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Catskill Choral Society Music Director Colin Armstrong directs practice for “Bach to Bach,” his final local performance before leaving the area. The program will be at 7 p.m. Friday, April 8, and 3 p.m. Saturday, April 9, at First United Methodist Church. He is also Hartwick College’s choir director.
Seward Brings SUNY Impact Money Home
$
200,000 is en route to the City of Oneonta to offset policing costs that result from being a SUNY host community, state Sen. Jim Seward, R-Milford, announced a few minutes ago. The money was included in the 2016-17 state budget agreed upon by the state Senate, the Assembly and Governor Cuomo by last week’s April 1 deadline. “This is a big win for Oneonta,” said the senator. NO WINTER: The 201516 winter was the warmest on record in Otsego County, and yielded the least snow, according to David Mattice, Eye on the Weather columnist/SEE A6
Oneonta Job Corps photo
Oneonta Job Corps linemen hired by MasTech are, front row, from left, C. Betts, S. Haynesworth; middle row, from left, B. Coleman, B. Abbott, L. Shufford, T. Wright, L. Pilgrim, E. Smith, R. Moz-Chavarria, D. Moore, K. Rupp, D. Hall, D. Messing; back row, from left, T. Mosher, J. McNair, D. Davis, M. Jackson, C. Whitmore, M. Beaseley.
MasTech Hires All 26 Job Corps Lineman Trainees For Carolina Project By LIBBY CUDMORE
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orking on the line, Oneonta Job Corps graduates have all the skills to get the job done, and big employers are starting to notice. “We had one student, Akeeno Stone, who was
working a job that required someone to climb the pole,” said Chris Kuhn, Job Corps center director. “None of the other linemen knew how to do it anymore, because they always used bucket trucks. But we taught them to climb here, so up he went, and the others were flabbergasted. They ended up paying him more.” It’s that level of training that has attracted
Gary Herzig, Peacemaker
Mayor Offers Middle Way On City Charter
Charter Review Committee By LIBBY CUDMORE “created some disagreement,” and he backed away ayor Gary Herzig from several of them. came to The suggestion that Common had drawn the most Council as a peacefire was to remove maker Thursday, the city manager BAN IMPACT: A least April 5. qualifications from two SUNY Oneonta profesAfter almost two the City Charter, and sors are unable to attend years of discord as Herzig said he now conferences in South Carothe city hired, then favors leaving it as is lina after Governor Cuomo’s fired, its first two city as “a place holder,” ban on state travel there in a Mayor managers, Herzig pending future disdispute over LGBT legislaHerzig proposed a number cussion. tion. Details on conciliatory recomOriginally, he WWW.ALLOTSEGO.COM mendations that may bring thought, “removing the Council members together qualifications made sense. LOWER TAXES? GOon a way forward. However, it created concern, EDC’s next program: “ReThe new mayor acknowl- so I’m recommending we ducing the City Tax Rate,” 7 edged a “half-dozen recomleave it in for now.” p.m. Wednesday, April 20, at mendations” from his ad hoc Please See HERZIG, A7 the Hampton Inn.
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Pittsburgh-based MasTech’s attention. The second largest Hispanic-owned company in America, and a premier company for electric, natural gas and fiber-optic infrastructure, it has offered all 26 members of OJC’s current lineman class jobs when they finished their training. They will work on the FCC’s Connecting Please See HIRED, A7
Worst I-81 Pile-Up In Years Finds Rescuers Up To Task In Whiteout, Raging Winds, Bus, 3 Rigs, 11 Cars Collide By LIBBY CUDMORE & JIM KEVLIN SCHENEVUS
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FOR A SLIDE SHOW of more photos from the accident scene, visit
multivehicle www. OTSEGO.com pile-up – a bus, three tractor trailers and 11 cars and SUVs – on I-88’s west bound lanes on Sunday, April 3, was the worst incident First Assistant Chief Paul Neske of the Schenevus Fire Department had seen on the four-lane in his 40 years as a firefighter. “This is the stuff we hear about on the national news,” he said that evening at the fire district headquarters on Main Street. Jim Kevlin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA Neske was in church when the first call An I-88 road sign was bent during Please See PILE-UP, B8 the Sunday, April 3, pile-up.
All
HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST CIRCULATION NEWSPAPER 2010 WINNER OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD