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Cooperstown’s Newspaper
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ALL YOU NEED TO PLAN HOLIDAY WEEKEND, B3
For 204 Years
RICHFIELD SPRINGS • CHERRY VALLEY • HARTWICK • FLY CREEK • MILFORD • SPRINGFIELD • MIDDLEFIELD Volume 204, No. 21
COOPERSTOWN AND AROUND
Cooperstown, New York, Thursday, May 24, 2012
Winningest Paddler Back For 50th Clinton Regatta By LIBBY CUDMORE COOPERSTOWN
A
fter a seven-year hiatus, Serge Corbin, the unchallenged king of the
The Freeman’s Journal
Newsstand Price $1
IF YOU GO: The 50th Clinton Regatta departs at 6 a.m. Monday, May 28, from Lakefront Park. General Clinton Regatta returns to Otsego County on Memorial Day, Mon-
Canoeing champ Serge Corbin is due back in the county.
day, May 28, to again claim his title. “I can’t just do it for fun,” said the 28-time winner and native of St. Boniface, Que., who will race down the Susquehanna from Cooperstown, Please See RACE, A10
THE WALK OF LIFE
Deputy Mayor Walter Franck examines new computers donated by the Friends of the Village Library during the Village Board’s annual inspection day Tuesday, May 22, a lapsed practice revived by the new mayor, Jeff Katz.
Birch Wins A Landslide In CCS Vote
TEA PARTY CHALLENGE
Seward Primary Possible By JIM KEVLIN
COOPERSTOWN
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ewcomer Marcy Birch, top vote-getter in the May 15 CCS board elections, tallied 26 percent more support than the incumbent board president, Tony Scalici. Birch received 471 votes to Scalici’s 346. The other incumbent, David Borgstrom, received 305 votes and newcomer Andrew Marietta, 296. Jonathan Greenberg and Holly Hren also ran for the four open seats. Voters cast 548 ballots this year, compared to 407 in the 2011 school vote.
F Jim Kevlin/The Freeman’s Journal
A grandson-grandfather cancer-fighting team led off the 2012 Cooperstown-Northern Otsego Relay for Life Friday, May 18, at Cooperstown Dreams Park. Organizer Carla Eckler said the event raised a record $102,000, and money is still coming in.
HOMETOWN ONEONTA
James Blake, right, attended state Sen. Jim Seward’s Economic Development Summit March 9 at The Otesaga.
Blake and a neighbor, Jeannie Bridger, asked for the county Republican Please See GOP, A8
Democrat Joel Tyner Opens HQ In County
CHAMBER EXEC: Barbara Ann Heegan, Bassett Healthcare’s former director of volunteers, has been named Otsego County Chamber executive director, succeeding Rob Robinson. WINDOW ON NEWS: “The Impact of The Image,” Frank Rollins’ photos from a career in the newspaper business, will open at 4:30 p.m. Friday, May 25, at the Clara Welch Thanksgiving Home. Public welcome.
or the first time since his first state Senate race in 1986, Milford Republican Jim Seward may be facing a GOP primary due to a disagreement over the Home Rule doctrine. “We’re just very frustrated with Home Rule,” said James Blake, a businessman living in the Town of Maryland since 2004. “It’s not really Home Rule; it’s a preemption bill he (Seward) put in allowing people to ban natural gas.”
2 Democrats Vie To Challenge GOP’s Gibson By LIBBY CUDMORE ONEONTA Two former Rotary Club presidents and Paul Harris Fellows meet and greet on the Relay sidelines: George Erhman, left, of Richfield Springs – who on trumpet, with partner Ed Badgely on clarinet, entertained the gathering – and Bill Glockler of Cooperstown.
‘I Young Celtic dancers went through the paces.
’ve been the underdog five times,” said Joel Tyner, a fivetime Dutchess County legislator, who is running against Julian Schriberman in the June 26 Democratic primary for the 19th Congressional
District. “And I’ve come out on top all five of them.” In November, the winner of that will face off against U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson, a Republican who spent May 10-11 in the Cooperstown area. “We need a firecracker in every town,” Tyner said. “It’s all about the buzz.” In Worcester, his camPlease See TYNER, A11
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST PRINT CIRCULATION 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD
Saturday and Sunday May 26 & 27 10am-5pm The festival, on the shore of Otsego Lake, highlights select Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) artisans, storytellers, dancers, and more.
Concert with Grammy-Winner Joanne Shenandoah
May 26 at 7pm Tickets: $20
Entry to the festival is included with paid museum admission.
To learn more, visit FenimoreArtMuseum.org Iroquois Indian Museum
The festival is made possible through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and a contribution from Price Chopper’s Golub Foundation.
MUSEUM�ADMISSION�� Adults and Juniors (13-64): $12.00; Seniors (65+): $10.50; Children (12 and under):Free; NYSHA members, active military, and retired career military personnel: Free. FENIMORE�ART�MUSEUM 5798 State Route 80 Cooperstown, NY 607-547-1400
THURSDAY-FRIDAY, MAY 24-25, 2012
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Over Home Rule, Seward Faces First Primary In 26 Years
GOP/From A1 Committee’s endorsement when it met Thursday, May 17, at the county courthouse in Cooperstown. The committee rebuffed the request, however, voting 68-2 to endorse Seward for a 13th term. County Clerk Kathy Sinnot Gardner made the nomination, which was seconded by county Rep. Jim Power, R-Butternuts, and others. In an interview Tuesday, May 22, however, Blake said he will circulate petitions to get his name on the
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ballot for the 51st Senate District nomination in the Sept. 13 Republican primary. He announced his candidacy Saturday, May 16, at the annual gathering of local Tea Party activists at Chuck Pinkey’s River Valley New Holland dealership in Otego, and said he received general support. He also attended the meeting of Citizens Voices, the pro-business group, the subsequent Tuesday. Blake is also associated with Marie Lusins, the
Town of Oneonta Republican, who is a partner with his wife, Uni, in Hometown Energy Group, which has been holding seminars locally advising people on alternate energies. “People will say, you’re the fracking guy,” said the candidate. “No, I’m for any safe energy that will get us off OPEC. Wind isn’t ready. Solar isn’t ready. Natural gas is.” Reached at the state Capitol after the interview with Blake, Seward spokesman Jeff Bishop said of his
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boss, “Right now, he’s more focused on what’s going on in Albany.” Regardless of whether the challenger gets on the primary ballot, Seward’s “always out on the campaign trail, whether he has a challenger or he doesn’t have a challenger. He’s always had strong support, and I think he will again this time,” said Bishop. County GOP chair Sheila Ross, Fly Creek, who presided at the committee meeting, said, “I don’t know Mr. Blake. That was the first time I had any contact with him. He was not prepared. He wasn’t aware of what was involved. I was not impressed with Mr. Blake.” Ross was skeptical about where the challenge might go. “If he sticks with it, if he passes the petitions and if the petitions are OK, it would force a primary,” she said. For his part, Blake said he served on the GOP rules committee in Newt Gingrich’s former Georgia Congressional District, and was surprised when he questioned the local county committee that it was unclear on the regulations it was supposed to adhere to. “I wasn’t allowed to speak,” he added. Tony Casale of Cooperstown, the retired assembly-
man from Herkimer who is currently executive director of the state Republican Committee, said, “I don’t know who this challenger is. I’ve never heard of the person. But I don’t disparage anyone’s right to run for office.” But, he said, “In this particular instance, I’m going to support Jim Seward. He’s been my friend and colleague for many years. He represents the area very well.” The news of Blake’s candidacy was likewise a surprise to Democrats. The Cooperstown Democratic chair, Richie Abbate, who is also on the county Democratic Party’s executive committee, said the county committee will probably try to field a candidate against Seward this year, “but he’s a tough opponent. He’s very popular. I’m surprised he has a Republican challenger.” Home Rule is an issue where the senator has found himself caught in the middle. Traditionally a conservative doctrine to keep as much power at the local level as possible, Seward championed the idea that Otsego County towns, if they chose, could use the concept to ban hydrofracking within their borders. When the Town of
Middlefield, which adopted an anti-fracking moratorium, was sued by natural-gas interests and faced significant legal defense bills, the senator introduced a bill in Albany that would affirm Home Rule, strengthening the towns’ cases. However, that bill has languished. At its most recent meeting, Citizens Voices claimed credit for getting the bill bottled up in committee in Albany. Since the Middlefield ban and a similar one in the Town of Dryden have been affirmed in state Supreme Court, Bishop said Home Rule is “the law of the land” and, thus, the bill has less urgency. Blake, however, called the Seward bill “the most horrible proposed legislation I’ve seen in my lifetime.” In the interview, Blake said he was raised in northern Florida, attended college in Rome, Ga., and went into the insurance business, where he achieved some success. He later partnered with a brother-in-law in exporting Manila-stock paper to markets worldwide. He moved to Rochester in 2001, where he participated in an Internet venture, and discovered Otsego County while driving through the area. He, his wife and five children moved in 2004.
ONEONTA LITTLE LEAGUE Warren Quigley from N.B.T. lets the team know there is one out.
N.B.T.’s Jonny Lattenhauer keeps both eyes on the ball.
Upcoming
Good Luck
Little Leaguers!
Elijah Brandas with Up Country Photo swings for a line drive. Photos by: Amanda Hoepker/Hometown Oneonta
Supporting Oneonta Youth Congratulations! Athletics GLAS
S CO.
Have a Great Season!
Danny Zhang from N.B.T. makes a throw to first.
A CE
Wednesday, May 23 5:45 N. Eagle - Stewart’s 5:45 Stereo Lab -Benson (F-2) Thursday, May 24 5:45 Police - Elks 5:45 6th Ward - Up Country (F-2) Saturday, May 26 10:00 Reinhardt - N. Eagle 10:00 Stereo Lab - N.B.T. (F-2) 12:00 Community - Elks 12:00 6th Ward - Benson (F-2) 2:00 Stewart’s - V.S.H. 2:00 C. Club - Sears (F-2) Monday, May 28 • Memorial Day 1:00 Police - Community 3:00 V.S.H. - Reinhardt 5:00 Elks - N. Eagle Tuesday, May 29 5:45 Reinhardt - Stewarts 5:45 Sears - Stereo Lab (F-2)
Have a Great Season!
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Tyler Holcomb with Up Country Photo throws towards second.