Tompkins Weekly welcomes four new weekly contributors

Staff Reports

 

Tompkins Weekly is excited to announce the addition of four new writers who will be bringing a hyper-local look at the communities they live in on a weekly basis. As a local paper, Tompkins Weekly is dedicated to bringing our community the news that matters to you, and with the help of our four new writers we now have eyes and ears across the county who are ready to support that mission. Our new writers hail from the towns of Dryden, Groton, and Lansing, and the Village of Trumansburg, and they are excited to bring you the news from each of their respective communities. Meet the writers!

 

Matt Montague will be our weekly writer from Lansing. His new column will be titled Lansing at Large.

 

Tompkins Weekly: Why do you like writing about the Lansing community?
Matt Montague: It’s diverse people. Lansing is a town of farmers and professors and all sorts of people in between. It’s easy to write about people who are so interesting and have so much to say about their lives.

 

TW: How do you feel about becoming a weekly columnist for Tompkins Weekly?
MM: I am eager to work for a publication that values and focuses on local news. Let’s face it, if you want national or world news, you are frankly better off going on-line. It’s more complete and more timely that a newspaper can be. But, if you want news about your town and your neighbors, there is no better place than your local weekly paper.

 

TW: Tell the readers a little bit about yourself, who you are and what you’re passionate about.
MM: I grew up in north Lansing, one road short of the county line, and lived here until I left town in 1987 to join the Navy. Twenty years later, my wife, three daughters, and I made the decision to come back here so our kids could grow up here too. I think it was a good choice.
I think that my best columns come when I shut up and listen to people talk about what’s important to them. People will say “that’s a great column” and I will say “I just write down what people tell me.”

TW: What is the best way for someone with Lansing information to contact you?
MM: The best way is by e-mail: lansingatlarge@gmail.com. I have also set up a Facebook page where people can submit news tips and story ideas, and where I will post links to my weekly columns.

 

Linda Competillo will be our weekly writer from Groton. Her new column will be titled Groton On The Inside.

 

TW: Why do you like writing about the Groton community?
Linda Competillo: Having been born and raised in a close-knit neighborhood in Buffalo, NY, I loved my life as I knew it, yet always longed to live in the country. Making my home in Groton since 1981 has been a dream come true because that has given me both! Writing about the people, places, and things of Groton and sharing them widely bolsters the sense of pride I feel for all the great things that go on in our town, village, and surrounding area.

 

TW: How do you feel about becoming a weekly columnist for Tompkins Weekly?
LC: I am very excited to write for Tompkins Weekly because it gives me the opportunity to showcase Groton through a media stream that is dedicated to bringing local news to the forefront. Our entire county has so much to offer. I think TW is somewhat of a hidden gem, and I hope my fellow columnists and I can help it to shine even brighter.

 

TW: Tell the readers a little bit about yourself, who you are and what you’re passionate about.

LC: I am a fairly busy individual, but I seem to thrive on that. In addition to being a wife, mother, and grandmother, I have worked at Cornell University full-time for the past 27 years, am currently the vice president of the Groton Board of Education and the Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga BOCES BOE, a member of Groton Assembly of God church, Big Red Toastmasters, and the Groton Business Association. In my spare time, I enjoy singing, shopping, reading, watching old movies, traveling, and designing and creating custom-made jewelry. I am passionate about my faith and my family – particularly my two adorable grandchildren.

 

TW: What is the best way for someone with Groton information to contact you?
LC: Please contact me via email at lmc10@cornell.edu, or by phone at 607-227-4922 (text preferred).

 

Cathy Wakeman will be our weekly writer from Dryden. Her new column will be titled Faces of Dryden.

 

TW: Why do you like writing about the Dryden community?
Cathy Wakeman: Dryden is a gem of a community with amazing, dedicated people making a better world. In Faces of Dryden, we’ll get to meet and celebrate the people that make our community such a wonderful place to live.

 

TW: How do you feel about becoming a weekly columnist for Tompkins Weekly?
CW: Tompkins Weekly was born right here in Etna, NY and has remained a local news organization that is invested in the community. Tompkins Weekly shares my values of celebrating and sharing about the local community. I’m thrilled to be writing for an organization that was created by and is invested in the local community.

 

TW: Tell the readers a little bit about yourself, who you are and what you’re passionate about.
CW: My husband Dan and I have lived and raised four sons in the Village of Dryden for over a quarter of a century. Together, we’re passionate about youth, community service, alternative energy, gardening, and food preservation. Personally, my bent is education and connecting people to information. My day jobs include Senior Library Assistant at the Southworth Library and Substitute Teacher for Dryden Schools.

TW: What is the best way for someone with Dryden information to contact you?
CW: The best way to get news or ideas to me is via e-mail at cwakeman@twcny.rr.com.

 

Elaine Springer will be our weekly writer from Trumansburg. Her new column will be titled Trumansburg Connection.

 

TW: Why do you like writing about the Trumansburg community?
Elaine Springer: Trumansburg is such a magical place, with a unique vibe and unique people. Trumansburg is a place and a feeling! There is so much good going on here, and I am excited to share it with the larger Tompkins County community.

 

TW: How do you feel about becoming a weekly columnist for Tompkins Weekly?
ES: I feel truly blessed to become a weekly columnist for Tompkins Weekly, and that I will be able to share with the Tompkins County community not only what is going on in Trumansburg, but how it feels to live, work, and be active here.

TW: Tell the readers a little bit about yourself, who you are and what you’re passionate about.
ES: I was raised in Trumansburg, born out of the era when Trumansburg was known as Tremendousburg. After living outside of Trumansburg but still in Tompkins County for a few years, I moved my family back to Trumansburg 3 years ago. I’m passionate about Trumansburg. I aim to give back to my community by supporting it in any way I can, by managing the Trumansburg Farmers’ Market, serving on the Trumansburg Chamber of Commerce board, being involved in planning community events such as WinterFest and Porchfest, and of course by reporting the Trumansburg news to the Tompkins Weekly community.

 

TW: What is the best way for someone with Trumansburg information to contact you?
ES: The best way for someone to reach me is by email, elainespringboardcreative@gmail.com.