Living in Dryden

Infrastructure possibilities in Dryden?

As the economy continues to slide and everyone speculates on what the government will do next to stem the tide, there's been a lot of discussion about infrastructure spending, public works on a scale similar to the 1930s.

Always trying to connect the national to the local, I was pondering what infrastructure needs might be especially critical in Dryden, and addressable through one-time assistance. A few of the key ones I came up with were:

Village of Dryden sewage treatment plant replacement

I keep hearing numbers like "$5 million" for that one, and they always seem to go up. This plant serves both the Village and Town residents in the Cortland Road Sewer District, including Dryden High School/Middle School and TC3. While we're at it, it would be great to include Freeville and George Junior Republic in the plant.

Recreation facilities

The Town's Recreation Master Plan meetings talked about a lot of facilities, from buildings to fields. New parks would be great, though even some of our existing parks could use attention. I wonder if there's more that could be done at Dryden Lake, too.

Trails

There is still a lot to do on the rails to trails conversion, and some key components - like crossings at highways - that are worth contemplating. (No, I don't want a "Bridge to Nowhere" like Ithaca has - let's please build the crossings only when the trails are in place.)

Bus shelters and bike storage

It's great that we can flag down TCAT buses anywhere, but shelters at key pickup points would reduce the number of stops and make it more comfortable to use the system when the weather is less than ideal. Bike storage would make it easier for people to connect to the bus system even if they didn't live right along its main routes. (And no, hauling the bike downtown isn't always what riders want.)

Facilities in our state forests

They don't need to become state parks, but a parking lot for Yellow Barn State Forest and more marked trails would be great. In Hammond Hill, I'd mostly like a lot more trail markers.

Roads

I'm not sure we need new roads, though there was that long-ago Route 13 bypass that never happened. I wonder, though, if there might be ways to improve our existing road system so that future maintenance costs will actually be lower.

Community Centers

Dryden's community centers are looking brighter than they did before thanks to the Town investing time, interest, and money in them. I'm not sure where to go next, but they clearly serve a public purpose.

Sidewalks in Varna

and maybe elsewhere as warranted.

Any other ideas? I'm sure I've not thought this through far enough.

Lincoln speech auction to finance new Southworth wing

I'm not sure why this hasn't turned up in the Ithaca JournalThe Ithaca Journal article somehow slipped by me, and the Cortland Standard hasn't put it online, but at least the AP reported it:

Christie's is auctioning a handwritten copy of the 1864 speech Abraham Lincoln delivered at the White House after being re-elected in the midst of an unpopular Civil War that both he and his opponents believed might cost him his job....

Proceeds from the sale will go toward a new wing for the library, located in New York's Finger Lakes region. According to the library's Web site, it was displayed only once, during the 1976 bicentennial celebration.

The connection between the speech and Dryden? Congressman John Dwight. Like his father, he was successful in both business and politics, Republican politics. As the article reports:

Lincoln's son, Robert Todd Lincoln, presented the manuscript to New York Congressman John A. Dwight as a thank-you for his efforts in securing funding for the construction of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

I've heard talk about the need to expand the Southworth Library for years. While it always pains me to see historical artifacts go off to auction, this isn't a specifically Dryden artifact, it's for an excellent cause, and it may even bring the speech the additional attention it doubtless deserves. Hopefully there will be enthusiastic bidders.

Update: The Dryden Courier not only reports on this, they run the speech as an editorial. Definitely worth a look! And Les Cleland notes in comments that this isn't a copy, but the only original.

3-2 or better, mostly, for Democrats so far

Last night's election results were astounding, though absentee ballots still will affect the final results. I seem to be too tired to do real math, but these are worth sharing.

For President, Barack Obama received 3737 votes to John McCain's 2313. (In 2004, before absentees, John Kerry had 3398 votes to George W. Bush's 2597.)

For Congress, Mike Arcuri received 3375 votes to Richard Hanna's 2132. (Arcuri won 2906 total here in 2006, to Ray Meier's 1814.)

For Town Board, Jason Leifer had 3175 votes, to Paul Rachetta's 2055. (In 2006, the last one-on-one Town Board race, David Makar had 2335 votes to Dan Tier's 1887.)

For Town Justice, Joe Valentinelli won 3429 votes, to Dan Tier's 2030.

The closest race here was Don Barber, who led Jim Seward for State Senator in Dryden by 3037 to 2603, but lost the race overall.

It was an astoundingly good night for Dryden Democrats, one I couldn't have begun to predict when I first got involved in 2003.

Vote today

It's election day!

Vote Today.

And here's my letter to the editor, with some suggestions beyond those signs:

While 2008 is a huge political year at the national and even the state levels, there are critical local elections happening as well - elections that have a big impact on our quality of life.

The Dryden Democrats are blessed this year with two candidates whose hard work for their their communities stands out.

Jason Leifer is running for the last year of the Town Board seat he was appointed to in January. He hit the ground running, working hard to get a wireless internet grant proposal into the state - which approved it - in his first month on the board. Since then, he has worked on improving Dryden's support for its community centers and recreation.

Joe Valentinelli is running for re-election as Town Justice. He has served Dryden well as a teacher and then as a Justice, and his commitment to his community shows in everything he does. Joe's many years devoted to Dryden have built strong connections that cross party lines.

Finally, I'd like to suggest that New York State needs to reconsider its pattern of putting most local elections on odd-numbered years. Yes, that approach does guarantee that local issues get more of a hearing by those paying close attention, but it also disconnects local politics from a large number of voters.

I strongly encourage Dryden residents to vote for the Democrats on the right side of the ballot, in addition to the ones they've seen in the national news.

Simon St.Laurent
Town of Dryden
Chair, Dryden Democratic Committee

And here's more on where to vote. (If you used to vote at the Dryden Baptist Church or the Dryden Village Hall, you now vote at the Dryden Fire Station.)

Arcuri, Barber visit Dryden on last day of race

Congressman Michael Arcuri and State Senate candidate Don Barber both swung through Dryden on this final day before voting. Barber supporters held a rally at Time Square at Dryden's Four Corners intersection, while Arcuri visited Tompkins-Cortland Community College and the Dryden Fire Station before going to a rally in Lansing (which I didn't, alas, get to.)

Barber Rally in Dryden.

Martha Ferger at Barber Rally in Dryden.

Mike Arcuri at Dryden Ambulance.

While it's sometimes frustrating to be in the southwest corner of creatively gerrymandered districts that stretch to our east, it was great to have these two great Democratic candidates bringing their campaigns to a strong conclusion here!

Where to vote (it may have changed)

Most Dryden residents are voting in the same places that they used to vote, but if you voted at the Dryden Village Hall or the Dryden Baptist Church, you now vote at the Dryden Fire Station. There are now four districts at the Fire Station, three of them large, so please be patient getting in and out of there.

Polls will be open from 6:00am to 9:00pm. Remember that you can't campaign inside of the polling places, and that this includes things like T-shirts, signs, and buttons.

Most voters will still be using the lever machines. Disabled voters will be using the new machines.

Depending on which district you live in (see the district map (597KB PDF)), you can vote at:

1. Etna Fire Station - 26 Wood Road, Etna (map).
2. Freeville Fire Station - 21 Union Street, Freeville (map).
3. Dryden Fire Station - 26 North Street, Dryden (map).
4. Varna Community Center - 943 Dryden Road, Varna (map).
5. Etna Fire Station - 26 Wood Road, Etna (map).
6. Dryden Fire Station - 26 North Street, Dryden (map).
7. Dryden Fire Station - 26 North Street, Dryden (map).
8. Bethel Grove Church Activity Center - 1749 Slaterville Road, Bethel Grove (map).
9. Varna Community Center - 943 Dryden Road, Varna (map).
10. Reach Out for Christ Church - 318 Johnson Road, Freeville (map).
11. Dryden Fire Station - 26 North Street, Dryden (map).

If you'd like to see a sample ballot before going in, the Board of Elections has one (69KB PDF).

Seven months old

Sungiva just keeps growing!

Sungiva with sippy cup.

A very self-assured pose.

Enjoying an apple.

If you'd like to enjoy more of Sungiva's seventh month, I've posted a gallery.

Signs

It's election sign season again!

Signs on 366.

If you're a Town of Dryden resident, and you'd like (free) political signs for our Democratic candidates this year (Obama, Arcuri, Barber, Lifton, Leifer, and Valentinelli), drop me a line.

If you'd like Republican signs, I suspect the best place to get them is the Republican headquarters on West Main Street in the Village of Dryden.

Voter registration at Town Hall today, Saturday

The normal voter registration deadline for this November's election is October 10th. The Board of Elections will be having two events around that:

• Today, October 7th, they'll be conducting voter registration at Dryden Town Hall, 93 East Main Street (Route 392), in the Village of Dryden from 4:00pm to 8:00pm.

• If folks haven't registered by the 10th, they'll be having 'last chance' registration on the 11th, including one at Town Hall from 2:00pm to 9:00pm.

For more information, see their notice.

Why all that dull meeting stuff matters

There's not much at Town Board meetings that's less exciting than detailed talk about water and sewer districts. Once you get past the basic "is this a good idea?" question, which draws lots of attention, engineering drawings, infinite questions about costs and formulas, and intricacies of dealing with people who already have a connection can get endless.

Sometimes, though, things can go wrong, it seems, even in our neighborhood. At least that's the view of the State Comptroller's office, prompted by citizens who apparently had questions.

County Planning Energy Meeting October 1st

The Tompkins County Planning Department will be holding a meeting about the "Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Element" of their County Comprehensive Plan tomorrow night.

The meeting will be tomorrow, October 1st, at 6:30pm at the Dryden Town Hall, 93 East Main Street (Route 392), in the Village of Dryden.

The draft proposal is available.

Six months of Sungiva

Today, little Sungiva is six months old. She's done a lot of growing, and is picking up new activities.

Sungiva reads (sort of).

Sungiva looks out at us.

Sungiva gnaws on an apple.

The apple thing was unexpected, but she definitely likes them!

I've posted a new gallery of Sungiva photos if you'd like to see more.

Now that's an annual report

Wow!

I'd known that the Town was working on an annual report, but I was still surprised and pleased to see it arrive in my mailbox this week. There's all kinds of stuff in, stuff that I once felt I had to dig to get when I first started this site.

In the finance report, we can see that the Town collected just over $1 million in property taxes, which is the number we all think of when local taxes come up. They also received $1.97 million in sales taxes, Dryden's share of sales tax collected in Tompkins County but outside of the City of Ithaca. The Town isn't counting on that again in 2008 - probably wisely, given the economy - forecasting only $1.685 million. They've also budgeted for a deficit for a second year in a row, but last year, despite budgeting a deficit of $1.3 million, they had a surplus of $563,924. We'll see where this year's budget ends up. (The big budget increase is in public works.)

There's much much more though - a telling of the new Town Hall's contruction, a report from the Town Clerk, a report on tax receipts, a list of the projects that the highway department and public works department was planning for 2008, a report on what's going on in Building, Planning, and Zoning, a list of Recreation Department programs,memberships, and projects, information on the Town court, including a breakdown of cases, an update from the Town Historian, a report from the Environmental Planner, and reports from the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, Conservation Board, Youth Commission, and Recreation Commission. There's also a brief report on Dryden's emergency services and a list of local laws passed in 2007.

If you've been wondering what exactly Town government does, this is a great way to get started!

Dryden continues shift toward Democrats

It's time once again to look in on voter registration figures for the Town of Dryden. There's definitely been new registration since February. Democrats have the most new registered voters, with 120, while there are 72 new blank and 29 new Independence voters.

If I compare that to May 2004, the earliest data I have, the shift toward Democratic registration is even clearer.

Democrats are way ahead here, with 303 additional registrants, while Independence picked up 77, Working Families 16, and genuine blanks 15. Republicans lost 123.

I'll do another round of this after the voter registration deadline - October 10th - has passed and all registrations are in.