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Hilltop House opens for new series BY KATE HILL STAFF WRITER
Stone Quarry Hill Art Park (SQHAP) has partnered with From Scratch Kitchen & Farm to present STONE + SCRATCH, a new monthly series combining artist talks and performances, curated interior installations, and seasonal small plates and wine served inside the park’s historic Hilltop House. The free events are held on Thursday evenings, from now through November, from 6 to 8 p.m. Located at 3883 Stone Quarry Rd. in Cazenovia, Hilltop House is the former home of ceramicist, sculptor, author, preservation activist, and SQHAP founder Dorothy Riester (1916-2017). It was designed and built by Riester and her husband, Robert, with the assistance of local contractors. In 2014, the house, along with the original 23-acre property, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places for its significance as a highly intact example of a mid20th-century modern house and artist studio. “Dorothy and Bob were known for opening their home to the community,” said SQHAP CEO Emily Zaengle. “[They] hosted several memorable parties that invited people to enjoy their art-filled home. The parties at Hilltop House always included art, performance, good food, and drinks. We wanted to replicate this ethos and activate the home through these events.” The first STONE + SCRATCH event, held on June 12, featured 2025 Visiting Artist Patrick McGuan, whose work engages the felled ash trees on the park’s grounds. The evening included an artist talk, a live choral performance, wine, and wild-inspired bites served by From Scratch.
WORK BUY SELL TRADE GET IT DONE
9 Fresh enters contract to acquire Caz College property By Anna Edwards
PATRICIA CHRISTAKOS
Through November, Stone Quarry Hill Art Park and From Scratch Kitchen & Farm are partnering to present STONE + SCRATCH. The first event, held June 12, featured 2025 Visiting Artist Patrick McGuan. From Scratch is the culinary ven- thyme, a goat cheese board with beauture of self-taught cooks Caroline tiful flowers, herbs, and honey, local Horvatits and Anna Brummeler, pasture-raised bacon stuffed dates, whose dishes are developed with Saudade Farm Black Truffle Salami, health and sustainability in mind and fresh fruits and vegetables,” said and prepared from scratch using as Horvatits. “We included a tossed many locally sourced ingredients as grilled asparagus salad served with possible. On weekends, the pair hosts lemon and olive oil, pickled fiddlepop-ups at Loka Leaf Tea Lounge on heads that we picked up at 20|EAST, Albany Street, serving a multi-course, fresh sugar snap peas from Hartwood reservation-only supper on Fridays Farm, a fire-roasted beet yogurt dip, and a walk-in brunch on Sundays. a shitake mushroom pâté, and a “When we are creating menus, roasted red pepper hummus. Anna we think seasonally first,” said Hor- made our homemade focaccia with vatits. “What do we have access to smoked sea salt. For dessert, we had from our community and partner dark chocolate bark with pistachios, farms, and what can we prepare with ginger granola, and rose; dandelion these ingredients? The STONE + and honey marshmallows; black forSCRATCH series is particularly fun est chocolate cake; and local strawfor us because we are getting creative berries with cream.” with the art of food. We are tailoring According to Zaengle, registration our menus for this series to each art- for the first event filled up within an hour of its announcement. ist’s concept.” “The evening was well attended,” For the June 12 event, From Scratch provided a spread that was she said. “Everyone loved the food creatively tied to smoke and the provided by From Scratch, and the land. artist talk and live choral perfor“We prepared a charcuterie with mance made the evening unique and smoked gouda, baked brie with Art Park l Page 5
During the July 14 Village of Cazenovia Board of Trustees meeting, Kate Brodock, general partner of 9 Fresh, provided an update on the ongoing local effort to acquire and redevelop the former Cazenovia College campus. Brodock announced 9 Fresh is officially under contract to acquire the former campus, and they are expecting to close by the end of the summer. 9 Fresh is a team of local investors with a vision “to turn a once-vibrant academic institution into an equally as vibrant, reimagined district for innovation, business growth, and impact that not only strongly serves our community, but provides powerful global connections and influence alongside.” “It’s been a long road to get to this point. We’re thankful for all the support we’ve received from stakeholders across the community,” Brodock said. Brodock reported that the group is looking forward to putting their plan in motion now that negotiations are behind them. She said the partners will now enter into formal processes such as zoning, which they have laid the groundwork for at previous meetings. According to Brodock, the group plans to convert several of the dorm buildings to residential use to address housing needs. She said the group is looking into independent senior living in some of the old dormitory spaces. She said other housing could be based off of a tiered pricing model, increasing the supply of one-bedroom apartments in the village as well as family units. Brodock said the group is focused on housing that involves community integration. She also noted that several of the instructional buildings are primed for businesses of various sizes, and that the investors are discussing options with prospective tenants across different industries such as workforce development and innovation. Brodock said the investors are making sure that the outdoor space on the quad is open for public use. She said they are working with culinary experts to conceptualize how the campus kitchen and dining hall could be turned into a multifaceted feature with food and culinary innovation. She discussed usage of the area for workforce development education. “There are a few spaces that are prime candidates for community use, so we’ll be working with local stakeholders to try to identify a best shared vision for some of those spaces,” Brodock said. She said the specific plans surrounding Catherine Cummings Theatre, the athletic complex, the Jephson Campus and Reisman Hall will be shared over the next few weeks. Brodock noted the master plan for the main quad area will maintain the existing configurations of the buildings, and the usage of the campus will be similar to the usage of the college campus. The president’s house and Constable Hall will be put on the market. Brodock also said there is an exciting vision for the equine campus that will “preserve its function as an equestrian facility in some way, shape or form, and Cazenovia College l Page 11
‘Caz Life Is…’ social media campaign launches, upgrades website BY KATE HILL STAFF WRITER
Caz Life, the events and marketing arm of the Greater Cazenovia Area Chamber of Commerce (GCACC), recently announced its new social media campaign, “Caz Life Is…,” which will run through the end of 2025. According to a June 15 press release, the campaign combines impactful visuals and short phrases that celebrate “the people, plac-
es, and one-of-a-kind moments that make life in Cazenovia unforgettable.” It was created through collaboration between representatives from local businesses, non-profits, and community members. “After brainstorming the phrases that they felt best evoked the warm community feeling that resounded so robustly within the group, everything went into the creative phase, where images were SUBMITTED PHOTOS Caz Life l Page 4 “Caz Life Is…” combines impactful visuals and short phrases. It will run through the end of 2025.
Sample News Group acquires Eagle News Caz school board Sample News Group, publisher of over 75 titles in four states, has acquired the assets of Eagle News from Community Media Group, LLC. The sale includes The Eagle Bulletin, The Baldwinsville Messenger, The Star-Review and The Press-Observer in Onondaga County, The Cazenovia Republican in Madison County, Syracuse Woman Magazine and several digital properties including eaglenewsonline.com. The announcement was made on Thursday, July 10, by George “Scoop” Sample, owner of Sample News Group. “Eagle News has a strong presence in the greater Syracuse area,” said Sample. “They provide their communities with exceptional
local journalism. This was a natural fit for our Central New York operations, and we are proud to have them join our group.” David Tyler, newspaper publisher with Eagle News in Syracuse, will continue to serve as publisher of the group. “This sale represents the beginning of a new era for Eagle News’ historic publications. Despite the headwinds our industry faces, joining a group like Sample Media will allow us to bolster the content our readers enjoy by taking advantage of the experience and scale of a larger, more established operation,” Tyler said. “I’m also excited to partner with the teams at the Oswego Palladium-Times and the Cortland Standard as we continue to develop
and strengthen our Central New York news brand in a way that serves both news consumers and advertisers throughout our four-county footprint.” Brian Nalepa, president of Sample News Group, will coordinate the integration of the Eagle News into the Sample News Group family, adding the publications to the company’s nine media properties in New York state. “We are looking forward to having David and his team at Eagle News be a part of our Central New York operations” Nalepa said. “Having partnered with this group over the past couple of years on several different initiatives, they exemplify true professionalism and a commitSample News l Page 5
Volume 215, Number 29 The Cazenovia Republican is published weekly by Eagle News. Office of Publication: 35 Albany St., Second Floor, Cazenovia, NY 13035. Pe r i o d i ca l Po sta ge Pa i d at Cazenovia, NY 13035, USPS 095-260. POSTMASTER: Send change of address to Cazenovia Republican, 2501 James St., Suite 108, Syracuse, NY 13206.
events: Three-day Lorenzo Driving Competition returns.
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opinion: Made by hand ... and heart.
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seeks applicants BY KATE HILL
Staff WRITER Writer STAFF The Cazenovia Central School District Board of Education (CCSD BOE) is seeking to fill a vacancy for a term expiring on June 30, 2026. Applications for the board seat will be accepted through July 31, 2025. The district accepted Meghan Kelly’s resignation from the BOE on June 18. She had one year remaining in her three-year term. The board discussed how to fill the new vacancy during its July 1 annual organizational board meeting. After acknowledging BOE l Page 5
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