WRITERS SALON – 7:30 p.m. Open mic followed by presentation by author April Ford whose debut novel ‘Carousel’ won an award in the category of LGBTQ+ fiction for the International Book Awards. Free, open to public. Presented by Community Arts Network of Oneonta. 607-432-2070 or visit www.canoneonta.org/event/writers-salon-april-ford/?instance_id=1195
ONEONTA HISTORY – 6:30 p.m. Online program from exhibit ‘Up from the Ashes: Oneonta Shaped by Fire’ featuring exhibit planners Carlene Bermann, Bob Brzozowski, others will discuss highlights. Presented by Greater Oneonta Historical Society. 607-432-0960 or visit www.oneontahistory.org/upcomingevents.htm
ART TALK – 2 p.m. Learn about women artists in the collection with Mary Alexander, Curator of Education. Free, registration required. Arkell Museum, Canajoharie. 518-673-2314 or visit www.arkellmuseum.org/events-calendar
FOOD WEBINAR – 2 – 3 p.m. Learn about food, recipes, and nutrition info you can use everyday. This week celebrate National Frozen Food Month. Free, registration for Zoom conference required. Presented by The Cornell Cooperative Extension. 518-234-4303 x120 or visit cceschoharie-otsego.org/events/2021/01/05/tuesdays-2
ONEONTA – After a bump in COVID positives at Hartwick College, President Margaret Drugovich is reporting that testing of every on-campus student and employee this week yielded only two positives (both students) were detected.
In addition, three positive cases were found among students who were already in required quarantine off-campus, she added.
By MICHAEL FORSTER ROTHBART • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
COVID-19 cases have continued to rise among students at Hartwick and SUNY Oneonta, despite best efforts by both colleges, even while the rate of infection has declined elsewhere in Otsego County.
The campuses have been the source of one third of all cases in the county in 2021, and rose to 47 percent of cases in one 10-day period, the county Health Department reported last week.
As of Tuesday, March 9, there were 77 active college student cases between the two schools, bringing the county total above 200 for the first time since late January.
Since students returned in January, there have been 262 confirmed COVID cases at the two colleges. This means 10.8 percent of people on campus at Hartwick and 5.5 percent at SUNY Oneonta have been infected with the virus this year. In comparison, 2.2 percent of all Otsego County residents became infected in the same period.
“My concern, as the city health officer, is that the majority of spread is off-campus in the community,” said Dr. Diane Georgeson. “We know the students are out and about. They’re in the bars or in the restaurants.”
She also worries that the rest of the population may have higher rates than are known. “We are not broadly testing the community. You know, the student populations are being tested, even the asymptomatic students,” she said. “…So what concerns me is that there’s probably more positivity – within the city of Oneonta and within Otsego county – than is being reflected in the number of cases that the county Health Department is reporting.”
VOICES OF THE GAME – 2 p.m. Celebrate Women’s History month. Join Jenny Dalton on Zoom to discuss her baseball career, and her experience in the Colorado Silver Bullets as well as her part in the 2010 USA Women’s Baseball team in Venezuela when they brought home the Bronze medal. Free, registration required. Presented by Baseball Hall of Fame. 607-547-7200 or visit baseballhall.org/events/virtual-curator-spotlight-starting-nine-al-west?date=0
VIRTUAL TOUR – 2 p.m. Zoom meeting featuring walk through of exhibit ‘Cooper, Cole, and the Hudson River School’ 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
By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
At the time Sam Nader’s Oneonta Athletic Association was affiliated with the Detroit Tigers, the MLB team allocated a certain number of baseballs per season to its Minor League teams.
Anything over was a local team’s responsibility.
At the end of the Oneonta Tigers first season, Sam Nader tallied baseballs used, and mailed a check.
The phone rang. It was Detroit. “What’s this for?” he was asked.
“That’s our share for the baseballs,” Sam replied.
“I’m sending the check back,” said the nonplussed accountant. “None of our teams ever paid anything like that.”
Honesty.
That, according to his son John, was one of the cornerstones of the Wisdom of Sam Nader, the former mayor and Oneonta Yankees owner who passed away Tuesday, Feb. 9, at 101, in his home at 96 River St. in his beloved Sixth Ward.
AUTHOR SERIES – 2 p.m. Enjoy interview with author of “Billy Ball: Billy Beane and the Resurrection of the Oakland A’s” Dale Tafoya with Bruce Markusen. Free, registration required. Presented by The Baseball Hall of Fame. 607-547-7200 or visit baseballhall.org/events/virtual-author-series-Dale-Tafoya?date=0
By CHRYSTAL SAVAGE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
ONEONTA – Following the murder of George Floyd in May of last year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo instructed the implementation of Community Advisory Boards to help reform police departments across the state.
The Oneonta CAB consists of four subcommittees: What Functions Should the Police Perform, Employing Smart and Effective Policing Standards and Strategies, Fostering Community Oriented Leadership, Culture and Accountability and Recruiting and Supporting Excellent Personnel.
With the input of community members, these committees are in the process of compiling recommendations for OPD reform – among them: redirecting funds, redirecting various calls, the continuation of the board after April and its assistance with potential hires and other items, better-utilizing community resources and, perhaps most widely discusses, a clear path for community members to issue complaints and/or compliments.
Recommendations are due to the CAB on March 22 for finalization and ultimate submission to the governor’s office in April. Collectively among the committees, dozens of pages have been written.
By Jim Kevlin • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
“The number of college-bound students was declining, students’ needs and interests were shifting, and families’ ability to pay for education was diminishing. Hartwick had to adapt and evolve.”
MARGARET L. DRUGOVICH
From The Wick, Spring 2021
Sure, life can be random.
But at Hartwick College, your higher education doesn’t have to be; (or your son’s or daughter’s.)
Just get on the right flight path. Or FlightPath, that is, Hartwick’s innovative new structure designd to ensure students get optimum value from their four years on Oyaron Hill.
It works like this.
Arriving on campus with dreams for the future, you take the Clifton StrengthFinder test – the best of its kind – to help identify your strengths and careers you might best pursue.
You’ll be welcomed by a Personal Guidance Team, including a professional “Success Coach,” as well as a career coach, faculty adviser and alumni mentor who will collaborate in your success.
Over the next four years, classroom studies, J-terms (locally, in the U.S. or internationally), and internships. will lead you to the first job in your optimal career.
By graduation, you’ve also become a full member of the Hartwick community. Its far-flung network of fellow alumni will support you, advise you and open new opportunities to you over the rest of your life.
“What’s special about FlightPath is our commitment to every student, every time,” said Karen McGrath, senior vice president/enrollment & student success. “It’s not optional: It’s the Hartwick Experience.”
Editor’s Note: Oneonta Mayor Gary Herzig delivered his sixth annual “State of the City” speech to Common Council Tuesday, Jan. 19. This is the text.
Good evening, Oneonta – We have been tested these past 10 months; however, I can tell you that the state of the City of Oneonta is one of Strength, Resilience, and Caring 2020 was a year that Oneonta will always remember – not only for the unprecedented challenges it brought – but also for the way we came together to overcome them. From the shutdown of the spring, to the SUNY outbreak of the Fall, and now the second wave of the Winter, we have stuck together and we are getting to the other side.
I know that Oneontans are independent-minded folks – never shy about letting you know when they disagree with you – but we come together as one when times are tough. I could not be more proud of your doing so this past year.
MUSIC ONLINE – 8 p.m. “Thank You For Your Service: Songs Of Mineworkers And Their Families” concert by John O’Connor to celebrate mineworkers throughout US history. Presented by the Yager Museum, Hartwick College, Oneonta. Visit www.facebook.com/yagermuseum/ for info.
AUCTION – Noon. – 11/28, 4 p.m. Adorn-A-Door wreath festival/silent auction goes online. Place bids for wreaths by individuals & businesses, or enter the ‘Dinner’s On Us’ raffle. All proceeds go to Cooperstown Art Association. Visit www.cooperstownart.com/adorn-a-door.html for info.
ANGEL TREE PROGRAM – Give the Gift of Christmas this holiday season. Adopt a family in need. Visit www.allotsego.com/angel-tree-program/ to learn how.