ГлавнаяMy WebLinkО нас1994-01 c 4:44. / / \,. / V A Newsletter for 1 \ Employees and Retirees of Tompkins County r -- I. ,Th, ... ct , '4 , , ---) 7 , ic7 i „„ 7 , ...,.. . , ... 1 1 \ JANUARY 1994 Imk Yolume 7 Number 1 CONGRATULATIONS JOHN! BUS TRIPS The Vending Committee and the Reward and Recognition ( ( r„ Committee bring you the following trips: February 12 Song Mountain - Skiing March 19 Turning Stone Casino/13ingo ' April 10 & 11 Atlantic City (overnight) t May 14 Lilac Festival June ?? Baseball - Toronto • July 9 Canandaigua Race Track August 6 Darien Lake Tim Marshall (left), NYS STOP -DWI September 3 State Fair Coordinators Association 1993 Chairperson October ?? Buffalo Bills welcomes the new 1994 Chairperson, November 12 Franklin Mills Outlet Shopping John Beach. (Philadelphia, PA) December 10 Radio City Music Hall "DECORATE YOUR DOOR" by Cheryl Nelson If listed are tentative. All buses are no smoking/alcohol. If you are interested in any of the trips listed, please call Leighann The annual door decorating contest was Baldwin at 272 -9257 for more information, or to reserve space on conducted in the Public Works Department. the bus. Space is limited. Reservations will be accepted on a first There were several entries from the Divisions of come - first served basis. Administration, Engineering, Highway, Solid The Vending Committee is providing assistance to off -set the cost Waste, and Airport. Scott Heyman and Dan of the bus trips for County employees, retirees, and their families. Winch took time from their busy schedules to These funds are made available in place of the County Picnic, '94. serve as judges for the contest. The WINNER of this year's decorating contest was Andrea Whitney in the Engineering division. = = =`W r ,�� Her door was decorated with recycled, recyclable, r and reusable materials in the form of a Christmas 11 r� tree complete with aluminum cans and pinecones. Congratulations to Andrea! 1994 SOLID WASTE ANNUAL FEE by Peter Penniman THANK YOU PUBLIC WORKS! The Tompkins County Solid Waste Annual Fee has been approved On behalf of County employees and residents, for 1994, with a slight reduction in rates: single family houses Iarger the Editorial Board wishes to thank very much the than 700 sq. ft. and churches will be charged $45. per living unit. employees of our Public Works Department who All two family houses, mobile homes and single family houses that I worked so hard during the snowstorms to keep our are 700 sq. ft. or less will pay $33.75 per living unit. roads and parking lots open, and to keep our As in 1993, all senior citizens who receive a partial exemption on sidewalks and steps around County facilities their property taxes (based on age and income) will automatically shoveled and salted. We all appreciate the hard receive a 50% discount on the solid waste annual fee for the living work - -and cold work -- endured by you to help unit they occupy. The senior citizen exemption form must be filed ■ make our lives easier. Thank you again! by March 1 each year with the County Assessment Office. 1 A IRCRAFT DOWN: story by dames rehie, rport photographs by Sl Bill Chap Ai p, DSS ` ter, a x t€ � *.R'++ 4 r`w; > . s • rrY °r�' e ''i �" ,if 4 M - al 1 .� • ry R te r., x tl I " 0111.4 . it t.:- ' 4 P ... a ,,q - _ 4 . � �" { / a qc.' ;01,,,-,-„,-,--,..-: ii kf 0 • - . i - , '� i .� I COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT by Scott 'Lyman THANK YOU! Many thanks to the County employees who have gone out of their way to thank me for my letter that went out with the last paycheck of 1993. A few people who thanked me for that letter expressed the view that comments from me and County Board members supporting County staff don't happen often enough. While that view may contain some truth, one point needs to be kept always in mind: the fact that positive comments do not appear in the media does not mean that they are not made. We all know that the media are much more attentive to negative comments than they are to positive remarks. A concrete example of this that was retold in the most recent Governing magazine: a midwestern state legislature and govenor were finalizing a long range plan for state services; the plan would affect funding priorities for years to come; at the same time a proposal was brought forth to ban the sale of candy guns; which proposal do you think got all of the media's attention? As a point of fact it is very rare for the media here in Tompkins County to report positives, progress, or praise. Conflict is much more of an attention - getter for those who read their papers and listen to their advertisers. We could do more to get around this problem - -we could do a better job of dramatizing our recognition of our employees' contributions. The annual Human Rights awards dinner is a good example of this - -it is usually a 100% positive event, and it gets outstanding coverage from the media. PERFORMANCE REVIEW POLICY SESSIONS My thanks to the many employees who attended one of the five orientation/training sessions about the new performance review policy that were held between blizzards over the last two weeks. I enjoyed participating and I thought they all went well. Participation by those in attendance was excellent. This form of give- and -take about issues that concern us at work is one of the things we need more of. TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT The pieces of our effort to implement Total Quality Management continue to fall in place. The new County Board has organized itself quickly and its committee structure will support the overall effort very well. Many of you saw fliers from CSEA White Collar asking you not to participate in TQM efforts until the contract is settled. If the contract can be settled in the near future the rest of the preparatory steps can be completed in a matter of weeks. Patience is one of the hallmarks of organizations that do a good job implementing TQM. This is of particular importance since it is a change for the long term, not an attempt to solve this week's problems. But if we all play our parts effectively we should see a lot of preparatory training happening in 1994 and we should all be able to watch (and, let's hope, applaud) the efforts of some quality improvement teams during the latter part of the year. MORE THANKS Many thanks also to the many of you who have inquired about, and sent warm wishes to, Kathleen Drew. She is rapidly on the mend and we look forward to her return next month. dap° ear nal:. 114 IMPORTANT NOTE TO RETIREES ON HEALTH INSURANCE J) from Louise McEwen Beginning approximatelyMarch 1, 1994, we will no longer be sending back receipts for health insurance payments. By doing this, we will be cutting expenses for time, envelopes and postage. You should pay your premium each month ... when you get your pension /Social Security check, it will help remind you to send your check! You will be notified if you are behind in your payments - but we will be monitoring this more closely and processing cancellations for those who are in arrears. Thanks for your cooperation! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Brought to you by the Reward and Recognition Sub - Committee of the Employee Council The following is a list of employees celebrating anniversaries with Tompkins County during November and December. If you have any comments about this feature or do not wish to have your name listed in your anniversary month, please contact Leighann Baldwin at 272 -9257. NOVEMBER Elaine Cortright David Cook John Andersson Jean Haviland Michael Moore Lena Krebs Charolotte Cowles Kathryn Wilsea Robert Stolp Carol Santucci Kathi English Pamela Bush Alison Barrett Patricia Stamm Camilla Fellows Nicholas Dalleva Sharon Cooper Audrey Balander Philip Lapadula Michael Conklin Anthony Denmark Gary Martens Beth Jolles Cynthia Stilwell Janice Eastman Edward McKane Connie Cameron Joanne Brazo Samuel Fish Rose Ann Taube Dianna Crane Anne Drake �������� R. Sundquist -Lux Greg Stevenson James Myers Luella Holland Karen Burlew John Adams John Rowley Susan LaBarre Rebecca Kafka Sandra Ballantyne Bernard Senecal Jacqueline Kippola GN Greg Kirchgessner Thomas Dunn Charles Smithers Margaret Montfort Coral McLaren John Keegan Donna Evershed Patricia Carey ° iti Susanne Ottander Gary McKay Donna Brown Jill Gerber — Patricia Civiletto Shirley Burun Mary Wimsatt William Harding FEA Sharon Haas Nancy Zahler Gerard Veninsky Thomas Hollern Christine Strizack Thomas Cannon James Narad Jean Ann Yaw _ 0 Laura Ellis Onnalee Empson ,.,, DECEMBER A Paula Austic Dennis Fairchild Jacqueline Maloney Gerald Stern r 4 Jean Brockway Gladys Hold Deanna Mazourek Gordon Stevens r Cindy Buchta Barbara Keating Tina Meehan Suzanne Stopen M. Burgess - Puhalka Julie Keenon Debra Reid Ester Sullivan . hIIIIIt Catherine Covert Linda Kessler Thomas Richardson Michael Usack ' Judy Degrusso Beverly Knapp Tina Rose Jeffrey Vandermark Lisa Eaton Richard Lathrop Karen Rumsey Merrilleen Wilcox �, Stephen Estes Debra Mack Louis Sachetti Edward Williamson V . JANUARY f r Daryl Avery Shirley Fritts John Maclean Kirsten Pierce Alberta Barkdoll Pamela Gibson William McAdams Jeffrey Potter Carol Barton June Gilligan Penelope McGuire Frank Proto Albert Beller Debra Giordano Lirita Meir Juanita Quaile Elizabeth Bosman Roger Griswold Amy Miller James Rolfe Patricia Buechel Emery Guest John Miller Lynda Rose Stacie Burgos Regina Hubble Judith Miller Sally Ryan Michael Carlisle Jennifer Hurlbutt Barbara Mink Renee Sawatzky Sherry Carmon Gary Jordan Shirley Naragon Eileen Sommers Jean Clemons Joan Jurkowich Cheryl Nelson Stuart Stein Robert Corpora John Kelleher Robert Nicholas Lisa Stephens Laurie Crandall Steven Kern Rosemarie O'Keeffe Roberta Steve George Dentes Suzanne Kilgore Gerald Pallace David Stoyell Kim Dickerson William Klepach Lori Parker Bernadette Stranger Norman Diekow Denise Kooperman Peter Penniman Paul Thomas Charles Evans Dawn Lawrence Michele Perry Anne Timmerman Donald Fisher Eric Lerner Susan Pesco Thomas Todd Carol Franco Beverly Livesay H. Glenn Pickett Michael Totman Aurora Valenti (If we have inadvertently omitted anyone, please call Leighann Baldwin at 272 -9257, and we will make sure they are properly recognized next month!) We thank you all for a job well done! "Tompkins Fire One, This is Airport Six. ;? We have a plane down at the airport ". If you were listening to a scanner on September 19, 1993, this is what you would have heard, but don't worry, it was just the Tompkins County Airport in conjunction with related area agencies conducting an Emergency Mass Casualties Drill. This is a Federal Aviation Administration requirement for all certificated air carrier airports to stage a drill every three years to test and update their "Airport Emergency Plans ". The drill also gave our area mutual aid system a r w chance to evaluate its overall effectiveness and capabilities should a multi- department mass casualties incident occur. The drill took over four months to plan and involved about 120 people including fire fighters, EMS personnel, �,✓ - -- — - P �� airline personnel, evaluators, and people made -up to look like they were injured. Other than using a school bus to simulate an aircraft, the scene of the "crash" was made to I ; A� st�cr look as real as possible. . After the drill, an evaluation session was held including ■ ? �` k -- all of the participants. They talked about their experience and recommended changes in procedures that would help all of the agencies involved work as efficiently as possible ,i if such an accident did happen in Tompkins County. e. 4 On January 10, 1994, a twin engine airplane had a situation that almost resulted in a gear up landing. The pilot was able to cut through a cable that let the landing gear lock into place and averted the situation with a safe landing. Thanks to this drill the Airport Rescue Team, the Sheriff's Department, County Dispatchers, Bangs Ambulance, and Lansing Fire Company were ready to work as a team if this situation had a less fortunate ending. A REMINDER FROM YOUR PERSONNEL PERSONALS EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE CONGRATULATIONS TO: PROGRAM by Thomas Lipa Tom and Mrs. Jacobs, Public Works, on the adoption of This time of year seems appropriate to remind a baby girl in December. you of the existence of the Credit Counseling Denise Wittlin, Mental Health, baby boy, 12/17. Program. It is for individuals and families Anne Drake, Mental Health, baby girl, 12/20. experiencing financial difficulties. The program is Lucinda Rothschild, Office for the Aging, baby girl, 12/27. available through Family and Children's Services of Jennifer Luu, Bd. of Reps. Office, baby boy 1/7/94. Ithaca, a non - profit agency. It is a benefit covered 1 under the EAP and is for non EAP members as SYMPATHY TO: ;7. — well. Yvonne McGinnis, DSS, on the loss of her mother. "1::" Clients and households are provided with Steve Mente, Public Works, on the loss of his Dad, counseling which includes development of Raymond. Ray Mente also worked at the spending plans, information about debtor rights and obligations to creditors, and individualized Highway Department before his retirement. Mark Crimmins- Murdock, DSS, on the loss of his management systems to maintain the spending mother -in -law. plan and to reinforce new habits. Clients come in to review their handling of finances who merely GET WELL WISHES TO: ;. • `' want to know that they are doing the right thing. ..ti:' There are others who need to move quickly in Barb Karaviotis, Mental Health. order to contact creditors and stabilize their Marian Wensky, Health (retired). finances. Where appropriate, clients are referred Marguerite Jones, DSS, at Robert Packer Hospital. to other community resources. Gerald Pallace, Sheriff's Department. Counselors are trained in topics such as Shirley Fritts, Buildings and Grounds. counseling techniques, budgeting, community Kathleen Drew, County Administration. resources information, and consumer advocacy. They enjoy working with people, are interested in WELCOME TO: consumer education and personal money Sandra Hagin, Real Property Appraiser, Assessment, management. They are dedicated to helping Gary Boltz, Real Property Appraiser, Assessment. people and provide an important service. • . *• tt,. .,n • ♦ S ENIORS SKI FOR LESS EMPLOYEE COUNCIL The United States Senior Sports Organization and the Professional Ski Instructors of America announce the participation CHAIR'S REPORT by Cheryl Nelson of 38 ski areas throughout the East with special, instructional, mid - On January 5th & 6th, four training sessions of week, discounted programs for Senior Skiers. Each mountain two hours each were held in various County welcomes seniors ages 501-, to their mountain with specially locations. The purpose of these training sessions designed programs that include four hours of on -snow organized was to educate County employees on the new participation of small peer groups Lead by a peer instructor. Coffee Performance Review policy that was passed by the is complimentary, plus one additional feature unique to each Board of Representatives on August 10, 1993. mountain (i.e. NASTAR, continental breakfast, video, etc.). Special Even though the weather wouldn't allow several package rates for this lift/lesson combination or package program employees to get to work, the attendance at the provide a "ski for less" to every senior skier involved. sessions was good. I appreciate employees taking New York participants include: Belleayre, 914 -254 -5242; the time from their schedules to participate in Catamount, 518 -325 -3200; Gore, 518 -251 -2411; Greek Peak 607-835 - these meetings. The Employee Council members 6111; Hunter Mountain, 518- 263 -4278; Kissing Bridge, 716 -592 -4963; and Department Heads that worked on this policy Mt. Peter, 914 - 986 -4992; Peek 'n Pear 716 -355 -4141; Ski Windham, and the In- Service Training and Education 518- 734 -5070; Snow Ridge, 315- 348 -8456 and Labrador Mtn., 607 - Committee, who was given the task of educating 842 -6204. and implementing the policy, all deserve credit for State Senior Winter Games will be hosted by Ski Windham on the success of this policy to date. February 14, 1994. Eastern Regional Games will be hosted by There is a lot of Employee Council activity Killington in Vermont on March 29 -31. going on. Instead of taking up more space in this State and Regional Games are focused upon FUN and article, I urge you to read the minutes of the competition, with plenty of time to meet with peers. For further Employee Council meetings and /or communicate information please contact the Eastern Educational Foundation with your Council representative. office at 518 -452 -1166.