ALL-STAR VILLAGE FAMILIES... Plan Your Week of
Summer Fun! ...for things to do, see Page B1
HOMETOWN ONEONTA !
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F Volume 7, No. 42
& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch Complimentary
Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, July 10, 2015
STEPHEN JOSEPH’S FOURTH OF JULY
City of The Hills
Jim Kevlin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
Oneonta-born Mary-Ann Corrao Ferree, known for 40 years as Brandy in Buffalo & Brandy, receives a proclamation from Mayor Russ Southard when she was back performing in her hometown on First Friday, July 3, after a yearslong absence. Hartwick President Margaret Drugovich also honored the alumna, who was tearful with delight.
Vote Delayed On Merger Of Scout Councils ON CRUMHORN MT.
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he Oneonta-based Otschodela Scout Council’s executive committee delayed a merger vote until Wednesday, Aug. 5, saying not enough local scout leaders are sufficiently familiar with the concept. Otschodela president Hank Nicols, Cooperstown, said scouts will be camping at the Henderson Reservation here over the next month, and can be briefed on the proposal. The executive committee delayed voting on the merger with the Utica-based Revolutionary Trails Council on meeting here Tuesday, July 7. – By ANNE LEONARDO ‘HIGHLY QUALIFIED’: The Independent Judicial Election Qualification Commission for the department that includes Otsego County has found City Judge Lucy Bernier “highly qualified.” She is running for a second term in the November elections. ORDER NOW: Hometown Oneonta reporter Libby Cudmore’s debut novel, “The Big Rewind,” went up for pre-sale Tuesday, July 7, on www.amazon.com.
The celebrated photographer and Oneonta native Stephen Joseph is back in Otsego County for the month of July, and shot this view of the Fourth of July fireworks in Neahwa Park from the penthouse of the Parkview Apartments, the former Bresee’s. Joseph, who picked up a camera as a 10-year-old boy and has been a photographer, specializing in panoramas, for the 50 years since, currently has one show, “Broadway Revealed: Behind The Theater Curtain,” at the Lincoln Center’s Astor Gallery in New York City, and another, “Nature’s Beloved Son: Rediscovering John Muir’s Botanical Legacy,” touring California, where he lives for the rest of the year. His photographic celebration of his hometown, “Oneonta 360,” is available at the Oneonta History Center. He is the son of Dr. David and Bunny Joseph/OTHER PHOTOS, A3
Merger-Study Grant, Billboard Ban OK’d Fact-Seeking Study Now In Town’s Court 12-Month Moratorium, Task Force Created By LIBBY CUDMORE
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ommon Council agrees there’s only one Oneonta. “When I’m on vacation with friends, they don’t distinguish that they’re from the Town of
Oneonta,” said Council member Chip Holmes, Eighth Ward. “City or town, we all want to build a greater Oneonta.” In a unanimous decision - minus absent Council member David Rissberger, Third Ward - Council Please See STUDY, A2
By LIBBY CUDMORE
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o stay ahead of fast-changing technology, Common Council, 5-2, approved a moratorium banning new interiorlit billboards in the city of Oneonta
until more formal regulations can be written. “It is prudent to hit the pause button and make sure we have a code that can accommodate outdoor advertising in a way that is safe and doesn’t obstruct our site view,” Please See DELAY, A2
Body-Worn Cameras Common
OPD Officer Branden Collison shows off a headmounted camera city police are trying.
OPD Lags County, SUNY, Coop, But Plans To Catch Up In 2016 By LIBBY CUDMORE
T Ian Austin//HOMETOWN ONEONTA
hough it hasn’t picked a model yet, the Oneonta Police Department has already experienced how body-worn cameras can help investigations. While being questioned after being
caught peeking into a tanning booth, a suspect confessed to being a parolee, said Police Chief Dennis Nayor. “By capturing that initial contact and conversation on video, it was beneficial,” he said. Earlier this year, OPD purchased a headmounted camera, similar to a Bluetooth Please See CAMERAS, A6
HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST CIRCULATION NEWSPAPER 2010 WINNER OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD
Dial 'M' for Murder July 9 at 7 PM & July 10 at 8 PM | Louis C. Jones Center
TWO NIGHTS REMAINING!
The Compleat Works Of WLLM Shkspr (Abridged Revised)
July 15, 22, & 29 | 7 PM Louis C. Jones Center
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Produced by Glimmer Globe Theatre and The Farmers’ Museum
Purchase tickets at The Farmers’ Museum store, by phone at (607) 547-1453 or online at FarmersMuseum.org
FarmersMuseum.org 5775 Route 80 • Cooperstown, NY