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F Volume 12, No. 52
& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch
Oneonta, N.Y., Thursday, October 1, 2020
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hree of the latest five cases of COVID-19 reported were Bassett Hospital employees, according to Heidi Bond, county public health director.
Governor Puts Tony Casale On Elections Board ALBANY
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overnor Cuomo Tuesday, Sept. 29, appointed Republican Tony Casale, who formerly represented Oneonta in the state Assembly, to the state Board of Elections this week. The four-member board, two Republicans and two Democrats, is charged with ensuring fair elections throughout the state. A Herkimer native now living in Cooperstown, Casale left the Assembly when Governor Pataki appointed him to chair the state Liquor Control Board. His son, Vince, is county Republican chairman. FULL COVID STORIES ON
AllOTSEGO.com
►15 Cases Of COVID spike over the weekend, with five cases among residents. ►’Mohawk Valley 9’ backs Remington plant’s buyer. ►FOOTHILLS ONLINE fund-drive looks to bridge COVID-19. ►Ice Cream Returns to Oneonta’s East End. ►DELGADO’S BILL EXTENDS business debt relief until February 2021. ►troopers: Teen Threatens law enforcement officers. ►FOOTHILLS PARKING LOT turns into drive-in cinema on Saturdays.
IBRAHIM: In Unity, Strength
3 At Bassett Found COVID-19 Positive COOPERSTOWN
Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
COMPLIMENTARY
AllOTSEGO.com • Your ONLINE DAILY NEWSPAPER
By LIBBY CUDMORE
Jayden Zakala prepares a scoop of freshly made banana ice cream for customer’s at the newly opened Adaline Ice Cream on Main Street in Oneonta’s East End.
ONEONTA
“We don’t know where (two) employees picked it up, but they gave it to a family member, who also works at Bassett,” she said. The three cases are part of a five-day spike that saw an additional 18 cases throughout the county, nine at SUNY Oneonta, one at Hartwick College and seven Please See COVID, A3
Bassett CEO Knitting Big Network Together By JIM KEVLIN COOPERSTOWN
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n his three months as CEO/president, Dr. Tommy Ibrahim is increasingly impressed by Bassett Healthcare Network’s local significance.
“In our service area, we’re it,” he said in an interview Monday, Sept. 28. “We have an obligation to serve the people in it.” In the past two months, he has announced 10 members of his Executive Leadership Team, including Fox Hospital President Jeff Joyner as Please See BASSETT, A3 The Farmers’ Museum blacksmith John Patterson has moved his forge out to the Village Green, where visitors have a 360-degree view as he makes bottle openers and mantle hooks.
For Sheriff, Son’s Probe Not Yet Over Sheriff Asks D.A.: Find Evidence Not Returned By LIBBY CUDMORE COOPERSTOWN
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he County of Otsego’s investigation into Sheriff Richard J. Devlin Jr.’s correctional officer son ended when Ros Devlin resigned from his father’s department. But to the sheriff, it isn’t over. Tuesday, Sept. 29, the sheriff announced a DVD from the investigation is missing, and he’s asked District Attorney John Muehl to investigate Devlin the matter. In an interview, the sheriff said, separately, he’s also asking the county to amend the final report into his son’s case to remove material implicating his son which the father said is inaccurate. Please See SHERIFF, B4
It’s Beginning To Look Lot Less Like Halloween
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ome late October, there will be no parade of ghosts and goblins haunting Cooperstown and Oneonta. The Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce won’t be seeking a parade permit, Chamber Executive Tara Burke told Mayor Ellen Tillapaugh Kuch. “But many businesses are going to continue giving out candy, as Please See PARADES, B4
Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
Fall at The Farm
Museum Opts For Safer, Longer Event By LIBBY CUDMORE COOPERSTOWN
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very so often, Farmers’ Museum interpreter Deb Anderson will see someone sneaking a ride on the closed Deb Bittenbender poses Empire State Carousel. It’s not a ghost or a straggler – it’s with scarecrow daredevil daredevil Sam Patch, one of The Sam Patch.
Farmers’ Museum’s scarecrows, atop Bucky Beaver, the first of the carousel’s hand-carved animals. Sam was created by the museum’s staff, part of the museum’s Celebration of Autumn, underway through Sunday, Oct. 11, in place of the usual single-weekend Harvest Fest. Concerned about the crowd the Please See MUSEUM, B3
BRENNER: OD’S RISES AS OPD CAN’T HOLD THEM, HELP THEM
Repeated Offenders Have Oneonta On Edge By LIBBY CUDMORE ONEONTA
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or Oneonta Police Chief Doug Brenner, the recent slate of thefts from unlocked cars are more than just petty crimes. They’re a stress on the Oneonta com-
munity as a whole. “These aren’t huge larcenies, but they create a more hyper-sensitive community,” he said. “You have to remember to lock your car, your house, you might be more sensitive to when your dog barks.” On Sept. 18, Oneonta Police arrested Keegan Allen, 22, a homeless man, following a report that someone had been rifling Please See HOMELESS, B4
HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST CIRCULATION NEWSPAPER 2010 WINNER OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD