$500 MEDALLION STILL OUT THERE!
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CLUE #3 INSIDE • CARNIVAL STARTS FRIDAY
Nominate your most impressive colleagues. Details B7
HOMETOWN ONEONTA !
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F Volume 7, No. 20
City of The Hills
& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch Complimentary
Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, February 6, 2015
HERZIG FIRST IN FIELD Democrats, GOP Expect Interest In Mayor Race
Gary Herzig strides down Main Street in the city he loves.
That sensibility informed his career, from Inner City teacher, to Oneonta Job Corps director and, for the past two decades, an Opo help pay his way through Queens portunities for Otsego administrator, most of College, Gary Herzig drove cab nights that time as chief operating officer. and weekends. “I’ve always been drawn to trying to or text of “In New York City,” he said of make things better,” he said in an inHerzig’s the experience, “you see, on the terview Saturday, Jan. 31, at Capresso, announceone hand, extraordinary wealth after the news that he was running for ment letter, see – on the other hand, extreme mayor broke the afternoon before ALLOTSEGO.COM poverty.” Please See HERZIG, A6 By JIM KEVLIN
T Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
Christine Alexander enjoys a bright bowl of chili and a glass of wine as she moves through the crowded rooms of the Wilber mansion at the annual CANO Chili Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 1/OTHER PHOTO, A2
Commission Seeks Ninth Trailblazer
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Bettiol Prize To Blazina
Chamber Tol Recognize OFO, Hall Of Fame Too
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Jim Kevlin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
RINGING HOME ONEONTA HISTORY
GOHS Appeals For $40,000 So Public Can See Artifacts
By LIBBY CUDMORE
By JIM KEVLIN
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arol Blazina couldn’t believe her ears on learning she was the ominations are being 2015 recipient sought for the ninth of the Eugene annual Woman TrailBettiol Jr. blazer Award, which aims Distinguished to honor a Greater Oneonta Citizen Award, woman who, by outstanding she couldn’t achievement, has raised the believe it was stature of women locally. real. Sponsored by the City “No, no, no, Commission on Community this has to be Relations & Human Rights, a mistake,” Blazina the award will be presented Blazina told at a Common Council meetBarbara Ann Heegan, Otsego ing in March, with a recepCounty Chamber of Commerce tion preceding in the City president/CEO. “It was so Hall lobby. Please See BLAZINA, A7 The deadline is Feb. 20. For details, call Joyce Miller, commission chair, at 4328751. Nominations forms at www.oneonta.ny.us.
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LET’S GO SKATING: Hodges Pond in Neahwa Park is open seven days a week for unsupervised ice skating and non-contact hockey when the green flag is flying. A black flag means, don’t skate. Hours at www.oneonta.ny.us. VALENTINE OPENING: The reopening of Hartwick College’s Anderson Arts Center after renovations will be marked Valentine’s Day with an “all jazz for classical musicians” concert at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 14 performed by the college’s music faculty.
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cache of artifacts from Oneonta’s one-time Odd Fellows Lodge had just arrived, and Whitney Birkett was trying to make sense of two wooden blocks, each with a handle attached. “They’re kind of a mystery,” said Whitney, the Greater Oneonta Historical Society’s collection management intern, who a few moments earlier had pointed out “grand master” written in pencil inside the collar of an oriental-style red robe. Rolled out atop a Birkett holds up crate bearing OHS’ robe worn by the blue & gold band uni- Odd Fellows’ grand forms from the 1960s master. was a poster bearing six arcane images of Odd Fellows lore, among them three Corinthian pillars, an Arabian-style tent, a cross and crescent moon behind an open volume depicting the Ten Commandments. Mysteries all, which is a big part of the appeal to Birkett, who since May, when not occupied as collections manager at Hartwick College’s Yager Museum, has been indexing Please See $40,000, A7
OHS Teacher Is ‘Master’ Of STEM Study By LIBBY CUDMORE
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t isn’t always easy being a math teacher, but for Carol Pierce, it’s always worth it. “I tell my students, ‘I’ve cried more tears over math than you have’,” she said. “But when you finally understand, it’s such a sense of accomplishment.” And that dedication is what makes her a Master Teacher. Pierce, a lifelong Oneonta resident and 1994 OHS gradPlease See PIERCE, A6
SAMPLE GOHS: Images of Old Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
Whitney Birkett, GOHS collection management intern, examines marking on the back of her favorite photo: A Victorian era scene of the Wilber family in the 11 Ford Ave. mansion.
Main, the roundhouse and the Stanton Opera house may be viewed at the opening reception for “Lost Oneonta: Remembering Bygone Architecture,” 2-4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8, at the History Center, 183 Main St.
HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST CIRCULATION NEWSPAPER 2010 WINNER OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD
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