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Oneida County COVID-19 hospitalizations hit the 100 mark
UTICA, N.Y. — The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Oneida County hospitals has reached 100 as the virus continues to spread in the

Drone test site in Rome completes second phase of traffic management pilot program
ROME, N.Y. — The New York UAS test site at Griffiss International Airport in Rome has completed the second phase of the Federal Aviation Administration’s
Community Bank System elects Skerritt as new independent director
DeWITT— Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE: CBU) recently announced the election of Susan E. Skerritt to its board of directors as a new independent director. Skerritt’s election expands the DeWitt–based banking company’s board to 13 directors, 12 of whom are independent. She was also appointed to the board of directors of Community Bank, N.A., the
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DeWITT— Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE: CBU) recently announced the election of Susan E. Skerritt to its board of directors as a new independent director.
Skerritt’s election expands the DeWitt–based banking company’s board to 13 directors, 12 of whom are independent. She was also appointed to the board of directors of Community Bank, N.A., the company’s wholly owned banking subsidiary. Skerritt will also serve on the board’s audit and compliance committee and the risk committee.
Skerritt has 35 years of experience in banking and financial services, having served in leadership positions at Deutsche Bank, Bank of New York Mellon, and RBC U.S. Group Holdings LLC. Earlier in her career she, held various leadership roles at Morgan Stanley, Treasury Strategies, Inc., Ernst & Young, and Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company, according to a Community Bank news release. Skerritt is currently a senior advisor with Promontory Financial Group, an IBM company that provides consulting services to financial institutions on regulatory, governance, and risk-management issues.
Skerritt graduated from Hamilton College with a bachelor’s degree in economics and has served on its board of trustees since 1994. She received her MBA in finance and international business from New York University’s Stern School of Business.
Community Bank System operates more than 230 branches across upstate New York, northeastern Pennsylvania, Vermont, and western Massachusetts through Community Bank, N.A. With assets of more than $13.8 billion, the banking company is among the nation’s 125 largest financial institutions.
Oneida County hotels see more than half of rooms filled in October
UTICA, N.Y. — Oneida County hotels posted an occupancy rate (rooms sold as a percentage of rooms available) of 51.8 percent in October, down 21.5 percent from a year ago, according to STR, a Tennessee–based hotel market data and analytics company. Though business was hindered by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it was the smallest year-over-year
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UTICA, N.Y. — Oneida County hotels posted an occupancy rate (rooms sold as a percentage of rooms available) of 51.8 percent in October, down 21.5 percent from a year ago, according to STR, a Tennessee–based hotel market data and analytics company.
Though business was hindered by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it was the smallest year-over-year decline in occupancy in the county since before the crisis started. Year to date, hotel occupancy in the county is down more than 29 percent to 42.7 percent.
Oneida County’s revenue per available room (RevPar), a key industry gauge that measures how much money hotels are bringing in per available room declined 32.5 percent to $51.43 in October compared to a year earlier. Through the first 10 months of this year, RevPar was down almost 37 percent to $44.57.
Average daily rate (or ADR), which represents the average rental rate for a sold room, was $99.33 in October, off 14 percent from October 2019. Year to date, ADR is down 10.5 percent to $104.46.
New York egg production rises more than 6 percent in October
New York farms produced 151.3 million eggs in October, up 6.2 percent from 142.5 million eggs in the year-ago period, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) recently reported. The number of layers in the Empire State averaged 5.79 million in October, up 3.3 percent from nearly 5.61 million layers a year prior. October egg
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New York farms produced 151.3 million eggs in October, up 6.2 percent from 142.5 million eggs in the year-ago period, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) recently reported.
The number of layers in the Empire State averaged 5.79 million in October, up 3.3 percent from nearly 5.61 million layers a year prior. October egg production per 100 layers rose 2.8 percent to 2,613 eggs from 2,542 eggs in October 2019.
In neighboring Pennsylvania, farms produced just over 781 million eggs during October, nearly unchanged from a year earlier.
U.S. egg production totaled almost 9.5 billion eggs in October, down 1.7 percent from 9.66 billion eggs produced in October 2019.

The Bluetooth stethoscope connection
ROME, N.Y. — The Cardiovascular Institute at Rome Memorial Hospital (RMH) is using “Bluetooth stethoscope” technology, which allows doctors to hear and see a patient’s heartbeat “without physically being there.” Rome Memorial Hospital (RMH) and St. Joseph’s Health say they’re deploying the technology and working together to “offer patients in rural areas access to cardiac
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ROME, N.Y. — The Cardiovascular Institute at Rome Memorial Hospital (RMH) is using “Bluetooth stethoscope” technology, which allows doctors to hear and see a patient’s heartbeat “without physically being there.”
Rome Memorial Hospital (RMH) and St. Joseph’s Health say they’re deploying the technology and working together to “offer patients in rural areas access to cardiac care.”
“This technology is the first of its kind in the region,” Dr. Russell Silverman, medical director of the St. Joseph’s Health Heart Failure Clinic and chief medical officer at RMH, said in a statement. “It enables us to bring high quality heart care to areas that might otherwise not be served by these types of subspecialties.”
RMH has an affiliation agreement with St. Joseph’s Health.
During a consultation, the patient at RMH is accompanied by a nurse or respiratory therapist (RT). They connect via computer to the cardiologist in Syracuse. The cardiologist speaks with the patient to assess how he/she is feeling. Then, the nurse or RT moves the Bluetooth stethoscope to different parts of the patient’s chest and neck so the physician can hear and see the individual’s heart activity.
“Our goal is to use this remarkable technology to keep patients close to home,” said Silverman. “By treating their heart issues using the Bluetooth stethoscope, we hope to avoid transferring them out of town to St. Joseph’s Health Hospital if they don’t need tertiary care. They can stay close to their loved ones, which is what we strive for.”
St. Joseph’s Health and RMH say they are the only hospitals in the region using this technology. Silverman says the increase of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic helped to “progress the program and make it a reality.”
RMH is currently using the Bluetooth stethoscope for inpatient and emergency-room consultations, per St. Joseph’s Health.
Jefferson County hotels see fewer than half of rooms occupied in October
WATERTOWN — Just under one out of two Jefferson County hotel rooms, on average, were occupied in October amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, according to a recent report. The hotel-occupancy rate (rooms sold as a percentage of rooms available) in the county came in at 45.8 percent in October, down 16.1 percent from October 2019,
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WATERTOWN — Just under one out of two Jefferson County hotel rooms, on average, were occupied in October amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, according to a recent report.
The hotel-occupancy rate (rooms sold as a percentage of rooms available) in the county came in at 45.8 percent in October, down 16.1 percent from October 2019, according to STR, a Tennessee–based hotel market data and analytics company. Year to date, hotel occupancy in the county is down almost 31 percent to 37.9 percent.
Jefferson County’s revenue per available room (RevPar), a key industry gauge that measures how much money hotels are bringing in per available room was $41.02 in October, down 23.7 percent from year-earlier levels. Through the first 10 months of this year, RevPar was down 37.5 percent to $35.10.
Average daily rate (or ADR), which represents the average rental rate for a sold room, was $89.63 in October, down 9 percent from a year prior. Year to date, ADR was off almost 10 percent to $92.69.

Shineman Foundation issues final grant awards of 2020
A revitalization grant was also provided to the town of Constantia’s public park, David C. Webb Memorial Park at Taft Bay, to pay for the construction of a large, previously donated municipal-quality playground system in the spring. The Shineman Foundation made a commitment of $60,000 to Victory Transformation to pay for renovations of its new
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A revitalization grant was also provided to the town of Constantia’s public park, David C. Webb Memorial Park at Taft Bay, to pay for the construction of a large, previously donated municipal-quality playground system in the spring.
The Shineman Foundation made a commitment of $60,000 to Victory Transformation to pay for renovations of its new home at the former Vale Haven, at 24 E. Oneida St. in Oswego. Another grant of $56,668 was made to Grace and Glory Ministries for the expansion of its Foundations EDU program, which provides a structured environment for kids ages 5-13 during hybrid-remote learning days or after school, Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Three education/arts and culture grants were awarded by the Shineman Foundation to organizations expanding their outreach with and into Oswego County schools: The REV Theatre Company (formerly Merry-Go-Round Playhouse) for its virtual touring “Sequential Dramatics Program;” the Museum of Science and Technology’s “Oswego County on the Go” science program, which will bring a virtual or in-person 45-minute classroom-based science demonstration to all 78 sixth-grade classes in 16 school buildings in Oswego County; and Symphoria for several virtual Christmas concerts in the county during December.
The Shineman Foundation awarded two capacity-building grants in this round. CNY Community Arts Center in Fulton received funds to purchase a movie-projection system and Clear Path for Veterans was awarded funding for its Oswego Peer Expansion project.
Several health and human-services grants were awarded by the Shineman Foundation: David’s Refuge for provision of respite/caregiver support to Oswego County parents and guardians of children with special needs; Fulton’s Blessings in a Backpack for its weekend backpack program for 250 K-6th grade children in the Fulton City School District; and Oswego County Children’s Fund for its 2020 Christmas Fund.
Two awarded grants were specifically addressing COVID-19 problems. The regional CNY Arts Inc. organization received a grant to provide funding to arts and culture organizations across the county that have experienced a huge decline in revenues due to the virus. The American Red Cross received a grant to assist it with providing COVID-19 antibody testing on blood taken during blood drives in Oswego County.

AAA offering services remotely in Ithaca after closure of local office
ITHACA — AAA Western and Central New York says it is offering services in the Ithaca area remotely following the Nov. 30 closure of the Ithaca Travel & Insurance Center at 722 South Meadow St. The closure didn’t affect the two employees has AAA has in Ithaca, including one who focuses on travel and one
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ITHACA — AAA Western and Central New York says it is offering services in the Ithaca area remotely following the Nov. 30 closure of the Ithaca Travel & Insurance Center at 722 South Meadow St.
The closure didn’t affect the two employees has AAA has in Ithaca, including one who focuses on travel and one who concentrates on insurance. Both work from home and can service members’ needs remotely, Elizabeth Carey, director of public relations and corporate communications, tells CNYBJ in an email.
“We have learned, through the pandemic, that we don’t need an office of this size, and since the lease was up, it didn’t make sense to renew it at this time. AAA will continue to look for alternate space to fit current needs in the area,” Carey said.
Although the brick-and-mortar Ithaca facility has closed, local AAA associates are still available to help Ithaca–area members from a different office, by phone, email, or virtually, the organization said.
AAA also notes that it operates two offices in the Syracuse region — in DeWitt and Camillus. The DeWitt AAA is located at 3460 Erie Boulevard East and the Camillus AAA is at 5103 West Genesee St. in Camillus.

Oneida Nation begins effort to fill more than 250 hospitality positions
VERONA, N.Y. — The Oneida Indian Nation is extending — and candidates are accepting — offers for hospitality positions at its properties. That’s according to Joel Barkin, VP of communications, who tells CNYBJ in an email that as of Dec. 1, the organization had set up more than 400 interviews and members of the Oneida
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VERONA, N.Y. — The Oneida Indian Nation is extending — and candidates are accepting — offers for hospitality positions at its properties.
That’s according to Joel Barkin, VP of communications, who tells CNYBJ in an email that as of Dec. 1, the organization had set up more than 400 interviews and members of the Oneida Nation’s human-resources team had traveled to Florida to conduct in-person interviews.
The Oneida Indian Nation and Oneida County on Nov. 18 announced the launch of a new recruitment campaign to fill more than 250 hospitality positions within the Oneida Indian Nation’s properties.
The “New Year, New Career” campaign was created to complement the Nation’s ongoing hiring efforts in the upstate region. The Oneida Nation is funding the entire campaign, per its news release.
The campaign is designed to target residents living in areas like Orlando, Florida, where the ongoing pandemic has resulted in “significant layoffs” for tens of thousands in the hospitality industry at resort attractions like Disney World, the Oneida Nation said.
The open positions at Oneida Nation Enterprises include full-time jobs, which are a combination of salaried and hourly positions. They include culinary, bartenders, restaurant and cocktail servers, hotel staff, housekeeping, and gaming positions.
Oneida Nation Enterprises says it is recruiting additional employees to support the organization’s recovery and growth in the year ahead. The “New Year, New Career” offers “generous” compensation and benefits, relocation assistance, as well as opportunities for training.
“Our new recruitment campaign spotlights our entire region and the opportunities for a fulfilling career and quality of life in a beautiful four-season destination,” Ray Halbritter, Oneida Indian Nation representative and Oneida Nation Enterprises CEO, contended. “This campaign is an investment in our future and will ensure that as we return to normalcy, we will maintain the standards that have made us New York’s top destination resort.”
Oneida County, through its department of workforce development, will work with the Oneida Nation to assist locally based job candidates — and those looking to relocate to Oneida County — find the resources necessary to become employed. Those resources could include offering daycare and local employment opportunities for accompanying family members.
“Time and again, the Oneida Indian Nation reaffirms its unwavering commitment to make our region among the most elite destinations in the country, and this investment to get many of our residents back to work, and also attract new people to our county is just the latest example,” said Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente, Jr. “These are tremendous career opportunities for both people living in Central New York as well as those considering relocating to our region.”
The campaign’s website is: https://www.onenterprises.com/careers
Stay up-to-date on the companies, people and issues that impact businesses in Syracuse, Central New York and beyond.