It is with great disappointment that due to rising COVID-19 cases the Iroquois Museum in Howes Cavehas decided to cancel the Iroquois Arts Festival on September 4 & 5, 2021. The Museum remains open on our regular schedule but concern for the safety of our visitors, artists, volunteers, and staff at a large event like the Festival helped us to make this difficult decision. We hope you all stay well and that we see you at next year's Festival.
8/9/21
Remember to Subscribe!
Landis Book Room Open Saturday
Written By Editor on 8/9/21 | 8/9/21
|
|
Dr. Erik Riesenfeld and Maureen Kuhn, NP, Recipients of Walter A. Franck Physician Excellence Award and Advanced Practice Clinical Award of Excellence
COOPERSTOWN, NY – Bassett Healthcare Network is proud to announce the 2021 recipients of the Walter A. Franck Physician Excellence Award and the Advanced Practice Clinical Award of Excellence. These awards are among the network’s highest honors.
Erik Riesenfeld, MD, Awarded Walter A. Franck Physician Excellence Award
Erik Riesenfeld, MD, medical director of respiratory therapy at Bassett Medical Center (BMC), has been awarded the Walter A. Franck Physician Excellence Award. Physicians are nominated for this prestigious recognition for demonstrating extraordinary service to patients, students, colleagues, and the community – traits that emulate the career of retired Bassett rheumatologist Walter A Franck. Network physicians vote to choose the final recipient.
The Franck Award is a recognition of Dr. Riesenfeld’s extraordinary leadership during the COVID-19 crisis. “On behalf of the entire BMC critical care team, Dr. Riesenfeld deserves the Walter A. Franck Award for his unwavering commitment to outstanding patient care,” colleagues explained in their written nomination. “He and his critical care colleagues performed in a heroic manner by putting their own lives at risk to save their patients. He is an excellent communicator, team player, educator, and role model to residents and colleagues.”
“This recognition is very humbling,” says Dr. Riesenfeld. “I feel like I am receiving it on behalf of others – leaders who rebuilt the hospital to accommodate as many patients as possible, nurses who risked their lives to stay at their patients’ bedsides, respiratory therapists who made rounds day and night to save lives, and the environmental services staff who cleaned and sterilized. Everybody made a remarkable effort for our patients.”
In addition to working with respiratory therapists in critical care, Dr. Riesenfeld was a co-investigator in Bassett’s clinical trials of various possible COVID-19 therapies. This work was what he found personally rewarding.
“The pandemic suddenly accelerated the pace of the medical field,” says Dr. Riesenfeld. “We have to quickly adapt to follow the scientific evidence. Our understanding and our strategies evolved week-to-week. That was exciting.”
Like many frontline caregivers and practitioners, Dr. Riesenfeld can’t help but acknowledge this complex mix of emotions about his pandemic work. “This has been a hard time – you can’t come out of it feeling great. A lot of people have suffered and died. It was truly horrible. But on the other hand, I’m very proud of what we did. We rose to the occasion and served our community.”
Maureen Kuhn, NP, Awarded Advanced Practice Clinical Award of Excellence
Maureen Kuhn, NP, medical director of Cherry Valley Health Center, has been awarded the Advanced Practice Clinical Award of Excellence. Kuhn’s nomination lauds her as an exceptional caregiver who uses all resources at her disposal to meet patient needs, as a gifted leader and a trusted guide for other leaders, and as an inspiring teacher raising up tomorrow’s caregivers.
“To get this award from peers I’ve worked with is a great honor,” says Kuhn. “I have particularly enjoyed teaching nurse practitioner students for more than 35 years. I came here as a precept student working with Dr. Pollack, Debbie Dickenson, and George Case. When I returned later to work full-time I committed myself to giving back. I’ve always had a nurse practitioner student since.”
Kuhn’s nominators consider her an exceptional community member as well. “She has established a deep, abiding connection with the Cherry Valley community,” they say. “She is their provider, their friend, their counselor. She is a part of the community in a way that few practitioners can begin to emulate.”
“You get what you give,” reflects Kuhn. “Anytime you make an investment in an organization, you get something back. Committing yourself to a community enhances your practice. It’s a blessing taking care of three, four, or five generations of a family and knowing that history. I’ve attended my patients’ weddings, funerals, graduation parties, and those sorts of things.
“The last 38 years have been a good ride,” she says. “This award is a great capstone as I look ahead to retirement.”
###
About Bassett Healthcare Network
Bassett Healthcare Network is an integrated health system that provides care and services to people living in a 5,600 square mile region in upstate New York. The organization includes five corporately affiliated hospitals, over two dozen community-based health centers, more than 20 school-based health centers, two skilled nursing facilities, and other health partners in related fields. To learn more about services available throughout the Bassett Healthcare Network, visit www.bassett.org. Follow Bassett on Facebook at facebook.com/Bassett.Network.
Beauty of the Wild Talk at MTA
Labor Day Author Talk: Darrel Morrison -- Beauty of the Wild: A Life Designing Landscapes Inspired by Nature
Cost of Admission: This program is free. Register for this Zoom Webinar at https://www.mtarboretum.org/events
Beauty of the Wild: A Life Designing Landscapes Inspired by Nature
Published by the Library of American Landscape History
In Beauty of the Wild, Darrel Morrison tells stories of people and places that have nourished his career as a teacher and a designer of nature-inspired landscapes. Growing up on a small farm in southwestern Iowa, Morrison was transported by the subtle beauties of the native prairie landscape—the movement of grasses in the wind, clouds across the sky, their shadows over the plain.
For more than six decades, Morrison has drawn inspiration from the varied landscapes of his life—from the Iowa prairie to Texas prickly pear scrub to the maple-beech-hemlock forests of Door County, Wisconsin, to the banks of the Oconee River in Piedmont Georgia. In native plant gardens at the University of Wisconsin Arboretum, New York Botanical Garden, and Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Morrison has blended communities of native plants in distillations of prairie, woodland, and coastal meadow. At Storm King Art Center, his landscapes capture the essence of prairie grasslands and native meadows. These ever-evolving compositions were designed to reintroduce diversity, natural processes, and naturally occurring patterns—the “beauty of the wild”—into the landscape.
DARREL MORRISON is a renowned landscape architect and educator whose ecology-based approach to design has influenced generations of practitioners, particularly his students at University of Wisconsin–Madison (1969–1983) and University of Georgia (1983–2005). Morrison lived and worked in New York City from 2005 until 2015, and now lives in Madison, where he is an Honorary Faculty Associate in the Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture at the University of Wisconsin.
Upcoming Events at Landis
August 19, Thursday, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Shanti Vun Drum Circle
August 20, Friday, 7:00 – 8:00 PM
History of the George Landis Arboretum
August 20, Friday, 7:00 PM
Landis Music Series: Running the River
August 21, Saturday, 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM
Herpetology Hike
August 22, Sunday, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
East Indian Cooking Class
August 29, Sunday, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Printing with Wood Cut Blocks
174 Lape Road, Esperance
8/4/21
Remember to Subscribe!
Editorial: Andrew Cuomo Was Never that Great
Written By Editor on 8/4/21 | 8/4/21
This is the second time that this paper is delving into state issues. Normally, we do not write about what is going on in Albany beyond the prism of the effects on our area or from our legislators.
The first time was several years ago, when Governor Andrew Cuomo, son of former Governor, professional baseball player, and Supreme Court (almost) nominee Mario Cuomo said that America was "never that great."
Andrew Cuomo was never that great.
Strip away the debate over his tax policies or on policing or on social issues. Vote for the policies or against them, but never vote for a phony fraud like our Governor.
From a local perspective, his office dragged its feet on needed recovery from Hurricane Irene-- originally not supplying it until after receiving additional money from Hurricane Sandy. After dispensing the money to downstate, then holding another round of potential projects, he finally opened up funding for Upstate communities devastated in 2011-- years after the fact. The resulting NY Rising program was an astonishing failure (in many ways, not all) for both individual participants and sewed up in delays for municipalities. I personally know of two stories where the program aided flood victims, then months later asked for money back.
Andrew Cuomo never cared about Upstate New York.
His actions deliberately placed COVID patients into elder care facilities-- then covered it up, took a media tour, and received accolades. This isn't because he's a Democrat. It's because he's a snake.
The Attorney General's report affirms what was mostly public knowledge before-- that the man who wanted to be president was a serial sexual harasser.
Resign. Impeach. Either one works. However, one thing is for sure-- Andrew Cuomo should not be governor of our state any longer. In fact, soon his fate may be in the hands of a jury of his peers.
- Matthew Avitabile
Franklin Farmers' Market Music at the Market Series 2021: Mike Herman
The Franklin Farmers’ Market is pleased to welcome Mike Herman to the Music at the Market stage on Sunday, August 15th, 2021, 11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Mike is an acoustic country blues musician located in the northern Catskill Mountains, who along with tasty guitar lines, rounds out his original songs nicely with the addition of bittersweet vocals.
The performance is FREE to attend. Tables and chairs are available, and guests are welcome to bring their own seats as well. Don’t forget to purchase a sweet or some cheese and a beverage from the vendors to enjoy during the show.
The Market is open 10am to 2pm in the Village of Franklin on Institute Street and includes vendors from Franklin and surrounding towns. Selling breads & rolls, beef, chicken & eggs, doggy treats, herbs, honey, jams & jellies, jewelry, maple candies and syrup, mushrooms, plant seedlings, pork & lamb, preserves, a variety of produce, relishes, Scandinavian baked goods, sunflower oil, fresh & smoked trout, and home décor.
Music at the Market is made possible with funds from the Delaware County Arts Grants, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and administered in Delaware County by the Roxbury Arts Group, the A. Lindsay & Olive B. O'Connor Foundation, and Delaware County Economic Development, New York.
Remember to Subscribe!
Dr. Samuel Badalian Receives Prestigious Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award
The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board have selected Dr. Samuel Badalian, chief of Women’s Health at Bassett Healthcare Network, to receive a Fulbright award for the 2021–22 academic year. With this funding, Dr. Badalian will travel to Yerevan, Armenia in fall 2021 to establish urogynecology fellowship programs at two different universities. Dr. Badalian’s selection for this prestigious grant is a reflection of his leadership and contributions to society. As a Fulbright participant and a representative of the United States, Dr. Badalian will have the opportunity to work collaboratively with international partners and engage with the local community. As the largest and most diverse international educational exchange program, the Fulbright Program is devoted to increasing mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries. Past Fulbright alumni include 60 Nobel Laureates, 88 Pulitzer Prize winners, 75 MacArthur Fellows, and thousands of leaders across the private and public sectors.
Urogynecology—also known as female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery (FPMRS)—is a subspecialty in obstetrics and gynecology. Dr. Badalian has been practicing, teaching, and researching in this field for nearly 30 years. His plans include teaching a course at Yerevan State Medical University introducing residents and fellows to the basic principles of the discipline. This will be the first approved program of urogynecology as a subspecialty in women’s health in Armenia.
“Yerevan State Medical University already has a variety of outstanding woman’s health programs,” says Dr. Badalian. “But I believe my experience will allow me to significantly contribute to these programs. I am also confident that this experience will benefit my own understanding of how to prevent and treat women’s health problems.”
“Dr. Badalian has my warmest congratulations for this well-deserved recognition of his work,” says Dr. Tommy Ibrahim, Bassett Healthcare Network’s president and CEO. “When our caregivers provide our patients with excellent care, they naturally become preeminent in their field. Dr. Badalian’s work continues Bassett’s legacy of academic study and brings our work to the global stage. We are proud of his work.”
Building on Previous Work
This endeavor is a continuation of Dr. Badalian’s past work. In 2019, he studied pelvic floor disorders (PFDs) among women in Armenia. The final study, published in the European Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, found that rates of PFD were high in Armenia when compared to other nations. Badalian and his coauthors linked this rate to a combination of factors, but of special interest was the rate among patients who had previously undergone pelvic surgeries.
“Without urogynecology and female urology subspecialties, urogynecological procedures in Armenia are performed by gynecologists and urologists,” explains Dr. Badalian. “The rates we saw suggested that the surgeries may not have been performed properly, resulting in more problems. Our study recommends that the Armenian Ministry of Health and Yerevan State Medical University start education and training programs specifically geared towards pelvic floor disorders. After publication, I shared our findings with Dr. Arsen Torosyan, the Minister of Health, who expressed significant interest in starting a urogynecology fellowship program.”
8/3/21
Remember to Subscribe!
Catskill Symphony Orchestra announces full, in-person 2021-2022 Season
Written By Editor on 8/3/21 | 8/3/21
ONEONTA, NY, August 3, 2021—The Catskill Symphony Orchestra (CSO) announces its 2021-2022 Season after a nearly two-year hiatus. The CSO, a full-scale professional orchestra based in Central New York that was founded in 1953, will offer two fall concerts and two spring concerts at various venues in Oneonta.
2021-2022 Season
Concert I: Archissimo, Saturday, October 23, at 7 p.m.
at Foothills Performing Arts Center
Concert II: Wind Serenades, Saturday, November 20, at 7 p.m.
at Foothills Performing Arts Center
Concert III: Cabaret Fundraiser, Saturday, March 26, at 7 p.m.
at SUNY Oneonta (tentative location)
Concert IV: American Heritage, Saturday, May 14, at 7 p.m.
at SUNY Oneonta (tentative location)
In October, Archissimo will feature evergreens of string orchestra repertoire, including the witty Serenata Notturna by Mozart, and virtuosic pieces composed by Edvard Grieg and Béla Bartók. The November concert will include a range of classical and romantic wind serenades by Mozart, Strauss, and Dvořák. March’s annual Cabaret fundraiser will highlight renowned jazz vocalist and America’s Got Talent Golden Buzzer winner Mandy Harvey, who was originally scheduled to perform at the March 2020 Cabaret, postponed due to Covid. The May 2022 season finale American Heritage concert will present a celebration of American compositions, including works by Amy Beach, the first successful American female composer of large-scale art music; George W. Chadwick, a prominent New England Classicist of the late 19th century; and Black American Florence Price, whose Violin Concerto No. 1 was among piles of her musical manuscripts discovered in 2009. Violinist Er-Gene Kahng, who recorded concertos by Price for the first time in history, will be the featured soloist of the May concert.
“The CSO has presented symphonic music of the highest caliber in the heart of upstate New York for nearly seven decades. We are excited to continue that role and usher in a new paradigm,” said CSO Chair Sarah Patterson, a longtime member of the Board, having first joined in 2003. “We have fresh energy in our organization and enthusiastic individuals who want to see the CSO thrive and embrace its mission of making symphonic music more accessible to a range of audiences. We are committed to maintaining and expanding CSO’s role as the premier source of professional-level classical music in the region--from Oneonta to Cooperstown and Norwich to Delhi.”
Cassandra Miller, who recently became the executive director of the CSO after serving in an interim role, agreed the CSO is focusing on engaging both community members and visitors.
“Oneonta is the second-smallest city in America to maintain a professional orchestra, and the CSO is a gem that contributes to the rich artistic character of our area, making it such a great place to live and visit. I’m blown away by the caliber of musicians in the CSO and their loyalty to the organization. Many of the orchestra members have performed with the CSO for years.”
The CSO will follow New York State public health guidelines at concerts. More information will be shared closer to the beginning of the season, including policies on masking, vaccinations, and social distancing.
For more information and tickets, visit www.catskillsymphony.org.
About the Catskill Symphony Orchestra
The Catskill Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded in 1953 for the purpose of providing access to live symphonic music to area residents, who otherwise would have to travel great distances in order to enjoy such performances. In 1974, the committee filed for articles of incorporation, applied for tax-exempt status, and oversaw the transition from a volunteer community orchestra to a professional organization that has grown steadily in the quality of its musicians and programming. Maestro Charles Schneider served as the orchestra's conductor from 1973 until 2017. After an international search, Maciej Zoltowski became the new conductor, and 2021-2022 will be his first season with the orchestra. The CSO is an unparalleled resource to entertain, educate, and inspire audiences of all ages in upstate New York—by presenting an ensemble of the highest artistic quality performing the full range of symphonic literature. The CSO typically holds five concerts per season to an audience of over 3,500 patrons offering a diverse repertoire.
8/2/21
Remember to Subscribe!
From the Sheriff's Desk: Important Information About the 2021 Fair
Written By Editor on 8/2/21 | 8/2/21
Welcome back Delaware County Fairgoers,
We are extremely pleased that the 134th Annual Delaware County Fair is set to take place from August 16th – 21st, 2021. The Fair is as much a part of our agency history, as it is for our county and the communities that are deep seated in agricultural history. It may also delight some of you to know that as usual, The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office will be actively patrolling around the Fairgrounds and parking lot all week to help ensure the public’s safety and welfare.
In anticipation of an enjoyable fair event, we’d like to offer a few tips to help keep you all safe and healthy during this year’s event.
Please ensure that you have checked the weather for Walton, NY and are adequately prepared for the forecasted weather on whichever day you choose to attend.
The Fair is exciting and we understand that you want to be in attendance, but if you feel sick, please stay home.
If you require handicap parking, please ensure that your official Handicap Parking placard/permit is out and visible upon entrance into the parking lot, so that the parking attendants can easily direct you to the appropriate parking location.
Please ensure your vehicle is locked and any valuable personal property within, is out of sight. Neither the Delaware County Fair nor the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office are financially responsible for lost, stolen or missing items. If you don’t need it, it’s probably best to leave it at home.
We love pets, BUT please do NOT bring your pets to the fairgrounds. You will be turned away at the gate as no pets are allowed on the grounds and leaving them in the car for the day IS DEFINITELY NOT an Option.
**NOTE: Only Service animals are allowed on the grounds.
Please understand that the Fair board has stringent rules for a reason, therefore, due to homeland security regulations, ALL bags and coolers are subject to search at the gates. Only sealed, non-alcoholic containers will be allowed through the gates.
No alcohol is allowed on the Fairgrounds. If you are found to be in possession of it (in violation of the Fair rules), it will be confiscated.
If you find that you have lost or found personal property while on the Delaware County Fair Grounds, please be sure to contact The Secretary’s Office or The Sheriff’s Office Command Post to report the loss and/or to turn over the found property. The Sheriff’s Command Post is located on the eastern side of the Fairgrounds next to the EMS Building near the Fair Street Entrance.
We know that children and vulnerable others mean the world to you and to us, therefore, if you are attending the 2021 Fair with children or any people who may wander and become lost, we HIGHLY recommend that you take DAILY photos of your children or such other people. These photos are extremely valuable for giving swift and accurate descriptions and reports to our patrols on the fairgrounds.
Anyone creating or participating in any unruly, disorderly or an otherwise inappropriate or disruptive events/behaviors will be escorted off the premises and may risk being banned from the premises for the entire week. If you are banned and choose to re-enter, you may be arrested for Trespassing (as the Fairgrounds are privately owned).
NEW LOCATION:
For several years our Sheriff’s Office Community Relations Exhibit was located near the end of Fairway Street. This year we have been afforded a location within the Commercial Tent near the “elbow”. We love to interact with our citizens, so please come see us, peruse our many educational and informative handouts, pick up some promo items, ask us about opportunities for careers in Law Enforcement, or just say hello. It’s been a long year and we want to know how you’ve been.
A NEW Service this year:
Every day 2000 children are reported missing. Every year 200,000 children are taken by family members. 58,000 children are victims of non-family abductions. The key to recovering these children is quick action by parents and law enforcement. A statistic by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children states that “the first 2 hours after a child is abducted are the most critical.” Therefore, this year, the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office is pleased to announce that we will offering a Child ID table for parents to obtain a FREE hard plastic Child ID Card for their children (Child MUST be present). The forms will be available all week long for completion prior to the scheduled event. Please note that NONE of the information you provided is retained. Therefore, it is important that the ID card and printout is kept in a safe and secure location in the event it is ever needed.
The CHILD ID table will be located in the Commercial Tent at The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office Community Relations Exhibit and is available on the following days and times.
Tuesday, August 17, 2021 from 11am -6 pm (Children’s Day)
Thursday, August 19, 2021 from 2pm- 6 pm
Saturday, August 21, 2021 from 11am- 5 pm
Mounted Patrol Division:
As you’ve come to know and love, our Agency has a Mounted Patrol Unit. At various times throughout Fair week, we will have Deputies patrolling the fairgrounds on horseback. We love photos, answering questions, and visiting in general, so don’t be afraid to signal us to stop.
Canine Division:
Since the Fair last year was cancelled due to COVID, Deputy Sheriff Kyle Karcher was unable to formally introduce his K-9 partner Deputy Sheriff Elias Butler (“ELI”) to the Delaware County Fairgoers. Deputy Karcher and K-9 Eli will be on the Fairgrounds on Tuesday for Children’s Day, on Wednesday as well as Saturday. Deputy Karcher loves to showcase Eli, as he is incredibly sociable. If you see us on Patrol… please stop us and say hello ….Eli is extremely photogenic ☺
It is our desire that everyone who attends the 2021 Delaware County Fair has a safe and enjoyable experience.
Respectfully,
Sheriff Craig S. DuMond
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
