New Dryden Town Board member brings public safety experience

The Dryden Town Board recently appointed a new member, bringing 25-plus years of experience in public safety to the table.

Christina Dravis, a resident of Etna, was sworn in at the beginning of January. Dravis replaces the late Jim Skaley.

Dravis was a member of the town’s safety and preparedness committee from 2018 to 2021. She had never expressed interest in joining the town board before, but town Deputy Supervisor Dan Lamb approached her about the vacant spot.

Dravis, a Democrat, was considered in December and officially appointed as a town board member on Jan. 5. Working with Tompkins County’s Board of Elections piqued her interest in politics.

“We’re pretty happy about her background in public safety. We’re excited to have her on the board,” Lamb said.

Born and raised in the San Francisco area, Dravis was a fire dispatcher for 21 years in various areas of California.

Dravis has always had a deep passion for public safety. Her love for it began when she went on a ride-along with a police officer in high school.

“I fell in love with the idea of it,” she said. Shortly after she graduated from high school, Dravis got her first dispatch job, and most of her career consisted of being a fire dispatcher.

Dravis moved to New York in 2012 after a previous visit to the state. After living in California most of her life, she knew that New York would be her new home.

The hills were brown in California, Dravis said, but her view of New York was lush and green. After moving to Tompkins County in 2014, “I took a couple of years to get to know the county, then I just fell in love with Dryden,” she said. “It’s where I decided to buy a house.”

There are many aspects of Dryden that Dravis enjoys, including its agricultural background, the rural areas and businesses in different spots of the town, the rolling hills and the Dryden Rail Trail.

Dravis is still getting her feet wet as a town board member. After reading the Dryden 2045 Comprehensive Plan, however, she wants to assist in bringing more businesses to the town and providing more recreational activities to residents and visitors.

“I just want to give people who live in town stuff for them to do and also bring tourists in,” Dravis said.

Since moving to the Dryden area, Dravis has been active in the public safety scene. She’s currently a volunteer firefighter for the Varna Fire Department and is also looking to start up Tompkins County’s first-ever Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).

One of her main goals as town board member is to bring awareness of personal preparedness to the community, with the hope that individuals can be more resilient during emergencies.

“[Dryden] is more like a community. Everything was different here [compared to California],” Dravis said. “Living in Tompkins County, I feel like I’m part of the community.”

Dryden Dispatch appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Please send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com

In brief:

Village of Freeville to hold community social Feb. 4

The village of Freeville will hold a community winter social from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Feb. 4 at the Freeville United Methodist Church on 37 Main St.

The event will include crafting and a book talk, along with a potluck dinner and local baked goods. Local resident Emma Frisch will share a story from her book, “Seasonal Family Almanac: Recipes, Rituals, and Crafts to Embrace the Magic of the Year.”

Kids’ craft activities will go from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.

The dinner, which begins at 6 p.m., is a winter-warming potluck. Individuals interested in the event can bring their favorite chili, soup/stew or a side to share. Dessert baked by Adira’s Cakes will be provided by the Freeville Community Council.

Organizers are doing a headcount of village residents looking to attend. Registration for the event is here.

Registration for Dryden Recreation summer camp to begin soon

The Town of Dryden Recreation Department announced that registration for this year’s summer camp will be open in late March/early April.

The six-week camp will run between July 10 and Aug. 18, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m..

The camp will have 40 spots available each week for children entering kindergarten through fifth grade in the 2023-24 school year.

Due to construction at the Dryden School District and Freeville Elementary School, the camp will be held at Cassavant Elementary School on 32 School St. in the hamlet of McLean.

For questions, email the town recreation department at recreation@dryden.ny.us.