First!
•F
OUNDED 1808 BY
IA
R
IN
E WIL
Cooperstown’s Newspaper
O M C O PE
rs Ot be seg o County Cham
DG
&
THINK LOCAL FIRST
JU
wn rsto Coope
Support Businesses in Special supplement inside this newspaper
of Co mm erce
Think Local…
For 206 Years
L
VISIT WWW.ALLOTSEGO.COM Volume 206, No. 13
COOPERSTOWN AND AROUND
Newsstand Price $1
Cooperstown, New York, Thursday, March 27, 2014
$2M SIDEWALK PROJECT BEGINS
DOWNTOWN TREES GONE By JIM KEVLIN
The Freeman’s Journal
On Thursday, March 11, the National Baseball Hall of Fame 75th anniversary commemorative coins will go on sale at www.usmint. gov. The coins aren’t expected at the Hall’s gift shop until April.
Latin Star Joins Pops At HoF 75th COOPERSTOWN
F
ifteen-time Latin Grammy winner and longtime baseball fan Juan Luis Guerra will perform his hit, “La Llave de Mi Corazón,” Saturday, Aug. 2, at the 75th Anniversary Cooperstown Concert, LGH19 productions Loren Harriet announced. He joins a lineup featuring the Boston Pops and Paul Simon. Hear “La Llave” at WWW.ALLOTSEGO.COM GREEN TOWN: The Village Board Monday, March 24, unanimously voted to make Cooperstown a “Climate Smart Community,” pledging to adopt best sustainable practices in village government and encourage the same in the community. BOOKS SOUGHT: The Friends of the Cooperstown Village Library will be accepting books, CDs and DVDs for its annual book sale 10 a.m.-noon Saturday, April 5, on the library’s front porch. Other collection dates May 3 and June 7. The sale will be June 28July 6. No encyclopedias or reference books. Info at 547-8344.
Joe Torre Poised For Induction
COOPERSTOWN
W
hile the felling of eight trees Monday, March 24 – 29 more will follow – was dismaying to many, folks may start feeling better in the months ahead as the Village of Cooperstown’s $2 million sidewalk project takes shape. “I’m very optimistic” about the project, said Trustee Cindy Falk, who chairs the Streets & Cindy Falk Buildings Committee. This first phase, on the north side of Main Street, is due to be complete by Memorial Day; the second will begin after Labor Day with the goal of completion before the snow flies again. The contractor is Central Paving Inc., Frankfort, which submitted the low bid of $911,711, according to Frank Novick of McManus Engineering, the Please See TREES, A7
Yankee Manager Here By LIBBY CUDMORE COOPERSTOWN
S
taring at where his plaque will be in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, four-time World Series winning Yankees manager Joe Torre was almost at a loss for words. “This place is for the elite,” he murmured. “But you do understand you’re one of them now, right?” replied Erik Strohl, a Hall vice president. “Your plaque is 20 feet from Babe Ruth.” Please See TORRE, A6
Diversity Possible In Unity?
3 SCAMS TARGET US, CHIEF WARNS
C
ooperstown Police Chief Mike Covert has issued a warning after a rash of scams broke out in the village. Details, WWW.ALLOTSEGO.COM
The Freeman’s Journal
With Babe Ruth looking over his shoulder, Joe Torre ponders joining baseball’s elite.
Jim Kevlin/The Freeman’s Journal
A crew from Central Paving – from left, Scott Capes, West Winfield, Doug Luppino, Herkimer, and Greg Hight, Richfield Springs – clean up pieces of a second tree of eight cut down Monday, March 24, as the $2 million downtown sidewalk replacement project began.
Katz Focus: Doubleday, 22 Main, Treatment Plant A $1 million renovation of Doubleday Field is one of Mayor Katz’s three secondterm goals.
By JIM KEVLIN COOPERSTOWN
The Freeman’s Journal
C
oming out of his second unchallenged bid for mayor in the Tuesday, March 18, elections, Jeff Katz said he will
continue to aggressively “present Cooperstown’s case” near and far in his second two-year term. “Everyone benefits from Cooperstown except Cooperstown,” he said in a post-election interview. While not mentioning such entities as Cooperstown Dreams Park Please See KATZ, A3
Smithy, CAA Boards To Explore Question By JIM KEVLIN COOPERSTOWN
I
n unity, can there be diversity – perhaps even more diversity? That’s the question the boards of directors of the Smithy Pioneer Gallery and Cooperstown Art Association will now tackle after two two-hour Friday night sessions of energetic debate Please See ARTS, A3
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST PRINT CIRCULATION 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD