(Clinton, NY – Feb. 2012)  To commemorate Black History Month, Hamilton College will screen the comedy documentary Good Hair, on Tuesday, Feb. 14, at 4:15 p.m., in the Days-Massolo Center, College Hill Road. The screening is free and open to the public.

Chris Rock’s investigation into African American women’s attitudes toward their hair began when his daughter Lola asked him why she didn’t “have good hair.” Rock examines the development of the $9 billion black hair industry and the science behind chemical relaxers that straighten hair by visiting hair salons, barbershops and the Hindu temples of India.

Accompanied by filmmaker Jeff Stilson, Rock conducts interviews with black celebrities ranging from Rev. Al Sharpton and Maya Angelou to Ice-T while combining humor with serious discussions. Good Hair focuses on the acceptable look of African American women’s hair in society, its effects upon African American culture and the lengths black women are willing to go through to look a certain way.

The 2009 film by Chris Rock Productions and HBO Films was a Sundance Film Festival official selection.

(Clinton, NY – Feb. 2012) Alexandra Halkin, documentary producer and founder of the Chiapas Media Project, will present a lecture and screening of her new film, Living Juarez, on Wednesday, Feb. 8, at 4:10 p.m. in the Kirner-Johnson Building Bradford Auditorium. The lecture, titled “Mexico’s Failed Drug War: Collateral damage and U.S. drug consumption,” is sponsored by the Religious Studies Department and is free and open to the public.

Directed by Halkin, Living Juarez examines the dark side of Mexican President Felipe Calderón’s war on drugs in the city of Juarez which, due to its 7,000 drug-related deaths since 2008, has been called the deadliest city in the world. The documentary tells the poignant story of life in the Juarez neighborhood of Villas de Salvárcar, where a group of ordinary citizens is involved in an organized campaign to end the arbitrary and frequent abuses committed by the occupying armed forces against Juarez civilians and youth.

Halkin received her B.F.A. from the University of Illinois in 1985. In 1998, she founded the Chiapas Media Project (CMP) as a resource for marginalized indigenous communities in Southern Mexico to create their own media. Since its founding, CMP has produced and distributed over 6,000 indigenous produced videos that have been featured at universities, museums, and film and video festivals worldwide. As international coordinator for CMP, Halkin has received numerous prestigious fellowships and grants, including a Fulbright Award for U.S. Scholars in 2007 for Media Studies in Mexico and a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2004.

Mohawk Valley Community College President Randall J. VanWagoner, Ph.D., presented co-founder and president of Spring Farm CARES Animal Sanctuary and Adoption Center Bonnie Reynolds with a check for $1,000 which was raised by MVCC employees during the 2011 Fall Celebration of Success.

(Utica, NY – Feb. 1, 2012) Mohawk Valley Community College’s staff and faculty helped raise $1,000 for the Spring Farm CARES Animal Sanctuary and Adoption Center during the College’s fall “Celebration of Success” employee recognition event which was held on the Utica Campus in December.

Spring Farm CARES shelters various “down on their luck” animals, utilizing “alternative” ways of caring for, healing, and lovingly co-existing with animals, to educate the public as to these methods. Spring Farm bills itself as a public facility selling a commodity more “desperately needed by humanity than all the money in the world.”

“The animals we care for come from all kinds of stories and situations,” said Bonnie Reynolds, co-founder and president of Spring Farm CARES. “We care for all kinds and size of animals.”

MVCC President Randall J. VanWagoner, Ph.D., presented a check for $1,000 to Reynolds, who is in her 20th year of running Spring Farm CARES. The facility takes care of more than 300 animals ranging in size from turtles to horse and goats.

Spring Farm CARES is located at 3364 State Route 12, in Clinton. The goal is to heal and rehabilitate the animals and then locate an appropriate home for them. Adoptions and donations can be made be made by contact the organization.

MVCC’s employees raised this money by holding a special fundraising basket raffle during the “Celebration of Success.” More than 30 departments, offices and student organizations at the College donated baskets to be raffled off, with MVCC’s employees voting on what charity to donate the proceeds to.

To learn more about the Spring Farm CARES or to make a donation, contact them at 315-737-9339 or visit online at www. springfarmcares.org.

(Clinton, NY – Feb. 2012)  To commemorate Black History Month, Hamilton College will screen the documentary Brother Outsider: Life of Bayard Rustin, on Tuesday, Feb. 7, at 4:15 p.m., in the Days-Massolo Center, College Hill Road. The screening is free and open to the public.

Bayard Rustin is best-remembered as the organizer of the 1963 March on Washington. During his 60-year career as an organizer, he formulated many of the strategies that propelled the American civil rights movement. His passionate belief in Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence drew Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders to him in the 1940s and ’50s; his practice of those beliefs drew the attention of the FBI and police. His open homosexuality forced him to remain in the background, marking him again and again as a “brother outsider.”

Brother Outsider: the Life of Bayard Rustin combines rare archival footage with provocative interviews to illuminate the life and work of a forgotten prophet of social change.

The 2003 film by Bennett Singer and Nancy Kates was a Sundance Film Festival official selection.

 First Niagara representatives present $1,000 grant check to the Rev. Bill Dodge, executive director of the Rescue Mission of Utica, for the mission’s food pantry. From left: Frank Tamburrino, Cash Management specialist; Deborah Cotton, Area Sales Manager; Beth Luvera, Branch Manager of Rome; Deborah Curtis, Branch Manager of New Hartford; Rev. Dodge; Matthew Nicholl, Branch Manager of Clinton, and Judy Rowlands, Mortgage consultant.

(Utica, NY – Feb. 2, 2012) First Niagara’s Charitable Giving Committee has awarded a $1,000 grant to the Rescue Mission of Utica for the mission’s food pantry.

In presenting the grant, Area Sales Manager Deborah Cotton and New Hartford Branch Manager Deborah Curtis said it was a way to give back to the community and address a growing need – hunger. Also participating in the presentation were First Niagara Mortgage Consultant Judy Rowlands, Cash Management specialist Frank Tamburrino, Beth Luvera, Manager of the Rome office as well as Matthew Nichol from The Clinton Branch.

In expressing his gratitude to bank officers, Rescue Mission Executive Director Rev. Bill Dodge said the grant “came at the perfect time because it means that families in need can get food.” The grant will help replenish non-perishable items, he said, noting: “This is a significant gift for our food pantry because we really can make the dollars stretch.”

The past year was “extraordinary in the number of unemployed and underemployed people seeking help in providing food for their families,” he said. “The need has been steadily rising for two years, and this past fall it spiked with over a 200 percent jump in people seeking help. In November, for example, we had a record number of families receiving food from our community meal program – over 2,500 families.”

(Rome, NY – Jan. 2012) ACCESS Federal Credit Union recently announced the appointment of Sandra L. Reader to their professional staff. Reader has joined ACCESS in the position of Member Representative at their Rome branch.

Reader comes to ACCESS Federal Credit Union with more than 40 years experience in the banking industry, serving in varying capacities throughout her career. She most recently served as Vice President of Consumer Loans for Rome Savings Bank prior to its acquisition by Berkshire Bank. Reader said that she “hopes to use her vast banking experience to assist members and aid in the growth of the credit union.”

According to Thomas L. Owens, ACCESS President and CEO, bringing Reader on board serves to benefit both the credit union and the customers they serve.

“I am extremely pleased and very excited to have Sandy join our staff,” Owens said.  “I’ve had a great business banking relationship with her which started over thirty years ago when we both worked for the Oneida National Bank.”

Owens indicated that Reader is a “perfect fit” for ACCESS, in that she gives priority to honest member service and relationships over organizational sales goals. “I know Sandy is looking forward to getting back to ‘old fashioned banking’ where she will have the authority to serve her long-time trusted bank clients.  We are certainly looking forward to having her as part of the ACCESS team.”

In addition to her role as a banking professional, Reader is also an active member of the Rome community. She serves as a member of the Rome Area Chamber of Commerce and Zonta International, currently acting as president of the Rome Zonta Club. Reader resides in Rome with her husband, Doug.

ACCESS Federal Credit Union is based in Clinton with branches in Camden, Oneida, Sherrill, Rome and Waterville. Everyone who lives, worships or goes to school anywhere in Oneida County or the City of Oneida are eligible to join.

(Clinton, NY – Feb. 2012) Three lectures have been announced for the spring semester as part of Hamilton College’s 2012 Humanities Forum on Translation and Cultural Exchange. All events are free and open to the public.

Francis Bradley, assistant professor of history in the department of social sciences and critical studies at the Pratt Institute, will speak on Thursday, Feb. 9, at 4:10 p.m. in the Taylor Science Center room 3024. Bradley will discuss “Translating Islam: The Interplay between Language and Religion in Southeast Asia.”

Hamilton Professor of English Steven Yao will chair a panel discussion on “Translating Victor Segalen’s Stèles” on Thursday, April 12, at 4:10 p.m., in the Taylor Science Center Kennedy Auditorium. The panel will include Timothy Billings, professor of English and American literatures at Middlebury College; Christopher Bush, associate professor of French and director of comparative literary studies at Northwestern University; and Haun Saussy, University Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Chicago.

Art Spiegelman, professional comics artist and illustrator, will deliver the Winton Tolles lecture “What the %@&*! Happened to Comics?” on Monday, April 23, at 8 p.m. in Wellin Hall.

The series is sponsored by the Dean of Faculty, the Yordan Lecture Fund and the Tolles Lecture Fund.

News from New York State Division of Military & Naval Affairs

(Rome, NY – Jan. 26, 2012) Nearly 200 New York Air National Guardsmen, Canadian Forces members, federal civilians and guests were in attendance at the Radisson Hotel in Utica last Friday, Jan. 20, as the Eastern Air Defense Sector recognized its outstanding performers from 2011.

“EADS’ mission of protecting the eastern U.S. airspace requires consistent excellence from all of our staff,” said Col. John Bartholf, EADS Commander. “Our 2011 award winners distinguished themselves by going above and beyond our high standards and I congratulate each of them on their outstanding accomplishments and thank them for their extraordinary efforts.”

EADS employs more than 400 active-duty military, federal civilians, civilian contractors and part-time Air National Guardsmen and the unit recognized outstanding performers in seven categories. The categories were: company grade officer (junior officers below the rank of major), senior non- commissioned officer, noncommissioned officer, junior enlisted airman, honor guard member and honor guard program manager. The outstanding civilian of the year was also recognized.

Award recipients were:

• Capt. Aaron Mahoney, Camden, Outstanding Company Grade Officer. The chief of the weapons and tactics section, Capt. Mahoney successfully facilitated more than 150 training sorties and nearly 40 alert scrambles. He also serves as the Office in Charge of the unit’s honor guard.

• Master Sgt. Edward Rojo, Clinton, Outstanding Senior Noncommissioned Officer. An assistant flight superintendent, Master Sgt. Rojo managed the operational, administrative and personnel requirements for 40 Airmen. Master Sgt. Rojo maintains a 4.0 grade point average while pursuing a master’s degree in management and volunteers at a local Feed Our Veterans food bank.

• Technical Sgt. Justin Bush, Camden, Outstanding Noncommissioned Officer. A joint interface control cell officer, Tech. Sgt. Bush plays a key role in air picture management for EADS and its higher headquarters. A youth soccer coach, he is pursuing a master’s degree in education and maintains a 4.0 grade point average.

• Senior Airman Andrew Ross, Renovo, Pa., Outstanding Junior Enlisted Airman. A cyber systems operations journeyman, Sr. Airman Ross was recognized for his ability to quickly fix critical radar issues. Sr. Airman Ross recently received his college degree in applied mathematics, graduating magna cum laude, and tutors junior college students in advanced mathematics.

• Master Sgt. Thomas Whiteman, Rome, Outstanding Honor Guard Member. Master Sgt. Whiteman participated in more than 30 ceremonies and organized volunteers who contributed more than 800 off-duty hours to honor guard details. He also led a combined fire, police and military color guard for the 9-11 10th anniversary commemoration in Rome.

• Master Sgt. Jeffrey Lamarche, Deansboro, Outstanding Honor Guard Program Manager. In addition to organizing and coordinating honor guard schedules, Master Sgt. Lamarche personally participated in 65 percent of EADS honor guard details, including 35 funerals. Master Sgt. Lamarche was also named outstanding Honor Guard Program Manager for New York State for the second consecutive year.

• Krispen Dorfman, Rome, Outstanding Civilian. A resource advisor and information technology specialist, Dorfman is responsible for the operations division budget and oversees a wide variety of supporting tasks. This is the third consecutive year that Dorfman has been named EADS Outstanding Civilian.

A number of distinguished guests also attended the awards banquet. Brig. Gen. Anthony P. German, Chief of Staff, New York Air National Guard (NYANG) and Chief Master Sgt. Richard, the NYANG’s Command Chief, were in attendance. Chief Master Sgt. Christopher E. Muncy, the Senior Enlisted Leader for the National Guard Bureau, was the featured speaker.

The Eastern Air Defense Sector is headquartered at Griffiss Business and Technology Park in Rome. Staffed by active-duty New York Air National Guardsmen and a Canadian Forces detachment, the unit supports the North American Aerospace Defense Command’s (NORAD) integrated warning and attack assessment missions and the U.S. Northern Command’s (USNORTHCOM) homeland defense mission. EADS is responsible for air sovereignty and counter-air operations over the eastern United States and directs a variety of assets to defend one million square miles of land and sea.

(Clinton, NY – Feb. 2012) Don Sawyer, director of Syracuse University’s Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, will give the Black History Month keynote speech at Hamilton College.  His lecture, titled “Hip-Hop Culture, Perceived Anti-Intellectualism, and Young Black Males,” will take place on Monday, Feb. 6, at 4:15 p.m., in the Kirner-Johnson Building’s Bradford Auditorium. It is free and open to the public.

Sawyer holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Hartwick College and master’s degrees in sociology and education from Syracuse. He is currently a doctoral student and instructor in the university’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs sociology department. Sawyer’s scholarly research deals with issues of hip-hop culture, identity formation and perceived anti-intellectualism in black male youth and college students.

Sawyer’s lecture will examine the socio-cultural variables that affect the lives and academic achievements of black male students. Using the voices of young black men, he will offer alternative perspectives on what hip-hop means to these youth.

The lecture is co-sponsored by the Days-Massolo Center, the Office for the Associate Dean of Students for Multicultural Affairs and the Black and Latino Student Union.

AGENDA

Monday, January 23, 2012

             Meeting begins at 7:30 p.m.

in Lumbard Hall

1.  Selection of Chair and Vice Chair

 2.  Calianese Auto Sales, Elliot J. Calianese PB Case #25-11

7567 State Route 5                         Zoning: C

Change to existing business.            Site Plan Review

Additional 60 vehicles to used car lot, gravel to parking lot, 10′ X 12′ storage shed/add change to existing lighting and add new light poles.

Discussion Items:

Hamilton College                       PB Case #1-12

Theatre and Studio Arts Building       Zoning:  PC

Harold & Elegia Heintz            PB Case # 14-10

Utica Street/NYS Route 12B            Zoning:  PD

Development Office and Storage Units

Revised Landscape Plan submitted January 11, 2012 for review.

David Lane on behalf of                  Zone Change

Hamlin House, Ltd.              Tax Map #346.000-1-52.2

3406 State Route 12B, Clinton