May 11
The Truxton senior center has expanded its hours from one to two days each week and plans to add more programs and activities, such as fundraising and summer camp, this year, said the center director, Jill Kraft.
The Truxton Living Well Senior Center, located in the Truxton United Methodist Church, was previously open once a week, from noon to 6 p.m Tuesdays.
This month the schedule for Tuesday changed to 4 to 7 p.m. for a family-style potluck style dinner and activities such as bingo, moving and Grooving with Val fitness class, Painting with Jill, pitch, games, and more. Thursdays activities were added, starting at 8 a.m. with a recommended $5 donation.
“It would give them more options for the scheduling,” Kraft said. “If they couldn’t come in the evening, maybe they could come in the morning. So it’s just to update the availability so more people could take part and utilize the facility.”
The center is open to anyone in Cortland County and is free to attend. It was shut down due to COVID-19 for 19 months. However, all went well after the center reopened last October with a grant from Cortland County’s Area Agency on Aging, Kraft said.
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Dozens of Guthrie Cortland Medical Center workers wearing blue T-shirts emblazoned with the words “Stand Guthrie Strong” gathered Tuesday morning in front of the hospital to celebrate their work, especially during a prolonged pandemic.
The event coincides with National Nurses Week and Mental Health Awareness Month. Cortland Mayor Scott Steve presented a certificate proclaiming Tuesday as “Guthrie Cortland Medical Center Day.”
“We are here today to truly thank the men and women standing behind me and more than 600 individuals within the hospital behind us. In Guthrie, we refer to all of our staff as caregivers,” said hospital President Jennifer Yartym. “I am so extremely thankful to work side by side with all of these individuals that tirelessly focus on providing high-quality patient care.”
“Stand Guthrie Strong” means standing together to support each other as well as patients, she said.
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Learning loss as a result of COVID-19 is a contributing factor to declining mental health conditions for students, educators say, an issue the state is looking to address through funding.
New York state set aside $100 million in matching funds in the state budget for schools districts and BOCES districts to address student mental health needs.
Onondaga-Cortland-Madison BOCES District Superintendent Matt Cook said he doesn’t know exactly how the funds would be dispersed from the state, but said there are increased instances of mental health issues in the school and outside. And much of it was related to COVID school closures and learning loss.
“During the heart of it, kids in particular needed those social social interactions,” Cook said. “They were more cut off than their adult counterparts.”
Cook said they were already spending money on mental health issues such as counseling, which funds should match, according to the state budget.
May 13
Both Tompkins and Cortland counties public bus systems have severe shortages of drivers, prompting them to suspend some routes and offer bonuses to recruit or retain staff.
Cortland County informed the public on Monday that there was an unplanned service disruption to the Cortland Transit system — Route 5 was not in operation Monday through today due to a driver shortage.
First Transit, which operates the Cortland system, attributed the shortage to the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent omicron variant.
“The continued increase of omicron cases is affecting all industries, including transportation,” said Jay Brock, First Transit spokesperson. “We’re always looking for people that want to make a difference in their community.”
Route 5 passes through Marathon and Cincinnatus areas.
May 14
Landscaping and greenhouses in the greater Cortland area are full of blooming flowers and other plants this spring and while they are seeing more business, their costs are also growing.
“We are extremely busy,” said Jackie Crane, the owner of Little York Plantation at 6088 Route 281. “We are booked out quite a bit. We are still taking on new clients. It’s a great year.”
During the past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, she said, the business has boomed. But this year has been even better than the last two
“Everybody is staying home a lot,” Crane said. “So they want their home to look nice.”
Opening for only a week this season, it might be too early for Dave’s Veggies on 5178 Route 41 in Homer to compare business this year to last year, said owner David Root. But they start to see some new clients.
