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Volume 14, No. 12
AllOTSEGO.com, OTSEGO COUNTY’S DAILY NEWSPAPER/ONLINE
Oneonta, N.Y., Thursday, December 23, 2021
COMPLIMENTARY
Students challenge CCS to confront racism, bullying in schools Cooperstown High School senior Amelia Williams rose without hesitation when Board of Education President Tim Hayes opened the public comment portion of the panel’s December 16 meeting in the school’s media center. In the few minutes of time allotted to any such speaker, Ms. Williams delivered a personal message describing her experiences on the receiving end of racist and discriminatory behavior in the school’s hallways and on her school bus. “I’ve had racial slurs spoken right in front of me,” she said. “I hear one
white student greet another in the hallway using the ‘n’ word. It is not okay for the use of the ‘n’ word on the school bus.” “Why is racism being tolerated in this school?” she demanded, telling the Board and Superintendent of Schools Sarah Spross that she no longer rides her bus because she is “filled with anxiety and fear of a 40-minute ride to school when I don’t feel accepted or safe.” Ms. Williams said she had reported seeing students in the school building wearing clothing bearing the image
of the confederate flag — something others speaking later noted was in direct violation of the school’s policy. The school’s dress code expressly prohibits “Clothing that displays the names or advertisements of drugs, alcohol, or tobacco products, profane, vulgar, violent, illegal, immoral, or hate messages … examples of some inappropriate displays include, but are not limited to the following: sexual innuendos … hate symbols — Nazi emblems, KKK, etc.” Continued on page 10
Cooperstown Central School senior Amelia Williams
Cooperstown: dispensaries, yes; lounges, not yet
Tara Barnwell
Mackerel scales and mare’s tails make tall ships carry low sails. The sun sets on I-88 between Cooperstown and Oneonta. Mariners knew that the combination of “mare’s tail” cirrus clouds above “mackerel scales” altocumulus clouds meant deteriorating weather conditions — high winds and precipitation were coming, so the sails should be lowered to keep them protected. INSIDE ►HEY, BABY!: Bassett welcomes 1000th baby of the year, page 2. ►EVEN METS FANS DIDN’T MIND: Braves ace Anderson visits Hall and his World Series gear, page 3. ►IT’S A DOGGONE GOOD READ: Kids help Susquehanna SPCA and read to some lucky pups, page 6. ►Santa’s Cooperstown Cottage stands strong after four decades, page 9 Follow Breaking News On
AllOTSEGO.com
Care continues despite state rule The New York State Department of Health on Monday (December 20) added Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown to its list of health care facilities with “minimal capacity,” forcing a temporary halt to elective surgeries and procedures for at least two weeks beginning Wednesday, December 22. The Department also added Cobleskill Regional Hospital to its December 20 list of “impacted facilities;” they join the previously listed Fox Hospital
in Oneonta and Little Falls Hospital. Under a November Executive Order from Governor Kathy Hochul, the state bars facilities with a staffed bed capacity of 10 percent or less from performing certain elective procedures and surgeries. Certain electives remain allowed, including those relating to cancer and diagnostic reviews, neurosurgery, intractable pain, trauma, cardiac with symptoms, and others. All 28 hospitals on this
week’s list are located in upstate New York, where officials report a steep increase in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks. The nation’s Center for Disease Control reported this week that Omicron accounts for nearly three-quarters of all cases across the country. Dr. William LeCates, Northeast Regional Executive for Bassett Healthcare Network, said the state’s temporary hold is not far afield from the Network’s case management throughContinued on page 10
Cooperstown: In on dispensaries, out on on-site “consumption lounges.” By not voting on a measure that would find the village opting out of allowing retail marijuana dispensaries, trustees defaulted on December 20 to an automatic opt in that would allow the siting of dispensaries within village limits once New York State establishes its regulatory framework. Separating dispensaries from on-site “consumption lounges,” the Board voted 5-2 to opt out of permitting locations within the village where smokers could legally inhale pot in a public indoor space. Trustees Hanna Bergene and Joseph Membrino cast their votes against the opt-out. The measure originally before the Board would have required a vote to opt out of dispensaries “and/or” lounges; instead, trustees Monday night had the opportunity to cast one vote on lounges and a separate vote on dispensaries. With the Board’s unanimous consent, Mayor Ellen Tillapaugh decoupled lounges and dispensaries, creating two discrete measures for the trustees’ consideration. No trustee seconded the Mayor’s motion to bring the dispensary measure to a full vote — tabling the measure and defaulting to the ‘opt-in’ provided under the 2021 state law should a locality take no vote to affirmatively opt-out. Mayor Tillapaugh recommended splitting lounges from dispensaries after telling the Board that after months of public comment, she had found the question of retail dispensaries the overwhelming topic of debate among village residents, with only one letter supporting on-site lounges. The original legislation combining the two in one single resolution came from model language provided by the New York Conference of Mayors. In a continuation of the public hearing opened on December 6, a handful of village residents addressed the Board prior to the Monday night vote. And like the December 6 hearing, some were in favor of dispensaries, others opposed. Continued on page 10
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST PRINT CIRCULATION 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD