THE HOMER NEWS Volume II Thursday,June 21, 2012 Issue 31 Homer Elks Flag Day Ceremony Picture by Homer Elks Lodge Esteemed Lecturing Knight Jamie Wheeler Homer Elks Lodge flag day ceremony held in conjunction with the Homer Legion and Boy Scouts. Legion members pictured: Paul Ellsworth, & William (Smitty) Smith. Assisting as well but not pictured, Commander Michael McDer- mott. Ceremony led by Homer Elks Exaulted Ruler Gary Harrington Jr. 2 • June 21, 2012 • The Homer News Around Town Homer Town Board By Anita Jebbett, Town Clerk The Homer Town Board held its June meeting on Wednesday, June 6th, in the Senior Center at the Town Hall. Approximately 75 citizens attended the meeting, most of whom were there to protest the gas drilling method known as hydro-fracking. Gary Smith of MICAH (Moving in Congregations Acting in Hope) led the presentations given by Mary Jane Uttech, Mary Faith Miller, Linda Fumarola, Aaron Fumarola and Joseph Cortese. All voiced their concerns about the effects of hydro-fracking on the water supply and the health of Homer residents. The Voice of the Town The Town Board had agreed to set up a special committee to examine the issue and make recommendations to the Board. Supervisor Frederick Forbes told those present that the committee would be made up of people on both sides of the issue. The Board appointed the following to the Town of Homer committee on hydro-fracking: Chad Butts (Zoning The Homer News Board of Appeals member), John Daniels (Town Code Enforcement Officer), Fred Forbes, Dan Gustafson (ZBA), Larry Jones, Robert Perry (Planning Board member), Christopher Sammons (MICAH), and Ted Sudol. Gary Smith thanked the Published for Homer Residents Board for allowing them to have a MICAH member on the committee. Supervisor Forbes said that they were considering adding one or two more people. The Homer News is published in Homer by The Homer News. There was discussion about two proposals for liability insurance coverage for the Town for the year beginning Distribution is June 9th. The Town Board agreed to meet at noon on Friday, June 8th to make a final decision. every other Thursday to all households and businesses in Homer. It was reported that the Town has collected 91.78% of the more that $5.8 million tax levy for the combined Town and County taxes for the 2012 fiscal year. This was one percentage point less than the total collected in 2011, but in keep- The Homer News is a community- ing with total collections over the previous four years which averaged 91.65%. based newspaper dedicated to informing townspeople of current events and issues; A public review of the draft of the Homer, Preble & Scott Agriculture and Farmland Protection Plan will take serving as a forum for the free exchange of place in the Town Hall Senior Center on Tuesday, June 19th, at 7:30 p.m. County Planner Dan Dineen and Judy Wright views of town residents; and celebrating the from American Farmland Trust will be reviewing the proposed plan. people, places and happenings that make the Town of Homer unique. Highway Superintendent John Phelps reported that he and his crew have been working at surfacing roadways, including re-topping Cosmos Heights. He has also worked with the City of Cortland on their latest project in order to Editor:Donald Ferris obtain grindings to be used for a Bishop Hill Road re-surfacing project coming up in the near future. Phelps said that they are very satisfied with the newly purchased 2010 International truck. *** Subscription Rates: The Town Board gave its approval for Town Attorney Patrick Snyder to serve as the legal representative for the The Homer News is delivered at no Cortland County legislature on the matter of the TCI windmill project. Snyder reminded the Board that should they need cost to all Homer residents. legal advice regarding the windmill project, they would have to substitute another attorney. We are offering subscriptions for The Homer News. Personal or out-of- Homer Village Board By Lou Anne Randall, Village Clerk-Treasurer town subscriptions are available for $36 per year (First Class). Payable in advance. Please send check or money order to the Mayor Suits announced that Craig Umbehauer is our new Code Enforcement Officer. address below. Email your address to: Ken Teter, engineering consultant, spoke to the Board about the columns on the bandstand. The current condition is very [email protected] poor. The wood is deteriorating. Ken’s suggestion is for the columns to be made out of composite instead of wood. These will have a life-time guarantee and minimum maintenance. The change order will cost $3,476.50 Contributors Mayor Suits personally thanked Jim Toolan and the cemetery crew for a great job preparing the cemetery for Memorial Priscilla Berggren-Thomas, Ed Finkbeiner, Day. The cemetery looked beautiful. She also thanked Lt. Commander U.S. Naval Reserve, Patrick Perfetti and the Kim L. Hubbard, Anita Jebbett, Marilyn American Legion for their part in the Memorial Day service at the cemetery. Miller, Martin Sweeney, Sara Watrous The Village and Homer Central School District are still discussing the Safety Resource Officer. Hopefully we can have this Elaine Norris, Lin Cohen, Matt Banazek concluded within the next few months. The basketball court behind the Village Offices is being repaved. New basketball hoops have been installed and poles have *Sports Writer /Photographer: been painted. John Zachary The Village is still taking applications for sidewalk repairs. The Village has funds for partial reimbursement of sidewalk replacement for owner-occupies and rental properties in the Village of Homer. The Village subsidy is equal to 70% of the entire cost of the sidewalk replacement up to a maximum of subsidy of $1,000.00 Signed Articles, Letters, Photographs and Drawings of interest are welcomed to be considered for publication. All articles are subject to editing for clarity and length. Materials not used will be returned if a self- addressed stamped envelope is provided. THANK YOU! Circulation: 3,000 copies per issue. Copyright © 2012 The Homer News Printed by Paden Press The Homer NEWS P.O. Box 125 Homer, New York 13077 [email protected] Telephone: 607-749-2613 The deadline for July 5th issue is June 26. July 4th will be the reading of the Declaration of Independence beginning at 10:00 a.m. on the Village Green. All opinions expressed in Letters and Commentaries are those of the writers and not of The Homer News, which is published as an independent, non-biased community service and forum. The Homer News • June 21, 2012 •3 Around Town HOMER TOWN HALL OFFICE SPACE Summer Memories 1175 square feet available, rent includes utilities, parking. By James E. Hopkins $1050 per month plus security. Whenever summer is approaching, it brings me back to the memories of 1971. I was a kid, Call 607-749-4581 for details. but older people were remembering a different summer. It has been 60 years since the fic- tionalized events that took place in “Summer of ’42.” My parents went to see the popular coming of age story, but it was deemed too adult for me. The main character is Hermie, a fifteen year old vacationing on Nantucket with his parents. He is joined by two friends, Oscie and Benjie, in an all-out campaign to meet girls. Though much of the movie consists of raucous humor (Hermie actually gets excited feeling a teen- Get Ready for SUMMER!! age girl’s elbow in the movie theater), it becomes moving. Hermie befriends the wife of a serviceman. He later learns the true meaning of intimacy, comforting her on the night she AIR CONDITIONING: hears of her husband’s death. test and recharge Such was the power of the story that a book spawned by the movie developed an even greater following. TIRES: I eventually got my hands on the book and devoured it, savoring the “good parts.” But it mount, balance, rotate is the movie’s eerie theme song that evokes anticipation of summer’s benefits. You travel more so you see new things and meet new people. There is usually a break from school or ALIGNMENT: work that allows you to wander from your routine and opens up a new sense of possibilities. up to 210” wheelbase The better weather gives you the ability to commune more with the outside world. Nature Route 13 North at renews itself and so do you. NYS INSPECTIONS Lorings Crossing The theme song of the movie is “The Summer Knows.” And the summer does know. It has Jim Ferris come around each year of human existence, its aromas arousing in us the desire to expand ASE Certified our personal and emotional horizons. Master Auto Tech COMPUTER DIAGNOSTICS We want to climb that mountain, build that shed, grow that garden. Because this summer is going to be the summer that we really do it, whatever “it” is. And sometimes we do and our hearts carry that joy through the slow decline of fall and the deadness of winter. And sometimes the summer ends with crushing disappointment and all we have to show for it is These Fisher Avenue Businesses are the hope that next year summer will be better. Whenever I hear the song, whether performed by Frank Sinatra, Barbara Streisand or instru- ready to welcome you!! mentally, it makes me sentimental for both successful and disappointing summers. Because it was the hope and opportunity that sustained me as much as the realization of those hopes.. Cortland’s Premier Auto Detailing Business Yes, the summer knows. It knows the yearnings our hearts carry.