Tompkins County News

Welcome to December: * A month that can mean cold and snow and accelerated heating bills.

The American Red Cross of Central New York had a contract with the Tompkins County Department of Social Services to run the Emergency Homeless Shelter of Tompkins County, on State Street in Ithaca.

A drug bust by the Tompkins County Sheriff's Office and members of the Ithaca City Police Department resulted in the arrest of an Ithaca man.

A free information session on navigating the Affordable Care Act will be held at Tompkins Cortland Community College from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday.

The weather gets cooler in Tompkins County, and leaves drop by the dozens. Many fallen leaves are raked up, bagged and then driven to the county solid waste center.

Mimi Melegrito is about to become very embarrassed. A longtime community volunteer, Melegrito prefers to stay out of the spotlight and would rather call attention to the good deeds of others.

The Tompkins County hydrilla eradication program has received a $75,000 with endorsement from U.S. Rep. Tom Reed, R-Corning.

The Sustainability Center will offer an intergenerational dialogue on exervise and cycling routes with a utility bike demonstration from 6:30-7 p.m. and a from panel discussion from 7 - 8:30 p.m. at the Sustainability Center, 111 N. Albany St., Ithaca.

The Tompkins County Festivals Program, run by the Downtown Ithaca Alliance, is providing a free workshop series on planning events, covering topics ranging from budgeting and fundraising to grant writing to setting up generators and disposing of trash.

The Town of Ithaca Ethics Board has determined town deputy supervisor and town board member Bill Goodman did not have a conflict of interest in connection to a proposed housing development at the Biggs property on West Hill.

The only Tompkins County town without a moratorium or outright ban on hydrofracking, Groton, is holding a public hearing on a proposed moratorium.

A body was pulled from a creek in Taughannock Falls State Park in Tompkins County on Friday, according to a report in The Ithaca Journal.

Agency mission: The Ithaca Rotary Club's mission is service to the community above self.

Deb Thompson of Ithaca didn't notice that she was changing, but others did. "My son gives me oral quizzes," said Thompson, 72. "I get a smile from him, he gets a giggle from me.

The committee members are Annie Carter, Ronda Catlin, Phyllis Hall, Shelly McCoy, Jack Myatt and Trisha Petrillo.

Emergency workers are recovering a body found in the water on the trail that leads to the Taughannock Falls.

Just as turkey sandwiches and warmed-over stuffing are starting to get old, it's Restaurant Week in Ithaca, seven days of special menus, events and discounts at participating establishments throughout Tompkins County.

Cora Yao finds fulfillment in helping others. "When I got to retire, I thought I need to find things that will allow me to still help the community and get to know people," she said.

The Sustainability Center will offer an inter-generational dialogue on exercise and cycling routes with a utility bike demonstration from 6:30-7 p.m. and a from panel discussion from 7 - 8:30 p.m. Dec. 5 at the Sustainability Center,111 N. Albany St., Ithaca.

The United Way of Tompkins County's Stephen E. Garner Day of Caring, in September, had special significance for Kara Garner Taylor and her mother, Kathy Garner Darnieder, both of Lansing.