Living in Dryden

Fifth grader to New Zealand, economy to improve

In today's Dryden Town Talk, Cathy Wakeman tells of Kody Kirkland, a fifth-grade student at Dryden Elementary who will be a "student ambassador to Australia and New Zealand" along with sixteen other kids from central New York and a dozen from Philadelphia.

She also notes that registration for Kiwanis baseball and softball, for kids from kindgeraten through seventh grade who live in the Town of Dryden or the Dryden Central School District, is this week and next.

Also in the Journal, Professor Elia Kacapyr, who writes the monthly pieces on the Tompkins County economy, told the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce that the area could expect to see around 1,000 jobs created this year. Only 200 jobs were created last year.

There's also a letter to the editor from Shirley Woods of Freeville castigating the Mayor of San Francisco for permitting gay marriage.

Assessments and taxes

The Ithaca Journal's editorial today examines the annual assessment process. This process has come under fire lately, largely because taxes and assessments have risen at the same time. I think the Journal is right that annual assessment and a central county office for doing it is a wise idea, but they lose me when they write:

Property owners -- read voters -- are reminded of the impact of government spending each year when they receive their reassessment notices.

It's a very strange statement to make in the middle of an article that's taken great pains to note that assessments and taxation are separate processes. While the assessment notice does sort of do that, listing current taxes and what taxes would be if rates continued at last year's levels, it's a spurious comparison for all the reasons that the Journal makes plain in the rest of its piece.

There is definitely something good in the annual assessment notices, however - property owners get a baseline value for their property and a general sense of whether its value has increased or decreased over the past year. Knowing what a property is worth, even if government, bank, and market assessments vary, gives owners a chance to think about what they want to do with their property, and whether investments in that property have any chance of paying off.

The assessment on my house has gone up 44% since we purchased it. We've taken advantage of that increase to refinance the house, improving our overall financial situation, not to mention that we feel more comfortable investing in improvements. It's a nice place to be.

Yes, taxes have increased - but if the house's value hadn't changed at all, I don't think the tax levy would be any smaller, and I'd have both higher taxes and a property whose value remained the same.

Fortunately, the Journal and I agree on the conclusion:

Property owners who are concerned about their tax bills should focus their efforts on the towns, counties, schools, fire districts and villages that impose the tax levys. The only ongoing issue that taxpayers should have regarding their actual assessments is accuracy. If the assessments accurately reflect what their homes or businesses could sell for, then they are paying their fair share.

When it comes to the assessment procedure, Tompkins County has it right. It should not buckle to pressure and throw out this fair and equitable process.

(Also, if you're curious, the Department of Assessment provides all kinds of information on how assessments are derived, including this map (269KB PDF) of assessment neighborhoods in the town of Dryden and this explanation of the map key. There's even a searchable on-line database of properties and values if you want to compare your assessment to your neighbors.)

Conservation Board public hearing

The legal notice for the hearing on the law turning the town's. Conservation Advisory Council into a Conservation Board has been published. The hearing will be at 7:00pm on March 11, coinciding with the regularly scheduled Town Board meeting.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED TOWN OF DRYDEN LOCAL LAW

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Town Board of the Town of Dryden will hold a public hearing on a proposed local law which would (re)designate the Conservation Advisory Council as a Conservation Board, require the Conservation Board to report on applications referred to it by various boards of the town and continue the function and responsibilities of the Conservation Advisory Council as a Conservation Board. Copies of the proposed local law are available at the town clerk's office.

The public hearing on the proposed local law will be held at 7:00 p.m. prevailing time at the Town Hall, 65 East Main Street, Dryden, New York, on March 11, 2004, at which time interested parties will be heard.

Tech classes, indictments

Today's Ithaca Journal reports that Tompkins-Cortland Community College is planning to add associate's degree programs in computer support and Web design. The New York State Education Department must approve the proposal.

Also in today's Journal is news of two indictments of Dryden residents, one for forgery and one for felony DWI.

Democratic presidential primary today

Registered Democrats can vote today in the presidential primary. (Republicans don't have a primary this year, and only people registered as members of a party can vote in that party's primaries in New York State.)

Polls are open from noon to 9pm today. For a map of election districts and polling stations, see the Town of Dryden Election Districts map (597KB PDF), or call the Board of Elections at (607) 274-5522.

Commuters, ballots, assessment

It's another quiet day for news in Dryden, but the Ithaca Journal has a story on commuters who drive from other counties to Tompkins County, many of whom drive through Dryden, as well as information on absentee ballots for upcoming village elections and an additional class on assessments.

The newly-scheduled assessment class will be at the BOCES building on Warren Road (map) , March 15th from 7-9pm.

Freeville village elections appear uncontested

The Shopper has an Election Notice for the Village of Freeville today. All of the candidates are on the "Citizens Party" line (Freeville elections aren't along traditional party lines) and there appear to be no contests this year.

The nominees are Lotte Carpenter for Mayor, Diana J. Radford and Penny Beebe for two-year Trustee terms, and Thomas A. Lyson for a one-year trustee term.

Voting will be on Tuesday, March 16th, from noon to 9pm at the Village Hall (map).

New principal, roof repairs, elections

Today's Ithaca Journal has a story on the new principal of Dryden Middle School, Roger Fedele, interviewing both Fedele and Dryden parents. There will be a welcoming reception for Fedele on March 8th, at 7pm in the Middle School cafeteria.

In the Ithaca City School District, they're repairing lots and lots of school roofs with extra money that has become available since last year's budget.

On the editorial page, the main editorial discusses upcoming elections, including the March 16th village elections, for which tomorrow is the last day to register.

Also on the editorial page are letters from Town of Dryden resident and Cornell research associate David Conner questioning genetically-modified organisms and Cornell's role in their creation, and Town of Dryden resident Charlie Hart, who manages to get some Clinton-bashing in while complaining about Bush-bashing.

Village of Dryden elections

I've been surprised by how little coverage village elections have had this year, though at least today's Ithaca Journal editorial mentions village elections. Even finding out who the candidates are has been a challenge, though yesterday's Shopper included a notice on Freeville elections.

Thanks to County Legislator Michael Lane, I now have a complete list of who is running for the two two-year trustee positions and the one one-year position. (The mayor is not up for election this year.)

There are only two candidates for the two two-year positions, so both (barring a write-in campaign) are likely to be elected. Mary Ellen Bossack, a Democrat, and Daniel Wakeman, a Republican, are both running for re-election.

There is a contest for the one-year position, with Daniel Potter, a Democrat, running against Robert Witty, a Republican. Witty was appointed by the mayor to take Michael Hattery's seat, which he resigned when he became a member of the Town Board.

Voting for these positions will take place at the Village Hall (map) on March 16th. Absentee ballots are also available from the Tompkins County Board of Elections. According the the Journal, they must be mailed by March 9th or delivered in person by 4:30pm on March 15th.

Local issues, county taxes

This morning's Ithaca Journal includes two articles looking at issues affecting towns throughout the county, though neither has much Dryden-specific detail. The first looks at how towns outside the City and Town of Ithaca plan not to accept marriage certificate applications from same-sex couples, while the other looks at tax exemptions for seniors.

County Legislator Michael Lane has a letter to the editor, criticizing the prospect of an increased mortgage tax. Lane notes that while "proposed use of mortgage tax revenue for transportation is commendable", "closing costs to obtain home mortgages have skyrocketed", producing yet another barrier to buying a home in Tompkins County. He also notes that the mortgage tax is not a particularly reliable form of revenue.

Annexation, golf course in Dryden Courier

I wish the Dryden Courier was more readily available. Its sister publication, the Ithaca Times, is widely available, both for free in the Ithaca area (extending out to at least the Route 13/366 overlap) and online, while the Dryden Courier is 75¢, and I haven't found it any closer to me than the Village of Dryden.

This week's issue has excellent articles on two issues I haven't been able to find much about: the proposed annexation of a 21-acre lot by the Village of Dryden from the Town of Dryden, and the Town Board's consideration of purchasing the Lakeview Golf Course on Dryden Lake.

According to Tony Hall's "Annexation Debate Continues", the Town Board is split on whether or not to permit annexation (which the Village appears to favor). Councilmen Hattery and Stelick support annexation, while Councilmen Christofferson and Michaels, along with (non-voting) Town Attorney Mahlon Perkins, oppose it. Supervisor Steve Trumbull appears to hold the deciding vote in the matter.

The parcel being considered for annexation by the Village of Dryden.

There are lots and lots of issues around this annexation, but the largest ones appear to revolve around sewer and water, services the Village provides to the Town but with issues about volume and a moratorium on new hookups, along with the intended use of the area as a New York Department of Transportation facility. The DOT facility would make the land tax-exempt, at least on the portions used by the DOT, and there are concerns from the town that both the nearby schools would be affected (by traffic) and that the messiness of the operation ("a chilling aesthetic effect") would not add to the area's appeal.

On the golf course, I'd wondered what the Town Board was up to, voting themselves a negative SEQR declaration in executive session. According to the Courier, their intentions are honorable, seeking to take advantage of a "once in a lifetime opportunity." By buying the sixty acres, the town would both have a huge opportunity to create new recreation opportunities and keep the parcel out of the hands of commercial developers. The Courier quotes Town Supervisor Steve Trumbull:

"I'm worried that someone's going to buy it for development. If that occurs, there goes the golf course and there goes the last view of the lake," Trumbull said.

"We wanted to save it as open space. We didn't want it to go into development," he added.

The board approved an appraisal of "a certain piece of real property" at the December 10, 2003 meeting, and this appears to be the continuation of that. According to the article, the town offered $350,000, but the owner wants $850,000, and the property is assessed at $550,000. Two other offers for the property were both less than the town's offer.

If you have a chance, pick up the Dryden Courier for more details.

Summer school, art scholarship, board briefs

Today's Dryden schools news comes from three different papers.

The Ithaca Journal reports that the Dryden Central School District will include summer school funds in its budget, providing juniors and seniors who need to pass classes to graduate to take courses. The closing of TC3's summer school had left uncertainty about whether Dryden would participate in a new arrangement with BOCES.

In the Dryden Courier (not available online, unfortunately), there is an article on a full tuition scholarship to The College of Saint Rose awarded to Dryden High School senior Carolyn Edgecomb.

Finally, this week's Shopper includes the Dryden Central School Board Briefs for the February 24 meeting.

Partial hamlets census

The Draft Comprehensive Plan actually defines four hamlets within the town, though Etna and Varna are the two most frequently discussed. The other two hamlets are fragments, one being the Dryden side of McLean, which is largely in the Town of Groton, and the other being a tract of land north of the Village of Dryden and east of Route 13.

Like Varna and Etna, these hamlets have no official standing with the Census Bureau, so I've had to make some estimates of which census blocks are in the hamlets, using the same techniques I used to collect census data for Etna and Varna.

In Figure 5-1 of the Draft Comprehensive Plan (301 KB PDF), the hamlet north of Dryden looks like the picture below. The "hamlet" portion this calculation is about is just the yellow.

The hamlet area north of Dryden, as defined in yellow by the Draft Comprehensive Plan.

A comparable area, defined in census blocks, is highlighted here:

Census blocks which include the hamlet north of the Village of Dryden as defined by the Draft Comprehensive Plan.

The Dryden portion of McLean is slightly more difficult, as most of southwestern McLean is one large (and not particularly dense) census block. In the Draft Comprehensive Plan, the Dryden portion of the McLean hamlet is highlighted in yellow:

The McLean hamlet area in the Town of Dryden, as defined in yellow by the Draft Comprehensive Plan.

A roughly comparable area, defined in census blocks, is highlighted here:

Census blocks which include the Town of Dryden portion of the hamlet of McLean as defined by the Draft Comprehensive Plan.

The westernmost block highlighted there contained 56 people, 19 households, and 20 housing units (only one of which was rental) in the 2000 census.

The results for these areas are given in the tables below. The population totals look like:

Moving to households, we get:

And looking at housing, we get:

As with Varna and Etna, there's an issue with mobile home parks and the distinction between owner- and renter-occupied. It's not entirely clear how the census accounts for mobile homes which are owned by their occupants but which are in a park with fees. So far as I can tell, these are counted as owner-occupied, not as rentals.

Fall Creek flow

David Weinstein writes with news about a sign of spring, Fall Creek's current flow of water:

The USGS gage site web page has continuous flow records from Forest Home (right below the lower bridge) for the last 78 years.

Since the ice broke up on March 3rd, the flow has been going down and up between 800 and 1700 cubic feet per second. Today it is at 1470. Normally, the flow is above 200 for only 50% of the time at this time of year and above 550 only 20% of the time, but it has been as high as 3800 and as low as 37 on this day in history.

The flood record for this location is about 15,500 in 1935, and slightly over 11,900 was sufficient to close the Varna bridge in 1982. The highest flow since I've lived here on Freese Rd was the January 19, 1996, 2" rainfall on top of a snowpack, which caused a flow of about 9500 cfs.

More hamlet densities

Yesterday I looked at the populations of the Dryden portion of McLean and the hamlet area north of the Village of Dryden. The Draft Comprehensive Plan proposes an average density for these hamlet areas of eight units per acre, like it does for Etna and Varna. Figuring out the current density seems like a good first step toward evaluating the impact of the proposed new density.

Using calculations biased toward producing higher density values, the hamlet north of Dryden's housing density is about 3.9 units/acre, while that of the Dryden portion of McLean is about 2.8 units/acre.

The hamlet north of Dryden is easier to calculate. In Figure 5-1 of the Draft Comprehensive Plan (301 KB PDF), the hamlet north of Dryden looks like the picture below. The "hamlet" portion this calculation is about is just the yellow.

The hamlet area north of Dryden, as defined in yellow by the Draft Comprehensive Plan.

A set of parcels which corresponds to the yellow area is shown below:

Parcels which include the hamlet north of the Village of Dryden as defined by the Draft Comprehensive Plan.

This selection of parcels is either 26.5 or 25 acres; taking the lower figure to calculate the highest density, 98 housing units divided by 25 acres gives 3.9 units/acre.

McLean is somewhat more complicated, as its yellow area includes some parcels which aren't developed but intermingled with parcels that are. The gray area below includes all of the areas in the yellow, though for density calculations we'll exclude the two largest parcels.

The McLean hamlet area in the Town of Dryden, as defined in yellow by the Draft Comprehensive Plan.

Parcels which include the Town of Dryden portion of the hamlet of McLean as defined by the Draft Comprehensive Plan.

Without the two largest parcels, which total around 125 acres, that leaves 44 acres of developed area. McLean had 135 housing units, which divided by 44 acres produces around 2.8 units/acre.

John Southworth

George Goodrich's Centennial History of Dryden includes a number of biographical portraits of people Goodrich deemed especially important. The name of one of his subjects, John Southworth, is still remembered through both a library and a road in the southeast of Dryden. Goodrich makes plain his importance, but also paints a portrait of a remarkably cantankerous and determined businessman.

Chapter XLVII.

John Southworth

The subject of this chapter impressed those who personally knew him as a man of no ordinary ability. His long life, extending throughout a large portion of our Century Period, during which he accumulated a princely fortune, had a marked influence in the town of Dryden. He was born at Salisbury, Herkimer county, N.Y., September 26, 1796, and died in Dryden, December 2, 1877. His ancestors were from Massachusetts, and his father, Thomas, in August 1806, came to Dryden with his family, which included John, then a lad ten years of age.

Thomas, who was a tanner and currier by trade, and a man of moderate means but of exemplary character and habits, first located in Dryden upon a farm of eighty acres which he purchased at Willow Glen. Afterwards he lived with his son at Dryden village, where he died in July, 1863, 91 years of age.

Soon after coming to Willow Glen, young John was sent off some distance with his father's team, which he took the liberty of trading for another. The exchange, like most of his dealings in after life, proved a fortunate one, but his father was greatly displeased that his son should have taken such unauthorized liberties with his property, and reproved him severely, predicting certain disaster as the result of such precocious tendencies. When John was twenty years of age, he married Nancy, a daughter of Judge Ellis, and purchased fifty acres of land adjoining the farm of his father. He was then obliged to borrow the money in order to pay for a pair of steers with which to do the team work on his farm. After a few years he sold out his first purchase of land and bought the farm in Dryden village which afterward became his homestead. In these early years he developed a remarkably quick and accurate judgment as to the value of property, which followed him through life and enabled him to acquire a fortune, while others, with the same surroundings and with more toil, barely made a living. In a dozen years from the time of his start in business for himself, he was worth as many thousands of dollars.

His first wife died March 16, 1830, while he was living in the house where Will Mespell now resides, on East Main Street in Dryden village. By her he had five children, viz: Rhoda Charlotte, who died December 14, 1847, having become the first wife of John McGraw and the mother of Jennie McGraw-Fiske; Sarah Ann, who became successively the widow of Thomas McGraw; Henry Beach; and Dr. D> C. White, and who is still living at an advanced age in New York city; John Ellis, who became a successful man in business, but who died in early manhood in New York city without issue; Nancy Amelia, the second wife of John McGraw; and Thomas G., who married Malvina Freeland and still lives at Rochelle, Ill. John Willis and his children are the only descendants of Thomas G., and the only living descendants of John Southworth by his first wife.

In 1831 he married Betsey Jagger, by whom he had five children, viz: Betsey Fidelia, who died in youth; Rowena, who became the wife of Hiram W. Sears, and the mother of John Sears, formerly district attorney of Tioga county, N. Y. now a lawyer of Denver, Colorado, and died October 9, 1866; Charles G., who died unmarried in 1872; William H. Harrison, who married Ella Ward and died in 1885, leaving a family of three children; and Albert, who married Diantha Bissell, and died in 1886, leaving a family of three children.

In November, 1833, Mr. Southworth engaged in the mercantile business with Thomas McGraw, afterwards his son-in-law. In 1836 he built the original brick store on the corner of South and West Main streets and in the same year his brick house on North street. He early experienced some business misfortunes, but his dealings were on the whole very successful. The purchase of a large tract of pine lands in Allegany county in partnership with his son Ellis and his son-in-law, John McGraw, was one of his most successful investments. The bulk of his wealth, however, was not made in large transactions, but in the careful, constant, shrewd management of small affairs, out of which his genius derived profits when others would have failed.

To the writer, who had some personal intercourse with him in his declining years, John Southworth was a very interesting character. Having no business education except that acquired from common experience and observation, and no schooling except of the most rudimentary kind, he would express himself clearly in unpolished but forcible and terse language, and would write out with his own hand a contract which, for precision and completeness, few lawyers could equal. Of a genial and social nature, he could tell a good story as well as make a good bargain. He was kind-hearted as well as penurious and one of the anecdotes of his career so fully and correctly illustrates the combination of these somewhat conflicting qualities that we feel compelled to insert it here, as follows: In his dealings with a shiftless, unfortunate man who lived in the South Hill neighborhood, he took a mortgage on the poor man's only cow to secure the payment of what was due him, which was about equal to the value of the animal. Receiving no payments, he came to the conclusion that the only way in which he could collect what was justly due him was to take the cow on the mortgage. Convinced of this, he started out one morning with a boy to assist in bringing home his property. Arriving where the man lived and finding the cow in the door-yard, he directed the boy to let her out into the road while he went into the house and made known with his business. The man did not appear, but his wife came to the door with her little children following and clinging around her. She said to Mr. Southworth that her husband was away and that the cow was all that she had left with which to feed her little ones. Bursting into tears she continued, saying that if the cow was taken from her she should die in despair. Mr. Southworth stood at the door listening to her statement, while the children cried in sympathy with their mother, until he, too, commenced to weep. The boy, who was driving out the cow as directed, seeing the situation, hesitated, suspecting that feelings of sympathy would overcome Mr. Southworth's first intentions; but he was mistaken, for, observing the delay in carrying out his instructions, Mr. Southworth dashed the tears from his eyes and, calling to the boy in a severe tone, he said: "Why in h--l don't you drive along that cow?" The firm determination to have what belonged to him overcame his sympathetic impulses, which were also strong. The cow was legally and equitably his property and, as he considered it, he paid in large taxes his full share toward the support of the poor.

While Mr. Southworth never held any public office, his time being fully taken up in his many business interests, to all of which he gave his own personal attention, he was not insensible to his public duties as a private citizen. When volunteers were being called for during the dark hours of the War of the Rebellion, he contributed at one of the war meetings five hundred dollars for the aid of the families of those who should go to the front. When the question of building a railroad, which resulted in securing to Dryden the Southern Central branch of the Lehigh Valley, was being agitated, and other more narrow-minded property holders refused their aid, he was a liberal contributor to its stock, which was then of very doubtful value and afterwards of none at all.

While he was not known as a religious man, and, in his forcible use of language, was quite often profane, the church people of the village did not apply in vain for his assistance in their financial affairs. He was at one time pursuaded to attend one of the meetings of the M. E. church society, the object of which was to raise funds with which to enlarge and repair their church edifice. Bishop Peck, who, in his youth, was one of the first M. E. clergymen located at Dryden, and with whom Mr. Southworth had thus formed an old friendship, was present at this special meeting to raise funds for the church. After Mr. Southworth had consented to subscribe one hundred dollars, the bishop, minister, and church members endeavored to obtain smaller contributions from those of less ability. In this effort Mr. Southworth readily joined, finally offering to contribute fifty dollars more if John Perrigo and another man would sign for twenty-five dollars each, which would thus add another one hundred dollars to the fund. When the others hesitated, Mr. Southworth, in his earnestness to carry out the scheme and unmindful of the company he was in, said: "Why, d-mn it to h--l, Perrigo, you can do that much." It is needless to say that the bishop and church members who surrounded him did not severely rebuke him for his strong language upon that occasion.

While Mr. Southworth was a man of strong will, which would bear no contradiction, he was not altogether heartless or unreasonable, and he always manifested a disposition to help those who were inclined to strive to help themselves. Unmerciful to those who were unfaithful to their agreements with him, there was no limit to the confidence which he placed in those by whom he thought confidence was merited. While extremely simple and economical in his personal habits, his hospitality was unbounded. His faults were for the most part on the surface, and of his better qualities he made no display. Notwithstanding the rapid decline in the value of his real estate shortly before his death, his accumulated property inventories nearly a million.

Goodrich, George B. The Centennial History of the Town of Dryden, 1797-1897. Dryden: Dryden Herald Steam Printing House, 1898. Reprinted 1993 by the Dryden Historical Society. Pages 208-12.

(The Dryden Historical Society, which sells this book, may be reached at 607-844-9209.)

More buildings on 366

1132 Dryden Road (map)

1129 Dryden Road (map)

1128 Dryden Road (map)

The Dryden Lake area in the 19th century

The Dryden Lake area today has farms, parks, trails, and a golf course, but it used to be a lumbering and milling area before settling down to farming and (long since gone to refrigeration) and ice-making. George Goodrich explores the southeastern corner of Dryden in this excerpt from his Centennial History.

Dryden Lake (1897, Photo by Silcox)

Chapter XLI.

Further History of the South-East Section

This corner of the township includes Dryden Lake, of which a view has already been given at page 3 of this volume. It is located in a good farming locality near the summit which divides the streams which flow southerly into the Susquehanna from those which flow northerly into the St.Lawrence system of watercourses.

James Lacy, the youngest one of the five brothers who came to Dryden from New Jersey in 1801, was the first to settle near its shores, and he soon built a dam at the outlet, thereby enlarging its natural capacity and furnishing power for a saw-mill which he soon constructed for the purpose of manufacturing lumber from the abundance of pine which was there found. At one time five saw-mills were operated upon the outlet flowing from the Lake before Dryden village was reached and at least one saw-mill existed at the head of the Lake upon its inlet.

Some species of fish were found naturally existing in the waters of the Lake when first discovered, but others, including pickerel and perch, were afterward introduced and have multiplied, furnishing excellent fishing for an inland town, which is appreciated by the inhabitants for many miles around. A number of flat-bottom boats are kept and rented by the proprietors of the Lake for fishing purposes and are in great demand annually from the fifteenth of May, when the fishing season begins. For some years past the saw-mill at the outlet has been allowed to run down for the want of raw material and the only use made of the Lake except for fishing and pleasure parties has been the ice harvesting industry, which has developed within a few years into an extensive business in its season. A large storage ice-house has been erected on the bank near the railroad by the Philadelphia Milk Supply Company, and at the proper season large quantities of ice are harvested and stored or shipped at this point, which combines the advantages of a high altitude, pure lake water, principally derived from springs in the neighborhood, and convenient transportation.

In this connection we are obliged to chronicle an event which happened in this locality December 18, 1887, the murder of Paul Layton. He was a farmer who had formerly lived on Long Island, near New York, and had lived in Dryden quite a number of years, owning and occupying a large farm to the northeast of the lake. Of a somewhat miserly disposition, employing only cheap help with whom he lived, and having no family of his own, Mr. Layton had acquired considerable property and was frequently known to carry a good deal of money on his person. At the time of his death in the winter time he had no one living with him and he was chiefly employed in caring for his stock, which required his assistance about the barn, situated in a secluded location some little distance from the highway. Here, on the morning of December 18, 1887, he was found with his skull broken, evidently from the effect of blows upon the head, but with no evidence as to who had committed the crime. His pocketbook, in which he carried his money, was gone and it was concluded that money was the incentive which influenced the villain to commit the deed, but although great efforts were made to investigate the matter, no satisfactory proof as to who committed the act was ever obtained, and it seems likely ever to remain an unsolved mystery.

Of the pioneer families of this section we can only mention:

BAILEY, JESSE, who, with his son Morris, bought thirty acres of land on Lot 56, upon which they were living as early as 1804, being a part of the farm now owned and occupied by Cyrus Tyler. Morris Bailey is named among the original members of the Baptist church of Etna in 1804 and he was the father of the Bailey brothers for so long a time residents of Dryden village but only two of whom, Wm. and Amasa, now survive.

CARPENTER, ABNER, whose deed of about three hundred acres of land on Lot No. 70, near the head of Dryden Lake, bears date March 17, 1804, was among the very earliest settlers in that part of the town where some of his descendants still reside. There seems to have been a controversy between him and Jacob Hiles at the foot of the Lake as to some rights connected therewith and among his papers we find the bond of Jacob Hiles, executed December 3, 1814, according to which they agree to submit to John Ellis, Jesse Stout, and Joseph Hart all of the matters in controversy.

Of the children of Abner Carpenter, Laura marries Wm. Tillotson; John moved to Cortland; Harry moved to Illinois; Barney remained in Dryden, where he died in 1892; Daniel moved to Groton; Polly married Henry Saltsman and went West; and Candace married Jarvis Sweetland.

DEUEL, REUBEN, was a Quaker and an early settler on Lot No. 76, in what is now known as the Dusenberry neighborhood. He was a shoemaker and came to Dryden from Orange county, N. Y., about 1806. We have already referred to him as one of the traveling shoemakers who in those days went about from house to house among the farmers making up their home-made leather into boots and shoes.

He was the ancestor of the Deuel families of Dryden and Caroline, which have intermarried with many other families, and T. S. Deuel, of Dryden village, is his grandson. His children included Morgan, Lyman and David Deuel, and Mrs. Thos. Freeman, of Etna.

HEMMINGWAY, DEACON SAMUEL, about the year 1810, bought and cleared up the farm now own by Cyrus Knapp on Lot 65. He has already been mentioned in connection with Etna as one of the founders of the Baptist church there in 1804.

HOLLISTER, KINNER, a few years later, about 1813 or 1814, settled on Lot No. 85, clearing up the farm now in possession of his grandson, Frank Hollister.

HILES, JACOB, with his sons John and George, came from New Jersey early in the century, purchasing the Lake mill property of James Lacy before 1814. John succeeded to this property, upon which he resided for many years and finally died, leaving a large family and considerable property. The widow of Jacob became the second wife of Judge Ellis. George Hiles married Percy West and was the father of Harrison and John W.

POWERS, ELIJAH, settled on Lot 86, where Chauncey L. Scott lived years ago. He was there as early as 1807 and in 1808 he built a saw-mill called the Bottom Mill, which passed into the possession of the Van Pelts many years later. This was the first saw-mill built on Upper Six Mile Creek and antedated others at Slaterville.

RUMMER, GABRIEL, came to Dryden and located in this section in the year of the total eclipse (1806) and left children which included Anne (Stevens), Levi, Polly (Purvis), Lydia (Ballard) and Phoebe F. (Joyner). Peter Rummer, who owned the farm now know as the Rummer farm in Dryden village, and his son Cyrus were of another family.

SIMONS, BENJAMIN, was born January 29, 1766, and came to Dryden from Orange county, settling upon South Hill in 1808 with five children and his wife, Isabelle McWilliams, who was a native of Scotland.

Of the children, John and James went later to Allegany county; Andrew to Pennsylvania; Jane married the Rev. Reuben Hurd, an early minister of the Presbyterian church in Dryden village, and they afterwards moved west; Sarah married Edwin Cole. Benjamin, Jr., the old gentleman who recently died here, had remained in Orange county until after his marriage, and Adam was born after his parents came to Dryden, the former being the father of our Andrew Simons and his sisters and the latter of Nancy, Luther, Henry, and William. Benjamin, Sr., was a devoted pioneer in the Presbyterian church of Dryden and went on foot to Orange county about 1820 to secure aid for the completion of its building.

SMITH, WM. R., came to Caroline in 1816 and cut a road from Norwood's Corner to the Pumpelly lot, No. 100. He cleared sixty-five acres, upon which he built a log house in 1820. His father had served in the War of 1812 from Massachusetts, and he was the oldest of a family of seven children, all of whom came to this section of country. He had married in 1818 Polly Vickery, and to them were born thirteen children, which include Cynthia O'Cain, who lives in Iowa; Betsey Amy and Hannah Eastman, who have died; Mary Ann Schutt; Adelia Whitman; Clara Quick; Sarah Huslander; Frances Oak; and Ellen Cinderella. Two boys, William R. Smith, Jr., who recently died, and Gilbert, who is living, have children who reside upon and near the old homestead in the extreme south-east corner of the township. The old gentleman died September 30, 1881, 83 years of age.

Goodrich, George B. The Centennial History of the Town of Dryden, 1797-1897. Dryden: Dryden Herald Steam Printing House, 1898. Reprinted 1993 by the Dryden Historical Society. Pages 180-4.

(The Dryden Historical Society, which sells this book, may be reached at 607-844-9209.)

Spring thaw is over

David Weinstein writes again to report the effect of all that snow melting from our hillsides:

After reaching a peak flow of just over 2000 cubic feet per second (cfs) on Friday night (March 5, 2004) and remaining there for most of Saturday, the Fall Creek water level dropped almost in half by mid-day Sunday (to approximately 1200) and today (Monday, March 8, 2004, 7AM) is down to 895.

Examining spring thaws (defined as the peak flow in Feb-April of each year) through history (since 1925), I found that this year's flow was just slightly over average. Over the last 80 years, 47 springs have had flows less than 2000 cfs, with 33 having flows greater or equal to 2000 cfs. Only 11 years have had flows greater than 3000 cfs, and of those only one had a flow exceeding 4000.

Peak Flow (Cubic Feet/Second)	Number of Years	Cumulative %
less than 1500	27	34.18%
1501-2000	20	59.49%
2001-2500	15	78.48%
2501-3000	6	86.08%
3001-3500	5	92.41%
3501-4000	5	98.73%
More than 4000	1	100.00%

Personally, I'm happy to have avoided last year's spectacle of my back steps turning into a small waterfall.

Meetings this week

The Town of Dryden site lists two meetings this week. On Tuesday, March 9, the Conservation Advisory Council is meeting at 7:30pm, while the Town Board is meeting on March 11, at 7pm.

The agenda for the Town Board meeting is available, and starts with a public hearing on a law to convert the Conservation Advisory Council into a Conservation Board, detailed in last month's minutes. (Search for "Local Law No. 4" to find it quickly.)

Both meetings will be held at the Dryden Town Hall (map).

Absentee ballots, healthy food in ICSD

The Ithaca Journal reports that today is the last day to apply for an absentee ballot for the Freeville or Dryden village elections, though ballots may still be picked up in person until March 15 from the Board of Elections.

Also in today's Journal, in the Ithaca City School District, the Food Service Program is offering healthier lunches for children.

Missed a building on 366

In my last entry on buildings along 366, I skipped this one, at 1131 Dryden Road.

1131 Dryden Road, Servicemaster (map)

I've given some photos of businesses names reflecting the business, which pulls them out of the main address listing. I'll check my notes more carefully in the future.

Dryden busing, ICSD budget, vaccinations, Corinthians

Today's Ithaca Journal notes an April 1 deadline for Dryden Central School District residents seeking buses to non-public schools and a report from the Intermunicipal Recreation Partnership, and examines what next year's Ithaca City School District budget would look like if held to a 5% tax levy increase.

On the opinion page, Dr. William Klepack of Dryden Family Medicine (and medical director of the Tompkins County Health Department) has a guest column on the importance of vaccinations, while Arthur Barry of Dryden reminds readers of 2 Corinthians 2:15.

Dryden school board updates

Today's issue of The Shopper includes the latest Dryden Central School Board Briefs, as well as a notice looking for candidates for the May 18 school board election.

If you want to run, you have to have lived in the district at least a year, can't share a household with another member as a member of the family, can't be employed by the school board, can't have been removed from school district office within the past year, can't hold "another incompatible public office", must be able to read and write, and must be at least 18 years old.

After all that, there's another step to getting on the ballot:

"Candidate petitions with 31 signatures are due in the District Clerk's office by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, April 19, 2004"

Candidate packets are available from Linda Carr, the District Clerk, at 844-5361, extension 225.

SPCA closer to completion

The SPCA expansion is starting to look more like a building and less like a work in progress.

SPCA expansion with nearly complete siding

Dryden teachers rally; fact-finder's report recommends compromise

The Ithaca Journal reports this morning that members of the Dryden Faculty Association rallied to remind passers by that they have worked nearly two years without a contract, just as a fact-finding report, submitted Monday, suggests that both the District and the teachers need to make concessions.

The union will be holding an informational meeting on the fact-finder's report this afternoon, and the school board will be discussing it Monday. Superintendent Patricia Archambault sounds hopeful about the prospects:

"The report lends itself to moving toward a settlement, but there needs to be a willingness by both parties to work at it," Archambault said. "I'm very optimistic that we'll see some movement to closure in the not-too-distant future."

The Journal also reports today on a presentation at TC3 on the dangers of DWI.

Update: This originally said Dryden teachers had worked nearly nine months without a contract. That was based on the Journal's quoting Mary Ellen Bossack that "the purpose was to make the community aware that it's been 260-odd days without a contract," which they have now corrected to 620 days.

Town votes 3-2 for annexation

Settling the division on the board over annexation of a parcel to the Village of Dryden, Supervisor Steve Trumbull voted for annexation.

A lot happened at last night's Town Board meeting, and I'll be reporting it in detail over the next few days, but meeting highlights are available in today's Ithaca Journal.

Home and Garden Show at NYS Armory

The Ithaca Journal has a picture from the Home and Garden Show this morning. The show, which is being held at the New York State Armory on Hanshaw Road (map), opened yesterday and is open today from 10am-6pm and tomorrow from 11am-4pm. More details are available at the show's web site.

Dryden village candidates

There's an article examining the contested Village of Dryden race for a one-year term as trustee in today's Ithaca Journal, speaking with both Democrat David Potter and Republican Robert Witty.

Witty, who was appointed to fill the seat when Michael Hattery left for the Town Board, cites his financial experience as CEO and president of CFCU Community Credit Union as a major qualification.

Potter raises issues affecting the Village directly, notably underfunding of public services and the quality of housing: "Many rentals are substandard or close to it, especially on safety standards." (As noted here earlier, the 2000 census found 43% of Village of Dryden rentals were built prior to 1939.)

Both candidates seem concerned with intermunicipal cooperation as a way to reduce costs. (Two incumbents, Republican Dan Wakeman and Democrat Mary Ellen Bossack are also running for trustee, but in uncontested races for two year terms.)

The article also includes a sidebar on uncontested races, noting Freeville's shifting of mayor and trustees and addition of a new member.

Request for information on schools, history

Elsie Gutchess has a letter in the Cortland Area Tribune:

To Area Senior Citizens,

As we speedily move along in the 2000s, I am always interested in hearing personal recollections of bygone times from within the Town of Dryden.

Many of you have already made contributions to the still-unpublished manuscript that will become the 2nd Centennial History of our Town. That larger-than-anticipated project is scheduled for publication in 2005.

If enough additional interviews and material can be collected, a publication on the "Schools of the Town of Dryden" is expected also in 2005. That will include and cover each of the Rural Schools, as well as GJR, Freeville, and Dryden schools. Some rural schools were just outside our town lines, but were attended by Dryden families. If possible, they will be included.

If you have stories or memories about early school or community events, businesses, farm life, families, reunions, etc., and would be willing to be interviewed, please call me. I can come to you or meet you somewhere else, at a time that is convenient for you.

As the Historian for the Town of Dryden, I am charged with gathering and preserving the history of our entire town. I need contributions from you long-time or long-ago residents who each hold a little piece for this big assignment. All together, we can recapture the past and save the story for future residents.

Please contact me at your convenience. My phone is 607.844.5504. Write me at Box 555, Dryden NY 13053. Or email me at drydentownhistorian@cny.net.

- Elsie Gutchess

Town Board on annexation

[This Thursday's Town Board meeting had enough to it that I'm going to publish a series of articles on what happened, focusing on specific topics, rather than try to cover it in one huge piece.]

The Town Board resolved the annexation issue this Thursday, voting 3-2 in favor of findings proposed by Mike Hattery that put annexation in a much more favorable light than the findings proposed by Mahlon Perkins in Febuary.

Fred Apker, who has a parcel next to the parcel being annexed, spoke during the citizens' privilege period. He said:

"I think it's inappropriate, and it shows poor planning by our town. To just take one sliver of land out of a parcel... I feel is inappropriate to be annexed. If the entire Cortland Road sewer district were to be annexed, or if there were roads or something that divided it up, that would be appropriate.

As far the DOT going in, I realize that we're not talking about that tonight, but it seems like that's the sole usage of that property. I just can't see, with the kids walking by the schools, having all those tractor-trailers driving by, etc. I feel that that particular parcel is inappropriate. I think with excellent planning somewhere around Hanshaw Road, where there are a lot of accidents, where the plows and the sanders are needed, and that would be more centrally located."

Jamie Arnold addresses the Town Board

Jamie Arnold, a DOT employee, spoke in favor of both annexation and of putting in the DOT facility:

"As a lifelong resident of Dryden and a New York State Department of Transportation employee, I can see both sides of the fence and I can understand the pros and cons.

I really look forward to having the Department of Transportation building here in Dryden, for the sole fact that my wife and kids will have a lot cleaner roads to drive on. The ability of the Department of Transportation to take care of the roads with a newer facility, with a cleaner facility, in a nice area like this, is second to none.

Where I think we're really missing the boat here is if we're worried about traffic when there are so many things that could be dealt with simply by rerouting traffic and making sure that any heavy truck traffic for the Department of Transportation gets access from the Route 13 side. There are so many simple little answers to these things that everybody's so upset and so worried about.

There are a lot of people who work for the state Department of Transportation that don't live in Dryden or in this immediate area. Spencer, the other side of Homer, Tully, Preble, that will most likely relocate here, and that's going to do a lot for our bedroom community and our tax base.

Every time you're at work, and you need something done on your motor vehicle, you'll do it, and catch a ride from one of our friends or something going to work, we drop our vehicle off on the way in or catch it up on the way back, and that's all going to be done in town now, as is all the stuff you do on your way out of town, getting gas and things like that.

There would be an increase in activity at all of our local stores, and all of our local markets as well. I really hope we can understand all the pluses that are coming with this."

After Arnold spoke, the board moved to the Annexation vote. Michael Hattery introduced his set of findings on the annexation, and Steve Stelick seconded them. In the discussion, the board's earlier division remained, with Stelick and Hattery supporting the annexation and Christofferson and Michaels opposing it.

Councilman Hattery reads his proposed findings on annexation

Michaels, while noting that "I'm not opposed to annexation in general," was unhappy with annexing a single parcel in a largely unplanned "spot" annexation. Christofferson, agreeing with Michaels, felt that the board should look at this in a larger context rather than moving forward with a "surgical" annexation. "Since this is one small piece of a larger problem I think we should be looking at, I'll be voting against this."

Michaels noted that it was "the two members who came to the Town Board from the Planning Board" who opposed annexation, though Hattery noted that he had once been on the Planning Board as well.

Stelick noted that this annexation project would get village water across Route 38, opening new possibilities, and that state money, gathered by Senator Seward, was available for the project - but that the money wouldn't be available forever.

After the discussion, Michaels and Christofferson voted against annexation, and Supervisor Trumbull (who hadn't spoken during the discussion, and handed over the reigns of running the meeting to Deputy Supervistor Stelick because of a cold) voted for it. Joined by Stelick and Hattery, as expected, that put the annexation measure over the top.

Highway discussions at Town Board meeting

Thursday's Town Board meeting had a relative brief highway session, though what there was was interesting.

During citizens' privilege, Peggy Walbridge asked what the status was of the proposed work on Hunt Hill and Genung Roads. Highway Superintendent Jack Bush said that nothing had changed, planning was still in the works, she would be notified when something would happen, and that nothing should happen before the next board meeting, certainly.

Bush also reported on the February 24th meeting in Varna on "Speed Control on Rural Roads", noting that many of the difficulties discussed there were in state control, but also noting that some people were interested in putting a park and ride on 366 to take traffic off the road before it reached Varna.

He also noted (and County Legislator Martha Robertson also noted, as she had worked on it previously and been involved in the discussion) that one complaint at that meeting focused on town roads was about the intersection of Genung and Ellis Hollow Creek roads (map), which was wide enough that drivers took turns quickly and regularly ended up in the yard across the street.

The town is experimenting with narrowing the intersection, as shown below:

Revised intersection of Ellis Hollow Creek and Genung Roads, as seen by drivers approaching from Ellis Hollow Creek Road

Revised intersection of Ellis Hollow Creek and Genung Roads, as seen by drivers approaching from Genung Road

Damaged reflector at Ellis Hollow Creek and Genung Roads, an earlier effort at marking the road edge that itself got hit.

Board members reported that they'd heard positive reports from citizens about the modified road, and it seems to be a success so far.

Martha Robertson noted that her efforts to have the speed limit reduced on Ellis Hollow Creek Road were stymied by a New York State Department of Transportation official who feared it would lead to tailgating. Robertson also discussed the prospects for Route 366 park and ride, noting that Cornell's parking situation is difficult to start with and that putting a park and ride at the current site of the closed Boxcar restaurant might solve both traffic problems on Route 366 and parking problems at Cornell.

Conservation, environmental planning, and a golf course

Conservation issues were important at Thursday's Town Board meeting, which started with a (very quiet) public hearing on changing the Conservation Advisory Council to a Conservation Advisory Board, spent time on environmental planning issues, and concluded with a discussion about purchasing an enormous parcel, a golf course, on Dryden Lake, for reasons that may have something to do with conservation.

No one spoke on the Conservation Advisory Council/Board proposal during the 7:00 to 7:15pm public hearing time, though Charles Smith spoke briefly before voting, noting that he thought it was a good law. Councilman Christofferson expressed concerns for its potential to become additional red tape. After some discussion, and reassurances that this wouldn't affect people putting garages on their houses, during the discussion, the board passed it 5-0.

During the Environmental Planner's report, the board discussed three issues. The first was a question of Town support for a Six Mile Creek water quality monitoring program, initially for training of volunteers, which is starting soon. The project, a joint project between the Town of Caroline, Town of Dryden, Town of Ithaca, City of Ithaca, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and the Community Science Institute had faced and answered some tough questions from the Conservation Advisory Council, and in the end was passed, contingent on identification of a funding source to cover the approximately $2500 cost.

The next issue, county funding of the five-year Virgil Creek Valley aquifer study, promises to reduce town costs on a project that is already in motion. The town had approved the study in July 2002, with the US Geological Survey paying 30% of the costs and the town paying 70%, or $279,000. The county is now able to contribute $139,000, reducing the town's share to 35%. The study should help the town avoid contamination of drinking waters supplies in the future.

The last issue also promised to improve Dryden's finances. The Town of Caroline wants to contract with Dryden for environmental services, sharing Debbie Gross's time. Caroline will pay $7500 per year, and the contract allows Dryden to pull out if it proves to take too much of Gross's time. It was moved and approved.

The Town Board also appointed Gross to the Ithaca Tompkins County Transportation Council and as an alternate to the Cayuga Lake Watershed Intermunicipal Organization

At the end of the meeting, the board considered another issue with potential environmental ramifications, the town's possible purchase of the Lakeview Golf Course on Dryden Lake. As reported earlier in the Dryden Courier, Supervisor Trumbull is very enthusiastic about the purchase, though opinions of other board members were more mixed.

Lakeview Golf Course clubhouse

Parcels included in Lakeview Golf Course

Update: A corrected map is available in a more recent story.

The immediate issue was whether to approve a contract with Tallman and Demarest, a local architecture firm, for no more than $5,000 to do a study on the economics of the current golf course. (Supervisor Trumbull also had estimates for similar work of $35,000 from a company in Florida and $8,000 from a company in Syracuse.)

Councilman Hattery stated that "Personally, I am not anxious to see the town running a golf course," and saw the town's role here only as an intermediary. Councilman Michaels was concerned about the lack of connection to existing planning processes. (It is not, for example, included as a possible park in the Draft Comprehensive Plan's Future Park & Transportation Improvements (300K PDF).)

Councilman Stelick said that "I don't want to see this lake disappear behind that growth. " Councilman Michael noted that he didn't want to see housing there, but he was "very resistant to keeping someone who paid cold hard cash for it from building houses on it."

Charles Smith suggested that this was something the Conservation Advisory Board could take a look at, and Supervisor Trumbull seemed interested, though no formal request was made at the meeting.

View of Dryden Lake from Lakeview Golf Course

On the strength of Councilman Michael's suggestion that "not doing this now means not having the information we need when it's time" - and given that time was short, as the course is now in foreclosure, with an auction likely in early summer, the board approved going ahead with the study.

Dryden fire departments at Rose Inn fire, SPCA spaying

The Ithaca Journal has had two articles on the fire which gutted the Rose Inn in Lansing and the investigation into its causes. The Dryden, Etna, Freeville, McLean, and Varna fire companies were among a dozen departments on the scene.

Also in today's Journal, the SPCA is offering free spaying of cats to low-income Town of Dryden residents.

Today's Dryden Town Talk explores a Dryden resident's unexpected flood of recipes for salt rise bread, as well as contra dancing, soccer, and lacrosse programs from the Town of Dryden Recreation Department.

Today is also the last day to order seedlings, transplants, bulbs, fertilizer, and duck, bat, and bluebird nesting boxes from the Tompkins County Soil and Water Conservation District.

Dryden Courier on fire company audits

The March 10 issue of the Dryden Courier has an article on what last year's controversial audits have turned up. Tony Hall reports that Sciarabba, Walker and Company, LLP, have submitted complete audit reports for three of the four companies, the Neptune Hose Company of Dryden, the W.B Strong Company of Freeville, and the Varna Volunteer Fire Company. The firm has finished collecting information on the Etna Fire Department, though as that audit started much later than the others, it has not yet compiled a report.

Hall notes "a plea from the auditors that the three companies standardize their reports, to make it easier for the town to understand their financial positions in the future." Questions related to such standardization of information, especially during the budget process, also came up at the Town Board's January 25th special meeting with fire companies.

The two largest findings are that the W.B. Strong Company hasn't filed a tax return - "'maybe ever', Stelick said," and that Varna had lost between $40,000 and $50,000 in 2002 on investments, as it used a riskier strategy for managing its investments than had, for example, Neptune, which puts all of its money into certificates of deposit. The Varna investments seem to be coming back, and Strong doesn't owe taxes - as a non-profit, it doesn't pay them.

The report finds the companies sound and states that "It appears that major purchase decisions were arrived at only after thorough exploration of options and careful consideration by membership."

The audit also included on-site equipment inspections by Scott Pronti of the Lansing Fire Department, and found equipment to be "appropriate".

The table below summarizes the companies' current financial position.

Next year's school budgets look tight already

The Dryden Courier's March 10 issue leads with some difficult news about the Dryden Central School District's budget: mandates, inflation, health insurance, and retirement costs could inflict an 8.9% increase in in the budget (and larger increase in the tax levy), even with a zero increase in most budget lines and losing four teachers because of an expiring grant.

The Courier cites district Business Manager Teresa Carnrike as estimating that owners of homes assessed $100,000 in the district would face a $394 tax increase, even after increased assessments and state equalization rates are taken into account. A drop of $300,000 in state aid last year followed by an increase of only $30,000 expected for this year hasn't helped the overall situation, nor does $114,000 in spending required by the No Child Left Behind Act.

The Courier concludes by noting that the board asked adminstrators to cut this proposal by an additional five percent.

The Ithaca Journal reported similar though slightly less dreadful budget difficulties for the Ithaca City School District a few weeks ago. (You should make certain to read the correction as well to get the numbers straight.) While the Dryden rollover budget would increase the tax levy 18.44%, the ICSD's rollover budget only increases the tax levy 6.8%. Still, even keeping the tax levy increase to 5% means $950,000 of cuts to currently funded programs and services.

Village elections today

Elections will be held in the Villages of Dryden and Freeville today from noon to 9pm.

In the Village of Dryden, voting will be on the second floor of the Village Hall (map). In the Village of Freeville, voting will be at the Village Hall (map).

As noted earlier, Dryden's election is contested, while Freeville's is not.

More on school board budgets, affordable housing

Today's Ithaca Journal has stories on budgeting at both the Dryden Central School District and the Ithaca City School District. As noted yesterday, the Dryden district's budget looks especially bleak:

"Last year when we said we'd keep it to 10 percent [tax levy increase], it seemed possible. This year the effect of the 10 percent, I think, will ruin our schools," said Donna Mott, vice president of the board.

The Journal details the cuts involved:

The proposed cuts included 8.5 faculty positions, 5.5 support staff positions, $55,100 from athletic programs, $92,000 from co-curricular activities such as bands, plays and clubs, $16,399 from the computer tech department, the $15,425 travel and conferences budget, $4,980 from field trip transportation, $25,000 from transportation by no longer offering bus service to 6- to 12-graders who live within 1.5 miles of the school, and $2,653 from supplies, which is equivalent to 1 percent of supplies districtwide.

The board asked the adminstration to come up with budgets reflecting a 15% tax levy increase and also a contingency budget with an increase of 3.61% - which would be used if voters didn't approve the budget.

The Ithaca district will be having a meeting about the budget today, though it doesn't sound like anyone is looking forward to it.

The Journal also has a lot of material on Tompkins County's affordable housing issues today, including information on possible federal cuts to housing subsidies, comments from local residents on the issues involved, and the Town of Ithaca's unanimous approval of a zoning change for the Overlook at West Hill project, which includes 128 affordable units and 15 market-rate homes.

Ellis Hollow Community Church to close

Today's Journal reports that the Ellis Hollow Community Church will be closing in June, as the church needs a new roof and paint while facing dwindling attendance.

Schools testing, budgets, taxes

Today's Ithaca Journal has an extended article on schools looking forward to tomorrow's state test results, and opens with discussion of Dryden Intermediate School's fourth grade.

There's also a piece on the Ithaca City School District's budget plan, which currently includes a tax levy increase of 5.82%, though a tax rate decrease of about 4%, reflecting increased assessmements.

On the tax front, the county legislature, including all three Dryden legislators, voted down a county mortgage tax 11-3.

Dryden and Freeville village election results

The Journal reports that unofficially, 211 people voted in yesterday's Dryden village election and 21 voted in Freeville's uncontested races.

In the Village of Dryden's only contested race, Republican Robert Witty defeated Democrat David Potter 132-76. In the uncontested races, Republican Daniel Wakeman received 121 votes, while Democrat Mary Ellen Bossack received 95.

In the Village of Freeville, incoming mayor Lotte Carpenter received 20 votes. Outgoing mayor Thomas Lyson received 18 votes for a one-year trustee seat, while Diana Radford and Penny Beebe both received 21 votes.

Song to a fair young lady, going out of the town in the spring

The first verse of this poem, written by Dryden's namesake, the poet John Dryden (1631-1700), seems especially appropriate as we approach the first official day of spring, but switch suddenly from mud with a few flowers starting to grow to seven inches of snow on the ground.

Ask not the cause why sullen Spring
So long delays her flowers to bear;
Why warbling birds forget to sing,
And winter storms invert the year:
Chloris is gone; and fate provides
To make it Spring where she resides.

Chloris is gone, the cruel fair;
She cast not back a pitying eye:
But left her lover in despair
To sigh, to languish, and to die:
Ah! how can those fair eyes endure
To give the wounds they will not cure!

Great God of Love, why hast thou made
A face that can all hearts command,
That all religions can invade,
And change the laws of every land?
Where thou hadst plac'd such power before,
Thou shouldst have made her mercy more.

When Chloris to the temple comes,
Adoring crowds before her fall;
She can restore the dead from tombs
And every life but mine recall.
I only am by Love design'd
To be the victim for mankind.

Dryden's poetry seems like a stark contrast with most of what I publish here. I wonder what he'd think of this place named after him. (He's not quite so distant as many of the Roman and Greek namesakes of places in upstate New York, certainly.)

Health insurance for elected officials

Another issue that came up at the Town Board meeting last Thursday was the question of health insurance for full-time elected officials: the Town Clerk and Highway Superintendent.

The town pays the full cost of either single or family health insurance for appointed employees, but only the single cost for full-time elected officials. The elected officials can use the family plan, but have to make up the difference themselves, which comes to $159 per week. As Highway Superintendent Jack Bush noted at the February meeting, this effectively makes the Deputy Highway Superintendent better paid than the Highway Superintendent.

Town Clerk Bambi Hollenbeck (who doesn't herself currently use the family insurance) did a survey of surrounding towns, as well as a few towns with similar populations and tax bases, and presented the results.

Councilman Marty Christofferson said "it looked to me like we were kind of unique," in treating elected officials differently from appointed officials. Christofferson wasn't, however, "sure how to draft a resolution that does it", and wanted to hear from the town attorney, Mahlon Perkins, before moving ahead with this.

Bush pointed out that elected officials were on the same (Teamsters) health plan as appointed officials, and the only thing the board would need to do is authorize the payment. This raised questions about whether the town pays the full amount for other employees, which it does, without charging the employees a percentage. Stelick noted that other towns charge employees a percentage, and Christofferson noted that TC3 employees pay a percentage. The union contract specifies that, and it's practice at the town for other employees as well. Chris Michaels noted that he's happy board members can get insurance through the town, though the town doesn't pay for their coverage.

In the end, board members sounded like they wanted to take a long-term look at who pays for insurance for all employees, figure out where this would come from in the budget, and consult with Mahlon Perkins before taking action, though Christofferson said "in principle, I agree that full-time elected officials should be treated like full-time employees." Chris Michaels also asked when any such change would take effect if passed - immediately, retroactive to January 2004, or in 2005. Hattery wanted to see cost numbers before voting. Action was held to the next meeting.

There was a question a few years ago, which re-surfaced in the last election, over whether the Highway Superintendent should be elected or appointed. Whatever your opinion on that issue, it seems very strange that health insurance benefits would change as a side-effect of that. While elected officials often do their work with more controversy and more scrutiny brought on by the election cycle, it hardly seems reasonable to deny full-time officials who happen to be elected the same benefits they would have if appointed.

School report cards, budgets

Today's Journal reports that New York State issued school report cards yesterday, and the news is mostly good for the Dryden and Ithaca districts:

"Ithaca City School District elementary and middle schools did significantly better on state tests than those the state deems as similar schools around the state, according to Russell. High school Regents exam performance also continued to be strong and consistent across the board.....

In Dryden, the focus will continue to be on middle school performance. Having made strides in fourth-grade test scores -- earning most-improved recognition from the state for its fourth-grade math scores -- the district hopes to bolster eighth-grade performance....

But in the high school arena, Regents scores suggested that any gaps in middle school education are minimized at the high school. In seven of eight available Regents test scores, more than 91 percent of students scored a passing 55 or higher. On the Mathematics A test 82 percent passed."

Dryden Superintendent Patricia Archambault wants to add support for middle school and and ninth grade students, but the Journal quotes her on the difficulties: "Given a tough budget year any staff reductions will really limit our abilities."

The Journal also has an editorial on citizen involvement with the school budget process. Finally, there's a another notice on an April 1 deadline for "residents of the Dryden Central School District who wish to have their children transported to a non-public school."

Tonight's Planning Board meeting

Tonight's Town of Dryden Planning Board meeting will continue to examine the Draft Comprehensive Plan and proposed changes to it. The Draft Comprehensive Plan page on the town's site notes:

The Planning Board discussed the first three topics at its February meeting, however no actions were taken because a quorum was not present. At the upcoming March 18th meeting (Thursday at 7PM), the Planning Board will revisit these first three topics, and hopes to take action on some revisions. As time permits, the next four topics (housing, water/sewer, transportation, and agriculture) may be addressed. The Planning Board continues to welcome all comments in writing regarding the Draft Comprehensive Plan.

The last Planning Board meeting had lots of discussion, but only two members in attendance. The meeting will be held at the Dryden Town Hall (map) at 7pm.

Village and school budgets

Today's Ithaca Journal reports on the 11% percent increase in the tax levy proposed in the Village of Dryden, driven by a 7% increase in total spending and reflected in a 4.5% tax rate increase.

Health insurance, retirement, legal, and gasoline costs have increased substantially, as did the need for some salaries to rise to stay competitive. Freeville also reduced their contracted number of hours for Dryden police. Mayor Reba Taylor notes that "we should still be able to operate and give everyone the same services they've always had."

The trustees also discussed the Cortland Road sewer district, which has become a growing source of contention with the town (water and sewer issues were a large part of what drove the annexation debate over the last few months).

The Journal also reports on an Ithaca City School District budget forum, with more details on the cost of benefits and concessions the teachers' union has made for future employees, and prints a letter from Murray Cohen of the Town of Dryden that suggests that "President Bush must be held accountable. If he doesn't have the courage to resign because of his inept leadership, he must be voted out of office in November of 2004."

Cayuga Trails Club hike Sunday

The Cayuga Trails Club will be hiking on Sunday at 1pm, starting from the Liddel Laboratory on Freese Road, between Varna and Hanshaw Road. It's a "Walk, look, and learn" hike, and contact information is available on their site.

This reminds me that I'm working on building an events calendar for activities in Dryden; if you have events you'd like to see listed, email me.

Planning Board meets, modifies Draft Comprehensive Plan

This month's Planning Board meeting had a quorum, unlike last month's meeting, and was able to move forward with changes to the plan, though only two members of the public (myself included) were in attendance.

Four planning board members, Dryden's Environmental Planner, and two people attended the meeting.

The Board started with discussion about training possibilities, some on storm water management and others on planning board duties and SEQR review, and talked about the possibility of an April 29th meeting that the County wants to have to discuss the Tompkins County Comprehensive Plan, currently in progress. They also discussed the recent conversion of the Conservation Advisory Council into a Conservation Advisory Board and voted to send subdivision plans on Wood Road and Yellow Barn Road to the CAB for their input.

The Board then picked up on conversations from the last meeting, taking action on ideas that had been discussed before but couldn't be voted on.

After much discussion on the hamlet zoning and how to increase density without changing the hamlets suddenly (in which I pointed out that Varna's population would roughly quadruple, to 2400, if built out the way the current draft of the plan is written) the Board adopted David Weinstein's proposed changes to the hamlet section, with some changes based on conversation at the last meeting, notably:

• A suggestion that zoning be written to put the onus on developers who want to build multi-unit projects to demonstrate that it does fit in the community rather than requiring the board to demonstrate that it doesn't fit
• The use of "floating zones" that permit high-density development but require it to be scattered through the hamlet area
• A few paragraphs will be added to an earlier section of the document encouraging the town to pursue affordable housing through public-private partnerships

These changes to the plan will still allow for increased density in the hamlet areas, but should give the Town more control over how it happens.

There was also discussion about how to encourage owner-occupied housing, though monitoring that is difficult and some recent experiments, notably on Sanctuary Drive in the Town of Ithaca and on Observatory Drive above Varna, seem to be having large problems remaining owner-occupied.

In reponse to concerns that the area south of Mott Road was a wetland, the board extended suburban residential area to the south side of the road, and planned to use the wetland area as a buffer between that residential and commercial area further south.

Planning Board members and planner George Frantz modify plans for Mott Road area.

The Etna Industry / Office / Research area, a subject of controversy at last month's meeting, was substantially scaled back, with some portions converted to rural residential and others incorporated into the mixed-use Route 13 overlay. They also noted the existence of the Finger Lakes Land Trust's Etna Nature Preserve there, and suggested that maintaining a woodland buffer between Route 13 and the main portion of the Etna hamlet would be a good idea.

Also, in reponse to concerns voiced at the public meetings, David Weinstein suggested that:

This plan is not advocating the immediate construction of sewer and water into areas like those west of the hamlet of Etna, but rather that they should only go there as development intensifies.

George Frantz noted the cost and risk that "front-loading", building infrastructure in advance of development, can incur. The board approved the suggested change.

The board discussed farm issues briefly at the end of the meeting, noting both a general desire to strengthen language about preserving existing farms and New York State's more active interest in ensuring that municipalities don't make it too difficult for farms to operate. A Ulysses ordinance that made certain to provide for farmers' needs throughout had recently passed muster with the state's Department of Agriculture and Markets, though recent Town of Ithaca ordinances are facing hard questions from both farmers and the state.

Looking back at a year of war

Today's Ithaca Journal looks back over the year of war in Iraq, featuring two stories with a Dryden perspective. The easier of the two to read, "Bush's Iraq policy finds support in Tompkins County", includes comments from Dryden resident Richard Jorgenson and Freeville resident Charlie Hart, both supporting the war.

The more difficult article - actually one of the most difficult articles I've seen in the Journal - talks to the parents of Air Force Staff Sergeant Patrick Griffin Jr., who grew up in Dryden, was killed in an ordnance explosion near Diwaniyah, Iraq, and is buried in Willow Glen cemetary.

March recreation report

Jennifer Glaab, Recreation Coordinator for the Town of Dryden, gave a detailed report at last Thursday's Town Board meeting, noting that winter events were wrapping up while spring events are getting started.

Contra dancing was starting up at Varna Community Center on March 14th, followed by Dryden Fire Hall on the 21st, Freeville Fire Hall on April 4th, and Bethel Grove Community Center on April 11th, all from 2:30-4:30pm, $3 per person and $2.50 for seniors and children under 12.

Contra dancing coming to Dryden Fire Hall

The recreation department has also set up a free April 3rd performance of the Shanty Band, from Ithaca College, at Dryden Elementary at 7:30pm, as well as a free Easter Egg Hunt for children eight and under in Montgomery Park on April 10th at 1pm. Neptune Hose Company and Specialty Trophy and Awards are co-sponsoring.

On the 24th of April, and also free, the Pepsi Pitch, Hit, & Run competition will be at the Dryden Middle School and High School fields. (The Dryden Courier notes that 10-year Howie Frisco, of Freeville, won there last year and won at the state level as well.)

Basketball finished in mid-March for both boys and girls. After-school ice skating (at The Rink in Lansing) had 72 attendees. The department was sponsoring a wrestling tournament on the 20th of March, while spring sports are just getting started.

Lacrosse is starting up, with a $25 registration fee, open to 8-year-olds through seventh graders. The Town of Dryden is funding a modified lacrosse program this year, in the expectation that fund-raising will cover this in the future, and the Dryden Central School District is administering it, though it's open to all residents of the Town of Dryden whether they live in the school district or not.

Kiwanis baseball and softball were just getting started, and registrations were still being accepted to April 1. New this spring is an eight-week after-school archery program with Klein's Archery, which costs $80 for one day a week of archery or $150 for two. It runs from April 12 to the first week of June. Children in grades 1-6 can participate. Klein's added the Town of Dryden to its insurance, and Klein's is paying the town $200 - four partial scholarships of $40, and $40 for promotion. The town is also coordinating transportation. Glaab noted that archery was popular on the recreation surveys the town has conducted recently.

County Legislator Martha Robertson asked if Town of Dryden activities were open to non-residents, and Glaab said that they were, at the same fees.

As the March 17 Dryden Courier notes, Councilman Steve Stelick concluded Glaab's report with a huge thank you, noting that "no one could imagine what you could accomplish