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OZART MEETS

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HOMETOWN ONEONTA !

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F Volume 7, No. 28

City of The Hills

& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch Complimentary

Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, April 3, 2015

Common Core Controversies Pushed Aside To Pass Budget SED, Regents Will Issue Teacher Evaluation Protocols June 30 By JIM KEVLIN

T

he thorniest of Governor Cuomo’s proposed Common Core reforms – linking teachers’ professional survival to test results – were set aside Tuesday, March 31, in the state Legislature’s furious negotiations to complete an on-time budget by midnight for the fifth year in a row. “Rather than have some of these issues deterIan Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA

Oneonta Town Supervisor Bob Wood, standing at left, was among the crowd at a solarenergy presentation Tuesday, March 31, at Ommegang, where company executive Larry Bennett announced the brewery will be 100percent solar powered by the end of the year.

mined in the heat of budget deliberations, it’s better to take the time to get them right,” said state Sen. Jim Seward, R-Milford, soon after exiting a key negotiating session. Still, a fairly firm road map was set in place: By June 30, the legislature gave the state Education Department and Board of Regents “broad directions” to issue regulations on reforming APPRs – annual professional performance reviews – that have been the focus of angry meetings in Cooperstown and demonstrations in Oneonta.

Jim Kevlin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA

Protesters, mostly teachers, rally against Governor Cuomo’s Common Core reforms at Center Street School.

Since the governor appoints the state education commissioner – the post is vacant since John Please See REFORMS, A6

Millions Cement OJC Renovations Help Assure Program’s Future In Oneonta

IN A FEW MINUTES, ALL WAS GONE

Citizen Voices Hosts Mathes Status Report

By LIBBY CUDMORE

S

A

andy Mathes, the county’s “single point of contact” on economic development, was scheduled to address Citizen Voices’ quarterly general meeting on the status of a three-year Mathes effort to jumpstart the local economy. His topic, “The Good, The Bad & The Ugly,” a look at opportunities and obstacles. See report on

fter 80 years, the former Homer Folks TB Hospital – now Oneonta Job Corps – is getting a serious upgrade. “We have all the original pipes,” said Chris Kuhn, center director. “And that’s the problem!” The multi-million dollar renovation was awarded by the National Job Corps office, an arm of the U.S. Department of Labor, to upgrade infrastructure in the historic building, including improvements to ventilation, electric, plumbing and fire alarms. “What it says to me Please See CORPS, A6

AllOTSEGO.com

Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA

Filmmaker Determined To Document His Hero

With Outpouring Of Support, Orpheus Puts ‘Community’ In Community Stage

Filmmaker Stillman and Ramsay Clark.

www.

GETTING HELP: The Arc Otsego’s free Front Door information session on receiving services from the state Office for People with Developmental Disabilities is 4-6 p.m. Thursday, April 14, 35 Academy St. To preregister, call Sara Hanlon at 433-8417. SIGN OF SPRING: City Hall will accept applications for the Community Gardens plots in Swart-Wilcox Park from city residents only beginning Friday, April 3. Applications available from city clerk or at www.oneonta. ny.us The fee is $25. Questions, call 432-6450.

Matt Jahnke reflects on the damage to the livingroom of his family’s Milford home, which an electrical fire destroyed in a smoky blaze Thursday, March 12. Below, Matt and Jenny and son Noah, 5, have been buoyed by an outpouring of support.

ford home to a smoky all-consuming blaze Thursday, March 12. Though no one was hurt, the family dog and two cats perished, which was believed to be caused by an electrical malfunction. Surveying the wreckage, the Jahnkes found Jenny’s grandmother’s hope chest, containing her pearl earrings, necklace and Please See SUPPORT, A7

By LIBBY CUDMORE

F

or Matt Jahnke, Orpheus isn’t just community theater – it IS community. “The support of this community has been unreal,” he said. “The emptiness of our house burning was filled by the community within minutes.” The Jahnke family lost their Mil-

By LIBBY CUDMORE

D

riving back to New York City after a screening of his film “From Mills River to Babylon and Back: The Jimmy Massey Story,” Oneonta filmmaker Joe Stillman and former Attorney General Ramsey Please See FILM, A6

HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST CIRCULATION NEWSPAPER 2010 WINNER OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD

June 12-14, 2015 AT HuntEr Mountain

EntEr to win!

Grand Prize:The Ultimate VIP Package 2 VIP tickets to the Taste of Country Music Festival at Hunter Mountain

Includes VIP camping, parking, indoor bathrooms and much more! Get up close to the main stage in the Outlaw viewing area. Other great prizes include: Bud Light Cooler, Taylor’s Gift Certificates and more! Like us to automatically enter: facebook.com/ TaylorsMiniMartCooperstown Visit any Taylors location for details! 607-547-9944 Toby Keith

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30-pack

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