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Warriors repeat as sectional champs Time to revise Mayor says L’pool comprehensive plan needs updating By Russ Tarby Contributing Writer
PHIL BLACKWELL
The Liverpool boys basketball team claimed its second straight Section III Class AA championship Sunday night at SRC Arena by defeating West Genesee 66-53, the same team it beat in the 2022 title game. by Phil Blackwell Furious comebacks, major momentum shifts, overtime sessions – all were part of the recent boys basketball saga between Liverpool and West Genesee atop the Section III Class AA ranks. Little of that was evident Sunday
night at SRC Arena – and that suited the Warriors just fine since it continued to hold dominion over this rivalry and, more importantly, repeated as sectional champions. Liverpool’s 66-53 victory meant that it has won four of the last six sectional tournaments dating back to 2017, all done under the guidance of
head coach Ryan Blackwell. This title, said Blackwell, was “a testament to the players. They got better as the season went on. They’re tough, play together and are very resilient.” On this particular evening, each of the Warriors’ top three players – AnWarriors l Page 11
Helping cats, neighbors live better lives
Liverpool’s Kitty Corner devoted to felines for more than 30 years By Alyssa Dearborn When Linda and Deb Young founded Kitty Corner – a cat rescue that rehomes cats and sterilizes feral cats – they made it their mission to help felines in Central New York. Now, after more than 30 years and having cared for hundreds of stray cats, the sisters have established themselves as heroes - both to cats and to the communities where the strays were found. “Well, we actually started more than 30 years ago, and my sister and I decided we had to do something to help the animals.” Linda said when asked about the organization’s beginnings. “Cats were sort of our expertise at the time and we hoped to do it after we retired. But it occurred to us that the cats needed help at that point this would’ve been around 1992 - and we didn’t want to wait. They couldn’t wait until we retired.” One of the top complaints in many communities across the state is cat overpopulation, Lisa explained. “[Feral cats], in my opinion, don’t do any serious harm, but they do leave droppings on lawns and things like that. People get really upset about it. They get in gardens, that kind of thing. They can get into trash, though there are ways to prevent all of these things. But people get upset about the cats themselves,” Linda said. “And they’re wild, so they can’t really be adopted out. Some people try to take them in and make friends with them, but frankly, a feral
cat is much happier outside because that’s the life it has known. It wants to take care of itself, it’s afraid of humans, they’re terrified of humans usually.” Linda explained that feral cats reproduce at very high rates creating significant overpopulation which adds to the nuisance. One of the ways Kitty Corner helps address this challenge is through their trap-neuterrelease (TNR) program. This program – in which feral cats are humanely trapped, neutered or spayed, and then released back into their territories – helps Central New York communities by addressing feral cat overpopulation. “With TNR, which is the only really successful way to deal with feral cats, you trap them, you spay and neuter them, and then you release them back into their own territory, back where they were,” Linda said. “So they’re comfortable, they’re relatively safe there because they know the dangers, it’s usually the area where they grew up. They know where the food supplies are. And, of course, if you do TNR, you typically also feed the cat. You’re sort of keeping them out of everybody else’s areas. You’re keeping them around your own.” According to Linda, neutering wild cats not only helps with the challenge of overpopulation, it also helps the cats live a safer, more comfortable life. “It does not attract new cats, because the cats that feel they own that territory will
At the monthly meeting of the village of Liverpool Board of Trustees on Monday, Feb. 27, Mayor Gary White announced the need to develop a new comprehensive plan for the village. The last time such as vision plan was instituted was in 2006 after three years of work by the planning board, its comprehensive plan subcommittee and its consultants, Clough Harbor & Associates and Basile Baumann Prost & Associates. The plan outlined efforts to make the village more pedestrian-friendly. In the planners’ surveys of residents and business owners, traffic was repeatedly identified as the village’s most pervasive problem. Comprehensive plans are used by local governments in applying for monetary grants to help pay for future development. Such applications can show how individual projects would help achieve the overall vision described in the adopted plan. “I believe that we have to have a new plan in place by 2025,” White told the trustees. “If that’s the case, then we need to think about how to move forward, and do it soon.” The project would need a chairman and a budget, White said. In 2006 the comprehensive plan subcommittee was headed by Planning Board Chairman Nick Kochan who is no longer involved in village government.
Five DWIs in January
At the village board’s monthly meeting on Feb. 27, Police Chief Jerry Unger reported via memo that his officers made 159 traffic stops and issued 133 citations for violations of the state’s vehicle and traffic laws in January. Ten accidents were investigated here last month, two parking tickets were written, and five motorists were arrested for driving while intoxicated. Officers made 50 residential checks and 230 business checks in January while responding to a total of 569 incidents and calls for service. The LPD arrested 31 individuals last month on 41 criminal charges.
New overnight officer
Officer Dominic Albanese has completed his field training and is presently working the overnight shift for the LPD. Albanese, 35, is a former Onondaga County Sheriff ’s deputy. “LPD is still critically understaffed,” Unger reminded the trustees in his memo.
Winter parking ban in effect
From now through April 15 parking along most village streets is banned from midnight to 8 a.m. In the village business district, street parking is prohibited from 2 a.m. to 8 a.m.
Cicero won’t ban short-term rentals By David Tyler
David Tyler
For more than 30 years, sisters Deb and Linda Young have been helping to control the population of feral cats in Central New York. keep any strange cats from coming in. You also don’t have the fights because that’s usually over mating behavior,” Linda said. Neutering the animals also makes them calmer and reduces other nuisance behaviors that are often associated with mating. “The neutered males typically don’t spray. Only about one in ten will spray, so you don’t have to worry about that much anymore,” Linda said. “And there are ways of keeping them out of places
that you don’t want them. You have to be a little creative and you have to be persistent, but we do give out a lot of information about that.” Often people who are accustomed to interacting with domestic animals assume that feral animals can be trained to live as family pets, but most often, Linda said, that’s not the case. “It’s not the cat’s fault that they were born outside anymore than it is a squirrel’s,” she said. “But we’re used to Kitty Corner l Page 11
The town of Cicero will not move forward with a law that would prohibit short-term rentals, and instead will consider regulations around rental properties as part of its comprehensive planning process. In December, the town postponed a public hearing on the law until March 8, but last month the town announced on Facebook that it would not move forward with the law in the near term. “The Town appreciates the comments offered on this subject by interested parties at recent Town Board meetings. This input has been very informative, and we value it and take it seriously,” the town’s Facebook post states. “Accordingly, on March 8, the public hearing on this subject will be closed with no action taken, and the topic of short term rental regulations will be addressed as part of the upcoming Town of Cicero Comprehensive Plan process.” In response to the proposed law, a new organization of rental property owners – the Oneida Lake Vacation Rental Alliance - had formed to oppose the legislation. Oneida Lake VRA President Christine Ravold posted an online petition on change.org that had been signed by more than 1,500 people before the town pulled the short-term rental ban. “This is encouraging. The Oneida Lake Vacation Rental Alliance supports reasonable regulations to protect the rights of homeowners and build trust in communities,” Ravold posted on the online petition. “We encourage Cicero residents to apply to serve on the Town Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee, to ensure that vacation rentals remain a part of the town’s long-term considerations.”
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SCHOOL NEWS: LE fifthgraders take top spots in stock market game.
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Senior News: Town of Clay Seniors to produce dance video.
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history ������������������������ 5
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