool, there are increasingly fewer places for farmers to take their wool for processing.

Many have resorted to traveling out of state to process.

A doctor of apparel design from Cornell University, Dr. Helen Trejo has been studying and researching sustainable fashion since she began her undergraduate career in 2011.

Through her research in the Central New York fiber industry, she found many farmers and artisans are developing business models rooted in sustainability — directly combatting fast fashion and its wasteful nature.

“A lot of designers are developing their businesses with an effort to be sustainable. I think that’s interesting with the entrepreneurship behind it,” Trejo said. “ … The farmers had to look for different mills to use to make products Contin u ed on page 12

From top to bottom: Helen Trejo meets the goats of Laughing Goat Fiber (photo provided); A map of fiber mills, farms and festivals in New York State (Compiled

by Helen Trejo); Icelandic fibers from local farms (Photo: Christie Citranglo); Raw fiber on display at LocalFiber (Photo: Christie Citranglo)

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Local Fiber

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available to their customers, and some of them have gone out of state, just because it’s more practical. The mills out of state are able to get the product to them more quickly, and the price is competitive.”

Going out of state meant breaking the local farm connection. The wool sent out to mills had to travel hundreds of miles, meaning the transportation of the fibers would contribute to excessive carbon emissions. What began as a local effort then became tainted by the need to process the sustainably grown fibers.

Mary Jeanne Packer, owner of Bat-

tenkill Fibers in Greenwich, has seen a significant growth in clientele since she opened her mill about five years ago.

Even in the past two years, she said, the demand of her mill has increased.

Battenkill has now become one of the biggest mills in upstate New York, catering to many farmers, even in the Finger Lakes area.

Packer began her business when she became aware of the disproportional ratio of farms to mills in New York.

“I noticed there was this gap between the customers who wanted stuff and farmers who needed a market,” she said.

“And I had a chance to visit sheep farms and alpaca farms and noticed there were these farmers who wanted to sell

their products to consumers but didn’t really have any way of getting their fiber processed — or at least not done locally.

They were sending their wool to Maine or Michigan, and even then those mills couldn’t always guarantee those farmers would get their own fiber back.”

With long-distance transportation a part of the equation, the chances farmers won’t get back their original fibers is highly likely. Farmers can raise their livestock to produce wool, but once that wool travels to an out-of-state mill, it becomes nearly impossible to tell if the fiber returned to them is even theirs.

Havas said this problem is more prominent in New York, compared to other parts of the country where mills

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and farms stretch across miles. Much of the problem revolves around the types of sheep bred in the area.

“It seems to be a bigger issue in the Northeast because they’re all small flock and because of the variety of breeds,” Havas said. “If you’re in the Midwest or range areas and everyone’s raising turkey or Merino sheep, that can all be pooled and sent off to Patagonia or China, but not many people or industries want Wensleydale or Icelandic.”

Trejo noted a similar trend in her research.

“There are longstanding businesses like Pendleton that have historically sourced fibers from U.S. farms, and they’re still doing that,” she said. “In the East Coast [primarily New York City] they’re using wool from the West Coast.

One of the challenges is the fiber farms here only have a specific amount of supply, so it’s not necessarily for commercial production but for limited-edition production.”

While some of the local fibers may not be suited for commercial use — Havas also said that many of the wools produced in the area are more associated with “luxury” fashion, notably Merino wool — the diversity in the fibers provides a great resource for local artisans.

Be it for knitting, crocheting, needle felting or even pelts, the types of fibers in upstate New York contribute to the greater local fiber scene.

“Having the variety of mediums, it shows the different possibilities,” Trejo said. “Someone who may not be familiar can come in [to the popup] and see the different examples and see what’s possible.”

Despite the broken chain in the local fiber industry, the boom of the local fiber movement may see a larger, institutional change for the future. What begins as a monthly pop-up today can mean expansions for the future.

Havas said she plans to expand LocalFiber in years to come. The pop-up at Sew Green serves as a trial run for what could be done in the future, changing the way artisans in New York manufacture and create their works.

“With the advent of organizations [like Local Fiber] in New York … this is just amazing what’s happening here,” Packer said. “Each of these groups are every step on the supply chain from the farmer to the mill to the knitter to the weaving company to local yarn stores, knitwares, designers, commercial knitters — all the sudden, the local fiber movement has exploded in New York State.” • Featured at the LocalFiber Pop-up Shop are the following farms: Windsong Farms in Burdett, Laughing Goat Fiber Farm in Ithaca, Trinity Farm in Aurora, Shepherds Creek Alpaca’s in Trumansburg, West Creek Family Farm in Newark Valley, Forget-Me-Not Farm in Candor, Ironwood Hill Farm and Orchard View Lincolns in Bergen.

stage

A Rich Tale Of The South

By Br yan VanC ampe n

I

n The Red and Brown Water, by Tarell Alvin McCraney. Directed by Cynthia Henderson; choreography by Lindsay Gilmour; scenic design by Graham Lessard-Brandt; costume design by Megan Parker; lighting design by Noah Platte; sound design by Ron Ziomek and Don Tindall.

Something invigorating, enveloping, involving and evocative happened this last week in Ithaca College’s in-the-round Clark Theatre with Cynthia Henderson’s production of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s In The Red and Brown Water – the first play in his “Brother/Sister Plays” trilogy.

Set in a Louisiana bayou county of the playwright’s imagination, Henderson and a very talented cast of actors and technicians have transformed a theatrical space into a real neighborhood, a place where life goes on whether you’re there or not. My paternal grandparents and several aunts and uncles lived in and around New Iberia, Louisiana, so it’s a part of the country that I also know and have internalized. With one small house front in one corner, and a willow tree rooted in gnarled, snake-like

formations, and fog and mist everywhere, it was as if I could almost smell the damp concrete in my grandparents’ carport.

In The Red and Brown Water centers around Oya (Sandra Sackey), a talented runner with a shot at getting into the local state college. She ends up passing up college to stay home and take care of her mother, Mama Mojo (Olulola Fadiran). A sweet, stuttering young man named Ogun Size (Joel Oliver) loves Oya, but she can’t resist the neighborhood bad boy Shango (Jahmar R. Ortiz).

The overall impression left is that of a rich world with a strong storytelling tradition. (The trilogy is steeped in Yoruba stories and storytelling style.) The play actually starts before the curtain, with constant activity, musical jam sessions and little moments happening all over the space, all under the watchful eye of Erin Lockett as a character called The Woman Who Reminds You. Throughout the play, Henderson and choreographer Lindsay Gilmour layer musical and dance moments throughout the drama. Kellik Dawson, an actor of grace and style, plays

Sheryl Sinkow Photography/via Facebook

Oya’s neighborhood friend Elegba, something of a village jester, the town’s child.

And as Oya’s drama becomes deeper and more operatic, the characters’ interpretation of events becomes more mature, less childish, as it were.

One of the most interesting aspects of this production is that the actors speak not only their character’s lines, but their stage directions. And so it is that one of the evening’s big lines, almost a mantra, has Sackey saying “Oya breathes.” It’s a tribute to Sackey’s talent that the line means something different and unique every time she says it. I’m not clear as to whether the reading of stage directions is indicated in the script, a trademark of the playwright,

or something that was decided just for this production. It’s wonderful how unafraid this troupe is about being “theatrical”.

The entire ensemble deserves mention. Maya Jones and Aisha Richardson play Nia and Shun, two neighborhood ladies that almost serve as a Greek chorus.

Sushma Saha is a warm and nurturing presence (with a touch of bawdy humor) as Aunt Elegua. Dan Krackhardt plays “The Man from State” and Drew Nauden plays Egungun. The ensemble/understudies are: Erik Martenson, Christian Henry, Dharon Jones, Zarius Legrand, Moyo Odulaja, Courtney Long, Aaliyah Warrington and Dakarai Brown.

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stage

Holiday First For The Hangar

By Ros s Ha ars ta d

A Christmas Carol adapted by Aoise Stratford, Hangar Theatre through Dec 24

I

t’s that time of year.

As its first ever winter production, on Sunday the Hangar opened its new annual offering of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, a smart adaptation by Aoise Stratford (with light feminist touches) directed with sprinkles of bonhomie by Artistic Director Michael Barakiva.

Quite normal for a stage creation aborning, some parts remain to be worked out.

But rest assured, dear families, a gorgeous sketch awaits you: an arresting Victorianstyled set (designed by Shoko Kambara), luscious swaths of period costume (by Suzanne Chesney), and all the beloved characters brought to life by a local cast of professionals and children.

Chief of the delights is David Studwell’s Ebenezer: clutching, covetous, sly, querulous, a curmudgeon all too ready to dissolve into a puddle of glee. In a commanding performance, Studwell stresses the awed sense of discovery in Scrooge’s Journey, regret of paths not taken and friendships lost, joyous relief at his chance of redemption.

As his abused clerk, Aundre Seals fashions a cautious, yet deeply loving soul, head

down at work, blossoming in the Cratchit family’s bosom, nicely partnered by Chantelle Daniel’s skeptical Mrs. Cratchit, who provides a comic highlight in her worries over the Christmas pudding.

All the actors save Studwell play multiple roles. John G. Hertzler brings his customary vocal heft, largesse and precision to etch out a mournful Marley, and a twinkling, mischievous Fezziwig. His rascally pawnbroker is more than matched by the wild, even loopy humor of Emma Bowers’ cackling Mrs. Dilber. Hertzler also plays a dapper Mr. Sterling to David Moreland’s even more dapper Mr. Price — a matched set of dandies that scribe Stratford has endowed with a vaudevillian panache.

Kyra Leeds flings herself into Christmas Past with fey ditzy zest; Sally G. Ramirez glides elegantly as a particularly regal Christmas Present (perky as Mrs. Fezziwig.) Joshua Sedelmeyer radiates good cheer as nephew Fred, and nicely limns the trajectory of Young Ebenezer’s bruised ego turning inward (Denali Bennett underlines the strength in Belle.) Bennett and Sri Osika trade off a number of Dickens’ typically less well-drawn younger women with grace.

The younger roles, if brief, are crucial in this tale and have two casts. Team Blue

— Imri Leshed, Sierra Stallman, Sirus Desnoes, Luciana Parr, Ariella Lindsley-Schutz and Skyler Kwiatkowski (a melodious Tiny Tim) — played with assurance. Leshed, however, played full out, always a bright focal point, whether a slightly begrudging Peter, a lonesome schoolboy Ebenezer, or a poor lad on the streets.

At opening, the first scenes felt tentative.

After an enchanting swirl of London streets, Barakiva wavered in setting the tone; the Scrooge office scene lacked snap (visually Scrooge did not rule, tucked instead into a

corner beneath Fred); and physical transitions were timid with a lack of vigor in the carol singing. The play finally snapped into focus (and welcome brightness) with the entrance of Christmas Past.

Design decisions contributed to the muddle: Kambara’s center disc within a manually rotated ring of stairs, may nicely suit the time-metaphor and offer a variety of seating levels without having to juggle furniture. Yet the centrifugal force of her design (better viewed from the sides) continually pushed crowded scenes to the periphery; it seems more a set for an arena than a thrust. The center felt empty whenever Scrooge didn’t occupy it. Barakiva found better ways to employ his set in the latter half, (also increasingly using the windows in back) including a dazzling moment with the miners.

Lighting designer Matt Richards managed mood excellently: from crepuscular to brilliant; but with fewer instruments the design lacked his usual sculptural clarity.

Scott Hitz’s puppets and masks include an inspired whitish wraith for Christmas Future. The masks for Ignorance, Want (and Prejudice) as well as Marley’s Ghost fell too much to the inhuman grotesque (or sci-fi alien). The effect of Marley overwhelmed the humanity (and great humor) of Scrooge’s crucial meeting with his only friend.

Perhaps most importantly this version could use a strong musical underscore.

The sparse choices were odd, especially the inclusion of the 1950s Jule Styne & Sammy Kahn “A Christmas Waltz” as the centerpiece song.

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ince 1981, the Ithaca Times has closed every year with the “Reader’s Writes” issue, featuring submissions from the most diverse writing staff at our disposal: you. Stories, poems, drawings and photographs are all welcome and complete artistic freedom is in your hands. It’s a platform for you to be heard beyond the letter’s page.

R e a de R s ’

W Rites

As tradition dictates, any interpretation of what this word means to you is fair and, of course, a wide range of submissions will be accepted–just as long as you stay under 1,500 words. Send your submissions to Attn: Readers’ Writes, the Ithaca Times, PO Box 27, Ithaca, New York 14850 or email them in with a subject line of “Reader’s Writes” to editor@ithacatimes.com.

d e a d li n e d e c . 17

Looking forward to seeing your stuff!

is su e 22

This year’s theme is “Justice”

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get writing!

film

A ‘Room’ All His Own

By Br yan Van C ampe n

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The Disaster Artist, co-produced and directed by James Franco, playing at Ithaca Stadium 14.

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oogle Tommy Wiseau’s The Room and you’ll immediately link to websites covering the worst films ever made. I’ve never seen it; as I get older, I’m looking for something of quality, and I have less of that “Let’s slow down and look at the wreck” jones that I used to have for junk culture.

Besides, now that I’ve seen The Disaster Artist, James Franco’s delicate yet raucous comedy about how The Room got made, I don’t think I need to see The Room, any more than you’d need to watch the complete works of Edward D. Wood Jr. in order to appreciate Tim Burton’s Ed Wood (1994), which would make a great double bill with The Disaster Artist.

The resemblance here between the two films is not just cosmetic; in both movies, Franco and Burton make fun of their protagonists’ Anti-Great Man foibles, but it’s not just snotty sniggering. Both of these directors know how hard it is to get any film made, and so their story analysis comes from a place of empathy and affection.

The first scenes we see in the film are testimonials from celebrities who appreciate the sheer fearlessness demonstrated in The Room, including Kristin Bell, Lizzy Caplan and Kevin Smith.

Based on the book of the same name by Room co-star Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell and a screenplay by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, The Disaster Artist spans from July 1998, when Sestero (Dave Franco) met Tommy Wiseau (James Franco) in a San Francisco acting class (run by Melanie Griffith!), through their oddball but close friendship as they try to break into show business in Los Angeles, and the creation, shooting and eventual release of The Room in 2003.

The whole film stems from the friend-

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James Franco, as Tommy Wiseau.

ship between Wiseau and Sestero and the result is the best buddy comedy this year since Thor: Ragnarok. Most of the comedy comes from Dave Franco’s utterly guileless wannabe actor trying to figure out what this guy Wiseau’s deal is. Wiseau sounds like a stoned version of Jodie Foster’s character in Nell, yet he says he’s from “the bayou”, and he clearly has his own money.

That’s right, Wiseau not only financed The Room himself to the tune of $6 million, he paid a quarter of a million dollars for one billboard in LA, and even bought all the film and digital equipment instead of just renting it.

I’ve actually worked with people in the theatre who were as delusional and clueless as Wiseau and I’ve read a lot of bad film scripts, too. It makes you wonder how many more berserk movies like The Room might emerge if more goofballs on the fringe had the financing to make their own “dreams”.

Franco hasn’t just made the best comedy of the year to date, but he and his brother have provided a real framework for good, true and rueful humor and a real vulnerability underneath all the insanity.

Stressing the comedy of it all, The Disaster Artist is packed with comic talent like Alison Brie (reunited with her husband Dave Franco from this summer’s very funny medieval farce The Little Hours), Seth Rogen (who co-produced), Hannibal Buress, Jason Mantzoukas, Bob Odenkirk and Paul Scheer.

There’s a delightful moment when a crew member asks Jacki Weaver why she would be in a piece of junk like The Room.

She smiles and says, “Because the worst day on a film set is better than anything else you could do.”

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music

The Return Of The King

By Nick Re y nol d s

D

epew native Terry Buchwald says he still gets a little nervous when he steps on stage.

Looking at his resumé, that fact might be a surprise to some. Over his 30-year career, Buchwald has played more than 3,000 for all types including former New York State Governor George Pataki and the retirement party of one of the biggest heroes of his native Western New York, former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelley. He’s opened for Charlie Daniels, Rick Springfield and Lee Greenwood and, this past August, was inducted into the Buffalo Music Hall Of Fame.

Not too shabby for a guy whose name was made not performing his own music.

Buchwald is considered one of the nation’s foremost Elvis Tribute Acts, the peak example of a phenomenon that has almost outweighed the myth of Mr. Elvis Presley himself. Back in April, Buchwald played The Hangar Theatre, packing the pace to the ceiling in his very first visit to Tompkins County. When he returns this week, he’ll be taking a crack at an even bigger venue, playing the State Theatre.

Buchwald’s show this round will be

focusing on a more holiday spin – the season Buchwald said might be the only time of year you may still hear an Elvis tune outside of oldies radio. But good old holiday sentimentality isn’t the only driver compelling audiences to pack the house to see a tribute act: there’s something else there.

“People remember Frank Sinatra, and they remember Michael Jackson, but Elvis has taken on a life of its own,” Buchwald said. “He really has taken on a life of his own.”

Though all the songs will be Elvis’ songs and, if you forget your glasses at home, one might even think it was Elvis onstage in front of you. There are even fans, he said, who may critique him on occasion against others attempting to emulate The King, based on how convincingly he can fill the role.

W h y Does Elv is Stil l Resou n d W ith Au diences Today?

Some part of it is tied to his already larger-than-life persona as the early “King

of Rock & Roll,” said Judith A. Peraino, a way remained an artifact of time, a frozen professor in Cornell’s music department persona of the 1950s that stayed constant whose specialties include rock music and in its substance but over time, propped constructions of gender and sexuality. itself up on its own mythology.

This legacy, compounded in-part by his But is Elvis’ music today about cultural drafting into the Army in the early-60s relevance? Or is it a matter of pure escapand eventual career in Hollywood, was ism? only inflated by the theatrics of the 1970s, Elvis’ music may not be the thing we but other parts of it may have had to do most remember about the man, but to the with the very nature of his career’s trajec- American canon, Elvis is an individual tory. who, even today, leaves us “He really was the first seeking some sort of greater to do everything,” Buchexplanation between the wald said. ideas of authenticity and Even in his early years artifice, whether that be an as a pioneer of rock and explanation of the divide rol l – a s t he so -c a l led bet ween per former a nd “king” – Elvis Presley was persona, or of some semmore-or-less synthesizing blance of Americana we the music of black blues may maintain versus realand r&b musicians with ity. the traditions of white, “He maintains a fascinacountry and western singtion,” Peraino said. “And ers that, until that point, that fascination, itself, is had never fully married what’s relevant in that we together in American pop look at Elvis – who was he, culture. and what was he, and what “Elvis impersonation his distinction is between started to happen even in a person and a personalTerry Buchwald, onstage. his lifetime,” she said. “It’s ity – and that is perpetually almost another phenomfascinating to us. And that’s enon that was really about him, not just his a statement on what rock and roll is itself. death: almost as a camp performance.”

It’s always a question of what’s authentic But much of that longevity, Peraino and what isn’t; of what’s a stage persona said, derives in part from a peak he never and what is reality.” came down from: never one to stay on the cutting-edge of rock & roll, Presley in a

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dining

An Introduction To Bol

By He nr y Stark

I

t seemed to happen overnight. For 25 years the first two storefronts leading from Aurora Street into the Commons were Simeon’s restaurant and the Titus Gallery. And then, suddenly, it seemed that the gallery had somehow mysteriously morphed into “Bōl” restaurant.

In Spring 2016, the landlord of Titus Gallery approached Richard Avery and Dean Zervos, the co-owners of the adjacent Simeon’s restaurant, and inquired if they would be interested in taking over the Titus Gallery space. At that time, Rich and Dean were not actively looking to open a new business. However they couldn’t help noticing that Marriott was opening a hotel across the street and a new Hilton and two new apartment structures were all planned for the immediate area, either on, or nearby,

A sample of the wares. (Photo: Casey Martin)

the Commons. Rich and Dean had already been thinking about how to attract the new pedestrians who would soon be coming to the area: the residents of the hotels and rental units would be within easy walking distance of where the Titus Gallery had done business since 1992.

The first decision that Rich and Dean had to make was whether they even wanted to rent the new space. They decided that this was, indeed, a great opportunity to take advantage of the anticipated increased foot traffic in the area. As Rich says, “Owning and operating a restaurant, of any kind, is challenging. However, knowing we’d be opening one right next door helped us a lot because we knew it would be relatively easy

to keep a finger on both simultaneously. It clinched the deal for us.”

The next challenge was to choose a theme.

They didn’t want the new restaurant to be common and ordinary, nor did they want it to simply be an extension of Simeon’s.

They narrowed it to four choices: an intimate bar with small plates of food to accompany the drinks, a burger theme with many combinations and toppings, a seafood restaurant with a concentration on different types of fried fish, or a restaurant with an Asian theme serving all courses, mostly noodles, rice, and dumplings, in a bowl. The bar with small plates was ruled out because it did seem rather ordinary and was already available at several venues in the Ithaca area. Both the burger and fried fish themes were eliminated because of mechanical, legal, and economical restraints. If they were going to be cooking large quantities of burgers or fish, it would require the installation of an overhead grease extraction hood to eliminate any possibility of an interior fire from hot grease. The hood would have been expensive to install and the site would have faced multiple building code rules and inspections. That left the trendy Asian mealin-a-bowl idea as the winner.

Once the Asian bowl theme was agreed upon, the owners set to thinking about interior design and menu implementation.

The physical space is small: the restaurant, including the servery and kitchen, is only about 1200 square feet with a small main floor with room for fourteen diners and an upstairs dining area with room for only twenty more. There is a rather long and

steep stairway connecting the two floors.

As far as menu development, it was decided that Bōl would offer ramen noodles which originated in Japan; pho, a Vietnamese dish made from rice noodles; dumplings with a Chinese influence; and salad entrees, grains, and a dessert, all of which would be served in a bowl. There would be no frying or sautéing of any dishes and the cooking emphasis would be on boiling and steaming.

Dean and Rich thought, briefly, of calling the new restaurant, “Bowl” but, as Rich says, “We decided that would be too pedestrian for the many creative minds that abound in the Ithaca area. We wanted something to convey the idea of food served and eaten from a bowl, but something a bit more unique, and perhaps, even confusing. bōl seemed like a perfect answer for us.”

The basic method of operation for Bōl would be that a customer would immediately review a large overhead menu, tell a waiting attendant what items she/he wanted to order, collect the already prepared food at the counter, pay for it at an adjacent register, and hopefully find a place sit and eat it.

On Saturday, December 2, less than two years after Simeon’s owners had been approached about opening a new restaurant, they opened the doors to Bōl. They hadn’t spent a penny in advertising but somehow word had spread and exactly at noon a queue of 32 people who had been waiting patiently on the Commons started winding its way into the newest restaurant in Ithaca.

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Dock, 415 Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca | (Local jazz jams, improv) concert

12/13 Wednesday Music bars/clubs/cafés

12/13 Wednesday

Djug Django | 6:00 PM-9:00 PM, Wednesday, December 13, 17 | Lot 10 Lounge, 106 S Cayuga St, Ithaca | (Hot Club Jazz, Blues, Swing) Sacred Chanting with Damodar Das and Friends | 7:00 PM-9:00 PM, Wednesday, December 13, 17 | Varying Locations | Refer to Damodar Das Kirtan on Facebook for location schedule.

Wednesday Live Music | 8:00 PM-, Wednesday, December 13, 17 | Rulloff’s, 411 College Ave, Ithaca | (Local bands, Soloists) The Crucial Reggae Social Club | 9:00 PM, Wednesday, December 13, 17 | The Dock, 415 Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca | (Reggae)

12/14 Thursday

Dino Losito, Brian Murphy, Terry Light | 6:00 PM-7:30 PM, Thursday,

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12/16 12/29 12/30 12/31 1/18 1/19 1/20 1/23 1/25

December 14, 17 | Collegetown Bagels, East Hill Plaza, Ithaca | (Jazz) Triple Down | 7:00 PM-, Thursday, December 14, 17 | Ransom Steele Tavern, 552 Main St, Apalachin | (Jazz, Funk) Katie Von Schleicher, Lady D and the Shadow Spirits, Rill Ghosties, First Pet | 7:00 PM-, Thursday, December 14, 17 | Chanticleer Loft, 101 W State St, Ithaca | (Indie) Mike Titlebaum Quintet | 8:00 PM-10:00 PM, Thursday, December 14, 17 | Madeline’s Restaurant, 215 E State St, Ithaca | (Jazz, Swing)

12/15 Friday

Kitty & Wiles | 6:00 PM-8:00 PM, Friday, December 15, 17 | Ithaca Bakery, 400 N Meadow St, Ithaca | Bob & Dee | 6:00 PM-8:00 PM, Friday, December 15, 17 | Americana Vineyards, 4367 E Covert Rd, Interlaken Notorious String Busters | 6:00 PM-8:00 PM, Friday, December 15, 17 | Felicia’s Atomic Brewhouse and Bakery, 45 E Main St, Trumansburg | City Limits | 7:00 PM, Friday, December 15, 17 | The Haunt, 702 Willow Ave, Ithaca | (Swing, Funk, Blues, Rock) C-4 | 7:00 PM-10:00 PM, Friday, December 15, 17 | Grist Iron Brewing, 4880 NY-414, Burdett | Hot Dogs & Gin | 7:00 PM-10:00 PM, Friday, December 15, 17 | Boathouse Beer Garden, 6128 State Route 89, Romulus | (Blues, Rock) Gerard Burke | 8:00 PM-11:00 PM, Friday, December 15, 17 | Two Goats Brewing, 5027 State Rte 414, Burdett | (Blues) Delta Mike Shaw Band | 9:00 PM, Friday, December 15, 17 | Silver Line

Tap Room, 19 W Main St, Trumansburg | Jennie Lowe & Michael Stark | 9:00 PM-, Friday, December 15, 17 | Casita Del Polaris, 1201 N Tioga St, Ithaca | Hi-Way Fruit Market | 9:00 PM-, Friday, December 15, 17 | Ransom Steele Tavern, 522 Main St., Apalachin | (Classic Rock) Kurt Rley, Viva Mayhem, Vee Da Bee | 9:00 PM, Friday, December 15, 17 | The Range, 119 E State St, Ithaca | (Classical, R&B) Dead Night at The Dock | 9:00 PM, Friday, December 15, 17 | The Dock, 415 Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca | (Grateful Dead covers)

12/16 Saturday

Purple Valley | 6:00 PM-8:00 PM, Saturday, December 16, 17 | Americana Vineyards, 4367 E Covert Rd, Interlaken A Fine Line | 6:00 PM-9:00 PM, Saturday, December 16, 17 | Boathouse Beer Garden, 6128 State Route 89, Romulus | The Tarps | 7:00 PM-10:00 PM, Saturday, December 16, 17 | Heavily Brewing Co., 2471 Hayes Rd, Montour Falls | (Classic Rock, Covers) Robin Burnett and Friends | 7:00 PM-10:00 PM, Saturday, December 16, 17 | Grist Iron Brewing, 4880 NY-414, Burdett | Darlingside, Henry Jamison | 8:00 PM, Saturday, December 16, 17 | The Haunt, 702 Willow Ave, Ithaca | Jaimie Lee & Adam Just | 8:00 PM-11:00 PM, Saturday, December 16, 17 | Two Goats Brewing, 5027 State Rte 414, Burdett | Miller and the Other Sinners | 9:00 PM, Saturday, December 16, 17 | The Range, 119 E State St, Ithaca | (Soul,

1/23 1/27 1/28 2/13 2/14 3/14 3/23 3/30 4/15 4/20

DARLINGSIDE w/ HENRY JAMISON JOHN BROWN’S BODY DRIFTWOOD w/ LADY D DRIFTWOOD w/ MILKWEED FLOBOTS w/ TROPADELIC TENNIS w/ OVERCOATS BOX OF RAIN ESSENTIAL GRATEFUL DEAD G. LOVE & SPECIAL SAUCE TURKUAZ

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Roots) Mutron Warriors: Funky Christmas | 9:00 PM, Saturday, December 16, 17 | The Dock, 415 Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca | (Funk, Soul) Wreckless Marci | 9:00 PM, Saturday, December 16, 17 | Ransom Steele Tavern, 522 Main St., Apalachin | (Groove)

Symphoria Pops Series: Holiday Wonder | 1:30 PM-3:30 PM, Saturday, December 16, 17 | Crouse Hinds Theater, 411 Montgomery Street, Syracuse | This holiday spectacle is sure to thrill every member of the family. Dancers, Chorus members and special guest vocalist Julia Goodwin all get into the holiday spirit with Symphoria.

Dorothy County Jubilee Singers |

12/17 Sunday

Under Construction | 4:00 PM-7:00 PM, Sunday, December 17, 17 | Americana Vineyards, 4367 E Covert Rd, Interlaken | Ithaca Jazz and Blues Jam | 4:00 PM-7:00 PM, Sunday, December 17, 17 | Mix Kitchen and Bar, 205 Elmira Road, Ithaca | All jazz and blues instrumentalists and vocalists welcome. Hosted by Dennis Winge Trio.

Diana Leigh Trio, Jesse Douglas Collins Quartet, The Pelotones, Diana Leigh Quintet: Holiday Dance Party | 7:00 PM-10:00 PM, Sunday, December 17, 17 | Carriage House Cafe, 305 Stewart Ave, Ithaca |

12/19 Tuesday

Tuesday Bluesday with Dan Paolangeli & Friends | 6:00 PM, Tuesday, December 19, 17 | The Dock, 415 Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca | (Blues, Rock, Every Tuesday) Cool Club, Lipker Sisters | 6:30 PM-9:30 PM, Tuesday, December 19, 17 | The Range, 119 E State St, Ithaca | (Swing, Jazz) Professor Tuesday’s Jazz Quartet | 8:00 PM-10:00 PM, Tuesday, December 19, 17 | Madeline’s Restaurant, 215 E State St, Ithaca | (Jazz)Â I-Town Jazz Jam | 9:00 PM-11:59 PM, Tuesday, December 19, 17 | The

On exhibition at the Kitchen Theatre is “Abstracting the Figure” by Michael Sampson. These paintings begin as a figure drawing, and then Sampson transforms them into an abstract figure drawing.

(Art: Michael Sampson) Rochford, conductors.

12/14 Thursday

3:00 PM, Saturday, December 16, 17 | Ford Hall, Ithaca College, Danby Rd, Ithaca |

Ithaca College Concert Band | 8:15 PM-9:45 PM, Thursday, December 14, 17 | Ford Hall, 953 Danby Road, Ithaca | With guest conductor Thomas Lee. Benjamin Rochford, conductor.

HENRY ROLLINS: TRAVEL SLIDESHOW GET THE LED OUT: THE AMERICAN LED ZEPPELIN BLUES TRAVELER: 30TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR JASON ISBELL & THE 400 UNIT THE WAILIN’ JENNYS "WEIRD AL" YANKOVIC THE MUSICAL BOX: 50 YEARS OF GENESIS DEMETRI MARTIN BRIT FLOYD RODRIGUEZ

4/19 DWEEZIL ZAPPA 5/8 BRANDI CARLILE 2017

Ithaca College Wind Ensemble and Wind Symphony | 8:15 PM-9:45 PM, Wednesday, December 13, 17 | Ford Hall, 953 Danby Road, Ithaca | With guest conductor Thomas Lee, and Christopher Hughes and Benjamin

12/16 Saturday

5/4 THE MOTH MAIN STAGE 5/13 BRIAN REGAN

1/13 1/14 2/24 3/4 4/11 5/11 5/18

12/17 Sunday

Traonach and Friends | 2:00 PM-4:00 PM, Sunday, December 17, 17 | St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 2720 Slaterville Road, Slaterville Springs |

PETER YARROW DAR WILLIAMS VALERIE JUNE HOWARD JONES JAKE SHIMABUKURO SULTANS OF STRING JONATHAN EDWARDS

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The concert will feature traditional Irish music amidst fresh Christmas greens and candlelight. There will be hot mulled cider and seasonal treats.

Holiday Spectacular Dance Party | 7:00 PM-10:00 PM, Sunday, December 17, 17 | Carriage House Cafe, 305 Stewart Ave, Ithaca | The Diana Leigh Trio, the Jesse Douglas Collins Quartet, the Pelotones, and the Diana Leigh Quintet, all come together for a special holiday shindig at the Loft.

Film It’s A Wonderful Life | 7:00 PM-9:30 PM, Thursday, December 14, 17 | Boathouse Beer Garden, 6128 State Route 89, Romulus | An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.Movie starts at 7 with trivia for prizes during intermission.

It’s A Wonderful Life | 7:00 PM, Friday, December 15, 17 | State Theatre of Ithaca | After George Bailey (James Stewart) wishes he had never been born, an angel (Henry Travers) is sent to earth to make George’s wish come true.

Cinemapolis

Friday, 12/15 to Thursday, 12/21. Contact Cinemapolis for Showtimes and for Fantastik Film Screening times The Breadwinner | A headstrong young girl in Afghanistan disguises herself as a boy in order to provide for her family. | 94 mins PG-13 Jane | The life and work of the renowned primatology scientist, Jane Goodall, especially on her research about chimpanzees. | 90 mins Wonder Wheel | On Coney Island in the 1950s, a lifeguard tells the story of a middle-aged carousel operator and his beleaguered wife. | 101 mins PG-13 Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | A mother personally challenges the local authorities to solve her daughter’s murder when they fail to catch the culprit. | 115 mins R Lady Bird | The adventures of a young woman living in Northern California for a year. | 93 mins R | The Florida Project | Set over one summer, the film follows precocious 6-year-old Moonee as she courts mischief and adventure with her ragtag playmates and bonds with

her rebellious but caring mother, all while living in the shadows of Disney World. | 111 mins R Loving Vincent | In a story depicted in oil painted animation, a young man comes to the last hometown of painter Vincent van Gogh to deliver the troubled artist’s final letter and ends up investigating his final days there. | 94 mins PG-13 West Side Story |Two youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy. | 153 mins National Theatre Live: Follies |The former Weismann’s Follies girls return to their old theatre one last time. At the core of the story are two married couples on the brink of collapse. As the night goes on, egos are unleashed, lies are exposed, and secrets are revealed. | 152 mins Regal Ithaca

Wednesday, 12/13 , to Tuesday, 12/19. Contact Regal Ithaca for Showtimes The Disaster Artist | When Greg Sestero, an aspiring film actor, meets the weird and mysterious

Tommy Wiseau in an acting class, they form a unique friendship and travel to Hollywood to make their dreams come true.| 104 mins R Star Wars: The Last Jedi | Having taken her first steps into the Jedi world, Rey joins Luke Skywalker on an adventure with Leia, Finn and Poe that unlocks mysteries of the Force and secrets of the past. | 143 mins PG-13 Just Getting Started | A two-hander action comedy in the vein of Midnight Run (1988), about an ex-F.B.I. Agent (Tommy Lee Jones) and an ex-mob lawyer in the Witness Protection Program (Morgan Freeman) having to put aside their petty rivalry on the golf course to fend off a mob hit.| 91 mins PG-13 My Friend Dahmer | A young Jeffrey Dahmer struggles to belong in high school. | 107 mins R Daddy’s Home 2 | Having finally gotten used to each other’s existence, Brad and Dusty must now deal with their intrusive fathers during the holidays. | 100 mins PG-13 Coco | Aspiring musician Miguel, confronted with his family’s ancestral ban on music, enters the Land of the Dead to work out the

Stage

A Christmas Carol | Thursday, December 14, 17 | Hangar Theatre, 801 Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca | The Hangar Theatre worked with many local artists, actors and even brought in Cornell Professor, Aoise Stratford, to adapt Charles Dickens’

classic story.

Comedy Night | 7:00 PM-, Thursday, December 14, 17 | The Dock, 415 Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca | (Improv, Stand up. Hosted by Comedy FLOPs) The SantaLand Diaries Reading: Karl Gregory | 7:00 PM, Thursday, December 14, 17 | Kitchen Theatre, 417 W State St, Ithaca | The party will include festive eats and local wine and beer. It’s happening for two nights only: Dec. 13 and 14. The Santaland Diaries is a decadent dose of irreverent holiday humor, based on David Sedaris’s real-life job as a Macy’s Elf. Drag Show with Cassanova’s Royal Court | 9:00 PM, Thursday, December 14, 17 | The Range, 119 E State St, Ithaca | Cassanova’s Royal Court’s bi-weekly drag show.

The Snow Queen | 7:00 PM, Friday, December 15, 17 | The Cherry Artspace, 102 Cherry St, Ithaca | Adapted from the Hans Christian Andersen classic, The Snow Queen tells the story of Greta, a brave young girl on a mission to rescue her best friend Kai from the clutches of the evil Queen, encountering along the way a friendly reindeer, a chatty raven, a feisty robber girl and a host of other curious characters.

Tinsel Tablas | 7:00 PM, Friday, December 15, 17 | Lot 10 Lounge, 106 S Cayuga St, Ithaca | Belly dance stars Tessa Myers, Alicia Free, Carol Oddy, Wowsie A-Go-Go, The Celestial Bodies and more. Live music from MidEast Eclectic.

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol | Saturday, December 16, 17 | Hangar Theatre, 801 Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca | Join the Hangar Theatre for Charles Dickens’ timeless tale of hope and redemption. Over a hundred years later, the story of Ebeneezer Scrooge’s transformation after visitation from the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future remains more important and relevant than ever.

Boynton presents getting to know The Sound of Music | 2:00 PM-3:00 PM, Saturday, December 16, 17 | Boynton Middle School, 1601 N Cayuga St, Ithaca | Set in Austria in 1938, this musical tells the story of a high-spirited postulant who is dispatched to serve as governess for the seven children of a widowed naval Captain. She introduces music into the lives of the children, falling in love with them along the way.

‘It’s a Wonderful Life’

The Cherry Artspace Through Dec. 23

The State Theatre of Ithaca Friday, Dec. 15, 7 p.m.

Back for its second year, The Snow Queen returns with brand new songs and numbers. Formerly at the Kitchen Theatre, this year The Cherry Artspace debuts the refined production at the new artspace. This play is an adaptation of a Hans Christistian Andersen tale, telling the story of a young girl on a quest to save her best friend from the evil snow queen.

(Photo provided)

The State Theatre of Ithaca will screen the classic holiday movie It’s a Wonderful Life. An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed. Originally released in 1946, this film has been a holiday classic for generations.

(Photo provided)

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‘The Snow Queen’

mystery. | 109 mins PG Roman J. Israel, Esq. | Denzel Washington stars as Roman Israel, a driven, idealistic defense attorney who, through a tumultuous series of events, finds himself in a crisis that leads to extreme action.| 129 mins PG-13 Thor Ragnarok | Imprisoned, the mighty Thor finds himself in a lethal gladiatorial contest against the Hulk, his former ally. Thor must fight for survival and race against time to prevent the all-powerful Hela from destroying his home and the Asgardian civilization.| 130 mins PG-13 Wonder | Based on the New York Times bestseller, WONDER tells the incredibly inspiring and heartwarming story of August Pullman, a boy with facial differences who enters fifth grade, attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time. | 113 mins PG Murder on the Orient Express | A lavish train ride unfolds into a stylish & suspenseful mystery.

From the novel by Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express tells of thirteen stranded strangers & one man’s race to solve the puzzle before the murderer strikes again. | 114 mins PG-13 A Bad Mom’s Christmas | A Bad Moms Christmas follows our three under-appreciated and over-burdened women as they rebel against the challenges and expectations of the Super Bowl for moms: Christmas. | 104 mins R Justice League| Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. | 121 mins PG-13 The Star | A small but brave donkey and his animal friends become the unsung heroes of the first Christmas. | 86 mins PG

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Fallen: A New Musical Staged Reading | 7:00 PM-9:30 PM, Saturday, December 16, 17 | Dillingham Center, Ithaca College 953 Danby Road, Ithaca | Fallen tells the story of the fall of the angel Lucifer (Lou) and the creation of humankind.

In a heaven where each angel is tasked with an eternal duty, Lou breaks the only rule and falls in love with a human: the first human. Then he falls further than any angel has before.

A Holiday Tribute to The King: Terry Buchwald | 7:30 PM, Saturday, December 16, 17 | State Theatre Of Ithaca, 107 W State St, Ithaca | A Holiday Tribute to The King features Elvis tribute artist Terry Buchwald, a tribute artist and recording artist from Western New York.

Eileen Ivers, Calvary Choir | Sunday, December 17, 17 | Smith Opera House, 82 Seneca St, Geneva | Fiddler Eileen Ivers performs with Geneva’s Calvary Choir.

The Little Prince | 7:00 PM, Tuesday, December 19, 17 | Cooperstown High School, 39 Linden Ave, Cooperstown | The Glimmerglass Festival will present Rachel Portman’s opera, The Little Prince. Based on Antoine de Saint-Exupry’s classic illustrated storybook, The Little Prince follows the journey of a pair of unlikely friends: a Pilot whose plane has gone down in the Sahara Desert and a magical young prince who, until now, has made his home on a nearby planet.

Notices Winter Solstice Celebration | 7:00 PM-9:00 PM, Wednesday, December 13, 17 | First Unitarian Church Ithaca, 306 N Aurora St, Ithaca | Seed sharing, live music, dish to pass.

Salsa Night at Agava | 10:00 PM-1:00 AM, Wednesday, December 13, 17 | Agava, 381 Pine Tree Road, Ithaca | Join an awesome dance crowd at Ithaca’s signature Latin dance party.

Arrive early, 10pm, for introductory Salsa dance lesson and workshops.

Online Calendar See this calendar and more events online at http://www.ithaca.com/

Special Events

Aundre Seals plays Bob Cratchit in the Hangar Theatre’s production of “A Christmas Carol.” The Hangar will be putting on performances through Dec. 24. (Photo: Rachel Philipson) 20th Anniversary Holiday Gift Shop | Friday, December 15, 17 | Earlville Opera House, 22 E Main St, Earlville | Shop local and support the arts, featuring the best talent of central New York artists. Come shop the best-selling artists of the past with the new and exciting work of first-time participants. This show has proven to be a memorable holiday tradition for shoppers. From Nov. 24 to Dec. 17.

Christmas Bake Sale | 7:00 AM-12:00 PM, Friday, December 15, 17 | 201 N Geneva St, 201 N Geneva St, Ithaca | St. Catherine Greek Orthodox Church will host a Christmas bake sale.

Open Mike Night | 7:00 PM-9:00 PM, Friday,

ThisWeek

calendar/.

Finnish Christmas Celebration | 1:00 PM-, Sunday, December 17, 17 | Newfield Fire Hall, 77 Main St. , Newfield | Traditional Finnish Christmas ham dinner will be served.

Please bring a side dish to share. After dinner, you have the opportunity to make table decorations for Christmas with greens and decorations provided.

Hosted by Finger Lakes Finns.

Holiday Open House | 3:00 PM-5:00 PM, Sunday, December 17, 17 | Felicia’s Atomic Brewhouse and Bakery, 45 E Main St, Trumansburg | Holiday Open House at Felicia’s Atomic Brewhouse featuring the band Date Night (Jen Middaugh of Sim Redmond Band and Tom Sayers of Head Band).

Plus holiday cookies, cupcakes, cocktails and beer!

Holiday Shopping at the History Center | 11:00 AM-5:00 PM, Tuesday, December 19, 17 | History Center, 401 E State St, Ithaca | There will be a 15-60 percent off sale on over 40 titles of local history books, photographs, images, postcards, the Ithaca Kitty and our three dolls (Bessie Coleman, Harriet Tubman and Amelia Earhart).

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December 15, 17 | Dryden Community Center Cafe, 1 W Main St, Dryden | Come share your songs, stories, poems and enjoy your favorite coffee or tea and delicious homemade baked goods. Contact Arron Bound by telephone at (607) 844-1500 or by email at manager@1westmain@ gmail.com.

Beginner Bird Walks | 8:30 AM, Saturday, December 16, 17 | Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd, Ithaca | Guided bird walks every Saturday and Sunday morning, starting at 8:30 a.m., sponsored by the Cayuga Bird Club. Targeted toward beginners, but appropriate for all.

Binoculars available for loan. Meet at the front of the building. http://www. cayugabirdclub.org/calendar

Old Time Square Dance at the Grange | 7:00 PM-10:00 PM, Saturday, December 16, 17 | Enfield Valley Grange, 178 Enfield Main Road, Ithaca | A Benefit for the Enfield Valley Grange Building Fund. Nancy Spero calling squares, waltzes and more.

Live music by The West Hillbillies.

Beginner Bird Walks | 8:30 AM, Sunday, December 17, 17 | Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd, Ithaca | Guided bird walks every Saturday and Sunday morning, starting at 8:30 a.m., sponsored by the Cayuga Bird Club. Targeted toward beginners, but appropriate for all.

Binoculars available for loan. Meet at the front of the building. http://www. cayugabirdclub.org/calendar

Skate with Santa

Cass Park Rink, Pool and Fields Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 16-17, 4-5p.m.

Santa Claus is coming back to town, and this time he’s making a stop at Cass Park. He’ll be skating during the regular public skate session, handing out candy canes and other surprises for all the children skaters.

(Photo provided)

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21st Annual International Rutabaga Curl | 11:30 AM-2:30 PM, Saturday, December 16, 17 | Ithaca Farmers Market, 545 3rd Street, Ithaca | Two decades of hundreds of people showing up at the last Farmer’s Market to celebrate what it means to be a part of this town by hurling root vegetables down the wooden planks of the market.

DarlingDecorating: A Social Cake Decorating Event | 5:00 PM-7:00 PM, Sunday, December 17, 17 | Bandwagon Pub, 114 North Cayuga Street, Ithaca | DarlingDecorating by DarlingCake is a social, interactive, decorating experience where each guest will decorate a personalized 6-inch cake to take home.

Learning Finding Flow: Dance and Somatics Class | 11:00 AM-1:00 PM, Wednesday, December 13, 17 | Fine Spirit Studio, 201 Dey Street, Ithaca | Delve into the many dimensions of fluid physicality, embody the capacity for dynamic change and heighten your readiness

to respond through your reflexes.

To register please send your $50 deposit: Cynthia Stevens, 226 Valley Road, Ithaca, NY 14850, FFI: info@ insitudance.org.

Post Election Reflection | 5:15 PM-6:45 PM, Wednesday, December 13, 17 | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St, Ithaca | Join a forum for candidates, public workers, local elected officials and the general public to reflect on the past election and the future of the participatory political space in Ithaca and Tompkins County.

How to Build Your Own Spacecraft | 7:00 PM-9:00 PM, Thursday, December 14, 17 | Southworth Library, 24 West Main Street, Dryden | Join Dr. Mason Peck, Associate Professor of Cornell Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering to learn more about how his group is democratizing access to space travel through researching technologies that make space flight accessible to virtually anyone.

Winter and Holiday crafting pop-up art hive | 4:00 PM-7:00 PM, Friday, December 15, 17 | Ithaca ReUse Center, 214 Elmira Rd, Ithaca | Holiday and winter craft-making at the Ithaca ReUse Center. Explore the many upcycled art materials and create spontaneously or find inspiration in some snowflake making, card and envelope making, making eco glitter and more.

Silver Needles Machine Knitters Monthly Meeting | 10:00 AM-3:00 PM, Saturday, December 16, 17 | Cortland Masonic Lodge, 1883 Rt 13 North, Cortland | Please note new meeting location. Bring any kind of machine to work on a group or individual project, get help, and learn from club members.

Landscapes or Seascapes in Watercolor Workshop | 10:00 AM-3:00 PM, Saturday, December 16, 17 | Art Works Gallery, 109 Fall Street, Seneca Falls | The instructor is Roberta Nelson. Roberta, a retired art teacher in the New York public educational system, has exhibited her work in solo and group shows in upstate New York, New York City, and Omaha, Nebraska.

Weaving demonstration with Sarah Gotowka | 12:00 PM-3:00 PM, Saturday, December 16, 17 | SewGreen Ithaca, 112 N. Cayuga Street, Ithaca | Sarah Gotowka, a weaver since 2005, is also the owner of Luna Fiber Studio in Trumansburg. If you are interested in weaving come by and ask

Holiday Spectacular Dance Party Carriage House Cafe: The Loft, Ithaca Sunday, Dec. 17, 7-10 p.m.

The holiday season is here, and the Carriage House Cafe is celebrating with a holiday dance party. Featured at the event will be live music from the Diana Leigh Trio, the Jesse Douglas Collins Quartet, the Pelotones and the Diana Leigh Quintet.

Dance around to local favorites while savoring the magical moments of the holidays.

(Photo provided)

questions, Sarah has been teaching weaving for a number and is happy to share what she knows.

Sunday Afternoon Knit-in | 3:00 PM, Sunday, December 17, 17 | LocalFiber Pop-up Shop, 112 N Cayuga Street, Ithaca | Come by the LocalFiber Pop-up shop on Sunday afternoon to sit and knit (or crochet). Finish up that holiday knit, or contribute to one of the charity knitting events that seem to flourish during the winter months.

Beginner Belly Dance | 7:00 PM-8:00 PM, Monday, December 18, 17 | Finger Lakes Fitness Center Incorporated, 171 E State St Ste 115, Ithaca | Experience the fun and expressive art of belly dance. All are welcome and no experience is necessary.

Books Moosewood Restaurant’s Newest Cookbook. Author Signing & Tasting | 12:00 PM-4:00 PM, Saturday, December 16, 17 | Moosewood Restaurant, 215 N Cayuga St Ste 70, Ithaca | Moosewood Restaurant’s 14th cookbook features 250 new recipes celebrating delicious vegetable-centered entrees, heritage grains, comforting soups, luscious desserts, many gluten-free and vegan options.

Kids STEAM Crafternoon | 3:00 PM-4:30 PM, Wednesday, December 13, 17 | Tompkins County Public Library, Ithaca | Children will have a chance to make their own catapults, create spin art, test out a Sharpie tie-dye project and more. Families will get to have some fun in the new makerspace and experience fusions of art and science, while encouraging children to make their own designs and projects at their own speed.

Bauble, Trinket, Knickknack, Spangle’s Holiday Preschool Art Fun with Stiller Zusman | 11:00 AM-12:30 PM, Saturday, December 16, 17 | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St, Ithaca | Sparkles, clay, colors, bells and ribbons will be available for participants to create holiday treasures. Preschoolers and their caregivers are invited to light up their homes and put shine in their windows.

Birthday party for Jesus | 6:00

Heads Up

Rutabaga shenanigans

by Christie Citranglo

W

ith the temperatures finally dropping and the first few snowfalls, winter is quickly approaching in Ithaca. Outdoor festivities are coming to a close, and this weekend also marks the end of the Ithaca Farmers Market’s season.

Since 1996, the farmers market has held the International Rutabaga Curl competition. In the frigid weather, contestants take the rutabaga and roll the vegetable down the wooden runway of the market. Competitors are divided into three sections, competing with one another for gold, silver and bronze medals. And bragging rights, too.

The tradition began on a chilly final day of the farmers market. During what was likely the coldest day of the season, the 25 or so vendors huddled together for warmth. They began chat

ting about weird winter sports — the sort of conversation that naturally ends with a discussion about curling. Then the games took off.

Vendors began hurling rutabagas, frozen cinnamon rolls and even frozen chickens down the midway of the market. There weren’t any rules; the vendors were trying to see how far they could throw these objects and what sort of style they could throw them in. The sudden curling outburst then paved the path for tradition.

Now in its 21st year, the International Rutabaga Curl will kick off 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 16, at the Ithaca Farmers Market. Since the initial competition, more stringent rules have been implemented in order to keep the competition fair and also interesting.

While there were different foods thrown around at the first tournament, this competition is strictly rutabaga — no other turnips or root vegetables are permitted. The rules also note that steroids are prohibited, and “any such use will subject the rutabaga to immediate withdrawal.”

It’s the last day of the market, and one of the first weekends of cold weather. Why not celebrate a new season by throwing vegetables down a midway? •

PM-8:00 PM, Saturday, December 16, 17 | Bethel Grove Bible Church, 1763 Slaterville Rd., Ithaca | There will be pizza, cake, games, party favors, crafts, snacks, a skit, and Christmas carols.

Light, 391 Turkey Hill Road, Ithaca | All are welcome to meditate according to their own practice. It begins with 20 minutes of silent meditation, after which we read and discuss related texts.

Health

Art

Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous Weekly Meeting | 8:00 AM-9:30 AM, Saturday, December 16, 17 | Just Be Cause Center, 1013 W. State Street, Ithaca | Twelve-step recovery program for those who can’t control their eating. No dues, fees, or weigh-ins. Long-term help for overeaters, undereaters and bulimics.

Sacred Sunday Community at Yoga Farm | 9:00 AM-11:15 AM, Sunday, December 17, 17 | Yoga Farm, 404 Conlon Rd, Lansing | Sacred Sundays Community at Yoga Farm. All are Welcome.Discover Your Self & Awaken Your Kindest HumanityPray. Move. Sit. Connect.

Open Meditation | 10:30 AM-12:00 PM, Sunday, December 17, 17 | Foundation of

It’s Mysterious Life, an appreciation of beetles by Carla DeMello | Thursday, December 14, 17 | Buffalo Street Books, 215 N Cayuga St, Ithaca | Carla DeMello is an Ithaca artist. All her life, she’s worked and played with any material that catches her eye, colorful, sticky, natural, malleable, goopy or beautiful. These paper sculptures pay tribute to the natural jewels of earth, beetles.

The World Bewitch’d: Visions of Witchcraft from the Cornell Collections | Friday, December 15, 17 | Hirshland Exhibition Gallery, Kroch Library, Cornell University, Ithaca | The exhibition features rare and unique books and documents from 15th-century witch hunting manuals to 20th-century movie posters, and it examines themes such as gendered

A rutabaga rolls down the midway at the Ithaca Farmers Market.

(Photo: Casey Martin)

stereotypes, belief in night flying, shapeshifting, demonic pacts and the witch epidemics that resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands.

Seventh December Juried Show | Friday, December 15, 17 | State Of The Art, 120 W State St Ste 2, Ithaca | More than 60 artists from the area will display paintings, drawings, mosaic, prints, sculpture and digital work.

Show dates: November 29-December 30, 2017 Leanora Mims | Friday, December 15, 17 | New Roots Charter School, 116 N Cayuga St, Ithaca | Leanora Mims’ pieces depict African-American history and the black experience in the present day.

Lines of Inquiry: Learning from Rembrandt’s Etchings | Saturday, December 16, 17 | Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell, Ithaca | More than sixty impressions from across Rembrandt’s oeuvre will show the artist’s process, including how he made changes to his plates and detail his use of a variety of printing supports. Works from the collections of Cornell, Harvard, Princeton, Syracuse and Yale Universities, Oberlin

Lake, pausing at its small towns and tucked-away places to explore more than 200 years of Tompkins County history through photographs and maps.

Marika Chew | Tuesday, December 19, 17 | Lot 10 Lounge, 106 S Cayuga St, Ithaca | Marika Chew will be showing her illustrations through December 31. For more info visit http://www.ARTeFLX.com.

Got Submissions?

Send your events items – band

gigs, benefits, meet-ups, whatever

– to arts@ithacatimes.com.

Kurt Riley, Viva Mayhem, Vee Da Bee

The Haunt, Ithaca Saturday, Dec. 16, 8 p.m.

The Range Ithaca Friday, Dec. 15, 9 p.m.

Based out of Massachusetts, Darlingside combines ’60s folk with modern indie vibes and some classical arrangements. The group is a four-part collaboration, the entire gang contributing vocal and instrumentals.

Their next album will drop Feb. 23, 2018, and this tour marks the beginning of Darlingside’s new music.

(Photo provided)

Three local musicians will kick off the weekend at The Range. Kurt Riley, Viva Mayhem and Vee Da Bee are all local favorites and no strangers to the Ithaca music scene.

These indie and punk rockers will jam out until the night is over.

(Photo provided)

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and Vassar Colleges, the University of Kansas, the Morgan Library & Museum, and private collections will feature subject matter ranging from portraits and self-portraits to genre scenes, religious narratives, landscapes, study plates and academic nude studies.

New Day Glass Open House and Holiday Sale | 12:00 PM-6:00 PM, Saturday, December 16, 17 | 215 Burdge Hill Road, 215 Burdge Hill Road, Newfield | Local Glassblowing studio will open its doors to the public for this annual Holiday event. No admission fee, just come and see how Glass Art is made, there will be live glassblowing demos and hand blown ornaments/other items for sale. Also on Dec. 17.

Something to hold on to | Monday, December 18, 17 | Community School Of Music And Arts, 330 E State St, Ithaca | Featuring submitted work from local artists.

The Many Names of Fall Creek | Monday, December 18, 17 | History Center, 401 E State St, Ithaca | The exhibit traces the path of Fall Creek from Groton City to Cayuga

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Town & Country

Classifieds

In Print

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On Line |

10 Newspapers

277-7000 Phone: Mon.-Fri. 9am-5pm Fax: 277-1012 (24 Hrs Daily)

Special Rates:

25% Discount - Run your non-commercial ad for 4 consecutive weeks, you only pay for 3 (Adoption, Merchandise or Housemates)

Employment / Real Estate / Adoption: $59.00 first 15 words (minimum), 30 cents each additional word.

Ads run 2 weeks.

Headlines: 9-point headlines (use up to 16 characters) $2.00 per line. If bold type, centered or unusually spaced type, borders in ad, or logos in ads are requested, the ad will be charged at the display classified advertising rate. Call 277-7000 for rate information.

Internet: www.ithaca.com Mail: Ithaca Times Classified Dept

PO Box 27 Ithaca NY 14850 In Person: Mon.-Fri. 9am-5pm

109 North Cayuga Street

Free Ads: Lost and Found and free items run at no charge for up to 3 weeks.

Merchandise for Sale, private party only. Price must be under $100 and stated in ad

MERCHANDISE UNDER $100

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Fax and Mail orders only

15 words / runs 2 insertions

buy sell

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employment

430/General

CLEANING/JANITOR

Part-Time Evening Cleaning positions

available in the Seneca Falls/Auburn, NY

AIRLINE CAREERS

140/Cars

250/Merchandise

2000 Volvo S-70

82k on engine, no body rust, new tires and brakes, need AC work, $2,400, 749-0175 2006 FORD ESCAPE XLT 4 wheel drive, 6 cyl., auto, power everything, sunroof, alloy wheels, 2 sets tires, new brakes, some rust. Inspected 9/17. $3,900/nego. 273-0731

2006 Toyota RAV4

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pass a background check. General office ping, vacuuming and emptying garbage.

Financial aid for qualified students. Job

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placement assistance. Call Aviation

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Please call 716-854-0841 to place your

Institute of Maintenance 800-725-1563

763 Skid Steer Loader in great condition. 1800 Hours. 46 hp. Auxiliary Hydraulics. $2100. Call 607-444-2652

name on the Interview List

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SAWMILLS from only $4397.00 - MAKE & SAVE MONEY with your own bandmillcut lumber any dimension. In stock ready to ship. FREE Info /DVD: www.

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Afterschool Program Coordinator and

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Community Food Systems Educator

for Cornell Cooperative Extention Tioga County Required Bachelor’s

degree or Assoc. degree with 2yrs exp.

relevant to the position. 20 hrs per week

per week / 13 week minimum

employment

employment

Director of Finance

for Alcohol & Drug Council Salaried - full benefits. For more details please visit: http://alcoholdrugcouncil.org/ employment.2/

PIANOS

Food Service Helper-P/T

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Work Mornings 9:30-12:30, Monday Friday (3 hrs/day - 15 hrs/week). Detailed job posting listed on BOCES website: ww.tstboces.org and Careerbuilder. com Apply by 12/19/17 online at www. tompkinscountyny.gov/personnel TST BOCES , 555 Warren Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850, (607)257-1551, Fax: (607)6978273, Email: hr@tstboces.org

Complete rebuilding services.

No job too big or too small.

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Ithaca Piano Rebuilders

with benefits. EPO/EOE Deadline to

apply Dec. 14, 2017. Must apply on-line.

Go to our website: tioga.cce.cornell.

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cleaning duties include sweeping, mop-

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Line Ads: $18.50 for first 12 words (minimum), 30 cents each additional word.

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Automotive

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Hospicare & Palliative Care Services

(607) 272-6547

has career opportunities. Join us! Apply online http://www.hospicare.org/ careers/jobs-on-our-clinical-team/

950 Danby Rd., Suite 26

South Hill Business Campus, Ithaca, NY

DELIVERY Part-Time DONATE YOUR CAR

MAKE THE CALL TO START GETTING CLEAN TODAY

Free 24/7 Helpline for alcohol & drug addiction treatment. Get Help! It is time to take your life back! Call Now: 855732-4139 (AAN CAN)

Route Driver needed for delivery of newspapers every Wednesday.

Must be available 9am-1pm, have reliable transportation, and a good driving record.

350/Musicians Sax/Bass Player

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looking to play in a working band. Call Fluffy Saccucci at 607-273-4667

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* Car Donation Foundation d/b/a Wheels For Wishes. To learn more about our programs or financial information, visit www.wheelsforwishes.org.

Town&Country

Classifieds In Print | On Line | 10 Newspapers | 59,200 Readers

277-7000 Phone: Mon.-Fri. 9am-5pm Fax: 277-1012 (24 Hrs Daily)

employment

Internet: www.ithaca.com Mail: Ithaca Times Classified Dept

PO Box 27 Ithaca NY 14850 In Person: Mon.-Fri. 9am-5pm

109 North Cayuga Street

adoptions

Ithaca, NY - GrammaTech Inc.

Software Engineer - Conduct software engineering on research projects under a principal investigator. Requirements: MS in CompSci, 3 yrs exp. (industry or academic research). Exp. developing algorithms. Knowledge of date and information management, algorithmic complexity. Understanding of and exp. with software development life cycle, tools. Expertise in writing software code in C++, C, Python. Research or grad. level experience in machine learning, pattern recognition data mining, database management systems, information storage, retrieval. Send resume to: Patrice DiLorenzo, GrammaTech, Inc. Reg. No. 2017-1081, 531 Esty Street, Ithaca, NY 14850

PREGNANT?

CONSIDERING ADOPTION? Call us

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Choose adoptive family of your choice.

Call 24/7. 877-362-2401. (AAN CAN)

Seneca County

is accepting applications for 2 vacancies for Mental Health Clinical Therapist.

Applications accepted until positions are filled. $25.31 per hour. Possessions of MSW and NYS Driver’s License required.

Apply online at https://seneca-portal. mycivi

610/Apartments Lower Collegetown

1 Bedroom,, Furnished, Spacious, Large

real estate

real estate

Vocalist/Musician

I am looking to join or start a band. I am an experienced singer in mostly Country and Rock & Roll! I live in Ithaca. Please contact me at 607-262-1818 or even text me. Butch Perfetti

855/Misc.

Struggling with DRUGS or ALCOHOL? Addicted to PILLS? Talk to someone who cares. Call The Addiction Hope & Help Line for a free assessment. 800-9786674 (AAN CAN)

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Work to Repair Your Credit Report With The Trusted Leader in Credit Repair.

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DISH Network Satellite

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Four Seasons Landscaping Inc.

607.272.1504 Lawn maintenance, spring + fall clean up + gutter cleaning, patios, retaining walls, + walkways, landscape design + installation. Drainage.

Snow Removal. Dumpster rentals. Find us on Facebook!

Handy Man

Stone Walls, Walks, Repointing, Gardens, Weeds, Carpentry, George: 793-4312 - Save Number!

1040/Land for Sale UPSTATE NY

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Call (800) 382-4663 or visit sonyma.org

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Old Motorcycles, Parts and Memorabilia Top Dollar Paid!

607-564-1808

Rooms, Hardwood Floor, Quiet Building,

The City Of Ithaca

is accepting applications for the following: Public Information Specialist: Currently, there is one vacancy. Min Quals: Visit website. Salary: $50,002. Exam: At a later date. Residency: Must be resident of Tompkins County. Application Deadline: 12/27/17. Financial Management Assistant #65-807 Currently, there are two vacancies. Min Quals: Visit website. Salary: $37,837. Residency: Must be resident of Tompkins County.

Application Deadline: 1/18/18. Exam Date: 3/3/18. City of Ithaca HR Dept., 108 E. Green St., Ithaca, NY 14850 (607)274-6539 www.cityofithaca.org.

The City of Ithaca is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversifying its workforce.

eat Included, Reasonable Rent, Walk to

SCHOOL NURSE -

Central Campus or Downtown, Tracey 607-379-2776

805/Business Services Airport Storage

at Hillcrest and Warren Rds. in Lansing.

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SUBSTITUTE

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Th e

OCM BOCES, Personnel/Recruitment

Department, PO Box 4754, Syracuse, NY 13221 by 12/18/17. For more information, visit our website at: www.ocmboces.org EOE

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BackPage Radiance Course!

5-Month Course starts January 20 Workshops at Yoga Farm Sat-12/16 3-5pm ‘Intuition: Discover Your Inner Voice’ www.RadianceCourse.com 607-280-2010

For rates and information contact Cyndi Brong at cbrong @ ithactimes.com

277-7000 p h o n e 277-1012 f a x

AAM ALL ABOUT MACS Macintosh Consulting http://www.allaboutmacs.com (607) 280-4729

Artist Brian Keeler Holiday Show: Ithaca and Italy

10% off Total Check With Greenback Coupon at

See our full screen ad at Cinemapolis North Star Art Gallery 743 Snyder Hill Rd, Ithaca www.NorthStarArtGallery.com Friday-Saturday 11-4 and by appt

Tokyo 722 S. Meadow (near Tops) 607-277-8888

Buy, Sell & Consign Previously-enjoyed

4 Seasons Landscaping Inc. 607-272-1504 lawn maintenance spring + fall clean up + gutter cleaning patios, retaining walls, + walkways landscape design + installation drainage snow removal dumpster rentals Find us on Facebook!

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Best Service and Prices Out of Town Rides All Airports, Buses & Trains Call for Estimates

go to local charity Light up our community!

MIGHTY YOGA Voted Best of Ithaca visit www.mightyyoga.com, 272-0682

Independence Cleaners Corp RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL Janitorial Service * Floor/Carpet High Dusting * Windows/Awnings 24/7 CLEANING Services 607-227-3025

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Get unbiased funeral planning information

PEACEFUL SPIRIT TAI CHI Please join us for traditional Yang Style Tai Ji Quan (Tai Chi) at our new location and time Centerlne Fitness and Martial Arts 335 Elmira Road (same building as Spicey Asian) FRIDAYS 7:30 - 8:30 PM ALL LEVELS WELCOME admin@peacefulspiritacupuncture.com

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Adopt! Foster! Volunteer! Donate for vet care!

The Lansing-Ithaca Rotary

www.cayugadogrescue.org

fundraiser for the Lansing Food Bank.

We are selling raffle tickets for our Annual Grocery Store Run which will take place Sunday, Dec. 17 at 6pm at Lansing Market.

Tickets sold at Lansing Market on the weekends. Thurs. thru Sun 4-7pm

LPs 45s 78s ROCK JAZZ BLUES PUNK REGGAE ETC Angry Mom Records 115 The Commons Basement 319-4953 angrymomrecords@gmail.com

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20% of gift card sales

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Same Day Service Available

John’s Tailor Shop John Serferlis - Tailor 102 The Commons 273-3192

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607-564-1808 WORLD CLASS MARTIAL ARTS Self Defense & Kick Boxing Private & Group Classes 401 E. State St. Ithaca 227-6932

Holiday TribuTe ConCerT To

THe King #1 elvis TribuTe aCT in THe CounTry!

7:30 Sat Dec 16th at the State theatre

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