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Passing the torch
Villageamends B-1 zoning Community Bank, Caz student-athletes help kick off the Empire State Winter Games Will allow first-floor residential off side streets By David Tyler
KATE HILL
On Jan. 31, Community Bank Cazenovia and the Cazenovia High School indoor track teams participated in the 44th Empire State Winter Games Torch Relay. By Kate Hill Staff Writer Last week, Community Bank Cazenovia and the Cazenovia High School (CHS) indoor track teams helped kick off the 44th Empire State Winter Games (ESWG) by participating in an Olympic-style torch relay. Over the course of five days, the games’ two torches traveled along two routes through New York State to Lake Placid to light the cauldron for the opening ceremony on Thursday, Feb. 1. Along the way, the torch stopped at select Community Bank branches, including Cazenovia. On Wednesday, Jan. 31, the following members of the CHS Varsity Girls and Boys Indoor Track teams formed Cazenovia’s leg of the ESWG Torch
Relay: seniors Zoey Gagne, Dinah Gifford, Margaret Huftalen, Reid McMurtrie, Meghan Mehlbaum, Connor Frisbie, and Eddie Comeau; juniors Lucy Bliss, Avery Cashatt, Susie Pittman, Olivia Ruddy, Jaden Kaplan, and Finn Worthington; sophomores Becca Brooks, Lily Kogut, Maeve McGreevy, Maura Phillips, Tristan Field Bradley, and Caleb Gilmore; and freshman Olivia Dorus, Ava Eno, Ella Gale, Eliza Huftalen, Caroline Mehlbaum, Olivia Puffer, Jake Woolbert, and Jonas Putnam. The torch, which is a symbol of unity and athleticism, was presented to the studentathletes by Doug Bush, whose company, Endurancefactor, was asked to help coordinate the western part of the ESWG Torch Relay. Led by Girls Indoor Track Assistant Coach Kalin Merk-
ley and accompanied by an ESWG Torch Relay vehicle, the student-athletes ran the torch from CHS on Emory Avenue to Community Bank on Albany Street, where they were greeted by bank employees, given the chance to take
photos with the torch, and treated to hot chocolate and donuts. According to Varsity Girls Indoor Track Coach Kurt Wheeler, the indoor track program has been serving as a leg Torch l Page 4
The Cazenovia Village Board has amended its zoning in the B-1 district, potentially paving the way for a new project along the village’s Albany Street commercial district. The village’s B-1 district borders Albany Street from Park Street to Allen Street on the south side and from the firehouse to Sullivan Street on the north side. The code in that zone previously outlawed residential uses on the first floor of buildings within that zone. The local law passed on Monday, Feb. 5 creates an exception for corner lots within the B-1 district that have frontage on both Albany Street and an intersecting street. Within a mixed commercial/residential use occupancy building at such a location, dwellings would be permitted on the ground floor within the portion of the building that fronts on the intersecting street and is situated more than 60 feet from the street line of Albany Street. In such instances, the residential dwelling space would require a dedicated primary entrance facing the intersecting street in question, the proposed local law states. The change to the zoning should have little effect on the village’s core historic commercial stretch on Albany Street. Residential uses will still be prohibited on the first floor of buildings in the district with entrances off Albany Street, unless there is a separate entrance to a residential portion of the building off an intersecting street. “We don’t want somebody living in a storefront,” said Mayor Kurt Wheeler. The project site is anticipated to include 99 Albany St., which is the former Napa store; 103 Albany St., which is a former gas station; and the blue house behind those buildings on Center Street. The properties, which are all in the B-1 district, are owned by Michael and Jacqueline Silberberg, of Berkley Properties, LLC. Wheeler said last month that although there have only been informal discussions and requests for feedback on the project so far, the village anticipates receiving a formal application “any month now.” The expectation is that the developer will propose a first-floor commercial use facing Albany Street and a first-floor residential use for the back side of the building to reduce the Village l Page 13
‘Caz Cooks’ club brings together home cooks, cookbook enthusiasts By kate Hill Staff Writer
Since December 2022, the “Caz Cooks” cookbook club at the Cazenovia Public Library (CPL) has been bringing together community members with common interests in cookbooks and trying out new recipes. Typically, the group meets on the second Tuesday of each month to discuss and sample recipes from a particular cookbook. In preparation for the get-together, each member makes a dish from the cookbook at home to share with the group. The club was started by part-time CPL staff member Debora Millson,
who said she was inspired by her love of looking through cookbooks. “At a typical meeting, we sit in a circle and talk about what was made, if it was liked, if the ingredients were hard to find, [and] if spouses and children gave it a thumbs up,” Millson said. “It is interesting [to] find out what recipes were successful and what were total flops.” The club’s first book was “Barefoot Contessa, How Easy Is That?” by Ina Garten. Since then, the group has explored such books as “Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove Cookbook,” “Half Baked Harvest” by Tieghan Gerard, “Rachael Ray 365: No Repeats,” and “Endless Summer Cookbook” by Katie Lee.
“In November, we did ‘Make it Ahead’ by the Barefoot Contessa since we were coming up on the holidays and we could test recipes to make ahead for holiday family gatherings,” said Millson. “Carriage Barn Books donated some of their unsold cookbooks after their big summer sale, and I used those for our October and December meetings. We did a mystery cookbook in October where I wrapped a cookbook, and you took it on your way out or picked one up from the circulation desk. In December, we played a game [where members] could steal each other’s cookbooks [like in] a Secret Santa exchange.” According to Millson, the club has Cook l Page 3
Submitted photo
The “Caz Cooks” cookbook club will meet on Feb. 13 at 5 p.m.
Volume 214, Number 6 The Cazenovia Republican is published weekly by Eagle News. Office of Publication: 35 Albany St., Second Floor, Cazenovia, NY 13035. Periodical Postage Paid at Cazenovia, NY 13035, USPS 095-260. POSTMASTER: Send change of address to Cazenovia Republican, 2501 James St., Suite 100, Syracuse, NY 13206.
Achievers: Caz athlete selected for Rawlings Tigers National Team.
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sports: Girls indoor Lakers get first league title since 2017.
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Editorial ��������������������� 6
Obituaries ��������������� 2,3
history ������������������������ 3
PennySaver ���������������� 8
letters ������������������������ 6
Sports ������������������ 12,13