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$500 PRIZE AWAITS WHOEVER FINDS PRIZE/CLUE ON A3
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VISIT www.AllOTSEGO.com, OTSEGO COUNTY’S DAILY NEWSPAPER/ONLINE
Volume 212, No. 04
COOPERSTOWN AND AROUND
Cooperstown, New York, Thursday, January 23, 2020
Newsstand Price $1
Seward Era At End News Evokes Thanks, Wishes For His Good Health By JIM KEVLIN
Assemblyman Tague May Run To Fill Seat
N Ian Austin/The Freeman’s Journal
CCS Superintendent of Schools Bill Crankshaw and other members of the a cappella group Eight Is Eneuf, perform “MLK” by U2 during the NAACP’s annual birthday celebration for The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Sunday, Jan. 19, at First United Methodist Church, Oneonta.
2 Parties Plan Caucuses For Village Offices COOPERSTOWN
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epublicans and Democrats have scheduled caucuses this week to nominate candidates for three openings in the village’s Tuesday, March 18, elections: a two-year mayoral term and two three-year terms for trustee. The Democratic caucus was planned at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22, at Village Hall, 22 Main St. The Republican caucus is at 9 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, at the Casale Group office, 25 Chestnut St. The incumbents are seeking nominations for another term: Mayor Ellen Tillapaugh Kuch and Trustees Joe Membrino and MacGuire Benton. All are Democrats. Check results at:
AllOTSEGO.com
www.
ON
AllOTSEGO.com
►democrat chad mcevoy, announced he will run again in the 101st District against Republican Brian Miller. This year’s election is Nov. 3.. ►CCS’ PIPER SEAMON scored her 1,000th career point in the Hawkeyes’ 57-39 win over Waterville at home on Wednesday, Jan. 15
ov. 6, 2019, came the troubling news to his many fans and wellwishers in Otsego County and the 51st state Senatorial District. Veteran lawmaker James L. Seward’s cancer, vanquished in 2016, was back. Treatment followed, “and a scan at the end of December found I’m responding well. The tumor shrank,” the Milford Republican said in an interview following his Monday, Jan. 20, announcement that he won’t seek another term – it would have been his 18th – this fall. When the legislative session began Jan. 7, he was back in his Albany office, and in his seat on the Senate floor, where he’s been a familiar figure since 1985, ticking Please See SEWARD, A7
By JIM KEVLIN
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hris Tague, Schoharie, 21-month assemblyman in the 102nd District, plans to decide by the end of the week whether he will seek to succeed state Sen. Jim Seward, R-Milford, Jim Kevlin/The Freeman’s Journal in the 51st District. Calling Seward “a dear State Sen. Jim Seward, R-Milford, is greeted by Tague friend,” he said he was former Cooperstown mayor Jeff Katz at the May 21, 2018, announcement of a $1 million grant for “distressed by the news” that the 35-year Doubleday Field’s renovation, now underway. At senator has decided not to run again as right is Katz’s successor, Ellen Tillapaugh Kuch. Please See TAGUE, A7
As Anticipated, HERO HOME Jeter Gets Nod Ask County Treasurer Ruffles About Elephant Attack COOPERSTOWN
of Fame president, on the MLB t was the moNetwork Tuesday ment baseball evening, Jan. 21, fans have been in his first inducwaiting for – and tion announcement expecting: Derek since taking the Jeter has been helm last summer. named to the 2020 “He has defined Baseball Hall of consistency and Fame. Derek Jeter leadership and joins “Derek Jeter is a distinguished list one of the most respected of Yankee greats as he takes ballplayers of his generahis rightful place in the tion,” said Tim Mead, Hall Please See JETER, A3
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Schenevus CS Students May Go To Milford By JAMES CUMMINGS MILFORD
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ilford and Charlotte Valley have emerged as possible refuges for Schenevus Central students if that financially strapped school district is forced to close its doors. At 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16, Worcester Superintendent of Schools Tim Gonzales announced “tuitioning-in” Please See MILFORD, B4
Truitt On Trial For Fatal Fire
He must have made a sudden noise or movement, because suddenly COOPERSTOWN the video is flailing as Ruffles scrambles back nly once did Allen into the house to escape Ruffles feel he was a thundering herd. in any danger. Eventually, the A sergeant in the 403rd elephants settled down Civil Affairs Battalion, and went sedately on Army Reserves, he was their way. living in a small wooden Other than that, house in Uganda, training Ruffles’ 12-month assignlocal wildlife rangers in ment – he returned Sunanti-poaching techniques. day, Jan. 19, from Camp One morning, Ruffles Lemmonier in Djibouti – Otsego County treasurer to his Beech Street home in civilian life – heard a and wife Amy, daughter rumble and looked out the Mia, 11, and son Cooper, window at a herd of a few 6 – was uneventful. Jim Kevlin/The Freeman’s Journal dozen elephants. Grabbing Except everything was Ruffles with wife Amy, his cell phone, he slipped eventful, he related in an daughter Mia, 11, and son outside to capture a video. Cooper, 6. Please See RUFFLES, B6 By JIM KEVLIN
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FRIENDS ELECT BRESEE PRESIDENT
By LIBBY CUDMORE ONEONTA
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he brother and the ex-girlfriend of Gabriel Truitt, 33, may be called to testify in the trial underway in Otsego County Court. They are Terrence Truitt and Heather Engler, and Gabriel is the Oneonta man charged with arson and first-degree Please See TRIAL, B4
FOTOT Aims To Buy City Theater By LIBBY CUDMORE ONEONTA
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y the end of the year, Bob Brzozowski hopes, the newly revived Friends of the Oneonta Theater hope to have site Ian Austin/The Freeman’s Journal control of the theater. “We’ve seen places like Walton, Norwich, Bob Brzozowski discusses new plans for the Oneonta Theatre. Please See FOTOT, A6
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST PRINT CIRCULATION 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD
THURSDAY, January 23, 2020
A-2 THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL
LOCALS T-Shirt Contest To Raise Funds For Goodyear Lake Polar Bear Jump MILFORD
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hough the annual Goodyear Lake Polar Bear Jump has been cancelled for 2020, the Waters Family is still raising money to assist the community. On their new website, wwww.polarbearjump.com, founder Brenda Waters announced a “No Jump No Fear� T-Shirt contest. The winner will have their design printed on shirts, which will be sold to raise money for the organization’s 25th jump on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. Additionally, country singer Rylee Lum will judge a singing contest for rendi-
tions of his song “Called Back to the Hard Times.� The winners will perform with Rylee at the Subaru Helios Goodyear Lake Polar Bear Jump 25th Year Kick Off Event At Foothills Performing Arts Center on Jan. 16th, 2021. Rules for both contests can be found on the new website. According to Waters, donations are still being accepted this year, and will be used to purchase pediatric equipment for surrounding ambulances. Any department in need of items may submit requests to PO BOX 298 Milford New York 13807. “The Waters’’.
MORE LIKE THE SNOW-LOT KID!
NELSON ON LIST: Wriley Nelson, Cooperstown, a sophomore at Hamilton College, was named to the Dean’s List for the 2019 fall semester. TWO TOPS: Orion Xavier Hazelton, Richfield Springs and James Wait, Cherry Valley, were named to the Dean’s List for the Fall 2019 semester at Clarkson University. LYON LAUDED: Clayton J. Lyon, Burlington Flats, was named a Presidential Scholar for the fall 2019 semester at Clarkson University: BOLINS SUCCEED: Ian and Teagen Bolin, Edmeston, were both named to the Fall 2019 Dean’s List at Cedarville University.
Jim Kevlin/The Freeman’s Journal
The Boys of Summer, now with snow! The famed “Sandlot Kid� statue has been moved to its new home in front of Doubleday Field, in anticipation of Derek Jeter’s Hall of Fame Induction next summer.
Enjoy the 53rd Cooperstown Winter Carnival! Best wishes from your friends at
your Hometown Insurance Agency
Connell, Dow & Deysenroth, Inc.
Have a ROARING TIME at the Winter Carnival!
Funeral Home
Peter A. Deysenroth
Co-Chairperson 2009 Cooperstown Winter Carnival
82 Chestnut Street, Cooperstown • 607-547-8231 www.cooperstownfuneralhome.com
Enjoy the
Winter Carnival!
Enjoy the Winter Carnival! Cooperstown Diner 136½ Main St., Cooperstown
$500 MEDALLION HUNT! See the FIRST CLUE on page 3!
Bieritz insurance
For a complete Winter Carnival 2020 schedule, go to www.cooperstownwintercarnival.com
Celebrating our 30th year! Bieritz agency 209 main st, cooperstown 607-547-2951 or in Morris at 607-263-5170
hey kids! Join in the fun and enter the coloring contest!
Russ Smith Garbage Collection and Roll-Off Service 607-547-9618 339 County Hwy 26 Cooperstown
BaCk alley Grille
8 Hoffman Lane, Cooperstown Opening for the season in May!
Celebrate Winter Carnival 25% off storewide!
Ellsworth & Sill
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Specializing in women’s fashions & accessories for 130 years.
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“Old-fashioned store complete with old-fashioned superb customer service.� Barbara B.
79 Main St., Cooperstown • Open Wed- Sat. • 607-547-9277
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You do not need to be present to receive your prize!
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4. All entries must be submitted by noon on Friday, Feb. 7. Winners will be announced at the Carnival Closer Sunday, Feb. 9
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3. One entry allowed per person.
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5396 State Highway 28, Cooperstown 607-547-1228 • churchandscott.com
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2. Prizes awarded to the top three in each of the following age groups: 0-3, 4-7, and 8-12.
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COLORING CONTEST ENTRY FORM
1. Contest open to children 12 and under.
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Have a great 53rdWinter Carnival!
Get out your crayons and color the Winter Carnival “Roaring Twenties Mobile�! Send your masterpiece into The Freeman’s Journal (see contest rules) for a chance to win a prize! ALL artwork will be displayed in The Freeman’s Journal windows at 21 Railroad Ave. in Cooperstown.
For 212 Years
AllOTSEGO.com
THURSDAY, January 23, 2020
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA A-3
Writers Picks Only 2 Inductees: Jeter, Rockies’ Larry Walker said Mead. JETER/From A1 Both will be honored as Baseball Hall of Fame.” part of the Hall’s Induction Widely anticipated to be Weekend inducted in his first July 24-27 in year of eligibility, Cooperstown, Yankees shortstop along with catcher Jeter received 396 Ted Simmons and of the 397 votes the late Major cast, just one vote League Players shy of unanimous Association and second only executive director to former Yankees Marvin Miller, teammate Mariano who were elected Rivera’s 100 in December percent in 2019. by the Modern Joining him Walker Baseball Era in the Hall of Plaques is Colorado Rockies Committee. Also being honored that outfielder Larry Walker, the first Rockies player to enter weekend will be the Ford C. Frick Award winner the Hall of Fame and only for broadcasting, Ken the second Canadian player Harrelson, and the J.G. to do so. He received 304 Taylor Spink Award winner votes (76.6 percent) on his for writing, the late Nick tenth and final year on the Cafardo. ballot. Jeter, 45, spent all 20 of “Walker has always been his MLB seasons with the respected for his instincts,”
For the first time, Tim Mead, Baseball Hall of Fame president since last summer, announces this year’s BWAA inductees Tuesday, Jan. 21, on the MLB Network. Yankees, 1995-2014, was a member of five World Series championship teams, captained the Yankees from 2003 through the end of his career and finished with
3,465 hits, the sixth highest total in history. He was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1996, was the runner-up for the AL Most Valuable
Player Award in 2006 and finished third in AL MVP voting twice, in 1998 and 2009, and won five Gold Glove Awards for fielding. He also won the Hank
Aaron Award for hitting in 2006 and ’09, the Roberto Clemente Award for community service in 2009 and the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award for philanthropy in 2011. Born in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Walker, 53, batted .313 with 383 home runs over 17 seasons with Montreal, Colorado and St. Louis. A five-time All-Star, Walker was the National League MVP in 1997, won seven Gold Glove Awards for fielding and three Silver Slugger Awards as an outfielder. With 70 percent of the vote, pitcher Curt Schilling once again failed to meet the 75 percent criteria. Roger Clemens received 61 percent of the vote, Barry Bonds received 60.7 and shortstop Omar Vizquel received 52.6.
MEDALLION HUNT! $500 PRIZE!
A medallion is hidden somewhere in Cooperstown! Find it and you win $500!
FIRST CLUE!
Longests days or darkest night, A shimmering moon reflected bright Keep a weather eye and learn Each clue your path to the medallion yearns.
Stay safe and have FUN at the 53rd Winter Carnival!
1. WHERE: Medallion will only be hidden on Village public property. a. Medallion will NOT be hidden on private property. b. Medallion will NOT be hidden on Doubleday Field. c. Medallion will NOT be hidden in any construction sites. ** No Village property will be dug up or destroyed during the Medallion Hunt.
Visit us online at sfcuonline.org, stop by or call 1-877-642-7328. Federally Insured by NCUA | EOE
2. WHO: Anyone can participate in the Medallion Hunt, EXCEPT: a. Members of the Winter Carnival Committee and their immediate family members are INELIGIBLE to win the Medallion Hunt prize. b. All contestants under the age of 18 must have permission of a parent or guardian to participate. c. All contestants agree that The Freeman’s Journal and the Cooperstown Winter Carnival Committee, their
join us for winter carnival #53! Thursday, Feb. 6, 7pm--Trivia Night @ UpsTaTe Friday, Feb. 7, 9pm—scattered Flurries @ UpsTaTe saturday, Feb. 8, 9pm -- Dove Tones @ UpsTaTe sunday, Feb. 9, Noon-3 -- Karaoke Contest @ UpsTaTe sunday, Feb. 9, 1-3 Mac n’ Cheese Contest & Carnival Closer @ UpsTaTe Sponsors ork pizzeria new y
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5438 State Hwy 28, Cooperstown 607.282.4525 | 607.282.4031 www.boccaosteria.com
3. WHEN: Clues about the location will be published by The Freeman’s Journal, Hometown Oneonta and on www.allotsego.com for three weeks prior to Winter Carnival. a. When the medallion is found, the finder must immediately notify the Cooperstown Winter Carnival Committee at 315-360-0228, come by The Freeman’s Journal Office, or call 607-547-6103. More Info: CooperstownWinterCarnival.com Safety Warning: No Climbing Necessary.
Cooperstown Cooperstown Natural Wine & Foods Spirits presents a Wine-derful Tasting Event!
Saturday, Feb. 8 Noon to 4 pm 21 and over ONLY. Free tasting and 10% off purchase of any Carnival selections. 45 Pioneer Street 607-547-8100 Open M-Th: 10 am - 7 pm Fri-Sat: 10 am - 8 pm Sun: Noon - 5 pm
Co gs ope rstown • Richfeld Sprin
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5418 State Hwy 28 Cooperstown 607.282.4525
advertisers and agents, and the Village of Cooperstown and town of Otsego will have no liability whatsoever, and will be held harmless by contestants of any injuries, losses, or damages of any kind resulting in whole, in part, directly or indirectly, from acceptance, possession, misuse or use of the prizes or participation in contest.
For 212 Years
Extensive Grocery Selection Gourmet Specialty Items Enjoy the Winter Carnival!
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Perspectives
THURSDAY, January 23, 2020
A-4 THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL EDITORIAL
Senator Seward, Let’s Say Hasta Luego, Not Goodbye
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e has been Otsego County’s state senator since 1986. Many of us – most of us, perhaps – have never known another one. He is everyone’s friend. If you’ve ever observed him walk down the street. Or cross a crowded restaurant on his way to a table. Or appear at a parade or fair or other public gathering. The congenial legislator can’t make it more than a few steps without someone stopping him for a greeting, a friendly word or a handshake. This newspaper named him “Citizen of the Year” in 2013. On learning that cancer had returned last year, we realized the 2000 and 10s qualified as “The Seward Decade.” Now we must sadly acknowledge the end of “The Seward Era.” He’s been part of the Otsego
The Freeman’s Journal
State Sen. James L. Seward, Otsego County son and friend. County picture, and has been for his 69 years, raised in Milford, attending Valleyview Elemen-
tary, Oneonta High School, then Hartwick College. Commuting, he immediately began work as a legislative aide in Albany, and soon was the youngest Republican county chairman in our history. Politics is the sea he’s swum in, going back to such early ventures as organizing a countywide Methodist youth group in his teens. • Elected in 1986 at age 35, he was the youngest state senator in county history, and the first to hail from Otsego County since 1952, when Walter Stokes, laird of Cooperstown’s Woodside Hall, retired. His fingerprints are on every major Otsego County project in the past 34 years. Think of him next time you see a game at SUNY Oneonta’s Dewar Arena, or attend a concert or gala at Foothills, or celebrate Hall of Fame Weekend
LETTERS
WITH
Wind Farm To The Rescue Of Overworked, Overtaxed To the Editor: As our old friend, Paul Harvey used to say, ”Now for the rest of the story”. This is not the first “boom or bust” deal to pass through our community. A couple of us old timers remember a land buyout in the ’60s. Nothing came of it, but it was fun to watch. In the 70’s, a gas company showed interest in this area and many of us signed leases for $1 per acre per year. In early 2000, we signed new 10-year leases at $3 per acre. All went well until someone asked me, “Where do you spend all your gas lease money?”. My reply was, “400 acres at $3 per acre equals $1,200 per year. The 10-year lease totaled $12,000 which just covered one year’s taxes.” So here comes a new game in town – “Solar”. I’ll preface the subject by saying from the beginning until now, the Marcy
South has been a blight in our town and of no income for the landowners. We view 11 towers from our property. Nor do I vision thousands of solar panels as a huge beautification project. However, on the flip side of this coin, if leasing land to solar companies will financially benefit farmers and land owners, time is way overdue. In the past 70 years, I have seen dozens of farms either foreclosed on, sold at tax sales, or farms just walked away from. The four dairy farms still operating in our town is a small testament to the good old days. At least we still have four; some towns, none. For some of you people who plan on coming to West Laurens to visit your wealthy cousins, don’t be in a hurry. If this solar project does proceed (questionably), we were told it will take Please See MARTIN, A5
ON THE RECORD
‘T
he past decade saw the rise of the woke progressives who dictate what words can be said and ideas held, thus poisoning and paralyzing American humor, drama, entertainment, culture and journalism. “...Everyone with an honest mind dislikes them. Someone will finally move effectively against them. Who? How? That will be a story of the ’20s, and a good one.”
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PEGGY NOONAN Columnist, Wall Street Journal
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Editor’s Note: This is a excerpt from Congressman Antonio Delgado’s Sunday Jan. 19 address at the Schenectady County Human Rights Commission’s MLK observance.
D
r. King has long been my North Star. The power of the man spoke to me even before I fully grasped the magnitude of his legacy. And to stand here today, provided with the opportunity to honor his life – having myself become the first African American to represent Upstate New York in Congress – is incredibly humbling. For I know that without him, there is no me. But to be clear, I’m not here to talk too much about the past and how it brought us all here today. I’d rather speak about the present, or even better, what Dr. King once called the “fierce urgency of now.” • You see, Dr. King long warned us about the moment we find ourselves in now. Indeed, he gave his last warning nearly 52 years ago, on April 3, 1968 – the day before he was assassinated. At the time, he was delivering what would become his final speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” at Mason Temple Church in Memphis, Tenn. He was in Tennessee to support the sanitation workers’ strike for job safety, better wages and benefits, and union recognition. Importantly, by that time, Dr. King had made a critical shift in his strategy to achieve justice and freedom for all. Rather than focus just on the legal and political obstacles for black Americans, he took on broader issues like poverty, unemployment,
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IN MEMORIAM: Mary Joan Kevlin, Co-Publisher, 2006-17 OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER FOR Otsego County • Village of Milford • Town of Middlefield Cooperstown Central School District Subscriptions Rates: Otsego County, $48 a year. All other areas, $65 a year. First Class Subscription, $130 a year. Published Thursdays 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 Contents © Iron String Press, Inc.
Congressman Delgado receives a plaque from Angelicia Morris, executive director, Schenectady County Human Rights Commission, after keynoting the commission’s MLK Day commemoration Sunday, Jan. 19. Schenectady is Delgado’s hometown.
education and economic disenfranchisement for all of the nation’s poor – black, white and brown. ...In his speech that night, Dr. King said the following. “The contemporary tendency in our society is to base our distribution on scarcity, which has vanished, and to compress our abundance into the overfed mouths of the middle and upper classes until they gag with superfluity.” He continued, “If democracy is to have breadth of meaning, it is necessary to adjust this inequity. It is not only moral, but it is also intelligent.” Now the way I read this, what Dr. King is saying is that as inequity grows in a democratic society, so too
does the illegitimacy of that society’s democracy. And after a while, the inequity can be so extreme, that the people stop believing in democracy all together – which, is a very dangerous place to be. • Why, you might ask? Well, at that point, only certain voices need matter, and only select groups need abide by the rule of law, or warrant protection under the law. And what you end up with is a society where might makes right and where greed triumphs over fairness. It’s a scary situation, and it’s one we are not too far removed from today. Please See DELGADO, A6
FRONT PORCH PERSPECTIVE
Advertising Director & General Manager Managing Editor
events this summer at the renovated Doubleday Field. The two Seward Summits – 2012 and 2013 – revolutionized economic development here. We’re now a contender. Not surprising, though, it was the more personal interventions – constituent service: easing people’s interactions with a mostly faceless state government – that are dearest to his heart, he said in an interview Monday, Jan. 20, after he announced he will leave office at the end of the year. Facing a second bout of cancer treatments, he’s handling his state
Delgado Quotes Mentor: Only Love Conquers Hate
Tara Barnwell
Libby Cudmore
AllOTSEGO.com
www.
Senate duties, but “giving 100 percent” to a reelection campaign leading up to Nov. 3 is just not prudent right now Looking back, he most treasures when someone would come up to him and say, “You saved my life.” As longtime chairman of the state Senate Insurance Committee, a query from the senator’s office was often sufficient for a medical insurance company to revisit the rejection of coverage and discover it was warranted after all. Never been sick? He’s nonetheless enriched everybody’s life in the county of his birth. Thank you, senator. But let’s say hasta luego, not farewell. A year or two of treatment, rest and recuperation, may bring you back to full strength. Who knows what the future holds? After all, Joe Biden is 79.
♥, VIA DR. KING
James C. Kevlin Editor & Publisher
►SENATOR SEWARD was profiled on being named this newspaper’s “Citizen of the Year” in 2013. Follow the link at
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Where Everybody Knows Your Name...
’ll admit first off that I’m not writing this on my front porch. It’s as cold as, well, January out there, for heaven’s sake! And so I’m settled on a comfortable couch back in the family room. Cassey the dog is with me, sprawled on her back, nose almost on my keyboard. Though her face is upside down, she is staring at me fixedly, intent on willing my fingers away from their silly drumming so they can be used to scratch her stomach. I press on, pretending not to notice the tractor-beam pressure coming from her. It’s a battle of wills, and who wins? No contest. I couldn’t match that dogged determination. All right, the scratching done, I’m
back to giving you full attention. I think you’ll enjoy what I have to tell you. It’s about a recent visit to my old hometown and the special joy of seeing old friends. I don’t mean JIM Annapolis, place ATWELL of my birth. I’m talking about Fly Creek, the place that birthed me into life in Leatherstocking Country. Early on a recent Sunday morning, Fly Creek General Store owner Tom Bouton showed up to take me out to breakfast. We’ve been friends
...at least, JIM ATWELL’s name.
for 25 years now, he having bought Aufmuth’s Store just about when I moved north. Tom knew that my Anne was away Please See ATWELL, A6
AllOTSEGO.com • MORE LETTERS, A6
LETTERS TO EDITOR WELCOME • EMAIL THEM TO info@
THURSDAY, January 23, 2020
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL A-5
BOUND VOLUMES Compiled by Tom Heitz and SHARON STUART, with resources courtesy of The Fenimore Art Museum Research Library
200 YEARS AGO
Editorial – Notwithstanding the business talents of Congress, they do not appear to progress very rapidly. Not a single important object of the session has been brought into consideration, other than creating a multitude of enquiries in relation to the expenditure of public moneys. True, there is need enough of investigation upon this subject, because, unless they retrench somewhere, the deficit of five millions, mentioned by the secretary of the treasury, must be put upon the shoulders of the people, and in these times, they would prove restive under the burden. January 24, 1820
175 YEARS AGO
Great Voyage – The Magnolia arrived yesterday with 3,900 pounds of whale and sperm oil. She has been out 25 months and brings a clear profit to her owners of $12,000 or $15,000. Captain Simmons and several of her crew are Vermonters. It takes the Green Mountain boys to grapple with the leviathans of the deep. Letters addressed to the following persons are among those remaining in the Cooperstown Post Office at the conclusion of December 1844: E.C. Adams, Oliver Burdick, Mrs. M.A. Cooper, Lorenzo D. Davies, Mrs. Emily Elson, E.E. Ferrey, Elizabeth Green, Ira Hyde, Edwin Johnson, N.C. Knapp, Mary Lovejoy, Amos W. Mathewson, Hurane Olmsted, Benjamin Pitcher, Hannah E. Rider, W. D. Stocker, Stephen Thorn, Dr. Van Alstine, Isaac Walrath. January 20, 1845
150 YEARS AGO
Ed Note: So-called Minstrel Shows (viewed today as shamefully racist in every respect) were comprised of white performers disguised as African-Americans. Such were common, public entertainments in the post-Civil War era and featured both professional and amateur actors. The following advertisement is typical of the professional, touring genre: “The Band of the Period” at Bowne Hall, Cooperstown, Thursday Evening January 20, 1870 – The Original
and Only Happy – Cal Wagner’s Minstrels and Brass Band, with an entire change of programme (not yet copied by “The Great I Am”) – New Songs, New Acts – In Fact Everything New. Peasley and Fitzgerald in their Silver Stature Clog; Happy Cal with his Wonderful Elephant; The Great Burlesque of The Cardiff Giant – The Best Bill of the Season. Admission 35 cents; Reserved Seats 50 cents. Doors Open at 7 p.m. Happy Cal Wagner, Proprietor and Manager. Geo. McDonald, Agent.” January 20, 1870
125 YEARS AGO
Hops – There has been considerable activity in this place and Oneonta during the past week. It is estimated that the agents of shippers have bought not less than 800 bales of Otsego County prime to choice hops and 6.5 to 11 cents, according to quality. We still incline to the opinion that really choice hops are likely to advance two or three cents a pound in the spring, especially if there is a general revival of business in this country, when more beer will be manufactured. January 24, 1895
100 YEARS AGO
As Cooperstown church bells rang in celebration of the advent of constitutional national prohibition, Otsego County sustained one of the severest blizzards in a number of years. A three-days snow, starting on Friday of last week culminated in the force of the blizzard being received Saturday night and Sunday morning, with a 50-mile per hour gale blowing nearly all day Sunday. Traffic suffered most during this period, not only on the trolley and steam lines, but in the rural districts as well. The Fly Creek Valley, the original home of snowdrifts, was almost impassable in most places until Monday. The state road from Cooperstown to Index was in the same predicament. Forces of men were at work Monday morning endeavoring to eat their way through the snow drifts which in some instances almost reached the height of the cars of the Southern New York lines. Lake roads and roads in Middlefield likewise were impassable. January 21, 1920
Arguments For Legal Pot Harmful, Empty Promises By JULIE DOSTAL
T
his is not your parents’ weed. Information and data from states that have legalized marijuana should give New Yorkers reason to pump the brakes on taxed, regulated recreational use. Legalization of the 2020 version of cannabis is not about consenting adults discretely smoking a joint in the privacy of their home. It is about an industry-driven, full-on commercialization with pot shops, pot advertisements, pot sponsorships, and pot fundraisers. All of these to sell pot brownies, gummies, cookies, vapes, sodas, infused wines, distillates, concentrates, ointments, and vapes. If we legalize cannabis for recreational use, prepare to be inundated with highly concentrated cannabis products that do not remotely resemble the weed most readers might remember. We as a community need to view legalization with eyes wide open. This is about a billion dollar industry whose primary concern is NOT your health or the health of your children. It is about dollar signs in an untapped market. There are multiple promises that the industry and its advocates have touted related to the commercialization of the drug. The public should know that nearly all of the industry’s public health promises have been disproven in the states that have legalized recreational use. Examples include: ►Promise: Youth use rates will go down ►Reality: Youth rates of cannabis use are increasing ►Promise: The black market will disappear ►Reality: Black markets are thriving in legal states by selling street pot cheaper than taxed pot ►Promise: Social justice issues will be resolved and fewer minorities will be arrested ►Reality: Arrest rates for minorities are disproportionate in legal states and increasing
►Promise: The cannabis supply will be safer ►Reality: Commercialized cannabis, up to 99.9 percent THC, is a drug with far more harms than the 5 percent THC version of pre-legalization ►Promise: Legal marijuana will make people safer ►Reality: Marijuana-related traffic fatalities have increased significantly in legal states ►Promise: People cannot become addicted to marijuana ►Reality: Cannabis Use Disorder (Addiction) is an actual diagnosis ►Promise: Legalized marijuana will reduce death from opioid overdose ►Reality: This early assumption was disproven by a 2019 study. Revenue projections are also not as promised. None of the NY tax-bonanza predictions include the costs associated with police for increased traffic enforcement, hospitals for increased emergency room visits, government departments for increased oversight, poison control for increased calls for pediatric consumption, businesses for diminished job performance, or mental health for increased incidences of psychosis (all of these have occurred in legal states). Those are not costs that will be borne by the billion-dollar cannabis industry. Those are costs that will land on taxpayers. In Colorado, taxpayers spent $4 to mitigate the cannabis-related harm for every $1 gained in tax revenue. But, those numbers don’t make national news. Let’s pump the brakes, New York. Our youth, our health, our traffic safety and our mental health are far more important than a questionable revenue stream. We did the right thing last year with decriminalization. The next step does not have to be opening the doors to a billiondollar industry whose entire job is to make stockholders happy. Commercialization does not have to be inevitable. Julie Dostal is executive director of LEAF Council on Alcoholism & Addictions, Oneonta.
75 YEARS AGO
Japanese soldiers in the jungles fell in considerable numbers before the rifle fire of Pfc. Claude Graham, aged 26, an infantryman from East Springfield. Private Graham, the son of Mrs. Reuben Roberts of East Springfield, was a rifleman in the 24th Infantry Division. In the Hollandia campaign he earned the Combat Infantryman Badge, awarded for exemplary conduct in action against the enemy. “The most satisfying thing to me in combat,” he declared in an interview, “was shooting snipers. We never feared the Japs, because we could see them, because we figured that the superior fire power of our M1 rifles gave us the edge over any one visible. It was the invisible ones that bothered us, and the snipers mostly were invisible. So, when we located a sniper and brought him down, we always felt that we’d accomplished something. Despite their cleverness at concealing themselves, we located plenty of them, too.” Private Graham’s infantry regiment took hundreds of prisoners, a feat regarded as unusual since Japanese determined to fight to the death, are difficult to capture. He added, however, that he had seen a number of instances of “hara-kiri” in which Japanese soldiers preferred to kill themselves with bayonets and hand grenades, rather than surrender. January 17, 1945
50 YEARS AGO
25 YEARS AGO
Tom Heitz, formerly librarian for the National Baseball Hall of Fame since 1983, has hired legal counsel to negotiate a separation settlement in the wake of his termination on January 2. Heitz is represented by Robert Abrams, the former New York State Attorney General. No reason has been given by the Hall for his departure. When asked if Heitz was fired, William Guilfoile, Vice President of the Hall of Fame declined to comment. Abrams also declined to comment stating, “I believe it would be imprudent to comment on anything at this point.” Ed. Note: With the help of Robert Abrams I did reach a satisfactory settlement with the Hall of Fame. I remain a Life Member of
January 21, 1970 the Hall where I am welcomed as an occasional visitor in the museum or researcher in the library. The baseball library, its staff and its extensive collections are in the excellent care and direction of my successor Jim Gates, whose now 25-year tenure has brought the library to the first rank of sports-related libraries in the country, if not indeed the world. January 18, 1995
WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER
Sanctuaries For People, Not Guns
A
sanctuary, according to Merriam Webster, is A consecrated place
helping ICE bust potential illegal immigrants. The sanctuary law will probsuch as: ably be challenged in court, but A: The ancient Hebrew temple there are pretty strong arguments, at Jerusalem or its holy of holies. based on precedents, to support B: The most sacred part of a it. To be clear, this is not a law religious building, such as the trying to protect immigrants but part of a Christian church in a law to safeguard every human which the altar is placed. being in California. Which also C: A place of refuge means not abetting the and protection. appalling police state D: A refuge for wildlike operations of ICE. life where predators are • controlled and hunting On another front, is illegal. many rural Virginia In 2018, California counties have now implemented a sanctuenacted so-called “gun ary law, SB 54, which sanctuary” laws. These largely prohibits police laws claim to supersede LARRY from cooperating with any state or federal laws ICE (Immigration and pertaining to greater gun BENNETT Customs Enforcement) control. The laws are unless an individual not written to protect commits a serious crime. citizens, but arguably put them in This law was designed to be le- greater jeopardy. They theoretigal and operative under the Calically protect the right to own any fornia constitution, as California gun you want; every other law be police are not tasked with enforc- damned. ing federal laws, unless at the This is generally seen as a scene when a crime is committed. political ploy to try to embarrass Even then a federal law officer the Democrat-controlled state has to take charge of suspects at Legislature and the Democrat first chance and do the criminal governor, and to roil the blood of investigation. gun enthusiasts. It’s a nice piece The law applies statewide and of Republican agitprop theater, is not subject to reinterpretation but it is all sound and no fury. by counties, cities, and towns. Federal and state laws on gun It was designed to keep ICE, a control cannot be nullified by local laws. No matter how many federal agency, from dragging every local and state California billboards the proponents of gun law officer into employment sanctuaries buy, or bumper
stickers they make, or how many local laws they pass, those laws are not enforceable. Some New York towns, cities and counties are now facing similar calls to become so-called “gun sanctuary” communities. Again, any town council or county board can write any law they want – even if the board’s legal adviser advises them not to. Theoretically, anything could be written, voted on, and passed. Towns could vote to secede from the state, or to declare south as north, and north as south. But that doesn’t make the laws sensible, constitutional or enforceable, and any attempt to enforce a gun sanctuary law would certainly wind up in court, with the local government losing. Again, this is political theater, consuming government time and public money while other issues go unattended. • Our own Oneonta now has a group calling for Otsego County to become a “gun sanctuary.” One of those proposing the law is recently elected county Rep. Rick Brockway, R-Laurens. For the record I’ve always enjoyed reading Rick’s outdoor columns, which had no political content, and I sincerely missed them when he was running for office. But now that he’s in office he has revealed himself to be more than a respected and knowlPlease See BENNETT, A6
LETTERS
MARTIN: Go For It, West Laurens, And We’ll See MARTIN/From A4 three to five years to complete. The difference between a gas lease and a solar lease is that a gas lease includes your total acreage, and a solar lease is only for the number of acres used. For example, 250 acres may only consist of 15 useable acres. Run the numbers – 15 acres at $1,000 versus 250 acres at $1,000. When asked what I’d do with my windfall, after some serious consideration, I came to the conclusion that if there was any money left after the federal, state, county, town and school administrations
took their cut, I might have enough money left to pay my taxes, insurance, and maybe buy a used farm truck to replace my 22-year-old Chevy S-10 that is still trying to make a few more trips up the hill. For my friends and neighbors who have already leased farm land or intend to lease – Go For It and Good Luck! I am with you all the way because for way too long you have been over-worked, overtaxed, under-appreciated, and underpaid. BILL MARTIN West Laurens
THURSDAY, January 23, 2020
A-6 THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA
MLK Jr.: Love America, It’s Working On Dream DELGADO/From A4 We’ve stopped believing in democracy, and it’s not without good reason. Let me explain. When I was growing up, America was number one in the world in upward mobility. Now, we are dead last in the western world. As a young kid I had a better than 50/50 chance to end up better off than my parents. Now, more and more of our young people are worse off than their parents. Tragically, as more and more wealth has been generated in our economy, economic inequality has only worsened. Consider the fact that while the economy has doubled in size over the last 40 to 50 years, and worker productivity has increased, wages have remained stagnant over that same period of time. The wealth remains concentrated at the top. Indeed, the top .1 percent owns one-fifth of all the wealth, and the top 1 percent owns 29 percent, which is more than the combined wealth of the entire middle class. Meanwhile, the bottom half of all households own just 1.3 percent of total household wealth, two-thirds of Americans are living pay check to pay check, and half the country couldn’t survive a $500 medical emergency bill without going into debt. It is hard to believe, but 95 percent of all the economic gains post the Great Recession have gone to the top 1 percent. These numbers are staggering, and when combined with the fact that unlimited amounts of money are allowed to influence our elections and the decision making of elected officials, the result is that a great many of us our actually shut out of our democracy. It is no longer government for the people and by the people, but rather government for the powerful few and by the powerful few. In response to this cold reality – where perceived scarcity becomes the norm – it is human instinct to want to close ranks and only look out for yourself and those closest to you. When faced with a zero-sum game – even if just an illusion – we take sides, lose our center – and become hollow at the core. Partisanship and divisiveness intensify and democratic norms like mutual toleration erode. Rather than accept our partisan rivals as legitimate we treat them as enemies or traitors and exhibit no restraint – anything goes. This type of environment allows for the rise of strongman politics and demagoguery, where those seeking political power appeal to the desires and prejudices of disaffected people rather than by using rational or fact based arguments. To be clear, race-baiting, fearmongering and scape-goating become the predominate methods for political ascent. And the result is a more hostile environment that’s feeds off of anger,
and ultimately leads to hatred of the other – from racism, to anti-Semitism, to Islamophobia, to xenophobia. And as far as I can tell, this is where we find ourselves today – this, my friends, is the urgency of now. Hate is on the march, and our very democracy is on the line. So what’s the answer? The answer, my friend, is the power of love. Now stay with me on this. As Dr. King once preached, “I have . . . decided to stick with love, for I know that love is ultimately the only answer to mankind’s problems.” It is the only force, said Dr. King, “capable of transforming an enemy to a friend.” For “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that . . . Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” And I couldn’t agree more. When you think about it, love is at the heart of democracy. For love enables us to see the humanity in each other – beyond our surface level differences. Love acknowledges the equality of human dignity in us all. And as Aristotle once wrote, “democracy arises out of the notion that those who are equal in any respect are equal in all respects.” Thus, as we are all equal in our humanity and before God, we should also be equal in the eyes of our laws and government. One person, one vote. We all matter, regardless of the fact we might not look like each other, pray like each other, dress like each other, or eat like each other. We all should be free to speak our minds, practice our religion, cast a vote, and pursue our happiness. This is America’s promise; and it’s why our land has long been a beacon of hope and democracy for people everywhere. It’s why we gaze upon the Statue of Liberty with pride, and seek to embody its inscription – “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free.” All of this is born out of a profound love for humanity. And this is why I love America so deeply. I love our steadfast commitment to perfecting our union, through all the ups and downs. I love how we were not founded on language or geography, but rather a set of democratic ideals and principles, designed to morally anchor our collective will, from freedom, to equality to fairness. I love our diversity and how it makes our endeavor as a nation, human history’s grand experiment in democracy. And I love how in America, a little black boy from a working class family in Schenectady can one day grow up to be a Congressman with a rap album and represent a district that is nearly 90 percent white, and the eighth most rural in the entire country.
LETTERS
Use Bed-Tax Hike To Build County Future To the Editor: I saw in your papers where there was going to be a presentation Tuesday, Jan. 21, to discuss increasing the county lodging tax 2 percent, with the new $1 million in projected revenue, dedicated to support road improvements throughout the county. Let me offer my general support for the idea, whatever good that might bring. However, I do believe dedicating the funds to road improvement is shortsighted, missing a wonderful opportunity of doing something meaningful to support improving the quality of life throughout the
The Freeman’s Journal & HOMETOWN ONEONTA
County Rep. Meg Kennedy addresses a public information meeting on the 2-percent bed-tax hike Tuesday, Jan. 21, at Hartwick Town Hall.
county. Perhaps there should be a proposal for a 3-percent increase, understanding that the added 1 percent be dedicated and used for commerce-building initiatives within the county.
For example, the increase legislation should consider returning just the proportion of the 1-percent share generated from within the Oneontas, back to the Oneontas and dedicated to growing economic
and tourism development within the community; not to underwrite municipal operations. For far too long, the Oneontas, the county’s only urban center, have been terribly shortchanged of the local capital resources needed to seed the growth of commerce within the Oneontas; the county’s most important commercial hub. This source of annual lead funds would provide the capital resources, making it a real economic, job-creating kick starter for the community at large; and by extension the county. ALBERT COLONE Resident City of Oneonta
Renewables, Not Gas, The Cleaner Way To Go
To the Editor: The preliminary estimate of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions for 2018 is up 3.4 percent, reversing the recent downward trend. What is more, arguing that burning methane is better than coal because it releases less carbon dioxide conveniently neglects that the entire gas infrastructure leaks methane, a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. (Conveniently that is for that argument, not for the environment.) Like carbon dioxide, methane in the atmosphere shows an upward climb. Unproven is that the conversion from coal to gas decreases the net greenhouse gas emissions. (However, the lack of residual
coal ash is a great environmental benefit and gas is cheaper.) Increasing atmospheric concentration of methane flattened in the first years of this century, but resumed its upward climb with the boom in the natural gas industry as it tapped into shale reservoirs. In contrast, there will be tremendous reductions in greenhouse gas emissions with the switching from fossil fuels to renewable energies. Objecting to the subsidies for renewables overlooks the far larger subsidies that the fossil fuel industry has accrued over the decades. And these don’t foster a fledgling industry, a longstanding practice in the United States, but instead fatten the bottom line of established companies at the
expense of our country. The boost to our economy for conversion from coal to gas pales in comparison to the boost from fossil fuels to renewables. As becomes clearer with each passing year, the arguments for fossil fuels, including gas, are based on selective presentations that just don’t hold up to scrutiny. Net benefits are not just fiction but fantasy. And there’s the irony of those who once argued against restrictions on the burning of methane because there’s no manmade global warming, now argue against restrictions because burning methane will lessen that same global warming. BRIAN BROCK Franklin
BENNETT: Idea Of Sanctuary, To Protect People BENNETT/From A5 edgeable outdoorsman – he has also revealed himself to be yet another Republican grandstander and fear monger, with zero understanding of the law. I’d like to forget the legal idiocy and go back to the original definition of sanctuary. A sanctuary is a place of refuge and protection for human beings and other living things, often in a house of God. Describing a sanctuary as a place
where every gun is protected while every person is threatened by ever more guns is absurd. It is at best a lie and at worst blasphemous. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them.” He did not say, “Let the little .38 specials come to me, and do not hinder them.” Larry Bennett, recently retired Brewery Ommegang creative director who is active in local causes, lives in East Merideth.
ATWELL: Where Everybody Knows Your Name ATWELL/From A4 just then and I was home alone, tending that determined dog and Gracie our cat, placid but as tough as the dog, any day. As we left the house, Tom suggested we drive out to the “crick” and eat at his store. Great idea, I thought. I’d likely see some old friends. Well, it turns out that two congregations meet in Fly Creek every Sunday morning. The first gathers at 11 in the handsome 19th Century Methodist church,
its congregants well dressed and ready for prayer, fine music, and a good sermon. But the second congregation gangs up earlier in Tom’s store. Usually all male and casually dressed, they show up for coffee, jokes and lots of bustin’ chops with one another. When Tom and I walked in, there were whoops and shouts of “Hey, Jim! Welcome back!” They’d saved my old seat by the front window – no one, one bozo said solemnly, had been allowed to
sit in it since I was last there. It’s the “Atwell Chair of Distinguished Bull----,” he continued, and no match for me had yet been found. Tom and I sat with that wondrous, raucous crowd for close to two hours – and we did manage to eat breakfast, too. What a great time! “Old times there are not forgotten.” And I’m not just whistling “Dixie.” Though I did just quote it. Jim Atwell, a Quaker minister and retired college administrator, lives in Cooperstown.
Friends Seek To Raise Money, Buy Oneonta Theater, Renovate It FOTOT/From A1 Bainbridge and Worcester reopen their theaters,” he said. “If small towns can do it, so can we.” Brzozowski, Greater Oneonta Historical Society executive director, is one of three new board members of revived FOTOT. Elaine Bresee was elected president; Elizabeth Dunn, SUNY Oneonta Dean of Liberal Arts, secretary, and Brzozowski, treasurer. Ellen Pope, Otsego 2000 executive director, also joined the board. The original Friends of the Oneonta Theatre formed in 2008, when the theater went up for sale. When entrepreneur Tom Cormier bought it in 2009, FOTOT helped him with theater restoration. But they soon parted ways, and although the group became less and less active, it still maintained its not-for-profit status.
consultants, to do a feasibility plan. Webb’s recommendations are available on the GOHS website. “The theater has good bones, but there’s work to be done,” said Brzozowski. “It’s going to take some major renovation projects.” $2 million could not only restore the theater to working order, but reopen the two balconies and expand the lobby, Brzozowski said. “It would be a completely different building,” he said. “We could go in and uncover the original murals, James Cummings/HOMETOWN ONEONTA & The Freeman’s Journal we could do an exhibit The revived Friends of Oneonta Theater elected on all of the people who Elaine Bresee, center, as president; Elizabeth performed there. There’s Dunn, secretary, and Bob Brzozowski, treasurer so much more we can do at an organizational meeting Friday, Jan. 17, at beyond just getting it open.” the Oneonta History Center. Rather than forming a new not-for-profit to buy When the Oneonta won a $50,000 Technical and restore the theater, Theater went up for sale in Assistance grant and hired Brzozowski and the remaining 2015, GOHS, in collaboraDuncan Webb, Webb FOTOT members revived tion with FOTOT members Management, one of the the Friends organization. and other interested people, country’s leading theater
“As we got closer and closer to what we wanted to do, we realized it was just easier that way,” he said. The reformed FOTOT will work to update some of its rules and bylaws to make sure it is in compliance with newer New York State regulations. “The past members did a great job in setting things up, but there are a lot of other things that have changed at the state level,” he said. At an organizational meeting Friday, Jan. 17, at GOHS, attendees voted to join the New York Council of Nonprofits (NYCON), whose local office is managed by Andrew Marietta, the county representative. “We also joined the League of Historic American Theaters,” Brzozowski said. “We weren’t part of that before.” In the spring, Brzozowski hopes to launch a capital
campaign, after the group determines how much they want to raise – and how people can get involved to help. “One of the models we’re looking at is like the State Theater in Ithaca,” he said. “When people make a donation of a certain amount, they own a share of the theater, so it’s really a community-owned theater.” And more than that, they hope to get support from other institutions, including SUNY Oneonta and Hartwick College, and said a “shared booking agent” would go a long ways to strengthening ties to Foothills “Wouldn’t it be great to have the Catskill Symphony Orchestra play in that beautiful theater?” he said. “We could open it up to the Glimmerglass Film Festival as an additional venue. It’s got great acoustics, and it’s a shame it’s not being used.”
THURSDAY, January 23, 2020
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA A-7
At his first swearing-in in 1986, left photo, state Sen. James L. Seward was accompanied by wife Cindy, daughter Lauren and son Ryan. Center, he poses with staff members at his Oneonta office in 2013, including long-time Chief of Staff Duncan Davie, right, and Communications Director Jeff Bishop, left. In right photo, he shows his parents, mom Vivian and dad Wes, around the state Senate.
The Seward Formula: Hard Work, Caring About People SEWARD/From A1 off a list of goals for this year’s session, ranging from blocking the commercialization of the marijuana industry, to cutting taxes to stem the state’s – and Otsego County’s – outmigration. “But I was going to have to continue to have treatment, one day a week. For two, three days after that, I’m tired,” he said, concluding, “It limits my ability to maintain a busy schedule needed in a reelection campaign. “If I can’t go 100 percent in a campaign, I’ve opted to not run this year.” The senator said he plans to pursue his duties fully in his district and in Albany, including as ranking member of the Finance Committee, which will be holding all-day hearings for the next two weeks. “I will participate in that,” he said. But the decision, if it holds, signals the end to one of the most remarkable political careers in Otsego County history, dating back to 1972 when, still a student at Hartwick College, he challenged incumbent Assemblyman Harold Luther of Dolgeville in a Republican primary. He lost, but got losing out of the way early in his career. He has won every race that followed. The next year, when he collected his Hartwick degree in political science – lively debates in OHS teacher Bud Pirone’s classes (Pirone, 80, died last week) inspired his career – Seward was already a member of the Otsego County Republican Committee.
When the Cooperstown “Birthplace of Baseball” license plates were issued in the 1990s, Senator Seward received #3. You can still see him driving around with them today. #1 went to Harold Hollis, former Freeman’s Journal managing editor and then-mayor of Cooperstown. (Later, it was passed on to Jane Forbes Clark.) Then Hall of Fame Director Ed Stack, right, received #2.
When County Vice Chair Hazel Fields was elevated to chair in 1974, he succeeded her. The next year, he rose to chairman, at 24 the youngest in county history, where he served for 12 years until his election to the state Senate. As chairman, he attended three national conventions. He also served as an aide to Assemblyman Pete Dukovitz of Oneonta, Sen. Charles Cook of Delaware County, and Sen. Steve Riford of Auburn. When Riford retired in 1986, the still-young Seward beat two more seasoned Republicans in a primary, then turned back a Democratic opponent that fall. He faced challenges in the years that followed, but never a serious one.
“Jim is one of the hardestworking people I’ve known,” said former assemblyman Tony Casale of Cooperstown, in explaining that success. “He always focuses on the job at hand. And he never takes anything for granted. As a result, he has a reputation in Albany as someone you can depend on, someone you can trust, someone who gets the job done. “In the district, he has the reputation for being successful, for being a good listener, and for following through on every request that’s made of him,” said Casale, a contemporary of Seward’s; their friendship goes back to the 1970s when both were young aides to successful politicians.
“That combination is unbeatable in politics,” said Casale, whose district overlapped with Seward’s for part of their careers. He has been supported all along the way by his wife of 47 years, the former Cindy Milavec. A member of the Cooperstown Junction Methodist Church, the teenaged future senator was testing his organizing skills by starting Methodist Youth Fellowship chapters at surrounding churches. In Schenevus, he saw a young woman enter the hall and said to a friend, “Let’s get her involved.” The two raised two children, Ryan and Lauren, the mother of the Sewards’ two grandchildren. Asked about his fondest accom-
plishments, he cited the “Power for Jobs” campaign in the 1980s that provided cheap electricity for companies, and the School Tax Relief (STAR) program, which provided property-tax relief to all homeowners earning less than $250,000. And bringing state funding home: for SUNY Oneonta’s Dewar Arena, for the Foothills Performing Arts Center ($6 million), for the former National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta ($4 million), which continues to live on as Ioxus, and for innumerable other projects. “I would mention constituent services,” he continued. “It’s given me a great deal of satisfaction. To help people straighten out problems they’ve having with state government, to help individual people with their problems.” Most satisfying was people coming up to him and saying, “You saved my life.” “What do you mean?” he would ask. “My insurance company was not going to pay for treatment. I called your office, you turned that decision around,” more than one constituent has told him. “That’s very, very satisfying,” the senator said. For now, he said, “I have no plans. I want to get healthy. But I want to stay engaged and active. I have a deep commitment to my community, our region. I will certainly, in one way or another, continue my service, continue to improve the lives of the people who work here.”
Tague, Who Represents Eastern Otsego Towns, To Decide On Run By Week’s End TAGUE/From A1 he continues to recuperate from a cancer diagnosis. “The most important thing right now is Senator Seward’s health,” he said. “People really know what a great senator he has been.” Nonetheless, he said in an interview Tuesday, Jan. 21, that he’s “very humbled” by support he’s been receiving from county chairman in the nine-county district, and he is consulting with family and friends before making a final decision “late this week.” Otsego County Republican chairman Vince Casale said he would support a Tague candidacy. “Chris brings enthusiasm, vigor, all the things you need to be a successful candidate – or representative,” he said. If Tague decides not to go forward, Casale ticked off three potential candidates from the county board: chairman Dave Bliss, vice chairman Meg Kennedy and the Schenevus representative, Peter Oberacker. “All of them would be good candidates,” he said. Democratic County Chairman Aimee Swan wasn’t immediately available on this matter, but Casale pointed out Oneonta’s Dan Buttermann is seeking an Assembly seat (vs. incumbent Republican John Salka) as a stepping stone to the Senate; perhaps he would go for it directly. Other leading local Democrats who have the statue to run include two mayors, Oneonta’s Gary Herzig and Cooperstown’s Ellen Tillapaugh Kuch,
as well as Tillapaugh’s predecessor, Jeff Katz. (In an email exchange, former Oneonta Mayor John Nader said he’s fully committed to his current position, president of SUNY Farmingdale on Long Island.) A contested campaign would cost in the neighborhood of $1 million, Casale estimated. “It would be 10 years before it’s open again,” he said. Tague, while not an Otsego County resident – Seward is a county native – represents four towns in the county: Cherry Valley, Roseboom, Decatur and Worcester.
The 51st District encompasses three counties – Otsego, Schoharie and Cortland – plus pieces of Tompkins, Herkimer, Chenango, Cayuga, Delaware and Ulster counties. And nominees may emerge from any one of those counties, or all of them. Chris Tague joined the Assembly after a special election April 24, 2018, succeeding Republican Pete Lopez, whom Donald Trump had appointed regional administrator of the EPA. Elected to a full term that November, he created a bit of a splash New New Purchases and Refinances Debt Consolidation Free Pre-Qualification Fast Approvals • Low Rates
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Year’s Day 2019 when he took two vows in SUNY Cobleskill’s Bouck Hall, the first as an assemblymen, than marriage vows with Dana Buzon of Schoharie, his significant other for eight years. The biography on his website pledged Tague is focusing on “key issues that affect his constituents: access to broadband internet, reducing taxes, providing support for local farmers, and fixing Upstate’s failing infrastructure.” On graduating in 1987 from Schoharie Central
School, where he was student council president, he became a dairy farmer, growing his herd from 25 to 75 cows. He sold the farm in 1992, joining Cobleskill Stone
Products as a laborer, soon winning promotion to foreman, rising to general manager of the entire operation, where he worked until his election to the Assembly.
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PR NE IC W E! MLS#124368 $129,000 Investment Property or Single Family Home Nice location. Many upgrades. 2 BRs, 2 baths. Central air, 2-car detached garage. Call Carol olsen @ 607-434-7436 (cell)
MLS#123824 $239,000 150’ Lake Frontage View of entire lake. End of road, dock, boat lift, full deck, 3 BRs, furnished, freshly painted. Move-in condition. Call George (Rod) Sluyter @ 315-520-6512 (cell)
MLS#123379 $395,000 Completely Remodeled w/no expense spared. Home has Row access to Canadarago Lake. 3,000 sq ft. Secluded on 4 fenced-in acres. Call Rodney Campbell @ 315-868-0148 (cell)
MLS#123319 $75,000 Affordable, Efficient Stick-built 2-BR, 1-bath home built in 2003. 1-floor living. Economical to heat/cool w/REA electric. wrap-around deck, views. Call Thomas Platt @ 607-435-2068
MLS#114624 $59,900 MLS#122416 $275,000 1982 double-wide w/3 BRs, 2 baths and 1½ story, 2-car Location, Location, Location! Perfect for hunting! garage. New heating system, updated electrical, new Adjoining 149New acresceiling in Cooperstown with walls andState ceilingland. in 1 BR. in master bath. large farmhouse. Low@taxes, stream, (cell) road frontage. Call Sharon P. Teator 607-267-2681 Call Sharon Teator @ 607-267-2681 (cell)
MLS#124662 $49,000 Don’t Pay Rent! Low taxes! Move in now! Seller owned for 52 years. Roof, boiler and water heater are 12 years old. Call George (Rod) Sluyter @ 315-520-6512 (cell)
MLS#123046 $239,000 Tucked Away on Nearly 3 Acres Views of the Red Creek Valley. This custom-built contemporary Cape is 2 miles from Cooperstown. Call Kathy Fistrowicz @ 607-267-2683 (cell)
PR NE IC W E!
MLS#124733 $299,000 Goodyear Lake Remodeled Home Comes w/canoe, kayaks, paddleboat. Successful baseball rental. 3 BRs, 2 aths, large decks. Great lawn. Call Stephen Colwell@ 607-435-6542 (cell)
MLS#123488 $124,000 Investment Opportunity in Center of Cobleskill Close to SUNY Cobleskill campus. Easy access and lots of parking. Bank-owned. Sold is.Large Spacious 4 BR, 2 bath house is close toas I-88. Call Melissa Klein @ 518-705-9849 (cell) backyard, workshop/garage, small shed. Make your appointment today. Priced to go this week! Virtual Tour: www.RealEstateShows.com/708598
75 Market Street Oneonta 607-433-1020 4914 State Hwy 28 Cooperstown 607-547-5933 221 Main Street, Andes 845-676-3600
MLS#121150 $249,000 Cooperstown Area Commercial Opportunity! Massive exposure, extensive parking. 3,000 sq ft building was constructed in 2013. Call Katherine Fistrowicz @ 607-267-2683 (cell)
MLS#124665 $129,000 Prime Location/Good Investment Property 3 BRs, 2 baths (1 BR, 1 bath on main level). Roof is 6Yo. Near SUNY oneonta, Hartwick College. Call Carol olsen @ 607-434-7436 (cell)
MLS#123525 $195,000 Old World Historic Home Nestled in the heart of oneonta. original woodwork, L/R w/fireplace, 3-car garage. Immaculate home. Call Carol olsen @ 607-434-7436 (cell)
MLS#123249 $865,000 Incredible Property! 223 acres. Home features top craftsmanship, 6,300 sq ft, guest house, pole barn, 3+ car garage, spring-fed pond, hunting cabin. Call Sharon Teator @ 607-267-2681 (cell)
MLS#121571 $89,000 Land In Decatur – Possible Owner Finacing Mostly wooded 86-acre parcel w/stream. Close to East worcester Rod & Gun Club. Call David Mattice @ 607-434-1647 (cell)
PR NE IC W E!
lIs NE tIN W g!
lIs NE tIN W g!
www.howardhanna.com
PR NE IC W E!
PR NE IC W E!
MLS#115766 $179,000 Sun Shelter Technology Private driveway on 65 acres in Delhi. Home features 4 BRs, 2 baths, 1,900 sq ft, front and rear decks. Call Lorraine Takahashi @ 845-545-0884 (cell)
lIs NE tIN W g!
A-8 THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA
MLS#119685 $45,000 2-Family Home! Located in Sharon Springs. Many updates including plumbing, electric, commercial kitchen. 1- and 2-BR apartments. Close to amenities. Call Melissa Klein @ 518-705-9849 (cell)
MLS#122670 $159,000 Possible Farmette Views in all directions. 3 BRs, built in 1854 w/dairy barn on 7 acres. 28’ x 40’ 3-bay garage, plus steel carport, concrete RV pad. Call David Mattice @ 607-434-1647 (cell)
157 Main Street,Cooperstown 607-547-5740
www.hubbellsrealestate.com
Cooperstown Village
(8618) Impeccable 3-BR, 2-bath Colonial provides pellet stove, bay windows, natural woodwork, formal DR and eat-in kitchen w/oak cabinets. Laminate flooring, laundry room, ceiling fans. Vinyl siding, large covered deck, large yard. Large 2-car garage. Move-in condition. Cooperstown Schools.
Hubbell’s Exclusive—$224,000
Perfectly Set on 58 Acres
(8676) Nearly new 4-BR, 3-bath contemporary Cape w/valley view, 3 ponds. Custom kitchen w/ white cabinets and work island, formal DR w/views, living room w/deck access. Main-level master BR, ceramic tile baths, finished basement, hardwood floors, 2-car garage. Richfield Schools.
Hubbell’s Exclusive—$459,900
Paradise in the Catskills! Meticulously maintained on just under 5 acres. Large private yard, garage (2016), massive private deck (2016), private stream! First floor has large family room, laundry, updated ½ bath, large formal DR and updated kitchen open into a large LR w/amazing views. Upstairs features 2 large BRs, large updated full bath, breathtaking master suite w/massive BR, powder room/nursery attached, huge updated full bath, and private balcony! This is one you don’t want to miss. MLS#124764 $189,900
Incredible Lake Views!
2-Family Home with COC
If you crave peacefulness and serenity this property is for you. Tucked in the hills is this lovely contemporary home w/incredible views of Lake Otsego from every room. 3 BRs, DR and LR w/access to outside den, office which could be converted into first-floor BR, 2½ baths, laundry room, finished exercise room in the basement, and 2-car detached garage.
Exclusively offered at $649,000 propErty dEtaILs —5.05 acres —Private well and septic IntErIor FEaturEs —3 BRs, 2½ baths —Built in 1997 —2 stories, contemporary style —Partially finished basement
This 2-family home is located close to bus route, both campuses and downtown. 3 BRs, 1 bath downstairs w/LR and DR. 3 BRs, 1 bath and washer/dryer upstairs. Newer windows, detached garage, 166 Main Street, Ste 1, Oneonta separate utilities. Currently rented for immediate return on investment. office 607.433.2873 www.oneontarealty.com MLS#123468 $169,900
•F
OUNDED
IA
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DG
E WIL
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& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch
Cooperstown’s Newspaper
1808 BY
ONEONTA
IN
HOMETOWN
O M C O PE
SELLING OR BUYING? DO IT ALL HERE! 607-547-6103 For 211 Years
—Fully applianced kitchen —Washer/dryer —Carpet and wood floors —Entry foyer, DR, den/office —Master BR w/walk-in closet —Laundry w/garage access —Radiant heat
Don Olin
REALTY, INC
AllOTSEGO.com
ExtErIor FEaturEs —Detached 2-car garage —Covered front porch —Private rear deck —Paved driveway
37 Chestnut street · Cooperstown · 607-547-5622 · 607-547-5653 (fax) parking is never a problem! For Appointment Only Call: M. Margaret Savoie, Real Estate Broker/Owner – 547-5334 Marion King, Real Estate Associate Broker – 547-5332 Eric Hill, Real Estate Associate Broker – 547-5557 Donald DuBois, Real Estate Associate Broker – 547-5105
Timothy Donahue, Real Estate Associate Broker – 293-8874 Madeline Sansevere, Real Estate Salesperson – 435-4311 Catherine Raddatz, Real Estate Salesperson – 547-8958 Michael Welch, Real Estate Salesperson – 547-8502
For reliable, honest answers to any of your real estate questions, call 607.547.5622 or visit our website www.donolinrealty.com
Home of the Week Country Living on 12 Acres
(8694) Enticing 3-BR, 3-bath, pond-side home sited on 12 acres. This appealing residence boasts a luxuriant garden, spacious yard, plus stocked pond, fireplace and fine master suite. Gracious living room, family room, newer windows. Vinyl plank flooring, country kitchen, laundry room, 2-car garage, patio. A gem with much to love! Cooperstown Schools.
Hubbell’s Exclusive—$239,000
157 Main Street, Cooperstown • 607-547-5740 www.hubbellsrealestate.com
All
OTSEGO.life PAGE B-1
THURSDAY, January 23, 2020
lunachix rule! Lunachix, from left, include Erika Miller, Rose Carballeira, Sarah Cummings, Sondra Pederson Gielskie and Elizabeth Raphaelson.
what’s fun
in Otsego County
BEST BETS
Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt star in Quentin Tarantino’s Oscarnominated “Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood” playing this weekend at the Cabin Fever Film Festival.
Belly-Dancing, They Build Skills, Community By JAMES CUMMINGS ONEONTA
T
he Lunachix are shaking things up. A regional belly-dancing group called the Lunachix is trying to shake things up in the world of body positivity and women empowerment. “The Lunachix is a place where real women can be their best self,” said Jo Boring, director of the belly-dancing troupe that she says is really about body positivity and women’s empowerment. “Some days that means being the star of the show, other days it means eating dinner together and having an ugly cry,” she said.
Publicity shot shows Lunachix in full regalia.
The all-women’s group began with a class, but it soon evolved into something more than just dancing. “It very quickly became about each other. Something like dance is physical and creative, but it’s also social,” said Boring. “As much as we are about performing and doing shows, it’s equally as important that we get together every week and support each other. It became a community of friends so the goal superseded dance at some point.” And welcoming all women became a crucial component of that community. “…We represent regular women who work hard to be showgirls. Very few of us had childhood dance training. We’re just regular girls.” Boring first entered the world of bellydancing in the early 2000s after seeing the Please See LUNACHIX, B3
Dissertation, Documentary. Now, The Book CGP Director Gretchen Sorin Brought Back Long-Forgotten Reality Into The Public Eye By LIBBY CUDMORE COOPERSTOWN
G AllOTSEGO.life
Ian Austin/
CGP Director Gretchen Sorin’s 2009 thesis on “The Green Book” led to her collaboration in last year’s PBS documentary and now a book from a major publisher, “Driving While Black.”
retchen Sorin has a clear memory of how family vacations always started. “We would get up at 3 a.m. and get on the road,” the director of the Cooperstown Graduate Program in Museum Studies remembers. “We wouldn’t stop at a restaurant or a hotel, and my parents only stopped at Esso gas stations.
►IF YOU GO: Book reading, “Driving While Black,” by Gretchen Sorin, 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12, Roots Brewing Company, 175 Main St., Oneonta.
“We drove straight through from New Jersey to North Carolina, where my mother’s family lived. I thought that was just how people took vacations.” But as she got older, she realized that they had a reason for driving that way. “It was all about not Please See SORIN, B3
Oscar-Nominated Movie, Two Plays, One Pops Concert
I
f you missed “Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood” (R, 2019,) in theaters, now is your chance to see it for free before the Oscars with the Cabin Fever Film Series. 6:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24, Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown. Info (607) 547-1400. • The screen isn’t the only place for movies! The Catskill Valley Wind Ensemble presents LIBBY CUDMORE Midwinter Concert featuring scores from film, Broadway including medleys from ‘Jesus Christ Superstar,’ ‘Porgy & Bess,’ ‘Sweeney Todd,’ Guardians of the Galaxy, Pirates of the Caribbean, more. 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26, First United Methodist Church, 401 Chestnut St., Oneonta. Info www.catskillwinds.com • It’s a little early for Easter, but get your White Rabbit fix with a production of ‘Harvey’ by Stuff of Dreams Productions. Cost, $17/adult. 7:30 p.m. FridaySaturday, Jan. 24-25, 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26, Foothills Performing Arts Center, Oneonta. (607) 432-5407. • Head back to the classroom with CCS Middle School’s performance of ‘School House Rock Live! Jr.’ Admission, $10/adult. 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24, 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, Auditorium, Cooperstown High School. Info (607) 547-8181. • It’s not too early to be thinking about your garden! Get ready for spring while improving diversity of your plants with a seed swap, sponsored by the Otsego County Master Gardeners. 10 a.m. – Noon, Saturday, Jan. 25, Huntington Memorial Library, 62 Chestnut St., Oneonta. Info (607) 432-1980.
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL • HOMETOWN ONEONTA
AllOTSEGO.com, WHERE OTSEGO COUNTY GOES FOR BREAKING NEWS
VISIT www.
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Otsego County
the job scene Special tabloid coming January 30, 2020. To place an ad in this section, call 607-547-6103
_________ Send calendar items to info@allotsego.com
B-2
AllOTSEGO.life
THURSDAY, January 23, 2020
►Thursday, Jan. 23 BOOKMOBILE – Check out the mobile library. 10-10:30 a.m. Schenevus Valley Lodge, 4 Main Street, Schenevus. 10:45-11:30 a.m. Fire Station, 1812 County Highway 34, Westford. 12:30-1 p.m. a.m. First Christian Church, 1160 State Highway 165, South Valley. 1:15-2 p.m. a.m. Town Hall, 3717 County Highway 35, Middlefield. www.4cls.org or call 607-723-8236 BLOOD DRIVE – 1 - 6 p.m. Give blood to help save a life. Foothills Performing Arts Center, Oneonta. AUDITIONS – 5 - 6:30 p.m.
All are invited to audition for the Catskill Choral Society’s Spring Concert featuring a wide selection of lively choral pieces.’ Sight reading not required. Unitarian Universalist Society of Oneonta, 12 Ford Ave., Oneonta. 607-4316060. EXHIBIT RECEPTION – 5 - 7 p.m. Celebrate exhibit ‘Catching Light: 3 Glass Artists’ on show through 3/20. Featuring works by Halvorson, Fred Tschida and David Wilson who each use different techniques to create their glass artwork. Includes artist talk at 6, refreshments, live music by SUNY Oneonta Jazz Ensemble. Free, open to public. Martin-Mullen Art Gallery, SUNY
Oneonta. 607-436-2445. WINTER CARNIVAL – 5 - 8 p.m. Lion’s Spaghetti Dinner, Community Center Bake Sale, R.S.C.S. Helping Hands Club Chinese Auction. Richfield Springs Central School Cafeteria, 93 W Main St, Richfield Springs. 315-858-0610 FUNDRAISER – 5:30 - 8 p.m. Support Tracy Abrams to provide wigs to local community members who have lost their hair to chemotherapy. Enjoy Quarter Auction, food, drink, preview items. Partnered with 501c organization Wigs & Wishes. Oneonta Vets Club, 279 Chestnut St., Oneonta. 607-287-4294. COMMUNITY PROGRAM – 6:30 p.m. Presentation
AllOTSEGO.
what’s fun in OtsegO COunty _________
‘The Study of the Fisher in New York State,’ by wildlife biologist Selinda Brandon. Refreshments. Woodside Hall, 1 Main St., Cooperstown. 607547-0600, ext. 101. PRESENTATION – 6:30 p.m. Dr. E. Howard Ashford presents “Discovering the Past to Shape the Future: Afro-American Genealogy in the Rural South”. Free, open to public. Oneonta History Center, 183 Main St., Oneonta. 607-432-0960.
LittLe DeLaware Youth ensembLe a Chamber orchestra of young string players from Delaware, otsego, Chenango, and broome counties. under the musical direction of uLi speth with preparatory orchestra conductor Debrah DeVine
sunday, January 26 at 3 pm
anderson theater, hartwick College, oneonta
musiC biber – battalia a 9 menDeLssohn – string symphony no 2 bLoCh – Concerto Grosso no 1 for string orchestra with piano obligato soLoists: sam LYteL, CoDY buChman, and tonG Chu
ConCerts are free with a reception following.
famiLY frienDLY
for additional information: 917-902-9301 or www.ldye.org special thanks to five star subaru for promoting these concerts.
FILM – 6:30 & 9 p.m. Presenting “Harriet.” See Friday Listing. COFFEE HOUSE –7 - 9 p.m. Music in range of genres by amateur local performers; light refreshments; all welcome. Schuyler Lake United Methodist Church. Church Rd., Schuyler Lake. THEATER – 7:30 p.m. Performance ‘Harvey.’ See Friday Listing.
_______
►Friday, January 24
dining&entertainment
DANCE NIGHT – 6:30 - 8 p.m. Greater Plains PTO Family Dance Night. Greater Plains Elementary School, 60 West End Ave #1, Oneonta. FILM – 6:30 & 9 p.m. Presenting “Harriet.” Cost, in OtsegO COunty $3/person. Red Dragon Theater, SUNY Oneonta. MUSICAL – 7 p.m. CCS Middle school presents ‘School House Rock Live! Jr.’ Admission, $10/adult. Auditorium, Cooperstown High School. 607-547-8181. SNOWMOBILE RIDE – 7 p.m. Starts at the Genesee and ends at Gunset, followed by a community bonfire. Hot dogs. The Genesee Restuarant and Taproom, 38 Lake St, Richfield Springs. THEATER – 7:30 p.m. Performance ‘Harvey’ by Stuff of Dreams Productions. Cost, $17/adult. Foothills Performing Arts Center, Oneonta. 607-432-5407.
STATE OF THE STATE – 11:45 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Hear from your elected officials in local, county, state, federal goverment on the State of Otsego County. Featuring Antonio Delgado, James Seward, John Salka, others. Cost, $40/non-member. Otsego Grill, Morris Hall, SUNY Oneonta. 607-4324500. DRESS EXCHANGE – 3:30 - 6 p.m. Kids planning to attend Valentine’s Ball may stop by to find that perfect donated outfit for the dance. Oneonta YMCA, 20-26 Ford Ave., Oneonta. 607-432-0010 opt. 9. LECTURE – 6:30 p.m. Introductory talk on practice & benefits of Transcendental Meditation. Free. Clark Sports Center, Cooperstown. 607547-5681. FILM SERIES – 6:30 p.m. Cabin Fever film series continues with showing of ‘Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood’ (2019) directed by Quentin Tarantino. Film begins at 7. Free, donations accepted. Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown. 607-547-1400.
what’s fun
►Saturday, Jan. 25 PANCAKE BREAKFAST – 8 11 a.m. Support Cooperstown baseball team’s trip to Spring Training in Myrtle Beach. Cost, $6/adult. Cooperstown Fire Station, 24 Chestnut St., Cooperstown. 607-282-6529. REGISTRATION – 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Sign up to show your quilt at the Fenimore Quilt Club Show. Cooperstown Art Association. 607-547-9777. SEED SWAP – 10 a.m. - Noon. Get ready for spring while improving diversity of your plants with Otsego County Master Gardeners. Huntington Memorial Library, 62 Chestnut St., Oneonta. 607-432-1980. TUBING – 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Have fun sliding down a hillside on a tube. Tubes provided. Cost, $5/person. Warming hut with hot cocoa, snacks available for sale. Glimmerglass State Park, 1527 Co. Rt. 31, Cooperstown. 607-547-8662. AUTHOR READING – 2 - 3:30 p.m. Author Tom Travisano discusses his new book ‘Elizabeth Bishop: Her Artistic Development.’ Rescheduled from 1/18. Foothills Performing Arts Center, Oneonta. 607-432-1980. MUSICAL – 2 p.m. CCS Middle school presents ‘School House Rock Live! Jr.’ See Friday listing. TEEN NIGHT – 6 - 8 p.m. Teens are invited to have fun featuring open gym, swimming, board games, crafts, a community services project, & free dinner for those who attend. Oneonta YMCA, 20-26 Ford Ave., Oneonta. 607-4320001.
►Sunday, January 26 TUBING – 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Slide down a snowy hillside on a tube. Tubes provided. See Saturday Listing. BOWLING TOURNAMENT – 12:00 p.m. - 4 p.m. No Tap Bowling Tournament. 5-person teams with pay-outs to the top 5 teams. 50/50 raffle, Chinese auction, lottery basket, and prizes. All proceeds benefit United Way of Delaware & Otsego. Holiday Lanes, 5198 NY-23, Oneonta. 607-432-2540 FILM – 1, 6:30 & 9 p.m. Presenting “Harriet.” See Friday Listing. POPS CONCERT – 2 p.m. Catskill Valley Wind Ensemble presents Midwinter Concert featuring lively pieces from film, Broadway. Free, open to public. First United Methodist Church, 401 Chestnut St., Oneonta. BOOK LECTURE – 2 p.m. Local author T.M. Bradshaw presents ‘Ned Buntline: So Much Larger Than Life’ detailing the colorful adventures of an American paradox. This starts Hobart Winter Respite Lecture Series. Free, open to public. Refreshments served. Liberty Rocks Books LLC, 678 Main St., Hobart. 607-5381760. THEATER – 2 p.m. Performance ‘Harvey’ by Stuff of Dreams Productions. See Friday Listing. KICK OFF – 4 - 7 p.m. Young & beginner small-scale farmers start 2020 with mixer featuring food, drink, live music by young farmer Isaac Hill. Free. Bump Tavern, The Farmer’s Museum, Cooperstown. 607-547-1450.
►Monday, January 27 PRESENTATION – 2 p.m. Balancing Your Daily Living with Kari Mullin. A series on how to age in place. Cooperstown Senior Center, behind St. Mary’s Church, 31 Elm St., Cooperstown. coopseniorcenter@gmail.com COMEDY – 9 - 10 p.m. Stand-up comedy show by Eric O’Shea, known for clean wit & priceless observations. Waterfront Room, Hunt Union, SUNY Oneonta.
►Tuesday, January 28 Year-Round Saturday Market January - April: 10 AM - 2 PM May - August: 8 AM - 2 PM September - December: 9 AM - 2 PM EBT service available during Market hours. Ask about SNAP Match!
BOOK CLUB – 6 - 7 p.m. Read ‘The Underground Railroad’ by Colson Whitehead then join the group to discuss. Richfield Springs Public Library, 102 Main St., Richfield Springs. 315-858-0230.
►Wednesday, Jan. 29
Come sing with us. Love to sing? C
CHORAL SOCIETY will hold auditions Thursday, January 23 between 5 and 6:30 pm at at the Unitarian Universalist Society, 12 Ford Avenue, Oneonta for our spring concert led by G. Roberts Kolb. All voices are welcome and tenors and basses are always needed. Sight reading not required. Rehearsals are Thursday evenings from 7 to 9:30 pm at Unitarian Universalist Society in Oneonta. ATSKILL
To schedule an audition, please phone 607 431-6060, option 2 Bringing the hills alive with music for over four decades.
Mid-Winter PoPs ConCert Scott Rabeler & Andrew Pease, Conductors Featuring Les Miserables, Jesus Christ Superstar, Porgy & Bess, Russian Sailor’s Dance and More!
sunday, January 26 at 2 pm First united Methodist Church, oneonta Free and open to the public (donations gratefully accepted) For more information: 607-432-7085 www.catskillwinds.com
This concert is made possible by a grant from the Dewar Foundation, and with public funds from Chenango Arts Council’s Decentralization Program, a re-grant program of NYS Council on the Arts, with Support from Gov. Cuomo and the NYS Legislature
SOUP TO GO – 4 - 5 p.m. Stop by for free, homemade soup with neighbors. No age, socio-economic, or church membership requirement. Just because we’re neighbors. Elm Park United Methodist Church, 401 Chestnut St., Oneonta. 607-432-6552. INTERNATIONAL NIGHT – 5:30 - 9 p.m. Enjoy 3-course dinner featuring food from Bosnia. Cost, $20/person. The Otesaga, Cooperstown. 607-547-9931. FILM SOCIETY – 7 p.m. Cooperstown Film Society presents ‘Angels In The Outfield’ (1994) with special guest Tim Mead, president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and long-time Angel executive. Cooperstown Village Library, 22 Main St., Cooperstown.
►Thursday, Jan. 30 PRESENTATION – 1:15 p.m. “The Middle East” with Kathleen O’Donnell. Cooperstown Senior Center, behind St. Mary’s Church, 31 Elm St., Cooperstown. coopseniorcenter@gmail.com
AllOTSEGO.life
THURSDAY, January 23, 2020
B-3
‘Green Book’ Dissertation Leads To Documentary And, Now, Book Esso was a SORIN/From B1 sponsor of the wanting to be denied annual Green Book service when they and was known for stopped.” its policy of opening Her new book, its gas stations – and “Driving While Black” just as important, compiles many of bathrooms – to black these stories, as well as travelers. research into how car “A lot of places travel facilitated and would be happy to aided the Civil Rights take your money, but movement. wouldn’t let you use “If you’re boycotting a bathroom,” said buses, how else are you Sorin. “But Esso going to get to work?” was owned by the she said. “During, for The snapshot shows Gretchen example, the Montgomery Sorin and her brother Gary during Rockefellers, who a family trip in the 1960s. were Baptists, and Bus Boycott, leaders they did not believe bought fleets of cars and police, he would show them in discrimination.” drove people to work. If you the cap and say it was his But more than the were black and you flew boss’ car.” Green Book, her research, into an airport, cabs were The book, which comes which was also used by segregated, but you could out Feb. 11 from Liveright, documentarian Rick Burns, rent a car at the airport.” a W. W. Norton imprint, had Ken Burns’ brother, for a Driving gave African its earliest roots in Sorin’s PBS program, “The Green Americans freedom that Ph.D. thesis at SUNY Book,” delved deep into Jim Crow-era buses and Albany, which focused car culture in the African trains did not. on “The Negro Motorist’s American community.“ “It was accepted that Green Book,” a travel One of the things that African Americans would guide for African American was fascinating was that drive trucks or be chauftravelers. your ethnic group deterfeurs,” she said. “I heard “I don’t know if my mined what kind of car many stories about black parents had a copy of the you bought,” she said. men who would save their Green Book,” she said. “For instance, Jews didn’t money and buy a Cadillac, “But 90 percent of the buy Fords, but African but would keep a chauffeur’s people I spoke to said Americans did, because cap on the seat next to them their parents always went Henry Ford employed black – if he was pulled over by to Esso gas stations.”
workers.” Most importantly, she said, black families bought cars that were fast, heavy and reliable. “They liked Buicks because you could carry food and water, spare parts, and blankets and pillows,” she said. “They were also too heavy to turn over, and could accelerate fast.” Speed and weight were
crucial, she said, in case you found yourself in a “Sundown Town,” where African Americans were faced with violence if they remained after dark. “Thurgood Marshall has a story from when he was a lawyer for the NAACP that he was waiting for a train to Shreveport and a man came up to him and said, ‘(Expletive) the last train is
at 4 p.m. and you had better be on it, because the sun is never going down on a live (expletive) in this town’,” she said. “So travel guides like The Green Book were crucial to telling you where it was safe to go.” Sorin will give a reading and do a signing from the book at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12 at Roots Brewing Company.
Please join us at our special 2-day
Grand OpeninG!
For Lunachix, It’s Not Just Belly-Dancing Jo Boring leads the Lunachix during rehearsal.
class of her own at Delhi’s Cardio Club, and those beginners eventually grew into today’s Lunachix. Elizabeth Raphaelson of Oneonta was is that first class. “I’ve always been into dancing so I was looking for a way as an adult to do a new kind of James Cummings/ OTSEGO.life dance,” she said. “I also loved the LUNACHIX/From B1 aesthetic of it and I think those were the Goddess Hour troupe perform at a festival main attracting factors for me.” in Rochester. She also embraced Boring’s concept: “One “I never was a dance kid and never thing that is particularly neat about belly dance took dance classes when I was younger. is that, as Jo says, ‘every body’ can dance. I didn’t have a lot of exposure to it, so it “I also felt that Jo was really encouraging was something I saw and thought was us to keep going and to get something as beautiful. I had a little part of me that close to perfect as possible, but in a fun way.” wanted to be a showgirl.” And after seven years, the Lunachix show After joining and dancing with Goddess is still shaking things up and going strong. Hour for several years, Boring moved back “I think a lot of times when you become to Delaware County. an adult and you have a job and a family, “I thought I would never find anyone who you forget to nurture your creative expresbelly-dances,” but then she met Caroline sion. This is a place that all of us can do Huxtable, who was teaching it at Oneonta’s that,” said Boring. Armory, and took classes with her from The Lunachix have danced on stages 2008 to 2015. nationwide and internationally, with plans to In 2013, Boring started a beginners’ travel to England for a performance in April.
Friday, January 31 and Saturday, February 1
Refreshments, giveaways and a grand prize, plus receive a 10% discount off your first order! We look forward to seeing you!
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The City of the Hills Sweet Adelines We deliver your message with a love song and tokens of your affection
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THURSDAY, January 23, 2020
B-4 THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA
Trial Begins In Fatal Oneonta Arson TRIAL/From A1 murder in the death of former Oneonta firefighter John Heller on Dec. 30, 2018. Jury selection began Tuesday, Jan 21, with County Judge Brian Burns presiding. District Attorney John Muehl is prosecuting; Truitt is represented by Public Defender Michael Trossett. In addition to the first-degree charges of arson and murder, Truitt is also charged with two counts of murder in the second degree. “The defendant is presumed innocent,” Burns instructed potential jurors. “It’s on the district attorney to overcome that and prove, with the evidence, that the defendant is guilty.” Muehl is alleging Truitt was attempting to kill Engler by setting fire to the door of her apartment at 5 Walling Ave. Instead, according to state fire investigators, a draft carried the fire up the stairs to the third-floor apartment, where Heller and his fiancée, Amber Roe, were hosting a sleepover for their four nephews. Heller helped Roe and the boys escape through the window, but was then overcome by smoke and died in the apartment.
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Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of a NY Limited Liability Company Name: HAYNES HOUSE LLC Articles of Organization filing date with Secretary of State (SSNY) was 17 January 2020. 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 15 Pine Blvd. Cooperstown, NY 13326. Purpose is to engage in any and all business activities permitted under NYS laws. 6LegalFeb.27
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SSNY has been designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and SSNY shall mail copy of process to 235 Griggs Rd, Springfield Center, NY 13468. Purpose is to engage in any and all business activities permitted under NYS laws. 6LegalFeb.27 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of The LyonsDen LLC. Filed with SSNY on 01/13/20. Office: Otsego County. SSNY designated as agent for process & shall mail copy to 256 Littlewood Rd, Morris, NY 13808. Purpose: Any lawful. 6LegalFeb.20
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Notice of Formation of Limited Liability Company (LLC)
Supplemental Summons and Notice of Object of Action
Name: Central Leatherstocking Consulting LLC. Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on January 6, 2020. Office location: Otsego County. The SSNY has been designated as the agent of the LLC upon whom processes against the LLC may be served. The SSNY shall mail a copy of the process to the LLC, 225 Bristol Road Hartwick, NY 13348. Purpose: For any lawful purpose. 6LegalFeb.27 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of a NY Limited Liability Company Name: MARK D. MISIEWICZ, PT, PLLC. Articles of Organization filing date with Secretary of State (SSNY) was 30 December 2019. Office location: Otsego County.
Supreme Court Of The State Of New York County Of Otsego Action to Foreclose a Mortgage Index #: EF2019-789 Mortgaged Premises: 2547 County Highway 22 Richfield Springs, NY 13439 SBL #: 25.13 - 1 - 23.02 24.00 The Money Source Inc Plaintiff, vs Jake P. Hilts, Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital, Katie Jolivert, Jean Jolivert If Living, And If He/ She Be Dead, Any And All Persons Unknown To Plaintiff, Claiming, Or Who May Claim To Have An Interest In, Or General Or Specific Lien Upon The Real Property Described In This Action; Such Unknown Persons Being Herein Generally Described And Intended To Be Included In Wife, Widow, Husband, Widower, Heirs At Law, Next Of
Rebuffed By Worcester, Schenevus Eyes Milford
“Transferred Intent applies in this case,” said Burns. “Under our laws, if you intend to commit a crime against Person A and you engage in that conduct against Person A, but injure or kill Person B by mistake, the intent of harm to the first person is transferred to the second, and the jury may find that person guilty.” Similarly, he said a charge of Felony Murder – where the accused allegedly committed a crime so dangerous that someone was killed in the act of that crime – could also apply, and the jury could use that to find the defendant guilty. Terrence Truitt, allegedly seen leaving the scene with soot on his arms, was originally arrested and charged with arson, and spent five weeks in the Otsego County Jail before evidence pointed to his brother. Engler’s stepmother, Rochelle Denise Smith-Engler, alleged that her stepdaughter was a victim of domestic violence at the defendant’s hands. In addition to Truitt and Engler, Muehl has said he planned to call more than 30 witnesses to testify, including police and fire personnel, as well as Roe, Heller’s fiancée.
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Kin, Descendants, Executors, Administrators, Devisees, Legatees, Creditors, Trustees, Committees, Lienors, And Assignees Of Such Deceased, Any And All Persons Deriving Interest In Or Lien Upon, Or Title To Said Real Property By, Through Or Under Them, Or Either Of Them, And Their Respective Wives, Widows, Husbands, Widowers, Heirs At Law, Next Of Kin, Descendants, Executors, Administrators, Devisees, Legatees, Creditors, Trustees, Committees, Lienors, And Assigns, All Of Whom And Whose Names, Except As Stated,Are Unknown To Plaintiff, Paul Spencer, Thomas C. Knapp, Clifford Reed & Sons, Inc., People Of The State Of New York, United States Of America Acting Through The IRS, John Doe (Those unknown tenants, occupants, persons or corporations or their heirs, distributees, executors, administrators, trustees, guardians, assignees, creditors or successors claiming an interest in the mortgaged premises.) Defendant(s). To the Above named Defendant: 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 Supplemental Summons, to serve a notice of appearance, on the Plaintiff(s) attorney(s) within twenty days after the service of this Supplemental Summons, exclusive of the day of service (or within 30 days after the service is complete if this Supplemental Summons is not personally delivered to you within the State of New York). In case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the Complaint. The Attorney for Plaintiff has an office for business in the County of Erie. Trial to be held in the County of Otsego. The basis of the venue designated
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MILFORD/From A1 Schenevus students wasn’t in his school district’s best interest. That came after a month of conversations after Schenevus looked to Worcester as the most sensible place to educate its students if it can’t continue on its own. “In the beginning, tuitioning for both sides looked good. But as we dug deeper and looked more into the legal side, that’s where it got muddy,” Gonzales said. Schenevus Superintendent Theresa Carlin, while disappointed, may have found two new angels. “Milford and Charlotte Valley had indicated to me that they would be interested in having a conversation about tuitioning-out,” she said. “I told them that I would love to have these conversations, but I would ask that you do your research before we do this, because I’m not going down this road again.” Should the schools agree to tuition-in Schenevus students, however, it may be too late for the 2020-21 school year. “All of those decisions need to be made by April 1. I don’t think between now and April 1 we have enough time,” she said. “The feeling that I’m getting from the board is that we’re not going to rush into anything.” For his part, Gonzalez said staffing seniority rules was part of the reason for the change of mind.
LEGALS
above is the location of the Mortgaged Premises. TO Jean Jolivert, Defendant In this Action. The foregoing Supplemental Summons is served upon you by publication, pursuant to an order of HON. Michael V. Coccoma of the Supreme Court Of The State Of New York, dated the Ninth day of January, 2020 and filed with the Complaint in the Office of the Clerk of the County of Otsego, in the City of Cooperstown. The object of this action is to foreclose a mortgage upon the premises described below, dated April 11, 2017, executed by Jake P. Hilts to secure the sum of $265,735.00. The Mortgage was recorded at Instrument Number 2017-1681 in the Office of the Otsego County Clerk on April 11, 2017. The mortgage was subsequently assigned by an assignment executed March 29, 2019 and recorded on April 3, 2019, in the Office of the Otsego County Clerk at Instrument Number 2019-1454; The property in question is described as follows: 2547 COUNTY HIGHWAY 22, RICHFIELD SPRINGS, NY 13439 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 your mortgage company will not stop this foreclosure action. YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON
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THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF (MORTGAGE COMPANY) AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT. DATED: January 10, 2020 Gross Polowy, LLC Attorney(s) For Plaintiff(s) 1775 Wehrle Drive, Suite 100 Williamsville, NY 14221 The law firm of Gross Polowy, LLC and the attorneys whom it employs are debt collectors who are attempting to collect a debt. Any information obtained by them will be used for that purpose. 4LegalFeb.6 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of FURVENT, LLC. Articles of Organization were filed with the NY Secretary of State on 1/6/20. The office of the LLC is to be located in Otsego County. The Secretary of State has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The Secretary of State shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC served upon it to: The LLC, PO Box 21, Gilbertsville, NY 13776. The purpose of the LLC is to engage in any lawful act. 6LegalFeb.20 Legal nOtice NOTICE TO BIDDERS Sealed bids will be received as set forth in instructions to bidders until 10:30 A.M. on Thursday, February 13, 2020 at 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 www.bidx.com. A certified cashier’s check payable to the NYSDOT for the sum specified in the proposal or a bid bond, form CONR 391, representing 5% of the bid total, must accompany
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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/const-notices. The 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. Amendments 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 non-designated persons or other involved Agencies will be considered a serious matter and may result in disqualification. Contact Robert Kitchen (518)457-2124. Contracts with 0% Goals are generally single operation contracts, where subcontracting is not expected, and may present direct bidding opportunities for Small Business Firms, including, but not limited to D/W/MBEs. The New York State Department of Transportation, in accordance with the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 78 Stat. 252, 42 U.S.C. 2000d to 2000d-4 and Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Department of Transportation, Subtitle A, Office the Secretary, Part 21, Nondiscrimination in Federallyassisted programs of the Department of Transportation and Title 23 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 200, Title IV Program and Related Statutes, as amended, issued pursuant to such Act, hereby notifies all who respond to a written Department solicitation, request for proposal or invitation for bid that it will affirmatively insure that in
“The way the statute is, any staff that’s let go becomes part of our staff. They’re put on the eligibility list for seven years,” he said. “We would have to hire their current math teacher, whoever their most senior person is.” And should tuitioning cease for any particular reason, Worcester would be obligated to keep the more senior staff member, even if that means terminating a Worcester teacher. Schenevus’ Carlin said her school board is disappointed. “We were hoping this would be a way for us to maintain our sustainability for a little longer, therefore benefiting our students greatly. For Worcester, it would be an opportunity to enrich their programs,” she said. “The other thing that brings some disappointment to it is that ultimately our district would like to merge with them. And having tuitioned out, it would’ve been a positive step towards a merger. “So now I feel like we’ve taken a couple of steps back.” Regardless, with a merger grant awarded last month, Schenevus and Worcester will nonetheless begin the process of determining if a merger will work for both schools. There will be a special presentation from Syracuse educational consulting firm Castillo and Silky, who have been selected to facilitate the study, at a Board of Education Meeting at Worcester Central at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 22.
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any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, disadvantaged business enterprises will be afforded full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability/handicap and income status in consideration for an award. 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. Please call (518)457-2124 if a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the letting. Region 09: New York State Department of Transportation 44 Hawley Street, Binghamton, NY, 13901 D264149, PIN 980727, FA Proj Z001-9807273, Chenango, Delaware, Otsego, Sullivan Cos., 2020 Scour Project for 9 Bridges Throughout Region, Bid Deposit: 5% of Bid (~ $20,000.00), Goals: DBE: 0.00% 2LegalJan.23 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of 36 GROVE STREET, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 11/26/19. Office: Otsego County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, c/o Bondi Iovino & Fusco, 1055 Franklin Avenue, Suite 206, Garden City, NY 11530. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. 6LegalFeb.13 Legal nOtice Notice of
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Formation of a Limited Liability Company, (LLC) Name: COOPERSTOWN CASITAS LLC Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 11/25/2019. Office Location: Otsego County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to: P.O. Box 1251, Cooperstown, NY 13326 Purpose: Any lawful purpose. 6LegalFeb.6 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of Exile On Main Street, LLC Notice of formation of Exile On Main Street, LLC, a limited liability company (the “LLC”). Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (the “SSNY”) on 12/17/19. Office location: Otsego County. The SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC, upon whom process against it may be served. The SSNY shall mail a copy of any process to the LLC, 53 Dietz Street, Oneonta, New York 13820. Purposes: any lawful activity. 6LegalJan.30 Legal nOtice Notice of Qualification of BK COFFEE ASSOCIATES, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/09/19. Office location: Otsego County. LLC formed in New Jersey (NJ) on 07/31/19. Princ. office of LLC: 178 Old River Rd., Edgewater, NJ 07020. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to William D. Callas at the princ. office of the LLC. Cert. of Form.
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filed with State Treasurer, State of NJ Div. of Revenue, 33 W. State St., 5th Fl., Trenton, NJ 08608-1214. Purpose: Any lawful activity. 6LegalJan.23 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of BEEKMAN WOODS LLC. Art/Org filed 10/7/19. Ofc loc Otsego Cty. SSNY desig. agent for svc/proc & shall mail to 24 Andrea Ln, W Sayville, NY 11796. Purpose: Any lawful activity. 6LegalJan23 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of BUTTERNUT COTTAGE LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 12/09/2019. Office loc: Otsego County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 1577 County Highway 16, Burlington Flats, NY 13315. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose. 6LegalJan.23 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of a NY Limited Liability Company Name: LINCOLN HOPKINS LLC Articles of Organization filing date with Secretary of State (SSNY) was 11 December 2019. 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 689 Beaver Meadow Rd, Cooperstown, NY 13326. Purpose is to engage in any and all business activities permitted under NYS laws. 6LegalJan.23
THURSDAY, January 23, 2020
OBITUARIES
Peter L. Martin, 96; WWII Vet, Farmer, Active In Community FLY CREEK – Peter L. “Peteâ€? Martin, 96 an integral and beloved part of the Fly Creek community and life-long farmer, passed away early Saturday afternoon, Jan.18, 2020, at Cooperstown Center for Rehabilitation & Nursing. He was 96. Born July 22, 1923, in Gloversville, Pete was a son of Charles Edward Martin and Grace Vida nĂŠe Odell Martin. From an early age he helped on his family’s Cloudlands Farm on Tansey Hill at Edson Corners in Milford. He attended school in Milford, during which time he was a member and president of the FFA (Future Farmers of America). After graduating from Milford High School, Class of 1942, he spent some of that summer recovering from a hernia operation, and as he couldn’t lift, he did all the mowing with horses. That fall he took a two-week course at Cornell University to get a milk testing license. Opportunity came and he drove his 1931 Model A to Norwich for an interview, and became a Babcock milk tester with the Central Chenango Dairy Herd Improvement Association. Responsible for approximately 25 farms, he often recalled many interesting experiences with various farms and farmers and their families, some of which presented challenges that he always met with success.
He entered into active service with the Army Medical Corps on March 23, 1944, and served his country during World War II with the 164th Malaria Control Unit. Returning home, he married Dorothy J. Day on July 25, 1946, in a ceremony at the Milford Methodist Church. Pete returned to farming, and worked up the farm ladder as a farm laborer in Delaware County. He and Dot then rented a farm in Milford for five years. In 1952, the Martins purchased a home from Howard Aufmuth, Sr. on the corner of Bailey Road and Goose Street in Fly Creek. Throughout their lives Dot and Pete always enjoyed doing research and traced their large red Federal-style home back to the land purchase in 1786 by William Cooper from George Croghan as Lot #17 of the Balston Purchase. In the beginning they had over 300 chickens, 25 milk cows and 15 young stock. In 1963, they sold the dairy and Pete went to Cobleskill Ag & Tech to study agronomy, while Dot continued teaching in Cherry Valley until 1966. After Pete graduated from college in 1965, they rented their home in Fly Creek and moved to Tioga County where they lived for 13 years. During that time Pete worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture
Grandma loved her farm, her family, and playing her old guitar. Lester R. Grummons Funeral Home will take the time to find out what made your loved one special. Whether it’s finding just the right flowers, or finding a musician to play her favorite tunes on her old guitar, we’ll do what’s necessary to make her service as unique as she was.
Lester R. Grummons Funeral Home 14 Grand Street, Oneonta • 607-432-6821 www.grummonsfuneralhome.com
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL B-5
Soil Conservation Service, while Dot taught 1st and 2nd grade at Newark Valley Central School. They moved back to Otsego County in 1979 and Pete continued to work for the USDA Soil Conservation Service, a career that wound up totaling 22 years. For many years Pete was an active, faithful, devoted and much loved and respected member of the Fly Creek United Methodist Church, where he served for many years as a trustee, historian and was active in maintaining the Old Chapel Burying Ground. An avid historian, Pete was a long-time and dedicated member of The Fly Creek Area Historical Society (a vital part of his and Dot’s lives), as well as the New York State Historical Association, the Connecticut Genealogical Society, and the Dutchess County Genealogical Society. He was also a member of Westville Grange No. 540, the Farm Bureau and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, and while living in Newark Valley was chairperson for Project Neighbor for seven years. Pete will be greatly missed by his daughterin-law, Judy Brown; two grandsons, Martin R. Osterhoudt and wife, Michelle, of Oneonta, and Timothy L. Osterhoudt and wife, Meka, of Cobleskill; three great-grandchildren, Alex, Ella and Emma; a brother-in-law, Leslie C. Day, Jr. and partner, Joan Wilber of Milford; a sisterin-law, Joan McLean Day of Cooperstown; many, many nieces and nephews, and his many, many friends in Fly Creek and beyond. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his beloved wife of 71 years, Dorothy J. “Dot� Martin, who died Aug. 18, 2017; a foster son, Charles F. Osterhoudt who died Sept. 29, 1991; his sister, Eva G. Chamberlin, who died Aug. 30, 2019; and three brothers, Homer Frederick, Charles Herbert and Odell Dart Martin. A celebration of Pete’s life will be offered at 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, at the Fly Creek United Methodist Church, 852 County Highway 26, Fly Creek, with the Rev. Sharon Rankins-Burd, pastor, officiating. Burial with Military Honors will be later this spring in the Fly Creek Valley Cemetery in Fly Creek. Memorial donation may be made to the Fly Creek United Methodist Church for the Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 128, Fly Creek, NY 13337, or the Fly Creek Area Historical Society, P.O. Box 87, Fly Creek, NY 13337. Arrangements are entrusted to the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home.
Frances Gorney Wright, 76; Mainstay At RSCS Operations
RICHFIELD SPRINGS – Frances “Fanny� Gorney Wright, 76, who filled many roles at Richfield Springs Central School, including district tax collector, passed away unexpectedly Saturday morning, Jan. 11, 2020, at Albany Medical Center, Albany. She was born on April 27, 1943, in Cooperstown, daughter of the late Alfred M. and Rosa Isenor Gorney. A lifelong Richfield Springs resident, she graduated from Richfield Springs High School with the Class of 1961. She continued her education at Mohawk Valley Community College and graduated in 1963. Her first employment was at AT&T Data Communications School at The Otesaga. She later went on to work at Richfield Springs Central School and did a variety of jobs such as teacher aide/monitor, secretary in the business office and tax collector for the district. She was always willing
to help out in any way she was asked and was truly a team player, putting others’ needs Francis ahead of Wright her own. Fran enjoyed working with the children and the camaraderie of the people she worked with. In 2010, she retired after nearly 35 years of dedicated service. On June 4, 1966, Frances was united in marriage to Richard L. Wright in Saint John’s Episcopal Church, Richfield Springs. Mrs. Wright had a strong faith in God and was a member of Saint John’s Episcopal Church in Richfield Springs, where she served on the church vestry. Frances had a strong sense of community and served as a member of various Richfield Springs Central School organiza-
tions, PTO, Band Boosters, Sports Boosters and Richfield Springs School Foundation. She also enjoyed volunteering to assist her children and grandchildren with Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts and 4-H Club. Surviving are her devoted husband of 53 years, Richard; son Richard L. Wright Jr. and his wife, Beate, of Clifton, Va.; daughter Susanne Smith and her husband, Bradley, of Richfield Springs; brother Alfred M. Gorney Jr. and his wife Mary of New Hartford; four grandchildren, Katrina and Erika Wright, Benjamin and Rebecca Smith; and several nieces, nephews and cousins. A funeral service was held Saturday, Jan. 18 at Saint John’s Episcopal Church, Richfield Springs with the Rev. Father Steven A. Scarcia, officiating. Funeral arrangements are entrusted to theJ. Seaton McGrath Funeral Home.
Martha A. Quinn, 105, Cooperstown; Lived At Cooper Lane, Thanksgiving Home
COOPERSTOWN – Martha A. Quinn, 105, a former resident of Eastchester who had made her home in Cooperstown for the past 26 years, passed away early Sunday morning, January 19, 2020, in Hartwick. Born October 29, 1914, in Garfield, New Jersey, Martha was the last surviving sibling of 10 children of Harry and Anna nÊe Cap Palubniak. She married Edward Michael Quinn in 1947 and they lived in the Green Knolls area of Eastchester
where they raised their family. Mr. Quinn passed away from cancer in 1955. Martha is survived by her son Michael Quinn and wife, Peggy of Hartwick; a daughter, Mary Quinn Doyle and husband, Brian of West Newfield, Maine; a son-inlaw, Jerry Cavallerano of Sudbury, Massachusetts; 11 grandchildren; and 14 great grandchildren. In addition to her husband, Martha was predeceased by her beloved daughter, Martha Cavallerano, who died in 2015.
The Liturgy of Christian Burial will be offered at 11 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 23, at St. Mary’s “Our Lady of the Lake� Roman Catholic Church, 31 Elm Street, Cooperstown, with Fr. David Wm. Mickiewicz, pastor of St. Mary’s Church, Oneonta, presiding. The Service of Committal and Burial will be offered at 1 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24, at Holy Mount Cemetery in Eastchester. Arrangements are entrusted to the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home.
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THURSDAY, January 23, 2020
Here’s an image from the video Sgt. (and County Treasurer) Allen Ruffles shot outside a small house in Uganda where he and his Army Reserve unit were bivouacked. A few moments later, the herd charged him. See the full video at www.AllOTSEGO..com
Ruffles Out Of Africa After Adventures Timothy McGraw
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RUFFLES/From A1 interview the following day: the people, the food, the weather, and his forays from his home base to conduct anti-poaching training in Tanganyika, Uganda, Burundi, “the second or first poorest nation in the world,” and a short stint in Ethiopia. The house in Uganda was a luxury. Mostly, Ruffles and his team lived in tents. “Everything’s so simple,” he said. “There’s no electricity,” and when in the bush, Ruffles would have to charge up a generator to power his laptop so he could confer with the Otsego County Board of Representatives Budget Committee. The latrine – a hole in the ground. The wildlife rangers his unit was training “know
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Healthy Teeth. Bright Smiles. Free Children’s Dental Day at FoxCare Center Saturday, Feb. 1, 2020 (Snow date: Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020) FoxCare Center, 1 FoxCare Drive, Oneonta, NY 13820 Little teeth are a big deal. If your child needs dental care and your family is struggling with insurance coverage, visit us at FoxCare Center for a free day of dental services to children in our community. For one day only, experienced volunteer dentists will provide these services at no cost to you.
Exams and cleanings, fillings, sealant treatment, and more! Appointments are limited, so call today! 607-441-4945 This free dental day is only open to new patients of FoxCare Center Dental Associates. Follow-up care will be provided by FoxCare Center to help with additional medical needs and insurance enrollment.
their stuff. They can tell you everything about the animals,” but mostly lacked education and basic skills. For instance, they would fire off their rifles randomly, and part of the training was in basic marksmanship. Ruffles’ tent mate was a medic, training the rangers in how to treat a wound or tie a tourniquet. For his part, Ruffles focused on “land navigation.” For instance, if a path is winding back and forth, you can make better time by going forward in a straight line. If you come upon a gang of armed poachers, don’t confront them headon. Send out a flanking movement, and when they move toward the main unit, surprise them from the side. Another area of instruction was what Ruffles characterized as “ethics” or “human rights.” Stumbling upon poachers, the wildlife rangers’ first instinct was to shoot them dead. The goal Ruffles poses with two of the wildlife rangers he was to give the rangers a was training during deployment in East Africa. sense of due process – that not every offense was a together a salad bowl for the whole meal,” he said. capital one. the visitors. “It was like Back at Camp Lemmonier, Coming from a culture candy,” said Ruffles. “The the food was like your where fruits and vegetables fruit was so juicy.” typical college dining hall. are treated to last for days, In Tanganika, the unit There was little to do even weeks, on grocery had a local cook, Grace, at headquarters, so Allen shelves, Ruffles experience who would whip up a fresh played a lot of basketball the real thing for the first time. chapatti for breakfast, or a and worked out. With that, Once, in Burundi’s Kibira salad – flavor-filled, like and his assignments in the Mountains, he stopped at a the fruit – with Pili Pili field, he left weighing 238 home surrounded by fruit dressing, made with hot and returned a trim 205, trees – mangos, bananas, Habanero peppers. “When some 33 pounds lighter. berries – and the owner put Grace made salad, that was More moderate on assignment, the heat and humidity back in Djibouti was something to watch for, with the mercury rising into the upper 120s. When that happened, a “black flag” was flown, cautioning the soldier from any exertion. To place effective employment ads, call 607-547-6103 “Just walking to where we worked, I was drenched with sweat,” he said. His family was giddy with delight on his first day back. He, Amy and the kids went out to lunch on Monday the 20th, and then took off to Utica on a shopping trip that afternoon. Headquartered in Cooperstown, Otsego Land Trust And absence did make is seeking a Manager of Public Lands to develop the heart grow fonder. and implement conservation strategies for its 13 “Cooperstown is an public access properties throughout Otsego Counamazing place,” he said. ty. The position is full-time and includes a generous “I just wanted to get back benefits package. To read the job description and to Cooperstown.” CCS application instructions, please visit: http://www. school board President otsegolandtrust.org/the-news/ recent-news/ Tim Hayes lives up Beech Street, and made sure Amy 455-join-our-team and the kids’ driveway was shoveled every time it snowed. While Ruffles’ commitment to the Army Reserves continues until mid-2021, he’s fulfilled his overseas responsibilities. (In the last few days, Ruffles predecessor, Dan Join Our Team of Dedicated and Caring Professionals Crowell, also a reservist, returned from Somalia, and Residential Associates has fulfilled his military commitment.) -at OFO shelters Ruffles is taking a (FT - weekend overnights w/addl. shift pay & Subs couple of weeks R&R, but -- all shifts w/ addl. shift pay for qualifying shifts) expects to be back in the county treasurer’s office Home Visitor Monday, Feb. 3, to get acclimated before the county HEAD START POSITIONS board’s February meeting on the 5th. (All F/T with school breaks He’s already issued an & Summers off) invitation to the three new Teacher/Center Director county board members who took office Jan. 2 – Rick Assistant Teacher Brockway, Jill Basile and Center Associate Clark Oliver – to brief OFO is a family-oriented organization offering competetive wages, excellent benefits them on county finances. and opportunities for professional growth. For an application, submission instructions, “I met a lot of good benefit package summary and descriptions of all employment openings, visit people” he concludes, EOE www.ofoinc.org/jobs “and it was a really good The leader in developing innovative solutions to promote healthy lives, experience.” thriving families, and caring communities since 1966.
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