Hometown Oneonta 2-3-2017

Inspired!

TONY AVANZATO BRINGS OUT ART STUDENTS’ BEST/B1

HOMETOWN ONEONTA

Oneonta n e g a w s lk Vo onta . 23 • One

Hw y 7517 State607-432-8100 .com v woneonta

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Volume 9, No. 17

City of The Hills

& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch Complimentary

Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, February 3, 2017

Schenevus site for 250-500 Jobs County Rep. Peter Oberacker, R-Schenevus, walks the fields behind his Shady Avenue home that has been identified as possible home to a 300-job distribution center.

The land stretches from Route 7 to the tree line in the distance.

Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA

Oneonta Rotarians – clockwise from front, Chris Kuhn, Justine Roefs, Kathleen Schofield and Sarah Patterson – were briefed Thursday, Jan. 26, on LEAF’s “Shawna Has A Secret,” a program aimed at teaching parents to see warning signals in their children /DETAILS, B1

City Manager Search Seeks More Resumes

T

THE TOPIC, BEER: For a second year in a row, Hartwick College’s Center for Craft Food & Beverage this weekend will again host the Farmer Brewer Winter Conference, bringing 100 industry experts to Oyaron Hill for two days presentations and discussion.

NEW HATE CRIME: State Sen. Jim Seward, RMilford, has joined a bipartisan group of state legislators in an effort to treat acts that specifically target police, firefighters and other emergency service workers as hate crimes.

Jim Kevlin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA

The Target: Distribution Center

Couple Finds Medallion On ‘Doughboy’ Pedestal COOPERSTOWN

W

hen George Seeley does the Jumble, that newspaper word puzzle, he draws on his intuition.

“I don’t try to figure them out. I just look at them, and the word jumps out,” said Seeley, who has been searching for the Cooperstown Winter

k haw

k vu

sC re e

7

Main Street

he

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Schenevus Central School

130 ACRES

56

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H

e has to be convincing in his line of work, so it’s no surprise Otsego Now CEO Sandy Mathes has a reputation as someone who can talk.

But when county Rep. Pe-

NEW JOBS CENTRAL

rrow

SCHENEVUS

ter Oberacker, R-Schenevus, showed Mathes 130 acres of flat farmland just north of the Interstate 88’s Exit at Schenevus, the voluble economic developer was silent.

As he walked what is now the prospective site of a 250-500 job distribution center, you could tell he was thinking, said Oberacker, thinking of big possibilities.

Please See JOBS, A3

Bro ok Smo key Ave nue

By JIM KEVLIN

Spa

he City Manager Search Committee has postponed its review of applications for a third chief executive at City Hall until April, according to Mayor Gary Herzig.

“The committee wanted to get a larger pool of applicants before moving forward,” said Herzig.

The recruitment ad for the position went back up on the Novak Consulting website, the firm hired to help facilitate the search. The new deadline for applications is Feb. 24.

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Kathy Peters/The Freeman’s Journal

Deb and Doug Seeley

Carnival Medallion most of the 10 years this newsPlease See $500, A7

By JIM KEVLIN SCHENEVUS

S

chenevus is rooted in tragedy.

The great chief’s daughter, discovering her beloved slain in a gorge south of the hamlet, threw

EMINENT DOMAIN IN PLAY

Appraiser To Counter Otsego Now Valuation

By LIBBY CUDMORE

The Freeman’s Journal

Hamlet Hit Hard Times, But That Could Change

T

he Twelve Tribes has reportedly now hired an independent appraiser for a second opinion on the value of its former Oneonta Ford building.

“We owe $500,250 on that

building,” The Tribes’ Lee Beane said. “We’ve been asking $600,000 for it to satisfy the mortgage and to expand our operation. We wanted to turn it into a bakery and expand the Yellow Deli.”

Otsego Now offered $150,000 for the building Please See TRIBES, B5

herself in after him. Today it’s Manaho Gorge, in her memory. “It’s a common legend” – there are two or three similar ones in New York State, remarked Bob Parmerter, the Maryland town historian.

Things got a lot better, particularly after the Please See HISTORY, A3

NAYOR TO PLAY INTERIM ROLE

F

ormer Oneonta Police Chief Dennis Nayor will be on-call at $!50 an hour as a consultant to acting Chief Doug Brenner while a new chief is recruited, according to Mayor Gary Herzig.

Herzig said he hopes a new chief will be hired within six months.

Brenner has indicated he plans to take the Civil Service test.

HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST CIRCULATION NEWSPAPER 2010 WINNER OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD

HOMETOWN People

A-2 HOMETOWN ONEONTA

Hartwick Poet Suarez To Be Published Times Magazine

H

artwick College Assistant Professor of English Julia Suarez Hayes ’72, will have a poem published in the February 5 issue of the New York Times Magazine. Her work, “There Was a Great Want of Civility,� will run on the Poetry Page.

The poem was first published last fall in the anthology The Traveler’s Vade Mecum, edited by Helen Klein Ross (Red Hen Press).

The original Traveler’s Vade Mecum, published in 1853, contained thousands of numbered pre-written telegrams designed to be sent as short, affordable messages while in transit.

Ross dusted off the original idea and chose an assortment of the telegrams, then

assigned one to selected poets who were each given a number, then asked to write a poem inspired by the corresponding telegram.

The telegram Suarez received: “There was a great want of civility.�

Ross met New York Julia Suarez Times Magazine Poetry Hayes Editor Matthew Zapruder at a literary event and provided him a copy of Suarez’ poem. “The next thing I know, I get an e-mail.

Out of the blue,� Suarez said. “It’s The New York Times Magazine. They liked the poem and wanted to include it!�

#

! "!

ONE FOUNDER: An article in the Jan. 19-20 AllOTSEGO.life page, “2-Year Rebranding Leads To ‘SD Eyes,� listed two founders of Silver Dollar Optical. There was only a single founder: Ron Russ.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2017

Oneonta’s Trolley History ON DISPLAY UNTIL APRIL 22

Hartwick Honors 9 Oneonta Students

T

en students from Oneonta are on the Hartwick College Dean’s List for the fall semester: • Senior Leisa Lynn Bordinger, Kaley R. Chase, Krisna Compell Seangsouvahn, Brittany Lynn Sloan Karl Frederick Wietzel.

Kut & and• Juniors Rachel Elizabeth Style Griffing and Madison Elizabeth Miller.

NeWNEW LoCatioN, YOU... • Sophomore Michael R. NewNEW You,STYLE! New Style Strenck.

Perms 2 HONORED: Torri Wash, Cut Halquist of Unadilla, physics and astronomy, and Brittney & Style Herrick of Oneonta, psy6208 State Highway 28 • 547-7126 chology, are on the Dean’s List at Siena College.

(On the Corner in Fly Creek)

Kim’s

Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA

Oneonta author and railroad historian Jim Loudon speaks with Erica LaBuz at the opening of “The Otsego Trolley Line,� an exhibit on the Otsego Trolley Co., at the Greater Oneonta Historical Society on Sunday, Jan. 29. A full talk detailing the growth and decline of the trolley in Otsego County and beyond will follow on Feb. 18. The show, which features photos and ephemera, will be up through April 22.

THIS WINTER – CALL MIRABITO! Fuel Oil • Propane • Coal • Wood Pellets • Installations • Service

If you live or work in the Oneonta area, count on Mirabito Energy Products to keep you comfortable.

For 90 years, our name has meant reliable, affordable energy.

We offer a wide range of delivery and payment options. There’s no better time to call than now!

10 Carbon Street, Oneonta, NY ENERGY PRODUCTS

Our People Make Energy Different.

607-432-5100

Are you a local family with a child or youth facing mental health challenges, addiction issues, involvement in the justice system, behavioral challenges, the child welfare system or developmental challenges? Would you like to share your concerns with our local legislators? The Family Resource Network hopes you will join us at The Families Together in New York State Legislative Awareness Day on February 14, 2017 in Albany!

You must register to attend - We can help! Contact the Family Resource Network at 607-432-0001 or at info@familyrn. org if you have any questions or concerns.

THURSDAY-FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2-3, 2017

Harold Palmer, doing double duty as a Chaseville Road dairy farmer and Maryland town supervisor, will be leading the conversation with Otsego Now’s Sandy Mathes.

THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA A-3

Ron Kinch, originally from Westford, three decades ago happened upon the house and related fields that have now been identified as a possible site for the county’s first distribution center. Then a NYSEG lineman, he snapped up what was a great deal, and moved wife Helen and his family there.

Jim Kevlin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA & The Freeman’s Journal

As a clerk at the Schenevus Mirabito, Kailee O’Donnell has her hand on the community’s pulse. Everybody’s very excited about the prospect of more jobs, she said.

250-500 Job Distribution Center Sought At Schenevus JOBS/From A1 “I’m excited,” said the county rep, who was formerly Maryland town supervisor. “It’s the first time we’ve had something to get excited about.”

“It’s very exciting, and exactly what we had in mind when we wanted to up our game in Otsego County in regards to economic development,” added state Sen. Jim Seward, R-Milford, whose two “Seward Summits” set the stage for Otsego Now’s efforts.

The senator applauded Oberacker and other local leaders who brought the site to Otsego Now’s attention. “It’s located in a part of the county that needs more local jobs,” he continued. “And it’s a site that makes full use of one of our assets: Interstate highway 88.”

Thursday, Jan. 26, the Otsego Now board of directors, meeting in Oneonta, approved a three-year option – $3,000 this year, rising to $3,500 by 2019 – on flat, sloping cornfields on top of a rise north of Route 7 on the east side of town.

The property has been owned for the past three decades by Ron Kinch, a retired NYSEG lineman, and wife Helen. The Kinches live in the former farmhouse on Route 7, and have rented the fields to corn-growing farmers.

“To me, it always had potential,” said Oberacker, who lives on Smokey Avenue, which runs along the western edge of the property.

“We have to go out and promote these things. As a fisherman, you have to have a good lure.”

Now, by 2018, the Otsego Now directors, buoyed by reports that Amazon is planning 3-5 distribution centers in the Northeast, hope to have construction complete on what could be the largest boon to the Schenevus area since the Borden milk plant closed in 1959.

“There’s a great demand for sites in-state that can accommodate larger distribution centers,” said Mathes. With the announcement the other day that Dollar General will put a center in the Town of Florida, near Amsterdam, the “inventory” of such sites in New York State is almost gone, he said. There are “less than five,” he estimated.

Otsego Now plans to begin the state’s so-called SEQRA environmental review by March 1, wrapping it up by fall, meanwhile

In the 1990s, distribution centers grew out of the JIT (just in time) concept, which sought to save companies money by keeping inventory low. Typically, wholesalers’ tractor-trailers deliver product to one side of the center one day; products are sorted overnight and sent out the next morning on smaller trucks to a retailer’s stores in the region.

Ken Rose, CEO of the Montgomery County Business Development Center, said that timeline is realistic, given the demand for distribution-center sites. “There’s always a need,” he said, and with three Thruway exits his county is well positioned to serve the Northeast Corridor. (Otsego County has 10 I-88 exits.)

He recruited Target and, now, Dollar General, and said the jobs are fulltime, with benefits, plus some seasonal hiring leading up to Christmas.

Saturday, Victor Hansen, who County Rep. Peter Oberacker, R-Schenevus, who lives on nearby Smokey Avenue, traverses operates the Etc. Etc. Convenience the southern end of the Kinches’ fields, site of a prospective distribution center. Below, you Store – with the Chief Schenevus diner closed for the winter, THE can see where the access road from I-88 connects with Route 7 east of Schenevus. The place to be – said the idea has been driveway will begin directly across from the access road and loop up the hill to the site. debated by his patrons, sometimes looking to make the site “shovelroads, Mathes said. budget. hotly, with opinion split 50-50. ready” – a big retailer’s foremost Another benefit: because of the Before his election to the county Why opposition? “Not in my requirement, Mathes said. hillside, a future building wouldn’t board in November 2015, Oberbackyard,” he replied drily.

Additionally – as it has in be seen from Route 7; drivers by acker, as town supervisor, recalled Behind the counter at the Cooperstown and Richfield won’t even know it’s there. always having to figure out “how Mirabito’s in Schenevus, Kailee Springs – it will initiate an In an interview Saturday, Jan. to do more with less.”

O’Donnell, said, “There’s exciteupdate of the town’s Compre28, Oberacker ticked off what he The town had approached ment. There would be more jobs.” hensive Master Plan, “working sees as the site’s advantages: Dick’s Sporting Goods when it At first, Town Clerk Kaye Frelvery closely with the community • Elevated, it is outside the was planning a distribution center. ing, accepting tax payments at the to make sure we’ve aligned with Schenevus Creek floodplain, “I’ve got the spot of all spots,” Town Office in the fire hall, called what the community wants in erasing a key state Environmental Oberacker told the executives. chatter about the distribution terms of economic development,” Quality Review Act concern. And While Dick’s chose a site near center “gossip.” Once told of the Mathes said. it contains no wetlands.

Binghamton, the company gave Otsego Now decision, however, Elan Planning, Saratoga • Indian artifacts – an archaeothe town good feedback: The site she smiled. “You should attend Springs, will lead the process as it logical review is part of SEQR itself, between Boston, New York the next town board meeting,” she has in the two other communities, – are most often found along and Philadelphia, was ideal – but said. he said. streams, the migration route of “shovel-ready” is essential.

Maryland Town Supervisor Compared to manufacturing early Native Americans, less of a The town board launched the Harold Palmer said he plans to sites, which can require municipal concern here.

“Phoenix Project,” aimed at enmeet with Mathes before that water and sewerage, distribution • Finally, the site is relatively couraging townsfolk to spruce up meeting, at 6:30 p.m. Monday, centers are less of a challenge, flat, requiring minimal earthmovtheir properties, but people feared Feb. 6, to discuss the town’s role. needing only restrooms for eming for prospective clients. their taxes would rise. A wind The Kinches’ fields are zoned for ployees, he said.

The nearest similar facility is farm, fracking and the Constituagriculture, and the town will have The one obstacle presented by the Walmart Distribution Center tion Pipeline offered economic to change that to a business use, the Kinch site is a 30-, 40-foot on Route 20 in the Town of Shabenefits, but split the community, he said. rise at the south end. But Otsego ron. And Town Supervisor Janet the county rep said.

Told of benefits to the Town of Now’s consultant, Delaware EnManko called Schoharie County’s Now, with the possibility of the Sharon, Palmer said that “definitegineering, determined a driveway largest building “very beneficial” distribution center, “there’s a sense ly would be” welcome. “We’ve can be looped up the hillside to in terms of jobs and tax benefits. of hope,” said Oberacker, who been managing – save a penny create a slight enough slope for A 20-year PILOT was just moved here from Long Island as here, save a penny there – to make tractor trailers. renegotiated, she said, and the a boy in 1965. A partner in Form ends meet,” he said, and added The final entryway will be at company agreed to pay $975,000 Tech Solutions, a research firm revenues would allow needed 90 degrees to Route 7, allowing a year in town, county, village and for food companies, he and wife road repairs, and perhaps enable traffic to enter directly from the school taxes. The town share is Shannon raised a son and daughter the revival of youth programs that I-88 connector without using local $195,000, about 20 percent of its locally. have lapsed over the years.

From Sorrowful Chief Schenevus Legend, Thriving Community Emerged HISTORY/From A1 D&H – then the Albany & Susquehanna – arrived in the 1870s.

“Schenevus really began to expand and develop,” said Parmerter. “It became an incorporated village.

The number of shops and businesses increased.”

Horse-drawn buggies would be waiting at the depot to bring patrons to the three hotels – “three large hotels,” Parmeter said. “Farmers would come into town, not Oneonta or Cobleskill.

Even hamlets like Maryland and Owl Creek flourished compared to what’s there now.”

When Vic Hansen, who owns Maryland’s Etc. Etc. Convenience Store, was a boy on Smokey Avenue, there were 57 businesses in the village – four groceries, four gas stations, a meat

Images of Chief Schenevus abound in his namesake hamlet.

market, three hardware stores, a watch repair shop, drugs stores with soda fountains, a Hudson car dealership.

The farmers on South Hill would bring their milk daily to the Borden milk plant then, milk check cashed, shop in local establishments. Well-off mercantile families – Tillapaughs, Clarks, Windsors, Wycoffs – built big homes on Arch

Street.

In his mind, the beginning of the end came in 1959, when two things happened: the milk plant closed, and Jamesway opened in today’s Price Chopper Plaza on Oneonta’s east end. “You could shop on Sundays, and you could shop until 9 o’clock,” Hansen said.

Many local men continued to commute daily to union jobs at GE in Schenectady, until layoffs struck in the 1970s.

To Parmerter, the final blow came in 1974, when Interstate 88 came through, enabling quick shopping trips to Oneonta and Cobleskill. The Schenevus Monitor went out of business in 1981. The village dissolved in 1994 into the Town of Maryland – a rarity then as now. In 2007,

the community’s fortunes around, luring workers from Oneonta, 14 miles away, and Cooperstown, 17.2 miles on the back road over Hooker Mountain.

While the village is gone, a street-lighting district and water district continues to function in the former village, which also hosts Schenevus Central School, with its art deco Andrew Draper High School, designed by Richfield Springs’ architect Jim Jordan’s dad.

HOMETOWN ONEONTA & The Freeman’s Journal County Rep. Peter Images of Schenevus and the Town of Maryland Oberacker, R-Schenevus, in its heyday abound in Worcester Town Historian described the hamlet as a Marilyn DuFresne’s “Images of America: Tri Valley, bedroom community for Cobleskill to Colliersville.” In the upper right is Oneonta, Cooperstown and The Siver, one of three former hotels.

Cobleskill, but 300 jobs might turn that around: The the Catholic church – St. decline, the prospective downtown is only 14 miles Mary’s – closed, and the 300-job distribution center from Oneonta and 17.2 congregation absorbed at St. about to be recruited for miles from Cooperstown, Joseph’s in Worcester.

Ron and Helen Kinch’s over the Hooker Mountain If Schenevus’ story so farm fields on a hill across far is one of growth and from the I-88 exit could turn Road.

HOMETOWN Views

A-4 HOMETOWN ONEONTA

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2017

EDITORIAL

Take Oneonta Ford, Everyone Wins – Even Twelve Tribes

S

usette Kelo lived in a little pink house in the Fort Trumbull section of New London, Conn., overlooking the Thames River.

In 1998, when the New London Development Agency, using eminent domain, cleared the Fort Trumbull neighborhood to attract Pfizer’s worldwide research headquarters, Kelo in her little pink house – a heart-tugging touch – was the final holdout.

She challenged the NLDA’s eminent domain powers and the case went up to the U.S. Supreme Court which, in 2005, agreed that the taking of Kelo’s property for public benefit was authorized by the Fifth Amendment.

By then, however, Pfizer, lacking space to build the full campus it required, moved its headquarters somewhere else.

Hold that thought.

• The Twelve Tribes simply has an underwater mortgage.

Since the housing crash of 2008 after decades of consistently rising home prices, Americans generally have come to understand what that means: The value of your home drops under the value of your mortgage.

Yes, you’re going to take a bath if you sell it.

You can strategically invest in upgrading the property seeking to close the gap between value and mortgage. But chances are you’re simply throwing good money after bad.

Or you can continue to pay your mortgage, waiting for the market

The former Oneonta Ford building should be taken by eminent domain so downtown revitalization of Oneonta can proceed.

Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA

to rebound. In many markets across the U.S., that worked, home prices have risen and even surpassed 2008 prices. But not in Otsego County and many rural markets.

So many of our neighbors can feel the Twelve Tribes’ pain.

• Still, the Twelve Tribes is caught. It owns the former Oneonta Ford and says it has a $525,000 outstanding mortgage.

But an appraisal conducted for Otsego Now puts the value of the deteriorated property at $150,000.

The Tribes is asking $600,000 for a property that actually has a negative value. The Cuomo Administration allocated $417,000 last week simply to raze the building and prepare the site for the prospective Mohawk Valley Food

& Beverage Innovation District hub.

That means Otsego Now, City Hall and the State of New York are already prepared to spend $567,000 simply to clear the site for productive use. It makes no civic sense to spend the additional $450,000 the Tribes wants, raising pre-construction costs to $1,017,000.

The Tribes bought Oneonta Ford and 134 Main, now home to the thriving Yellow Deli, in combination, so it may be unclear how much of the mortgage is being allocated to each.

• Let’s be blunt: The public – everyone standing to benefit from the city’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative – is under no obligation to pay more for the building

than it’s worth.

If the Twelve Tribes had invested in the former car dealership as it has in 134 Main, it might have valuable property right now. Instead, the building has deteriorated even more over the past decade.

Today, it truly represents “community blight” which, combined with public purpose, makes it an ideal candidate for a taking through eminent domain.

The Twelve Tribes no doubt is getting its own appraisal, which may be higher than Otsego Now’s. If a middle ground can’t be reached, then Otsego Now can take the property, the Twelve Tribes can sue, and a judge will eventually decide its value.

• Back to Kelo.

The point is to act now. The

Kelo case blunted the New London Development Agency’s momentum, Pfizer was lost and the larger initiative collapsed. Today, the 90 acres at Fort Trumbull are largely vacant.

The three-story building planned for Chestnut and Market will host a community kitchen, possibly Hartwick College’s Center For Craft Food & Beverage and two stories of market-rate apartments.

It’s the first step in an initiative to redevelop all of underused Market Street, adding shops and apartments to the parking deck, rethinking Foothills in an exciting way, and funding a menu of other downtown improvements.

Let’s not be Fort Trumbull. The Otsego Now directors should act with all deliberative speed, take the property and move forward with construction, perhaps as soon as this summer.

• In the end, this will be a win, win, for the Tribes as much as anyone, if not more.

With dozens of new apartments and stores on the Chestnut Street Extension and downtown, the Yellow Deli will certainly benefit, even expand to the second floor. The value of 134 Main will certainly rise, conceivably more than whatever the true loss on the Oneonta Ford building might turn out to be.

Yes, everyone will win. And what’s the alternative? Worsening blight on the key corner of downtown’s future. If that’s allowed, everyone will lose.

LETTERS

Don’t Fear Fear, Reach Out And Befriend Moslem Today To the Editor: Today I write about Fear Fear is the most pressing thought today. Mr. Trump uses fear to create chaos and limit freedom.

Fear is one of the most controlling and dangerous methods that a leader can use to limit freedom. And Mr. Trump is using it well.

When fear for “National Security” is used as a reason to be afraid of another people, that fear actually limits the freedom of all citizens.

People who are “fearful”, especially those who support him, can be easily manipulated and controlled.

It is a means of group control and allows him to close down even basic freedoms that he says he is protecting.

If you are a true American, a true patriot, and want to protect individual freedom, the best and easiest thing to do is stand up, walk out of your home in the middle of Iowa, and introduce yourself to someone who is different from you, someone of another religion – in this case a Muslim. Extend your hand and become friends. Overcome fear by getting to know an individual. Fear is overcome not by hate, not by avoidance; fear is overcome by facing fear.

Isn’t that what Americans are suppose to hold up as an American trait?

The message that I want to share with anyone who voted for Mr. Trump Please See GOODY, A5

HOMETOWN ONEONTA

& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch

Jim Kevlin

Advertising Director

Tara Barnwell

Mary Joan Kevlin

Thom Rhodes Advertising Consultants

Kathleen Peters Graphics

Business Manager

Larissa Ryan Libby Cudmore • Jason Birkelbach Ian Austin OfOffice Manager Reporter Photographer Judith Bartow Billing

B

assett is a much more important asset to the Clarks (and to the local residents) than is the Baseball Hall of Fame. Let’s hope they don’t squander it. ees, the Chamber of Commerce, the Clark interests and the residents to recognize that fact and make the adjustments necessary to support the changes that are required before we lose Bassett the way Schenectady has lost GE. Yes, we will always have a hospital, but not necessarily a medical center. Bassett is the elephant in the room, though the village’s new Comprehensive Plan gives scant attention to that fact.

The need for affordable housing has been recognized for several years and is addressed in the Comprehensive Plan, but almost as a passing thought.

It has been said that the property required for affordable housing will not be made available in Cooperstown unless the Clark interests are supportive. Bassett is a much more important asset to the Clarks (and to the local residents) than is the Baseball Hall of Fame. Let’s hope they don’t squander it.

A decade ago, I wrote to Jane Forbes Clark requesting that she consider housing a priority. She graciously replied to the effect that housing was not on their agenda at that time.

There is property available. The Notre Dame study of a few years ago made some realistic suggestions. That study has been largely ignored and is sitting on a shelf collecting dust. I hope the Comprehensive Plan does not suffer the same fate.

Bassett employs 2,510 people at the Cooperstown campus, while Focus employs 225. Those employees work 12 months a year. As the editorial points out, most of those Please See DORNBURGH, A6

WHERE NATURE SMILES

To the Editor: Your newspapers raised a vital issue relative to the importance of Bassett Healthcare in last week’s edition. Most of us local residents are grateful for the economic contributions that the Hall of Fame, Dreams Park, Glimmerglass Festival and The Otesaga make to our community, but they are seasonal.

Bassett and Focus Rehabilitation Center & Skilled Nursing Facility are year ’round institutions and therefore deserve special consideration.

Bassett has become the largest healthcare provider between Albany and Syracuse, but Cooperstown has not kept up with that growth. Though we have tried to maintain its bucolic heritage, Cooperstown is not the village of the 1950s (population 2,727) and may never be so again.

The editorial rightly points out that “Cooperstown isn’t a baseball town.

It isn’t a resort community. It isn’t a cultural watering hole. It is a medical center.” And that includes Focus.

It is time that the village trust-

Editor & Publisher

Bassett Workers Need Affordable Housing – For The Good Of All

Tom Heitz Consultant

MEMBER OF New York Press Association • The Otsego County Chamber Published weekly by Iron String Press, Inc. 21 Railroad Ave., Cooperstown NY 13326 Telephone: (607) 547-6103. Fax: (607) 547-6080.

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

Cathe Ellsworth Revives Historic Column

O

n Jan. 4, 1984, when Cooperstonians opened their copies of The Freeman’s Journal to page 2, they found themselves reading: “We thought this was an excellent time of year to take a stab at continuing a column which appeared in The Freeman’s Journal for more years than we can remember. In the first place, all those many organizations that you may from time to time connect us with tend to take a break for the holidays, leaving us with something we are not accustomed to – namely, free time.

We had to find something to do. Secondly, the holidays are a good time for

finding all sorts of people going all sorts of places to do all sorts of things. We managed to take note of at least a few of them. And thirdly, arm twisting, all CATHERINE four of them, on LAKE the part of the ediELLSWORTH tor and publisher, works every time.

So here we go, where nature smiles.”

Little did we know when we wrote those words with our late husband Jer-

ry, we would still, all these years later, be penning a weekly column for the local paper. Over the years we have written for both The Freeman’s Journal and The Cooperstown Crier, as well as a paper which lasted about three months, the name of which we do not remember. And now we find ourselves back writing, where we started, for The Freeman’s Journal.

We willingly admit that over the years the column has undergone a fair amount of change. People no longer seem to want us to share with our readers who has visited, who has dined Please See COLUMN, A5

AllOTSEGO.com • SEE LETTERS ON A5, A6

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR WELCOME • E-MAIL THEM TO info@

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2017

HOMETOWN

HOMETOWN ONEONTA A-5

History

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

150 Years Ago

Impeachment – Undoubtedly, and justly, the chief power of our system is given to the Legislature as the immediate representative of the public will. The authority confided to it of impeaching and removing the President, and of organizing the Supreme Court, gives Congress, under certain stringent conditions, the supreme power. But that power is limited not only by express provision but by moral considerations which cannot be safely disregarded. When the country sees that the President has intentionally prostituted the power of his position to the overthrow of the Government, or that his personal habits incapacitate him for the discharge of his duties, it would universally acquiesce in his impeachment and removal, and the government would not be severely strained by the proceeding. But to engineer an impeachment, to agitate for an impeachment, to twist and torture and refine upon the reasons for an impeachment, is to alienate the national sympathy which are essential to justify it.

February 1867

125 Years Ago

60 Years Ago

Dr. Jose S. Pedrotti, Director General and Alfredo Piro, Secretary-General, both of the Argentine Province of Missions are in the United States purchasing farm machinery, new and rebuilt, and planning for the advancement of medical services to the people of Argentina. The two officials were guests of Medical Coaches, Inc., officers of which have been explaining the use of medical coaches and their use in the Argentine health program. Speaking through Joseph Sanchez of Medical Coaches, who acted as interpreter, Dr. Pedrotti explained that following the end of the Peron regime, the provincial government set up an intensified program of public works to cost $186 million during 1957-1958 with allotments for road construction, irrigation, conservation and public health. Last night, the two officials were guests of Medical Coaches at a dinner in the Elks Club.

February 1957

100 Years Ago

Germany has declared unrestricted submarine warfare. A starvation blockade of England, the like of which the world never has seen, was announced to the world today in a note delivered to American Ambassador Gerard in Berlin and to the State Department here by Count Von Bernstorff.

Thus begins the long-feared campaign of ruthlessness conceived by Von Hindenburg.

Again, the United States faces severance of diplomatic relations with Germany.

President Wilson’s repeated warnings of “a world afire” and Secretary Lansing’s “verge of war” statement are being recalled in the capital tonight with feelings of apprehension and misgivings. Talk of peace in Europe and measures of preserving the peace of the world have gone glimmering. The President has the task of deciding what shall be the course of the United States.

February 1917

‘Where Nature Smiles’ Revived COLUMN/From A4 who has played cards with them. Nor do they seem to be particularly interested in having us cover their travels, their weddings or their additions to their families.

However, as far as we can tell, they do like it when we mention their upcoming events, such as church suppers, rummage sales and quilt shows.

Additionally, our readers seem appreciative, for the most part, when we mention various issues being undertaken by governmental entities such as the Village of Cooperstown, the Town of Otsego, Otsego County and the Cooperstown Central School. Our readers also seem to enjoy the humor that we often find lurking in our e-mail inbox.

Thus, as we pen “Where Nature Smiles” in the weeks ahead, we are hopeful that we will include items people will find to be of interest. And, of course, we always welcome input from the community regarding items of interest, be they upcoming events, amusing moments or concerning issues that are percolating in the community. Plus, we are quite certain that going forward we will not be able to avoid mentioning the weather, which we tend to think has been very strange so far this winter. In fact, we are tempted to say, as we always used to say in Michigan where we grew up, that if one does not like the weather, one should just wait ten or fifteen minutes as it most likely will change.

We must admit that we are most happy to be back writing a weekly newspaper column. We always enjoy the feedback from our readers, even when it is not exactly positive, and look forward to hearing from you in the days and weeks ahead. We would also like to point out that, for those of you with internet access, you can read more of the comings and goings of Cooperstown, as well as our musing on issues we find to be either interesting, puzzling or both, at our website, cooperstowntoday.com.

In closing, we would like to share the following sign posted in a restaurant. It reads: “No, we do not have Wi-fi. Talk to each other!”

PLEASE NOTE: Comments regarding this column may be made by mail to 105 Pioneer Street, Cooperstown, NY 13326, by telephone at 607-547-8124 or by e-mail at cellsworth1@stny.rr.com. Or, for more thoughts about the comings and goings of Cooperstown, visit the website, cooperstowntoday.com.

combat this dreaded disease, nearly 800 Oneontans Saturday night “danced that others might walk.” Gala throngs attended the dances held in the State Armory and the Elks Club which were only two of the hundreds of other gatherings held throughout the nation. It was the Fourth Annual Ball held on the President’s birthday and the largest held in this city.

February 1937

40 Years Ago

Oneonta’s Regional Migrant Child Care Program has received a $31,713 government grant to expand its services to migrant children and their families. Awarded by February 1892 the Appalachian Regional Commission, the money will be used to supplement the current program which currently serves 20 children. Kim Blot, Director of the New Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd PresiYork State Migrant Care Program, said this dent of the United States was 55 years old money will help build up a parent-involveSaturday. To celebrate the occasion, and ment program and a new nutritional proto honor the President for his valiant fight gram for the Migrant Center. Housed in the against the infantile paralysis that threatold Bugbee School, the center now serves ened to ruin his health, and to pay him as a day care unit for 20 migrant children thus by helping to raise a national fund to

80 Years Ago

who are bused in five days a week from all parts of Otsego and Delaware counties.

Oneonta police are cracking down on hitchhikers and people walking in the streets. Three persons were ticketed early Thursday morning on charges of walking in the roadway while two others were accused of hitchhiking. Police said the three people walking in the street were ticketed after being warned and then continued to do so.

February 1977

20 Years Ago

It began when NYS police investigator Craig D. Harvey tampered with evidence while investigating burglaries at churches in Oneonta in 1984. It surfaced in 1992 after investigator David L. Harding told the CIA during a job interview that he falsified evidence during criminal investigations.

It exploded in 1992 and 1993 when five members of Troop C were charged with faking evidence, shaking the foundation of New York State’s top law enforcement agency. And, it finally ended last Monday afternoon when state police closed the book – a 345-page report – filed by special prosecutor Nelson E. Roth – on the Troop C evidence-tampering scandal. The scandal has led to the convictions of Harvey and Harding, Robert M. Lishansky, and Patrick F. O’Hara.

February 1997

10 Years Ago

On spring equinox, night and day are balanced. From now on, daylight grows longer.

Pagans and Wiccans celebrate the spring equinox Ostara, which means the return of light to the Earth as a symbol of growth, balance and renewal. When we take a look at Easter rites, we see the pagan themes that were from Ostara originally. Easter celebrates the resurrection of Christ, while Ostara celebrates the rebirth of the Earth in spring – also signifying new beginnings in our lives. At this time of light after darkness we think about the growth we need for the New Year – the growth of the soul.

February 2007

U.S. Jews Know To Oppose Trump’s Exclusionary Order To the Editor: LETTERS President Trump’s executive order barring entry to refugees, immigrants and others from mostly majority-Muslim counthink of our beloved families full of fear tries demands a response. The Orthodox and hope, eyes wide in wonder and hearts Union, United Synagogue of Conservative swelling with gratitude for the promise of a Judaism, and Union of Reform Judaism better life as they passed under the Statue of represent the three major American JewLiberty approaching Ellis Island. ish denominations, and all have publicly For American Jews, targeting one relicondemned this action. gion for discrimination, particularly refuGiven the Jewish history of expulsions, gees, is a betrayal of Jewish values, our persecution and genocide, we have been history and the Torah. In synagogues across refugees throughout the ages and across the United States, the American flag is continents. Our parents and grandparents displayed in the sanctuary as an affirmation arrived in America as refugees and immiof our nation’s democratic traditions and the grants and shared their stories with us. We values that have welcomed and supported

so many who yearn to breathe free.

President Trump has set us on a course that encourages xenophobia and Islamophobia, while causing untold harm to innocent people, particularly those whose lives are already fragile.

It is time to defend America’s tradition of religious freedom by protesting this cruel and destructive exclusionary law. America’s major Jewish denominations have spoken with one voice because we respect this country, our Muslim neighbors, the plight of refugees, and because we were once strangers in the land of Egypt.

KENNETH SIDER President, Temple Beth El of Oneonta

By Seeking Regulatory Oversight, Faso Is Just Doing His Job

To the Editor: Mr. Kuzminski, in his Jan. 26-27 Letter to the Editor replying to mine in the editions of Jan. 19-20, again chastises U.S. Rep. John Faso, R-19, for his “outrageous vote” to restore Congressional oversight to laws and regulations as mandated by the Constitution. Mr. Kuzminski now agrees that “regulations have the force of law,” but argues that individual congressmen don’t have the staff or expertise necessary to research and fine-tune these laws.

That’s a “straw tiger” argument, Mr. Kuzminski. Of course most individual Congressmen don’t have scientists, economists and engineers on staff. However, what they do have is staffers listening to constituent complaints, including the effects of over-regulation.

When enough congressmen hear enough complaints, the

Congress has the institutional wherewithal to conduct independent research, dispute the pros and cons of the rule, and reach informed decisions to eliminate or amend the law.

That’s their job.

Regulation is necessary but over-regulation is a job killer.

The Mercatus Center of George Mason University estimates that regulations have impeded GDP by 0.8 percent annually since 1980, a cumulative total of $4 trillion in lost domestic product.

More deadening to our nation’s growth is the ever-increasing, costly and time-consuming march of regulation that saps initiative and stifles creativity.

Time spent filling out forms and lawyering-up to answer complaints is time spent away from productive activity.

The World Bank measures and ranks countries according to the ease of doing business.

Eight years ago, the national average for obtaining a construction permit took 40 days.

Now – 81 days. It used to take 300 days to enforce a contract.

Now – 420. The cost of registering property has quintupled since 2009. The U.S. used to rank third in the overall index, behind Singapore and New Zealand. It now ranks eighth.

The six million small and medium businesses provide jobs for more than 100 million Americans and much of our country’s tax base. The latest census statistics show more small businesses failed than new businesses started over the most recent six-year period studied. This is significant.

Large corporations are better able to survive the regulation over-reach of federal (and state) agencies and the regulations and “guidance” commentaries of Sarbanes-Oxley, Dodd-

Frank, Affordable Care Act and the rest. The large corporations have compliance departments and, in truth, their ability to deal with regulation gives them a competitive advantage over smaller competitors. It’s small business, the growth engine of our country, that gets nailed.

In small business, “Mom and Pop” are the compliance department; every hour spent filling out forms is an hour less spent growing their business.

These are the folks who come to Congressman Faso’s office for redress. The congressman listens, not faceless bureaucrat in Cubicle 1523 that created the regulation. Faso is accountable. He stands for election every two years.

Thank you, Congressman Faso. By your vote, you did your job.

DICK DOWNEY Otego

To Overcome Fears, Reach Out – And Find Fears Groundless GOODY/From A4 because he said he was strong on “National Security” is: You are as likely to be harmed by a Syrian Refugee, or someone who is Muslim, as you are to be run over by an elephant in Kansas.

But if you are made to believe that you are going to be harmed, it’s easy to let fear overcome you. As soon as fear becomes a part of your thinking, Mr. Trump can control you and limit your freedoms. He is

messing with your mind.

We are one of the most secure countries in the world, and people fleeing from a war-torn nation seeking peace are less likely to harm you or destroy America than those who take up arms and create hate crimes in your own neighborhood.

Hate crimes are a much bigger challenge to national security than a woman and child fleeing from a place where there is no food, no water, and bombs falling around their

heads.

We are so protected in America that we cannot even empathize with those fleeing from terrorism. We have safe public education, gasoline at the pumps, food in the stores without lines, 50 different brands of cat food.

Fear is a great tool. You are being manipulated and used for someone else’s insidious purpose. If you do not question the actions of a billionaire who says he wants to protect you, you are

not asking questions that are important to your own liberty.

Today the Muslims, tomorrow the Jews or the Protestants, the next day the Kurds.

Eventually you will find yourself in the wrong group.

Inciting fear of any group creates a way to control your freedoms. The legitimate fear you should have is for this man in power who wants you to fear another group.

RABBIT GOODY Cherry Valley

THURSDAY-FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2-3, 2017

A-6 THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA LETTERS

Trump Election Sets Antichrist Free Upon Earth

To the Editor: So the American psycho Donald Trump has been elected president of our country.

All of the raging demons inside of his head have now been unleashed. He now sees himself as all powerful, and only he controls the life and destiny of the citizens of “his” country. Only “he” will now dictate the terms of how we will live, and not live, in the world.

His sickness rules his every word and action. He is a frightening demagogue, a sexual predator, who lives only for money, power, recognition, adoration, revenge and ultimately destruction.

He is an erratic, incompetent, ignorant, unstable, very dangerous man.

He will do as much damage as he can to our country, and the planet, as quickly as he can. He will try to dismantle the mechanisms that are in place that we would use to remove him from office.

In his distorted world he only knows to keep spreading lies, confusion, obfuscation, and distortion. The Constitution, laws, honor, truth, decency, fairness, kindness, compassion, sharing, unity, love, sympathy, empathy, generosity, helping people, means nothing to him.

He is manipulating our entire country, as he acts out his worst tendencies on the world stage.

He wants to keep us afraid, divided, and fearful. He wants us to believe that only he sees the truth and that only he can save us from the dark forces that he says exist in the world, but in reality, only exist in his demented head.

Donald Trump cares nothing about his promises, or

Cooperstown Village Trustee Jim Dean joins demonstration last Saturday, Jan. 28, in front of U.S. Rep. John Faso’s Kinderhook office and his home. The congressman invited the trustee into his home and the two spent a half hour discussing current events, Dean said.

our country, or our people, or our laws, or our history, or our future.

Donald Trump wants violence, he wants fear, he wants confusion, he wants us to distrust and hate others who are not like “us,” meaning him and his cabal of white men.

For Adolph Hitler it was blaming the Jews for all of Germany’s problems that brought him to power, and ultimately caused the deaths of millions of people.

For Trump, it is blaming the Mexicans and the Chinese and the Asians, and whoever else he can find.

He will antagonize other countries to provoke conflict. Peace is his enemy.

Trump cannot tolerate dissent. He is looking for

ASHLEY

reasons to create a police state, not to protect the citizens of our country, but to use against the citizens, as we rise up against him.

Donald Trump will use the army, and encourage local police to move against the American people who protest against him, under the pretense of restoring law and order. Law and order to Donald Trump means only complete subservience to him in his dark, sick world.

The smiling, smug, Republican Party members, who are supporting Donald Trump, are very naive children if they think they will survive by appeasing the antichrist. He will take them down too, as there is no place for them in Trump’s vision of himself and his place in “the world according to Trump”.

It is very frightening to see all of the Republicans who are willing to kiss Trumps shoes, and do his insane bidding, to be close to the seat of his dark, stolen, power. Let’s see if they are willing to put their own families on the trucks when the time comes to chose between family and Trump.

Our country has made a terrible mistake, and now we must all set about to stop the impending damage that will come from this dark,

Tim mcGraw

raving lunatic, and return our country to some form of sanity.

Waiting to see what is going to happen is not the way forward. He has already told us what is going to do, and what is going to happen. Donald Trump thinks he now owns the almost 320 million citizens of our country and that we have nothing to say about anything he does.

Donald Trump is already showing himself to be a threat to our Constitutional Republic. The American people owe him nothing. He needs to be removed from the Presidency, as soon as possible, with all of the legal means available to us.

I was privileged to attend the very impressive, and very successful, local Women’s Rights Rally in Cooperstown. After seeing pictures of the tremendous Women’s Rights Rallies around the world on the same day, I am confident in the (long term) future of the world.

Men could never assemble themselves around the world in such numbers, for any cause, unless they were going to war.

JAMES R. DEAN Cooperstown

Bassett Employees Need Parking, Housing Nearby DORNBURGH/From A4 employees travel from a distance, but would probably prefer to live closer to Cooperstown, if not in the village where they could raise families, pay taxes, and support our school system, which has a declining enrollment. A lack of local affordable housing is a recruitment disadvantage for Bassett as well as for Focus.

Let’s not forget the parking problem. The Comprehensive Plan mentions consideration of a parking garage. A parking garage in Bassett’s lower lot by the Susquehanna would pay for itself and is perfectly consistent with the needs of a 2,510 employee facility, not to mention the patients and visitors who are attracted each day. Several hundred employees are shuttled back and forth from the Iroquois lot on Route 33 each day, plus those shuttled to and fro the Blue Lot off of Linden Avenue. There are 193 round trips on week days, 83 from the Iroquois Lot and 110 from the Blue Lot. It is not only an indignity to the employees, but a significant waste of time and resources.

The backbone of Focus is Certified Nurses Assistants (CNAs) who are not high on the pay scale. If they were paid $15 an hour (they are not), that only comes to Thinking of Remodeling?

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$31,200 annually. Affordable housing would be necessary to accommodate that salary level. Rental units, such as Cooper Lane Apartments, are imperative. May the-powers-that-be keep that in mind. I hope they are reading this and take it to heart. Promoting tourism is a worthwhile objective.

Providing for residents and employees for our major industry is a higher calling.

A recent press release noted that New York State has lost population, most of that loss being the counties in Central New York.

Cooperstown has contributed to the decline because of the conversion of large family homes to B&Bs. The Village of Cooperstown has a population of 1,856, down from 2,727, as noted in the Comprehensive plan, a loss of a third in 65 years.

Yes, Bassett has more employees in Cooperstown (2,510) than Cooperstown has residents (1,856). We must provide what is vital to our local interests, and that includes affordable housing and parking for those who work here. The Comprehensive Plan pays little attention to the elephant in the room.

Are you listening, trustees and Ms. Clark?

WILLIAM W. DORNBURGH Cooperstown

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THURSDAY-FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2-3, 2017

THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA A-7

Medallion Hunters Fund Prize At Foot Of ‘Doughboy’ Statue, Claim $500 Prize $500/From A1 paper has offered a $500 prize.

The check will be presented at the Winter Carnival “closer” at 5 p.m. at the Cooperstown Farmers’ Market.

This time, his intuition – and that of his wife Deborah, who makes common cause with him in the annual hunt – paid off. After three weeks and three clues, they just “knew” it was in the vicinity of “The Doughboy,” the World War I monument at the foot of Pine Boulevard, across Lake Street from The Otesaga.

On their second trip to the site Thursday, Jan. 26, after picking up the newspaper with the third clue, George took the ice scraper out of his Toyota Prius and used the brush to move the snow around. Suddenly, he saw a glint.

“Instantly, we were screaming and yelling,” said Deb. By design, the first clue, published Jan. 12-13 in The Freeman’s Journal and Hometown Oneonta, didn’t give these medallion seekers much to work on.

In the second clue, “home base” suggested baseball, but also

the base of a statue, which took the Seeleys to Victor Salvatore’s “Sandlot Kid” in the Doubleday Field parking lot, to no avail.

As it happens, the suggestion to “roll up our sleeves” eventually helped lead to The Doughboy, whose uniform sleeves are rolled up.

“Fallen leaves” in the second clue both helped and mystified.

But, George said, “I’m thinking: fallen heroes.”

The third clue, which talked about “getting closer to the dough,” nailed it for the Seeleys,

but they went to the site and found nothing. On a second visit, another team of seekers was driving away, raising the couple’s anxiety.

George, who’s pushing 6 foot, saw the glint. Deb, shorter, would have missed it. (The husband has been in the village since attending the Cooperstown Graduate Program 20 years ago. He and Deb, who is from Delhi, met and wed eight years ago.)

The first year the $500 prize was offered, George followed the clues in the newspaper. He had just about concluded it was

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at Three Mile Point, when Eric and Jen Hanson and their children found it there and won the prize.

Seeley was hooked.

Before this year’s win, George came closest a couple of years later, when he concluded the medallion was probably in the knothole in a tree at Lakefront Park. But it was dark and the snow was thick on the ground, and he decided to go back the next morning.

By the time he did, Mike Toulson and his family had discovered the prize.

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P E R S O N A L In• you B Uare S Iinterested N E S S • inWapplying E A L T Hfor this position, please complete an application available from the Careers page at communitybankna.com An Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V

All positions offer a very competitive wage and benefit package, including health insurance and a 401K retirement plan.

Email your resume to: HumanResources@AppleConverting.com

P E R S O N A L • B U S I N E S S • W E A LT H

EOE

Or mail it to: Apple Converting, Inc. • c/o Human Resources 176 Corporate Drive • Oneonta NY 13820

AllOTSEGO.homes

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2017

1 M 00% Bg

A-8 HOMETOWN ONEONTA

MLS#107985 $219,000 175 Stunning Acres Remote hunting cabin, freshwater spring, mature hardwood forests, soaring valley views, hidden meadows, corn fields.

Call Thomas Spychalski @ 607-434-7719 (cell)

PR NE iC W E!

MLS#108253 $430,000 Breathtaking Views! 3-BR, 2-bath home on 100+ acres of gorgeous land. Perfect Catskills vacation home! 5-acre private lake. Only 2.5 hours from NYC! Call Stefan Marikovics @ 516-974-8882 (cell)

MLS#108899 $225,000 Owner Will Hold Mortgage! 78 acres. Private, quiet, for your home, hunting, hiking, skiing. Near Cooperstown. Outstanding views. Stream, 2 ponds.

Call George (ROD) Sluyter @ 315-520-6512 (cell)

MLS#107786 $349,000 Oneonta School District Colonial w/3-4 BRs, 3½ baths, and $20K+ in upgrades. Granite counters, central air, formal DR, hardwood floors, 3.26 acres.

Call Carol A. Olsen @ 607-434-7436 (cell)

MLS#108772 $74,900 Income Generator! This 2-unit multi family home has everything in place to be an impressive money maker. Needs some work. Incredible potential!

Call Stefan Marikovics @ 516-974-8882 (cell)

MLS#107093 $125,000 Farm Sacrifice Rushing trout stream on nearly 80 acres of farm and woodland at an incredible price!

Call Thomas Spychalski @ 607-434-7719 (cell)

MLS#105852 $80,000 16 Lakefront Acres in Gilboa Private setting in a subdivision where the electric is already there and the perc test is done.

Call Gabriella Vasta @ 607-267-1792 (cell)

MLS#108007 $285,000 165’ Private Lakefront Furnished, wrap-around deck, 2 sliders facing the lake and great view. Ideal home for summer and winter. Open architecture.

Call George (ROD) Sluyter @ 315-520-6512 (cell)

MLS#108875 $169,000 3-BR, 1½-bath home in West End of Oneonta, 2 decks, fenced yard, 2-car detached garage, hardwood floors, newer siding. Great location.

Call Carol A. Olsen @ 607-434-7436 (cell)

$60,000 2-BR, 2-bath double-wide in amazing condition.

Tons of storage, new front deck and ramp. Huge LR w/fireplace and updated kitchen!

Call Stefan Marikovics @ 516-974-8882 (cell)

MLS#107335 $229,000 1800s Queen Anne in the Catskills Renovated, 4-BR, 2-bath village home w/new roof, siding, windows, addition. Possible owner financing.

Call Gabriella Vasta @ 607-267-1792 (cell)

lis NE ti N W g!

1 M 00% Bg

MLS#105851 $80,000 16 Wooded Acres w/Lake Rights Private setting in a subdivision where the electric is already there and the perc test is done.

Call Gabriella Vasta @ 607-267-1792 (cell)

MLS#108746 $59,900 Store on first floor (1,800 sq ft) live on second (880 sq ft). Was a deli. Make a great restaurant, deli or home.

Call George (ROD) Sluyter @ 315-520-6512 (cell)

MLS#108195 $49,900 25.78 Acres Idyllic setting on a quiet country road in Unadilla. 5 separate surveyed building lots being sold as one. Approx 500’ road frontage.

Call Leonard Finkelstein @ 607-201-6805 (cell)

MLS#97480 $99,900 Over 100 Acres One of the best buys in Delaware County at less than $1,000 an acre! Mostly wooded land. Priced to sell immediately!

Call Leonard Finkelstein @ 607-201-6805 (cell)

MLS#105236 $17,000 Jefferson – Prime building lot sacrifice! 4.23 acres 3w/privacy, Bedroom,golf 2 Bath 3 Bedroom, Bath Ranchinwith and500 abundance of2amenities the full basement and garage.

Beautiful VIEWS as you sit village of Stamford 5 minutes away. on the deck and look at your POND stocked with Call Leonard Finkelstein @ 607-201-6805 (cell)Bass.

Private setting with 2.60 ACRES.

MLS#108898 $95,500 Motivated Seller This easy-to-maintain 3-BR, 1-bath Cape is close to Fox Hospital. New roof and windows. Best buy in Oneonta!

Call Carol A. Olsen @ 607-434-7436 (cell)

MLS#107045 $125,000 4 acres, ranch-style home w/double-sided fireplace, new roof and electric, new deck overlooking trout stream, 2-car attached garage.

Call Gabriella Vasta @ 607-267-1792 (cell)

1 M 00% Bg

MLS#106998 $119,900 Peace, Tranquility Wonderful 3-BR, 1-bath ranch in Unadilla on just under ¾ acre on Susquehanna River.

Call Leonard Finkelstein @ 607-201-6805 (cell) Virtual tour: https://vimeo.com/180204185

MLS#106321 $35,000 Spectacular sought after 13.41 acres on private deadend road. Great for home and hunting. Abundant Cooperstown Village home.on Seller wildlife! Electric available thepays road.closing costs (up to w/acceptable Call$3,000 Leonard Finkelsteinoffer). @ 607-201-6805 (cell)

MLS#109127 $195,000 $50K Improvements done in 2016. New in-ground pool. Could be baseball rental. 3 BRs, 1½ baths, large yard, 2-car garage.

Call Carol Olsen @ 607-434-7436 (cell)

MLS#107981 $295,000 Secluded Log Cabin On 11 acres in the Catskills.

3 BRs, 2 baths, beautifully renovated kitchen, 3-car garage w/full basement and woodstove.

Call Gabriella Vasta @ 607-267-1792 (cell)

Locally owned and operated Single and multi-family homes Commercial property and land

Priced to Sell! This home features 3 spacious BRs, 2 baths, DR w/vaulted ceiling, spacious LR, hardwood floors. Laundry and BR on first floor. Private deck overlooks huge yard bordering Charlotte Creek. Nice swimming area, trout fishing. No water in the house in the 2006 and 2011 floods. Easy access to I-88 for commuting and shopping. 4-bay garage w/electric, furnace, workbench.

MLS#107743 $139,900

1890s Elegant Center City Oneonta Home! This Grand Lady has great flow and offers 3,000 sq ft. You’ll love the high ceilings, spacious rooms, pretty open staircase, wood floors, fireplace, central air conditioning, large eat-in kitchen w/butler’s pantry, and second staircase off the kitchen. Wonderful wrap-around porch with access from the living and dining rooms. 2 additional rooms in attic. Attached garage. New electric service, interior paint and roof.

MLS#104600 $199,000

Lizabeth Rose, Broker/Owner

Call one of many fine realty companies in

AllOTSEGO.homes

John Mitchell Real Estate

Cooperstown Village Cottage

216 Main Street, Cooperstown • 607-547-8551 • 607-547-1029 (fax) www.johnmitchellrealestate.com • info@johnmitchellrealestate.com

Near Cooperstown

Cooperstown Commercial (8275) Bring your dreams to this cozy 2-BR home on a private cul-de-sac. This enviable residence provides eat-in kitchen w/ oak cabinets, hardwood flooring. Main-level laundry, garage, deck. Come by for a friendly welcome! Cooperstown Schools.

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Selling a home? Buying a home?

Looking for a realtor?

E-Mail: info@hubbellsrealestate.com Web Site: www.hubbellsrealestate.com

Lic. R.E. Salesperson

fax 607.432.7580

Peter D. Clark, Consultant

607-547-5740•607-547-6000 (fax) 157 Main Street Cooperstown, NY 13326

Carol Olsen

office 607.441.7312

Cricket Keto, Licensed Assoc. Broker

HUBBELL’S REAL ESTATE

(8257) 3-BR, 2-bath, raised ranch on a country road w/valley views. Family room, den, newer carpeting, laminate flooring, fresh interior paint, modern eat-in kitchen, laundry room, hot water heat, ceiling fans. This neat retreat is only 1½ miles from Cooperstown.

Hubbell’s Exclusive—$168,000

99 Main Street, Oneonta

colsen623@ gmail.com

Platinum $6 Million Producer

(8276) Great commercial business in the heart of the village. 4,000 sq ft building next to Doubleday Field has maximum exposure, some reserved parking in public parking lot. Brick building, new roof. 2-3 retail spaces have been rented for many years.

Hubbell’s Exclusive—$495,000

BUY • SELL • RENT Also specializing in Property Management

Rob Lee Licensed Real Estate Salesperson 607-434-5177 roblee1943@gmail.com

MLS#106273 Cooperstown $399,000 This wonderful mid-village home has been tastefully redone.

Family room w/fireplace. Lots of room to entertain or have friends over. Close to everything lots of parking.

Huge backyard that borders the creek—a great space to build that special private area. Call today to schedule your private showing!

Dave LaDuke, Broker 607-435-2405

Laura Coleman 607-437-4881

Mike Winslow, Broker Madeline K. Woerner 607-435-0183 607-434-3697

THE REGION’S LARGEST REALTY SECTION/SEE MORE ADS ON PAGE A6

Kristen Bellois 607-282-2251 Debbie Watkins-Parker 914-489-3523

AllOTSEGO.life

THURSDAY-FRIDAY, february 2-3, 2017

PAGE B-1

Inspired!

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HAPPENIN’ OTSEGO

BEST BETS

AllOTSEGO.life

Ian Austin/

How to keep your kids out of trouble? Vigilance, says LEAF’s Julie Dostal.

Parents Get A Walk On Wild Side

AllOTSEGO.life

Ian Austin/

Blue, 4, escorted by Corinne Brooks, won Most Unique Looking category at the Susquehanna FidoFest Dog Show in Pioneer Park Saturday, Jan. 28, during the 50th annual Cooperstown Winter Carnival, which continues this weekend.

By LIBBY CUDMORE ONEONTA

S

hawna’s room may look like a normal teenager’s room, but if you peek in the drawers and inside her backpack, you’ll find trouble.

“There are WANT A pre- 35 items, insentation? cluding drugs, Call Julie at drug referenc432-0090. es and drug paraphernalia, hidden in this room,” said Julie Dostal, LEAF executive director, in debuting an interactive exhibit, “Shawna Has a Secret,” for Oneonta Rotarians Thursday, Jan. 26.

“We want parents, grandparents and anyone who loves a teenager to be aware of what their young person could be hiding,” said Dostal, who is offering to take the exhibit to “any parent group that would Please See LEAF, B3

AllOTSEGO.life

Ian Austin/

Instead of tossing old pizza paddles, Tony Avanzato sent them up to the Hartwick College Art Department – the result: Arte!

Hartwick Art Students Turn Palettes To Old Pizza Paddles – And Presto!

By LIBBY CUDMORE

O

ONEONTA ne man’s trash is another man’s art.

“We got all these new pizza paddles and my brother Vinne just wanted to throw out the old ones,” said Tony Avanzato – the two brothers co-own Ristorante Stella Luna. “I told him we needed to think of something to do with them. We couldn’t just throw them out.”

The wooden paddles, used to place pizzas in the oven and scoop them out when cooked, came from the former Italian Kitchen on Church Street. “We didn’t do pizza at Stella Luna until 2009, after we closed the Italian Kitchen,” he said.

The 8-year-old paddles were old, burnt and warped, but Tony had an idea.

“I called up Hartwick College and asked if they were something their art students would be interested in,” he said. “The kids had just gotten back from their fall break, and I thought Please See PIZZA, B3

Already, Focus ‘Ambassador’ Relates Success Stories

By LIBBY CUDMORE COOPERSTOWN

I

n her first week as Focus Otsego’s first “ambassador,” a husband approached Misty Dygert: “He said that his wife liked to eat clean – more white meat, lots of vegetables – but the staff was serving her hot dogs, a lot of bread and red meat.”

Dygert went immediately to the dietician and had

the woman’s menu adjusted. “Now, whenever I see her husband in the halls, he tells me how happy she is,” she said. “Her morale has increased, and she’s healthier for it.”

As abuse cases against a 92-year-old patient wended their way to completion in Otsego Town Court, Focus hired Dygert in early January as the liaison between residents and the administration. “As soon as someone arrives, I meet Please See ENVOY, B5

Her sister’s epilepsy taught Focus “ambassador” Misty Dygert to care for others from an early age.

AllOTSEGO.life

Ian Austin/

Winter Carnival Marks 50th Year

E

njoy Weekend II of the 50th annual Cooperstown Winter Carnival:

JOIN FATTY BUMPPO: Ride your fat-tire bike for 10-mile race course. Or try the five-mile race. Open to all tire sizes.

Prizes according to the number of competitors. Coffee, hot chocolate at finish line. 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, Clark Sports Center.

FIGHT THE COLD: Annie and the Hedonists return to Cooperstown!

Cooperstown Concert Series, performing blues songs of Ella Fitzgerald, plus Western swing, country. 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 4, The Otesaga.

HOT STUFF: Test, vote on chicken wings from local restaurants. All ages. 3:304:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 4, Cooperstown Farmers Market.

SING GREATEST: Lip synch with the greatest, followed by dance party as Flux Capacitor, metal band, brings ‘80s back to Cooperstown. 8-11 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 4, Farmers Market.

MORE ON SUNDAY. CHECK www.cooperstownwintercarnival.com ON ICE: Witness old-time ice harvest at Hanford Mills Museum, East Meredith.

Also ice fishing, horse-drawn sleigh rides, bonfire, blacksmithing, soup from the buffet. SUNY Delhi Ice Team demonstrates. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4 PRE-SUPER BOWL: By artisanal bowl, sample, vote on local chefs’ chilis at CANO’s annual Chili Bowl, noon-4 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 5, Wilber Mansion, 11 Ford Ave., Oneonta.

THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL • HOMETOWN ONEONTA

FOR DAILY NEWS UPDATES, VISIT OUR New www.

AllOTSEGO.com EVERY DAY

We welcome OTSEGO COUNTY TO COOPER KIA!

Our entire staff of Cooper Kia invites each and every one of you to visit us in Yorkville.

We’re an award-winning KIA Dealer just a short drive from Cooperstown and Oneonta.

Enjoy our complimentary shuttle to area shops and restaurants!

Your new home for all KIA makes and models!

5056 Commercial Drive, Yorkville • 315-736-6660 • www.CooperKia.com

B-2

AllOTSEGO.life

THURSDAY-Friday, february 2-3, 2017

HAPPENIN’ OTSEGO

Friday, February 3

DENTIST – 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Northern Catskill Dentist holds 15th annual “Give Kids a Smile Day” for children 2-12 in financial need. One procedure per child with referral for further work. Northern Catskill Dental Associates, 6 Doubleday Ct., Cooperstown. Call (607) 5472313 for an appointment.

SOUP ‘N’ CHILI – 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Serving chili, beef barley soup, broccoli, bread, dessert, and beverages. Warm up from the Winter Carnival. Cost, Adults $8, Children $4. First Baptist Church, 21 Elm St., Cooperstown. Info, 547-9371

WOMEN’S GATHERING – 5 p.m. Follow up gathering and potluck dinner to discuss issues and further action. Open to ALL supporters of the Women’s March Movement. Unitarian Universalist Society of Oneonta, 12 Ford Ave., Oneonta. Info, ms.elayneous@ yahoo.com CARNIVAL DINNER – 5:30-9 p.m. Fuel the Winter Carnival fun with a menu crafted with the special weekend in mind.

The Otesaga, 60 Lake St., Cooperstown. Info, http://www. otesaga.com/events CONTRADANCE – 7:15-10:30

new york pizzeria 2 large plain pizzas $25* Tax included! Toppings extra

75 Chestnut Street, Cooperstown · 607-547-2930 126 Main Street/ Rt 20, Richfield Springs · 315-858-0405 Not valid w/other offers • 1 coupon per person

p.m. Otsego Dance Society hosts. Music by Eleemosynary, Robby Poulette calls. No partner or experience needed. All dances taught. Newcomers welcome at 7:15 for introduction to some basic steps. Suggested donation $8 adults; $4 students and teenagers; kids 12 & under free. First Presbyterian Church, 25 Church St., Cooperstown. Info, (607) 965-8232, 547-8164, www.otsegodancesociety.blogspot.com

Saturday, February 4

collecting bottles. Leave your clean returnables on the curb or visible from the street. Info, call Bruce @ 267-6730 ICE HARVEST FESTIVAL – 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Participate in traditional ice harvesting.

Includes ice carving, ice fishing, horse-drawn sleigh rides, snowman village, hot soup buffet, and blacksmithing and cooking demonstrations. Adults and Teens $9, Seniors $7, Children free, Hanford Mills Museum, 51 County Hwy. 12, East Meredith.

Info, http://www.hanfordmills. org/ VALENTINES WORKSHOP – 10 a.m.-noon. Create two valentines hearts for your special someone(s) using polymer clay and decorating materials.

All

BOTTLE DRIVE – 9 a.m.

Cooperstown Boy Scouts will be

Bring your own. Cost, members $20, non-members $25. Space limited to 10 participants.

Cooperstown Art Association, 22 Main St., Cooperstown. To register call (607) 547-9777 or e-mail gallery@cooperstownart.com.

Info, http://www.cooperstownart. com/for-adults.html SOUP ‘N’ CHILI – 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Serving chili, beef barley soup, broccoli, bread, dessert, and beverage. Warm up from the Winter Carnival. Cost, Adults $8, Children $4. First Baptist Church, 21 Elm St., Cooperstown. Info, 547-9371 HOT MEAL PROGRAM – 11 a.m.-1 p.m. First United Methodist Church, 66 Chestnut St., Oneonta. Info, http://www. firstumc-oneonta.org/

OTSEGO. dining&entertainment

AmAzing Specials!

Martini Mondays BOGO Wine Wednesday BOGO Happy Hour Friday

Sunday, February 5

50% off all pizzas, well drinks & beer & wine BOgO Friday First Come, First Served 5 - 8 pm

QUILT SHOW – Noon.

Susquehanna Valley Quilters present their handmade quilts, aprons, and purses. Through Feb. 18. Community Arts Network of Oneonta (CANO). Wilber Mansion, 11 Ford Ave., Oneonta.

Info, http://www.canoneonta. org/event/quilt-show-2017/?instance_id=703 CHILI BOWL FUNDRAISER – Noon-4 p.m. Opportunity for amateur and professional chefs to compete. Also a showcase for area potters and bowl decorators. Fees support the Community Arts Network of Oneonta.

Wilber Mansion, 11 Ford Ave., Oneonta. Info, http://www.canoneonta.org/events/chili-bowl/ SNOWSNAKES – Spend afternoon playing traditional Native American winter game.

No experience needed. Warming hut available. Free, all welcome.

SUNY Oneonta College Camp, Upper East Street in the Town of Oneonta. One mile from the intersection of East St. & Bugbee Rd. Info, (607) 436-3455.

5438 State Hwy 28 • Cooperstown • 607.282.4031 • www.boccaosteria.com

Lower Level, 19 Clinton Plaza, Oneonta 607-431-9898 Monday - Saturday 11:30 am to 9:30 pm Sunday Noon to 8:30 pm

Monday, February 6

CPR/AED COURSE – 6-9:30 p.m. Red Cross community level first aid course. Members $55, Public $65. Oneonta YMCA, 2026 Ford Ave., Oneonta. Http:// www.oneontaymca.org/ STRESSBUSTERS – 6:30-7:30 p.m. Monthly class giving you the tools for self-care and empowerment. Huntington Memorial Library, 62 Chestnut St., Oneonta.

5 OFF $25 or more 10 OFF $50 or more

$ $

FATTY BUMPO RACE – 11 a.m. The Clark Sports Center, 124 Cty. Hwy. 52, Cooperstown.

Info, http://www.clarksportscenter.com/events/fatty-bumpo/ WRITERS GROUP – 1:30 p.m.

Poet, speed writer, novelist, or short story writer. Come practice your writing in the format of NaNoWriMo at your pace. Share if you want. Led by Jen Donohue.

Huntington Memorial Library, 62 Chestnut St., Oneonta. Info, http://hmloneonta.org/hml-writers-group/ AUTHOR READING – 2-4 p.m.

A.H. Gilbert reads from her new book “The Crandhall Haunting.”

The Green Toad Book Store, 198 Main St., Oneonta. Info, http:// greentoadbookstore.com/ DADDY/DAUGHTER DANCE – 6-9 p.m. Includes, dinner buffet, raffles, photo’s, gifts, flowers, and more. Registration required.

Members, $80, non-members, $105. Oneonta YMCA, 20-26 Ford Ave., Oneonta. Info, http:// www.oneontaymca.org/ STORYTELLING – 7 p.m. Join Roger Longtoe Sheehan, Chief of the El Nu Abenaki of Vermont, and James Swift Fox Taylor, a tribe elder, to share in their tradition of winter storytelling.

Morris Conference Center, SUNY Oneonta. Info, 436-3455 or snapper.petta@oneonta.edu CONCERT – 7:30 p.m. “Annie and the Hedonists” perform live at The Otesaga, 60 Lake St., Cooperstown. Info, (607) 5471812, info@cooperstownconcertseries.org, cooperstownconcertseries.org/annie.html

Not to be combined with any other offers.

Expires March 1, 2017



13th AnnuAl

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MS 170 Chain Saw

garage

Sunday, February 5 12 to 4 pm

• More than 20 chili recipes to sample and vote on • Music provided by the Wilber Mansion Jam Band • Quilt display by Susquehanna Valley Quilters • Beer tent • Coffee and cocoa by Cabana Coffee • 50/50 raffle

16” bar

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Authorized servicing STIHL® Dealer See STIHL in action at the STIHL Timbersports Demo Sat., Feb 11, 7-9 pm Cherry Valley Communty Center 2 Genesee St., Cherry Valley

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Friday Feb 10 $5 cover 8 pm 58-60 Market Street, Oneonta • 607-433-7646 stellalunas.com • Open Monday - Saturday 5 pm - until close

Stella Luna Ristorante

607-432-2070 canoneonta.org

Thank you Habañero Sponsors!

Our 47th Season!

www.cooperstownconcertseries.org

Eric Hait (Off the Record)

Oneonta Veteran’s Club 279 Chestnut Street, Oneonta • 607-432-0494

LOyaL cuStOMer SavingS

treat yourself or give it as a gift. gift certificate can be used anytime.

30% SavingS: $500 value - You pay $350 | $300 value - You pay $210 20% SavingS: $100 value - You pay $80 | $50 value - You pay $40 LiMited tiMe Offer expireS february 11, 2017

Eclectic mix of acoustic blues, vintage jazz and swing!

Annie & The Hedonists

Saturday, Feb. 4 at 7:30 pm Otesaga Resort Hotel Cooperstown

Please call the Otesaga’s Hawkeye Grill at 607-547-9931 for dinner reservations before the show!

TiCkeTS: $20 for adults $15 for senior citizens and college students with current ID $8 for students age 13-18 Children age 12 and under free when accompanied by an adult.

Call 607-547-1812. Tickets also available at Church & Scott Pharmacy, Fly Creek General Store and Riverwood.

Upcoming Event: Nile Tickets available on line at http://www.cooperstownconcertseries.org/ SaturdayWillie March 11, 2017 Otesaga Resort Hotel

Cooperstown Concert Series programs are made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.

Other support provided by Sound Performance.

AllOTSEGO.life

THURSDAY-FRIDAY, february 2-3, 2017

B-3

LEAF Director Alerts Rotarians: Child’s Bedroom May Be Full Of Landmines LEAF/From B1 like to have an interactive discussion about signs of trouble with their teen, ...to learn first-hand what it’s like.”

The exhibit tasks with searching Shawna’s “room” for signs of drug use, including packets of cocaine sewn into her hat, a bag of marijuana hidden inside a plush dog, a heroin “cook kit” inside an iPhone box and a digital scale stashed inside a CD case.

“Shawna’s in real trouble,” said Dostal. “If you find a scale, that means your teen isn’t just using recreationally. They’re selling.”

The “drugs” used in the

presentation are fake.

And some items, though they may look innocuous, can also indicate a teen is using. “If you find an empty pen – that can be used as a cocaine straw,” she said. “If you see clean tampons in the wastebasket, give them a sniff.

“Young ladies who are concerned about calories soak them in vodka to become intoxicated. They know this, so you need to know it too.”

Before you begin rummaging through your child’s OTSEGO.life room, Dostal first look Your daughter’s bedroom, with a Teddy bear on for outward signs, Dostal the pillow, is a picture of innocence. But clues to tells parents. “If you see a

All

debauchery are everywhere, LEAF Director Julie Dostal warns.

All

tracks and bottles of wine.

Aslin Glenn, sophomore took second, incorporating the natural wear of the wood into a painting of olives, and Jessica Aliotta, senior, won third with a Tuscan yellow scene of wine and fruit.

Other Kappa Phi members who participated were Marianna Richards-Benfatti, Becca Smith, Sara Duane, Richard Colby and Daphne Allen.

Then, Tony had another idea. “We were just going to keep them, but then I thought we could put them up for auction,” he said.

OTSEGO.life “The money we raise could go our Children’s Christmas Tony Avanzato arranges pizza paddles painted by Shopping fund.”

Hartwick art students Every December, the on his restaurant’s brothers have taken underwalls. privileged children on a The brothers hung all nine shopping spree to Walmart for coats, clothes and toys. entries on the wall and let their customers vote. “We’d “We’ve been doing this for 16 years,” he said. “These have our customers vote on kids are so respectful, they the winner,” he said. “We always thank us at the end.” figured it would be someThe paddles will go up for thing nice for them to come silent auction in the next few back to after winter break.”

Junior Gabby Davila took weeks, and even Tony may bid on his favorite. first prize for her painting “You have to give to the of the restaurant, the train world,” he said. “That’s my motto.”

Join us for our 6-course

Wine & Food Pairing!

Thursday, Feb. 9 - 6 pm

All

OTSEGO. dining&entertainment

anger.”

She also recommends giving teens immunity for the first find. “You’ll get that ‘you searched my room?’ question,” she said.

“Be prepared for it. Be prepared to be called a hypocrite. Monitor their social media first, and only search their room if necessary.”

And the program also gives a list of resources for parents to call if they find that their teen is using drugs.

“You are not alone,” she said. “There are people in the community who will help and stand beside you.”

February 14

Hartwick Art Students Turn Palettes To Old Pizza Paddles – And Presto!

PIZZA/From B1 it might be a good project for them to do.”

Richard Barlow, Hartwick College artist and instructor, turned the paddles over to the college’s chapter of Kappa Phi, a national art honor society.

“We just formed at the end of last spring, so it was our first project as a club,” said Lisa Cernick, president and co-founder.

On Tony’s request, Barlow instructed club members to paint the paddles, using Italy, Italian cuisine and Stella Luna as their inspiration.

For extra motivation, he offered prizes: A $100 gift certificate for first place, $50 for second and third, and $20 for everyone who participated.

Then he sat back, anticipating magic would happen.

It did.

The paddles came back just before Christmas, and both Vinne and Tony were floored with what the young artists did.

“They’re just astonishing,” he said.

change in grades and work ethic, change in friends, losing interest in activities, that may be an indicator that something is wrong,” she said.

“Maybe you’ve heard from a trusted source, or your gut is telling you something is wrong. Parents have unbelievable guts, and you need to trust them.”

And if you find something, then it’s time to have ‘The Talk.’ And that’s all part of the program as well.

“It’s tough,” said Dostal. “But you want to start by telling them that this is about their health and safety.

Show love and concern, not

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THURSDAY-FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2-3, 2017

B-4 THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA

LEGALS Legal

Legal notice

126 Main Street Property Group, LLC. Filed 1/13/17 Office: Otsego Co. SSNY designated as agent for process & shall mail to: P.O Box 1897 Richfield Springs, NY 13439 Purpose: all lawful 6LegalMar9 Legal notice

133 Chestnut Street Property Group, LLC. Filed 1/13/17 Office: Otsego Co. SSNY designated as agent for process & shall mail to: 5 Locust Ln Cooperstown, NY 13326 Purpose: all lawful 6LegalMar9 Legal notice

Notice of Formation of SPRINGBROOK HOUSING, LLC

Legal

NYS Finance Law restricts communication with NYSDOT on procurements and contact can only be made with designated persons.

Contact with nondesignated persons or other involved Agencies will be considered a serious matter and may result in disqualification. Contact Maria Tamarkin (518) 457-8403.

Contracts with 0% Goals are generally single operation contracts, where sub-contracting is not expected, and may present direct bidding opportunities for Small Business Firms, including, but not limited to, D/W/ MBEs. The Contractor must comply with the Regulation relative to nondiscrimination in federally-assisted programs of the USDOT 49 CFR 21.

Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 01/04/17. Office location: Otsego County. Princ. office of LLC: 2705 State Hwy. 28, Oneonta, NY 13820-9753. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Attn: Executive Director at the princ. office of the LLC. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

6LegalMar9

Please call (518) 457-3583 if a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the letting.

Legal notice

Reg. 02, Nicolas Choubah, Regional Director, 207 Genesee Street, Utica, NY 13501

NOTICE TO BIDDERS Sealed bids will be received as set forth in instructions to bidders until 10:30 a.m. on February 23, 2017at the NYSDOT, Contract Management Bureau, 50 WOLF RD, 1ST FLOOR, SUITE 1CM, ALBANY, NY 12232 and will be publicly opened and read.

Bids may also be submitted via the internet using Bid Express (www. bidx.com).

A certified or cashier’s check payable to the NYS Dept. of Transportation for the sum specified in the proposal or a bid bond, FORM CONR 391, representing 25% of the bid total, must accompany each bid.

NYSDOT reserves the right to reject any or all bids.

Electronic documents and Amendments are posted to www.dot.ny.gov/ doing-business/opportunities/constnotices Contractor is responsible for ensuring that all Amendments are incorporated into its bid. To receive notification of Amendments via e-mail you must submit a request to be placed on the Planholders List at www.dot. ny.gov/doing-business/opportunities/ const-planholder.

Amendment may have been issued prior to your placement on the Planholders list.

BIDDERS SHOULD BE ADVISED THAT AWARD OF THESE CONTRACTS MAY BE CONTINGENT UPON THE PASSAGE OF A BUDGET APPROPRIATION BILL

BY THE LEGISLATURE AND GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK

D263397, PIN S124.16, Albany, Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Chemung, Chenango, Clinton, Columbia, Cortland, Delaware, Dutchess, Erie, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Genesee, Greene, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Livingston, Madison, Monroe, Montgomery, Nassau, Niagara, Oneida, Onondaga, Ontario, Orange, Orleans, Oswego, Otsego, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Schuyler, Seneca, St. Lawrence, Steuben, Suffolk, Sullivan, Tioga, Tompkins, Ulster, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Westchester, Wyoming & Yates Cos., Statewide Emergency Bridge Contract Regions 1-10, Bid Deposit $150,000.00., NO PLANS. Goals: MBE/WBE 12 / 18% 2LegalFeb9 Legal notice

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF Center Street Deli and Bakery LLC Arts. Of Org. filed with Sec’y. of State of N.Y. (SSNY) on January 19, 2017.

Office location: Otsego County.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against

Legal

it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to :The LLC, 82 Center Street, Oneonta, NY 13820.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

6LegalMar9 Legal notice

Notice of formation of Limited Liability Company, (LLC) Name: BILLY PHELAN’S 300, LLC Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 1/20/17.

Office location: Otsego County.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail copy of process to: 20 Bronner St. Richfield Springs, NY 13439 Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

6LegalMar9 Legal notice

Notice of Formation of DEMATT 1 PROPERTY, LLC Art. Of Org. Ned with SSNY on 01/04/17. Offc.

Loc: Otsego Cty. SSNY desig. as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be sewed. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, 5 Grand St Oneonta, NY 13820. Purpose: any lawful purpose.

6LegalMar2 Legal notice

SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS AND NOTICE

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, COUNTY OF OTSEGO GREEN TREE SERVICING LLC, Plaintiff, against DANIEL CROWELL, PUBLIC ADMINISTRATOR OF OTSEGO COUNTY, AS ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ESTATE OF MARGARET A. FICKETT, MAGGIE REINMANN AS HEIR TO THE ESTATE OF MARGARET A. FICKETT, EUGENE ROWELL AS HEIR TO THE ESTATE OF MARGARET A. FICKETT, LORENA SPAULDING AS HEIR TO THE ESTATE OF MARGARET A. FICKETT, HAROLD FICKETT as heir to the Estate of Margaret A. Fickett, WAYNE ROWELL as heir to the Estate of Margaret A. Fickett, THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON F/K/A THE BANK OF NEW YORK, AS SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE TO JPMORGAN CHASE BANK,

Legal

N.A., AS TRUSTEE ON BEHALF OF THE CERTIFICATEHOLDERS OF THE CWHEQ INC. REVOLVING HOME EQUITY LOAN TRUST, SERIES 2005-F, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION AND FINANCE, Defendants - Index no.

1700133/14.

Plaintiff designates Otsego County as the place of trial situs of the real property.

To the above named Defendants – YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the complaint in this action and to serve a copy of your answer, or, if the complaint is not served with this summons, to serve a notice of appearance on the Plaintiff’s Attorney within 20 days after the service of this summons, exclusive of the day of service (or within 30 days after the service is complete if this summons is not personally delivered to you within the State of New York) in the event the United States of America is made a party defendant, the time to answer for the said United States of America shall not expire until (60) days after service of the Summons; and in case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the complaint.

NOTICE YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME If you do not respond to this summons and complaint by serving a copy of the answer on the attorney for the mortgage company who filed this foreclosure proceeding against you and filing the answer with the court, a default judgment may be entered and you can lose your home. Speak to an attorney or go to the court where your case is pending for further information on how to answer the summons and protect your property.

Sending a payment to the mortgage company will not stop the foreclosure action.

YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF (MORTGAGE COMPANY) AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT. HELP FOR HOMEOWNERS IN FORECLOSURE; New York State law requires that we send you this notice about the foreclosure process. Please read it carefully.

Legal

SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT You are in danger of losing your home. If you fail to respond to the Summons and Complaint in this Foreclosure Action, you may lose your home. Please read the Summons and Complaint carefully. You should immediately contact an attorney of your local legal aid office to obtain advice on how to protect yourself.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE The State encourages you to become informed about your options in foreclosure. In addition to seeking assistance from an attorney or legal aid office, there are government agencies and non-profit organizations that you may contact for information about possible options, including trying to work with your lender during this process.

To locate an entity near you, you may call the toll-free helpline maintained by the New York State Department of Financial Services’ at 1-800269-0990 or visit the Department’s website at http://www.dfs. ny.gov.

FORECLOSURE RESCUE SCAMS Be careful of people who approach you with offers to “save” your home. There are individuals who watch for notices of foreclosure actions in order to unfairly profit from a homeowner’s distress. You should be extremely careful about any such promises and any suggestions that you pay them a fee or sign over your deed.

State law requires anyone offering such services for profit to enter into a contract which fully describes the services they will perform and fees they will charge, and which prohibits them from taking any money from you until they have completed all such promised services. We are attempting to collect a debt. Any information obtained will be used for that purpose.

The foregoing summons is served upon you by publication pursuant to an order of the Honorable Michael F. Cocooma entered December 19, 2016. The object of this action is to foreclose a mortgage and covering the premises known as 905 County Highway 7, Otego, New York located at Section 297.00 Block 1 and Lot 32.00 Dated: December 13, 2016 Berkman, Henoch, Peterson, Peddy and Fenchel, P.C., Attorney for Plaintiff, By: Hillary Prada, Esq., 100 Garden City Plaza, Garden City, NY 11530 (516) 222-6200.

4LegalFeb16

Legal

Legal notice

NOTICE TO BIDDERS Sealed bids will be received as set forth in instructions to bidders until 10:30 a.m. on February 23, 2017at the NYSDOT, Contract Management Bureau, 50 WOLF RD, 1ST FLOOR, SUITE 1CM, ALBANY, NY 12232 and will be publicly opened and read.

Bids may also be submitted via the internet using Bid Express (www. bidx.com).

A certified or cashier’s check payable to the NYS Dept. of Transportation for the sum specified in the proposal or a bid bond, FORM CONR 391, representing 25% of the bid total, must accompany each bid.

NYSDOT reserves the right to reject any or all bids.

Electronic documents and Amendments are posted to www.dot.ny.gov/ doing-business/opportunities/constnotices Contractor is responsible for ensuring that all Amendments are incorporated into its bid. To receive notification of Amendments via e-mail you must submit a request to be placed on the Planholders List at www.dot. ny.gov/doing-business/opportunities/ const-planholder.

Amendment may have been issued prior to your placement on the Planholders list.

NYS Finance Law restricts communication with NYSDOT on procurements and contact can only be made with designated persons.

Contact with nondesignated persons or other involved Agencies will be considered a serious matter and may result in disqualification. Contact Maria Tamarkin (518)457-8403.

Contracts with 0% Goals are generally single operation contracts, where sub-contracting is not expected, and may present direct bidding opportunities for Small Business Firms, including, but not limited to, D/W/ MBEs. The Contractor must comply with the Regulation relative to nondiscrimination in federally-assisted programs of the USDOT 49 CFR 21.

Please call (518) 457-3583 if a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the letting.

BIDDERS SHOULD BE ADVISED THAT AWARD OF THESE CONTRACTS MAY BE CONTINGENT UPON THE PASSAGE OF A BUDGET APPROPRIATION BILL

BY THE LEGISLATURE AND GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK

Legal

Reg. 09, Jack Williams, Regional Director, 44 Hawley Street, Binghamton, NY 13901 D263312, PIN 9830.07, F.A. Proj.

LU20-9830-073, Otsego & Schoharie Cos., Safe Routes to School Pedestrian Improvements in the Villages & Towns of Morris and Sharon Springs, Bid Deposit $50,000.00. Goals: DBE 0% 2LegalFeb2 Legal notice Notice is hereby given that the annual meeting of the lot owners of the Hartwick Seminary Cemetery Association will be held at the home of Joyce S. Jones, 4685 State Highway 28, Cooperstown, NY 13326. This meeting will be Sunday, February 5, 2017 at 2 p.m. to transact such business as may properly come before the meeting and the election of officers and Trustees.

2LegalFeb2 Legal notice

NOTICE OF SUMMONS Index No. 1016--0065 Date of Filing February 2, 2016 SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF OTSEGO STONE STREET CAPITAL, LLC, Plaintiff, v.

JERRY JEAN Defendant.

TO THE ABOVE-NAMED DEFENDANT:

Legal

contract with Stone Street Capital, LLC to sell, assign or transfer certain structured settlement payments to Stone Street Capital, LLC. Stone Street Capital, LLC seeks to recover $28,957.72 in damages as well as accrued interest, post-judgment interest, expenses, attorneys’ fees and other costs of collection. Failure to appear and serve an answer in this proceeding may result in a default judgment against you for the damages listed above.

Please be advised that the attorneys for Stone Street Capital, LLC are Lavin, O’Neil, Cedrone & DiSipio, 420 Lexington Avenue, Suite 335, New York, New York 10170, Tel.: 212-319-6898.

4LegalFeb2 Legal notice Notice of Formation of M D New York Property LLC. Filed with SSNY on 9/15/16. Office: Otsego County.

SSNY designated as agent for process & shall mail to: 148-150 Main St Oneonta NY 13820. Purpose: any lawful 6LegalFeb16 Legal notice Notice of Formation of 285 PMMS, LLC. Filed with SSNY on 11/21/16.

Office: Otsego County. SSNY designated as agent for process & shall mail to: 285 Mary Brown Hill Rd Laurens NY 13796.

Purpose: any lawful 6LegalFeb16

Legal

entity is Ninety Three Main LLC, for which the Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State on January 3, 2017. The office of said entity is to be located in Otsego County, New York. The Secretary of State has been designated as agent of the limited liability company, upon whom process against it may be served, and the post office address within this State to which the Secretary of State shall mail a copy of any process against it served upon her is 93 Main Street, Cooperstown, New York 13326. The purpose of the business of such limited liability company is to engage in any lawful act or activity for which limited liability companies may be organized under the Limited Liability Company Law. 6LegalFeb9 Legal notice Notice of Formation of Ralph A. Cuozzo Jr. LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/23/16. Office location: Otsego County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 482 State Hwy. 7, Unadilla, NY 13849. Purpose: any lawful activities.

6LegalFeb9 Legal notice

YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED and required to serve upon Plaintiff’s attorneys an answer to the Complaint in this action with twenty (20) days after the service of this Summons, exclusive of the day of service, or within thirty (30) days after service is complete if this Summons is not personally delivered to you within the State of New York.

In case of your failure to answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the Complaint.

Legal notice

DIAZ AVIATION, LLC

Notice of Formation of MKV Fitness LLC. Art. of Org. filed Sec’y of State (SSNY) 9/13/16. Office: 5006 State Hwy 23 Oneonta NY, Otsego County.

SSNY designated as process agent.

Process address: Katrina Vega, 14 Division St Apt 1 Oneonta NY 13820. Purpose: any lawful activity6LegalFeb16

Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 12/5/2016. Office in Otsego Co. SSNY desig. agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to 868 County Highway 18, South New Berlin, NY 13843.

Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

6LegalFeb2

NOTICE OF NATURE OF ACTION AND RELIEF SOUGHT:

SCARZAFAVA & BASDEKIS, PLLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 1/3/2017. Office in Otsego Co. SSNY desig. agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to 48 Dietz St., Ste. C, Oneonta, NY 13820. Purpose: To practice Law. 6LegalFeb16

Legal notice

You are hereby notified that Stone Street Capital, LLC, commenced an action against you on February 2, 2016 in New York State Supreme Court, Otsego County, under Index Number 2016-0065. By this action, Stone Street Capital, LLC seeks damages for breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment and fraud arising out our your April 2011

Legal notice Notice of Formation of

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY The name of the

Legal notice Notice of Formation of a NY Limited Liability Company.

Name: VALLEY VIEW FARM GUESTHOUSE LLC. Articles of Organization filing date with Secretary of State (SSNY) was 4 October 2016. Office location: Otsego County. SSNY has been designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and SSNY shall mail copy of process to 3897 St Hwy 205, Hartwick, NY 13348. Purpose is to engage in any and all business activities permitted under NYS laws.

Friday, FEBRUARY 3, 2017

HOMETOWN ONEONTA B-5

Twelve Tribes Hires Own Appraiser In Eminent-Domain Proceedings TRIBES/From A1 based on one professional appraisal, and held a public hearing Thursday, Jan. 26, the first step toward taking the property through eminent domain.

That same day, the Cuomo Administration announced a $417,000 grant to demolish the structure and prepare the site for new construction.

“In present condition, the only use is cold storage,” said Sandy Mathes, Otsego Now CEO. “Hopefully, we’ll reach an agreement based on the fair value of the property, not the debt shifted onto the building.”

But with the demolition slated to begin this summer, Mathes and the Otsego Now board are weighing eminent domain proceedings if an agreement is not reached.

“Eminent domain is a negotiation, a negotiation that we want very much to reach an agreement on,” Mathes said in an interview. “But we will not pay any more than fair market value on that site. “… The building has been long-term community blight, and leaving it as is would be a drag on the whole Market

Street project.”

Once razed, the site would be redeveloped into the Mohawk Valley Food & Beverage Innovation District, known colloquially as the “Food Hub.” $3 million of the $10 million DRI funding would be used to develop the project, with matching private investments.

“There are environmental issues that need to be remediated,” said Mathes. “There’s asbestos. We need a clear space for redevelopment.”

Now all that stands in the way is the acquisition.

“We’re at the point where we need to get projects done,” said Mathes.

“This is the cornerstone of the Market Street revitalization. It’s by far the best site, and we’re trying to engage in good-faith negotiations with the owners.”

“The last thing we want is to be part of a controversy connected with a lot of people,” said Matthew Brownell, a member of the Tribes. “We want the building used for public good, but we owe a substantial amount more than we were offered.”

“I say pay them what it’s worth,” Michael Stolzer, who operates a downtown art gallery, said at the public hearing. “To take it away, it’s just not acceptable.”

“I do not see how Otsego Now’s eminent domain procedures reflect our forward-thinking community,” said Steve Londner. “I doubt this is the face of Oneonta that will attract new businesses.”

“I’ve taken an informal poll of farmers and none of them have even the least bit of interest in the food hub,” said Johna Peachin, the local accountant, who spoke at the hearing. “It’s the subject of a lot of ridicule.”

No action is yet scheduled for the Feb. 23 meeting of the Otsego Now board. “We’re going to continue in good faith,” said Mathes. “And we’re hoping for expediency on their appraisal, but we trust they’ll find a reputable firm to bring some expertise to the discussion.”

“I appreciate Sandy’s momentum,” said Beane. “He’s a good man and he’s got gusto, but maybe we need to sit down and talk more.”

Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA

The Twelves Tribes’ Lee Beane told an Otsego Now public hearing Thursday, Jan. 26, that $125,000 is to low an offer for the former Oneonta Ford building, the focus of eminent domain proceedings.

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Your February Home Checklist 4 Protect pipes from freezing. Insulate any exposed outdoor pipes.

4 Take steps to prevent ice dams. Ice dams are

areas of built-up ice that can accumulate around your roof line, causing leaks when the backed-up snow behind them begins to melt.

4 Make sure your driveway is maintained.

Keep your driveway cleared of snow and branches so that the fuel oil truck, deliveries, emergency vehicles and visitors have access to your home.

4 Keep the path to your heating oil fill pipe cleared for delivery. Clear a path from your driveway to the fill pipe.

4 Knock heavy snow from tree branches.

4 Check smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

ENVOY/From A1 with them and walk them to their room,” she said.

“I let them get to know me, and that I’m here for whatever they need. If their room is too cold, if they don’t like their food, I’m here to make sure they’re comfortable while they’re here with us.”

Though she is working mainly with the short-term rehab patients in the Winding Brook neighborhood, she goes throughout the facility.

“There’s a clinical piece to it,” said Jeff Emhof, Focus administrator. “The ultimate goal is their satisfaction, so that they can get better quickly and, for the short-term stays, go home.

Nurses have several patients at a time, but Misty’s sole responsibility is customer satisfaction.

As Dygert was growing up in St Johnsville, her younger sister had epilepsy,

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so she learned how to manage her care alongside her family. “I’ve always loved helping people,” she said.

She got her CNA certification in Rome and did her clinical at Rome Memorial Hospital. She was working in accounts receivable at the St. Johnsville Nursing Center when she saw the ad for Focus’ new ambassador position.

“She has experience working with residents and families,” said Emhof. “Billing isn’t always a friendly topic, but I really appreciated her experience working with families in that way.”

She’ll also be working with Bridget Seeley, the director of nursing, who joined in November. Previously, they had worked together at St. Johnsville.

Last year’s arrests and additional complaints lodged with the state caused Focus, the recently privatized county Otsego Manor, to be

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placed on a “Special Focus” probationary list.

So “we’re picking up the customer service end of things,” said Emhof.

“We’re making sure that the customers are satisfied with everything, that the nurses’ attitudes are positive. We’re training our staff to ask ‘Is there anything else I can do for you?’ so that the patient feels like they can address a concern, however minor, rather than waiting to use the call bell.”

“We want to get them help as soon as possible,” said Dysert. “If we can’t get an answer right away, we assure them we’ll get it soon.”

Additionally, 12 CNAs have been hired, and 12 more are in training at Herkimer County BOCES. “They were desperately needed,” said Emhof.

And they’ve adopted a

customer satisfaction survey to get a baseline for how residents at Focus feel.

“We’re 90 percent complete,” he said. “We haven’t done this in the past, and we’re going to strive towards building up areas we might be missing.”

They’ve also begun taking discharge surveys for short-term patients. “We call 48 hours after they leave to see how they enjoyed the facility and what we could improve,” said Emhof. “Sometimes we find that when they’re here, they don’t want to tell us something’s wrong.”

And though she’s only been there a month, Dysert is already getting to know all the residents. “I’m never at my desk,” she said. “I go around and chat with everybody!”

$5,000.00 REWARD For the information that will lead to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for the arson of Cooperstown All Star Village and Christopher’s Lodge in May of 2103.

Please contact the Otsego County Sherrif’s Office at our tip line: (607)-547-1690 or e-mail: sherifftips@otsegocounty.com

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HOMETOWN ONEONTA B-6

Friday, february 3, 2017

IN MEMORIAM Ronald C. Cook, 70; In CNY Stock Car Hall Of Fame ONEONTA – Ronald C. Cook, 70, the Oneonta native who earned induction into the Central New York Stock Car Hall of Fame, passed away Jan. 20, 2017, at his home in Port Charlotte, Fla., with his family by his side.

He was born on Sept. 25, 1946, in Oneonta, son of Shirley Raymond and Hilda Marie Cook. He graduated from Laurens Central School in 1965 and enlisted in the Air Force, serving

Stateside and in Vietnam.

He was self-employed during the 1980s and ’90s, operating Mr. Fixit. He relocated to Florida in 1999, and was maintenance supervisor for the State of Florida’s Gulf Coast Center in Fort Myers until his retirement.

Many fans will remember Ron as Modified Dirt Car Racer at Midstate Speedway Rookie of the Year in 1964.

He pursued this interest throughout New York and

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Pennsylvania, leading to his induction into the Hall of Fame in 2008.

As Florida became Ronald home, he Cook enjoyed the warmth of the sun, the sound of the waves and the beauty of Charlotte Harbor sunsets. He enjoyed spending time sipping coffee with his wife at a nearby park talking about the day and watching the sun disappear into the water.

He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Patricia Cook; two sons, Ron (Alyssa)

Oneontan Harvey B. Baker, 86; D&H Conductor, Vet, Fire Chief ONEONTA – Harvey B. Baker, 86, retired D&H conductor and former Worcester fire chief, passed away Jan. 16, 2017, at his winter home in Florida with his family by his side.

He was born on April 9, 1931, in Oneonta, to the late Cecil Baker and Leona Carpenter. Harvey met his surviving wife Edna Schambers in 1948 and they married on Nov. 7, 1951. Harvey and Edna were married for 65 years.

They have five sons, David and his wife Jean, Roger and Linda, Jim and Lori, Mike and Laurie and Tim Baker. Harvey is survived by 10 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Also, a sister Phyllis Sutherlin, brother Robert and his wife Ruth, a sister June and five half brothers and sisters.

Harvey served in the Korean War in 1950-54 with the 82nd Airborne. He was filmed parachuting out of planes in the 1952 movie, “Jumping Jacks,” starring Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin.

Harvey took to the rails and became a conductor for the D&H out of Oneonta, retiring after 34 years.

Outside of work, Harvey served as a chief for the East Worcester Fire Department, where he volunteered for 60 years. He served on the Worcester Town Board and as president of the E.W. Fish & Game Club, and member

Kathryn H. Neske, 78; Operated Schenevus Hotel With Husband versar y Our 125th anni

Tillapaugh Funeral Service Our historic Family Room

Our Chapel comfortably seats over 200.

George M. Tillapaugh (1888-1913) · Revo and Anna Tillapaugh (1913-1958) George G. and Marjorie Tillapaugh (1935-1988) · Martin H. Tillapaugh (1988-Present)

dignity · tradition · continuity 28 Pioneer Street, cooPerStown • 607-547-2571 Proudly serving area families since 1888

Cook (and first grandson William Shirley Cook) of Daleville, Ala., and David Cook of Port Charlotte; and three sisters, Edee Cook and Elsie Terpenning of Oneonta, and Evelyn Wade of Otego. Also, several nieces, nephews, cousins and many friends who remained very special to him through out his life.

He was predeceased by his parents, Shirley Raymond and Hilda Marie Cook.

Ron will be laid to rest in the Wall of Honor at the Sarasota National Cemetery, Sarasota, Fla., in March, with full Military Honors..

Arrangements are entrusted to the Taylor Funeral & Cremation Services, Punta

SCHENEVUS – Kathryn H. Neske, 78, who owned and operated the Schenevus Hotel with husband Paul for many years, died Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017, at Fox Hospital.

Kathryn was born on Oct.18, 1938, in The Bronx, the daughter of the late Francis T. and Louise Ferdinand Weinheimer. She married Paul Neske on Aug. 24, 1957. In 1969, they moved to Schenevus, where Kathryn operated a daycare in her home. Over the years, she cared for over 100 children.

Arrangements are by the Delker & Terry Funeral Home Edmeston.

of the VFW and Worcester United Methodist Church.

A memorial service will be next summer at the United Methodist Church in Worcester, with Pastor Dan Martin officiating.

Arrangements are entrusted to the Ottman Funeral Home.

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