Town supervisor addresses county’s stance on migrant relocation

By KAtE Hill Staff Writer

During the June 12 Cazenovia Town Board meeting, Supervisor Bill Zupan briefly addressed a May 19 emergency order issued by the chairman of the Madison County Board of Supervisors amid a surge of arrivals of migrants and asylum seekers in New York City.

According to a May 19 press release from the county, the order blocks the transportation of migrants or asylum seekers to locations in the county, or housing of persons at locations in the county for a length of time without permission from John M. Becker, chair of the board of supervisors.

“I hereby find and determine that the orderly and humane treatment of migrants and asylum seekers is necessary for the public safety, welfare and health of the residents of Madison County and migrants and asylum seekers alike and that the plan of the City of New York and/or other municipalities to bus migrants and asylum seekers to other counties without regard to available resources, community impacts, funding and capacity to humanely care and provide for migrants and asylum seekers necessitates the issuance of this

Emergency Order,” Becker states in the emergency order.

According to the county, the emergency order received nearly unanimous support with 18 out of 19 supervisors in favor.

The topic was raised at the June 12 Cazenovia Town Board meeting by Rebecca Garden, a representative of the Anti-Racism Coalition of Cazenovia.

Garden invited the board to make a statement regarding the emergency order and to consider the message the ban might send about the Cazenovia community and its willingness to welcome people seeking refuge.

“If we don’t accept people in crisis, then who will?” she said.

In response, Zupan stated that he voted in favor of the order not because the people in question are migrants, but because they are being sent upstate without adequate support and without the ability to immediately work to help support themselves.

The supervisor said it is his understanding that they cannot work until their first court date. He added that the county was told the soonest court date is in January.

“The biggest problem, in my mind, is the federal government doesn’t have a program to allow these people to work,” Zupan said. “And they are needed. If they would let the people work in order to support themselves, then it wouldn’t be a problem, but who supports them for six months? It wasn’t New York City. All they were doing was offering so much a day to hotels for housing.”

Garden thanked Zupan for his insight into the rationale behind the county’s decision and suggested that the town board work to get that information out to the local community so people can use it to lobby for the needed support.

Zupan concluded by stating that he believes everyone on the board is sensitive to the plight of migrants and asylum seekers. He also encouraged Garden and other community members to get in touch with their federal representatives.

“It’s a federal problem because they haven’t had a good immigration policy in decades,” Zupan said.

The Madison County State of Emergency Declaration, the Madison County Emergency Order, and the county’s May 16 Statement on Migrant Relocation are available at madisoncounty. ny.gov.

Kurt Wheeler

Candidate for Mayor, Community Party Occupation Teacher

How will your experience serve you in government?

There has been a wonderful synergy between teaching History and Government in the classroom and serving in local government. Understanding how government should work based on our Constitutional principles is often helpful in real-world decision-making and there are many historical examples of how government serves the people best when leaders apply principles like mutual respect, collaboration and compromise.

What do you think are the biggest challenges in your community?

It goes without saying that the biggest challenge facing Cazenovia today is guiding the successful transition to a postCazenovia College use for the campus that is at the heart of our village. We have an amazing team of people who are working cooperatively to plan and shape that transition, but considerable effort remains. Philosophically, the biggest challenge is helping citizens to understand that local government is not the same as the disfunction they see in Washington. There is a lot of cynicism today, but local public servants’ only goal is to represent and guide the community to the best of their ability.

What are your ideas for addressing these challenges?

I will continue to work collaboratively each day not only with my colleagues on the Village Board but with our partners in the Town, the College, CACDA, CPF, CLA and many others to meet these challenges as a team.

Cynthia Bell Candidate for trustee, Democratic/Strong Community Occupation Maintenance Engineer for the New York State Canal Corporation

How will your experience serve you in government?

I have worked in the public sector for over 20 years and have been a Trustee on the Village Board for the past two years. I also served on the School Board in Cazenovia. With all of the positions I have held, it has given me a very good understanding of how to work effectively in all types of public service. In my time on the Village Board I have learned a lot regarding how a local municipality is run. My experience in both my public service personally and as a Village representative has given me a good foundation to grow upon for the next two years if I am re-elected.

What do you think are the biggest challenges in your community?

Some of the challenges that are facing our community, and the Village specifically, include the aging working population of the village employees and their impending retirements, the closing of Cazenovia College, and the challenges of providing a balanced budget for the Village

Candidates l Page 15

By KAtE Hill Staff Writer

The Cazenovia Public Library (CPL) and the New Woodstock Free Library are teaming up to present a joint summer reading program for residents of the Cazenovia Central School District.

Summer reading programs are designed to advance literacy, stimulate learning, and offset the summertime slump by keeping brains engaged between school years.

Throughout the school break, community members can join in a variety of activities and track their reading for opportunities to earn prizes.

Readers of all ages can pick up summer reading logs from the CPL front desk beginning the week of July 4.

New Woodstock will be using a digital reading tracking program as well as paper logs.

“Just stop into the library each week to collect your prize for meeting your weekly reading goal,” said CPL Youth Services Coordinator Jenna Wright.

Readers who achieve their weekly goals will also receive tickets to put towards an endof-summer basket raffle.

According to Wright, the raffle will feature several dif- ferent baskets with items targeted to different age groups.

“The baskets will be for everyone, from babies to adults,” Wright said.

The focus of this year’s summer reading program is “All Together Now.”

According to Wright, the theme is selected each year by the nationwide Collaborative Summer Library Program, which provides resources, such as book lists and activities, for libraries to use while planning their summer reading programs.

Performers and special kids’ programs

The summer events will kick off in New Woodstock on June 27 at 11 a.m. with “BubbleMania,” an educational bubble show presented by professional entertainer Doug Rougeux.

Children’s entertainer Jeff the Magic Man will visit CPL on July 10 at 6:30 p.m., and storyteller Pirate Jack will be in New Woodstock the following day at 11 a.m.

New Woodstock will also present a “Dino Dig” event on Aug. 2 at 6 p.m. and an interactive program with live animals from the Utica Zoo on Aug. 14 at 6 p.m. Summer story times

CPL’s summer story time schedule will begin the sec- ond week of July and will be held at 10:30 a.m. three days a week.

Baby story time will be presented on Tuesdays in the library. Wednesday story times will move outside to Creekside Park behind the library, and Thursday story times will be held at various locations “Out on the Town.”

“On Thursdays, we are going to go out and about,” said Wright. “We’ll go to places like Meadowood Farms, Purpose Coffee, Stone Quarry Art Park, Lorenzo, the [Farmstead 1868] lavender farm, and possibly Burton Street.”

New Woodstock story times are held at 11 a.m. on Tuesdays. Programs for ages 5-10

On Wednesdays from July 12 through Aug.9, children ages 5-10 are invited to CPL from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. for programs designed for elementary school students.

The library will present a mini chefs club, a board games event, a splash party with water games and crafts on the front lawn, a LEGO club, and a behind-the-scenes tour of the CPL museum. teen programs

CPL is also presenting two special events in the community room for students entering seventh grade and up.

4-H Educator Tess Southern of the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Madison County will lead a cupcake decorating event on July 18 from 1 to 3 p.m. Teens are invited back to the library on Aug. 15 for laser tag from 1 to 3 p.m.

Family events

The Teddy Bear Parade, Cazenovia’s annual Fourth of July kick-off, will be held on July 1 at 11 a.m. This year, CPL is also hosting a picnic on the lawn with hotdogs and lemonade.

CPL will host “Tot Town” on July 6 at 11 a.m. for children under age five.

“We are transforming the community room into a little town with different ‘shops,’ like a library, post office, vet, and ice cream store,” said Wright. “Kids and their families can explore and play in the shops.”

Families can contribute to the CPL Community Quilt Banner project during a community quilting bee on July 20 at 10:30 a.m. In preparation for the CazArts September Autumn Leaves Arts

Festival, CPL is inviting community members to create 10 in. x 10 in. autumn leaf quilt blocks that will eventually be connected into a banner by the Towpath Quilt Guild. Reading l Page 15

Work-Based Learning students share

Kate hill

On June 6, students in Cazenovia High School’s Senior Work-Based learning Class delivered their capstone presentations.

By KAtE Hill Staff Writer

This school year, eight Cazenovia High School (CHS) students have been spending part of the school week working in the community through the school district’s Senior Work-Based Learning (WBL) Class. Advised by CHS Business and Certified WBL Coordinator Christina New, the program gives eligible seniors the opportunity to work in local businesses that align with their career interests and learn from industry mentors.

Once placed in their internships, the students visit their job sites one to two times a week.

“They can arrive before school starts and return for their third-period class,” said New. “I meet with them at the end of every week to discuss their placements. We also have an in-class curriculum that covers personal finance, ethics, interviewing, etc.”

Students are evaluated by their employers and by New through in-class assignments.

The 2022-2023 WBL students delivered their capstone presentations on June 6.

“We can’t thank the community employers enough for this experience,” said New, who introduced the class. “It’s so unique, and it just really helps [the seniors] figure out their future career paths.”

Several of the presenters expressed that the program helped them discover their passions and/or gave them the confidence to pursue careers that interest them.

For example, Sam Wilcox, who was initially unsure about his career path, decided to pursue physical therapy af-

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