Author: Courtney Kless
Courtney Kless is the Editor in Chief of Family Times. Courtney is originally from Maryland. She earned her Master’s degree in Magazine, Newspaper and Online Journalism from Syracuse University. Courtney began her career as a sports journalist, then spent several years working in higher education, before joining the company in August 2019. She enjoys traveling, reading and hiking, and recently adopted a Labrador Retriever, Bailey.
The Positivity Project Club has a motto: #otherpeoplematter. The group has set out to share the importance of building relationships. “We know, statistically, that for students to be successful at school, and then far beyond school, feeling connected to people, staff and their peers is going to set them up for greater success in life,” says Meredith Riggs, the club’s advisor and social worker at C.W. Baker High School. “So that’s really important to us. We want everyone to feel included and welcomed.” The Positivity Project, also known as P2, was already in place at the district’s elementary schools, starting…
Social painting events have grown in popularity in recent years. With that in mind, I headed to The Painting Café in Baldwinsville to get in touch with my inner artist. The Painting Café moved to its current space in the Titcomb Center this past June. According to owner Johnnie-Lynn Fioramonti, painting on canvas is most popular, but they also offer pottery painting, board painting, paint pouring and mosaics (among other things) for individuals and groups of all levels – and you can bring your own adult beverages. “What I try to offer is a relaxing, slowed down, calm environment,” she…
Kayla McKeon’s time with Special Olympics New York began on a soccer field. And it didn’t take long for her parents to also become involved. “She fell in love with it right away,” Mark says. “She made a lot of friends, loved the competition, and just met a whole lot of parents and people in the same situation that we were. We probably watched for about a month and we said, ‘No, we need to get involved.’” Twenty years later, the Central New York family continues to participate year-round, Mark and his wife Patti as coaches, and Kayla as a…
UPDATE: Due to COVID-19 and a recent recommendation by the CDC to cancel or postpone events with more than 50 people for eight weeks (http://ow.ly/OiPg50yMUE1), we have decided that it is in the best interest of our readers to cancel this year’s Kids Expo. Please email [email protected] with any questions. We appreciate your support. The second weekend of February, Triton Robbins competed in a monster truck event in Virginia. The weekend before, he was in Georgia. The next weekend, he was heading to Alabama, followed by trips to South Carolina and Georgia to close out the month. So how…
March has always been one of my favorite months for one reason: college basketball. Though my bracket predictably falls apart in the first round every year, there is nothing quite like an upset. I’m still talking about the time my alma mater, UMBC, defeated top-seeded Virginia, and that was two years ago. But I also happen to be a lifelong Syracuse University basketball fan, so this month’s Treat Yourself was a no-brainer. One recent Saturday night, I ventured downtown to the PressRoom Pub to watch the Orange host Duke. First opened in April 2018, the pub’s name (and décor) is…
Addressing the Digital Divide Onondaga County families can check out more than books at their local library. Tech packs are now available at branches throughout the county, and there are plans to add more. Each tech pack includes a Chromebook and internet hotspot (with chargers), as well as a guide, and patrons are able to check them out for three weeks. Last winter, with a pilot program already in place at a few branches, County Executive Ryan McMahon announced that the county would invest $100,000 to purchase more packs. According to Christian Zabriskie, executive director of the Onondaga County Public…
During the 2018-19 school year, a group of students from Auburn Junior High School collected more than 35,000 bottle caps for a local project. Those bottle caps were later turned into benches and placed at the district’s five elementary schools. This year, those students wanted to do more, and the Environmental Club was founded. “In college, I took a class entirely about plastics. Ever since, I’ve been hyper-aware of what their impact is,” says Julie Feheley, the club’s adviser and a Technology teacher at the school. “In my class, one day a year, I would teach them what plastics are,…
Are you looking for somewhere to eat for Valentine’s Day? Do you just need a night out? If so, consider Ichiban Japanese Steakhouse in Liverpool. My husband and I headed there for dinner and a show. Located on Old Liverpool Road, the restaurant first opened its doors in 1975. You can sit at a non-cooking table or a hibachi table, where guests can watch as their food is prepared. I recommend the latter to get the full experience, especially if you’ve never visited a hibachi restaurant before – it was our first trip. Manager Bridget Hodgson says the chicken teriyaki…
A cord blood transplant saved Mildred Bethea’s life. She survived battles with breast cancer and a type of acute leukemia, the second of which Bethea says “catapulted me to death’s door,” before being diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome. After Bethea went into remission for a third time, her doctor recommended a bone marrow transplant. Though she was unable to find an adult donor match, she did find one at a public cord blood bank. “At that point, it became an issue of what they would have to do to me in order to give me the transplant because I had been…
One afternoon in early December, students from East Syracuse Elementary School and a group of local senior citizens sipped on hot chocolate and created marshmallow snow people. They are all part of an intergenerational program at the school. “Mary and I thoughtfully put our heads together and realized the greatest resource we have is our senior citizens in the community. The cost is free but the experience is priceless.” – Denise McGinley, Third grade teacher at East Syracuse Elementary Joan Tolhurst, affectionately known as ‘Grandma T,’ has been part of that program since the beginning. “It’s just an amazing program because…