COMMUNITY CHRONICLE (02/03/02)

COMMUNITY CHRONICLE

Corning re-establishes ties with Lviv

by William J. and Gloria B. Misnick

CORNING, N.Y. - A Ukrainian delegation from Corning's sister city of Lviv came to Corning on December 17, 2001. This event took place because of the efforts of William J. and Gloria B. Misnick, co-chairs since 1997 of the Lviv Committee of the Corning Sister Cities Association.

The Misnicks have worked to re-establish ties with Lviv by visiting that western Ukrainian city in 1997 and again in 1999 when a protocol was signed - the first since the fall of communism. Sister city ties between Corning and Lviv had diminished after the fall of communism in 1991, largely because Ukraine was experiencing very difficult economic times.

Lviv had become Corning's first sister city in 1987 after Corning, Inc. (formerly the Corning Glass Works) helped the Soviet Union install a ribbon machine for producing light bulbs at a factory there.

Representing Lviv during the most recent visit to Corning was Volodymyr Olijnyk, deputy mayor, chair of the Halytsky District and master of state management, and his wife, Oleksandra. Ties were cemented with the protocol-signing ceremony between Corning and Lviv on December 17, 2001, by Corning Mayor Alan Lewis and Mr. Olijnyk. The translators at Corning City Hall were Peter Melendevych of Horseheads, N.Y., and Victor Ohremchuk of Corning.

The Olijnyks were welcomed to the region at a welcoming party at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church in Elmira Heights by over 75 parishioners led by their pastor, the Rev. Janusz Jedrychowski. Mr. and Mrs. Olijnyk visited with many parishioners from their native city of Lviv.

The Misnicks are active members of the Elmira Heights chapter of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, where Mrs. Misnick is the delegate. The Olijnyks met Peter Kremel, UCCA branch president, as well as Deacon John Hobczuk, vice-president, and other officers.

A reception was held at the Radisson Hotel in Corning after the protocol signing. U.S. Rep. Amo Houghton Jr. welcomed the Ukrainian visitors along with Corning City Council members and the Lviv Committee. Letters of congratulations were sent by New York State Sen. John R. Kuhl Jr. and State Assemblyman James G. Bacalles.

A glass gift to the city of Lviv was presented along with various gifts representing the Finger Lakes region of New York. Mrs. Misnick was the mistress of ceremonies for the event. Both the American and Ukrainian national anthems were sung. Mr. Misnick explained the meaning of the Ukrainian national anthem and gave the toast.

The Olijnyks stayed with the Misnicks until December 27, 2001; they visited Corning Museum of Glass, The Rockwell Museum of Western Art and the Benjamin Patterson Inn, all in Corning. They traveled to Hammondsport to the Glen Curtiss Museum and toured the Finger Lakes region, including its wineries. They had a bird's eye view of the Finger Lakes in a private airplane ride. They also saw the beauty of Pennsylvania's Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls and the Festival of Lights at Lewiston.

"The Crystal City" of Corning and Lviv, "The Pearl of Europe," came together in Corning after 12 long years. Now the Lviv Committee in Corning will continue its work with renewed energy. Members of the committee have been invited to visit Lviv in September of this year to continue the close relationship that has been revitalized.

The Lviv Committee of Corning has supported the Lviv Regional Specialized Children's Research Hospital where there are 200 children age 5-15 who suffer from cancer as a result of the Chornobyl accident. They have set up computer service and Internet access for the Lviv hospital, linking it with the Falck Cancer Center of Elmira, N.Y.

In addition, the Misnicks have shipped 22 wheelchairs of various sizes for the children. Christ Episcopal Church of Corning aided with the wheelchair project's completion with a generous grant of $2,500.

Corning's Lviv Committee also sponsored two teachers of English to teach in summer school and cultural programs in Eastern Europe headed by Bridges for Education. All of these accomplishments took place in the past four years.

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