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Volume 9, No. 12
City of The Hills
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lead was found in the water. “Two faucets in the old library have been taken out of service, and one of them had a water fountain on it,” said Superintendent Joseph Yelich. “Another faucet in the lava-
ision On Route 28
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he announcement of Disney Radio star Jesse McCartney as the OHFest headliner at Common Council re-ignited a simmering debate: whether to allow the April 22 concert in Neahwa Park – or not. In the end, Mayor Gary Herzig named a new comIan Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA mittee to explore if SUNY Council member Southard simply Oneonta or Hartwick College announced the date, and the debate should host the often rowdy ensued. evening of concerts – or not. But not before Council members put all the issues on the table again. “In the post-op meeting in May, people said they want the concert moved out of the park and back to campus,” said Council member David Rissberger, Third Ward. “There’s still lingering issues.” “We were just fresh from what had happened,” said Council member Paul van der Sommen, First Ward. “There was a lot of garbage in the park and residents were complaining.” Council member Council member Russ Southard, Sixth Rissberger noted “lingerPlease See OH-FEST, A3 ing issues.
WBNG BACK: Charter Communications has announced that Binghamton’s WBNG station will return to Oneonta on Jan. 26. Customers had protested cutting of traditional ties.
AllOTSEGO.com
www.
LONGER DAYS: After the
winter solstice at 5:44 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 21, days will begin to get longer.
OH-Fest Eruption By LIBBY CUDMORE
R
Cheryl Robinson, Edmeston, NYCM vice president, was appointed to the Otsego Now board Wednesday, Dec. 14, by the county Board of Representatives, succeeding Joe Bernier. Details at
tory tested positive for lead.” The state standard for lead in school water is 15 parts per billion. In the fountain, the level was 51 ppb, 16 and 37 ppb in the attached sinks and 18 ppb in the lavatory
sink. “It’s office space, not a classroom,” he said. Yelich believes it’s the fixtures, not the pipes, that are leaching lead. “The components in the pipes can break down over time and let contaminants in,” he said. Please See LEAD, A3
HEADLINER: JESSE McCARTNEY
FPs – requests for proposals – will be sought from organizations interested in operating the Oneonta Teen Center, Council members John Rafter and David Rissberger told their colleagues meeting Tuesday, Dec. 20. Meanwhile, the teen center will close temporarily on Dec. 31, when the Oneonta Family Y’s contract to operate the Armory site expires.
ON OTSEGO NOW:
Complimentary
Districts Take Steps To Protect Students
RFPs Sought, But Teen Site Shuts Dec. 31
NAYLOR CHEERED: Departing Police Chief Dennis Nayor gave his final report to Common Council Tuesday, Dec. 20, and received a standing ovation.
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Lead In Oneonta, Cooperstown Schools hile testing continues through the Oneonta City School District, four faucets have been closed off in the former Center Street School after
Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
HRISTMAS
& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch
Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, December 23, 2016
By LIBBY CUDMORE
Clara (Sariah Vesterfelt) receives The Nutcracker from Herr Drosselmeyer (Andrew Mark Wentink) during the Fokine Ballet’s annual performance of the classic over the weekend at SUNY Oneonta’s Goodrich Theater.
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HOMETOWN ONEONTA
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Jim Kevlin/The Freeman’s Journal
Inspired by the Divine Mercy movement, Carl Wenner erected a “Jesus I Trust You” sign board on his Route 28 property in Fly Creek.
By JIM KEVLIN FLY CREEK
O
ne foggy evening in October, a young woman was driving home down Route 28 to Cooperstown. It was getting late. She was tired. It was hard to see the road. Her husband was
asleep in the passenger seat. Suddenly, there was glowing vision through the mist, of a kindly man, 30-ish, with red hair and a beard. Underneath the image was a legend, “Jesus, I trust in you.” “I knew then I was going to get home OK,” she said. “That everything was going to be alright.” The origin of the image on Route 28 goes back to the sumPlease See VISION, A7
New Bassett Way: Teams Innovation Blunts Shortage Of General Practitioners wanting to see “their doctor,” staff pleaded with administration to tell the public what’s COOPERSTOWN going on. The result was a letter f Bassett Hospital were a Bassett patients received in the restaurant, they’d call it a past week from Dr. Douglas soft opening. Delong, division chief of GenBut, over the past year, a Dr. Delong eral Internal Medicine and the “team-based approach” to Prime Care Clinic, “to explain medical care at the 2,400-employee how our delivery of primary care is Cooperstown medical center generevolving, with the goal of better meetated so much blowback from patients Please See TEAMS, A3 By JIM KEVLIN
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HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST CIRCULATION NEWSPAPER 2010 WINNER OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD