Back to School
Sarah Hall 09/11/09
It’s that time of year again – the leaves are starting to change, the days are growing shorter and the temperatures are dropping. It’s the time kids dread and parents cheer: it’s time to go back to school.
So what’s new in your school district this year? Read on to find out.
What’s new in…
Baldwinsville
The Baldwinsville Central School District is looking forward to kicking off another new school year. This year, in addition to new students, the district will welcome 11 new teachers and several new administrators at all levels.
In the district office, Rocco Nalli is now the district’s director of special education. He was previously the assistant director of special education...
CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: Back to school, Baldwinsville, Liverpool, North Syracuse
County to help fund CanTeen
Sarah Hall 09/11/09
Thanks to an agreement between Onondaga County and the town of Cicero, teens in the North Syracuse area will still have a place to go after school.
The County Legislature passed a resolution last month authorizing County Executive Joanie Mahoney to enter into an agreement with Cicero to help fund the CanTeen, a teen center on Route 11 that provides a haven for teens in the North Syracuse school district. The center found itself at risk of closing late last year due to state budget cuts and has been fundraising prodigiously ever since.
The CanTeen offers a daily drop-in center with games, homework help and more for kids ages 13 to 19 during non-school hours...
CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: CanTeen, county, funding
Mixed-use zone being examined by town board at Taft Road site
Sarah Hall 09/11/09
Imagine a place where townhouses, residential homes and parks mingle with businesses like shops, banks and restaurants.
That’s the goal behind Clay’s Planned Development District (PDD) zone, which combines different uses under one zoning code.
“Over the past 10 years or so, we’ve looked at several of our [zoning] ordinances,” said Councilor Naomi Bray, who helped write the code. “A few years ago, we felt that there was the potential to provide in the town some flexibility. Rather than having a parcel here that’s retail, a parcel here that’s office and another parcel here that’s another usage, we would have larger pieces of land – a minimum of 25 acres – with more of a coordinated umbrella usage that would allow flexibility within that specific area...
CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: Clay, PPD, zoning, board
Candidate profiles: Second district primary
Sarah Hall 09/11/09
David Stewart
Biographical info (age, address, family, education, employer):
34 years old
Residence: 7719 Ensign Circle, Liverpool
Education: SUNY Cortland, BA political science, 1998; Syracuse University College of Law, Juris Doctor, 2001
Employment: AnCor, Inc., General Counsel
Why are you running for county legislator?
Many of us, myself included, go to work, manage our homes and tend to our families. We only notice the government when we interact with it, but in recent months employment is down, taxes are up, and it is increasingly difficult to support our families. It is no longer okay to leave financial decisions for the county in the hands of elected officials, who either by design or default have become career politicians...
CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: Second district, Clay, Dougherty, Stewart, primary
Eagle Scout creates signs for historic park
Dorothy Heller 09/11/09
In January, Olakunle Akinpelu, a member of Boy Scout Troop 203, made a presentation to the Clay Historical Association. His idea was to construct two signs for the Historic Park – an entrance sign and a site map of the park buildings – to earn his Eagle badge by performing a community-wide project to benefit the whole community.
With backing of the group and assistance from Jim Palumbo, his Eagle coach, Kunle, as he is known by his friends, started. He met with the parks commissioner and the planning board for approval and direction. With donations from the community of materials for the signs, he made the association aware of his progress...
CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: Historic Park, signs, Eagle Scout
Military courtesy room celebrates first anniversary
Katie Calzada 09/11/09
Last month, the Gregory J. Harris Military Courtesy Room at Syracuse’s Hancock International Airport marked their first anniversary of operation. The courtesy room has two adjoining rooms to accommodate the troops going through Hancock Airport. The first room welcomes troops, offering individualized and microwaveable snacks and drinks including coffee, soft drinks and bottled water. Next door is the TV/lounge room. There are several comfortable recliners, a large flat-screen TV, a Play Station 2, a laptop computer, DVDs and more. The room is similar to a USO yet is privately funded through donations from businesses, fraternal organizations and individuals. They have no connection to the Department of Defense. The room is named after Cpl. Gregory J...
CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: Military Courtesy Room, Hancock, student reporter
WIC provides nutrition program for women, infants and children
Susan Lindsley 09/11/09
You may have seen the signs for WIC in a variety of stores, or gotten in line behind someone who is paying with WIC checks. But what is it? The WIC program is a special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children. When the federally funded program began in 1974, 88,000 people participated. By 2008, it had grown to 8.7 million people. Ten thousand four hundred and forty-eight people in Onondaga County used the program in 2008. Of those, 50 percent were children.
WIC serves low-income pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women, as well as infants and children up to age 5 who are at nutrition risk. Participants must meet income guidelines, a state residency requirement and be individually determined to be at “nutrition risk” by a health professional...
CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: WIC, Bayberry
