SAS holds first-ever Battle of the Bands at SRC Arena
Up-and-comers in the Central New York music scene will compete for prizes as well as the coveted title of “Best Band” this weekend, and they’ll support a good cause at the same time. Stand Against Suicide will host its inaugural Battle of the Bands on Saturday, April 20, at the SRC Arena at Onondaga Community College. Doors open at 11 a.m. and bands begin competing at noon. Tickets are $7 for students and $12 for adults. Eighteen bands will compete for a chance at the title as well as prizes.
North Syracuse Family Festival is May 25
The North Syracuse Family Festival will take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 25, in Lonergan Park, 524 South Main St. (behind Stickley furniture), North Syracuse with free entertainment for young and old.
Stirpe to host volunteer fair this May
Volunteering is an important part of what makes our community such a great place to live. Donating your time can sometimes be more valuable than simply donating money. When you volunteer, you are spending time enriching the lives of those less fortunate in our community.
Cicero goes green
The town of Cicero is committed to recycling and to reducing what is called our “carbon footprint” on the Earth. This is a goal that we hope you share with us. The town certainly isn’t yet where it needs to be; we have vehicles that aren’t as fuel-efficient as possible, we use oil-based products extensively on our roads and are working for better solutions, and our use of paper needs to be curtailed. Those challenges face us and this will be a time of transition to better use of our Earth’s resources. We believe this direction will also make us more effective, as finding ways to reduce resource consumption should also streamline what we do.
Stott sits out legislative race; may run for Salina council
Former County Legislator Dave Stott has had enough. After losing two close elections to Republican Judy Tassone, Stott decided against running against her for a third time when she defends her Fourth District seat in November. Instead, he has his eyes on the Salina Town Council where he hopes to take over for incumbent Democrat Jim Magnarelli who has represented the second ward since 2010 but is now considering stepping down. Stott had served one term on the county legislature after beating incumbent Republican Legislator Jim Farrell in 2007. Meanwhile a new candidate has emerged to challenge Tassone this year: Democrat Carol Sinesi.
North Syracuse PD welcomes the return of one of their own
The North Syracuse Police Department announced Wednesday that its members are celebrating the return of one of their police sergeants from deployment in Kuwait.
C-NS Performance Engineering Team prepares for Shell Eco-Marathon in Texas
Members of the Cicero-North Syracuse High School Performance Engineering Team are preparing for their upcoming trip to the Shell Eco-Marathon Americas, which is being held from April 5 to 7 in Houston. For the past four years, teams from C-NS have built vehicles for the Eco-Marathon and competed alongside with colleges, universities and high schools from around the world. The competitions have resulted in three first place wins for C-NS, with the top car averaging approximately 1,437 miles per gallon equivalent.
The Barking Gull swings open its doors in May
The Barking Gull becomes the baking gull in May after a state-of-the-art wood-fired pizza oven is installed. For the better part of a decade, the Barking Gull, at 116 S. Willow St., has operated exclusively as a venue for private parties, but it will finally open to the public this spring, said John Gormel, Liverpool’s most prominent tavernkeeper – the man with the mile-wide smile. The Gull will specialize in gourmet pizza, he added.
Martial arts studios encourage women to learn to protect themselves
After a woman was murdered and a child raped at knifepoint at Great Northern Mall March 14, residents have been clamoring for a way to protect themselves. A number of free classes have been introduced to help women, in particular, learn techniques to use in a similar situation. But the free self-defense classes provided by some local martial arts studios aren’t new offerings in response to the tragedy. Both Impact Martial Arts and Karate John’s have offered free women’s self-defense classes for years.
April is Autism Awareness Month
April is Autism Awareness Month. This month-long observation aims to educate the public about autism and the many services available to help the 1.5 million American individuals and families dealing with this developmental disorder. There’s a growing incidence of autism spectrum disorders across the state and across the country, and we need to ensure we’re making the proper accommodations for those individuals. This month draws needed public attention to a serious and often under-treated condition.
Clay’s Project Green to kick off new season
The town of Clay is preparing for its second season of Project Green, its 60-plot community garden located off Black Creek Road. Plot reservations are due to the town by March 28.
An artist in our midst: Tom McLaughlin: Honoring the lives of people with autism
Tom McLaughlin calls himself a “bench jeweler,” a man who makes his living working with jewelry in all ways, repairs to jewelry crafting to jewelry design since 1985. He has been co-owner of Lennon’s Jewelers since 1988 when, along with Sheila Hovey, he opened the original store in Great Northern Mall in Clay. Twelve years ago Lennon’s Jewelers moved to Market Fair North, just across the road from Great Northern Mall. Designing jewelry is not just about finding and making beauty in object form, it is about crafting meaningful and beautiful symbols that demarcate key points in our lives. The jeweler is in part a historian.
Whether fast or slow, change is the way of the world
Things change faster than the speed of light here in the 21st century. We’ve heard plenty of talk about changing the Liverpool village election from June to November, but that won’t happen this year. No, that change will roll around at the somewhat slower speed of sound, no earlier than autumn 2014.
NSCSD Food Service Department asking for student input
The North Syracuse Central School District Food Service Department is conducting a survey of North Syracuse Junior High School and Cicero-North Syracuse High School students to gather information about their breakfast habits. The online survey (nscsd.org/breakfast2) will be active through March 31. Students attending North Syracuse Junior High School and Cicero-North Syracuse High School are asked to participate in the survey before March 31.
Central New York residents to celebrate Persian New Year
Wishes for a happy new year may be three months in the past for many, but for the Persian community, that celebration is just around the corner. This year, not only does March 20 mark the first day of spring, but also the Persian new year, 1392. An estimated 300 residents in Central New York, according to Mehrzad Boroujerdi, professor of political science at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School, will celebrate Nowruz, the name for the holiday. Boroujerdi, also director of the Middle Eastern studies program at Syracuse University, is the organizer of this year’s local Persian New Year party.
