Columbia County Current

2020 Census – Columbia County Has Less Than 50% Response Rate

The 2020 Census counts every person living in the United States and five U.S. territories.

The 2020 Census counts every person living in the United States and five U.S. territories. The count is mandated by the Constitution and conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, a nonpartisan government agency. The 2020 Census counts the population in the United States and five U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

Each home was sent an invitation to respond to a short questionnaire, which can be completed online, by phone, or by mail. On the site, my2020census.gov, you can view the latest response rates by County. Columbia County’s current rate is just 49.7%, which means roughly half of all homes have filled out the census.

If you live in a home that has not filled out the census yet, please visit my2020census.gov to begin.

The census provides critical data that lawmakers, business owners, teachers, and many others use to provide daily services, products, and support for you and your community. Every year, billions of dollars in federal funding go to hospitals, fire departments, schools, roads, and other resources based on census data.

The results of the census also determine the number of seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives, and they are used to draw congressional and state legislative districts.

It’s also in the Constitution: Article 1, Section 2, mandates that the country conduct a count of its population once every 10 years. The 2020 Census will mark the 24th time that the country has counted its population since 1790.

For more local happenings, news, and events, follow ColumbiaCountyCurrent on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Spencertown Academy Virtual African American Dance Class For Families, Aug 22

Spencertown Academy Arts Center presents Elena Mosley teaching live, interactive African American dance via Zoom on Saturday, August 22 at 10am

Spencertown Academy Arts Center presents Elena Mosley teaching live, interactive African American dance via Zoom on Saturday, August 22 at 10am. Participants will experience traditional dance and improvisational movement, while connecting to African rhythmic music. This free event is the third in the Family Arts Kaleidoscope series, which is designed to engage children and their families from home. Participants should come to the class with a scarf or ribbon to hold in their hand. Registration is open to children ages 8 and up. Older family members are also welcome to participate. Registration is limited; please register at spencertownacademy.org.

“This class is going to be so much fun,” says Kelly Kynion, chair of the Family Arts Kaleidoscope Committee. “Elena Mosley is well known for her energy, her talent, and her community activism. We’re honored to have her joining us for this series.”

Elena Mosley, director and founder of Kuumba Dance and Drum, began her dance career in various community centers in New York City. She performed with the Lady Helena Walquer Dance Company of Harlem, NY, Brothers and Sisters United of Staten Island, and Haitian Dance Theater, under the direction of Louines Louinis. She participates in many cultural programs for Columbia, Greene, and the Capital Region schools and community arts programs. She is currently the executive director of the Operation Unite Education and Cultural Arts Center located in Hudson, NY.

The Family Arts Kaleidoscope virtual series continues on Saturday, September 19 at 10:00am, with a special pre-recorded program titled “It’s All About Reading!” featuring composer/ventriloquist Steve Charney and his puppet pal, Harry.

Family Arts Kaleidoscope is made possible with support from Hudson River Bank and Trust Foundation and Stewart’s Shops.

Founded in 1972, Spencertown Academy Arts Center is a cultural center and community resource serving Columbia County, the Berkshires, and the Capital region. Housed in a landmark 1847 Greek Revival schoolhouse, the Academy is located at 790 State Route 203 in Spencertown, New York. For more information, please contact info@spencertownacademy.org.

DATE/TIME: Saturday, August 22, 2020 / 10am – 11am

ADMISSION: Free.
Donations are welcome to help support this series and other Academy programming.
To register, visit www.spencertownacademy.org.

LOCATION: Online

MORE:
SpencertownAcademy.org
facebook.com/SpencertownAcademy
instagram.com/thespencertownacademy
Phone: (518) 392-3693

For more local happenings, news, and events, follow ColumbiaCountyCurrent on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

New Lebanon Library Fall Program Survey

The New Lebanon Library is planning their Fall programs, and would like to know what you want.

The New Lebanon Library is planning their Fall programs, and would like to know what you want. Here’s the request from the library:

“With all of the changes brought on by COVID-19, Fall programming is going to look a lot different. Much of it will likely still be online. We also know that after several months of being online, it gets really old; however, virtual programming might be one of our only options for a while. So, what kind of offerings can we bring you? Let us know by taking the brief survey below.”

https://forms.gle/X76jUNQ7RquD6rsQ6

MORE:
NewLebanonLibrary.org
facebook.com/NewLebanonLibrary
instagram.com/newlebanonlibrary

Phone: 518-794-8844
Email: leb@taconic.net

For more local happenings, news, and events, follow ColumbiaCountyCurrent on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

COVID-19 Update from Columbia County Health Department, Aug 10

The latest update from the Columbia County Department of Health.

Following is the latest update from the Columbia County Department of Health.

Although our numbers are low, it is IMPORTANT to remember to stay home if you feel symptoms. Recent positives were feeling ill and continued to go to work and/or socialized and potentially exposed many more people, putting them on Mandatory Quarantine for 14 days. Please continue to practice social distancing and wear your mask!

As of 3:30 pm on August 10, 2020:

– Columbia County has had 37 residents that have passed away from COVID-19.

-Columbia County has 514 confirmed positive cases.

-There are 9 active cases of COVID-19 in Columbia County. We are monitoring 97 county residents on mandatory quarantine, and there are 22 on precautionary quarantine.

– 468 of the 514 cases have recovered from COVID-19

– 3 of the positive cases are hospitalized, none of those hospitalized are in the ICU

-We have received 20,138 PCR reports. Please note this number may represent duplicate reports, out of county reports, and multiple nursing home testings.

https://www.columbiacountynyhealth.com/home/coronavirus-covid-19/

For more local happenings, news, and events, follow ColumbiaCountyCurrent on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Columbia Comeback: Governor Announces Schools Will Open in Fall

New York schools have been given the go ahead to open in the fall.

Columbia Comeback: Governor Announces New York Schools Will Open in Fall

(WRGB) – New York schools have been given the go ahead to open in the fall.

“They are all authorized to open,” Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a conference call today.

Districts are planning how to adapt to new safety guidelines. That includes classroom learning, virtual learning as well as transportation on school buses.

“If any state can do it, this state can do it because we’ve been smart since day one,” Cuomo said. “We can bring the same level of intelligence that we brought to the economic reopening.”

Of the 800+ school districts in New York state, 127 districts have not submitted reopening plans to the New York State Department of Education. Fifty districts’ plans are incomplete. The department will continue to review plans over the weekend and notify districts if they need to resubmit their plans with more detail.

Cuomo said districts will be asked to more specifically address three elements of their plans: remote learning, COVID-19 testing for both students and teachers, and contact tracing. Those expanded plans will be submitted to the state and posted on the district websites.

“Different school districts have different theories,” Cuomo said. “But that question of testing for students an teachers is a high level of concerns.”

Cuomo stressed districts need to have discussions with the parents in their districts, a continuing theme in his conference calls and news conferences this week when talking about school reopening plans for the fall.

The governor is also asking each district to hold three online discussions with parents to answer questions that they have about the plans to return to learning in the fall. Those discussions need to be completed by August 21. For the big districts in New York – New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Yonkers, Albany, Mount Vernon, and Utica – five online discussions with parents will be held.

School districts will also be required to set up at least one discussion with teachers only to review plans and bring up any questions they want to have.

MORE:
www.columbiaedc.com
columbiacountytourism.org
columbiachamber-ny.com