No major issues reported, some businesses open

By Jason Emerson

Editor

As of Wednesday afternoon, Cazenovia has been hit by over two feet of snow — and it is still falling. Schools have been closed for the past two days, as has the village office and many local businesses.

A state of emergency was declared throughout Madison County on Tuesday starting at 6 p.m. and going until 6 a.m. Wednesday, during which a travel ban was in effect. That ban was lifted at 9 a.m. Wednesday morning, but a travel advisory remained in place until 6 a.m. Thursday morning.

Mayor Kurt Wheeler said village DPW crews are out servicing the roads and sidewalks, but everyone should obviously be careful if they feel they must travel. “If anyone has any problems created by the storm please contact the village by email, whether it’s me or Bill Carr or any of the trustees. Let us know if there are any issues so we can fix them,” Wheeler said.

Contact Public Works Administrator Bill Carr at [email protected], or Mayor Wheeler at [email protected].

Cazenovia Police Chief Michael Hayes said it was “pretty quiet” on the roads throughout the village Tuesday night, other than the public works crews out plowing. “For amount of snow we’ve had in 24 hours, they’ve done heck a job,” Hayes said.

Tuesday afternoon Hayes issued a statement that no parking was allowed on any village streets due to the state of emergency and travel ban declared by Madison County. Any cars found parked on village streets after 6 p.m. would be towed, and any people out driving after 6 p.m. could have been arrested and fined for violating the travel ban, Hayes said. Village residents, however, respected the prohibitions and there were no issues, he said.

While the roads are now open and plowed, “It’s still tough going out here,” Hayes said. “If you don’t have to go anywhere, staying home the best thing to do.”

As for Cazenovia Central School District, schools were closed both Tuesday and Wednesday for snow days, but the district expects to be open on Thursday, weather dependent, said Superintendent Matt Reilly.

“It’s all about safety, and we didn’t feel it was safe to have busses and parents, students and teachers on the road today, and we made the decision accordingly,” he said Wednesday.

Wednesday’s snow day was the sixth of the year, Reilly said, but only five snow days were allocated for the current school year, which means at least one additional day will have to be added to the school calendar before the end of the year.

“We’re looking at the calendar to determine the best course of action to meet 180 school day mandate of New York State,” Reilly said.

While a number of local Cazenovia businesses were closed due to weather on Wednesday, March 15, many were open, including Caz Pizza, Loka Leaf Tea Lounge, Latte Da, Emma’s Café, 20 East and Empire Tractor.

“I haven’t seen this much snow since the storm of ’93,” said Caz Pizza employee Cassidy Koch as he shoveled the sidewalk in front of the restaurant.

To view breaking news weather announcements and some winter storm photos, visit our Facebook page at Facebook.com/cazrepublican.