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Volume 14 Number 4
Criminal Justice Center he
By Michelle Pottorff, Corridors Board � nee.
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Becky Richmond, Criminal Justice Director and Jackie Thomas, Adm. Serv. Coord. & David Correa, Security Officer
George Totman, Public Safety Committee Chairman
On April 4 I had the opportunity to visit the new Criminal Justice Center located in the Old Library building.
Becky Richmond, Criminal Justice Director for Tompkins County was not in; however, Jackie Thomas,
Administrative Services Coordinator for the program was kind enough to give me a tour of their new space
and explain the services that will be offered there.
The purpose of the program is to provide rehabilitative services to individuals that will enable them to
acquire skills that will help them become productive members of the community. These programs are
designed to curtail the number of arrests in the community which will in turn reduce the amount of money
spent by the County on incarceration. Their client base will be established through the courts and the
probation system; they expect to begin working with approximately ten individuals but that number will likely
grow. The program will coordinate with many other County departments including the Probation
Department, Sheriffs Department, Department of Social Services, Administration, Mental Health, Workforce
Development, and also many areas of the judicial system.
I was shown administrative offices and other areas including a room where computers will be installed for
client use. Program space for Literacy Volunteers, the Community Dispute Resolution Center, Youth
Advocacy program, Alcoholism Council of Tompkins County, SWAP program, and the Cornerstone Program
is also provided. Jackie pointed out that the SWAP (Service Work Alternative Program) through the
Probation Department is providing labor for renovations of the space and said they've done a fantastic job.
The Criminal Justice Center is planning to hold an open house early this summer and will be inviting all
County employees to stop by for a few minutes and take a tour. For more information about the program
please call 274 -7504.
REPORT
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Submitted by Katie Prance, Health Dept.
FROM
The earliest Mother' Day celebrations can be traced back
THE COUNTY to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honor of
Fes Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. During the 1600's,
ADMINISTRATOR ? England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday ".
Celebrated on the 4 Sunday of Lent (the 40 -day period
leading up to Easter), "Mothering Sunday" honored the
By Stephen Whicher mothers of England.
During this time many of the England's poor worked as
Last month I reported to you that I expected servants for the wealthy. As most jobs were located far
challenging budget times to lie ahead. I also stated from their homes, the servants would live at the houses
that Deputy County Administrator Kathryn of their employers. On Mothering Sunday the servants
Smithers and I would review the situation once we would have the day off and were encouraged to return
received the year - end fund balance as reported by home and spend the day with their mothers. A special
David Squires, our Finance Director. We have cake, called the mothering cake, was often brought along
completed that process and have also completed a to provide a festive touch.
round of reviews with department heads. As Christianity spread throughout Europe the celebration
changed to honor the "Mother Church" — the spiritual
Now that we have more concrete information, I power that gave them life and protected them from harm.
would say that the challenging budget times don't Over time the church festival blended with the
just he ahead — we have entered them. Mothering Sunday celebration. People began honoring
their mothers as well as the church.
To minimize the potential impact on both staff and
programs, I have asked the Commissioner of In the United States Mother's Day was first suggested in
Personnel to invoke a "soft" hiring freeze. A soft 1872 by Julia Ward Howe (who wrote the words to the
hiring freeze, unlike a hard freeze, allows a position Battle hymn of the Republic) as a day dedicated to
to be filled, but under certain restrictions. The peace. Ms. Howe would hold organized Mothers Day
meetings in Boston, Mass. every year.
restrictions include:
In 1907 Ana Jarvas, from Philadelphia, began a
1. The Commissioner of Personnel will require campaign to establish a national Mother's Day. Ms.
department heads to submit a written Jarvis persuaded her mother's church in Grafton, West
justification outlining the need to fill a vacancy Virginia to celebrate Mother's Day on the second
and the actual job duties to be performed. anniversary of her mother's death, the 2 Sunday of
2. The Commissioner of Personnel will review May. By the next year Mother's Day was also
both the need for and the rating of the position. celebrated in Philadelphia.
3. The County Administrator will review the
potential for realigning work responsibilities Ms. Jarvis and her supporters began to write to
with the department head and the Commissioner ministers, businessmen, and politicians in their quest to
establish a national Mother's Day. It was successful as
of Personnel. by 1911 Mother's Day was celebrated in almost every
state. President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, made the
These restrictions will assist us in attaining our official statement proclaiming Mother's Day as a
desired budget goals and ensure that the budget national holiday that was to be held each year on the 2nd
challenges that lie before us will not cause any Sunday of May.
undue hardships for staff or programs. In advance, I
would like to thank you for your cooperation and While many countries of the world celebrate their own
support. Mother's Day at different times throughout the year,
there are some countries such as Denmark, Finland,
Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium which also
celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May.
Reflections from the Community Forum on Racism and Domestic Violence
By Diane Bradac, Training and Development/Personnel
Seventy people attended "Racism and Domestic "Power achieved through violence, is not power. It is self
Violence: A Community Forum" on Tuesday, March indulgent and inherently evil. The behavior - the self
20, 2001, at the Holiday Inn. The forum was planned as a indulgences — is fear. I am not evil - you are not evil - but
beginning of what we hope will be an ongoing dialogue we must look to these insidious fears and how they
among individuals and agencies in Tompkins County. prompt us to behave in oppressive — evil ways. The put
The Forum was co- sponsored by the Tompkins County downs, the verbal violence - the institutional violence -
Human Rights Commission, the Tompkins County the domestic violence - that lulls us to sleep - that
Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and the Tompkins envelope us in immunity and strip us of our sense of
County Task Force for Battered Women/Child Sexual ourselves and of community."
Abuse Project.
"...Community without diversity and partnership
Dr. Ednita Wright, from Cornell University was the ...would not be community." We must work hard "...
Keynote Speaker. Her address was followed by a panel together to create communities where each person is seen
presentation of community members. Dr. Wright began as critical and essential to the whole...." Community as a
and ended her address with poetry. Her remarks included reality takes our whole selves with the love and
quotes from Starhawk, Richard Bach, Dr. Martin Luther compassion that we can extend; it takes confronting those
King, Chief Seattle, and Malcolm X. Excerpts from Dr. inequities in our world that continue to hurt us all, by any
Wright's address follow. means necessary; it takes believing in the dream of
equality and taking action when others attempt to defer
"Violence - domestic, verbal, emotional, racial, gender, the dream; it takes belief that to live without full rights,
religious, physical, or global violence resides in a context afforded you, is not living at all; it takes risking exposure
that allows - tolerates - perpetuates oppression of, what and coming from behind the illusionary walls that
my best friend defines as, othermindedness. Anything separate us; and, it takes being willing to do battle
not like myself, that makes me uncomfortable, that isn't because none of the struggles we face as humans are easy.
the way I would do it, that doesn't look like me, that Even the smallest victory must be applauded, because it is
doesn't like the things I like, that I fear - that other minded so easy not to battle at all, to just accept, and to call that
ness. It is what jokes are made out of - it is what hitting acceptance inevitable."
is made out of - it is what dismissal is made out of -- it is
where harassment originates - it is where bullying begins, "If one person is excluded - due to race, ethnicity,
and tragic deaths result. Oppression feeds violence with disability, sexual orientation, class status, or age - we are
its need to control. Oppression is the antithesis of then structuring an environment no different from the
community. In fact, it is the death of community. None oppressive patriarchal model we seek to change.
of us is immune to this cancer; it runs through us all. Community is the totality of related parts. Our relatedness
Oppression is not just out there - in society or in our is predicated on the fact that we are all spirits in human
institutions —it is in here - in our minds and hearts...." form and that each individual's gift is of value. A
community is healthy when everybody in it is healthy. A
"If we really want - community - then we must become a community is safe when everybody in it is safe. We are in
group of individuals who have learned how to need of a healing. We are in need of community. Let us
communicate honestly with each other, whose heal ourselves and each other - creating strong, righteous,
relationships go deeper than our masks of composure, and healthy communities."
who have developed significant commitment to rejoice
together, mourn together, labor and suffer together, to At the end of the forum, participants contributed their
delight in each other, and make others' conditions our answers to the question, "Where do we go from here ?"
own, always having before our eyes our community as The opportunities and challenges of addressing these
members of the same body...." issues were raised, and there was a commitment from the
organizers to create next steps. Anyone who is interested
In a community, the problem of domestic violence and in joining this ongoing dialogue, please contact Sue
racism would not be just one agency or a few individuals Robinson, Domestic Violence Prevention Coordinator, at
responsibility - it is a community's responsibility. " 274 -5455.
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ELEVENTH ANNUAL TOMPKINS COUNTY
25 -YEAR CLUB DINNER
The Tompkins County Board of Representatives cordially invites you to join
them in honoring this year's inductees into the Tompkins County 25 -Year Club at a
dinner to be held at the Clarion University Hotel, 1 Sheraton Drive, Ithaca, New
York on May 17, 2001. There will be a social hour from 5:30 until 6:30 and a
banquet dinner at 6:30 p.m. Reservations, including payment of $15.00 per person,
must be received by May 4, 2001. There is no charge to 25 -Year Club members
and their guest.
This year's new inductees are:
Margaret M Arcangeli - Probation
Maryanne M Banks — Social Services
Stuart A. Grinnell — Mental Health
Joseph B. Longo — Airport
James R. Niemi — Sheriffs Department
John E. Payne — Sheriffs Department
Bernice A. Yarosh — Social Services
I will attend the 25 -Year Club Dinner on Thursday, May 17, 2001
Number Attending: Amount Enclosed:
Name:
Contact Number:
Department:
Name of Guest:
Please make checks payable to TOMPKINS COUNTY and send to Tompkins County Personnel Department,
125 East Court Street Ithaca, New York 14850.
West Nile Virus Update QUIT YET
Submitted by Steven Kern, Health Dept.
By Rosalie Fontana, TC Health Dept.
Tompkins County Public Health Director Alice Cole
would like to remind County residents that, as
spring approaches the mosquitoes will be
emerging and the West Nile Virus will return as a There will be a free introduction to a program to
health concern. help people quit tobacco on Wednesday, April 25
"Residents, especially those 50 and older, should at 5:30 at the Tompkins County Public Library, in
still take precautions needed to protect themselves the Borg Warner Community Room. The program,
from the West Nile virus," Mrs. Cole says. freedom From Smoking, was developed by the
American Lung Association, and is being jointly
People are only infected with the virus when an sponsored by the Tompkins County Health
infected mosquito bites them. The elimination of Department and the new Health Information
standing water, especially in man -made Center of the Library.
containers, is very important. Mosquitoes can
hatch in four days from larvae in water left
standing. Four thousand times more mosquitoes Although 70% of smokers say they would like to
can hatch from a tire than a pond. Sources of quit, most need some kind of assistance to break
standing water should be eliminated as free from nicotine addiction. The Freedom From
follows: Smoking program consists of eight classes which
➢ Dispose of tine cans, plastic containers, or
provide advice, problem solving skills and the
similar water - holding containers. support of other smokers trying to quit. Research
➢ Remove or make several large holes to drain has found that smoking cessation programs which
discarded tires. offer social support and skills training increase a
➢ Drill holes in the bottoms of recycling person's chances of quitting tobacco, even if they
containers that are kept outdoors. also plan to use the nicotine patch or Zyban, which
➢ Turn over plastic wading pools and are recommended.
wheelbarrows when not in use.
➢ Change the water in birdbaths every day.
➢ Clean clogged gutters. Full fee for the series of eight classes is $25 for
➢ Clean and chlorinate swimming pools, outdoor county employees, which is a 50% discount from
saunas and hot tubs. the usual fee.
➢ Drain water from pool covers. If a pool cannot
be covered or if water collects on the cover, One worry that shouldn't stop anyone from trying
use a mosquito larvicide ("dunk') should be to quit is the fear of not being able to succeed. It
considered.
is important to realize that most ex- smokers tried
To reduce your risk when you are outside, wear to quit four or five times before they finally made
insect repellant containing 30% DEET. However, it. At the very least, every attempt is a learning
do not use a repellant with a concentration more experience which helps to move you one step closer
than 10% on children. Apply the repellant to your to your goal.
own hands and then apply on the child. Insect
repellant should not be put on the hands and
faces of young children. It is important to use
repellant and wear long pants and long
sleeved shirts when outdoors.
If you miss the introductory session, you can still
sign up for the program. Call the Tompkins County
Health Department at 274 -6710 or inquire at the
Health Information desk at the Library for more
For more information contact Steven Kern, T.C. information.
Health Department, at 274 -6688.
FREE <160 04) ,
RABIES CLINICS
TOMPKINS COUNTY
D E P A R T M E N T HEALTH
Your Partner for a Healthy Community
All Clinics 7:00 - 9:00 p.m
MAY CLINICS
Lansing Fire Station Wednesday May 9
Danby Fire Station Thursday May 10
Enfield Highway Garage Wednesday May 16
Dryden Fire Station Thursday May 17
Ithaca Central Fire Station Wednesday May 23
OCTOBER CLINICS
Newfield School Bus Garage Wednesday October 3
Groton Fire Station Thursday October 4
Trumansburg Fire Station Wednesday October 10
Caroline Highway Garage Thursday October 11
Ithaca Central Fire Station Wednesday October 17
Vaccinate now! It will be too late when your
(I unvaccinated pet has contacted or fought with a
trj potentially rabid animal.
■�■ ,
F ,
EARTH DAY CELEBRATION
} APRIL 22 2001
S1
Tompkins County Solid Waste Management will be participating in this
p tY 9 p p 9 ear's Y
Earth Day celebration. We will have a variety of reuse related craft
activities, (envelope and gift box making, wrapping paper decorating) plus
Tots of our latest publications with information on all of our programs.
If you would like to volunteer, please call Linnett Warner at the Solid Waste
Management Division's office at 273 -6632.
To get Pox or not to get Pox is that the question?
Submitted by Karen Bishop, RN, Community Health Nurse Supervisor, Tompkins County Health Department
NiSf
What is chickenpox?
Chickenpox is a very contagious disease caused by a virus. This virus usually infects children. Older children and adults
can also become infected if they haven't already had chickenpox.
What are the symptoms of chickenpox?
In most cases, chickenpox is a mild disease. Early symptoms may include aching, fever, and sore throat. Then
chickenpox turns into a very itchy skin rash that can develop into as many as 400 -500 sores! Older Children and adults
usually get much sicker than young children do.
How is chickenpox spread?
Chickenpox is easily spread through the air by sneezing and coughing or through contact with someone's chickenpox
sores. If you've never had chickenpox, just being in the same room can infect you with the disease.
Don't take chances! Get vaccinated!
Chickenpox, thought to be a disease of "passage ", is now vaccine preventable.
Who should get chickenpox vaccine?
Children over the age of 12 months who have never had chickenpox should get vaccinated against this disease. Young
children are not the only ones who need chickenpox vaccine. If teens or adults get chickenpox, they have a greater risk of
serious complications. If you or your teenager hasn't had chickenpox, talk to your doctor or nurse about getting
vaccinated.
Does my child need the chickenpox vaccine to attend day care or nursery school?
In New York State, children born on or after January 1, 2000 are required to have one dose of chickenpox vaccine at 12
months of age in order to attend day care or nursery school.
Is chickenpox vaccine required for kindergarten entry?
In New York State, children born on or after January 1, 1998 are required to have one dose of chickenpox vaccine prior to
school entry. This law will become effective January 1, 2003.
The Tompkins County Health Department offers free chickenpox vaccine to children by appointment only. Call 274 -6616
for more information.
CLASSIFIEDS TERRORIZING A TELEMARKETER..
The next time a telemarketer calls, explain to
them this is not a good time for you, ask them for their
•
Services: home phone number so that when it is convenient for
you, you will give them a buzz at home OR tell them
Tioga Technical - Don't kill your computer! Let me you're so glad they phoned because you needed someone
help with troubleshooting, training, upgrades - whatever to talk to. Begin by telling them you're arthritis has
it takes to get you and your computer working together been acting up, your dog was run over by a car, bill
again. Call James Keegan at 273 -7957 evenings or collectors called you at work, and you have all kinds of
weekends. problems in your marriage....see how long they want to
It's never to early to start thinking about Easter or any stay on the other end of the phone!! Seriously, to
holiday! Call Tynyk Originals at 564 -9244 evenings or remove your number from telemarketing lists go to
weekends for a unique gift or home decor item. nynocall.com)
Expecting a new arrival? Ask about the Fleece Cuddle
Wrap for babies. CLASSIFIEDS
Tense? Stressed? Achy? Therapeutic Massage can put Classified ads up to 25 words in length are free to County
relaxation and comfort back into your life. For an employees, retirees and their immediate families. Ads may
appointment or information call Richard Reed at 753- be for any purpose, however personal ads will not be
6383. accepted. No County addresses or telephone numbers
may be listed in your ad, however we do need your full
Kinetic Performance — specializing in Motorsports name and County telephone number submitted with the
engines, carburetion and general racing fabrication. Call ad in case there are questions. Submit your ad to County
Dayton Umholtz at 277 -6442 evenings or weekends. Corridors c/o Michelle Pottorff, Board of Representatives,
Courthouse, Ithaca, NY 14850 via US or interdepartmental
mail or e-mail to: mpottorffCtompkins- co.org
Congratulations: NOTE:
To Lorie Hill, Caseaide at D55, and her husband, If you would like to modify your classified or want to
run it again, you must re- submit it!
Ben Hill on the birth of their son Kyle Parker, 8
lbs.6 oz. On February 28 Also, DEADLINE: i TUESDAY OF THE MONTH
congratulations to Grandma JoAnn Hill who Articles to be considered for the May 31' issue,
works in the Child Support Unit. must be received by noon on Tuesday, May 1st.
Submit articles via e-mail as an attachment or on disk
I in any file format that is readable by Word for
Welcome New Employees: Windows '95. Send disk and hard copy to County
Donna Scott (04 04 - 01) and Marion Boratynski Corridors c/o Michelle Pottorff, Board of
(04- 04 -01) to Children's Services Units at D55. Representatives, Court House, Ithaca, NY 14850.
Please include a contact number in case questions
arise.
Spring is here, daffodils are popping, the falls
COUNTY CORRIDORS
are full and beautiful and some days are just not Articles and opinion pieces for County Corridors are selected by
meant for working! It seems the only way I can the Editorial Board based on their interest to Tompkins County
employees and retirees. They do not necessarily express the
make it through these restless days is to take a opinions of the Editorial Board. Material is solicited from current
brisk walk at lunchtime. I'm not the only one - employees, retirees and others. The Editorial Board reserves the
we all come back in from our walks healthier, I'm right to edit submissions, except in the instance of copyright
materials.
sure, but with exaggerated groans of self -pity EDITORIAL BOARD
at having to work on such a beautiful day, Michelle Pottorff (Editor) Board of Representatives
proving once more that "Misery loves company!" Iretta Ellis (Chair) Information Technology Services
Bill Chopp Department of Social Services
Annie N. Mouse Sharon Cooper Sheriffs Off
Liz Croop Department of Mental Health
Katy Prince Health Department
Vickie Wagner (Artist) Department of Assessment
Donna Deputron (Distribution Coordinator) Bldgs. c4 Grnds