Vol. 168, No. 9
• CLINTON, NEW YORK • September 10, 2014
Varsity Fall Sports Preview
NEWSSTAND PRICE $1
By Staff
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n Aug. 18, long before the first day of classes, the fall season officially kicked off with practices, and the fields across the Clinton Central School’s campus hummed with activity. Ahead of the season, teams played in summer leagues aimed at honing skills and tightening loyalty in preparation for the fall. Others set daily workout requirements for its athletes ahead of tryouts. In other words, high school varsity sports continue to be a big deal in the Village of Clinton. Eight teams from Clinton High School will compete at the varsity level this fall: football, boys and girls soccer, field hockey, girls tennis, cheerleading, and boys and girls cross country. Each group comes with its own unique set of changes. For some teams like cross country, short on upperclassmen, it’s a new beginning. For others, like boys soccer with a group of core seniors taking the reins of team leadership, there are high hopes and certainly expectations ahead. On pages 19 and 20, we break down the season ahead and what each team hopes to accomplish. Erica Yox clears the ball down field in an early season game against Oneida. Clinton went on to win 6-0.
SRO to Become Part-Time Position
Thefts On the Rise in Kirkland By Staff
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meeting earlier in the day. Charles Kriz will remain in the role and be on campus two to three days per week starting the week of Sept. 15. On other days he will be pulled back for other KPD assignments. The SRO position has been in discussion ever since the Town, in order to cover other costs, dropped its funding for the program in the spring. The Town previously split the SRO cost with the School. The School’s 2014–15 school budget only allotted $30,000, what they had paid in the previous year, leaving the program only half funded. The decision was made to adapt the program, rather than provide additional funding. Both the Town and the School said they would reexamine the costs in the next budgeting season to possibly bring the program back as a full-time position. Grimm said the School recognizes that the campus would lose a “proactive visibility” that an officer
our larcenies have been reported in the last week in the Town of Kirkland. The thefts have ranged from car ransackings overnight to stealing scrap materials from the Clark Mills Waste Water Treatment plant. According to Police Chief Dan English, this isn’t a localized problem. Other municipalities are reporting similar issues. “It’s here for a month and then it goes away, and then it comes again,” said English. “[These larcenies] seems to go in waves and right now, we’re at the high part of a wave.” One trend that has always been true with burglaries in the Town of Kirkland is that they seem to happen on trash pickup day, with increased activity on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Often times, thieves are entering property and vehicles left unlocked, rather than breaking in. Stolen items are often found at pawn shops after they have been sold for cash. An arrest has been made in connection with a recent break in and robbery at the Franklin Springs American Legion. Eric J. Eichstadt, age 54 and Dean E. Mortise III, 30, both of Oriskany, were arrested in connection with a series of thefts throughout Oneida, Herkimer and Madison Counties. The two men admitted to a series of larcenies taking place at Town Offices, VFWs and Legions, including one that occurred in Franklin Springs in midAugust. Safes and ATM machines that were lifted from the locations were located at Mortise’s and Eichstadt’s residence with a search warrant.
SRO, page 12
THEFTS, page 17
Students find their way to class on a Tuesday morning. The school’s SRO is not scheduled to return to duty until next week. By John Howard
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n the second week of the new school year, the Clinton Central School District is still without a school resource officer (SRO) on duty. That predicament is about to change with the Town and the School on the tail end of negotiations about the position. The two departments, along with the Kirkland Town Police, have reached an amicable agreement to continue the SRO program, however, it will be adapted from a full-time to a part-time role. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Stephen Grimm made an appearance at Monday night’s Town Board meeting. Grimm, Town Supervisor Robert Meelan and Kirkland Police Chief Dan English publicly addressed the issue and announced what had come to be decided at a private
Village Speeding Problem Sees Some Progress By Staff Baby steps are being taken to address the local speeding concerns, which have been a topic of discussion during recent Village Board meetings. Down two full-time officers and a number of part-time spots, the Kirkland Police Department is looking at creative ways to monitor and deter speeding without losing manpower. Speeding problems have been reported on Utica Street, Kellogg Street, Fountain Street, College Street, New Street, and others. Everything from banning heavy trucks, to dropping speed limits, to adding speed bumps, has been suggested, but so far nothing has stuck as the obvious solution. Currently, the KPD is in the process of purchasing a new, portable radar sign, which they plan to fund through the Town and Gown grant. Funds for another, more permanent sign SPEEDING, page 12
Romanelli Building Project Restarts By Staff
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s construction at 2–4 College St. resumes this week, a sign on the front door of Romanelli Communications reads, “Please pardon our dust.” Exterior work to preserve the landmark cornerstone building has restarted, this time with an ad campaign of “re-point/re-place/ re-new.” The development comes after some initial hesitation by Village officials in April, when work on the building was halted due to pedestrian concerns on the heavily-trafficked corner. The Village Board has since voted to close a portion of the sidewalk on the north edge of College Street for the length of time needed to complete the work. While the brick was cleaned of paint in the mid-1980s, the mortar ROMANELLI, page 13