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Springbrook excited for Ford Block project, page 5
VISIT www. Volume 214, No. 11
AllOTSEGO.com, OTSEGO COUNTYâS DAILY NEWSPAPER/ONLINE
Cooperstown, New York, Thursday, March 17, 2022
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Otsego County officials wonder how stateâs pot store preference will affect local licensures New York took a big step toward opening its first licensed retail marijuana dispensaries when the Office of Cannabis Management adopted regulations on March 10 that could see some stores up and running by the end of the calendar year. The proposed rules place âjusticeinvolvedâ individuals at the head of the line for winning the right to open a storefront dispensary â a priority in the 2021 law paving the way for recreational marijuana sales in New York State. The newly issued regulations would require a person seeking a dispensary license to show proof of conviction for a pot-related offense in New York State prior to March 31, 2021 or have a family member convicted prior to March 31, 2021 on a pot charge. The agency says it will evaluate license applicants based on criteria including whether the justice-involved individual had as his or her primary residence a home in an area with âhistorically high rates of arrest, conviction, or incarcerationâ for marijuana-related offenses, lived in an area with
Village stands united with Ukraine The Village of Cooperstownâs Board of Trustees voted last week to raise the Ukrainian flag alongside the United States flag at the entrance to Village Hall on Main Street, welcoming Ukrainian emigre Aliona Yezhova, her son, Joshua Echavarria, and fellow village residents to a brief March 11 commemoration. Aliona moved to the village from Queens, New York, with her son. Joshua, a sixth-grader at Cooperstown Central School, carried with him a hand-painted Ukrainian flag emblazoned with a peace sign at its center. Mayor Ellen Tillapaugh and village trustees greeted the family on the steps of Village Hall, pledging their support for them, their relatives, and their fellow Ukrainians in the now war-ravaged nation. âI know it is hard for people in this country to deal with the higher gas prices but it is such an important way to support Ukraine,â she said. âThank you to this community for all of your support.â [Editorâs note: This edition of The Freemanâs Journal /Hometown Oneonta includes an open letter from Ms. Yezhova on page 4.] INSIDE âşARTS ABOUND: Plenty of choices on tap this weekend for your entertainment pleasure; Orpheus in Oneonta presents âNewsiesâ and CCS stages âPuffs,â page 2. âşSCOUT CAMP FOR SALE: Crumhornâs Camp Henderson on the market, page 3.
Obituary
Dr. Emery Herman, Cooperstown pillar
âşMARROW DONOR SEARCH: School sponsors search for match, page 9. âşA FEW THOUGHTS ON IMPORTANT THINGS: Our columnists this week share plans for âThe Ford on Mainâ in Oneonta, reimagine life as a botanist in the Arizona desert, give tips for puppersâ toes and the proper way to fill out a March Madness bracket, and consider New Yorkâs new pot regs, pages 4, 5, and 6. . Follow Breaking News On
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Long-time Cooperstown resident Dr. Emery Cline Herman, Jr. died peacefully at home with his wife by his side on Saturday morning,
February 26, 2022 at the age of 92. Born July 24, 1929 in La Grange, Georgia, Emery was the eldest of three children born to Emily Park Herman and E.C. Herman, M.D. He was a graduate of Darlington School, Emory University and The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (class of 1953). Continued on page 6
historically low median income, or lived in public housing. And, they promise, OCM will âactively promote applicants from communities disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition, and promote racial, ethnic, and gender diversity when issuing licenses for adult-use cannabis related activities.â Otsego County District Attorney John Muehl was critical of the stateâs plans for start-up licenses. âWe want criminals running a business like this?â he said. Sarcastically, he added, âWhat a fantastic idea. Here we are rewarding people who couldnât follow the law in the first place.â âWeâre treating them like victims,â he said of those with prior convictions. âItâs like itâs no big deal that they broke the law. Itâs an unfortunate situation.â In an interview on WAMC radio last week, Albany County District Attorney David Soares, a Democrat, said, âItâs not the marijuana thatâs been the cause of violence, Continued on page 6
Look out, arachnophobes
Georgiaâs parachuting spiders: can they make it this far north? to people or pets of being bitten.â Cornell Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Mary Ellen Calta tells The Freemanâs Journal/ Hometown Oneonta the spiders do not appear to have much of an effect on local ecosystems. âThe University reports the Japanese Joro spider has been in the U.S. since The Joro -- parachuting its way toward the great northeast. 2013,â she said. âIt is not Remember murder hornets? The evildoers considered dangerous. Joros we feared would come in an almost Biblical may even become favored bird food.â tandem with a worldwide pandemic that, at Georgia researchers say the Joro, with the time, had just begun. Science seems to âfemales the size of your palm, will be have kept those nasty bugs in check â at heading north.â The Universitys report said least for now. the big bugs use their webs âas tiny paraSay hello, then, to the Japanese Joro spider, chutes to travel with the windâ and says the an arachnid the University of Georgia said crawlers are harmless to humans, as their two weeks ago is expected to âcolonizeâ the fangs are too small to break human skin. entire East Coast this spring âby parachuting That makes the spider âmore of a nuisance down from the sky.â than dangerous,â says the report. âTheyâre more fun than frightening,â âJoros are known to travel by web or Cornell University ecologist Linda Rayor hitching on luggage and cars,â Ms. Calta told Binghamton television station WBNG. said. âWhen our local âsnowbirdsâ return âThere is no evidence that this spider pres- from Florida in April, donât be surprised ents any sort of an ecological risk or risk if Joros come back with some of them.â
THE FREEMANâS JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTYâS LARGEST PRINT CIRCULATION 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD