By Sarah Hall

Editor

As we move toward a new year, let’s take a moment and review the most notable stories of the last year.

McDonald appointed superintendent

The Baldwinsville Central School District Board of Education voted unanimously Jan. 9 to appoint McDonald superintendent of schools. McDonald has served as acting superintendent since the April 2016 resignation of David Hamilton.

“I feel very excited. I feel honored and blessed that the Baldwinsville board of ed selected me for the position,” McDonald told the Messenger.

McDonald’s appointment is effective Jan. 1, 2017, through June 30, 2020. According to his contract, which the Messenger obtained via Freedom of Information Law request, his salary for 2017 is $170,000.

McDonald began as an assistant principal at Durgee Junior High School in 2007, became assistant superintendent of human resources in 2009 and was named deputy superintendent in 2014. He served as acting superintendent once before in 2014 after the retirement of the late Jeanne Dangle.

Looking ahead in his term as superintendent, McDonald stressed the importance of teamwork.

“It’s not about me. The board has 1,200 employees they’ve hired — I’m just one of them,” he said. “My goals really are to listen, to validate and to take a team approach.”

McDonald said he is “just thrilled” to continue working and living in the Baldwinsville community. His two daughters attend B’ville schools.

“Baldwinsville is the most amazing community,” he said. “I took my family from Long Island to here. I could have taken them anywhere, and I took them here.”

Collington Pointe incentive zoning application approved

The Lysander Town Board voted Aug. 8 to give Bella Casa Builders’ the incentive zoning application to develop 122 lots in Collington Pointe East the go-ahead.

The 76.3-acre site were originally zoned AR-40, under which the maximum buildout would be 45 lots at 40,000 square feet each. Under the Comprehensive Land Use Plan’s incentive zoning clause, the developer sought to build out 122 lots with a minimum lot size of 10,000 square feet. In exchange, Bella Casa would make improvements to Patchett Road, make improvements to sanitary sewers to homes in the Red Rock and Hayes Road neighborhoods, add a stone dust walking trail and stormwater management areas (both to be maintained by the town) and require homeowners in the new neighborhood to plant a minimum of two trees in the front of the lot within a year of moving in. In addition, 36 acres of the land would be maintained as “forever wild” green space.

The proposal was met with objections from residents. Resident Jim Stirushnik echoed Reeves’s concerns about trail maintenance and said the town needs to work on “balancing residential growth without negatively impacting commercial and industrial” endeavors and should be careful of adding infrastructure costs when it is currently struggling to keep up with highway maintenance.

Neighbors also expressed concerns about the impact increased traffic from the proposed development would have on surrounding roads such as Patchett Road, as well as denser development encroaching on the wide open spaces of Lysander.

Former Town Councilor Andy Reeves also took issue with the revision process, suggesting that the town should have restarted the application process and sent the revised proposal to the planning board, zoning board of appeals and Onondaga County Planning Board.

“Midway through the public hearing, [the developer] came up with a new proposal, which wasn’t that much different. But this proposal you have now is significantly different from the first proposal,” Reeves said. “The way I interpret the law — and I know you guys don’t — is with the significant changes that have occurred on this, it should go back.”

Lysander investigates possibility of building spray park

The town of Lysander held two forums and several hearings on the possibility of constructing a a spray park, or splash pad, in Lysander Park. A spray park is a series of fixtures — water jets, misting arches, marine animal figures that spout water and even slides — that are mounted on a concrete pad. The concept is part of Lysander’s “parks pivot,” a renewed focus on outdoor activities at Lysander Park.

“This wasn’t just some spur-of-the-moment idea,” Lysander Supervisor Joe Saraceni said. “It works parallel to our effort to get kids outside and interacting each other.”

Last summer, the town of Camillus unveiled its own splash pad, the first in Onondaga County. According to Eric Bacon, director of parks and recreation for Camillus, it’s been a huge hit. For the first time in years, Bacon said, the parking lot was full.

Saraceni said the town of Camillus shelled out about $400,000 to install its splash pad, and Lysander could spend even more. He estimated the base cost of the spray pad at $230,000 to $280,000, but he said supporting infrastructure such as restrooms and drainage improvements would add to the final cost.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if this came in at $400,000 or $500,000,” Saraceni said.

The parks and rec department currently has about $210,000 available in its “in lieu of parks” fund, which comes from fees paid by developers to subdivide property. Saraceni said the town does not plan to deplete that fund to pay for a spray park and will look to local legislators to secure grants.

At the moment, the proposal has been tabled while the town looks into potential operating costs, as well as the possibility of annexing Lysander Park into the village of Baldwinsville to connect the park to the village sewer system. The park would continue to be on the OCWA water system because the village has hard water that would wear down the spray park fixtures more quickly. The annexation also would put the park under the jurisdiction of the Baldwinsville Police Department, allowing the BPD to respond to issues there.

Hafners sell U-Pick farm

In June, the Hafner family sold their U-pick operation, citing the “serious health issues” of co-owner Paul Hafner.

While the Hafners have put three parcels totaling 202 acres on the market, both the strawberry and blueberry U-pick fields will be open this summer. Rick Stellingwerf of Riverside U-Pick is leasing the strawberry field, and Tony Emmi is leasing the blueberry field.

Emmi could not be reached for comment, but according to the Hafner’s U-Pick Facebook page, the blueberry field will be open in July.

Stellingwerf has a one-year lease on the Hafner field and said he is open to purchasing it depending on how successful sales are this year.

“Berries are a long-term investment, and being that it’s for sale, I’m not sure how that’ll progress,” he said.

Stellingwerf said he began doing business with Paul Hafner about five years ago, harvesting Hafner’s soybeans. Hafner helped him start his own berry patch.

“This has been a difficult decision. We plan to spend more time with our children and three grandchildren. God loves each of us and will see us through all the problems of this world. We have a hope of eternal life with Him someday. We have enjoyed serving you through the years.”

Baker grad’s accused killer denied parole

Jackie Sue Schut will remain in prison, the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles ruled on Aug. 29. Schut was convicted of the Jan. 21, 1980, shooting death of Geneva Clemons and the kidnapping of Clemons’ newborn son, James.

She is also suspected in the death of Cheryl Pecore Jones, a 1977 graduate of Baker High School, and the kidnapping of her daughter, Amanda Jones Bell.

In March 1980, Cheryl was lured from her home in New Orleans to Houston by Harold and Jackie Sue Schut, a couple who claimed Amanda was in the running for a magazine’s “most beautiful baby” contest. In reality, the Schuts wanted to kidnap and sell her infant daughter. Cheryl was killed on March 8, 1980. A third person, perhaps the guilt-stricken woman who bought Amanda from the Schuts for $2,000, paid a taxi driver $20 to take 8-week-old Amanda back to her father, Dennis Jones.

Today, Harold Schut is serving a life sentence in Texas for Cheryl’s murder. Jackie Sue Schut sits in the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women in Alabama.

While her husband implicated her in Cheryl’s death and Amanda’s kidnapping, Jackie Sue Schut was never charged for those crimes. Instead, she is serving life plus 20 years in the Clemons case.

Bell traveled to Schut’s parole hearing last week to testify in favor of keeping Schut behind bars. Bell said Schut was not present at the hearing, as Alabama prohibits those convicted of murder or sexually based offenses from attending their parole hearings to avoid re-traumatizing or intimidating victims.

Bell led an online petition and letter-writing campaign to urge the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles to deny Schut parole. Her Change.org petition garnered 1,695 signatures.

“Parole has been denied!” Bell wrote on “My Journey for Justice,” her Facebook page dedicated to bringing her mother’s killer to justice. “This has been a very long and emotionally taxing journey. … Thank you to every single person that has helped, followed, and reached out in some way.”

While Schut’s then-husband, Harold Schut, implicated her in Cheryl’s death and Amanda’s kidnapping, Jackie Sue Schut was never charged for those crimes. Bell said she plans to pursue the reopening of her mother’s case in Texas.

“This is not the last you will hear from me,” she said. “I still plan to seek indictment in Houston.”

Schut has never admitted guilt for Cheryl’s murder. She has said she simply “fell in with the wrong crowd.”

“I just want to hear her say, ‘I did that and I am sorry,’” Bell said. “I don’t think that’ll ever happen.”

Bush elected to county legislature

Ken Bush was elected to the Onondaga County Legislature for the 13th District, ousting incumbent Derek Shepard after an 11th-hour Republican primary.

Shepard, the candidate endorsed by the Onondaga County Republican Party, suspended his campaign for re-election after losing the Sept. 12 Republican primary to Bush.

Voters picked Bush, former Elbridge Town Supervisor, over Shepard in the primary by a margin of 632 to 422. Shepard, who was seeking his fourth term in the legislature, had issued a challenge to Bush’s designating petitions, arguing that a number of the signatures contained therein were invalid. In particular, he cited one page where a woman had signed on behalf of her husband, who was too ill to sign himself. As a result, Shepard argued, Bush did not have enough signatures to qualify as a candidate. Supreme Court Judge Deborah Karalunas agreed, throwing out all of the signatures on that particular page, and Bush’s name was removed from the GOP line.

Bush appealed, however, and the Fourth Department of the New York State Appellate Division overturned Karalunas’ ruling in a decision issued Sept. 8. The decision allowed Bush to pursue a primary challenge against Shepard just days before the primary was to occur.

“[The appellate court decision] came Wednesday morning, and the election was Tuesday, so we had a six-day campaign,” Bush said. “It was the shortest campaign in history.”

Shepard said he was stunned by the court’s ruling.

“The statement’s very specific,” he said. ”When a witness signs that they watched, with their own eyes, 20 individuals sign a piece of paper… It did surprise me that the court redefined that to mean that she might have watched someone else sign for someone else. You can’t sign a petition with an actual power of attorney on behalf of someone else. So it definitely surprised me.”

The 13th District includes the towns of Van Buren and Elbridge and portions of the town of Camillus.

BCSD hosts public forum on social media

Julie Smith, who teaches media literacy and digital citizenship at Webster University in Missouri, addressed parents Oct. 18 at the Baldwinsville Central School District’s “Helping Your Child Thrive: A Health & Wellness Mini-Conference for Parents.” The author and mother of three offered her advice on the latest issues teen face while using apps such as Instagram and Snapchat.

“Many people ask me to do my ‘internet safety’ speech. I don’t do an ‘internet safety’ speech,” said Smith, who presented at both Durgee Junior High School and Baker High School preceding the parents’ conference. “Even calling it ‘internet safety’ implies that the internet is dangerous and something we need to fear.”

The mini-conference, the brainchild of Durgee Library Media Specialist Lindsay Cesari and Baker Librarian Leslie Cartier, allowed parents to learn how to help their kids through the trying teen years. About 200 people registered for the conference, which the librarians hope to bring back next year.

“We’re both parents. We know there’s no manual,” Cesari said. “We think it’s important to give tips on having a child that thrives.”

After Smith’s keynote address, parents attended breakout sessions led by educational, law enforcement and health professionals. The presentations covered a range of mental and physical health topics, from the opiate epidemic, the stigma of suicide and practicing mindfulness to concussions, the HPV vaccine or nutrition for athletes.

For more tips on navigating the internet and social media with your kids, visit commonsensemedia.org.

NWFD seeks approval for Oswego Street fire station

Two years after voters rejected a plan to build a fire station on Smokey Hollow Road, the North West Fire District is looking to construct a station on the site of the former shopping center at 117 Oswego St.

The Oswego Street station would replace the current Station No. 3, located at the former Lysander highway garage on Elizabeth Street. Station No. 3 lacks adequate space and has a faulty water system.

The fire district plans to demolish about 60 percent of the existing building on the site, renovating the north side of the building for bunk-in rooms, meeting and training areas, office space and gear storage. Exact site plan details have not been ironed out, but the building’s footprint will be 13,000 square feet.

NWFD Commissioner Beckie Wasielewski said most of the fire district’s training occurs at Station No. 1, so the proposed expansion of that station — which voters also rejected in 2015 — would better accommodate the district’s roughly 100 active members, as well as improve response times.

Wasielewski said the fire district has taken to heart the concerns residents expressed about the 2015 Smokey Hollow Road proposal. Many residents raised concerns about traffic, drainage issues and noise pollution from sirens. The new proposed fire station would not have a siren.

In November, the village board of trustees  unanimously approved the fire district’s application to build the station in the area zoned Business District (B-1).

Perkins said the district considered other sites: the 2015 Smokey Hollow Road site was shot down by voters, a property on Oneida Street was surrounded by traffic congestion and a proposed site outside the village was actually in the Plainville Fire District.

He said the NWFD had considered purchasing the Oswego Street/Smokey Hollow Road site in the past, but the cost was prohibitive. Now, the price has come down and the district has deemed the site the best fit for its needs.

The fire district is aiming for a February vote.

Ashley M. Casey contributed to the writing for this story.