|
|
|
|
ACTS-ion’s Fall 2006 in Review
ACTS Signs Minority Youth for Police Jobs.
Forty plus people, seven pastors, and 12 churches participated in an event with Deputy Chief of Syracuse Police Frank Fowler in order to recruit minority youth and young adults to the Police Force on Tuesday Oct. 24th at Living Waters COGIC (Pastor Nebraski Carter, ACTS Vice President). Twelve minority candidates filled out the application for the Civil Service Exam. The applicants will be provided with a study course and guided by Deputy Chief Fowler. According to him, the event was an "overwhelming success.” The event came forth from a conversation begun during the ACTS Oct. 10 Clergy Caucus, when Deputy Chief Fowler expressed difficulty in recruiting minorities. We only had a week to put the event together – the deadline to apply for the Civil Service Exam was Oct. 25th. ACTS is building a stronger working relationship with the City’s effort to diversify the public safety force. Prior to the event, ACTS leaders also met vis-à-vis this issue with Syracuse Mayor Matt J. Driscoll, the Syracuse Chief of the Fire Department and the Syracuse Chief of Police.
Fix up grant awarded to ACTS.
ACTS has received a total of $3,500 in grants through the Cultural Resources Council (CRC) for the State Street Bridge Mural Project to beautify the railroad bridge by Hopps Memorial CME on South State St. The project, which is to be finished by the summer of 2007, is planned to place murals on both sides of the bridge that will depict the heritage and hope of the surrounding community. Leaders from two ACTS member congregations – Hopps Memorial CME and Living Waters COGIC – have joined to push for the project’s becoming a reality.
ACTS cuts red tape at Common Council.
“ACTS wins…” reported the Syracuse Post-Standard on Tuesday Nov. 21st, 2006. Indeed, the Common Council postponed a vote to name candidates to the CNY Regional Transit Authority Board (CENTRO) until ACTS has a chance to meet with the candidates and present them with concerns from bus-riders in its faith communities.
Thirty-five leaders from eight ACTS member congregations walked into City Hall with “red-tape” covering their mouths to symbolize the bureaucratic red-tape that has silenced the community’s voice. Two out of three city seats on the CNY RTA board of directors had been vacant for years as Governor Pataki failed to respond to the Common Council’s nominations. Pastor of Plymouth Congregational Rev. Craig Schaub, the ACTS Research and Action Chair, has been an ardent advocate to expedite the process, but the vote was scheduled to take place too suddenly, without sufficient community review.
Rev. Nebraski Carter opened the Common Council business meeting with a powerful prayer, agitating that the process must be more democratic and that we must cut through the red-tape. At this time, all the ACTS leaders took their red-tape off their lips and said loud and clear… “Amen!”
ACTS leaders at the center of CENTRO.
Following the Nov. 20 action at the Common Council, ACTS met with potential candidate to the CNY RTA Board Mr. Terrence Demas on bus-rider concerns. At a hearing hosted by CENTRO later in December, ACTS leaders raised questions and concerns on the new proposed site of the CENTRO transportation hub as well as on general services provided by the agency. CENTRO promised to have ACTS at the table. |
HOME 
ACTS-ion Report |
