The Ithaca Journal (New York), September 4, 2006, Monday

Copyright 2006 The Ithaca Journal (Ithaca, NY)
All Rights Reserved
The Ithaca Journal (New York)

September 4, 2006 Monday
1 Edition

SECTION: OPINION; Pg. 5A


HEADLINE: Darts and Laurels

BODY:
{dcdc}Rental care jam:
{dcdc}Thanks for the act of Texas-sized kindness
LAUREL: From Barbara Viniar, executive director of the Institute for Community College Development. The week of Aug. 7, five Texans arrived in Ithaca for a program at the Institute for Community College Development at Cornell. They intended to rent a car at the Ithaca airport, but discovered there were none due to the NASCAR events at Watkins Glen. They thought they were stranded, but luckily found Tom Pritchard at his Dodge dealership. He rented them a car and made them feel welcome. Thanks to Tom, our guests were able to see a great deal of Central New York, and go home praising Ithaca's hospitality. Thanks, Tom.
DART: From Linda Weaver to those individuals who smashed beer bottles on the stonework at the Cornell Plantations Arboretum Overlook. I will be praying that over the years you spend here in Ithaca that you will learn a respect for beautiful things and places.
LAUREL: From Peggy McKernan and Next Gen parents to the management and teaching artists of the Hangar Theatre for their spectacular Next Generation Theater Program this summer. Through careful planning and hard work they kept a great variety of children inspired, focused, and enthusiastic from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for six weeks. The students learned lots about the theater and felt part of a loving creative community. The counselors were wonderful, and the teachers were talented and inspiring - people who genuinely like kids and know how to work with them. Finally, the resulting shows were extremely professional - Kiddstars, Bugsy Malone and Tartuffe! We are so lucky to have the Hangar Theater in our community!
LAUREL: The Friends of the Lansing Community Library Center would like to extend a sincere thank you to all those who helped make the Building Block Party on Aug. 5 a huge success! Thanks to our sponsors: Lansing Funeral Home, Money with a Mission/FAFN, and The Plantsmen Nursery. Thanks to our donors: Elephant Sound DJ, Jeff Sandsted and Travis Sandsted, McNamara's Office Supply, Norman Dionne, Ridge Road Imports, Snyder's Repair Shop, Styles and Smiles, and Susan Miller. Thanks to volunteers from the Lansing Historical Association and to volunteers from the Lansing Fire Department who brought a ladder truck for educational display for children and adults attending the afternoon's events. Thanks to all the LCLC volunteers and volunteers-for-the-day who assisted with the chicken barbecue, the mini book sale, adopt-a-book program, raffle ticket sales and tours of the library. The Aug. 5 event raised over $20,000 which will be used for capital improvements to the building at 27 Auburn Rd. in the Town of Lansing. Expansion and renovation work is under way, and the library will be closed for public use until early October. Stay tuned for information about our grand opening in January. To our volunteers, supporters, patrons, donors, sponsors, readers: we couldn't do it without YOU, thanks!!
LAUREL: From Rebecca Norman. On Thursday, Aug. 24, Lakeside Nursing and Rehabilitaion Center hosted our First Health, Human Services, and Safety Expo. The purpose of this event was to provide our local health and human service organizations with the opportunity to let our community know what services we have to offer. I would like to thank all of the participants from the Advocacy Center, Alcohol and Drug Council, Alterra, Alzheimer's Association, American Red Cross, Bangs Ambulance, Birthright of Ithaca, Caregivers, Cayuga Medical Center, Community Dispute and Resolution Center (and the energetic Talk Works Players), Finger Lakes Independence Center, Finger Lakes Running Company, Franciscan Health Support, Gadabout Transportation, Health Planning Council, Hospicare and Palliative Care, Integrative Medicine Center, Ithaca Breast Cancer Alliance, Ithaca Fire Department, Ithaca Police SWAT Team, Lifelong, Longview, Long Term Care Services, Mothers and Babies Perinatal Network, Multiple Sclerosis Society, Muscular Dystrophy Association, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill of the Finger Lakes, New York State E.P.I.C., Tompkins County Health Department, Tompkins County Office for the Aging, Tompkins County Sheriff's Office, Southern Tier AIDS Program, Suicide Prevention and Crisis, United Health Services Professional Home Care, and Women's Opportunity Center. All of the participants were wonderful and the event was a huge success! I look forward to seeing the same and hopefully some additional organizations at the Second Annual Health, Human Services, and Safety Expo next summer!
LAUREL: To Bruce Estes, managing editor, and The Journal staff from Melanie Stein, for quickly fixing a bug. On a Friday evening I notified The Journal's news desk that far-flung friends and relatives could not retrieve my mother's obituary (Johanna Kranold Stein, July 13) from the online version of The Ithaca Journal, due to a broken link. By Saturday afternoon the bug had been promptly fixed. Not only that, but Mr. Estes personally called me on his day off to let me know. My mother was an amateur writer and her obituary was the last thing she wrote, so it was a source of solace to see it available on the Web. Thank you.