Week in Review: Jan. 11-15 2022
Tuesday
Otsego County reported another COVID-19 death Monday.
The county's 97th death from the virus, the second of 2022, was included in a report on the Otsego County Department of Health website.
There were 92 new cases reported Monday, bringing the total of active cases to 959. There were six people hospitalized with the disease.
The seven day average of positive tests was 15.3%.
The department now has a portal for people to report at-home test results. It can be found of the department's website at https://tinyurl.com/266sz9dv .
Chenango County reported 840 active cases, including 369 in vaccinated people. There were 10 people hospitalized and 1,254 under active quarantine, according to a media release from Chenango County Public Health. None of the hospitalized people were vaccinated.
Schoharie County reported 26 new cases. Of those tested Sunday, 18.8% were positive for the disease.
Schoharie County residents can report results of at-home tests at https://tinyurl.com/2p8ace8w .
Delaware County has reduced its reporting to weekly. The most recent report was Friday, Jan. 7.
Statewide, Gov. Kathy Hochul reported 135 COVID-19 deaths Sunday.
"We have the tools to fight this winter surge, and how quickly we turn the corner will depend on our actions," Hochul said in a media release. "Please get your second dose if you haven't already, and get the booster if you're eligible. Parents and guardians, please get your children vaccinated. Wear a mask to help stop the spread, and stay home if you aren't feeling well. Let's learn from the lessons of the past and finally put this winter surge behind us."
Another area college campus will become a COVID-19 testing spot.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Monday that SUNY Cobleskill is among 10 SUNY campus-based COVID-19 test sites that will open beginning Tuesday, Jan. 11.
“We are not defenseless as we fight the winter surge: vaccines, boosters and testing can help us slow the spread and protect our loved ones,” Hochul said in a media release. “These new SUNY sites build on our ongoing efforts to make testing more available as part of our Winter Surge Plan, and will be part of more than 2,000 locations statewide where New Yorkers can easily get tested for COVID-19. We are utilizing every possible State resource to keep New Yorkers safe and protect our fragile health care system.”
The Cobleskill testing site is in the Bouck Hall Ballroom at 106 Suffolk Circle in Cobleskill. Testing at the site will begin Jan. 13, according to the release.
Hours of operation will be 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Appointments can be scheduled at https://tinyurl.com/ycktcajz.
The other new sites are at SUNY campuses in Geneseo, New Paltz, Potsdam, Brockport, Canton, Farmingdale, Fredonia, Morrisville and at the SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Utica.
Each site will maintain capacity for approximately 225 appointments per day and up to 50 walk-ins, the release said.
ALBANY — Fraudulent activity targeting the $2.1 billion Excluded Workers Fund (EWF) has prompted state officials to put a block on the ability of cardholders to get cash benefits from automatic teller machines, CNHI learned Monday.
The fund has been billed as a lifeline for individuals, many of them undocumented immigrants, who were ineligible for federal stimulus payments last year. Nearly all of the recipients of the program have received the state's maximum benefit — $15,600 per applicant.
Recipients were issued Electronic Benefits Transfer cards, similar to debit cards, which at least initially could have been used at ATM machines for quick withdrawals of cash.
The state Department of Labor, responding to an inquiry from CNHI, acknowledged the ability of recipients to use those cards at ATMs was terminated Dec. 28.
"Out of an abundance of caution, we suspended the option to withdraw cash from ATMs for cardholders with a remaining balance on their prepaid cards," Aaron Fallon, a Labor Department spokesman said.
The move, he said in a statement, is designed to protect New Yorkers from "becoming a victim of fraud" and ensure the money goes to the intended recipients, while blocking "bad actors from preying upon New Yorkers."
"These cardholders have the option to make free withdrawals in-person at most banks and credit unions that accept Visa debit cards," Fallon added.
State Police, meanwhile, confirmed its detectives are assisting the Labor Department in an investigation into suspected misuse of the cards.
State officials provided no details on the extent of the suspected fraud in the distribution of the benefits.
Advocates for the fund have already initiated a new campaign seeking to convince Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Legislature that they should channel an additional $3 billion into the program this year after the state was swamped by applications for the benefits last year.
State Sen. Dan Stec, R-Queensbury, who opposed the creation of the fund, called the suspected fraud disturbing. He urged State Police and Hochul "to throw the full force of their authority behind this investigation so the taxpayers can find out what is going on."
Stec argued fraud within the program was inevitable as its beneficiaries include people who are in the country illegally.
"This is taxpayer money, and they are throwing it around like it is not real," Stec said.
A coordinator for the campaign for additional funding, Bianca Guerrero of Fund Excluded Workers, raised no objections to ending the use of ATM withdrawals with the cards.
"Our priority is making sure workers have access to the full level of benefits they are eligible for." Guerrero said. "We support this decision to protect workers. The safest option for workers is to withdraw cash using teller desks at VISA-participating financial institutions."
Guerrero said there are several reasons why her organization believes the fund should be replenished with $3 billion.
"There was overwhelming demand for the fund from the time it first opened in August, and after just nine weeks the fund had been depleted." Guerrero said.
She added that "geographic hurdles and outstanding policy issues have kept thousands of eligible workers from applying, especially in upstate New York and more rural areas of the state."
"Upstate organizations didn't have enough time to hire staff, do sufficient outreach, or assist workers with applications," she said. "Many consulates were slammed, and in many cases, it took workers weeks or even months to renew passports and IDs and get the necessary documentation ready."
Lawmakers, she said, have voiced "significant support" for sending more state money to the fund this year.
An additional 295,000 people would qualify for the EWF if the state provides the $3 billion now being sought, according to a projection from the Fiscal Policy Institute.
Labor Department data indicates that 130,536 people had their applications for EWF money approved out of the 350,823 claims that were submitted.
The state's rules for the program mandated that applicants could not be asked about their immigration or citizenship status. Those seeking the benefit had to be ineligible for unemployment benefits or other federal COVID-19 relief income. The recipients had to show they lost part or all of their income after February 2020 because of COVID-19. They also had to earn less than $26,208 over the past year.
On Sept. 3, five weeks before a surge in applications led to the shutdown of accepting new applications, Hochul announced payments were "going out ahead of schedule to provide these individuals with the financial relief they need and deserve."
On Oct. 8, state Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon made reference to the rapid processing of applications and issuance of funds, thanking advocates of those seeking the benefits.
"We could not have stood up this program as quickly as we did, or reach the amount of individuals that we did, without their continued support," Reardon said.
The program released documents in 13 different languages and a multi-lingual call center staffed by 600 workers assisted would-be recipients.
State Conservative Party Chairman Gerard Kassar, a critic of the Excluded Workers Fund, said it and other benefit programs being carried out by the state and federal government during the pandemic have lacked proper oversight.
"Money should never be disbursed unless it can be accounted for," Kassar said.
The Labor Department advises that cardholders can continue to use their existing cards to purchase items at stories and online, provided those retailers accept Visa debit cards.
"The only change is cardholders’ ability to withdraw cash from an ATM; all other terms and conditions contained in the cardholder agreement remain unchanged," the Labor Department reported.
The state hired Navient, a company that runs call centers and collects student loans, to interact with applicants for the funds.
Cardholders who have questions about their benefits are being asked to contact the program's customer service center at (833) 458-4262.
The Delaware County Department of Health is allowing school districts in Delaware County to opt into a "test to stay" program to monitor the spread of COVID-19.
According to a press release from the Department of Health, the program allows asymptomatic students, faculty and staff exposed in school to test for COVID-19 without having to quarantine at home.
Those who qualify for this can only come to school and cannot participate in extracurricular activities, and must comply with other quarantine rules. People who are exposed at home or elsewhere are not allowed to participate.
Delaware Academy and Central School District at Delhi Superintendent Kelly Zimmerman explained how the program would work. She said once a person has been exposed in school the first question asked is if the person has been vaccinated or not.
Vaccinated students are able to stay in class as long as they are asymptomatic. Unvaccinated students who are asymptomatic will also be able to stay in class as long as parents agree to have them tested throughout the quarantine period. She said the students can remain in the classroom as long as they test negative or show no signs of symptoms.
The DCHD received a memo from the state Department of Health on Dec. 23 about the TTS program.
The state Department of Health said in its memo: "After careful review, CDC has released two studies showing the impact of TTS. With this new information, NYSDOH supports TTS as a strategy that allows asymptomatic unvaccinated school-based close contacts (e.g. students, teachers, school staff) to avoid school exclusion (but not other restrictions of quarantine) by testing negative through serial testing using rapid NAAT or antigen tests during a seven-day period following exposure."
The memo provided a link to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention website that cited studies conducted in the United Kingdom, the Los Angeles School District and in Lake County, Illinois that allowed exposed asymptomatic students to stay in the classroom as long as they were tested regularly, masked and kept three feet away from other students.
The memo said it would allow Pre-K through twelfth grade schools to implement the program. It is not allowed at Pre-K only centers as the CDC has not endorsed the program in those centers, the memo said.
The memo said it was up to the local health departments to ensure local districts remain current in reporting all COVID-19 test results, to assess what local resources are available and ensure every district has the opportunity to participate in the program. The districts that opt into the program must submit their plans and get approval from the county health department.
Public Health Programs Manager at Delaware County Public Health Heather Warner said the TTS program is "used in schools to minimize absenteeism and learning loss which can occur during traditional quarantine at home."
Sidney Superintendent Eben Bullock said the district got permission to start the program Wednesday, Jan. 5. He said there were a number of students in the elementary, middle and high school that qualified for the program. Each student must get parental permission to be tested regularly. Since the testing started, "we haven't had a single student test positive."
He said students are tested by the school nurses and "as long as they are asymptomatic and produce a negative test, they can stay in school. Parents are very appreciative we are doing this."
In addition to the new program, the Sidney district was able to distribute a take-at-home test to every single student starting Jan. 3. "We got a delivery of tests at 10 a.m. and had a drive-thru pickup for parents from 1 to 6 p.m. that day. For parents who couldn't make it, we sent home a test with the child."
Zimmerman said its TTS program will start Jan. 11. She said it would have started Jan. 10, but it was a snow day due to icy roads and also in part to COVID-19 exposure. She said the school buildings were "thoroughly disinfected" Monday.
"As soon as we got the memo from the state health department we got to work writing our plan," Zimmerman said. "When I spoke to parents, they were thrilled we were offering this program. One parent told me remote learning didn't work for her child."
Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221. Follow her @DS_VickyK on Twitter.
Oneonta High School was the site of the Oneonta Rotary-Ross Cordell Wrestling Tournament on Friday and Saturday, with 15 teams from across the region doing battle.
Unatego/Unadilla Valley were the top performers among the local schools placing second overall.
Elsewhere, Walton/Delhi finished fifth, Oneonta finished tenth, Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton/Harpursville placed eleventh, and Cooperstown/Milford placed thirteenth. Chenango Forks finished first overall.
Unatego/Unadilla Valley had three first-place finishers in the tournament: Caleb Cole at 110 pounds, Josh Meade at 145, and Jarrett Thayer at 189.
The other local first-place finishers were Walton/Delhi’s Nate Merwin (138) and Brady Buttice of B-G/A/H (160).
Earning second place from the local ranks were Wyatt Meade of Unatego/UV (118), Jose Bivar of B-G/A/H (126), T.J. O’Connor of Cooperstown/Milford (132), Peyton Tweedie of Walton/Delhi (145), and Ardell Wellman (160) and Jaden Bellissimo (215) of Oneonta.
Third-place finishers included Noah Sovocool (Walton/Delhi, 132), Alan-Michael Rubin (Oneonta, 145), Noah Cole (Unatego/UV, 160), and Will Pettit (Walton/Delhi, 215).
BOYS BASKETBALL
Charlotte Valley 66,
Hunter-Tannersville 35
The Charlotte Valley boys basketball team defeated Hunter-Tannersville 66-35 in Monday’s Delaware League game.
Charlotte Valley was led by Dylan Waid, who scored a game-high 28 points, while Trevor Waid followed up with 16 points.
Hunter-Tannersville was led by Christian Aizstrauts with 11 points scored.
Hunter-Tannersville will travel to play Windham on Tuesday.
Delhi 59, Bainbridge-Guilford 31
(Friday)
The Bulldogs rolled to a 59-31 victory over the Bobcats on Friday in Midstate Athletic Conference action.
Owen Haight was the game’s top scorer, registering 22 points for Delhi. Luke Schnabel also finished in double figures with 15 points.
David Emerson paced Bainbridge-Guilford with 12 points.
Charlotte Valley 66, Hunter-Tannersville 35
CV … 21 17 17 11 — 66
H-T … 11 11 2 11 — 35
Charlotte Valley: Travis Peters 3 1-3 7, Trevor Waid 6 2-3 16, Dylan Waid 11 6-7 28, Nate Amadon 2 0-0 5, Jameson Quigley 4 2-9 10. Totals 26 11-22 66
Hunter-Tannersville: Nicholas Uhrik 1 0-0 3, Leo Cruz 1 0-0 3, Jason Li 1 0-0 2, Grady Glennon 2 0-0 6, Garrett Legg 1 0-0 2, Connor Schiefer 1 0-2 2, Nathan Kauffman 3 0-0 6, Christian Aizstrauts 5 1-2 11. Totals 15 1-4 35
Three-point baskets: CV 3 (T. Waid 2, Amadon); H-T 4 (Glennon 2, Cruz, Uhrik)
Delhi 59, Bainbridge-Guilford 31 (Friday)
DA … 16 16 8 19 — 59
B-G … 9 9 8 5 — 31
Delhi: Jeryd Cheshire 1 0-0 3, Tanner Bracchy 0 0-0 0, Luke Schnabel 7 0-1 15, Owen Haight 10 2-2 22, Zachary Finch 2 0-0 5, Logan Nealis 2 0-2 4, Angelo Krzyston 1 2-2 4, Rocco Schnabel 2 1-2 5, Luke Sanford 0 1-2 1. Totals: 25 6-11 59
B-G: David Emerson 4 4-4 12, James Hogorian 0 1-2 1, Ilias Wilson 1 4-8 6, Lucas Carlin 0 3-4 3, Garrett O’Hara 1 0-0 3, Owen Drown 1 0-2 2, Ethan Gregory 0 0-0 0, Connor Vredenburgh 2 0-0 4. Totals: 9 12-20 31
Three-point baskets: DA 3 (Cheshire, L. Schnabel, Finch); B-G 1 (O’Hara)
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Oneonta 63, Windsor 43 (Saturday)
The Oneonta girls notched a 63-43 victory over Windsor on Saturday.
Ang McGraw paced the Yellowjackets with a game-high 23 points to go along with five rebounds and three steals.
Abbie Platt, meanwhile, had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Megan Cleveland and Emma Peeters each scored nine points as well.
Autumn Helstein led Windsor with 16 points while Ella Peterson had 14.
Oneonta will be at Whitney Point on Tuesday.
Gilbertsville-Mount Upton 51,
Milford 22 (Saturday)
The Raiders cruised past the Wildcats 51-22 in Saturday’s Tri-Valley League contest.
Hannah Bonczkowski led the scoring for G-MU with 20 points while Megan Perrine scored 17 and Ashlyn Marron notched a double-double of 10 points and 16 rebounds.
Milford was led by Taylor Beckley with eight points and Julia Barown with seven.
Milford (4-6) will be at Morris on Thursday.
Oneonta 63, Windsor 43 (Saturday)
OHS … 16 14 17 16 — 63
W … 5 16 9 13 — 43
Oneonta: Jordan Bellinger 1 2-2 4, Ang McGraw 8 7-10 23, Natalie VanZandt 0 1-2 1, Megan Cleveland 2 3-4 9, Emma Peeters 3 2-2 9, Julia Joyner 1 0-0 2, Emily Zeh 1 3-4 5, Abbie Platt 3 4-8 10. Totals: 19 22-32 63
Windsor: Anna Finn 1 3-8 6, Lucy Beattie 1 2-4 4, Claire Beattie 0 0-0 0, Paige Smith 0 0-0 0, Sydney Angelo 1 0-0 3, Ella Peterson 5 0-0 14, Autumn Helstein 6 4-8 16, Alexis Durdon 0 0-0 0. Totals: 14 9-20 43
Three-point baskets: OHS 3 (Cleveland 2, Peeters); W 6 (Finn, Angelo, Peterson 4)
Gilbertsville-Mount Upton 51, Milford 22 (Saturday)
G-MU … 14 22 3 12 — 51
M … 4 6 8 4 — 22
G-MU: Hannah Bonczkowski 7 3-5 20, Ariel Correlle 1 0-0 2, Kyra Demmon 0 0-0 0, Ashlyn Marron 5 0-1 10, Aubree Palmer 0 0-0 0, Lindsay Turnbull 0 0-0 0, Tammy Barnes 1 0-0 2, Megan Perrine 8 1-2 17. Totals: 22 4-8 51
Milford: Taylor Beckley 3 1-3 8, Lily Cohn 0 0-0 0, Kara Mertz 1 0-0 2, Julia Barown 3 0-0 7, Alison Munson 0 0-0 0, Bella Saggese 0 0-0 0, Delaney Maison 1 0-0 2, Sara Munson 0 1-4 1, Lexi Sutphin 0 0-0 0, Bella Garlick 0 0-0 0, Bella Qua 1 0-0 2. Totals: 9 2-7 22
Three-point baskets: G-MU 3 (Bonczkowski 3); M 2 (Beckley, Barown)
BOYS SWIMMING
Cooperstown 98, Holland Patent 73 (Friday)
The Cooperstown boys swim team earned a 98-73 victory over Holland Patent in a meet held on Friday.
Thomas Hellenthal was a double winner for the Hawkeyes, notching victories in the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly.
Cooperstown’s other individual winners were Paul Crowell (50 free), Theo Ignatovsky (100 free), London Kinley (500 free), and Finn Morgan (100 backstroke).
The Hawkeyes also took first place in all three relay events.
The team will visit Rome Free Academy on Thursday.
Cooperstown 98, Holland Patent 73 (Friday)
Top Cooperstown finishers
200 Medley Relay: 1. Morgan, Crowell, Aramini, Ignatovsky, 2:07.71
200 Freestyle: 1. Thomas Hellenthal, 2:02.43
200 Individual Medley: 2. Macon Aramini, 2:34.71
50 Freestyle: 1. Paul Crowell, 26.72
100 Butterfly: 1. Thomas Hellenthal, 1:07.02
100 Freestyle: 1. Theo Ignatovsky, 1:02.24
500 Freestyle: 1. London Kinley, 6:27.44
200 Freestyle Relay: 1. Hellenthal, Hurysz, Agostino, Kinley, 1:50.06
100 Backstroke: 1. Finn Mogan, 1:10.95
100 Breaststroke: 2. Paul Crowell, 1:28.36
400 Freestyle Relay: 1. Agostino, Kinley, Hurysz, Hellenthal, 4:10.93
SUNY Oneonta held off a late charge by Geneseo to pick up a 55-52 victory in SUNYAC action on Saturday.
Molly Stephens led the Red Dragons with a game-high 18 points to go along with four rebounds and two steals. Nadia Brown and Lauren Obermayer each scored nine points while Olivia Dobrovosky pulled down 10 rebounds.
The win for the Red Dragons brings them back to an even 6-6 overall and 3-2 in the conference.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Geneseo 91, SUNY Oneonta 68 (Saturday)
The SUNY Oneonta men fell to Geneseo on Saturday 91-68.
Michael Ortale finished with 21 points and five rebounds to lead the Red Dragons. Dylan Trombley, meanwhile, notched 16 points, four rebounds, and three assists.
The loss for Oneonta was its fourth straight and puts them at 6-6 overall and 2-3 in SUNYAC play.
Wednesday
Chenango County officials have confirmed six more deaths from COVID-19.
According to a media release from Chenango County Public Health, "Last week our team was able to confirm COVID-19 as the contributing cause of death for 6 Chenango County residents." The release said the deaths occurred between Nov. 21 and Dec. 27 of 2021.
"Our hearts are out to all of the families impacted by loss," the release said. There have been 98 deaths of Chenango County residents recorded since the pandemic began.
According to the department's daily report, there were 802 active cases in Chenango. There were 10 people hospitalized, none of them vaccinated. There were 1,180 people under active quarantine.
Otsego County has far more active cases, according to the Otsego County Health Department website, but did not report any new deaths Tuesday.
According to the site, there were 1,226 active cases, with 309 new cases reported Tuesday. Five people were hospitalized with COVID.
The county's seven-day average of positive tests was 15.6%.
Schoharie County reported 33 new cases among 163 people tested, for a daily positivity rate of 20.2%, according the the state Health Department website.
Delaware County has reduced its reports to once per week, on Fridays.
Statewide, Gov. Kathy Hochul reported 160 COVID-19 deaths Monday.
"The data we are seeing on new infections offers a glimmer of hope that New Yorkers' discipline in fighting the winter surge is paying off," Hochul said in a media release. "We are getting through this, but we must stay vigilant and not take our hard-won progress for granted. We know what works — make sure you and your loved ones are vaccinated and boosted, wear a mask, and exercise caution in indoor public spaces so we can finally leave this pandemic in the past."
The Otsego County Chamber of Commerce held its annual State of the State conference online Tuesday, Jan. 11, with U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado, D-Rhinebeck, as keynote speaker.
Delgado talked about accomplishments during 2021 and his goals for 2022 in Washington.
He noted that his formula to aid local governments was approved in the American Rescue Plan Act, which was passed in March 2021. He said the bill secured $132.4 billion in COVID-19 relief funds to local governments across the United States, including $400 million in District 19 and $11.5 million in Otsego County. He said the funds were given to offset revenue loss and to invest in broadband internet and water infrastructure.
During her talk about the state of the village, Cooperstown Mayor Ellen Tillapaugh talked about the ARPA funding and the amount the village received. She said the village, which relies heavily on tourism, suffered a $1 million loss in revenue in 2020 and received $89,948 in ARPA funds. While the village didn't receive much money, she said the county received $11 million and the National Baseball Hall of Fame received $4.7 million in Shuttered Venues Aid.
The village, which has a population of 1,754, was classified a non-entitlement unit under the act, she said.
Although the village lost money, Tillapaugh said no layoffs of personnel occurred and taxes remained the same. She also highlighted several projects the village has completed over the past several years including a $8.4 million upgrade to the wastewater treatment plant a $100,000 upgrade to Pioneer Park and upgrades to Doubleday Field. She said the village is seeking money to finish the renovations at Doubleday Field, which will install public restrooms and a third-base grandstand that is accessible to those with disabilities.
Delgado said throughout the pandemic he tried to find ways to help family farms, small businesses and their local partners stay afloat.
He said another big accomplishment was the federal infrastructure bill that passed in November. He said it would invest in roads and bridges, clean water and expanding access to broadband. He said there were 1,700 bridges and 7,000 miles of road in the state that need repairs, including 80% of Otsego County's bridges.
Otsego County Board Chair David Bliss, R-Cherry Valley, Middlefield, Roseboom, who spoke after Delgado left the meeting, said the figure was 70% five years ago before the county started to invest in infrastructure. Bliss talked about the pilot EMS program and the proposed Bassett simulation lab.
The infrastructure bill also included two bipartisan measures Delgado introduced: the Clean Water for Rural America Act and BuyAmerican.Gov Act.
He said the clean water bill will invest between $25 and $75 in rural water infrastructure annually. He announced the BuyAmerican.Gov Act in September and also discussed it in October at the Cooperstown Bat Company in Hartwick. It will track the waivers the Department of Transportation and the Department of Defense use to bypass the Buy American Act. The legislation also creates an online hub of American manufacturers that government agencies can use, he said.
Delgado said he sponsored another bill to help rebuild American manufacturing. He said the COVID-19 pandemic and the supply chain disruptions showed "we don't have enough domestic manufacturing."
He said he was concerned about countries dumping full shipping containers at America's ports, then returning to their countries with empty containers, so he has proposed an act that will restrict countries from taking empty containers back. He said he felt optimistic about 2022, but he also said people "have to put their partisan politics to the side and put the country first."
Assemblyman Chris Tague, R-Schoharie, said the state of the state for farmers was concerning, especially if the overtime threshold is lowered to 40 hours. He said while other industries can raise prices to combat increased wages, farmers cannot because they have to compete with farmers from other states who can set lower prices. He said he has introduced a bill that would pair farms and food banks in the state, and said he will continue to fight for small businesses in the county.
Assemblyman Brian Miller, R-New Hartford, gave a report about how he's working with the county's chamber, SUNY Oneonta, SUNY Delhi, Otsego Now, Hartwick College and others to come up with ways employers can get trained employees.
Oneonta Mayor Mark Drnek outlined his plans for the future, including making Market Street an entertainment district in the city, rebuilding the parking garage and transit hub and working with the two colleges to spur economic development.
Interim Chief Executive Officer Al Rubin presided over the meeting, which was his last meeting as the organization's interim leader, he said.
Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221. Follow her @DS_VickyK on Twitter.
The Oneonta Common Council Finance Committee discussed several agenda items during its Jan. 10 meeting, including Oneonta Public Transit contracts, the New York Homeowners Assistance Fund and purchasing new equipment.
The committee listened as Transportation Director David Hotaling said the city has renewed service contracts to Hannaford, Walmart, Southside Mall and Arc Otsego, and is working with Fox Hospital with its contract.
Most of the contracts increased by $1,000, he said.
Committee Chair Len Carson, R-Fifth Ward, asked why there was an increase and Director of Finance Virginia Lee said it was because the Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funding was ending in 2023 and OPT would see a deficit. In addition to increased contracts, fares may be increased and the city is looking to raise more advertising revenue on buses.
Director of Community Development Judy Pangman outlined the New York State Homeowners Assistance Fund.
The state received money form the federal government to give to homeowners who are behind on their mortgage payments, utility bills, including water or sewer bills, and property taxes. Anyone who qualifies can apply through the Greater Mohawk Valley Land Bank, she said.
Council Member Scott Harrington, R-Sixth Ward, asked if the city could help homeowners apply for the program. Pangman said: “If you’re owed money, you can’t help the homeowner. If people call our office, we will send them to the Landbank. They can go to people’s homes or meet them at cafes with internet to help them fill out the application.”
Pangman said the program is only available through Jan. 31 or until the funds run out, which is more likely.
Lee said the city will send a mailer to people behind on their water bills letting them know about the program and will also promote it on social media. She said the county will be reaching out to people who haven’t paid their taxes about the program.
For more information about the program, visit nyhomeownerfund.org or call 1-844-776-9423 (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.). If a resident needs in-person assistance with the application, they can contact the Greater Mohawk Valley Land Bank at 315-823-0814 or email allysadr@gmvlb.org
The committee discussed purchasing a new bucket truck and ambulance. The bucket truck is estimated to cost $165,000 and money will come out of the highway equipment reserve fund, City Administrator Greg Mattice said. The ambulance is estimated to cost $226,000. The city has received 54 anonymous donations totaling $152,861 to purchase the ambulance and the rest will come out of the public safety reserve fund, Lee said.
Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221.
ALBANY — New York’s county health departments are no longer required by the state to do contact tracing for COVID-19 cases, giving them a wide berth to focus on getting vaccine shots into the arms of their residents.
The change was recommended by the New York State Association of County Health Officials.
The group’s director, Sarah Ravenhall, told CNHI on Tuesday that it was “really refreshing” that state officials agreed to step away from the contact tracing requirement at a time when counties across the state are coping with a spike in new COVID-19 cases.
“What’s most important is that we need to be really mindful about the limited resources that local health departments have, so we can put our focus where it is going to be the most efficient, and that’s behind providing immunizations, and it’s getting behind what we do to support schools and businesses,” Ravenhall said.
She added: “We’re at a place right now where there are so many cases across the state that it’s not effective to do contact tracing in all places.”
In some counties, there will likely be continued efforts to track down individuals known to have come in contact with an infected person when congregate living settings or other places thought to have “high vulnerability” are involved, Ravenhall pointed out.
Both county and state officials are urging individuals who receive positive results from testing to isolate themselves as required by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Another shift in the state strategy came with a new mandate for already vaccinated health care workers to receive booster shots.
In agreeing to adopt the rule, the state Public Health and Health Planning Council noted unvaccinated people have a far greater chance to be hospitalized from an infection than those who are vaccinated.
“Recent data show that booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine offer more protection against the omicron variant compared with the primary series alone,” the council said.
Meanwhile, Gov. Kathy Hochul said she detects “a glimmer of hope” in the latest state data showing new COVID-19 infections are beginning to ease, after the state recorded 48,686 new cases the previous day.
That is well below 85,476 cases documented Dec. 31, though still well above the daily infection tallies recorded in the days leading up to Thanksgiving.
The state’s latest health campaign involves persuading parents to have children ages five and older vaccinated. Hochul said more than 500,000 New York kids have already received their first shot.
But about 68% of children eligible for the vaccine have yet to be inoculated, according to state data. Some 91% of the children admitted to hospitals for COVID-19 are unvaccinated, Hochul said.
A new public service ad featuring Dr. Mary Bassett, the state health commissioner, seeks to reinforce the importance of getting children vaccinated.
“We are seeing an alarming increase in the number of children sick and hospitalized due to the omicron variant,” Bassett states in the TV spot.
The state also continues to pay close attention to strained hospitals.
Hochul said three upstate regions — the Mohawk Valley, Central New York and the Finger Lakes — have “overtaxed” hospitals with the infection surge. As a result, health facilities in each of those regions will face a two-week pause on non-emergency elective procedures. The situation will be reassessed at the end of the pause.
“I want everything to be short-term so it gives us the flexibility to adapt and adjust,” she told reporters in New York City.
Hochul drew a link between rising hospital admissions and regions that have vaccination rates that “are not where they should be.”
Hochul’s efforts to bring workers back to offices while the omicron variant has been adding to the stress on hospitals was vigorously challenged by Wayne Spence, president of the Public Employees Federation, one of the state’s largest unions for government workers.
Arguing there should be “robust telecommuting,” Spence said, the state “chooses to broaden vaccine mandates, requires workers to wear masks all day at their desks, wastes its limited supply of COVID tests and now forces another dose of the vaccine upon its strained workforce.”
The Oneonta girls basketball team used a three-point barrage to cruise past Whitney Point 65-27 on Tuesday.
The Yellowjackets hit 11 three-pointers in the victory, with Emma Peeters leading the way from long distance with six treys en route to 18 points. Peeters also finished with seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
Ang McGraw was the Yellowjackets’ leading scorer with 24 points while Abbie Platt registered a rare double-double of 10 rebounds and 10 steals to go along with five points.
OHS will be at Owego Apalachin on Friday.
Gilbertsville-Mount Upton 57,
Charlotte Valley 28
The G-MU girls rolled to a big non-league victory over Charlotte Valley on Tuesday by the score of 57-28.
Hannah Bonczkowski was the leading scorer for the Raiders with a game-high 20 points. Ashlyn Marron also finished in double figures with 12 points.
Kailey Whitbeck and Jenna Lubbers each scored eight points to lead the Wildcats with Lubbers tacking on 10 rebounds and three blocks.
G-MU will host Franklin on Friday while Charlotte Valley will host Milford on Saturday.
Oxford 45, Walton 41
A big performance from Madalyn Barrows helped Oxford hold off Walton for a 45-41 victory on Tuesday.
Barrows poured in a game-high 32 points to lead the Blackhawks, who rode a 19-3 advantage in the second quarter to a 28-19 halftime lead and an eventual victory.
Jacqlyn Gransbury had a big night of her own for Walton with 23 points.
Cherry Valley-Springfield 64,
Mount Markham 52
Cherry Valley-Springfield won its matchup against Mount Markham 64-52 in Tuesday’s non-league game.
Leading the scoring for C-VS were Morgan Huff and Joleen Lusk, who scored 20 points each.
Mount Markham’s Hannah Pcola led her team with 15 points, followed by teammate Caroline Entwhistle with 14 points.
Worcester 38, Morris 25
The Wolverines defeated the Mustangs 38-25 in Tuesday’s low-scoring Tri-Valley League game.
Leading the way for Worcester was Hailey Shalor, who scored 15 points on five three-point baskets.
Hannah Wist and Madison Aikins each scored six points for Morris.
Morris will host Milford on Thursday.
Oneonta 65, Whitney Point 27
OHS … 23 15 17 9 — 65
WP … 4 13 8 2 — 27
Oneonta: Jordan Bellinger 2 0-0 5, Ang McGraw 10 2-2 24, Megan Cleveland 2 0-0 6, Emma Peeters 6 0-0 18, Emily Zeh 3 1-2 7, Abbie Platt 2 1-3 5. Totals: 25 4-7 65
WP: St. John 1 0-0 2, Livingston 3 1-2 7, Morgan 1 0-0 3, Boyce 1 0-0 3, Jordan 1 0-0 2, Somers 2 2-4 6, Austenfeld 1 2-2 4. Totals: 10 5-8 27
Three-point baskets: OHS 11 (Bellinger, McGraw 2, Cleveland 2, Peeters 6); WP 2 (Morgan, Boyce)
Gilbertsville-Mount Upton 57, Charlotte Valley 28
G-MU … 13 8 20 16 — 57
CV … 7 11 6 4 — 28
GMU: Alyssa Sorochinsky 2 0-0 4, Hannah Bonczkowski 8 2-4 20, Ariel Correlle 0 0-0 0, Kyra Demmon 0 0-0 0, Ashlyn Marron 5 2-3 12, Lindsay Turnbull 0 0-0 0, Mackenzie Barnes 5 0-0 10, Kendra Hammond 2 1-2 5, Tammy Barnes 1 0-0 2, Megan Perrine 2 0-0 4. Totals: 25 5-9 57
CV: Liz Gerster 2 0-0 4, Cadence Losie 0 0-0 0, Kailey Whitbeck 4 0-0 8, Maeve Carey 1 0-0 2, Natalie Amadon 0 0-0 0, Laila Wheeler 0 0-0 0, Jenna Lubbers 3 1-1 8, Ella Gerster 3 0-1 6, Cadence Santiago 0 0-0 0. Totals: 11 1-2 28
Three-point baskets: GMU 2 (Bonczkowski 2); CV 1 (Lubbers)
Oxford 45, Walton 41
O … 9 19 11 6 — 45
W … 16 3 9 13 — 41
Oxford: Madalyn Barrows 11 10-15 32, Kadence Eallo 1 0-0 2, Taylor Smith 0 0-0 0, Ava Benjamin 2 0-0 4, Madison Long 1 0-0 2, Teagen Manwarren 2 0-0 4. Totals: 17 10-15 45
Walton: Havyn Merwin 1 2-4 4, Ava Coons 0 0-0 0, Jacqlyn Gransbury 8 2-2 23, Eve Foster 0 0-0 0, Jillian Wright 3 1-2 7, MaKara MacGibbon 3 0-0 7, Kaitlyn Wood 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 5-8 41
Three-point baskets: O 1 (Barrows); W 6 (Gransbury 5, MacGibbon)
Cherry Valley-Springfield 64, Mount Markham 52
CV-S … 24 7 16 17 — 64
MM … 13 13 7 9 — 52
CV-S: A. Bosc 3 0-0 6, M. Huff 8 3-6 20, E. Whiteman 4 0-0 10, L. Lusk 0 1-4 1, J. Lusk 8 4-6 20, B. Whiteman 3 1-3 7. Totals 26 9-19 64
Mount Markham: H. Pcola 6 0-3 15, J. Kocienda 2 0-0 4, M. Sayers 4 0-0 9, C. Entwistle 5 2-4 14, E. Kocienda 4 0-0 8, Z. Hoke 1 0-2 2. Totals 22 2-9 52
Three-point baskets: CV-S (Whiteman 2, Huff); MM (Pcola 3, Entwistle 2, Sayers)
Worcester 38, Morris 25
W … 11 16 9 2 — 38
M … 2 4 6 13 — 25
Worcester: Sophia Adams 2 0-0 4, Iriyah Haley 2 0-0 5, Elizabeth O’Dell 3 0-0 6, Hailey Shalor 5 0-0 15, Maci Milavec 1 0-0 2, Anna Serdy 2 0-0 6. Totals 15 0-0 38
Morris: Carissa Richards 2 0-0 5, Hannah Wist 3 0-0 6, Madison Aikins 3 0-0 6, Maddie Coleman 2 0-0 4, Hannah Sawyer 2 0-0 4. Totals 12 0-0 25
Three Point Baskets: W 8 (Shalor 5, Serdy 2, Haley), M 1 (Richards)
BOYS BASKETBALL
Delhi 59, Unadilla Valley 39
The Delhi boys improved to 8-0 on the season with a 59-39 victory over Unadilla Valley on Tuesday in Midstate Athletic Conference action.
Owen Haight led the Bulldogs with 13 points while Luke Schnabel and Luke Sanford also finished in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Trason Murray scored a game-high 23 points for the Storm thanks to seven three-pointers.
Hunter-Tannersville 52, Windham-Ashland-Jewett 35
Hunter-Tannersville defeated Windham-Ashland-Jewett 52-35 in Tuesday’s Delaware League game.
Hunter-Tannersville’s scoring was led by Christian Aizstrauts with 24 points, who was followed by Grady Glennon with nine points.
WAJ was led by Keith Hewitt with 10 points scored.
Bainbridge-Guilford 69, Whitney Point 40 (Monday)
The Bobcats rolled past Whitney Point 69-40 on Monday in a non-league contest.
Bainbridge-Guilford jumped out to a 43-17 halftime lead and never looked back. James Hogorian led the way with a game-high 18 points.
David Emerson added 15 points while Connor Vredenburgh finished with 10.
Owen Standish-Warpus paced Whitney Point with 11 points.
Delhi 59, Unadilla Valley 39
DA … 23 13 11 12 — 59
UV … 11 9 13 16 — 39
Delhi: Tanner Bracchy 1 0-0 3, Luke Schnabel 5 0-2 11, Owen Haight 4 2-2 13, Zachary Finch 0 0-0 0, Logan Nealis 2 3-4 7, Ryan Wilson 1 0-0 2, Angelo Krzyston 3 1-2 7, Rocco Schnabel 3 0-0 6, Luke Sanford 5 0-0 10. Totals: 24 6-10 59
UV: Dakota Johnson 0 0-0 0, Mitchell Thompson 2 0-0 4, Matt Bogdan 0 0-0 0, Zach Smith 0 2-2 2, Trason Murray 8 0-0 23, Trent Marinelli 2 1-2 6, Kaden Butts 1 2-2 4. Totals: 13 5-6 39
Three-point baskets: DA 5 (Haight 3, Schnabel, Bracchy); UV 7 (Murray 7)
Hunter-Tannersville 52, Windham-Ashland-Jewett 35
H-T … 11 14 13 14 — 52
WAJ … 13 7 7 8 — 35
H-T: Nicholas Uhrik 1 0-0 3, Jason Li 2 1-2 6, Grady Glennon 3 0-0 9, Garrett Legg 2 0-0 4, Nathan Kauffman 3 0-2 6, Christian Aizstrauts 11 1-2 24. Totals 22 2-6 52
WAJ: Keith Hewitt 4 1-2 10, Judah Allsop 2 2-3 6, Tyler Lashua 1 0-0 2, Connor Aplin 2 0-2 4, Eli Cercone 1 0-0 3, Jacob Smith 1 0-0 2, Erin Cohen 2 0-0 4, Brady Post 2 0-1 4. Totals 15 3-8 35
Three-point baskets: H-T 6 (Glennon 3, Uhrik, Li, Aizstrauts); WAJ 2 (Hewitt, Cercone)
Bainbridge-Guilford 69, Whitney Point 40 (Monday)
B-G … 23 19 16 11 — 69
WP … 9 8 10 13 — 40
B-G: Isaac Seiler 2 2-2 8, David Emerson 5 3-5 15, James Hogorian 9 0-0 18, Ilias Wilson 3 2-4 8, Lucas Carlin 1 1-2 3, Garrett O’Hara 0 3-4 3, Owen Drown 0 2-2 2, Ethan Gregory 1 0-0 2, Connor Vredenburgh 3 4-4 10. Totals: 24 17-23 69
WP: Garrett Priscott 2 0-2 5, Jeremy Simerson 2 1-4 7, James Craft 2 0-0 4, Evyn Ford 0 0-0 0, Luke Gzebiniak 2 0-0 4, Owen Standish-Warpus 3 2-5 11, Lane Tiderencel 4 1-2 9. Totals: 15 4-13 40
Three-point baskets: B-G 4 (Seiler 2, Emerson 2); WP 6 (Priscott, Simerson 2, Standish-Warpus 3)
BOYS SWIMMING
Chenango Forks 115, Oneonta 68
The Oneonta boys swim team fell to 4-2 on the season after a 115-68 loss to Chenango Forks on Tuesday.
Eli House recorded a pair of victories for the Yellowjackets in the 50 freestyle and 100 breaststroke. Bastian Dudley added a win in the 500 free while Stephen Baker took first in diving.
Elsewhere, Logan Temming was second in the 200 free while Cyrus Wightman finished second in the 200 individual medley.
Oneonta will visit Chenango Valley next Tuesday.
Chenango Forks 115, Oneonta 68
Top Oneonta finishers
200 Medley Relay: 3. Wolff, Shultz, Wightman, Jennings, 2:12.40
200 Freestyle: 2. Logan Temming, 2:05.32
200 Individual Medley: 2. Cyrus Wightman, 2:39.47
50 Freestyle: 1. Eli House, 23.60
Diving: 1. Stephen Baker, 179.85
100 Butterfly: 4. Cyrus Wightman, 1:15.81
100 Freestyle: 3. Logan Temming, 55.20
500 Freestyle: 1. Bastian Dudley, 5:58.42
200 Freestyle Relay: 2. Temming, Baker, Dudley, House, 1:45.78
100 Backstroke: 4. Henry Wolff, 1:15.07
100 Breaststroke: 1. Eli House, 1:07.92
400 Freestyle Relay: 2. Temming, Dudley, Baker, House, 3:56.73
WRESTLING
Oneonta 66, Susquehanna Valley 12 (Monday)
The Oneonta wrestling team secured a 66-12 victory against Susquehanna Valley on Monday.
Winning by pin for the Yellowjackets were Alan Little (110 pounds), Reilly Waltz (138), Alan-Michael Rubin (145), Kaden Halstead (172), and Jaden Bellissimo (285). All of Oneonta’s other victories came via forfeit.
Oneonta will host Norwich on Thursday.
Oneonta 66, Susquehanna Valley 12 (Monday)
Matches began at 152
102: Tanner Tubia (OHS) won by forfeit
110: Alan Little (OHS) pinned Carl Herold, 3:17
118: Tim Boyce (SV) pinned Marshall Mahar, 3:59
126: Dylan Bellissimo (OHS) won by forfeit
132: Matt Boyce (SV) pinned Nolan Stark, 1:40
138: Reilly Waltz (OHS) pinned Zach Fedorowich, 1:29
145: Alan-Michael Rubin (OHS) pinned Adam Leonard, 0:58
152: Tyler Hasbrouck (OHS) won by forfeit
160: Ardell Wellman (OHS) won by forfeit
172: Kaden Halstead (OHS) pinned Jared Pritcher, 3:26
189: Damion Bowles (OHS) won by forfeit
215: Connor Ashforth (OHS) won by forfeit
285: Jaden Bellissimo (OHS) pinned Damien Zukowski, 1:37
Thursday
An audit by the New York State Comptroller's Office showed some crime victims in Chenango County were not paid restitution by probationers.
Auditors found officials did not adequately enforce restitution collections, and that officials disbursed payments, but didn't follow up with the victim if the check wasn't cashed in a timely manner, officials did not distribute undisbursed restitution payments and officials did not maintain sufficient undisbursed restitution records.
According to the audit, the probation department had 101 restitution cases during the audit timeline of Jan. 1, 2018, through June 30, 2019.
Out of the 101 cases, auditors reviewed 20 cases totaling $110,172.
"Department officials should have collected $33,471 from probationers for the 18 cases with required payment terms, including $9,715 in prior period arrears," the audit said. Auditors found that only $23,979 was collected during that timeframe.
The audit also looked to see if victims had received and cashed their checks. The report found "30 outstanding checks totaling $1,662 that were between one and more than four years old." Auditors "found no documentation to indicate letters were sent or other efforts were made to locate the victims, and new checks were not issued," the report said.
Auditors found the department "potentially has $2,690 of undisbursed restitution funds that should be used for unsatisfied restitution orders."
The audit recommended the probation director do the following:
• Develop adequate written policies and procedures for enforcing and disbursing restitution;
• Contact the New York State Office of Probation and Correctional Alternatives for guidance when orders lack set payment terms;
• Enforce and monitor restitution cases according to court orders.
• Make reasonable efforts to locate victims, document actions and results, issue payments to the victims who can be located, and identify unclaimed money as undisbursed restitution when appropriate.
• Make payments from undisbursed restitution funds to the crime victims whose restitution orders have remained unsatisfied for the longest amount of time.
• Provide meaningful oversight to ensure the program is operating effectively, which should include actions such as critical reviews of bank reconciliations and unsatisfied restitution order records.
• Ensure the undisbursed restitution balance is supported with records showing the amount and dates of payments that comprise the balance, including if any payments are made from the account.
In response to the audit, Probation Director Kristin M. Snow said in a letter the department is completing a corrective action plan and listed several initiatives that have been made prior to completing the corrective action plan. Snow said the department has implemented the following measures:
• The department revised its financial obligations policy in May, 2019. The policy includes "directives for staff members and should provide for greater continuity in the future."
• Forms and checklists were modified.
• A second Probation Supervisor was hired in 2020 to help with the caseload.
• Trainings on financial matters were held in 2019 and 2020 for staff.
• The department has contracted with its software company to provide a hosting service for the department.
A fire in Davenport Center destroyed a home and displaced a family of six Wednesday, Jan. 12.
East Meredith Fire Chief David Briggs said the call for the fire came in at 11:43 a.m. from a person driving by the house at 12324 state Route 23. He said when the fire department got to the scene, there was extensive smoke and flames coming from the front of the house, and said the fire started from a woodstove.
Briggs said he called for mutual aid from Davenport and Pindars Corners and requested tankers from Meridale, Schenevus-Maryland, Franklin and Stamford. The Franklin and Oneonta FAST teams also responded. The Delhi Fire Department had a crew on standby in the East Meredith Firehouse. Firefighters were able to fill up their tankers using water from a creek. The emergency service departments of Delaware and Otsego counties also responded to the scene.
Briggs said there were about 70 firefighters on the scene of the fire and there were no injuries reported.
"It was a little icy and a few people slipped and fell. We were fortunate no one got hurt," Briggs said. He said AMR responded with an ambulance.
In addition to the fire departments, NYSEG workers went to the scene to disconnect the power. The town of Davenport Highway Department sanded Route 23 as it iced over from water being used, and the state Department of Transportation delivered salt that could be used on the ice. Briggs said the Dollar General store delivered refreshments to the firefighters.
The eastbound lane of Route 23 was closed during the fire and drivers were flagged to turn onto county Route 10 in Davenport Center. Tractor trailers traveling east were allowed to go to a few parking lots to wait. The westbound lane was stopped from time to time to let firefighters reposition the tankers at the scene.
The family of two adults and four children was not home when the fire started, but Briggs said firefighters were concerned one of the occupants might have been inside because a car was in the driveway. He said a couple of dogs died in the fire.
Briggs said by the time the department returned to the firehouse at about 4 p.m., he had received 37 text messages from people asking how they could help the family displaced by the fire, and some donations had already been dropped off at the firehouse. He said the family will stay with relatives nearby and the fire department will collect items for the family.
"Stuff can be dropped off at the fire station and the door will be open," Briggs said. "It's a well-known family, everybody knows them."
He said the department will post clothing sizes on its Facebook page and the rear door to the meeting room will be open for people to drop off donations.
Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221. Follow her @DS_VickyK on Twitter.
ALBANY — New York's county governments are pressing Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration for a massive infusion of state funding to bolster local public health agencies.
The county health departments need an additional 1,000 full-time staffers to provide "an adequate infrastructure and a minimum package of public health services," according to the New York State Association of County Health Officials (NYSACHO).
That group, along with the New York State Association of County Governments and several advocacy organizations, are making a concerted push to get Hochul to embrace their proposal to channel $216.5 million in state funding into a package of initiatives that would strengthen the network of 58 local public health agencies.
Sarah Ravenhall, leader of NYSACHO, and Stephen Acquario, executive director of NYSAC, said the pandemic's impact on New York illustrates the need for strengthening local health agencies.
"Every community, every resident of New York state, deserves a strong public health infrastructure," Ravenhall said in an interview. "And now is the time to invest in that."
The proposed funding would fortify the ability of counties to deal with six core functions: communicable disease control, chronic disease prevention, emergency preparedness, environmental health and threats posed by drinking water pollution, maternal and child health and community health assessment.
The NYSACHO survey found that 90% of the state's local health departments are crimped by staffing shortages, hurting their ability to deliver those basic services.
The county leaders also point to a recent survey by researchers at SUNY Oneonta and Bassett Healthcare Network Research Institute, concluding that staffers at local health departments are fatigued and demoralized as a result of staff shortages.
Said Acquario: "As the pandemic wears on and new public health challenges emerge, we cannot continue to expect our local health departments to battle 21st-century health threats with 20th-century resources."
Hochul has taken a more collaborative approach in working with local governments than her predecessor, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who treated county leaders as spectators during the pandemic. County officials often learned of the state's latest COVID-19 guidance only when Cuomo announced the shifts at press conferences.
Last March, the relationship between the county governments and Cuomo's administration were further strained when a Cuomo ally, Larry Schwartz, the unofficial coordinator of the state's vaccination effort, threatened to impose $100,000-per-day fines on 17 counties — including Schoharie County — if they did not immediately use all COVID-19 vaccine doses sent to them, according to a Schwartz memo acquired by CNHI.
County leaders complained about the ham-fisted threat, and Schwartz expressed regret for making it after CNHI inquired into the situation.
William Hammond, a health policy researcher at the Empire Center on Public Policy, said beefing up the ability of local governments to respond to health emergencies such as a pandemic would be a cost-effective way to prepare for such crises when they occur.
"The more you can do at the beginning of a crisis to contain it, the less the medical system needs to do in the long run," Hammond said. "It's clear in retrospect that a relatively small investment to prepare for the pandemic could have saved us billions of dollars."
Any increase in the state's investment in public health should be accompanied by an in-depth analysis of the state's response to COVID-19 so that errors can be documented and studied, with an eye towards avoiding missteps in the future, Hammond said.
The governor's office is not showing its hand yet on the public health ingredients of the budget plan to be issued in the coming week. But last week Hochul, in her State of the State speech, said she will strive to increase New York's health care workforce by 20% over the next five years.
Her spokesman, Avi Small, called the upcoming budget presentation "the starting point for negotiations with lawmakers on this critical matter."
Hochul's proposed budget is expected to top $200 billion when it is released next week. The annual fiscal blueprint is designed to fund all state services and programs for the fiscal year running from April 1 through March 31, 2023.
The Delhi girls basketball team handed Greene its first loss of the season (7-1) with a 47-41 victory in Wednesday’s Midstate Athletic Conference game.
Leading the way for the Bulldogs was Sylvia Liddle with 14 points, followed by Julia Baxter with 12 points and Abby Leahy with 10.
For the Trojans, Olivia Kennedy led with a game-high 15 points.
Delhi (8-2) will travel to play Afton on Tuesday.
Walton 54, Harpursville 36
The Warriors rode a big performance from Jacqlyn Gransbury to a 54-36 victory over Harpursville on Wednesday.
Gransbury poured in a game-high 29 points in the victory. MaKara MacGibbon also finished in double figures for Walton with 15 points.
Ghia Medovich led Harpursville with 11 points.
Walton will be at Greene on Friday.
Delhi 47, Greene 41
DA … 14 11 7 15 — 47
G … 16 7 9 9 — 41
Delhi: Julia Baxter 5 2-3 12, Abby Leahy 4 1-2 10, Libby Lamport 1 0-0 2, Sylvia Liddle 5 1-4 14, Amanda Nealis 1 0-1 4, Cadence Wakin 1 1-2 3, Alyssa Gioffe 1 0-1 2. Totals 19 5-1 47
Greene: Olivia Kennedy 6 2-4 15, Cassie Butler 2 2-4 6, Abby Yahner 1 2-4 4, Peyton Yahner 2 0-0 4, Paige Estabrook 1 1-1 3, Lyla Bieseldt 3 2-2 9. Totals 16 9-15 9
Three-point baskets: DA 4 (Liddle 3, Leahy); G 2 (Kennedy, Bieseldt)
Walton 54, Harpursville 36
W … 10 18 11 15 — 54
H … 9 6 15 6 — 36
Walton: Havyn Merwin 1 1-2 3, Ava Coons 0 0-0 0, Jacqlyn Gransbury 13 0-0 29, Eve Foster 0 0-0 0, Jillian Wright 2 2-4 7, MaKara MacGibbon 6 0-0 15, Kaitlyn Wood 0 0-0 0. Totals: 22 3-6 54
Harpursville: Chelsea Merrill 1 2-2 4, Madison Fleming 1 0-0 2, Amber Rachmner 1 0-0 2, Jaylyn Merrill 0 0-0 0, Abby Lyon 1 4-8 6, Ghia Medovich 4 3-4 11, Hunter Moffitt 2 1-2 5, Sarah Young 3 0-0 6, Caidence Ryder 0 0-0 0, Sadie Combs 0 0-0 0. Totals: 13 10-16 36
Three-point baskets: W 7 (Gransbury 3, Wright, MacGibbon 3); H 0
BOYS BASKETBALL
Morris 50, Worcester 31
Morris rolled to a 50-31 victory over Worcester in Wednesday’s Tri-Valley league matchup.
Scott Murphy led Morris with a game-high 20 points, while Asa Dugan finished with 11 points.
The Mustangs hit 10 three-pointers in the game as a team.
Worcester was led by Connor Fancher with 10 points.
Morris will visit Edmeston on Tuesday
Gilbertsville-Mount Upton 42,
Sharon Springs 28
Gilbertsville-Mount Upton defeated Sharon Springs 42-28 in Wednesday’s Tri-Valley league game.
Brian Wilson led G-MU with 13 points scored, followed by teammate Dalton Proskine with 11 points.
Sharon Springs had Luke Enyart lead the way with 11 points.
G-MU will next face Worcester on Tuesday.
Morris 50, Worcester 31
M … 7 17 12 14 — 50
W … 10 10 6 5 — 31
Morris: Tiger Stancil 3 1-2 9, Asa Dugan 4 0-0 11, Garrett Aikins 2 0-0 5, Scott Murphy 6 5-8 20, Jon Child 1 0-0 2, Ethan Franklin 1 0-0 3. Totals 8 6-10 50
Worcester: Connor Fancher 2 0-1 10, Jalen Reardon 4 0-2 8, Joey Geiskopf 2 1-4 5, Michael Martin 2 1-5 8. Totals 10 2-12 31
Three-point baskets: M 10 (Murphy 3, Dugan 3, Stancil 2, Aikins, Franklin); W 3 (Fancher 2, Martin)
Gilbertsville-Mount Upton 42, Sharon Springs 28
G-MU … 11 11 12 8 — 42
SS … 5 6 9 8 — 28
Gilbertsville-Mount Upton: Dylan McVey 4 0-0 8, Noah Pain 0 1-2 1, McKinley Gardner 1 0-0 2, Devon Hartwell 1 0-0 3, Chase Simonds 1 0-0 2, Corbin Demmon 1 0-0 2, Dalton Proskine 5 1-4 11, Brian Wilson 5 3-4 13. Totals 19 5-10 42
Sharon Springs: Carson Law 0 0-2 0, Mike Cashman 3 0-0 7, Luke Enyart 5 1-3 11, Brady Law 2 1-2 5, Brady Ostrander 2 1-2 5. Totals 12 3-9 28
Three-point baskets: G-MU 1 (Hartwell); SS 1 (Cashman)
BOWLING
The Cooperstown bowling teams earned a split against West Canada Valley on Tuesday. The boys team won 4-0 while the girls fell 4-0.
Frank Wilsey was the top roller for the Hawkeye boys with a final line of 188-237-198-623.
Nathan Heavner (545) and Ethan Lichtman (542) also topped 500.
Talie Hanson (370) and Lean McCrea (322) were the top performers on the girls side.
Boys: Cooperstown 4, West Canada Valley 0
Cooperstown (2638): Frank Wilsey 188-237-198-623, Nathan Heavner 194-203-148-545, Ethan Lichtman 206-144-192-542, Liam Ford 161-144-180-485
WCV (2224): Cooper Karram 157-184-148-489, Nathan Ebensperg 158-142-177-477, Lucas Humphreur 133-143-96-372, Thomas Weir 118-183-201-319
Girls: West Canada Valley 4, Cooperstown 0
WCV (2064): Carmen Youngs 137-142-181 460, Jenavieve Lyon 173-131-119-423, L. Tyson 119-154-127-400, Sydney Kinsella 120-155-124-399
Cooperstown (1582): Talie Hanson 126-122-122-370, Lean McCrea 113-97-112-322, Nina Vasquez 92-92-104-288, Hope Davis 121-94-215
Friday
Chenango and Schoharie counties reported COVID-19 deaths Thursday, while Otsego County announced changes in contact tracing.
Chenango County's 99th death Thursday was included in the daily report from Chenango County Public Health. "Yesterday afternoon our team confirmed the 99th COVID-19 attributed death in Chenango County. Our deepest condolences are with the affected family and friends," a media release said.
The department reported 722 active cases, including 254 in vaccinated people. There were eight people hospitalized — all of them unvaccinated. There were 1,035 people under active quarantine.
Home test reporting information and quarantine and isolation self-attestation forms are available for Chenango County residents at www.co.chenango.ny.us/public-health/nursing/covid19-at-home-testing.php
Schoharie County also reported a death. The county's 31st death was confirmed on the state Department of Health website, which also said the county had 55 new cases.
Otsego County reported 183 new cases Thursday. According to the Otsego County Department of Health website, the department is no longer reporting the number of active cases.
There were eight people hospitalized with COVID, the website said.
The seven-day average of positive tests for the county was 17.2%.
The Otsego County Health Department issued a media release Thursday, saying the state and county departments of health have "shifted resources in the response to the pandemic." Those who test positive for COVID may or may not be contacted by the health department, the release said. Those who test positive should isolate for at least five days and notify close contacts. Those who are unvaccinated or have not received a booster dose and have been in close contact with someone who is positive should quarantine for at least five days, according to the release.
After isolation or quarantine is completed, those who need documentation for work can download attestation forms at https://tinyurl.com/yvy332jp
Contact tracing will continue in certain settings such as schools, daycares, hospitals, nursing homes and other congregate settings, the release said.
Statewide, Gov. Kathy Hochul reported 195 COVID-19 deaths Wednesday.
"Even as the rate of new infections continues to move in a promising direction, too many New Yorkers are getting sick, being hospitalized or tragically losing their lives — we must remain vigilant in our fight against the virus," Hochul said in a media release. "We can't afford to reverse the progress we've made fighting this winter surge. Let's continue to use the tools at our disposal to stop the spread and keep our loves ones safe and healthy: Vaccines, boosters, masks and best practices like washing your hands and staying home if you're sick."
The state Comptroller's Office issued several oversight recommendations to the town of Pharsalia board after a former supervisor pleaded guilty to stealing almost $250,000 from the town.
Former Pharsalia Town Supervisor Dennis Brown pleaded guilty in June 2021 and was sentenced to one to three years in state prison in September. He also has to pay back the town the $240,000 he stole. The Daily Star previously reported he had returned $125,000 by his sentencing date.
Auditors from the comptroller's office reviewed town accounts from Jan. 1, 2016 through Sept. 30, 2017. Auditors also "extended our scope period back to 1987 to review the stipend agreement between the former Supervisor and the Town; 2006 to review Board minutes for the Board’s approval of positions held by the former Supervisor; and 2015 to conduct a three-year analysis of budget estimates," the report said.
Auditors reviewed the records to see if the town board provided enough oversight of the supervisor's expenses. The report said board members did not provide enough oversight, which allowed the supervisor to misappropriate town funds. According to the audit, Brown "disbursed more than $172,000 without Board authorization" and "inappropriately paid himself more than $57,000."
Auditors found that while the supervisor provided monthly financial reports, board members "were unaware that these expenditures were being made because they do not thoroughly review the financial activity, bank statements or canceled check images." The report also said an audit was done in 2016, but the board failed to look at it closely.
Brown was also appointed to the following positions: Health Officer, County Landfill Monitor, Town Landfill Administrator, Assistant Dog Warden (2017) and Town Historian (2017). The report said the supervisor gave himself a stipend for each position, which the board did not know. The report said supervisors are prohibited from being appointed to positions they oversee, and public health law prohibits a member of the governing board to be made health officer of a town, and it wasn't required as the county has a formed health district.
The report also said the board was unaware that Brown failed to file the annual audits to the comptroller's office from 2015-17.
Auditors issued several recommendations for the board, including setting town positions salaries annually; review financial records, reports and supporting bank statements; perform a thorough audit; adopt budgets that contained all planned revenue and expenditure estimates and monitor financial activity through the year; ensure the supervisor prepares and files the AUD with OSC annually.
It also gave the supervisor the following recommendations: disburse town money only after getting board approval and prepare the annual AUD.
Supervisor Jeremiah Micklas issued a short letter of response saying the town agrees with the findings and will submit a corrective action plan. He also said, "We appreciate your guidance in this matter and look forward to realigning our town with the proper procedures to reduce the risk of this happening to our town in the future."
A former Delaware County man charged with animal neglect and abuse was sentenced to jail Thursday, Jan. 13, almost two years after 20 dogs were rescued from his property in squalid conditions that indicated the dogs were being used for dogfighting.
Nasir Azmat, who pleaded guilty to one count of a New York Agriculture and Markets Law misdemeanor of overdriving, torturing and injuring animals; failure to provide proper sustenance, on Oct. 14, 2021, was sentenced in town of Sidney Court to 60 days in jail and three years of supervised probation. During that time he and his family are prohibited from owning any animal.
Delaware County District Attorney John Hubbard said after the sentencing that the class A misdemeanor carries a maximum sentence of 364 days in jail, but the probation term would have been capped if the maximum sentence were imposed.
"Our thinking was it was more important to have a longer probation period where inspections can be done at his house," Hubbard said.
He said his office received between 400 and 500 letters about the case from people around the country and they all said Azmat needed to be held accountable for his actions.
Azmat was arrested in February 2020 and charged with 41 misdemeanor violations of New York Agriculture and Markets Law. He was also was charged with 20 counts of possessing dogs under circumstances evincing an intent that such animals engage in animal fighting; one count of owning or possessing animal-fighting paraphernalia with the intent to engage in or otherwise promote or facilitate animal fighting; and 20 counts of overdriving, torturing and injuring animals by failing to provide proper sustenance. He was also ticketed by the town of Franklin dog control officer and charged with 19 counts of harboring an unlicensed dog.
Delaware County sheriff's deputies investigated a tip of animal neglect at Azmat's home on county Highway 21 in the town of Franklin. On Feb. 5, 2020, deputies discovered the dogs crammed two or three to a crate, stacked four high in a barn on Azmat's property. The dogs were transported to the Delaware Valley Humane Society in Sidney by deputies, local dog control officers and DVHS director Erin Insinga and volunteer Jill Stafford.
The dogs, who were emaciated and injured, were treated by veterinarian Matthew Culverwell of the Compassionate Care Veterinary Hospital in Norwich. Stafford said four of the rescued dogs had to be euthanized, but the other 16 found homes.
The case was postponed numerous times, first when the COVID-19 pandemic stopped all court cases, and then when Franklin Town Justice Gary P. Arndt recused himself from the case in August 2021. Hubbard offered a plea deal that was at first rejected by Azmat and later approved by him. Azmat was scheduled to be sentenced late last year, but his wife tested positive for COVID-19 and he was quarantined, Stafford said.
"We've been waiting two years to get justice in this case," Insinga said. "He is going to jail. He is going to have to wait for someone to feed him or give him water or allow him to use the bathroom. He's going to experience the life those animals lived."
Delaware County Sheriff Craig DuMond said after seeing the outcome of the case he is working with the state sheriff's association to get stricter laws enacted for people accused of abusing animals. He said Cpl. Eric Alexander told him it was "very satisfying to be able to put him (Azmat) in handcuffs." Alexander was the officer who investigated the case.
"I hope a message was sent to anyone who even thinks about doing this," DuMond said. "We will hunt you down and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law."
Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221. Follow her @DS_VickyK on Twitter.
ALBANY — While New York’s prison population has declined sharply in recent years, it would be reduced even further under a proposal known as elder parole, allowing aging convicts to be considered for release even with years left on their sentence.
The debate has been simmering for several years. But with a new legislative session in Albany, advocates for the idea are getting a boost from state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, a liberal Democrat from Long Island.
In a report issued Thursday on demographic trends in the prison population, DiNapoli made it clear he believes the idea of freeing older inmates earlier is worth consideration.
“In the months ahead, policymakers should examine opportunities to reduce the population of incarcerated individuals 50 and over where public safety would not be compromised,” DiNapoli said.
A legislative bill proposing that inmates at least 55 years of age be considered for parole was co-sponsored last year by then-Sen. Brian Benjamin.
Benjamin is now the state’s lieutenant governor, having been plucked from the Legislature last year by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The report also discusses the potential financial consequences for taxpayers as the prison population deals with an increasing concentration of older inmates.
Lawmakers in recent years have unsuccessfully nudged state Corrections Commissioner Anthony Annucci to provide them a financial breakdown of the costs associated with caring for aging residents of the prisons system, though he has not provided the data, DiNapoli reported.
At a legislative hearing last February, Annucci testified, “The older you get in prison, the more costly [the] level of medical care you are required to receive.
The comptroller found he average annual cost of providing health care in prisons has climbed to $7,380, which is 29% higher than the cost eight years ago.
The prison population stands is now 31,262, with 24.3% being people ages 50 and older. In 2008, with the inmate population was 62,597, just 12% were 50 and older, the report noted.
DiNapoli also encouraged state leaders to closely monitor the effects of a new law aimed at avoiding re-admissions to prison of parolees who commit technical violations of the conditions of their release.
Republicans and some upstate Democrats have voiced reservations about the elder parole proposal.
Assemblyman Billy Jones, D-Plattsburgh, an ally of the corrections officers’ union, noted that at traditional parole hearings, candidates for release are usually asked to explain whether they understand the ramifications of their crime and the underlying crime that put them in prison is evaluated before release is granted.
“I don’t like the idea of taking a broad brush to this just because a person is a certain age,” Jones said.
Prison reform advocates have identified elder parole and a second proposal billed as the Fair and Timely Parole Act as two priorities in 2022.
Jose Saldana, director of the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign, said keeping older adults behind bars when they can be safely released is depriving communities of individuals who can mentor young people and “provide peer-counseling to people with substance-abuse disorder.”
Critics of the measures argue the state has already put the needs of convicts ahead of community safety. They cite the fact the state parole board has released more than a dozen convicted killers of police officers over the past several years.
The Franklin girls basketball team was able to hold off Cherry Valley-Springfield for a 61-53 victory in Thursday’s back-and-forth battle in the Tri-Valley League.
Kayla Campbell had a huge game for the Purple Devils, finishing with 34 points and 11 rebounds.
Marissa Campbell also had a double-double for Franklin with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Morgan Huff was the Patriots’ top scorer with 23 points. Joleen Lusk and Ari Bosc also finished in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Franklin (7-1 overall, 3-1 league) will visit Gilbertsville-Mount Upton on Friday while CV-S is off until Wednesday when it travels to face Schenevus.
Morris 55, Milford 17
Morris rolled to a 55-17 victory over Milford in Thursday’s Tri-Valley league matchup.
Carissa Richards led the scoring for the Mustangs with a game-high 23 points scored followed by teammate Hannah Wist with 11 points.
The Wildcats were led by Taylor Beckley with eight points.
Morris will host Edmeston on Wednesday.
Sidney 43, Unadilla Valley 40
(Wednesday)
Sidney narrowly defeated Unadilla Valley 43-40 in Wednesday’s Midstate Athletic Conference game.
Sidney was led by Ava Cirigliano with 18 points, followed by Emma Simmons with 16 points.
Leading Unadilla Valley was Kadence York with 11 points, followed by Keona Courtright with 10 points.
On Friday, Sidney will travel to play Harpursville while Unadilla Valley will travel to face Deposit-Hancock.
Franklin 61, Cherry Valley-Springfield 53
F … 14 12 18 17 — 61
CV-S … 20 9 14 10 — 53
Franklin: Marissa Campbell 6 2-5 18, Lucia Temple 1 1-2 3, Jaritza Myers 1 0-0 2, Kayla Campbell 13 5-8 34, Zoe Warren 0 0-0 0, Meredith Shivers 2 0-0 4. Totals: 23 8-15 61
CV-S: A. Bosc 5 0-0 10, M. Huff 11 1-5 23, E. Whiteman 0 0-0 0, L. Lusk 1 0-0 2, M. Dubben 1 0-0 2, J. Lusk 5 1-2 11, B. Whiteman 2 0-0 5. Totals: 25 2-7 53
Three-point baskets: F 7 (M. Campbell 4, K. Campbell 3); CV-S 1 (B. Whiteman)
Morris 55, Milford 17
Morris … 12 18 15 10 — 55
Milford … 8 4 3 2 0 — 17
Morris: Carissa Richards 10 0-0 23, Hannah Wist 5 0-0 11, Madison Aikins 3 0-2 7, Maddie Coleman 3 2-2 8, Triana Hawkins 3 0-0 6. Totals 24 2-4 55
Milford: Taylor Beckley 4 0-0 8, Kara Mertz 1 0-0 2, Julia Barown 0 0-2 0, Delaney Maison 3 0-0 6, Sara Munson 0 1-2 1. Totals 8 1-4 17
Three-point baskets: Morris 5 (Richards 3, Wist, Aikins); Milford 0
Sidney 43, Unadilla Valley 40 (Wednesday)
S … 11 12 10 10 — 43
UV … 9 12 10 9 — 40
Sidney: Emma Simmons 4 8-15 16, Cortney Mondore 1 0-2 2, Ava Cirigliano 9 0-0 18, Makayla Bales 2 0-0 4, Zoe Sullivan 1 1-2 3. Totals 17 9-19 43
Unadilla Valley: Jaiden Schrag 3 0-0 7, Kadence York 5 1-2 11, Madison Sayles 3 0-0 6, Keona Courtright 4 2-2 10, Kiara Foster 1 0-0 2, Bella Jones 1 0-0 2, Morgan Hodge 0 2-2 2. Totals 17 5-6 40
Three-point baskets: S 0; UV 1 (Schrag)
BOYS BASKETBALL
Richfield Springs 57, Milford 35 (Wednesday)
The Indians used a big first quarter to defeat the Wildcats 57-35 in Wednesday’s Tri-Valley League contest.
Richfield Springs scored 27 points in the first quarter alone, eventually taking a 40-20 halftime lead that it would never relinquish.
Austin Bowman led the way for the Indians with a game-high 24 points. Clay Bobnick added eight points in the win.
Milford was led by Carter Stevens and Brayden Murphy who scored 10 points each.
Richfield Springs (6-5 overall, 3-2 league) will face Hamilton at Herkimer College on Saturday.
Richfield Springs 57, Milford 35 (Wednesday)
RS … 27 13 3 14 — 57
M … 9 11 9 6 — 35
RS: Bobnick 4 0-0 8, Bowman 1 3-4 5, Oakley 2 0-1 4, Graves 2 0-0 4, Hosford 8 4-7 24, Dunckel 1 0-0 3, Diliberto 1 0-0 3, Schultz 2 0-0 6. Totals: 21 7-12 57
Milford: Stevens 4 1-3 10, Burkhart 1 0-0 2, Thorsland 1 5-8 7, Murphy 4 0-0 10, Clark 1 0-1 2, Virtell 0 4-10 4. Totals: 11 10-22 35
Three-point baskets: RS 8 (Hosford 4, Dunckel, Diliberto, Schultz 2); M 3 (Stevens, Murphy 2)
WRESTLING
Unatego/Unadilla Valley 36,
Cooperstown/Milford 30
The Unatego/Unadilla Valley wrestling team edged Cooperstown/Milford 36-30 in Thursday’s dual meet.
Ashton Gore (110 pounds), Wyatt Meade (126), Joseph Meade (160), and Nate Ackerley (189) all earned victories by pin for Unatego/Unadilla Valley.
All of Cooperstown’s points came via forfeit.
Unatego/Unadilla Valley 36, Cooperstown/Milford 30
Matches began at 126
102: Gavin Nordberg (U/UV) won by forfeit
110: Ashton Gore (U/UV) pinned David Pitt, 3:31
118: Henry Barnes (U/UV) won by forfeit
126: Wyatt Meade (U/UV) pinned Todd Bowen, 2:32
132: T.J. O’Connor (C/M) won by forfeit
138: Brenin Dempsey (C/M) won by forfeit
145: double forfeit
152: double forfeit
160: Joseph Meade (U/UV) pinned Noah LaPointe, 2:34
172: Henry Loeffler (C/M) won by forfeit
189: Nate Ackerley (U/UV) pinned Colton Czadzeck, 0:17
215: Brent Chase (C/M) won by forfeit
285: Max Sharf (C/M) won by forfeit
BOYS SWIMMING
Rome Free Academy 59,
Cooperstown 39
The Cooperstown boys swim team was defeated by Rome Free Academy 59-39 on Thursday.
Thomas Hellenthal won a pair of races for the Hawkeyes, taking first in the 200 and 500 freestyle swims. Cooperstown also won the 200 and 400 freestyle relay events.
Notching second-place finishes for the Hawkeyes were Macon Aramini (100 butterfly), Paul Crowell (100 free), and Simon Hurysz (100 backstroke).
Cooperstown (3-5) will visit Sherburne-Earlville on Wednesday.
Rome Free Academy 59, Cooperstown 39
Top Cooperstown finishers
200 Medley Relay: 2. Morgan, Hurysz, Aramini, Agostino, 2:08.34
200 Freestyle: 1. Thomas Hellenthal, 2:04.30
200 Individual Medley: 3. Macon Aramini, 2:36.91
50 Freestyle: 3. Simon Hurysz, 26.37
Diving: 3. Lincoln Dilorenzo, 159.82
100 Butterfly: 2. Macon Aramini, 1:15.37
100 Freestyle: 2. Paul Crowell, 1:01.28
500 Freestyle: 1. Thomas Hellenthal, 5:35.74
200 Freestyle Relay: 1. Crowell, Ignatovsky, Hurysz, Hellenthal, 1:46.20
100 Backstroke: 2. Simon Hurysz, 1:16.31
400 Freestyle Relay: 1. Kinley, Ignatovsky, Crowell, Hellenthal, 4:12.76
Weekend
The death toll from COVID-19 reached a grim milestone in Chenango County on Thursday, and Otsego County is closing in on the same mark.
"Yesterday afternoon our team confirmed the 100th COVID-19 attributed death in Chenango County," a media release from Chenango County Public Heath said. "This milestone stands as a stark reminder of the severe risk this virus still poses and a affirms our call for everyone to continue with proven prevention strategies. Our condolences go out the bereaved."
There were 578 active cases in the county, according to Friday's report. There were four people hospitalized and 840 under active quarantine.
The Otsego County Department of Health reported one new death on its website Friday. The county has now lost 99 people to the disease.
The department reported 124 new cases Friday, with eight people hospitalized. The county no longer reports its number of active cases.
Otsego's seven-day average of positive tests was 17.2% at the time of the report.
Delaware County reported three COVID-19 deaths in the past week.
According to the weekly report from Delaware County Public Health, there have now been four deaths in 2022, bringing the total since the pandemic began to 89.
Delaware reported 650 new cases during the past week. The report said there were 479 active cases and seven people hospitalized.
Statewide, Gov. Kathy Hochul reported there were 49,027 positive tests Thursday, down from the surge-high 90,132 recorded on Jan. 7. The percent of positivity was 16.3%, down from surge-high 23.17% recorded on Jan. 2.
Hochul's report said 12,207 New Yorkers were hospitalized Thursday, down by 245 from the day before.
There were 177 COVID-19 deaths statewide Thursday.
"We are appearing to turn the corner on the winter surge," Hochul said in a media release. "This is no time to spike the football, we still need to remain vigilant. So let's continue to use the tools we know will help stop the spread and keep ourselves safe: get the vaccine, get the booster, wear a mask, and stay home if you're feeling sick. Let's continue to do the right thing and we will get through this together."
The First Night Oneonta Committee has announced the winners of this year's Festival of Lights contest.
The Festival of Lights ran from Dec. 18 through Jan. 3 in Neahwa Park in Oneonta. The committee held an opening night ceremony and activities on Dec. 31.
Ashley Parker, board chair at First Night Oneonta, said about 100 people visited the tent during the New Year's Eve celebration to enjoy free hot chocolate, popcorn and entertainment by Cosmic Karma Fire, Mike the Juggler, Drum Quest and The Hill City Ice Queens who dressed up as Anna and Elsa from "Frozen."
The weather also cooperated that night.
"It was such a warm night too, we got many compliments saying how glad and appreciative families were that we put this together again," Parker said.
The committee asked residents to pick their top three displays and each ranking was given a certain point, Parker said. The points were tallied and the top three displays were Casella Waste Systems in first, the Oneonta Boys & Girls Club in second and Brooks' House of Bar-B-Q in third.
Parker said many people commented on Casella's display, which had a company dumpster represent the Grinch's sleigh with an inflatable Grinch and had his partner in crime, Max the dog, pulling the sleigh.
The Oneonta Boys & Girls Club's display was a gingerbread house.
"The effort, time, and detail they put into this magical real-life house was outstanding," Parker said. "Many children stopped by this display and wanted to go in and play as well as take pictures of themselves by it."
The third-place display by Brooks' House of Bar-B-Q was Santa, barbecuing chicken.
Five Star Subaru and Cleinman Performance Partners sponsored this year's decorating contest. The first place winner received $500 and $500 will go to the winner's favorite charity; second place received $300 and $300 to a charity and third place received $200 and $200 to a charity. Parker presented checks to the winners Friday, Jan. 14.
Parker said "Brooks is donating all of its winnings back to First Night." She said Casella is donating its $500 to Friends of Recovery of Delaware and Otsego Counties. The Boys & Girls Club donated $300 to the homeless shelter operated by Opportunities for Otsego.
Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221. Follow her @DS_VickyK on Twitter.
ALBANY — New York's premiere economic development agency came under fire at a legislative hearing Friday for awarding billions of dollars worth of incentives to private corporations without determining what the returns on those investments should be.
Sen. James Skoufis, D-Woodbury, chairman of the Senate Investigations Government Operations committee, voiced his frustration and disappointment with what he described as a litany of "failures" at the Empire State Development (ESD), a state government authority under the control of the governor's office.
Specifically, Skoufis questioned whether taxpayers are benefiting from the controversial $450 million film tax credit program, which was set up to encourage movies and television studios to produce films and shows in the state.
He also said county industrial development authorities have escaped vigorous scrutiny, noting there are examples of companies making untruthful statements on applications for government incentives, with those assertions never getting examined.
Under questioning from Skoufis, Hope Knight, Gov. Kathy Hochul's nominee to be president of Empire State Development, said her agency lacks investigators to verify the claims made by applicants for incentives.
Skoufis responded: "I encourage you that maybe you should get investigators because these companies lie all the time, in my experience, to get benefits that they don't deserve."
Knight has been at the helm of the economic development authority since late October, when she was nominated by Hochul. Knight will face a Senate confirmation hearing in Albany later this month.
Skoufis pointed out he was not venting his criticism at her performance, but rather at the work that had been done during the administration of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo resigned abruptly in August amid an impeachment inquiry.
Skoufis expressed disappointment that Knight did not list any corrective actions she plans to take to bring about more accountability of the state's business incentives.
When Knight appears at the confirmation hearing, the senator suggested, "You need to acknowledge the failures of the past and make it clear to people like me and like-minded colleagues what you are going to change at ESD."
New York's challenging business climate was also discussed, with state Sen. Tom O'Mara, R-Big Flats, stating that "we're being out-competed by virtually every state in the nation," with companies being beckoned to flee to states with growing economies.
O'Mara said the state should be focused on retaining and strengthening small businesses, calling them "the backbone of the economy," while noting some of the bigger projects backed by ESD have failed to achieve expectations.
Michael Kink, executive director of Strong Economy for All, a labor-backed progressive advocacy group, said economic development subsidies in New York have spiraled into "an incredibly urgent crisis."
"Government is taking $10 billion a year and setting it on fire in the name of economic development," said Kink, arguing there has been no tracking of the financial return on the investments and jobs produced have been enormously costly.
Kink said the money could be better used to help communities by channeling the funds to housing, childcare and public education.
Meanwhile, union leaders representing workers in the film and television industries told lawmakers that the New York incentives have yielded thousands of high-paying jobs.
Thomas O'Donnell, president of Theatrical Teamsters Local 817, said: "There is an absolute explosion in the production of content. It's because of all these streaming services coming online. There is more content out there than I have ever seen in my career. And I think we have a great opportunity to capture even more work in the future."
Cuomo was a strong advocate of the tax credits for Hollywood companies. Last year, in an unusual move, the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences gave him an Emmy Award for his COVID-19 briefings.
But the academy stripped Cuomo of the award one day after he resigned and Hochul was sworn in as the new governor.
The Milford boys rode a huge fourth quarter to a 60-47 victory over Morris in Friday’s Tri-Valley League game.
With Morris leading 35-33 after three quarters, the Wildcats scored 27 fourth-quarter points to seal the win.
Martin Thorsland notched a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds to lead Milford while Sawyer Eckberg had 13 points and six rebounds and Riley Stevens finished with nine points and nine assists.
Scott Murphy paced Morris with 22 points while Asa Dugan also finished in double figures with 11 points.
Unadilla Valley 42, Cooperstown 40 (Thursday)
The Storm edged the Hawkeyes for a 42-40 victory in Thursday’s inter-sectional matchup.
Zach Smith was the top scorer for Unadilla Valley with 17 points while Trason Murray added nine and Kaden Butts scored 10.
Charlie Lambert poured in a game-high 20 points for Cooperstown while Troy Davis had five points and 10 rebounds.
Unadilla Valley will host Deposit-Hancock on Wednesday while Cooperstown will be at home against Milford on Saturday.
Milford 60, Morris 47
Milford … 12 11 10 27 — 60
Morris … 12 11 12 12 — 47
Milford: Carter Stevens 3 1-1 7, Riley Stevens 4 1-2 9, Jacob Burkhart 0 0-0 0, Martin Thorsland 8 6-8 23, Braden Murphy 2 0-0 4, Sawyer Eckber 4 4-6 13, Evan Clark 0 0-0 0, Mike Virtell 2 0-0 4. Totals: 23 12-17 60
Morris: Tiger Stancil 2 1-2 5, JJ Benjamin 0 0-0 0, Asa Dugan 3 2-2 11, Garrett Aikens 3 2-6 9, Scott Murphy 7 5-6 22, Ethan Wagner 0 0-0 0, Lincoln Waffle 0 0-0 0, Ethan Franklin 0 0-1 0. Totals: 15 10-17 47
Three-point baskets: Milford 2 (Thorsland, Eckberg); Morris 7 (Dugan 3, Aikens, Murphy 3)
Unadilla Valley 42, Cooperstown 40 (Thursday)
UV … 6 13 13 10 — 42
C … 11 10 10 9 — 40
Unadilla Valley: Dakota Johnson 1 0-0 3, Matt Bogdan 0 1-2 1, Zach Smith 8 0-0 17, Trason Murray 3 0-0 9, Trent Marinelli 1 2-2 4, Kaden Butts 4 0-0 8. Totals: 17 3-4 42
Cooperstown: Ethan Kukenberger 2 1-2 6, Kalen Dempsey 3 0-0 6, P.J. Kiuber 1 1-1 3, Troy Davis 2 1-1 5, Conrad Erway 0 0-0 0, Charlie Lambert 7 2-4 20. Totals: 15 5-8 40
Three-point baskets: UV 5 (Johnson, Smith, Murray 3); C 5 (Kukenberger, Lambert 4)
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Oneonta 57, Owego Apalachin 24
The Oneonta girls rolled to a 57-24 road victory over Owego Apalachin on Friday.
Ang McGraw paced the Yellowjackets on offense with a game-high 15 points. Jordan Bellinger and Emma Peeters also finished in double figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Abbie Platt had a solid all-around game with three points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
OHS will host Binghamton on Wednesday.
Franklin 43,
Gilbertsville-Mount Upton 30
The Purple Devils defeated the Raiders 43-30 in Friday’s Tri-Valley League matchup.
For Franklin, Kayla Campbell led the way with a game-high 32 points.
G-MU was led by Hannah Bonczkowski with 10 points scored.
G-MU will next play Worcester on Wednesday.
Cooperstown 49,
Sherburne-Earlville 38
Cooperstown was able to hold off Sherburne-Earlville for a 49-38 victory on Friday.
Liana Williams led the scoring for the Hawkeyes with 13 points, followed closely by Gabby Woeppel with 12 points. Dani Seamon and Meghan Niles each scored nine points with Seamon adding 11 rebounds.
Chesnee Miller led Sherburne-Earlville with 13 points.
Unadilla Valley 42, Deposit-Hancock 24
A strong defensive performance helped Unadilla Valley defeat Deposit-Hancock 42-24 on Friday.
The Storm led 22-7 at the half after holding the Eagles without a point in the second quarter.
Kadence York was the game’s leading scorer for UV with 18 points.
Kaitlyn Macumber led Deposit-Hancock with seven points.
Oneonta 57, Owego Apalachin 24
OHS … 9 16 13 19 — 57
OA … 11 2 7 4 — 24
OHS: Jordan Bellinger 6 1-1 13, Ang McGraw 7 1-2 15, Megan Cleveland 2 0-0 6, Emma Peeters 3 1-4 10, Julia Joyner 1 0-0 2, Emily Zeh 4 0-0 8, Abbie Platt 1 1-2 3. Totals: 24 4-9 57
OA: M. Bennett 0 0-0 0, G. Hankey 0 1-2 1, L. Herceg 2 0-0 6, S. Terry 2 0-0 4, S. Maslin 0 0-0 0, M. McEvoy 4 0-4 8, A. Brown 1 0-0 2, L. Gilbert 0 3-4 3. Totals: 9 4-10 24
Three-point baskets: OHS 5 (Cleveland 2, Peeters 3); OA 2 (Herceg 2)
Franklin 43, Gilbertsville-Mount Upton 30
F … 7 15 9 12 — 43
G-MU … 8 8 5 9 — 30
Franklin: Marissa Campbell 2 0-0 5, Lucia Temple 1 0-0 2, Jaritza Myers 1 0-0 2, Kayla Campbell 10 10-12 32, Zoe Warren 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 10-12 43
G-MU: Hannah Bonczkowski 4 0-0 10, Ashlyn Marron 4 0-0 9, Mackenzie Barnes 1 3-4 5, Tammy Barnes 1 0-0 2, Megan Perrine 2 0-0 4. Totals 12 3-4 30
Three-point baskets: Franklin 3 (K. Campbell 2, M. Campbell) G-MU 3 (Bonczkowski 2, Marron)
Cooperstown 49, Sherburne-Earlville 38
C … 15 10 21 3 — 49
S-E … 5 12 7 14 — 38
Cooperstown: Meghan Niles 4 0-0 9, Gabby Woeppel 5 2-2 12, Liana Williams 5 2-2 13, Sarah Feik 0 0-0 0, Addy Lewis 1 2-4 4, Claire Jensen 1 0-2 2, Rory Nelen 0 0-0 0, Dani Seamon 4 0-0 9, Savannah Kirkby 0 0-2 0. Totals: 20 6-12 49
S-E: Alex Grzymkowski 1 1-2 3, Chesnee Miller 4 4-6 13, Alexis James 1 2-2 4, Hannah Todd-Rogers 3 1-2 7, Trinity Thorton 3 3-4 9, Amelia Mayer 1 0-0 2. Totals: 13 11-16 38
Three-point baskets: C 3 (Niles, Williams, Seamon); S-E 1 (Miller)
Unadilla Valley 42, Deposit-Hancock 24
UV … 16 6 9 11 — 42
D-H … 7 0 6 11 — 24
UV: Isabella Potter 1 0-0 2, Jaiden Schrag 2 0-2 4, Kadence York 8 2-3 18, Madison Sayles 3 0-0 6, Keona Courtright 2 0-2 4, Lily Parker 0 0-2 0, Bella Jones 0 1-2 1, Morgan Hodge 2 3-3 7. Totals: 18 6-14 42
D-H: Addison Makowski 1 0-2 2, Cassidy Bruford 1 0-0 2, Makiryn Ostrander 1 0-0 3, Kaitlyn Macumber 2 2-4 7, Olivia Carey 3 0-0 6, Payten Gill 1 0-0 2, Taylor Gotthardt 0 0-0 0, Abigail Russell 0 0-0 0, Nevaeh Rivera 1 0-0 2, Rebekkalynn Christ 0 0-0 0. Totals: 10 2-6 24
Three-point baskets: UV 0; D-H 2 (Ostrander, Macumber)
BOWLING
Cooperstown 5, Waterville 0
(Thursday)
The Cooperstown boys bowling team swept Waterville 5-0 in a match held on Thursday.
Ethan Lichtman led the Hawkeyes with a series of 223-202-211-636. Also posting solid scores were Liam Ford (564), Frank Wilsey (549), and Derek Hochbrueckner (488).
Cooperstown will host Clinton on Tuesday.
Cooperstown 5, Waterville 0 (Thursday)
Cooperstown (2695): Ethan Lichtman 223-202-211-636, Liam Ford 139-212-213-564, Frank Wilsey 195-152-202-549, Derek Hochbrueckner 143-183-152-488
Waterville (1750): Edy Yang 159-206-144-509, Ashton Harris 200-136-164-500, Oscar Yang 119-182-123-424, Rachel Harris 111-109-97-317
Retired attorney Caspar Ewig is keeping a century-old Cooperstown tradition alive.
Ewig, 79, assumed operation of the Cooperstown Diner in 2020. The diner celebrated its 100-year anniversary on Dec. 9, 2021.
“I was a maritime attorney until February 2017,” Ewig said. “The firm … wanted the desk for the younger crowd and they retired me, so then, because my late wife was a Cooperstown fan and always loved it and wanted to come up for retirement and we’d bought a house, I came up in ’17.
“I realized retirement without a hobby or someone to share it with was boring and dull, the pandemic came about and the restaurant was shut down in February 2020,” he continued. “The prior operator, Cindy Bissel, had decided she’d had enough and (property and LLC owners), the Hayfords, were looking for somebody to operate it and I was looking for something to do; that’s how we made a deal.”
Though Ewig said his “prior restaurant experience was minor,” he said he has enjoyed the challenge, amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’d had a couple clients who were restaurateurs, so I wasn’t totally unfamiliar,” he said. “I’ve been doing it since basically April 2020 and opened up at that Memorial Day. It was a disastrous first year, as you can imagine, but I managed to hang on by the grip of my teeth. (During the pandemic), we were only allowed to do takeout and you can’t run a restaurant just on takeout, but slowly but surely they opened up the rules and, as soon as they did, the Mohican Club allowed me to use the driveway between (the properties) for outdoor seating. We were able to put the same number of tables I have inside, outside, and toward the end of 2020, I had a fair amount of tables and a pretty good operation.”
The diner, Ewig said, is open year-round and known for its breakfast, served all day. The diner’s “humongous” 13-ounce burger, he said, is also a customer favorite.
“Our specialty is breakfast and a couple of breakfasts that we’re really known for are the hash and eggs — our cook makes our own hash and our own sausage gravy — and pancakes and all kinds of omelets,” he said.
Ewig said, though new to restaurant ownership, he “wanted to add a little pizazz” to the diner menu.
“I came in and I added some egg dishes,” he said. “Greek eggs, which are poached eggs, or eggs however you want, over spanakopita. That’s gone over quite well. And what I call Georgia eggs, which is eggs Benedict except, instead of hollandaise sauce, we use sausage gravy.
“And I encourage the staff to come up with ideas,” Ewig continued, “so they came up with a chili and cheddar cheese omelet, and that went like wildfire. We always try to do unique specials.”
Ewig said, though customer demographics shift with Cooperstown’s seasonal tourism influx, he’s been embraced by his adopted community.
“The only reason I didn’t do as well this summer as before the pandemic was the crowds in Cooperstown weren’t as great, but on the other hand, I had days where I had to send people away,” he said, noting that the diner seats 30. “It’s a total dichotomy: from after Columbus Day to Memorial Day, (customers) will be what you’d call locals, and that includes … (people from) about a 40-mile radius: Walton, Utica and that area. The Cooperstown Diner definitely has its own reputation that people come for. Everybody has said it’s as good as it always was and has thoroughly enjoyed it. You get you share of complaints — you can’t avoid that — but we’ve gotten some really rave reviews.”
Ewig said, while hopeful for the diner’s future, he wants, too, to continue honoring its legacy. It’s 100th birthday, he said, was commemorated based on a Dec. 9, 1921 groundbreaking announcement in the Otsego Farmer newspaper.
“I’ve got a couple things I’m working on … and I’m trying to expand my wintertime audience,” he said. “I am looking for that, but my purpose is really to make sure the diner continues giving excellent food, the quality food that everyone expects.
“It says something (that it’s lasted 100 years),” Ewig continued. “The diner has always been a place to meet for locals to have a hangout. There are a lot of other restaurants that open for the summer then close. I almost consider it a public service that I stay open — I’m open seven days a week — and I look at that as a payback; that’s something the diner owes to the town. (Its) reputation is well deserved; Cindy Bissel, for the last 20 years, ran really a very good diner, and her predecessors. It was always a family-owned diner, so that … it developed its own charm and its own personality. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. One of the things I want to do is keep that personality, because it was something that attracted me long before I started working here. I enjoy it and want to keep that going.”
Cooperstown Diner is open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday through Thursday, and 6 to 7, Friday. For more information, call 607-282-4367, visit cooperstowndiner.com or find “Cooperstown Diner” on Facebook.
ROXBURY — The next exhibit by Roxbury Arts Group will be “The Wilderness Diary,” a series of nine portrait paintings along with a companion book and partnering audio recording by Jessica Farrell. it will run from Jan. 22 to March 5, in Walt Meade Gallery at 5025 Vega Mountain Road in Roxbury.
According to a media release, inspired by the diary of the artist’s aunt that was kept during her struggle with bipolar disorder in the 1960s and ‘70s, an artist reception will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 22, when members of the public are invited to attend, meet the artist, and learn more about the work.
An Artist Talk will take place via Zoom at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19. Email Samantha Nick at community@roxburyartsgroup.org to register. The reception, talk and visits to the Walt Meade Gallery are free and open to all.
As further stated in the release, Farrell is a self-taught painter who grew up in southern Indiana. The paintings to be exhibited were done using acrylic paints on wood.
Farrell spent her early adulthood living in New York City, working as a commercial photographer and attending evening drawing classes at the School of Visual Arts. Farrell’s paintings reflect her self-described fascination with the natural world and the interconnection of all living things. Influenced by the rural surroundings of her locale in the Catskills, her work explores the vast, raw landscape, verdant forests, abundant wildlife and the people that live in her community.
As a mental health advocate, Farrell is known to gravitate toward themes that speak to the power and fragility of the human condition and provoke public discourse.
COVID-19 guidelines are detailed at roxburyartsgroup.org.
Call 607-326-7908 for more information.
Area libraries are proving there’s more between the stacks than books.
For years, library directors said, libraries have been expanding programming.
“It’s definitely a thing, and I’m going to say for about 10 or 15 years,” Tina Winstead, executive director at Oneonta’s Huntington Memorial Library, said. “Libraries are always assessing and looking at what a community needs, and the overarching viewpoint that so many libraries across the country and in towns (arrived at) is that they needed a community center feel. They wanted to do programming, but the programming … was more hands-on and (about) makers and finding a community of people that like what you like.
“Forty years ago, libraries were only about books,” she continued, “but we’re trying to prove that no, in fact, libraries are about lifelong learning and doing things that enrich people educationally, and that is well within the mission of every library.”
“We’re trying to reach out to all age levels,” Beth Paine, director of the Sidney Memorial Public Library, echoed. “When people think of libraries, they think of children’s programming, but that’s not what we’re doing; it’s all ages. The programming has expanded a lot and the public library is … trying to cover everything that could possibly be needed.”
Delhi’s Cannon Free Library and Sidney and Oneonta’s public libraries provide children’s, youth and adult programming.
“We kind of divide our programming into literacy and digital literacy,” Winstead said. “Literacy … is really the hallmark of libraries, and we’re really pushing early literacy, which is over Zoom, with a different theme every week, because we understand how hard it is to get kids on there. And we’re going to do, outdoors in the park, a monthly messy ‘Art in the Park’ for kids. We also reach out to area nursery schools and Jumpstart and do early literacy programs there. And we have weekly afternoon adventures, for school-age kids, where they pick up a kit every week. If they can’t be in the library, we bring the library to them.”
Huntington’s digital literacy efforts, Winstead said, include a weekly Minecraft club and “take-and-make” boxes.
“It’s a lot like a subscription box, and there are two types: a STEAM-oriented and a craft-oriented one, and there are two different levels,” she said. “And they include resources, especially for the STEAM ones, with other information on that topic.”
For adults and older kids, Winstead said, programming runs the gamut.
“We’re going to really reach out to the middle school kids, because we don’t have a lot of middle school kids signing up for things,” she said. “We’re going to have a hot cocoa club and see what kind of programming they’d like to have. We’re working on having a teen service club, where all the high school teens have to record their service hours in their communities … to fulfill service hours for college applications. Then for our adults, we have ‘Blind Date with a Book,’ where we wrap up a book and patrons can pick them up … and talk about it afterward and that’s always fun. We’re doing photography workshops again and we’ve had a super-popular run of that through COVID. That always fills up and we have great teachers and different topics all the time. We also have a virtual book club for adults and we’re going to get back into doing genealogy.”
Paine said programming at Sidney is varied and growing.
“When I started (three years ago), there was pretty much only a Saturday craft … and some beginner technology classes,” she said. “Since then, we have expanded the arts programming and have a retired art teacher who … has taken on painting classes. This month there is acrylic painting class and an altered book workshop. We’re trying to get two of those in each month, I’m finally starting genealogy again and we have adult trivia once a month.”
“I run hybrid Lego Club, so kids join at home and in person,” Cassandra Hunter, youth services library clerk at Sidney, said. “I also do a virtual Minecraft Club, so they join from home and they’re in my safe library world … and in-person Minecraft Club is slowly evolving into more technology. I do Teen Night programming in person and ‘Crafts and Creations,’ which is a range of STEM- or STEAM-type projects through crafts.”
Connie Snow, children’s services clerk at Sidney, said, for kids from birth through 5, she offers story time, ‘Music for Munchkins,’ pre-K Library Learners and pre-K STEM.
Programming at Delhi’s library, librarians said, represents traditional and emerging patron engagement.
“For adults, we have a mahjong group that meets once or twice a week and they’re pretty enthusiastic,” Library Director Susan Frisbee said. “There’s a knitting group that meets once a week and they’ve been meeting for years; regular adult book club, where they read a book and discuss it; and an occasional adult book program where we borrow a set of books from the Humanities New York group and have book discussions in a series. The knitting has been going on for years, so it’s just tradition, but other things … we just threw it out there to see if anyone was interested (via) email or signs in the library and we gauged the interest by the response.”
“I do toddler and baby story time twice a week and, for afterschool programming, ‘Crafternoon’ once a month, which is assorted crafts and snacks,” Lynn Dennis, youth services director at Delhi, said. “On alternate weeks is Lego Club, and that’s really popular … and this year we started some STEM and STEAM programs, like kitchen experiments with baking soda and vinegar and we took apart appliances and then reconstructed them and we’ve built robots. That’s been really fun, and that’s twice a month. Once every couple months, we’re trying to do an evening pajama story time with hot chocolate and books for those kids who maybe used to come (to story time) in the mornings.”
Though librarians said expansion efforts predate the COVID-19 pandemic, the virus’ arrival meant a rapid shift in delivery, with some unexpected benefits.
“When COVID happened, we had big attendance for programs that we then had to evolve into offering virtually,” Paine said. “I was like, ‘Here you are, do it,’ (to the clerks), and they stepped up hard. I was very lucky; they immediately started doing virtual programming and they weren’t comfortable to start with, but took it on quickly and well and, since then, because COVID is still happening, we’re keeping some virtual offerings and the programming we are offering in person is safe, with people spaced out, masks required and we keep attendance at a certain level. We’re reaching out to different demographics that we didn’t reach before COVID, so even though it’s cut down some things, it’s opened us up to other things.”
“We’re in a hard place right now because of COVID,” Hunter said. “Our numbers have increased, but they’re still not what they were. On a positive note, we’ve had a huge increase in home-school children attending programming. More than half the attendance at my programs (is) home-schoolers, so that’s a neat thing to come out of it.”
“One thing we’ve learned through the pandemic, is people like getting out to see other people,” Frisbee said. “For our adult programming, sometimes the older adults don’t have the opportunity … to see their groups of people otherwise.”
Offerings, librarians said, correspond to community members’ interests.
“A lot of the stuff I do is through research,” Paine said. “I read ‘Library Journal’ and look at what other libraries in the area are doing and I talk to other directors and see what’s been a success, then give it a shot. We’ve had ones where nobody shows up and we don’t do it again, and others we’re not sure about … are huge.
“Through CDO Workforce, we’ve had some computer classes for job prep, how to use a computer and resumes,” she continued. “I’ve had people suggest classes and presentations and I rarely ever say no if it’s something I think the community will enjoy or need. Community input is huge for us.”
“We get a lot of positive feedback from parents,” Hunter said. “(Kids) bring in friends; that’s how I ended up with such a big home-school group. (Patrons) will come up to the desk and a parent or caregiver will say how much fun they had … and it’s nice to hear.”
“The only tricky part is making sure we do something people want,” Winstead said. “It’s a bit of a guess, based on interactions and surveys, but we still never know. And (we consider) if other organizations are hosting something that same time and day, so that’s a huge piece of strategizing.
“(The response) is positive,” she continued, “because otherwise, we wouldn’t keep doing it. We’re constantly tweaking and talking to people, (asking), ‘What do you want to know, what do you want to learn?’ There is definitely a lot of interest. It’s harder in Oneonta, because there’s a lot going on here, but in other, smaller towns, where there’s not a lot of options, (programming) is even more popular.”
“We get a lot of positive feedback from programs,” Frisbee said. “People seem to be pretty happy, and we get people coming in all the time to thank us for what we do.”
“I think a lot of kids know, if their parents are at work and they’re not doing a sport or dance, the library is a great place to come and do activities and crafts with other kids,” Dennis said. “And it’s a space you can also get a book out on the subject when you’re done.”
Attendee demographics, librarians said, are also diverse.
“We usually have, for adult programming, anywhere from four to five or a dozen (participants),” Frisbee said. “It’s mostly Delhi people, but there’ll be people that come from Walton, Stamford or Andes.”
“I have to report every year to the state what our demographics are,” Paine said, “and for ours, Sidney users are only about 60% and about 40% are from other communities; Unadilla, Afton and Bainbridge are the biggest ones.”
“It’s definitely all over the place,” Winstead said. “Of our patrons, we have a full 40% that do not live in the greater Oneonta area. We’re the biggest library in a pretty good distance, so we pull from well outside the city.”
Though funding can fluctuate, librarians said, libraries remain committed to advancing programming.
“For the past two or three years, we had a family donate $5,000 to the library for programming,” Winstead said. “But we used it, and didn’t get that donation this year, so we’re looking at grants. Unfortunately, programming is a huge component of the library, yet our budget isn’t keeping up with it at all, so it’s a lot of work for us to find money and make sure it’s a sellable idea. That’s definitely a huge barrier for this library, though it isn’t for every library.”
Sidney programming, Paine said, has its Friends of the Libraries group to thank for fiscal support.
“Friends of the Libraries is huge for us, and they do a lot of program funding, especially for teens and children and a lot of our art programs,” she said. “It’s local community members that volunteer their time to have fundraising (events) to support the library. They sponsor (programming) and that helps. There’s also grant money that pays for a lot of programming, so we don’t have then to push it off to the community and the taxes. We try not to have to up that budget each year.”
Frisbee and Dennis said Delhi programming is funded through endowment and grants.
“We’re very lucky,” Frisbee said. “The library is endowed, so we don’t do anything extra for funding, but Lynn did get a grant for youth literature.”
“We also have very generous patrons,” Dennis said. “I think they really do appreciate the programming we do.”
Find the libraries mentioned on Facebook, subscribe to their e-newsletters for programming details, or visit libraries/4cls.org/delhi, hmloneonta.org or sidneylibrary.org.
Sidney was a village on edge during the month of January 1927, over a girl gone missing.
“During the present week,” the Sidney Record reported on Jan. 8, “a source of deep anxiety to Mr. and Mrs. Elmer E. Baker, family and friends, has been the unexplained absence of their daughter, Miss Marion K. Baker, whose whereabouts since Friday, Dec. 24, still remains a mystery at the hour of going to press, Thursday, Jan. 6th, although a statewide search in charge of Capt. D.E. Fox, all other Trooper Barracks and police officials is being actively carried on and 200 photographs of Miss Baker placed in their possession. The newspapers are lending their aid in the case, which efforts all sincerely hope will restore Miss Baker safely to her anxious parents and family.
“Miss Baker graduated at the Sidney High School at the age of 16 years and at 20 years graduated last June at the Elmira College, accepting the position of Preceptress of the High School at Henderson, N.Y., near Watertown. She is naturally studious and reserved, fond of good literature, with bright and keen mind as attested by her early school and college graduations.
“Miss Baker looked forward to a happy Christmas holiday visit at home in Sidney and took the stage from Henderson to Adams, N.Y. to reach home by way of Syracuse. All traces were lost after her arrival at Adams and no word has yet been received by the family.
“Before leaving Henderson Miss Baker wrote to her parents of her intention to be home Christmas, looking forward to a pleasant family gathering in Sidney. Then later on the station floor at Adams was found a card to her parents saying, ‘Don’t expect me home until next week. No time to explain.’
“As the Baker home was still under quarantine because of the illness of a younger daughter, Virginia, with diphtheria, the family thought nothing more of the failing of Marion to arrive until they had no further word from her last week. Then Mr. Baker endeavored to get into communication with her at Henderson. Failing in this, as soon as his home was released from quarantine, he laid the matter before Captain Daniel E. Fox of Troop C, State Police … and told of his fears that an accident had befallen his daughter.”
The investigation began. Capt. Fox and another trooper went to Henderson. Finding nothing new and all traces lost, a statewide search was then called for.
Weeks passed without any new developments, but the mystery came to a sudden end in early February.
The Record of Feb. 12 reported how communication had finally been made. Miss Baker did not know there had been a statewide search for her, and had been spending time in Buffalo and Erie, Pennsylvania. It was soon learned a letter of importance had never been received in Sidney in the meantime.
According to the Record, “On the afternoon of December 24th, Miss Baker … was advised that her resignation was desired and her services would not be required after the Christmas vacation. This to her came as a surprise and resulted in her distress of mind.”
Miss Baker had left a short letter home that read, “I am going away for a rest and when my money is gone I will let you know.” She had left the letter on her dresser at the house she resided at, to be mailed. For whatever reason, that never happened. Oddly enough the homeowner was village postmaster and president of the Henderson Board of Education.
Elmer Baker went to the Sidney post office on Feb. 4 and found a post card from Marion.
It read, “Dear Daddy, I am homesick and out of money. Send me funds and I’ll come home. Am at Arden Hotel, Erie, Pa.”
Marion came home. As the Record continued, Marion was quoted, “I’m awfully sorry that I have caused all this trouble and would have returned home at once had I known that my parents felt anxious about me.”
Regarding the called-for school resignation, she said it unfair. There were no further reports published in Sidney in the following months to add to this case.
It would be interesting to speculate how this story would be followed by a 24-hour news cycle and social media in the early 21st century.
On Wednesday: A look at Oneonta’s life and times in January 1952.
Oneonta City Historian Mark Simonson’s column appears twice weekly. On Saturdays, his column focuses on the area before 1950. His Wednesday columns address local history 1950 and later. If you have feedback or ideas about the column, write to him at The Daily Star, or email him at simmark@stny.rr.com. His website is www.oneontahistorian.com. His columns can be found at www.thedailystar.com/opinion/columns/.
Ask Mark...
Have you ever had a question about a history-making event or a prominent person in our area and didn't know where to find the answer? Well, we've got an expert who might be able to help you. Historian Mark Simonson has spent many years chronicling major local happenings, and he's ready and willing to dive into The Daily Star archives for answers, which will appear in this newspaper and online at www.thedailystar.com.
Write to him at "Ask Mark," The Daily Star, 102 Chestnut St., Oneonta, NY 13820 or email him at simmark@stny.rr.com.
