The Freeman's Journal 03-17-22

Page 1

COOP M IA

1808 BY

DG

E WIL

L

Cooperstown’s offiCial newspaper

JU

E

OUNDED IN

R

•F

founded

in 1808

Springbrook excited for Ford Block project, page 5

VISIT www. Volume 214, No. 11

AllOTSEGO.com, OTSEGO COUNTY’S DAILY NEWSPAPER/ONLINE

Cooperstown, New York, Thursday, March 17, 2022

Newsstand Price $1

Otsego County officials wonder how state’s 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 ‘justiceinvolved’ individuals at the head of the line for winning the right to open a storefront dispensary — 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 “historically high rates of arrest, conviction, or incarceration” for marijuana-related offenses, lived in an area with

Village stands united with Ukraine The Village of Cooperstown’s 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. “I 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,” she said. “Thank you to this community for all of your support.” [Editor’s note: This edition of The Freeman’s Journal /Hometown Oneonta includes an open letter from Ms. Yezhova on page 4.] INSIDE ►ARTS ABOUND: Plenty of choices on tap this weekend for your entertainment pleasure; Orpheus in Oneonta presents “Newsies” and CCS stages “Puffs,” page 2. ►SCOUT CAMP FOR SALE: Crumhorn’s Camp Henderson on the market, page 3.

Obituary

Dr. Emery Herman, Cooperstown pillar

►MARROW DONOR SEARCH: School sponsors search for match, page 9. ►A FEW THOUGHTS ON IMPORTANT THINGS: Our columnists this week share plans for “The Ford on Main” in Oneonta, reimagine life as a botanist in the Arizona desert, give tips for puppers’ toes and the proper way to fill out a March Madness bracket, and consider New York’s new pot regs, pages 4, 5, and 6. . Follow Breaking News On

AllOTSEGO.com

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 “actively 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.” Otsego County District Attorney John Muehl was critical of the state’s plans for start-up licenses. “We want criminals running a business like this?” he said. Sarcastically, he added, “What a fantastic idea. Here we are rewarding people who couldn’t follow the law in the first place.” “We’re treating them like victims,” he said of those with prior convictions. “It’s like it’s no big deal that they broke the law. It’s an unfortunate situation.” In an interview on WAMC radio last week, Albany County District Attorney David Soares, a Democrat, said, “It’s not the marijuana that’s been the cause of violence, Continued on page 6

Look out, arachnophobes

Georgia’s parachuting spiders: can they make it this far north? to people or pets of being bitten.” Cornell Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Mary Ellen Calta tells The Freeman’s Journal/ Hometown Oneonta the spiders do not appear to have much of an effect on local ecosystems. “The University reports the Japanese Joro spider has been in the U.S. since The Joro -- parachuting its way toward the great northeast. 2013,” she said. “It is not Remember murder hornets? The evildoers considered dangerous. Joros we feared would come in an almost Biblical may even become favored bird food.” tandem with a worldwide pandemic that, at Georgia researchers say the Joro, with the time, had just begun. Science seems to “females the size of your palm, will be have kept those nasty bugs in check — at heading north.” The Universitys report said least for now. the big bugs use their webs “as tiny paraSay hello, then, to the Japanese Joro spider, chutes to travel with the wind” and says the an arachnid the University of Georgia said crawlers are harmless to humans, as their two weeks ago is expected to “colonize” the fangs are too small to break human skin. entire East Coast this spring “by parachuting That makes the spider “more of a nuisance down from the sky.” than dangerous,” says the report. “They’re more fun than frightening,” “Joros are known to travel by web or Cornell University ecologist Linda Rayor hitching on luggage and cars,” Ms. Calta told Binghamton television station WBNG. said. “When our local ‘snowbirds’ return “There is no evidence that this spider pres- from Florida in April, don’t be surprised ents any sort of an ecological risk or risk if Joros come back with some of them.”

THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST PRINT CIRCULATION 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.