As we say goodbye to 2014 and hello to 2015, we usually take the chance to reminisce on our past year and give good hopes for the future. Looking back through the 2014 editions of the Eagle Bulletin, there have certainly been some big events that have stood out and defined our local communities.
Some of the moments were heroic, like the Jamesville boys who saved a teen from drowning in September; some were alarming, like the increase of heroin use in the Eastern suburbs. Some showed the power of a vote, like the referendum held to decide whether to change the DeWitt town clerk position from an elected to appointed position; and some showed how fleeting life is, like the microburst that hit East Syracuse hard this summer, destroying property and impacting lives.
Although there were hundreds of significant stories that touched the lives of citizens in the Eastern suburbs area, we have narrowed it down and compiled a list of some of the biggest. Here are the top 10 stories of 2014, listed chronologically by publication date, that were reported in The Eagle Bulletin.
J-D girls stopped one win short of state title
Winter 2014 was a great season for the Jamesville-DeWitt girls basketball team, who played in the Class A state championships on March 8 at Hudson Valley Community College. The game was against Pittsford-Sutherland and, after a tough fight, the Red Rams fell 57-41.
Despite all this, the J-D team was in no way dejected by loss. On the contrary, some might have even perceived them as jovial.
“I’m smiling because we have 95 percent of our team coming back next year,” said Alyssa Robens, who finished with 14 points and nine rebounds. “Hopefully we’ll be back.”
Eighth-graders Meg Hair and Kasey Vaughan will surely improve, while three-year players Robens and Maddy Frank will be senior leaders and Carly O’Hern will be an upperclassman.
The first quarter was close, with Sutherland leading 8-5 at its conclusion, but from there the game was out of JD’s control. Just one game after going 1-for-12 from three-point range, the Knights nailed 38 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc
Although Sutherland was shooting lights out and J-D was struggling, a win was still possible at times, no matter how unlikely.
In one pivotal sequence to open the third quarter, O’Hern hit consecutive layups to narrow a nine-point deficit to five points, only to have Sutherland go on an 8-0 run that erased the Red Rams’ progress.
Frank and O’Hern were both named to the all-tournament team, while Sutherland’s Santita Ebangwese was also an all-star and Liz Greendyke was chosen as MVP.
Although they lost, the J-D girls basketball team can now stand eye-to-eye with their male J-D counterparts, having now experienced success at the state level as well.
East Syracuse voters elect to abolish police department
After a year of heated board meetings and high tax rates, East Syracuse residents voted 333 to 199 in favor of abolishing the East Syracuse Police Department on April 16.
The East Syracuse Village Board anticipated that the abolishment of the department would contribute to a drop in taxes for the 2015 budget. In 2013-14, East Syracuse had the highest tax rate of any municipality, at $16.41 per $100,000 of assessed home value.
Despite what the hard numbers suggested, East Syracuse residents were just about split down the middle when it came to the idea of police abolishment and sharing services with DeWitt. Many of the naysayers voiced their disappointment that the village brought the police up for a referendum again after voters shot down almost the same proposition 531-300 in October 2012.
Even the village board was split on the issue. At its April 2 meeting, Deputy Mayor Barbara Quonce and Trustee Carol Para voted against the creation of the local law which abolished the police department.
DeWitt Town Supervisor Ed Michalenko said that while he believed the elimination of the East Syracuse Police was the right decision for the future of the village, he was sad to see it go.
“To me, it’s kind of a bittersweet moment,” Michalenko said. “It’s a sad commentary on our times; that the costs of police services are probably too great for small communities. I do believe that the smaller departments are closest to the people.”
Over the past eight months, the DeWitt police department has been working on making sure the Jan. 1 merger would go as smoothly as possible, keeping new officers up to speed on their record keeping procedures and other policies that may differ.
The heroin epidemic reaches the Eastern suburbs
In May, the Eagle Bulletin reported on the unfortunate loss of 19-year-old Kali Perry, a 2012 graduate of East Syracuse Minoa schools, who overdosed on heroin in November 2013.
In this story, Perry’s mother Melissa Hosier recounts her experience with this difficult ordeal saying, “She was normal — an all-American, normal kid that came from a pretty normal family,” Hosier said. “I mean, I wasn’t an addict. I didn’t have any drugs in the house, including prescription pills. You would never look at her and think, ‘Oh, well she does heroin.’ You would never think that… I didn’t.”
According to the Onondaga County Health Department, in 2013, 27 people died of heroin overdoses in Onondaga County, compared to 13 deaths in 2012 and eight in 2011, according to the Onondaga County Health Department. Overdosing is now the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, accounting for more deaths than motor vehicle accidents, gun homicides or suicides.
But startling statistics show that Perry’s death is not an isolated incident in the Eastern suburbs. Manlius Police Youth Officer Angela Palmer said that between Jan. 1 2013 and April 23, 2014, there were three deaths and eight reported overdoses in the town of Manlius alone.
“We’re a very small community,” Palmer said. “That’s 11 known cases in the last year and that’s huge. And that’s not just heroin uses, they’re overdoses, to the point where people had to be medically treated.”
Heroin use in the United States has reached the point where it’s being called an “epidemic” because it’s affecting people of all ages, races, genders and socioeconomic statuses.
“It’s not just on the north side — I treat people from everywhere: Solvay, Syracuse, Fayetteville, Manlius and DeWitt,” said Dr. Laura Martin, a family practice doctor at St. Joseph’s. “51 percent of users nationwide are employed — they have good jobs; they’re doctors, lawyers, teachers and community members you spend time with.”
On May 7, the East Area YMCA in Fayetteville hosted a community conversation which featured 11 panelists, including police officers, doctors and other local heroin “experts” who addressed a standing-room only crowd of nearly 100 people.
Manlius village and town dispute over proposed fire station project
In July, the village of Manlius took the first steps in moving forward with a proposed new fire station, which would be located at the corner of Route 92 and Enders Road and would replace the village’s two current fire stations, which were deemed in dire need of repair.
The village has spent nearly seven years — and more than $440,000 — working to improve the fire station situation by building one new, state-of-the art station to replace the two outdated stations currently in use. The new station would be an approximately 20,000 square feet building on a 4.1 acre parcel on land to be purchased by the village — although the land is outside the village limits and in the town. The new station would become the hub for all Manlius fire personnel.
The fire station project was stalled throughout 2014 as the two municipalities argued and the project could not move forward until a municipal agency was declared to be the “lead agency” — or in charge — in terms of the state-mandated environmental impact review process of the project (State Environmental Quality Review Act, or SEQR).
The village board in June voted unanimously to declare its “municipal sovereignty” from the town and to seek immunity from town regulations as they worked to bring the fire station project to fruition. Village officials also made a request to the Department of Environmental Conservation in August to make a ruling on the issue of which municipality would be named lead agency in the project.
On Oct. 14, the DEC issued an opinion in favor of the village in who should be the lead agency.
“I’m relieved that a decision was finally made so that we know now that we can move forward, the direction we have to move forward to start getting the project back underway,” said Manlius Mayor Paul Whorrall. “We will work closely with the town and we will do what we have to do that’s required of us with the SEQR review. We’re not going to exclude the town in letting them know what we’re going to do.”
Manlius Town Supervisor Ed Theobald said the town board was “somewhat surprised” and “disappointed” that the DEC determined the village should have lead agency status “over property that is outside the village. As the project proposed would serve town and village residents alike and provide a very important public service that the village has clearly determined is needed, the issue is the location and the potential adverse effects on traffic, neighborhood, nearby community character and similar effects addressed by zoning and environmental review laws and regulations.”
Following this decision, the village is moving forward with plans for the fire station project despite the dispute.
Summer storm hits the village of East Syracuse hard
Neighbors picking up brush. Parents keeping a watchful eye over wandering children. Power lines laying on the streets. Trees on top of houses and cars. All of these were common sights during the evening hours of July 8 and the majority of the next day in the village of East Syracuse following a storm that tore through the village around 6 p.m. on Tuesday, July 8.
Words like “war zone” and “Labor Day Storm” were being used by neighbors to describe the damage done to the village, which was described by Onondaga County Commissioner for Emergency Management Kevin Wisely as the “epicenter” of the storm. The following day, the National Weather Service determined that a microburst had hit the village, with winds reaching between 65 and 75 miles per hour.
Not long after the wind died down and the rain stopped falling, Mayor Robert Tackman issued a state of emergency for the village, which was in effect until about 7 p.m. July 9.
“The village was just a wreck, it was in shambles,” said Lieutenant Nate Baker, of the East Syracuse Fire Department. “We couldn’t even get to some calls because of blocked roads. This is worse than the storm we got last year — more damage, more calls, more intense damage and so many people without power.”
National Grid reported that about 30,000 people in Onondaga, Madison and Oswego Counties were without power. And the largest outages took place in the town of DeWitt — including nearly all 1,600 customers in the village of East Syracuse.
In addition to National Grid crews, the East Syracuse Fire Department and E.A.V.E.S. emergency medical technicians, fire departments, DPW crews and ambulance services from across the county came to help out. Mattydale, North Syracuse, Minoa, DeWitt and Fayetteville were among the many agencies that made their way into the village to help clean up the wreckage.
McCool Avenue and Dausmann Street were the hardest hit by the storm. The residents of that area of the village were among the last in the county to have their power restored due in part to the fact that National Grid had to install completely new wires and poles in the neighborhood.
Summer school was cancelled at East Syracuse Minoa High School and East Syracuse Elementary School on July 9 and the special education summer program at ESE was re-located to Woodland Elementary for the remainder of the week.
F-M superintendent announces retirement after 10 years
Dr. Corliss Kaiser, superintendent of the Fayetteville-Manlius Central School District, announced Aug. 28 that she would retire on June 30, 2015, after 46 years working in the field of education, including 10 as the superintendent.
“As I stated when I took this position, I knew it would be the highlight, the pinnacle of my career, and it most certainly has been,” Kaiser said. “It has been a pleasure to work with such a dedicated, creative staff whose goal every day is to do their job to the best of their ability so that our students can learn and realize they can achieve great things.”
Kaiser trained and worked as a speech pathologist, audiologist and special education teacher prior to beginning her administrative career in 1988. In 1989, she was hired as an elementary school principal in the Oneida City School District, a position she held for 11 years before assuming administrative positions within the Syracuse City School District. She served one year as the Lansing Central School District superintendent before moving on to the Fayetteville-Manlius superintendent position.
At a Dec. 5 special meeting of the F-M Board of Education, the board approved the firm of Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates, located in Rosemont, Ill., to assist with its superintendent search. The board anticipates hiring a new superintendent in spring 2015, with the goal of that individual beginning on July 1.
DeWitt holds referendum for town clerk position
In July, DeWitt Town Clerk Barbara Klim announced her retirement. Angela Epolito, assistant to the supervisor, was appointed as interim clerk by the town board and a proposal was made to convert the town clerk position from an elected to an appointed one came in July.
Town Supervisor Ed Michalenko, a Democrat, said he proposed the idea of converting the position as a way to save the town more than $50,000 and improve its municipal efficiency — he also felt that the town clerk’s duties are administrative and not political and the job therefore should not be politically selected.
But members of the DeWitt Republican Committee did not agree with this idea. It was decided that the town would hold a referendum vote — without the option for absentee ballots — on Sept. 23.
The DeWitt Republican Committee fought hard to defeat the referendum, but, in case they lost, also chose Karen Beseth to run as their town clerk candidate should a special election be held. The Democrat party chose Epolito as their candidate.
On a vote of 953 to 530, voters voiced their belief that the town clerk should remain a political position, and thereby set the stage for the election in November.
“I’m disappointed. We tried our best to get the word out. Obviously the public has spoken and we’ll listen,” Michalenko said. “Those that participated, their voices will be heard.”
Town Councilor Kenneth Andrews, a Republican, said the voter turnout was “remarkably high,” and one reason for it was because it was a voting rights issue, not a political issue.
“I truly believed it was just wrong to take voting rights away from the people.” Andrews said. “It is our right, privilege, and obligation to elect your representatives and the people of DeWitt recognized the importance of maintaining those rights.”
On election day, Epolito won with 4,516 votes to Beseth’s 3,521 votes.
Jamesville boys honored for saving teen’s life
In September, two Jamesville boys saved the life of a teenager who had a seizure and fell into a pool.
Ari Tzetzis, 11, and Leif Rosenholm, 13, were out front of the Tzetzis house in Jamesville on Sunday, Sept. 7, when the neighbor from across the street came running across the road screaming for help, said Athena Tzetzis, Ari’s mother. The woman’s 16-year-old son was cleaning their pool when he suffered a seizure and fell in, sinking to the bottom 10 feet below.
Athena, Ari and Leif ran to the woman’s pool across the street, where Ari called 911 and Athena jumped in but could not raise the teen off the bottom.
“I said, ‘Ari, jump in and get him.’ So he did. He said ‘Leif jump in and help.’ And he did,” Athena said. “We just kind of reacted; it was adrenaline I guess.”
Ari and Leif, both fully clothed, worked together to save the boy. Ari pulled the teen up off the bottom of the pool and Leif helped him keep the teen’s head above water and bring him out of the pool.
“I just grabbed him — I couldn’t see so I felt around and got my arm around his stomach and pulled him up,” Ari said.
When they got him out of the water, the boy was not breathing. Athena slapped his back, slapped his face and told him to start breathing, which he did, she said.
JFD Chief Bill Johnson said by the time emergency crews arrived the teen was already out of the water and breathing, and today he is doing fine.
The boys were honored with plaques by the Jamesville Fire Department on Sept. 29, during the Boy Scout Troop 22 regular Court of Honor ceremony. That night was chosen because Ari is a current scout, Leif is a former scout, and the Court of Honor typically has a lot of parents and siblings in attendance.
Carrier Recreation Center project moves forward
Throughout 2014, the Carrier Recreation Center project in DeWitt received two significant forms of funding to more forward, including a $4 million bond resolution through the town of DeWitt and a $500,000 state grant.
The Carrier project has been in the works since 2010, when Carrier donated the land for the park to the town of DeWitt. It is planned to be an outdoor multi-sport facility that will provide the community with an all-inclusive playground, tennis court, basketball court, picnic pavilion, baseball, soccer, softball, lacrosse and football fields along with a nature walking trail.
The 28-acre property is bordered by Roby Avenue, Kinne Street and Grover Avenue, and is partially encased by woods. Approximately 20 acres would be used for the fields.
The recreation center facility will provide both a permanent home to the Challenger Baseball League and an all-inclusive playground for the Central New York community. The Challenger league consists of children ages five to 21 with various special needs, physical handicaps and developmental delays.
Construction for this project began in May 2013 and some of the funding has come from The Friends of DeWitt Parks and Recreation group who has raised about $2.2 million of their $10 million goal, according to their website, challengerfieldofdreams.org.
A resolution to apply for $4 million in bonds to help fund the Carrier Field project in DeWitt was approved by the town board at its Oct. 6 meeting. It is expected to be paid back fully by fundraising efforts.
Town Supervisor Ed Michalenko said he felt strongly that the community would be successful in achieving the fundraising goal and a lot of research has already been put into the funding of the project.
In addition to the bond resolution, in December 2014, the project received a New York State Regional Economic Development Grant in the amount of $500,000 to help fund the project.
J-D gets approval to install turf field
After two years of work, the Jamesville-DeWitt school district voted in 3-to-1 ratio in October to allow the school to move forward with a $3.1 million capital project, which includes installation of a turf field at the high school’s main athletic stadium.
The capital project includes renovations to the high school athletic stadium, including the a 225-foot-wide multi-use turf field surrounded by a six-lane, 400-meter German-curve style track and replacement of the current stadium lights.
The project also includes carpet replacement in the high school’s band and chorus rooms, a component, according to Kendrick, that was not only necessary but would also allow the project to qualify for state building aid.
In 2012, the Jamesville-DeWitt Community Grounds for Action Coalition (JDCGAC) came to the board with the idea of raising funds to complete a turf field project. They pledged to raise $1 million dollars to fund it, but were not able to meet the goal and ended with about $850,000 raised.
The funds raised by JDCGAC were put in an escrow account to go toward the project.
Kendrick said that despite the funds raised by JDCGAC and the expected state aid for the project, district residents still will see a slight tax increase, about two cents per $1,000 assessed value over 15 years, to cover the entire project.
In December, the J-D Board of Education approved the final capital project design plans, which were sent to Albany for approval. If everything goes as planned, construction could begin in May 2015 and the final project could be complete by November 2015.
Hayleigh Gowans is a reporter for the Eagle Bulletin. She can be reached at [email protected].
