Battery Pack
Since it’s July, that means the annual alkaline batteries collection courtesy of the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency (OCRRA) is upon us. This month only, as part of your curbside trash and recyclable collection, residents can put their accumulated alkaline batteries in special yellow battery bags—obtained from local Wegmans or at Green Hills, 5933 S. Salina St. Once the bag is sealed, place it on top of your closed garbage bin, not inside the blue bin and not inside the garbage can.
In its 15 years, the battery collection has been quite successful. “On average, residents keep more than 90,000 pounds of alkaline batteries out of our waste stream each year,” said Andrew Radin, OCRRA’s director of Recycling and Waste Reduction. If you operate a business and want to dispose of old batteries, visit www.ocrra.org/programs_battery. asp for more information.
Pachyderm Palace
We’ve been writing about it, folks have been talking about it, and now it’s come to be: the Rosamond Gifford Zoo opened the new Asian Elephant Preserve on June 30. In addition to four acres for the entire elephant herd to roam, the new exhibit includes a 10,000-plus-square-foot barn with a viewing window that will allow zoo visitors to view the animals’ day-to-day activities and care.
“This facility will allow us to bring home our three elephants, Targa, Mali and Little Chuck, later this summer, giving us the distinction of being among the top five elephant herds in the nation,” noted Chuck Doyle, just-retired zoo director. “We will be able to continue our breeding program to help ensure that your children’s children will be able to experience the beauty of Asian elephants.”
To that end, those three elephants remain in Canada, victims of slow bureaucratic paper shuffling their impending border crossing requires. So that means the zoo’s Buy a Mile fundraising campaign continues; donors can pledge a minimum of $10 per each mile the elephants need to travel back to Syracuse. “As of May 16, we’ve raised 75 percent of our goal,” said zoo public relations director Lorrell Walter. “This is an easy way for people who may not be able to give a lot to the effort to still be able to give a little, and every little bit helps.” For more information, visit. www.rosa mondgiffordzoo.org/buyamile.
Shake it Up
The Salt City Urban Art and Craft Market returns for the third year, and it seeks artists, crafters, vendors and designers to fill the booths. The market is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 22, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at a location to be determined. Applications are being accepted through July 31. For more information, go to www.saltcitycraftmart.com.
Garden Party
FOCUS Greater Syracuse announced its latest two recipients of the Wisdom Keeper Award, presented on June 9 to citizens who understand the importance of a vision for tomorrow. They also help educate citizens in being a responsible and engaged community member. And this year’s winners are Syracuse University chancellor and president Nancy Cantor and former chair of the Onondaga County Legislature, New York assemblyman and coach of SU’s rowing team, William Sanford. Each has been memorialized with a bronze plaque on the wall of the Wisdom Keeper Garden, next to City Hall Commons, 201 E. Washington St.
