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COVID RIPS FOX
Arie HillisBrunson, Hobart, a driver for Circle of Life Ambulette Service, returns an empty wheelchair to his van.
97 Ill, 12 Dead At Nursing Home By MIKE FORSTER ROTHBART ONEONTA
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coronavirus outbreak swept through Fox Nursing Home mid-January, sickening 97 staff and residents, and ultimately killing 12 of the residents.
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Bill and Janet Rigby are nearing completion of a 28-year renovation of their house at 73 Elm St., Cooperstown, and need your help to get it exactly right. DETAILS, B1
“After more than 10 months with no resident cases, the outbreak occurred suddenly with half of the total cases occurring within a week of onset,” Fox Hospital spokesperson Gabrielle Argo confirmed. The first COVID cases among residents were confirmed on Jan. 14, and the first death occurred two days later. Please See FOX, B6
ASSION for
Mike Forster Rothbart/The Freeman’s Journal
I
NAUGURATIONS
Governor Tells Counties: Take Over Vaccines
Tops, Price Chopper Set For Merger Can Both Cooperstown Supermarkets Survive? By JIM KEVLIN
ALBANY
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ounty heatlh departments must take over COVID vaccines as of this weekend, Governor Cuomo said in his Monday, Feb. 8, daily C-19 update. However, county Public Health Director Heidi Bond said her department has not yet received any direcCuomo tion from the state. So far, “we have no idea how much vaccine is coming or who it’s for,” she said. She advised local people to keep registering through the state’s “Am I Eligible” site. Follow updates on
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Pastor Paul Messner, Oneonta, who ministers to all four of the county’s Lutheran parishes, has attended the last 13 presidential inaugurations, from Richard Nixon’s (1973), upper left, to Joe Biden’s (2021), lower right. The first one was happenstance, but then the grip of one of the nation’s foremost ceremonies took hold/DETAILS, B1
t looks like the Cooperstown area, which hosts both a Price Chopper and a Tops Friendly Market, will be an oddity with the merger of the two supermarket companies that was announced Monday, Feb. 9. The two comThe Freeman’s Journal panies have “a Price Chopper footprint that’s patron almost perfectly Pete Gambino contiguous,” with exits the minimal overlap, Cooperstown store. Price Chopper/ Market 32 President/CEO Scott Grimmett told the Please See MERGER, A2
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►People Need better ways to complain about city police, Oneonta Advisory Board told. ►Oneonta Fire Chief Pat Pidgeon, ninth member of his family to serve in OFD, is retiring ►Mr. Peanut’s Nutmobile Showed up on Cooperstown’s Main Street. ►Oneonta’s Lishanskys to appear on “Family Feud.” ►COOPERSTOWN OFFICERS foil suicide attempt, praised by Chief Cavalieri.
Trump 2020 Billboard Going Amy Schumer Flies With Local Wings In April, Rome Sign Reports By CHRYSTAL SAVAGE New Customers Bring Controversy To End MILFORD
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or the portion of the public upset by the “Trump 2024” sign on Route 28 north of the Village of Milford, help may be on the way. Anna Johnson, Rome Sign Co. business manager, said the billboard’s current renter
has a contract that runs out in April, and a new customer has picked up the contract, so “Trump 2024” may be gone by the end of that month, “depending on the weather.” Meanwhile, the company has a contract with the “Trump 2024” customer Please See TRUMP, A2
DELANCEY
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ecily Rush watched the Super Bowl along with 96.4 million Americans, and there they were: Her handmade angel-wing creations in Hellman’s “Fairy Godmayo” commercial, starring Amy Schumer. “I was given no details beyond the fact from YouTube that it was a Super Bowl commercial and Amy Schumer wore locally made that the wings were going to be worn wings in the Hellman’s mayonaisse Please See WINGS, A2 ads during the Super Bowl.
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST PRINT CIRCULATION 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD
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A-2 THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA
What Will Price Chopper, Tops Merger Mean To 2 Cooperstown Markets? MERGER/From A1 Albany Times Union. With Price Chopper at Chestnut and Walnut in the village, and Tops 3.8 miles away in Cooperstown Commons, that wouldn’t be the case in Baseball Town, particularly since the corporate merger appears to end all competition in Otsego County north of Greater Oneonta, where the Price Chopper in Emmons competes with Hannaford, Aldi’s, BJ’s and Walmart. “Right now, there are no plans to close any stores,” said Jonathan Pierce of Pierce Communications, Albany, which is handling press queries.
Super Bowl ‘Wings’ Made Around Here WINGS/From A1 by a blonde celebrity who recently had a baby,” said a thrilled Cecily Monday, Feb. 8, the day after the Tampa Buccaneers beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 31-9. It was Amy Schumer. “Just move over and watch the wings,” she tells a confused homeowner, at a loss for what to do with his leftovers. Be-winged Schumer solves his dilemma with a wave of her butter knife before the commercial ends. Rush, owner and designer of Cecily Rush & Co. in Delancey, 30 miles south of Oneonta, attended the Fashion Institute of Technology and has been featured in Broadway, film and music productions as well as in New York Times and Harper Bazaar. “I’m not entirely sure where they all end up,” Rush said of her “custom, madeto-order wearable costume pieces.” The wings featured in the 2021 Super Bowl commercial were based on a previous design. Provided with some specifics, Rush also felt she was able to take some creative liberties. Schumer commented on an Instagram post Rush published saying, “(The wings) were incredible! Thank you!” “It was exciting to see and satisfying to be acknowledged for my work that often goes unnoticed,” Rush said.
New Patron Rents Trump Billboard TRUMP/From A1 – it was “Trump 2020” until the Nov. 3 election – that it is bound to honor, and will honor, Johnson said. Meanwhile, “everyone’s called me” about it, she said, particularly since the Milford Town Planning Board last month threatened to fine the village if it wasn’t removed. (The billboard is in the town, but on property owned by the village.) It turns out the town Planning Board lacks jurisdiction to fine anyone. Over the period of controversy – the billboard’s been up for a couple of years – Johnson said she’s been approached a couple of times by people offering to take out long-term contracts, simply to get the message removed.
The only other supermarket in Northern Otsego is in Richfield Springs, also a Price Chopper. Pierce said the merger is being examined by the Federal Trade Commission to assess its impact on the competitive picture. Until the FTC gives the goahead to the merger, it won’t be complete. The company is saying it’s anticipating that may happen in the spring. According to the FTC’s website, its “Bureau of Competition is committed
to preventing mergers and acquisitions that are likely to reduce competition and lead to higher prices, lower quality goods or services, or less innovation.” For now, Tops stores will continue to report to company headquarters in Williamsville, the Buffalo suburb, and Price Choppers to Schenectady, said Pierce. Any newly merged company that may emerge will be based in Schenectady, he said. “By bringing the two companies together, they will
be bigger,” Pierce continued. “When they sit down at the table with suppliers, they should have a bigger voice. That should play out to the benefit of the economy and its customers.” He continued, “In total, this is a company that’s dedicated to New York State. It’s based in New York State. It’s a really exciting time.” With the Price Chopper serving the Village of Cooperstown, and Tops better situated to attract Dreams Park families – it’s jammed
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job scene To place effective employment ads, call 607-547-6103
during regular summers when the youth baseball camps are functioning – another question might be whether the merged company would be better served by building a new store between where the two are now. In his remarks to the Times Union, Grimmett, who will
be CEO of the combined company, emphasized the “long-term conversion of Price Chopper supermarkets to the Market 32 format” will continue. Market 32s are upscale Wegman’s-like markets, with top produce, meat and fish, as well as gift shops and the like.
Hartwick College is seeking applicants for a Human Resources Coordinator. The successful candidate will have a minimum of 1-3 years of human resource experience. The Coordinator is responsible for performing a wide variety of administrative duties associated with fringe benefits, employment and orientation processes For complete details, please visit www.hartwick.edu/about-us/employment
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HOMETOWN Views
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2021
EDITORIAL
Local Governments Should Tend Our Roads, Not Our Minds
D
o we really expect our local elected officials to tell us what to think? Quite the opposite, probably. And yet instead of focusing on paving streets, keeping tax at a reasonable level, and providing whatever might be considered essential services, they seem increasingly determined to do just that. Three examples popped up in the past few days that suggest this may be spinning out of control, including at the February meeting of the county Board of Representatives, where discussion of two proposed resolutions on the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol ate up an hour of rancorous debate. A few days earlier, it surfaced that two unspecified Milford Town Planning Board members had threatened to fine the Village of Milford if it failed to remove the “Trump 2024” on Route 28 across
from Wood Bull Happily, they Antiques. (The couldn’t agree. billboard is in the The Demotown, but on propcrats’ resolution, erty owned by the proposed by village.) Andrew Stammel, • D-Oneonta, Let’s get back declares the to basics. State county board law that created “condemns the counties describes violent insursuch as “formed rection that for the purpose occurred at the of exercising U.S. Capitol and such powers and the incitement discharging such that led up to it.” duties of local The Repubgovernment and “Trump 2024,” the billboard on Route 28 north of the licans’ counadministration of Village of Milford, may be coming down in April. Not due ter-resolution, to protests: The contract is running out and Rome Sign public affairs as proposed by Co. has a new customer. may be imposed Republicans or conferred upon Ed Frazier, doing trying to come up with a it by law.” Pretty work-a-day, Unadilla, and Dan Wilber, statement telling the world how as it should be. Burlington, declares the county ALL 59,493 of us think about the So what are the county reps board condemns the insurrection, sorry happenings of Jan. 6?
LETTERS
To Explain COVID-19, It’s Back To The Future To the Editor There should be no more name-calling or evasions from one who lost the popular vote in 2016 by three million votes and in 2020 by seven million. His policy: “The Covid will just go away” – complete with a presidential hand signifying bird flight. Instead, national policy is now to be founded on observation and science instead of theories from pre-germ mythologies. Intelligent action instead of ignorant reaction— or policy paralysis—arrives. Just in time. It’s worthy of observation that a clueless Specimen 45 imitated French professors who met in 1345. These Paris experts “observed” that a conjunction of planets, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars, caused a Black Death—also called the Bubonic Plague. While no count of fatalities
is final or completely accurate, about 25 million died, and from a much smaller world population, many times less than the present crowd approaching 8 billion. Centuries later, patiently working scientists’ discovered that infected fleas thriving on rats spread the disease. However, National Leader 45 reverted to earlier theories of infection. Diseases strike mankind? Can’t see ‘em? Where are they? So— Masks are not necessary to prevent exhaling or inhaling disease—it simply continues to move “in mysterious ways.” Nor was distribution of vaccines in a rational and competent manner necessary. Instead, we should imitate Parisian scholars of 1345. Past policy: just look at the planets. ROBERT MOYNIHAN Cooperstown
Let’s Try A Little Tenderness
To the Editor: Kindness is very powerful. Many years ago I had surgery. The hospital kept me till the end of the day and then pushed me out the door and into a cab. They stuffed a prescription for pain killers in my hand. I don’t remember filling the prescription, but I do remember the brutal pain of climbing up two flights of
HOMETOWN
stairs to my apartment. Then collapsing into bed. After a while, things simmered down and I got up and took the pain killers. Many hundreds of years ago in Baghdad when you went into the hospital they would take your clothes and you would get a linen gown to wear. The beds had linen sheets! Please See DUNCAN, A6
ONEONTA
Editor’s Note: For an hour at its monthly meeting, Wednesday, Feb. 3, the Otsego County Board of Representatives debated two resolutions: H, condemning the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. And G, condemning both the attack on the Capitol and summer-long riots that followed George Floyd’s death. RESOLUTION NO. G
RESOLUTION: CONDEMNING VIOLENCE IN THE UNITED STATES AND REAFFIRMING THE BOARD’S COMMITMENT TO THE RULE OF LAW, FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS, AND THE PEACEFUL TRANSFER OF POWER Introduced by Republican Reps. Ed Frazier, Dan Wilber
W
HEREAS, on did, in fact, interfere with January 6, 2021, the Joint Session’s solemn pursuant to the constitutional duty to certify 12th Amendment to the the results of the 2020 PresiConstitution of the United dential election, unlawfully States, the breached and Vice President vandalized of the United the Capitol, States, the injured and House of Repkilled law resentatives, enforcement and the Senate personnel, met at the menaced United States Members of Capitol for a Reps. Dan Wilber, left, Congress, Joint Session and Ed Frazier. the Vice of Congress President, to count the votes of the and Congressional personElectoral College; and nel, and engaged in other WHEREAS, the results violent, deadly, destructive of the 2020 election were and seditious acts; and lawfully certified by ReWHEREAS, the United publican and Democratic States has endured months election administrators in of violent riots and protests all fifty states; affirmed in in our cities. Violent crowds dozens of court cases; and have vandalized, burned and formalized by the vote of destroyed public and private the Electoral College; and property, destroyed busiWHEREAS, thousands nesses and the livelihood of individuals sought to and Please See ONE SIDE, A5
Managing Editor
Larissa Ryan Business Manager
Kathleen Peters Graphics & Production
Elizabeth Cooper Correspondent
Ian Austin Photographer
Ivan Potocnik Web Architect
Tom Heitz/Sharon Stuart Consultant
IN MEMORIAM: Mary Joan Kevlin, Co-Publisher, 2006-17 MEMBER OF National Newspaper Association, New York Press Association The Otsego County Chamber Published weekly by Iron String Press, Inc. 21 Railroad Ave., Cooperstown NY 13326 Telephone: (607) 547-6103. Fax: (607) 547-6080. E-mail: info@allotsego.com • www.allotsego.com
RESOLUTION NO. H
RESOLUTION: CONDEMNING THE JANUARY 6, 2021 ATTACK ON THE U.S. CAPITOL AND REAFFIRMING THE BOARD’S COMMITMENT TO THE RULE OF LAW, FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS, AND THE PEACEFUL TRANSFER OF POWER Introduced by Democratic Rep. Andrew Stammel
W
HEREAS, on of the 2020 election were January 6, 2021, lawfully certified by pursuant to the Republican and Democratic 12th Amendment to the election administrators in Constitution of the United all fifty states; affirmed in States, the Vice Presidozens of court dent of the United cases; and formalStates, the House of ized by the vote of Representatives, and the Electoral the Senate met at the College; and United States Capitol WHEREAS, for a Joint Session of a crowd of thouCongress to count the sands of individuals votes of the Electoral sought to and did, College; and Rep. Andrew in fact, interfere WHEREAS, in with the Joint Stammel the months preceding Session’s solemn the Joint Session, the constitutional duty 2020 Presidential election to certify the results of the results were repeatedly 2020 Presidential eleccontested by some elected tion, unlawfully breached officials and voices in the and vandalized the Capimedia, with false statements tol, injured and killed law asserting that the results were enforcement personnel, the product of widespread menaced Members of Confraud and should not be gress, the Vice President, accepted by the American and Congressional personpeople or certified by State nel, and engaged in other or Federal officials; and violent, deadly, destructive WHEREAS, the results Please See OTHER SIDE, A5
►WHAT DO YOU THINK? Send Letters to the Editor to jimk@allotsego.com LIFE SKETCHES
Tara Barnwell
Chrystal Savage
but also “the violent riots through the country and the continuing commentary that serves to offer justifications for that which is indefensible.” Danny Lapin, D-Oneonta, called the GOP resolution “false equivalency.” Fair ‘nuff. Wilber said, “You need to recognize that it’s all connected. We have an anger problem in this country that needs to be addressed. Both sides of the aisle need to tone it down.” Fair ‘nuff. Since both resolutions were filed late, each required a twothirds majority to pass. Both Please See EDITORIAL, A5
County Board Split On How To React To Capitol Attack
James C. Kevlin Editor & Publisher Advertising Director & General Manager
AllOTSEGO.com
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‘False Equivalency’ Or Not?
& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch
►FOR FULL REPORT on the county Board of Representatives’ debate over the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol, visit
G
The Jumping Chicken Of Otsego County
ot a call the other the air, Webster – that’s what day from my he named the bird – would friend Charlie in invariably hold onto the cage Brooklyn. He said that he bars and stand on his head. was thinking of getting a Maybe the fact that Charlie’s couple of chickens to keep an obsessive-compulsive in his apartment so that provided the repetition needed he could get really fresh to teach his pet such a trick. eggs. I got on my high I had just cleaned out the horse and asked, “What coop and warned Charlie that do you know about raising TERRY chickens were a lot messier chickens?” than his little Webster. BERKSON “I’m good with birds,” “Also,” I continued, “hens Charlie countered. can be noisy. You ought to “Remember how I taught my parrot hear them scold me when I try to slip to stand on his head for money?” an egg out from under them.” It was true. I don’t know how he “They don’t crow like roosters,” did it, but when he’d pull a dollar Charlie said. bill from his pocket and wave it in Please See BERKSON, A6
Terry Berkson demonstrates Danielle’s prowess. That chicken can jump!
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2021
HOMETOWN
HOMETOWN ONEONTA A-5
History
Compiled by Tom Heitz/SHARON STUART, with resources courtesy of The Fenimore Art Museum Research Library beat it off with a milk stool, withOneonta. The matter got no further Teachers workshop for Otsego through revenue-sharing a year out avail. His cries brought his son and the project died. Word that a and Delaware Counties will be ago. “While the state is taking in Home & Vicinity: It is fortunate from the house, and running to Mr. Chase from Washington has conducted May 4, preceded by huge increases in tax revenues as a for people desiring to locate in the barn he seized a pitchfork and been here looking up the matter. a workshop for Vacation School result of inflation, the governor is Oneonta that plenty of desirable leaped the barnyard fence. The The promoters plan to lease the Administrators. apparently calling for a reduction building lots are in market bull turned on him, and a desperroad to the D. & H. railroad for February 1961 in the amount of money which at reasonable prices. Buyers can ate battle ensued. The animal sent a long term of years, the route is due our local governments,” take their choice as to streets and him skyward, and coming down becoming mainly a coal road for Casale complained. localities. E.R Ford, T.D. & H. on a fence he broke his leg. The the transport of D. & H. coal to February 1981 Watkins. S. Huntington, S. Wood, hired man seized an ax and opened Oneida, thence to the O. & W. to Assemblyman Anthony J. C.L. Michael. H. Wilcox, J.H. the gate leading to the barnyard. Oswego, and then by barges to Casale (R-C, Herkimer and Otsego Peters, H. Baker and S. Parish all The bull made a dive for him. A Canada. Counties) the ranking member have good lots ready for purchaswell-directed blow with the axe February 11, 1920 on the Assembly Environmental Pineapple Cheese – “I’ve eaten ers, many of them finely located. caught the animal almost between Conservation Committee, has been Pineapple Cheese and it was All of these men are ready to sell the eyes and it fell to the ground. appointed to the Assembly’s Spegood,” recalled Hartwick resident lots for cash or on time, and we February 1896 cial Committee on Nuclear Power Stuart Ainslie. The production of hear of sales every week, most Otsego County Council of Safety by Assembly Speaker pineapple cheese began in of them for immediate occupaChurches – The extension of Stanley Fink. The committee was Milford around 1900 and reached tion. This is the true policy for the legalized gambling in this state created in 1979 to look into issues its fame shortly thereafter. Pinespeedy growth of the village. Verdict of $1,750 was handed is opposed by the Directors of raised by the state’s use of nuclear apple cheese consisted of a waxy, It is now the universal rule with in Wednesday morning by a trial the Otsego County Council of power. The committee will hold pineapple-shaped shell filled with newspapers that the name of an jury in Binghamton in the case Churches. In session last week public hearings on the recent cheddar cheese. The cheese, which author should accompany his of Bone DiFelice, an Italian boy they urged Assemblyman Paul operating mishap at the Indian did not taste like pineapple, was communications. It is required of 18 years who was shot in the L. Talbot of Burlington Flats and Point nuclear facility, and make scooped out of the shell with a as a guarantee of good faith, and leg by John Carroll manager of other legislators to vote against recommendations to the legislature spoon and served. It was said to not for a public or needless use the Happy Hour in that city. The any such proposal. At the same on the future of nuclear power in be “uniquely delicious.” O.A. of the name. evidence allowed that Carroll had time they renewed their plea to New York State. Weatherly and Co. produced it for February 1871 been annoyed by disorderly boys Mr. Talbot and his colleagues to Revenue Sharing Revisions: almost half a century in a factory in front of his theatre and that favor raising the legal age for The Otsego County government right near the railroad tracks in he discharged his revolver, drinking of alcoholic beverages will lose $104,184 in revenue Milford. The cheese had a worldaccidentally hitting DiFelice from 18 to 21. The Council also sharing funds according to inforwide market and provided a source The bull is a dangerous animal. who was passing by. approved plans for several leadermation released by State Asof employment and pride for local Frank Timms of Dunkirk, New Safety’s Path – A Quotation: ship training projects for the com- semblyman Anthony Casale. The residents. The word “pineapple” York was gored to death by an “Teach reverence and obedience ing months. Rev. Ronald Tryor state-imposed freeze will cost referred to the molds into which enraged bull yesterday morning. to the Constitution and laws of our will conduct a school for adult and Otsego County and all its citthe cheese was poured. These The farmer went into the barnyard country and we are safe; otherwise youth leaders in understanding ies, villages and towns a total of molds were then hung in individto milk. He had hardly closed the there’s danger ahead.” the Bible and various Christian $648,758, according to Casale. ual nets that impressed a diamond gate behind him when the bull Abraham Lincoln. beliefs. The Rev, Alfred Bentall New York City localities will lose pattern on the cheese, creating the charged on him and gave him a Oneida – Several years ago, the of Oneonta, minister-at-large, said a total of $261 million. The big appearance of a pineapple. They toss into the corner of the fence. late Judson W. Warner secured a the six-week school will be loser in the freeze, Casale said, are were then shellacked and aged Before he could regain his feet the charter and the rights of way for conducted between Easter and the City of Oneonta which will until they were ready to sell. animal was upon him. He tried to a railroad between Oneida and Pentecost. A Vacation School receive $319,344 less than it did February 2001
150 Years Ago
40 Years Ago
20 Years Ago
60 Years Ago
100 Years Ago
125 Years Ago
EDITORIAL
Should Officials Decide What We Should Think?
EDITORIAL/From A4 failed to reach that mark. All Democrats voted for theirs. All Republicans voted for theirs. (The board’s sole Conservative, Meg Kennedy, voted aye on both.) County Board chairman David Bliss referred the matter to Kennedy’s Admin Committee for further cerebration. Please, don’t. Let it drop. It just not the county board’s business. If the county Democratic or Republican county committees are driven to issue such a declaration, go for it. Don’t speak for all of us. •
Same goes for the “Trump 2024” billboard: Towns are defined as “municipal corporations,” to get things done, not to tell us what to think. Obviously whoever paid for the billboard on Route 28 across from Wood Bull Antiques was trying to be provocative which, short of inciting violence, isn’t against any law we’re aware of. To some, sure, the sign is like nails scratching on a blackboard. Those of contrary view no doubt are chuckling about the whole dust-up. It turns out two town Planning Board members, according to Village Mayor
Brian Pokorny, approached him a few weeks ago, saying the town would fine the village if the billboard isn’t removed. (The billboard is in the town, but on land owned by the village.) It turns out, the town Planning Board doesn’t have jurisdiction to levy any fines. The town Zoning Board of Appeals may, but ZBA Chairman Al Bullard doesn’t seem inclined to take it up. “It sounds like a Democratic plot,” he said, adding the town law governing political signs was intended to prevent “those little signs you put on your front lawn”
Debating how to respond to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol are, top row, from left, County Rep. Wilber, Kennedy and Frazier; second row, Reps. McCarty, Farwell, Oliver, Mickle and Martini; third row, board Chairman Bliss, County Attorney Coccoma, Reps. Stammel and Basile; bottom row, Rep. Lapin.
from staying there forever. The point is, why is the town getting involved in thought control at all? If people object to the billboard, take up a collection and put up a “Never Trump” billboard down the road. (Incidentally, the contract
runs out in April, and Rome Sign Co. said another business has picked up the contract; “Trump 2024 should be coming down.”) • Milford’s Mayor Pokorny perhaps said it best: “In this world today, no one’s going
to agree on politics. I just want to protect the rights we do have and go about it the right way.” Please, oh government leaders, protect our rights to think as we will. Keep the roads paved, etc., and leave it at that.
DEMOCRATS: Capitol Attack Gravely Endangers Security Of U.S. OTHER SIDE/From A4 and seditious acts; and WHEREAS, the attempts to violently overturn an election have now been condemned by elected officials in all parties. One notable condemnation came from Republican then Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell when he stated, “They failed to attempt to obstruct the Congress. This failed insurrection underscored how crucial the task before us is for our public.” Later, Leader McConnell also condemned those who instigated the insurrection,
saying, “The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people, and they tried to use fear and violence”; and WHEREAS, the violent and seditious acts of the insurrectionists and those who encourage or justify them gravely endanger the security of the United States and its institutions of Government. They threaten the integrity of the democratic system, interfere with the peaceful transfer of power, and imperil a coequal branch of Government; and
WHEREAS, on January 27, 2021, the Department of Homeland Security issued a National Terrorism Advisory System bulletin, warning that a heightened threat environment will persist for weeks in the country. It warned “ideologically- motivated violent extremists with objections to the exercise of governmental authority and the presidential transition, as well as other perceived grievances fueled by false narratives, could continue to mobilize to incite or commit violence”; and WHEREAS, it is essen-
tial in this perilous moment rection that occurred at the that every elected official U.S. Capitol and the inciteat all levels of government ment that led up to it; and be reaffirms their commitment it further to supporting our ConstituRESOLVED, that the tion, the rule of law, free Otsego County Board of and fair elections, and the Representatives reaffirms its peaceful transfer of power; commitment to upholding now, therefore, be it the Constitution and the rule RESOLVED, that the of law and supporting free Otsego County Board of Representatives hereby hon- FOOD FOR THOUGHT ors the lives of the deceased Capitol Police officers; and be it further RESOLVED, that the here are millions of Otsego County Board of Americans, almost Representatives hereby all white, almost all condemns the violent insurRepublicans, who somehow need to be deprogrammed. It’s as if they are members of a cult,” Washington Post the continuing commentary that serves columnist Eugene Robinson to offer justifications for that which is said of Trump supporters on Jan. 12. indefensible; and be it further Former CBS news anchor RESOLVED, that the Otsego Katie Couric agreed. County Board of Representatives reaffirms its commitment to upholding “How are we going to really, almost, deprogram these the Constitution and the rule of law and supporting free and fair elections, people who have signed up the right to feel safe in our homes and for the cult of Trump?” communities, and the peaceful transfer she asked Bill Maher. And both CNN and of power; and be it further Vanity Fair ran interviews RESOLVED, that this resolution with Steven Hassan, former will be presented to Representative Moonie and author of Antonio Delgado, Senator Charles Schumer, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, “The Cult of Trump,” discussing the best way to and President Joseph R. Biden. help Trump cultists escape
GOP: Both Capitol Attack, Summer Riots Matter ONE SIDE/From A4 of thousands of hard working Americans, vandalized Federal Courts, and other buildings and engaged in other violent, deadly, acts to include arson, murder, and assault of citizens and police officers; and WHEREAS, some elected officials have failed to condemn these violent protests, riots and acts of insurrection, and while some have offered justification; and WHEREAS, federal law enforcement currently report that there are continued concerns of potential future plots of domestic violent extremists
nationwide; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that the Otsego County Board of Representatives hereby honors the lives of the deceased Capitol Police officers, all of those officers who were injured while serving this nation, and the lives of all law enforcement personnel and first responders nationwide who died due to the violent and destructive actions of domestic violent extremists; and be it further RESOLVED, that the Otsego County Board of Representatives hereby condemns the violent insurrection that occurred at the U.S. Capitol, the violent riots throughout the country, and
and fair elections and the peaceful transfer of power in Otsego County and beyond; and be it further RESOLVED that this resolution will be presented to Representative Antonio Delgado, Senator Schumer, Senator Gillibrand, and President Joseph R. Biden.
Disagree? You Must Be Crazy
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the supposed abusive authoritarian who supposedly rules their minds. ...Defining political dissent as a psychological problem is a Soviet trick. They invented a new disease, “sluggish schizophrenia,” and explained that even though the subject might not display any symptoms of ordinary schizophrenia, his unfounded allegations against the government showed it was gradually coming on. Only a madman could possibly dislike the Soviet idyll. American Marxists think the same: only a brainwashed cult-member could possibly support Trump. JANE STANNUS The Spectator, Feb. 2, 2021
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BERKSON: Dancing Chicken Is Trouble BERKSON/From A4 “No, but they argue over a spot in the laying box. Your neighbors would never stand for their clucking.” “I guess you’re right,” my friend said of his shot-down idea. I felt bad because Charlie is the biggest fan of eggs and chickens I know. I always bring him some on trips to Brooklyn and he invariably raves about how much better my free-range, naturally fed, browns are. • In response to his parrot story, I told him about a trick my favorite chicken, Danielle, does. When I go out to the yard with a leftover corn on the cob, Danielle will jump several feet in the air – without the assistance of wings – to peck at a kernel. “None of my other chickens do that,” I tell Charlie. “Really?” he says. I assure him it’s true. “You can enter that bird in a competition. There must be chicken-jumping contests up there. I could be her manager!” I was doubtful about Charlie’s idea. The only chicken competition I ever heard of was cock fighting and that’s illegal. “Look into it. You may be sitting on a gold mine!” “I will,” I tell my friend. But lately, it’s been snowing a lot and I find myself almost on my belly trying to push my undersized snow blower out to the coop. “Should’ve sold them chickens before winter!” my wife Alice reminded me. “You’d have more time to finish renovating the bathroom.” Yesterday, she took the initiative by calling King’s Livestock Auction to tell them we were coming. Of course,
I was feeling guilty. Danielle and the other Golden Comets had been great egg producers – until the bitter cold set in. Alice, eager to get rid of the competition, held the box lids closed as I sadly stuffed in my girls. Unfortunately, the last chicken I had to catch was my super jumper, Danielle. When I bent to grab her she rose over my head while hooking a claw into my nostril and scratching me way up to the bridge of my nose. I was bleeding profusely. All feelings of guilt were gone as I went back to the house to apply alcohol and stop the flow of blood. Pressure, cold water, ice, nothing seemed to be working. We had to be on the road shortly to be on time for the auction. Finally, I took a large strip of toilet paper and pasted it to my nose, loaded the chicken boxes into the truck and headed out. Alice laughed a little every time she looked at me. The paper remained for fear I’d start bleeding again. I was a little heavy on the gas pedal as we passed the intersection of Routes 20 and 51. Just my luck, a state trooper was hiding behind a nearby barn. He took after me with his lights flashing. I pulled onto the shoulder and he stopped several yards behind. When he approached and I rolled down the window, the toilet paper was the first thing he saw. “What happened to your face?” he asked. “I was training a chicken and got scratched,” I told him. “We’re headed for The Chicken Olympics at King’s and we’re late.” “I never heard of The Chicken Olympics,” the officer said
soberly. “Oh yeah,” I assured him. He didn’t even crack a smile. “Have you been drinking?” he asked as he sniffed the air in the car. He probably smelled the alcohol I had put on the wound. “No!” I said emphatically. “I’ll have to ask you to step out of the car,” he said as Alice’s mouth dropped open. • So there I was out on Route 20 trying to walk a straight line in the slippery snow with the toilet paper flapping in the wind. Passing cars slowed as I tried to stand still on one leg. When I slipped and almost fell, he pulled out a Breathalyzer and told me to blow into it. I thought I heard the chickens muffled laughter in the boxes. When I passed the test, the officer went back to his car and returned a few minutes later. “Here’s some more paper for you,” he said as he handed me the speeding ticket. Disgusted, I started the truck and began to head down the road towards King’s. I was wondering what my friend Charlie would have done in this situation. He’s a resourceful guy. Maybe he would have gotten a chuckle and disarmed the cop by pulling that dollar out of his pocket and getting a jumping demo from Danielle. Or maybe he would have been arrested for attempted bribery. Unlike parrots, state troopers don’t stand on their heads for money. Terry Berkson, who has an MFA in creative writing from Brooklyn College, lives on a farm outside Richfield Springs.
DUNCAN: We Should Try A Little Tenderness
DUNCAN/From A4 When you were ready to leave they would give you your clothes back, all clean and fresh. They would also give you some money so you did not have to go back to work for the first week. That would give you some more time to heal. Recently I was in the hospital for four days. A little while after I got home friends stopped by on two different
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occasions. They each brought me some food. It was a great thing to do for me. It made me feel connected. It’s nice to taste food that is made by different people. I remember church suppers in the basement of the church. They were once a month. People would bring different dishes to pass. Tomorrow, I am making a calamari and tomatoes stew. Pam is making fresh loaf of bread. Bread to dip into the stew to soak up the juices and
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to excite the taste buds. We are going to take it to a special friend who has just gotten out of the hospital. I hope it helps her to recover faster. Plus, she won’t have to think about dinner for her family that night. Rest and relax. Isn’t that why we are here: To help each other in times of need? It certainly helped me that time. I had forgotten how powerful the kindness of sharing food can be. R. SCOTT DUNCAN Hartwick Forrest
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OTSEGO.Presidents
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2021
PAGE B-1
I
NAUGURATION
#13
From Nixon To Biden, Pastor Hasn’t Missed One
Pastor Messner’s first Inauguration was for President Richard Nixon, left, in 1973. His latest was Joe Biden’s on Jan. 20. In between, he attended 11, for a total of 13.
By JIM KEVLIN
I
t began “almost on a lark,” but has gone on now for 48 years. On Jan. 20, 1973, the Rev. Paul Messner, now pastor of the Church of the Atonement here and the county’s three other Lutheran churches in Hartwick Seminary, Laurens and West Burlington, just wanted had just been to go as released from the Air an AmeriForce and was living in Washington D.C., can citizen, in a poli-sci student at my small way, American University. to celebrate When he woke up America. that morning, an Air Rev. Paul Messner Force buddy who was Attended 13 Inauguravisiting, Brad Crail, tions in a row asked, “What do you want to do today?” Before you know it, “almost on a lark,” the young men were driving up Independence Avenue to the Capitol in Crail’s red Toyota to see what they could see of President Richard M. Nixon’s second Inauguration. Compared to more recent mass Please See MESSNER, B2
I
Can You Help?
A baluster, just like this one, may be somewhere in the Cooperstown area, and Bill Rigby needs it to complete renovating his antique staircase. Can you help?
To Complete 29-Year Renovation, Rigbys Need Help On Final Piece By JIM KEVLIN COOPERSTOWN
I
n 1992, Bill and Janet Rigby were walking through 73 Elm St., deciding whether to buy that imposing Victorian home
►IF YOU HAVE baluster, email Bill Rigby at askbill@ahhardware.com
that, broken up into eight apartments, had fallen on hard times. Hard times, yes. But Please See Baluster, B5
in Otsego County
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This year’s Cooperstown Winter Carnival logo says it all.
Winter Carnival Due, Astronomy, Fire In Oneonta
T
ONEONTA
At Donald Trump’s Inauguration in 2017, Pastor Paul Messner sought out two local boys from Laurens, brothers Keith Winslow, left, and Andrew Winslow, members of the National Park Service police, who work with other agencies to ensure monuments on The Mall are safe during events. The Presidential Inauguration every four years is the NPS’ largest event. The brothers are currently assigned to the Delaware Water Gap.
what’s fun
AllOTSEGO.life
Jim Kevlin/
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL • HOMETOWN ONEONTA
he Cooperstown Winter Carnival begins next week featuring activities like hiking, skating, and the medallion hunt to get you out and about. Masks and social distancing required. There are also indoor activities like puzzles, talent shows, and contests if you want to stay inside. Carnival runs February 16 LARISSA through 21. Visit RYAN cooperstownwintercarnival.com to view the schedule. • Explore the night sky with just your eyes and directions from OCCA VP Jim Hill. Find the constellations of Orion, Gemini, Taurus, the Winter Circle, the Pliadies, and even our neighboring galaxy Andromeda. It’s outside, so dress warmly. Bring chair and blankets – and masks. Presented by Otsego County Conservation Association. Mohican Farm, 7207 St. Hwy. 80, Cooperstown. 7 p.m. Friday Feb. 12. 607-547-4888 or visit occainfo.org • Learn how the early city of Oneonta dealt with the threat of fire in the exhibit “Up From the Ashes: Oneonta Shaped by Fire,” which opens at the Oneonta History Center, 183 Main St., noon-4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12. 607-4320960 or visit OneontaHistory.org • Step out and observe what birds are in our area for the Great Backyard Bird Count. Easy to do alone or with your friends. Begins Friday, Feb. 11 and concludes Monday, Feb. 15. For info call 607-397-3815 or visit www. facebook.com/DelawareOtsego AudubonSociety/
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From A Political Career To Seminary MESSNER/From B1 Inauguration gatherings – a stark exception, of course, being President Biden’s minimalist ceremony last month – it was intimate, with a crowd of maybe 20,000-25,000 people. “It wasn’t a huge affair,” Messner said. “We just walked up.” It turned out to be the last time an Inauguration would be held on the East End of the Capitol, hemmed in by the U.S. Supreme Court building and Library of Congress across the way. If Messner’s attendance at Nixon’s Inauguration was happenstance, the future was set: Every four years, the local pastor – a lifelong political aficionado – would find himself in Washington D.C. on Jan. 20. He didn’t miss a one. Count ’em – Nixon (1973), Jimmy Carter (1977), Ronald Reagan (1981, 1985), George H.W. Bush (1989), Bill Clinton (1993, 1997), George W. Bush (2001, 2005), Barack Obama (2009, 2013), Donald Trump (2017) and Joe Biden (2021). Biden’s Inauguration last month was Messner’s 13th. “I go whether I voted for the president or not,” he said. For the next couple of years following Nixon’s Inauguration, the future pastor was realizing a dream, immersing himself in his studies at American University. He would graduate summa cum laude, with a 3.99 GPA. All A’s, except for one B+. While at American, he married
Pastor Messner’s daughter Rebekah and her husband Vincent Hopkins show off tickets they received to the Trump Inauguration in 2017.
Martha Richtsfeld, a Delhi native and Fox Nursing School graduate, on June 15, 1974. The couple has two grown children, Joshua and Rebekah, and four grandchildren. In the months leading up to Carter’s Inauguration – Gerald Ford, appointed, then defeated, never underwent an Inauguration – Messner was fully occupied in the Presidential campaign of Mo Udall, the laconic congressman from Arizona. “If we’d won the New Hampshire primary, we would have had a real run at it,” said Messner. Still, the campaign continued through the 1976 Democratic Convention at Madison Square Garden, where the young aide was in charge of the “balloon drop” accorded to each
candidate who delivered a speech. A high point that never was: Messner just missed Udall’s private meeting at The Plaza with Paul Newman, where the actor pledged his support. Experiencing the determination of Carter’s “Georgia Mafia,” the pastor wasn’t too enthusiastic – although he’s moreso today – as he headed up to Capitol Hill on Jan. 20, 1977. While at American University, the young man had worked for the Library of Congress, ferrying books and papers to the Senate and House office buildings, slipping into key hearings during down times. His boss, Margaret Whitlock, held his job so, when Udall’s Chief of Staff Roger Lewis offered him a full-time legislative assistant’s job in the congressman’s office, Messner felt obligated to return to his old job. “Are you crazy,” he was told. His original ambition was to become a congressman, U.S. senator, then – who knows? – President. But his ambitions had shifted and he had been accepted that fall at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg. Still, off he went again to his second Inauguration, Carter’s first and only. “It was on the East Side of the Capitol for the first time,” he remembered, with a broad view of The Mall, the Washington Monument and, in the far distance, the Lincoln Memorial. “It was a much grander vista,” Please See MESSNER, B3
►HIGHLIGHTS 13 INAUGURATIONS
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astor Paul Messner of Oneonta’s the Church of the Atonement was asked to fire off the first memories that come to mind from the 13 Inaugurations he attended. Here they are: 1973: Richard M. Nixon’s second was the last on the Capitol’s East Side, with the U.S. Supreme Court building and Library of Congress across the way creating a more intimate feeling. 1977: Jimmy Carter moved the ceremony to the Capitol’s West Side, with a “much grander vista of the Mall and monuments. 1981: Ronald Reagan’s first. A pastor in Jamestown, Pastor toMessner brought a contingent of high school and college students for the first time. 1985: Reagan’s second. It was bitter cold, the wind chill dropping to 9 degree, and wind chill at minus-22. The inaugural parade was cancelled. 1989: George H.W. Bush opened the White House to citizens for the first time since Andrew Jackson’s in 1829, when a drunken mob took over the mansion. This time, things were more sedate, Messner reports. The elder Bush had retired to the presidential quarters, but his son took over on the receiving line, and the pastor was able to shake hands with a future president. 1993: Bill Clinton’s first featured a Jumbotron for the first time, as growing crowds over the year push spectators farther away from the swearing-in. 1997: Bill Clinton’s second. Assigned to Oneonta’s Church of the Atone, Messner was “starting
to connect with Hartwick College” and brought an Otsego County contingent to D.C. for the first time. 2001: George W. Bush’s first. Because of the rancor caused by Bush v. Gore – the Supreme Court declared Bush the winner by a 457vote margin in Florida – protests were rife, and Messner saw security ramped up. 2005: George W. Bush’s second. The president had won “decisively,” the consensus leading to a low turnout. 2009: Barack Obama’s first. “This was the largest, the most people,” many crying, about a third of them black, turning out to welcome the first African American president. 2013: Obama’s second. With recovering from the Great Recession still lagging, the turnout was sparse. Messner took a contingent of only two, Josh Bush of Milford and a friend. 2017: Donald Trump. It may not have been a record crowd, but is “was a large crowd, an enthusiastic crowd, but there were also some problems” in terms of protests. “Everyone was still in a state of shock that this guy had gotten elected,” Messner said. 2021: Joe Biden. After the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, security was tighter than ever. Messner went by himself, and revisited haunts from his years living in District of Columbia, including driving past the apartment where he and Marion lived as newlyweds. He could only get within four blocks of the Mall.
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B-3
Posted Across Upstate New York, He Organized Inaugural Outings MESSNER/From B2 Messner said. “A whole different feel.” In the years that followed, he completed seminary in 1982 and received assignments to North Syracuse, Seward, Sharon Springs and Richmondville. Evangelical Lutheran Church, Hartwick Seminary, was added in 1997. Since 2003, he has shifted to Otsego County, adding Church of the Atonement, St. Mathew in Laurens and St. John, West Burlington, to his portfolio. And every four years, he returned to Capitol Hill on Jan. 20 for the Presidential Inaugurations, usually with a contingent of high school and college students. They would arrive the evening the 18th and bunked at a hospitable church. “I’ve slept on floors,” said Messner. “I’ve slept on couches.” The 19th, the group would tour Washington’s many landmarks. The 20th, they would be on Capitol Hill, returning home on the 21st. Over the years, the crowds grew, pushing spectators farther and farther back toward the Washington Monument. In 1993, the organizers of Bill Clinton’s first Inauguration added Jumbotrons to The Mall, so
O
ver the years, the crowds grew, pushing spectators farther and farther back toward the Washington Monument. In 1993, the organizers of Bill Clinton’s first Inauguration added Jumbotrons to The Mall, so everyone could see and hear the ceremonies. everyone could see and hear the ceremonies. By his estimate, the crowds peaked at Barack Obama’s first Inauguration in 2009, where people were packed together, shoulder to shoulder, many crying as they witnessed the swearing-in of the first African American president. About a third of the crowd was black, more than ever, the pastor remembers. By contrast, Obama’s second Inauguration was among the smaller crowds Messner had seen, as the Great Recession hangover lingered. Riding into D.C.
on the Metro, there were only 2-3 people in the car. “Anticlimactic,” he called it. As for the dispute over Donald Trump’s crowd in 2017, Messner agreed it wasn’t a record, but it “was a large crowd, an enthusiastic crowd, but also some protesters. Everybody was still in a state of shock that this guy had gotten elected.” His contingent bunked that year in Potomac, Md., where the Rev. Mark Michaels, former rector at Christ Church, Cooperstown, hosted them. Security was tight, he recalled, but then, it had been tightening Inauguration to Inauguration from those intimate days of Nixon’s second, and spiked upwards in 2001 after Bush v. Gore – the U.S. Supreme Court intervened, giving the prize to the Republican by 457 Florida votes – increased national tensions and brought out protesters. That continued post-9/11 through Donald Trump’s in 2017, when masked Antifa protesters dressed in black were breaking windows in nearby neighborhoods, and – of course – peaked this year following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Please See MESSNER, B4
A Jumbotron appeared at Bill Clinton’s first Inauguration in 1993, as crowds had grown over the years from 20,000 at Nixon’s intimate 1972 event to throngs spread out along The Mall, Pastor Messner reports.
Now, probably more than ever, let’s celebrate our
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1964
1972
147 River street, Oneonta (607) 432-2121 - www.mamco-molding.com
otsego county heRitage business
EstablishEd in
Rudy’s Liquor Store 143 Main Street, Cooperstown • 607-547-8297 Open 7 days a week for your convenience
otsego county HeRItAge BusIness EstablishEd in
1978
1980
lamont Engineers *formerly Century Storage
*
330 Pony Farm Rd. • Oneonta • 607-433-1951 OtsEgO cOunty hEritagE businEss
established in
1982 LEAF
established in
1976
157 Main Street • Cooperstown 607-547-5740 • www.hubbellsrealestate.com otsego county HeRItAge BusIness established in
1981
Dedicated to Service...Committed to Excellence
197 Elm Street • Cobleskill, NY 518-234-4028 • www.lamontengineers.com
otSEgo CouNtY HERItAgE BuSINESS established in
1983
cooperstown optical
Leatherstocking Education on Alcoholism/Addictions Foundations, Inc. 80 Water Street • Oneonta • 432-0090 • www.leafinc.org
5370 Rt. 28 • cooperstown (on chestnut street, next to community Bank) 607-547-8080 • www.cooperstownoptical.com
otsego county HeRItAge BusIness
otsego county HeRItAge BusIness
serving our community for 40 years 5006 state Highway 23 • oneonta otsego county HeRItAge BusIness 5006 St. Hwy 23 • Oneonta, NY
established in
1988
2019 Environmental Stewardship Award Honoree
Computer Repair, Sales, Network & Security Services
98 Chestnut st., OneOnta 607-432-6900 www.isdtech.net
otsego county HeRItAge BusIness
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THURSDAY, february 11, 2021
With the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, the closest view Pastor Messner got of The Mall was driving along George Washington Memorial Parkway, on the other side of the Potomac, left photo. In D.C., the pastor visited his old haunts in the Northwest neighborhood. At right, he didn’t get within several blocks of Pennsylvania Avenue, as security forces doubled the usual perimeter.
Wistful Pastor Revisits Old Haunts: ‘I Love D.C.,’ He Says
MESSNER/From B3 Not to mention COVID-19. So with this, a wistful Pastor Messner pointed his 2016 Jeep from Oneonta toward Washington D.C. Approaching the National Capital, all the bridges over the Potomac were closed. The closest he got to the Capitol was the view from the George
Washington Memorial Parkway, on the other side of the river. He finally crossed over on the Chain Bridge. “Everywhere I saw police, troops and National Guard… in full camo, bulletproof vests,” who were nonetheless “uniformly polite, professional – and young.” He stopped by his old neighbor-
hood, Northwest D.C., taking photos, including of the apartment in the duplex that was his and Marion’s first home, and passed by Georgetown Lutheran Church, where he had firmed up his vocation. Day of, as he expected, “the perimeter was twice as wide as usual,” keeping him from getting within four blocks of
Pennsylvania Avenue. “You couldn’t get anywhere near the White House.” He asked one of the soldiers about street vendors, who usually pack the sidewalks, hawking souvenirs. “Sir, we haven’t seen any,” the man replied. Messner mused, “Why are you going to make up 1,000 T-shirts
if you know nobody’s going to be there.” He picked up souvenir copies of the Washington Post and Washington Times. “I love D.C.,” he explained. “In 2025, when I’m 75, will I still be up to it? I just wanted to go as an American citizen, in my small way, to celebrate America. And I kept my streak.”
Now, probably more than ever, let’s celebrate our
Heritage Businesses 1990 Bieritz insurance
TheYourBieriTz Agency “Hometown” Insurance Agency 23rd Anniversary Serving Otsego County 31st Anniversary serving Otsego County 209 Main st., cooperstown (607) 547-2951 • www.bieritzinsurance.com
otsego county HeRItAge BusIness
established in
1990 john mitchell real estate
info@johnmitchellrealestate.com 216 Main Street, Cooperstown otsego county heritage Business
established in
established in
L.J.’s sassy Boutique
FiVe staR sUbaRU
2002
607-547-6141 • 165 Main Street Cooperstown
otsego county HeRItAge BusIness established in
2009
AllOTSEGO.com
21 Railroad Avenue, cooperstown 607-547-6103 • www.allotsego.com
otsego county HeRItAge BusIness EstablishEd in
2010
Melissa Manikas
29 Pioneer Street, Cooperstown 607-547-2886 OtsEgO cOunty hEritagE businEss
established in
2018
Custom electronics
Power & Energy Solutions Division 87 Browne St • Oneonta • 607-432-3880 www.customelec.com
otsego county HeRItAge BusIness
…
1991
gReen eARtH MARKet & cAFe 4 Market street • oneonta • 607-432-6600 greenearthoneonta.com • like us on facebook
otsego county HeRItAge BusIness
established in
2005
331 Chestunt St. • Oneonta • 607-432-0201
otsego county HeRItAge BusIness
2008 wn on to
HOMETOWN
13
nta eo
Formerly Village Cobbler
established in
Home
established in
th anniversary
20
08 - 2021
ONEONTA
& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch
21 Railroad Avenue, cooperstown 607-547-6103 • www.allotsego.com
otsego county HeRItAge BusIness established in
EstablishEd in
2010 2011
Oneonta Realty
2010
Everything we touch turns to SOLD!
99 Main St. • Oneonta, NY 607-441-7312 • www.oneontarealty.com OtSegO cOuNtY HeRItAge BuSINeSS
capital senior living community independent • assisted living • memory care & respite
163 Heritage circle oneonta • www.heritagetheplains.com • (607) 267-4013
otsego county Heritage Business established in
EstablishEd in
2013
Sloan’s NY Grill Local Farm Fresh Foods
2015
Family Owned and Operated
337 Chestnut St. ∙ Oneonta (607) 267-4779 ∙ SloansNYgrill.com
61 South Main Street, Oneonta · 607-353-7433
OtsEgO cOunty hEritagE businEss
otsego county HeRItAge BusIness
established in
Many thanks to these fine
2019
scAnLon HoMes teAM 607-433-2873 • 166 Main Street, Ste. 1, Oneonta www.oneontarealty.com
otsego county HeRItAge BusIness
Heritage Businesses on these pages.
It says a lot about our county and our communities to have such fine, long -standing establishments in our midst!
When News Breaks… OTSEGO.com Reporters Are There!
All
OtsegO COunty’s Daily newspaper/online
► join at
All OTSEGO.com or call Larissa at 607-547-6103.
THURSDAY, february 11, 2021
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA B-5
That Baluster! It’s Got To Be Around Here Somewhere. Help The Rigbys Baluster/From B1 there were hints of its former glory as home to Judge Walter H. Bunn’s clan, none moreso than the 30-step staircase that wound up from the ground floor to the third-floor attic. All 67 balusters – the supports that connect the railing and the staircase foundation – were in place. Bill Rigby, who had worked on restoration projects on Staten Island – he also operates American Historic Hardware here, replacing original hinges and fixtures – and Janet, who had collaborated with him, couldn’t wait to get started. But on buying the home and taking possession, they discovered: One of the balusters was gone.
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“It was obvious: One was missing,” said Bill. “It was there when we walked through the house. It wasn’t there on the day of the closing.” Over almost three decades, the Rigbys – at times with help from son Will and daughter Emily, now grown –painstakingly restored the house to its original glory – parquet floors, VictorianJim Kevlin/www. OTSEGO.com era wallpaper, period light Deer dance across Delaware Street behind the fixtures, leading up to Rigbys stately home, where a 28-year restoration the final challenge: The is nearing an end. 65-baluster staircase. a larger hallway, and he and banister. “Now it’s solid as They’ve learned the it can be.” staircase was always consid- Art Calhoun of Calhoun & Son, the noted local metalThe risers – the steps ered a prize, an example of workers, designed bracing – were of English elm, English staircase building, to reinforce the structure in and were painstakingly shipped here intact and its second home. refinished. Janet created installed in 1878. “This was so rickety,” trompe l’oeil wainscoting, Bill discovered the stairmirroring the stairs’ color case was originally built for said Bill, grabbing the
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Legal nOtice Notice is hereby given that a license, (number to be assigned), for beer, wine, and cider has been applied for by the undersigned to sell beer, wine, and cider in a restaurant under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at 8 Hoffman Lane, Village of Cooperstown, County of Otsego, for on premises consumption. Natty Bumppo’s Restaurant of Porquin Enterprises, Corp. 2LegalFeb.18 Legal nOtice NOTICE TO BIDDERS Sealed bids will be received as set forth in instructions to bidders until 10:30 A.M. on Thursday, March 11, 2021 at the NYSDOT, Office of Contract Management, 50 Wolf Rd, 1st Floor, Suite 1CM, Albany, NY 12232 and will be publicly opened and read. Bids may also be submitted via the internet using www.bidx.com. A certified cashier’s check payable to the NYSDOT for the sum specified in the proposal or a bid bond, form CONR 391, representing 5% of the bid total, must accompany each bid. NYSDOT reserves the right to reject any or all bids. Electronic documents and Amendments are posted to www.dot.ny.gov/ doing-business/opportunities/const-notices. The Contractor is responsible for ensuring that all Amendments are incorporated into its bid. To receive notification of Amendments via e-mail you must submit a request to be placed on the Planholders List at www.dot. ny.gov/doing-business/opportunities/ const-planholder. Amendments may have been issued prior to your placement on the Planholders list. NYS Finance Law restricts communication with NYSDOT on procurements and contact can only be made with designated persons. Contact with non-designated persons or other involved Agencies will be considered
a serious matter and may result in disqualification. Contact Robert Kitchen (518)457-2124. Contracts with 0% Goals are generally single operation contracts, where subcontracting is not expected, and may present direct bidding opportunities for Small Business Firms, including, but not limited to D/W/MBEs. The New York State Department of Transportation, in accordance with the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 78 Stat. 252, 42 U.S.C. 2000d to 2000d-4 and Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Department of Transportation, Subtitle A, Office the Secretary, Part 21, Nondiscrimination in Federallyassisted programs of the Department of Transportation and Title 23 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 200, Title IV Program and Related Statutes, as amended, issued pursuant to such Act, hereby notifies all who respond to a written Department solicitation, request for proposal or invitation for bid that it will affirmatively insure that in any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, disadvantaged business enterprises will be afforded full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability/handicap and income status in consideration for an award. BIDDERS SHOULD BE ADVISED THAT AWARD OF THESE CONTRACTS MAY BE CONTINGENT UPON THE PASSAGE OF A BUDGET APPROPRIATION BILL BY THE LEGISLATURE AND GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. Please call (518)457-2124 if a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the letting. Region 09: New York State Department of Transportation 44 Hawley Street, Binghamton, NY, 13901
All
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D264391, PIN 9PM021, FA Proj Z24E9PM0-213, Broome, Chenango, Delaware, Otsego, Schoharie, Sullivan, Tioga Cos., Pavement Marking Contract ( Principal ), All of NYSDOT Region 9, Broome, Chenango, Delaware, Otsego, Schoharie, Sullivan and Tioga Counties., Bid Deposit: 5% of Bid (~ $125,000.00), Goals: DBE: 0.00% 2LegalFeb.18 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of Some Pup Films LLC. Filed with the SSNY on 11/19/20. Office: Otsego County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to 189 Winney Hill Rd., Oneonta NY 13820. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. 6LegalMar.11 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of Jim Jam’s Pizza and More LLC Filed 1/8/2021 Office : Otsego County Secretary State of New York designated as agent to process & shall mail to 95 Main Street East Worcester NY 12064 Purpose: All lawful business activities permitted under NYS 6 Legal. 6LegalMar.11 Legal nOtice SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF OTSEGO INDEX NO. EF2019-301 Plaintiff designates OTSEGO as the place of trial situs of the real property Mortgaged Premises: 17 RIVER STREET RICHFIELD SPRINGS, NY 13439 District: Section: 13.20 Block: 3 Lot: 46.00 NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE LLC
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LEGALS
D/B/A MR. COOPER, Plaintiff, vs. PHYLLIS LUCILE TODD A/K/A LUCILE P. TODD, AS HEIR AND DISTRIBUTEE OF THE ESTATE OF DAVID BENNETT; JOHN A. BENNETT, AS HEIR AND DISTRIBUTEE OF THE ESTATE OF DAVID BENNETT; ROBERT J. GILMORE, AS HEIR AND DISTRIBUTEE OF THE ESTATE OF DAVID BENNETT; CHAD BENNETT, AS HEIR AND DISTRIBUTEE OF THE ESTATE OF DAVID BENNETT AS WELL AS HEIR AND DISTRIBUTEE OF THE ESTATE OF ROBERT A. BENNETT; REBECCA BENNETT, AS HEIR AND DISTRIBUTEE OF THE ESTATE OF ROBERT A. BENNETT; UNKNOWN HEIRS AND DISTRIBUTEES OF THE ESTATE OF DAVID BENNETT; any and all persons unknown to plaintiff, claiming, or who may claim to have an interest in, or general or specific lien upon the real property described in this action; such unknown persons being herein generally described and intended to be included in the following designation, namely: the wife, widow, husband, widower, heirs at law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors, and assignees of such deceased, any and all persons deriving interest in or lien upon, or title to said real property by, through or under them, or either of them, and their respective wives, widows, husbands, widowers, heirs at law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assigns, all of whom and whose names, except as stated, are unknown to plaintiff; UNKNOWN HEIRS AND DISTRIBUTEES OF THE ESTATE OF ROBERT A. BENNETT; any and all persons unknown to plaintiff, claiming, or who may claim to have an interest in, or general or specific lien upon the real property described in this action; such unknown
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persons being herein generally described and intended to be included in the following designation, namely: the wife, widow, husband, widower, heirs at law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors, and assignees of such deceased, any and all persons deriving interest in or lien upon, or title to said real property by, through or under them, or either of them, and their respective wives, widows, husbands, widowers, heirs at law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assigns, all of whom and whose names, except as stated, are unknown to plaintiff; NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION AND FINANCE; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE; THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK; ‘’JOHN DOE #1’’ through ‘’JOHN DOE #12,’’ the last twelve names being fictitious and unknown to plaintiff, the persons or parties intended being the tenants, occupants, persons or corporations, if any, having or claiming an interest in or lien upon the premises, described in the complaint, Defendants. To the above named Defendants YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the complaint in this action and to serve a copy of your answer, or, if the complaint is not served with this summons, to serve a notice of appearance on the Plaintiff’s Attorney within 20 days after the service of this summons, exclusive of the day of service (or within 30 days after the service is complete if this summons is not personally delivered to you within the State of New York) in the event the United States of America is made a party defendant, the time to answer for the said United States of America shall not expire until (60) days after service of the Summons; and in case of your
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failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the complaint. NOTICE OF NATURE OF ACTION AND RELIEF SOUGHT THE OBJECT of the above caption action is to foreclose a Mortgage to secure the sum of $92,080.00 and interest, recorded on December 5, 2017, at Instrument number 2017-5984, of the Public Records of OTSEGO County, New York, covering premises known as 17 RIVER STREET RICHFIELD SPRINGS, NY 13439. The relief sought in the within action is a final judgment directing the sale of the premises described above to satisfy the debt secured by the Mortgage described above. OTSEGO County is designated as the place of trial because the real property affected by this action is located in said county. THIS SPACE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK NOTICE YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME If you do not respond to this summons and complaint by serving a copy of the answer on the attorney for the mortgage company who filed this foreclosure proceeding against you and filing the answer with the court, a default judgment may be entered and you can lose your home. Speak to an attorney or go to the court where your case is pending for further information on how to answer the summons and protect your property. Sending a payment to the mortgage company will not stop the foreclosure action. YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF
– with trim matching the balusters – and creating a dramatic sweep. And Bill, one by one, repaired each of the 66 uprights. When built in England, the balusters were put in place with wooden pegs. But, when reinstalled, carpenters had hammered cut iron nails to hold them in place; many had since snapped. Bill removed all the broken nails, and – in his basement shop – replaced all wood that had been broken off or nicked over the years. At a tag sale at Reiss’s Moving & Storage a few years ago, he picked up a couple of common walnut doors, using that matching wood to repair the original
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English walnut verticals. Now, the years-long project is near the end. And still, the staircase is one original baluster short. Who removed it? The Rigbys wonder. Maybe it’s in somebody’s attic. Maybe someone converted it into a standing lamp. “If it happened to be around, we would love to see it,” said Janet, “no questions asked.” Can you help solve the mystery? The Rigbys have issued an appeal. If you recognize the baluster Bill’s holding on page B1, let the Rigbys know. Email bill as askbill@ahhardware.com. Help complete the restoration of a piece of Cooperstown history.
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(MORTGAGE COMPANY) AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT.
Notice of Formation of
Robertson, Anschutz, Schneid, Crane & Partners, PLLC, Attorney for Plaintiff
Filed 12/21/20. Office: Otsego Co. SSNY desig. as agent for process & shall mail to: 155 Peebles Hill Rd, Oneonta, NY 13820. Purpose: General. 6LegalMar.11
BY: Corey Robson, Esq. 900 Merchants Concourse, Suite 310 Westbury, NY 11590 516-280-7675 4LegalFeb.25 Legal nOtice Notice of LLC Formation of Purcell Brickhouse Farm, LLC, a NY limited liability company (LLC). Arts. of Org. filed with NY Sec. of State (NYSS) on 01/05/2021. Office: Otsego County. NYSS designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. NYSS shall mail process to: 139 Brickhouse Road, Richfield Springs, New York 13439. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. 6LegalMar.11 Legal nOtice NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY The name of the limited liability company is: BQT Consultants, LLC (the “Company”). The date of filing of the Articles of Organization of the Company with the Secretary of State was January 29, 2021. The county in which the principal place of business of the Company shall be located is Otsego County. The Secretary of State has been designated as agent of the Company upon whom process against it may be served. The Secretary of State shall mail a copy of any process against the Company, to Hinman, Howard & Kattell, LLP, Attn: Christopher L. Roma, 80 Exchange Street, Ste. 700, Binghamton, NY 13901. The purpose of the business of the Company is any lawful business purpose. 6LegalMar.11 Legal nOtice
The Holscher Team LLC.
Legal nOtice NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY UNDER NEW YORK LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY LAW 1. The name of the limited liability company (“LLC”) is Farm View Farm LLC. 2. The date of filing of the Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State is January 12, 2021. 3. The County within the State of New York in which the principal office of the LLC is located is Otsego. 4. The Secretary of State of the State of New York is hereby designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The post office address to which the Secretary of State shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC served upon him or her is: 175 Rod and Gun Club Road, Unadilla, NY 13849. 5. The character or purpose of the business of the LLC is any purpose allowed by law. 6LegalFeb.18 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of Hwy28 LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the Sec’y. of State of N.Y. (SSNY) on 01/07/2021. Office location: Otsego County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to Nicholas Mangano PO Box 183 4285 State Hwy 28 Milford, NY 138071143 Purpose: Any lawful activity. 6LegalFeb.18 Legal nOtice NOTICE OF
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FORMATION OF A NY LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY (LLC) Name: Maplelane Consulting LLC Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State (SSNY) were on October 8, 2020. Office location is Otsego County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to 585 Richfield Hill Road, Richfield Springs, N.Y. 13439. Purpose is to engage in any and all business activities permitted under NYS laws. 6LegalFeb.18 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of ZAED Properties, LLC, a Limited Liability Company (LLC) filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on January 4, 2021. NY office Location: OTSEGO County. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of any process served upon him/her to: C/O ZAED Properties, LLC, 6106 State Highway 28, Fly Creek, NY 13337. General Purposes. 6LegalFeb.18 Legal nOtice Notice of formation of a Limited Liability Company (LLC) Name: AutoTech Mobile Specialties, LLC Articles of Organization filed by the Department of the State on: 01/01/2021 Office location: Otsego County The Secretary of the State has been designated as the agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and SSNY shall mail copy of process to P.O. Box 754 East Worcester NY 12064. Purpose is to engage in any and all business activities permitted under NYS laws. 6LegalFeb.11
►Need to publish a Notice of Formation, Public Notice, Supplemental Summons, or Notice to Bidders? Contact Larissa at 607-547-6103 or ads@allotsego.com and she can get you started.
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AllOTSEGO.life
THURSDAY, February 11, 2021
IN MEMORIAM
Clara F. Waring, 99 March 3, 1921 - Jan. 28, 2021
ONEONTA – Clara F. Waring, years. 99, passed away peacefully She is survived by her sons, at A.O. Fox Nursing Russell D. Black Jr. Home, Oneonta. (Patricia) and Allen She was born E. Black Sr. (Donna March 3, 1921 Black); three grandin Kortright, the children, Russell daughter of Myron Black, Lisa Black, and Elsie (Congdon) and Allen Black Jr.; Hotaling. 1 great-grandson, Clara worked for Michael Cambell; Amphenol in Sidney her brother, Russell in the production Hotaling and several Clara and inspection nieces and nephews. Waring department. She was predeShe was a member of the ceased by her husbands, Oneonta Moose Club for 35 Russell Black Sr. and William
Waring; her siblings, Charles Hotaling, Marjorie Edson and Allen F. Hotaling, Sr.; and her grandson, Robert Black. A graveside service will be held at the Milford Cemetery at a later date. Donations may be sent to the American Cancer Society. Expressions of sympathy may be made at www. lhpfuneralhome.com, arrangements are with Oneonta’s only family-owned funeral home, Lewis, Hurley & Pietrobono at 51 Dietz Street.
OBITUARIES Shirley U. Banner, Milford, 87 Dies Of COVID In Nursing Home MILFORD – Shirley U. worked at the Scintilla Plant Banner, beloved mother, in Sidney. grandmother, great grandOn Sept. 20, 1953, she mother and sister, passed married Carl F. Banner in away Monday, Feb. 1, the Portlandville Methodist 2021, at Alpine Church. Following Rehabilitation & his untimely death Nursing Center December 1962, in Little Falls due Shirley bravely to COVID-19 persevered, raising complications. six children and Born July 12, working many jobs, 1933, at the home often two at a time of her grandmother, in area restaurants Maude Bliss, in like The Hitching Milford Center, Post, Sherry’s Shirley Shirley was the Restaurant, The Banner oldest of five chilOtesaga and The dren of John W. and Bernice Cooperstown Diner, as well M. (Bliss) Utter. as Brooks BBQ. Shirley attended a A woman of great faith, one-room schoolhouse in Shirley was raised in the Milford Center and Milford Portlandville Methodist Central School where she Church and had many fond graduated with the Class of memories of singing in 1951. After graduation she the choir with her sister rsar y Our 132nd annive
Tillapaugh Funeral Service Our historic Family Room
Our Chapel comfortably seats over 200. George M. Tillapaugh (1888-1913) · Revo and Anna Tillapaugh (1913-1958) George G. and Marjorie Tillapaugh (1935-1988) · Martin H. Tillapaugh (1988-Present)
dignity · tradition · continuity 28 Pioneer Street, cooPerStown • 607-547-2571 Proudly serving area families since 1888
Grandma loved her farm, her family, and playing her old guitar. Lester R. Grummons Funeral Home will take the time to find out what made your loved one special. Whether it’s finding just the right flowers, or finding a musician to play her favorite tunes on her old guitar, we’ll do what’s necessary to make her service as unique as she was.
Lester R. Grummons Funeral Home 14 Grand Street, Oneonta • 607-432-6821 www.grummonsfuneralhome.com
Beverly and mother Bernice. She has been a member of the Cooperstown United Methodist Church for many years and also enjoyed attending services at the Milford United Methodist Church. She will especially be remembered for her love of people and her passion to travel, including many bus trips, a cruise, family vacations that included camping, hotels, and condos. She enjoyed living in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina, and spending winters in Florida. Shirley is survived by her six children, Evelyn Collier (Steven) of Cooperstown, Louise Williams (Garry) of Earlville, Mark Banner (Adrianna) of Troy, Marilyn Banner (Jen) of Hartwick, Carlton Banner (Sue) of Burlington Flats, and Bruce Banner (Kelly) of Cooperstown; 16 grandchildren; and 18 great grandchildren. She is also survived by her brother, Dennis T. Utter (Lake) of Idaho; a beloved companion, Leon Spicer and family; special long-time friends Phyllis O’Sullivan and “The Brooks Girls.” Shirley was predeceased by two infant sons in 1957 and 1959; her husband Carl in 1962; a sister, Beverly (Bev) Hoose in 1970; her parents, John in 1989 and Bernice in 1999; an infant brother, Bruce in 1946; and brother James (Jimmy) Utter in 2011. Shirley’s immediate family will receive friends and family during a walkthrough visitation at the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home, 82 Chestnut Street, Cooperstown, on Friday, February 12, 2021 between the hours of 3-5 p.m. Due to current COVID-19 New York State restrictions and regulations, masks or face coverings are required and all must observe physical distancing. Only a limited number of people will be allowed in the funeral home at one time. Shirley will be laid to rest in the Milford Cemetery later this spring when weather permits, with a graveside service and burial that you are welcome to attend. Notice will be given as to when. In lieu of flowers, Shirley’s family will appreciate memorial donations to any of her three favorite churches: The Portlandville United Methodist Church, PO Box 306, Portlandville, NY 13834, The Cooperstown United Methodist Church, 66 Chestnut Street, Cooperstown, NY 13326, The Milford United Methodist Church, PO Box 127, Milford, NY 13807. Arrangements are under the care and guidance of the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home in Cooperstown.
Fox Outbreak Worst, But COVID Hits Other County Nursing Homes
FOX/From A1 Among the victims were Patricia O’Brien of Oneonta, who died Jan. 24 in the nursing home’s Unit One, after living there seven years. Another was Bernice Marlette, Mount Vision, three days later on her 99th birthday. Charles Rizzo, a World War II Navy veteran and later a nurse in Oneonta, died Jan. 30 at age 97. Frances Sokol, a Quaker activist from Unadilla who once met Eleanor Roosevelt, turned 100 in December. Before she died with COVID on Feb. 4, she complained to her daughter how the oxygen made her throat feel so dry. The most recent death was this Monday, Feb. 8. Six other residents died from COVID-19 during the same period. ►2020 A Long Year The Fox Nursing Home is a low-slung brick building tucked behind Fox Hospital. On Tuesday, the sidewalks were covered by fresh snow, with only a few footprints across them. A large red sign, half-covered in snow, reads “STOP! Visitor Restrictions in Place.” To the left of the entrance, every second window is covered by plywood, each with a 4-inch hole cut through it attached to a duct. These are the negative pressure rooms: inside the windows, blue and green industrial fans draw exhaust, ensuring that no air from these rooms gets into the rest of the building. At the end of 2020, there were 123 residents living in the three units behind the hospital. The building had been closed off for most of the year, with strict restrictions on visitors. “Last March, when everything really started to cascade into a lockdown, we suspended visitation completely, and did not resume at all until August,” Argo said during a phone interview. In late summer, residents were allowed to visit outside with a family member, one at a time, under a tent on the front patio – as long as they stayed a safe distance and only after both the resident and visitor were screened for COVID symptoms. It wasn’t ideal. “You were 6 feet apart. My mom was hard of hearing so you still had to use a white board to try to talk to her, and it was very difficult,” said one relative. But it was better than nothing. In September, the state mandated that before visitors could come on site, they needed a verified negative COVID test no older than seven days. “Understandably, that dramatically deceased the number of people coming to visit, because most people couldn’t afford or didn’t have access to a weekly COVID test,” Argo commented. Once the temperature dropped below 55, outside visits were cancelled. For a brief period in October, family members could schedule a 15-minute visit indoors, held in an empty classroom set up with negative-pressure ventilation, with personal contact forbidden and protective equipment required. “That quickly ended as cases started to rise again,” Argo said. Since early November visits have been cancelled indefinitely. The restrictions were draconian but effective. Although six staff members caught COVID in 2020, no residents were infected. Within the confines of the facility, life continued as normally as possible. Residents who were able still had meals in the three dining rooms. Recreational activities, physical therapy and other programs continued. Residents who needed to leave the building for medical appointments such as dialysis could do so. Since families couldn’t visit, two activity coordina-
tors were reassigned full-time to run FaceTime calls for each patient. Each unit also has cordless phones that staff use to answer calls and bring to the residents. Some families came to visit through the windows. A friend of one woman who died last week recalled how they visited from outside: “We tried to let her know, here we are, we’re saying hello to you, and we’re waving our signs... The windows are not too high up, if they bring the person out to the front, right in front of the patio. She could see me and I went out… and I danced around and pirouetted so she could take a little delight as I was talking with her, and she was always crying that she wanted to go home.” ►VACCINES TOO LATE Dec. 21 was Frances Sokol’s 100th birthday. Her extended family gathered online to celebrate with her remotely. Her children presented Frances with a collection of letters they had written describing favorite childhood memories. They didn’t imagine that it was the last time some of them would speak to her. On Jan. 8, 86 residents in the nursing home received their first inoculation of the COVID-19 vaccine made by Pfizer-BioNTech. Six days later – too soon for the immunizations to take effect – the first residents fell ill after the virus was introduced into the building from an unknown source. According to research published in December 2020, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is roughly 52 percent effective after the first dose. However, the vaccine-induced immunity doesn’t take effect until Day 12 at the earliest, the Pfizer study showed. The residents in Fox Nursing Home didn’t get that much time. “When there is significant community spread, and once the virus gets in, it can spread very easily due to how nursing homes are designed, the medical conditions of our residents, and how contagious the virus is,” said Argo. “The virus is contagious long before it can be detected.” “Unfortunately, the nursing home population is … very vulnerable,” she wrote in a follow-up email to questions about the outbreak. “Up to 50 percent of transmission occurs from asymptomatic people,” explained Dr. Diane Georgeson, Oneonta’s public health officer, in a phone interview. “We knew that nursing homes were going to be high risk, and we’ve known that since the pandemic began. So in that sense, it’s not surprising.” “Even with testing, there’s going to be windows of time when people could be carrying the virus… So it could have been an asymptomatic staff member that unknowingly brought it in. We were at this peak of community transmission, really, last month, and – I don’t want to say inevitable – but even with the best practices, I can see where it could have gotten in and then met the perfect conditions for a cluster or an outbreak.” “It’s really unfortunate, it came right after the vaccinations began to be rolled out. If the vaccinations could have come sooner, maybe it would have been less of a hit for the residents,” Georgeson said. ►Saying Goodbye Bernice Marlette lived in Mount Vision for nearly a century, then spent her last three years living at Fox. In 2018, at age 96, she could no longer walk—after breaking a hip she never fully recovered her mobility, and her kids were at the age where they couldn’t physically take care of her. Still, she was very independent in a lot of ways, her daughter said. “At 99, she still had her mind about her – very forgetful, but she knew what was going on. She was a very stubborn woman,
but very loving…The staff absolutely loved her because she was just feisty. What we saw as difficult they saw in a different light.” Marlette FaceTimed with three of her daughters every week. “Her family was everything to her,” one said. The last time she saw her family was two weeks before she died, on Jan. 9. “We would go, usually on Saturdays,” a relative said, to see her through a window. “The next Saturday, she was ill, and they weren’t sure if she had pneumonia or what. They had tested her, and I believe it was the 18th before they knew she had tested positive.” “We didn’t see her after that. Once she got the COVID there really was no interaction… it obviously hit her pretty hard. We weren’t able to see her through the window, and she wasn’t able to FaceTime at that point. They have the fans set up in the window, so there was no way to be able to see her.” She passed away peacefully early Sunday morning, Jan. 24, according to her obituary. It was her 99th birthday. Despite the painful circumstances, Marlette’s relatives and others interviewed raved about the compassion shown by the nursing home staff. (Family members of four residents agreed to be interviewed as long as their names not be used.) “My sister was in contact with them daily,” said one relative. “As far as the care, we couldn’t have asked for anything better, they were wonderful.” Several family members expressed gratitude to Fox Nursing Home Administrator Jeff Emhof, saying he has been working until 11 most nights and has been writing personal emails to update family members every evening. “The confidential letters were very open about the real situation,” said the family friend who earlier described dancing outside a window. Although the Fox outbreak may be the worst in the region, it’s not the first, said Georgeson. She listed other local nursing homes and eldercare residential facilities that have had clusters of coronavirus cases. Robynwood Adult Home in Oneonta had an outbreak in December, while Robinson Terrace in Stamford and a facility in Chenango County both had significant outbreaks in the fall. In Cooperstown, both the Cooperstown Center and even the Clara Welch Thanksgiving Home had cases among patients, she said. The county Department of Health reported last week that only three nursing home residents died from coronavirus during January. The same report stated that county-wide about 30 healthcare workers tested positive for COVID during the month. Dr. Tommy Ibrahim, president/CEO of Bassett Healthcare Network, which includes Fox Hospital, talked in a Zoom interview about how difficult it has been for all involved – residents, staff and families. “One challenging issue has been staffing, because once staff catch COVID they need to quarantine, so we’ve been short-staffed for a long time,” he said. This month 31 staff in the Fox Nursing Home have been on sick leave after testing positive for COVID. This week, Emhof reported that the worst of the outbreak has passed. Only three new COVID cases were identified among residents, plus one staff, during the latest round of testing last week. Currently 12 residents remain COVIDpositive, all of them isolated in negative pressure areas. Many of the staff who had been quarantined have returned to work. “We’ve definitely turned a corner,” Gabrielle Argo said, while also noting that the outbreak has not ended. “Sadly, another death occurred yesterday,” she said.