MAN O MAN FOSTER BROTHERS SEE NEW BUSINESS IN RETRO MEMORABILIA/B1
HOMETOWN ONEONTA
& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch
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Complimentary
Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, May 18, 2012
Volume 4, No. 35
City of The Hills
BALLOTS DEPLETED, VOTERS CONFUSED
Despite Huge Turnout, Center Street To Close Jim Kevlin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
COMMENCEMENT 2012
Worcester Firefighter Nathan Baker was among the underage volunteers who received toy hats from older grads at Firefighter 1 Graduation 2012 Saturday, May 12, at The Depot, but the fun was part of a more serious mission. (See B7)
As IBM Grew, So Did Perna
Team Needs Host Homes For Players
Standout SUNY Grad Will Share Her Story
T
he Oneonta Outlaws are seeking host families for the 2012 Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League season, June 7 through early August. Host families receive season tickets, a stipend, invitations to the Meet and Greet party and Host Family Recognition Night, credit for food and souvenirs at the ball park, and free admission to all youth clinics and camps. Call Steve Pindar at 4326326 (office) or 437-8779 (cell) or e-mail stevepindar@oneontaoutlaws.com PARKING HIKE: City Hall announced parking meters will now require 50 cents per hour, up from a quarter. OPEN AGAIN: After renovations, The Oneonta History Center reopened Saturday, May 12, and will be open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays only for the time being. DISCOUNT HALVED: Since May 13, Price Chopper will give shoppers a 10-cent discount on gasoline for every $100 in purchases, up from $50. HURRAY, BUSINESS: National Small Business Week is coming up May 20-26.
By LIBBY CUDMORE
I
f you’ve ever used an ATM, bought anything from amazon. com or gone to a new doctor and had him or her access your file from your old doctor, you can thank Janet Perna. Perna Perna, ‘70, commencement speaker at the 2012 SUNY Oneonta graduation Saturday, May 19, was part of the IBM team that created that DD2 mainframe, the most widely used database in the world. The SUNY Oneonta grad worked for IBM for 31 years, the last 10 as the general manager of Information Please See PERNA, A8
Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
“We’ve never had lines like this,” said School Superintendent Mike Shea, as he directs his uncle, Al Bowers, to the next available voting booth during the Tuesday, May 15, balloting.
1,901-726 Tally On Question Wasn’t Even Close District election officials trying to oversee balloting in the Foothills Performing Art Center’s Atrium. The polls were open from noon to 9 p.m., but the throng used up the ballots by 3. “We ordered 2,000 ballots,” said District Clerk Eileen Lishansky. “But we ran out of those a few hours ago. We’ve been on paper ballots ever since.” Even at 8 p.m., one hour before the polls closed, the Please See SCHOOLS, A8
By LIBBY CUDMORE
D
espite the Save Our Schools campaign and with record voter turnout, Proposition 1, which would have added a 5.51 percent tax increase to help close the $1 million budget gap, was defeated 1,901 to 726, dooming historic Center Street School. The turnout overwhelmed the Oneonta City School
Gibson Champions Rural Broad-Band
Citizens Voices Takes Credit For Bottling Up Home Rule By LIBBY CUDMORE
Congressman Aims To Serve All Otsego By JIM KEVLIN COOPERSTOWN
W
hen Republican Chris Gibson first ran for Congress in 2010, he won Tea Party backing, which to some
might connote a tendency toward rigidity. It didn’t turn out that way. Having to deal with all types of people in a 24-year Army career taught him to “treat everybody with dignity and respect,” he said. “I never HOMETOWN ONEONTA make it personal.” Congressman Gibson Please See GIBSON, A9 in Otsego County.
T
he pro-business Citizens Voices met Tuesday, May 15, to assess progress made in its five-month existence, and acknowledged some satisfaction. “Pat yourself on the back,” Bob Harlem Jr., Oneonta Block president
and Citizens Voices cochair, instructed the 50 attendees at the Carriage House. “Home Rule legislation is bottled up in committee – you had a hand in this.” The state’s Home Rule doctrine – where any powers not claimed by the state devolve to the towns – has been the basis for bans on Please See CITIZENS, A2
HOMETOWN ONEONTA, THE LARGEST CIRCULATION NEWSPAPER IN OTSEGO COUNTY, 2010 WINNER OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD O v e r
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