Teens see what area has to offer

OWASCO - A motor boat stuffed with middle school students zoomed across Owasco Lake Monday.

Gusts of wind whipped their hair while eyes danced around the nature before them. And as the boat rocked back and forth with each passing wave, the students took in the scene truly unique to Cayuga County, one they vowed to protect as part of the Blueprint II group.

An outgrowth of A Call to Action: A Blueprint for Our Region's Future, the Blueprint II group has more than 60 sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders who take a keen interest in the place they call home and want to identify ways they can improve it.