ဟံၣ်My WebLinkဘၣ်ဃးဒီး1999-01 c,...c...,::)/( i i \ �L A Newsletter for Employ T ees and Retirees L .�l I E of om kins County P \ J\ \\.,/ 1 .--, ii Ali:, Sheriff's Department Retirees - Recognizing 81 years of combined service. . • ] d r 1 Emery B. Guest Daryl E. Avery Duane Van Hartman Emery served in the U.S. Navy 26 years in Law Enforcement Van to all that know him. from 1962 - 1966. 6 years with Tompkins County 25 years of service. Emery was hired by Sheriff Robert Served in the U.S. Army 1967 -1970 Van was hired by Sheriff Robert Howard in 1968 as a deputy sheriff. with tours of duty in the Republic of Howard on 9/3/73 at the rank of One of Emery's first assignments Viet Nam. Deputy Sheriff and was initially was navigation patrol of Cayuga Was hired in 1973 as a assigned to the security detail at the Lake. Emery was promoted to the deputy sheriff for Schuyler County. Tompkins County Airport. On July rank of Criminal Investigator on Attended Northwest Traffic Science 9, 1985 Van was promoted to the August 26, 1973. During this period program at SUNY Albany. position of Juvenile Investigator. In Emery attended many schools on Promoted to the rank of sergeant in 1995 Van was assigned to the police and investigative techniques, 1978. Attended Elmira College and Criminal Investigations Division to he also attended Criminal Justice Corning Community College handle both adult and juvenile courses at TC -3. Emery also studying Criminal Justice. Received investigations. received his Police Instructor Police Instructor certificate and Van has attended numerous certificate and taught many classes taught Firearms and other classes at Law Enforcement schools and in the Basic Police School and also Southern Tier Law Enforcement received many letters of thanks from area highschools. On September Academy. When Watkins Glen residents throughout the county for 17, 1985, Emery was promoted to International reopened, Daryl was his professionalism and dedication the position of Senior Investigator. put in charge of Law Enforcement to duty. During his tenure as the Senior at the race track scheduling and Van will retire to his wood Investigator several major crimes coordinating officers from all over shop, where he is known to build occurred. The first being the Eliza the State. beautiful cabinets and furniture. Bush murder investigation, then In 1993 Emery Guest Ernest Vann committed a murder appointed Daryl as his Undersheriff. and dumped the body in a rural area (, Q� f�ta ,� . in the Town of Danby, then Deborah `7 Knappen was charged in the Tales from the Bush A New President shooting death of her husband. Benefit Basics Santa's Helpers The citizens of Tompkins Toddler Storytime Unclassifieds County elected Emery as their Dear Danielle Personal Touch Sheriff in 1990. He was reelected to Conflict of Interest the position again in 1994. A new Reindeer? DEADLINE FOR NEXT ISSUE: MONDAY FEBRUARY 8. County Administrator's Report Tales from the Bush by Rick Erb by Dave Bush, Sheriff's dMilliik is always a p leasure to Hello from up here on the hill! pleasure Well to start off with there's a present positive ,011 1 / /)1i new Sheriff in town and a new fi news to County �J ` Under Sheriff. Things are employees and I 4 . r . )'j moving along very smoothly will take the here at TCSD. opportunity this I know that you all are - excited that winter has finally month to tell you arrived here in Ithaca. I could about our Self- tell that the fall was too long Insurance as it was bumper cars during Reserve Fund. the first snowfall! One must >, .. As some of you remember that one's care does not stop the same on snow / may know, and ice as it does on dry pavement. I must apologize to all several years ago my faithful weather followers and my reports have been Tompkins County sporadic but things around the office have been keeping us made the decision all very busy. I did try to get out as many as I could for the to self - insure for last storm and NO the Sheriff did not close the roads. much of the risk involved with the normal operation of Just to let you all know Sharon Cooper who is on county government. Payments are made for the committee for this paper hounds me something awful negligent or erroneous acts involving items such as about getting my article done, we here at TCSD refer to her as Colonel Cooper! There I am sorry Sharon but I had to motor vehicle accidents, lawsuit settlements, second spill the beans. party property damage, and a variety of other issues, A few points to ponder until the next issue A reserve fund was established to pay for these - If someone with multiple personalities threatens to kill items, saving us the cost of insurance premiums. himself, is it considered a hostage situation? Because of the potential for major claims against the - If rabbit's feet are so lucky, then what happened to the County, a separate excess insurance policy is still rabbit? purchased to protect us from potentially larger - Why is it that to stop Windows 95, you have to click on losses. "Start?" - Why is your index finger the same size as your nostrils? The result is that we have achieved substantial Unt we meet again Dave savings every year since this decision was made. It clearly was and continues to be a wise course for the County. Having said that, 1998 will stand out as a OFFICIAL AURORA - GRAM banner year for risk management in Tompkins County. With the final figures in, our pay -out from by Aurora Valenti, County Clerk the Self- Insurance Reserve stood at less than half •� `" the average annual cost of the previous five years. - This cost containment is directly related to the efforts I '- of employees who make the effort to report and take 61 iwa `' - care of unsafe conditions that exist on County - property and in the delivery of services. Employees �. - r_ contribute to our collective victory by exercising t - prudent judgment while safely performing their jobs and respectfully protecting the taxpayers' assets. A special thank you is extended to Jackie Kippola for The members of the New York State Association of County her efforts in risk management for the County. Clerks have elected the Tompkins County Clerk, Aurora Rubens Valenti, President of that Association for the year Decreasing these expenditures by 50% while 1999. Aurora will be sworn at a dinner to be held at the Albany Quality Inn Hotel on February 8, 1999 providing a safer environment for our customers and The New York State Association of County Clerks ourselves is a great achievement. Thank you to is comprised of the 62 County Clerks and New York City everyone who contributed to our success in 1998. Register. Aurora has previously held the office of Let's dedicate ourselves to continuing the trend in Recording Secretary and was Chair of the By -Laws 1999. Committee. She has been Tompkins County Clerk since 1991. k. ' rJ -/ COUNTY CORRIDORS .- ; i O� o , de '� (4 SCHEDULE 1999 1 heo d ISSUE COPY DUE BY: DISTRIBUTED: „` JANUARY Monday, January 11 January 28 \ FEBRUARY Monday, February 8 February 25 Dear Danielle, My daughter's father lives in a different state and MARCH Monday, March 8 March 25 has very little contact with my daughter. Recently, I found out that he is (or was) in the hospital in the state he lives in with a fractured skull and a broken arm received by getting APRIL Monday, April 5 April 22 beat up with a baseball bat. My daughter is 12, and I am wondering what, if anything, I should tell her. She asks about him every couple of weeks. MAY Monday, May 3 May 20 Tongue Tied Mom JUNE Monday, May 31 June 17 Dear Tongue Tied, I suggest that you try to reach him directly. If he JULY Monday, June 28 July 15 has recovered, and is in no imminent danger, you can tell him that your daughter has been asking about him and wants to hear from him. If he's unable to communicate due AUGUST Monday, August 9 August 26 to this incident, you should tell your daughter that he's had an accident and hasn't been able to call, but will as soon as he's able. If you're unable to find anything out, you should SEPTEMBER Monday, September 6 September 23 plead ignorance since whatever information you have is second -hand and would lead to too many worries for your daughter. Pre -teens and teens worry about EVERYTHING OCTOBER Monday, October 4 October 21 excessively. Constant reassurance is needed. Short of first -hand knowledge, you should be honest and tell her you haven't heard from him either. NOVEMBER Monday, November 1 November 18 *********************************** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** Send questions to Danielle c/o Ruth Pond, Finance DECEMBER Monday, November 29 December 16 d The County Corridors Board welcomes anyone who would like to attend a Board meeting. We meet the week after the copy due date on fegla diP TODDLER STORYTIME Tuesday in the Data Processing Conference from Janet Steiner, Library Director Room from 9:30 - 11 a.m. Toddler Storytime at Tompkins County Public Library, for toddlers ages 19 months to 3 years, began on January 19 and ends on April 7. Children must be accompanied by a Any copy received after the deadline, will parent or caregiver. Storytime will be held on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 10:30 to 11 a.m. No preregistration is be held for the next issue. Many thanks for your necessary. Meet at the Youth Services Reference Desk. For more information, please call Eileen Willauer, 272- cooperation. 4557, ext. 211. A BENEFIT BASICS A Cooperative Effort Jackie Yoder, Benefits Manager Collecting Toys for Kids How Your Disability Benefits Work by Molly Light, CSCN Case Manager County employees in every bargaining unit have disability benefits available if an off - the -job injury or illness prevents you from working. You'll want to check out your own bargaining agreement carefully to be sure you understand your disability benefits. One thing however is the same • for everyone. A claim form covering the absence must be .v completed by the employee and the physician and f submitted to Personnel no later than Monday following '',) II I R the end of the pay period in which disability is i, { Jot i requested. � , , , �� ^ i • A claim form must be submitted for every pay + '1, r 11 4 1 period disability is claimed_ t l Disability will not be granted for periods prior to a t . A►• doctor's visit. ' _-- • Lack of information and /or untimely filing of the left to right Molly Light, Health Dept; Maryellen Leonard; Lisa claim form will result in denial of disability benefits. Kinellis; Sue Bowman, Health Dept; Barb Wright, Health Dept; and Sabir Omar, Health Dept. ► A doctor's release to return to work is required following a period of disability. Maryellen Leonard and Tina Kinellis, pictured above, are members of the Tompkins County Professional Womens EHS Pharmacy Benefits Insurance Group and helped considerably with the drive Eckerd Health Services has been administering pharmacy this year which benefitted Cops, Kids and Toys. Special sincere thanks benefits for BlueCross BlueShield subscribers since July and Th annks ks are go out them. extended also extended to the whole Health 1998. You may be interested to know your EHS Benefit Department for their part in this successful holiday Card can be used at all local pharmacies including: enterprise. Wegman's, K -Mart, CVS, Rite Aide, Eckerd's, and Hill's Drug Stores. 11 Terrific Tips From Family & Children's Services of Ithaca (it provides ; ; � 3 EAP services to County employees) come the following tips for getting organized in the new year. r v6 , ♦ Set priorities. Some things need doing better than ; A, ,-, they've ever been done before. Some things just need Y'i , „ 1 l doing. O things don't need doing at all. Know which is ° ' '' which. . . I t . r r , Plan and plot all personal /family activities on a home �,. ? , l calendar. _ ' _ ' Allow yourself extra time to get places. " . Use sticky notes and lists; it's stressful trying to I '. remember everything. Look for new ways to simplify your life. . . Limit TV to a maximum of 30 minutes per day. q :: i ' `� f• Simplify your eating and cooking habits.'� 2,-•,, � Delegate work to responsible others. Balance the "space" in your life, i.e., time alone, time with Finance Department was also a collection spot for toys. family, time with friends. Learn to say "no" to extra tasks that leave you no Thanks to all Tompkins County employees for their personal time individual and group efforts to make the holiday Unclutter. season brighter for others. Happy New Year! • • # # ` Date: January 19, 1999 $ To: All Tompkins County Employees and Officers From: Catherine Covert, Clerk, Board of Representatives Richard A. Erb, County Administrator Subject: Conflict of Interest The General Municipal Law of New York State and Tompkins Count P County Local Law No. 4 of 1992 require any County officer or employee who has, will have, or later acquires an "interest" in any actual or proposed contract with the County to disclose the nature and extent of such interest in writing to the Clerk of the Board of Representatives. The laws define "interest" as follows: f "'Interest' means a direct or indirect pecuniary or material benefit accruing to a municipal officer or employee as the result of a contract with the municipality which 4 such officer or employee serves. A municipal officer or employee shall be deemed to have an interest in the contract of (a) his or her spouse or domestic partner, minor children or dependents, except a contract of employment with the municipality wh' h 4 P P is such officer or employee services; (b) a firm, partnership or association of which such officer or employee is a member or employee; (c) a corporation of which such officer or employee is an officer, director or employee; and (d) a corporation any stock of which is 4 owned or controlled directly or indirectly by such officer or employee." 4 If you as an individual, member of any partnership, or stockholder or trustee in any corporation, ` have an interest in any actual or proposed contract with the County, or anticipate acquiring such an interest, you must disclose the nature and extent of this interest in writing to the Clerk of the Board of Representatives. Your disclosure of an interest in a contract with the County does not necessarily mean that this interest must be ended. All disclosures will be carefully reviewed by the County Attorney, and 4 if necessary, by the Board of Ethics and/or the appropriate committee of the Board of Representatives. The issue that will be examined in every instance is whether your contract creates a conflict with your responsibilities as a County employee and, if so, how this should be 4 eliminated. 4 4 If the position you hold is designated as a "key employee ", you must also file an Annual Disclosure Statement with the Clerk of the Board no later than May 15, 1999. The form for this filing was sent under separate cover. If you believe you should file this form and have not 4 received one, please contact the Board office at 274 -5434. A memorandum similar to this one is sent to all employees every year as a reminder of this 4 obligation. If at any time during the course of any year an interest such as described above should arise, you must notify the Clerk of the Board in writing at that time. • 1 Unclassifieds The Personal Touch For Sale: Congratulations: Color Console TV. $25. Call after 5 p.m. 273 -7480. Chris Strizak, Fire & Disaster, on the birth of her granddaughter Samantha O'Connor, December 10, 1998. Shenandoah Woodstove (great • condition) $125. Saunder's Entertainment Center (fits 27" TV) two doors, stereo & VCR shelves ($99 new) $25. Call Tom @ 387 -6964. Jo Heliseva, DSS, and her husband Paul on the birth of their twin sons, Jonathon and Jacob, January 9, 1999. THINK VACATION! The ideal length of a vacation is just long enough to be missed but not long enough for them to discover how well they can get along without you. • :i On Dasher! ... ( ;� On Prancer! ... On David? ' ` „ ,, ” . Articles to be considered for the February 25 issue must be received by noon, Monday, February 8. Lengthy . � articles should be on disk. Send by interdepartmental `' mail to Ruth Pond, Finance, or 125 East Court St., Ithaca, NY 14850. Fax: 274 -5505. • *�' , (1.:-- ' i . °< • UNCLASSIFIEDS 1 1 Classified ads up to 25 words in length are free to County employees, retirees • and their immediate families. Ads may be for any purpose except no personal ads ti i T g' will be accepted. No County addresses or telephone numbers may be listed in these ads, however we do need the full name of the person submitting the ad. Use this coupon to send your ad via interdepartmental mail to Ruth Pond, County Corridors c/o Finance, or 125 East Court St., Ithaca, NY 14850. ` Please type or print legibly! Thanks! [ .r. vi i f COUNTY CORRIDORS _ Articles and opinion pieces for County Corridors are selected by the volunteer editorial board based on their interest to Tompkins County employees and retirees. They do not necessarily express the opinions of the Editorial Board. Material is solicited from current employees, retirees and others. Material for publication is selected by the editorial board which reserves the right ; „At, , to edit any submissions except in the instance of copyright articles. The Editorial ”— ' Board is made up of: Bill Chapp, Social Services; Sharon Cooper, Sheriffs; Liz ' Croop, Mental Health; Lisa Eaton, (Proofreader), Finance- Purchasing; lretta Ellis, - Information Services; Ruth Pond, (Editor), Finance; Michelle Pottorff, Bd. Of _ Representatives; Judy Tynyk, (Chair), Weights and Measures; and Vickie Wagner, (Artist), Drafting Technician. Correspondence may be sent through County inter - department mail to: County David Squires, Finance Corridors, c/o Finance- Purchasing, 125 East Court St., Ithaca, NY 14850