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uxury, BOXED
BEEN NICE? YOUR GIFT MAY BE IN A BURT RIGID BOX/B1
HOMETOWN ONEONTA !
E RE
F Volume 8, No. 9
City of The Hills
& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch
Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, December 4, 2015
Complimentary
City Schools Bright Spot Amidst Regional Exodus By JIM KEVLIN
T Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
Vince Romano’s Jersey represents victories that won him a berth on the Bergamo Lions.
OHS Football Player Joins Team In Italy
V
ince Romano played football for the Molda-Matic Cowboys (at age 10), OHS, and Pace University. He got a scout, and gained two NFL tryouts. In 2014, he was team captain for the Euro-American classic, where he had six tackles and a sack. In January, his career takes a new turn, when he departs for the Milan, Italy, region to play for the Bergamo Lions, an American-style football team in a European league/DETAILS, A3
RUNNING & REMEMBERING Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
Hundreds of balloons, above photo, bearing the names of loved ones, inspirational messages and prayers for the sick and deceased waft skywards as the third annual Thanksgiving Day 5K Turkey Trot, sponsored by the Catskill Area Hospice & Palliative Care, was about to begin Thursday, Nov. 26, in Neahwa Park. Adopting a lighter note were, in left photo, Kristen Preston of Otego and a visiting friend, Erin Ames of Wake Forrest, N.C., donning turkey hats for the occasion.
337 TO GRADUATE: SUNY Oneonta will honor December graduates at 11 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 6, in Dewar Arena. The grads are also welcome to return in May for the 2016 commencement. To view live, follow the link from www. allotsego.com HELP FOR OCA: City School Board member Dan Buttermann (clarinet), wife Ana Laura Gonzalez (flute) and Kim Paterson on the piano will perform a benefit concert for the Oneonta Concert Association at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5, at First United Methodist Church. Admission free, but donations welcome. TREE ARRIVES: Witness
the lighting of Oneonta’s community Christmas tree, 5-8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 3, in Muller Plaza. For more holiday fun, see B1
MEET NEW COUNTY BOARD PETER OBERACKER, District 6, worcester/schenevus
T
’own of Maryland Supervisor Peter Oberacker supports his mentor Don Lindberg’s idea of attracting new people who will build homes and increase the property tax base. He is in the six-member Class of 2016 that will be joining the Otsego County Board of Representatives on Jan. 1. See newcomers’ profiles at WWW.ALLOTSEGO.COM
his year’s ONC BOCES enrollment projections weren’t a pretty picture, but the Oneonta City School District continues to be a ALL THE DATA bright For full ONC BOspot. CES enrollment “We’re report, follow up 3.6 link at percent. ALLOTSEGO.COM That’s pretty stable in our environment,” said School Superintendent Joe Yelich. “Some of the districts in our cohort list are losing 10, 15 percent.” Last year’s projection was 2.1 percent. The annual projections, prepared by ONC BOCES Superintendent Nick Savin and released in recent days, show “live births” for the most recent years available Please See DATA, A7
2 Oneontas’ Firefighting Deal Stalled
W
ith less than 30 days in the year, fears are being expressed a fire contract for the City of Oneonta to serve the town’s Southside, and East and West ends, may not be completed by Jan. 1/DETAILS, A6
JAMAICAN CUISINE ARRIVES
Plaintains, Curried Goat, Much More Rorian Mclean, left, and Damion McIntyre stir up delicacies at Jamaican Creations.
By LIBBY CUDMORE
A Oberacker at Maryland’s Etc., Etc.
t just after 11 on a rainy Saturday morning, the phone at Jamaican Creations rang and Damion McInyre, co-owner, answered. “This guy has been waiting all morning for us to open,” he said, jotting down his order. “We call it ‘Cool Runnings to Go’.” Please See CREATIONS, A7
Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST CIRCULATION NEWSPAPER 2010 WINNER OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD