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Volume 9, No. 49
City of The Hills
HOMETOWN ONEONTA E!
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& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch Complimentary
Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, September 15, 2017
MURDER, HE SAID D.A. Muehl’s 21 Witnesses Bring Cold Case To Boil
Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
Oneonta’s Clark Oliver succeeded Cooperstown’s Maguire Benton as chair of the Otsego County Young Democrats at the party’s annual dinner Friday, Sept. 8, at Foothills.
Again, SUNY Oneonta’s In Region’s Best ONEONTA
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UNY Oneonta is among the top 50 colleges in the Northeast for the fourth year in a row, according to U.S. News and World Report’s 2018 rankings of “Best Colleges,” released today. The college sits at No. 48 in the “Best Regional Universities/North” that offer bachelors and masters, but few doctorates. Among public institutions, SUNY Oneonta is No. 13.
Suspect Casey Callahan is escorted from courthouse by sheriff’s Deputy Donald Virtell.
By LIBBY CUDMORE & PARKER FISH COOPERSTOWN
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n untied shoe. A bruise on her thigh. The exact description of “the perfect crime” four months before Elizabeth Welsh Callahan, 34, Goodyear Lake, was killed Jan. 19, 2000, at a truck stop just over Parker Fish/The Freeman’s Journal the Pennsylvania border in
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FULLY BOOKED: TEDx Oneonta, a local version of the nationally celebrated TED Talks, this Saturday, Sept. 16, at Foothills, is fully booked, according to organizers.
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what was then ruled a tragic accident after her husband’s rig rolled over her.
But District Attorney John Muehl believes these things prove that Elizabeth’s death was no accident, and Monday, Sept. 11, Casey Callahan found himself on the dock in Otsego County Court, accused of murder in a 17-yearold death. “I can kill someone and get away with it,” Muehl said in his opening remarks on Monday, Sept. 11. “I’d take somebody for a ride, stop at the Dandy Mart just off Route Please See TRIAL, A7
HALFWAY TO ONEONTA, COOP
AS ALWAYS, IT WAS...
For 1/4 Century, Jackie’s Serves Rt. 28 Corridor
RAND & LORIOUS
By LIBBY CUDMORE Sue Struckle, top photo, examines Grand & Glorious Tag Sale offerings Saturday, Sept. 9, while, left photo, Jeff Garrison, at the Assembly Of God booth, flips burgers for hungry shoppers/
CAMPAIGN STARTS: United Way of Delaware & Otsego Counties will kick off its annual drive during a happy hour, 4-6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 20, at the B-Side Ballroom. At 5 p.m., the 2017 winner of the Cheri Albrecht Award will be announced. WIRELESS OPTION: A ribbon-cutting at AT&T’s Cricket Wireless store is planned at 1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, in the Panera building at Southside Mall. Food, special discounts and entertainment follows until 6 p.m.
1ST MURDER TRIAL SINCE ‘05 or noon and 5 p.m. updates on the Casey Callahan murder trial, check D.A. Muehl
MORE PHOTOS, A3
MILFORD
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s a food-service student at BOCES, Jackie Folts was assigned to design a restauJackie Folts rant menu. She called the imaginary establishment “Jack’s.” It offered a slice of pie for 75 cents, coffee for 35 cents and home fries for $1. Graduating, “I worked at different diners, the Short Stop, the Hartwick Diner, but I Please See JACKIE’S, B7
RECOVERY RESOLUTION EXPLORED
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ayor Gary Herzig said Common Council member Melissa Nicosia will sound out her Council colleagues about the “Recovery Friendly Community” resolution and report back to the task force “to see where they want to go.”
Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
The rigor of leading accreditation efforts moved Jennifer Fila up the ranks of the state University Police. She is new chief of SUNY Oneonta’s force.
JENNIFER FILA ON THE JOB
Search For Professionalism Fueled New SUNY Police Chief’s Ambition By LIBBY CUDMORE ONEONTA
Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA
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or Jennifer Fila, SUNY Oneonta’s University Police chief, law enforcement at the college level isn’t
just about writing tickets and making arrests – it’s about education. “University policing focuses on community policing,” she said. “We have a unique opportunity to develop personal safety workshops and create a dialogue alongside enforcing the law.” Please See CHIEF, B7
HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST CIRCULATION NEWSPAPER 2010 WINNER OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD