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Volume 11, No. 18
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& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch
Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, February 8, 2019
City of The Hills
Visit www.
AllOTSEGO.com
JEFF IDELSON RETIRING
HoF Chief ‘Good For Hall, Village’ Study D&H Yards More, Citizens Ask ONEONTA
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nvironmental advocates criticized the Generic Environmental Statement (GEIS) for the D&H yards detailed by Delaware Engineering at Oneonta Common Council on Tuesday, Feb. 5. Complaints were the GEIS failed to sufficiently consider renewable-energy options and failed to show how a gas decompressor proposed for the Town of Oneonta might fit into the city project. Full story appears on:
AllOTSEGO.com
www.
ON
AllOTSEGO.com
â–şONEONTA’S GENERAL Anthony P. German, the Major General who lead New York Army and Air National Guard from 2016 to 2018 retired Saturday, Feb. 2 during a ceremony at Stratton Air National Guard Base. â–şCONGRESSMAN DELGADO announced that he will open an office at 189 Main St. in Oneonta on Thursday, Feb. 7. He also met with representatives from the Leatherstocking Young Farmers and the small business community at Hartwick College’s Shineman Chapel on Monday, Feb. 4. â–şTHE GREATER ONEONTA Historical Society opened their newest exhibit, “Oneonta Commercial Advertising: From the 1850’s to the New Millenniumâ€? on Friday, Feb. 1
Judge’s Order Ending 2 Years Of Argument By LIBBY CUDMORE
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COOPERSTOWN
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e was there in 2014 when the first sitting president, Barack Obama, visited the National Baseball Hall of Fame, pitching his tourism strategy. He was there that fall when Little League World Champion pitcher Mo’Ne Davis, a national phenomenon, took a break from Jeff Idelson’s Cooperstown All official portrait. Star Village in Oneonta to donate her jersey to the Hall. He was there in 2017 on the steps of the Hall’s library to present the plaque inducting Homer Simpson into the Hall on the 25th anniversary of the iconic Simpsons episode, “Homer at the Bat.� He was there when Chipper Jones, Vladimir Guerrero and four other standout ballplayers drew 53,000 fans to the 2018 Induction, the second largest crowd in Hall history. Landmarks all, but Jeff Idelson’s 11-year tenure was marked by qualities he brought to the job every day, Please See IDELSON, A7
Tenants Ordered To Leave ONEONTA
By JIM KEVLIN
Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
CANO President Jim Maloney presents Lynn Bailey with second place award in the Fireman’s Choice category for her homemade Texas chili at the annual Chili Bowl Sunday, Feb. 3 at the Wilber Mansion/OTHER PHOTO, A2
AT ONEONTA HOTEL
Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
Departing Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson participates in one of the light-hearted events of his tenure: Presenting Homer Simpson with his plaque on May 27, 2017, on the 25th anniversary of “Homer at the Bat.�
Medallion Found In Trash Cans In Badger Park, Claiming $500
wo years after City Hall first declared the former Oneonta Hotel unsafe for occupancy, Judge John F. Lambert ordered the remaining tenants vacate the building by Thursday, Feb. 7. “Ultimately, the judge recognized the imminent danger that exists in the building and took action,� said Mayor Gary Herzig after the Tuesday, Feb. 5, hearing before Judge Lambert in Cooperstown. “Our priority now is making sure the people in that building are provided with an appropriate, safe place to live.� By Lambert’s order, any tenants who remain in the building after 4:30 p.m. on the 7th will be removed the following morning by sheriff’s deputies. “I will have signed orders of eviction ready to hand down to the sheriff,� said the judge. “But hopefully, we will not have to use them.� The ruling signaled the beginning of the end of the long-standing feud between Please See HOTEL, A6
Animal Shelter, Sheriff, D.A. Join In Task Force Vs. Animal Cruelty
By LIBBY CUDMORE
that suffering and get them help sooner.� COOPERSTOWN To work to that goal, HARTWICK SEMINARY Haynes partnered with f Frankie Panzarella, Sheriff Richard J. Devlin 13, hadn’t bumped his tacie Haynes, Jr. and District Attorney head, he and his dad Susquehanna John Muehl to begin asFrank might never have come SPCA executive sembly a task force dediacross the 2019 Winter Cardirector, won’t be caught cated to combating animal nival Medallion. off guard by animal crucruelty in the county. “I was looking behind the elty. “We’ve talked about it trash cans in Badger Park and “What always scares Sheriff Devlin, Haynes and for a while,� said Devlin I hit my head on the corner,� me about these cases is when the task force was D.A. Muehl review task he said. “I saw something that they went unnoticed announced Friday, Feb. 1. force agreement. HOMETOWN ONEONTA for so long before they taped to the side with black “We want to get additional tape, but I didn’t know what Frank, Frankie and blew up,� she said. “These animals were officers and local law enforcement trained.� Rocco show off the it was at first.� suffering. We needed something to prevent Please See TASK FORCE, B6 Please See $500, A3 medallion. By LIBBY CUDMORE
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HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST CIRCULATION NEWSPAPER 2010 WINNER OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD