BY Jason Emerson
Editor
The year 2017 will be memorable for numerous events that happened around the country and the world, but in Cazenovia, this past year will forever be the year that Aldi was built despite attempts to prevent it through litigation. Just as in 2016, the multiple stories relating to Aldi have clearly been the most read, most discussed, most clicked-on and shared story/stories in our community. But it has not been the only story.
This past year has had a number of major headlines in the areas of community news, crime, arts, schools, business and sports that made us rejoice, lament, commiserate and, at times, shake our heads in utter consternation and confusion. But whatever the story, everything that has happened these past 12 months has all been the story of Cazenovia.
Thinking back over the past year, and looking through the past 51 issues of the Cazenovia Republican, some of the “top stories” of the year were obvious. In addition to the lawsuits against, their dismissal, the construction and opening of the Aldi grocery store, major stories included: The proposed banning of plastic grocery bans in Madison County; the July summer storm that crippled the village; the girls volleyball team making it to the Final Four in the state for the first time ever; the news that Dollar Tree was coming to town; and the Cazenovia mummy’s visit to Crouse Hospital for tests and scans.
On the social media side of the Cazenovia Republican, while many of the above stories were among the most-viewed and most-shared stories on the Republican Facebook page (which currently has 3,198 followers or “likes” — up 474 likes from last year), many other stories also had huge responses.
The stories with the most online views were not only the stories mentioned above, but also included: The March winter storm and photo of a car standing on its bumper against a telephone poll (22,500 impressions), the August robbing of farms stands in Cazenovia by a man and woman team (14,800 impressions), the opening of the Cazenovia Bagel Co. in February (14,100 impressions), the reopening of the former Colligan and Sons auto shop on Albany Street as Al’s Automotive (11,600 impressions), a feature story on Troyer’s Country Store (11,300 impressions), a feature story on the economic development at Nelson Corners (10,500 impressions) and the expansion of 20East into the downtown business district (9,100 impressions).
The most read story of the year was our coverage of the March winter storm, which was viewed more than 30,000 times and had vast numbers of shares and likes.
One of the craziest stories was the vandalism of Barker’s Pet Supply Co. in December — the store was trashed, all the food containers and dog beds were cut open, but, strangely, nothing was stolen. The owner of the store, Shannon Liddell, said she was concerned about how she could reopen the store and continue business with the huge cost of recovery, but the Cazenovia community has been giving donations through a GoFundMe page.
One of the stories that shocked many people this year was the death of Cooper the community cat oin May 31 as he crossed Farnham Street. Cooper, owner by the family Mayor Kurt Wheeler, roamed the village, followed pedestrians and loved to visit Cazenovia College students — even inside dorms and classrooms.
One of the stories that may not sound important, but one we think will be remembered as a piece of history was the removal of the last hardline public telephone in the village in February.
The telephone, which stood in the grass between the public parking lot in the Kinney Drugs plaza and the Albany Street sidewalk, has been there for decades but, as the new cell phone technology put a phone in every pocket, the public phone has rarely been used in recent years. It also has been a longtime target for vandalism, particularly in ripping the headset and attaching cord out of the phone body.
One of the more ridiculous items this year, in our opinion, was not the story itself, but the aftermath and reaction. Cazenovia police arrested two men for drinking and driving after their car was seen driving erratically through the village, and they turned out to be illegal immigrants with fraudulent passports. The Caz police turned the men over to the Border Patrol for immigration violations, as policy dictated, and were accused of targeting illegals.
The village board of trustees subsequently issued new instructions to village police officers on how to handle similar situations in the future. Cazenovia police officers will now shunt arrests involving illegal immigrants to county and state law enforcement officials who have a clearer jurisdiction in such cases. If county or state police cannot or will not take custody of undocumented immigrants, or if Cazenovia police have no choice but to arrest and hold such immigrants, then the local police will handle the situation.
So many stories occurred this past year to uplift, frustrate, inspire and depress us; so many to enjoy revisiting, and some that we wish to never read again.
Looking back over the events of a year reminds us of our humanity, and brings into focus why it is important that we are — and that we remain — a thoughtful, caring and neighborly community.
Below are the top stories of the year 2017, listed chronologically by original publication:
Aldi comes to Cazenovia
In a year where business news was prevalent and popular in Cazenovia, the continuing saga of Aldi opening in Cazenovia topped them all. The global discount supermarket chain was approved last year for construction on Route 20 at the east end of the village, and was met at the beginning of this year by multiple lawsuits from a local attorney. Those suits were dismissed by a state supreme court citing lack of standing in the case.
With the legal hurdles cleared, demolition of the defunct hotel and café on the site were demolished in May. Construction began immediately, and Aldi held a hiring event in July that was thronged with applicants. By October, it was announced the new grocery store would open Dec. 15.
Aldi’s plans suffered a slight hitch in November when village zoning board of appeals rejected the grocery chain’s request to have two signs on its new store, rather than the one sign allowed under the village code. Completion of the store continued, however, and the official opening and ribbon cutting was held Dec. 21.
Proposed banning of plastic grocery bans in Madison County
The Madison County Board of Supervisors proposed legislation earlier this year to ban plastic carryout bags from nearly every type of store in the county, although restaurants and liquor stores would be exempt. The proposed law also said stores could not prevent customers from using, or charge a fee for using, reusable bags. Law violators would face civil penalties of $250 for the first violation and $500 for each subsequent violation.
The county board of supervisors has held three public hearings on the proposed law — in May, June and July — during which Cazenovia residents made up a majority of the public speakers, typically supporting the ban as an environmental benefit.
According to the county board’s Solid Waste Committee, public sentiment for a county-wide ban on plastic grocery bags was running two-to-one in favor. But then in October, the county announced it would not move forward on the proposed ban law until it sees what action New York State will take in its efforts on similar legislation. As of press time, the law is still on hold.
July summer storm
The July 1 storm this year that swept through the region had a major impact on Cazenovia will certainly be remembered. The fierce rain and wind storms that hit Cazenovia damaged and closed roads, uprooted trees, flooded basements and impacted local events.
The annual CAVAC arts and crafts fair was not only rained out but torn apart by the wind; the Fourth of July fireworks were dampened slightly by swampy viewing conditions in Lakeland Park; and the Lorenzo Driving Competition cancelled its 41st annual event.
The storm began with heavy rain Friday night, June 30, continued into Saturday morning, July 1, and was followed up Saturday afternoon with heavy winds and a continued downpour.
Girls volleyball team makes it to state Final Four
The Cazenovia girls volleyball team had a landmark year in 2017, making it into the state Final Four championships, for the most successful season in program history. The team earned the Section III Class B championship Nov. 4 at Fayetteville-Manlius, defeating Westhill in four sets.
On Nov. 9, they topped Section V champion Wayne in four sets in the first round of regional play. Two days later, the Lakers traveled to Daemen College in the Buffalo suburbs to face Section VI champion East Aurora in the Class C regional finals, and again won in four sets.
At the state championships in Glens Falls, Cazenovia was thwarted by Section II champion Hudson Falls and Section IV champion Owego in three consecutive sets as those two sides eventually advanced to the championship round.
Dollar Tree coming to Caz
It was announced in early November that Dollar Tree was coming to Cazenovia to open a location in the Town and Country Plaza, in the former Sears location. It is slated to open sometime in December.
Dollar Tree, Inc. describes itself as “a customer-oriented, value-driven variety store operating at a one-dollar price point.” Its stores carry a mix of merchandise that includes national and regional brands with products including housewares, glassware, dinnerware, cleaning supplies, food, health and beauty, toys, gifts, party supplies, stationery, craft supplies, seasonal décor and more.
The opening of a Dollar Tree, along with the new Aldi, has been popular news in Cazenovia for months, especially with the lack of any real shopping competition in the community.
Cazenovia mummy visits Crouse Hospital
On Dec. 10, Hen, the 2,000-year-old mummy in the Cazenovia Public Library, was taken to Crouse Hospital for scans and medical tests. Hen had made the same trip in 2006, during which he underwent a CAT scan that created a three-dimensional hologram of the body inside the ancient wrappings, and doctors discovered what appeared to be a cancerous tumor in his left leg. He was also discovered to be a male, after 112 years of everyone thinking he was actually a she.
The 2017 scans and tests were done in an effort to see if updated technology could reveal new and previously unknown aspects of Hen’s life and death — particularly about the tumor in his leg and the prevalence of the cancer in his body.
“My goal overall is to make this mummy a person; the more information we can get about Hen — who he was, how he lived, how he died — the more respect we can have for him,” said library Director Betsy Kennedy. “I want people to think of Hen as a person and not as an oddity.”
The results should be ready in a few months, and will presented to the public at the library.
