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North Area Meals on Wheels celebrates 50 years By Ashley M. Casey Associate Editor
I
n the summer of 1974, Linda Jackson received a call from Barbara Neevel, wife of Pitcher Hill Community Church Pastor Jim Neevel: would Jackson be available to cook for Meals on Wheels over the Fourth of July weekend? Jackson’s response was, “What’s Meals on Wheels?” By the end of that year, Jackson would be intimately familiar with the mission of North Area Meals on Wheels. She was hired as NAMOW’s cook that November and went on to serve as director and board member in the decades that followed. NAMOW celebrated its golden anniversary in a low-key gala Aug. 6 at Driver’s Village in Cicero. Jackson was one of about 125 guests — current and former volunteers, staff, board members and public officials — who gathered to mark the organization’s 50th year. “To me, those are the most special guests we have here today: the ones that got this started and kept it going,” said Ron Myers, NAMOW board president. What began in 1972 as a project of the North Area Pastors’ Association with just three or four clients
Ashley M. Casey
LEFT: Current and former members of the board of directors gathered to celebrate North Area Meals on Wheels’ 50th anniversary. ABOVE: Mario’s Bakery and Wegmans provided dessert for the NAMOW anniversary gala. has blossomed into an enterprise serving 291 senior, disabled or homebound clients. NAMOW has 12 paid staff and over 300 volunteers. In 2021, the NAMOW team prepared and delivered 122,732 meals across northern Onondaga County. “Every person that helped with something was a link in a very important chain,” Jackson said. In her welcome remarks at the Aug. 6 gala, NAMOW Executive Director Jennifer Covert offered profuse thanks to the organization’s army of volunteers, staff and supporters. She also shared stories of how NAMOW has touched the lives of clients such as Paul, who
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required NAMOW’s services during a period of ill health. Once he had recovered, Paul came to the office to thank the NAMOW team. “He had just got this haircut — he looked so handsome,” Covert recalled. “He wasn’t in his wheelchair. He walked into our office with a huge smile and said, ‘You changed my life.’” While much of the gala focused on how far NAMOW has come, Covert emphasized that the Meals on Wheels mission is far from over. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain issues and rapidly rising fuel and food prices, seniors and disabled people in northern Onondaga County are in greater need than ever. JoAnne Spoto Decker, commissioner of the Onondaga County Department for Adult and Long Term Care Services, said her office has helped serve 350,000 meals across the county thanks to partnering agencies like NAMOW and other Meals on Wheels programs. “When I look [at NAMOW], I don’t see an organization. I see a
family,” she said. “It’s a privilege for us to work with NAMOW and Jennifer and her team.” Moe Harrington O’Neill, communications director for Assemblymember Al Stirpe’s office, commended the NAMOW crew for putting their “time, energy, heart and soul” into serving some of their most vulnerable neighbors. She presented Covert and NAMOW Board President Ron Myers with a proclamation from the New York State Assembly recognizing NAMOW’s 50th anniversary. As community members mingled over cake and crudités, the pioneers of NAMOW’s early days reminisced about their humble beginnings. “It’s been a pleasure connecting with some of the founders and seeing where they came from,” longtime volunteer Bob Graves said. “You can see the spirit in the room.” Jackson recounted the organization’s evolution from operating out of members’ home kitchens — “My pots and pans were at
their limit,” she said — to setting up shop in Calvary Methodist Church in Mattydale, moving to the Salina Civic Center and operating out of the former Riordan School in Mattydale. The 1980s and ‘90s were a period in which some community members balked at voting for budget increases for the North Syracuse Central School District, Jackson recalled. “The fact that Meals on Wheels was serving the elderly out of a school — I’d like to think it turned the tide,” she said of the organization’s tenancy at the Riordan School. Jackson looked around the room at the Aug. 6 gala, pointing out volunteers from NAMOW’s early days and remembering those who were no longer around to celebrate. “It was always the volunteers, people of faith, who believed it could be done,” she said. To learn more about North Area Meals on Wheels, visit namow.org.
Kevin James starring in film Legislators sound off on aquarium vote now shooting at American High By Russ Tarby Contributing Writer
When the pandemic caused entertainment industry shutdowns in 2020, comedian Kevin James decided to quarantine with the eight Kinnane Brothers and produce weekly shorts for his YouTube channel. Now James – well-known for his CBS-TV sitcoms, “King of Queens” and “Kevin Can Wait.” – continues his collaboration with the creative Kinnanes by starring in their new horror movie being filmed this month in Liverpool. The Kinnane Brothers operate a full-service independent production company that has shown a talent for crossing mediums to create bingeable movies, shows and videos. The filmmaking collective keeps it all in house, acting as writers, directors, producers, cinematographers, editors and music supervisors. This month, James -- the 57-yearold comic from Long Island -- is starring in “The Visitator,” a supernatural thriller with a hint of humor being shot in Liverpool by the Kinnanes and American High. The plot suggests elements of “The Exorcist.” After a priest commits suicide in front of his entire parish, the Vatican sends the Rev. Joseph Pierce, an Apostolic Visitator, to investigate. Father Pierce ultimately uncovers a dark history that shakes the small town to its core. According to the Film and Television Industry Alliance, the screenplay was written by John and Patrick
Kinnane and the film is directed by Charles and Daniel Kinnane. Earlier this year James starred alongside Adam Sandler in “Home Team” also directed by Charles and Daniel Kinnane. Shortly after its January premiere, “Home Team” became the number-one movie on Netflix for two weeks in a row. James also recently appeared in the inventive TV series “Sound Guy” created by Patrick Kinnane. Kevin James (whose real name is Kevin George Knipfing) first proved his mettle on the silver screen 13 years ago by starring in “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” before reprising that role in its 2015 sequel. Both of those comedies were box office blockbusters but critical flops. The comic is no stranger to Upstate NY. He studied and played varsity football at SUNY Cortland in the mid1980s. Cameras have been rolling since July 29 and continued shooting Aug. 1, 2 and 3 at 412 Cypress St. All subsequent scenes, set for Aug. 15 through 26, will be shot at the American High building at 800 Fourth St. That property, which American High CEO Jeremy Garelick purchased in 2017, is the former Liverpool High School building, constructed in 1929. According to “The Visitator” shooting schedule, producers are utilizing special effects, pyrotechnics, stunts, prop weapons and child actors. While filming on Aug. 25 at 800 Fourth St., an animal wrangler will oversee the performance of a goat.
By Ashley M. Casey Associate Editor
Last week, the Onondaga County Legislature narrowly approved a proposal to build a 600,000-gallon aquarium on Syracuse’s Inner Harbor. The 9-8 vote was a victory for Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon, who has advocated for the $85 million project for about a year. The Aug. 2 vote largely fell along party lines, with eight Republicans and one Democrat voting in favor of the aquarium. However, three Republicans — Majority Leader Brian May, Ken Bush Jr. and Tim Burtis — broke with their GOP colleagues and voted against the proposal along with five Democrats. Charles Garland was the lone Democrat on the legislature to vote for the aquarium. Onondaga County Legislature Chair James Rowley (R-2nd District, Clay) said in a statement provided by the Legislature Republican Caucus that the aquarium is “going to be a huge benefit to the community.” May, who represents the 1st District (Lysander), told Eagle Newspapers that he too is “confident the aquarium will benefit the community” in terms of “increased tourism, growth along the Inner Harbor, increased sales tax revenue, education for students and improved quality of life options for families.” However, May had enough doubts about the proposal to cast a no vote. “These benefits were attractive enough for some colleagues to favor the project, but they weren’t quite enough to earn my vote,” he said. “After filtering all of the politically motivated noise and truly evaluating the aquarium proposal on its merits, I had concerns with the sustainability of the business model, future capital expenses and the con-
spicuous absence of support from the city of Syracuse.” The county is looking to break ground on the aquarium next year with a target completion date of 2024. Much of the funding for the project could come from the county’s $89 million share of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money from the federal government. According to the Onondaga County Aquarium Feasibility Study, released in October 2021, the 80,000-square-foot aquarium could draw between 400,000 and 570,000 visitors each year. The study assumes an adult admission ticket price of $21.95 with discount options for seniors, students and military servicemembers. The aquarium could generate as much as $12 million in annual revenue. “The stable year earned revenue potential for the Onondaga County Aquarium is $10.4 million in current dollar value. Earned revenue would be supplemented by a variety of non-earned or contributed revenues such as gifts, grants, endowment proceeds and gifts-in-kind that are assumed at $1.6 million,” reads the study. The feasibility study also estimates the annual operating expenses would be $11.3 million. Legislator Debra Cody (R-5th District, Salina, Clay) sponsored the Aug. 2 resolution. “This was not an easy vote, but ultimately, the vote is about using surplus funds on an educational and tourism attraction that I believe will grow and enhance our community, so I am choosing to put my faith in this vision for Onondaga County,” Cody said in the GOP Caucus statement. While Cody is hoping the aquarium will attract visitors to the hotels and restaurants in Salina, the aquarium is not her only hope Aquarium l Page 2
Volume 130, Number 32
recipe of the month: Keep cool with this recipe for fruit salad.
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schools: SRM students bake treats for Helping Hounds.
CHICKEN DINNER
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Calendar ������������������ 11 death notices ����������� 3 Editorial ��������������������� 4 history ���������������������� 11
in the service ������������ 3 letters ������������������������ 4 PennySaver ���������������� 6
Summer Dinner TO GO ONLY Pitcher Hill Community Church 605 Bailey Road, North Syracuse
Saturday, August 13th from 11:00 am - Gone t ONLY $1100
Half Chicken, Salt Potatoes, BBQ Beans, Rolls and Dessert and a bottle of water
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