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STEM growth Operation Northern Comfort Micron encourages science, technology, engineering and math at library event By Russ Tarby Contributing Writer More than 180 library patrons attended the interactive Micron/STEM event on Wednesday, March 15 at Liverpool Public Library. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. “The companies and organizations that are changing the way we live are STEM-related,” educators Rihab Sawah and Anthony Clark wrote in “The Everything STEM Handbook.” “In the very near future it will be difficult, if not impossible, for an individual to get through life without some knowledge of science, technology and mathematics,” they wrote. Last week at the library, as folks wandered from station to station throughout the Tulip Street building, they met with staff and students working on various science projects. In the Studio room, teens played with Nintendo Labo Toys and operated shoe-sized remote-controlled vehicles. In the Teen area, librarian Deanna McGregor oversaw the engineering design project including invention kits called Makey Makeys and 3D printing. In the Children’s Room, students made buttons and played Osmos, a video puzzle game. Later in the Carman Community Room, two representatives of Micron Technology, Inc., presented a brief description of the manufacturing process for microchips. Micron is the world’s leading computer chip company which plans to build a mega chip campus at
White Pine Commerce Park in the town of Clay. It would be the largest semiconductor plant announced in United States history. The $100 billion investment to transform rural land into a high-tech tract will take place over two decades. “We really wanted to showcase our students, to celebrate their imaginations,” said Library Director Susan Reckhow. “And they were very pleased to show off their work to the Micron people.” The library hosts a weekly Teen Night & Tween Scene at 6 p.m. every Wednesday. On Saturday, April 1, the library will present its Science and Engineering Fair at 1:30 p.m. The third annual fair is a noncompetitive event open to all students from kindergarten to twelfth grade. In a presentation in the Carman Room, Micron representatives Amy Henecke and Landon Loeber demonstrated how microchips are formed from a silicone “wafer.” They also allowed audience members to view videotapes showing how the plants operate and to try on a “bunny suit,” the protective garb common to all fabrication process workers. “We will continue to be a partner in the community,” Henecke promised. Loeber concurred. “We’re super-excited to be here,” he said. The March 15 STEM event was attended by members of the library board of directors including President Ashley Gouger along with several special guests such as Anthony Pope, an aide to 128th District Assemblywoman Pamela Hunter.
Rescue Plan to fund streetscaping along Old L’pool Road By Russ Tarby Contributing Writer
On March 15, Salina Supervisor Nick Paro announced $1 million in funding for the commercial revitalization of Old Liverpool Road. Small businesses there which weathered the pandemic can apply for grants to make exterior improvements to buildings. Renovations can include new siding, landscaping, paving or other improvements that enhance curb appeal. This funding is part of the $3 million American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds provided to the town by the federal government. ARPA is also known as the COVID-19 stimulus package. “We think this is a great way to improve our streetscape and make that business corridor much more attractive,” said Town Supervisor Nick Paro. Second Ward Councilor Matt Cushing pointed out that other municipalities are using the ARPA money to balance their
budgets or stabilize operations. “The town of Salina is in a very fortunate position to use these funds to directly impact the small business community in our town,” Cushing said. Potential recipients must apply for funds and winners must match any money awarded with 25 percent of their own money. Applications can be found at salina.ny.us, and will be accepted until April 17. Paro hopes to award about 10 ARPA grants. The town had already used $500,000 of the $3 million for a neighborhood revitalization fund administered through Home Headquarters. By plugging into that fund, homeowners can secure a loan of up to $15,000 at a one percent interest rate payable over 7 to 10 years. Loans can be used for exterior home improvements such as roof, window or siding replacement and/or related home repairs like sewer, foundation or plumbing or furnace and hot water tank repair or replacement.
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The Central New York nonprofit Operation Northern Comfort organizes the yearly Crawfish Festival in downtown Syracuse, helps with home modifications and plans service trips to other parts of the country. By Jason Klaiber Staff Writer A full calendar year has passed since she assumed the role of CEO for Operation Northern Comfort, and Cicero resident Laurel Flanagan is still seeing more and more how the charitable organization has helped and can assist those in need. At the very start of 2022, Flanagan took over at the helm for the nonprofit’s founder, Norm Andrzejewski, whom she called an “inspiration and a visionary” as well as one of the most generous people she knows. Andrzejewski had been pursuing his master’s degree in public health from Tulane University when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, and in the wake of its devastation he sought to do more than write a check on account of his personal connection to what had happened. According to Flanagan, he went through his personal contacts and gathered friends from Central New York to go down there, clean up and rebuild. That was the start of Operation Northern Comfort, as it became known, and in the ensuing years its volunteers have made close to 50 visits to help address the wreckage in Louisiana and Mississippi. “He worked so hard to figure out how we could help somebody that needed it,” Flanagan said. “When he approached me about taking over, I was a bit of a deer in the headlights because I was like, ‘Wow, those are big shoes to fill.’” The organization has additionally sent volunteers to attend to natural disaster relief in Houston and parts of North Carolina, as well as places closer to home like the city of Oneida in the aftermath of considerable flooding. Amid the COVID pandemic, however, the service trip side of Operation Northern Comfort (ONC) was put on pause for
three years, right up until an advanced team of five made their way to Fort Myers, Florida, this past January to cut out moldy drywall and pull out floors damaged by Hurricane Ian. It was in 2020 only that the Crawfish Festival put on every year by ONC was canceled, but being that it’s been their major fundraiser for the last decade and a half, it was sorely missed, Flanagan said. The festival was, after all, Flanagan’s entry point into volunteer work with ONC about six years ago. Around that time her husband, Michael, was boiling crawfish for the yearly occasion and working for festival sponsor Suburban Propane when he noticed that her hotel management degree could be useful for expediting food handouts. With a mask mandate and social distancing measures still in place, the Crawfish Festival returned in 2021 after the year away for a take-and-go event called “The Crawfish Rodeo,” and by the next year it was back at full steam. The daylong event, which always takes place on the first Saturday of May when it does go on, has switched locations from Hanover Square to the COR Development Company property on Onondaga Lake to later the New York State
Fairgrounds, but it has since settled in Clinton Square. As Flanagan said, it kicks off the festival season but arrives at the tail end of crawfish season. “After that, the condition of the shells on the crawfish is such that they’re not the best quality anymore,” she said. “We get them when they’re the best and we fly them up here directly from Louisiana the day before, so it’s as fresh as you’re ever gonna get right here in Central New York.” The 16th Crawfish Festival from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on May 6 will replicate the Pelican State’s festivals with stands containing crawfish mac and cheese, crawfish and shrimp boil, clams, gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice, pulled pork sandwiches, cinnamon bread pudding, and beignets. There will also be eight food trucks to order from, a kids zone with games and face painting stations, and over 50 crafters showcasing jewelry, candles, signs, woodworking, upcycled clothing and other items. The event will feature performances from C’est Bon, Letizia & the Z Band, The Fabulous Ripcords and Brass Inc. “It’s a lot of dance type of music that just makes everybody feel like getting up and having a good time,” Flanagan Operation l Page 12
Volume 131, Number 12 The Star-Review is published weekly by Eagle News. Office of Publication: 2501 James St., Suite 100, Syracuse, NY 13206. Periodical Postage Paid at Syracuse, NY 13220, USPS 316060. POSTMASTER: Send change of address to Star-Review, 2501 James St., Suite 100, Syracuse, NY 13206.
Schools: Gillette Road students will bring ‘Oliver’ to the stage March 23-25.
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sports news: Liverpool boys, girls hoops fall in state semifinals.
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death notices ��������� 11 Editorial ��������������������� 4 history ������������������������ 5 letters ������������������������ 5
Obituaries ���������������� 11 PennySaver ���������������� 6 schools �������������������� 12 Sports �������������������� 2,13