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‘An amazing role model’
Breanna Stewart’s high-school coach applauds her inclusion on downtown mural
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Breanna Stewart was named Most Outstanding Player at the 2012 Hoophall Classic during her senior year at C-NS High School. She is being recognized as part of the urban artwork called “Legendary Syracuse Firsts” in Syracuse. By Russ Tarby Contributing Writer
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On June 18, Sunshine Horses in Clay will hold its annual ShortcaKe 4K at 10 a.m. and Open House.
Sunshine Horses to host open house, race By kate Hill Staff Writer
On June 18, Sunshine Horses in Clay will welcome community members to the farm from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Founded in 2003, Sunshine is an independent, not for profit horse adoption agency and rescue facility. The farm specializes in rehabilitating, retraining, and rehoming retired Standardbred racehorses but is committed to helping all horses in need, regardless of industry or breed. Visitors to the farm will have the chance to tour the facilities, meet the horses and the volunteers who care for them, discover the versatility and disposition of Standardbreds; and learn how to adopt, sponsor and volunteer. The event will also feature carriage and pony rides, equine dem-
onstrations, raffle baskets, face painting, arts and crafts, food catered by Phoenix Sports Restaurant, Skippy’s ice cream, horse treats, and the Clay fire truck. The farm will be accepting bottles, cans, and excess metals throughout the day. The open house will be held immediately following Sunshine’s ShortcaKe 4K, which starts at 10 a.m. The race, which is the sixth event in the 2022 Dick’s Sporting Goods Family Fit Running Series, is presented by Northside Collision. All finishers will receive a fresh strawberry shortcake and medals featuring the ShortcaKe 4K mascot, Strawberry the Donkey. The first 250 registrants will also receive a custom race shirt. Sign up at runsignup.com. Registration ends June 16 at 11:59 p.m. A virtual option is also available for runners who cannot make the inperson race.
Parking is free and portable toilets will be available. Proceeds from the day will go towards furthering Sunshine’s mission. “This is a major fundraiser for Sunshine, as our expenses are heavy and ongoing,” Jan Lower an event committee member, said. Sunshine’s 56-acre property is currently home to 21 horses, with more expected to arrive in the coming weeks. Through volunteer support and community donations, the organization has found homes for more than 250 horses and become the largest Standardbred rescue and adoption group in New York State. “[Racehorses] are required to retire at the age of 14 but often leave the track well before that for several reasons, including not earning/ winning or suffering an injury,” exSunshine l Page 15
Devendorf, LaMontagne run unopposed By Russ Tarby Contributing Writer
Village trustees Matt Devendorf and Mike LaMontagne are running for re-election next Tuesday, June 21, in Liverpool. The two incumbents were nominated by the Republican Party’s village caucus on April 28. Initially elected as trustee in 2016, Devendorf hopes to win his fourth 2-year term, while LaMontagne seeks his third term after winning elections in 2018 and 2020. Devendorf works as director of sales and marketing at Young & Franklin/Tactair. From 2013 and 2016, he served on the village zoning board of appeal. LaMontagne is a principal architect at C&S Companies in Syracuse and served for several years on the village planning board. He serves on the C&S Education, Healthcare and Public Facilities group with a focus on higher education and aviation. LaMontagne has also served on the board of directors of FOCUS Syracuse which aims to engage the public in creating systemic change to policies to shape a healthier community. Both LaMontagne and Devendorf are running unopposed in this year’s election. Only an unexpected write-in effort could possibly jeopardize their victories. Voting will take place from noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday, June 21 at the village hall, 310 Sycamore St.
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Matt Devendorf and Mike LaMontage, pictured here with the board including Jason Recor, Mayor Gary White, and Chris Fadden, are both seeking reelection.
Democrats MIA
Democrats have failed to field any candidate for village office since 2001 and have not conducted a caucus since that year. In the 2001 election, Republican Marlene Ward defeated incumbent Democratic Mayor Jon Zappola to become the first female mayor in village history. If elected, LaMontagne and Devendorf will join three fellow Republicans -- trustees Christina Fadden and Dennis Hebert and Mayor Gary White -- to complete the village board. Republicans have dominated village government for decades and have enjoyed largely unchallenged control for the past 21 years.
World-class muralist Jonas Never is nearing the completion of an urban artwork called “Legendary Syracuse Firsts,” on the eastern wall of the Monroe Building at 333 E. Onondaga St. in downtown Syracuse. One of the four depicted probasketball stars is Breanna Stewart, an alumna of Cicero-North Syracuse High School. Now, at age 27, playing for the WNBA’s Seattle Storm, she has proven herself to be the most accomplished female basketball player ever to emerge from Central New York. Her high-school coach, Eric Smith, said she well-earned her inclusion on the historic mural. “I think it is amazing and very deserving that Bre will be honored being part of the mural,” he wrote in an email last week. “Being arguably the best player in the women’s game with plenty of great years ahead of her, it only seems right to put her up there.” The mural also features three male roundballers: Earl “Big Cat” Lloyd, the first African American to play in the NBA in 1950, Manny Breland, who was the first Black man offered a basketball scholarship at Syracuse University in 1952, and Dolph Schayes, who — as a forward for the Syracuse Nationals — was considered the first Jewish superstar in professional sports. Frank Malfitano, the jazz impresario who brainstormed the creation of “Legendary Syracuse Firsts,” said that its athletic subjects transcend sports. “The mural’s four honorees battled racism, antisemitism, sexism, child abuse and homophobia,” he observed. “Syracuse and Central New York have had a long and proud history of fighting for justice.” Stewart has been candidly open as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, penning a passionate first-person essay in The Players’ Tribune. Back when she was scoring baskets for the C-NS Northstars, Stewart became one of the most decorated high school girls’ basketball players ever. She played in the McDonald’s All-American Game and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-American Game. Those came after she was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year, the Morgan Wootten Player of the Year, USA Basketball’s Female Athlete of the Year,
and winner of the Naismith Award — an unprecedented quadruple. She went on to win four national championships and four NCAA most outstanding player awards while at UConn. Her professional career began in Russia and China and she joined the WNBA’s Seattle Storm in 2016 where she was named Rookie of the Year. As the Storm’s power forward, Breanna made the WNBA All-Star Team three years running, helped the Storm win two championships and was named Finals MVP those same two seasons and league MVP in 2018. Long before she blossomed as a professional superstar, when she was just an eighth-grader, Stewart joined the varsity C-NS Northstars. “I remember one time when we scrimmaged the JV,” Smith remembered. “Breanna was the best player on the floor by far, but she was diving all over the place. She was the hardest-working player out there. That’s how it was every single day. Every day.” Smith, who’s now the C-NS head of unified basketball, thinks Stewart’s life story is an inspiration. “Not many communities can say they are the hometown of one of the greatest of a sport,” he wrote. “Even more importantly, she is an amazing role model for all the young girls in Syracuse. I’m proud of her for continuing to advocate for social justice.” In July 2021, Breanna married EuroLeague Spanish basketball star Marta Xargay, and the couple now have a daughter, Ruby Mae, who will celebrate her first birthday in August. The mural image shows Stewart spinning a basketball atop the fingers of her left hand. Meanwhile fans saw a very different Stewart when she made her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue debut last month following a photo shoot on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands with fellow WNBA athletes such as Sue Bird and Didi Richards. Smith said he was somewhat surprised by the swimsuit shots. “I think it’s great that SI is expanding its swimsuit edition to showcase all,” he wrote. “As her former coach, however, it’s very weird. That is not the Bre I know, so seeing her in the swimsuit edition shows how much she has grown up since high school. I’m proud of her for continuing to advocate for social justice.”
Volume 130, Number 24 The Star-Review is published weekly by Eagle News. Office of Publication: 2501 James St., Suite 100, Syracuse, NY 13206. Periodical Postage Paid at Syracuse, NY 13220, USPS 316060. POSTMASTER: Send change of address to Star-Review, 2501 James St., Suite 100, Syracuse, NY 13206.
sports news: C-NS, Liverpool track stars bring home state title.
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library news: Prevent ‘summer slide’ with stories, s’mores and more.
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Calendar ������������������ 14 death notices ����������� 5 Editorial ��������������������� 6 history ��������������������� 2,7
letters ������������������������ 6 Obituaries ������������������ 5 PennySaver ���������������� 8 Sports ������������������ 14-15