Schuyler continues to monitor new virus cases

SCHUYLER COUNTY--Despite progressively improving COVID-19 numbers, County Administrator Tim O'Hearn cautioned during the Monday, June 14 legislative meeting that now is no time to become complacent regarding the risks of COVID to the unvaccinated. There are currently eight active cases according to Schuyler County Public Health.
"I do want to emphasize the pandemic is not over and we are not out of the woods by any means; today we had one new case and we have a total of eight, but out of those eight three are hospitalized," O'Hearn said.
As it stands the county's vaccination rate is 57.1 percent, a number O'Hearn said is higher than many neighboring counties.
"So the people who are getting infected are unvaccinated... and we certainly can not say this is behind us by any stretch of the imagination," O'Hearn said.
After meeting with representatives from Watkins Glen International, O'Hearn said they discussed expected attendance at the NASCAR event, however this was prior to the announcement by Gov. Andrew Cuomo that the state vaccination rate currently sits at 69.9 percent and many restrictions will be lifted once that number is 70 percent.
On Monday, June 14 the governor explained the State Fair in Syracuse would operate at 100 percent later this summer.
Legislator Mark Rondinaro gave an update on a resolution calling on the state to develop regulations regarding cryptocurrency mining operations in New York he introduced to the Inter-County Association of Western New York. The Schuyler County legislature has approved the measure, however the inter-county association is going to table the resolution to give fellow county officials more time to digest what Rondinaro called a very complicated subject. Beyond the complicated nature of the subject, Rondinaro also said there is opposition to the resolution coming from Yates County officials. Yates is home to Greenidge Generation, a natural gas power plant that is now being used to make energy for Bitcoin mining.
The legislature also approved a local law authorizing 12 and 13-year-old licensed hunters to hunt deer with a firearm or crossbow during the hunting season with the supervision of an adult licensed.
"Schuyler County is passing this local law as hunting is a valued tradition for many families, and this new opportunity allows experienced, adult hunters to introduce the value of hunting to the next generation," the resolution reads.