ALL-STAR VILLAGE FAMILIES... Plan Your Week of
Summer Fun! ...for things to do, see Page B1
HOMETOWN ONEONTA !
E RE
F Volume 7, No. 43
City of The Hills
& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch
Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, July 17, 2015
Complimentary
As Merger Debated, Drums Summon Al Colone On 71st Birthday, GO-EDC Co-Founder Gigging With Compass In The Poconos By LIBBY CUDMORE
F
or Al Colone, playing drums was a life-changing experience. Drafted into the Army in 1966 and ready to head out to Vietnam, his battalion commander was looking for someone to play drums during marches. “I saw one hand go
Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
Keira Brown, Oneonta, learns from John Delberta, Oneonta, about how a pulley system can allow her to lift her own body weight with little effort during OWL’s Pluto Party Tuesday, July 14, in Neahwa Park to learn about the solar system’s dwarf planet.
City Council, Manager Eye ‘360 Review’
C
ommon Council scheduled an executive session with City Manager Martin Murphy Wednesday, July 15, to discuss the “360 Review” being crafted to appraise the executive’s performance. The “360 Review” was agreed upon after Council member Mike Lynch raised questions in April about City Hall management. AIR CONCERNS: Com-
mon Council’s next “Community Conversations” are planned at 8 p.m. Tuesdays July 21 and July 28 at the Yellow Deli, 134 Main. All citizens are welcome to discuss issues of concern with elected officials. YOKO SAYS NO: Yoko
Ono, of Franklin and the world, placed a full-page ad in the New York Times of Thursday, July 9, promoting a petition that opposes the Constitution Pipeline through Delaware County. HISTORY WALK: Greater
Oneonta Historical Society “Wednesday Walks” of the Downtown Historic District are planned at 7 p.m. Wednesday’s July 29 and Aug. 12. $2 donation.
Al Colone unpacks his drums after he and Compass, he band of 44 years, performed in Hawley, Pa.
up, then another, then another,” he said. “I was last, and he said, ‘And you’!” Colone, who’s been in the news lately as GO-EDC cofounder, campaigning for citytown consolidation, hadn’t Please See COLONE,A3 EDITORIAL: City, town have already merged/SEE A4
Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
CITY HALL TO CONSIDER STUDY
‘Entertainment District’ Proposed In Downtown By LIBBY CUDMORE
W
hen Proctor’s Theater was on the verge of being torn down in 2007, activists calling themselves the Arts District of Schenectady sought a professional study to examine what the community needed in a theater. “It was a dump,” said Patrice Macaluso, a SUNY Oneonta theater teacher and president HOMETOWN ONEONTA FOTOT’s Macaluso and of FOTOT, the Friends of the Foothills Youngs make Oneonta Thetheir case. atre. “But they got a feasibility study done, and they turned it around.” Macaluso, along with Foothills Managing Director Bill Youngs and board President Luisa Please See ARTS, B4
Hail To The Chef! Sixth-Grader Back From Healthy White House Lunch By LIBBY CUDMORE
W
Hopefuls Seek City, County Board Seats
M
ayoral candidate Gary Herzig, incumbent Town Supervisor Bob Wood and City Judge Lucy Bernier were unopposed in the Nov. 3 election as the deadline for filing petitions with the county Board of Elections passed Thursday, July 9. But that doesn’t mean the election season will be without drama. Please See ELECTIONS, B4
President Obama shakes hand with Oneonta’s Julia Rissberger during a Saturday, July 11, luncheon at the White House. Mom Rachel is in the foreground.
hen Julia Rissberger sat down with First Lady Michelle Obama at the Kids State Dinner on Saturday, July 10, she made sure to return the First Lady’s hospitality. “I told her that her family was invited over to our house in Oneonta,” said Julia, a sixth-grader at Riverside Elementary. “The First Lady thought it was a great idea!” said Julia’s mother, Rachel, who attended the luncheon as Julia poses on her daughter’s the White House guest. grounds. Julia, 11, gained a place at the First Lady’s table by winning PBS’ “Healthy Eating Challenge” for New York State, with her recipe for a spinach and apple salad with blueberry vinaigrette, cinnamon almonds and cheese pennies. Please See JULIA, A3
HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST CIRCULATION NEWSPAPER 2010 WINNER OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD