d woo Hard ate n Lami et r a C p e · L tiL Viny
HONORS BEST
E N W TOORING FLO
OF THE BEST/B1
nties… ri-Cou T e h t in ooring ne! on of fl o go to Tow i t c e l e s t t d s e e e Plaza eb a t You n n For th o e
On nta •2-6000 o e n • O 607-43 Rt. 7
►GENE BETTIOL, SR. and NBT BANK
HOMETOWN ONEONTA
& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, April 27, 2018 Visit www.AllOTSEGO.com E!
E FR
Volume 10, No. 29
FORMER CEO SERVES IN INTERIM
City of The Hills
Streck Returns By JIM KEVLIN COOPERSTOWN
F
our years ago, when Bill Streck retired after 30 years as Bassett Healthcare CEO, he could paint something of a predictable picture for his successor. Parker Fish/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
With sunshine and smiles, Zaine Massie, 4, Oneonta, rides down an inflatable slide at OH-Fest XIII on Main Street in Oneonta on Saturday, April 21.
Bring Donations Win Prize From Eastern Travel
O
neonta Bus Lines has teamed up with the animal advocacy organization Super Heroes in Ripped Jeans to raise money and supplies for animals and their caretakers. Bedding, dry cat food, litter, cat and dog toys are the most needed items, and donors will be able to select an Oneonta Bus Lines gift certificate at random, ranging in denominations from $5-$20, with eligibility to win a $100 gift certificate. Items from this list can be dropped off weekdays from 8 a.m.- 5 p.m. at the OBL/ ET offices at 41 Orchard Street, Oneonta. ARBOR DAY: Riverside Elementary students will help city officials plant a birch tree at 10 a.m. on the grounds of the Swart-Wilcox house as part of the city’s annual Arbor Day celebration on Friday, April 27. HARTWICK GRANT: Alumni Tim Herbert and Sally Griffiths Herbert, Class of ‘88, pledged $1.25 million to support a new Center for Collaboration & Innovation at Hartwick College, to be known as the Griffiths Center for Collaboration & Innovation. FLYNN IN TOWN: Congressional candidate Bryan Flynn will host an interactive Medicare for All panel at Oneonta’s Town Hall at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 30.
County Rep Forgot Oath, Others Must Affirm Him
But then he forgot to sign the required oath of office form, With President Obama’s Affordable n Jan. 3, potentially putting his Care Act (ACA) in place, incoming Vance county Rep. board seat in jeopardy. Brown might have expected more patients Dan Wilber, If Wilber’s seat would be covered, prevention would be R-Burlington, raised were in play, Demoemphasized, and hospitals would be reimhis right hand and crats conceivably bursed based on results. recited the oath of Dan Wilber could take control of Since President Trump took office, office, which was the Republican-con“there’s a visceral anti-Obamacare feeling supposed to make his trolled board under some Please See STRECK, A8 election official. Please See WILBER, A8 By PARKER FISH
O
AFTER 45 YEARS, CHUCK SCHNEIDER RETIRES Patent May Accelerate FormTech THE INAL YMPHONY
Oberacker Company Explores High-Protein Feed For Piglets, More
F S
By JIM KEVLIN SCHENEVUS
I
n a decade of providing R&D and the like, FormTech Solutions has helped the food sector adapt to Americans’ growing interest in natural SCHENEVUS RISING/PART II foods. “We help clients’ products look good, taste good, be good for you” and to do so economically, said Peter Oberacker, known around here as the county representative from Decatur, Maryland, Westford and Worcester. But he is also FormTech CEO, and between county board meetings in Cooperstown, he jets off to serve customers from East Coast to West. Please See SCHENEVUS, A9
Ian Austin/The Freeman’s Journal
Retiring as CCS conductor, Chuck Schneider plans to write a symphony of his own.
CSO’s Longtime Conductor Glimmerglass Pioneer, Too
One Candidate Takes On All At SUNY-O Debate
By LIBBY CUDMORE ONEONTA
I
By PARKER FISH ONEONTA
F
ormer CIA agent and Woodstock teacher Jeff Beals came out swinging at the six other Democrats seeking to run against U.S. Rep. John Faso, R-19th, who debated Sunday, April 22, at SUNY Oneonta. The Democratic candidate in the 19th District will be chosen in a June 6 Please See FORUM, A7
Schneider holds an early portrait of himself by Lady Ostapeck.
n 1973, when Chuck Schneider arrived in Oneonta to conduct the Catskill Symphony Orchestra, he had a plan to make it a success. “I knew we had to build an audience, so I asked my friend Dustin Hoffman to come up and narrate ‘A Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra,’” he said. “The tickets were $5, and there were 600 of them. We sold 232. I knew we had our work cut out for us.” Now, 45 years later, without Hoffman the Catskill Symphony routinely packs the house for record-setting Please See SCHNEIDER, A7
FOND FAREWELL
IF YOU GO: Chuck Schneider’s final concert, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 28, SUNY Oneonta’s Hunt Union Ballroom.
HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST CIRCULATION NEWSPAPER 2010 WINNER OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD