The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
On Point helps college kids in need
On Point for College: Program offers 1-to-1 guidance for those in need
ONEIDA >> There’s a lot more to going to college than simply paying tuition and attending classes.
Some area residents are stymied by the need for help filling out financial aid forms. Others are hindered by the lack of transportation, while there are students who may need a high school equivalency degree before they can enroll in secondary education.
Not everyone has a support system -- either through family or their own guidance counselors -- to help them in the transition to higher education. That’s where On Point for College, with their brand-new access site for people in the Oneida area, comes in with invaluable information and coaching. On Point for College is now offering weekly office hours for oneon-one student advisement each Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at their access site opened on March 2 in the Gorman Foundation Community Center. Other than a slowdown caused by the mid-March snow storm, the outreach has been going well for the new location, according to On Point college access advisor Astena Smith.
“We’ve been doing really well so far,” she said. “It’s great to be able to reach out to students in need.”
She met recently for some one-on-one with student Madeline Cortes of Vernon, who said she wants to be a phlebotomist in the near future. Thanks to her conversations at On Point, Cortes said she is well on her way to earning a certification in the field.
“They’ve been a big help to me,” Cortes complimented.
Kevin Marken will oversee the new site and the program expansion for the Syracuse-based On Point for College, explaining they will reach out to the people who often “fall through the cracks,” including youth from low income families, rural residents, veterans, refugees, and even older people who might want to either return or go to college for the first time to expand their own education. On Point will help with all aspects of the process, including filling out financial aid forms, making college visits, buying college supplies and clothing, checking on summer orientation programs, locating transportation to and from college, and finding safe housing. Rebecca Kohler, head of On Point for Jobs throughout central New York, is working closely with the students as well. A former college admissions director herself, she said she is glad to be able to lend an experienced hand to students who may find themselves a bit overwhelmed by the whole college seeking process.
“For some 18-year-olds this can be mind-boggling,” Kohler explained, adding they will continue to work with the students even after they enroll in their classes. “And even after they have their college schedule, they still might need to find a job that works around that schedule. We will always stay right there with our students -- we say, ‘Once at On Point, always at On Point.’”
Kohler said their programs come at no cost to the students, paid for through the generosity of foundations and grants. The new Oneida access site was made possible thanks to a twoyear, $30,000 grant from the Oneida-based Gorman Foundation, joining several other community-based organizations in the Gorman Northside Plaza as part of a broader outreach for area residents.
Gorman Foundation presi-
dent Amanda Larson said they gave the On Point group some funding for their Utica location a few years ago, and kept in touch. When they were looking to expand their offerings at their own community center in Oneida, Larson said they knew On Point was a great match for what they wanted to host there.
“That’s what we want in this non-profit center -now we can really build up the people in need in the Madison County area,” Larson explained.
“We are absolutely thrilled that the Gorman Foundation has given us a place for our access site here,” Marken said.
Working hand-in-hand with the other organizations within the plaza makes receiving the muchneeded information a little easier for persons who might need to see more than one service. Rather than having to drive around for their visits, having them all in one place makes them even more accessible to all -- like now having On Point and BOCES equivalency programs together in the same building.
“On Point for College is an invaluable support for our students attending High School Equivalency classes at the Oneida Access site,” complimented Madison- Oneida BOCES case manager Carla Gualtieri. “Not only do they walk our college-bound students through the entire post-secondary experience, they also make the dream of attending college a reality to those who thought it was never an option. We are very fortunate to have this organization in our community at the Gorman Center.”
On Point for College is open every Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Gorman Foundation Community Center, located at 1081 GormanNorthside Plaza in Oneida. For more information, call Marken at (315) 790-5588 or visit: www.onpointforcollege.org that Saturday to piggyback on the theme of town-wide cleanup and groups like 4-H or Scouts are invited to use the opportunity for community service cleanup projects.
The proposed road plan at this juncture is as follows. Changes may be recommended by Town Highway Superintendent Alex Hodge once all roads are completed thawing:
• Local road repairs – Briggs Road, gravel and oil and stone, $50,000, road patch, 200 tons at $12,000.
• CHIPs projects – Musician Road and Thompson Road - $110,000 conditional on state funding.
• NYRising funds– Carncross Road Bridge, hazard mitigation project, $93,000 has been designated by NY State.
Town board members also took the following actions during the March 13 meeting:
• Held a public hearing for a proposed amendment in dog licensing law language and then adopted the proposed local law language changes that will allow the Dog Control Officer to issue tickets for inadequate food, shelter or medical care of dogs without having to begin a criminal proceeding.
• Established compensation for assessor for the town wide revaluation which will be completed in 2018 along with Georgetown and Eaton.
• Finalized the 2016 budget which showed significant reserves in the highway fund and surpluses in general fund thatwill beutilized against the tax levy in 2017 and will also help purchase a new mowing tractor on order from the town without having to pursue bonding.
• Approved the purchase of a sign for the front of the town office parking lot that will be illuminated and keep residents updated on town activities that can be viewed from the road.
• Discussed the current broadband funding proposal by Gov. Cuomo that seems to target parts of the township that are not the source of most of the complaints and reviewed an advocacy strategy with Madison County for clarifying where the broadband infrastructure expansion by Charter Communications formerly known as Time Warner Cable would occur and how to make sure all the residentswho completed forms for Madison County in its application process would be covered. Lebanon received funding for approximately 77 units but it remains unclear how and where this will be done and Goldstein complained that the state is not being forthcoming with information. Lebanon was one of three towns to receive the broadband expansion funding; the other two are Georgetown and Brookfield.
• Reviewed status of a proposed local law ban on retail plastic bags for most establishments being considered by the Madison County Solid Waste and Recycling Committee.
• Reported that Hearthstone Bakery has withdrawn its grant funding request with the Partnership for Community Devel- opment but the Kriemhild butter plant expansion has moved to the contract stage and documents have been submitted by the town to the appropriate state agency.
• Reviewed the internal audit report by the Internal Audit Committee consisting of councilors Carol King and Marie Morgan. The committee audited the town supervisor, town justice, town clerk/tax collector and code enforcement officer and reported all the audits went well and all departments had done a good job and were in compliance and no money was missing.
• Will await final recommendations from the town Planning Board on the proposed changes to the town Land Management Local Law.
Town officials are also considering raising the price of a dog license $3 to help cover more of the costs of the dog control officer through user fees rather than taxpayer dollars. Board members will review what other rural towns in Madison County are charging at their next boardmeetingbefore making a final decision.