By Sarah Hall

Editor

As 2016 comes to a close, it’s our custom to take a look back at the year that was. Read on to review some of the most compelling stories we covered in the last year.

Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru sparks controversy

Late last year, ESW Realty, LLC, approached the Liverpool Village Board to request a zone change so that they could construct a Dunkin’ Donuts at 105-113 Second St., the former location of Venesky Appliances and Seneca Savings Bank. The site would include 19 parking spaces and a drive-thru, where ESW representative Bob Abbott said the restaurant chain does about half of its business.

Though the chain is popular nationwide, the proposed Liverpool location wasn’t so well-received; meetings throughout the year drew vocal opponents.

“Dunkin’ Donuts would do nothing to enhance our village,” former village Mayor Jim Farrell said at the March 8 meeting. “This would be a poor decision to allow a drive-thru there.”

Village Planning Board member Michael Romano said the drive-thru would violate the village’s Comprehensive Plan.

“The entire theme of that Comprehensive Plan was to make the village a destination, not a drive-thru,” he said. “Dunkin’ Donuts’ drive-thru would be a complete contradiction to this destination concept.”

The village board ultimately approved the zone change, allowing the project to move forward, but some residents held out hope that the village planning board could halt the construction of the drive-thru. On Sept. 8, the planning board approved ESW Realty’s application by a vote of 4 to 1. Demolition of the existing buildings began earlier this month.

Liverpool schools explore later high school start times

In 2015, a leadership committee in the Liverpool Central School District began researching later start times for high schoolers. Early this year, the committee made an official recommendation to the LCSD Board of Education that the district pursue a plan to start classes at Liverpool High School later in the morning.  Currently, the first bus pickup is at 6:45 a.m. and classes at LHS begin at 7:40 a.m.

The district formed another committee made up of teachers, board members and community members to further research the issue. Committee members combed through mountains of evidence and scientific studies, looking at districts that have already implemented later start times, evaluating possible changes to start times not only at the high school, but also at the middle and elementary levels to accommodate bus schedules.

However, though the original committee report suggested the change could be implemented as early as the 2017-18 school year, it looks like it will be 2018-19 at the earliest. At its Nov. 28 meeting, the BOE agreed to let district administrators draft an RFP for an educational consultant to assist with the plan.

Board member Richard Pento said the issue of modified school start times has gone on for “an eon, it seems.”

“Is it a decision that’s for adults or a decision that’s for kids?” Pento said. “That’s what should be framing our conversations mostly, the decisions for kids. It’s something that affects universally all kids one way or another. It’s been two years.”

But Superintendent Mark Potter said a consultant was necessary to not only work out all of the implications of changing start times, but also in communicating those changes to district families.

To view the possible modified start time plans, visit bit.ly/2hHYAuE.

Breanna Stewart completes career at UConn

Breanna Stewart went from Cicero-North Syracuse High School to the University of Connecticut with one goal in mind — claim four national championships. Somehow, she managed to do a lot more.

Over her entire career at UConn, Stewart amassed 2,676 points, 1,179 rebounds, 426 assists and 414 blocked shots, leading her team to an overall 151-5 record with 75 consecutive victories at the tail tend of it.

She’s a two-time winner of both the Wade and Naismith awards and a three-time Associated Press National Player of the Year, and it’s that complete all-around package of skills, combined with her effort and unselfish attitude, which has put Stewart on the short list of all-time great women’s college players.

Stewart won back-to-back state Class AA championships at C-NS in 2011 and 2012 and, on a yearly basis, spent her summers with USA Basketball, leading various national teams to gold medals in international competition.

Coveted by every major women’s college program in the nation, Stewart went to UConn, where Stewart famously told head coach Geno Auriemma her goal was to win four national titles. Then she started to back up those bold words.

As a freshman in 2013, Stewart was named Most Outstanding Player at the Final Four, entering the national conscience. Then she claimed that prize again in 2014 and 2015, the only woman ever to pull that off. Just one man had done so — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at UCLA from 1967 to ’69, when he was known as Lew Alcindor.

Stewart said she still roots for the Orange and, in her high school days at C-NS, contemplated going to SU, but the Orange program was still in its building phase under coach Quentin Hillsman, and the opportunity to play for Auriemma and the most accomplished program in the sport proved too good to resist.

Stewart added to those accomplishments as much as one player could, and she then set her sights on the WNBA, where she was the first overall pick in next week’s draft by the Seattle Storm, and a spot in the Summer Olympics on Team USA as it earned yet another gold medal in Rio De Janeiro.

And still, Stewart’s heart is here at home — as part of an endorsement deal with Nike, the C-NS girls’ varsity basketball team was provide with new basketball sneakers, warm-ups, uniforms, socks and bags.

Village of Liverpool tries to dissolve court

At the end of March, the Liverpool Village Board of Trustees came up with what they thought was a way to trim their budget: they’d get rid of the village court.

But it turned out it wouldn’t be that easy.

While the trustees wanted to abolish of the village of court in favor of consolidating with Salina Town Court, Judge Anthony LaValle maintained that the current court structure is financially and procedurally efficient. Despite LaValle’s objections, the village board initially voted 3-1 to abolish the court. Christina Fadden Fitch was the sole dissenting vote.

“This process needs to be done carefully,” Fitch said. “And the people have to be brought into the process. This is coming up very quickly and we have limited information.”

Fitch wasn’t the only objector. Salina town officials were also reluctant to take on the village court.

“We’re busting at the seams,” said Salina Town Justice Andrew Piraino.

Piraino’s “conservative estimate” was that the town court’s caseload would increase by 3,000 cases per year.

The village board’s decision also didn’t sit well with village residents. Taxpayers passed a petition calling for a referendum during the village elections in June that would allow them to make the call regarding whether the court would stay or go. In a preemptive move, the village board passed a resolution to call for a permissive referendum on May 9; by that time, more than 400 of the village’s 1,525 voters had signed the petitions.

Ultimately, more than a third of village residents turned out to vote on June 21, overwhelmingly defeating the proposition to abolish the court and electing two new trustees to the village board. LaValle blamed the board’s “bad choices” for the turnover.

“I believe that the record voter turnout and the removal of two longtime trustees… was simply because certain individuals didn’t listen to the people,” the judge said. “They acted without public input… Unilateral and hastily made decisions are too often bad choices.”

Jim Baker moves on

After 60 years of living and serving in North Syracuse, Jim and Ann Baker packed their bags and headed off to Falmouth, Maine, in August. Jim Baker served on the village’s zoning board of appeals from 1967 to 2016. In addition to his 49 years on the ZBA, he volunteered for North Area Meals on Wheels since the early 1980s at the behest of his wife; while on the organization’s board, he was instrumental in the construction of NAMOW’s current home on Church Street.

“He cared for this place like it was his own home,” said NAMOW President Bob Graves said. “Even when he went off [the board], he still very much cared about this place.”

Baker also was heavily involved at Andrews Memorial United Methodist Church.

“He’s not a man of many words, but he’s a solid [resource] in this community,” North Syracuse Mayor Gary Butterfield said.

Ann Baker said she and Jim moved to North Syracuse in 1966 and still live in the same house. The Bakers moved to Maine to be closer to their daughter, but they said they will miss North Syracuse as much as the village will miss them.

Butterfield presented Jim with a proclamation on behalf of the board of trustees, thanking him for his “faithful contributions for the betterment and the enhancement of the village.”

“Helping other people,” Jim said, “is the main thing.”

Sadly, Baker had little time to enjoy his time in Maine; he passed away Nov. 1.

Cicero Fire Department, town clash over budget

When an audit this summer of the Cicero Fire District by the Onondaga County Comptroller found “significant fiscal stress,” it caused more than a reevaluation of the fire department’s finances. The audit also sparked a fight between the department and the Cicero Town Board, particularly Supervisor Mark Venesky. The department has accused the board of trying to block its construction of a new fire station as a personal vendetta brought on by their questioning of the division of tax money among the town’s five fire districts.

“I think this is personal,” said Jim Perrin, president of the CFD Board of Commissioners. “We hit [Venesky] hard with some questions at budget time… Since that point, our relationship has deteriorated.”

Antonacci’s audit, released June 17, certainly confirms that the fire district is in financial duress. Using the state comptroller’s fiscal stress meter, under which a rating of zero indicates no fiscal stress, the CFD had a rating of 74.2. According to Antonacci, the district has spent down its fund balance in lieu of raising taxes for the last five years. At a press conference June 29, Venesky hammered the CFD, citing the audit in stating that the town feared the department couldn’t pay for the station.

Tensions continued to increase come budget time, when, while other fire districts were looking at stable budgets or nominal cuts, Cicero was facing a 21.3 percent cut, which department officials learned of via email the day before ground broke on the new fire station Oct. 28.

“The budget that they had is not clear to me. It did not spell out for me and for this board what the $152,975 above and beyond what they need to run their business is for. Nothing is itemized,” Venesky said.

In last-minute budget negotiations, the board restored the CFD’s funding, though tensions between the department and the board remain unresolved. Venesky said he hopes to develop a “master plan” for the town, which may involve changes to the town’s fire district plan.

Tensions rise between NSFD, village board

Nor was Cicero the only place to see dissent between a fire department and its governing municipality. Budgetary concerns prompted some ugly exchanges in North Syracuse, as well.

The North Syracuse Volunteer Fireman’s Association had agreed to a review of its financial procedures in late 2015, provided the village paid for the audit. However, at its Aug. 11 board meeting, the village board expressed concerns that they were being kept out of the process.

In March, the board voted to enter into an agreement with the Bonadio Group for $3,000 for a partial audit of the NSVFA, which is a support organization for the North Syracuse Fire Department and receives money from the village. At the March 24 meeting, Clerk/Treasurer Dianne Kufel said the review would seek to reconcile 40 randomly selected checks over $500 in monthly payments with bank statements. The review also would examine two months from the association’s receipt log. The NSFVA had provided the village board with a 2013 audit but agreed to a new independent review to see if the association had implemented recommendations from the 2013 report.

“As of 2016, our insurance carrier has not been notified that they did some of these things,” Mayor Gary Butterfield said of the 2013 recommendations.

In response, NSVFA President Jozsef Asztalos sent a letter to the Star-Review, stating that village officials had not requested any documentation, nor had they stated any of their concerns to the organization. He said it was the village that was shutting out the NSVFA.

Despite their inability to see eye-to-eye on the impending audit, both the village and the Fireman’s Association agree that there has been a communication breakdown.

“The communication between the NSVFA and the village of North Syracuse needs to be improved. We have expressed this concern with the mayor on several occasions,” Asztalos said. “I am committed to a good faith effort in order to address the village’s request for an audit while maintaining our autonomy as an independent organization.”

Tensions continued into September, when NSFD Chief Tim Ellis targeted Village Board Member Diane Browning over comments she made on lack of representation from the fire department and the NSVFA at recent village meetings.

“You suggested that if I don’t have the time, then maybe I shouldn’t do it… I’m not going to do that. I’m going to stick it out,” Ellis said. “However, nowhere does it say I need to be at this meeting or any other meeting. I need to be at my job, I need to be at my home, I need to be with my family. Those come first.”

C-NS science teacher named NYS Teacher of the Year

In June, Amy Hysick brought a significant honor to the North Syracuse Central School District: Hysick, a science teacher at Cicero-North Syracuse High School, was named the New York State Teacher of the Year.

It was a rigorous process to earn the title. Hysick was named North Syracuse Central School District’s Teacher of the Year for 2015-16, so she was the district’s choice to fill out the application to the state. She filled out her application at the beginning of 2016 and assumed that was the last she’d hear about it.

“I know what some of the qualifications have been and some of the resumes and accomplishments of some of even the past runners-up,” Hysick said. “I’m going, ‘There’s no way I’m getting this. It’s not going to happen.’”

But then in March, she learned she was one of 10 semi-finalists. That brought another round of written responses and essays explaining her teaching style and commitment to the profession. Hysick was then named one of five finalists, which prompted a site visit from New York State Parent-Teacher Association President Bonnie Russell, the school information officer for the West Genesee Central School District, and former NYS Teacher of the Year Jeff Peneston, who just retired from teaching earth science at Liverpool. Hysick then had to travel to Albany to be interviewed by a panel of former winners and others, which she calls “the most intimidating thing I’ve ever done.”

Hysick was notified in June, and the official announcement was finally made Sept. 13. Though she was in the running for National Teacher of the Year, the title ultimately went to Jahana Hayes, a high school history teacher in Waterbury, Connecticut.

Hysick said she doesn’t think this means she’s reached the pinnacle of her profession.

“My journey is all about learning,” she said. “Part of what I love being as a teacher is that I’m the lead learner in my classroom. I’m not the one with all the answers. I’m just the one that maybe has read more books than you.”

NYSED looks for feedback on Common Core

The New York State Education Department issued a call for feedback on proposed changes to the Common Core learning standards for math and English language arts this past fall, but shortly thereafter announced that it was rejecting calls to shorten the testing period for students in grades 3-8 on those same tests.

In the fall of 2015, more than 10,500 teachers, parents and community remembers participated in NYSED’s AimHighNY survey on the math and ELA standards. Over the summer of 2016, two committees made recommendations that would overhaul 60 percent of ELA standards and 55 percent of math standards.

The public was asked to comment on new recommendations for ELA — including merging standards, forming an “Early Learning Task Force” to address concerns, emphasizing play in pre-K through second grade students and rewriting the curriculum to make it clearer — and math — including clarification of the standards, improving the “focus of major content and skills for each grade-level and course” and the creation of a glossary of terms used in the curriculum. Feedback could be submitted through Nov. 14.

That same day, SED announced it would not be shortening the testing period from three days to two, despite complaints from parents and educators that the tests were too long for children.

The New York State Department of Education announced Nov. 14 that the tests will be kept at three sessions for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 school years. While the Department of Education and the Board of Regents had examined the possibility of shortening the examination period to two sessions, they determined it would “not be feasible to do that and still be able to have meaningful growth comparisons for students, schools or statewide,” State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia said in a release.

According to the release, shortening the testing period would have “rendered it inappropriate to make longitudinal student growth comparisons of the test results at the school, district or statewide level.”

NAMOW faces funding gap

Local Meals on Wheels affiliates are in a bind, according to North Area Meals on Wheels board member David Robinson. The Onondaga County Office for Aging announced in November that it is unable to fund new MOW applicants until next April.

NAMOW projects that its 250 volunteers will have prepared and delivered more than 110,000 meals for senior citizens in northern Onondaga County by the end of 2016. According to NAMOW’s fall newsletter, NAMOW served 40,479 meals between May and August 2016, an 18.8 percent increase over the 34,063 meals served in the summer of 2016. Nearly half of NAMOW’s clients are disabled and just over half live alone. Forty-five percent of clients are older than 85.

Fortunately, several local organizations have stepped up to the plate to help. Operation Northern Comfort, a Liverpool-based nonprofit that provides labor and donations for local homes and other projects, has donated $5,000 to North Area Meals on Wheels, a donation matched by Driver’s Village.

“Our direct contribution helps a lot of people — that’s a lot of meals,” said ONC Board Member Dave George.

NAMOW charges self-pay clients $8 for two meals, but the organization’s production cost is $12 for those meals. ONC’s $5,000 donation is roughly equivalent to 500 meals.

The donation marks the start of what may be a “mutually beneficial” partnership.

“Both of our missions have to do with the quality of life of our seniors in the community,” Graves said.

To donate, visit namow.org or send a check to North Area Meals on Wheels, 413 Church St., North Syracuse NY 13212.

Ashley M. Casey, Russ Tarby and Phil Blackwell contributed to this piece.