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& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch Complimentary

Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, December 21, 2012

Volume 5, No. 14

City of The Hills

C

ERRY

5

Christmas Spirit

...LIVES ON, AS GRAMMIE WOULD HAVE LIKED IT

Retreat Prompts Attacks After Criticizing Mayor, Alderman Resigns Finance

By LIBBY CUDMORE

T

he first hour of the Common Council’s pre-2013 retreat, before the pizza, was tense, as contrary views of the city’s budget and five-year financial plan collided.

“What Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA bothers me Lynch, left, jousts is the way with mayor, right. the way the financial plan is used,” said Council member Mike Lynch during the Tuesday, Dec. 18 session. “People – yourself included, mayor – say we’re going broke, that doomsday is coming. And that’s simply not true.”

Speaking to Lynch’s prior critiPlease See RETREAT, A8

HOMETOWN ONEONTA

Mark Davies, president of OCAY (Oneonta Community Alliance for Youth), answers Teen Center members’ questions about why the facility may be closed.

Giving few specifics, Davies said his board planned to meet Thursday, Dec. 20, to discuss options to keep the center open.

City Baseball Team Back In Local Hands

G

ary Laing, owner of the Shipping Room, announced he’s completed purchase of the Oneonta Outlaws from the two Glens Falls partners who ran the franchise in Damaschke Field for the past three season.

He also announced that Oneonta’s “Mr. Baseball,” OHS Athletic Director Joe Hughes, will coach the team next summer. Steve Pindar will continue as general manager.

The Outlaws will rejoin the New York Collegiate Baseball League, leaving the Perfect Game Collegiate League.

ANTICIPATION: Mayor Miller, county Board Chair Kathy Clark, R-Otego, and other economic development leaders were due at Albany’s Egg Wednesday, Dec. 19, to learn what piece of the Cuomo Administration’s $1 billion in economic-development funding may be heading here. For details, check www.allotsego.com MIKE NAPLES DAY: Common Council designated Jan. 3 in honor of the Sixth Ward Council member who passed away last Jan. 9, a week after taking office.

Jim Kevlin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA

Valero manager and Milford resident Rhonda Hoag’s holiday spirit comes from this extended Guilford-centered clan. In the middle row, from left, are Rhonda’s sister Tammi Parsons, mom Terri Parsons, Rhonda herself and husband Brian Hoag. Front row, from left, are Tammi’s daughter Skyler, and Rhonda and Brian’s children, Landon, Carly and Serenity. Standing, from left, is Tammi’s partner Alan Locke and their baby, Caleb, and Rhonda’s dad Ron Parsons, In the center is Rhonda’s Uncle Mark and girlfriend Brenda Armitage. At right is Uncle Scott and girlfriend, Patti Dymond.

By JIM KEVLIN GUILFORD

S

omething’s going on at the Valero’s Country Store on Oneonta’s West End, regular customers figure out pretty quickly.

At Valentine’s Day, hearts adorn. Then eggs and wabbits for Easter.

Then flags as the Fourth of July nears. Then ghosts and goblins. Then turkeys.

And, finally, the pièce de résistance – Christmas,

Rhonda’s Grammie Mary Ellen Parsons passed away in June, but her Christmas spirit lives on in her offspring, and in the decorations at Valero’s Country Store, Oneonta.

including the tree decorated with brightly colored Lottery tickets. (All losers from throughout the year.)

Ask the architect of all this holiday spirit, manager Rhonda Hoag of Milford, who’s worked there for three years, and she credits her grandmom, Mary Ellen Parsons of Guilford, with the year-’round cheer.

(Valero’s has encouraged her mission, too, said the manager, who – with Dollar General just across the street – adds a couple decorations here, a couple there, Please See SPIRIT, A9

Riverstone Offers Golf, Restaurant Harpursville Partners Set To Relaunch Woodhaven WEST ONEONTA

T

he golf course dates back to the 1970s, but this is different.

After months of landscaping and the addition of a full-service restaurant, foursomes will again be driving and putting in HOMETOWN ONEONTA the spring on the Riverstone’s nine-hole course chef is Mark here renamed McDermott, Riverstone. from Saratoga The restaurant, National. featuring everything “from prime rib to hot dogs” – as managing partner Phil Wilmot Please See LINKS, A7

HOMETOWN ONEONTA, THE LARGEST CIRCULATION NEWSPAPER IN OTSEGO COUNTY, 2010 WINNER OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD 5798 State Highway 80 x Cooperstown, NY 13326 x (607) 547-1400 x FenimoreArtMuseum.org

Tasha Tudor: Around the Year Through December 30

Around the Year illuminates the changing seasons and special annual celebrations with outstanding, rarely-seen examples of Tudor’s original art for greeting cards, children’s books, and holidays.

Tasha Tudor: Around the Year has been organized by the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachuse�s

FIND� TASH A�TU GIFT�I DOR� TEM IN�OU S� R� SHOP !

(Detail) Untitled, 1973, Illustration for a Christmas card (1973) and Drawn from New England (1979) by Tasha Tudor, Watercolor on paper 8.5” x 9.25”, Collection of Jeane�e and Gerald Knazek ©1973 Tasha Tudor. All rights reserved.

MUSEUM ADMISSION Adults and Juniors (13-64): $12.00 Seniors (65+): $10.50 Children (12 and under): Free NYSHA members, active military, and retired career military personnel: Free

Tues-Sun 10am to 4pm (closed Mondays)

A-2

THURSDAY-FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20-21, 2012

First Night Schedule VENUE Oneonta Theatre 47 Chestnut downstairs Oneonta Theatre 47 Chestnut upstairs Foothills 24 Market Street atrium

5pm 6pm CATSKILL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA HORSESHOE LOUNGE PLAYBOYS Parade Awards Catskill Puppet Theatre Oneonta World of Learning Mike the Juggler BJ the Clown Skip West Elite Dance Co.

Foothills main stage 24 Market Street Foothills production room Crystal Palace, 18 Dietz Street UU Church, 12 Ford Avenue Bluefield Café, 40 Walnut Street First Presbyterian Church, 296 Main Street First United Methodist Church 66 Chestnut Street Community Bank lobby, 245 Main Street Main View Gallery, 73 Main Street First Baptist Church 71 Chestnut Street History Center, 189 Main Street Capresso, 215 Main Street Leilani’s, 205 Main Street Former Karma space Hobart Fire Dept 219 Main Street Pipes and Drums

Broadway Cabaret SKYANi TONY’S POLKA BAND Kondrat Sisters DADY BROTHERS Sweet Adelines

7pm

8pm

9pm

HORSESHOE LOUNGE PLAYBOYS STORY LAURIE

SAMURAI PIZZA CATS Catskill Puppet Theatre

SAMURAI PIZZA CATS X

Zumba!

Dance

Dance

I Wish I Were Sinatra SKYANi TONY’s POLKA BAND John Scarpula DADY BROTHERS Sweet Adelines

Broadway Cabaret I Wish I Were Sinatra HOP CITY HELLCATS HOP CITY HELLCATS DRIFTWOOD DRIFTWOOD Kondrat Sisters John Scarpula WALT MICHEAL & Co. WALT MICHAEL & Co. CATSKILL VALLEY X WIND ENSEMBLE X X Treadwell Trio Treadwell Trio First Baptist Church X Harmonica Band - Randy’s Harptones Tim Horne X X X Chris Wolf-Gould JAZZ X X X

Chris Wolf-Gould JAZZ X X X First Baptist Church Tinny Wilkens Indonesian Harmonica Band - Randy’s Harptones MARK SIMONSON MARK SIMONSON JO & ADAM MISH JO & ADAM MISH Tinny Wilkens Indonesian Blue Ribbon Cloggers X Hobart Fire Dept Pipes and Drums Fireworks at 10:15 pm

* Schedule subject to change * Oneonta World of Learning activities for children at Foothills, 5 in the afternoon. Free Words for the New Year poetry reading, 2 pm at Wilber Mansion, 11 Ford Avenue. Free First Night Fashion Show, 3:30 pm at Leilani’s, 205 Main Street. Free First Night PARADE, 4 pm, Main Street Oneonta (line-up at 3 pm on Grand Street). Free Catskill Chamber Singers perform for area retirement homes in the afternoon. Free Merrymakers perform at Yellow Deli on Main Street, 6–10 pm. Free Live owls and birds of prey exhibit, Main Street Walkway, 4–10 pm. Free Balloons on Main Street created by Zep the Clown, 5–10 pm. Free Facepainting by BJ the Clown at Foothills, 5 pm. Free Townsquare Media Jr Idol live performances on the Main St FOF bandshell, 6–10 pm. Free FIREWORKS at 10:15 pm. Free As of December 15, 2012, First Night Oneonta is made possible by the Bank of Cooperstown, Bassett Healthcare Network, Brooks Bar-B-Que Charitable Foundation, Canadian Pacific Rail Foundation, Clarence Preston Fund, Cleinman Performance Partners, Community Bank, N.A., The Daily Star, The Eggleston Foundation, Delaware Engineering, Delaware National Bank, Five Star Subaru, Future For Oneonta Foundation, Hometown Oneonta, Nellie and Robert Gipson, Hartwick College, LEAF Council on Alcoholism, Main Street Oneonta, Morgan McReynolds Group at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and Tom Morgan, Erna McReynolds and Wendy Brown, NBT Bank of Oneonta, Northern Eagle Beverages, O’Connor Foundation, Otsego County Tourism, Price Chopper, Sidney Federal Credit Union, Silver Dollar Optical Corp, Stewart’s Foundation, Townsquare Media and WSKG Public Broadcasting. This program is also made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, administered by the Chenango County Council of the Arts, with support from Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Circle of One Hundred individual major supporters include Judge Lucy Bernier, Mayor Dick Miller, Reverend Kenneth Baldwin, Dory Brown, Kevin Herrick, Alan Cleinman, Martha Forgiano, Penny Wightman, Dr. Nancy Kleniewski & Bill Davis, Mary Ann Mazarak, Laurie Zimniewicz, Arnie Drogen, and Judge Richard McVinney.

www.FirstNightOneonta.com Facebook: First-Night-Oneonta

Twitter: @FirstNightOtown

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2012

HOMETOWN ONEONTA A-3

HOMETOWN People DOGGIE DEBUT

Jim Kevlin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA

Beagle Banjo, a resident of the Susquehanna SPCA, makes his debut Friday, Dec. 14, at the beginning of the Donna Decker Fokine Ballet’s 25th anniversary performance of “The Nutcracker” in SUNY Oneonta’s Goodrich Theater. Afterwards, balletgoers could apply to adopt Banjo and two of his SPCA pals. Wyn Maben handles the leash.

ST. JAMES OPEN HOUSE PACKED

Jim Kevlin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA

More than 200 people attended St. James Manor’s Christmas open house Sunday, Dec. 16, according to director Kathy Clarkson. Contemplating the decorations in tranquillity after things calmed down were, from left, Enid Carter, Clarkson, Richard and Dottie Wooden, Don and Marilyn Ball, Joseph Markovich and Betty Kratzenstein.

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2012

EDITORIAL

In Season Of Peace, Let’s Remove Guns From Our Homes

P

eace on Earth, goodwill to all.

The Friday, Dec. 14, shooting in Newtown, Conn., dramatizes how far we are from that ideal. And thus were fear, anger and brutality always with us, as illuminated elsewhere on this page in the Christmas reflections of the Revs. Thomas Pullyblank, the SUNY Oneonta history professor, and Mark Michael, rector of Cooperstown’s Christ Episcopal Church.

This Christmas , while we strive for peace and goodwill, we recognize the world is, in many ways, an ugly place.

• A disturbed young gunman who shot his mother, raided her arsenal and used an assault rifle and two pistols to kill 20 children and six educators at nearby Sandy Hook Elementary School has renewed the debate on gun control.

Given the sorry negotiations over the “fiscal cliff” – as of this writing, the latest idea was to avoid tax increases on some of our wealthiest citizens by slowing cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security recipients – suggests

the renewed determination to do something about gun control may accomplish something, but will not result in sweeping change.

There are political reasons that’s so. Only 25 percent of Democratic families own guns; 60 percent of Republican ones do. In this, as in many other issues, it is unlikely the Democratic Senate and Republican House will break with their bases.

• And then there’s the Second Amendment: “The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” Pretty straightforward, and arguments otherwise seem tortured, as the Supreme Court has affirmed.

Yet, does the Founding Fathers’ agreement on the right to bear single-shot muskets that took a minute and a half to reload mean we all have the right to own a personal drone or to park a tank in our driveways?

If anything comes out of the renewed debate, let’s hope it’s the ban on assault rifles like the 30shots-per-clip Bushmaster AR-15 that Adam Lanza used in Newtown. He had multiple additional

A

from www.brandmill.com

clips at the ready, and shot some of his tiny victims as many as 11 times. The nation survived a 10year ban (1994-2004) on assault rifles, and no doubt could indefinitely.

On a personal level, while we may have the right to own a firearm, we’re not required to. We don’t keep open buckets of gasoline in our kitchens – it’s too risky.

Why keep a gun in the hall closet?

• We can act today to improve our families’ safety. We’re adults. We don’t have to wait for relief from distant Washington, D.C., that may never come. We can reduce the risk of gun violence by removing firearms from our homes.

The definitive study that appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1993 concluded: “Although firearms are often kept in homes for personal protection, this study shows that the practice is counterproductive. Our data indicate that keeping a gun in the home is independently associated with an increase in the risk of homicide in the home.

“The use of illicit drugs and a history of physical fights in the home are also important risk factors. Efforts to increase home security have largely focused on preventing unwanted entry, but the greatest threat to the lives of household members appears to come from within.”

If you own a gun, get rid of it.

If you’re thinking of buying one, don’t.

• None of this is theoretical, as we in Otsego County well know.

Cooperstown is still numbed from the 2010 Good Friday shooting of a CCS sophomore by a classmate, who then shot himself in a failed suicide attempt. If there were no guns in the shooter’s family household, how much of the

still ongoing anguish might have been avoided?

Just last month in the charming local hamlet of Franklin, a SUNY Delhi professor killed his wife, a community leader in Oneonta, then turned the gun on himself, leaving two sons behind. If guns weren’t at the ready, would a moment of anger have turned fatal?

This is not an anti editorial.

We’re not against hunting, or the Bill of Rights, or gun shops that have a legal right to operate. This, we hope, is pro common sense, pro preventing the occasional angry exchange even in the most loving households from turning fatal.

This will not end all mass killings. This year, 73 people died in the U.S. in eight multiple shootings. Individual action wouldn’t have stopped all of these, but one, two, maybe a half dozen? Arguably, this is a public health issue as much or more than a law-enforcement one.

And we can act, starting today, and what better time of year? For if even people who love each other are killing each other, what chance is there for peace on Earth, goodwill toward all?

THE MESSAGE OF CHRISTMAS

nd she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

The Rev. MARK MICHAELS Rector, Christ Episcopal Church, Cooperstown

Everlasting Peace Is The Season’s Promise

I

t won’t feel like Christmas this year.

When we hear a child’s voice singing “Away in a Manger,” or see a shiny package tied up with string, this year we will think of them – of those 20 little children. They will not sing this Christmas or open the gifts chosen by those who love them. They will never sing again, at least not in this world.

If it doesn’t feel like the Christmas we usually celebrate, at least it might remind us of the first Christmas, of that vulnerable baby born into a cruel, dangerous world.

Bethlehem is always peaceful in the storybooks.

The carol imagines that “above thy deep and dreamless sleep, the silent stars go by.” But it wasn’t really like that.

It was census time, after all, and the whole city was full. Houses were crammed with out-of-town visitors, coming in to be counted, their beds rolled out in

HOMETOWN ONEONTA

The empty manger at Christ Episcopal Church, Cooperstown, awaits Christmas’ arrival.

every corner. Animals and children whimpered at being so far from home, among unfamiliar people.

All were on edge, and not the least because the man on the throne, Herod the Great, had become a monster in his declining years. He was jealous, cruel, and unpredictable, a man who tolerated no rivals.

We don’t usually bring him out for the Christmas

The Rev. thomas e. pullyblank Pastor, Fly Creek, Schuyler Lake United Methodist Churches

The End To Violence Is Within All Of Us

I

’ve grown weary of violent death. Like you, perhaps, I ask God why senseless acts of violence happen in Aurora, Oak Creek, Newtown, anywhere. I feel that same empty helplessness when I hear news of the latest massacre. I have the same nightmares you have. I share the same spike of anxiety when I hear a door close behind me.

What to do? One suggestion is to

& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch pack a gun and take down the shooter Jim Kevlin before harm is done. Another is Editor &Publisher tougher gun-control laws. Both ignore the root of the problem, however Tara Barnwell M.J. Kevlin – that America is a land poisoned with Advertising Director Business Manager violence. We continue to sow seeds of violence in the wars we wage, in the Amanda Hoepker Tori Meiswinkel, Susan Straub Office Manager Sales Associates history we choose to celebrate, in the weapons we manufacture, in the video Libby Cudmore Ian Austin Kathleen Peters Sean Levandowski games we buy our kids, and in the Reporter Photographer Graphic Artist Webmaster movies and TV shows we watch.

The Apostle Paul was right – we MEMBER OF New York Press Association • The Otsego County Chamber reap what we sow. The violence Published weekly by Iron String Press, Inc. we’ve planted is choking out our am21 Railroad Ave., Cooperstown NY 13326 Gospel of Luke, Chapter 2 King James Version

HOMETOWN ONEONTA

Telephone: (607) 547-6103. Fax: (607) 547-6080.

E-mail: info@allotsego.com • www.allotsego.com

Eve pageant, but perhaps this year we need to recall his dark role.

Shortly after Jesus was born, wise men came from the East, seeking to worship this newborn king. Herod’s scholars suggested Bethlehem to the wanderers, the city of King David. They had just completed their errand, returning home with joy. And then he sent in His own “visitation team”:

a band of soldiers, to kill all the city’s little boys. As a 16th century poet recounted it: “A King is born, they say, which King this king would kill.

Oh woe, and woeful heavy day, when wretches have their will!

Some days, still, wretches have their will. And that’s just why this King had to come.”

For this Christmas story isn’t just a sweet child’s tale.

It’s the first step in God’s great plan to make a new world, a world of justice and peace. This vulnerable Child, whisked away just before the swords fell, had come to defeat the power of sin and death. He lives today and works to bring comfort and peace to all who mourn. He will return to judge and restore.

We weep over our holy innocents this year. But because He came, one day there will be no guns, no tears, no fear: only everlasting peace.

ber waves of grain, fouling our fruited plain.

Like our children today, Jesus was born into a society poisoned by violence. In Jesus’ day, Roman leaders killed with the same heartless efficiency as a modern-day gunman. It happened in Samaria a few years after Jesus’ own violent death and in Jerusalem a few decades after that. The gospel writers told the story of Jesus’ birth knowing full well that he lived and died in a violent time.

Luke situates Jesus’ life during the reign of one murderous ruler after another: Herod, the Emperors Caesar Augustus and Tiberius, Quirinius, governor of Syria. Matthew tells of Herod ordering a massacre of Bethlehem’s young boys soon after Jesus was born.

The parents of those children wailed in grief, too. They too asked God the unanswerable question of why this was happening to them.

What God did not do is perhaps

more important than what God did do. God did not use violence to stop violence. God did not study the problem and enact tougher laws. Instead, by birthing Jesus into the very heart of Roman violence and by guiding him right through the worst of what Roman violence had to offer, God gave the world an alternate way of thinking and acting that could, if we choose to think and act that way, tear the weeds of violence out from the root.

“Love your enemy,” we are told in this alternate way of thinking. “Do to others as you would have them do to you,” we are told in this alternate way of acting.

Every so often, including this year, the Christmas message of love is delivered in colors that contrast starkly with the reality around us, like white writing on a red road sign. It’s at times like these, not in times of comfort and joy, that the Christmas message takes on its most profound meaning.

THURSDAY-FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20-21, 2012

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THE MESSAGE OF CHRISTMAS The Rev. David Wm. Mickiewicz Pastor, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Oneonta

The Rev. JIM HANSON Independently Ordained Minister, Oneonta

From Suffering, Meaning

In Eternal Life, Hope

C

onsider Bob Cratchit, Ebenezer Scrooge’s clerk. He is a man who is bullied yet on the way home Christmas Eve can 20 times playfully slide down Cornhill and enter a game of blindman’s buff with a group of boys.

Bob is poor; his family of seven lives in a four-roomed house. Charles Dickens describes them as “not a handsome family; not well dressed; their clothes were scanty ... but they were happy, grateful and contented ...”

Bob is poor but Bob doesn’t know he is poor. When the Christmas meal is ended Bob proposes a toast, “I’ll give you Mr. Scrooge, the Founder of the Feast!” Though he is ill-treated and unjustly paid by the man he toasts; Bob makes excuses for him in a mild voice, “My dear, Christmas Day.” Whereas Belle, Ebenezer’s sweetheart of his youth, leaves him because he has displaced her with an idol, “a golden one;” Cratchit speaks of his crippled son, Tiny Tim, as being “as good as gold.” And when finally we are given a glimpse of the future, Bob’s grief over the death of Tiny Tim is comingled with joy because he knows Tiny Tim’s ”essence was from God.” What is it about Bob that he can respond to life as he does? Bob Cratchit embodies joy.

Why, Pope Paul VI wondered, in a culture

of plenty as is the West, where there is so much to satisfy – wealth, clean water, readily available food, medical achievements, and technological advances – is there so little joy?

He notes, “...boredom, depression and sadness unhappily remain the lot of many.

Technological society has succeeded in multiplying the opportunities for pleasure, but it has great difficulty in generating joy.”

A distinction is drawn by the Pope between pleasure and joy. A sure indication of pleasure is that it is always transitory. Are we missing what joy really is?

“Joy,” Pope Paul teaches, “comes from another source. It is spiritual.” It is a deep seated result of a person’s connection to God. The theologian Donald Salier distinguishes another mark of Christian joy. It lies in joy’s ability to exist even in the midst of suffering, because joy has to do with belief and expectations. “This is the paradox of the Christian condition,” Pope Paul writes, “neither trials nor sufferings have been eliminated from this world, but they take on a new meaning” in Jesus Christ.

May the remembrance of the birth of God as a human be an opportunity for you to discover joy, the most enduring of virtues. A Merry and Holy Christmas and a Happy New Year!

W

hat is life? A mist, a magazine, a popular board game, something to be enjoyed, as the motto for Oneonta states, or a day-today hassle with bills, money problems, and expensive fuel and food prices?

Life is a series of day-to-day experiences, all wrapped together in a package with a year, a century and an age connected with it. As we age, the time we are given in our lives moves too fast, marching ever closer to the final day and hour.

What we do with these God given days equals to a life, and the frame of mind we use determines the quality we enjoy.

I don’t believe that we are born and then God sets a clock that winds down, but that he uses our daily, weekly, monthly, yearly cycles to prepare and mold us for eternity. We are such complicated beings, with brains and emotions, opposable thumbs and moveable body parts that we were created to live forever. Yes, sin messed that all and our bodies decay, but that does not account for the fact that we were built a certain way.

I know it is tough some days to realize that we are eternal beings but the majority of people from different civilizations around the world also believe that there

is some type of afterlife. Whether we believe in incarnation, nirvana, heaven or hell, why then is it so difficult to come to terms with what we believe or want to believe will happen to us?

Jesus promised eternal life, and what form that takes for each individual is an individual decision. Whether we will rely on this promise by acceptance of this free gift is our choice to make. If we accept him as our Savior from sin, he also then would be our Savior from any worry or concern regarding where we will spend eternity. Can we know we are saved after acceptance of this gift, yes! If we rely on Jesus death on the cross for us then we can also accept his gift of a productive and eternal after life as well.

During this season, many people give in to a lonely and depressed existence which can increase their desire to rejoin there loved ones once again. This gives them hope not only as they journey though this life but hope for eternity.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to settle the issue with God and maintain this peace of mind each and every day? It’s your choice, your decision, make that choice and enjoy that peace that passes all understanding for yourself.

Otsego County Can Lay Claim To Introducing Santa We Know To U.S.

L

et’s talk a bit about Santa Claus.

The original Dutch St. Nicholas, or Sinterklaas, arrives by boat in early December, on St. Nicolas Day, accompanied by his servant Black Pete.

He puts HUGH MacDOUGALL candies in the wooden OTHER VOICES shoes of good children, and lumps of coal in those of bad ones. These Dutch traditions began to be revived in New York City in the early 19th century, but were now associated with Christmas.

This anonymous poem first appeared in 1821, beginning: Old SANTECLAUS with much delight His reindeer drives this frosty night, O’er chimney-tops, and tracks of snow,

To bring his yearly gifts to you.....

Each Christmas eve he joys to come Where love and peace have made their home.

The following year there first appeared the famous poem beginning, “’Twas the The Night Before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse...” But the man who comes down the chimney is just called St. Nicholas.

For most American readers outside New York City, therefore, Santa Claus as the name of the Christmas gift giver first ap-

peared in Chapter Four of James Fenimore Cooper’s 1823 novel, “The Pioneers.”

In it, Judge Temple – a literary stand-in for Cooperstown’s Judge William Cooper – tells his African-American slave Agamemnon, “Remember, there will be a visit from Santa Claus to-night.” So perhaps Otsego County has as good a claim to have invented Santa Claus as – well, I guess I shouldn’t bring up baseball.

Our traditional picture of Santa Claus as plump, jolly, red-coated, and wearing a beard, also has a history.

He was first portrayed like that by the famous cartoonist Thomas Nast, who in 1862 began to show a pipe puffing Santa coming down the chimney and emerging from a stocking-hung fireplace with his bag of toys.

And in 1932 the Coca Cola company began its ads, which appeared everywhere until 1964 showing the jolly red-coated Santa drinking a Coke; perhaps the Coke helped him swear off smoking.

Today, Santa seems to spend most of his time listening to children, often seated on his knee, as they explain what they would like for Christmas.

How his gifts are delivered remains a sort of mystery. But, of course, we in Cooperstown can always ask him in person.

Hugh MacDougall is Cooperstown village historian and a founding member of the James Fenimore Cooper Society.

A Gift to Cooperstown! …and everyone else!

allenergyandmatter.com & marscuriosity.com bill.kraham@gmail.com A native son of Cooperstown

Kim’s

Kut & Style

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A-6 HOMETOWN ONEONTA

HOMETOWN

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2012

History

Compiled by Tom Heitz with resources courtesy of the New York State Historical Association Library

125 Years Ago

The W.C.T.U. (Women’s Christian Temperance Union) of Otsego County held its first annual convention in the First Baptist Church on Tuesday afternoon and evening of this week. Above the platform at the back were the initial letters in white, “W.C.T.U.,� and beneath, a banner bearing the motto, “For God and Home and Native Land.�

There were other banners with appropriate mottos, and the altar was made beautiful with flowers. The reports from the various unions were very encouraging. At the evening session there was a full house.

December 1887

Smith were present to complete the task of completing the budget for 1913. Allowances were made to the various commissions as follows with the 1912 amount bracketed for comparison: Public Works ($10,000) $13,000; Police ($6,200) $7,500; Fire ($6,660) $8,500; Charity ($2,800) $2,800; Health ($1,000) $1,500; Parks ($1,000) $1,000; Lights ($9,250) $10,265; and Water ($3,100) $3,287.50. Totals: ($40,510) $47,352.50. The sums were arrived at after careful consideration of the needs of the city and after a careful effort to scrutinize the claims of the different departments and conserve the best interests of the city.

December 1912

At the meeting of the Common Council, held Tuesday evening, Mayor Blodgett and Aldermen Ceperley, Clark, Coy, Havens and

Mrs. Frank H. Bresee, wife of the proprietor of the Oneonta Department Store, died at her home at Oneonta, at 10 o’clock

100 Years Ago

80 Years Ago

Friday morning last week as a result of pneumonia and complications. Ella C. Benjamin Bresee was born in Schuyler Lake, December 23, 1864, the daughter of Ezra and Helen (Irish) Benjamin. She was united in marriage with Mr. Bresee, February 28, 1884. They commenced housekeeping in New Lisbon, he then being engaged in peddling goods about that section of the county. Later, he was engaged in the mercantile business at various places including Hartwick, Laurens, Maryland and Sidney.

Thirty-three years ago in November last they removed to Oneonta, he taking over the business that associated with the late F.A. Cooper he had established under the name of the Oneonta Department Store. Surviving are her husband Frank, three sons, Lynn H., Clyde F. and Fred H. Bresee, three grandsons, Wilmer E. Bresee, Robert F. Bresee, and Philip W. Bresee, and one sister, Mrs. Arthur J. Perrine, also of Oneonta. A son, Edgar, passed away in 1908, aged 7 years.

December 1932

60 Years Ago

CHRISTMAS MEANS

Cobbler & Co.

20-50 % off select items

through Christmas season!

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Old Skip, Oneonta’s oldest licensed dog, died Saturday at the age of 18 at the John Schaffer residence, 20 Eighth Street. The animal had the will to live but was so feeble he could hardly get to his feet. A veterinarian was called as a humane act. Old Skip was born wild and found as a pup in the woods above Homer Folks Hospital. Mr. Schaffer, working at the hospital, took him home and made a great hunting dog of him.

However, Old Skip would hunt for no one but Mr. Schaffer and his sons. Mr. Schaffer died several months ago, and Old Skip began failing at once. He quit making the rounds of neighbors and stuck close to his kennel.

December 1952

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40 Years Ago

Horoscope – If you were born today (December 20) you are an extremely gregarious individual but, paradoxically, are shy and retiring of nature. You never force yourself upon others but, once in company, are jovial, witty and entertaining. You are progressive and objective in your thinking, have a fine intellect and a great love of knowledge. Philosophical of nature, you meet adversaries with calmness and rise above all obstacles. Your love of children, animals, sports and the outdoors is outstanding. Extremely versatile, you could reach the top in almost any career you choose.

Many outstanding businessmen, financiers, journalists, jurists, scientists, publishers and dramatists have been Sagittarius-born.

December 1972

20 Years Ago

December 1992

30 Years Ago

The lame-duck U.S. Congress gave a $9,138 Christmas pay raise to House members and abandoned a jobs program for unemployed Americans on Monday as it sent to President Reagan a belated, catch-all bill needed to replenish the government’s spending allowance. The vote in the House was an anonymous 232-54. In the Senate, where the pay raise doesn’t apply, the tally was 55-41, with names recorded. At the White House, administration officials who asked not to be identified, said Monday night that President Reagan would sign the bill, which was stripped at his demand, of the separate work programs approved by the House and Senate earlier. The bill also deleted nearly $1 billion Reagan wanted for production of the first five MX missiles.

Reagan had threatened to veto the bill if it omitted the MX missile funds, but White House sources said that even though production money was dropped, the first five missiles could still be built from research and development funds in the bill. In the meantime, GOP Leader Howard Baker renewed his efforts to pass a proposed nickela-gallon increase in the federal gasoline tax proposed by President Reagan. The measure has been bogged down by a determined core of conservative filibusterers.

December 1982

10 Years Ago

Democrats on Friday pressed for immediate congressional action to ensure hundreds of thousands of laid-off workers don’t lose their unemployment benefits just days before Christmas. Incoming House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said extension of those benefits could be approved in minutes if Republican leaders called the House back into session from adjournment.

December 2002

2012 Hometown News 1x4

Happy Holidays From all of us at your local community bank

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2012

HOMETOWN ONEONTA A-7

Season Greetings from All of Us at We wish everyone VSH Contractors! a Happy & Safe Holiday Season!

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ChristMas & happy New year!

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“The Heart of Christmas” “December dawns, the days are shorter, the gold leaves have fallen and a chill is in the air.

We take time to renew the spirit of living, to illuminate what brings us meaning and to prepare for the birth of love in our hearts.

We take time to remember special people who have touched our lives and we send them wishes of love, happiness and good health.

The heart of Christmas holds for each of us a special meaning.

For as much as Christmas is many voices singing, so too is Christmas one silent prayer for peace.

Christmas is a time to remember special people who touch our lives and a time to offer loving kindness to people we do not know whose lives we can touch.”

From all of us at Ashley-Connor Realty we wish you Peace this holiday season.

Visit us on the Web at www.ashleyconnorrealty.com • Contact us at info@ashleyconnorrealty.com

For APPoiNtmeNt: Patti Ashley, Broker, 544-1077 • Jack Foster, Sales Agent, 547-5304 •

We’ll even fix Santa’S Sleigh

Merry

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Happy Holidays!

be our signature green,” he said. “It will be more talked about that anything. And if they get a hole in one, they can have a free drink,” he said.

With golf season still months away, Wilmot is still putting the greens to use.

“The neighbors are asking if their kids can still skate on the pond – I said sure, as long as it’s thick enough.

Snowmobilers are going to use this as their main trail.”

E WIL

closer to home, the men came across the former Woodhaven Golf Course, closed in 2010, and liked what they saw.

Months of intense activity followed, including intensive work on the links. The apartment that shared the second floor of the clubhouse has been removed, and the bar now opens up into a Spanish-decor din-

course, including a waterfall Wilmot personally dug between the two ponds. “I placed every stone here,” he said, pointing to the large flat ledges that built up the wall. “We’re going to have a bridge too.”

But there’s still one HOMETOWN ONEONTA project that has yet to be Managing partner Phil completed, and it’s the one Wilmot shows off the Wilmot is most excited improvements. about – an island green A visit the next day built up in the center of the revealed changes to the golf pond on #6. “It’s going to

DG

LINKS/From A1 put it – was launched with a reception Thursday, Dec. 13, and is open for business, 4-7 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays.

Wilmot and his partner, Rich Walrath, left their native Harpursville to go into the wholesale auto trade in the Tampa area. Looking for acreage to develop as an investment opportunity

ingroom leading to a stone fireplace on the far wall.

At the opening reception, bow-tied waitpeople in smart red jackets carried around trays of crabcakes and shrimp. Chef Mark McDermott, who polished his skills at Saratoga National, manned the buffet line.

“The neighbors have been very enthusiastic about this,” said Walrath – all had been invited to the opening and many attended.

JU

Golf Course, Restaurant Opens

Nancy Angerer, Sales Agent, 435-3387 Donna Skinner, Associate Broker, 547-8288 • Amy Stack, Licensed Sales Agent, 435-0125

Dave LaDuke Broker 435-2405; Mike Winslow Broker 435-0183; Tony Gambino 516-384-0095; Mike Swatling 435-6454; Joe Valette 437-5745; Laura Coleman 437-4881; John LaDuke 267-8617

PRicE REDUcED

Jordanville farmhouse built c.1820. Lovely post and beam home with large rooms and many period details.

Hand-hewn beams, wide pine floors, hand-planed doors and beautiful cherry staircase. There is a large barn as well as a garage with caretaker’s apartment above. The home has been lovingly restored with painstaking attention to detail.

Surrounded by perennial gardens and specimen plantings, the property has been professionally managed and operated as an organic farm as well as a successful B&B. There is a large living room and dining room, parlor, eat-in kitchen, large family room and mud room/laundry on the first floor. Upstairs are six bedrooms, one of which is a large master with stairs to the family room below, and two newly remodeled baths. Recent improvements include a new roof, paint and a new wood/oil furnace.

The large barn is in good condition with box stalls and large hay loft. This building is a tour de force of hand-trimmed lumber.

The garage building has a two-room apartment above, currently occupied in exchange for estate care. The house and 52 acres are on the north side of Main Street. There are 80 acres across the street which are available either with the house or by themselves. This acreage is leased to a local Mennonite farmer for this season and is managed organically for grains only.

House and Barn with 52 acres for $289,000. House and Barn with 132 acres $389,000. Listing # c-0201

LAMB REALTY 20 Chestnut Street, Cooperstown

Out Ahead of the Flock!

Tel/Fax: 607-547-8145

DONNA THOMSON, Broker/Owner 607-547-5023 • www.lambrealty.net • E-mail: realestate@lambrealty.net

BARBARA LAMB, Associate Broker 607-547-8145

ROBERT ScHNEiDER, Sales Associate 607-547-1884

DOTTiE GEBBiA, Associate Broker 607-435-2192

A-8 HOMETOWN ONEONTA

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2012

After Tilt, Lynch Resigns Finance Committee RETREAT/From A1 cisms that the 2013 budget is “irresponsible” and “asinine,” Miller replied, “You’re suggesting the way this city is run is irresponsible. We’ve lived up to every expectation set before us without increase in cost – and the only way to do that is to manage positions.”

Miller then offered an ultimatum: “Either stay on the Finance Committee and revisit the plan, or sit back on the outside and criticize.”

Council member Maureen Hennessy chimed in: “My concern is that we start to not fill and (to) cut positions when we aren’t to that place

yet, and things start to go downhill where we can’t keep up with the parks or maintenance because we get so gung-ho about reducing the deficit.”

Council member Chip Holmes, who had agreed with Miller’s original budget plan to cut two vacant police positions, countered both of them. “My wife and I haven’t had a raise in years. Our health care costs are going up. Why should you take money from me to pay for services I may not need? Maybe we don’t need an enormous police force.”

“It’s not enormous,” Hennessy interrupted.

“Why should I have to pay for the grass to be mowed three times a week?” Holmes finished.

Glancing at the clock, Miller shut down the argument: “Is this what you want to spend the next hour and 20 minutes on?”

The mayor, who took office in 2010, has been holding annual retreats with the Common Council. Year One, he laid out the fiveyear budget projections that have guided his priorities: The goal, given that city expenses are rising faster than revenues, is to act before the surplus is depleted.

This session, held in the

afternoon before a regular Common Council meeting, was more free-form.

Ultimately, Lynch took up Miller on the ultimatum: He quit the Finance Committee swapping seats on the Community Improvement Committee with Maureen Hennessy. Otherwise, all other committees remain intact going into 2013.

After pizza was served, the conversation took on a decidedly easier tone. With talk of committees still on the table, Miller pitched the idea of not having any committees and instead, hosting more meetings, like the retreat. “Everyone of you

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Retreat attendees, clockwise from lower are, are Council members Rissberger, Malone, Lynch and Holmes; City Treasurer Hungerford; City Clerk Koury; Human Resource Director Wolverton; Council members Brzozowski, Southard, Hennessy and Palmer; City Manager Long; Mayor Miller.

spends two hours a month in meetings,” he said. “Those hours could be invested into larger meetings.”

The downside, Council member Madolyn Palmer suggested, would be that the

**Serving our Community for Over 15 Years**

consent agenda – the Common Council agenda gangs non-controversial questions so they can be dispatched with one vote, shortening the sessions – would probably cease to exist.

I value my

independence.

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Precious Memories

OTSEGO.homes

May this holiday season leave you with precious memories: A Christmas filled with love and light, perfect gifts, delicious foods, love and joy all around.

A New Year with continuing blessings— friends, family, good work, great fun, and delightful surprises.

When we have quiet time to think About our finest blessings all year through, We focus on our family and our friends, And appreciate the gift of knowing you!

Peace and Joy to you and all you love.

HUBBELL’S REAL ESTATE (607) 547-5740 • (607) 547-6000 (fax) 157 Main Street, Cooperstown, NY 13326

E-Mail Address: info@hubbellsrealestate.com Visit Our Web Site at www.hubbellsrealestate.com

CooperStown Village CoMFort

DraMatiC anD Dazzling

(7623) Spotless 3 BR/3 bath Pierstown Dutch Colonial enriched by valley views on 9.58 acres. Light and airy with formal LR and DR, 2 Rumford fireplaces, working kitchen, finished basement, 4-season room w/pellet stove, patio, large deck, and hot tub. Handhewn beams, period hardware, wide pine flooring. One owner. Cooperstown Schools.

Hubbell’s Exclusive. $479,900

MetiCulouSly kept

(7589) Partake of the delights in this superbly kept 3 BR home. Many extras include formal DR, hardwood flooring, modern kitchen, garage, rocking-chair front porch. Near shops, lake, and golf course. Will capture your fancy! Cooperstown Schools.

Hubbell’s Exclusive. $285,000

(7569) Pristine 3 BR Cherry Valley residence on a placid street w/hardwood flooring, fireplace and bay window. Spacious LR, original millwork and built-ins, modern kitchen w/eating counter and window seat. Formal DR, laundry room, hot water heat. Enclosed porch, 3-story barn. Pamper the family with this standout. CV-S Schools.

Hubbell’s Exclusive. $169,500

otSego lake FinD

(6447) Business block on Main Street. Four 2 BR apartments. 2 commercial spaces—2,500 sq ft total commercial space. New windows, new hot water furnace. Storage space in cellar. Well-kept stone and brick building. Good income producer.

Hubbell’s Exclusive $525,000

46 aCreS

(7601) Mostly wooded with 2 building sites, underground electric and phone, 170' drilled well.

1374' road frontage with good access, sub-dividable.

Hubbell’s Exclusive $125,000

At this joyous time of year, we are grateful for our work with you.We wish you abundance, happiness, and peace in a new year filled with hope.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Margaret, Marion, Don, Eric, Cathy, Tim, Jackie, Carol and Don For reliable, honest answers to any of your real estate questions, Don Olin Realty at 607.547.5622

Main Street CooperStown

(7608) Well-kept 3 BR/3 bath chalet offers a wrap-around deck, open floorplan, modern kitchen, DR, den, gas fireplace. Main-level master suite has walk-in closet and access to deck. Lake privileges, 2-car garage, mature gardens and trees. Cooperstown Schools.

Hubbell’s Co-Exclusive. $419,000

6432 State Highway 28 Fly Creek, New York 13337 ken.reitz@cambridgeresource.com

Mini FarM on 14+ aCreS

(7551) Rewarding 3 BR eyebrow Colonial with a valley view. Horse barn w/4 box stalls, riding rink, hi-tensile fence.1850s home features hardwood floors, formal DR, back porch, beamed ceilings. A fix-up! CV-S Schools.

Hubbell’s Exclusive. $134,000

For Appointment Only Call: M. Margaret Savoie – Broker/Owner – 547-5334 Marion King – Associate Broker – 547-5332 Don Olin – Associate Broker – 547-8782 Eric Hill – Associate Broker – 547-5557 Don DuBois – Associate Broker – 547-5105 Tim Donahue – Associate Broker – 293-8874 Cathy Raddatz – Sales Associate – 547-8958 Jacqueline Savoie -Sales Associate -547-4141 Carol Hall - Sales Associate -544-4144

Don Olin REALTY

Make yourself at home on our website, www.donolinrealty.com, for listings and information on unique and interesting properties.We'll bring you home!

37 Chestnut st., Cooperstown • phone: 607-547-5622 • Fax: 607-547-5653

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PARKING IS NEVER A PROBLEM

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LAMB REALTY 20 Chestnut St., Cooperstown, NY

Home of the Week Cooperstown Village Home Large comfortable historic home in center of the Village of Cooperstown. One block from Main Street and Otsego Lake with some lake views. This location is within walking distance of all that Cooperstown’s charming village has to offer. Formal living and dining rooms, large eat-in kitchen/family room with hand-hewn beamed ceiling. Wide pine floors, front and back staircases, laundry, mud room and original woodshed. Stone patio and garden. Six bedrooms and three baths. Large corner lot with a separately deeded building lot on Cooperstown’s fashionable Lake Street. This is a wonderful family home with too many charming details to list. Updated mechanicals, plenty of parking.

Lamb Realty Exclusive. $489,000.

20 Chestnut Street, Cooperstown • 607-547- 8145 • www.lambrealty.net

THURSDAY-FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20-21, 2012

A-9

Guilford-Based Clan Keeps Grammie’s Decorating Traditions Alive SPIRIT/From A1 couple there, every holiday.)

For as long as Rhonda can remember, Christmas for her and sister Tammi Parsons, now living in Mount Upton, meant visits to their grandmother’s tidy home just down School

Street from Guilford Elementary.

It meant baking gingerbread, peanut butter balls and other holiday cookies.

It meant decorating the tree, if only as high as a 4-yearold could reach. It meant helping grandma unpack

dozens of Santa figurines and toys – more than 100, maybe twice that.

Throughout the season, it meant replaying favorite Christmas movies. The other afternoon, Anne Heche’s “Silver Bells” (2005) was playing on the TV, but “Mr.

GIFTS for one and all!

The merry shops of the Fenimore Art Museum and The Farmers’ Museum are open ‘til Christmas Eve. Hours: Daily 10am-4pm (Fenimore shop closed Mondays)

Or shop online 24/7!

Just Outside of the Village of Cooperstown on Lake Road (Rt. 80)

FarmersMuseum.org | FenimoreArtMuseum.org NYSHA Members Receive 20% Off

THE HAWKEYE

Magoo’s Christmas Carol” and the original version of Dr. Seuss’ “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” are family favorites.

When the big day came, her grandmom would present Rhonda with a furtrimmed Mrs. Claus hat and she would pass out presents to generations of the assembled Parsons-Hoag clan that always gathered in Guilford on the afternoon of the 25th. (In recent years, that included Rhonda and husband Brian’s three children, Carly, now 7, Serenity, 6, and Landon, 3. The couple met when Brian moved from his native Plattsburgh to Cooperstown a decade ago.)

Every year on Dec. 26, it began all over again, as the grandmother would dash out to post-Christmas sales – decorations at 50 percent off! – and begin planning for the next holiday.

This year is different.

Mary Ellen Parsons, 73, passed away Monday, June 11, at Chenango Memorial Hospital in Norwich, with her family by her side.

Jim Kevlin/The Freeman’s Journal & HOMETOWN ONEONTA

Rhonda’s sister Tammi Parsons holds up son Caleb, 2, to see her favorite girlhood decorations: stuffed toys hanging from a ceiling lamp.

gave her the decoration and when – from the attic to the downstairs parlor.

Sunday, Dec. 16, they were back again. Rhonda’s dad Ron Parsons of Sidney retrieved a light-bedecked star from the back of the garage – created by Mary Ellen’s husband, Ray, who passed away 26 years ago – and drafted Brian to hang it high on the front gable.

(The nail was there from years past.)

On the wall to the left of the fireplace was a large plastic image of Santa himself, repainted four times now. In the side parlor, stuffed toys hung from the ceiling light – Tammi’s favorite, she showed them off to her baby son Caleb, 2 months. Nearby, Tammi’s daughter Skyler, 3, was blowing bubbles from a Santa statue containing the bubble solution.

Christmas icons were everywhere, including moving statues of dancing Santa and Mrs. Claus on either side of the hearth. Grandma Rhonda’s father, Ron ParParsons was everysons, holds up a star his dad where, too. “Sitting Ray, who passed away 26 here today, you can feel years ago, created to hang her presence,” said son on the front gable of the Scott Parsons, Rhonda’s clan’s Guilford home. uncle. “She’s here.”

Ron’s wife Terri held Different, but not so difup a memorial card from her ferent. The last couple of mother-in-law’s funeral with weekends, Rhonda and her the poem, “Missing You extended family have been Always” “...In life I loved ferrying boxes – Mrs. Paryou dearly/ In death I love sons marked each with who you still,/ In my heart I hold a place/ That only you can fill.”

The exceptional Christmas spirit goes back generations, according to Rhonda’s dad Ron. He believe his mom, born Mary Ellen Fellows, the youngest of eight children, got her interest in the holiday from her mother, Hazel.

When Ron, the eldest, and Scott, the youngest, were

HOLIDAY

kids – brother Mark, Guilford, and sister Suzanne, Apalachin, round out the generation – they remember licking a year’s supply of S&H Green Stamps. Mrs. Parsons would then do the Christmas shopping at the S&H outlet in Norwich, in the neighborhood where the new Rite Aid is now.

“She was always a very outgoing, very caring person,” said Scott. “VERY caring,” added Rhonda.

“Grammie” – she was Guilford’s Citizen of the Year in 2010 – was born on Oct. 24, 1938, raised in Guilford, and she graduated in 1956 from the local school, where she was a good student and captain of the cheerleading team.

She met her husband Ray while both were working at Scintilla, Sidney, and they married in 1959.

While raising four children, she volunteered at Guilford Elementary, then became a Title I teaching assistant, then teachers’ aide. When Scott was born blind, she became only the second teacher’s aide in the state certified to transcribe braille. She retired in 1995.

The lively personality her children and grandchildren enjoyed was evident in her varied interests, from country music to NASCAR. She was active in the Guilford alumni association and the historical society, was a member of the VFW, and worked for the Chenango County Board of Elections.

“She remained the constant anchor for family throughout good times and bad,” her family wrote in her obituary. “She taught us to be kind to one another and to love and support each other as family and friends are our legacy.” ...and her love of Christmas is everyone’s legacy – everyone who frequents Rhonda’s Valero’s.

This New Year’s, uncork some extra money.

DINNER Friday, December 21st • 5:30PM-9:00PM • $18.95 per person The Otesaga’s Executive Chef Michael Gregory has cooked up a very special holiday tradition for you and your family - The Hawkeye Holiday Dinner on Friday, December 21st.

Begin with your choice of a traditional Caesar or delicious House Green Salad. Next choose from our savory Roast Duck or Roast Sirloin with Wild Mushroom Sauce. All entrées will include appropriate side dishes. Complete your Hawkeye holiday feast with festive Strawberry Trifle or freshly baked Apple Pie for dessert. All for only $18.95 per person.

Melissa Manikas, Agent 29 Pioneer Street Cooperstown, NY 13326 Bus: 607-547-2886 www.melissamanikas.com

O v e r 1 0 0 Ye a r s o f G r a c i o u s H o s p i t a l i t y ® THE OTESAGA RESORT HOTEL, 60 LAKE STREET, COOPERSTOWN, NY 13326 • O TESAGA . COM

®

Start YEAR off right, with some newfound car insurance savings from State Farm®. What could make the new year happier than that?

GET TO A BETTER STATE. CALL AN AGENT OR VISIT US ONLINE TODAY. ®

Of course The Hawkeye Grill’s delicious regular menu is always available. Located off The Otesaga’s Lower Level overlooking Lake Otsego, you may reach The Hawkeye Grill through the Lower Level entrance off The Hotel guest parking area. Casual attire is always welcome.

For more information and to make reservations, call Maitre d’ Lori Patryn at (607) 544-2524 or (800) 348-6222.

Out with the old, over-priced auto policy – in with State Farm.

1103167.1

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, State Farm Indemnity Company, Bloomington, IL

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AllOTSEGO.homes

THURSDAY-FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20-21, 2012

4914 St. Hwy. 28, CooperStown 607-547-5933 75 Market Street, oneonta 607-433-1020

MLS#86525 - Beautiful contemporary home offers 4 BRs, 3 baths and endless valley views. Spacious kitchen w/pantry and large deck opens to LR w/floor-to-ceiling windows.

First flr master BR suite, family room, 3-car heated garage. $649,900 Call Kristi Ough @ 607-434-3026

MLS#85932 - 1898 farmhouse in Schuyler Lake features open floorplan w/eat-in kitchen, LR w/gas fireplace, den.

Newly painted and carpeted BRs and updated master bath. Detached garage w/loft, storage shed, wrap-around front porch, rear patio. Sunroom w/sliders open to deck. $115,000 Call Rod and Barb @ 315-520-6512

E !

IC ED PRDUC RE

MLS#86121 - Circa 1840 farmhouse restored to modern standards is situated on 103 acres. Home features 4 BRs, 3 baths, wide-plank floors, 2 wood-burning Rumford fireplaces, chef’s kitchen, veranda. 2 story barn w/box stalls and heated workshop. Lake rights to Otsego Lake. $799,500 Call Rod and Barb @ 315-520-6512

MLS#84359 - Charming 2-family home convenient to Cooperstown and Albany. Downstairs–1 BR, upstairs–2 BR. Live in 1 unit and rent the other. Owner motivated. $80,000 Call Michelle Curran @ 518-469-5603

MLS#86955 - 3 BR, 1.5 bath home close to Goodyear Lake.

Double lot. Some remodeling has been done.

Family room and rear enclosed porch. $99,900 Call Frank 607-435-1389

MLS#81762 – Newer log home w/4-car barn/garage, set on over 15 acres in the foothills of the Northern Catskills.

Great views, 3 stocked ponds, AtV trails, trout stream.

Vaulted ceilings w/exposed rafters, AC, finished basement. $339,900 Call tom @ 607-435-2068

MLS#87038 - 3 BR, 2 ½ bath home on 2.67+/- acres in Fly Creek. 3 levels of living space w/open floorplan, deck, and balconies. Main flr w/vaulted ceiling, kitchen, DR, LR, 2 BR and full bath. Second flr master suite w/balcony. Lower lever is open. 2-car detached garage w/workshop. $205,000 Call Kathy @ 607-267-2683

Available exclusively by RealtyUSA.com through The Rain Day Foundation H.E.L.P Program

MLS# 82825 – CHARMiNG 3 BR Craftsman Cape w/2 wood-burning fireplaces, window seat, leaded glass, lots of built-in cabinets and shelving, hardwood floors, kitchen w/Jenn-Air appliances. Deck overlooking ½ acre backyard and 2-story carriage barn. $159,900 Call tom Platt @ 607-435-2068

NEW LiStiNG! MLS# 87290 - 2 BR, 1 bath home on oversized lot. Large rms w/open floorplan. Private backyard w/rear deck, large basement, garage underneath. Walking distance to Hartwick College. Currently used as a rental. $139,000 Call Bill Vagliardo @ 607-287-8568

MLS#85578 – Location, seclusion and views make this solid contemporary build in the Cooperstown area ideal for working, living, and playing. Within minutes of the Dreams Park, Otsego Lake and Baseball Hall of Fame. $239,000 Call Adam Karns @ 607-244-9633

E !

IC CED R P DU RE

MLS#85564 - 11.65 acres on Rte 20, just outside Sharon Springs. Perfect for home, farming, livestock, business or hunting. Easy access by deeded ROW, convenient commute to Cooperstown and Albany. Priced to sell! $32,000 Call Michelle Curran @ 518-469-5603

MLS#85252 - Private setting for this rustic log cabin featuring a spacious open floorplan and ¾ wrap-around deck, pool, walk-out basement. Additional land available.

Priced right at $147,500 Call Adam Karns @ 607-244-9633

MLS#85182 - Village Victorian beauty is totally renovated.

Would make a GREAt rental! Off-street parking. $159,000 Call Lynn Lesperence @ 607-434-1061

MLS#86741 - Bring the hammer, farmhouse is gutted. Set on almost 16 gorgeous acres w/great views. No oil or gas lease! 88+ additional acres available. See MLS#86742. $65,000 Call tom Platt @ 607-435-2068

MLS#84218 - Mint condition 6-yr-old ranch home w/over ½ acre of beautiful lawn on a quiet street in Richfield Springs.

3 BR, 2 bath, and open plan kitchen/LR is ready to move into. $159,900 Call Rod and Barb @ 315-520-6512

MLS#84128 – immaculate, well maintained and freshly painted home is walking distance to downtown shopping.

4 BR, DR, LR, kitchen, 2 baths, den and sunporch.

Laminated wood floors, some carpeting. Once was a 2-family and could easily be renovated back. $169,500 Call Linda Wheeler @ 607-434-2125

MLS#87301 - 3 BR, 2 bath home on 4.25 acres w/large 2 ½ car garage and partially finished basement. Peaceful setting with large deck, perennial gardens, beautiful pond. $224,000 Call Lynn Lesperence @ 607-434-1061

for complete listings visit us at realtyusa . com

NEW LiStiNG! MLS#86927 - A road less traveled offers a wonderful piece of land for building your dream home. includes drilled well. Ready for new owner. $22,500 Call or text Jim Vrooman @ 603-247-0506

WELCOME JANIS MACKENZIE!

Recently retired from thirty years of teaching, I look forward to helping you buy or sell your property. My experience includes being Town Clerk of Franklin and serving on the first Town of Franklin Planning Board. I have lived in an 1800’s farmhouse and a sixties ranch and am familiar with all aspects of real estate.

I believe I can work for you to help you make the best possible choice, whether you be a buyer or seller. Please call me, and we will work together to make what you want become a reality.

607-431-2540 ext 217 • Janis@PruFoxProperties.com (607) 431-2540 • www.prufoxproperties.com

Be Prepared To Fall In Love!

Advertise in

AllOTSEGO. homes

Lovingly cared for 3 bedroom City Of Oneonta home, has loads to offer. Nice hardwood floors, woodburning fireplace in the living room and built ins for your dishes and knick knacks in the dining room. Kitchen has been nicely updated and has a breakfast nook overlooking the large backyard. Home is in a great central location within walking distance to both campuses, Main Street and Churches. $119,900. MLS#87327

CALL AMANDA AT 547-6103 the region’s largest real-estate section! MORE LISTINGS ON PAGE a7 & A8

Ring In The New Year

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1

Ways!

LET’S SPEND THE NIGHT TOGETHER! ALL NIGHT NEW YEAR’S EVE PACKAGE ONLY $365 PER COUPLE

Dine on Surf & Turf, Mesquite-Grilled Filet of Beef, New Zealand T-Bone Lamb Chop, Pan-Seared Chicken Breast, Baked Halibut or Osso Bucco in the Hawkeye Grill from 5:30PM-10:00PM. Also enjoy a live DJ from 9:00PM-1:00AM, a midnight champagne toast, a traditional guest room (upgrade available at an additional charge), cordial & chocolates in your room, and two delicious Holiday Breakfasts New Year’s morning (8:00AM-11:00AM). All for only $365.00 per couple.

For more information and to make your party reservations call (607) 544-2502 or Reservation1@Otesaga.com.

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oneontarealty.com

ROMANTIC NEW YEAR’S DINNER FOR TWO.

• New Year’s Eve appetizers: Choice of Lobster Bisque, Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail, Crab Cakes, Pan-Seared Duck Breast, or Heirloom Tomatoes & Buffalo Mozzarella • Select from Surf & Turf, Mesquite-Grilled Filet of Beef, New Zealand T-Bone Lamb Chop, Pan-Seared Chicken Breast, Baked Halibut or Osso Bucco • Dinner seating from 5:30PM – 10:00PM • Cash bar until 1:00AM • Champagne toast at midnight • Music for dancing from 9:00PM-1:00AM • Holiday favors

For more information and to make your dinner reservations call (607) 544-2524.

3 FOR SALE OR RENT Imaginative ideas wanted for this 2800 sq ft building with endless possibilities and a great corner location!

Contact Liz at 607-287-1500 for more information.

NEW YEAR’S EVE ROOM INCLUDES HOLIDAY BREAKFAST TOO ONLY $229.00 Wherever you’re celebrating, spend the night at The Otesaga. Just $229.00 per room, single or double occupancy, and includes our very special Holiday Breakfast on New Year’s morning.

For non-Hotel guests, the Holiday Breakfast is $20.00 per person and will be served from 8:00AM-11:00AM.

For more information and to make your room reservations call (607) 544-2502 or Reservation1@Otesaga.com.

Lizabeth Rose, Broker/Owner

Over 100 years of Gracious Hospitality®

Cricket Keto, Lic. Assoc. Broker

THE OTESAGA RESORT HOTEL, 60 LAKE STREET, COOPERSTOWN, NY 13326 • OTESAGA.COM

John Mitchell, Lic. Assoc. Broker Stephen Baker, Lic. Assoc. Broker Peter D. Clark, Consultant

locally owned & operated single & multi-family homes, commercial property & land

office 441.7312 • fax 432.7580 99 Main St Oneonta • oneontarealty.com