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Oneonta, N.Y., Thursday, September 17, 2020
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SUNY Infections Ebb, Bringing Crisis To End By LIBBY CUDMORE & JIM KEVLIN ONEONTA
A
s this week began, only 158 SUNY Oneonta students and residence assistants
COMPLIMENTARY
were left on campus. In a normal year, that would have been over 3,000 of the 6,000+ enrollment. “At present, there are only three SUNY students in isolation on campus,” Diane Georgeson, Oneonta Public Health officer, told
Common Council during her report on Tuesday, Sept. 15. “There are 52 in isolation off campus.” The majority of the students staying on campus, Mayor Gary Herzig said, had applied to stay because they do not have “accept-
DAILY CAMPUS CASES PEAKED AT 120
Kathleen Peters/The Freeman’s Journal
able living conditions” at home. On Sunday, Sept. 13, the
campus reported no new cases of COVID-19. Please See COVID, B3
AFTER DECADE, MAYOR HERZIG TO ASK QUESTION AGAIN Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
Dan Levesque, owner of Dan Dan The Gutterman, hangs a new awning on the Alpine Building on Monday, Sept. 15, as part of the Downtown Revitalization Initative.
Is City Manager Needed?
Council Set To Mandate Facemasks
Pinnacle Of City Hall Organizational Chart Empty During Crisis
REMEMBERING AN UNFORGETTABLE DAY
By JIM KEVLIN
ONEONTA
O
neonta Common Council will vote on a mask ordinance for the City of Oneonta at the Tuesday, Oct. 6 meeting. The ordinance is modeled on Governor Cuomo’s executive order that masks be worn whenever social distancing cannot be maintained. “The only reason for enacting this here is that it puts teeth into our local ordinance,” said Mayor Gary Herzig. “This means we can issue tickets that could result in penalties.” The public comment period will be held 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 5.
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Jim Kevlin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
Father Mychal F. Judge, New York Fire Department chaplain, has a place of honor in the annual 9-11 memorial display in the window of Rudy’s Liquor Store, Main Street. Father Judge died shortly after arriving at the World Trade Center. Rudy’s proprietor Fred Lemister, himself an honored emergency responder, calls him “the first casualty of 9-11.” MORE ON 9-11, SEE A4
►HOMELESS MAN ARRESTED for stealing from Oneonta cars. ►Dr. BILL STRECK joins national consultancy. ►HARTWICK’S “CLEAN SWEEP”, marks 10th anniversary. ►LEGION LEGACY RUN adopts social distancing rules for annual ride. By LIBBY CUDMORE ►in cooperstown, police report multiple thefts from COOPERSTOWN unlocked cars. ►LONG ISLAND FAMILIES look heriff Richard J. to buy pricey homes near Canadarago Lake. Devlin Jr. wants to ►ADVISORY BOARD STARTS review assure the public that of Cooperstown police, per Gov- the law applies to everyone ernor Cuomo’s executive order. – even cops.
neonta’s third city manager, George Korthauer, retired from City Hall on Feb. 7. A month later, on March 13, Governor Cuomo’s Executive With George Order 202 went into Korthauer’s effect, declaring a February state of emergency in retirement, New York State in the City Hall has face of the COVID-19 combated pandemic threat. the In the past six months, pandemic Mayor Gary Herzig, threat withunder a City Charter that out a city gives him largely cermanager. emonial responsibilities, led the effort that kept in-community Please See CHARTER, B3 ►EDITORIAL: It’s time to take another look at City Hall’s management structure/SEE A4
Otsego Deputy On Leave After Gun Goes Off, Child Hurt
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“Police officers are not above the law,” he said. “They have a responsibility as well.” A yet-unDevlin named Otsego County Sheriff’s deputy
has been placed on administrative leave after state police reported a child and adult were injured when the gun he was carrying in his pocket accidentally discharged while he was dining Saturday, Sept. 12, at the Grape and Grog in Camden, Oneida County.
As of Tuesday, Sept. 15, Troop D, based in Oneida, was attempting to schedule an interview with the deputy, who has retained legal counsel. His name has not yet been released and charges have not yet been filed. “The sheriff’s depart-
ment has been cooperative throughout the whole investigation,” said Trooper Jack Keller, Troop D public relations officer. According to Keller, the deputy was seated at a table when he accidentally discharged one round from Please See GUN, B3
HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST CIRCULATION NEWSPAPER 2010 WINNER OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD
A-2 HOMETOWN ONEONTA
SUNY-O Parents Donate $4,300 To Otsego Chamber
THURSDAY, September 17, 2020
HOMETOWN People
Three Alumni Named To Hartwick College Board of Trustees
ONEONTA
A
nnie Chorbajian ’86, Raymond “Larry” Miller ’73, and Georgette “Gigi” Smith ’85, P’18, Ph.D., were named to the Hartwick College Board of Trustees, effective July 1, 2020. “Hartwick is fortunate to have a Board of Trustees that cares deeply about the success of our students
and the college’s future role in American higher education,” said Drugovich. “As such, we carefully consider the selection of new trustees. I have no doubt that Dr. Smith, Ms. Chorbajian, and Mr. Miller will add valuable, experience-based perspective and a passion for Hartwick that will enrich and inform our Board discussions. Chorbajian graduated
from Hartwick College in 1986 with a degree in management and a minor in economics. She is currently with TD Securities in New York City. Miller graduated from Hartwick in 1973 with a bachelor of arts degree in chemistry. In 1980, he joined Northern Composites, a composite, metal bonding and tooling firm serving companies from aerospace
equipment to hockey sticks, based in Hampton, NH. and rose through the ranks to become CEO. Smith received her bachelor of science degree in nursing from Hartwick in 1985, She joined the College of Nursing in 2004 as faculty and she serves the university as the associate provost for education innovation & student life.
Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
Barbara Ann Heegan, president, Otsego County Chamber of Commerce, center, poses with Gabbie Brink, left, and Pattie CordaroPeltz, right, collaborators on the SUNY Oneonta Parent-To-Parent Facebook page, who presented a check for $4,300 to the chamber in Muller Plaza on Monday, Sept. 14. The group also delivered personalized cookies to local businesses that were held in high regard by the college students. “We read the comments and we thought ‘We have to fix this,’” said Brink. “On behalf of the kids and the parents we thank the community who supports our kids and we want to help it come back safer and stronger.”
County Habitat For Humanity Seeking Families, Volunteers ONEONTA
H
abitat For Humanity Otsego County is seeking volunteers to help build two homes, and partner families to occupy future dwellings. Families will be assisted in completing the steps in purchasing a home, including the application for a lowinterest mortgage. They will also help build the home, alongside local volunteers, and take “home ownership education” training. Interested applicants should apply at habitatotsego@ gmail.com, by calling (607) 432-4874. Application
criteria includes a need for housing, willingness to partner, and income/credit guidelines. The deadline is Oct. 1. Habitat is also looking for volunteers for two houses being built at McFarland Road in Oneonta, every Thursday and Saturday, 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. No special skills are required, although there is a need for volunteers with backgrounds in building and carpentry. Additionally, there are openings for committee members and the Board of Directors. If interested, email habitatotsego@ gmail.com.
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A-4 HOMETOWN ONEONTA
HOMETOWN Views
THURSDAY, September 17, 2020
EDITORIAL
A DECADE IN, IT’S TIME TO REVISIT ONEONTA GOVERNMENT
Sterling Mayors’ Legacy Suggests: Are City Managers Needed
M
aybe it’s apocryphal, but the story’s told of a former mayor of Oneonta who, elected decades ago, discovered some department heads were taking hour-and-a-half lunches to work out at a local gym. The mayor gave everybody raises, at the same time advising the department heads: Game over, be back at your desks in an hour. That worked for six months, then the particular department heads starting slipping, the story goes, and soon things were back to how they’d been at the outset. • If true, that underscores the need for a boss, on site, every day at City Hall – and at every other business, for that matter. The buck needs to stop somewhere. That said, the City of Oneonta’s experience with the current city-
Freeman’s Journal
Heralded City of Oneonta mayors in the past 50 years have included, from left, Sam Nader, David Brenner, Kim Muller, Sam’s son John Nader, Dick Miller and the current mayor, Gary Herzig.
manager system of government – next year it will be in place a decade – just hasn’t worked out as hoped. So that Mayor Gary Herzig is again suggesting revisiting how City Hall governs itself – and it’s effectiveness in general – is worthwhile, and timely. The idea of an executive direc-
tor, implementing mayoral and Common Council policies, makes sense. Pairing that job with, for instance, finance director (or the most apt department head) makes further sense. As it happens, the third city manager in a decade, George Korthauer, retired last February, just a month before COVID-19
arrived, requiring extraordinary leadership, which Herzig provided – to no one’s surprise, really, given his almost four-year track record. It’s the Curse of Competence – a job expands to the talents of the person holding it. (Or shrinks.) Even a city charter like Oneonta’s, calling for a “weak mayor” form of government, can’t keep a good
LETTERS
We Shouldn’t Walk Away From Educational System To the Editor: The prosperity of Oneonta is inextricably intertwined with the success of its colleges. The fact that SUNY Oneonta’s reopening did not succeed as planned and hoped is a tragedy for our community in a year that challenges us all. The shutdown is devastating for our students who have looked forward to their college experience; heartbreaking for the 1,000 SUNY employees who have worked since March to keep our students safe and provide a semblance of a college experience; frighten-
ing for our local businessowners; disappointing for residents who appreciate the vitality students bring; and challenging to taxpayers whose governments have just lost a large source of non-local revenue. Some anxious residents have opined that with the sacrifices we have all made this year to keep the virus at bay, any increase in population density was unacceptable, be it from tourists, weekenders, or students. I have elderly and vulnerable friends and family locally and can understand and Please See STAMMEL, A6
W
ith Flags, We
person down. Meanwhile, the Village of Cooperstown also professionalized its government, creating a village administrator, but leaving the elected mayor and board of trustees assisted, but fully in charge. • Over the years, City Hall has been blessed with many such good persons. Or maybe it’s an Oneonta thing; the city is welcoming to newcomers and comfortable for natives. There never seems to be a shortage of qualified people, wanting to give back. It’s not just Herzig; there’s been a succession of capable mayors. The mourned Dick Miller, a former corporate executive and Hartwick College president; John Nader, now SUNY Farmingdale Please see EDITORIAL, A5
R
emember
Good News? The Truth Will Do
To the Editor: Consider this hypothetical. You go to your doctor. You have stomach pains that linger and simply won’t go way. After examination he tells you not to worry, you’ll be fine. The pain continues and weeks later you get a second opinion. This time it’s not couched with “good news.” How would you feel about that? Your regular physician did not want to cause any upset. The physician offering the second opinion wanted only to be frank and candid, thereby
HOMETOWN
making a plan to initiate toward recovery. I believe we all know the answer. Trump did not want to “scare us.” Really? Was it us or his beloved stock market that he wanted to calm and pacify. He doesn’t want to scare anyone, yet he has no reluctance whatsoever in telling tall tales of tanks coming down Main Street, stock market crashes and rampant crime . The hypocrisy is just overwhelming! KENNETH J. KAVANAGH Cooperstown
ONEONTA
Jim Kevlin/The Freeman’s Journal
It’s been 19 years since 9-11, but Cathy Raddatz of Cooperstown continues to hold vigil in memory of her brother, George Morrell, a broker with Cantor Fitzgerald, whose offices were on the 101st to 105th floor of One World Trade Center, the North Tower. He perished that day. Every anniversary, his sister, family and friends implant hundreds of flags around the Village of Cooperstown, including, above, on the grounds of Christ Episcopal Church, left, and St. Mary’s “Our Lady of the Lake” Catholic Church. In all, 2,977 died in the Twin Towers, the attack on the Pentagon, and the airplane crash in Shanksville, Pa., famed for the famous cry, “Let’s Roll.”
& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch
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James C. Kevlin Editor & Publisher
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Larissa Ryan Business Manager
Kathleen Peters Graphics & Production
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Tom Heitz/Sharon Stuart Consultant
IN MEMORIAM: Mary Joan Kevlin, Co-Publisher, 2006-17 MEMBER OF National Newspaper Association, New York Press Association The Otsego County Chamber Published weekly by Iron String Press, Inc. 21 Railroad Ave., Cooperstown NY 13326 Telephone: (607) 547-6103. Fax: (607) 547-6080. E-mail: info@allotsego.com • www.allotsego.com
N
Whistling Woodchucks! They’re Back Again
ot that they ever left. They just take a long winter nap while their heartbeat slows from 80 to an incredible five beats per minute and their body temperature drops from 99 to 37 degrees. Punxsutawney Phil projects a good productive image with his weather predictions but Digger Dan, the name I give to the critter whose been tunneling into my barn every year, is another story. One morning last spring, TERRY I was carrying a bale of hay BERKSON before the light of sunrise and stepped in a hole that swallowed my leg up to my knee. I dropped the bale and limped out to the wood pile to
secure a piece of 4-by-4 to pound into the hole – knowing well that The Digger would soon find another entry into my space. The battle has been going on for several years. A friend lent me a trap that I set up by an outside hole, but the wary animal never goes near it. One time I dropped a woodchuck bomb into the hole in the barn floor and covered it with a Frisbee that I held in place with my foot. Surprisingly, the Frisbee blew off the hole with considerable force. I was puzzled because woodchucks usually have at least two entrances which would vent the pressure created by the bomb. Maybe
Terry Berkson’s Digger Dan
Digger Dan’s body blocked the tunnel like a cork in a bottle creating enough pressure to blow the Frisbee and my foot off the hole. Anyway, Digger didn’t perish and I didn’t try a bomb again for fear I’d burn the barn down. Please See BERKSON, A5
AllOTSEGO.com • MORE LETTERS, A6
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THURSDAY, September 17, 2020
HOMETOWN
History
HOMETOWN ONEONTA A-5
Compiled by Tom Heitz/SHARON STUART, with resources courtesy of The Fenimore Art Museum Research Library
150 Years Ago
Real Estate is unusually active in our village, and many houses are in progress and under contract. Oneonta is to be a railroad center, business is lively, and lots can be had at reasonable rates. We are to have the central round-house and repair shops of the A. & S. R.R., and probably their car and general machine works, all of which indicate growth of population and great increase of business. On Thursday night last, a horse belonging to John Gifford was run over and killed by the 11 p.m. train from Albany. The engine was thrown from the track. It must be that the fences are in a poor condition as this is the fourth or fifth time accidents of this kind have taken place within a year. The horse was valued at $200. September 1870
80 Years Ago
20 Years Ago
125 Years Ago
For the Ladies: Mrs. Booth’s “New Woman” – My new woman is a womanly woman. She is not that peculiar perverted, revolting creature in mannish dress, with coarse manners and sacrilegious ideas of the sacred ties of wifehood and motherhood. This creature must be set aside. You must not exhibit her as the “New Woman.” She lacks the sacred, powerful, yet tender traits of woman. She would imitate man and at the same time trample him under her feet. Men watch her and turn from her with scorn. We women look into her face and shun her with shame. She belittles man and tells her so-called weaker sister that she is going forth to emancipate her sex and crush man beneath the wheels of her chariot. We say to her we don’t want such emancipation. The true new woman should raise herself to the highest level. Rise to man’s side, and to him to raise himself to be a nobler and truer man. September 1895
100 Years Ago
The Assembly of the New York State Legislature tonight, by a vote of 90 to 45 expelled three of five Socialist members – Louis Waldman and August Claessens of New York City and Charles Solomon of Kings. Then, by a vote of 87 to 48, Samuel A. DeWitt and Samuel Orr, Socialist members from the Bronx, were permitted to retain their seats. However, DeWitt and Orr took the floor in turn and verbally tendered their resignations after a vote to reinstate Waldman had been lost, 81 to 52. The resolution calling for the expulsion of the five Socialists was introduced by Colonel Ransom Gillett, Republican of Columbia County. The five Socialists took part in the debate and each declared that he had come to the extraordinary session to serve the people in helping to solve or remedy the housing situation and not to make application or defense of the Socialist Party. They characterized the proceedings as un-American. September 1920
and survivor benefits in addition to survivor benefits. About two out of three know that current social security taxes are used to pay benefits to people now on the rolls. Many Americans are concerned about the ability of the program to pay future benefits at levels now authorized. However, one in four of those surveyed said current social security taxes are too high. When asked to choose between higher social security taxes and lower future retirement benefits, six out of ten surveyed chose higher taxes and raising the retirement age. September 1980
60 Years Ago
Memory Walks coordinated by the Leatherstocking branch of the Alzheimer’s Association are planned to raise funds to support services for local people, raise public awareness, and provide support for research efforts. Wilber National Bank, Inc. and the Wal-Mart Store of Oneonta have been named as major sponsors of Memory Walk 2000 in Oneonta on Saturday, September 23. Each will contribute at least $1,000 to the cause. Corporate patrons providing a minimum of $500 include Bassett Healthcare and WDOS/ WSRK. Other supporters include: A.O. Fox Hospital, Price Chopper, Hampshire House, Otsego Automotive, Country Club Chevrolet, SUNY Oneonta Student Organization, Holiday Inn of Oneonta, Sidney Federal Credit Union, Mirabito September 1940 Fuel Group, Pickett Building Supplies and the Powell Company, and others. September 2000
Duffy Mohar of Oneonta scored the third hole-in-one of the season on the Cooperstown Country Club course Saturday afternoon while playing in a threesome with Marshall Naumann and Mel Abbott. Mohar used a No. 3 iron to ace the 206-yard third hole, the second time this has been done by a player since the hole was changed at the beginning of this season. CCC pro Ed Kroll fired the initial ace on the new third hole earlier this season. During the summer John Goddard shot a hole-in-one on the 196-yard ninth hole. September 1960
40 Years Ago
A recently completed national survey, conducted for the national commission on Social Security shows that most people know quite a bit about the protections offered by Social Security. Most people know that benefits are related to previous earnings. A majority know that benefits are not intended to be a full replacement of previous earnings, but rather a base upon which to build additional retirement income. About 75 percent know that social security benefits are not based on need, but rather on rights spelled out in the law. Many also are aware that social security pays disability
10 Years Ago
“Why Margaret Fuller Matters” an exhibit celebrating the Transcendentalist and early supporter of women’s rights in the bicentennial of her birth will be on display September 19 to 30 in the Chapin Memorial sanctuary of the Unitarian-Universalist Church. The national traveling display was designed by historian, author and graphic designer Bonnie Hurd Smith. Margaret Fuller’s short life (1810–1850) was intertwined with some of the 19th century’s most wellknown figures. She taught at Bronson Alcott’s School and worked for Horace Greeley’s New York Tribune. Along with Emerson and Thoreau, she was a major thinker in Transcendentalism. Fuller was a leader in women’s rights and considered the most well-read person in the country during her lifetime. Susan B. Anthony and Walt Whitman each considered her a major influence on their lives. Dr. Lisle Dalton, professor of religious studies at Hartwick College will speak on Margaret Fuller at 7 p.m. on September 22. On September 26, Rev. Craig Schwalenberg’s reflection will be titled “Transcendentalism’s First Lady.” September 2010
LIFE IN THE TIME OF COVID-19
I
We’re Getting Closer To A COVID-19 Vaccine. Then What?
t appears that we are getting closer to the development of vaccines for COVID-19. There have been some missteps in the process, including the development of an unexplained illness in one participant in the U.K. study of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine. This required a halt to the study for about a week while the data was being reviewed. The study is progressing again at this time. There are multiple other studies. Some of the vaccines are further along than others. It’s not going be enough to develop one vaccine. The number of doses that can be produced quickly is limited. It is currently estimated the first batch will be limited to perhaps 10 million to 15 million doses in the United States, according to the National Academy of Medicine. This is why it’s important to have multiple vaccines available so they can be produced in tandem.
So, the question comes back to triage, which is something we first discussed six months ago. In this case, RICHARD in what order are the vacSTERNBERG cines going to be rolled out? Who is going to get them first? Where are they going to be distributed first? Right now, this is a matter of heated opinion. • In my opinion, and solely in my opinion, I feel the following distribution order should be performed: • One, frontline healthcare workers who are dealing with patients with COVID-19, or can reasonably expect to come into contact with patients and other affected people with COVID-19.
This would include people working in hospitals, nursing homes, emergency medical services, and clinics. • Two, other essential workers at high risk of being exposed to patients, or people who have COVID-19 or are positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. • Three, those with two or more risk factors, including age. • Four, health care and essential workers at any risk of exposure based on their job. • Five, those with only one risk factor. • Six, children. • Seven, adults older than 25. • Eight, young adults. My only exception to the above is that I would withhold vaccination for all those who have refused to social distance, wear a mask, have publicly proclaimed that the pandemic is a hoax, or have attended illegal mass gatherings. At the rate that we can expect vaccinations to roll out, at best we
EDITORIAL: Is City Charter Preventing Better Governance? EDITORIAL/From A4 president; Kim Muller, a SUNY administrator; the venerable David Brenner, a SUNY associate vice president and author, who also chaired the county Board of Representatives. The trail of talent goes back to the 1960s, when Sam Nader, now 101, set the mold, gaining a statewide reputation for acumen, and bringing a New York Yankees farm team to Damaschke Field. It can’t be an accident. • By contrast, the three city managers to date just didn’t catch fire. Mayor Herzig is right in concluding it’s time to at least review, and perhaps rethink, a well-intended undertaking that fell short of its goal. Putting artificial limitations on talented local people, smart,
experienced, ambitious about their native or adopted community, must be a mistake. One caveat: The current city charter was a hard sell, but – in the end – the deal was clinched. On Nov. 7, 2010, 76.08 percent of voters approved it, 1,177 cast aye ballots to the nays’ 370. A new charter revision effort must earn credibility. The new document must be likewise sold to the public, as the last one was. If it indeed corrects flaws in the 2011 document – as it can and should – that shouldn’t be a heavy lift. If it includes major changes, Oneonta citizens must be convinced they are indeed improvements. Then, put to a vote, the revised charter passed, and establish a firm foundation for a future that may very well be better guided by leading citizens.
►WHAT DO YOU THINK about this important issue? Please share your opinions with Dr. Sternberg by e-mailing: richardsternberg@hotmail.com. will probably only get the first and possibly some of the second group inoculated within the next three to six months. With the development of more vaccines by different companies, we might be able to get the entire United States vaccinated within nine to 15 months. This of course does not discuss the problem of whether money or fame puts you at the head of the line. As many of us have noted, professional athletes have been getting tested at will so they can go back to their sports. Other people have to wait or had to use tests that are not instantly available. We can predict a similar occurrence with who gets the vaccine
first. Should VIPs have priority? Should their families? Should the vaccine be equally available in countries which develop it versus non-developed countries? • Just as it was a mad scramble for supplies when lockdowns first began, there’s going to be a mad scramble for the vaccines with people trying to find reasons to be put at the head of the line. Ultimately there’s going to have to be some pre-existing protocol, or decision-making process in place to sort this out. As I said above please contact me with your thoughts on these issues. I will make your responses the subject of a follow-up column. Richard Sternberg, a retired Bassett Hospital orthopedic surgeon, has agreed to provide his professional perspective while the coronavirus threat continues. Dr. Sternberg, who is also a village trustee, resides in Cooperstown.
BERKSON: So Far, Battle With Woodchuck’s A Tie BERKSON/From A4 Of course, I had my 22 loaded and ready to rid myself of the trouble maker, but this woodchuck is a strategist and always positions himself in hard to shoot places. One time I was gun-less and rounding a corner of the barn with a bucket of water when I ran right into him. We were both startled and to my surprise the wise guy whistled at me. It was a harassing whistle that made me angry – the first note of the notorious three-noted wolf call that guys in Brooklyn use when they see a nice-looking girl. It’s not very macho to be whistled at by a woodchuck. I duplicated the sound on the piano. The note is a “D,” the first letter of two words I’ve been using to describe the enemy.
For several years an Amish farmer was taking hay off of our place. I often worried that one of his horses would step in a woodchuck hole like I did – and break a leg. So, I put sticks with flags on them to mark where the holes were. When the farmer saw my markers he laughed and assured me that even when covered with cut hay, the horses could sense where the holes were. I found this hard to believe but, luckily, on our farm no horse ever broke a leg pulling a hay wagon. My friend George Gardner who has the same invasion problem sicked his very willing Jack Russell terrier on a woodchuck and the dog followed the varmint into a hole – so far that he got stuck and George had to
dig the dog out with a back hoe. So, the war goes on. Besides filling holes, I’ve plugged some of Digger’s relatives while on their way to my vegetable garden but shots at him are always taken from an awkward position and he just about gives me the razz before heading underground. Recently, a lucky shot surely creased the hair on Digger’s head. Now, he must be taking me seriously because, lately, he ain’t whistling. Terry Berkson, who has an MFA in creative writing from Brooklyn College, lives on a farm outside Richfield Springs. His articles have appeared in New York magazine, the New York Daily News Sunday Magazine, Automobile and other publications.
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A-6 THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA LETTERS
Vote In Election ‘20
To the Editor: America is on the brink of an election that will have serious implications for the future of our Country, and indeed our democracy. I write this out concern for our immediate future, and also because I am equally concerned about the America my 6-year-old grandson will inherit. He deserves the same freedoms we all experienced growing up in a country that valued human dignity, clean air and water, and the freedom to enjoy a society free of hate and prejudice – a place that values human life and a profound respect for those who gave their lives so we could live free – in America. All I ask is that my fellow citizens exercise their right to vote. Remember – young American men and women died for your right to vote. Don’t disrespect their sacrifice by letting this opportunity pass. I am not advocating in favor of any candidate, but rather for the future of America – the America of my grandson. “We the people” – you and me – we are the ones for whom those words were written at the birth of our nation. If there was ever a time America needed you, it’s now. Show you are a responsible American by voting on Nov. 3. P. JAY FLEISHER Oneonta Editor’s Note: Voters, you may already ask for absentee ballots by letter (Board of Elections, The Meadows, 140 County Hwy. 33W, Suite 2, Cooperstown NY 13326); email (voteotsego.com) or phone (607-547-4247).
Should A Failed Beginning Discourage Us From Trying To Reopen Colleges, Schools?
STAMMEL/From A4 empathize with this perspective. The good news is that at this early stage, the outbreak appears to have been contained to students, due to the quick and decisive actions of SUNY, the rapid deployment of state resources, cooperation of community members, and ongoing heroics of our underfunded County Department of Health. Out of hundreds tested, no employees have tested positive and there’s no evidence of community spread yet. While SUNY Oneonta began the school year with 97 percent of classes online, it joined the majority of colleges across the country in developing a hybrid plan that would allow for some level of in-person experience. This reflects a very American “can-do” attitude that with science and problemsolving, we can engineer our way around unprecedented challenges. “Monday morning quarterbacking” is also an American pastime and the failure of the reopening has led to a misguided and gratuitous blame game by some local politicians and media (not this paper, to my knowledge). Kudos to those elected officials, administrators, and others who have maintained a positive forward-looking attitude, looking for collaborative solutions to protect folks and rebuild trust and relationships between the college and community. how to listen, knows how In my conversations with contacts to look at his district around at several colleges, it’s clear to me that him, knows how to bridge SUNY’s planning began earlier and gaps. This is what we need to move forward. MARY ASHWOOD Cherry Valley
Jim Barber’s Farm Shows Skills Helpful To 51st Senate District To the Editor: No one could argue that we aren’t living in interesting times. And in interesting times, we need representatives to our government who will help us through. In just a few short weeks, the 51st District will choose its state senator, a position that has been held by Jim Seward for the last 34 years. And Jim Barber is who I want to represent us. One only need visit Jim Barber’s family farm to know that a person who can keep a farm like this afloat and growing in these economic times is someone who could help our 51st District to do the same. And like his farm, his well-designed website also reveals a truth about who he is: he clearly lays out his ideas and plans about taxes, the environment, the opioid crisis, the health care system, education, and as you can imagine—small businesses. Jim’s proposed plans make sense for where we are now. They are realistic ones that would help everyone wherever they lie on the political spectrum. He is a man who knows
has shown the largest outbreaks are occurring in residential settings (nursing homes, jails, military, summer camps, sports teams, and colleges). Additionally, young people across the country have proved to be the least like to adhere to social distancing. Despite the risks, does it mean we should not at least try to reopen our educational system? That is a question for every school and community. As K-12 schools across our area consider various reopening scenarios, I urge them to learn from our lessons. Be clear-eyed and accept that we are in a global pandemic and the virus is seeded throughout our area and outbreaks will occur as social distancing is lessened. Craft your outbreak prevention and response plans with care and humility. And finally, have the wisdom and strength to acknowledge when a situation has escalated beyond your control and shut it down, accordingly. We all mourn the loss of normalcy this year and hope for a swift return to our old lives. Until that time, the best way to protect your loved ones and community is to wear masks, social distance, and practice good hygiene. ANDREW STAMMEL Town of Oneonta County Representative: District 4 Town of Oneonta Stammel, SUNY Oneonta Title IX coordinator, said he submitted this letter from the perspective of an elected official and private citizen, not as a SUNY spokesman.
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was at least as collaborative, thorough and transparent as other institutions. From March - July, planning efforts invited input from all members of the college community and resulted in hundreds of pages of draft and final planning documents. A proposed plan was submitted to and approved by the state and has been posted on the college web page for about two months. If your elected official is now one of the furious finger-pointers, ask them how they proactively contributed to crafting a safe reopening plan over the past six months or if they waited to retroactively criticize. Any successful reopening will rely on three elements. Yes, a good plan must proactively be crafted (and no plan is perfect). Second, there needs to be widespread compliance with the plan and adherence to social distancing by students and employees. Finally, there is an element of luck or God’s will, whichever your persuasion. Was an infected person a biological “super-spreader”? Did the wind or humidity contribute to spread on a given day? Did a bystander witness a party and report it to authorities in time? While humans like to believe our plans dictate results, much will be out of our control. Every local college has had some level of outbreak already. This year may prove that for demographic and situational reasons, a residential college experience during a pandemic is unlikely to succeed. Experience
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INSPIRATION IMAGES: From left, examples from Rock Scramble, Albany, the Arnold Arboretum, Boston, and Hillside Slide, Governor’s Island, inspired Huntington Park planners.
PAST INSPIRES
in Otsego County
BEST BETS UTURE Tina Winstead, Huntington Memorial Library director, shows where the overlook and the sledding hill will once again be part of Huntington Park.
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Gail Olin, an organizer of this weekend’s “Draping the Pews” quilt show at the Fly Creek United Methodist Church, discusses the antique “Grandmother’s Flower Garden” quilt, one of three that will be raffled off at the event.
Ian Austin/www,
Orchard, Overlook, Sledding Hill Return To Huntington Park By LIBBY CUDMORE
►TO FILL OUT SURVEY on Huntington Park plans, follow the link from www.hmloneonta.org
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W
hen she saw the new plans for Huntington Park, it was like falling in love. “I’m so head-over-heels for the fruit orchard,” said Tina Winstead, Huntington Memorial Library executive director. “That’s what Henry did,” Henry Huntington, the 19th century railroad magnate from Oneonta who donated the mansion and property that today makes up the library and grounds. On Thursday, Sept. 10, Stimson
Oneonta’s Huntington Park, always a verdant refuge.
Landscape Architects, Cambridge, Mass., presented its plan for Huntington Park during a Zoom meeting. “This really is a bright spot in a difficult
era,” said Huntington Memorial Library executive director Tina Winstead. “It’s a design I believe Henry Huntington would be proud of.” The planning began five years ago, but recently ramped up when $420,068 in funding for the redesign was made available from the state department of Parks and Recreation. According to Winstead, when Stimson was hired, she was asked for previous Please See LIBRARY, B2
MALLORY DELANEY MET CHALLENGE
Mallory Delaney was named a “Woman of Distinction” for testing more than 1,000 patients for COVID19.
Helping People Captured ‘Distinction’ For Honoree By LIBBY CUDMORE ONEONTA
F
or certified Physician’s Assistant Mallory Delaney, medicine isn’t about talking to a patient. It’s about listening. “You want to get people to
feel like they’re in the driver’s seat,” she said. “No matter what road they’re going to go down.” For example, she said, it was easier to get patients to wear masks if they knew it would keep a parent or elderly relative safe. “You have to be collaborative with patients,” she said. Please See HONORED, B2
Quilts, Bold Axes, Honor Those Lost, Scan Starry Skies
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t’s getting chilly outside, but a new quilt could warm you right up! The “Draping The Pews” exhibit features more than 50 quilts for sale and auction. 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, Fly Creek United Methodist Church, 852 Co. Rd. 26, Fly Creek. Info (607) 547-9946. • Wildlife enthusiast Garrett Camasi discusses “Conservation Through Education” sharing LIBBY his photographs and CUDMORE philosophy in a digital program presented by the Delaware Otsego Audubon Society. 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18, www.facebook.com/DelawareOtsegoAudubonSociety/. • Get in the lumberjack spirit with an exhibit featuring Jim Mayne’s collection of axes and hatchets. Free admission. Noon, Sept. 19, Edmeston Museum, 1 North St., Edmeston. • Gaze into the night sky and learn how to find the North star, constellations and planets.8:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, Mohican Farm, 7207 St. Hwy. 80, Cooperstown. (607) 547-4488. • The community is invited to the opening ceremonies for the “Say Their Names” exhibit. 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, Doubleday Field, Cooperstown.
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THURSDAY, September 17, 2020 AllOTSEGO.life Huntington Park Looks Back To The Future Delaney Served On COVID Front Lines B-2
LIBRARY/From B1 blueprints, postcards and photos of the park to help guide the design, and when they came back, they had revived the orchards, the lilac walk, the “pinetum” – a collection of conifers along the edge of the upper park – and the rotunda. “The rotunda really was here in 1919,” she said. “I like to think that Henry planned it. Stimson was very excited about the whole overlook idea.” It’s not the only piece of forgotten history to be reinstalled. Stimson revived the sledding hill, which was fenced off and planted with shrubbery in the 1990s. “Everyone talks about the sledding hill!” said Winstead. “And once we get all that cleared off, you’ll have such a beautiful view of the hills behind Main Street. At the meeting, plans were detailed for Phase One of the project, which included the Playland and the Literary Garden. The Playland would incorporate spaces at the top and bottom of the hill, including
a labyrinth, a small play area, and a 40-foot long slide built into the hillside. “It’s a very unique element that will draw from all parts of the town,” said Glen Valentine, principal. “And to get to the top of the slide, there will be a rock scramble, which gives kids an opportunity to explore the hillside.” “The slide was very unexpected!” said Winstead. “But my charge was for Stimson to do something remarkable that would bring families to the park. It could be a huge draw.” The library doesn’t want a full playground, she said, for liability reasons, and hopes the public would weigh in on the slide on the survey, linked from the library website. “We really want people to either be all for it or not,” she said. Stimson associate Sean Kline, an Oneonta native, said bluestone would be incorporated into the design, including the overlook and the rock scramble. “Table Rocks is my favorite spot in Oneonta,” he said. “It gives you an amazing context for
the city and the materials of the region.” The gardens, said Valentine, would function as a series of “outdoor classrooms,” each with specific plantings, such as a pollinator garden or an herb/medicinal garden. There would even be a “literary garden,” which the library could change yearly to tie to a particular theme. “One year it could be colonial plants or a World War II ‘Victory Garden’,” he said. In all, the full redesign would include a performance space in the lower part of the park and orchards in the arboretum at the top, similar to the ones Huntington had on the family farm the library is built on. Additionally, the library received $122,000 in Library Construction Aid to install new lampposts to match the ones on Main Street. Winstead said the park could get underway as soon as this spring, with completion by the summer. “They really brought back the elements of the park that Henry wanted,” she said. “It feels very right.”
HONORED/From B1 “It’s figuring out what they’re scared of or looking forward to, and working with them from there.” Delaney, who works at the Bassett Heathcare Clinic at 125 Main St., was named one of this year’s state Senate’s “Women of Distinction” during a ceremony last week, where she was presented a plaque by state Sen. Jim Seward, R-Milford. “It’s really a remarkable honor,” she said. “But I can’t help but think that this year, all the women in healthcare should be Woman of the Year!” “I would not be here without the dedication of our healthcare workers,” said Seward, who battled COVID earlier this year. “Normally we put out a press release asking for nominations but, this year, I thought it was important to name a woman in healthcare who gave exemplary service during the pandemic.” Delaney was recommended to him by now-retired Bassett Healthcare Network President/CEO Bill Streck.
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“The more I read and heard about her, the more convinced I was that she was an excellent choice,” said Seward. A native of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Delaney did her undergraduate at Penn State and her physician assistant’s program at Duke University. “I always knew I wanted to do something in medicine,” she said. “Then I did the LIFE Geisinger program in Scranton, working with elderly and frail populations, and I thought that it might be a direction I wanted to go in.” She worked at Our Lady of Peace convent, taking care of elderly nuns. “It really taught me to be collaborative with patients,” she said. In 2014, she moved to Oneonta for the job at Bassett. It was that bedside manner that helped when the COVID19 pandemic struck and Delaney found herself outside all day every day, in snow, in sleet, in rain, administering “drive-thru” COVID tests in the parking lot. “When we first started, I joked that we should just go ahead and put up decorations for the Fourth of July,” she said. “And the other nurse said that there was no way
we’d still be here! We had to keep our sense of humor.” Before rapid-testing and saliva tests were available, patients had to sit, often in the cold, and have a swab shoved deep into their nostrils. “I would tell them to think about something in the future they were looking forward to,” she said. If one was particularly nervous, she could reassure them with her own experience. “I told people that I had it done and it wasn’t even the worst part of my day,” she said. In all, she estimates she did well over a thousand tests. “For awhile, we were doing 300 tests a month,” she said. She lives in Oneonta with her cat, Charlie, who she adopted from the Susquehanna SPCA. She volunteers with the shelter, and plays flute at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, where she is also a parishioner. And when she got the call that she had been chosen to receive the Woman of Distinction award, she was at the bedside of an elderly neighbor, assisting her with her end-of-life needs. “True to form, she was tending to someone’s needs,” Seward said.
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Gun Goes Off; Deputy On Leave GUN/From A1 a handgun he was carrying in his pants pocket. “We’re still trying to determine why the gun went off,” said Keller. He said the bullet exited through the bottom of the deputy’s pocket, through his wallet, and ricocheted off the concrete floor. Though it was initially believed that the girl was injured by a concrete chip, investigators now say she may have been struck by the bullet. “The little girl was at the table next to his with her back to him,” Keller explained. “When the gun went off, the bullet may have gone past her elbow and her right hip, then struck the ground.” He said that the woman sitting next to her, who was also injured, described that she felt “like her foot was on fire. She thought it was fireworks.” Both injuries were minor and treated by EMS at the scene.
According to Devlin, a second off-duty deputy was also at the scene, but has not been charged or put on administrative leave. The weapon was not a department-issue weapon, said Devlin. “We encourage our deputies to carry even when off-duty,” he said. “We’re police officers 24/7, and there are situations we are expected to respond to.” For a deputy to carry while off-duty, he said, the weapon has to be an inspected, approved firearm, and the deputy has to qualify to use it, just as he would his service weapon. And above all, he stressed safety when carrying a loaded weapon. “Firearms should be properly secured and carried on a person,” he said. The deputy will remain on administrative leave pending the outcome of the state police investigation. He is also currently under an internal review from the Sheriff’s Department.
B-3
Mayor Plans To Revisit City-Manager Structure CHARTER/From A1 infections – not including SUNY Oneonta’s “large outbreak,” now ending – to an average of eight a month. Given that the city manager’s $110,000 salary is about 4 percent of the tax levy, Herzig said, he intends to again revisit whether a city-manager form of government, as now constituted, is the best way to govern 14,000-population Oneonta. He said he planned to start that conversation perhaps as soon at the Common Council’s Budget Committee meeting Wednesday, Sept. 16, but certainly soon after. And he would like a decision by the end of the year, so savings and likely lower expenses could be reflected in the 2021 budget. (This year’s budget is slightly more than $17 million.) “I still support having an administrative position supervising day-to-day operations – a staff person, a non-political person,” he said,
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perhaps an executive director instead of a full-fledged city manager. Herzig took charge from the beginning of the COVID19 crisis, but in the past month, with the community worried about the colleges reopening, he racheted up police enforcement of mask wearing and social distancing in public places, cancelled evening bus service from the campuses, and issued a “Welcome to Students” letter outlining expectations. When widespread partying was evident when students returned Aug. 21, he alerted the Governor’s Office, setting the stage for what happened when the “large outbreak” followed: Chancellor Jim Malatras shut the campus for two weeks, and Cuomo deployed a state Virus Testing SWAT Team to the city. In an interview Monday, Sept. 14, the mayor said, “I didn’t do this all by myself.” “Our department heads just were amazing in the way they stepped up and provided leadership,” he said. “That was the only way to move through this crisis – and they did it. They filled the leadership void as a team.” Personnel Director Katie Böttger and City Engineer Greg Mattice assumed dayto-day management, directing the department-head team, he added. When it was approved on Nov. 7, 2010, the idea of
professional management of City Hall won by a 1,177-370 margin. But one decade and three city managers later, dramatic change for the better hasn’t been evident. “I was an early supporter and still support the concept of having an administrative position supervising the dayto-day operation of the city,” said Herzig. “But I think the overwhelming number of people in Oneonta who voted to support it, including myself, didn’t recognize it would drastically change our form of government.” Under the council-manager form of government, Council members’ role is limited to “just being legislators,” he continued. “They are asked not to participate providing input on local government operations.” There are day-to-day decisions Council members should help make, he said: “What roads are being fixed. How staffing is organized. What priorities are set operationally. In a community this size, most people would want their elected Council members to be involved.” As for his job, “whether the people want a ceremonial mayor going forward, or a mayor who has the ability to set direction and in control of of city operations, is an open question.” He said he hasn’t decided whether to run for a third two-year term next year.
Herzig said he’s intrigued with combining day-to-day administration with another existing function – with finance or personnel, for instance. “I believe Cortland has been very successful doing that,” he said. Since six of the eight Council members had only served two months before “we went into Zoom … They haven’t had the opportunity to really dig into this.” “In the next week or two,” he said, “I’ll look for opportunities for a whole discussion with Council members around where we are now, and what are the different options.” The mayor expressed the view that a referendum is only necessary if powers are being taken away from elected officials; Herzig said they would be enhanced. “Changing the job description would not require a public vote as far as I know,” he said, in reference to the city manager’s job duties. He said he would be guided by City Attorney David Merzig’s opinion. In 2016, charter revisions endorsed by a committee chaired by former Mayor John Nader foundered when SUNY New Paltz’s Gerald Benjamin, the state’s foremost expert on local government, said he believed those changes were substantive enough to require another public vote.
Campus Closed, COVID Crisis At End COVID/From A1 Tuesday, Sept. 15, the Otsego County Health Department reported only two cases, after a week of largely single-digit reports, and after peaks of 120 on Sept. 4 and 107 on Sept. 2. “We’re seeing a significant decline,” said Georgeson. “And we are cautiously optimistic that there was no community spread.” Campus spokesman Kim MacLeod declared “success,” and credited “swift actions of discipline, rapid testing of all students, immediate contract tracing that led students to be isolated and quarantined.” The county Health Department (DOH) has termed what happened a “large outbreak.” Looking back, county Public Health Director Heidi Bond said this week, “We did not expect the degree of how fast it happened.” Georgeson said that studies have begun to determine whether the infection was from “a different strain” of the virus.
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isolations followed, according to MacLeod. At that point, she said, the county DOH initiated tracing – determined who the infected students may have come into contact with. Once students who were infected were released from isolation, they are free to go home and “there is no need for further contact,” she said. However, students can continue to have access to faculty, telehealth and telecounseling services, MacLeod said. Across the valley on Oyaron Hill, Hartwick College was reporting 15 confirmed cases on Tuesday, Sept. 15, but were confident enough that students were returning to classrooms the following day. “Face-to-face, personal instruction is a pillar of Hartwick’s educational mission, as it has been for 223 years,” said Hartwick President Margaret L. Drugovich. “Our students have made it clear that they want to return to the classroom, and the vast majority have demonstrated they can and will honor the rules we’ve put in place to control the spread of COVID19,” she said in announcing classes would resume.
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“The majority of the infected only got mildly sick and recovered quickly,” she said. “We saw such a rapid spread and apparent ready transmission, but little illness.” Of those that got sick, she said, only three had pneumonia, and “a few” went to the emergency room with severe symptoms, but none were hospitalized. The final numbers were firming up, the DOH and SUNY Oneonta’s tallies were still far apart. Monday, the DOH was reporting total positive cases at 684; the campus put the number at 723. These divergences were said to result from different reporting cycles. When 105 cases were reported overnight Saturday, Aug. 30, SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras visited that Sunday afternoon and closed the campus for two weeks; he returned the following Thursday, Sept. 3, and announced it would close for the semester. “A lot of students left campus immediately,” said Heidi Bond, the county public health director. Nearly 3,000 students were screened over Labor Day Weekend, Sept. 5-7, and large-scale quarantines and
For 212 Years
ONC BOCES CLEANERS One F/T, 12M position located at the Otsego Area Occupational Center in Milford and one P/T, 12M position located at the Instructional Support Services Center in Oneonta. Please visit www.oncboces.org/jobs for complete job descriptions and application information.
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THURSDAY, September 17, 2020
B-4 THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA
LEGALS Legal
Legal nOtice AMENDED NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY COURT, OTSEGO COUNTY AMENDED NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE INDEX NO. 2018-949 In the Matter of the Foreclosure of Tax Liens by Proceeding in Rem pursuant to Article Eleven of the Real Property Tax Law by Otsego County PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that on the 8th day of September, 2020, the Otsego County Treasurer, hereinafter the Enforcing Officer of Otsego County, hereinafter the “Tax District “, pursuant to law filed with the Otsego County Clerk an AMENDED PETITION AND NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE (“Amended Petition”) against various parcels of real property for unpaid taxes. Such Amended Petition pertains to the following parcels: Cert# Street Tax map# Owner name City of Oneonta 24 50 Elm St 288.18-4-33 Avery Anne -Louise 26 3-5 Walling Ave 288.18-6-23 KMA Management Group, Inc 32 19 Fonda Ave 299.12-3-47 DeAndrea James P 41 4 Telford St 299.8-2-40 Davis Robert James; Davis Gail L 42 242 Chestnut St 299.8-2-49 Christiance James A; Christiance Debra L 72 14 Reynolds St 300.8-1-34 Ogborn Lorraine R 73 40 River St 300.9-1-30 Sobers Richard C Town of Burlington 88 212 Deminco Rd 111.00-1-4.00 Russell David 102 111 Munson Rd 64.00-1-7.00 Fitch Clifford; Fitch Patricia 103 Norton Rd 78.00-1-14.03 Wright Richard W 104 223 Arnold Rd 78.00-1-43.01 Wright Richard W 110 223 Arnold Rd 93.00-1-35.01 Wright Richard W; Wright Karen 111 Arnold Rd 93.00-1-36.00 Wright Richard W Village of Gilbertsville 120 58 Sylvan St 282.10-1-43.00 Cropper Patrick L Town of Butternuts 125 156 St Hwy 23 234.00-2-17.00 Beardsley Edward M, II; Lester Andrea M 127 106 St Hwy 23 234.00-2-4.00
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Fitch Robert 134 208 Nelson Rd 251.00-1-48.00 The Estate of Edward M Steiger 150 679 Oregon Rd 281.00-1-18.00 Lowe John A Village of Cherry Valley 179 83 Montgomery St 58.10-1-19.00 Crandall Mark W; Crandall Kathleen D 180 Montgomery St 58.10-1-20.00 Crandall Mark W; Crandall Kathleen D Town of Cherry Valley 189 3282 Co Hwy 31 18.03-1-8.00 Fitch Robert 199 1572 Co Hwy 54 45.00-1-16.00 Cabarrus Jean; Knoblauch Edward A Jr; Knoblauch Mary Katherine 205 Co Hwy 34A 59.00-1-17.03 The Estate of John K Martin; MilowMartin Vera Town of Decatur 225 286 Park Rd 152.00-1-7.01 Donohue Thomas P; Donohue Stephany 226 438 Reservoir Rd 153.00-1-20.02 Kenlein Kenneth 228 612 Babcock Hill Rd 167.00-2-9.04 Banhart Kristin A 229 Babcock Hill Rd 167.00-2-9.05 Banhart Kristin A Town of Edmeston 17-320 4318 Co Hwy 18 122.04-1-18.00 Chriss A Antonakas; Hall Crystal 264 4239 Co Hwy 18 122.04-1-47.00 Johnson Jeremy J 271 12 Burdick Ave 124.06-1-36.01 The Estate of Biff E Pylinski 282 2259 Co Hwy 20 62.00-1-15.05 Jaggers Helen R 283 2125 Co Hwy 20 62.00-1-24.00 Jaggers Helen R 284 Co Hwy 19 63.00-2-2.04 Talbot Albert C; Talbot Barbara; The Estate of Sandra Presley; Capparelli Judith; Maine Jack; Maine David 285 470 Ballaster Rd 63.00-2-3.00 Talbot Albert C; Talbot Barbara; The Estate of Sandra Presley; Capparelli Judith; Maine Jack; Maine David Town of Exeter 307 Co Hwy 22 49.00-1-12.06 The Estate of Earl Duncan Sr; Duncan Zachary 309 218 Co Hwy 22 49.00-1-4.12 The Estate of Earl Duncan Sr; Duncan Zachary Town of Hartwick 377 242 Lippitt Rd 161.00-1-10.01 The Estate of Ross James B 379 Maples Rd 161.00-1-3.00 Johnston Charles K; Johnston Michael D; Johnston Frank M; Johnston Brian C; Johnston Steven R 383 4659 St Hwy 28 162.00-1-33.01
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Blue Spruce Mountain, LLC 387 2401 Co Hwy 11 176.00-1-35.00 Schiff Dino 397 4473 St Hwy 28 178.00-1-51.01 Chandler Christopher; Chandler Connie M 402 Co Hwy 45 194.00-1-16.01 Kolka Robert S 403 St Hwy 28 194.00-1-19.04 Kolka Robert S 404 St Hwy 28 194.00-1-4.10 Kukenberger Cynthia M; Kolka Robert S Village of Laurens 405 13 Brook St 240.15-2-11.00 The Estate of Pauline Carr 406 8 Brook St 240.15-2-16.00 Cimko Amanda Jean P 407 5 Craft St 240.15-2-4.00 The Estate of William E Yoder 409 54 Main St 240.15-2-63.00 The Estate of William E Brooks Jr Town of Laurens 414 160 Co Hwy 11B 208.00-1-46.02 Elleo Robert E Jr; Elleo Eric M 416 183 Co Hwy 11B 208.01-1-18.00 O’Neill Brian T 417 107 Old Co Rt 11B 208.01-1-29.00 O’Neill Brian T 419 413 Russell Hill Rd 222.00-2-12.02 Menchini Leonard A 421 222 Larchwood Ln 222.00-2-12.09 Elisenberg Geir 437 2774 St Hwy 23 238.00-2-63.01 Sims Donna 440 362 New Rd 240.00-1-49.03 Buttice Jayne A; Buttice Nicholas J 446 Balantic Hill Rd 240.00-2-23.04 Joslin Dwight L Jr 454 Hathaway Rd 255.00-2-39.00 The Estate of Carl Ehlert 455 Hathaway Rd 255.00-2-40.00 The Estate of Henry F Ehlert Town of Maryland 483 800 Smokey Ave 198.00-2-12.02 Three G Developers LLC 491 404 Co Hwy 34 213.00-1-29.00 Smith Christina; Ritton Brian 492 176 Norton Rd 213.00-1-5.05 Carotenuto Brando Francesco 519 53 Race St 230.19-2-41.00 Murphy Patricia A 530 107 Dog Hill Rd 245.09-1-5.00 The Estate of Byam Esther 531 St Hwy 7 245.10-1-32.00 The Estate of Joseph J Indelicato Town of Middlefield 572 178 Fish Rd 100.00-1-6.03 The Estate of Ida M Yager 606 604 Beaver Meadow Rd 147.00-1-7.02
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Karen E Renwick with remainderman and then to the Children of Karen E Renwick Town of Milford 656 3985 St Hwy 28 194.00-2-11.213 Kolka Robert S 685 S Hwy 28 243.00-1-10.02 Sci Carmine M; Sci Gloria T 699 323 Co Hwy 35 260.00-1-11.00 Kropp Dennis; Kropp Amy 707 Maple Dr 260.13-1-38.00 Wells David J; Kleinfelder Ronald J 713 Gifford Hill Rd 276.00-2-2.02 Ackley Rodney H; Ackley Lara E 726 6467 St Hwy 7 277.00-1-67.00 Schrom Justin R; Peeters Jolene L Village of Morris 732 25 Church St 221.13-1-53.00 Hull Todd E; Hull Helen M 736 22 Hargrave St 221.18-1-16.00 Etzl George J; Etzl Sarah S Town of Morris 742 St Hwy 51 204.00-2-13.04 Reynolds Randall C 753 2009 St Hwy 23 221.00-1-57.00 Schacht Robert 755 St Hwy 23 221.00-1-73.00 The Estate of Mary Louise Boynton 761 205 Butternut Ridge Rd 222.00-3-13.00 Dickinson Philip L Town of New Lisbon 780 497 Backus Rd 142.00-2-26.01 Butternut Valley Environmental Resources Ltd 786 Backus Rd 158.00-1-11.00 Butternut Valley Environmental Resources Ltd 787 705 Lena Rd 158.00-1-12.02 Condon David J 794 Bardin Rd 173.00-1-49.00 Greaves Jesse R 795 Parker Rd 173.00-1-51.02 Greaves Jesse R 801 114 Welcome Rd N 174.00-1-6.00 The Estate of Geraldine R Yoder 810 3389 St Hwy 51 189.00-1-59.01 Annex Exteriors Inc 820 418 Wheat Rd 190.00-1-9.04 Bradley Jennifer Lee 823 397 Co Hwy 15 191.00-1-14.01 Mehta Malti Town of Oneonta 846 East St 275.00-1-28.00 Kropp Dennis; Kropp Amy 850 Sunset Dr 287.15-1-28.02 Blake Matthew 860 St Hwy 7 289.00-1-6.01 Rotolo Anthony 865 101 Browne St 299.00-1-4.01 Otsar Corp 869 422 Chestnut St 299.07-1-36.00 The Estate of Carl A Canis; Canis Eleanor J
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876 81 Oneida St 299.10-1-43.01 Pushkar Stephen Village of Otego 904 301 Main St 317.19-1-23.00 Adkins Virginia 905 307 Main St 317.19-1-24.01 Spataro Barbara Angelika Town of Otego 914 Sarrah Ct 272.00-1-37.05 Glorioso Darin V; Tice Brad 932 1866 Co Hwy 8 285.00-1-17.00 Schwed Karl R; Schwed Emma L 935 347 Upper Green St 285.00-1-34.04 Perry Samuel H Jr; Perry Jody A 940 104 Sutlif Rd 286.00-1-35.62 Wilcox Delbert C; Wilcox Kimberly R 954 Burdick Hill Rd 307.00-1-7.02 Samuels Ray V; Samuels Emma E Amaro 965 Beilby Rd 318.00-1-20.08 Penafiel Realty Corporation 973 2630 St Hwy 7 324.00-1-47.02 Hill Anthony A; The Estate of Laurel J Hill Village of Cooperstown, Town of Otsego 986 92 Main St 115.18-3-39.00 Andrews Phillip 994 99 Main St 131.06-2-48.00 American Baseball Experience Inc 995 103 Main St 131.06-2-7.00 103 Main Street Cooperstown Corp Town of Otsego 1012 170 Cemetery Rd 114.09-1-8.00 Chandler Estates LLC; Connie Chandler M 1013 322 Co Hwy 26 130.00-2-24.00 Carrella George R 1033 Tripp Hill Rd 83.00-1-12.43 Clark Nancy L 1039 Co Hwy 28 84.00-1-15.12 Reiss Howard K; Reiss Doris S 1046 Bed Bug Hill Rd 97.00-1-52.00 Byard John S Town of Pittsfield 1065 394 Ramey Rd 156.00-1-18.01 Curtis John M; Curtis Sharlene P 1070 121 Burski Rd 156.00-1-38.02 Etzl George; Etzl Sarah 1074 657 Co Hwy 17 156.00-1-52.13 Fallon Ethan D; Fallon Tammy 1077 395 Bentley Rd 156.00-1-57.00 Hyman Vanessa 1078 370 Ramey Rd 156.00-1-9.00 Curtis John M; Curtis Sharlene P 1080 3344 Co Hwy 18 170.00-1-31.00 Blake Matthew 1096 119 Jennison Rd 172.00-1-30.02 The Estate of Carl Terwilliger; Terwilliger Brenda 1097 Co Hwy 49 172.00-1-30.03 Etzl George J;
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Uhle Sarah 1098 1309 Co Hwy 49 172.00-1-31.00 Etzl George J; Uhle Sarah 1114 147 Young Rd 187.00-1-41.01 Tooley Kathy J 1122 Co Hwy 18 202.00-1-1.224 Papasidero Jeffrey D 1123 Co Hwy 18 202.00-1-1.226 Papasidero Jeffrey D 1124 Co Hwy 18 202.00-1-1.25 Etzl George J 1125 Co Hwy 18 202.00-1-9.02 Thornton Shawn; Thornton Karin Town of Plainfield 1141 137 Co Hwy 19 33.00-1-12.00 Jaggers Helen 1147 Talbot Rd 34.00-1-12.23 Lan’Did Corporation 1152 Hughes Rd 48.00-1-3.07 Masel Patricia A; Erickson Frederick L; Nazginov Roma; Harter Brigette; White Eric 1153 210 Hughes Rd 48.00-1-3.08 Masel Patricia A; Erickson Frederick L; Harter Brigette; White Eric 1156 562 Crumb Hill Rd 9.00-1-1.02 Holmes Philip Village of Richfield Springs 1161 18 Prospect St 13.20-2-48.00 Osterhoudt Charles M 1162 5 Union St 13.20-2-51.00 Abrams Barry E 1165 28 River St 13.20-3-58.00 28 River Street Richfield Springs NY Land Trust 1166 28 River St 13.20-3-59.00 28 River Street Richfield Springs NY Land Trust 1169 5 Sylvan St 14.17-1-28.00 Gibson Cosby 1181 Canadarago St 25.05-3-44.00 Villavicencio Silvio 1182 10 Canadarago St 25.05-3-53.00 Garner Robert E; Garner Jesse L; Garner Elizabeth Jane Town of Richfield 1187 190 Mower Rd 12.00-1-19.02 Fuller William J; Fuller Shawn M 1189 111 Brighton Rd 12.00-1-49.02 Sylvester James N; Sylvester Janet E 1192 2941 US Hwy 20 13.00-1-16.02 Vickerson James V Jr 1200 8443 St Hwy 28 24.00-1-11.02 The Estate of Charles E Roberts; The Estate of Betty M Roberts 1216 8162 St Hwy 28 38.25-1-7.01 The Estate of Thomas Davenport; Barstein Mindy 1219 2489 US Hwy 20 4.00-1-19.00 Goodspeed Kimberly A Town of Roseboom 1233 Middlefield Rd 118.00-2-12.11 Turkish Deport Corp
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1234 872 Middlefield Rd 118.00-2-9.00 Edwards Earl 1239 200 Adair Rd 120.00-1-14.00 Giammarino Lucio 1248 Morton Rd 88.00-1-36.00 Rodriguez Angel Manuel Town of Springfield 1258 7667 St Hwy 80 41.06-1-27.00 Macaluso Joseph; Corso-Macaluso Glynis 1259 St Hwy 80 41.06-1-57.00 Macaluso Joseph; Corso-Macaluso Glynis 1263 217 Continental Rd 42.00-1-2.04 Stocking Billy; Stocking Cheryl 1267 1004 Co Hwy 29 6.00-1-24.23 Ruppert James F Village of Unadilla 1270 34 Ontio Ter 334.14-1-37.00 US Bank NA as Trustee of American Homeowner Preservation Trust Series 2015A+ 1271 22 Prospect St 334.14-1-75.00 Macek Nicholas 1273 19 Prospect St 334.14-1-79.00 The Estate of Walter L Campbell The Estate of Lucille C Campbell 1276 Maple Ave 334.15-1-38.00 Rudolph Richard 1279 95 Martin Brook St 334.15-1-70.01 Luna Carlos V; Luna Esperanza 1287 5 Walnut St 334.19-2-35.00 Makeplace Amanda Town of Unadilla 1325 685 Lockwood Hill Rd 320.00-1-31.00 The Estate of Willie PE Bowman 1346 116 Pitcher Ln 324.03-1-4.02 Clow Shawn A; Clow Patrice M 1359 Co Hwy 3 329.00-1-22.00 The Estate of Richard Ingrassia 1361 420 Co Hwy 3 329.00-1-37.22 Martini Ryan J 1362 560 Co Hwy 3 329.00-1-45.00 Fallon Susan L; The Estate of Lena M Harvey 1370 130 Ledgewood Acres Dr 330.00-1-4.07 Schusteritsch Edward A 1376 St Hwy 7 330.03-1-86.00 Unadilla ShamRock Village LLC 1390 342 Co Hwy 1 332.00-1-83.21 Kipps Hill Road Corp. 1398 1676 St Hwy 7 334.00-1-47.00 Unadilla Shamrock Village, LLC 1407 459 St Hwy 7 336.02-1-45.00 Hunt WIlliam A Jr 1409 420 St Hwy 7 336.02-1-64.02 Olson Edward D 1411 St Hwy 7 337.00-1-37.01 Fallon Cherie N; Fallon James 1414 St Hwy 7 337.00-1-62.00 Fallon Cherie N;
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Fallon James
Town of Westford 1419 176 Stong Hill Rd 150.00-1-33.02 Duncan Derek Lee; Fagergren Kayla 1425 674 Co Hwy 36 166.00-1-46.00 Regg Frances A 1430 Middlefield Rd 166.01-1-20.00 Parsons William H 1434 1764 Co Hwy 34 166.01-1-33.00 Langan James W 1435 1109 Co Hwy 36 166.01-1-35.00 Quinn Heidi 1436 Co Hwy 34 166.01-1-4.00 Ives Darin M; Ives Charity S 1437 1799 Co Hwy 34 166.01-1-9.00 Ives Darin M; Ives Charity S 1440 Westville Gulf Rd 180.00-2-23.00 Stabler Mary; LaRose John 1445 750 Up Country Rd 182.00-1-18.02 Fraser Matthew J. 1448 Hickory Hill Rd 196.00-2-2.13 The Estate of Daniel Hoag 1450 376 Badeau Hill Rd 197.00-1-23.02 Bolton Larry M; Bolton Evelyn C Town of Worcester 1452 226 Alvord Rd 169.00-2-33.00 Hayden Vincent 1453 232 Co Hwy 36 183.00-3-4.00 Makely John H 1468 86 Main St 185.13-1-33.00 Suydam Brian T 1470 3 Maple St E 185.13-1-46.00 Keever Kenneth W; Keever Tammy 1482 10 Fairlawn Ave 199.18-1-22.00 McLean Jestina 1483 179 Main St 199.18-1-40.00 Biczo Ann Marie; The Estate of Kalman Biczo 1485 192 Main St 199.18-3-21.01 Bruce George A; Bruce Virginia A 1486 252 Main St 199.18-3-39.00 Hartt Anthony M; Hartt Janet A 1498 410 Roe Rd 201.00-1-29.00 The Estate of Fredereick R Pflug 1501 215 Tuscan Rd 214.00-2-8.00 Milavec Jeffrey R 1506 909 County Route 39 215.00-1-50.9 McLean Herman 1519 302 Boughton Rd 233.00-1-37.21 DeRuscio Joseph J Jr; Ciancetta David; Sobieski David; The Estate of Leon Sobieski Effect of filing: All persons having or claiming to have an interest in the real property described in such Amended Petition are hereby notified that the filing of such Amended Petition constitutes the commencement by the Tax District of a proceeding in the court specified in the caption above to foreclose each of the tax liens therein described by a foreclosure proceeding in rem.
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Nature of proceeding: This proceeding is brought against the real property only and is to foreclose the tax liens described in such Amended Petition. No personal judgement will be entered herein for such taxes or other legal charges or any part thereof. Persons affected: This notice is directed to all persons owning or having or claiming to have an interest in the real property described in such Amended Petition. Such persons are hereby notified further that a duplicate of such Amended Petition has been filed in the Office of the Otsego County Treasurer and will remain open for public inspection up to and including the date specified as the last day for redemption. Right of redemption: Any person having or claiming to have an interest in any such real property and the legal right thereto may on or before said date redeem the same by paying the amount of all such unpaid tax liens thereon, including all interest and penalties and other legal charges which are included in the lien against such real property, computed to and including the date of redemption. Such payment shall be made to Allen Ruffles, Otsego County Treasurer, 197 Main Street, Cooperstown, N.Y. 13326. In the event that such taxes are paid by a person other than the record owner of such real property, the person so paying shall be entitled to have the tax liens affected thereby satisfied of record. Last day for redemption: The last day for redemption is hereby fixed as the 18th day of December, 2020. Service of answer: Every person having any right, title or interest in or lien upon any parcel of real property described in such Amended Petition may serve a duly verified answer upon the Attorney for the Tax District setting forth in detail the nature and amount of his or her interest and any defense or objection to the foreclosure. Such answer must be filed in the Office of the County Clerk and served upon the Attorney for the Tax District on or before the date above mentioned as the last day for redemption. Failure to redeem or answer: In the event of failure to redeem or answer by any person having the right to redeem or answer, such person shall be forever barred and foreclosed of all his or her right, title and interest and equity of redemption in and to the parcel described in such Amended Petition and a judgement in foreclosure may be taken by default. Enforcing Officer: Allen Ruffles Otsego County Treasurer Continued Pg. B5
in OtsegO COunty ________ THURSDAY, September 17, 2020
_______ what’s fun in OtsegO COunty
►Thursday, Sept. 17
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY – 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. Volunteers aged 14+ are invited to aid in the construction of 2 houses for families in need. Come for a few hours or the whole day, no special skill required. Masks required. McFarland Rd., Oneonta. 607-432-7874 or visit https://habitatotsego. org/volunteer/ RABIES CLINIC – 9 - Noon. Free rabies vaccination for cats, dogs, ferrets. Scheduling for 30-minute intervals to follow social distancing. First come, first serve. Susquehanna SPCA, Rt. 28, Cooperstown. 607-547-4230 or visit https://sqspca.org/freeweekly-rabies-clinics/
SPOTLIGHT – 2 p.m. Celebrate the Washington National’s 2019 World Series championship through Autumn Glory, tribute to post-season Cooperstown. Free Zoom conference. Registration required. Presented by The Baseball Hall of Fame. Visit https://baseballhall.org/ events/virtual-curator-spotlight-autumn-glory?date=0. THEATER WORKSHOP – 5:30 p.m. Sign up for virtual theater workshop ‘East Meets West’ featuring meditation, movement, and character archetypes presented by Lanny Harrison. Presented by West Kortright Center. Visit https://westkc.org/eventbrite-event/sheltering-characters/ for info.
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA B-5
WRITERS SALON – 7:30 p.m. Virtual writers salon by CANO hosted on Zoom. Features author Tessa Yang and an open mic session. Presented by Community Arts Network of Oneonta. Visit www.facebook.com/CANOneonta for info.
►Friday, Sept. 18 RUMMAGE SALE – 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Find clothes, books, toys, household items, much more at fall rummage & bag sale. Masks required. All welcome. St. John’s Church, 2546 St. Hwy. 80, West Burlington. LIT LATTES – 10 a.m. Discuss literature, get book recommendations, hear from guest speakers, much more from the Huntington Memorial Library. Visit https://www.
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facebook.com/hmloneonta/ to join the discussion. BLOOD DRIVE – Noon 5 p.m. Donate blood, help save lives. Laurens Fire Department, 34 Main St., Laurens. 800-733-2767 or visit https://www.redcrossblood.org/ CHICKEN DINNER – 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. Enjoy Brooks Chicken take-out for $12/dinner, with $1 processing fee. Pre-orders strongly encouraged by 9/10. Support local church. First Baptist Church of Cooperstown, 21 Elm St., Cooperstown. 607-547-9371 or visit https://www.facebook.com/ctownfirstbaptist/ FALL PORK DINNER – 5 p.m. Make a donation and enjoy a Roast Pork Dinner this fall. Reservations required, limited to 100 dinners. No reservations day of. Take
out only. Middlefield Baptist Church, 121 Rezen Rd., Middlefield. 607-547-9093. CONSERVATION – 7:30 p.m. Wildlife enthusiast Garrett Camasi discusses ‘Conservation Through Education’ sharing his photographs and philosophy on conserving wildlife, environmental practices, and ways our behaviors affect both. Visit https://www.facebook. com/DelawareOtsegoAudubonSociety/ for info.
►Saturday, Sept. 19 HABITAT FOR HUMANITY – 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. See Thursday, September 17. POP-UP EXHIBIT – 9 a.m. - Noon. View Jim Mayne’s Collection of axes and hatchetts featuring the objects and various photos. Free admis-
sion. Edmeston Museum, 1 North St., Edmeston. Visit https://www.facebook.com/ pages/category/CommunityMuseum/Edmeston-Museum219562458817938/ for info. ONEONTA FARMERS MARKET – 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. locally produced food, crafts, more. Please wash hands frequently, maintain social distancing. Preorder and pickup is available. Muller Plaza, Main St, Oneonta. Info, www. oneontafarmersmarket.com RUMMAGE SALE – 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. See Friday, Sept. 18 COOPERSTOWN FARMERS’ MARKET – 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Food, crafts and more by local growers, artisans. Preorder and pickup available. 101 Main St., Pioneer Alley. Cooperstown. Rain or shine. Info, www.facebook.com/CooperstownFarmersMarket/
SHOPPING LOCAL MATTERS Thankfully, we’ve all made it through this pandemic so far! We are a local company, employ local people and have enjoyed local customers since 1963. Please keep it LOCAL. Give us a try for the best quality & workmanship for all of your mattress and flooring needs.
WE WON’T DISAPPOINT! Dave Weaver
607-432-2022
22-26 Watkins Avenue, Oneonta Monday through Friday 8 am - 4:30 pm
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From Pg. B4 Attorney for Tax District: Phillips Lytle LLP Richard M. Beers, Jr., Esq. 28 East Main St, Ste 1400 Rochester, New York 14614 (585) 238-2000 3LegalNov.12 Legal nOtice NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE is hereby given that there has been duly introduced before the Board of Representatives of the County of Otsego, New York, a Local Law entitled: A Local Law to override the Tax Levy limit established in General Municipal Law §3-C. NOTICE is further given that the Board of Representatives will conduct a public hearing on the proposed Local Law in the Courtroom at the Courthouse in the Village of Cooperstown, New York on Thursday, September 24, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. Pursuant to the Governor’s Executive Order, the maximum capacity for the hearing in the courtroom will be 50 individuals. The location is accessible to persons with mobility impairment. Written comments can be mailed to the Otsego County Clerk of the Board, atn. Carol McGovern, 197 Main Street, Cooperstown NY 13326 or comments can be emailed to comments@otsegocounty.com and will be accepted until 9 p.m. on September 24th. The public hearing will be streamed via Facebook Live on the official Otsego County Facebook page: https://www. facebook.com/ Otsego-County-NY102347451408765/ In response to the COVID-19 emergency, you will be screened upon building entry, masks will be required to be worn at all times and social distancing will be observed. A copy of this Local
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Law is available on the Otsego County website.
SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be Dated: served. SSNY September 11, 2020 shall mail process to: David Howell, Carol D. McGovern 333 Hook Road, Clerk of the Board of Katonah, NY 10536. Representatives Purpose: any lawful Otsego County, activity. New York 6LegalOct.8 1LegalSept.17 Legal nOtice Legal nOtice NOTICE OF Notice of FORMATION OF Formation of TRASK 1639 DISTILLERY TRAVEL LLC LLC, Articles of Org. filed Arts. of Org. filed NY Sec. of State with the SSNY on (SSNY) 8/25/2020. 08/25/2020. Office Office in Otsego Co. loc: Otsego County. SSNY desig. agent SSNY has been of LLC whom prodesignated as agent cess may be served. upon whom process SSNY shall mail against the LLC may process to 362 Pony be served. SSNY Farm Rd., Oneonta, shall mail process to: NY 13820, which Kevin Lynch, 145 is also the principal West Main Street, business location. Stony Point, NY Purpose: Any lawful 10980. Purpose: Any purpose. Lawful Purpose. 6LegalOct.8 6LegalOct.15 Legal nOtice Legal nOtice NOTICE OF Notice of FORMATION OF Formation of a Limited MATERIAL Liability MAXIM, LLC. Company ( LLC) Articles of OrganizaName: tion were filed with the NY Secretary of RMT Student State on 08/14/20. Rentals LLC The office of the LLC is to be located Articles of Organiin Otsego County. zation filed by the The Secretary of Department of State State has been desof New York on: ignated as agent of 08/07/2020 the LLC upon whom Office location: process against it County of Otsego may be served. The Purpose: any and all Secretary of State lawful activities shall mail a copy of Secretary of State of any process against New York (SSNY) the LLC served is designated as upon it to: The LLC, agent of the LLC 147 River Street, upon whom process Oneonta, NY 13820. against it may be The purpose of the served. SSNY shall LLC is to engage in mail a copy of proany lawful act. cess to: 6LegalOct.8 Robert Marks 3600 Fieldston Rd., Legal Apt. 6K nOtice Bronx, NY 10463 6LegalOct.8 PETITION IN SPECIAL PROCEEDING TO Legal nOtice QUIET TITLE Notice of Formation of
Index Number: EF2020-431
Rosalie LLC.
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF OTSEGO
Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 8/19/20. Office location: Otsego County.
IN THE MATTER OF THE
4316 County Hwy 11 Cooperstown 607-547-6038 krazytoms.com info@cfbsales.com SinCe 1962
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Open weekdays: 9 am to 5:30 pm Saturday: 9 am to 4 pm After hours by appt. Closed Sunday
LEGALS
APPLICATION OF Maria P. Dingman, Executrix of the Last Will and Testament of Hale E. Dingman, Petitioner, ~ against~ John Doe et al., and any persons or entities found to have an interest in the property subject to this action but not yet named. Respondent( s). Petitioner, by her attorney Donovan Laughlin and Laughlin, LLC, Dennis B. Laughlin, Esquire, respectfully shows, upon information and belief: 1. That she is the Executrix of the Last Will and Testament of Hale E. Dingman, her late Husband. 2. Hale E. Dingman passed away on 7 July 2018. On 19 October 2018, Letters Testamentary were duly issued to Maria P. Dingman, Executrix of the Last Will and Testament of Hale E. Dingman by the State of New York Montgomery County Surrogate’s Court. A true copy of the Letters Testamentary are annexed hereto and made a pait hereof as Exhibit “A.” Property I 3. That since the 30th day of December 1994, Hale E. Dingman has been the owner in fee and in actual possession of the following described real property situate in the County of Otsego, State of New York, claiming under the Deed hereinafter mentioned: All that tract or parcel of land lying and situate in the Town of Cherry Valley, County of Otsego and State of New York more particularly designated as follows: Tax Map Parcel Number Location 18.03-1-25.00 County Highway 31 30.00-1-9.01 County Highway 32A
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30.00-1-9.02 Salt Springville Road 4. That on the said 30th day of December 1994, the above described real property was conveyed to Hale E. Dingman by Deed in Otsego County. 5. That on the 26th day of January 1995, said Deed was duly recorded in the Office of the Otsego County Clerk in Liber 778 of Deeds at Page 772. A duly certified copy of said Deed is annexed hereto and made a part hereof as Exhibit “B.” 6. That said conveyance was made in fee simple between Marion I. Dingman and Hale E. Dingman. Marion I. Dingman was the mother of Hale E. Dingman. 7. That both parties in the above mentioned conveyance are deceased, the said Marion I. Dingman having died in the County of Montgomery, State of New York on 28 April 2010, and the said Hale E. Dingman having died in the County of Montgomery, State of New York on 7 July 2018. 8. That there are no liens or incumbrances which now exist on said real property. 9. Petitioner has had exclusive, complete, actual, open, notorious, and continuous undisputed possession of the property since 30 December 1994. 10. That no persons other than Hale E. Dingman and the Petitioner have been in actual possession of said real property during the past ten (10) years claiming title as owners in fee. 11. That no persons, other than Hale E. Dingman and the Petitioner, have in the past ten (10) years made any claim as to title as owners in fee. Property II 12. That since the 16th day of September 2003, Hale E. Dingman has been the owner in fee and
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in actual possession of the following described real property situate in the County of Otsego, State of New York, claiming under the Quit Claim Deed hereinafter mentioned:
Petitioner, have been in actual possession of said real property during the past ten (10) years claiming title as owners in fee.
August 2020. Office location: Otsego County. SSNY has been designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and SSNY shall mail copy of process to PO Box 307, Cooperstown, NY 13326. Purpose is to engage in any and all business activities permitted under NYS laws. 6LegalOct.1
Office in Otsego Co. SSNY desig. agent of LLC whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Kehoe & Merzig, PC, 8-12 Dietz St., Ste. 202, Oneonta, NY 13820. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. Principal business location: 27 Solar Bluff, Worcester, NY 12197. 6LegalSept.24
WHEREFORE, the Petitioner prays for an order declaring that the title of Hale E. Dingman to the above described real properties has been judicially established, and granting such other and further relief as the Court may seem just and proper.
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NOTICE OF FORMATION OF
Dated: 10 August 2020
Articles of Organization filing date with Secretary of State (SSNY) was 11 August 2020. Office location: Otsego County. SSNY has been designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and SSNY shall mail copy of process to PO Box 46, West Oneonta, NY 13861. Purpose is to engage in any and all business activities permitted under NYS laws. 6LegalOct.1
“All that tract or parcel of land situate in the Town of Cherry Valley, County of Otsego and State of New York, described as Vacant Land, 2.86 acres, *Co. Hwy. 32A, Tax Map Number 30.00-1-26.00, formerly assessed to Roy and Joyce Tyler.” 13. That on the said 16th day of September 2003, the above described real property was conveyed to Hale E. Dingman by Quit Claim Deed in Otsego County. 14. That on the 22nd day of September 2003, said Quit Claim Deed was duly recorded in the Office of the Otsego County Clerk in Liber 1018 of Deeds at Page 325 as Instrument Number 17359. A duly certified copy of said Quit Claim Deed is annexed hereto and made a part hereof as Exhibit “C.” 15. That said conveyance was made in fee simple between the County of Otsego, a municipal corporation of the State of New York having it’s office and principal place of business located in the Village of Cooperstown, New York, and Hale E. Dingman. 16. That one party in the above mentioned conveyance is deceased, the said Hale E. Dingman having died in the County of Montgomery, State of New York on 7 July 2018. 17. That there are no liens or incumbrances which now exist on said real property. 18. Petitioner has had exclusive, complete, actual, open, notorious, and continuous undisputed possession of the property since 16 September 2003. 19. That no persons, other than Hale E. Dingman and the
20. That no persons, other than Hale E. Dingman and the Petitioner, have in the past ten (10) years made any claim as to title as owners in fee. 21. That no previous application has been made for the relief prayed for herein.
Attorney signature pursuant to Sec. 1301.1-a of the Rules of the Chief Administrator (22 NYCRR) Dennis B. Laughlin, Esquire Donovan Laughlin and Laughlin, LLC Dennis B. Laughlin, Esquire, of counsel Attorney for Petitioner Digitally signed by Dennis B. Laughlin, Esquire Date: 2020.08.10 23:45:36 -04’00’ Donovan Laughlin and Laughlin, LLC Dennis B. Laughlin, Esquire, of counsel 15 South Main Street, Suite 103 Oneonta, New York 13820-2688 (607) 432 6959 ~ (607) 264 9094 (facsimile) dennis @ donovanlaughlin.com 4LegalSept.17 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of a NY Limited Liability Company
Notice of Formation of a NY Limited Liability Company Name: EDITH’S ESTATE LLC
Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of Patriot APS, LLC Filed w/ SSNY 8/10/20. Office location: Otsego County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom proc. may be served & shall mail to 5001 St Hwy 23 Suite 3-148, Oneonta NY 13820. Any lawful purpose. 6LegalSept.24 Legal nOtice
Name:
NOTICE OF FORMATION OF
SPRINGMEADOWS FARMS LLC.
J&R PROPERTIES OF WORCESTER, LLC
Certificate of Conversion filing date with Secretary of State (SSNY) was 4
Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 7/1/20.
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RADICALLY ALIGNED LLC Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY on 07/27/20. Office location: Otsego County. SSNY desg. as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to: 238 Percy Holmes Rd Worcester, NY 12197. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. 6LegalSept.17 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of the Local Gal, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY on 05/11/20. Office location: Otsego. SSNY desg. as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to 56 Center St, Oneonta, NY 13820. Any lawful purpose. 6LegalSept.17 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of 2229 County Highway LLC filed w/ SSNY 7/29/20. Off. in Otsego Co. SSNY desig. as agt. of LLC whom process may be served & shall mail process to the LLC, 1945 County Hwy. 22, Richfield Springs, NY 13439. Any lawful purpose. 6LegalSept.17
THURSDAY, September 17, 2020
B-6 HOMETOWN ONEONTA
IN MEMORIAM C. Norman Moran, 85; Baptist Pastor, Founded Oneonta Christian School
ONEONTA – Clarence Norman “Norm” Moran, 85, former pastor of Main Street Baptist Church and founding president of what is now the Oneonta Christian Academy in Otego, passed away on Sept. 12, 2020. He was born in Chester, Pa., on Christmas Day in 1934, the son of Clarence Wesley Moran and Anna Pusey Moran. At his mother’s encouragement, he enrolled at Philadelphia College of the Bible, then Elim Bible Institute, in Lima, Livingston County, graduating in 1957. That year he married his partner in ministry for life, Nancy. He then furthered his education at Roberts Wesleyan College, Alfred University, and Wheaton School of Theology in Illinois. Norm actually began as assistant pastor to Lima
Baptist Church while still in college, and upon graduating he began ministry as pastor of La Grange Baptist Church in La Grange, in Western New York, then felt called of God to begin a church in Geneseo. The church in Geneseo started as a “storefront” church in the second floor of a downtown building. In 1966, he moved his family of four to Geneseo, and built a church congregation that served in the heart of the community including a fruitful outreach ministry to college students attending there. While in Geneseo, Norm saw the value of strength in numbers, and helped begin an evangelical association of local pastors. He was also instrumental in bringing Youth for Christ Ministries to Geneseo, and also served a stint as New York Chapter
President of Christian Endeavor. In 1979, Norm felt the call to a new ministry yet again. He packed up Pastor Norm Moran and moved his family of now five to Central New York to Main Street Baptist Church, Oneonta. Ministry programs and opportunities for local and community outreach were constantly at the forefront of Norm’s agenda: Susquehanna Valley Association of Evangelicals, Mothers of Preschoolers, Youth For Christ, and the Oneonta Community Christian School, all began under the leadership and vision of Norm. He spent many fruitful hours listening, praying
with, and helping both congregation and community alike. Oneonta Community Christian School, of which he was the first school board president, was begun at Main Street Baptist and has grown from three other locations to now a fourth and final location, operating in the former Otego Elementary School as Oneonta Christian Academy. He was also key visionary and board member of a group who started a “seminary without walls,” a concept that sparked the “Seminary of the East” theological training school, where you have the ability to work a job to support yourself, and at the same time have the flexibility to attend classes, be mentored, and connect with church ministries as you earn your theological degree. This thriving training school is
located in the Philadelphia area. Norm left Main Street Baptist in 1993, and was called to serve as a pastor to missionaries for Conservative Baptist International. He served as East Area Director for 10 years. He was never placed in an ER, hospital room, or ICU where he was not convinced that God had a reason for him to be there to share with doctors, nurses and attendants, as well as roommates. Norm’s last home here on earth was Fox Nursing Home, and yes, if you were a resident, you could go to the all-purpose room on Sunday morning and with several other residents be a part of a service carefully prayed over, studied for, and performed by “Pastor Moran.” He is survived by his
brother, Bruce Moran and wife, Patricia of Magnolia, Del.; and was predeceased by lovely daughter, Valerie Ruth Moran-Meyers in 2014; by his beloved wife Nancy in 2015; and is survived by his daughter, Beth Anne Hawn, who lives with husband, Douglas in Rochester, and Rodger Moran, who lives with wife Karen in Oneonta; along with five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Because of COVID-19, only the immediate local family will attend a graveside service for Norm. Contributions in Norm’s honor, in lieu of flowers, may be made to Central New York Youth For Christ, P.O. Box 362, Oneonta, NY 13820, 607-432-0594, cnyyfco@cnyyfc.org Arrangements are entrusted to the Bookhout Funeral Home.
ONEONTA – Harriett H. Johnson, 93, a retired chemist who was active in many community organizations, died on Wednesday, Sept. 9, at The Plains in Oneonta. She was born on December 27, 1926, in Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of Emmy
(Hazeley) Herzog and Harry Herzog. She attended public schools in Cleveland and graduated from West High School in January 1945, the co-valedictorian of her class. She attended Ohio State University and graduated in 1949 with a degree in chemistry (elected to Phi Beta Kappa). She was awarded a fellowship in chemistry at the University of Minnesota and received her master¹s degree in 1951. She joined the staff of Procter and Gamble in Cincinnati, Ohio, as a chemist and next took a position with Eastman Kodak in Rochester, New York. She was married to Richard Johnson in Septem-
ber 1956 in Rochester and moved to Chicago, Illinois, where her husband was completing his graduate studies. In 1957 she and her husband moved to California where he was employed at the Stanford University libraries. Harriett assumed a position as chemist at the Stanford Research Institute in Menlo Park. She resigned her position in 1963 with the arrival of daughter Ruth, and their son, Royce, was born in 1964. The family moved to southern California in 1968 when Richard assumed a position at the Claremont Colleges, and stayed there until 1973 when Richard was appointed director of libraries at SUNY Oneonta. In Oneonta Harriett became immediately involved in many community vol-
unteer groups. She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church where she sang with Harriet the choir Johnson and was ordained an elder. She was a volunteer at the A.O. Fox Memorial Hospital and at the area Hospice organization. Harriett was a leader in the local Girl Scouts, and one of the first volunteer cooks at the Lord¹s Table at St. James Episcopal Church, where she scheduled groups for service at Saturday¹s Bread (First United Methodist Church). She was also responsible for preparing take-outs at the chicken & biscuit dinners at the First
Presbyterian Church. She achieved local renown for her bread baking, especially her challah. She was an active member of the Guild of Glimmerglass Festival and was also was on stage in one opera, Britten’s “Paul Bunyan” in 1995, when she was a supernumerary playing the part of an “old tree.” In the 1980s she taught introductory chemistry at SUNY Oneonta at Hartwick College, and, after becoming adept with personal computer, she co-authored “The Macintosh Press: Desktop Publishing for Libraries” (Meckler, 1989). She used that sklll as the editor of newsletters for numerous community groups, including the First Presbyterian Church, Fox Hospital Auxiliary, Execu-
tive Service Corps, Catskill Symphony, MUG ONE, the Macintosh users group, and the Guild of Glimmerglass Festival. Harriett is survived by her huaband Richard, her daughter Ruth Borra (Mark), her son Royce E Johnson (Marcie), and her grandsons, Michael Borra, Matthew Johnson (Erin Curry), Stephen Johnson (Laura Dunphy), and Eric Johnson (Marissa Ruis). A service in her memory at the First Presbyterian Church will be scheduled at a future date. Arrangements are being handled through the Bookhout Funeral Home, Oneonta, New York. Gifts in her memory may be made to The Lord¹s Table, St. James Episcopal Church, 305 Main Street. nta, NY 13820.
Harriett H. Johnson, 93; Retired Chemist, Active With Civic Groups
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Jean Marie Trask, 90; Otego Native Rose To Army Lt. Colonel OTEGO – Jean Marie Trask, who pursued a career in the U.S. Army, passed away peacefully at home, on August 24, 2020 in Blairsville, Ga. She was born June 1, 1930. Jean was the daughter of Arthur and Rosella (Fazone) Trask, and lived in the Otego area until she enlisted in the Army. She ended her career while stationed at the Pentagon with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Jean is survived by her brothers Joseph Hendrick (Nancy) of Gabbs, Nev., and Duane (Deb) Trask of West Oneonta, and sisters-in-law Estella Trask, Schenevus, and Marcia Trask, Colonie. Also many nieces and nephews, and many more great nieces and nephews and cousins. Jean was predeceased by her parents; stepmother Mary Hendrick Trask and stepfather James Hendrick; siblings Louis, Donald, Bruce (Bob) Trask and Elma Aikens Kirk; niece Cheryl Law, and nephews Leon Trask and Charles (Butch) Trask, whose wife Mary survives. Services are entrusted to the Cochran funeral home in Blairsville, Ga.