News Briefs:
Rethinking February Break
(Mar. 13): Credit freshman Ithaca School Board member Jacob Shiffrin for resisting the tug of tradition.
“I just was curious for the rationale behind the February break?” Shiffrin asked March 10, as the Board of Education finalized its 2026-27 academic calendar, February break included. “It’s not a common practice around the country,” Shiffrin said. “It seems like a very New York thing.”
Those of us old enough recall when schools took separate days off for Lincoln’s and Washington’s birthdays, and that was it . The week-long vacation began with the energy crisis of the Carter era, when a week’s shutdown saved heating fuel.
“So what’s our current rationale, then?” Shiffrin pressed the point.
“It’s cultural,” School Superintendent Dr. Luvelle Brown admitted. “The culture in the community and our surrounding area is to have that break, and there are things that happen in our community during that time,” Brown said.
People take February vacations. And of course, there’s the “Ithaca Loves Teachers” celebration.
Dr. Brown hails from down south, where schools don’t take the week off. He reminded the board that he cut the break to just two days one year, only to be told “Don’t ever do that again.”
“It’s not a hill I want to die on,” Shiffrin said as he retreated. Yet congratulate him for asking why do we do something just because it’s always been done? Times change.
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NYS Closes Podunk Bridge
(Mar. 12): Quaint to look at, funky to drive over, and maybe just a touch historic, the steel-decked Podunk Road Bridge is now closed for good.
Tompkins County sent out the message Thursday, and County Highway Department crews erected barricades to block cross-bridge vehicular traffic. (Pedestrians can still cross.)
“The New York State Department of Transportation (NYDOT) has requested that the Podunk Road Bridge… in the Town of Ulysses be closed due to structural deterioration of the bridge,” a Tompkins County SIREN notification stated March 12. “The bridge will remain closed until a new bridge can be installed,” the message continued.
Tompkins County already has a capital plan to replace the bridge and realign its approaches. But as Highway Director Nick Ensign informed a committee of the County Legislature February 19, NYDOT has thrown up a roadblock; classifying the structure as historic and demanding the Highway Department attempt to find a buyer for the bridge before dismantling it.
Before it closed, the Podunk Bridge had a posted eight-ton weight limit. At the committee meeting, Ensign had warned that one more bad inspection would close the bridge for good. Now it has.
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Closed Meeting: We can guess
(Mar. 12): With so little notice that they had to waive the Open Meetings Law, the Tompkins County Legislature convened a special emergency session this week.
“We are going to have a special topical presentation and/or discussion this evening; a discussion for emergency housing,” Chair Shawna Black announced. The Legislature handled beginning formalities and then plunged into closed session, never returning to take a public vote.
With the March 9 meeting coming on the heels of the Ithaca City fire marshal’s closing of the Asteri apartment complex, and residents of up to 181 housing units told to vacate, one can connect the dots.
“I would also like to go into executive session for matters which will imperil the public safety, if disclosed,” Black stated. It’s an exception state law provides for closed meetings. Yet how it fits remains baffling.
Three days later, County officials have yet to issue a statement regarding matters discussed.
Nevertheless, in a Wednesday report to the Enfield Town Board, legislator Randy Brown stated:
“The County received less than a day’s notice from the city and it caused many more people to be homeless and unprepared to move.”
Brown added, “County staff and many non-profits stepped up and worked through the night and the following days to solve the problem. The County, City and building owner, Vecino (owner) and NYS representative are meeting daily to sort things out.”
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Bostwick Build Bid Let
(Mar. 12): Sometimes, even if rarely, a choice becomes a no-brainer.
Without glamor or controversy, the Enfield Town Board March 11 awarded the low bid for excavation work that’ll install a new box culvert to carry Enfield Creek under Bostwick Road.
For no apparent reason, the bids swept a wide range. The Town Board awarded the low offer of $351,300, submitted by JB’s Excavation Services of Apalachin. Highway Superintendent Barry Rollins vouched for the firm’s proficiency. JB’s done Enfield stream work before, Rollins said.
The four submitted bids ranged upwards to just over One Million Dollars. Supervisor Stephanie Redmond said that was the first of the four she’d opened, shocked that maybe the project couldn’t proceed.
Wednesday’s represents the second and final Bostwick bid to be let. In January, the Town Board awarded Jefferson Concrete Corporation’s low bid of $471,600 for the concrete culvert itself. A Water Quality Improvement Project grant of $693,866 will fund much of the work. But Redmond conceded Wednesday that even though JB’s bid was far less than others, the Bostwick project will still land over-budget.
Town officials have said that stream erosion and the fear of flooding dictate the culvert’s replacement. Because Enfield Creek is a designated trout stream, the work can run only from mid-May through September.
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CEDO naming tells us much
(Mar. 12): At its meeting March 3, the Tompkins County Legislature named Leon Holden as Chief Equity and Diversity Officer (CEDO), the third person to hold that position in its little more than half-decade history. Holden succeeds Charlene Holmes, who resigned last October.
But what tells us volumes about how the Legislature views itself is how Holden’s appointment was rolled out that night.
The posted, pre-meeting resolution had contained no text, let alone the appointee’s name. The resolution was moved onto the floor and then unanimously adopted without reading its content.
“The recommendation County Administration received from the (review) panel was to move forward with Leon,” Administrator Korsah Akumfi stated.
“Leon, would you like to come up and say a few words,” Legislature Chair Shawna Black then asked the new CEDO.
Notice what was missing? Leon’s last name. It was never mentioned until legislator Veronica Pillar casually referenced it in citing the now-scripted resolution’s text near the end of an eight-minute welcoming presentation.
Too often, one observes, Tompkins County’s legislators talk to themselves as kind of a closed loop; inadvertently overlooking the fact that a broader community—us residents—is listening. And respectful recognition becomes even more important when appointing a person of color.
“I’m going to nail it,” Holden said in accepting his new role. The new CEDO recognizes his responsibilities. So should our elected leaders. / RL
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New Cell Tower to move
(Mar. 5): Responding to stiff pushback from the Enfield Town Planning Board, developers will move the location of their recently-proposed Verizon cell tower further from the edge of Van Dorn Road, Planning Board Chair Dan Walker confirmed Wednesday night.
“After discussing this project with our client and the property owner, we’ve decided to take the Board’s advice and relocate the tower,” Tony Phillips of Kendall Communications, Verizon’s “Site Acquisition Firm” wrote in a February 19 email to Town officials, a message shared at Wednesday’s meeting.
Kendall and Verizon would move the requested structure to the rear of the residential property at 217 Van Dorn Road N, behind the Kartychak family’s house and barns. “This will have the least visual impact and remove any Fall Zone safety questions,” Phillips wrote.
Revised plans would also shorten the proposed, unlit tower from 195 to 170 feet.
Initial plans, presented the Planning Board February 4, would have placed the tower just 100 feet from Van Dorn’s right-of-way. Theoretically, the tower could have collapsed onto the road. Planning Board members had raised safety concerns. They also feared resident objections.
Verizon already locates antennas on another Van Dorn Road tower, one just two-tenths mile away. But it’s gotten too expensive, and Phillips calls the change part of Verizon’s “High Rent Relocation program.”
Expect further Planning Board review in May.
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Bolles to challenge Senator Webb
(Mar. 3): Democrat Lea Webb will face a contest, not a coronation this year as she seeks a third consecutive term to represent Tompkins County in the New York State Senate.
In a news release Monday, retired Binghamton firefighter and two-time Army veteran Mike Bolles announced his entry into the Republican race to oppose Webb and represent the 52nd Senate District, which also includes Cortland and parts of Broome Counties.
State Board of Elections records indicate Bolles filed his application paperwork February 23. Bolles and Webb are currently the only candidates registered.
“New York families are stretched thin by the mess Albany has created,” Bolles said in his March 2 rollout. “I’ve seen enough. I’m ready to serve again to restore real affordability, back our first responders for safer streets and fight for every resident in the 52nd Senate District.”
Mike Bolles’ website conveys as pro-military, firefighter-friendly message, employing an “ammo-box” font, a picture of geared-up firefighters, and the American flag and bald eagle prominently displayed. “American Made Leadership” becomes his slogan.
Platform planks, according to Bolles’ still-lean website, include “Restore Affordability,” “Stand with Law Enforcement,” “Defend Small Businesses,” and “Protect Freedom and Families.”
Bolles’ resume includes 22 years in the U.S. Army and 21 years as a Binghamton firefighter. He currently runs a small clothing company.
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ECC Extends its Arms
(Mar. 3): The Enfield Community Council (ECC) remains Enfield’s own. Only now it’s reaching out a bit farther.
At the ECC Annual Meeting February 26, the Board of Directors amended agency bylaws to permit for the first time residents of several adjoining towns to become members.
Up until now, the ECC limited membership to Town of Enfield residents, Enfield-based business owners, and employees or parents of children at Enfield Elementary School. The newly-approved change broadens membership to include those residing in the adjacent Tompkins County towns of Ulysses, Newfield, and the Town of Ithaca.
The revision passed without much discussion. Leadership maintained the change better reflects the ECC’s current service area.
Also during the Annual Meeting, the ECC board reappointed incumbent directors, re-elected Cortney Bailey its President, and affirmed a 2026 Budget, that while unbalanced—about $13,000 short—stands less unbalanced than the 2025 budget.
“It is as it is,” Treasurer Vera Howe-Strait acknowledged. “We’re in better shape than last year.”
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