Hometown Oneonta 09-30-21

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HOMETOWN

CUS ATION I APPREC

NG IS I H T Y R EVE ! ON SALE

AUTUMN Dreams VISIT www.

City of the Hills Oneonta to host women’s rights rally Saturday There will be a community gathering at 4:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 2, in Muller Plaza in Oneonta for women’s reproductive rights. There will be music, refreshments and speakers. The event in organized by Diandra Sangetti-Daniels.

Pit Run to return for virtual and in-person events

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ONEONTA

& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch

ens ur y Gard New Asb Street r 248 Rive a t n o One 8703 607-432- gardens.com ry newasbu

Volume 13, No. 52

Home

OR F S I L L FA G! N I T N A PL TOMER

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Pumpkin pride

Family farm near Richfield Springs provides region with October’s decor

AllOTSEGO.com, OTSEGO COUNTY’S DAILY NEWSPAPER/ONLINE COMPLIMENTARY

Oneonta, N.Y., Thursday, September 30, 2021

Mandates force Bassett cutbacks Tuesday Although 96% of employees are reportedly vaccinated, transition leaves some outpatient services shuttered, workers ‘temporarily’ reassigned By KEVIN LIMITI One day after the vaccination mandate deadline, Bassett Healthcare Network was forced to cut services in certain areas because of a loss of staff members, Tuesday, Sept. 28. Bassett announced the changes Tuesday, calling it a need to “redeploy staff temporarily” because of shortages. Services affected include outpatient laboratory draws, which are now by appointment only. Cooperstown Convenient Care has been forced

to close, and wait times for phone calls will take longer than usual. In an internal email Monday, Bassett President and CEO Tommy Ibrahim said 96% of staff were vaccinated. “Thank you to each and every one of you who have made the choice to get vaccinated already,” Ibrahim said. Gabrielle Argo, a communications person for Bassett, said Bassett lost over 100 people since yesterday due to the vaccination mandate but said she felt they were doing “very well.” “These changes to service are very temporary,”

Argo said, who was “optimistic” that the changes would only be affective for a couple of weeks. “But we’ll continue to assess the situation.” Argo said Ibrahim was not available to do interviews Tuesday. Bassett Healthcare Network was responding to a mandate from Gov. Kathy Hochul requiring healthcare workers to be vaccinated. The decision drew protests in Cooperstown and Oneonta and left some wondering about the already precarious situation with understaffing at hospitals.

USS Cooperstown in town

After a one-year hiatus, the Ricky J. Parisian Memorial Pit Run returns to Oneonta, Sunday Oct. 3. The annual Pit Run is an activity of “The Ricky J. Parisian Memorial Scholarship Foundation, Inc.” This $4,000 scholarship is provided annually in the memory of Ricky J. Parisian, a 1978 graduate of Oneonta High School. Parisian, a State Trooper, died trying to stop a robbery while off-duty. There will be a virtual 100K, a 2K stroll, a 5K and the traditional 10K. Go to www.pitrun.org for more information.

Milo Stewart Jr./ National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

Cooperstown got a special visit last week from the crew of the USS Cooperstown. The U.S. Navy Freedom-class littoral combat ship was announced in 2015 at the Hall of Fame Induction Weekend and christened in early 2020.

INSIDE ►TRAIL WINNERS: Cherry Valley Artworks gives out Sculpture Trail awards. Page A3. ►Chic Walshe: Milford girls, Cooperstown boys win championships. Page A7. ►PROTEST COVERAGE: Reporter Kevin Limiti discusses why if you show up, we might show up, too. Page A4. ►MERGER MANDATE: Voters in Schenevus, Worcester pass preliminary consolidation plan. Page A9. ►Manslaughter SENTENCE: Otego man gets four to 12 years in driving deaths. Page A10. ►CUCKOO for CoCO: New shop in Cherry Valley focuses on arts, crafts. Page A11.

Friday, the crew visited the Hall and met with new President Josh Rawitch, front right.

Cooperstown to consider marijuana response

Village to hold information session at 6:30 p.m., Monday, Nov. 8; public hearing Monday, Nov. 22 By GREG KLEIN

COOPERSTOWN — The village of Cooperstown’s Board of Trustees Follow Breaking News On will hold a special meeting at 6:30 p.m., Monday, Nov. 8, to discuss OTSEGO.com options about opting out on the state’s cannabis dispensary plan. ►RABID ANIMAL: The Otsego Municipalities have until the end County Department of Health of the year to opt out or they are reported a bat found in the considered open to hosting sites for Oneonta area tested marijuana sales or use. positive for rabies last week. Cooperstown Mayor Ellen ►Sports UPDATES: With high Tillapaugh said she thought the school sports going on, get the chances Cooperstown got selected latest scores online. for a site were small anyway, but she ►COVID UPDATES: Coronaviwanted the village residents to have rus cases continue to rise in a say in the decision. Otsego County.

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Tillapaugh said she thought opting out and scheduling a village referendum for the March elections would be a smart way to let villagers have their say on the issue. Trustee MacGuire Benton said he thought framing the issue as opting out was a bad idea. He said the trustees could study the issue and decide to allow the deadline to pass without taking action, thereby opting in. Although opinions differed on a potential referendum, all of the trustees seemed to agree they did not have a full grasp of the new laws or the village’s role in the matter and wanted to use the next month to learn more.

Tillapaugh said the first November meeting would be an information session for villagers and trustees, with lots of time for discussion and questions. The normal November meeting at the end of the month will include a public hearing on the issue, beginning at 7 p.m., and potentially a vote by the trustees. The trustees also discussed the continuing problems in the mornings at Cooperstown Elementary School, where the unintended consequence of making Walnut Street one way has jammed up Delaware Street. Heidi Geisz, a local mother, shared a petition of about 25 parents who asked the village to reconsider

its options with school drop offs and pick ups and to undo a change that prohibits stopping and standing on Walnut during peak school hours. Tillapaugh and Cooperstown Police Chief Frank Cavalieri both admitted the current system is not working. Tillapaugh said she is in ongoing discussions with Cooperstown Elementary School Principal Tracy Durkee on a solution. The trustees also scheduled a public tour of the new wastewater treatment facilities for 2 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 7. The old plant was commissioned in 1969. State funding helped build the new plant, which had a 2019 ground breaking.

THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST PRINT CIRCULATION 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD


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Hometown Oneonta 09-30-21 by All Otsego - News of Oneonta, Cooperstown & Otsego County, NY - Issuu