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Volume 9, No. 2
City of The Hills
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& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch
Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, October 14, 2016
Complimentary
Amatrice Hails ‘Angel’ Vinne Avanzato Stella Luna Proprietor Delivers $3,000 Raised From Oneontans For ’Quake Relief By LIBBY CUDMORE
V
inne Avanzato was hailed as a hero after delivering a $3,000 check – raised by customers dining on Bucatini all’Amatriciana at Stella Luna – into the hands of Sergio Pirozzi, mayor of the earthquake-ravaged Amatrice, Italy. “People were thanking him for giving back,” said his brother, Tony, who Vinnie Avanzato delivers is receiving e-mail reports from his check to Mayor Pirozzi.
brother in Italy. “They were so happy that an Italian-American was giving back to his country. They even told him they wished more Italians were as generous as we were!” Vinne, his wife Ruth and their daughter Giuliva had already booked an October visit to Italy to visit their son Diego and other extended family in Sicily when the earthquake hit in the early morning hours of Aug. 30. “There was so much devastation,” said Tony. “But the clock tower, the Please See DONATION, A3
FOCUS, UNION TALKING ABOUT STAFFING LEVEL
F
ocus Otsego and its workers’ union have announced a “joint effort” to address staffing shortages at the facility. The plan includes higher wages, a scale to recognize experience, incentives for new employees and training aimed at maximizing quality care. See details at
AllOTSEGO.com
www.
Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
CANO President Annie Kuhn received the Albert E. Morris Award for careful renovations of the Wilber Mansion, and downtown property owner Peter Clark, the Eduard Hofbauer Outstanding Service Award for storing Greater Oneonta Historical Society archives during renovations, at the GOHS annual meeting Wednesday, Oct. 5.
Traveling Exhibit Goal: Teaching From Tragedy ‘I Stand With Amy,’ 100 Declare, Rising
Candidates Forum Due At SUNY-O
By LIBBY CUDMORE
S
tate Senate and Assembly candidates will meet at a forum at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 17, at SUNY Oneonta’s Morris Conference Center, sponsored by the League of Women Voters Incumbent Republican Jim Seward and Democrat Jermain Bagnall-Graham are running for the 51st Senate seat. Incumbent Democrat Bill Magee and Republican John Salka are seeking the local Assembly seat. Oneonta Town Board candidates Michael Stolzer and Randal Mowers will also appear. RING BELLS: The Salvation Army is taking applications for bell ringers for the 2016 Red Kettle Campaign, which starts Saturday, Nov. 12 until Christmas Eve. Call 432-5960 or stop by the Salvation Army, 25 River St.
MIDDLEFIELD
A
my Stock would have turned 50 Tuesday, Oct. Amy Stock 11, 2016. “Instead of celebrating, I’m dedicating a Stop DWI Memorial,” said her sister, Eileen Anania. “And tomorrow I’ll go to the cemetery with bright yellow mums.” Amy’s family gathered at the county Emergency Services garage at The Meadows to unveil the Stop DWI Amy Stock Memorial Please See AMY, A3
Jim Kevlin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
A sometimes tearful Eileen Anania of Cooperstown introduces the Mary Stock Memorial, a teaching tool featuring the car her sister was driving when it was hit by a drunk driver, to 100 well-wishers at a dedication Tuesday, Oct. 11, at The Meadows. Medical Coaches of Oneonta fabricated the memorial.
25 Years Ago, ‘God Called,’ Good Followed
nated and many of us got ill, there were red ants and mosquito bites galore. But all these negatives n 1992, a group of First Preswere far surpassed by the realizabyterian Church worshippers tion of how much we were needed HELP TROOPERS: got out of a van in front of by these kids.” State police are seeking the Pringle Home for Children in On Sunday, Oct. 9, the church the public’s help in finding rural Jamaica for a week of miscelebrated 25 years of affiliation a 2013 Ford F150 pickup sion work. with the Pringle Home, includtruck, color gray, license “Conditions were harsh,” said ing 21 on-site visits, one this past plate 20811JV, missing from Bonnie Manes, who led the misJuly. “God has called us to do his a home on Winney Hill sion along with the Rev. Marie work and we have answered faithIan Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA Road since 2 a.m. Sept. 22. Bonnie Manes reflects on a King, the pastor at the time. “The fully,” said Manes, who has Call Troop C at 432-4844 or 25-year Jamaica mission. water and food were contamiPlease See MISSION, A3 432-3211.
Trump’s Revelation No Surprise To One Who Covered Him As NYC Reporter, Mathisen Saw Presidential Candidates Close Up By JIM KEVLIN
By LIBBY CUDMORE
I
T
he afternoon before, veteran New York City radio reporter Don Mathisen, now living in Oneonta, was recounting his experiences covering both presidential candidates, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump. As a reporter for WCNY, the city’s largest NPR station, then Bloomberg News and, finally, Fox, he covered leading New York politicos for decades, and described Clinton as testy, chilly with local reporters, and Please See MATHISEN, A6
HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST CIRCULATION NEWSPAPER 2010 WINNER OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD