Rental group gets organized

oneida lake Vra forms to oppose short-term rental ban

By dAVid tyLEr

In response to a proposed law in the town of Cicero that would prohibit homeowners from renting their homes for fewer than 30 days, a new organization has formed, called the Oneida Lake Vacation Renters Alliance (Oneida Lake VRA).

Late last year, the Cicero Town Board delayed deliberation on the new law until its meeting on March 8. The law would eliminate “boardinghouse and tourist home” from the town’s definition of residential use and would confine short-term rentals to commercial zones.

Oneida Lake VRA President Christine Ravold said that the group began to organize in late December.

“It’s incredible how quickly word spread,” said Oneida Lake VRA President Christine Ravold. “The Oneida Lake VRA will be active in the community to educate local leaders on the value that vacation rentals provide to towns and the local economy.” l From page 2 interested in writing, drawing, photog raphy, and creative thinking are encour aged to attend.

The magazine contents will be in the hands of the teens with guidance from Youth Services Librarian Sarah Heu - project would sit on about 20 acres of Harwood’s farm and the rest of the land would remain agricultural.

The developer on the project is Renua Energy out of Glens Falls. David Byrne, Renua’s founder and CEO, provided an overview of the project.

The project site would sit about 410 feet off of Mud Mill Road. The panels, which would rotate with the sun during the day, would be at about 16 feet at their highest point.

The project site is screened on three sides by existing forest but would be visible by passers by on Mud Mill Road. To shield the view of the solar development, Byrne said more than 300 trees will be planted along the edge of the project facing Mud Mill Road. Those trees will be five to six feet tall when they are planted.

As of Friday afternoon, a change.org petition supporting the organization’s mission to continue to allow rental properties in the town had been signed by 1,489 people.

While the group is currently focused on Cicero’s proposed ban, it intends to reach the entirety of the Oneida Lake region. “We know that these discussions don’t happen in a vacuum,” said Oneida Lake VRA Vice President Paul Finch. “A couple of other communities around the lake have considered or adopted similar bans without thinking about the long-term consequences. At the same time that a town is robbing homeowners of their rights, it also affects local businesses. How many seasonal businesses will take a hit because the town is banning vacation rentals?” krath. Outside of creating content for the magazine, teens will learn how to design the magazine’s layout using an online resource called Canva. Canva is available in the library and will be available to the teens for use for this project. It offers templates and images to help build

The group planned a kick-off party on Feb. 15 in preparation for the March 8 town board meeting. For more information on the Oneida Lake VRA, visit OneidaLakeVRA.org.

Planting larger trees, Byrne said, is difficult because larger trees do not recover as well when replanted elsewhere.

Renua would lease the land for the project from Harwood, and the decommissioning plan would call for the land to be returned to its original agricultural condition at the end of the solar array’s useful life, which is likely around 25 years, Byrne said.

Mike Harwood, Donald Harwood’s son, said the agricultural character of the area has always been important to his father and he would do anything in his power to ensure “the beauty of the town will not be compromised.”

“My dad’s lived all 83 years of his life at this house in this town,” Mike Harwood said. “It ensures my father can live his life out his remaining years peacefully knowing that his home and family are taken care of and it manages to help the environment

Former local food writer turned romance novelist to visit Golden Bee

By russ tArBy CoNtributiNg writer

Syracuse native Rochelle Bilow began her writing career as a reporter for the nowdefunct City Eagle. She specialized in articles about food, from growing vegetables and herbs to preparing and spicing delicious dinners.

After her rookie seasons with the weekly City Eagle, she graduated from Le Moyne College before being hired in 2013 by The PostStandard where she wrote a column called Rochelle’s Table.

Along the way, she graduated from the French Culinary Institute, and became the social media manager at Bon Appétit and Cooking Light magazines. She has also worked as a cook on a small farm in Central New York and a Michelin-starred restaurant in New York City. Bilow now lives in northern Vermont.

the pages for the magazine’s spread.

The first Teen Volunteer Meet-up session is on Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 1 pm. The following sessions will be March 11 at 1 p.m., April 6 at 2 p.m., May 2 at 5:30 p.m. Snacks and beverages will be served at each session, and registration is required.

and many of our neighbors at the same time.”

Several area residents voiced support for the project, stating that they trust the Harwoods, as longtime stewards of the farm, would put together a suitable project. Others said that it was preferable to a housing development and that the fact that it would return to agriculture in the future is a benefit.

Others were concerned about the visual impact of the project, the height of the screening, and the potential impact on groundwater in the area. Several cited the solar array that is currently being constructed on McKinley Road. In front of that project, small evergreen trees have been planted that are dwarfed by the solar panels behind them.

“It will be nothing like the other projects in our area,” said Mike Harwood, citing the 400-plus foot setback from the road.

Her first book, a food and farming memoir titled “The Call of the Farm,” was published in 2014.

This week – in fact on Valentine’s Day – her first novel was issued by Berkley Romance, a division of Penguin Publishing. “Ruby Spencer’s Whisky Year” tells the tale of a New York City food critic who relocates to the small town of Thistlecross, in Scotland. There she lives in a small cottage with no internet nor kitchen.

Notice of Formation of 5122 Old Barn LLC

Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 01/31/2023. Office location: County of Onondaga. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to: LLC, 8100 Oasis Lane, Clay, New York 13041. Purpose: any lawful purpose.

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Notice of Formation of Nates Business LLC, a Domestic Limited Liability Company (LLC). Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 1/3/2023. Office location: County of Onondaga. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY

She’s brainstorming a cookbook while holding down a job at a pub called the Cosy Hearth where she meets Brochan, the handyman, Neil the town drunk, Anne the mayor, and Winkler the villainous businessman.

Of course, sparks fly between Ruby and Brochan, but Rochelle is careful not to let it happen too soon. Her prose flows smoothly,

Submitted photo Author l Page 11

All teens in grades 7-12 are welcome to attend; those interested who may not be able to attend the sessions are encouraged to contact Sarah at the North Syracuse Library for other ways to participate. To register, please visit nopl. org/events or call the North Syracuse Branch at 315-458-6184.

He added that during spring through fall, drivers on Mud Mill Road will see the corn fields and gardens that exist there now.

The town board did not make a decision on whether to approve the project and will take up the issue again at its meeting on Feb. 22.

The town did, however, pass a modification to its code regarding large-scale solar facilities.

Currently, commercial solar arrays are allowed in any zone. The town amended that last week to require solar developers to apply for a zone change to a commercial solar zone before any development would be considered.

“This basically puts another layer of discretion in between the solar farms and the town,” said Councilor Jonathan Karp.

The new code does not apply to any pending solar development projects, including the Mud Mill Road project.

C-NS girls indoor track claims sectional AA title

The Cicero-North Syracuse girls indoor track and field team picked up 165 points and rolled to victory in last thursday night’s section iii class AA championships at src Arena.

By PHiL BLAckWELL

Having a large and talented roster certainly helps the Cicero-North Syracuse girls indoor track and field team, but it’s what they do that really makes the Northstars a special unit. Whether it’s sprints, distance races or field events, C-NS mastered them and, by doing so, rolled to the Section III Class AA championship last Thursday at SRC Arena, earning 165 points as Liverpool finished second with 65.5 points. Marissa Doty swept the sprints for the Northstars.

First, Doty was victorious in the 55-meter dash, edging West Genesee’s Molly Doran, 7.50 seconds to 7.51, with Jaydin Mackey fourth in 7.74, the same time as Liverpool’s Mikayla Greene as her teammate, Sophia Jarosz (7.77), was seventh. Then, in the 300-meter dash, Doty prevailed in 42.15 seconds, a 1-2 effort with teammate Grace Murray (43.23) as the Warriors got Jarosz into third place in 43.67. and in the 4x200 relay, Doty, paired with Mackey, Murray and Kate Putman, beat the field in 1:46.99. Kate Putman went 2:57.87 in a terrific 1,000-meter run to hold off the challenge of Liverpool’s Taylor Page, who in 2:59.02 also broke the three-minute mark as Katy Harbold (3:07.19) was fourth. In the 4x800 relay, Katy Harbold, Hannah Boyle, Elliana Ballagh and Sophia Graham won in 10:02.64, just beating out F-M’s 10:04.41 as Liverpool (10:15.46) was fourth. C-NS also got two wins in field events. Morgan Hayes’ long jump of 17 feet 1 1/4 inches edged the 17-foot leap by Rome Free Academy’s Imani Pugh as Kalli Congden (16’4”) was fourth, while Jasmine Ayre went 35’1” in the triple jump to edge Hayes’ 34’8” as Congden (33’8”) was fourth and Gianna Boland (32’7”) sixth. Gabby Putman took second in the 3,000-meter run in 10:13.40, with Marissa Navarra fourth in 10:54.16, and in the 1,500-meter run Putman’s 4:52.36 trailed a national top-25 4:39.49 from Fayetteville-Manlius’ l From page 10 whether describing how to prepare haggis or dreamily mulling over romantic overtures.

Izzie Sullivan as Navarra finished sixth. Boyle, Callie Bednarski, Cameron Sisk and Grace Murray went 4:16.71 in the 4x400 relay for second place as Liverpool’s quartet of Ashlyn Brown, Lamyya Hudson, Sophie Hoy and Jailyn Parrotte was third in 4:25.35.

Graham got second in the 600-meter run in 1:42.32, with Boyle third in 1:46.16. Hayes went 8.79 seconds in the 55 hurdles for second place as Jasmine Ayre (8.98) was fourth and Aaliyah McDonald (9.23) sixth. Kaleigh Bosimenu cleared 8 feet for fourth place in the pole vault. Again leading Liverpool, Allie Cary won the shot put, heaving it 36’1” to beat the field by more than three feet, including CNS’s Ava Schiff in sixth place, before a weight throw where Cary’s 38’8 1/2” beat Trinity Howard’s second-place 36’10”, with Deidre Williams (34’3 1/2”) beating the Northstars’ Maria Sanfilippo (33’4 1/2”) for fifth place. Aside from that, the Warriors also had Jarosz, Greene, Caitlyn Guilfoil and Maddie Devendorf take third in the 4x200 in 1:50.52. Layla Pearl Collins finished sixth in the pole vault, with Beatrize Gurgol sixth in the high jump by topping 4’8” and also sixth in the long jump with 15’1”, half an inch ahead of Devendorf.

C-NS also had a strong showing in the boys sectional Class AA meet, getting 77 points to edge FayettevilleManlius (75) for third place, though both were well back of Baldwinsville’s winning total of 171 points. Nearly a quarter of the Northstars’ points came from a 1-2 sweep of the 55 hurdles, Carlton Garnes going 7.91 seconds to get away from the 8.33 of Camron Ingram as Xander Provost (8.66) was seventh. In the 4x400, the Northstars had Dan Henry, Liam Adams, Sean Graves and Jacob Klasen second in 3:39.74 as Davine Bennett got second in the 55 sprint in 6.65 seconds, one-hundredth of a second behind the 6.64 from Utica Proctor’s Hector Perez. Bennett, Christian Kahrs, Jayceon McGrew and Trevon Walker were second in the 4x200 in 1:35.85, while Joe Main, in the shot put, threw it 43’5 1/2”, second to Auburn star Dustin Swartwood’s 48’8 3/4”. Garnes had a third-place triple jump of 40 feet, with teammates Anthony Johnson (39’8 3/4”) and Walker (39’4 1/4”) in the next two spots as Jackson Petzoldt, clearing 9’6”, finished fifth in the pole vault.

Liverpool finished sixth in the boys AA Meet, its lone win from Ny’Quez Madison, whose long jump of 22’4” beat the 21’9 1/2” put up by Walker for C-NS and the 21’4” From West Genesee’s Dom Burris. Roman Murray went a personal-best 2:42.51 in the 1,000-meter run to finish third, while Madison topped 5’8” in the high jump for third place, where Provost (5’6”) was sixth. Madison also had a sixth-place triple jump of 39’3 1/2”. Brady Ruediger was fifth in the 3,200-meter run in 10:16.36, with the Warriors third in the 4x800 in 8:40.50 to beat C-NS’s fourth-place 8:44.01 as Liverpool was sixth in the 4x400 in 3:52.47. Anthony Cerio had a sixth-place weight throw of 41’8 1/4”, with the Northstars’ Ethan Matthews (39’11 1/2”) seventh.

The story is third person, not told in Ruby’s own voice, yet the reader will feel as though he or she actually knows this fetching character. The narrative is conversational, confident and sometimes cavalier. It’s often sassy but always heartfelt. It’s all good.

The Golden Bee Bookshop will welcome Bilow to its 324 First St. location from 5 to 7