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HOMETOWN E!
E FR Volume 11, No. 39
ONEONTA
& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch
Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, July 5, 2019
Visit www.
AllOTSEGO.com
ONEONTA’S MAYOR, BASEBALL OWNER TURNS 100
City of The Hills
Sam Nader’s Century By JIM KEVLIN ONEONTA
Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
Jennifer Grigoli, owner of Sal’s Pizzeria, was presented a Key to the City by Common Council for her willingness to employ people in recovery at her restaurant, as documented in “A Slice of Hope.”
Council Honors Sal’s Pizzeria’s Aid To Addicts ONEONTA
J
ennifer Grigoli, owner of Sal’s Pizzaria, was honored with a Key to the City for employing people in recovery at her restaurant. Following a screening of the award-winning documentary “A Slice of Hope,” at Common Council, Mayor Gary Herzig presented her with the key. “Jennifer set an example to other businesses in Oneonta and made Oneonta an example for other cities,” he said.
ON
AllOTSEGO.com
►THREE MEN WERE INDICTED in Otsego County Court on charges that they kidnapped and forced a woman to withdraw $300 from an ATM in May. Frankie Liberata-Garcie, 24, Erick Tavares, 33 and James Semidey, 26, all of the Bronx, face felony charges for robbery and kidnapping. ► FOX HOSPITAL FOUNDATION’s 20th Annual Golf Classic at the Oneonta Country Club on June 24 raised more than $50,000 toward a new ultrasound machine in the Department of Surgical Services. ► BIRDIE THE CAT was rescued June 13 by the county’s new animal cruelty task force, PETS (Prevention, Education, Training and Systems) after being found with a wire stuck through her eye. She is now avaliable for adoption.
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am Nader’s life is one great story after another. Here’s a favorite one, about playing golf at the Oneonta Country Club with Hall of Famers Bobby Doerr and the legendary Ted Williams, and the club champion at the time. Sam played one of the best 18 holes of his life. “Bobby had a 76 – 3 under par,” Nader, who will turn 100 on July 8, recalled the other day. “I was 4 over par. We took them for 10 bucks.” Ted Williams was so incensed, he broke five clubs – a golf club set – over his knee.
(The Red Sox legend was working for Shakespeare, the quality golf-club maker, so he made good.) With a laugh, Sam continued: Every time he would see Bobby Doerr at a Hall of Fame event in Cooperstown, the former Oneonta mayor and owner of the Oneonta Yankees would say, “Let’s go up to see Ted and see if he remembers.” • Sitting in the living room at 95 River St., the ranch house where he’s lived for many, many decades and where he and wife Alice raised their three children – SUNY Farmingdale president and former mayor John, and daughters Suzanne Longo of Pennsylvania and Jim Kevlin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA Alice O’Connor of Georgia – he spun George Steinbrenner, on leaving baseball, wrote Sam off yarn after yarn. Nader, “They say, ‘All good things must come to an Please See NADER, A14 end.’ That will never apply to our friendship, I pray.”
CITY SUPERINTENDENT YELICH BIDS FAREWELL “Today, you and I need to figure out what to do next,” Supt. of Schools Joe Yelich told the Class of 2019 at OHS’ graduation ceremonies Saturday, June 29, in Belden Auditorium, He retired effective July 1/ MORE ON A9-A13.
‘Green Light’ Bill Is Facing Clerks’ Anger By JIM KEVLIN COOPERSTOWN
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Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
ONEONTA DRI’S FIRST BIG PROJECT
66 Apartments In 4 Stories By JENNIFER HILL & JIM KEVLIN ONEONTA
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y next summer, Oneonta could see the first major fruits of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative as a 66-unit, four-story Artspace-like complex breaks ground on Dietz Street.
“I’m very excited about this,” Mayor Gary Herzig said of what’s being called the Lofts On Dietz. “If all goes as planned, it could start transforming downtown Oneonta.” Meeting Tuesday, July 2, Common Council voted to make Parkview Development & Construction, Inc. the “preferred developer” of the mixed-used building – 40 artists’ lofts Please See LOFTS, A7
y press time, no word had been received from President Trump’s regional representation on whether the Justice Department will go to court to stop New York State’s “Green Light” law from going into effect Dec. 14. The “Green Light” law would require the state’s county clerks who operate state Department of Motor Vehicle offices locally to issue driver’s licenses to what some people call undocumented residents and other call illegal aliens. Please See CLERKS, A3
Many Intrigued, But No One’s Snapped Up 3-Wheeler So Far By LIBBY CUDMORE MILFORD
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hen Shirley and Douglas Bennett got back to their car after shopping one afternoon, they saw a little boy and his father waiting for them in the parking lot.
“The father told me that his son didn’t want to leave until he saw us wind up the car!” said Shirley. Alas, the wind-up key on top of the Bennett’s threewheeled Snyder is just for show, but now, the “mouse car,” as locals know it, is for sale. “When my husband Please see NOVELTY, A7
HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST CIRCULATION NEWSPAPER 2010 WINNER OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD
What’s in Your Water?
Learn how to be part of the solution to a cleaner environment! Join us for an informative lecture with Dr. Diane Lewis, The Great Healthy Yard Project, on how to keep our drinking water safe while maintaining a healthy yard.
Wednesday, July 10 • Templeton Hall • Cooperstown • 10 am Free and Open to the Public
Sponsored by Lake and Valley Garden Club
For more info, go to www.lakeandvalleygc.org or call (201)410-2514