F R E E D e c e m b er 2 1 , 2 0 1 6 / V o l u m e X X X V I I , N u m b e r 1 7 / O u r 4 5 t h Y e a r
Online @ ITH ACA .COM
a Study
in Activism! Teaching real solutions to real problems inspires work outside the classroom
Chanticleer chief barber
A Sporting
Fall Creek
rogue
From A Culinary Institution To Nightlife Staple
After Three Decades, IPD’s Chief To Retire
Recounting All Ithaca’s Athletic Triumphs
From A Woodshop On The Creek To A Stage Near You
Like A Joke Where You Already Know The Punchline
PAGE 3
PAGE 5
PAGE 14
PAGE 19
PAGE 29
Turns 70
Moving on
Kind of Year
Brass Band
one
ithaca.com
Read the review online!
Visit our kitchen and bath design center! Locally Owned! 607-319-4002 Ithaca Ace Hardware Order Online: acehardware.com Triphammer Marketplace Free in-store pickup! 2255 North Triphammer Road 2
The
I thaca Time s
/
D e ce mb e r
21– 27,
2016
140 The Commons 607-272-1810 Mansourjewelers.com
Newsline
VOL.X X XVIIII / NO. 14 / December 21, 2016 Serving 47,125 readers week ly
Words Into Deeds........................ 8
City of Ithaca
Local teacher tries to change the world
Outreach Effort Sees Success
The Rise of Fall Creek Brass.... 15 A good, long look at the sacred winter artform.
NE W S & OPINION
Newsline . ............................... 3-7, 10-13 Sports ................................................... 14
A
fter more than one year of work, it appears the Family and Children’s Services of Ithaca Community Outreach Worker Program has had a positive effect on the community. According to a presentation to the Tompkins County Housing and Homeless Task Force last week, 49 percent of individuals reached “made a plan” based on recommendations of the program while a significant amount–38 percent–accepted feedback from the program’s single outreach worker. Why these numbers matter lie mainly with the demographic the program serves:
ART S & E NTE RTAINME NT
Art . ....................................................... 17 Film ....................................................... 18 Books..................................................... 19 Stage ..................................................... 20 Music . ................................................... 21 Dining . ................................................. 22 TimesTable .................................... 23-25 HeadsUp . ............................................. 25 Classifieds..................................... 26-27 Cover Design: Marshall Hopkins
ON THE W E B
Visit our website at www.ithaca.com for more news, arts, sports and photos. Call us at 607-277-7000
City of Ithaca
70 Years At The Chanticleer
T Issues experienced by persons assisted by the Ithaca Community Outreach program showing where various problems intersect.
Begun in July 2015, the outreach program–which focuses pr i ma r i ly on t hose i n t he c om mu n it y e x p e r i e nc i n g addiction, homelessness or mental health issues–has since reached 170 unique individuals in the community, each coming from wide demographic backgrounds. There are several components to the program, including safety and deescalation of behaviors, direct assistance with people’s well-being (hot meals, clothing, beverages and transportation, among other needs) and serving as a source of connection, helping those at risk with connecting continued on page 5
here a re no assig ned seats at The Chanticleer, at least on weekends. As something of a melting pot in town, one of the few corner bars left in Ithaca, it wouldn’t be appropriate, given the rotating cast of characters playing eight ball and sipping cheap beer at the hefty old bar, a green and red glow emanating from the original plaster ceiling. Not that there’s much in the way of seating: unlike the old place, there are no longer any booths in the Chanticleer, no jukebox at every
table. But leaning over the bar on Monday morning, Richard Leonardo--the owner of the joint--stands in his usual spot furthest from the door and gestures over to a corner table, a smile on his face. He still remembers those days. “I’d been coming here every day since I was 8,” said Leonardo, a soft-spoken man whose face carries few of his 72 years. “I’d come in and my dad would tell me to stay there, or I’d be in big trouble. It took me 10 years to leave that booth. It took me four more to get behind the bar.” Back then, you’d be hardpressed to find a better dinner than the one served up at Tony Leonardo’s place since t he building went up on the corner of State Street and Cayuga 70 years ago, an era that the
T a k e ▶ Ithaca Fringe Festival Time is running short for the December 31 deadline for submissions to the Ithaca Fringe Festival. The festival, which kicks off in mid-April, is a city-wide exposition of film, art and theater in a scaled-down, pure format. The website is live, and submission instructions and guidelines can be found at georgesapio.wixsite.com/ ithacafringe.
N i c k R e y n o l d s , M a n a g i n g E d i t o r , x 224 E d i t o r @ I t h a c aTi m e s . c o m K e l l y Wa t e r s , F i n g e r L a k e s M a n a g i n g E d i t o r , x 223 Edito r@Flcn.o rg J a i m e C o n e , W e b E d i t o r , x 232 A r t s @I t h a c a T i m e s . c o m M a t t B u t l e r, S t a ff R e p o r t e r R e p o r t e r @I t h a c a T i m e s . c o m C a s e y M a r t i n , S t a ff P h o t o g r a p h e r p h o t o g r a p h e r @I t h a c a T i m e s . c o m C h r i s H a r r i n g t o n , E d i t o r i a l a s s i s t a n t , x 217 a r t s @I t h a c a T i m e s . c o m C a s s a n d r a N e g l e y, S p o r t s E d i t o r , x 227 sports@Flcn.org St e v e L aw r e n c e, Sp o rt s Co lu m n ist, St e v e s p o r t s d u d e @ g m a i l .co m M a r s h a l l H o p k i n s , P r o d u c t i o n D i r ec t o r / D e s i g n e r , x 226 P r o d u c t i o n @I t h a c a T i m e s . c o m
Rich Leonardo. (Photo: Nick Reynolds)
family will come together to celebrate at the bar beginning at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 23. (The general public is invited, of course.) Those were the tie and jacket days when the basement had a kitchen, the fine Italian dining days where the sauce and the steaks were the highlight by night; by day, the place was the third shift haunt of workers at Morse Chain, all flowing in at 8 in the morning to drink until lunchtime. The place became such a regular spot, Tony would even cash their checks right there at the bar, stocking the register with three or four thousand dollars just to satisfy the crowd that’d come by.
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 G e o r g i a @ I t h a c aTi m e s . c o m A l e x i s C o l t o n , A cc o u n t R e p r e s e n t a t i v e , x 221 A l e x i s @ I t h a c aTi m e s . c o m L i s a B i n g a m a n , A cc o u n t R e p r e s e n t a t i v e , x 218 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 , P u b l i s h e r , x 210 j b i l i n s k i @ I t h a c aTi m e s . c o m F r eel a n ce r s : Barbara Adams, Rick Blaisell, Nicholas BogelBurroughs, Steve Burke, Deirdre Cunningham, Jane Dieckmann, Amber Donofrio, Karen Gadiel, Charley Githler, Vaughn Golden, Warren Greenwood, Ross Haarstad, Rich Heffron, Peggy Haine, Les Jinks, Cassandra Palmyra, Lori Sonken, Elizabeth Williams and Bryan VanCampen.
Contin u ed on page 11
T he ent i re c o ntents o f the Ithaca T i mes are c o p y r i ght © 2 0 1 6 , b y newsk i i nc .
N o t e
▶ Kwanzaa at Southside Community Center is happening on December 28th at 5 p.m. Something of a major tradition for Ithaca and the Southside neighborhood, the event will feature a community dinner, music and various libations. Last year’s event was one of the biggest in years, with more than 70 people turning out to commemorate the holiday.
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
▶ First Day Hike at Taughannock Falls there will be a group hike up at the falls on January 1 around 1 p.m. The walk will be slow and educational, topping out between 1 and 5 miles, and will be guided by a regional educator with the state parks service. Registration isn’t required, but greatly appreciated but is not required. 607-387-7041 or email josh.teeter@parks.ny.gov .
Th e
I t h aca Times
/
D ecemb er
2 1 – 2 7 ,
2 0 1 6
3
INQUIRING PHOTOGRAPHER By C a se y Mar tin
What’s on your 2017 wishlist?
“Rebranding my business ” — Christi Sobel
N e w s l i n e
Expanding Limited Resources For Transgender Healthcare
O
ne of the hardest parts about t ra nsit ioni ng to life as a transgender person is the difficulty in finding sufficient healthcare to assist with any complications that may arise. Often, access to that type of care is restricted to big cities, such as the massive Center of Excellence for Transgender Health in San Francisco. That may soon be changing for upstate New York. A recent grant awarded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program to five practitioners from The Gender Wellness Center at A.O. Fox Hospital in Oneonta will go toward founding the new Clinical Scholars Pro-
t hat wh i le it pa les i n comparison to discriminat ion t he transgender population faces, those who provide that population medical care face a certain a mou nt of adversity themselves in their fields. “Trans(From L-R) Tania Villa, Justine Woolner-Wise, Carolyn Wolf-Gould, gender Christopher Wolf-Gould, Diane Georgeson. people have (Photo: Bassett Healthcare Network) be en m i su nderstood over “R ight now we’re tr y ing time, and often to stabilize what we have and viewed historically as being develop it so that it’s a robust mentally ill,” Wolf-Gould said. department or center that can “A constant theme has been the move forward in a responsible struggle to legitimize medical way,” Wolf-Gould said. care for transgender people, The Gender Wellness Cen- and thus legitimize their lives. ter currently provides a litany Many times the doctors who of services to transgender peo- care for this population have ple, including several surgi- also been viewed as suspect.” cal options and mental health That may be changing, Wolfassistance. Wolf-Gould lists Gould said, as she has seen a five main aspects of trans- sizable wave of change in terms gender health that the team of awareness and enthusiasm intends to work on specifi- in the past 10 years. Attracting cally: youth and adult medical medical students to the field services, gender affirming sur- used to be a tough challenge, gical services, mental health but now students are thrilled services, training for health to spend a day in the Gender care providers, medical stu- Wellness Center. dents and residents, and com“It’s dizzying in some ways, munity based research. it’s hard to keep up with, but The grant and subsequent I’m pleased by it […] I find it project are especially impor- exciting,” she said. “Things are tant to Wolf-Gould and her moving fast.” staff as medical professionals who have chosen to work with –Matt Butler transgender people. She said
Tompkins County
and rolling papers. T h e Tompk i n s C ou nt y Hea lt h Depa r t ment wou ld enforce the law and would have the authority to conduct periodic inspections in order to ensure compliance. Any person found to be in violation would face a civil penalty of $300 to $1,000 for a first violation and $500 to $1,500 for each subsequent violation. Any peace officer or police officer within the county would be authorized to enforce the law as well. The effective date of the ordinance would be 60 days from the date of its enactment.
society, problems persist in healthcare. According to the American Medical Student Association, 20 percent of transgender “A constant theme has people either postbeen the struggle to poned or avoided legitimize medical care for hea lt hca re in t he last year out of fear transgender people, and thus legitimize their lives.” of discrimination in 2014. –Carolyn Wolf-Gould C a roly n Wol fGould, the medical gram, a program designed to director of the center, said the foster networks addressing the grant is for research into the health inequities faced by the feasibility of a center of exceltransgender population in our lence for transgender health within the Bassett Healthcare medical system. The grant is worth $500,000 Network, which also runs the over the next three years and A.O. Fox Hospital. If the outwill support a group consisting come of the assessments is posof Dr. Carolyn Wolf-Gould, itive, the proposed center could Dr. Christopher Gould, Dr. be the first rural-based center Diane Georgeson, physician of excellence for transgender assistant Tania Villa, of Ithaca, health. Wolf-Gould said over the and Justine Woolner-Wise, a licensed medical social worker, last severa l yea rs, she has felt the center has been a bit in their work. Despite increased awareness cobbled together but said she in the last several years about thinks that the grant will furthe challenges the transgender ther solidify the direction of community faces in general their operation.
“To be more politically active .” —Denise Milito
“To grow more pigs!” —Michael Burns & Xela
“Eating, stewing cultivating and quite possibly courting rutabaga.” —Moon or Monix
Are New Restrictions on Tobacco Sales Coming?
T
he Tompk ins Count y Legislature is looking to potentially increase the legal age for the sale of tobacco products to 21 in Tompkins C o u nt y. T h e H e a l t h a n d Human Services Committee of the Legislature did not vote at its meeting December 19 on whether or not to recommend the proposal to the full Legis-
“To be warm again! ” —Richard Sabol
4
The
I thaca Time s
/
D e ce mb e r
21– 27,
2016
lature but decided to revisit the issue at its next meeting due to a few unanswered questions. Under the new law, no person shall sell any tobacco product, electronic nicotine delivery system, shisha or smoking paraphernalia to persons under the age of 21. This includes chewing tobacco, herbal cigarettes, cigars, liquid nicotine
In New York City and Suffol k, A lbany, Schenectady, Chautauqua a nd Cor t la nd counties the minimum legal sale age for tobacco is already 21, according to the New York State Department of Health, and in Nassau and Onondaga counties it is 19. The main stumbling block for the committee was the part of the proposed resolution that mentioned shisha, a product made primarily of tobacco or other leaf or herbs smoked in a hookah or water pipe; though it’s much less common, there Contin u ed on Page 5
N e w s l i n e
Ups&Downs
Outreach
contin u ed from page 3
Ithaca Police Chief To Retire
A
f ter 30 yea rs i n law enforcement, It haca Police Chief John Barber has announced that he will be retiring from his post in March. Barber has been in charge of the police department for 3 years, after succeeding former Chief Ed Vallely. He was conditionally appointed by Mayor Svante Myrick in June of 2013. Barber is an Ithaca native and served in the Ithaca Police Department for over 20 years. “I want to govern a city, I want to live in a city in which everybody feels safe no matter where they are, no matter time of day, no matter what they look like,” Myrick said at the time of Barber’s appointment. According to a press release, Barber began his career in 1989 as a NYS Corrections officer attending the Harriman Training Academy, later working at three different state prisons – Green Haven, Cayuga Correctional, and Albion Correc-
Tobacco
Contin u ed from page 4
are some varieties that do not contain tobacco. The board members agreed that they needed more information on the current regulations pertaining to shisha and the ways in which any new law might affect the sale of the product before they could ma ke t heir decision. They also wondered how the new law would apply to vending machines, said Legislator Martha Robertson (D-Dryden).
tional Facilities. In April of 1994, he was hired by Chief Harlin McEwen at the Ithaca Police Department where he has remained since. Barber’s time at the helm saw the establishment of a Professional Standards Division in the IPD, a mechanism of increased internal oversight for the department, as well as the institution of police body cameras by Myrick and the certification of the Ithaca Police SWAT Team by the state of New York. In a 2013 Q&A with the Ithaca Times, Barber spoke about the need for accountability in an effective police department, and how the standards division would help achieve that goal. During his tenure, he elevated training standards and implemented one of eight NYS-certified SWAT teams, among other numerous distinctions. “As a department we have the obligation to continuously evaluate what is and is not Information compiled and made available to the committee by Ted Schiele, Planner/ Evaluator, Tompkins County Health Department, included a graph by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that showed e-cigarette use among youth rising nationally as e-cigarette advertising grows. The rate went from virtually no use in 2011 to about nine percent of youth reporting that they have used an e-cigarette in the last 30 days in 2014 as advertising dollars crept up to $120 million.
Ithaca Police Chief John Barber. Barber announced his retirement on Monday.
working and make the appropriate adjustments so that we can continue to achieve our departmental goals,” Barber said. “Our officers do a great job day in and day out, but this establishes a checks-andbalances system that IPD has lacked in the past.” Barber faced certain challenge s du r i ng h i s tenu re , including a spike in heroin usage in Ithaca and community backlash after an August 2014 incident that saw a plainclothes IPD officer pull his service weapon on two unarmed black teenagers. The episode occurred during the height of the country’s turmoil surrou nd i ng t he sho ot i ng of Michael Brown by police in Ferguson, Missouri. Though the Ithaca officer, John Norman, was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing, the incident led Myrick to introduce his body camera plan.
▶ Finger Lakes Toy Library If anyone recalls from our Give Local issue, we featured a new nonprofit organization called the Finger Lakes Toy Library, a toylending program that provides playthings to those who can’t afford them. We’ve gotten word they’ve achieved 501c3 status and are now hosting monthly playtimes to begin getting immersed in the community and fundraising has reached a total of $4,500 for the year. Good job guys!
with resources such as treatment or other local programming. According to feedback from a consortium of nearly 100 business owners, human services workers and law enforcement, the program has had numerous benefits, citing the approachability and compassion of the program as providing a service to an underserved, at-risk community the police otherwise could not reach. The only shortcoming of the program, they said, was that it wasn’t broader in its scope, saying that there should be more hours the worker was on duty and that there should even be more people involved in the program.
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
W ho benefits?
▶ Local music journalist Jim Catalano celebrated his birthday last weekend with a big celebration over at The Range. Jim an alum of the Ithaca Times, is one of the city’s trustiest chroniclers of the local scene and the bash, featuring the talents of Mike Brindisi & John O’Leary, Toto’s Magic Show, Glacial Erotics, The Flyrods, Thru Spectrum, The Darts was a fitting way to honor him. Big props to promoter Kevin Black for setting it up. ▶ Speaking of noteworthy Ithacans... Dec. 20 marked the 20th anniversary of Carl Sagan’s death. Though he died in Seattle, the famed astronomer, extraterrestrial seeker and all-around smart dude is interned at Lakeview Cemetery right here in Ithaca. His quotes are many and farranging, providing a philosopy of healthy skepticism. Our favorite is this:
In the presentation, several points on who actually utilizes the program were raised, giving a rough census of the atrisk community in the city. According to demographics compiled by the program, the majority of clients were male (62 percent) and caucasian (77 percent), with a majority of all clients between the ages of 25 and 60 (48 percent) or, in the case of 32 percent of those served, over 60 years of age. The issues they grapple with were also broad and varied. According to the survey, more than 45 percent of those served had a mental illness, while drugs, alcohol abuse and homelessness each applied to more than 30 percent of all surveyed, each of those issues often intersecting with each other.
“If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.” Pop in that old Cosmos VHS tonight.
–Nick Reynolds
–Matt Butler
question OF THE WEEK
Legislator Will Burbank (D-Ithaca) was in the minority on the board in his opposition of the proposed law. “I ’m a p a s sion at e nonsmoker, and I’m against secondhand smoke, etc., but I have a problem with it because at age 18 you’re old enough to be treated as an adult if you’re arrested, you’re old enough to serve in the military draft as a male, and you’re old enough to vote,” he said, “and to deny people of that age the ability to do something that admittedly is bad for them — it still seems
Hve you ever tried fact checking a local news story?
they ought to be making that decision for themselves if they are not using it in a way that poisons other people.” Robertson said it’s likely the Health and Human Services Committee will discuss the issue more next month and possibly vote on whether or not to recommend the adoption of the law to the legislature. A public hearing is required to be held by the Legislature before the law can be enacted.
Please respond at the Ithaca Times Web site www.ithacatimes.com. L ast Week ’s Q uestion : D id you accomplish most of your holiday shopping locally this year? 85.7 percent of respondents answered “No” and 14.3 percent answered “Yes.”
–Jaime Cone
Th e
I t h aca Times
/
D ecemb er
2 1 – 2 7 ,
2 0 1 6
5
OurOpinion
Felîz Naivedad Finding A Silver Lining Between Birthdays BY N ICK R EY NOL D S
I
never gave much credence to birthdays. Birthdays for me have always more or less been a tally of time passing by, confirmation that yes, time has passed and yes, I’m still here to experience its movements. By the time this column hit newsstands on Wednesday, I will be five days away from my 24th birthday. It’s not a significant birthday by any means; looking at the facts, I can already drink, I can’t yet run for president and I still have to pay full price at the movie theater. But for some reason, this year’s milestone on the way to maturation seems to have a little more weight than most. Maybe it’s all the dwelling I’ve been doing on the year we just had. It makes me think to a year ago when, on my 23rd birthday, I opened up a thin package from my parents. I opened it up and inside was a framed piece of paper with some pen-
cil-scrawled copy laid out in four columns written on it, a big, bold headline and, in the center, a rough-edged portrait of a cracked egg at the base of a brick wall. This seminal piece of journalism my parents had dug up was an account of Humpty Dumpty’s Great Fall, this version of the tale taking place at the Great Wall Of China. For seven years old, it was nice to see the first news story I’d ever written had a hint of aspiration toward becoming a foreign correspondent. Today, that story I wrote at the age of seven stays on my wall to remind me, since I was very young, journalism has always been something I was meant to be doing. But as 2016 comes to a close, I look at that story with some sort of cynicism. At seven years old, my v iew of t he news business and of the world itself was that chaos was a key to the recipe for noteworthiness, that only the worst things this planet can offer are worth explanation in print. As I learned early on in j-school (which, believe it or not, is a thing that still exists), “If it bleeds, it leads.” 17 years later, I’m into my fourth year as a professional journalist, a time that while brief has been filled with its share of tragic explanations and sad days. I’ve sent the same grimaces to the usual suspects at press conferences for murders, stood in the bleakest shelters, jail
Illustr ation by Marshall Hopkins
continued on page 7
Surrounded By Reality
A Visit From The Donald By Charley Githler
T
was the week before Christmas, and up in my room I tapped open my phone, with forebodings, of doom. My eyes were lit up with its bright bluish gleam, in hopes that the six weeks just passed were a dream. The family was nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of trade wars tap danced in their heads. On my Twitter account there arose such a clatter, I opened it, just to see what was the matter. I looked at the hashtag, it wasn’t St. Nick’sIt was President Trump with his cabinet picks! At the top of the military-industr’al complex, is the CEO Tillerson, Putin’s friend, Rex. “He’ll be huge as our guy overseas, using tact, and he doesn’t care that our systems were hacked.” It truly is yuletide in Moscow this day, and phone calls we now take from neglected Taipei. In Tehran and Beijing, though, it isn’t as pretty. Also not festive in Mexico City. “The SBA’s Linda McMahon’s a good fit. She once had to tell us that wrestling’s legit.” And speaking of fake, throw some coal on the fire. EPA’s new chief’s a science denier. More rapid than eagles, his fingers a blur, this wasn’t fake news, of that I was sure. continued on page 7
Community Connections
The Hikers By Marjorie Olds
S
usan and Stephen grew up in Nyack, New York with lots of sibl i ngs i n e ach hou sehold . When their mothers were co-workers Susan and Stephen were introduced; as teenagers they fell in love and married. As young adults they each followed their divergent talents—Susan became a fabric designer and artist; Stephen a journalist. Letting their careers chart their moves they left their siblings and parents behind in Nyack and moved in the 70’s to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, then on to Atlanta, and 6
The
I thaca Time s
/
D e ce mb e r
21– 27,
2016
later Washington, D.C. But by 1980 they were drawn back to New York; this time they settled in New York City, where they remained for the next 23 years. After 17 years as a journalist Stephen was drawn to another skill set and began studying engineering in preparation for his second career. For the remaining years Susan and Stephen lived in NYC Stephen provided engineering services for city residents continued on page 7
Surrounded By Reality contin u ed from page 6
“Now, Puzder! Now Sessions! Now Mad Dog and Ross! At Ed, a Public-Ed hater – De Vos!” To my wondering eyes there were more picks of Trump’s. As before, down on Wall Street, regulation’s for chumps. “He learned his compassion while at Goldman Sachs, at Treasury Me-noo-chin has got all our backs.” Are we safe, wondered I, in our gorge-ous ten square? We voted for Hill, so will Sessions be fair? Can Svante protect us? Will we come out intact? Or will Olde Tompkins County wind up being fracked? The tweets came on fast, all over they rained. Guess we’ll just have to wait for that swamp to be drained. There’s Fast Food at Labor, and Bannon is scary. The Energy pick’s a surreal one – Rick Perry! There’s Doctor Ben Carson, whose campaign was a dud, he gets duly rewarded as the leader of HUD. Does have the right stuff? (One is tempted to ask.) “Well, he does own a house, so he’s up to the task.” My phone buzzed. A note from a traumatized friend. I thought a bit…what silver lining to send? “It isn’t a train wreck,” I hastened to text. It is far worse than that – the Supreme Court is next! Apologies to Clement Clarke Moore. Charley Githler is a columnist for the Ithaca Times. His column appears biweekly. TheHikers
contin u ed from page 6
and businesses. It was fascinating to learn the inside of the city’s infrastructures and observe the inside of big city politics and the expansive city workforce. During their lengthy residence in NYC Susan and Stephen spent many hours exploring the neighborhoods and the sights of the City on foot. They loved their time spent walking and discovering the character of the different boroughs, observing the architecture and the history in the neighborhoods. In 2003 Susan and Stephen decided they were ready for their next chapter, this one not dictated by their careers. Reading Best Places to Retire in the United States they first learned about Ithaca. As they closed the book they packed their car and drove up here to check things out. Although they knew no one who lived in Ithaca, within six months they started putting down roots. They had a good feeling about Ithaca, and they decided to give it a try. Used to walking around to explore their surroundings one day the Hesses ambled along the South Hill Recreationway. During the walk they chatted with someone strolling the same way. At the end of the walk the new acquaintance invited them to come
to a weekly hike some old friends put together most Sundays. In 2004 Susan and Stephen joined the hikers on a walk through brambles, bugs, and heat. The leader lost his way, but everyone still had fun. Although none of the folks on that hike realized it on that muggy Sunday, with Susan and Stephen’s enthusiasm the hikers were about to ratchet up to a new phase. These 12 years under the understated and skillful leadership of Susan and Stephen the hikers has grown into a much-loved community institution. Three times a week a steady turnout of 25 or more hikers meet up at the appointed place and share two hours’ time in some remote spot (or downtown locale during Hunting Season). “All it takes to be a hiker is a pair of comfortable shoes,” t hey said. “Some of the hikers bring along walking poles to enhance their balance, catch themselves if they stumble. But no special gear is needed. We do 156 hikes a year (3 times a week x 52 weeks). We’re only cold if it gets below zero. The coldest hike was six below zero. If it’s not windy, we’re not uncomfortable hiking. We warm right up when we get moving. If people want to have warmer hands
TheHikers
OurOpinion
and feet they can bring along battery-heated gloves or toss in a “hot hands” packet into their boots.” “Today was a bit rainy. I tossed on a rain slicker over my coat and added a rain hat. Some of us have waterproof shoes or boots. Even if we don’t, if we have wool socks our feet don’t get too cold, even if they get a little bit wet.” “Because of the number of hikes we take each year, some of our favorites are repeaters. But it’s fun to revisit them at different times of the year. We also explore new areas site unseen. It’s always worked out no matter what.” Last year 35 hikers showed up for a preThanksgiving Day hike, including grown children and grandchildren who were visiting or had the day off from work. When the Hike was over (11:30 a.m.) no one rushed home to finish their feast preparations. Instead they reconvened at a hiker’s home where they gathered to dine together, each hiker bringing along a dish they wanted to share amongst friends and family. More and more the hikers get together after Hikes for coffee and scones or make simple barbecues. They have an annual picnic at a lovely home of some hikers. There’s lots of preparatory talk about who will bring what, and what kind of veggies or sausages or beer they want to share. New Years’ Day Open Houses and holiday parties round out the year. Singles, couples, newcomers, returnees show up when it works for them. Other than Thanksgiving Dinner and the hiker’s picnic there’s no RSVP. One decides at the last minute to show up for every other hike or party. Susan and Stephen are hiker’s command central. Three times a week they send out a heads up where the gang will park and hik.. Rarely are hikes cancelled (“about two a year”) for inclement weather. Somehow they’ve managed to come up with the perfect combination that appeals to people of all walks of life. “All those years in NYC Susan and I never thought of ourselves as Urban Hikers, but once we got pulled into the hikers we loved it. I realize now the happiest times in my life have been those years as a kid when my friends and my siblings and I played as many hours as we could in the woods beyond our houses. That and the time spent now amongst Ithaca friends in the woods surrounding Ithaca. We love hiking. We might never have discovered that love if we hadn’t blindly chosen Ithaca for our home.” Marjorie Olds is a columnist for the Ithaca Times. Her column appears every fourth week.
Send Letters to the Editor to editor@ ithacatimes.com. Letters must be signed and include an address and phone number. We do not publish unsigned letters.
Th e
I t h aca Times
contin u ed from page 6
cells, the wreckage of someone’s living room, even heavy-heartedly sent unsolicited messages to the family members of the recently deceased, always dwelling on it when I go home. Sometimes even for the week after. In my downtime (though, in this business, you never really get any), I pore over broadsheets rife with tragedy, tune into the apocalyptic vision offered by the nightly news. Even as naive as I was at seven years old, I never could have comprehended the world that would be opened to me by the time I reached 24. But, being born the day after Christmas, you tend to look back on birthdays with a warm heart. And when I think about the last 23 years I’ve seen--several of which I’ve spent doing what I always aspired to--I find myself needing to ref lect on the other side of my imagination: all the best of a world I never thought I’d find. You see, the other side of journalism is an invitation into the best of a community, insight into the strength and resilience of the individuals we otherwise wouldn’t think twice of. As a journalist, I get a view of everything this world has; the brutality, the beauty, injustice and triumph. I see it every day, whether from my own bubble here in Ithaca or through the critical lens I look at the inside pages of the New York Times or the heartfelt story pitch from a proud parent rolling in my inbox on a Sunday afternoon. I could tell you a lot too. I can tell you for every person killed in a house fire in the United States in 2013 (3,240, according to the National Professional Firefighter’s Association) more than 14 million people lived beyond a cancer diagnosis. I could tell you, despite all the bad I’ve written about, I’ve written stories about people you wouldn’t think twice about who nurse injured animals back to health, give free meals to the poor with little promotion or fanfare and still think--even with all the bad in the world-that if they work hard enough, they can make it better. As I finish up my 23rd year, I’ll admit the next 60 or so ahead of me (assuming by 2080 or so we’re not all fitted with all sorts of machinery or dead from some sort of nuclear catastrophe, but that’s a subject for another column) are filled with unease and uncertainty. After all, I work in what is considered to be one of the least secure professions today; you could say I’ve seen less hope in what I do than in what I cover. Seeing -- and reading -- what people like me cover, you might not have a lot of hope either. But I’ve seen beyond the headlines, past the 96-point fonts harking the end of days. I’ve seen a hope and a strength that I never could have seen at seven. And the best part is, I didn’t even have to go to China to find it. Nick Reynolds is Managing Editor of the Ithaca Times.
/
D ecemb er
2 1 – 2 7 ,
2 0 1 6
7
A Study In Activism Teaching real solutions to real problems inspires work outside the classroom By M att Bu tler
A
s a young girl in New Jersey in the 1960s, Gertrude Noden used to take occasional family trips into the capital city of Trenton. Walking the streets there, she observed the city’s poverty epidemic of that era, which left scores of people homeless and was one of the worst economic periods in the state’s history. Seeing the conditions the homeless lived in stuck with Noden, planting the seeds for her future interest in social jus-
A b ov e : ( F r o m L - R ) G e r t ru d e N o d e n , F o u n d e r o f Wo r d s I n t o D e e d s at w o r k i n h e r h o m e o f f i c e r e c e n t ly. R ight: Stu dents from New Roots Ch a rter School sh a k e h a n d s w i t h m ay o r S va n t e My r i c k a f t e r p r e s e n t i n g t h e i r p r o g r a m , Wo r d s I n t o D e e d s , at C i t y H a l l . ( P h o t o s : C a s e y M a r t i n)
8
The
I thaca Time s
/
tice and equality and forging an interest that hasn’t dimmed in the decades since. “I grew up in the ‘70s, with the peaceniks,” Noden said of how her childhood has motivated her work later in life. “The EPA was established, we started looking at environmental concerns. I feel bad for people who are hungry or homeless, I don’t know why I do, it’s just the way I am… They say it’s the milieu that you grow up in that makes you, the things that you are in contact with, it’s what you see when you walk the street.” After college, Noden worked in a factory for eight years before obtaining her master’s degree in education while tending to her children. She then went on to become a Catholic school teacher, where common school campaigns, such as food drives, gave her a glimpse of the wide influence that charitable efforts organized through schools can have. When Noden left for the public school system, she found a dearth of community learning. Based on conversations with students, she found that students continued to feel disconnected from their communities.
D e ce mb e r
21– 27,
2016
This revelation upset Noden, but also made classroom to the world, interacting with her realize that more nuance was needed students from all corners of the globe. to make any lasting impact both on the This ultimately led her to officially found societal problem and on the students who Words Into Deeds, her business based on were participating. Utilizing experiences her learning program designed to create both inside and outside “You don’t just give a can of food to the of the classfood pantry, if this is your service project room, Noden you need to learn about food insecurity, sought a what are the causes, you learn about the more comissue.” plete teach–Gertrude Noden ing approach t hat wou ld not only teach students, but activate them. stronger connections between students “I didn’t want to be this talking head and their communities, both local and teacher, and I didn’t know how to get away global, with an emphasis on community from that with the structure of the class- service projects, after her retirement from room as I found it,” she said. teaching in 2015. So when she moved to teaching at South “You don’t just give a can of food to the Seneca School District in 1999, she began food pantry, if this is your service project developing ways to extend her teaching be- you need to learn about food insecurity, yond the routine classroom fare. She was what are the causes, you learn about the able to get her hands on video conferenc- issue,” Noden said. “You become an ining equipment in the early 2000s, which formed student, and then you decide to do enabled her and her students to open the something to mitigate the problem.”
The program is under the umbrella of the non-profit organization Global Education Motivators (GEM), where Noden also serves as Director of Human Rights Curriculum. For the first time, Noden is bringing her specialized curriculum to Ithaca during the winter of 2016-2017, for 11th and 12th graders at New Roots Charter School downtown. Noden and her teaching programs have garnered a litany of awards in the past several years, including from the Southern Poverty Law Center and the 2011 Global Teacher’s Award at the United Nations. She said giving students more ability to choose their path to solutions has proven a more effective way to keep students interested in the entire learning process. Though general topics are sometimes prechosen for the projects, students get to choose their focuses and specific aspects they want to address Noden’s vision for Words Into Deeds is to empower youth students to not only learn more about issues affecting their communities daily, but to make themselves part of the solution. The program also includes a trip to the UN Student Leadership Conference in February, where students have the opportunity to talk faceto-face and video-conference with other students from around the world. Noden’s previous programs have included raising money for Habitat for Humanity and for clean water accessibility campaigns abroad, among others. The choice of substance abuse as the focus of this year’s program was not coincidental. Ithaca’s drug issues have been a popular topic of conversation this year, particularly in light of Mayor Svante Myrick’s headline-grabbing introduction of The Ithaca Plan in February. The city has seen heroin overdoses rise over the past several years, part of a country-wide increase in such incidents. Myrick’s plan intrigued Noden, and helped spur her desire to bring her program to Ithaca schools to build upon a specific focus on engaging more youth voices in the conversation of substance abuse treatment and prevention. Noden calls this year’s version of the curriculum an informed action project, ti-
tled Youth Forum. The goals of the project regarding substance abuse are to increase awareness, encouraging diverse voices to enter the conversation, educate students about risk factors surrounding substance abuse among their peers, and challenge their previously held assumptions about substance abuse. A large part of that will be accom-
be more fact-based already,” Noden said. “They’re becoming more serious… And that’s just after one week. It’s been a nice warm-up for them.” Though she struggled at first to attract interest from area schools, she found a host in New Roots. Sue Schwartz, an English teacher at the school, is helping Noden with the classroom program at the char-
plished by interaction with area experts and legislators that Noden will bring in to talk to the class, including some that have already visited the students. At the beginning of December, some students met with Myrick to discuss the Ithaca Plan, and have heard from other representatives of places like the Southern Tier AIDS Program, who deal with Ithaca’s substance abuse problems on a daily basis. By the end of the program, students will be writing position papers, giving presentations, organizing projects, or something similar. Noden said the students’ views on the topic are already maturing beyond what they were initially. Part of this is the influence of the experts, she said, but it is also a result of students thinking more critically about the issue. “Their opinions are transforming to
ter school along with fellow teacher Kerry DeLisa. Schwartz has been familiar with Noden for years, after serving as a studentteacher in Noden’s classroom years ago at South Seneca. Schwartz said that like Noden, she is very interested in constructing academic work that allows students to affect the community in their own way. The topic of substance abuse also allows students to grapple with a problem that is not just a headline on the news, but something they see in their communities and neighborhoods, even on their way to school, Schwartz said. “I think because of our proximity, there’s a higher likelihood that students could run into somebody here because we are in downtown Ithaca,” Schwartz said. “It’s something that affects our communi-
Th e
I t h aca Times
ty, we used to go to Dewitt Park quite a bit, but we don’t go there anymore. It’s a little bit like the elephant in the room.” She said the youthful voice, particularly at the age in late high school when students can be vulnerable to start using drugs, can offer a necessary variety of perspectives that differ from those of the older generation. With the city’s substance issues in mind, Schwartz said the tangible impact of drugs is something many students have experience with, be it from their families or friends or neighborhoods, and can speak knowledgeably from that experience “What students should be learning shouldn’t be abstract, it should be applied,” Schwartz said. “One of the founding principles of our school is to use the community as a textbook, more community based learning and project-based lea r n i ng […] St udent s learn better when they are having to deal with realworld problems.” Noden hopes Words Into Deeds will take hold in Ithaca, especially because it is so close to her home, but said she views every project as an opportunity to expand problem-solving beyond the immediate community. Though students may enter believing that this is an Ithaca-specific project, Noden said one of the goals is for students to start thinking about the problems around the world that may affect others in a similar way as substance abuse affects them. Though Ithaca is the setting, it should not be a limiting factor. “I see them all equally, I have a strong belief that things are interdependent in our world,” she said. “The project’s participants thought this was going to be a strictly local conversation, but I know it’s not. My job is to facilitate that, to let them listen and hear and think, then they take it where they want.”
/
D ecemb er
2 1 – 2 7 ,
2 0 1 6
9
Business
No, We Didn’t Add 2,500 Jobs This Year
Job statistics for the Ithaca area tend to fluctuate at a rate atypical for the rest of the country.
I
n the years since the recession, one would only need to look to the headlines to think Ithaca was the model of a flourishing economy and a recovering private sector. Over the past several years as each month’s latest statistics come out, the head-
lines are almost always the same, each flouting the superior job growth within the Ithaca economy. Last month, for instance, the New York State Department of Labor released a set of statistics noting the Ithaca labor market had grown by 2,500 jobs over the past year, a 4 percent increase easily sur-
passing the 1.4 percent growth noted statewide. They are numbers so impressive that at the recent grand opening of the Marriott on the Commons, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul noted Ithaca as a city to look to as a center of economic vitality and an example of what investment in upstate communities can create, naming a similar, massive trend of growth as evidence. Though the numbers are encouraging, there is one problem with this story: the numbers, it turns out, are based on a somewhat dubious formula. “We first need a conversation of whether or not the growth actually occurred,” said Julia Mattick, Executive Director of the Tompkins County Workforce Investment Board. “One of the things we found was the data for the Tompkins County area is notoriously inaccurate on a month to month basis.” Though Ithaca and Tompkins County have seen consistent job growth over the past several years, it’s usually in a much smaller number--usually a couple hundred jobs--than indicated in the data. (between May ‘14 and May ‘15, for example, just 180 jobs were created countywide.) Why employment statistics are so skewed in Ithaca in particular relate to two quirks in particular: the nature of Ithaca’s educationheavy private sector and the way the data is compiled itself. The problem lies primarily with how current employment growth numbers are generated, where growth is determined by comparing the latest monthly numbers with numbers from last year. The issue is both numbers are calculated differently and therefore, completely different. The monthly system–called the Current Employment Survey–is based on an estimation method, with economic modeling based on a sample size so small the margin of error can be extremely wide– up to 20 percent–if basing job growth solely on those models. Then the quarterly information–contained in the Quarterly
Quenc h You r ho L I D AY ThI rs T ! • Over 1000 different beers, hard ciders and malternatives in stock • Over 200 gourmet sodas • 10 Beers, 1 hard cider, and 1 soda taps for growler fills • Keg Beer • NOW OPEN! New Redemption Center! We pay 6¢ for most NYS returnable containers. We do Bottle Drives for schools, churches, Boy and Girl Scouts etc Mon-Wed 9-9 • Thurs-Sat 9-10 | Sun 12-7
www.fingerlakesbeverage.com
Census of Employment and Wages–is much more accurate, based on a census method where information is pulled directly from employer’s time sheets and evaluated over the six month period after the quarter ends. This means, when comparing job growth over a year between say, October 2015 and October 2016, you are comparing two totally different employment numbers each determined through totally different methods: simply put, it’s a matter of comparing apples to oranges. Then, you have other issues with the data, where some people show up in the month to month data who don’t show up in the quarterly data like employed prisoners, student workers and contractors, oftentimes at a more extreme difference in Ithaca versus similar college towns like State College, Pennsylvania. “I much prefer looking at the yearly data,” said Martha Armstrong, Vice President & Director of Economic Development Planning for Tompkins County Area Development. “The only way I know what’s going on is if I go (to Julia) and ask, ‘what are you seeing?’ Because you’ll know, at the job center, if somebody did a big layoff or a big hire or we find it’s hard to fill a certain job. They know where the demand is in the current moment.” Interestingly enough, the labor market in Ithaca is actually still short on talent to fill its various openings. While places like Cornell and Ithaca College are constantly hiring, other sectors--a growing tech scene, an aging manufacturing and educational workforce--will soon need to fill positions quickly. “Because the population is getting older, we want to see more growth because that means more young people are coming here,” Armstrong said. “But then I see manufacturing took a big hit during the recession and that’s a big deal… other manufacturers had declines and they’ve come back, but we’re still below pre-recession numbers there. That I feel bad about, those are jobs that pay well with great career tracks. But steady is better than losing.” Because of this, the focus is mainly on workforce retention, growing existing jobs at companies already committed here in Ithaca in order to spur growth. Local companies, like Incodema and small, local software firms like Rosie and Envisage, have experienced rapid growth Mattick said, but leisure and hospitality–boosted by businesses like the new Marriott and several upcoming hotels–is also poised to grow. But replacing the aging workforce still demands attention. “We also need to focus on industries with older workers,” Mattick said. “Manufacturing tends to be an industry that skews older so even if there isn’t growth in terms of the number of jobs, there are a lot of openings. The same thing is happening in healthcare, especially nursing… a big thing for us is to see where people are aging to help get those employers the people they need to fill that need.” –Nick Reynolds
10
The
I thaca Time s
/
D e ce mb e r
21– 27,
2016
A Christmas display in the third-floor window of the Chanticleer. (Photo: Nick Reynolds)
Chanticleer
Contin u ed From Page 3
Those were the days where, on Fridays and Saturday nights, the upstairs spot-the “Rainbow Room,” as it was then-would be jumping with a well-dressed, enthusiastic crowd moving to the band until 1 in the morning, when Tony--one of three in the family in the local restaurant scene--would finally close the place and go home. The Leonardo clan were something of a dynasty in town, members of the family owning Rex’s Grill (where Felicia’s once was), the Royal Palms in Collegetown and Leonardo’s, on Eddy Street. It was Tony’s brother who set him up in the Chanticleer, named after a place in a New Jersey town where they bought the kitchen furnishings. And since the building broke ground in 1945, Tony never relented on making the place a success. Tony, Leonardo says, made his life at the restaurant, showing up at 8 a.m. each day and not slowing until 5 p.m., where he’d take a two hour break before coming back to close. Because of that, it was only at the restaurant where Rich, one of seven siblings, had the opportunity to really get to know the man. “Because he was always working, some of my siblings never really got to know him,” he said. “W hen I was here, he wasn’t this stranger that was only home two hours a day.” By 5 p.m. every day, the place usually made its marks for the day. After all, a salesman at Morris Menswear (once located next door, where Lot 10 now stands) told Rich once, the place had the three traits necessary for success in the
bar and restaurant business: location, location, location. Af ter graduating from Ok la homa State University in ‘69, Rich said he never expected to take over the restaurant,
Something Special for s! the Holiday 25% OFF
ALL Sportcoats
25% OFF
ALL Gloves, Scarves & Hats
25% OFF
ALL Pajamas & Robes
25% OFF
Select Outerwear
20% OFF
ALL Shoes & Boots Men & Women
20% OFF
ALL Casual Shirts & Sweaters
B P Lifestyle Clothing For Men
Suits • Sportcoats • Sportswear • Shoes On the Commons Mon-Sat 10-6 • Thurs 10-8 607-273-1371 • www.benjaminpeters.com
even af ter coming back to work in ‘73; around the time the restaurant closed; a victim of low turnover at the tables, the place more familiar ha ngout t ha n fast casua l. Four years later, when his father made him a partner (his older brother, a schoolteacher in Michigan, was init i a l ly t he ne x t i n line) he saw the sign of somet hing. In 1979, Tony died and Rich took on ownership. There have been some changes over the years. The booths disappeared and gradually, the jackets and ties disappeared as well. The Rainbow Room, ac t ive only a decade or so, w a s on l y pr e s s e d into ser v ice ever y once in awhile, the heat turned on just for specia l events. There’s no more sponsored softball team, the advent of lights on the ballf ields stretching game times later and diminishing the place as a post game hangout.
FOUND
The clientele has changed as well: once a local’s hangout daunting to the collegeaged crowd, Rich said he once waited for someone to curse before cutting them off. That method has proved a less effective approach in the recent decades. But there’s also been plent y that’s stayed the same. The decor has changed
“The Chanticleer celebrated its grand opening on December 23rd, 1946. The neon rooster sign that marks it has received landmark status from the City of Ithaca and stands on what was originally the site of the Office Hotel. little beyond a few broken windows and a smashed mirror behind the bar. The f loors, the plaster are all original. And standing in the corner late on Fridays and Saturdays, there is still a Leonardo keeping watch. he’s been the mainstay at the end of the bar every weekend--the busiest nights--where his father once stood. And each morning, he still comes in to do the paperwork. –Nick Reynolds
Award Winning Wines and Premium Spirits
antiques • vintage • unusual objects
Last Minute Gift Ideas
Celebrate and share
Fresh Finds Arrive Daily!
Gift Certificates Available
- Furniture - Lighting Jewelry - Textiles - Rugs - Pottery - Glass - Artwork - Toys - Mirrors - Ephemera Upcycled & As Found
607-272-WINE (9463) www.SixMileCreek.com 3.5 miles East of The Commons, 1551 Slaterville Road (Rt. 79)
Open Daily 10-6 except Tues
227 Cherry St. Ithaca. NY 319-5078
FREE TASTING and 10% OFF Wine Purchase with this Ad
foundinithaca.com Th e
I t h a ca Times
/
D ecemb er
2 1 – 2 7 ,
2 0 1 6
11
Higher Education
Ithaca College Professor: The Fight Against Fake News Starts In The Classroom
Professor Chris Sperry, right, discusses a chart with a staff member of Project Look Sharp (Photo: Nick Reynolds)
O
n screen is a map of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, depicting land ownership in the territory circa 1945. Entitled “Land Ownership in Palestine, 1945,” the map depicts blue lands as Israeli-controlled, green regions–small blips encompassing all regions of the map–
12
The
I thaca Time s
/
as Arab-occupied land. In front of the map are a dozen or so students and their teacher, Ithaca College professor Christopher Sperry. Sperry introduces the map only by name and, asking students to examine the map carefully, poses a question. “What does this map
D e ce mb e r
21– 27,
2016
say about the creation of Israel in 1948?” called constructivist media decoding, a he asks. After some thought, a student teaching practice of facilitating converresponds. sation to deconstruct messages they’re “It’s not justified,” she says. “It’s not given, questioning what is true and what fair.” is projected. It’s through this approach and This opinion the student put forward, method that he, and his associates at Ithaca Sperry points out, is an immediate perspec- College’s Project Look Sharp, want to begin tive based on facts introduced by the map, attacking the new age issue of fake news, a that the creation of the new country of heavily-biased side effect of the information Israel, based on the land it would eventually age many are blaming for a recent wave of take, could not possibly be justified as a fair populism and polarization worldwide. action. The project, founded in 1995 as an What he didn’t immediately mention answer to the media literacy movement of that the map–a factual, if not objective the advertising era by IC psychology prodocument–was a document that origi- fessor Dr. Cyndy Scheibe, seeks to implenated with a pro-Palestine perspective. He ment media literacy in the classroom by switches to an Israeli map, showing the examining not only how we question the movements of foreign forces prompting world around us but to question the portals their defection to Israel, this time with facts into the world we rely on for information, that, while not infactual themselves, depicts looking at how language is used or how a reality different than that in the Palestinian “People are stuck in their echo map. chambers, consuming news that works “Are bot h of t hese to reinforce their perspectives… we’re maps wrong?” he asks the class. “They both have bumping up against that in a pretty facts backing them up.” crisis way, where our echo chamber What Sperry, a 1979 reality has put our country in a position Graduate of Ithaca Colwhere people may actually be thinking lege and current teacher at Lehman Alternative Democracy is at risk.” Community School, was –Christopher Sperry practicing was a concept
facts are posed to present a slanted point of view. Through more than 20 packets of lesson plans and prompts, Project Look Sharp provides the means of teaching media literacy to students from kindergarten all the way through college simultaneously through their course material, simply by incorporating concepts of critical thinking into teachers’ lesson plans. Though the project’s aims have always primarily been about changing teaching practices, in today’s media landscape the mission of Project Look Sharp has changed course and emphasis: what we’re seeing in the media today, Sperry says, is a regression to the journalistic practices of a bygone era, where bias was expected and ingrained in the spread of information, where bias was rampant if not expected. The key difference today is that oftentimes, the opposing viewpoint tends to go unheard. Right now, corporations own most journalism outlets. But journalism itself and media was founded on the idea of implicit and obvious biases, the early days of media dominated by newspapers owned and operated not by the industrial bosses or speculators dominating the media landscape today, but by political parties. “When you got a newspaper–whether the Federalist newspaper, the Whig newspaper, the Democrat or Republican–the readership knew what perspective they were getting,” Sperry said. “In 1840 or 1850, the average male subscribed to four newspapers. That was the only way you could get all points of view.” It wasn’t until the 20th century and really, the advent of radio and television that objectivity in journalism came into the equation, a product of a time when farreaching organizations strove for competitive advantage by producing truer, more substantial content than their competitors and its bias not for a particular ideology, but to eliminate controversy in order to achieve the biggest audience. But today, Sperry argues, we’ve regressed to a scene resembling the party papers of yesteryear with one key difference: no longer do we consume four different perspectives, instead opting for the ideological safe spaces of curated, online experiences like Facebook, Twitter and even news platforms like Flipboard. “People are stuck in their echo chambers, consuming news that works to reinforce their perspectives,” Sperry said. “The
medium has now changed, as McLuhan (a famed media theorist) said… we’re bumping up against that in a pretty crisis way, where our echo chamber reality has put our country in a position where people may actually be thinking Democracy is at risk. Media literacy’s role can be to give educators the capacity, training and materials from pre-k through college to have students integrate into the very basic literacy of science, social studies, whatever, the continual process of asking the questions they need to be asking to be critical thinkers in the 20th century.” As this relates to ‘fake news,’ Sperry says pointing out content as slanted or false is simply not enough. What we do psychologically as human beings, he said, is take information the information we collect and fit it within the paradigms we already believe: we skew the facts and, unless we help people to recognize that’s what’s occurring, we just look at news as news, never questioning how or why a message was constructed in a particular way. There are some fundamental hurdles to overcoming this, he says: Just giving people information, we now know, isn’t enough. We must, he said, have students actively and rigorously debating diverse perspectives, therefore shifting education from the passive focus on filling students with information. He also says we as a society should learn to repurpose media, how we use everything from our televisions to our Twitter and Facebook feeds, and the degree to which we consume them, Sperry saying we need to marry our consumption with the strongest habits of critical analysis. Thirdly, he said, focusing on metacognition–the act of thinking about thinking–in our curriculum is important, looking not just at the information we receive but how that information was compiled. It’s a very broad, decentralized means of approaching fake news over the long haul. It’s not a quick fix, Sperry said, because Democracy is not a quick fix: it needs to be considered in a deep, thoughtful and productive way to work as it was intended. The schools, he argues, have to be a part of that to build a media literate generation for the next century. It’s not easy, he said, but the effects of these lessons can have an extremely profound effect on those who listen in.
THE FAB5
Entrepreneur • Business Leader • Volunteer • Rookie of the Year • Not-For-Profit Leader Nominations are due January` 6th. The FAB5 winners will be annouced on February 20th, 2017, at the FAB5 Awards Ceremony and Dinner at Coltivare.
–Nick Reynolds
Th e
I t h a ca Times
/
D ecemb er
2 1 – 2 7 ,
2 0 1 6
13
sports
The Year That Was
Olympics, Banners and Newly-Crowned Stars By Ste ve L aw re nc e
F
or the 24th time, I will look back over the past year and share some memories from this column. I really love doing this and revisiting so many great connections. One of my first columns of the year talked about Cornell wrestler Nashon Garrett, and detailed his path to the NCAA’s in March, where he would have a chance to win the national championship he had worked for since he was a kid. He navigated that path and ran the table in an incredible senior year. Gabe Dean also ran
roughshod over the field, and plans to do so again this year. We got our first look at Matt Morgan, the Big Red basketball player who lit up Ivy opponents for 33 and 32 points on consecutive nights to establish himself as one the league’s elite players. He’s off to another hot start, and he’s a lot of fun to watch. I wrote about two very good Ithaca High jayvee hoops teams, as the boys and girls both won titles. This year, under Brian Stone (boys) and Jeff Gorsky, Ithaca
now has two young varsity teams serving notice that big things are coming. I loved watching the Cornell gymnasts host the Ivy Classic, and win the even for the first time in 6 years. I also loved seeing so many alums there, and I also loved being inspired to eat a little better and move around a lot more. I enjoyed writing about the continued growth of the Mud, Sweat and Cheers event, held in honor of Chris Bordoni, one of our city’s most revered figures. The event gets bigger and better every year, and the love for the Bordoni family stays strong. A personal note… I was filled with pride to attend the Empire 8 Softball Tournament at Ithaca College and see my daughter, Hannah, take the field as the Alfred Saxons’ starting centerfielder. A few months earlier, I had watched in horror as she was involved in a high-speed outfield collision and suffered an MCL tear. She fought back, regained her job
Holiday GreetinGs from
ithaca com 14
The
I thaca Time s
/
D e ce mb e r
21– 27,
2016
Cornell’s Rudy Winkler, at the 2016 Summer Olympics (Photo: Cornell Athletic Communications)
and I can’t wait to get to Florida in March for her final spring trip. (By the way, the Bombers won the tournament!) The spring season was also a solid one for the Cornell Women’s Track and Field team, as they became the first Ivy League team to with the ECAC Outdoor Championships. A few weeks later, the men watched as one of their teammates – rising senior Rudy Winkler – won the U.S. Olympic Trials and threw the hammer for Team USA in Rio. I wrote a farewell tribute to Tob de Boer, one of the kindest and most fiercely relentless endurance athletes I have ever known. At his memorial service, I stood up to speak, and I said “I am about to draw a comparison I dare say has never been drawn… Given Tob and (his wife) Joan are such fine athletes, and his daughters, Claire (she swam the length of Cayuga Lake) and Yvette (won a 100-mile cross country ski race) have given me countless column items, the de Boers are to me what the Kardashians are to the paparazzi.” That drew some smiles… I really enjoyed following Mike Welch’s “farewell tour,” as the Ithaca College football coach retired at the end of the season. For those of us who have been around for a few decades, this was really the end of an era, as Welch took the torch from Jim Butterfield, the revered and legendary coach. Speaking of revered and legendary coaches, one of the highlights of my year came in May, when friend of 35 years, my Richie Moran, asked if I could meet for coffee. We did so, and the man perceived by many as the greatest lacrosse coach or all time said to me, “Steve, at a family gathering, I looked at all my grandchildren and I realized that I will turn 80 in January of 2017. I have a lot of stories that I’d like to share with them, many of my friends and former players have been encouraging me to write my autobiography for many years, and I would be honored if you would be my co-author.” Let’s just say to stay tuned on that one…
Local brass band finds its groove
T
he booming brass behemoth began its weekly work in the woodshop, cutting tunes out of compositions and adding the fleur-de-lis that feels right. Fall Creek Brass Band got its start here nearly a full decade ago in a woodshop nestled into Fall Creek’s meander through Freeville. It’s where the band reconvened last summer after the high school kids became hardened by college and life. And it’s where the band rejuvenates now, readying for its exhaustive list of gigs as it puts a crazy, non-lazy but hazy summer behind it and heads into a new album this winter and a 10th anniversary celebration this spring. The original composition, “Not What We Seem,” kicks off practice with input from everyone on the coda. As with the band itself it’s a renewed process that Matt Lowe, proclaimed by members as FCBB’s “fearless leader,” began on piano eight years ago. It was missing a melody but now pieces have fallen together from old thoughts and new, just as Fall Creek
by Cassandr a Negley
is using its basic jazz roots with new flares. The booming brass behemoth of trumpets, trombones, saxophones, sousaphones and drums plays anything from New Orleans’ style jazz to rock and roll. The tune is a possibility for the band’s new album, an undecided compilation of its own with a lot of options to work as the band finds its rhythm heading into its second decade. Fall Creek officially began in 2007 with a group of young Dryden High School musicians enthused by a showing at school from the Youngblood Brass Band. The trombone-playing leader took the reins after noticing a lack of music at Ithaca Fest and brought in thenDryden music teacher Bob McMahon, who provided the arrangements, for practices at his parents’ woodshop next to Fall Creek. “I had everyone’s phone number memorized back then so I could make those phone calls,” Lowe said with a laugh. The woodshop, their home, still serves as the base, but the group has come a long way from its start playing small shows at the
Mike Nave of the Fall Creek Brass Band (Photo: facebook)
Dryden Community Café. It might be a sign of the band’s growing maturity as people and as musicians, their immersion into Ithaca’s music scene something of a new evolution in the band’s saga. “The cool thing about Fall Creek is that now many of us have moved to Ithaca and sort of the band focus has moved to Ithaca and it sort of a migration and process of maturity,” said Lowe. “I think of it as a symbol of maturity to me, personally.” But growth came slowly, building – like a good jazz crescendo – in pieces, the group taking periodic pauses while those high school kids took their own paths. Everyone jettisoned off for college, the band becoming a side endeavor on visits home. continued on page 16
Th e
I t h a ca Times
/
D ecemb er
Arts&Entertainment
Fall Creek Yo!
2 1 – 2 7 ,
2 0 1 6
15
in the year since it has taken off unlike it ever had. Six of the originals are still contin u ed from page 15 regulars in a cast list that can change from show to show. “It never really ended, it just took “I know at least for some of us — very long pauses,” said Kevin Drew, the me, (sousaphonist) Jymmy (Hayes) and lone baritone saxophonist. Eve ad ‘Holy for Ithaca Times: Kevin — 2016 we’re like, s*** we’re good. In October 2015, the core members Xmas This is awesome,’” main drummer Chris got together for a Halloween show and
‘BrassBand’
Christmas Eve at St. Paul’s 12 noon Lessons and Carols Service 6:30 pm Brass Choir 7:00 pm Candlelight Service with Pageant 9:30 pm Candlelight Lessons and Carols Service
St. Paul’s United Methodist Church
First Unitarian Society of Ithaca
Christmas Eve Traditional Candlelight Services Saturday, December 24 TWO services at 5:15 and 8:00 pm in Sage Chapel (Cornell University)
Bring your family and friends and join us in one of these festive and glorious services filled with readings and fellowship, candlelight and song.
Armitage said. “Not that we weren’t good before, but we were high schoolers. We could barely get along with each other let alone play together. And this was just a 402 North Aurora Street office@stpaulithaca.org www.uuithaca.org or 273-7521 group of people that just gelled.” 607-273-5971 www.stpaulsithaca.org With a resurgence on the horizon, Lowe sent out calls through his musical network for more people. It’s how trombone player Mike Nave, a 2012 Ithaca So do we at College graduate and music teacher at Newark Valley, became a regular. Malik Clanton, a music teacher in Oswego, joined on tenor sax after overhearing Lowe talk about the band while Clanton Christmas Services was working at New Delhi Diamond’s. Sunday, December 18 • Advent Service FCBB has been quite nearly every10:00 AM • Family-friendly where this summer and like one of its newest songs, the group is never quite Saturday, December 24 • Christmas Eve what it seems. They’ve been at Lot 10 in 6:30 PM • Family-friendly, Candlelight Service jeans and Wizarding Weekend in robes Nursery care also available. and fake Dumbledore beards. “We’ve played at schools, bars, festiGreystone church located in Dewitt Park, Ithaca Parking accessible in the Courthouse Lot, and on vals, restaurants and then through that Cayuga, Court, and Tioga Streets we just kind of did a lot with the community and I think that’s stuck with a lot of people,” Nave said. www. Firstbaptistithaca.org • 607-272-5800 The group played 18 shows in October 2016, a dizzying month of coordination and passion. Thankfully Lowe doesn’t have to dial phone numbers anymore; the group keeps up on Google Docs to coordinate band members. “We did a lot of gigs this summer,” said Lowe. “We basically just took everything, which is partially my fault but also St. Anthony Immaculate Conception partially my mission because I just want312 Locke Rd., Groton 113 N. Geneva St., Ithaca www.holycrossdryden.org/sa.html ed to give these guys a chance to perform www.immconch.org a lot and give them the awkwardness of Christmas Eve: 4pm Mass those weird gigs.” Christmas Eve 3:30pm Children's Christmas Pageant FCBB has always been a “commu4pm Mass w/ Children's Pageant Christmas Day: 10:30am Mass nity band,” another of Lowe’s missions, 11pm Midnight Mass with 10:30pm Christmas Carols and in some ways it still is. But heading Holy Cross Christmas Day into a new year this isn’t a “been there, 375 George Rd., Freeville 8:30am Mass and 10:30am Mass heard that” feeling and there’s a core set www.holycrossdryden.org/hc.html that’s beginning to form. While the group St. Catherine of Siena started with high school basics, and still Christmas Eve: 4pm Mass 302 St. Catherine Circle, Ithaca plays such tunes as “Ain’t No Shame in www.stcathofsiena.org My Game,” there’s more than 20 original All Saints pieces the group is working into the rota347 Ridge Rd., Lansing Christmas Eve: O.K. BY: _____________________________ O.K. WITH CORRECTIONS BY:___________________________ tion www.holycrossdryden.org/as.html 4:00pm Family Mass “Now we’re trying to narrow in on: 7:30pm Mass Christmas Eve: 5pm Mass what is our sound as a band?” Lowe said. Midnight Mass D CAREFULLY • SUBMIT11:00pm CORRECTIONS ONLINE Caroling begins @ 4:30pm “What do we want to focus on?” Christmas Day 10:30am Mass There are more than 20 members listCaroling begins 1/2 hour beforeCREATED Masses AT: 12/12/2014 8:06 AM R: FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH PROOF
A compassionate community led & transformed by the Spirit
The Rev. Jane Thickstun, Organist Stephanie Ortolano, chimes concert, the Unitarian Choir, Burns and Kristy (8:00 service) and guest musicians.
Jesus Welcomed All…
First Baptist Church Dewitt Park
NY-0000731771
Catholic Masses for Christmas 2016 in Ithaca Area
ON: CHARLENE CRESWELL-ITHACA PROOF DUE: ON: NY-DAILY NEXT RUN DATE: 12/17/14 16 The I thaca Time s / D e ce mb e r 3 in
21– 27,
2016
NY-0000731771.INDD
The Fall Creek Brass Band chilling in the Ithaca neighborhood of Fall Creek (Photo provided)
ed as recent regulars and on some nights, nearly all might show up for a gig. It creates a booming sound of brass and beats with an electricity and energy that lifts the crowd. Even in practice as the small group worked out how to cover “Closer” by the Chainsmokers, led by Nave, there were coordinated group movements. Though there’s always been singing involved, that aspect is also taking on a more pronounced vision. Nearly all the members are in their mid-20s and chasing individual passions and dreams outside of FCBB. Elliott Mangini, one of the originals on trombone, has started rapping as “Thaelo” and along with Ian Bateman, the two can be found coming up with off-the-cuff lyrics. “FCBB has always been allowed to be exactly what it is; we’re not trying to fit into any mold so when we have people who have talent to bring to the table we throw it in the mix,” Mangini said. “When I can rap, and play my trombone, or even get to use my skills as a producer all on the same track, that’s just everything coming right together. That’s life, that’s FCBB, we all just wanna feel alive.” The group’s bi-weekly Thursday night “funk jams” at The Range on the Commons are commonly a place for FCBB to do that and feel the “magic of music,” as Drew said. Patrons get a funky party and the band gets to work out new tunes. “It’s a free, creative artistic environment where anybody can just come up and say, ‘Hey, so I’ve had this little line stuck in my head for 12 years. Can we play it?’” Drew said. “Sure! So we play it and we’re like, yeah, this is really good. It’s fun for everybody.” Lowe said FCBB is going to try different recording techniques for its new album. The leader has also asked members to start looking deeper into what 2017 holds for them. “We’re trying to sort of take one step up from being the people who are, like, at every community event to being more of a force in the area and start to branch out into the region.” •
foremost the seed of quantifiable necessity. State of the Art Gallery offers some muzzy and bold viewing in its “December Juried Show”. Get dizzy and inspired with some excellent artwork. Carol Spence’s two paintings, Letters and Memories are a sort of nexus where Gustav Klimt meets Brian Bolard (circa Killing Joke era), in the middle of a Degas workshop. The portraits are thick, filled with silky renaissance shade and an over-reaching comic book mind. Jasper
Lee Sims’ Sienna Man is one of the top juried works (evidenced by its brownish star), and succeeds as a genuine expression of thought. Sketched in a sort of scholarly flow, the painting floats in a breezy wind, showcasing in quick siennacolored flashes an artist in middle age — it’s perhaps a doctor, a self-portrait, or even a line cook — and the idea works: you delve into it because of its inviting nature, purposely created with the artist’s passive blotting and the piece’s nonsequential nature. Gina Pfleegor’s neorealism inspired portrait The Look is certainly vivid—its shiny and bubbly substance folds inward like an old memory: hovering, printing, and lucid. This is one of top juried works as well, and certainly one of the more talked about pieces of the exhibit. Even stronger to its right are two abstract paintings by Barbara Pease. Copper Dreams is an inner spectrum of Francis Bacon and Salvador Dali-like meditation. Crimson Shadows hangs with humanoid
its combination of malleable surface and milkshake atmosphere. On the Dry Edge of Tibet, like the former, is a topographical photographic image shaping curiosity with its reduction of realism. The focus here is on the imagination of the viewer, and even though it could be stated that all art supposes this notion, it’s only quality works that achieve the possibility of it— curiously, no brownish stars for these two works; or Pease’s. Two graphite and ink drawings by Jen Lightfoot are perhaps the boldest of the show. Birds Ate My Face is deft and taut, roaming through fantasy and science in a sort of H.G. Giger quality. The graphic work is personal and honest in its sensibility and technique, offering a direct allowance of observation. Baphometh is a figure study with cult and philosophical notions. The artist here is contemplating the nature of the universe, offering their examinations and combinations. The skull of an intense animal sits at the head of striking nude.
Johns-ish stenciled alphabets fill in the background of both pieces and together the works reach a nice whole environment: complete and unpretentious. Two botany illustrations by Milly Acharya are colloquial and decorative, intensely illustrated and morbid, not unfamiliar from the drawings in human anatomy textbooks. There’s honor, pride, and uniqueness in these two pieces, a glowing sense of reality and presence.
blobs and World Cup dreams, differing and underground. Floating in sanguine colors the two works offer introspection, questions, ideas, and abstraction. Bold and challenging, these two works are some of the best. Jay Hart’s two metal prints are economical and curious. The material of the works creates an illusion of comfort, tensing and peculiar. Near the Farthest North fashions a strange sort of hunger with
Kari Krakow’s Bent is an acrylic abstract that charters a plethora of experimentation waves in its arrangement of medium. You “think” you see, you”think” you perceive and furthermore, you “believe” in the painting. When a viewer can make this sort of connection, the painting takes the appropriate mental space in a fourth-dimensional quadrant, the receiver invigorated and pulsed… Ready to be inspired. •
art
Spinning Wheels of Creation December juried art show at State of The Art By C hr i s tophe r J. Har r ing ton December Juried Show, State of the Art Gallery, Runs through December 30
T
o get spun is to get real, in an art gallery that is. If you’re left walking out of an exhibit with even a smidgen of concussion, you’ve certainly experienced something of quality. Whether the quality of that artwork is quantifiable, or even comparable to something else, is first and foremost, not fundamental to the experience: what matters is what you
(From left) Jen Lightfoot’s “Birds Ate My Face”; Kari Krakow’s “Bent”; Barbara Pease’s “Copper Dreams” : Gina Pfleegor’s “The Look” (Photos provided)
grasp in that moment. Even though there are infinite levels in which one can observe and interpret creative substance, the direct and initial apprehension is first and
Th e
I t h a ca Times
/
D ecemb er
2 1 – 2 7 ,
2 0 1 6
17
film
A Galaxy Not Far Enough Away New Star Wars film struggles with identity By Br yan VanC ampe n Rogue One, directed by Gareth Edwards, playing at Ithaca Stadium 14.
I
must have written thousands of words expressing my displeasure at George Lucas’ Star Wars prequels (I am a casual fan of the first trilogy). But comedian Patton Oswalt only needed eight minutes to explain why those movies were dramatically inert. As Oswalt said, Lucas’s big story move, which only ever worked in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, boils down to “Hey, you get to see (fill in the blank) as a little kid!” Constant Companion tends to like everything he sees. If he tags along, he’s already in, and even he had to admit that Rogue One, the first stand-alone Star Wars adventure, is the least involving and exciting film in the entire series, serving as conclusive proof that foregone conclusions aren’t that interesting as stories. Then again, he’s been griping about the over-use of the Death Star since we saw Return of the Jedi on opening day. But more on that later.
Holiday Special
25% off37
I had a sinking feeling that this would happen, given that I liked Star Wars: The Force Awakens so much. That film may have been a fan-fiction remake of the original Star Wars, but it introduced some good new characters and reconnected me to something I liked about the franchise. Rogue One’s plot involves the ragtag band of rebels who managed to steal the plans for the original ’77 Death Star, a story that always struck me as not that suspenseful, since fans of SW know that the plans were found, so how much tension and conflict can be mined here? It’s really like watching a joke for twoplus hours, but you’ve already heard the punch line. It’s particularly a shame given that Rogue One feels like the most diverse cast in any SW film to date, with lead roles played by Diego Luna, Forest Whitaker, Donnie Yen, Jimmy Smits, Mads Mikkelsen and many others who seem game for anything. I applaud the direction in casting that the series has taken, however I found Felicity Jones’ lead character not particularly well-defined. To go from an
After years in business we are closing our doors.
on all sets of Champagne Flutes
To all our customers and friends,
thank you!
116 Ithaca Commons
Merry Christmas -Barb, Jerry & all the staff
18
The
I thaca Time s
/
D e ce mb e r
21– 27,
2016
embittered orphaned prisoner to a rebel talking about hope is quite a stretch, and I never really bought into her character the way I responded to Daisy Ridley’s Rey. There are compensations here and there. The film is very well made on a certain level, though light years past what Lucas could do in ’77. Donnie Yen has star moments as a blind Jedi, and Alan Tudyk voices a very cool new deadpan droid. The problem is the feeling that Star Wars maybe doesn’t have as big a playing field as we might think, and the farther the stories get from the core, the less effective they are, The attempts to bring back some of the characters from the ’77 SW, most notably the late Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin, are convincing but ghoulish.
Felicity Jones stars in “Rogue One” (Photo provided)
For me, a lot of the cameos were as ineffective and poorly used as the cameos in this summer’s Ghostbusters remake. As I understand it, the series will continue annually, with two more chapters in the current saga, and a young Han Solo movie in the works, which will take the films through to 2019. There are no plans after that, but the Lucasfilm crew plans big meetings in January to plot their next moves. I can only hope that the Death Star finally gets retired, the series stops taking these little baby steps away from the center, and we find out if there really are any other stories to wring out of Star Wars. •
Serving the Ithaca community for over 40 years Grado Headphones Audiophile Quality Starting at $79
Turntables Starting at $129 Professional Repair and Setup
702 Elmira Road
Sony 4K Ultra-HD TV Smart TV with Netflix 55-inch Only $999 sales@stellarstereo.com
272-2644
books
A Disney Story
Local author sees book become a film By G.M . Bur n s
F
ive-time published author Megan Shull has a talent for telling heartfelt stories for young readers. Saving Grace, The Swap, and the newly released Bounce books seem to be her most popular for children and young adults. Shull’s stories share hope as the youngsters in her yarns manage and resolve challenges in changing and vexing times. Born in Ithaca, New York, Shull is a graduate of Ithaca High School, went on to Cornell University for her undergraduate degree, and later she earned her doctorate in educational psychology at Cornell. Currently, Shull lives and writes in her hometown of Ithaca, and according to her she enjoys “the small college town
Megan Shull (Photo provided)
surrounded by waterfalls, quiet, rolling hills, and secret swimming holes.” In this interview, Shull shares what it was like to make The Swap into a movie, and what a normal day is like for her as a writer. Ithaca Times: You have been busy with the recent book release of your brand-new novel, Bounce, and this fall, your book The Swap became a Disney Original Movie. What has it been like for you to see your book become a movie? Megan Shull: It’s been awesome! Having Disney make a movie based on one of your books is, for sure, a dream-cometrue. The Swap premiered to over 7.2 million viewers the first week it aired and it’s just a wonderful feeling to share what’s in your heart with so many kids around the world. The movie has already aired in Canada, the U.K., Ireland, and it premieres this month in Australia, New Zealand and Italy. I’m still kind of like, whoa . . . It’s been pretty amazing for sure. IT: I wonder if it is true that Bounce will become a movie? MS: Ahhh . . . I like the way you are
thinking! IT: You have a strong drive to craft humorous stories. Where do you get your funny source from? MS: Hmmm, I don’t really shoot for being funny, as much as being true. And I guess it is true that sometimes when joy and pain intersect . . . well, you may laugh and you may cry. Joy and sorrow. Life is both. What’s really fun is my young readers are just literally developing (in their growing brain) the capacity to see the world outside themselves and that certainly increases the window for empathy, for humor and for sharing the funny and sometimes poignant way life can surprise you. IT: Can you talk about what typical day is like for you as a writer? MS: Right now I’m taking a little bit of break. But when I am writing I imagine it’s not too different than most people’s jobs in that it’s a showing up every day chipping away kind of deal. I can say that like many of my fellow Ithacans I do start my day off with some Gimme! coffee and I also try and get outside and walk by a waterfall . . . or two or three. I feel super lucky to live in such a beautiful place and waterfalls and the lake are usually a go-to magic potion for improving any moment. IT: Do you have a new book idea forming now? (Can you share something about it?) MS: Yes, I do. At this point all I can say is . . . stay tuned! IT: Finally Megan, what would you like to say to your readers? MS: Well, for my young readers I hope that my books do all the talking. My goal always as I write is for my readers to want to keep the book close, or tuck it under their pillow because the protagonist’s journey somehow helps them (the reader) feel seen, safe, soothed, and—as with my new novel, Bounce—more resilient and more capable of bouncing back after falling. My readers have only been on this planet for a little more than ten years, sometimes less. Even for kids who have the most solid circle of love and safety around them, the world can sometimes feel a little bit scary. As caring adults, we can’t make everything better, but we can be a calming and steady presence and what is really amazing is books can be that too. •
Vintage & New Farmhouse Decc
Thoughtful Gifts ff Everyone on Your List!
414 N. Meadow Street - 607.379.6654 Next to IIaca Bakery
Open 10-6 Mon-Sat, Sundays 11-3 ‘til Christmas c shop anytime at
marmalademercantile.com Th e
I t h a ca Times
/
D ecemb er
2 1 – 2 7 ,
2 0 1 6
19
stage
Fantasy in Ice and Snow
The Snow Queen dazzles at the Kitchen Theatre By Barbara Ad am s
I
thaca’s holiday season abounds with festive performances, and The Cherry Arts’ contribution was last weekend’s showing of The Snow Queen, adapted from the Hans Christian Andersen tale. Held at the Kitchen Theatre, this icy saga marked several firsts for The Cherry: first seasonal show, traditional theatre venue, and conventional narrative, according to artistic director Sam Buggeln. The Cherry produces innovative, site-specific work –– like Storm Country, September’s walking-tour piece –– but coming inside lost not a jot of creativity. Director Buggeln’s take on the classic fairy tale was much closer to the original than Disney’s Frozen –– and every bit as mov-
ITHATIMES-52offPW_UPDATE.pdf
1
ing. Warm and snug, both kids and adults packed the theatre to see the adventures of childhood friends Greta and Kai into the farthest, coldest reaches of the north –– Snow Queen territory. The story unfolds in seven separate sections, from the children’s idyllic friendship over the flower boxes joining their houses to Kai’s enchantment and abduction by the Snow Queen and Greta’s myriad trials as she searches for him. A talented, lively cast and an imaginative mash-up of theatrical devices move the tale forward at a dizzying pace. (Though the opening scene is a bit slow, the action speeds up and becomes quite complicated –– children in the audience had to follow closely.)
11/21/16
3:13 PM
The floor is pure white, of course, backed by three white screen panels, through which we see silhouettes of the evil queen’s snowflake guards and the figures of another royal family (lit by E. D. Intemann). Ordinary items are transformed: a small rolling table becomes a balcony or a snow sledge or a golden coach. And with Scott Hitz as puppetry director, we have miniatures of the children, small sleighs, a pair of solicitous ravens, helpful woodcocks, and a huge reindeer willing to carry Greta as far north as he can. Beyond Kai and Greta, six actors clad in white play multiple roles, also taking turns as narrator. They alter often –– with a fur cloak (Helen Clark as the Finland woman) or a stuffed petticoat and cape (Erica Steinhagen as the dotty woman with a garden). Donning a succession of colored gloves, the actors cluster to become a garden of hyacinths, buttercups, and even roses for Greta to converse with. One adventure takes her into a royal realm, where queen and courtiers wear stiff black and white cardboard costumes and headdresses (courtesy of Norm Johnson and Rachel Terwilliger), a nice duochrome Alicein-Wonderland touch. The prince in this land (Josh Sedelmeyer) later doubles as the low-voiced, amiable reindeer. And woven into the exploits is Darcy Rose, the robber girl sympathetic to Greta – but in this version the girl is quite grown up, in jaunty cap and saucy manner, and awfully reckless with her (cardboard) knife. Greta’s wise grandmother is Camilla Schade, with long grey locks; later she’s also both fearsome and sympathetic as the Lapland woman –– a delightful performance. She’s matched by the always-inventive, scene-stealing genius of Jeffrey Guyton, whose raven is so expressive you want to take him home.
52%
52FF% !!
OFF !!
O
EVERY ITEM!!
EVERY ITEM!!
STORE CLOSING!
C
M
Y
CM
MY
EVERYTHING MUST GO!
CY
CMY
K
The Shops at Ithaca Mall
No refunds. All sales final. Extra charge for ring sizing. No checks (cash or charge only). Pandora is already sold out. All items under full warranty (just closing this location). Mark downs from original price (This is an honest sale)
20
The
I thaca Time s
/
D e ce mb e r
21– 27,
2016
Erica Steinhagen stars as the Snow Queen in the play of the same name (Photo: Rachel Philipson)
And the Snow Queen herself, clad by costumer Lisa Boquist in flowing icy white and a turreted crown, towers over all at a prodigious height. Erica Steinhagen embodies her with hauteur, dazzling majesty, and a bare hint of humanity. At the heart of the story are Jordan Dunn-Pilz as Kai and Robin Mazer as Greta, who lose but ultimately find each other. Because of the ordeals they endure, the familiar theme of love conquering all takes on genuine meaning. Dunn-Pilz effectively conveys both Kai’s warm affection and later disdain. His Kai is led astray by the shards of the trolls’ shattered mirror of mockery being embedded in his heart and eye. Detached from all he loves, he becomes the Snow Queen’s boy-toy and finally sits, near frozen (his face a marvelous mask), trying to piece together the word “eternity.” As Greta, who will find and save him with her tears, Robin Mazer is simply wonderful. With a fairytale-perfect child’s face and indomitable spirit, her Greta tackles every challenge with resourcefulness and courage. Anchoring the story, Mazer draws us in every moment –– as she shivers barefoot in the cold, doubts her guides, nuzzles the reindeer. This transporting tale wouldn’t be complete without music (by Paul Leschen, lyrics by Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon). And at play’s end, the sweetness of the whole cast singing “we have each other” will surely linger through the holidays. • Cherry Arts’ next production, Winter Animals/Nothing to Do with Love, will be staged in February. Barbara Adams, a regional arts journalist, teaches writing at Ithaca College.
ITDEC2016 2.4x11_2.4x5.5IT 11/16/16 5:20 PM Page
music
The Stars and the City
Driftwood sets in for two night run at The Haunt By C hr i s tophe r J. Har r ing ton Dritwood, Two nights at The Haunt with Tenzin Chopak, Thursday, December 29, and Blind Owl Band, Friday, December 30, 7:00 p.m.
T
here’s a soft and hidden angle that makes Binghamton’s Americana folk-rockers Driftwood an enduring and distinct band. Whether you’re from the city or from the sticks, there’s something that the band bridges in terms of layers and communication that attaches to you: reminding you of something sacred, real, and particular. This is music that is built around the space in between: the dreams, hopes, loss, and circular visions of its creators. It’s old-time and new time simultaneously, thriving in the forgotten sections of your senses. “Space is a big thing for us,” noted guitarist and vocalist Dan Forsyth. “It’s really important for a number of reasons. In a lot of ways we’ve chosen space as an intricate dimension to our sound. We could fill the band in with a drummer, and we’ve actually talked about it, but having more space has worked out thus far. Acoustic music in general has a special relationship with its atmosphere, and our new album is particularly spatial compared to some of our earlier stuff.”
The band’s newest record, City Lights, is a skip through lush and fully formed folk music. With a heart attached equally to bluegrass, country and old-time and a mind centered on righteous song craft, it’s not hard to be swept up and pulled in quickly by its totality. With three songwriters in the quartet, every number feels equally anthemic and dense, the record drifting in patterns of heavy feelings; a poetic and enchanting embrace of a certain environment and intuition. “The vision has certainly changed over the years,” said Forsyth. “Claire [Byrne] wasn’t writing on any of the albums until this new one, so now with three songwriters in the band there’s so much more variance. Claire’s got three songs of the new record, I’ve got three, and Joe [Kollar]’s got four. Writing and recording City Lights was a lot easier in some ways than previous records, because everyone has really matured as writers, and we’re all at a point where we know how to do things more specifically. We all keep an open mind now, and it’s changed out approach absolutely.” The melting pot where Driftwood converges is a place of vast stretches. The band’s shifting dynamics reflect their hometown of Binghamton and illustrates the unique influences that separate and lift the band
Driftwood from left are: Joe Kollar, Dan Forsyth, Claire Byrne, and Joey Arcuri (Photo provided)
HAPPYHOLIDAZE!
from the typical. This is a crew that is heartfelt and passionate about their art, surging when positioned, and exploring the inner quality of traditional music. “For us, it’s been about being able to play the music that inspires us,” Forsyth said. “Folk music is where we came from, and we’ve grown up learning how to play it. People have an interest in music and they pursue it. Just learning to play the music and staring a band was what we wanted and worked towards. Getting to this point has been a real challenge; there have been so many ups and downs and so many years on the road. We’re still learning how to balance the whole thing out, you know.” If City Lights feels particularly epic, it’s because the band truly stretched itself for this one, working out ideas and visions on the spot, while maintaining their typical resonance. The album is progressive in nature, and succeeds because the band leaves room for interpretation, both musically and conceptually. There’s hardly a lost moment, a total and continual perception. “We put a lot more into this album because everyone felt it needed it,” said Forsyth. “For the first time really, we created a lot of the album’s material right in the studio. A song like ‘The Waves,’ which Claire wrote, was totally different than anything we’ve done before. It has this country feel to it, and it was really difficult to figure out how to make it work. It was just so cool that it all happened in the studio. We haven’t even played some of the songs out live yet, but we’re working on a few for The Haunt show. We’re excited.” • Th e
I t h a ca Times
/
4367 E. Covert Road • Interlaken, NY 14847 Winery: 607.387.6801 • Café: 607.387.6804 Winery & Taproom Open 7 days a week Crystal Lake Café open Thursday-Sunday
D ecemb er
2 1 – 2 7 ,
2 0 1 6
21
dining
A Local Endeavor The Piggery is a family passion By Eliz abe th William s
I
t’s a week before Christmas, and it seems as though Heather Sanford is everywhere at once inside the Piggery Butcher Case in downtown Ithaca. She’s clearly in her element, greeting long-time customers by name and asking about who is coming to dinner this year. “We are so glad to be a part of your family and your celebration,” she says, embracing a woman who’d come in for supplies. Pat, she said, has driven almost two hours to pick up what she refers to as “the essentials.” These included: rillettes, pate, two hams, a smoked ham hock, and of course, bacon for breakfast. As Heather moves behind the counter to ring her out, Pat remembers out loud that she almost forgot the lard. It’s her secret to fabulous pie, she shares, and she is certain that everyone would have noticed the difference. Pat and Heather continue to chat about recipe favorites and how locally grown and sustainable food makes all the difference in flavor. Two men in heavy tan overalls stand before the meat counter, salivating over the sandwich menu. The Piggery has a strong
counter business, individuals who know they can’t get a better Cuban or a pulled pork sandwich for lunch anywhere else. Heather is the order taker and the chef today, so she scurries from the register to the back, wrapping herself in a white chef ’s jacket, gloves and a hair net. The Piggery is USDA Certified and they have a compliance officer on site at all times. The company is very committed to natural and sustainable food you can feel good about. It’s hard to track Heather as she moves from task to task. The shop is understaffed today, she says, an eyebrow furled in a feigned disappointment. But to anyone who knows her, this isn’t the least bit convincing: Heather’s still smiling and enjoying every minute of being everything to everyone. “We can handle it,” Heather said. “This is nothing like the early years!” Many long-term residents of Ithaca and the surrounding areas will remember the “early years” of The Piggery. From the meat CSA that was the talk of culinary NYC to the #1 Yelp Rated restaurant that used to occupy the production space next to the meat counter, the early years were a dream come true, a dream that neither Heather
nor her partner, Brad Marshall knew they had. Back in Trumansburg, Marshall is muttering to himself, calf-deep in a mixture of snow and mud, repairing a section of fence. “We have some really bad pigs,” he said. “They don’t like to stay where they are supposed to be.” It’s hard not to find his admonishment of these defiant “free range pigs” comical and a little bit ironic; The reality is that Brad’s pigs have it made if they stay within his fenced pastures. They are well-fed, have access to acres of land and live next door to their primary caretakers. Two years ago, Brad came up with an innovative and costeffective way to shield them from the harsh upstate winter. There have been hits and misses over the years, but business overall is booming. Around the holidays, the Piggery Butcher case sells over 1,200 lbs. of Christmas ham and 450 turkeys. Unfortunately, all the sales they make don’t necessarily translate into a profitable living. The meat processing industry has some of the lowest profit margins of any field. It takes investment – time, money and skill – to raise pastured and healthy pigs. There is a lot of waste in the modern meat processing business, but Brad Marshall feels like it is his job to change that. Since the beginning, Brad has used his training at the French Culinary Institute to make use of the whole pig. On a whim, in 2003, Brad purchased his first pig off Craigslist in Berkley, CA where he was working on a genome project and Heather
Brad Marshall and Heaher Sanford (Photo provided)
was selling houses. They sent the pig to a butcher and had it cut into primals–whole legs, loins, belly and shoulders that needed to be further processed for cooking. Brad took to the task at hand with vigor. He dry cured much of it, using an age old preservation technique, knowing that the two of them alone wouldn’t be able to consume that much meat over the course of a season. The liver became pate. The skin, chicharones. The head he turned into head cheese, a delicacy that is still sold at the Piggery today. He made sausage, roasts and of course, pork chops. Brad and Heather are relentless in their search for new markets and new avenues for sharing this message. Brad’s next venture, a food blog and cookbook, titled A Farmer and a Chef, aims to help people access all cuts of meat in his own minimalist way. The first three posts are up: slow cooking, fast cooking and why vegetable oil is going to kill you. Visit www.afarmerandchef.com to find out more. •
Get More Traffic To Your Website With Ithaca.com Online Marketing
We put you in front of thousands of readers. . . ithaca com 22
The
I thaca Time s
/
D e ce mb e r
Fast!
Let Us Promote Your Business
Call to Get Started! 21– 27,
2016
607-277-7000
Assassin’s Creed | When Callum Lynch explores the memories of his ancestor Aguilar and gains the skills of a Master Assassin, he discovers he is a descendant of the secret Assassins society. | 115 mins PG-13 | Arrival | A linguist is recruited by the military to assist in translating alien communications. | 118 mins PG-13 | Dangal | Biographical sports drama on former wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat and his two wrestler daughters’ struggle towards glory at the Commonwealth Games in the face of societal oppression. | 169 mins NR |
is forced to take care of his teenage nephew after the boy’s father dies. | 137 mins R | Loving | Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple, are sentenced to prison in Virginia in 1958 for getting married. | 123 mins PG-13 |
Music bars/clubs/cafés
12/21 Wednesday
Marty Flynn Good Time Band | 6:00 PM-9:00 PM | Flynn’s Roadhouse, East Shore Drive, Lansing | Featuring Marty Flynn,Bob Young,Neal Massa and Dave Salce. Djug Django | 6:00 PM-9:00 PM | 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 | Ahimsa Yoga Studio, 215 N Cayuga St., Ithaca | An easy, fun, uplifting spiritual practice open to all faiths. No prior experience necessary. More at www. DamodarDas.com. Folk ‘n Kava | 7:30 PM-10:30 PM | Sacred Root Kava Lounge & Tea Bar, 139 W State St, Ithaca | Nate Marshall and Friends play Traditional and Original Folk, Jazz, and Gospel Music, featuring Angie Beeler, Travis Knapp, Leon Arguello, and Special Guest Stars. Wednesday Live Music | 8:00 PM | Rulloff’s, 411 College Ave, Ithaca | Featuring local bands, soloists, and other musical groups. Chris Eves Band | 9:00 PM | Funk ‘n Waffles, 727 S Crouse Ave Ste 8, Syracuse | Rock. Reggae Night with The Crucial Reggae Allstars | 9:00 PM | The Dock, 415 Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca | Reggae, Dub, Roots Rock.
12/22 Thursday
Ithaca Musicians Office Party | 6:00 PM | The Dock, 415 Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca | Featuring Grand Turk, Park Doing, Eric Harvey, Johnny
Dowd, Beverly Stokes, Justin Roeland, Bronwen Exter, Gabe Taveras, Mary Lorson, Bob Proehl, and Jennie Lowe Strears. Proceeds will benefit local musicians. The Rapid River Boys | 6:00 PM-8:00 PM | The Range, Ithaca Commons, 119 E State St, Ithaca | Americana, Bluegrass. CTB Jazz Thursdays with Who Let the Cats Out | 6:00 PM-7:30 PM | Collegetown Bagels, East Hill Plaza, Ithaca | Jazz. RST Blues Collective | 7:00 PM-9:00 PM | Ransom Steele Tavern, 552 Main St., Apalachin | Blues. Steve Southworth and the Rockabilly Rays | 7:00 PM-10:00 PM | 607 Bottom Up Sports Bar and Lounge, 119 North St, Dryden | Rockabilly, ‘50s, ‘60s, Rock, Blues. Swing Dance Night with The Blue Flames | 7:00 PM-9:00 PM | The Range, Ithaca Commons, 119 E State St, Ithaca | Swing, Blues, Dance. Brandon Schmitt | 8:00 PM | Casita Del Polaris, 1201 N Tioga St Unit 2, Ithaca | Blues, Folk. Precious and the Disciples | 8:30 PM-11:00 PM | Pete’s Cayuga Bar, 116 S Cayuga St., Ithaca | R&B, Rock, Funk, Blues. Count Blastula | 10:00 PM | Funk ‘n Waffles, 727 S Crouse Ave Ste 8, Syracuse | Roots, Progressive.
12/23 Friday
Encore | 6:00 PM-8:00 PM | Americana Vineyards, 4367 E Covert Rd, Interlaken | Rock, Progressive Rock, Classic Rock. Ted Walsh & Friends | 6:00 PM | Hopshire Farm and Brewery, 1771 Dryden Road, Freeville | Original and Obscure Americana. Richie Stearns and Friends Holiday Party | 6:00 PM-8:00 PM | HiVE 45,
45 East Main Street, Trumansburg | Old-Time, Folk. Hysteresis Band | 7:00 PM-10:00 PM | Heavily Brewing Co., 2471 Hayes Rd, Montour Falls | Rock, Country, Blues. The Sweats | 8:00 PM-11:00 PM | Two Goats Brewing, 5027 State Rte 414, Burdett | Blues, Rock, Country. Gunpoets, Sim Redmond Band | 8:00 PM | The Dock, 415 Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca | Hip Hop, Funk, Alternative, Country. Randy McStine Duo | 9:00 PM-11:00 PM | Ransom Steele Tavern, 552 Main St., Apalachin | Rock, Folk, Progressieve Rock. Ugly Sweater Party with Kitestring | 9:00 PM | Silver Line Tap Room, 19 W Main St, Trumansburg | Rock, Pop, Ugly Sweaters. Hippie Ball III with Pearly Baker’s Best and Solar Garlic | 9:00 PM | Funk ‘n Waffles, 727 S Crouse Ave Ste 8, Syracuse | Grateful Dead Tribute, Rock, Funk, Blues, Progressive Rock, Jam.
12/26 Monday
Galactic Escort Service | 8:00 PM | Casita Del Polaris, 1201 N Tioga St Unit 2, Ithaca | Improvised Electronic Music.
12/27 Tuesday
Greg Schatz | 6:00 PM-10:00 PM | Maxie’s Supper Club & Oyster Bar, 635 W State St, Ithaca | Roots, Jazz, R&B. Tuesday Bluesday with Dan Paolangeli & Friends | 6:00 PM- | The Dock, 415 Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca | Blues, Rock, Every Tuesday. Java Joe Jammers | 7:00 PM | An all acoustic unplugged performance featuring acoustic guitars, banjo, fiddles and the like. Professor Tuesday’s Jazz Quartet | 8:00 PM-10:00 PM | Madeline’s Restaurant, 215 E State St, Ithaca | Jazz.
12/23 GUNPOETS + SIM REDMOND BAND 1/19 DAVINA & THE VAGABONDS 3/11 MATT ANDERSEN 4/15 CHRIS SMITHER THE DOCK MANY MORE SHOWS NOT LISTED HERE! STAY UP-TO-DATE AT DSPSHOWS.COM
12/22 THE HOWLIN BROTHERS 12/29 DRIFTWOOD (SHOW #1) W/TENZIN CHOPAK 12/30 DRIFTWOOD (SHOW #2) W/BLIND OWL BAND 1/21 JOHN BROWN’S BODY W/ THE ANALOGUE SONS THE HAUNT
1/19 1/21 1/27 1/28 1/29 2/3 2/18 3/4 3/15
Irish Music Session | 8:00 PM-11:00 PM | Rulloff’s, 411 College Ave, Ithaca | Hosted by members of Traonach. I-Town Jazz Jam | 9:00 PM-11:55 PM | The Dock, 415 Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca | Ithaca’s finest musicians, playing jazz.
Moonlight | A timeless story of human connection and self-discovery, Moonlight chronicles the life of a young black man from childhood to adulthood as he struggles to find his place in the world while growing up in a rough neighborhood of Miami. | 111 mins R |
concerts
12/23 Friday
Fall of Humanity, Murder in Rue Morgue, Sampere, Dear Mr. Dead, Hell on the Rise, Resilience | 7:00 PM | Lost Horizon | 5863 Thompson Rd, Syracuse Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, Nu Metal.
Film cinemapolis
Friday, 12/23 to Thursday, 12/29. Contact Cinemapolis for Showtimes Lion | A five-year-old Indian boy gets lost on the streets of Calcutta, thousands of kilometers from home. He survives many challenges before being adopted by a couple in Australia; 25 years later, he sets out to find his lost family | 118 mins PG-13 | The Eagle Huntress | The Eagle Huntress follows Aisholpan, a 13-year-old girl, as she trains to become the first female in twelve generations of her Kazakh family to become an eagle hunter. | 87 mins G | Jackie | Following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy fights through grief and trauma to regain her faith, console her children, and define her husband’s historic legacy. | 100 mins R | Manchester by the Sea | An uncle
Based on the popular video game franchise, “Assassin’s Creed” is an action adventure film with a All Star cast incuding, Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons and more. The films plays out in the same universe as the video game but showcases an original and dynamic story written by Michael Lessle and Adam Cooper. The film plays all week long at Regal Ithaca. (Photo provided) Regal Cinemas
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them | The adventures of writer Newt Scamander in New York’s secret community of witches and wizards seventy years before Harry Potter reads his book in school. | 133 mins PG-13 | Nocturnal Animals | An art gallery owner is haunted by her ex-husband’s novel, a violent thriller she interprets as a veiled threat and a symbolic revenge tale. | 116 mins R | Rogue One: A Star Wars Story | The Rebellion makes a risky move to steal the plans for the Death Star, setting up
Wednesday, 12/21 to Tuesday, 12/27. Contact Regal Ithaca for Showtimes Sing | A koala named Buster Moon has one final chance to restore his theater to its former glory by producing the world’s greatest singing competition. | 108 mins PG | Office Christmas Party | When his uptight CEO sister threatens to shut down his branch, the branch manager throws an epic Christmas party in order to land a big client and save the day, but the party gets way out of hand. | 105 mons R |
JUST ANNOUNCED!
BRANFORD MARSALIS W/ KURT ELLING
HASAN MINHAJ ONE MAN STAR WARS GET THE LED OUT
DSP SHOWS PRESENTS
LYLE LOVETT & JOHN HIATT
WATER ON MARS-JUGGLING STEVE HACKETT - GENESIS REVISITED MON, MARCH 20TH -- 7:30PM HEAD AND THE HEART AN EVENING WITH DAWES ON SALE NOW! T
h e
I
t h a c a
T
i m e s
/
D
e c e m b e r
2 1 – 2 7 ,
2 0 1 6
23
the epic saga to follow. The first stand alone Star Wars film promises to be a whirlwind. | 133 mins PG-13 | Passengers | A spacecraft traveling to a distant colony planet and transporting thousands of people has a malfunction in its sleep chambers. As a result, two passengers are awakened 90 years early. | 116 mins PG-13 | Moana | In Ancient Polynesia, when a terrible curse incurred by Maui reaches an impetuous Chieftain’s daughter’s island, she answers the Ocean’s call to seek out the demigod to set things right. | 107 mins PG | Doctor Strange | A former neurosurgeon embarks on a journey of healing only to be drawn into the world of the mystic arts. | 115 mins PG-13 |
Stage Mary Poppins | Syracuse Stage/ Drama Complex, 820 E Genesee St, Syracuse | Runs through January 8. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! The sound of it may be atrocious but it is synonymous with this beloved family musical. The Banks children, Jane and Michael, have been positively beastly to a series of nannies. Enter (from above) Mary Poppins with her magic tricks and common sense know-how to charm children and grown-ups alike and remind them and us how important they are to each other. Showtimes and dates at syracusestage.org
Notices Ithaca Sociables Dinner | 6:00 PM, 12/21 Wednesday | Mahogany Grill, 114 N Aurora St, Ithaca | RSVP nlem1155@ gmail.com Men’s Group | 6:00 PM-8:00 PM, 12/21 Wednesday | Cortland LGBTQ Center, 73 Main Street, Cortland | Come celebrate the holidays with Men’s Group. The Family Stone will be showing.
Meetings
Plants of the Winter Solstice | 2:00 PM-5:00 PM, 12/21 Wednesday | Cornell Plantations, 1 Plantations Rd, Ithaca | The program will include an indoor presentation, followed by a lantern tour of the Mullestein Family Winter Garden to look at some of winter’s wonders and learn how plants cope with the cold. We’ll then head back inside to warm up with some hot apple cider (Wassail) and doughnuts. Please dress warmly and bring an electric lantern or flashlight. Pre-registration is required. Instructor: Kevin Moss, Adult Education Coordinator, and Dr. Peter Davies, Cornell Emeritus Professor. The Finger Lakes Native Plant Society: Winter Solstice Celebration featuring Members’ Seed Sharing of locally native or naturalized plants | 7:00 PM-9:30 PM, 12/21 Wednesday | Unitarian Church Annex, 208 E Buffalo St, Ithaca | Dish-to-Pass inspired by native & historic plants, plant ID contest collaborative, with door prizes and music.
Kids STEAM Book Club | 3:45 PM, 12/21 Wednesday | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E Green St, Ithaca | Discussion of Smile by Raina Telgemeier. The STEAM Book Club encourages area students to improve their understanding of current core competencies through critical thinking and book-related activities. For more information, contact Kate DeVoe at (607) 272-4557 extension 277 or kdevoe@tcpl.org.
Special Events Press Bay Alley Holiday Food & Gift Market | 4:30 PM-7:30 PM, 12/22 Thursday | Press Bay Alley, 116-118 W Green St, Ithaca | More than 20 local food and farm business come together to help you stock up with amazing local food and gifts for the holiday! Vendors will be bringing meat, poultry, produce, baked goods, cheese, cider, wine, honey, jam, gifts and more! info: groundswellcenter.org/event/2016holiday-farmers-market-at-press-bayalley-holiday-food-market/ Ithaca Musicians Office Party | 6:00 PM, 12/22 Thursday | The Dock, 415
ThisWeek
Monthly Board Meeting: Human Rights Commission | 6:30 PM-8:00 PM, 12/21 Wednesday | BorgWarner Room, 101 E Green St, Ithaca | City Board of Public Works | 4:45 PM, 12/26 Monday | Common Council Chambers - Ithaca City Hall, 108 E Green St, Ithaca |
Learning
24
T
h e
Before you set foot in that first open house, get prequalified for a mortgage and know exactly what you can afford. We offer plenty of loan options and special programs for first-time homebuyers. And decisions take minutes, not days. Happy shopping.*
Apply online or talk to one of our Mortgage Officers today. House shopping?
Home is where the prequalified mortgage is. TompkinsTrust.com * Loans subject to credit approval and to income and other qualifying guidelines.
Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca | Featuring Grand Turk, Park Doing, Eric Harvey, Johnny Dowd, Beverly Stokes, Justin Roeland, Bronwen Exter, Gabe Taveras, Mary Lorson, Bob Proehl, and Jennie Lowe Strears. Proceeds will benefit local musicians. Candlelight Christmas Tours | 6:00 PM-8:00 PM, 12/22 Thursday, 12/23 Friday | Seward House Museum, 33 South St., Auburn | Experience a full Victorian Christmas with all the trimmings and trappings. Costumed guides lead candlelit tours of the home, which is decorated in holiday splendor. As visitors learn about Christmas traditions of the Sewards, actors portraying various members of the family emerge to share heart-warming holiday memories gleaned from their letters and diaries. The evening ends with timeless carols sung around the family’s 1872 Steinway piano. Reservations Required Fuertes Observatory Holiday Family Astronomy Nights | 5:30 PM-9:30 PM, 12/23 Friday | Fuertes Observatory, 219 Cradit Farm Dr., Cornell University, Ithaca | See planets, galaxies, and star clusters! If cloudy, the observatory will be open until 7:30pm for tours of the historic 94-year-old telescope, museum, and photo ops. Parking across the street in the Appel Commons lot. (607) 255-3557 for a recorded message; for more info visit: cornellastrosociety.org
Christmas at the United Ministry of Aurora | 7:30 PM, 12/23 Friday | United Ministry of Aurora, 337 Main St, Aurora | The children of Southern Cayuga County will reenact the birth of Jesus with pomp, reverence and much singing. This pageant has been performed in this church for more than 70 years and though the participants change the theme remains, celebration. Dickens Christmas in Skaneateles | 9:00 AM, 12/24 Saturday | Village of Skaneateles | Come and enjoy a feeling of yester-year at Skaneateles’ annual Dickens Christmas. Costumed characters stroll the streets of Skaneateles while you enjoy shopping at their wonderful boutique shops. Trivia with Geeks Who Drink | 7:30 PM-9:30 PM, 12/27 Tuesday | The Haunt, 702 Willow Ave, Ithaca | Trivia and drink specials.
Ongoing Yoga Mind and Body Meditation Series | 5:00 PM-6:00 PM, 12/21 Wednesday | WSH Art Gallery, 136 Ho Plaza, Ithaca | In this class we will explore yoga through movement, breath work, and meditation. We will awaken and invigorate the body & mind through breathing techniques and a sequence of gentle active postures and soothing stretches. Then we will move towards more passive
Press bay Alley Holiday Market, Press Bay Alley, Downtown Ithaca, Thursday, Dec. 22, 4:30 p.m.
Press Bay Alley’s the place to be for all your local and gifts and food this holiday season. This Thursday, Ithaca’s most urban of alleys will feature a plethora of local vendors with gifts, baked goods, jams, meats, cheese, wine, and so much more. Some of the participating vendors include Bottomland Farm, Crooked Carrot, Crosswinds Creamery, Good Life Farm, Heritage Haus Farm, Iron Owl Kitchen, Littletree Orchard, Stone House Horse Farm, Twin Cedar Farm, and many more.
I
t h a c a
T
i m e s
/
D
e c e m b e r
2 1– 27,
2016
postures and meditation to relax and rejuvenate the body and mind. This class is open to all levels and all bodies. Open Hearts Dinner | 5:00 PM-6:30 PM, 12/21 Wednesday | McKendree UMC, 224 Owego St., Candor | Come and join in the fun. Whether you are looking for fellowship or a free meal this one’s for you. Contact: Denice Peckins - denicepeckins@hotmail.com Wednesday Night Ithaca Women’s Basketball Association: Open to girls & women ages 16 & up | 7:00 PM-9:00 PM, 12/21 Wednesday | Lehman Alternative Community School, 111 Chestnut St, Ithaca | The league is non-competitive and fun and involves pick-up style playing. Check out the league’s website for more information: https://ithacawomensbasketball. wordpress.com/ Pickleball at the Ithaca YMCA | 9:30 AM-2:00 PM, 12/22 Thursday | Ymca, Graham Rd W, Ithaca | Tuesdays & Thursdays from 9:30 am – 2:00 pm Reagan’s Tae Kwon Do | 5:30 PM-6:30 PM, 12/22 Thursday | Candor High School, Candor | Train to make yourself faster, stronger, more confident, and disciplined. Learn forms, one steps, sparring, and breaking. Contact: reaganstaekwondo.com (607)659-5266 reagansTKD@gmail. com Take off Pounds Sensibly | 6:00 PM, 12/22 Thursday | Candor Town Hall, 101
Owego Road, Candor | Contact Jean Dewey Leader 659-9969 or jmdewey@ frontiernet.net Beginner Bird Walks | Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd, Ithaca | Guided bird walks every Saturday and Sunday morning, sponsored by the Cayuga Bird Club. Targeted toward beginners, but appropriate for all. Binoculars available for loan. Meet at the Cornell Lab of Ornitholgy on Sapsucker Woods Rd. by the front of the building. For the meeting time and more information, go to the club’s website, www.cayugabirdclub.org/calendar Tarot Salon Ithaca | 7:30 PM, 12/26 Monday | Sacred Root Kava Lounge & Tea Bar, 139 W State St, Ithaca | Tarot Salon Ithaca is a co-manifested space for all who are drawn to, enchanted by, and create with Tarot. Come share your insights, engage in discussion, exchange readings, and explore Tarot in a supportive community setting. Every last Monday of the month, beginning March 28, 2016. The Cayuga Trails Club Tuesday Hikes | The Cayuga Trails Club will lead 4-5 mile hikes every Tuesday evening.
Online Calendar See it at ithaca.com.
Rapid River Boys,
The Range, Thursday, Dec. 22, 6:00 p.m. The Rapid River Boys are touring the Northeast sharing their new album, “Animating Principle.” Vulnerable and strong, the melodic combination of guitar, banjo and mandolin spawns a positive vibration that will uplift listeners. Founded in 2014, The Rapid River Boys’ roots stretch deep into the winding valleys of New York’s Southern Tier- drawing inspiration from their experiences and and inspiring others to continue a process of growth through storytelling.
Hike locations vary every week. For current information, call 607-339-5131 or visit www.cayugatrailsclub.org Reagan’s Tae Kwon Do | 5:30 PM-6:30 PM, 12/27 Tuesday | Candor High School, Candor | Train to make yourself faster, stronger, more confident, and disciplined. Learn forms, one steps, sparring, and breaking. Try a week or free. Contact: reaganstaekwondo.com / (607)659-5266 / reagansTKD@gmail.com The Ultimate Purpose Rap Session: A Free Speech - Open Forum Discussion | 7:00 PM-9:00 PM, 12/27 Tuesday | Room #3, 2nd Floor, Above The Mate Factor Cafe, 143 Center of the Commons, Ithaca | We have tea, cookies, and a lively open discussion on the deep issues concerning humanity and our future. Please join us!
Art Try-It Workshop with Jill Ackerman | 6:30 PM-8:30 PM, 12/16 Friday | Clay School of Ithaca, South Hill Business Campus, 950 Danby Rd, Suite 28, Ithaca | Date night, girls’ night or just not ready to commit to a series of classes. This two hour session will give you a taste of working on the potter’s wheel with no strings attached. This workshop is designed for those interested in a one night experience. ongoing Benjamin Peters | 120 on The Commons, Ithaca | Gary Bercow: New works by local artist and educator, Gary Bercow will include mixed media gouache paintings, oils on canvas and functional carved/textured ceramic pieces. Live acoustic music performed by Hannah Law and Abel McSurely Bradshaw. Buffalo Street Books | 215 N Cayuga St, Ithaca | Alice Grant: Very Long Books | An exhibit especially for collectors of one-of-a-kind books. Alice Gant’s painted, stitched narrations about “things we love,” calls for careful scrutiny and leisurely enjoyment. The very long books are expandable. CAP Art Space | 171 The Commons, Ithaca | Barbara Mink: Winter Journey: Barbara Mink’s Winter Journey explores the beauty of Ithaca in winter’s black, white, and shades in between. Works range from by 4×5 foot canvases to smaller framed works on paper, all in ink or acrylic. Cellar d’Or | 136 The Commons, Ithaca
HeadsUp Leaving Town
by Christopher J. Harrington
I
thaca starts feeling like some desolate western nightmare around Christmas time. This is not to say it’s a bad thing, on the contrary, it is just part of the process of the city’s dynamic. Ithaca’s a place you want to leave because it feels intact. It’s solid in many ways. There’s a nice angle here to stretch, bend, and plunge yourself into the great beyond. Where are you going? How far will it take you? There are certainly ascensions here that you can dictate and make tenfold: happening and memorable. Stop by the Chanticleer Loft on your way to the bus stop, grab a shot and an Ithaca IPA, throw some Wu-Tang on the jukebox, chill for a bit, contemplate your journey. Make sure you have your headphones, your drawing pad, some Nietzsche, a little Kerouac, an extra pairs of socks, and your Phish ticket for Friday night 12/31 at MSG: that’s going to be epic. It’s been 18 years since the last Phish run you saw at the Garden. The darkness and progression awaits you. Walk down State Street with the sinking sun shaping its orange vision across your inner plain. Feel the warmth of existence. Do we really exist? Or grab a Modelo at the bar at Viva and soak in the crowded dimension. You’re in flux here in Ithaca, and this is
| Group Show: Featuring: Gabe Carraher, Chris Charles, Michael Goscinsky, Ivy Stevens-Gupta, Kathy Morris, Andrew Paine, Rachel Philipson, Michael Sampson, and Sheryl Sinkow. CSMA | 330 E State St, Ithaca | Annual Open Show | Curated by acclaimed painter Joyce Stillman-Myers, CSMA’s Open Show presents work in a variety media by more than 50 local artists. Representing traditional to contemporary styles, this much-anticipated show celebrates the vibrant and diverse visual arts interests of our community. Decorum Too | Dewitt Mall 215 Cayuga St., Ithaca | France, for Arts Sake: This exciting exhibit displays the work of five participants in Terry Plater’s annual artists and art-lovers’ retreat and workshop to France. See oils, prints, photos, and mixed media work done by Judy Barringer, Edie Guo, Lina Lee, Alan Nemcek, Terry Plater. Elevator Music and Art Gallery
great pit stop along the way. Someone’s talking Werner Herzog films and you can’t help but join in the conversation. Yes, Cobra Verde was stark, genuine, and truly wild, but Stroszek is perhaps his most convincing. The meditation on America, its meaning, and the forms and lives it continually misrepresents is deep. This is your holiday jam. One more stop by Angry Mom before you head out: you got your Sony Walkman and a pretty hefty backpack, so you’re thinking CDs. Look at that, Pat Metheny’s debut, Bright Size Life. A work of art sculpted with tension and ascension—the magical Jaco Pastorius on bass, carving deep and meaningful tones over Metheny’s painterly wisps and accentuated notions. Do you see it? It’s experimental drone metal legends Khanate’s third record Capture and Release. You know, the one with the cover of that amazingly crushed piano on its side. It’s all grey and black and perfect. And jeez, wouldn’t you know it, Mobb Deep’s second album, The Infamous. Is there a better record to get real to on the road? I think not. You’re almost there. You see a bale of hay blow by the window from inside Autumn Leaves Books. And just to be on the safe side, you pick yourself up a little heady sci-fi novel for the journey. You’ve found Issac Asimov’s Foundation. An amazing and epic work of art that is so strangely fluent and enduring that it makes you static, thoughtful and dreaming. Purchased it, now to move. The people you’ll see, the moons that’ll wane, it’s all on the tip of your vibe. You dance in movements of anxious glee. The universe is in you, you can feel
| at New Roots Charter School, 116 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca | Art Through The Ages: New Roots students 9 to 12 grades with display artwork from their Studio Art, Painting, Urban Arts, Drawing and Sculpture classes. The Ink Shop | 330 E State St Ste 2, Ithaca | 19th Annual Mini-Print International | This show invites artists from around the world to submit prints no larger than 4”x 4”. A juried selection of the submitted prints for the 19th Mini Print International will be exhibited at The Ink Shop in 2016. Recent Mini Print shows have attracted artists from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand as well as many artists from the United States. The Jewel Box | The Jewel Box, 301 Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca | Kari Ganoung Ruiz lives in and paints the beautiful and diverse Finger Lakes
it: Spinoza was right—as an eternal attribute you can see all, the endless plain, the rotating orb….all the way to the nexus of impossibility. You’ll be back in a week or so. So enjoy, and try and get some work done if you can find time to peel yourself away from watching Star Trek: Voyager non-stop from Christmas to New Year’s. •
Region of New York State. She finds that painting outdoors directly from life allows her to represent the essence of a scene. Lot 10 |106 S Cayuga St, Ithaca | Chet Holcomb: New Works. Chet is a full-time artist living and working in Ithaca. His works deal with the ups and downs of life. PADMA Center | 114 W. Buffalo St., Ithaca | Yvonne Fisher: Ecstatic Drawings: Bold and Playful, Primitive and Wild, Abstract and Representational. | 607-351-7145 | www.padmacenter.com The Shops at Ithaca Mall | 40 Catherwood Rd, Ithaca | Helen Closs: New, large oil paintings near the theatre. See a movie and stop by. State of the Art | 120 W State St Ste 2, Ithaca | December Juried Show: Featuring the work of nearly 50 artists from the Fingerlakes region and
(Clockwise from top left) The filmmaker Werner Herzog; the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche; Mobb Deep’s “The Infamous”; Khanate’s “Capture and Release” (Photos provided)
beyond. Oil, acrylic, pastels, charcoal, watercolor, mixed media sculpture, interactive sculpture, mosaics with ceramic, stone and glass tiles, linocut, dyed silk painting, computer generated collage, and digital drawing. www. soagithaca.org Sunny Days of Ithaca | 123 S Cayuga St, Ithaca | Carl Schofield: Landscape Prints: Carl Schofield was a research scientist with the department of Natural Resources at Cornell University from 1960 to 1995. His long term interest in photography dates back to his teens and, following his retirement, he has pursued this former hobby more vigorously as an avocation. TCPL | 101 E Green St, Ithaca | On Being Human: A complimentary, multi-media exhibit, to TCPL’s Exploring Human Origins: What Does It Mean To Be Human, traveling exhibit of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and the American
Library Association. “On Being Human” is curated by Terry Plater and features the work of ten local artists, including Plater, Ben Altman, William Benson, Jane Dennis, and Gurdon Brewster. West End Gallery | West End Gallery, 12 W Market St, Corning | West End Gallery and 171 Cedar Arts Center | Director’s Choice: Collection selected by Jesse Gardner | Director’s Choice, a shared exhibit featuring a collection of artwork selected by Jesse Gardner, Director of West End Gallery in collaboration with 171 Cedar Arts Center’s Houghton Gallery
Got Submissions? Send your events items – band gigs, benefits, meet-ups, whatever – to arts@ithacatimes.com.
The Dock, Friday, Dec. 23, 8:00 p.m.
607 Bottom Up Sports Bar, Dryden, Thursday, Dec. 22, 7:00 p.m.
One of Ithaca’s most enduring mainstays, the hip hop and funk collective Gunpoets, have been spreading a message of peace, love, and justice through their music with a vigor and realism that is noble and honest. Since forming in 2008 the band has become staples at festivals like GrassRoos and the Great Blue Heron. In July 2016, they released their third studio album, “Bombs Away!”, a politically charged record with an ideology equal to their progressive sound. Don’t miss them this Friday with The Sim Redmond Band.
Steve Southworth and the Rockabilly Rays have been pumping audiences up with their high-octane ‘50s and ‘60s inspired rock and roll, rockabilly and swing for many decades. The band delivers inspired performances every time out, showcasing stellar chops and a spirit that can’t be denied. The band also shows a real knack for adaptation, playing gigs that run from Corporate events to Grade School musicals. Come on down and get your swing on!
T
h e
I
t h a c a
T
i m e s
/
D
e c e m b e r
2 1 – 2 7 ,
ThisWeek
Gunpoets, Sim Redmond Band,
Steve Southworth,
2 0 1 6
25
Town & Country
Classifieds
In Print
|
On Line |
10 Newspapers
277-7000 Phone: Mon.-Fri. 9am-5pm Fax: 277-1012 (24 Hrs Daily)
Special Rates:
towing and your donation is 100% tax
Fax and Mail orders only
15 words / runs 2 insertions
buy sell
iPAD PRO 9.7
200/Buy / Sell / Trade
32G, $420/OBO. APPLECARE Transferable, ZAGG Cover/Keyboard. ALL PERFECT! 607-272-3087
COLLECTABLES
SAWMILLS from only $4397.00 - MAKE & SAVE MONEY with your own bandmillcut lumber any dimension. In stock ready to ship. FREE Info /DVD: www. NorwoodSawmills.com 1-800-578-1363 Ext. 300N (NYSCAN)
to 35c covers, also Guns, Gold Coins. I travel to you and Buy EVERYTHING You have! Call Brian 1-800-617-3551 (NYSCAN)
250/Merchandise Champion Inversion Table
Explore the Unexpected 227 Cherry St. 607-319-5078 foundinithaca.com Open Daily 10-6, except Tues.
26
The
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)
Trinity Lutheran Preschool and After school have openings for the Winter Semester. Call 607 273-9017 or check out our website at Trinityithaca. org The preschool serves children ages 2 1/2 up to age 5, and the after school program is a licensed NYS after school serving children from kindergarten up to seventh grade.
Steinway 1098
YOUR GEAR IS HERE! Authorized Dealer:
Bonnie @ 277-3032
antiques • vintage • unusual objects
Call 607-257-2457 9-6pm
Studio Upright, lovely case and action. $7500. 607-256-4287
Great Condition. Asking: $85.00 Call
FOUND
4-235/75R15 on chevy rims $225/set.
320/Bulletin Board
Face Cord - $55 you pick up, $60 delivered. Full Cord - $150 you pick up, $160 delivered. Call Tom: 315-224-1028
CASH BUYER, Old Comic Books 10c
Used Snow Tires
2-245/70R17 studded $50/pr.
Firefly Fields
Firewood for SALE!!!!
400/Employment LOCAL DRIVERS WANTED
New, Used, Vintage Stringed Instruments, Amps & Accessories.
Be your own boss. Flexible hours. Unlimited earning potential. Must be 21 with valid U.S. driver’s license, insurance & reliable vehicle. 866-329-2672 (AAN CAN)
410/Business Opportunity
Trade Ins • Layaway • Repairs
AIRLINE CAREERS
DeWitt Mall 215 N. Cayuga St
272-2602
www.guitarworks.com
I thaca Time s
/
D e ce mb e r
00
employment
GARAGE SALES
19. 25 words
$
00
SERVICE DIRECTORY
15
$
per week / 13 week minimum
employment
employment
430/General
Christmas Trees & Wreaths. Open Weekends, 56 Nelson Rd. (607)2273502 and Merry Christmas too!
deductible. Call:315-400-0797 Today! (NYSCAN)
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
19.
Christmas Trees
benefiting Make-A-Wish. We offer free
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.
MERCHANDISE $100 - $500
$
You Can PL Your ads O ACE N at Ithaca.c LINE om
Employment / Real Estate / Adoption: $59.00 first 15 words (minimum), 30 cents each additional word. Ads run 2 weeks.
MERCHANDISE UNDER $100
U-Cut. All Trees $30, Spruce, Douglas Fir & Cannon Fir. 5 miles west of Ithaca, 348 S. Applegate Road. 2:00-4:30 week days. 9:00-4:30 Sat & Sun. Free Baling. We furnish saws, tarps & rope. Questions: 607-273-3155
Donate your car to Wheels For Wishes,
25% Discount - Run your non-commercial ad for 4 consecutive weeks, you only pay for 3 (Adoption, Merchandise or Housemates)
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
buy sell
140/Cars
Line Ads: $18.50 for first 12 words (minimum), 30 cents each additional word.
| 59,200 Readers
FREE
Automotive
Ithaca Times Town & Country Classified Ad Rates
Start Here - Get trained as FAA Certified Aviation Technician. Financial aid for qualified students. Job placement assistance. Call AIM for free information 866-296-7093. (NYSCAN)
21– 27,
2016
CAREGivers Wanted
If you enjoy working with seniors, we want you! Join our team and become a Home Instead CAREGiver, providing non-medical companion and homehelper services to seniors in your community. Training, support and flexible shifts provided. No medical degree necessary. Competitive pay rate. Join us for a job that nurtures the soul! Apply online www.homeinstead.com/706 For more information call Britany Ward: 607-2697165. Each Home Instead Senior Care franchise office is independently owned and operated.
D&D Farms, Inc.,
Stow, MA needs 3 temporary workers 1/16/2017 to 7/1/2017, work tools, supplies, equipment provided without cost to worker. Housing will be available without cost to workers who cannot reasonably return to their permanent residence at the end of the work day. Transportation reimbursement and subsistence is provided upon completion of 15 days or 50% of the work contract. Work is guaranteed for 3/4 of the workdays during the contract period. $11.74 per hr. Applicants apply at, North Central Career Center, 100 Erdman Way, Leominster, MA 01453 or apply for the job at the nearest local office of the SWA. Job order #8128520. May perform any combination of tasks relating to planting, cultivating, and processing of flowers and vegetable crops including, but not limited to, driving, operating, shoveling, thinning, irrigating, mowing, slitting wood, harvesting, grading, cleaning greenhouse walls and floors, filling customer orders, spraying and handling of pesticides, installing plastic covers on 20’ greenhouses. May use hand tools such as shovel, pruning saw, ax, screwdrivers, hand jack, and hoses. Must be able to bend, lift and carry 50lbs. Thirty days experience in all jobs listed above.
Southern Cayuga School
seeks to hire for the following positions, with competitive salaries: Cleaner: with health benefits Food Service Helper, four hours per day. Various Substitute Positions also Available, bus drivers, bus attendants, cleaners food service helpers, teacher aides. Apply online with the support staff application; go to southerncayuga.org/644 and click on the application in the right column; SCCS EOE
SCHOOL D IS T R IC T D ATA C O O R D IN ATO R ( 2 p O S IT IO N S )
Full-time 12 month opening located at OCM BOCES, Regional Information Center, Syracuse. Successful candidate will be an instructional leader assisting districts in using data to meet state reporting requirements and improve student outcomes. District locations may range from Ithaca to Oswego to Syracuse and surrounding areas. Job duties include: coordination of state reporting; district data management; custom reporting and analysis; supporting school leaders in data interpretation and facilitation; and/or assisting districts in implementation of effective RTI processes. NYS administrative certification required. Experience with data analysis, Excel, state reporting, or data team facilitation preferred. $72,000 - 76,000. Applications accepted online only. Register and apply by 12/23/16 at: www. olasjobs.org/central. Visit our website at: www. ocmboces.org for more information. EOE
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)
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
employment
employment
The City of Ithaca
460/Sales / Marketing
is accepting the applications for the following openings: Light Equipment Operator: Currently there is one vacancy in the Department of Public Works-Solid Waste. Workweek: Mon-Fri 4am-12pm. Min Quals: Possession of a NYS Class B Commercial Driver License. Salary: $17.27/hour Application Deadline: 12/27/16. Construction Engineer: Currently there is one vacancy in the Department of Public Works. Min Quals: Visit the City of Ithaca website. Spec Quals: Valid driver license. Salary: $60,147-$68,949. Exam: Required at a later date. Application Deadline: 1/13/17. 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.
adoptions
SALES
Are you a self starter, smart on your feet, Competitive, Outgoing, Personable and possess a strong work
520/Adoptions Wanted
ethic? We may have the job you’ve been looking for! The Ithaca Times/ Ithaca.com seeks a full time sales representative. Our reps identify needs and sell marketing solutions that include newspapers, online and niche products. Base, plus commission, Full benefits. Send resume and
roommates
WINDOWS VINYL Professional Installation A FULL LINE OF Custom made & manufactured AREPLACEMENT FULL LINE OF VINYL WINDOWS by… REPLACEMENT WINDOWS Call for Free Estimate & Call for Free Estimate & Professional Installation 3/54( Professional Installation Custom made & manufactured Custom made & manufactured 3%.%#! by… by… 6).9,
720/Rooms Wanted ALL AREAS - ROOMMATES.COM. Lonely? Bored? Broke? Find the perfect roommate to complement your personality and lifestyle at Roommates .com! (AAN CAN)
3/54( 3/54( 3%.%#! 3%.%#! 6).9,
6).9,
805/Business Services 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!
Choose adoptive family of your choice. Call 24/7. 877-362-2401. (AAN CAN)
866-585-6050
Ithaca’s only
hometown electrical distributor Your one Stop Shop
Since 1984 802 W. Seneca St. Ithaca 607-272-1711 fax: 607-272-3102 www.fingerlakeselectric.com
NEED a Handyman?
Repointing, Carpentry, Stone Work, Yard Work. 793-3230 George
cover letter to Jbilinski@ithacatimes. com
630/Commercial / Offices Office/Studio
downtown Ithaca near commons, with bath and kitchenette, call 607-279-8742
PIANOS
• Rebuilt • Reconditioned • Bought• Sold • Moved • Tuned • Rented
Come work for us! We have openings in various locations across the state for many different medical titles. OPENINGS FOR: REGISTERED NURSES, CLINICAL PHYSICIANS, DENTISTS, NURSE PRACTITIONERS, PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS. • • • •
Complete rebuilding services. No job too big or too small. Call us.
Ithaca Piano Rebuilders (607) 272-6547 950 Danby Rd., Suite 26
Romulus, NY 315-585-6050 or Toll Free at 866-585-6050
www.SouthSenecaWindows.com Romulus, NY Romulus, NY 315-585-6050 or 315-585-6050 Toll Free at 866-585-6050 or Toll Free at
PREGNANT?
cal, and continued support afterwards.
REPLACEMENT WINDOWS
REPLACEMENT A FULL LINE OF VINYL Manufacture To InstallWINDOWS REPLACEMENT WINDOWS We DoREPLACEMENT It forAll Call Free Estimate &
CONSIDERING ADOPTION? Call us first. Living Expenses, housing, medi-
services
services
Competitive wages PAID time off GREAT benefits Retirement package
Call (518) 457-8132 today! Additional information about the positions is available on our website www.doccs.ny.gov
South Hill Business Campus, Ithaca, NY
Entry Level Position at Franziska Racker Centers Available Near You! Provide services for individuals with developmental disabilities in your area. Direct Support Professional openings in Ithaca and Owego. Community Support openings in the Candor, Waverly, Richford and Spencer areas.
Full time and part time schedules available. Starting pay is $11-$11.50/hour depending on experience. Benefits eligible at 27.5+ hours. Visit www.rackercenters.org/employment or call (607) 272-5891 ext 272 for more information!
Ithaca WebsIte DesIgn
Do you have a business? are you starting a business? Let Us help You!
We have been in business since 1980 specializing in streaming audio and video. Our team of experts can build you a website with features such as search engine optimization, tracking web site visitors, listing on Facebook. Check us out on www.ithacawebsitedesign.com Call us at 607-272-9175 we are open Monday to Friday 9am. to answer your questions. Th e
DONATE YOUR CAR
Wheels For Wishes Benefiting
Make-A-Wish® Central New York *Free Vehicle/Boat Pickup ANYWHERE *We Accept All Vehicles Running or Not *Fully Tax Deductible
WheelsForWishes.org
Call: (315) 400-0797
* Car Donation Foundation d/b/a Wheels For Wishes. To learn more about our programs or financial information, visit www.wheelsforwishes.org.
I t h a ca Times
/
D ecemb er
2 1 – 2 7 ,
2 0 1 6
27
BackPage
For rates and information contact Cyndi Brong at cbrong @ ithactimes.com
277-7000 p h o n e 277-1012 f a x
How will you be remembered?
Piano Tuning
Award-winning writer works with you to
Ithaca Piano Rebuilders
craft a factual bio with charm and pathos Free five-year update PeggyHaine.1@gmail.com
HAVE THE LAST WORD!
4 Seasons
* BUYING RECORDS *
Landscaping Inc.
LPs 45s 78s ROCK JAZZ BLUES
607-272-1504
PUNK REGGAE ETC
Janitorial Service * Floor/Carpet
lawn maintenance
Angry Mom Records
High Dusting * Windows/Awnings
(Autumn Leaves Basement)
24/7 CLEANING Services
spring + fall clean up + gutter cleaning patios, retaining walls, + walkways
snow removal dumpster rentals
Basements, Barns, Garages & etc.
Find us on Facebook!
Reliable and Affordable Richard F. Vogt
AAM
RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL
Les - 607-272-9175
607-697-3294
Love dogs? Check out Cayuga Dog Rescue!
Ashtanga * Vinyasa *Semester Pass $300
for over 20 years
http://www.allaboutmacs.com
MAGIKITCHEN.NET
Fur & Leather repair, zipper repair. Same Day Service Available
Put some Class in Your Kitchen
John’s Tailor Shop
607-227-4624
Peaceful Spirit Acupuncture
Botox * Dysport * Restylane * Radiesse
Anthony Fazio, L.Ac., C.A.
Juvederm * Microdermabrasion
www.peacefulspiritacupuncture.com
607-272-0114
Microneedling * Chemical Peel
*Cooking & Tea Classes *Gentle Vinyasa *Over 15 years experience www.yogaschoolithaca.com
WE ARE THE CHANGE!
273-3192
A New Year’s Donation Yoga Class Sunday, Jan. 1 * 12-2pm * all levels
www.GuitarLessonsIthaca.com 607-222-3166
OSKAR SCHMIDT
Buy, Sell & Consign Previously-enjoyed Full line of Vinyl Replacement Windows
Massage Therapy
Sugg. $20 to Stand with Standing Rock
MIGHTY YOGA Visit www.mightyyoga.com 272-0682
When the answer is
MIMI’S ATTIC
Free Estimates
30 Years Experience
MASSAGE the question is WHEN.
430 W. State St. (607)882-9038
South Seneca Vinyl
www.OskarSchmidtMassageTherapy.com
It’s NOW. Book online.
Open Every Day!
315-585-6050, 866-585-6050
607-273-4489
www.jollybuddha.us/massage
This week at GreenStar we have 3,990 local products...
like Happy Hens eggs from Westwind Farms
www.greenstar.coop We define local as products or services that are produced or owned within 100 miles of Ithaca.
28
*Yoga Philosophy * Ayurveda
102 The Commons
Not Just Any Guitar Lesson
401 E. State St. G1 Ithaca, NY 348-3892
FURNITURE & DECOR
*YA registered school * 200 hr TT
John Serferlis - Tailor
Full range of effective care for a full
FOREVER YOUNG
Steve@reallifeceremonies.com
www.cayugadogrescue.org
Custom Cooking Classes
range of human ailments
with ceremonies like no other.
www.facebook.com/CayugaDogRescue
Macintosh Consulting
Affordable Acupuncture
Honor a Life like no other
The Yoga School
Men’s and Women’s Alterations
(607) 280-4729
Real Life Ceremonies
Adopt! Foster! Volunteer! Donate for vet care!
Call 387-4190 water1945@live.com
ALL ABOUT MACS
with a Camera Surveillance System Latest Technology. Affordable
drainage “CLEAR IT OUT”
Protect Your Home
Independence Cleaners Corp
319-4953 angrymomrecords@gmail.com
landscape design + installation
607-272-6574
The
I thaca Time s
/
D e ce mb e r
21– 27,
2016
LOCATED
16.1 miles
from GREENSTAR