To BEIRUT & BACK SSPCA Duo BRINGS 13 DOGS HOME TO FOSTER PARENTS/B1
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City of The Hills
Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
Amanda Fox debuted her new fantasy-romance novel “Rogue Fate” at the Green Toad Bookstore on Saturday, March 2.
After Accident, 2 Teens Busted For Mushrooms ONEONTA
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wo teenagers were arrested and charged with posessing three pounds of psilocybin mushrooms and five pounds of marijuana after locating a vehicle that had allegedly fled the scene of an accident over the weekend. Skyler D. Blass, 19, Otego, and Treyton J. Hathaway 18, Oneonta, were arrested after Otsego County Sheriff’s Deputies were alerted by Otsego County 911 to be on the lookout for a vehicle that had fled the scene of a crash in the Town of Davenport. Details at
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►OTSEGO COUNTY’S NEW “Energy Task Force” held its first meeting Wednesday, Feb. 27 at the Oneonta Town Hall. Read exclusive report. ►FIVE HOMES were evacuated north of Cobleskill Saturday, March 3, after a rig carrying compressed natural gas flipped off I-88. The truck did not belong to XNG, which had been routing rigs through Otsego County. ►OPT OFFICER Officer Brandon M. Damiani was injured in a foot chase with Christopher Youngs Jr. 19, who was wanted on a warrant.
& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch
Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, March 8, 2019
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Railyard Foes Derail $2M In Good News Herzig Pleads: Work Together
Big Grants Go To Upgrading Upper Floors
By PATRICK WAGER & JIM KEVLIN
Getman Receives Top Award
ONEONTA
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By JENNIFER HILL & LIBBY CUDMORE ONEONTA
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wo developers with plans for upper floor housing took home $392,000 as the Downtown Improvement Grants were revealed on Tuesday, March 5, promising to Former transform Downtown Mayor Oneonta. Muller dePlans to announce livered brief $2 million in grants remarks. were derailed by Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA lengthy hearing, full of criticism of the Common Council candidate Seth Clark, who runs a stucity’s D&H yards proposal, but a list of dent rental business, was the only speaker who said, the grants was distributed in the foyer due to poverty, the city needs “hundreds of jobs.” Please See GRANTS, A3
Caught In Insurance Bind, Chief Struggles To Survive
WELCOME, DST: The GoFundMe Raises long dark season ends at 2 a.m. Sunday, March 10, when we’re advised to turn By LIBBY CUDMORE our clocks forward one hour: Daylight Savings Times is here! COOPERSTOWN
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hen Mike Covert was in Bassett Hospital recovering from a heart attack in January, he had an unexpected visitor. A young woman from the “Angel” program, which Covert started in 2015 as the Cooperstown police chief to help heroin addicts seek recovery, came to his bedside. “She didn’t have a car and she still came to see me,” he said. “She thanked me for saving her.” Now Covert, a 25-year veteran of Otsego County
$14,720 After He’s Cut From County Plan law enforcement departments, is the recipient of a GoFundMe campaign, started by his former partner Mike Ten Eyck. Ten Eyck started the fundraising – it surpassed the $10,000 goal by $4,720 as of Tuesday afternoon, March 5 – after expectedly losing his health insurance: A county audit found he was no longer eligible through the county, and couldn’t obtain it through the village. Covert first knew something was physically wrong when he Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA went to Bassett Hospital Cooperstown Police Chief last March for a swollen Mike Covert hold the mediankle. “They admitted cations and devices he Please See CHIEF, A7 uses daily to stay alive.
STATE OF
DISARRAY n his 2019 State of the State speech, Mayor Gary Herzig Tuesday, March 5, said everyone wants to get to “net zero,” but – “please” – don’t oppose a plan for the D&H ►FULL text of railyards “to cre- Mayor Herzig’s ate much-needed State of the City speech/A5 jobs.” Particularly, “while we go about enjoying our indoor tennis courts, gyms, swimming pools and theaters – all heated with gas. These are not the values of the people of the City of Oneonta,” he said. The plea fell on 112 sets of deaf ears. Please See HERZIG, A3
TARGET: FORMER COUNTY BOARD CHAIR
Laurens’ Ric Brockway Challenges Kathy Clark By JIM KEVLIN LAURENS
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ic Brockway is used to climbing mountains. At 60, he put on a backpack and hiked the 120-mile Northville-Placid Trail through the Adirondacks. Two years ago, at 70, he climbed the 35 tallest Catskills, winning membership in the 3500 Club. This year, he’s taking on another challenge: Running against former county board chair Kathy Clark, R-OtegoLaurens, in the June 25 Republican primary. With his wife, Laurens Town Justice Patricia Brockway, retiring this year,
Ric Brockway is identified on his Facebook page as “an outdoor columnist and adventurer.”
“now’s my time,” said the candidate, who describes himself as an “outdoor columnist and adventurer” on his Facebook page. “I’ve always been under the impression,” he said in Please See BROCKWAY, A7
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FRIDAY, March 8, 2019
HOMETOWN ONEONTA A-3
Big Grants Vs. Many Critics
Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
Keith Schue, Oneonta, Otsego 2000 technical adviser, hands out maps of the D&H Railyards to Common Council, purporting to detail the impact that the proposed project will have on the wetlands.
HERZIG/From A1 This was supposed to be a celebratory evening, with Herzig and former mayor Kim Muller, who chaired the DRI (Downtown Revitalization Initiative) committee, announcing $2 million in grants for façade improvements, signage and redevelopment of upper floors for housing in the city’s downtown. But as speaker after speaker – 30 in all, speaking for three minutes each – criticized the GEIS (generic environmental impact statement) on a multi-million-dollar plan to redevelop the 88-acre D&Y Railyards, time ran out and no announcement occurred. The mood in the Foothills Performing Arts Center black-box theater – the Common Council meeting was held there to accommodate happy grant recipients – was polite, but intense. There were no outbursts of emotion. For the next 90 minutes, though, the speakers peppered Council members with criticism about the keystone economic-development proposal that City Hall and Otsego Now have been working on for three years.
SUNY Oneonta chemistry professor Ron Bishop, a Middlefield resident, set the tone: “The railyards is a brownfield, not a good place for food processing and construction. Microparticles will become airborne, and are easy to absorb into your lungs.” The site contains “a ton of brownfields,” he continued. Development will cause “a ton of transportation issues. What to do about the all the traffic? What about the bomb trucks.” A half-dozen speakers who followed picked up on similar themes. And other complaints arose. “We have 25 employees,” said Al Cleinman of Cleinman Performance Partners, a national optical consultancy. “We consume the energy of about two homes. I question why we don’t push toward knowledge-based businesses like mine.” “The 5,000 students who go to the two colleges aren’t going to stay to make stuff. They will stay for knowledge-based businesses,” he said. Said Adrian Kuzminski, Fly Creek, Sustainable Otsego moderator, “There is a lot of opposition to the plan as it is now. The rational step is to step back
and table the plan, and reevaluate it.” Only Seth Clark, the Ward 2 Common Council candidate who operates a student-rental business, struck a contrary note: With 38 percent of Oneontans under the poverty line, and 50 percent of children living in those homes, “I want to encourage Council to keep their eyes on the prize.” “We need hundreds and hundreds of jobs,” he said. “We not only owe our children the future, we owe them a couple of hot meals a day.” Lost in the criticism was a State of the City call to redevelop the railyards as a sustainable “Eco-Park,” the first of its kind in the state. Herzig said, “Let’s roll up our sleeves and work together. I challenge all to volunteer your time and your experience to help us make this location a model of energy efficiency with a plan to eventually get to net zero. “Let’s not just talk about an EcoPark – work with us to figure out just what that means and just how to make it happen,” he said. That call was left for another day.
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Biggest Of $2M In Grants Targetted At Upper Floors GRANTS/From A1 outside the Foothills Performing Arts Center black-box theater. “The downtown is the heart of our city,” former mayor Kim Muller, Project Selection Committee chair, said in brief remarks. “We need structural and visual improvements to the downtown, both for visitors to Oneonta and for people who live here.” Attorney Michael Getman’s Forunion Corp. received the highest single award, $301,000 to develop upper-story one- and twobedroom apartments at 16 Dietz St., where his offices are located. Eric Peter Hansen, owner of the Oneonta Optical building at 207-209 Main St., received $91,000 to develop the upper floors of that building into apartments. “These are co-investments with private businesses,” said Muller. “We hope you’ll take pride when we revitalize the city.” Last year, the city put aside $2.3 million from the $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) award to establish a Downtown Improvement Fund. Its purpose was to award grants to downtown business and property owners “to update exterior signage and building facades along with the development of quality upper floor housing.” Last fall, the city’s Project Selection Committee reviewed more than 100 applications, ultimately choosing 63 totaling $1,946,000. “We were literally blown away by the response,” Mayor Gary Herzig said. “That so many were willing to invest their energy and resources in Oneonta is both heartening and very
encouraging.” “I’ve never worked with a group with such clarity of purpose,” said Muller. “They were so focused and had so much commitment and love for this community.” Referring to the committee’s efforts, Herzig said, “In a testament to the quality of their work, every one of their recommendations were upheld by the State’s review.” Signage and façade improvements were the most common requests, with businesses on Main, Market, Dietz and Elm requesting funds to improve their storefronts. The Autumn Café, now under the ownership of Wayne and Rebecca Carrington, was awarded one of the largest prizes, $62,500, for façade and signage improvements. Other notable winners included: • The former Ruffino’s building will undergo “transformative” renovations to enhance the area alongside it, possibly as part of the walkway to Market Street. The owner, WHH Realty, also included signage and façade improvements in their application and was awarded $225,000. • Façade improvements to the front and back of Clinton Plaza, including facades along Market Street, were awarded $290,000. • Vinne and Tony Avanzato received $17,000 for signage directing visitors to their Ristorante Stella Luna. • CANO received $9,500 for signage and façade improvements to the Wilber Mansion at 11 Ford Ave. “It’s important to remember that this is public money,” said Muller. “This is your money, our money that we’re investing in downtown.”
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n Oneonta, go figure. Five Common Council members retiring – not a record, Council member Dana Levinson reminded us: there were six retirements in 2016, but an exodus nonetheless. And the resulting ferment: Len Carson confirmed Thursday, Feb. 21, he was running in Ward 5, and within days, 11 more candidates emerged. Most were Democrats in that Democratic enclave, but three were Republicans, signaling party politics – missing since 2011 – may be coming back to life in the City of the Hills again. Undoubtedly there will be more candidates forthcoming – petitions to get on the ballot in the June 25 primary aren’t due until April 4 – so keep track of the day-to-day developments on
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MARIETTA IN; GELBSMAN OUT
COOPERSTOWN AND AROUND
future. (Bulletin: They can’t.) • This is stage-setting for “County Board: Elections 2019.” Curtains up, the drama has begun. At least two representatives, both Oneonta Democrats, are retiring – veteran Gary Koutnik, D-Oneonta, vice chair of the Republicancontrolled board, and freshman Liz Shannon, a former Common Council member. So far, Clark Oliver, a SUNY Oneonta poly-sci student, and Jill Basile, a college and non-profit administrator active in community life, are seeking to succeed Koutnik and Shannon respectively. But much more ferment is possible, with the emergence of Republican Rick Brockway of Laurens, retired teacher, farmer and Daily Star outdoor columnist, as a challenger to Kathy Clark, the former chair. If he’s successful, that, indeed, could be a game changer, signaling the end of that unhappy, pre-Bliss era. • But no one should count their chickens yet. Clark, if she decides not to retire, could turn back Brockway’s challenge. Oliver is very green, so Koutnik’s seat could go to a yet-toemerge Republican (or another Democrat). Please See EDITORIAL, A5
ONORING SUCCESS
OTSEGO CHAMBER HAILS SPRINGBROOK, REALTORS/B1
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eading up to the 2017 election of the Otsego County Board of Representatives, the terms “Reform Caucus” and “Sensible Center” were used in this space, and they were controversial. Some of the candidates identified with that label won election or reelection. (Whether that was because of or despite of the designation is certainly fodder for debate.) Foremost among them, as it turns out, was David Bliss, R-Cooperstown/Town of Middlefield, who was then elected board chair, and who’s proved: Simple politeness has made all the difference. Two others in the Sensible Center, Andrew Marietta, D-Cooperstown/Town of Otsego, and Peter Oberacker, R-Schenevus, have emerged as leaders. Through hard work and diplomacy evident since, Meg Kennedy, C-Mount Vision, would certainly have been included in the “Reform Caucus” – defined in this space as “not a formal caucus, but a coalescence of forward-thinking minds” – if editorial writers could only predict the
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‘Reform Caucus’ Proving Its Worth, But Will It Survive 2019 Elections?
COUNTY ACTS ON NEPOTISM, ETHICS BOARD
‘Reform Caucus’ A Wins Decisively
t its pre-election meeting on Nov. 1, the county Board of Representatives appointed members to the Board of Ethics for the first time, and, adjusted by its labor lawyer, adopted its first nepotism policy. For story, type “ethics” in search line at
AllOTSEGO.com
www.
By JIM KEVLIN & LIBBY CUDMORE
The Freeman’s Journal
Bassett CEO Vance Brown, left, has handed off key responsibilities to Dr. William LeCates.
Bassett CEO Restructures Organization
D
r. Vance Brown has announced a restructuring intended to achieve “optimal alignment” in the management of the eight-county Bassett Healthcare Network and of Cooperstown-based Bassett Hospital. Under the new arrangement, Brown will remain CEO, and is handing off the responsibilities of Bassett Hospital president. Appointed deputy president, Dr. William LeCates will “manage the transition.” There will likely be a nationwide search for a new president, and LeCates could be considered for the top job/DETAILS, A7 NEW CVS OPENS: CVS cleaned out final items from its 100 Main St. store Saturday, Nov. 4, and open its new drive-thru pharmacy for business at 8 a.m. the following day at Chestnut and Beaver. See photos at
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he “Reform Caucus,” a coalescence of forward-looking minds, decisively took control of the Otsego County Board of Representatives Tuesday, Nov. 7. The caucus claimed nine of the 14 seats, FOR A SLIDESHOW and 3,746 of Election Night weighted excitement, follow votes the link at against www. OTSEGO.com 2,482 for the standpat coalition that had gathered around county Board Chair Kathy Clark, R-Otego/ Laurens. Strictly along party lines, Democrats rose from a 4-11 deficit to a 7-7 tie, although weighted voting still gives Republicans a 3,421 to 2,807 edge. But party affiliations have meant Please See ELECTIONS, A5
REMEMBER THE PIONEERS!
World Comes To Downtown Cooperstown
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COOPERSTOWN TIES:
Ray Halliday, the retired Philadelphia Phillie killed when his private plane crashed into the Gulf of Mexico off Tampa, Fla., Tuesday, Nov. 7, was at Dreams Park this past summer, coaching his sons.
IN
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OOTSTEPS “D-Day Drop,” a limitededition print by Robert Taylor, depicts the 101st Airborne parachuting into Normandy.
All
Oneonta’s Joe Hughes stands on La Barquette lock, where his father fought in Battle of Bloody Gulch.
Coincidence Guided Son On Dad’s Wartime Path By LIBBY CUDMORE ONEONTA
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ngels and hearts, hedgerows and apples. Ever since Joe Hughes received the letter from Thierry Ferey in 2016 thanking his late father, Bill Hughes,
By LIBBY CUDMORE
STEWART’S WORK:
Meanwhile, an expansion on the back of Stewart’s, across from CVS, is due for completion in two weeks.
MESSAGES FROM NORMANDY CONNECT 2 FAMILIES WITH WWII MEMORIES
COOPERSTOWN
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or those who can’t travel the world in search of treasures, there’s Cooperstown World Gallery. “My daughter Dory wanted to sell Fair Trade items, gems and jewelry,” said Charle-Pan Dawson, current proprietor. “There wasn’t a Fair Trade store in town, so she spent a year overseas and came back in 2010 to open Studio 52.” And when Dory moved to Bend, Ore., to open two more Fair Trade stores, her mother took over, re-openPlease See PIONEERS, A6
a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne “Screaming Eagles,” for his service in Normandy during the D-Day Invasion, the son had been wanting to follow in his father’s footsteps. “I’ve been on a quest to find his history,” he said. “He didn’t talk much about it, but he was in on some Please See HUGHES, B8
Paratrooper’s Letter Shared D-Day Horror With Parents By LIBBY CUDMORE COOPERSTOWN
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n a letter home to his parents in Chicago from a Glasgow Hospital, John Eyers detailed his role in DDay on June 5, 1944. “…We
were to jump on France five hours before the first seaborne troops landed on the beach,” Eyers wrote. “The success of the invasion was up to us.” Growing up, Pam Trickett’s father didn’t talk too To read Pam Trickett’s father’s much about his experiences letter home describing D-Day, Please See EYERS, B8 follow link at www. llOTSEGO.com
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►COUNTYWIDE, VETERANS’ DAY COMMEMORATIONS PLANNED ON 11-11-11
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST PRINT CIRCULATION 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD The Cooperstown Art Association Invites You to
The holiday Show & Sale
November 11 Through december 23 | 11 am To 4 pm | SuN 1 To 4 pm | cloSed TueS. opeNiNg recepTioN: Friday, November 10, 5 To 7 pm Free and open to the public! One-of-a-kind gifts by local and regional artists. Hors d’oeuvres , desserts, and drinks
at the Cooperstown Art Association | 22 Main Street | Cooperstown
The idea of a “Reform Caucus” – “not a formal caucus, but a coalescence of forward-thinking minds” – helped define the 2017 county board elections.
LETTERS
Not All ‘Green New Deals’ Threaten Americans’ Personal Liberties To the Editor: There is no Green New Deal. That is to say, there is no one Green New Deal despite your newspaper columnist’s alarmist assertions last week that personal freedoms are endangered by addressing Climate Change. There are many proposals involving stimulus programs that aim to address Climate Change. Some, like House Res. 109/Senate Res. 59, sponsored by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., also address economic inequality. Other proposals focus more clearly on Climate
assessments, concluding convincingly that the burning of fossil fuels is warming the atmosphere, leading to harmful effects across the United States. Many Republicans agree. Members of the House Energy and Committee, Greg Walden of Oregon, Fred Upton of Michigan, and John Shimkus of Illinois, write that “Climate Change is real.” The sobering report issued by the White House in November 2018, the result of a major scientific report issued by 13 federal agencies, indicates that impacts of Climate Change
could reduce the size of the U.S. economy by up to 10 percent by the end of the century. Proposals to address Climate Change, including the Green New Deal(s), range widely – public infrastructure investment, fuel safety standards, carbon taxes, zoning and building-code changes, green-job creation, de-carbonizing the economy. These are not particularly scary measures, and are hardly likely to “overturn society as we know it.” Fixating on the phrase “New Deal,” the professor creates a mountain out of a metaphorical molehill by
raising the specter of totalitarianism, Communism, Socialism. What Green New Deal(s) hope to do is to sensitize the populace to more frequent
and intense weather and climate-related events and to put forth proposals to mitigate the dangers of damaged infrastructure and disrupted ecosystems such as local farm lands. There are also multiple local concerns officials need to address. Is the county and are towns prepared to increase the size of culverts to accommodate increased storm runoff? Are there funds for aging and deteriorating bridges? If snowfall increases, are there contingency funds? Are fire departments prepared for hotter-than-normal seasons? Will emergency responses
be adequate? Is our electric grid sufficient should we hope to move toward a lowcarbon local economy? Then there are personal challenges – can kids get to school, can we get to work, will my house burn down or be flooded? – that hardly require an “authoritarian central government” as the professor suggests. We do require, however, that local officials move swiftly to address climaterelated issues essential to the survival of our communities. ROBERT SEWARD Town of Middlefield
Future Requires ALL Forms Of Energy, Including Affordable, Plentiful Natural Gas
To the Editor: Dan Buttermann’s letter in your editions of Feb. 2122 headlined, “On Energy Future, State Must Pick Right Side,” has the right title but supports the wrong side – renewables only, no new gas.
HOMETOWN
Unfortunately, the state (Governor Cuomo) shares Mr. Butterman’s view. Now the consequences are beginning to show. Con Ed announced no new gas hook-ups in Westchester County. A six-acre urban renewal project in
ONEONTA
& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch
James C. Kevlin Editor & Publisher
Yonkers - kaput. All new commercial/residential development in Westchester – on hold. Incidentally, Westchester utility rates are going up; gas 11 percent and electricity 6 percent. Let’s not pick the wrong side for Otsego County. Our energy future needs ALL forms of energy, including affordable, abundant, reliable natural gas. Gas cuts overhead, creates jobs. It counterbalances New York’s high taxes and restrictive business climate.
If permitted, pipelines could be here in about a year. In his letter, Mr. Buttermann objects to my agnosticism on man-made global warming. In his mind, the “acres of data” on CO2 accumulation in the atmosphere makes this “settled science.” For starters, “settled science” is a contradiction in terms. History is littered with the debris of “settled science,” from the heliocentric concept of the universe to Paul Erlich’s “Population
►TO READ Dan Buttermann’s original letter, type “downey buttermann” in search line at
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Bomb.” I have no problem with the data; there’s indications that the world is warming. However, another science caveat – correlation is not necessarily causation. Many warming and cooling cycles have been identified over time; the Medieval and Ro-
man Warming Periods the one 10,000 years ago when the ice retreated from the valleys of Otsego County. What factor(s) warmed the earth then? It wasn’t manmade industrialization. Are those factors active today? In what combinations, what proportions? Before we spend tens (hundreds?) of trillions of dollars on Green New Deals, we need answers to these questions. Furthermore, what are the consePlease See DOWNEY, A6
Tara Barnwell
MONEY MATTERS
Libby Cudmore
Reparations? How Much Can We Afford?
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Larissa Ryan Office Manager/Circulation
Jennifer Hill • Patrick Wager Reporters
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IN MEMORIAM: Mary Joan Kevlin, Co-Publisher, 2006-17 MEMBER OF 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
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eparations are all the rage again. A lot of people reckon we taxpayers should shell out reparations. To descendants of American slaves. And to Native Americans. (Some of our candidates for the White House call for these reparations.) This presents a few problems. Problem: The average AfricanAmerican has from 20 to 30 percent white blood. Native Americans on average have lots of white blood. So, should we pay less blood money to those with high white content? Elizabeth Warren would collect 25 cents. Problem: Native Americans sav-
agely mistreated each other. Tribes attacked tribes. They raped, pillaged, scalped each other. So, should the descendants of the most vicious Native American TOM turn over some MORGAN of the reparations they collect? To descendants of the most peaceful? Problem: Will reparations do much good? Let’s say you are white. Your
neighbor is black. Suppose you visit him tonight. “Hey, my ancestors probably abused your ancestors. Here’s a thousand bucks. I hope you feel better now. Let’s let bygones be bygones, okay?” If he felt abused before, do you suppose he won’t now? Problem: Do we pay reparations to Chinese-Americans too? Whites brutalized them during the Gold Rush. And in the building of the railroads in the Wild West. And how about the Japanese? Those whose parents and grandparents the U.S. held in containment camps during WWII. Do we pay them too? Please See MORGAN, A6
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HOMETOWN ONEONTA A-5
HOMETOWN
History
Compiled by Tom Heitz and SHARON STUART, with resources courtesy of The Fenimore Art Museum Research Library
150 Years Ago
Home & Vicinity – On Wednesday, Blend’s fine new hall over the Herald Office, was first opened to the public by ladies of the Presbyterian Church who held there a sociable which was fully attended and profitable in results. An experiment so pleasant all round, will bear repeating. The proceeds, over $50, go for cushioning the seats of the church. Also, on Wednesday, a wood train backed up at the depot and smashed the express wagon, the horse narrowly escaping the carelessness. March 1869
125 Years Ago
For Woman’s Suffrage – The women’s suffragists have arranged for county mass meetings to be held in Oneonta at the Metropolitan Theatre Wednesday and Thursday of next week. The sessions will open at 3 and 8 p.m. The object of these meetings is to discuss the advisability of amending the constitution of our state so as to enfranchise women. All persons, whatever opinion they may hold upon this subject, are invited to be present and to take part in the discussions. The leading speakers will be Susan B. Anthony, Rev. Anna H. Shaw, Mary Seymour Hall, and others. A prominent feature of the Wednesday afternoon meeting will be a “Symposium on Equal Suffrage,” in which some of the leading women of our country will take part. It is expected that people will come in from the surrounding towns and help to make this one of the most successful of any of the sixty county meetings to be held in this state during the coming months. March 1894
80 Years Ago
Members of the House Judiciary Committee, in virtual agreement, sought a way to pigeon-hole a resolution looking toward impeachment of Secretary Frances Perkins for alleged failure to enforce the immigration laws. Although the matter had not been brought to a vote, both Republican and Democratic committeemen said they had found insufficient evidence to warrant removal of Miss Perkins. They added they would undoubtedly would end their investigation as soon as they could devise a method which would avoid charges of “whitewash.” Some committee members wanted public hearings “so we can have something to base our acquittal on.” Rep. J. Parnell (R-N.J.) introduced
40 Years Ago
leave. The unit is set up on a nonpaid volunteer basis. Lt. Col. Coleman said it was up to the local commanding officer how drills would be worked out. March 1959
40 Years Ago
Seventy members of the Concerned Citizens and Taxpayers group of the Unatego School District heard Unatego High School Principal Jim Wilson say Monday night the district faced a serious alcohol and drug problem among its students. “We have a problem with alcohol, as big a problem as drugs, just like any other school. Wilson told citizens who came to the meeting to discuss the taxpayer group’s organizational plans and the need for purchasing two new school buses. Wilson noted that the problem has been found to start among the district’s fourth-graders and continue through senior high school. Several parents expressed surprise and concern when Wilson revealed that the school district has had New York March 1919 State Troopers patrolling the school parking lots periodically on the lookout for alleged drug transactions. March 1979 a resolution six weeks ago calling upon the committee to investigate charges that Miss Perkins and two of her aides were guilty of “high crimes and misdemeanors” for With every limp down the court, on each drive to the bassuspending proceedings against Harry Bridges, CIO West ket and in every tear she contained, Krissy Zeh fought for Coast maritime leader. Thomas accused Bridges of being one more day on the court. Fifty games have passed since an alien Communist. The Department of Labor suspended she has been on the losing end. Her next loss is her last the Bridges case pending a decision by the Supreme Court game in an Oneonta uniform. But not yet. Not Friday. Zeh, whether membership in the Communist Party alone is the center of attention for a bruising Corning East defense, adequate grounds for deportation. March 1939 scored 35 points, leading Oneonta to a 63-41 victory in the Section Four Class B championship at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. That’s 50 straight victories for Oneonta and three straight Section titles. The Yellowjackets An internal military security unit will form in Oneonta with headquarters at the Armory, Lt. Col. Kenneth M. Cole- (23-0) take on the winner of the Section One Tournament at man, commanding officer of the 42nd Internal Security Bat- Dutchess County Community College in Poughkeepsie. March 1999 talion, reports. Dubbed Company D, the infantry unit will be composed of 100 officers and men and will provide local security “in case of an emergency and the National Guard At a joint press briefing in Bassett President & CEO Wilunit is called to active duty,” he said. Battalion headquarters is in Binghamton. Similar units are being developed in Wal- liam Streck’s Cooperstown office, he and his Fox counterpart, John Remillard, announced that talks over possible ton, Cortland, and Elmira. All will be part of the 42nd Internal Security Battalion commanded by Colonel Coleman. shared services had turned into something more serious, and predicted the two hospitals may achieve a formal corThe unit, which will be composed of veterans who have at porate affiliation by mid-summer. least one year’s active duty would draw all its equipment March 2009 from the military in the event the National Guard has to
20 Years Ago
60 Years Ago
10 Years Ago
STATE OF CITY: ‘We’re Onta Something,’ Mayor Declares Editor’s Note: This is the text of Oneonta Mayor Gary Herzig’s 2019 State of the City address, delivered Tuesday, March 5, at the Foothills Performing Arts Center. He also announced $2.3 million in grants through the city/state Downtown Revitalization Initiative.
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uring the past year, some have questioned whether we have lost some of our momentum in revitalizing and reinventing the City of Oneonta. I want you to know that the answer to that is absolutely “no.” We have been taking the time to go about this process the right way. We have engaged the entire community in the planning process, and we have been listening. Literally, hundreds of people – residents; business and property owners; member of our boards and commissions; committee and focus group volunteers, our truly dedicated city staff, and our Common Council members – have participated and enthusiastically contributed their energy, their ideas and their aspirations to create a blueprint for a new Oneonta. We have seen positive and passionate leadership from volunteers - creating a vision through participating in our: • Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee • Marketing Steering Committee
• And we have created a plan and are seeking funding to redesign Lettis Highway so that it is not only safe for pedestrians but also becomes a gateway that better communicates the character of the City of Oneonta. • All this is just the beginning. The Reinvention of Oneonta starts today with a new design for our downtown. This will not be a design that was created in City Hall – but one created by each of our local business and property owners through our Downtown Improvement Fund - 2.3 million of our DRI dollars set aside just for this purpose. Last fall, we issued an RFP inviting all downtown and business owners to apply for assistance in updating building facades, creating new signage, and developing Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA & The Freeman’s Journal quality market-rate housing. Oneonta Mayor Gary Herzig delivers his 2019 State of the City address Tuesday, March Thanks, in part, to the support we 5, at Foothills Performing Arts Center. received from the Otsego Chamber, • Artspace Core Group expert guidance, and, most impor• Proposed designs of a new Destination Oneonta, and Delaware • Friends of the Oneonta Thetantly, we have empowered the downtown multi modal transit hub Engineering, we were literally and Oneonta welcome center ater people of this city to be the deciblown away by the response. • Friends of the Albert S. Nader sion makers. • This spring, there will be deThat so many were willing to Regional Airport • signs for new downtown directory invest their energy and resources • Downtown Improvement Today, we are ready to begin and welcome signs in Oneonta is both heartening and Fund Project Selection Committee the process of turning the corner • We will be developing a revery encouraging. And the list goes on and on. from planning to implementagional marketing campaign to let .Vowing to keep the selection Our colleges have been real tion. And, I can confidently say the world now just why Oneonta process out of the hands of politito you that the State of the City of is a unique and special community cians, I turned the job over to a partners and I want to thank both Oneonta is one of unprecedented of our college presidents for that is moving forward. committee of citizens chaired by Opportunity. • An exciting new design for actively embracing the goal of former Mayor Kim Muller. continuing to even better integrate In the coming months, some the Westcott Lot will start to come I am absolutely certain that they our colleges into our community. of what we can expect to see will together had no idea how much work they And we will continue to work • Our historic Damaschke field include: were taking on. They carried out • A proposal for a high-quality hand in hand to strengthen those will be re-invented – yes, the old the task with professionalism, partnerships. facility providing for a mix of afgrandstand’s day has come after passion, and objectivity. I cannot many glorious years of Oneonta We have listened carefully to fordable artists’ lofts and middlethank them adequately. different perspectives, sought income housing baseball. Please See HERZIG, A6
Next Board Of Representatives May Decide On Manager, Energy Future EDITORIAL/From A5 Michele Farwell, D-Morris, won in the Republican Butternut Valley district when two GOP contenders split the vote. So she faces uncertainty, even though she, along with Kennedy, are leaders in the county board’s effort to come up with an open-minded energy policy. The Town of Oneonta can go either Republican or Democratic, and a GOP committee there is seeking candidates for town board, but also to challenge Democratic county rep Andrew Stammel. If those four seats shift, a Clark-
Frazier Restoration is not out of the question. (Ed Frazier, R-Unadilla, was the former chair’s vice chairman.) • For his part, county Republican chairman Vince Casale said, “all of our candidates are running for reelection. I’m not expecting any surprises” – except, of course, Brockway vs. Clark. When seats open up after a long tenure ends, as in Koutnik’s case, that generates interest, he said. However, in cases where reps are “doing a good job” – he singled out Marietta – Republicans may
not field an opponent, Casale said. By contrast, he said, local Democrats are “acting like the national Democrat group, even to the point of ostracizing their own” – he mentioned the pioneering former county chair, Richard Abbate, and Richard Sternberg, architect of the 2017 campaign that achieved a near-balance on county board. For her part, Aimee Swan, the new Democratic county chair, said, “It’s the goal of the committee to run and elect Democrats. You can expect we’re going to run Democrats everywhere we can.” •
That leaves it to the electorate, as it should be. Representatives in the Sensible Center are saying they’re hoping to come out of this cycle with stability – it can take months to bring newcomers up to speed. That’s particularly important now, because they see a consensus forming on the need for a professional county manager to help run a $110 million government, and an ever more complex one. Second is a concern that the county’s 21-member “Energy Task Force,” which convened for the first time Wednesday, Feb. 28,
get it right: i.e., comes up with a plan that balances short-term demand for natural gas with a speedy-as-possible shift toward renewables. Because a new state law moved the state primary from September to June 25, to align it with the federal primary, things are happening quickly. Expect the ferment we’re already seeing to only intensify by April 4, the deadline for candidate petitions to filed with the county Board of Elections. Let’s pay attention: Even more than usual, this election may matter.
THURSDAY-Friday, March 7 - 8, 2019
A-6 THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA
2019 STATE OF THE CITY SPEECH
Anti-Gas Advocates Told: Care For Needy HERZIG/From A5 (Here, the mayor introduced former mayor Kim Muller, who chaired the DRI committee, to say a few words.) When I first met with the committee I asked them to view their assignment not as one of picking individual winners. But as an opportunity to use the submissions they received as tools to design a new downtown. Keeping in mind that there is only one big winner here: the people of the City of Oneonta. The Committee recommended 63 awards. In a testament to the quality of their work, every one of their recommendations were upheld by the state’s review. My congratulations – and thank you - to all those receiving awards tonight and to the entire City of Oneonta. What else can we expect to see coming down the road for Oneonta? ►Artspace First, I sincerely want to thank SUNY Oneonta and our volunteer Core Group for leading this initiative. I want to especially thank Colleen Brannan, assis-
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can assure you that we are following through on this initiative. For a number of reasons, I believe we are better served by working with a private developer than we would be with a large not-for-profit. tant to the president, for the outstanding leadership she provided in exploring bringing an Art Space to downtown Oneonta. A team from the national not-forprofit organization Artspace spent a week with us conducting a feasibility study for a downtown Oneonta facility which could provide some combination of affordable housing, studio, and gallery space. Their conclusion is best summarized with the following statement from their report: “Oneonta is well-positioned to pursue an affordable live/work mixed-use facility for artists and creatives. With an underserved creative sector, alignment with community goals, and strong City leadership, the feasibility of moving a project forward is very positive.” I can assure you that we are following through on this initiative. For a number of reasons, I believe we are better served by working with a private developer than we would be with a large not-for-profit. And you can be looking for just such a project proposal coming soon. ►ONEONTA THEATER Oneonta’s grand old theater sits empty. It is a gem. And it can bring us entertainment, culture, and visitors. It has the potential to make a real economic impact on our City. But – there are challenges. First, let me recognize and thank the Greater Oneonta Historical Society and Bob Brzozowski in particular. And the Friends of the Oneonta Theater and Patrice Macaluso in particular. With assistance from our DRI funding, they hired Duncan Webb, one of the leading experts in theater restoration and operation, to advise us on the feasibility of restoring and operating the Oneonta Theater. His report told us that the market, the need, and the support are here. It outlined, for us, how a restored theater could be an economic driver for the City of Oneonta. They also outlined, for us, the challenges. We now have cost estimates for different levels and concepts of restoration and a business plan for sustainability. We also know that we have a very unique situation with two large theaters one block apart in a small city. The Foothills PAC and the Oneonta Theater cannot both survive by competing with each other. An innovative plan was presented outlining how they might work together as one. For the good of all, I encourage the dialogue to continue. ►market street redisign We have now assembled the resources needed for a complete redesign of our Market Street- into an attractive Center of for the Arts, Entertainment, and Innovation; including: BROCKWAY/From A1 an interview. “If you don’t like what’s happening, you change it. It’s time I voiced my opinion on a few things.” Brockway graduated from Laurens Central (1964) and SUNY Oneonta (1968), then taught school for a while before becoming a ferrier, and he’s been shoeing horses along the Route 205 corridor and beyond for 38 years now. “I still do some,” he said, “with customers I’ve had for 35 years. It’s a social event anymore.”
A redesigned pedestrian-friendly streetscape. The creation of a Multi-Modal Transit Hub and Oneonta Welcome Center ►our parking garage The very first step in the process will be in deciding on the best location for the Transit Hub/Welcome Center. During the DRI Planning process it was proposed that it be integrated into our parking garage. Since that time, some have expressed concerns that there is not enough space to do it properly at that location. Others say it can work. We are bringing in the experts to tell us if that location is optimal or if there is a better location. And at the same time, we will conduct a full engineering analysis of our parking garage prior to beginning the process of redesign and renovation. Once the Transit Hub and Garage questions are answered, we can then begin the design process for a more attractive and functional streetscape. One that will be pedestrian friendly with connecting walkways between Main and Market streets. ►westcott lot Our Downtown Revitalization Plan called for the creation of a public plaza constructed over our parking lot, one which would also create a walkway – providing pedestrian connectivity to Market Street and running alongside the existing Ruffino’s building. Our plan also envisions a mixed-use building providing some upper floor quality housing. Being announced tonight, will be a Downtown Improvement Fund award for an exciting transformative project - one designed to enhance this concept and leverage our DRI resources with our existing local businesses. Look for more details coming soon. ►d&h railyards Oneonta’s original economy was built upon the D&H railyard. It was the good jobs created by the repair and maintenance shops that drew people to settle and build their homes in the City of Oneonta. For many, many years now, there has been talk about seizing the opportunity to create good jobs which this unique location provides today, with: • Access to rail and interstate • Access to sewer and fresh water and public transportation • All with a city workforce in need of good jobs After decades of non-action, now I say thank you to the initiative and investment of the Otsego County IDA, which is allowing the possibility of real results to now begin to come into focus. Oneonta remains a place where too many of our families are living below the poverty level. 28 percent of the people of our city live below the poverty level. It is likely that more than one in four of our children are living in poverty. These are sobering facts. Facts which,
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he Foothills PAC and the Oneonta Theater cannot both survive by competing with each other. An innovative plan was presented outlining how they might work together as one. unfortunately, can be too easy to ignore. We have families in need of decent jobs, and that is what this rail yard project is all about. I suspect that not many of those who need these jobs will be here tonight to speak. They are likely too busy at this hour - with preparing dinner while juggling two jobs and searching for affordable childcare - all with family transportation that is dependent upon one less-than-reliable gas-guzzling vehicle. I know that many of you are here tonight to speak about the railyard project and its potential environmental impacts. I do applaud you for being here and I do look forward to your comments. After all, we are in this together and I believe that we share in recognizing the need to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels, expedite our transition to renewals, and to provide the basic opportunities for a good life to all of our neighbors - just as many of us here tonight have enjoyed. Our new Comprehensive Plan calls for developing the Oneonta railyard to
bolster economic development in the city – to create jobs while also striving for maximum energy efficiency and maximum feasible use of renewable energy sources. Our Comp Plan also calls for a community that values economic justice – meaning simply that we all share in opportunity and, when need be, we all share in sacrifice. This railyard project must be viewed in context – not in isolation. As a community, our job is to establish priorities. Please – let’s not stand and say that there should be a moratorium on building a facility to create much needed jobs but look the other way while we go
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lease – let’s not stand and say that there should be a moratorium on building a facility to create much needed jobs but look the other way while we go about enjoying our indoor tennis courts, gyms, swimming pools, and theaters – all heated with gas. about enjoying our indoor tennis courts, gyms, swimming pools, and theaters – all heated with gas. These are not the values of the people of the City of Oneonta. Instead, let’s roll up our sleeves and work together. I challenge all to volunteer your time and your expertise to help us to make this location a model of energy efficiency with a plan to eventually get to net zero. Let’s not just talk about an Eco-Park – work with us to figure out just what that means and just how to make it happen. I know that there are good people here tonight who really care and I look forward to your constructive comments on how you can help us to be the best that we can be. A few final words about our Comprehensive Plan – I, along with our Council, appointed a Steering Committee to oversee this process. They have worked for 18 months. They have held more than 10 open meetings, two public engagement sessions, numerous focus groups and have done quite a bit of homework. I want to say to them – Thank you! They have drafted a vision statement which reflects upon what they heard. It is built upon the words they heard from residents and business owners most often Words that include families, vibrancy, inclusive, housing, jobs, sustainable, inspiring and, even, groovy and quirky. They have given us a vision - that of a vibrant, thriving community - known for its historic urban fabric, surrounding natural beauty, strong educational institutions, and a commitment to environmental awareness and responsible growth. It is a vision of a small city that serves as a regional destination - with ample opportunities for jobs, housing, culture and recreation. And it is a community devoted to economic and social justice. One, where people work together towards creating a healthy, equitable, and sustainable future. We have now arrived at a tipping point of Opportunity. It will only be by working together that we will succeed in taking it over the finish line. Doing so will require each of us to think community and not self-interest. There will also be a need to compromise. I know we have it in us to do so because I have seen the residents of Oneonta in action for the past 3 1/2 years. I have no doubt that we, working together, can reinvent ourselves so that we may thrive in today’s world. And I also have no doubt that we can do so without sacrificing the core values that have always made this a very special place to live, to work, and to visit. In today’s fast changing world, standing still is really going backward. Now is a time of opportunity, innovation, and reinvention. Now is the time for us all to climb aboard and demonstrate that here in the City of Oneonta, “We’re Onta Something.”
Renewables, Yes; But Cheap Natural Gas Available Now DOWNEY/From A4 quences of that spending? What is the best way to pass a legacy of sustainability and prosperity to our children? These questions need answers before we bow to the “OMG!!! We have only 12 years to live!” Tweet storms. For arguments sake, let’s assume Mr. Buttermann’s “settled science” is correct. Doom is imminent. Shouldn’t we look for the most expedient way to lower CO2 emissions? A build-out of renewables in proportions needed to “save the planet” would take time Mr. Buttermann says we don’t have. What’s the solution? Try this: an Oct. 29, 2018, posting from the Energy Information Agency (EIA) notes that carbon dioxide emissions from the U.S. power sector have declined 28 percent since 2005. The emissions are now at 1987 levels. The EIA credits the reduction primarily to market priced natural gas replacing coal in power generation. This reduction in emissions to 30 years lows was done in spite of an 85 million population growth, an expanding economy, and an expanding energy output. Amazing! Show me another means of energy production that gets the same results in the same time at the same cost. If Mr. Buttermann is truly serious about averting his global catastrophe, the data is staring him in the face. Finally, Mr. Buttermann notes my objection to subsi-
Reparations: Every Group Can Claim It Was Wronged MORGAN/From A4 Problem: Let’s hear it for the Irish. (And Italians.) Read the details of how non-Irish treated Irish immigrants in the 1800s. They are ugly, despicable details. If we pay the Irish, we should hit up the English for the same amount. They savaged, neglected and starved the Irish while they ruled Ireland. Which is why the Irish fled to America. Problem: Suppose we taxpayers get dunned for reparations. Should we then demand billions from the Dutch, Spanish, English, French, Portuguese, etc? To compensate us? After all, they shipped Africans to the New World as slaves. They began in 1664. A century before the villainous U.S. became a country. Problem: Africans captured Africans for the slave trade. They made fortunes. Should we demand their descendants, still in Africa, cough up? Problem: Should Hispanics among us pay taxes that would go to African-Americans? After all, their ancestors were often victims of Spain’s barbaric conquests in the New World. Problem: The ancestors of millions of Americans came to this country after the slave trade ended. Suppose your Italian great-grandfather came here in 1909? Why should you pay for something he had no part of? The reality is that most Americans have little or no connection to slave-owners of old. Problem: Don’t Jews deserve reparations? From all over the world? As well as from Americans? Did we enslave them? Or humiliate them under Jim Crow? Or lynch them? No. But we sure as hell mistreated them for a
Republicans Back Brockway, Clark Challenger As for adventurer, “I’ve been a hunter and fisherman. I hike. I ski. I’ve hunted in Alaska, above the Arctic Circle. Quebec. All over.” “Rock climber. Spee-Lunker,” you name it. As for politics, that family legacy goes back 70 years in Laurens, where dad Jesse was either a town board member or town supervisor for decades.
Brockway served two terms on the Laurens Town Board, and so did wife Patricia before running for justice. The candidate has three children: Son Randy, an OHS phys-ed teacher and girls’ softball coach; daughter Kim Sparaco, who “lives on the family farm next to us” and is a Unalam supervisor (as is wife Patricia), and son Ric Jr., who
dies for renewables, but I’m OK with state money for a gas-decompressor station in Oneonta. He implies inconsistency on my part. Not really. Subsidies have been around for as long as there have been governments. My objection is to the state’s pernicious favoring of one industry over another through direct subsidies, tax abatements, mandates, prioritization, government regulatory and executive actions. This raises costs in one industry to the disadvantage of the other. Subverting the market price reeks of favoritism and corruption. As a consequence, the customer (taxpayer/ratepayer) pays more money. In contrast, Oneonta’s gasdecompressor is a one-time investment that will support the operation and expansion of existing businesses and attract new ones. It answers an expressed need. It doesn’t impede another form of energy. No problem for me if the state provides a subsidy to promote the general welfare by retaining and creating jobs. I, like Mr. Buttermann, found good information at the Energy & Infrastructure Summit. Geothermal looked promising with a fivefold energy return. However, the devil’s in the details. What’s the outlay, the break-even point, the potential savings? Hopefully, the answers to questions like these will unite us for a brighter energy future. DICK DOWNEY Otego
lives in Florida. Clark, who lost her chairmanship in January 2018 after squeaking past her Democratic challenger, Kathy Nardi, the November before, is further on the outs with the Republican Party after, denied the GOP nomination, she ran her husband as a Democrat for county sheriff. She didn’t return a call inquiring
few hundred years. We banned them from clubs, communities and schools. We belittled and humiliated them. We maligned them for only one reason: They were Jews. We turned a blind eye to their abominable mistreatment in Europe. In a hundred ways we, on the sidelines, fed the slow-burning fires of bigotry. Fires that ultimately roared into a holocaust. Should we, as a society, pay reparations to club-foots and hunchbacks? To harelipped and deformed? Should we pay for our cruelty in even labeling them with such terms? And for denying them equal treatment by way of our prejudices? Seems to me we could do a lot more good than pay reparations. We could promote equal and fair treatment of all, by all. We could concentrate on and celebrate our progress along these lines. A good start would be to recognize the magnificent progress under our noses. Millions in the world blast the U.S. as a hotbed of racism. You can halt their criticisms with a simple question. African-Americans are 15 percent of us. So, if we are so racist, how is it we elected an African-American to lead us? Twice. Show me a European nation that will elect a black as their leader. Or an African nation that will elect a white leader. Maybe we should drop this dream of paying reparations. Maybe we should put some money into fighting slavery today. After all, about 40 million people in this world live under some type of slavery. Tom Morgan, a retired investment adviser in Oneonta and nationally syndicated business columnist, resides in Franklin.
whether she plans to run again. But County Republican Chairman Vince Casale, Cooperstown, made his preference clear. “I wholeheartedly support him,” he said, “as do the committee people from the district.” Brockway said he’s for low taxes. Beyond that, he’s been reading minutes of the county board meeting for the past year, coming up to date on current issues. He plans to say more about those issues at the June 25 primary approaches.
THURSDAY-FRIDAY, March 7 - 8, 2019
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA A-7
Ailing Chief Loses Insurance CHIEF/From A1 me for end-stage renal failure,” he said. “I had never had problems with my kidneys.” He continued working, doing eight hours of dialysis through a port in his stomach at home every night, until just before Hall of Fame Weekend last July, when he began having shortness of breath. He was hospitalized with
pneumonia for five days and released just before the 2018 Induction. “I had to work,” he said. “But I tried lifting a patient into the ambulance, and I couldn’t.” He was allowed time off under the U.S. Family & Medical Leave Act, and underwent a triple–heart bypass in August. But in October, he got some
bad news. County Treasurer Allen Ruffles called to say that former county deputy and police chief’s health insurance would be cancelled at the end of the year. Covert said he’d worked 25 years for the county, but Ruffles said he would have had to work 25 years exclusively for the county Sheriff’s Department to qualify for the plan. “It’s awful,” said Ruffles, “but we can’t use taxpayer
funds for someone who can’t legally be on that insurance.” Meanwhile at Village Hall, he was required to undergo an independent medical exam before he could come back to work, and was put on unpaid administrative leave until Dec. 20, when the exam was scheduled. “The results came back and said I had 20/30, 20/40 vision, but I wear glasses,” he said. “I have diabetes, which
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I’ve always had. We knew I had a heart condition, and an operation had ruptured two discs in my neck. “They recommended I not be a police officer anymore.” He received an offer from Village Attorney Martin Tillapaugh offering to pay him unemployment, but no health insurance. “I refused to sign,” he said. “As an employee of the village, I’m entitled to health insurance.” A hearing was called for early February, but before he could attend, he had a heart attack on Jan. 31. “It was all the stress,” he said. “They tried to put in a stent, and I went into full cardiac arrest in the recovery room. They used a defibrillator twice on me. They did five minutes of CPR.” He recovered, and gave his testimony in his unemployment hearing over the phone from a hospital bed. “They had only taken my breathing tube out an hour before,” he
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EOE
said. “But when I came home, I found out I had won.” For her part, Cooperstown Mayor Ellen Tillapaugh Kuch issued a statement saying Covert advised Village Hall in January that he is receiving “other insurance coverage.” When he became police chief, she said, he had insurance through the county, and signed a “voluntary declination of health insurance with the village.” As a result, he received an extra $200 a month, or $24,000 a year, from the village “as an insurance buyout.” Despite his illness, the chief was never terminated. “He remains on a medical leave of absence,” she said. Covert said that during his various stays in the hospital, not one village employee came to visit him. “That’s what hurt,” he said. “I worked with these people every day and none of them sent a letter or a card or stopped by.” Mike Ten Eyck, he said, came by frequently and called daily, as did Sheriff Richard J. Devlin Jr. But with no insurance, medications and dialysis costing thousands of dollars a month – even with Medicare – Covert was running out of options. “I was down to $17,” he said. “And Mike offered to do a GoFundMe.” Said Covert, “To see that kind of response was so touching,” he said. “I had old friends from law enforcement reach out. It was humbling.” He is in the final stages of the testing for a kidney transplant, and hopes to soon get on the donor list. And the girl who visited him in the hospital even offered him her kidney. “She said I saved her life,” he said. “She thought it was the least she could do.”
Matt Schuermann
Registered Mortgage Broker NYS Banking Dept.
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20 Chestnut Street • Suite 1 • Cooperstown 607-547-5007 www.leatherstockingmortgage.com
AllOTSEGO.homes
EXCLUSIVE OFFICE SPACE FOR RENT IN COOPERSTOWN
Beautiful Village Victorian Home
Historical gem, built in 1872, has a perfect mix of classic and new. Original details include: charming entry porch, 10' gilded mirror, antique light fixtures, curved staircase. Many period architectural details have been preserved. Back yard features patio, garden, small pond. 2 porches and balcony provide enjoyment of front gardens. Easy walking from central village location .
Exclusively offered at $429,000 propErty dEtails —0.15 Acres
Simply the Best!
LOCATION…Establish your business with a Cooperstown address in the ONLY complete office building in the Village. From 250 sf to 1,000 sf available. Snow removal, electric, heat, A/C and common area cleaning included. On-site parking, common grounds maintenance, convenient to Main Street Cooperstown.
Quaint, Quiet and Professional
FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 607-434-4050
Home of the Week
intErior FEaturEs —Built in 1872 —2,390 sq ft —3 BRs, 2 full updated baths including first-floor bath
Don Olin
REALTY, INC
—All rooms redecorated —Updated eat-in kitchen w/all major appliances —Hardwood and carpet —Entry foyer —DR, parlor, family room —Kitchen w/breakfast room —Oil heat w/steam radiators
ExtErior FEaturEs —Masonry/brick construction —Red cedar roof —Detached 2-car garage —Open, screened, covered porches —Patio
37 Chestnut street · Cooperstown · 607-547-5622 · 607-547-5653 (fax) parking is never a problem! For Appointment Only Call: M. Margaret Savoie, Real Estate Broker/Owner – 547-5334 Marion King, Real Estate Associate Broker – 547-5332 Eric Hill, Real Estate Associate Broker – 547-5557 Donald DuBois, Real Estate Associate Broker – 547-5105
Timothy Donahue, Real Estate Associate Broker – 293-8874 Madeline Sansevere, Real Estate Salesperson – 435-4311 Catherine Raddatz, Real Estate Salesperson – 547-8958 Michael Welch, Real Estate Salesperson – 547-8502
For reliable, honest answers to any of your real estate questions, call 607.547.5622 or visit our website www.donolinrealty.com
Welcome Spring in Your neW Home! This lovely Cooperstown Village home was completely renovated in 2016. 2 BRs, 2 full baths. Master suite offers whirlpool soaking tub, separate shower, walk-in closet. Open kitchen has beautiful mahogany and granite countertops, white cabinets, pull-out pantry cabinet, wood-looking tile floor, stainless steel appliances. LR offers mahogany laminate flooring , brick gas fireplace, white brick chimney, pine ceiling. 3-season sun room. Patio in back has access to Maple Street. Convenient Village location. REALTY, INC Co-exclusively offered at 37 Chestnut Street, Cooperstown the NEW price of $249,000
Don Olin
607-547-5622 www.donolinrealty.com
THURSDAY-Friday, March 7 - 8, 2019
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A-8 THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA
MLS#117902 $169,900 Ranch on large corner lot in Richfield Springs. New roof 2017. Large covered deck w/view. Open kitchen, DR, LR, 3 BRs, 2 baths, mud room, new wood floors. Call George (Rod) Sluyter @ 315-520-6512 (cell)
MLS#114624 $59,900 MLS#116718 $298,000 1982 double-wide w/3 BRs, 2 baths and 1½ story, 2-car Log-sided, 3-BR, 2-bath, stick-built home is customgarage. New heating system, updated electrical, new designed 5 acres. features. 20'master catwalk walls andonceiling in 1Many BR. New ceiling in bath. between 2 lofts. Motivated sellers. (cell) Call Sharon P. Teator @ 607-267-2681 Call Pamela Andela @ 315-717-1907 (cell)
MLS#104145 $185,000 Views of Otsego Lake from Here! Walk to Main Street, Cooperstown and Bassett Hospital. Call Donna Schulz@ 607-267-6330 (cell)
MLS#117875 $259,000 Country Chalet 3BRs, 3½ baths, 4.7 acres w/indoor heated pool, sauna, steam room. Great location on a quiet road for weekend getaway or your home. Call Rodney Campbell @ 315-868-0148 (cell)
MLS#119159 $229,000 Amazing Price/Location for a Cooperstown Village Home! 3 BRs, 2 baths, formal DR, in-ground pool, privacy, 2-car garage. Call Carol Olsen @ 607-434-7436 (cell)
MLS#118217 $172,000 3-BR, 2-bath, split-level ranch built in 2006 on 1-level acre in a quaint village close to Oneonta. Call Stephen Colwell @ 607-435-6542 (cell)
4914 State Hwy 28 Cooperstown 607-547-5933
MLS#119489 $115,000 Great Location! Just steps to Fox Hospital, 4 BRs, well maintained. Home has good rental history. COC valid until 2022. Also a great residence. Call David Mattice @ 607-434-1647 (cell)
221 Main Street, Andes 845-676-3600 www.howardhanna.com
MLS#118979 $189,000 This spacious 2007 home w/beautiful views is located in Edmeston on 20 acres. 3,000 sq ft. of living space. Home needs finishing touches. Call Melissa Klein @ 518-705-9849 (cell)
MLS#119771 $324,900 Possible B&B? 1974 split-level home on 4.4 acres in Springfield. 4,165 sq ft, 4 BRs, den, 3½ tiled baths, sauna, entertainment room, enclosed front porch. Call George (Rod) Sluyter @ 315-520-6512 (cell)
MLS#116366 $595,000 Stellar Lake View Prestigious home on nearly 12 acres w/rare-to-find 4-acre building parcel across this gorgeous soaring Lake! Spacious 4hilltop BR, 2 bath houseabove is closeCanadarago to I-88. Large Call Katherine Fistrowicz @ 607-267-2683 (cell) backyard, workshop/garage, small shed. Make your appointment today. Priced to go this week! Virtual Tour: www.RealEstateShows.com/708598
MLS#118267 $339,000 Cooperstown Area Commercial Opportunity! Massive exposure, extensive parking. 3,000 sq ft building built 2013. Currently auto repair/sales. Call Katherine Fistrowicz @ 607-267-2683 (cell)
PR NE IC W E!
lIs NE tIN W g! MLS#119685 $59,500 2-family home in Sharon Springs. Many updates including plumbing, electric, commercial kitchen. 1- and 2-BR apartments. Close to all amenities. Call Melissa Klein @ 518-705-9849 (cell)
75 Market Street Oneonta 607-433-1020
MLS#119311 $184,900 Privacy w/Panoramic Views 2 trout streams, manufactured home w/2-car garage, dairy barn. 30-acre property abuts 266 acres preserved land. Call Lorraine Takahashi @ 845-545-0884 (cell)
PR NE IC W E!
MLS#118224 $675,000 Owner Financing Possible! Custom log home w/spectacular fireplace in great room, waterfalls, stream, bridge, koi pond! Wrap-around deck. Call David K. Mattice @ 607-434-1647 (cell)
MLS#116301 $465,000 Prime Commercial Location! 3 Properties Bundled! Gifford’s Sporting Goods Store (and 3-4 BRs over the store) and 2 multi-family houses. All zoned mixed use. Highly traveled intersection. Call/text Erin Moussa 607-435-1285 (cell)
MLS#119170 $162,500 Beautiful Newer Home 3-BR, 2½-bath Cape Cod on almost 3 acres. Stunning kitchen, 1st-floor master BR. Close to Oneonta. Call Carol Olsen @ 607-434-7436 (cell)
MLS#119905 $34,900 Business Opportunity! Perfect storefront w/endless possibilities on Main Street in Otego. 1,560 sq ft. Hardwood floors throughout. Full basement, full bath. Priced under assessed value. Call Kristi Ough @ 607-434-3026 (Cell)
Locally owned and operated Single and multi-family homes Commercial property and land
99 Main Street, Oneonta office 607.441.7312 fax 607.432.7580
Strawberries, Vegetables… This 70+ acre farm along the Susquehanna River was the home to Heller’s U-Pick Strawberries. Move-in condition 3,000 sq. ft. home has gorgeous original woodwork and doors, beautiful open staircase, fireplaces. Renovated kitchen is a cook’s dream. Large rooms w/high ceilings. Large gathering spaces inside and out. 4+ car garage w/large work room, machine shed, 2 greenhouses, Quonset building, chicken house and shed. Pond, apple trees, blueberries, irrigation system, and other assorted strawberry supplies will stay. 16± acres are across the road from the house. MLS#116008 $450,000
www.oneontarealty.com
Newly Constructed! 4-BR, 2-bath home in a central location is in great condition. Lots of off-street parking, currently rented with COC in place. MLS#117328 $199,000
Lizabeth Rose, Broker/Owner Cricket Keto, Licensed Assoc. Broker Peter D. Clark, Consultant
157 Main Street,Cooperstown 607-547-5740
www.hubbellsrealestate.com
ASHLEY
REALTY
CONNOR
29 Pioneer Street, Cooperstown · 607-547-4045 Patricia Bensen-Ashley – Licensed Real Estate Broker/Owner
NANcY c. ANgERER principal Broker, Owner
LAMB REALTY Out Ahead of the Flock!
20 chestnut Street cooperstown
607.547.8145 • 607.435.3387
Lambrealty.net
Generous-sized Home
(8388) Enjoy a happy haven in this delightful Cooperstown Village residence offering eat-in kitchen, hardwood flooring, back porch. 4 BRs, 1½ baths. LR, parlor, home office, mud room, original natural woodwork, hot water heat. A hospitable air. Cooperstown Schools.
Hubbell’s Exclusive—$275,000
Move Right In!
(8536) This superbly kept 3-BR Roseboom area cottage offers modern kitchen w/oak cabinets, new appliances, large DR w/woodstove. Newer windows upstairs, wainscoted ceilings, laundry. Private shaded yard w/deck. Woodshed. New drilled well. Home w/potential. CV-S Schools.
Hubbell’s Exclusive—$110,000
John Mitchell Real Estate
INSURANCE MANY COMPANIES. MANY OPTIONS.
Let Us Take You Home
Bieritz insurance agency
216 Main Street, Cooperstown • 607-547-8551 • 607-547-1029 (fax) www.johnmitchellrealestate.com • info@johnmitchellrealestate.com
Dave LaDuke, Broker 607-435-2405
Laura Coleman 607-437-4881
Mike Winslow, Broker 607-435-0183
Madeline K. Woerner Jane McCoy 607-434-3697 607-232-3442
Kristen Bellois 607-282-2251
Debbie Watkins-Parker 914-489-3523
Every week someone decides to sell a house. Every week someone decides to buy a house.
BE THERE WHEN THEY MAKE THE DECISION!
Real people who truly care... your hometown insurance agency! 209 Main Street, Cooperstown 607-547-2951 across from Bruce Hall 607-263-5170 in Morris Celebrating our
Ben Novellano
29 YEAR! 1990-2019 th
New Country Listing - Sitting on 17± acres on a quiet country road, this 2015 3-BR, 2-bath home is easy maintenance w/steel roof and siding. 1,200± sq ft, pine walls, tile floors. Lots of closets. Kitchen off great room, systems room combined w/laundry. Electric heat or cozy wood stove. Lots of light, custom iron grates over windows and doors. High-ceilinged 3-bay garage w/electric door openers. Light woods w/views across the valley. Land to the left slopes to southeast, perfect for hops or hemp. Cooperstown School District, just outside Middlefield Center, easy drive to Cooperstown. Offered Exclusively by Ashley-Connor Realty $225,000 Visit us on the Web at www.ashleyconnorrealty.com Contact us at info@ashleyconnorrealty.com
For Appointment: Patricia Bensen-Ashley, Broker/Owner, 607-437-1149 Jack Foster, Sales Agent, 607-547-5304 • Donna Skinner, Associate Broker, 607-287-4113 Chris Patterson, Associate Broker, 518-774-8175
Real estate agents in the know advertise in THE REgION’S lARgEST NEWSpApER REAl ESTATE SECTION. Call 607-547-6103 NOW!
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THURSDAY-FRIDAY, MarCH 7 - 8, 2019
Our com thrives munity we wowrkhen togethe r good for
JOin TO day PAGE B-1
OnEOn Ta FaM iLy yM 60 www.on7 432 0010 Ca eontay mca.org
HAPPENIN’ OTSEGO
THINGS TO DO AllOTSEGO.life
Jim Kevlin/
Betty Steele, left, gives Snowy something he hasn’t had in a while: a kiss. Center, Bethoven gives an affectionate lick to foster dad Ian Laschell, with foster mom Wendy. At right, Stacie Haynes, who got back from Beirut at 9:30 Tuesday, March 4, worked until past midnight getting the 13 rescued dogs settled at the SSPCA Shelter.
To BEIRUT and BACK On Mission Of Mercy, SSPCA Duo Rescues 13 Dogs By LIBBY CUDMORE
Conductor Contest, Arts, Craft Shows And Irish Tunes!
HARTWICK SEMINARY
I
t was a long day for everyone. After 30 hours of travel, first by plane, then by van from JFK to Cooperstown, the 13 dogs Stacie Haynes and Sarah Haddad rescued from an uncertain fate in Beirut, Lebanon, were more stressed than usual. “In Beirut, people throw rocks at these dogs, they hit them, they scream ‘go away,’” said Haynes, Susquehanna SPCA executive director. ►DONATE to the “They’re not $2 million fund used to humans drive for a new being loving, animal shelter at and on top of www.sqspca.org that, they’ve been in a crate for all this time.” But waiting for them in Cooperstown were the SPCA volunteers and foster families anxious to meet their new companions. “When we got them into the shelter, you just watched them unwind,” she said. “They came out of their crates, they started to relax, then get excited, and by the time we left at midnight, their tails were wagging and we were getting doggie kisses.” Haynes and Haddad, the
Wife Connie poses jauntily outside the Haneys’ Cooperstown Bat, a Main Street landmark.
AllOTSEGO.life
Craig Van Cott, Unalam president, won the honor of conducting the Catskill Symphony Orchestra in “Stars & Stripes Forever” last year. Who will win the coveted conductor’s baton this year?
W
SSPCA’s licensed veterinary technician, were invited to work with Animals Lebanon as part of a partnership with Dr. David Chico, a state Ag & Markets vet. The trip was paid for by Animals Lebanon, which works with organizations around the world to get stray dogs adopted into loving families. In Lebanon, cats – even strays – are considered beloved pets, while dogs are considered pests, Haynes reported. “We were having coffee one morning and there were all these stray cats around. They’d get up on the tables and people feed them, they’re very friendly.” Stray dogs, she said, have no Please See SAVED, B3
Sue Leonard, Cherry Valley, above, tends Stella, just brought in from one of the three transports that brought the 13 dogs from JFK Airport; at left is Bella. In photo at left, Sara Haddad, back from her Beirut adventure, feeds chicken to Lee.
HANEYS TO ENTER CHAMBER HALL OF FAME
At Cooperstown Bat, Best Yet To Come By LIBBY CUDMORE COOPERSTOWN
AllOTSEGO.life
Patrick Wager/
A
t Cooperstown Bat Company, it’s the sound of success. “We have noticed a difference in
the sound of the ball coming off of our bats,” said owner Tim Haney. “We know that the process in how we slowly dry the wood gives the bat a different sound. You can hear the difference.” Cooperstown Bat is one of this Please See BAT, B3
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL • HOMETOWN ONEONTA
ill it be taxi king Al Rubin? Plucky reporter Libby Cudmore? Or musical maven Cindy Donaldson? Only you can decide as you vote for your favorite conductor and hear the Sultans of String at the annual Catskill Symphony Cabaret Concert, featuring guest LIBBY CUDMORE conductor Paul Massey. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 9, Alumni Field House, SUNY Oneonta. Info, tickets, www.catskillsymphony.net. • View the CAA’s latest exhibit, “An Artistic Discovery,” on display through March 29. Congressional Exhibit for Otsego County high school students also on display. 5-7 p.m. Friday, March 8, Cooperstown Art Association, 22 Main St., Cooperstown. (607) 547-9777. • Enjoy St. Patrick’s Day a little early as The Stoutmen perform traditional Irish folk music. $15, food available. 7-10 p.m. Saturday, March 9, Oneonta Vet’s Club, 279 Chestnut St., Oneonta. 607-432-0494. • Dennis Valente talks about the vintage phonographs and demonstrates wax cylinders on the Edison phonograph. 2 p.m. Sunday, March 10, Greater Oneonta Historical Society, 183 Main St., Oneonta. Info (607) 431-9509. • Dr. P. Jay Fleisher presents “Cooperstown Scenery In Geologic Time.” Free, Sponsored by the Friends of the Village Library of Cooperstown. 3 p.m. Sunday, March 10, Village Library, 22 Main St., Cooperstown. • One-of-a-kind crafts and handmade items are on sale to raise money for the Laurens Central School Athletic Booster Club. 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Saturday, March 9, Laurens Central School, 55 Main St, Laurens.
AllOTSEGO.com, OTSEGO COUNTY’S DAILY NEWSPAPER/ONLINE
FOR UPDATES, VISIT www.
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THURSDAY-Friday, MarcH 7 - 8, 2019
HAPPENIN’ OTSEGO
Thursday March 7
NETWORKING – 5:307:30 p.m. Celebrate 10- and 20-year member anniversaries with the Otsego County Chamber of Commerce at their Business After Hours event. Foothills, 24 Market St., Oneonta. Info, confirmation (607) 432-4500.
Friday March 8
ART OPENING – 5-7 p.m. “An Artistic Discovery” opens at the CAA, on display through March 29. Congressional Exhibit for Otsego County high school students also on display. Cooperstown Art Association, 22 Main St., Cooperstown. 607-547-9777. JAZZ – 7 p.m. The Blake Fleming Jazz Trio plays. Dunderberg Gallery, 118 Marion Ave, Gilbertsville. Info, (607) 783-2476. MEETING – 7 p.m. Utica
and Mohawk Valley chapter of the National Railway Historical Society meeting with a presentation on Live Steam Railroading with Wayne Freed. Free, all welcome. Zion Lutheran Church, corner of French and Burrstone Roads, New Hartford. 315-853-5400.
Saturday March 9
PANCAKE BREAKFAST – 811 a.m. Laurens Presbyterian Church sponsors a pancake breakfast. By donation. Laurens Presbyterian Church, 3 Main Street, Laurens. CRAFT SHOW – 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Handmade items for sale to raise money for the Laurens Central School
All
Athletic Booster Club.Laurens Central School, 55 Main St. MEET AND GREET – 12-2 p.m. “Pawsitive Pawsibilities at the Y” aims to connect new families with companion animals. YMCA lobby, 20-26 Ford Ave., Oneonta. 607-5478111. DINNER – 4-6:30 p.m. Roast beef dinner with all the trimmings. To benefit Habitat for Humanity of Delaware County. $10 adults, $4 kids. St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, 139 West Main St. Sidney. Info (607) 563-1806. ART OPENING – 4-6 p.m. Lucia Phillips debuts her show on the “Winter Wall.” Works by Robert Ginder, Alice Hudson, Lavern Kelley, Gail
OTSEGO. dining&entertainment
Monday March 11
Peachin and Louis Sherry also on display. The Art Garage, 689 Beaver Meadow Rd, Cooperstown. Info (607) 547-5327. IRISH MUSIC – 7-10 p.m. The Stoutmen perform traditional Irish folk music. $15, food available. Oneonta Vet’s Club, 279 Chestnut St., Oneonta. 607-432-0494. CABARET CONCERT – 7:30 p.m. Catskill Symphony’s annual Cabaret Concert, featuring the Sultans of String and guest conductor Paul Massey, as well as the annual Conductor Contest. Alumni Field House, SUNY Oneonta.
Sunday March 10
PANCAKE BREAKFAST – 8:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. Sugaring Off Sundays include pancake breakfast with fresh maple syrup, demonstrations and tours of The Farmers’ Museum. The Farmers’ Museum, 5775 Route 80, Cooperstown. Info, www.farmersmuseum.org. MEET AND GREET – 12-4 p.m. “Sundays at Brandow’s” aims to connect new families with companion animals. Brandow’s Feed & Seed, 4119 NY-7, Oneonta. 607547-8111. VINTAGE PHONOGRAPHS – 2 p.m. Dennis Valente talks about the vintage phonographs and demonstrates an Edison phonograph. Free. Greater Oneonta Historical Society, 183 Main St., Oneonta. Info (607) 431-9509 LIBRARY TALK – 3 p.m. Dr. P. Jay Fleisher presents “Cooperstown Scenery in Geologic Time.” Free, Sponsored by the Friends of the Village Library of Cooperstown. Village Library, 22 Main St., Cooperstown.
TAI CHI – 10-11 a.m. Tai Chi for Chi for Arthritis classes for ages 60 and older. Free, donations accepted, registration and commitment to a minimum of 11 classes required. Continues through May 2. Meadows Complex, 140 County Hwy 33W, Cooperstown. 607-547-4232. GARDENING CLUB – 1 p.m. Meg Kennedy presents “The Care and Treatment of Bulbs”. All welcome. St. James Episcopal Church at Main St. and Elm, Oneonta. Info, millerwillis3@gmail.com KNITTING – 1 - 2 p.m. Knit, crochet, or handcraft with friends. Richfield Springs Public Library, 102 Main St., Richfield Springs. 315-8580230. NICOTINE ANONYMOUS – 7 p.m. Meetings for those who desire to live free of nicotine. Front Meeting Room, St. James Episcopal Church, 305 Main St., Oneonta. 845-3327803 or visit nicotine-anonymous.org
Tuesday March 12,
TAI CHI – 10:30-11:30 a.m. Tai Chi for Arthritis classes for ages 60 and older. Free, donations accepted, registration and commitment to a minimum of 11 classes required. Continues through May 1. Community Center, 6 Ann Street, Richfield Springs. 607-547-4232.
Wednesday March 13
TAI CHI – 10:30-11:30 a.m. Tai Chi for Arthritis classes for ages 60 and older. See Tuesday listing. SOUP TO GO – 4 - 5 p.m. Free, homemade soup with neighbors. No age, socio-economic, or church membership requirement. Just because we’re neighbors. Elm Park United Methodist Church, 401 Chestnut St., Oneonta. 607-432-6552.
new york pizzeria 2 large plain pizzas $25* Tax included! Toppings extra
75 Chestnut Street, Cooperstown · 607-547-2930 126 Main Street/ Rt 20, Richfield Springs · 315-858-0405 Not valid w/other offers • 1 coupon per person
• Bocca osteria • happy hour
Half Price Pizzas and BOGO On all hOuse drinks*
www.boccaosteria.com · 607-282-4031 5438 State Hwy 28 · Cooperstown, NY 13326
PROJECT Trio
Every Friday 5 pm to 8 pm *Bar service only
WRITERS GROUP – 5 p.m. Discuss current writing projects, get inspired, have fun. Arkell Museum, 2 Erie Blvd., Canajoharie. 518-673-2314.
Thursday March 14
DINNER – Spaghetti fundraiser for a scholarship in honor of former Oneonta fire fighter John Heller. $10 adults, $5 children. 6th Ward Athletic Club, 22 West Broadway, Oneonta. Reservations, info, m@kipwilson.net CRAFT & CHAT – 3:30 p.m. Bring your current knitting or crochet project and chat with the group. Ages 10+. Arkell Museum, 2 Erie Blvd., Canajoharie. 518-673-2314. TAI CHI – 10-11 a.m. Tai Chi for Arthritis classes for ages 60 and older. See Monday listing HANDGUN COURSE – 5 p.m. Course for those who carry handguns outside the home. Learn about NYS Article 35 pertaining to self defense. Cost, $40/person. Oneonta Sportsmen’s Club, 251 Rod & Gun Club Rd., Oneonta. 607-433-0515. PUBLIC SPEAKING – 6:15 p.m. Practice your public speaking with the Toastmasters. The Green Earth, 4 Market St., Oneonta. Visit oneonta. toastmastersclubs.org.
Friday March 15
DANCE – 7:30 p.m. The Doubleday Dancers Western Square Dance Club of Cooperstown hosts their St. Patrick’s Day Dance. Ron Taylor calls Mainstream and Plus dances, Elma Taylor cues. Cooperstown Elementary School, Walnut St., Cooperstown. 607-264-8128. CONCERT – 7:30 p.m. Performance by high energy chamber music ensemble PROJECT Trio. Hunt Union Ballroom, SUNY Oneonta. 607-433-7252. PHILHARMONIC – 8 p.m. The Fly Creek Philharmonic presents “Water Water Everywhere.” Tickets available at the Fly Creek General Store, Riverwood. Fly Creek Methodist Church.
Saturday March 16
5K RACE – 10:30 a.m. Not So Frozen Toes 5K gets runners ready for the spring racing season. Clark Sports Center. 607-547-2800. ART DAYS – 10 a.m. - Noon. Beat winter blues with family fun art project. Benefit for local non-profit. This month celebrate environment through hands-on projects with the Otsego Land Trust. Free by donation. Louis C. Jones Center, The Farmers’ Museum, Cooperstown. 607547-1400. PAINTFEST – 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Oneonta World of Learning’s annual Paintfest! This year’s theme is “The Five Senses.” FoxCare Center.
VOTE
OVER 85 MILLION VIEWS!
Libby Cudmore
Friday March 15
7:30 pm Hunt Union Ballroom SUNY Oneonta
www.projecttrio.com
Guest Conductor Competition
•F
OUNDED
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& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch
Cooperstown’s Newspaper
DG
Next concert: The Big galUT(e), april 17, Foothills Performing arts Center
ONEONTA
1808 BY
HOMETOWN
O M C O PE
CAST YOUR VOTE! Each $1 donated = 1 vote Go to catskillsymphony.net or donate at the concert. IN
Five Star Subaru in Oneonta is proud to support the arts as Lead Sponsor of OCA’s 90th season. wedosubaru.com
Saturday, March 9 at 7:30 pm SUNY Oneonta Alumni Field House
JU
Tickets available at the door or at The Green Toad Bookstore and The Eighth Note. Single tickets $25; students $6. Find out about our online new subscriber discounts! Call 607-433-7252 or buy OneontaConcertAssociation.org
For 211 Years
AllOTSEGO.com
**NeW VeNUe ** Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum! Our 49th Season!
www.cooperstownconcertseries.org
Lonely Heartstring Band
saturday, March 16 7:30 pm National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
TickeTs: $20 for adults $15 for senior citizens and college students with current ID $8 for students age 13-18 Children age 12 and under free when accompanied by an adult. Call 607-547-1812. Tickets also available at Church & Scott Pharmacy, Fly Creek General Store and Riverwood. Tickets available on line at http://www.cooperstownconcertseries.org/
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THURSDAY-FRIDAY, MarcH 7 - 8, 2019
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As Bats Enter MLB, Haneys Plan To Expand Hartwick Manufacturing Plant BAT/From B1 year’s six inductees into the third annual Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce Business Hall of Fame Thursday, March 28, at Brewery Ommegang. “We have a big following and we know we were voted in,” said Tim. “It’s great for us to be a part of the community. I love that part.” In 1981, there were no bats made locally. Don and Sharon Oberriter, who ran Obie’s where Pioneer Patio is now, began selling souvenir bats, and they become so popular they opened the bat company in the tiny building between the restaurant and The Farmers’ Market. Tim joined the company in 1993 and worked with Don to expand their offerings and create personalized bats. When the Oberriters decided to retire in 2008, it was a natural fit
Cooperstown Bat Owner Tim Haney, right, and Paulo Orlando, the Dodgers “Brazilian Missile,” pose recently at the Hartwick factory.
to sell the business to Tim. He had been with the company for about 15 years and had been a big part of the growth. Don and Sharon felt Tim was the right person to take over. So did Tim’s wife, Connie: “Tim is the visionary and the hardest-working person in the company.” The Haneys have taken the bats beyond the streets of Cooperstown. One of their bats was used in the World Series this year by Red Sox catcher Christian Vázquez. “We go from team to team checking in with the players that use our bats and make sure that the bats are okay and that the players have what they need,” he said. “We try to introduce ourselves to new players and see if they would like to give our bats a try.” About 25 players in the majors
use our bats and including the minor leagues between 350 to 400 players throughout all of professional baseball. All the bats are made in a factory in the old Hartwick depot, and all of our wood comes from a 300-mile radius of Cooperstown. In 2017, the Haneys started their own milling company, Sawyer Ridge in the old Phillip’s lumberyard to make billets – the blank lengths of wood out of which the bats are lathed. The bats are primarily maple, but they also use ash and yellow birch. And they’ve done so well that they’re expanding. The couple is in the planning stages to build a 25,000-square-foot expanded facility next to Sawyer Ridge milling facility. It’s planned that the Hartwick manufacturing facility will move into the new larger space, but the
current plant will be used in some fashion. They even plan on installing a full-sized baseball diamond with turf and batting cages. Visitors would be able to see the entire process of making bats and perhaps visit a museum showing the history of the company. This year they will be joining the Cooperstown Farmers’ Market, the Cooperstown Fire Department, The Baseball Hall of Fame, Pathfinder Village, and Stagecoach Coffee in the Business Hall. “We are very established, we are involved in the community,” said Connie. “This is home for us, our children grew up here, we give back locally, and we feel like we are part of the community. Plus making and selling bats is a perfect fit with the Baseball Hall of Fame.”
SSPCA Duo Back From ‘Eye-Opening’ Trip SAVED/From B1 chance of being adopted, and as such, are subject to abuse and abandonment. They can be hit by cars, shot or poisoned. Animals Lebanon fosters the dogs that they take in, but have no facility to house them long-term. “It was so eye-opening for us,” Haynes said. “The only other shelter for dogs, Beta, is just a big compound with 900 loose dogs running around. It’s not ideal, but they’re doing the best they can with what they have.” She shared with them their plans for the new shelter, including their surgical suite and the importance of proper drainage, heated floors and easy-to-clean surfaces. “We had to be careful about how we said it,” she said. “We don’t want to be preachy because they’re doing a great job with the animals in their care, but it was really eyeopening to see how fortunate we are with what we have.” And as part of the humanitarian mission, Haynes agreed to bring back 13 dogs to be adopted and fostered in Otsego County.
All but a few had families waiting to take them home. “We brought back Stella and Bella, who had been living on the streets,” she said. “They had a brother, Pepper, but when they went to get him, he couldn’t be found. They think he’s been killed.” Siblings Blue and Bennetton are also looking for a home, as is Bucky, the very shy Sadie and the fluffy Snowy, who was rescued from a snowbank. “When you meet them, you just fall in love instantly,” Haynes said. Though the dogs are all vaccinated and neutered, Haynes does recommend to adoptees to quarantine the dogs for 10 days as a means of helping them adjust to their new life. And Animals Lebanon has expressed interest in coming to visit the Susquehanna Animal Shelter to see their operations for themselves. “We believe what we did was the right thing in helping these animals,” said Haynes. “And it was such a privilege to spend time with Animals Lebanon.”
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Legal
Legal nOtice Notice of formation of North Landing Property Group LLC Filed 1/3/19 Office: Otsego Co. SSNY designated as agent for process & shall mail to: 149 County Highway 44, Oneonta, NY 13820 Purpose: all lawful 6LegalApr.11 Legal nOtice Notice of formation of CNY INDOOR GROW SUPPLY & MORE LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the Sect’y of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/1/2018. Office location, County of Otsego. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 41-45 Dietz St., Oneonta, NY 13820. Purpose: any lawful act. 6LegalApr.11 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of LVM DAIRY LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 10/16/2018. Office loc: Otsego County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 1148 State Highway 80, Edmeston, NY 13335. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose. 6LegalApr.11 Legal nOtice SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF OTSEGO INDEX NO. EF2018-627 Mortgaged Premises: 7 SIVER STREET A/K/A 7 SILVER STREET UNADILLA, NY 13849 District: Section: 334.14 Block: 1 Lot: 48.00 WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A., AS TRUSTEE FOR THE POOLING AND SERVICING AGREEMENT DATED AS OF OCTOBER 1, 2004 PARK PLACE SECURITIES, INC. ASSET-BACKED PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES SERIES 2004MHQ1, Plaintiff, Plaintiff designates OTSEGO as the place of trial situs of the real property vs. MARY PIZZA, AS HEIR AND DISTRIBUTEE OF THE ESTATE OF DONALD A. PIZZA; UNKNOWN HEIRS AND DISTRIBUTEES OF THE ESTATE OF DONALD A. PIZZA any and all
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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; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE; NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION AND FINANCE, “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 abovenamed 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 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 $61,655.00 and interest, recorded on October 18, 2004, at Liber 1376 Page 35, of the Public Records of OTSEGO County, New York, covering premises
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known as 7 SIVER STREET A/K/A 7 SILVER STREET UNADILLA, NY 13849. 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. 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 (MORTGAGE COMPANY) AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT. RAS BORISKIN, LLC Attorney for Plaintiff BY: SAHAR HAMLANI, ESQ. 900 Merchants Concourse, Suite 310 Westbury, NY 11590 516-280-7675 4LegalMar.28 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of JANKY PAINTING & TOILET COMPANY, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the Sec’y. of State of N.Y. (SSNY) on 10/22/2018. Office location: Otsego County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to : 505 Cornish Hill Road, Cooperstown, NY 13326. Purpose: Any lawful activity. 6LegalApr.11 Legal nOtice SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF OTSEGO INDEX NO. EF2018-507 Mortgaged Premises:
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1590 COUNTY HIGHWAY 4 A/K/ A 1590 COUNTY HIGHWAY 4 GILBERTSVILLE A/K/A BUTTERNUTS, NY 13776 Section: 283.00 Block: 1 Lot: 13.02 F/K/A Part of Lot 13 DITECH FINANCIAL LLC, Plaintiff, Plaintiff designates OTSEGO as the place of trial situs of the real property vs. DANIEL MILLS, SR., AS HEIR AND DISTRIBUTEE OF THE ESTATE OF MARLENE GAIL WARD; BARBARA PALMER, AS HEIR AND DISTRIBUTEE OF THE ESTATE OF MARLENE GAIL WARD; STEPHANIE MYLES, AS HEIR AND DISTRIBUTEE OF THE ESTATE OF MARLENE GAIL WARD; if living, and if she be dead, 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 MARLENE GAIL WARD; 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
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assigns, all of whom and whose names, except as stated, are unknown to plaintiff; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE; NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION AND FINANCE; THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON FKA THE BANK OF NEW YORK AS TRUSTEE FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE CERTIFICATE HOLDERS OF THE CWHEQ INC., HOME EQUITY LOAN ASSET-BACKED CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2006-S4,
YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME
ing, LLC, Attn: Michael O’Reilly, 1103 County Road 19, Norwich, NY 13815. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose. Date of dissolution: None. 6LegalApr.4
6LegalMar.21
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SKY VIEW ACRE FARMS LLC.
Notice of Formation of a NY Limited Liability Company
Articles of Organization filing date with Secretary of State (SSNY) was 5 February 2019. Office location: Otsego County. SSNY has been designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and SSNY shall mail copy of process to PO Box 95, Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417. Purpose is to engage in any and all business activities permitted under NYS laws. 6LegalMar.14
“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 abovenamed 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 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 $64,000.00 and interest, recorded on September 2, 2005, at Liber 1458 Page 300, of the Public Records of OTSEGO County, New York, covering premises known as 1590 COUNTY HIGHWAY 4 A/K/A 1590 COUNTY HIGHWAY 4 GILBERTSVILLE A/K/A BUTTERNUTS, NY 13776. 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. NOTICE
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 (MORTGAGE COMPANY) AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT. RAS BORISKIN, LLC Attorney for Plaintiff BY: DYZIO J. GUZIEROWICZ, ESQ. 900 Merchants Concourse, Suite 310 Westbury, NY 11590 516-280-7675 4LegalMar.21 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation Limited Liability Company (LLC) The name of the LLC is Sal’s Pizza of Cooperstown LLC. Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York on February 14, 2019. The purpose for which the LLC has been formed is to engage in any lawful act or activity. The County within the State of New York in which the principal office of the LLC is to be located is Otsego. The Secretary of State is designated as agent of the LLC upon whom service of process against the LLC may be served. The Secretary of State shall mail a copy of any process to the LLC, 704 Sachem Circle, Slingerlands, NY 12159. 6LegalApr.4 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of a Limited Liability Company (LLC) 24 34 Property Holding, LLC, Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 1/16/19. Office Location: Chenango County. SSNY designated LLC agent upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to: 24 34 Property Hold-
GOLDEN GRIFFINS LLC. Articles of Organization filing date with Secretary of State (SSNY) was 11 February 2019. Office location: Otsego County. SSNY has been designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and SSNY shall mail copy of process to 80 Susquehanna Ave, Cooperstown, NY 13326. Purpose is to engage in any and all business activities permitted under NYS laws. 6LegalMar.28 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of 127 State Highway 165, LLC Articles of Org. Filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 2/13/19. Office in Otsego Co. SSNY designated Agent of LLC upon Whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to Emily Cooperstein, 1270 County Highway 33, Cooperstown,NY 13326 Purpose: Any lawful purpose 6LegalMar.28 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of Limited Liability Company (LLC) Name: Leatherstocking Consulting LLC. Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on February 5, 2019. Office location: Otsego County. The SSNY has been designated as the agent of the LLC upon whom processes against the LLC may be served. The SSNY shall mail a copy of the process to the LLC, 328 Stone House Road Fly Creek, NY 13337. Purpose: For any lawful purpose. 6LegalMar.28 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of RFP Management LLC Art. Of Org. filed with the Sec’y. of State of N.Y. (SSNY) on 11/13/2018. Office location: Otsego County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 6 Orchard Street, Oneonta, New York 13820. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
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Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of a NY Limited Liability Company
Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of a NY Limited Liability Company CKB3 LLC. Articles of Organization filing date with Secretary of State (SSNY) was 31 January 2019. Office location: Otsego County. SSNY has been designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and SSNY shall mail copy of process to 970 Wiley Town Rd, Fly Creek, NY 13337. Purpose is to engage in any and all business activities permitted under NYS laws. 6LegalMar.14 Legal nOtice NOTICE OF FORMATION of Limited Liability Company (“LLC”) Name: P3 Consulting East LLC Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York (“SSNY”) on 01/16/2019. Office Location: Otsego County. The “SSNY” is designated as agent of the “LLC” upon whom process against it may be served. ‘SSNY” shall mail a copy Continued Pg. 5 From Pg. 4 of any process to the LLC at: 297 Winney Hill Road, Oneonta, NY 13820. Purpose: To engage in any lawful act or activity. 6LegalMar.14 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of a NY Limited Liability Company Name: 47 MACDOUGAL STREET LLC. Articles of Organization filing date with Secretary of State (SSNY) was 31 January 2019. Office location: Otsego County. SSNY has been designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and SSNY shall mail copy of
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process to PO Box 125, Cherry Valley, NY 12320. Purpose is to engage in any and all business activities permitted under NYS laws. 6LegalMar.14 Legal nOtice Notice of formation of Hasbrouck Olson Adventures, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 2/1/2019. Office: Otsego County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 871 County Highway 26. Fly Creek, NY 13337. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. 6LegalMar.14 Legal nOtice Notice of formation of Limited Liability Company, (LLC) Name: Cooperstown Sports Bar & Grill LLC Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 01/28/19. 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: 4874 State Highway 28, Cooperstown, NY 13326 Purpose: Any lawful purpose. 6LegalMar.14 Legal nOtice NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY Notice of Formation of Glimmer glen Farm LLC. Arts of Org. filed with the Secretary of State on 12/13/18. Principal Business and Office Location: 463 Johnstons Road, Cooperstown, NY 13326. The Secretary of State is designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The Secretary of State shall mail process to 558 Greenough Road, Cooperstown, NY 13326. Purpose: any lawful activity. 6LegalMar.7 Legal nOtice NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY Name: Evan Kirby, LLC Filed: 11/6/2018 Office: Otsego Co. SSNY designated as agent for process & shall mail to: 175 Pony Farm Road Oneonta, NY 13820 Purpose: to engage in any and all business activities permitted under NYS laws 6LegalMar.7
FRIDAY, March 8, 2019
B-5 HOMETOWN ONEONTA
IN MEMORIAM Jane Higgins-Main, 60; Artist, Proprietor Of Gilbertsville Gallery
GILBERTSVILLE – Jane Evelynne Higgins-Main, 60, an artist who ran the Hilton Bloom Art Studio here for 15 years, passed away on Friday, March 1, 2019, in the comfort of her home. Jane was born in Sidney on Feb. 20, 1959, the daughter of Edward A. and J. Louise (Williams) Higgins. A 1976 graduate of Sidney High School, Jane went on to study fine arts at SUNY Oneonta and
the University of Siena, Italy, graduating with a BA in 1980. In 1981, Jane relocated to Southern California, where she pursued a career in graphics and typesetting. In 1994, Jane returned to New York State and in 1995, she settled in Gilbertsville. She opened an art gallery, the Hilton Bloom Art Studio, in her converted carriage barn in 1998. The gallery was open every summer until 2010,
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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
featuring changing exhibits Jane had of local artists. many interA professional artist, Jane ests, which had been working excluincluded sively in the medium of literature, collage since 1993 and had history, exhibited extensively in the mythology region, including four solo and playing Jane exhibits in regional galleries the piano. Higgins-Main and two solo exhibits in Jane would New York City. Her awardlike to be remembered for winning work was widely her warmth, humor and collected throughout the generous spirit. country. A lifelong Episcopalian, Jane married Timothy she attended Zion Episcopal Mark Main in Bainbridge on Church in Morris. May 4, 2013. Jane was a member
of GAGA, Gilbertsville Arts Gilbertsville Artists; the Village Improvement Society of Gilbertsville; and the Tianderah Chapter, NSDAR. Jane was predeceased by her first husband, Al Caranci; her sister, Joan Louise Higgins in 2006; and her brother, Earl Arthur Higgins in 2016. Jane is survived by her husband, Timothy Main, who loved her dearly from the day they met and remained at her side until
the Lord called her home. She is also survived by a stepson, Max Main of Union Springs; a stepson, David P. Caranci and his wife, Dayna of Yorba Linda, Calif., and their children, Joshua and Jacob Caranci, also of Yorba Linda. There will be no services at this time. Burial will be in the Evergreen Hill Cemetery in Unadilla. Arrangements are entrusted to the C.H. Landers Funeral Chapel.
Dawn Adams Benjamin, 92; Worked At Huntington Library ONEONTA – Dawn Adams Benjamin, 92, a former clerk at the Huntington Library who raised eight children outside Oneonta, died peacefully on Feb. 26, 2019 at Fox Nursing Home in Oneonta. A number of weeks before, Dawn fell and broke her hip at her residence at St. James Manor, where she had lived for five years. Prior to that, Dawn lived in Otego for eight years, but she lived the bulk of her life in the big country house outside Oneonta where she and her beloved husband raised their children from the mid-1950s on. Dawn Adams Benjamin was born on Jan. 10, 1927, in Binghamton, to Isabelle Adams Russell and Hanford Russell. She graduated from high school in Binghamton, after which, at age 19, Dawn Adams Russell married Richard Leroy Benjamin on Nov. 1, 1946. Over the next 17 years she gave birth to eight children, whom she and Dick did a remarkable job of raising into caring, responsible, interesting individuals. Dawn worked for many years as a clerk at Huntington Memorial Library in Oneonta. But
her most important role in life was caring for her family and her husband. Her wonderful caregiving was infused with her personal passions which included reading, walking, and gardening. When she got “a minute alone” she loved to go to her bedroom alone and read a good book. Dawn is survived by six children: Gail Pearce of Sachse, Texas; Richard Benjamin and his wife Barbara of Portlandville; Kay Benjamin and her partner Jean Blackburn of
Norwich; Bruce Benjamin and his wife Alice of West Davenport; Carol Wood and her husband Robert of Oneonta; David Benjamin and his partner Cathy Runkle of Santa Barbara, Calif; daughter-in-law Margaret Benjamin of Laurens; and son-in-law Leon Beach of Oneonta. She is also survived by her sister and brother, Valery Hardy and Dale Russell, both of Binghamton, and by ten grandchildren, fourteen great grandchildren, three nieces and nephews.
Dawn was predeceased by her husband Richard, her parents Isabelle and Hanford Russell, her daughter Janet Beach, and her son Eric Benjamin. There will be a memorial luncheon 12:30 p.m. Thursday, March at 9 St. James Place, just outside Oneonta. Feel free to join the family and Dawn’s friends at the Manor for a time to remember her and look at photos from her life. Arrangements are entrusted to the Bookhout Funeral Home.
LENT for Real Life VI Wholeness Spiritual, Mental & Physical
Monday, 18 March 2019—lenten Weekday 9:00 am Eucharist (The Church Proper) 10:00 am spiritual Wholeness: Even if you are a wimp or a couch potato Sr. Kitty Hanley, CSJ 7:00 pm A repeat presentation of the morning session.
Tuesday, 19 March 2019—solemnity of saint Joseph 9:00 am Eucharist (The Church Proper) 10:00 am Mental Wholeness: Mental Health, Faith and Self-Care Grace Fay 7:00 pm A repeat presentation of the morning session.
Wednesday, 20 March 2019—lenten Weekday 9:00 am Eucharist (The Church Proper) 10:00 am Physical Wholeness: “et incarnates est...” Rev. David Wm. Mickiewicz 7:00 pm A repeat presentation of the morning session. • Bring a friend! • ALL presentations will be in the Parish Center. • Off-street parking is available in the lot at the back of the church off Elm St. • Handicapped accessibility to the Parish Center for drop-off and pick-up ONLY is available at the back entrance to the Food Pantry. Parking IS NOT PERMITTED in the Parish Center/Food Pantry driveway at any time.
Thursday, 21 March 2019—lenten Weekday
Wings & Wisdom: For College Students & Young Adults Join us at Stella Luna’s Restaurant, 58-60 Market Street, Oneonta for a presentation by Dr. Hilary Chester, Associate Director of Anti-Trafficking Services, The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Pizza, wings and soda provided.
st. Mary’s Catholic Church
Corner of Walnut and elm street, oneonta www.stMarysoneonta.org • 607-432-3920
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B-6 HOMETOWN ONEONTA
HOMETOWN People
OHS Junior Mahala Johnson Selected For ‘Students Inside Albany’ Program ONEONTA
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FRIDAY, March 8, 2019
M
ahala Johnson, an 11th grader from Oneonta High School, has been chosen to attend this year’s Students Inside Albany program, sponsored by the League of Women Voters (LWV) of the Oneonta Area. This 19th annual Students Inside Albany program will take place from May 19-22, and will bring 60 students from across the state to Albany to get a first-hand education about their state government. A program of the LWV of New York State Education Foundation, Inc., it is designed to increase high school students’ awareness of their responsibility in
Ymca Offers ‘Pawsitive Pawsibilities,’ In Partnership With Susquehanna SPCA
representative government and provide information about the tools necessary for meeting that responsibility. Students will participate in a series of interactive lectures on topics such as the state budget process, the role of lobbyists in the legislative process, citizen rights to access government information, the role of media in politics, and the move to reform state government. While in Albany, the students will have an opportunity to tour the state’s Capitol. The highlight for most students is the opportunity to shadow their Senator and their Assembly member for an afternoon, attending sessions on the Chamber floors. Jennifer Hill/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
Dallas, a 4-year-old Lab mix, offers his paw after Katrina Crandell, a Susquehanna SPCA volunteer, and two year-old Hayden Marie Wright tell him to shake, with Hayden ready to give him a treat. Dallas and J.R., a two year-old Jack Russell terrier mix, pictured in back with SPCA volunteer Adam Ilgrin, were at the YMCA as part of the SSPCA’s “Pawsitive Possibilities” adoption event on Saturday, March 2. The events will be held every Saturday, with a companion event on Sundays at Brandow’s Feed and Seed.
TWO GRADUATE: Bonnie Johnson and David Sander, both of Oneonta, graduated from the New York Institute of Technology at the end of the Fall 2018 semester, where they both received an Advanced Certificate in School District Leadership and Technology. MACKEY LAUDED: Teagan Mackey, West Oneonta, a member of the Colgate University Class of 2022, has earned the fall 2018 Dean’s Award with Distinction. Her major is currently undeclared.
Timothy McGraw
BOTH ON LIST: Miranda Vogel, Oneonta and Thomas Odell, Maryland, were named to the College of Saint Rose Dean’s List for the Fall 2018 semester.
Kim’s
Kut & Style NeWNEW LoCatioN, YOU... NewNEW You,STYLE! New Style Perms Wash, Cut & Style
6208 State Highway 28 • 547-7126 (On the Corner in Fly Creek)
607-432-2022
22-26 Watkins Avenue, Oneonta Monday through Friday 8 am - 4:30 pm
Catholic Charities’ Dispute Resolution Center offers Divorce Mediation services on a sliding fee scale based on the income of the couple. For more information please call Lois at (607) 432-0061 ··
SLEEP SHOP
Keep your tax return paying you back with a new mattress!
Tell us you are using your return for your new mattress and get
10% OFF!or399more $
Many styles in stock for fast delivery or pick up!
Free Delivery & set up!
never any pushy salespeople! 4316 County Hwy 11 Cooperstown 607-547-6038 krazytoms.com sales@krazytoms.com SinCe 1962
Open weekdays: 9 am to 5:30 pm Thursday: 9 am to 7 pm Saturday: 9 am to 4 pm Closed Sunday