Air Force Airman Benjamin N. O’Donnell graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas.

By Miguel Balbuena, Community Correspondent Renard Cuthrell walks two miles with three of his little sisters and his little brother to eat at the Southside Church of Christ soup kitchen. He has been leading the little ones there every Saturday for the last three years. “I stay after the meal to help with the clean up,” Cuthrell said. “We mess …

By Kumasi Knight, Community Correspondent A group of neighborhood volunteers and Corcoran High School students pulled weeds, yanked tree branches and cleared fields at Elmwood Park on a windy Saturday morning in an effort to revive the park. “These parks here have terrific potential,” said Patty Weisse, of the Baltimore Woods Nature Center. “With the price of gas going up, …

Several made it out to the Friday evening showing of the “Faith and Hope Documentary: A City’s Fight for Peace,” which previewed at Sophistications Cafe in downtown Syracuse. The screening opened with readings of poetry about youth lost to street violence followed by a musical performance. The documentary focused on how violence and drugs dominates in our city due to …

By Natasha Schuyler Mother’s Day is a time to spend with moms. Customers at DQ’s Diner plan on doing just that. “We’re going to celebrate it at home,” says Cathy who has lived in the South Side for 33 years. “A nice dinner, a reading of the cards and all that good stuff.”

Health. Fitness. Eating habits. Diabetes. K. Bruce Simmons, internist at SUNY Upstate Medical University, discussed them all at the “Churches Against Diabetes” seminar hosted April 30 at the New Jerusalem Church of God in Christ, 1641 S. Salina St. The seminar was part of a rotation of community health seminars and discussions within local Syracuse churches provided by the Genesis …

Gardeners help Somalian tradition thrive by sharing South Side space As a boy in Somalia, Haji Adan gardened two 10-pace by 10-pace pieces of land each day. Taking care of a plot of land is the first step in the transition to adulthood in Somali Bantu culture. That tradition stopped for Adan’s family about four years ago when he moved …

Photo exhibit at Syracuse Stage reflects theme from ‘Fences’ Roosevelt “Rick” Wright Jr. and his son sat in a photography studio for nearly three hours while photographer Brantley Carroll took more than 300 photos. Wright, a professor at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, and his son, Rubin Wright III, posed for a photography exhibit that …

Debra Person, founder of Exodus 3 Ministries, will speak at the end of the Tomorrow’s Neighborhoods Today (TNT) meeting at the South Side Innovation Center at 6 tonight. She will address community members about the purpose and mission of the Christian-based shelter for women that she plans to open by the end of this year and that recently received nonprofit …

Kevin Frank has been named the executive director of the Brady Faith Center. He will replace the current executive director, David Allen, who will retire from his post after three and a half years of service. Frank, whose appointment is effective May 3, will join Father John Schopfer, Brady’s pastoral director to carry out the mission of serving those in …