Manlius nears completion of comprehensive plan

toward adopting the comp plan, you can still lend your voice before the final public hearing and vote. The draft considers our three villages and the county’s recent conversations about future development, including Micron, and implications for our housing needs.

Some key recommendations include: performing a town-wide stormwater analysis; improving our safe walking and cycling routes, and working with our senior centers to improve transportation options. Whether you’re concerned about affordable housing, our roads, public safety, waste management, or any other issue, this is your chance to make a difference.

Following the March 28 Steering Committee open house and public hearing, the town board will hold a workshop to discuss the plan on April 12 at 5 p.m. April 24 is the town planning board’s review during their regular

School shootings

To the editor: Here we are again, reeling after another school shooting. Each time, I ask myself: How many more children and school workers need to die before we make a change? Why are we willing to live this way? I am sickened and brokenhearted. We have had far too many moments of silence since Sandy Hook. Our children and community deserve real action to stop the epidemic of gun violence in our country. We’re not alone and we’re not helpless. There are many seemingly simple, yet powerful things we can do today!

More and more of our neighbors are uniting to bring the change we need. The phones in Congress are ringing off the hook with calls for commonsense gun reform, peaceful rallies are growing in numbers in cities across the country, and families and friends are gathering in their own living rooms to talk about bringing violence prevention programs to their schools. The movement is growing, and we must keep growing it.

There is reason to have hope that we can prevent gun violence before it happens through sensible gun safety laws and programs in our schools and com-

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Creative Director: Gordon Bigelow, ext. 331, art@eaglenewsonline.com meeting at 6:30 p.m.; on April 26 we will share the draft with the Onondaga County Regional Planning Board; and May 24 is the final public hearing with the town board at 6:30 p.m. - all at Manlius Town Hall, 301 Brooklea Drive. munities that help us identify the signs and signals before a shooting happens and intervene.

Please take a moment to review the plan at townofmanlius.org or view a copy in the town clerk’s office. Comments may also be made *anytime* before 5/24 via the website or by emailing us at comprehensiveplanning@ townofmanlius.org or calling 315-637-3414.

By participating, you’re shaping the future of Manlius, Minoa, Kirkville, Fayetteville, and Fremont, and you’re contributing to a more engaged and vibrant Central New York.

Editor’s note: Heather Waters and Sara Bollinger are councilors on the Manlius Town Board.

To keep this hope alive and bring the change we need, I am asking everyone to take one simple action today. Make the Promise at sandyhookpromise. org/take-action/promise/ and help bring Sandy Hook Promise’s no-cost, violence prevention programs to our schools and community.

Please, at the very least, donate to Sandy Hook Promise today.

MAGGIE

NERz IRIBARNE DeWiTT

What if we did something amazing?

To the editor:

For nearly 200 years, Cazenovia College has helped define the identity of our community as a center of progress and thought leadership. Its impending closure will indeed leave a void in the heart of our town. But what if we could repurpose this cherished space and transform it into a beacon of innovation and opportunity? What if we rallied together and did something amazing?

Imagine a revitalized Cazenovia College offering rapid training for the jobs Letters l Page 7 of the future, such as semiconductor manufacturing, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and clean energy. The world is changing rapidly and technology is at the forefront of that transformation. With Micron building a semiconductor plant nearby, artificial intelligence and biomedical innovation rapidly reshaping industries, we have a unique opportunity to make Cazenovia a hub for cutting-edge education and thought leadership.

Indeed with the closure of Cazenovia College, we not only have an opportunity but a charge to do so and to ensure that our vibrant community - full of hard working and compassionate citizens - not only retains its integrity but flourishes.

Innovative ideas like the example above are just the start. Make no doubt, there will be skeptics. However, it is important to remember that all great things start as long shot ideas. The people who change the world are those who are crazy enough to believe they can make a difference –and that can include you, the reader.

The website FutureOfCazenovia.org, is a platform for sharing thoughts, ideas, and offers to volunteer. It’s understood that not everyone has the time to commit to large-scale projects, but in today’s interconnected world, there are myriad ways to contribute in bite-sized pieces through virtual meetings and online collaboration.

The potential to revitalize Cazenovia College as a vibrant new entity is within our reach, but it requires the collective efforts and passion of our community.

So we ask you: What if we did something amazing? What if we asked Why Not Cazenovia? The answer to this question will always be unknown unless we try. Let’s come together, share our ideas, and take action to shape the future of Cazenovia. Let’s dare to be the community that embraces change and creates a lasting legacy for generations to come.

We call on you to join the conversation and offer your thoughts, ideas, or volunteer your time, please visit FutureOfCazenovia.org. Together, we can redefine the future of our beloved college and our community.

MAtt CASHAtt CazenoVia

Fayetteville leaders concerned with police

To the editor:

As the elected leaders of Fayetteville, we take seriously the responsibility of maintaining public safety for our community.

Nearly 40 years ago the three villages and town reached a ground breaking agreement to share our police department.

We worked together to provide one united police force to serve all four communities.

For the last 39 years the Town of Manlius, Village of Manlius, Village of Minoa and the Village of Fayetteville have worked together to ensure our united police force provided efficient and effective public safety throughout the greater community.

Very recently there has been a shift in the town’s position that has caused a breakdown in this collaborative relationship. We are very concerned and troubled by this.

Although we have sought an explanation, we have received no information.

Historically, the Police Committee has operated with full transparency and accountability.

But recently the Town of Manlius has made significant decisions regarding the public safety and welfare of our communities without input from any of the three village.

Why? What was the impetus the lead the Manlius supervisor and councilors’ refusal to operate under the time honored agreement of collaboration for 38 years of working together?

We deserve an explanation for the town’s unilateral decision to manage the united police force independently of the three villages.

We pride ourselves on being transparent and accountable, especially when addressing issues that directly involve our communities’ public safety.

As elected officials for the Village of Fayetteville residents, we want to affirm our commitment to work with the town and two other villages to strengthen our municipal collaboration when it comes to the safety of our residents.

MARk OLSON, MAyOR, DANIEL kINSELLA, tRuStEE, MICHAEL SMALL, tRuStEE, MARk MAtt, tRuStEE, JANE RICE, tRuStEE fayeTTeVille

There he goes again

To the editor:

I have read with interest the recent story in you’re the Syracuse newspapers as well as their Sunday editorial about the lack of transparency on the part of Supervisor John Deer and the members of the Manlius Town Board.

My immediate neighbors in Fayetteville and East Syracuse have experienced it first-hand. John Deer preaches transparency but does the opposite. He bypasses questions from the residents’ claiming “personnel matters”. But he has bypassed residents in the pass. One case was when his pet solar project was rejected by the existing Town process. Syracuse newspaper article “How a solar project in a CNY town has led to accusations of government railroading” syracuse. com/news/2022/03/how-a-solar-project-in-a-cnytown-has-led-to-accusations-of-governmentrailroading.html

Even though the planning board was not going to pass it and at his public hearing over 260 residents showed up to talk against it, Deer and his board just changed the law to get what he wanted. Just changed the law.

Will he do the same with the police department. Now he is playing with our safety. As senior residents we see the increased crime in the villages and town, yet he bypassed any input from the Village Mayors and let the Police Chief go.

What exactly is this new direction he is going in? How can we get answers and the truth.

Like I said, there he goes again…

CONNIE WHIttON fayeTTeVille

Quite a divide has formed on this issue. Some stars, like Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm, hate the proposal. Others, like Rory McIlroy, say it’s about time.

What makes it far more complicated is that there really is no right or wrong answer here. It’s all a matter of how we, as golfers and golf fans, wish to see the sport played at its highest level.

For most of the 20 th century, this wasn’t a problem. Even as equipment got better (steel shafts replaced hickory, metal drivers replaced persimmon), driving distance increased at a gradual rate, and courses of all sizes could challenge them.

A new millennium, though, brought several new factors. One was Tiger Woods and his complete domination of golf, rendering Augusta and other courses inadequate.

Another was all the guys Tiger inspired, getting bigger, faster and stronger.

Also, ball technology brought even more distance.

Among the many problems this created was courses having to use more land to keep up, which meant more costs for maintenance that was far from earth-friendly. Worse yet, many great courses fell out of favor.

This is what the USGA and R&A is trying to address.

Their reasons for a standard ball include, most critically, their belief that if everyone started out with a ball that only carried so far, it would force them to (1) get in better shape to hit it further and (2) hone their skills in order to draw and fade it on longer shots.

In other words, all of a golfer’s skills would be emphasized again, not just brute strength.

Then, in terms of hosting future championships, courses could get judged on their overall merit, not whether it’s 7,500 yards or more from the tips.

Countering all this is the argument that fans and players love to see the drives go deep, that golf has far bigger problems than the distance balls fly and that maybe more emphasis should be placed on facing those issues, such as inclusion.

They also (correctly) point out that, no matter how far anyone hits it, it still comes down to the short game, holing putts and chipping and getting it up and down from bunkers and other tough situations.

Lastly, they’ll say that golf’s allure comes from the fact that recreational players can use the same equipment as the pros, if they so desire. Take away that aura, and some of the appeal might go away.

Everyone remotely connected to golf has their own take on this, and feels like they must take sides, either defending the value of the game’s historic venues or deciding that advances in the sport are too far along to turn back.

For me, thoughtful, intelligent change is always good. There’s nothing wrong with keeping golf just as it is, balls and equipment alike, for us types who don’t play for a living and want to have as much fun as possible.

If this ultimately requires two different sets of rules and establishing one for the professionals, then fine. They’re good enough to adjust their games and their bodies for a time where tradition and progress can coexist and, more importantly, all-around skill will determine who’s victorious.

Phil Blackwell is sports editor at Eagle News. He can be reached at pblackwell@ eaglenewsonline.com.

Crossword

Earth Corps

Date: 4/15/23, 6/24/23, 8/19/23, 10/21/23

Time: 9 AM – 1 PM

Site of Collection: Fayette Manor, Cashin Drive/ Brookside, Huntleigh Park and Southfield Drive

Event Coordinator: Pieter Keese 315-289-6776, Greg Michel 315-632-0080

Instructions to Bottle/Can Donors: Bottles and cans can be dropped off at the locations below or leave them by your mail box for pick up by 12:00PM

• 160 Brookside Lane

• 208 Redfield Ave

• 318 Fayette Drive 20th Anniversary

All proceeds benefit Onondaga Earth Corps, a not-forprofit organization based in Syracuse whose mission is to empower young people to be active participants in creating positive change for their communities and the environment.

Empowering Youth | Building Community

Help Onondaga Earth Corps celebrate our 20th anniversary! www.onondagaearthcorps.org

Village of Baldwinsville Employment Position: Automotive Mechanic

The work involves responsibility for performing skilled work in repair and maintenance of automotive and construction equipment. An employee in this class does skilled mechanical work in the maintenance and repair of automobiles, trucks, tractors and a wide variety of other construction equipment. Two (2) years of work experience, or its part-time equivalent, in the repair and maintenance of automotive equipment is preferred. A NYS CDL Class B will be required by the end of the first year of employment per the union contract. A valid NYS Driver’s license is required. A more detailed job description and application is available upon request. Please call 315-635-9665 for more information.

Penny Saver

Help Wanted