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JE BOE rejects commu- Camillus Chamber welcomes nity’s petition ... Page 6 By the Brook Diner ... Page 7 Volume 181, No. 10 March 9 to 15, 2011
Schools
Thoroughly Modern Marcellus High School students presented “Thoroughly Modern Millie” March 4 and 5 on a rennovated Groeling stage. ...See page 7
Sports
Best in state West Genesee’s Billy Gabriel, pictured, and Marcellus’s Jesse Garn came out on top at the state championship meet held Saturday at Cornell. ...See page 8
BUSINESS .....................7 CALENDAR ...................2 CLASSIFIEDS .............. 14 EDITORIAL ....................4 OBITUARIES........ 12, 19 PUBLIC NOTICES ........ 12 SCHOOL NEWS ......6, 10 SPORTS ........................8
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Donovan Cox, 10, skis to the top
Village board votes to abolish Elbridge VFD
Fundraising efforts keep Empire State Games for the Physically Challenged afloat
NED CAMPBELL
Elbridge village attorney Harry Armani, right, talks with lawyer Jarrod Smith Monday night prior to the board’s decision to go into executive session with Smith and Elbridge Fire Company President Bob Chuff (pictured left).
By Mary G. Merritt Marcellus third-grader Donovan Cox, 10, won his second gold medal this year for downhill skiing at the Empire State Games for the Physically Challenged at Whiteface Mountain in the Adirondacks in February. Last year, Donovan, who is blind, won a Silver Medal in the same race and his first Gold Medal for the race in 2009. D on ov an’s m ot h e r, Adrienne Thousand of Marcellus, said her son competes in the Alpine event in which he skis downhill weaving back and forth through gates on the course. His grandfather, Pat O’Laughlin of Marcellus, is his guide. He skis next to Donovan holding on to a shared pole while giving him verbal commands as
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By Ned Campbell The Elbridge Village Board voted unanimously Feb. 28 to abolish the Elbridge Fire Department subject to mandatory referendum – an amendment to a Feb. 21 vote by the board declaring a state of emergency and turning all calls over to the Jordan VFD. See Elbridge VFD, page 11 Donovan navigates the downhill course. Donovan’s official time on the course was 37.55 seconds. Donovan’s grandmother, Mary Beth Perry O’Laughlin, a Marcellus Class of 1979 graduate, noted that the games were originally cancelled due to a lack of funding — but participants raised enough money for the games to go on. Thousand, O’Laughlin’s daughter, led all participants in fundraising. “My daughter, Adrienne, was honored for raising the most
money this year,” O’Laughlin said. “… She raised almost $2,000. It was awesome!” Thousand said the state had cut off all funding for the physicallychallenged portion of the Empire State Games. The athletes were counting on their communities to help them raise enough money so they could continue to have this opportunity in their future. “We are so lucky to live in such a generous community that cares See Skiing gold, page 8
Mahoney commends West Genesee, village of Elbridge By Ami Olson editor@theeaglecny.com In delivering her 2011 State of the County address Tuesday March 1, Onondaga County Executive Joann Mahoney proclaimed, “we are coming out of this recession stronger than we went in.” See County address, page 2
McAvoy carries Warriors to Class B title By Phil Blackwell pblackwell@eaglenewsonline.com If it’s a big game, then count on Kevin McAvoy to deliver, no matter what the sport. McAvoy’s pitching carried the baseball Warriors to a state Class B championship last spring, and now he can boast of pushing Westhill’s boys basketball team to a third consecutive Section III title. Amassing a career-best 34 points, McAvoy led the no. 3 seed Warriors to a 66-50 victory over top seed Skaneateles in Saturday’s Class B title game at Utica Memorial Auditorium. McAvoy said the effort his team presented from the moment the game tipped off had a lingering effect on Skaneateles throughout the contest. “We came out with unbelievable intensity,” he said. “They (the Lakers) didn’t know what to do, and we never looked back.” No matter that Skaneateles had beaten
Westhill twice in the regular season - once in December, then again in mid-January. When it counted the most, the Warriors had all the answers. Senior Nathan Nigolian said it helped his team not to be the odds-on-favorite - unlike 2010, when Westhill rolled through the sectional playoffs on its way to a state championship. “It made things easier,” said Nigolian. “We had nothing to lose.” Indeed, from the moment the game tipped off Westhill was quicker to the ball, more aggressive and more intense. Only twice did the Lakers lead - at 6-4 and 8-6 in the middle of the first quarter - and though it was 10-10 at the end of that period, the Warriors had already shown that its trademark man-to-man defense could contain the potent Laker attack. Then things got worse for Skaneateles when senior forward Pat Roberts picked up his second foul early in the second quarter. Westhill’s deSee Warriors, page 12
ERIC MORRIS
Westhill’s Kevin McAvoy weaves around Marcellus forward Brian Koes during the Class B semifinals at OCC. Westhill won the game 59-35 and would go on to beat Skaneateles for the sectional title.