City Engineer Greg Mattice discusses two transportation options with common council during monthly meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 19. Council members raised concerns such as funding and additional studies will be completed before ground breaks on the project which is not anticipated until 2022.
By CHRYSTAL SAVAGE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
For a week, new cases have remained below 40 per day until today, when a significant increase was 
reported. Eighty new cases were reported, offset by 22 completed periods of isolation.
Further, the sudden uptick in cases can be attributed to a delay in lab reporting according to county Public Health Director Heidi Bond.
That said, the trend “definitely” remains upwards Bond added.
COOPERSTOWN – Don Sutton, who never missed a turn in the rotation in 756 big league starts, passed away this morning at his home in Rancho Mirage, Calif., after a long battle with cancer. He was 75 years old.
“Don Sutton’s brilliance on the field, and his lasting commitment to the game that he so loved, carried through to his time as a Member of the Hall of Fame,” said Jane Forbes Clark, National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum chairman.
“I know how much he treasured his moments in Cooperstown, just as we treasured our special moments with him. We share our deepest condolences with his wife, Mary, and his family.”
PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION – 46th President Joe Biden to be inaugurated shortly after Noon in Washington DC.
VIRTUAL TOUR – 2 p.m. Zoom meeting featuring walk through of exhibit ‘Hamilton’s Final Act: Enemies and Allies’ with manager of arts education Kevin Gray. Free, registration required. Suggested donation $5. Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown. 607-547-1400 or visit www.fenimoreartmuseum.org
Editor’s Note: www.AllOTSEGO.com will seek to keep you up to date on the availability of vaccinations against COVID-19. We will strive to update our information at noon daily.
As of noon today, New York State’s special site at SUNY Binghamton was still accepting appointments from citizens 65 and over, however, all other special sites – with the exception of Plattsburgh and Potsdam are no longer accepting appointments, for the time being.
According to the NYS website, “The Federal Government determines how much vaccine New York State receives and has given New York approximately 250,000 vaccines per week for over 7 million people who are eligible – as a result supply is very limited. Vaccines are available at pharmacies, hospitals and through local health departments – please contact the provider of your choice to schedule a vaccine appointment.”
Through the “Am I Eligible” app, eligible individuals can register to receive the vaccine at facilities where supplies are available. CLICK HERE FOR APPOINTMENT
If Otsego County winter lovers have been disappointed by a generally mild January thus far, a return to wintry conditions has commenced and will continue into midweek.
Areas of snow and flurries that persisted from Sunday night to Monday morning were part of the old storm that affected the region over the weekend.
At the start of this past weekend, a large storm system pushed across the Great Lakes and into the Northeast and spread an expansive swath of snow. Accumulating snow from this storm also blanketed portions of the Ohio and Tennessee valleys. About 1-2 feet of snow piled up over the Adirondack, Green and White mountains of the interior Northeast.
ONEONTA – Irene M. Johnson, 80, who worked for the Oneonta City School District for a half-century, died Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021.
She was born Sept. 27, 1940, at home in a house on Country Club Road, the daughter of James C. and Tressa A. Northup.
On Aug. 8, 1959, she married Stephen N. Johnson Sr., who survives her. They were married for 62 years.
Irene graduated from Oneonta High School in 1958, and was hired as the junior high school principal’s secretary even before she graduation.
Christian Steagall, operations coordinator at the Georgia Innocence Project, keynoted the Martin Luther King Day commemoration organized Monday by Cooperstown’s First Presbyterian Church.
ONEONTA – Wayne J. Balnis Jr. better known as “JR”, passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021 of heart complications.
Wayne was born on Feb. 18, 1961, in Oneonta, to Wayne Balnis and Patricia (Weitzel) Balnis.
He married Carla Palmer on May 23, 1992, in the First United Methodist Church. They were married for 28 years and were constant companions, partners and best friends.
His children survive him, son Joseph Michael Balnis and daughter-in-law, Catie Vincent Balnis, of Delmar; daughter Caryn Rachel Balnis and spouse, Christopher Sloan, of Morris. He is also survived by two sisters and brothers-in-law, Sherry and Brian Pidgeon and Laurie and Stephen Page.
COVID TESTING – 8 – 10 a.m. Free Covid-19 testing for people with no symptoms. Call for an appointment. Bassett Medical Center, Cooperstown Clinic, 1 Atwell Dr., Cooperstown. 607-547-7973.
MAPLE SYRUP – 6 p.m. Learn how to make Maple Syrup at the micro scale with Aaron Wightman, Co-Director of the Cornell Maple Program. He will cover why sap flows, sap collection options, the basics of processing, filtering, and grading. Free, registration required by Noon. Presented by Cornell Cooperative Extension. 518-234-4303 ext. 111 or visit cceschoharie-otsego.org/events/2021/01/11/the-taste-of-the-hills-maple-syrup-for-beginners
Editor’s Note: www.AllOTSEGO.com will seek to keep you up to date on the availability of vaccinations against COVID-19. We will strive to update our information at noon daily.
As of noon today, New York State’s special sites at Utica and Binghamton were still accepting appointments from citizens 65 and over, but Albany is not for the time being.
Through the “Am I Eligible” app, eligible individuals can register to receive the vaccine at facilities where supplies are available. CLICK HERE FOR APPOINTMENT
The first round of the Pfizer inoculations are 50 percent effect; the second round, administered approximately 28 days later, raise immunity to 95 percent, according to the CDC. The longevity of this immunity is not yet known.
Going forward, there will be at least four ways to get the COVID-19 inoculation. In addition to state sites, the other four are:
By RICHARD STERNBERG • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
If you’re like me, and I only mean that in the COVID-phobic sense, you have been trying to figure out how to get vaccinated. I have been on-line an average of an hour a day for about two weeks trying to find appointments. Then I heard on the news that the New York State vaccination site at Jones Beach (Long Island) now has a three-month wait. What to do?
Two weeks ago, I wrote about the priorities that the state, i.e., Governor Cuomo set out. 1A was to be healthcare workers on the frontlines and nursing home residents, 1B was to be essential workers, 1C was to be people over 65 and high-risk individuals.
Then it changed, and changed again.
Every state has its own priority system. Doses have gone unused. People are flying to Miami just to get vaccinated (and maybe a little sun while they are there).
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY
BLOOD DRIVE – 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Donate blood, help save lives. Donors will be entered for chance to attend the Superbowl in 2022. Briggs Hall, Main Street Baptist Church, 333 Main St., Oneonta. 800-733-2767 or visit www.redcrossblood.org
Editor’s Note: Beginning with this post, www.AllOTSEGO.com will seek to keep you up to date on the availability of vaccinations against COVID-19. We will strive to update our information at noon daily.
The good news is that, beginning yesterday, our Otsego County neighbors 65 and older report having been able to schedule appointments to receive the COVID-19 inoculations at State of New York special sites, beginning in February.
As of a few minutes ago, through the “Am I Eligible” app, you could register for vaccinations at state sites. The closest sites are at SUNY Polytechnic in Utica, SUNY Binghamton and SUNY Albany. CLICK HERE FOR APPOINTMENT
The first round of the Pfizer inoculations are 50 percent effect; the second round, taken 28 days later, raise that to 95 percent, according to the CDC.
Going forward, there will be at least five ways to get the COVID-19 inoculation. In addition to state sites, the other four are:
MLK CELEBRATION – 3 p.m. Celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. with the Oneonta Chapter of the NAACP. Visit www.facebook.com/OneontaAreaNAACP/ for info.