ARMED
FORCES SALUTE
ON SATURDAY, MAY 18, REMEMBER THOSE WHO SACRIFICED/A3
HOMETOWN ONEONTA !
E RE
F
& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch Complimentary
Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, May 17, 2013
Volume 5, No. 34
City of The Hills
‘IT’S PERSONAL’
HARTWICK AIMS TO SECURE FUTURE
GOAL: $32 MILLION Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
As an Eagle Scout project, Oneonta’s Andrew Kendall has been installing a handicap ramp at St. James Food Pantry. Here, he digs a post hole as pals Chris Cerosaletti, Dillon Davidson and Hunter Guywits look on.
James Koury Plans To Leave City Clerk Post
C
ity Clerk Jim Koury, a key player in City Hall for 20 years for four mayoral administrations, announced he will be resigning his post, effective in mid-July. A gay man, he cited the day when he was first able to host gay marriages in City Hall as his most memorable, and said he hopes to pursue “evolving advocacy and activist interests.” Text of Koury’s resignation statement, SEE A4 STATION GONE: After an 18-month wind down, SUNY Oneonta surrendered its license for WUOW, the city’s public radio station, on Thursday, May 9. GREEN THUMBS: A few plots are left in the city’s 2013 Community Gardens program. Applications are available at www.oneonta. ny.us/recreation or at the rec office in Neahwa Park, and must be submitted with a $25 money order. ($50 for non-residents.) WEDDING DAYS: A fashion show of vintage wedding gowns is 2-5 p.m. Sunday, May 19, at the B Side Ballroom, to benefit the Greater Oneonta Historical Society. $10 for GOHS members, $12.50 for nonmembers.
Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
Breaking ground on the $3 million William V. Campbell Fitness Center Friday, May 10, are, from left, Geoff Smith, Dewar Foundation trustee; Hartwick Trustee Carol Ann Hamilton Coughlin, ‘86, “It’s Personal” campaign chair; Diane Hettinger, ‘77, acting chair, Hartwick Board of Trustees; college President Margaret Drugovich; Brian Cook, ‘16, student; Megan Fallon, Dewar Union director, and Hartwick Trustees A. Bruce Anderson, ‘73, and Debra Fischer French, ‘80.
Drugovich: $19.2M Already Raised For Student Aid, More By JIM KEVLIN
I
f there was any doubts that Hartwick College has steered far clear of the financial shoals of a decade ago, President Margaret Drugovich put them to rest. Friday, May 10, against the backdrop of one of the City of the Hills’ finest views, she announced
the college will be seeking $32 million in “It’s Personal: The Campaign for Hartwick Students” – and that $19.2 million has been raised already. “Buildings do not make a campus,” Drugovich told alumni, INSIDE: Two days of celebration kicked off “It’s Personal”/B1
Democrats Back Butterman; Plan Kathy Clark Challenge By JIM KEVLIN GILBERTSVILLE
W
ith the County Democratic Committee preparing to introduce its slate here Thursday, May 16, county Chair Richard Abbate revealed two more candidates for the county Board of
Representatives this November: • Dan Butterman, who works for New York Central Mutual and has been “very involved” in Town of Oneonta politics, to run for the District 4 seat being vacated by 12-year Please See ABBATE, A7
faculty and students gathered under the tent at “A Blue Bash!” luncheon, part of two days of activities surrounding the announcement. “People make a campus community – you make a campus community.” Announcing her own family’s commitment of $100,000, she declared, “When we support Hartwick, other people will support Hartwick.” All the top administra-
tors have already donated to the campaign, she said. The fundraising effort is the largest in Otsego County history. In 1997, Bassett Hospital raised $15 million for general purposes, followed by a $12 million drive for the cardiac center. In effect, Hartwick is aiming to break its own record: A $20 Please See HARTWICK, A6
4 Hotels, Foothills Collaborate To Bring Conventions To City County Tourism Director Plans Foray To Albany At Month’s End By JIM KEVLIN
T
he city’s four anchor hotels – The Clarion, the Holiday Inn/Southside, Hampton Inn and the new Courtyard by Marriott – are partnering with Foothills Performing Art Center in a “Greater Oneonta
Deb Taylor
Meeting & Conference Coalition.” The goal of the collaboration is to bring convention-goers to town not just for their own benefit, but to aid restaurants and entertainment venues, and the local economy generally. “Look where Oneonta is situated – halfway between Albany and Binghamton and an easy drive from Please See HOTELS, A6
HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST CIRCULATION NEWSPAPER 2010 WINNER OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD