The Daily Mail Copyright 2021, Columbia-Greene Media Volume 230, No. 26
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022
Greene temporarily halts test clinics By Ted Remsnyder Columbia-Greene Media
CATSKILL — With the proliferation of at-home COVID-19 tests now available in stores and through the mail free of charge through a federal government program, Greene County Public Health will host its final COVID testing clinic for the time being in Coxsackie on Wednesday. When COVID cases surged in December and January as the omicron wave caused a spike in positive tests, Greene County Public Health held twice-weekly testing clinics at 370 Mansion St. in Coxsackie
on Mondays and Wednesdays. Last month the sessions were reduced to one per week, but Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden said Monday that with cases falling and smaller turnout at the clinics in recent weeks that they would be paused for now. “It’s that (low turnout) and the distribution of home kits,” Groden said. “That will probably be our last one.” At the county’s clinic in Coxsackie on Jan. 31, 10 people showed up to get tested, with two returning positive results. Groden said the testing clinics could resume if COVID
TED REMSNYDER/COLUMBIA-GREENE MEDIA
The first lunch service for the Stella’s II Pizzeria & Pancake House as it reopened on Thursday.
numbers begin to rise again and there’s a demand for testing. “If things turn around and all of a sudden things look worse, then absolutely they could resume,” he said. The testing clinic in Coxsackie on Feb. 9 runs from 10 a.m. to noon at 370 Mansion St. Public Health is urging residents who test positive for COVID through an at-home test to report their positive result to the agency via the county’s online portal.
TWO MORE DEATHS See CLINICS A8
FILE PHOTO
Greene County Public Health will hold its final COVID testing clinic for the time being on Wednesday in Coxsackie.
After fire, setbacks, Athens eatery returns TED REMSNYDER/COLUMBIA-GREENE MEDIA
The Stella’s II Pizzeria & Pancake House reopened on Thursday, 15 months after a devastingh fire shuttered the business.
By Ted Remsnyder Columbia-Greene Media
FILE PHOTO
The Stella’s II Pizzeria & Pancake House was decimated by a fastmoving fire on Nov. 1, 2020.
ATHENS — Fifteen months after a fire decimated the Stella’s II Pizzeria & Pancake House in Athens, the restaurant made a triumphant return at the same location on Thursday. The 6 South Water
St. eatery reopened its doors on Feb. 3 with a full menu of breakfast, lunch and dinner items. A fire tore through the pizzeria Nov. 1, 2020, with fire companies from Athens, West Athens, Catskill and Coxsackie all responding to the inferno. No one was inside the
restaurant at the time of the Sunday night fire and Stella’s II confirmed in the aftermath of the blaze that the business had been completely destroyed as a result of the fire. In June, the proprietors began posting updates on social media showing renovations taking place in the Water
Street pizzeria, with hopes of reopening by the end of September. The pizzeria experienced several more rounds of delays last fall, as the reopening date kept getting pushed into the distance. See RETURNS A8
Earlton fire that damaged home was electrical By Bill Williams Columbia-Greene Media
EARLTON — A family is homeless after a weekend fire tore through their mobile home, Earlton Fire Chief Pat Donovan said Monday. An investigation into the cause of the fire determined it was electrical in nature, Donovan said. Firefighters fought the blaze in frigid conditions. Temperatures were in the single digits at the time of the fire. The American Red Cross provided immediate emergency aid to the two adults in the aftermath of the earlymorning blaze. The home was badly
damaged. Two rooms sustained significant fire damage and the rest of the home had water and smoke damage throughout, Donovan said. At about 2:30 a.m. Sunday, Greene County 911 sent Earlton Fire Department to 1725 Potic Mountain Road after the homeowners reported that their mobile home was on fire. The family and their two pets were able to get out of the home safely before firefighters arrived, Donovan said. When crews first arrived on the scene, the fire was burning heavily in the living room area. Fire officials immediately requested mutual-aid assistance from West Athens
n SPORTS FORECAST FOR HUDSON/CA
Lime Street Fire Company. Firefighters fought the blaze from outside and inside the home. After the fire was declared out, they began checking the rest of the structure to make sure there were no areas where the fire could begin again. Central Hudson Gas and Electric was requested to the scene to disconnect power. Assisting at the fire scene were Coxsackie Ambulance, Greene County Paramedics, Greene County Sheriff’s Office, and Greene County Fire Coordinator’s Office. All firefighters were back in service at 5:30 a.m.
n WEATHER page A2
TODAY TONIGHT WED
Breezy in the Some sun, Partly cloudy afternoon then clouds
HIGH 39
LOW 17
43 29
BILL WILLIAMS/COLUMBIA-GREENE MEDIA
A mobile home in Earlton was badly damaged by fire Sunday morning.
n STATE
CoxsackieAthens wins For the first time ever, Section II Class C Champions. PAGE B1
n INDEX
Expire or amend Gov. Hochul to announce new development in mask mandate PAGE A3
Region A3 Opinion A4 Local A5 State/Nation A6 ObituariesA6 Sports B1 Classified B4-B5 Comics/Advice B7-B8
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