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C-NS girls win first state title since 1996 Shall we switch to November?
Voters to decide via referendum at village election on Tuesday, June 18 By Russ Tarby Contributing Writer
Phil Blackwell
BACK AT THE PINNACLE: The Cicero-North Syracuse girls lacrosse team won its first state Class A championship since 1996 when it defeated Fairport 12-8 in last Saturday’s title game at SUNY-Cortland, the Northstars breaking out of an 8-8 tie with a closing 5-1 run to lay claim to the state title. by Phil Blackwell Twelve minutes of excellence delivered what the Cicero-North Syracuse girls lacrosse team had waited 28 years to achieve. The Northstars broke out of a tie with Fairport early in the fourth quarter Saturday at SUNY Cortland and, by a 12-8 margin, claimed the state Class A championship, its first since 1997. “It means the world to us,” said senior Gabby Putman, the team’s season-long force in the draw circle. “This team is amazing and is a special group.” “They just had a dream and made it happen,” said head
coach Stephanie Prentice. “I have no words for it.” Just when it was required the most, C-NS played at its best – in the fourth quarter of the title game after it had led most of the way, only to see Fairport, the Section V champions, rally to tie it 8-8 with one period left. Talking to her team before the quarter started, Prentice said she kept it simple. I told them that we came here to win,” she said. “That was it.” And win the Northstars did, taking the lead for good when Sophia Nesci, a force all throughout the state final four, fed Brooke Molchanoff for the go-ahead goal with 10:10 to
play. Within less than 90 seconds, it was 10-7, Putman twice winning draws and then landing a goal of her own as Natalie Wilson converted, too, Nesci recording her fourth assist of the afternoon. Wilson wasn’t done, either, landing two more goals to complete her hat trick, the last of them with 4:38 to play as Nesci picked up her 10th assist of the weekend to go with a pair of goals. This culminated the restoration of long-sought C-NS lacrosse glory, gained in the early years of the state tournament in the late 1990s and lost for a generation as rivals like Baldwinsville, Fayetteville-
Manlius and West Genesee all took their turns getting to the top multiple times. An awesome roster which lacked nothing, from scoring ability to defensive aggression, was on display from the start against Fairport as Putman set the tone, two draws which led to goals by Elizabeth Smith and Marissa Doty nine seconds apart. From there, Fairport only caught up at 5-5 in the second quarter, a tie that lasted 13 seconds as Putman grabbed the ensuing draw and fed it to Kaelyn Reid, whose goal created a 6-5 advantage that stood at halftime. Defense ruled most of the Lacrosse l Page 15
Summer reading program to kick off with carnival By Anna Edwards
The Liverpool Public Library will host a summer carnival on Thursday, June 27, to kick off its annual summer reading program. The theme of this year’s event is “Adventure Begins at Your Library.” The kick-off event will take place from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. It will include temporary tattoos, carnival games, and crafts for kids. Jeff the Magic Man will be available from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. to make balloon art. Adults can play the character quote matching game, enjoy the genre challenge, and test themselves on book trivia. The carnival will include stations of crafts and games that attendees can move between. “There are going to be a bunch of different activities to engage learners
of all ages…From the youngest child through the seniors,” said Nori Gartner-Baca, the library’s communications coordinator. Readers can meet in the Dinosaur Garden at the side of the library on June 27 to register for summer reading and pick up their packets. Activities will also be taking place in the library’s lobby. Community Engagement Librarian and Volunteer Coordinator Edina Osmanovic said that the kickoff event is a fun way to get people excited about summer reading. “It’s just a crazy day. We get so many people, and they line up down the street, and it’s just a really fun time. I love that people are so engaged,” Osmanovic said. The summer reading program is open to people of all ages.
The CanTeen celebrating 25 years
The CanTeen, the teen center which falls under the Town of Cicero Parks and Recreation department, is celebrating its 25th Anniversary. Founded in 1999, the CanTeen offers young people a safe, supportive, and substance free environment that encourages healthy choices. On June 27 from 4 to 7 p.m. there will be an anniversary party at the CanTeen. The event is open to the public and re-
marks will be made at 6 p.m. There will be light refreshments available, an array of raffle prizes, live music played by teens, and the ability to order a commemorative t-shirt. Please join in celebrating this special occasion and help support the fundraising efforts of the CanTeen. For more information or to see how to support the CanTeen, visit canteencny.com.
Adults will track their progress through an online program called Read 2. Children will be given coloring sheets at the summer carnival that they will fill in all summer as they read. Sheets will be turned in at the end of the summer for a prize. This year is also the first time there will be a program for adults with disabilities. Those participating in the program will come in weekly to get their new book. Summer reading can also be done through audiobooks for both adult and child readers. Osmanovic said that the summer reading program will allow people to apply their reading skills and for kids to be ready for school in the fall. “This event is just a way to encourage everyone to read more during the summer. We know that it’s the time to have fun and be outdoors, but it’s really important to read, especially for school-age children,” Osmanovic said. The summer reading program will finish with a celebration at the end of the summer which will include tie dye, a fashion show, and an ice cream social. Visit lpl.org for more information on the summer reading program and the summer carnival.
For more than 90 years, the village of Liverpool has conducted its annual elections in either March or June. This year, village voters will have a chance to move its mid-June election date to November, coinciding with the general election. At its April 15 meeting, the Village of Liverpool Board of Trustees – Mayor Stacy Finney and trustees Melissa Cassidy, Rachel Ciotti and Matt Devendorf – voted 3 to 1 to put a referendum on this year’s village election ballot in which voters could choose the annual election date. While Democrats Finney, Ciotti and Cassidy voted in favor of the referendum, Republican Devendorf voted against it. The board’s other Republican, Mike LaMontagne, was absent on April 15. The two Republican Trustees – Devendorf and LaMontagne – are running for re-election this year, and both are running unopposed. So is Village Justice Anthony LaValle, also a Republican. On Tuesday, June 18, however, voters will also be asked to weigh in on whether the village should switch the annual village election from mid-June to earlyNovember. Cassidy explained how the referendum was inspired. When the Democrats went door-to-door during last year’s campaign, they found that changing the election date was one of the top two issues concerning village residents. “The idea came from knocking on your neighbor’s doors,” Cassidy said. The referendum, she added, “is empowering our residents, allowing them to choose the date.” If voters approve the change on Tuesday, next year’s village election will be aligned with the general election scheduled on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Supporters of the move claim that voter turn-out will increase in November, while opponents say village elections would be overshadowed by county, state and federal races. Voters in the nearby villages of Baldwinsville and Fayetteville recently chose to switch their election dates from the spring to the fall. Nearly 70 percent of those voters favored the November election date, according to Onondaga County Board of Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny, a Democrat. So now six of the county’s 15 villages have decided to conduct elections in November. B’ville and F’ville join four other villages which have moved their elections from March to November, Solvay, East Syracuse, Tully and Elbridge. Eight years ago, the county board of elections made it possible for all villages to move to November elections if they chose to. “If a village moved their election, they could save 100 percent of the cost of running an election as opposed to March and June,” Czarny said. Polls will be open from noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the village hall, 310 Sycamore St.
Volume 131, Number 24 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.
sports: Liverpool relay breaks sectional record at state meet.
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schools: Liverpool hosts Olympiad at the ‘Pool.
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