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THE THAW COLLECTION
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FENIMORE MUSEUM TO CELEBRATE BREAKTHROUGH: B1
HOMETOWN ONEONTA
& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch
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F Volume 7, No. 27
Complimentary
Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, March 27, 2015
City of The Hills At NYSHA Library, Wayne Wright
Learning family history from parents and grandparents lead Wayne Wright to satisfying career.
Was Part Historian, Part Detective 37 Years Delving Into Mysteries, Manuscripts Leads To Retirement By LIBBY CUDMORE
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rowing up, Wayne Wright learned the history of Oneonta from his parents and grandparents. “They always talked about our
Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
City Historian Mark Simonson, right, and retired SUNY Oneonta President Alan Donovan share memories of “Lost Oneonta,” landmark buildings, many lost to Urban Renewal, during a program Saturday, March 21, at the History Center.
family history,” he said. “My grandparents came here to work on the D&H and the Ulster-Delaware Railroads. I feel like I know people from the 1920s better than I know people now.” And for 37 years, as the head librarian Please See WRIGHT, A6
With Wi-Fi, Downtown Might Link Into World City Hall Explores Providing Service
County Dems Plan To Back Herzig, More
By LIBBY CUDMORE
WEST ONEONTA
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ounty Democratic Chairman Richard Abbate planned to convene his committee at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 25, in Oneonta Town Hall to support Gary Herzig for city mayor, and Town Board member Andrew Stammel for a seat on the county Board of Representatives. Abbate also plans an endorsement of City Judge Lucy Bernier for a second term/DETAILS, A3 READ HONORED: SUNY Oneonta planned to rename its Science Discovery Center Wednesday, March 25, in honor of Albert J. Read, professor emeritus of physics, whose charitable gifts have benefitted the center. FIGHTING CUOMO: Oneonta Area for Public Education is planning a rally to raise concern about Governor Cuomo’s proposed Common Core reforms 4:30-5 p.m. Thursday, March 26, at the Center Street School building. IN MEMORIAM: Logan Piefer, 11, a beneficiary of the 2014 Goodyear Lake Polar Bear Jump, has passed away. He was suggering from Hunter Syndrome/DETAILS, B6
Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
The “Unsung Heroes” are being painted, but their identities are secret for now.
UNSUNG HEROES
Who is that masked man? Chris Guarino, Alyssa LaForga, artist Janet Wentworth Erickson, Lindsey Johnson and Caroline Stoerger pose with two of the 10 portraits, but strategically, so the subjects identities can’t be determinied.
Malone Proposes $100 Fee To Stem Student Mischief Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
Paintings Underway, But Identities Secret For Now By LIBBY CUDMORE
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collar and leash. A barometer. A Congressional Medal of Honor. These are the iconographic pieces that make up the lives – and portraits – in artist Janet
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magine: If warm, sunny days ever arrive again, taking your laptop into Neahwa Park, sitting under a tree or on a bench by Hodge’s Pond – and getting to work. It’s a discussion the City of Oneonta has Murphy begun having – whether or not to have a free, city-wide Wi-FI connection. “This is a conversation we should definitely move forward with,” said Council member Maureen Hennessey, First Ward. “We’re behind the curve.” “We’ve been talking about it since Kim Muller was mayor,” said Bob Brzozowski, Seventh Ward. “It’s worth Please See WI-FI, A6
Wentworth Erickson’s “Community Heroes in Living Portraiture” series, 10 portraits of “unsung heroes” in the City of Oneonta, and Otsego and Delaware counties. The paintings are now being done in Erickson’s Delhi studio. But, until they are unveiled next August, she’s keeping the heroes’
identities secret. “I was working on a portrait two years ago and incorporating icons of a person’s life as part of it,” she said. “It was really the seeds of this project.” She applied for a Creative Activity Grant from SUNY Oneonta, Please See UNSUNG, A6
By LIBBY CUDMORE
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100 may not be much when it’s factored into a college tuition, but to Larry Malone, it’s a lifeline – to students involve in risky behavior and host communities that try to control it. “If all 75,000 students at Hartwick and SUNY paid a $100 public safety fee, that’s three quarters of a million dollars into the city’s budget,” said Please See FEE, A7
HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST CIRCULATION NEWSPAPER 2010 WINNER OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD