CHM Memorial Blood Drive
Melissa Renahan 01/29/09
When teacher Dan Cresci passed away three years ago it was a devastating to loss to both his immediate family and his extended family at Chesnut Hill Middle School where he’d worked for over two years as a social studies teacher. The only upside was that his coworkers had already found a way to honor his memory and his wishes; by holding an annual blood drive in his name.
Based on a request from Cresci that people donate blood, the school had partnered up with the American Red Cross to host a drive and raise awareness about the country’s blood shortage. The drive is equipped to take both a standard blood donation as well as an apheresis donation, in which donors give only select blood components like platelets and plasma...
CATEGORY: General Society
Save the CanTeen
Melissa Renahan 01/29/09
In 2008, 41 percent of the kids attending the CanTeen were from Clay. As of this moment in 2009, the program has enough money to stay afloat for the next three or four months before they will be forced to shut down due to a lack of funding. In a bittersweet twist, the CanTeen, which defines itself as a “relationship” and not a program, recently celebrated its 10th anniversary of making a difference in this community.
When Gov. Patterson proposed his budget this January some of the cutbacks hit close to home, specifically one that slashed the $160k budget usually provided from the state to run the CanTeen by $80k. Furthermore the NSCSD, facing its own budget cuts, will be forced to pull the busing it has provided come September...
CATEGORY: General Society
Route 31 Study Continues
Sarah Hall 01/29/09
The Syracuse Metropolitan Transportation Council (SMTC) is continuing to work on a study of the Route 31 corridor between Clay and Cicero in an attempt to address long-term traffic issues. The second of three public meetings to discuss the study was held in late January at Cicero Elementary School; about 100 people, including town and county officials, attended.
At the meeting, SMTC officials sought public opinion on several options they had come up with to develop land use and transportation plans along the corridor. Those options were based on goals set by residents at the first public meeting, held in November of 2007.
ˇ§At the first meeting, we asked people to set goals and prioritize them,ˇ¨ said Meghan Vitale of the SMTC...
CATEGORY: General Society
Give Your Life a Smile
Sue Lindsley 01/29/09
355. That is the number of children who are in foster care in Onondaga County. 250. That is the number of certified foster homes in Onondaga County. Big numbers when you think that each one represents a child. I’m sure it could be worse; the number of children could outnumber the homes by much more. There are different circumstances throughout their lives that have brought the children into the system, usually through no fault of their own. But here they are waiting for families willing to take care of them, love and support them, and treat them as their own…for a week, a month, a year.
Last year, I went through the process to become a foster parent. I had thought about it for years, back and forth, wondering if I could do it...
CATEGORY: General Society
