CHRISTMAS – Be an Angel. Sign up to give the gift of Christmas to local families in need with this years Angel Tree Program. Visit www.allotsego.com/angel-tree-program/ for details.
SANTA VISITS – 6 p.m. Bring the kids to tell Santa their Christmas wishes. Huntington Memorial Library, 62 Chestnut St., Oneonta. 607-432-1980 or visit www.facebook.com/hmloneonta/
Bassett offering vaccine clinic in CooperstownBassett Healthcare is offering a vaccine clinic to the community, including children ages 5 to 17, on Saturday, December 4 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Bassett Medical Center’s outpatient clinic in Cooperstown.
The clinic will offer boosters for the Moderna, Johnson and Johnson, and Pfizer as well as first and second Pfizer doses for children and flu shots.
Those receiving vaccines need to be established patients of Bassett Healthcare network in order to participate.
COVID updateThere are 48 new COVID cases today, 208 active cases, eight hospitalizations, and one death, according to the Otsego County Department of Health as of Tuesday, November 30.
Otsego County remains an area of high community transmission. The CDC and Otsego County DOH recommend wearing a mask indoors regardless of vaccination status.
Monday Nov. 29, 2021
Since our article on Saturday Nov. 27 here is some of the further news about COVID-Omicron. The virus is now identified in over a half dozen European countries (and is likely in most of Europe), Australia, Israel, and Hong Kong. Fourteen people on a plane that landed in the Netherlands coming from South Africa were positive for the Omicron variant. All arriving passengers are now being tested and held until results are available. Japan which has not yet identified Omicron in country, and Israel, have banned all foreigners from entering the country. Many countries, including the U.S. have less restrictive policies. Physicians world-wide including Dr. Francis Collins, Head of the National Institutes of Health and Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases have said it will take two weeks to know much more. They are also reminding people that we don’t know how it will affect vaccinated and boosted people and whether it will induce more severe symptoms and of the need to use mitigation methods including vaccines, masking, and social distancing.
CHRISTMAS – Be an Angel. Sign up to give the gift of Christmas to local families in need with this years Angel Tree Program. Visit www.allotsego.com/angel-tree-program/ for details.
CRIMINAL ELEMENT – 6 p.m. Mystery and Thriller authors come together to write a short story live on this edition of ‘Once Upon a Crime’.Presented by Huntington Memorial Library, Oneonta. 607-432-1980 or visit www.facebook.com/hmloneonta/
COVID updateCOVID numbers for Otsego County on Monday spiked with three deaths, six hospitalizations, and 31 new cases, according to the Otsego County Department of Health.
There is cause for concern with the Omicron variant causing New York Governor Kathy Hochul to declare a state of emergency on November 26, the day after Thanksgiving.
Oneonta Mayor Gary Herzig said he has not discussed a mask mandate with the Common Council at this time. “We’re all waiting to find out what it really means,” he said.
Oneonta distributed signs for downtown businesses asking customers to wear masks, Mayor Herzig said.
COOPERSTOWN – Jean Smullens, “Grandma Jean”, 86, passed away peacefully at home in the company of her children late Wednesday night, November 24, 2021.
The youngest of three, Jean was born on August 8, 1935, to Walter and Elizabeth (Martzloff) O’Connell in Lowville. She graduated from Lowville Academy and Central School in 1953, where her parents were both teachers. She attended Albany Medical Center School of Nursing, where she met her husband, Robert. In 1959, Bob and Jean were married in Lowville. Later that year Jean received her RN accreditation and the two took up residency in Johnstown where she began her nursing career as a staff nurse at Johnstown Hospital and then later, as a clinical instructor at St. Mary’s Hospital School in Amsterdam. In 1964, after obtaining her BS in Nursing from Russell Sage College, Bob became a partner in Church & Scott Pharmacy, and the two moved to Cooperstown.
Doris Ferris Smith Truman, 99, formerly of West Oneonta, passed away on November 10, 2021, in Oxford, NY. She was born in Oneonta, NY on July 3, 1922, the daughter of A. B. and Hazel (Jackson) Smith. Her family moved from West End to a dairy farm outside of West Oneonta when she was a teenager. She attended Oneonta High School, graduated from Laurens Central High School, and graduated from NYS Agricultural and Technical Institute in Delhi. She married John C. Truman, who lived on a neighboring farm, on November 27, 1943.
CHRISTMAS – Be an Angel. Sign up to give the gift of Christmas to local families in need with this years Angel Tree Program. Visit www.allotsego.com/angel-tree-program/ for details.
FUNDRAISER – 8:30 – 10 a.m. Spin to support the Cooperstown Food Pantry. Sign up online with a minimum donation of $10 to go to the pantry. Clark Sports Center, Cooperstown. 607-547-2800 or visit www.facebook.com/clarksportscenter
Saturday, November 27, 2021. 1:00 PM
Yesterday morning we had not heard of SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.529. The New York Times did not mention it and The Economist had no information in their morning news feed. It was then one of many variants of the virus that causes COVID. Then the World Health Organization named it Omicron. WHO reserves Greek letter names for variants of particular concern. Omicron is one of them.
The global stock markets plunged with U.S. major indices losing more than 2% in a half day of trading. Lockouts have been instituted and announced. Governor Hochul has declared a state of emergency. Doctor Fauci is making the rounds of all the major media news organizations. How severe Omicron will be and whether the current vaccines will be effective, and if so, to what extent is unknown.
Below is a compilation of what is known and unknown as of the time this article is being written. Most of it is open to revision.
CHRISTMAS – Be an Angel. Sign up to give the gift of Christmas to local families in need with this years Angel Tree Program. Visit www.allotsego.com/angel-tree-program/ for details.
WREATH FESTIVAL – 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Stop by and place a bid on holiday wreaths created by community members and businesses. Will also include holiday raffle, silent auction, and holiday cheer. Fundraiser benefits the association and the Art Association Scholarship Fund. Cooperstown Art Association, 22 Main St., Cooperstown. 607-547-9777 or visit www.cooperstownart.com
SANTA ARRIVES – 5 p.m. Bring the friends and kids to greet Santa as he arrives at his cottage. Refreshments and music will be available. Please wear a mask to visit Santa’s cottage. Pioneer Park, Cooperstown.
CHRISTMAS – Be an Angel. Sign up to give the gift of Christmas to local families in need with this years Angel Tree Program. Visit www.allotsego.com/angel-tree-program/ for details.
By Jaye Shelby
Cooperstown’s Badger Park ice skating rink opens Sunday, December 5, with Friends of the Parks collaborating with the village to welcome residents for family skating fun.
Volunteers have more than 100 pairs of sharpened skates available at Badger Park for use by local families. The walls of the rink that hold the liner have been scraped, repaired, and freshly painted, and a new pavilion was installed to accommodate the picnic area.
Friends of the Parks has been working hard to help village families enjoy outdoor winter sports. As soon as its cold enough, bring the whole family for skating on the rink at
87 Beaver Street in the Village of Cooperstown.
Ice skating rink hours
(weather permitting)
Mon., Wed. and Fri.
3 p.m. – 7 p.m. mixed-use
Tues. and Thurs.
3 p.m. – 6 p.m. mixed use
6:30 p.m. – 9 p.m. hockey
Weekends and holidays
10 a.m. – Noon family skate
12:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. mixed use