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Geddes votes to eliminate re- J-E residents seek board ceiver of taxes office ... Page 3 member’s removal ... Page 6 Volume 181, No. 9 March 2 to 9, 2011

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Marcellus Schools Village board drops faces $2.9 million Elbridge Fire Department budget deficit By Ned Campbell

Sectional champs West Genesee ice hockey players celebrate John Sabert’s goal with 2:08 left that gave the Wildcats an eventual 2-1 victory over Rome Free Academy in Saturday’s Section III Division I final. ...See page 8

Schools

‘We believe!’ Jordan-Elbridge first graders showed off their Eagle pride to a packed gymnasium Feb. 17. Alexander Robinson is seen here participating in the crab walk relay. ...See page 6

Elbridge Fire Department volunteers respond to a fire at Chestnut Cottage Feb. 14. Ellen Leahy

Volunteer shortage leads board to consolidate fire departments By Ned Campbell Editor@eagle-observer.com The Elbridge Village Board declared a state of emergency at a special meeting last Monday, voting to terminate its contract with the Elbridge Fire Department. The village plans to contract with the Jordan Village Fire Department, but will first hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. March 14 at village hall. All calls have been turned over to the Jordan VFD. Village board members said the decision was

made due to shortage of staff. The low number of volunteers responding to calls led to slow response times and heightened risk for the firefighters. The Elbridge FD has around 40 volunteers, but only six to eight have been responding as of late, said Elbridge Mayor Hank Doerr. “Not everybody can respond because the economy has changed, some have two or three or four jobs,” Doerr said, adding “Close to a dozen calls this month have been delayed or no response.” In cases where Elbridge did not respond, mutual aid fire departments were called in. Three Elbridge firefighters, including Second Assistant Chief Kevin Mead, last Thursday approached village board members with concerns See Consolidation, page 5

The Marcellus Central School District is looking at an estimated budget gap of $2.9 million. Superintendent Craig Tice said non-mandated programs will have to be reduced to close the gap – but not without the community’s input. “We want to protect the programs that the community perceives as doing well and cut those that are possibly less efficient,” Tice said. See Budget crunch, page 5

Dave Taddeo

Marcellus Superintendent Craig Tice goes over the budget at a town meeting held last year at K.C. Heffernan Elementary School.

Westhill basketball stuns South Jefferson, gives Ludwig 400th win By Phil Blackwell pblackwell@eaglenewsonline.com

Calendar �������������������2 Classifieds �������������� 21 Editorial ��������������������4 Obituaries ..17, 19, 21 Public notices �������� 20 School news �������������6 Sports ������������������8,12

Eric Morris

Maggie Tripodi goes strong to the basket for Westhill during the team’s 62-28 playoff win over Clinton Tuesday.

For a large portion of Sue Ludwig’s 20-year tenure as Westhill girls basketball coach, her Warriors have tangled with South Jefferson atop the Section III Class B ranks - sometimes finding success, other times getting cast aside. So it only made sense that, to earn Ludwig her 400th career victory, Westhill had to beat an undefeated, top seeded, state no. 2-ranked Spartans squad in Saturday’s Class B quarterfinals at Adams - and somehow, the Warriors pulled it off. Putting together a superb effort from start to finish, Westhill, the no. 8 seed, shocked South Jefferson 56-

50, giving Ludwig her milestone and moving closer to its first sectional title since 2003. Overall, her teams have won eight sectional titles, plus a state championship in 1996. After Westhill had ripped past Clinton 62-28 in last Tuesday’s opening round, Ludwig said her team had to play a lot better to even have a chance against South Jefferson. But the Warriors had faced far greater tests in the OHSL Liberty division (like Cazenovia and Jordan-Elbridge) than the Spartans had dealt with in the Frontier League, and that would show here. Against the Spartans’ trademark man-to-man defense, Westhill did the most important thing in the early going - score a lot. Before

South Jefferson could settle down, the Warriors had built a 19-10 lead and would stay out in front the rest of the way. For a time, the Spartans did recover, pulling back within 28-22 by halftime, with everyone expecting a further push in the second half. Instead, Westhill reinforced its margin, outscoring South Jefferson 17-10 in the pivotal third quarter to make it 45-32 with one quarter left. And the Warriors would hang on, thanks to the balance from its two best players. Senior Ashley Cianfriglia threw in 20 points, despite having just one 3-pointer as she made seven important free throws, many of them late to withstand the See Warriors, page 12

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