Issuu

THE OTHER

ENIMORE

OOPER

•F

OUNDED

1808 BY

E WIL

Cooperstown’s offiCial newspaper

IT er andw.isdtech.net t u p m w Co 090 • w

rIt U C e S . I.t tInG L U S n s Co Service

O M C O PE

SCHOLAR SPENDS YEAR IN COOPERSTOWN, WRITING BIOGRAPHY/B1

on DIvISI S m e t SyS atIon m r o f In y

Volume 213, No. 13

Cooperstown, New York, Thursday, April 1, 2021

Newsstand Price $1

SPRINGBROOK TELLS STAFF:

COOPERSTOWN AND AROUND

Get Vaccinated, Get $500 Bonus By JIM KEVLIN MILFORD CENTER

The Rev. Mark Montfort, First Presybeterian Church, Oneonta, rings the bells that volunteers tolled 55 times Saturday morning, March 27, to mark the anniversary of the county’s first COVID victim, Brenda Utter, 63, of Morris, and 54 deaths since. Behind him, Chris Gustafson counts the chimes.

Vaccination Age Dips To 30; Next It’s 16-Year-Olds

ith 35 percent of its employees not yet vaccinated, Springbrook is offering a $500 enticement to encourage them to get the COVID-19 vaccine shot.

“This is important, this is safe,” said Springbrook CEO Patricia Kennedy. “It’s going to get us back to where we want to be, being with the people we want to be with and doing things we want to do. That’s my message for all our employees and the community.” There’s a distinction between new employees Please See SPRINGBROOK, B5

AllOTSEGO.com

2 INCUMBENT DEMOCRATS WILL LEAVE COUNTY BOARD

wo Oneonta Democratic incumbents on the Otsego County Board of Representatives, Andrew Stammel, center, and Danny Lapin, right, have announced they won’t run again. In Stammel’s Town of Oneonta district, that leaves Republican Michelle Catan unopposed, absent an independent challenge. For details on all of this fall’s local races, visit

AllOTSEGO.com

www.

THEY’RE BA-A-CK! HIBERNATION OVER, BEARS ON PROWL By JIM KEVLIN

►TO REPORT a bear sighting, call (607) 652-7637 For more information on bears, visit r4info@dec.ny.gov

FLY CREEK

ince Casale knew something was up when he saw ALBANY an empty, broken bird feeder from the other side of the s of this week, all house in the middle of his driveNew Yorkers age 30 way as he drove out, taking wife or older are eligible Lynne to a birthday dinner. for vaccinations, Governor “I heard something rustling in Cuomo announced. the dry leaves outside the driveAs of April 6, all New way,” he said. “It sounded big. I Yorkers age 16 or older will thought it had to be a deer.” be eligible, well ahead of the As they were leaving the May 1 deadline set by the Bed Bug Road neighborhood White House, he said. on Tuesday, March 23, heading Get appointments at toward Fly Creek, “we saw the ny.gov/GetVaccinated or by bear exiting the road on the left calling the NYS COVID-19 side,” he said. Vaccine Hotline at 1-833Lynne pulled out her camera, NYS-4-VAX (1-833-697and captured the bear’s move4829). ments and it moved back off the left side of the road, then back across the road into a field on the Follow Breaking News On right. DEC photo depicts black bear, a type found Get ready, Otsego County,

in 1808

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

2-7 607-43

Ian Austin/The Freeman’s Journal

founded

increasingly in Otsego County.

►SQSPCA THRIFT SHOP stops taking donations pending move. As mayor of a ficti►city judge Lucy Bernier to retire; Attorney Bob Goulbin runs tious village, CGP to succeed her. Professor ►Suspect pleads not guilty in Cindy murder attempt with car. Falk ►POT LEGaLIZATION may be leads ennacted any day. reserv►dEMOCRATIC CHALLENGE takes ists in a Sheila Ross off County Board training ballot. exercise outside Cooperstown.

we’re going to see a lot more of these sightings as black bears move north from the Catskills into the woods around here, said Josh Choquette, the wildlife technician in the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Stamford Office who specializes in the bear population. What happened to the Casales – “she’s a bird enthusiast, and had just filled the feeders,” said the husband – will happen more frequently to bird lovers, unless they take precautions, Choquette said. “This is the time of year that black bears emerge from their dormancy,” he said. Bears like skunk cabbage, found in wetlands and low wet areas. But, “the Number One food they are looking to forPlease See BEARS, A2

No Helicopter, But Reservists Back In County For Training COOPERSTOWN

F Jim Kevlin/The Freeman’s Journal

or the sixth time in seven years, the Cooperstown Graduate Program has coordinated with the Army Reserves to do field training in the Cooperstown area. According to CGP Professor Cindy Falk,

about 30 soldiers from Fort Drum, six cadets from Syracuse University and six CGP students from her Culture and Collections class worked together on training exercises over a three-day weekend, from Thursday, March 25, to Saturday, March 27. Please See ARMY, A2

Ian Austin/The Freeman’s Journal

SUNY Oneonta students Barbara Lewis and Eddie Lopez designed the 2,000 leaflets being distributed to the public.

SUNY HELPS PUBLIC

2,000 Flyers Distributed By Students ONEONTA

ver 50 SUNY Oneonta students have joined forces in an effort to spread the word about the availability of COVID vaccinations to communities across Otsego County. “We organized this within days” said Linda Drake, director of the college’s Center for Social Responsibility & Community, which organized the effort. “Students made schedules in 24 hours and we have every mobile home park and low income housing development from New Berlin to Sidney. It’s been great service to our community.”

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

A-2 THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA

Bear Spotted Near Fly Creek; More Due The

BEARS/From A1 age is birdseed,” he said. “That presents an abundant and usually obtainable food source in Region 4.” (Otsego County, plus counties from Delaware to the Hudson River.) “These bear are very curious, really intelligent. They know where these food sources are and where to find them,” he said. The DEC recommends that bird feeders be taken down April 1 and not put up again until Nov. 30. Big males – “boars,” they’re called – are what you’ll see at this time of year; “some may be out all winter long.” The females have cubs, which are vulnerable, so they stay put and keep them close by. For now, the Otsego County bear population is low, compared to

Reacting quickly on March 23, Vince Casale’s wife Lynn Krogh was able to turn her iPhone to “video” and capture a bear crossing Bed Bug Road in front of their Town of Otsego home. Video is available at:

AllOTSEGO.com

www.

Delaware and Green counties. “We average only 12 bear complaints a year

from Otsego,” he said. “But they’re starting to make that migrant push north, and starting to inundate these area,” he said. “Farms have gone out of business. Farmland is turning into habitat. “I would say, in the next 10 years, it’s a safe bet you will see a lot more incidents occur in Otsego County,” Choquette said. For his part, Casale said it’s rare to hear of bear sightings on the west side of Otsego Lake; most are in the Town of Middlefield. But he’s aware that, when foraging, if bears can’t find bird feeders where they think they’ll be, “they try to break into your house or garage. “We’re certainly being more vigilant,” he said.

Without Helicopter, Army Reserves Return For Training ARMY/From A1 “We did what we have been doing since 2015,” Falk said. “We just had to do it differently this year.” To accommodate coronavirus restrictions, the group had a hard cap of 50, Falk said, and the soldiers, cadets and students were kept apart as much as possible to avoid any health issues. Beginning Thursday, March 25, the soldiers – reservists from the 403rd Civil Affairs Battalion’s Alpha Company in Syracuse – did classroom training, with a remote seminar from Bassett Healthcare Network officials and in person lectures from the CGP and Fort Drum officials On Friday, the soldiers and

Kevin Kurkowski

cadets worked on a mass casualty and evacuation drill. On Saturday, the students and soldiers followed up on the previous day’s drills by doing an assessment and protection drill focused on cultural treasurers in a combat zone. “We didn’t do the aviation this year,” Falk said. “We didn’t do the helicopters, which is always popular, because we did not want to do anything to encourage a large group of people gathering.” Falk said the idea for a combined training exercise dates back to a 2012 lecture she heard at University of Delaware, where she got her master’s degree in museum science. A few years later,

she said she and then Otsego County Treasurer Dan Crowell, who was an Army reservist at the time, were brainstorming about ways to do a combined training exercise. In 2015, they coordinated a combined seminar and two years later, they turned it into a drill similar to the one they did this year. “It has just continued to grow since then,” Falk said. Last year, the drills took place in early March, just days before the pandemic shut down New York. Falk said CGP and the soldiers wanted to thank the village of Cooperstown, Bassett, The Clark Foundation and the Cooperstown Fire Department for donating

607-432-2022

22-26 Watkins Avenue, Oneonta Monday through Friday 8 am - 4:30 pm

Kim’s

Kut & Style NeWNEW LoCatioN, YOU... NewNEW You,STYLE! New Style Perms Wash, Cut & Style

6208 State Highway 28 • 547-7126 (On the Corner in Fly Creek)

Susquehanna Landscaping LLC 518-231-9652 607-226-1970 • Fruit Tree ApplePruning Tree • Bluestone Pruning + & Walkways Patios • Landscape Design

AllOTSEGO.com

First with the news! OtsegO COunty’s Daily newspaper online

All

► join at OTSEGO.com or call Larissa at 607-547-6103.

space or helping coordinate the drills. The CFD also cooked chili for the soldiers, she said. Falk’s husband, Glenn Falk, is the CFD President. Falk said the Alpha Unit soldiers will be deploying in January, and they reported that they thought the training was very useful to their potential missions abroad. “They loved being here,” she said. “The community is so welcoming and enthusiastic about them being here. Cooperstown is a great place for that.”

THURSDAY, April 1, 2021

job scene To place effective employment ads, call 607-547-6103

THURSDAY, April 1, 2021

The

THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA A-3

job scene

Out of Work?

To place effective employment ads, call 607-547-6103

Join Our Team of Dedicated and Caring Professionals

Experienced Shipping Worker

Looking for A GREAT JOB? Need help with TRAINING to start a NEW CAREER?

CDO Workforce can help!

You might be eligible for free training such as Certified Nurse’s Aide or CDL B License and much more. Let us help you find a great job at a local business. We can also help you write a professional resume.

Call us today!

Sportsfield Specialties is seeking a hands-on experienced Warehouse Worker who can work independently and/or with others as a production team member with good analytical skills. Candidate must be reliable and flexible with schedule during summer months.

at OFO shelters (PT-weekends; Subs-all shifts; Addl. shift pay for qualifying shifts)

RequiReD qualifications anD skills: Self-motivated, Ability to multi-task in a busy environment, Forklift certification a plus, Ability to stand for long periods of time and be able to carry up to 80 lbs., High attention to detail.

with school breaks & summers off

Facebook: @CDOworkforceOrg The

job scene

POST YOUR JOBS HERE! Get results NOW!

607-547-6103

ONEONTA JOB cORPS AcADEMY

Residential Associates

FT Head Start Positions Senior Cook Family Partner

High Growth Potential, Salary DOE, great benefit package includes but not limited to: health, dental, vision, 401(k) with company match, life insurance, flexible spending and paid time off. To apply, submit application online www.sportsfield.com, fax resume to (607) 746-3107 or send resume to: Human Resources, P.O. Box 231, Delhi, NY 13753. Sportsfield Specialties, Inc. is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer.

www.cdoworkforce.org

Emergency Housing Program Asst.

Responsibilities/Duties: Pack orders in an orderly manner so they are prepared for shipping, Proper packing, labeling and tagging of the inventory in the warehouse, Identify damaged, lost or missing product and notify supervisor immediately, Basic knowledge of using and operating warehouse machinery and equipment, Efficiently complete all tasks required by departmental supervisors.

expeRience/eDucation: Preferred 5 years of warehouse and shipping experience, Familiar with ERP software.

Oneonta: 607-432-4800 Norwich: 607-334-2201 Sidney: 607-832-5776 Delhi: 607-832-5777

Maintenance Mechanic

Assistant Teacher Center Associate OFO is a family-oriented organization offering competetive wages, excellent benefits and opportunities for professional growth. For an application, submission instructions, benefit package summary and descriptions of all employment openings, visit

www.ofoinc.org/jobs

EOE

The leader in developing innovative solutions to promote healthy lives, thriving families, and caring communities since 1966.

ONEONTA JOB cORPS AcADEMY

Do you enjoy working with young adults and wish to inspire people for success?

About Us

Are you looking for a fulfilling career opportunity with benefits and retirement?

Job Corps is the nation’s largest career technical training and educational program for young people ages 16-24. Established in 1964, Job Corps serves approximately 60,000 young people each year.

To teach eligible young people the skills they need to become employable and independent and place them in meaningful jobs or further education.

Our Mission Open Positions

Our Mission

00 $75n on sig US! N BO

Cafeteria Cook

Full Time $14/hr • Tues – Sat 7am to 4pm Prepares quantities of food in accordance with local, state and national food safety regulations, assist in cleaning and maintenance of service equipment.

Open Position Teacher

Full Time • Salary Range: $43,000 to $47,500

Education/Experience

Master’s degree Valid NYS Teaching Certification One year instructional experience with youth Excellent verbhal and written communication skills and proficiency required Valid driver’s license with acceptable driving record Must pass post offer background check and drug screen

Security Officer

Full Time $14.50/ hr certified; $13.50/hr uncertified--will train 4 day work weeks Responsible for safety and security of students, staff and facilities.

Independent Living Advisor

Overnight & Weekend shifts Full Time + $14.25/hr Monitor student activity in the dorms and provide guidance and counseling to ensure appropriate student behavior.

Full-Time Benefits

Medical, Vision and Dental 401K Retirement • Employer Paid Life Insurance Paid Sick and Vacation time • Paid Holidays

Full-Time Benefits

Medical, Vision and Dental 401K Retirement • Employer Paid Life Insurance Paid Sick and Vacation time • Paid Holidays

Email resumes to Oneonta.HR@etrky.com Or Fax 607-431-1519 or Call Human Resources @ 607-431-1402 James Neer, HR Specialist Our address is 21 Homer Folks Ave, Oneonta NY 13820 https://www.etrky.com/ • https://oneonta.jobcorps.gov/

ETR is an Equal Opportunity Employer and herein reiterates its policy of equal opportunity for all qualified individuals without distinction or discrimination because of race, color, religion, marital status, political affiliation or belief, sex, age, national origin or veteran status

eOe

OUNDED

E WIL

Cooperstown’s offiCial newspaper

•F

& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch

1808 BY

ONEONTA

HOMETOWN

O M C O PE

Do you like talking to people and getting out into the community?

founded

in 1808

EOE

If you’re looking for employment or simply looking for a change, we might be looking for you! We want light-hearted, fun people to join our growing, successful advertising team. If you want to prosper by providing innovative print, web and digital advertising solutions to clients, give us a call. AllOTSEGO.com Send letter and resumé to Tara Barnwell, Advertising Director & General Manager, to tarab@allotsego.com.

Perspectives

THURSDAY, April 1, 2021

A-4 THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL EDITORIALS

‘Reefer Madness’ Goes Mainstream

State’s Communities Must Decide How Much Marijuana They Can Stand

aybe when marijuana vendors appear at Disney World, or when the venerable theme park comes up with a Marijuana Mile theme ride, or maybe Marijuana Maelstrom. Then, perhaps, the Village of Cooperstown – “the pinnacle” of youth baseball camps, according to Lunetta Swartout, Cooperstown Stays proprietor, (and she ought to know) – should approve pot shops, or a “recreational cannabis dispensary,” or whatever, along Main Street in Baseball’s Mecca. Maybe then, but now the debate is more than theoretical. Simmering, simmering for years, marijuana legalization moved to the front burner over the weekend, when Governor Cuomo and the leaders of the state Senate and As- The 1936 movie raised the alarm, and laughs. sembly agreed on legislation “to legalize LETTERS

Accelerating Brain Drain Cuomo’s Greatest Failing To the Editor: Speculation and opinions on Andrew Cuomo’s need to resign have been frequent topics in this newspaper. While the allegations of the Governor’s sexual abuses, as well as his COVID-19 policies, have been horrible, they are just that – allegations. Guilt and culpability need substantive proof. I believe the facts will come to light in the Attorney General’s investigation and provide direction for the Governor’s future. One facet of the Governor’s tenure is not in doubt and does not need investigation. His economic policies have been calamitous for the state.

Since he took office, about 1.4 million people have left the state – “voting with their feet”. The pace quickened last year. According to estimates from the Census Bureau, 126,355 residents left New York between July 2019 and July 2020. New York State – particularly Upstate – is headed towards a demographic of a small, wealthy elite – impervious to economic woes, a shrinking middle class, and a growing disadvantaged underclass. Many jobs and opportunities in the state have moved too – to Texas, Florida and Tennessee. Please See HOWARTH, A6

adult-use cannabis.” The Assembly and Senate approved the bill Tuesday, and Cuomo was expected to sign it. The Cannabis/Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act would, among many other things: • Create two licenses, one for pot farms, a second for pot shops. • Impose a 9 percent state excise tax on the wholesale level, fed into a newly created state Cannabis Revenue Fund, which after “reasonable costs” for administration and enforcement, would be split 40 percent to education, 40 percent to “community reinvestment,” and 20 percent for drug treatment and community education. • Allow a 4 percent local tax on the retail level, of which 25 percent would go to the county, 75 percent to the host Please See EDITORIAL, A5

Editor’s Note: The COVID-19 pandemic has Albert Colone, founding president of the former National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, musing about the immigrant experience, when times were REALLY tough. This is the first of two columns on the immigrant experience of his grandparents, Frank and Lucia (Valentini) Colone.

O M C O PE

•

1808 BY

E WIL

James C. Kevlin Editor & Publisher

Larissa Ryan Business Manager

Kathleen Peters Graphics & Production

Mike Forster Rothbart Ian Austin Contributing Writer Photographer

Ivan Potocnik Web Architect

Tom Heitz/Sharon Stuart Consultant

IN MEMORIAM: Mary Joan Kevlin, Co-Publisher, 2006-17 OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER FOR Otsego County • Village of Cooperstown • Village of Milford Cooperstown Central School District MEMBER: National Newspaper Association, NY Press Association Subscriptions Rates: Otsego County, $69 a year. All other areas, $89 a year. First Class Subscription, $155 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.

Frank and Lucia Colone, Albert Colone’s parents, left their native Roccavivi in the Province of L’Aquila, Italy, to seek their fortune’s beyond America’s Golden Door.

people raised all kinds of sustaining produce: Olives to eat and to make olive oil, goats and sheep for their milk – and for the very best Italian cheeses anywhere – and chickens and pigs. Also, they managed grape vineyards that produced some very hearty red wine varieties. They grew-up there and married. They began their family (famiglia) in Roccavivi having two daughters, Elvira (Maria) and Ida (Idarella). Ma and Pa followed relatives and friends to America in search of better lives for themselves and their children,

omehow they got through it all, the repair after the quake, the war and the pandemic, returning to Oneonta and Depew Street in 1920 with two of their five children, Ani, who was 8, and Adelia, born in Italy, who was then 4.

arriving in the U.S. around 1906, I think. Sadly, they decided to leave their two Roccavivi-born daughters behind to help care for their maternal grandmother. They apparently made that decision knowing the Atlantic crossing would be very difficult and that having their children along would likely restrict their safe travels once here in the U.S. as they looked for work and established roots. It was commonplace for Italian immigrants to follow in the paths of relatives and friends who came here before them for both security and assistance. Along the way, I know their travels took them to Boston, Detroit and Berwick, Pa., where many Roccavivians had already established roots. The main employer in Berwick was American Car & Foundry which produced railroad cars and where many relatives were already working, among them my maternal grandfather. I’m not quite sure why Ma and Pa Please See COLONE, A6

OTHER VOICES

Tara Barnwell

towns it serves, past 5,000 locations; 2,900 subscribed to its high-speed Internet service. It’s a non-profit, so why bother? “We could see the handwriting on the wall,” said Johnson. “We could see ... the lack of opportunities to work in rural areas. We saw the possibility that this” – Broadband – “would stabilize our customer base.” And that’s what happened. During the Pandemic Year, when the world moved onto Zoom, there could have been a mass exodus. There wasn’t, and there won’t be. Thank you, Otsego Electric.

COVID? It Could Have Been Worse

Program Instructed Us On Racism

Advertising Director & General Manager

tsego Electric’s Broadband initiative wasn’t mentioned in last week’s editorial on entrepreneurism in arts organizations – it’s an electric cooperative, not a dance troupe. Still, it’s worth a separate nod. While local governments and the citizenry at large were crying out to Albany and Washington for universal Broadband, CEO Tim Johnson and the Hartwickbased, non-profit rural-electrification entity simply did it. As reported last week, in the past three years, Otsego Electric has strung 700 miles of wire in the 23

ALBERT COLONE RECOUNTS FAMILY’S STORY

OVID-19, which hit America hard starting in early 2020, turned our worlds upside down. I haven’t been able to hug my grandchildren since early February 2020 on my last visit with them. So here we are hunkered down, adhering to the virus protocols, playing it safe and staying healthy. To the Editor: from the comfort of our So, what do you One of the joys of living homes, and to view at a predo to maintain your in our part of Upstate New ferred time through Zoom AL sanity? York is the ability to recog– all recorded and available COLONE I reflect on nize and appreciate some through the Village Library stories surrounding individuals who truly make website – was a truly brilthe trials and tribulations of my ancesour world better, and who, liant concept. tors to understand the struggles they I am sure that all speakers in a larger populated area, plowed through in their lives. might go unnoticed. who shared their expertise Remember, they were handicapped In this particular case, I so generously would not by not having all of today’s quality-ofwould like to thank and con- have been willing to travel life assets, no cell phones, computers, gratulate Liane Hirabayashi on our wintry roads to the luxuries of travel from automobiles and Lynne Mebust for the attend a live event. to airplanes, prepared foods, safe success of the “Looking in Participation was high, housing, money and all of assets the Mirror: Cooperstown technology worked! Our that we enjoy, and perhaps take for Reflects on Racism” procommunity has a better granted, today. gramming made possible this understanding of racism Do you hear where I’m going with year via Zoom and sponsored and now has some tools in this? Let me share with you some of by the League of Women our toolbox with which to the storied struggles of the early lives Voters of the Cooperstown combat racism here and in of my grandfather and grandmother. Area and The Friends of the the larger world. Thank you • Village Library. Lianne and Lynne! My grandfather, Francesco, (Frank) The ability to participate DEB DALTON Colone was born in 1882. My grandin this important series Cooperstown mother, Lucia Valentini was born in 1883. Both came from the small UNDE Apennine Mountain village known as FO D R Roccavivi in the Province of L’Aquila, an hour south and east of Rome and an Cooperstown’s offiCial newspaper founded in 1808 hour due east of Naples. The economy there was primarily agrarian. The

Otsego Electric’s Broadband: Entrepreneurism At Its Best

Voting Lets Citizens Hire Best Leadership Editor’s Note: Danny Lapin, DOneonta, is retiring from the county board to focus on chairing the city Planning Commission, and to share his reflections on development and environmentalism through his blog, (accessible by Googling “danny lapin blog”.) This is an excerpt to his introduction to the blog.

ne of my best friends in graduate school lovingly coined the topic of local government the “most important thing nobody cares about.” This was, of course, after hearing me prattle on about tax rates,

land-use regulations, and urban planning in general for hours on end over the course of our two-year program in bucolic Upstate New York. The decisions DANNY made by our local LAPIN government affect us a lot more than we might think. Most apparent is in the layout of our road network and built environment. Those decisions were

likely guided by a zoning code overseen by a local Planning Commission. Decisions on how parks are designed, when basketball courts are opened or closed, and whether a new dog park should be built in town are controlled by local governments. Decisions on when to plow our roads, inspect the safety of our buildings, and how best to respond to emergencies are largely undertaken by… you guessed it… local governments. Too often, I hear that town/village/ city meetings are “boring” or that Please See LAPIN, A6

AllOTSEGO.com

LETTERS TO EDITOR WELCOME • EMAIL THEM TO info@

THURSDAY, April 1, 2021

THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL A-5

BOUND VOLUMES Compiled by Tom Heitz/SHARON STUART, with resources courtesy of The Fenimore Art Museum Research Library

210 YEARS AGO Advertisement – To The Public: A young man, aged about 25 years, deaf and dumb, left the abode of Benjamin Rowland, his father, in Burlington, Otsego County, State of New York the latter part of December last and has not been heard of since. He had on, when he went away, a dark brown Surtout (Ed. Note: a fitted coat), and pantaloons of the same, a striped Swansdown vest, and an old pair of boots. He is of large size and dark complexion. Whoever should be so fortunate as to meet with the said young man, is requested to write a line directing him where to go, as by showing that to strangers, they can inform him what course to pursue to return him to his family. March 30, 1811

185 YEARS AGO

Accidental Death – Morgan D. Young, aged 30 years, in the employ of the Oaksville Manufacturing Company as a teamster, was instantly killed on Sunday about three miles north of Oaksville by the overturning of a heavy load of iron castings, which he had in charge. There are in the House of Assembly in the State of New York 52 farmers, 30 lawyers, 16 merchants, 11 physicians, 7 gentlemen at large, 6 mechanics, 2 innkeepers, 1 farmer and merchant, 1 farmer and miller, 1 judge and 1 civil engineer. April 4, 1836

160 YEARS AGO On Friday night last the Clothing Store of Johnston & Field, of

135 YEARS AGO

this village, was broken into, and goods to the amount of about $45 were stolen there from. On the following morning a young man named Porter Waterhouse was arrested, who acknowledged the theft and was handed over to Sheriff Mather for safe keeping. For a village of its size, Cooperstown is noted for the number of its youthful idlers, who are without steady employ – the parents of many of whom are not able to support them – and the natural influence is that they must either “sponge” a living, or obtain it by disreputable or dishonest means. The fate of this young lad should be a warning to others. It also furnishes one more case illustrating the need of a Police Justice and Constable. April 5, 1861

110 YEARS AGO J. Aspinall McCuaig of New York, vice president of the National Christian League for the Promotion of Purity, who lectured at Fireman’s Hall last Sunday afternoon and evening, started a movement that may become nationwide in its sweep. It is no less a plan than to make Cooperstown the center of the

the big city. A village committee on arrangements has been appointed consisting of village president Linus M. Barnum, the local clergy, cashiers of local banks, editors of village newspapers, Stephen C. Clark, M.J. Multer, high school principal, and W.H. Martin. Scout master F.S. Squyer and his scout boys are enthusiastic over the idea and they hope that every Cooperstown citizen will do all he can to help boost the project. March 29, 1911

75 YEARS AGO

April 3, 1886 scout movement in the United States and Canada. As the speaker suggested, this is the country made famous by James Fenimore Cooper and his Leatherstocking Tales. With adequate hotel accommodations, a lake surrounded with historic lore dear to a boy’s heart, and a fine country for scouting, this is logically the best place in the United States for an encampment next summer of the Boy Scouts of America, and it could well be made an annual affair. While in New York this week Dr. McCuaig will take up the matter with the national leaders of the Boy Scouts and get their cooperation, together with the financial backing of some wealthy men in

Grove Street from its southern end at Chestnut near the rail crossing to its northern end at Glen Avenue (State Highway 28-80) and continuing with an extension through to Lake Street (State Highway 80) in the area of West Ridge at the southern end of the golf course. Blair Associates believe this re-routing would relieve a heavy volume of through traffic which is unimportant to the village as an economic factor. (Ed. Note: This plan was never seriously pursued by the village) March 29, 1961

Where Nature Smiles: Otsego Lake was cleared of ice on Monday, March 30. The lake was closed only 61 days, having been frozen over completely since January 27. Last year, the lake was completely frozen over January 12 and remained so for 104 days. The disappearance of the ice at a considerably earlier date than usual is probably due to the heavy deluge of two weeks ago when the surface was raised four feet in a period of about three days, dislodging the grip of the ice on the shore and causing a vast upheaval which started the breakup. April 1, 1936

35 YEARS AGO

A reorientation plan for re-routing vehicle traffic into and through a part of Cooperstown highlighted a presentation by members of the staff of Blair Associates to a gathering of more than 100 persons at the Cooperstown Elementary School. Blair Associates suggested that a proposal be made to the NYS Department of Transportation to redevelop

Thanksgiving Home Notes by Ellamae Hanson: We had snow again, but that did not dampen the spirits of five residents – Margaret Moore, Margaret Rees, Fannie Navarra, Roxy Carnes and Doris Bliss – as they left for Nicoletta’s Italian Café for lunch. They enjoyed the lunch as well as the camaraderie. It was a good day to do something different. April 6, 2001

60 YEARS AGO

On one of the most glorious Easter Sundays ever experienced in the Cooperstown area, temperatures soared to levels never seen here so early in the spring season during the 133-year period for which weather statistics are available. Records fell as the mercury shot to 83 degrees in mid-afternoon Sunday. Harold H. Hollis, weather observer for the National Weather Service, said the reading made it the warmest March day on record, eclipsing the old mark of 82 set on March 28, 1945. April 2, 1986

10 YEARS AGO

EDITORIAL: Do Pot Shops Make Sense In Youth-Baseball Mecca

EDITORIAL/From A4 municipality. • Set limits and regulations governing what citizens can grow in their backyards for their own use. (Six mature plants and six immature per household. Holy smokes, Batman!) There’s much more – for

details, check the Governor’s Office press release on www.AllOTSEGO.com – but most debated locally is the opt-out possibility, which allows cities, towns and villages to prohibit “retail dispensaries or onsite consumption licenses” through passing a local law

by Dec. 31. In 2019, the Republicandominated county Board of Representatives seemed partial toward opting-out. As described in the legislation, however, that decision will not devolve to localities: cities, towns and villages. Cooperstown Village Trustee Mac Benton has already called for taking full advantage financially of the legislation. “It’s going to be great for businesses, it’s going to be great for farmers, it’s going to be great for racial justice. It’s going to be great for a lot of things,” he declared. The trustees, meeting

All

Monday, March 22, staved off Benton’s initiative, waiting-and-seeing until the law passes, which almost certainly will happen by this month’s meeting on the 26th. So a day of, if not decision, rumination, is nigh. • On the face of it, opting-out seems sensible for Cooperstown. The family-friendly ambience in “America’s Most Perfect Village” should be treasured and protected. In an interview, Mayor Ellen Tillapaugh Kuch pointed out that, even if pot smoking is legal, the

OTSEGO.

dining&entertainment

village’s new law applying to vaping in parks and the Doubleday Field complex could be expanded to rule out marijuana as well. Perhaps an opt-out could be structured to bar pot shops on Main Street, and still allow them on, say, Railroad Avenue, which already hosts the Cooperstown Distillery and might be developed as an “entertainment district.” Perhaps zoning-code revisions could enable that. The opt-out doesn’t allow the village or any New York State locality to ban potsmoking outright. It will be legal statewide under the new legislation. Happily, the opt-out legislation doesn’t have to be adopted for nine months, giving plenty of time for public discussion – and a poll, maybe – to determine how much regulation the community may or may not want. • There are other oddities in the legislation. For instance, 50 percent of the licenses must go to minorities, women, distressed farmers or servicedisabled veterans. Is that even constitutional, creating a new industry and restricting participants by race and gender? The governor says that’s “all about justice for longmarginalized communities.” We seem to remember, though, that the draconian

Rockefeller Drug Laws ruined many young lives across the board. If we’re going to now reward one sector, should all victims of what we now say was an unjust regimen get the same consideration? Another oddity: The law says legal marijuana, if kept at home (instead of where?), “must be kept in a secure location, away from children.” Really? What about beer in the fridge? Will that soon come under police jurisdiction as well? Or aspirin, or sharp knives, or (occasionally biting) dogs? • As far as legalization, it’s a shame that “Reefer Madness” is going mainstream. In a certain percentage of the population, marijuana can be devastating. But, for that matter, so is beer, wine and liquor. Approached systematically over decades, imbibing alcoholic beverages has been in decline. Drunkdriving deaths are down 80 percent in 20 years. The new legislation will also fund a “Public Health & Education” campaign. Perhaps problems associated with pot smoking, once out in the open, can be systematically addressed, the way alcoholism has been as well. Onward and upward.

THURSDAY, April 1, 2021

A-6 THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA

LAPIN: Blog Floats Ideas

LIFE IN THE TIME OF COVID-19

LAPIN/From A4 “nothing” gets done. People question whether they should take time away from appointments other ways. These would their families, jobs, or other include public transit, friends and commitments to attend family, through their churches and meetings. other houses of worship and public I created this blog to break organizations such as Get There at down key issues facing the 855-373-4040, Office for the Aging city ranging from Downtown (for those over 60) at 607-547-4232, Revitalization to housing, MAS (for Otsego County Medicaid taxes, sustainability, and Beneficiaries at 866-333-1030 and beyond. I did this because OPT (Oneonta Public Transit) at I want us all to effectively www.optrides.com. evaluate each candidate As of Friday, March 26, OPT had based on the merits of their delivered more than 300 free rides. vision. Ultimately, who each Al told me that “to continue with reader chooses to support is positive momentum, to get to a up to them, however – it is better place and be able to utilize the my hope that this blog will amazing businesses and organizaplay a small role in helping tions in the county,” it is necessary to people understand the key control the disease. issues facing our community. He said he feels that driving up So why create a blog vaccination rates while obeying public now? In 2016, the City of health recommendations will make Oneonta received a $10 tourists more comfortable to return to million grant through the Otsego County. state Downtown Revitalization Initiative. This grant is intended to transform our downtown through the

A&D, OPT, Other Transportation Services Step Up

and multitudes of people, from the President of the United States on down, have tried to convince people to get vaccinated when they are eligible, and to maintain basic public health precautions; wearing masks properly, washing hands and surfaces frequently, and maintaining social distance. Only about 60 percent of the adult population has followed these recommendations and a similar percent say they will get vaccinated. If this continues, we may never get to go back to things the way they were, because enough of the population will remain vulnerable and the virus will still circulate and mutate. Once it mutates enough, it will defeat the immunity provided by most of the vaccines. So, to the people who refuse to follow the best practices to eliminate COVID as a continued threat to normal, social, life, if you are not

going to get the shot for some reason you picked up through rumor, learned on the internet or because of political position, maybe you will try to protect yourself, friends and family. If not, it is hurting you where RICHARD it really matters, in STERNBERG the wallet. • Do you see the vicious circle? I was talking to Al Rubin, CEO of the Otsego Chamber of Commerce and owner of A&D Transport Services about the effect on businesses. Al is very active in the informal coalition that has united to fight this scourge. He has offered his company’s transportation service free of charge to those who can’t find rides to vaccination

COLONE: Surviving War, Quake, Family Returned To Oneonta COLONE/From A4 Colone left Berwick, but they finally found their way to Oneonta around 1910, initially living on Depew Street. Pa worked as a laborer on the D&H Railroad while Ma took in boarders and did laundry for railroaders. She was hard working and a wonderful cook! They had two more children while residing on Depew Street, my father, Annibale (Ani) and my Aunt Lisa, known by most all of us as Sisetta (Susie). Things had to be going along pretty well as they slowly assimilated to a new country, hometown and culture, when in 1915 an earthquake hit Avenzano, an Italian city nearby Roccavivi. It’s reported the earthquake took the lives of an estimated 50,000 people. Like other immigrants whose families were impacted by the quake, Ma and Pa decided to provide assistance to relatives. So

they packed their bags and took their two Oneonta-born children back to Roccavivi, traveling the Atlantic again by ocean liner. They re-established themselves in Roccavivi and while there, they had their fifth child, Adelia (Ethel). As time passed, I suspect they wondered when, if ever, they’d be able to come back to The States to pursue their long-term dreams, subsequently threatened by major global events: World War I and the Spanish Flu of 1918. The Big War and the pandemic both ravaged Europe and the World. The pandemic alone killed an estimated 50,000,000 people worldwide. How did they handle all of this? • Well, somehow they got through it all, the repair after the quake, the war and the pandemic returning to Oneonta and Depew Street in 1920 with two of their five children, Ani, who

was 8, and Adelia, born in Italy, who was then 4. Lisa (Sisetta), born on Depew Street in 1914, was left behind in Italy to be raised by her grandmother and her two older sisters. It seems U.S. immigration law limited returning immigrant parents to reenter the country with the same number of children they left with. I think Ma and Pa always thought that somehow, someway and at sometime in the future, all of their children would reunite in Oneonta. Sisetta did come to

Oneonta in 1930 and sadly, stayed only until 1933. She was just 16 and while here worked at the dress factory on Chestnut Street across from Nick’s Diner. There’s much more to tell about Ma and Pa Colone’s story which will come to you in a second installment. I’ll pick-up their timeline in 1920 returning to Oneonta from Italy after the quake, the Big War and the Spanish Flu. They then had to deal with the massive human stress from both the Great Depression and World War II. La forza!

implementation of several small-to-to medium-sized projects. In the five years that have transpired, façade improvements are starting to pop up Downtown, a new marketing campaign was launched, and dozens of units of new housing are likely to come online in our community. As the planner/engineer and creator of “Strong Towns,” Chuck Mahron, says change is at its strongest when it comes incrementally from the bottom up. As citizens, we get to act as glorified job interviewers as we select who will be Oneonta’s next mayor. The first step to the interview process is for us to figure out what are some of the key issues facing our city. It’s time to step beyond the dinner table where many of us has an idea of what Oneonta needs, enter the public square, and debate these issues in the open.

HOWARTH: Stop Outmigration

HOWARTH/From A4 There is a template for opportunity and growth. The gaps in taxation and regulation between New York and the growing states can be narrowed. A good job in a stable economic environment is not just about money. It is an important part of keeping a society viable. I was born in New York State, went to college here, and had my first full-time job here – in Cooperstown. I love the state’s history,

its land, and even its weather – most of the time. I would like to see a state that attracted and retained people who wanted to start families and businesses. I am hopeful that voters will see an opportunity to change direction in 2022, when this governor’s term is up. Andrew’s Cuomo’s economic policies provide a clear lesson of poor leadership and an example of a course not to take. JIM HOWARTH Cooperstown

INSURANCE MANY COMPANIES. MANY OPTIONS. Bieritz insurance agency

Real people who truly care... your hometown insurance agency! 209 Main Street, Cooperstown 607-547-2951 across from Bruce Hall 607-263-5170 in Morris Celebrating our

Ben Novellano

30 YEAR! 1990-2020 th

New Purchases and Refinances Debt Consolidation Free Pre-Qualification Fast Approvals • Low Rates

Matt Schuermann

Registered Mortgage Broker NYS Banking Dept.

20 Chestnut Street • Suite 1 • Cooperstown 607-547-5007 www.leatherstockingmortgage.com

AllOTSEGO.homes

Bluestone Country welComes lara meyers, Associate Broker Alden Banks, broker 482 Main Street, #2 Oneonta 607-287-5971 aldenbks@gmail.com bluestonecountry.net

Contact Lara at: larameyers@gmail. com 607-434-8154

Bluestone Country is proud to announce the addition of Lara Meyers to our Real Estate office. “I’m excited to join Bluestone Country. Since 2007 I’ve been working with clients in Upstate NY to buy and sell their homes. It’s my passion. Let me help you maximize your selling and buying experience. Together we will work to fulfill your dreams” --Lara Meyers

Great Commercial Location! 42.16 acres w/2000’+ road frontage just outside Oneonta, short hop to I-88. There are 4 buildings: open shed 24’ x 32’ w/concrete floor; and three 6’ x 6’ pole buildings w/lights and roughed-in for plumbing. There are 2 possible home building sites w/great views of the Susquehanna River, mountains. Also 3-acre island, 2 large ponds and an artesian well. Historic 1775 site of Gen. Clinton’s Revolutionary War camp. Endless opportunities: fertile land for crops and nursery operations which are active now and part of the income. Over 30 acres being farmed by local farmer, hay, corn and soybeans. MLS#128718 $250,000

Move-In Ready!

Locally owned and operated Single and multi-family homes Commercial property and land

99 Main Street, Oneonta

This 3-BR, 2-bath home sits on 2 lots w/park-like atmosphere, private patio, lovely yard, shade trees, perennial plantings, inviting front porch. Inside features original woodwork, hardwood floors, hand-crafted doors and cabinets, large rooms, more! MLS#129476 $160,000

office 607.441.7312

Don’t Miss It! This beautiful city of Oneonta home sits on large lot w/a 2-car garage, close to all amenities. Chef’s kitchen w/breakfast bar, sliders off DR to spacious deck, 3 BRs, 3½ baths, hickory flooring, finished basement w/family room, wine cellar and work/craft room. Schedule a private showing today! MLS#130045 $269,900

fax 607.432.7580 www.oneontarealty.com Lizabeth Rose, Broker/Owner Cricket Keto, Licensed Assoc. Broker Peter D. Clark, Consultant

166 Main Street, Suite 1 Oneonta | 607.433.2873 oneontarealty.com

►Due to a keen sense of observation and love of Glimmerglass and its environs, Susan Fenimore Cooper, daughter of the famed “Last of the Mohicans” author, is being appreciated in her own right for her “Rural Hours,” 125 years after her death.

o-Del

Dispa

tch

AllOTSE

www.

OOPER

ONEON

aware

Coope

rsto

wn’

offiCi

newsp

aper

AM COOP

Otseg

GO.co

• FO

UND

TOWN

& The

ENIMORE

HOME

E IN 1808 B

THE OTHER

PAGE B-1

COOP GOOD L IF E IN ERST W ONEO ON N DGE W I

THURSDAY, April 1, 2021

THE

GUIDE TO

OTSEGO.life

All

GRA ADVER B YOUR SPO TI T BEST TSE IN THE R NOW! EGIO OUR 607-5 IST GUID N’S 47-61 E!

found

ed in 18

what’s fun

in Otsego County

BEST BETS

By JIM KEVLIN COOPERSTOWN

fter reading “Rural Hours,” Charles Darwin, of all people, mentioned Susan Fenimore Cooper in a letter to Asa Gray, perhaps the most important American botanist of the 19th Century. Struck by her understanding of the “battle” between Old and New World weeds, he asked, “Who is she?” Nowadays, we know the “weeds” she was writing about were “invasive species,” a burning environmental issue in Glimmerglass’ environs even today, 125 years after James Fenimore Cooper’s daughter’s death, as we worry about the zebra mussel, Susan Fenimore Cooper’s “Rural Hours” the water chestnut and, heavens, the (1850) was known to European frog bit. Henry David Thoreau If Charles and praised by Charles Darwin. Darwin knew her, “How do I know about Henry David Thoreau and not about this woman?” Professor Johnson asked herself when she first happened on “Rural Hours.” It was in the 1990s. She was a graduate student immersed in the Transcendentalists while seeking her masters and doctorate at Claremont Graduate University in California. With a planned focus on Shakespeare or the British Modernists, “I was taken by surprise when I got scooped up in environmental writing, Please See BIOGRAPHER, B5

AllOTSEGO.life

Tara Barnwell/

At the height of the initial lockdown in 2020, the team at the Otesaga turned out to serve Easter Dinner-To-Go. At that time they served 115 dinners, enough for 500 people.

Easter Egg Hunt, Decorated Birds, & Cook-A-Long

AllOTSEGO.life

Jim Kevlin/

Professor Rochelle Johnson, who has spent the past year in Cooperstown researching a definitive biography of pioneer naturalist Susan Fenimore Cooper, pauses in front of Byberry Cottage, 61 Lake St. It was built for Susan Fenimore Cooper and her sister, in part with the remains of the family’s Otsego Hall, on the site of today’s Cooperstown Park, destroyed by fire after James Fenimore Cooper’s death in 1851.

HARTWICK ALUM FUNDS NURSE DEGREES

Then, He Painted Springbrook; Today, He’s Benefactor By JIM KEVLIN MILFORD CENTER

f we cement relationships by giving, not getting, Bob Spadaccia’s relationship with Springbrook began in the 1960s when, then a Hartwick College freshman, he and two other new Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity brothers painted at the Upstate Home for Children three Saturdays in a row. A couple of years later, while still at Hartwick, a deer jumped in front of his car. “Any chance I can give it to the orphanage?” he Please See DONOR, B5 Friends toast Bob Spadaccia, lower left, March 4, at Springbrook reception.

THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL • HOMETOWN ONEONTA

unt for Easter Eggs in Cooperstown and Cherry Valley. The Clark Sports Center is partnering with local businesses in and outside of Cooperstown for this virtual, socially distant Easter Egg Hunt. Just print out the worksheet and look for the eggs in business displays. Record LARISSA all that you find, and RYAN drop off the sheet at the Sports Center. Begins 8 a.m. Wednesday, March 31. Concludes 9:30 p.m. Monday, Apr. 5 607-547-2800 or visit www.facebook. com/clarksportscenter • In Cherry Valley, hunt for Easter egg signs all around downtown. Find them all and collect a prize. 1 - 4 p.m. Saturday & Sunday, April 3 & 4. Presented by Cherry Valley Artworks. 607-264-3080 or visit www.facebook. com/cherryvalleyartworks/ • Celebrate the return of spring with community art project “It’s for the Birds.” Explore downtown Cherry Valley full of beautifully crafted and decorated birds created by the residents.. On display Sunday, April 4 through Memorial Day. 607-264-3080 or visit www.facebook.com/ cherryvalleyartworks/ • Learn about nutrition and cooking with the Cornell Cooperative Extension. Tune in for a lesson in nutrition followed by a cook-a-long to teach you the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of eating healthy. Free, registration required. Recipes will be shared a week in advance so you can collect ingredients. First lesson 4:30 p.m.. Thursday, April 1. 518-234-4303 ext. 120 or visit cceschoharie-otsego. org/events/2021/04/08/whats-for-dinner

AllOTSEGO.com/digital-subscription-options

SUBSCRIBE TO COUNTY’S ONLINE DAILY AT www.

in OtsegO COunty ________ AllOTSEGO.life

_______

B-2

what’s fun in OtsegO COunty

►Thursday, April 1

►Saturday, April 3

REOPENING – Museum exhibits reopen for visitors. Fenimore Art Museum, Farmers’ Museum, More. MOBILE COACH – 9 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Stop by at mobile cancer screening coach for free mammograms, more for women over 40 with no insurance or underinsured. Southside Mall, Oneonta. 1888-345-0225. BLOOD DRIVE – Noon - 5 p.m. Donate blood. Quality Inn, 5206 St. Hwy. 23, Oneonta. 800-733-2767. BASEBALL AUTHOR – 2 p.m. Join author Andrea Willaims to discuss her latest book ‘Baseball’s Leading Lady: Effa Manley and the Rise and Fall of the Negro Leagues’ which is dedicated to the only woman inducted to the Hall of Fame. Free, registration required. Presented by The Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown. 607-547-7200. COOK-A-LONG – 4:30 p.m. Join nutrition educator Kimberly for fun lesson on the ‘why’ & ‘how’ of eating healthy. Includes time for a cook-a-long dish. Free, registration required. Presented by Cornell Cooperative Extension. 518-234-4303 ext. 120.

EASTER EGG HUNT – 1 - 4 p.m. Find the Easter Egg signs around downtown and collect a prize. Continues Sunday 4/4. Main St., Cherry Valley. 607-264-3080. WRITERS GROUP – 1:30 p.m. Join supportive group to share your writing, get constructive criticism & encouragement, participate in writing exercises. Presented by Huntington Memorial Library. 607-432-1980. LIFESKILLS – 4 - 6 p.m. Workshop for teens to learn skills to help them through life, from cooking to resumes and more. Presented by The Oneonta Teen Center. The Sol Center, 50 Dietz St., Oneonta. continues pg. 6

Main Street Baptist Church Corner of Main & Maple Streets - Oneonta www.msbchurch.org -- 607-432-5712

►Friday, April 2

THURSDAY, April 1, 2021

Join us for Easter Sunday

as we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. May you find the answers you’ve been looking for!

Palm Sunday March 28 8 am & 10 am – Eucharist

Maundy Thursday April 1 10 am Holy Communioin

Good Friday April 2 Good Friday Worship Noon

Easter Sunday April 4 8 am Eucharist 10 am Solemn Festival Eucharist

If you’re not quite sure, we have the answer you’ve been seeking.

607-432-1458

St. James Episcopal Church 305 Main Street, Oneonta · www.stjamesoneonta.org

Good Friday Service 7 PM

SCIENCE TRIVIA – 7 - 9 p.m. This week’s trivia game is Earth Month themed. Presented by A.J. Read Science Discovery Center, SUNY Oneonta. 607-436-2011.

Easter Sunday Services 9:00 AM Worship Service In our building

11:00 AM Worship Service At Fortin Park, weather permitting Bring your own chair.

The “Red Door” Church (First United Presbyterian)

Easter Sunday Service Join us in-person, online or by phone!

Easter Sunday Service 10 am

For info to join us online, go to www.facebook.com/TheRedDoorChurch/ To call in: 1-301-857-2390//pin: 931 769 968#

Church Office: 607-432-7520 • The Rev. Dr. Cynthia L. Walton-Leavitt

First united methodist Church 66 Chestnut Street, Oneonta 607-432-4102

A Reconciling Congregation · Welcoming LGBTQIA ALL SERVICES ARE IN-PERSON RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED 8:15 am services are on Facebook Live 10 am & other services on Zoom (meeting ID 195-736-049) Palm SunDaY – march 28 8:15 am and 10 am - Worship maunDY ThurSDaY – april 1 7 pm - Worship GOOD FrIDaY – april 2 12:10 pm and 7 pm - Worship EaSTEr SunDaY – april 4 8:15 am 10 am - Worship Rev. Marti Swords-Horrell, Pastor

Visit us online at www.firstumc-oneonta.org

The Church of Christ Uniting 22 Church Street Richfield Springs

Come worship with us for

HOLY WEEK Maundy Thursday April 1 • 7 pm worship (online only) Good Friday April 2 • 7 pm worship (online only) Easter Sunrise Service April 4 • 7:30 am (meeting in church parking lot or inside the church, weather depending) Easter Worship April 4 • 9:15 am All in-person worship services will also be streamed live on our church Facebook page. Visit our church website rschurchofchristuniting.com for more info. Social distancing and mask wearing will be adhered to for all in-person worship services.

Methodist

315-858-1553 (24 hour answering machine) PLEASE JOIN US! “All Are Welcome” “Family Friendly Church”

Casey Bradley, Pastor

St. Mary’s Our Lady of the Lake Roman Catholic Church HOLY THURSDAY April 1 Mass of the Lord’s Supper, 7 pm

GOOD FRIDAY April 2 Stations of the Cross, Noon Passion Service, 7 pm

HOLY SATURDAY April 3 Easter Vigil, 8 pm

EASTER SUNDAY April 4 Masses at 9 am and Noon

31 Elm Street, Cooperstown · 607-547-2213 www.stmaryscoop.org Very Rev. Michael G. Cambi, Pastor

LEGALS

THURSDAY, April 1, 2021 Legal

Legal nOtice NOTICE OF BUDGET HEARING, BUDGET VOTE AND ELECTION COOPERSTOWN CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT TOWN OF OTSEGO, COUNTY OF OTSEGO, NEW YORK NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that a public hearing of the qualified voters of the Cooperstown Central School District, Otsego County, State of New York, will be held in the Junior/Senior High School Cafeteria in said District on Wednesday, May 5, 2021, at 6:30 PM, prevailing time, for the presentation of the proposed 2021-2022 budget. District residents can obtain a copy of the proposed budget and notice of real property tax exemption report from the District Clerk fourteen days immediately preceding the vote, except Saturday, Sunday, or a holiday, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that the annual meeting of the qualified voters of the Cooperstown Central School District, Town of Otsego, Otsego County, New York, will be held at the Junior/Senior High School Room 305 in said District on Tuesday, May 18, 2021 at which time said vote and election will be held between the hours of 11:00 AM and 8:00 PM, prevailing time, in the Junior/Senior High School, at which time the polls will be opened to vote by voting machine upon the following items: 1. To adopt the annual budget of the School District for the fiscal year 20212022 and to authorize the requisite portion thereof to be raised by taxation on the taxable property of the District. 2. To elect three (3) members of the Board for 3-year terms commencing on July 1, 2021 and expiring on June 30, 2024 to succeed Anthony Scalici, Marcy Birch and Matthew Schuermann, whose terms expire on June 30, 2021. 3. To authorize to lease and expend therefore, including costs incidental thereto and the financing thereof, an amount not to exceed the estimated maximum cost of $288,000 (two hundred eighty-eight thousand dollars), and for a term not to exceed five (5) years, the following motors vehicles: three (3) sixty-three (63) passenger buses; AND, that such sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary, shall be raised by the levy of a tax collected in annual installments; and that in anticipation of such tax, obligations of the District shall be issued. 4. To authorize to levy and collect an annual tax, year after year, separate and apart from the annual school district budget, in the amount of $193,513 which shall be paid to the Village Library of Cooperstown (in the amount of $126,113

Legal

an increase of $1,532) and the Kinney Memorial Public Library (in the amount of $67,400, an increase of $1,000) for the support of the libraries; with the appropriated amount to be the annual appropriation until thereafter modified by a future vote of the electors of the Cooperstown Central School District. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that petitions nominating candidates for the office of school board member are available at the district clerk’s office between the hours of 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM Monday through Friday, except holidays. Completed nominating petitions must be filed in the district clerk’s office, no later than 5:00 pm on Monday, April 19, 2021. Each petition shall be directed to the Clerk of the District and shall be signed by at least 25 voters of the District, must state the name and residence of the candidate. AND FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that pursuant to a rule adopted by the Board of Education in accordance with Section 2035 and 2008 of the Education Law, any referenda or propositions to amend the budget, otherwise to be submitted for voting at said election, must be filed with the Cooperstown Central School Board of Education at the District Office on or before Monday, April 19, 2021 not later than 5:00 PM prevailing time; must be typed or printed in English, must be directed to the Clerk of the School District and signed by 2% of the number of voters who voted at the previous annual meeting or 25 qualified voters of the District, whichever is greater; and must state the name and residence of each signer. However, the School Board will not entertain any petition to place before the voters any proposition the purpose of which is not within the powers of the voters to determine, or any proposition which fails to include a specific appropriation where the expenditure of monies is required by the proposition. AND FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that qualified voters may apply for absentee ballots by calling the district clerk’s office 607-547-5364, or in-person, between the hours of 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM Monday through Friday, except holidays. Completed applications must be received by the District Clerk at least seven (7) days before the election if the ballot is to be mailed to the voter, or the day before the election, if the ballot is to be delivered personally to the voter. Absentee ballots must be received by the District Clerk not later than 5:00 PM, prevailing time, on Tuesday, May 18, 2021. Military Ballot Procedures. Application requests for military ballots must be received by the District Clerk no later than 5:00 pm on April 22, 2021. In order to be counted, military ballots must be received by the District no later than

Legal

5:00 pm on May 18, 2021. AND FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a copy of the statement of the amount of money which would be required to fund the School District’s budget for 20212022, exclusive of public monies, may be obtained by any resident during business hours beginning Monday, April 26, 2021 upon request, each school building main office, District Office, Kinney Memorial Library, Cooperstown Village Library and district’s website. Included in the detailed budget document are the following: Superintendent’s salary, benefits, and other remuneration, School District Report Card, State supplied comparative measures of fiscal performance for regular education and special education, a report on special education placement, a Property Tax Report Card, and the tax exemption report. AND FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that the qualified voters of the School District shall be entitled to vote at said annual vote and election. A qualified voter is one who is (1) a citizen of the United States of America, (2) eighteen years of age or older, and (3) resident within the School District for a period of thirty (30) days next preceding the annual vote and election. The School District may require all persons offering to vote at the budget vote and election to provide one form of proof of residency pursuant to Education Law Section 2018-c. Such form may include a driver’s license, a non-driver identification card, a utility bill or a voter registration card. Upon offer of proof of residency, the School District may also require all persons offering to vote to provide their signature, printed name and address. A list of persons to whom absentee ballots are issued will be available for inspection to qualified voters of the District in the office of the District Clerk on and after Tuesday, May 7, 2021 between the hours of 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM on weekdays prior to the day set for the annual election and on Tuesday, May 18, 2021, the day set for the election, and said list will be posted at the polling place at the election. Any qualified voter present in the polling place may object to the voting of the ballot upon appropriate grounds for making his/her challenge and the reasons therefore known to the Inspector of Election before the close of the polls. Respectfully Submitted, Wendy Lansing Clerk, Board of Education 1LegalApr.1 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of a NY Limited Liability Company Name: Studio 1745, LLC.

Legal

Articles of Organization filing date with Secretary of State (SSNY) was 3/19/2021. 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 792 Southside Drive, Oneonta, NY 13820. Purpose is to engage in any and all business activities permitted under NYS laws. 6LegalMay.6 Legal nOtice NOTICE OF LIQUOR LICENSE Notice is hereby given that a license, (pending), for beer, wine, cider, liquor, and wine has been applied for by the undersigned to sell beer, cider, liquor, and wine at retail in a restaurant under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at 99 Main Street, Cooperstown, Town of Otsego, County of Otsego for on premises consumption. The Hardball Café of Main Street LLC 2LegalApr.8 Legal nOtice NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Planning Board of Appeals for the Village of Cooperstown will hold the following public hearing on Tuesday, April 16, 2021 at 4:30 P.M. or as soon thereafter as can be heard: Meeting location to be determined. Meeting to be held either in the Village Office Building, 22 Main Street, Cooperstown, New York or via videoconferencing, due to Executive Order 202.1 issued by the Governor. Lot #4 Pioneer Street - Applicant seeks site plan approval per Article VIII Site Development Plan Review of the Village Code The plans for this project are on file with the Village Clerk’s Office at the Village Office, 22 Main Street, Cooperstown, New York, and may be seen during regular office hours, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Public comments must be provided by email to the Zoning Officer at zoning@cooperstownny.org or by regular mail to the address below no later than Tuesday, April 16, 2021 at 3:30 p.m. Jenna Utter Village Clerk Village of Cooperstown 22 Main Street Cooperstown, NY 13326 Tele: (607)547-2411 Email: jutter@ cooperstownny.org 1LegalApr.1 Legal nOtice NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Historic Preservation and Architectural Review Board for the Village of Cooperstown will hold the following

Legal

public hearing on Tuesday, April 13th, 2021 at 5:00 P.M. or as soon thereafter as can be heard: Meeting location to be determined. Meeting to be held either in the Village Office Building, 22 Main Street, Cooperstown, New York or via videoconferencing, due to Executive Order 202.1 issued by the Governor. 125 LAKE STREET - Applicant seeks permission to demolish existing garage The plans for this project are on file with the Village Clerk’s Office at the Village Office, 22 Main Street, Cooperstown, New York, and may be seen during regular office hours, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Public comments must be provided by email to the Zoning Officer at zoning@cooperstownny.org or by regular mail to the address below no later than Tuesday, April 13th, 2021 at 3:30 p.m. Jenna Utter Village Clerk Village of Cooperstown 22 Main Street Cooperstown, NY 13326 Tele: (607)547-2411 Email: jutter@cooperstownny.org 1LegalApr.1 Legal nOtice NOTICE OF ORGANIZATION OF KRUPPENBACHER GUNSMITH, LLC Under Section 203 of the Limited Liability Company Law 1. The name of the limited liability company is: KRUPPENBACHER GUNSMITH, LLC. 2. The Articles of Organization were filed in the Office of the New York Secretary of State on March 17, 2021. 3. The office is to be located in the County of Schoharie. 4. The Secretary of State of New York State has been designated as agent of the limited liability company, upon whom process against it may be served. The Secretary may send process to the company at: 186 Hone Road, Cobleskill, NY 13320. 5. The Company is organized to carry on all lawful activities. 6LegalMay.6 Legal nOtice NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON INCLUSION OF LAND INTO CERTIFIED AGRICULTURAL DISTRICT NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a public hearing has been scheduled by the Board of Representatives of Otsego County, State of New York, in the Representatives’ Chambers at the County Office Building in the Village of Cooperstown, New York, on Wednesday, April 7, 2021 at 9:55 a.m. for consideration of requests to include two (2) parcels of viable agricultural land into certified agricultural districts located within the County of Otsego and the

THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA B-3 Legal

recommendation of the Agricultural and Farm¬land Protection Board. This request has been filed with the County legislature, pursuant to Section 303-b of the Agriculture and Markets Law. Two landowners have requested that their agricultural land, located in the Towns of Milford, and Butternuts be included in Agricultural District # 1 within Otsego County. A listing of the parcels to be included and the recommendation of the Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board may be examined at the Otsego County Planning Department at The Meadows Building, 140 County Highway 33W, Cooperstown, New York during regular business hours. Under the current COVID-19 emergency/Executive orders, this public hearing will not be physically open to the public at the County Office Building. Written comments can be mailed to the Otsego County Clerk of the Board, atn. Carol McGovern, 197 Main Street, Cooperstown NY 13326 or comments can be emailed to comments@ otsegocounty.com and will be accepted until 9 a.m. on April 7, 2021 The public hearing will be streamed via Facebook Live on the official Otsego County Facebook page: https://www. facebook.com/ Otsego-County-NY102347451408765/ Dated: March 26, 2021 Carol D. McGovern Clerk of the Board Representatives Otsego County, New York 1LegalApr.1 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of S&S Automotive LLC. Filed 11/6/20. Office: Otsego Co. SSNY desig. as agent for process & shall mail to: Shazad Mohamed, 9405 214 Pl, Queens Village, NY 11428. Purpose: General. 6LegalMay.6 Legal nOtice NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING, BUDGET VOTE AND ELECTION City School District City of Oneonta, New York PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a Public Hearing of the qualified voters of the Oneonta City School District, Otsego County, New York, will be held on Wednesday, May 5, 2021 at 5:30 p.m. via Zoom conference platform pursuant to Section 2017 (4) (5) of the Education Law of the State of New York, for the presentation of the budget document. NOTICE IS ALSO GIVEN that the Annual Meeting and a vote, by voting machine, will be held on Tuesday, May 18, 2021 at The Foothills, 24 Market Street, Oneonta, at which time the polls will be open from 12 Noon until 9:00 p.m., EST, for voting on the following

items:

Legal

To adopt the annual budget of the Oneonta City School District for the fiscal year 2021-2022 and to authorize the requisite portion thereof to be raised by taxation on the taxable real property of the District, To elect two (2) members of the Board of Education, each to three (3) year terms, commencing on July 1, 2021 and expiring on June 30, 2024, to succeed Susan Kurkowski, and Jamie Reynolds, whose terms expire on June 30, 2021. To transact such other business as may properly come before the meeting pursuant to the Education Law of the State of New York. Voting at said Annual Election will be by use of voting machines. ALL VOTING WILL TAKE PLACE AT: THE FOOTHILLS 24 MARKET STREET, ONEONTA, NEW YORK Petitions nominating candidates for the office of member of the Board of Education to fill two (2) expired terms of three (3) years shall be filed with the Clerk of said School District at the District Office, no later than April 28, 2021 between 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Each petition must be directed to the Clerk of the District, must be signed by at least fifty (50) qualified voters of the District and state the residence of each signer; the name and residence of the candidates. NOTICE, is also given that any person, otherwise qualified to vote, who is currently registered for any general election, pursuant to Section 352 of the Election Law, shall be entitled to vote without further registration pursuant to Section 2014 of the Education Law. Military voters who are qualified voters of the School District may apply for a military ballot by requesting an application from the District Clerk. For a military voter to be issued a military ballot, the District Clerk must have received a valid ballot application no later than 5:00 pm on May 3 , 2021. In a request for a military ballot application or ballot, the military voter may indicate their preference for receiving the application or ballot by mail, facsimile transmission or electronic mail. The School District will transmit military ballots to military voters on May 4, 2021. Completed military ballots must be received by the School District by 5:00 p.m. on May 18, 2021 in order to be counted. PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Board of Education of the Oneonta City School District has fixed May 4, 2021 as the date on which the Board of Registration of said school district will meet at 31 Center Street, in Oneonta, New York, in said school district, for the purpose of preparing a register for each school election district for the

Legal

Annual City School District Election to be held on May 18, 2021. Said Board of Registration will meet for said purposes on May 4, 2021 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. At such hours and place, any person who has not permanently registered by May 4, 2021 or who did not register for the general election held on November 3, 2020 or who is permanently registered, but at the time of such registration resided in a school election district other than the one in which he or she presently resides or has not voted in an intervening election, must in order to be entitled to vote at said election, present himself or herself personally for registration. The register so prepared pursuant to Section 2014 of the Education Law will be filed in the Office of the Clerk of the School District at the Board of Education Offices at 31 Center Street, Oneonta, New York 13820 and will be open for inspection by any qualified voter of the district beginning May 7, 2021, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on weekdays and each day, except Saturday or Sunday, prior to the day set for the election, May 18, 2021 and at the polling place on the day of the vote. Copies of the proposed budget may be obtained by any resident of the Oneonta City School District each day of the week other than Saturday, Sunday or a holiday, during the period of seven days immediately preceding the date of the public hearing to be held on May 5, 2021. Copies of the proposed budget will be available on said days at the Board of Education Office, 31 Center Street, Oneonta, New York, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. AND FURTHER NOTICE IS GIVEN that the Board of Education of the Oneonta City School District shall provide for absentee ballots for the election of Board of Education member, the school budget and any other referenda stated in this notice. Applications for absentee ballots for said annual election are available at the Board of Education Offices, 31 Center Street, Oneonta, New York. Completed applications are to be submitted to the Clerk of the Board of Education at said address no later than May 14, 2021 if mailed and May 18, 2021 at 3:30 p.m. if personally delivered. Absentee ballots are to be submitted no later than 3:30 p.m. on May 18, 2021 the day of said election, to the address of the Clerk of the Board of Education. A list of all persons to whom absentee ballots have been issued will be available in the office of the District Clerk from 8:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. on each of the five days prior to the day of the election, except weekends, and on the day set for the election. Any qualified voter may challenge the acceptance of the

Legal

ballot of any person on such list, by making his/her challenge and reasons therefore known to the Inspector of Election before the close of the polls. AND FURTHER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that any other proposition not requiring official notice in the call of the Annual Meeting may be voted upon at said election, subject to the provisions of Section 2035 of the Education Law, provided a proposition is filed with the District Clerk on or before April 19, 2021 at 3:30 p.m. prevailing time; said proposition must be typed or printed in the English language; must be directed to the Clerk of the School District: must be signed by at least one hundred (100) qualified voters of the District; and must state the name and residence of each signer. The School Board will not entertain any petition to place before the voters any proposition the purpose of which is not within the powers of the voters to determine, or any proposition that fails to include a specific appropriation where the expenditure of monies is required by the proposition. PROPOSITION 1 – PURCHASE OF SCHOOL BUSES Shall the March 24, 2021 bond resolution authorizing the purchase of school buses for the City School District of the City of Oneonta, at a maximum cost of $247,520; authorizing the issuance of up to $247,520 bonds (five year maximum maturity); providing for a tax levy therefor in annual installments; pledging the District’s faith and credit for debt service; delegating powers with respect to bonds and notes; and providing for an estoppel procedure, be approved? Dated: April 1, 2021 Oneonta, New York BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE ONEONTA CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT Regina Ranieri McGuinness Regina Ranieri Mcguinness, District Clerk 4LegalApr.22 Legal nOtice NOTICE OF ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING AND BUDGET HEARING FOR 2021-2022 FISCAL YEAR BUDGET FOR THE VILLAGE OF COOPERSTOWN NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Board of Trustees of the Village of Cooperstown will conduct the Village of Cooperstown Organizational Meeting for the 2021-22 Village year in the Village Office Building, 22 Main Street, Cooperstown, New York on Monday, April 5, 2021 at 6:30 PM and will also hold a public hearing at 7:00 PM that evening or as soon thereafter as can be heard for the purpose of hearing public comment on the proposed 2021-22 tentative budget. The Village of Cooperstown continued pg. 4

B-4 THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA Legal

from pg. 3 encourages comments regarding the budget to be mailed or emailed to the Village Clerk at the contact information below. Copies of the budget are available in the Village Office, 22 Main Street, Cooperstown, and can be obtained during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. or can be viewed on the Village website at www.cooperstownny.org. Any resident of the Village of Cooperstown is entitled to be heard upon said proposed budget at such public hearing. Disabled citizens, who require assistance in attending said public hearing, or in furnishing comments or suggestions, should contact the Village Clerk’s Office at (607) 547-2411 to request assistance. Jenna L. Utter, Village Clerk Village of Cooperstown 22 Main Street Cooperstown, NY 13326 (607) 547-2411 (phone) jutter@cooperstownny.org (email) Dated: March 24, 2021 Legal nOtice Notice of Qualification of Hawk Hill Solar, LLC. Authority filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 3/12/21. Office location: Otsego County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 3/10/21. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 28 Liberty St, NY, NY 10005. DE address of LLC: 1209 Orange St, Wilmington, DE 19801. Cert. of Formation filed with DE Secy of State, 401 Federal St. Ste 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity. 6LegalMay.6 Legal nOtice NOTICE OF PUBLIC SALE Public Notice is hereby given Under Sec. 182 NYS Lien Law, that property described as contents of storage unit, will be sold at public auction at 6 PM on April 9th, 2021 at Rt. 23 Self Storage of Oneonta, 8745 St Hwy 23, Oneonta NY. The sale of such property is to satisfy the lien of Rt 23 Self Storage of Oneonta on property stored for the accounts of: Unit # 105 Jasmine Noble Unit # 535 James Schorno 2LegalApr.8 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of LF 1985 REAL ESTATES, LLC. Articles of Organization were filed with the NY Secretary of State on 02/03/21. 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

Legal

upon him/her to: The LLC, 178 Main St., Oneonta, NY 13820. The purpose of the LLC is to engage in any lawful act or activity. 6LegalMay.6 Legal nOtice NOTICE OF ANNUAL SCHOOL DISTRICT BUDGET HEARING, BUDGET VOTE, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT, AND ELECTION OF BOARD MEMBERS FOR THE UNATEGO CENTRAL SCHOOL NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Annual Budget Hearing of the inhabitants of the Unatego Central School, qualified to vote at school meetings in said District, will be held at the Unatego Middle/Senior High School in the Town of Otego, New York, on Monday, May 3, 2021, at 6:30 p.m. where the proposed school district budget for the 2021-2022 school year shall be presented. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Annual District Budget Vote for those qualified to vote in said District to vote upon the appropriation of the necessary funds to meet the estimated expenditures or any propositions involving the expenditure of money or the authorizing of levy of taxes, as well as the election of members of the Board of Education, shall be held at the Unatego MS/Senior High School in the Town of Otego, New York, on Tuesday, May 18, 2021, between the hours of 12:00 noon and 9:00 p.m. for such business as is authorized by the Education Law. NOTICE IS ALSO GIVEN that a copy of the statement of the amount of money which will be required for the ensuing year for school purposes may be obtained by any taxpayer in the District during the fourteen days immediately preceding the vote except Saturday, Sunday, or holidays between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. at the Unatego Elementary School, Unadilla, New York and the Unatego MS/ Senior High School, 2641 State Hwy 7, Otego, New York. NOTICE IS ALSO GIVEN that Petitions nominating candidates for the office of Member of the Board of Education must be filed with the Clerk of the District between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. and not later than 4:00 p.m. on April 19, 2021. The following vacancies are to be filled: a) A three-year term ending June 30, 2024 currently held by Richard Downey b) A three-year term ending June 30, 2024 currently held by Ken Olsen c) A three-year term ending June 30, 2024 currently held by James Salisbury Candidates do not run for a specific seat but rather all vacant seats are “at large”, meaning that each nominee is eligible for every vacancy, rather than only one specific seat. Each petition must be directed

Legal

to the Clerk of the District, be signed by at least twenty-five qualified voters of the District, and shall state the name and physical residence (911 address) of the candidate and physical address (911 address) of each signer. The candidate must meet all of the other requirements to run for the board. These include being qualified voters and having lived in the district continuously for one year prior to the election. Any taxpayer may submit a petition to add a proposition to the ballot. The petition must have 25 signatures and be filed with the Clerk of the District no later than 5pm on April 19, 2021. Any petition shall be rejected by the Board of Education if the purpose of the proposition is not within the powers of the voters, or where the expenditure of money is required for the proposition and such proposition fails to include the necessary specific appropriation. The individuals receiving the highest number of votes shall be elected to the vacancies. NOTICE IS ALSO GIVEN that at such Annual District Meeting and Budget Vote scheduled to be held on May 18, 2021 the following proposition shall be voted upon at the same time as the vote upon the appropriation of monies for the coming school year and for Board members: CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT Shall the proposition set forth in the Notice of Annual District Meeting and Budget Vote authorizing a School District Improvement Program, at a maximum cost of $27,695,000 with $652,349 of Excel Aid and $1,300,000 Capital Reserve Fund used therefore and providing that such sum of $25,742,651 shall be raised by the levy of a tax to be collected annually, with District obligations to be issued in anticipation thereof be approved? NOTICE IS ALSO GIVEN that any proposition that is required to be included for vote shall be submitted in writing by means of a petition signed by at least 25 qualified voters, stating the residence of each signer, which proposition shall be filed with the Board of Education not later than 30 days before the date of the election as set forth in this notice unless a greater number of days is required by statute. Any proposition shall be rejected by the Board of Education if the purpose of the proposition is not within the powers of the voters, or where the expenditure of monies is required for the proposition and such proposition fails to include the necessary specific appropriation. NOTICE IS ALSO GIVEN that all eligible voters are entitled to an absentee ballot. You are an eligible voter if you are 1) a U.S. citizen, 2) eighteen years of age or older, 3) a resident of the school district for at least 30 days before the vote, 4) and not otherwise disqualified to vote by law. Applications for absentee ballots may be obtained at the District Clerk’s office from 8:00 a.m.

Legal

to 3:30 p.m. Completed applications are to be submitted to the Clerk of the District no later than seven days prior to the scheduled date of the vote (if done by mail) or the day before the vote if the ballot is to be delivered personally to the absentee voter. Absentee ballots are to be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. on May 18, 2021 to the district office. NOTICE IS ALSO GIVEN that Military voters who are qualified voters of the School District may apply for a military ballot by requesting an application from the District Clerk. For a military voter to be issued a military ballot, the District Clerk must have received a valid ballot application no later than 4:00 pm on April 22, 2021. In a request for a military ballot application or ballot, the military voter may indicate their preference for receiving the application or ballot by mail, facsimile transmission or electronic mail. The School District will transmit military ballots to military voters on April 23, 2021. Completed military ballots must be received by the School District by 5:00 p.m. on May 18, 2021 in order to be counted. A list of all persons to whom absentee ballots shall have been issued will be available for public inspection in the office of the District Clerk on each of the five (5) days prior to the date of the Annual Meeting and Election, weekdays between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., at the office of the District clerk. Such list will also be posted at the polling place at the Annual Meeting and Election of members of the Board of Education. March 15, 2021 By order of the Board of Education of the Unatego Central School District By: Sheila Nolan District Clerk PLEASE NOTE: Due to the ongoing nature of the Covid19 pandemic, the dates, times and locations of the events set out above may be subject to change by Executive Order of the Governor or by the enactment of legislation. 4LegalMay.6 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of H3 Holdings NY LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the Sec’y. of State of N.Y. (SSNY) on 02/02/2021. Office location: Otsego County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to Andrea Harris, 185 State Highway 51, Mt. Upton, NY 13809 Purpose: Any lawful activity. 6LegalApr.29 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of Yak’s Youth Center, LLC. Filed 2/9/21. Office: Otsego Co. SSNY desig. as agent for process & shall mail to: 158 River St, Oneonta,

LEGALS Legal

NY 13820. Purpose: General. 6LegalApr.29 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of Alyson Negreira Ph.D., LLC. Filed with the SSNY on 03/15/21. Office: Otsego County. SSNY designated as agent for process and shall mail copy to: 108 Main Street, Morris New York, NY 13808. Purpose: Any lawful. 6LegalApr.29 Legal nOtice NOTICE TO BIDDERS Sealed bids will be received as set forth in instructions to bidders until 10:30 A.M. on Thursday, April 22, 2021 at the NYSDOT, Office of Contract Management, 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 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)4572124. 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 Depart-

THURSDAY, April 1, 2021 Legal

ment solicitation, request for proposal or invitation for bid that it will affirmatively insure that in 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)4572124 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 D264475, PIN 980738, Chenango, Otsego, Schoharie Cos., Highway Job Order Contract, Bid Deposit: 5% of Bid (~ $20,000.00), Goals: MBE: 5.00%, WBE: 10.00%, SDVOB: 6.00% D264497, PIN 980741, FA Proj ZS3E-9807-413, Broome, Chenango, Delaware, Otsego, Schoharie, Sullivan, Tioga Cos., Wrong Way Driving Sign Replacement at Various Locations, No Plans, Bid Deposit: 5% of Bid (~ $20,000.00), Goals: DBE: 4.00% 2LegalApr.1 Legal nOtice SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK– UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, against DONNA L. HENNESS, Defendant Index No. 19-CV-1538. Plaintiff Designates United States District Court Northern District of New York as the Place of Trial. The Basis of Venue is that the premises herein is situated in Otsego County. To the above named Defendants 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 Summons, to serve a notice of appearance, on the Plaintiff’s Attorney(s) within 21 days after the service of this Summons, the United States of America may appear or answer within 60 days of service hereof; and in case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the Complaint. That this Summons is being filed pursuant to an order of the court dated March 11, 2021.

Legal

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 the mortgage company will not stop the foreclosure action. YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT. The foregoing summons is served upon you by publication pursuant to an order of the Honorable Thérèse Wiley Dancks dated March 11, 2021. The object of this action is to foreclose a mortgage and covering the premises known as 16 Liberty Street, Morris, NY 13807 located at Section 221.13 Block 1 and Lot 41 Dated: December 12, 2019 Pincus Law Group, PLLC Attorney for Plaintiff, By: Nicole B. LaBletta, Esq., 425 RXR Plaza, Uniondale, NY 11556 (516) 699-8902. 4LegalApr.8 Legal nOtice NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY UNDER NEW YORK LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY LAW 1. The name of the limited liability company (“LLC”) is Wheat Hill LLC. 2. The date of filing of the Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State is March 15, 2021. 3. The County within the State of New York in which the principal office of the LLC is located is Otsego. 4. The Secretary of State of the State of New York is hereby designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The post office address to which the Secretary of State shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC served upon him or her is: 205 Wheat Rd, Mount Vision, NY 13810. 5. The character or purpose of the business of the LLC is any purpose allowed by law. 6LegalApr.22 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of a NY Limited Liability Company Name: SMITH’S SANCTUARY PROPERTIES LLC. Articles of Orga-

Legal

nization filing date with Secretary of State (SSNY) was 8 February 2021. 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 1926 Bank St, Baltimore, MD 21231. Purpose is to engage in any and all business activities permitted under NYS laws. 6LegalApr.22

Art. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 10/13/20. 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, 1 West Main Street, Richfield Springs, NY 13439. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. 6LegalApr.15

Legal nOtice

Notice of Formation of a NY Limited Liability Company Name: AA PROPERTY CARE LLC. Articles of Organization filing date with Secretary of State (SSNY) was 8 February 2021. 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 106 Beaver Street, Cherry Valley, NY 13320. Purpose is to engage in any and all business activities permitted under NYS laws. 6LegalApr.22 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of Blue Hill LLC, Articles of Org. filed 3/4/2021. Office: Otsego County. Secretary of State of NY designated as agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail to 8 Hazel Street, Oneonta, N.Y. 13820. Purpose: Any lawful activity. 6LegalApr.22 Legal nOtice Notice of LLC Formation of Cherry Valley Naturals LLC Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 2/18/21. Office Location: Otsego County. SSNY Designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to 1561 County Highway 54, Cherry Valley, NY 13320 Purpose: Any lawful purpose. 6LegalApr.15 Legal nOtice Notice of formation of CREATIVE MIDDLE AGED WOMEN, LLC. Articles of Org. filed with NY Dept. of State (DOS) on February 21, 2021. Office location: Otsego County. DOS is designated as agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail service of process to the Company at 106 Main Street, Cooperstown, NY 13326. Company is organized for any lawful purpose. 6LegalApr.15 Legal nOtice Notice of formation of

Brickhouse Pizzeria R.S. LLC.

Notice of LLC Formation of Middlefield Orchard, LLC, a NY limited liability company (LLC). Arts. of Org. filed with NY Sec. of State (NYSS) on 2/16/21. Office: Otsego County. NYSS designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. NYSS shall mail process to: 2274 State Highway 166, Cooperstown, New York 13326. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. 6LegalApr.8 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of SAFE AIR MANUFACTURING, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 01/28/21. 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 Joel S. Charleston, 11 Pearl Street, Valley Stream, NY 11581. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. 6LegalApr.8 Legal nOtice Notice of formation of ARMOR CONSTRUCTION ONEONTA LLC. Articles of Organization were filed with the NY Secretary of State on January 27, 2021. 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 him/her to: ARMOR CONSTRUCTION ONEONTA LLC, 21 Country Club Rd Oneonta, NY 13820 The purpose of the LLC is to engage in any lawful act or activity. 6LegalApr.1 Legal nOtice NOTICE OF FORMATION OF Palumbo Property Management, LLC (LLC) filed Arts. of Org. with NY Secy. of State (SS) on 2/17/21. LLC’s office is in Otsego Co. SS is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SS will mail a copy of any process to 804 Pegg Rd, Morris, NY 13808. LLC’s purpose: any lawful activity. 6LegalApr.1

THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL B-5

THURSDAY, April 1, 2021

Full Biography Of Susan Fenimore Cooper Near

IN MEMORIAM

Gary L. Georgia, 78 Nov. 9, 1942 - Mar. 30, 2021

Gary L. Georgia, 78 of early career was herdsman on Otego passed away Tues. many local dairies before drivMarch 30, 2021. He was ing milk trucks for Coventry born on Nov. 9, 1942 on the Transport, Greene, for more Otsdawa in Otego. than 20 years. “Over He leaves behind his and out” to all his wife, Shirley (Hulbuddies from NYC bert) of 51 years, to Boston. his brothers, Wesley, At Gary’s request Jacksonville, NC., Mythere will be no ers Jr (Cindy), James, services. ExpresDavid and sisters, sions of sympathy RoseAnn Poillucci can be made to the (Bob), and Kathleen Otego Emergency Chandler all of Squad 5 River Street Becket, Mass., his Otego, NY 13825 in Gary L. sisters-in-law, Diana his memory. Online Georgia Howard, Laurens and Condolences may Gail (Robert) Klose, be made at: www. Unadilla. He also leaves bewmaddenfh.com. Arrangehind many nieces and nephments have been handled ews. He was predeceased by Westcott-Madden Funeral by his parents Ruth (Georgia) Home, 123 Main Street, and Myers Taylor. Gary (JB’s) Unadilla, NY.

Wanda J. Noyes, 98, Secretary To Bassett Director Of Surgery COOPERSTOWN – A wonderful mother and beloved friend, Wanda Joan Filipski Noyes, 98, secretary to Bassett Hospital’s chief of surgery for 30 years, passed Wanda away peacefully on the morning of Wednesday, March 24, 2021, in Cooperstown. Born on April 4, 1922, in Little Falls, Wanda was the middle of three daughters of Michael and Michelina Filipski, immigrants from Poland, who raised a family

of six children. She earned an associate degree at Utica College. Wanda married Jackson Wood Noyes Sr., a student at the Cobleskill Technology Noyes Institute, in April 1948. She is survived by three children, daughter, Claudia (Michael) Griffiths, son, Jackson (Yasmin) Noyes Jr. Fla., and daughter, Lyndall Joan (David) Noyes-Brownell.

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

BIOGRAPHY/From B1 about the human relationship to the natural world,” she said. But the subject was compelling. As an English and Environmental Studies professor at the College of Idaho outside of Boise for the past quarter-century, Johnson has reached beyond Susan Cooper – she’s currently Henry David Thoreau Society president – but the Cooperstown writer has always drawn her back. “We are living in the dire consequences of the changes she was discussing,” Johnson said in an interview at a picnic table in Lake Front Park, adding, “She was mourning. It’s really important for us to know we’re not the first generation to feel grief about environmental damage.” In Susan Cooper’s descriptions of deforestation, Johnson realized “our climate crisis is the result of rapid industrialization in the 19th Century.” Raised in Boston in a family that enjoyed camping in New Hampshire, Johnson has visited Cooperstown several times over the years, researching her prime subject in the former NYSHA Library, reviewing Cooper family records, and finding intriguing material in the Christ Episcopal Church archives. She’s lectured often on Susan Cooper, including to a packed house at The Fenimore a month ago. And she’s written many articles over the years, co-edited Cooper’s “Essays On Nature And The Landscape” (2002) and an edition of “Rural Hours” (1998), and included her in “Passions for Nature: Nineteenth-Century America’s Aesthetics of Alienation” (2009). But with her sabbatical year beginning last summer, Johnson took the plunge. With past support from a National Endowment for the Humanities grant, and

This 1998 edition of Susan Fenimore Cooper’s “Rural Hours” was edited by Rochelle Johnson and Dan Patterson. Written “By A Lady” when it was originally published in 1850, it went through nine editions.

further support from the Idaho Humanities Council and Yale’s Beinecke Library, she moved to Cooperstown for a year to write a biography. The book is aimed at introducing the local naturalist to a larger audience. “She’s well known, and that’s great. But she’s not well known among the general public,” the professor said. In previous visits, Johnson spent most of her time in archives. The past year, “I have spent so much time outside, enjoying the landscape that Susan Fenimore knew,” including Fenimore Farm – The Fenimore Museum site, “the first place she remembers living.”

“For a small child,” Johnson continued, “Three Mile Point was a pretty wild place. She remembers it covered in old growth trees, the racing stream, blankets of wildflowers.” Today, it’s still “a lovely spot,” she said, but much changed. “Almost all the wildflowers are gone. The forest is new growth. That roaring stream is now covered up and channelized. You don’t even know it’s there.” Growing up, Susan Cooper lived in Europe with her family for years, and Johnson has also visited some of the sites that made an impression on her subject. While a nature writer, Susan Cooper was also a

philanthropist. Granddaughter of William Cooper, founder of Cooperstown (and The Freeman’s Journal), she helped found the Thanksgiving Hospital in 1868, and in 1873, an orphanage, that at its peak tended almost 100 children. She also ran a sewing school for young women, and taught Sunday School, penning “Letters for the Young” to inspire the youngsters. To Johnson, it was part of a piece. “You can’t have a healthy world without having justice in your human population,” she said of Cooper’s attitude. “Her social commitments and her nature commitments, I think they are linked.” In her book, Johnson also aims to correct the record. For one thing, that Cooper’s father, the nation’s first best-selling author, “controlled her life. It’s something we have no evidence for,” she said. “They had a supportive, loving relationship.” Also, she settles a misunderstanding that Susan Cooper drew the illustrations for “Rural Hours.” “They’re lithographs reused from other books,” the author said. Or that “Rural Hours” was “not well known in its time.” Written simply “By A Lady,” the author herself may not have been well known, but the book went through nine editions, and a citation – about loons – can be found in Thoreau’s journals. As she works on her manuscript and prepares to seek a publisher, Johnson reflects on her quartercentury journey with Susan Fenimore Cooper as “a burden and a gift. I realized there was a story to be told, and I needed to tell it, because we ignore too many women’s stories.” “When the book is published, I will feel a sense of closure,” she said.

50 Years Later, Springbrook Benefactor Keeps On Giving DONOR/From B1 asked the investigating trooper. “Yeah, sure,” was the reply, and the youngsters at the Upstate Home, today greatly expanded into Springbrook, enjoyed stews, venison steaks and other goodies over the winter, thanks to Bob Spadaccia’s largesse. Bob graduated from Hartwick in 1970, and went on to a successful insurance career, rising to CEO of Fairfield County Bank Insurance Services in Fairfield, Conn. In the 1990s, he was recruited onto the Hartwick College Board of Trustees, and soon met Seth Haight, a Hartwick grad who had recently joined Springbrook as COO. Now retiring, Spadaccia still remembers his Hartwick days fondly, and Oneonta. “I got to know a lot of people,” he said,

“delivering sandwiches for Jet Subs and Jerry’s.” He was looking for charity. He’d created a scholarships – at Bard, where his younger daughter went, and Lafayette, where his son went. His older daughter, Meredith, is a nurse practitioner at Mount Sinai in New York City, and a graduate of the University of Maryland and Columbia. “Neither Maryland or Columbia need your money,” she told her dad. At that point, said Haight, “he asked me about Springbrook. He feels a tremendous connection to Oneonta. This was about maintaining that connection.” Since 2012, when Springbrook collaborated with SUNY Oneonta on a joint master’s in social work programs, it’s expanding its training options, hoping to entice new employees and

keep them there. Haight proposed a similar program to Bob Spadaccia: to fund a new “Springbrook Scholars RN to BSN Scholarship Program,” so its nurses can stay on the job while getting a four-year degree. With four nurses participating annually, the program would cost about $50,000 a year. “While it is a financial gift, it comes from the heart,” the benefactor said at a March 4 reception in his honor – a virtual one, given the pandemic. “The work you folks do is amazing. The work you do is so meaningful. I’m delighted to do this and happy we could.” “It was a total surprise,” he said of the evening, which honored both him and Meredith. The nurses receiving the first scholarships – virtually – were Brooke Leech, Jessi

LeVeille, Jessica Weston and Ruth Zinkievich. Attending – virtually – to congratulate Spadaccia were friends from over the years, including Bob Hanft of Cooperstown, and Lisa Karlin and Ron Lynch of Oneonta. The Springbrook executive team and board members also attended. Attendees had been sent “event care packages,” including a Springbrookbranded glass for a celebratory toast. “This sort of thing pays it forward,” said Haight, “preparing someone to do something great now and in the future. And it’s a gamechanger here.” Said Bob Spadaccia, “I’ve taught my kids that you have to give back. I don’t want anything with my name on it. It’s a footprint in the sand for a second, then the next wave is going to come along and wipe it out. But that’s OK.”

Get Vaccine, Get $500 Bonus At Springbrook SPRINGBROOK/From A1 we put in place in January.” As for the residents on the Milford Center campus, 95 percent have been vaccinated. Springbrook’s workforce has risen to 1,300 people, with 700 in Otsego County. Of the total, 44 percent of employees are fully vaccinated; 20 percent have had one of the two shots. The 35 percent unvaccinated would translate into 455 employees system-wide, 245 people in Otsego County. “I think it’s a phenomenal plan,” said

Al Rubin, Otsego County Chamber of Commerce interim president. He said Springbrook is the chamber’s Business of the Month for March, in part because of the $500 enticement, as well as requiring new employees to be vaccinated. Rubin has also been participating in the Otsego County Community Foundation’s effort to assist people in getting vaccines, and said he’s not aware of any similar approach to get employees vaccinated. “There’s been a lot of encouraging people to get vaccinated,” he said, “to help open the economy further.”

AllOTSEGO.com, Your DAILY NEWSPAPER/ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE TO www.

B-6

what’s fun in OtsegO COunty _________ Send calendar items to info@allotsego.com

AllOTSEGO.life THE DOG CHARMER

‘Been There, Done That, No Big Deal’

Dear Tom: I have a loving, rambunctious, 80+ pound 7 monthold Anatolian Shepherd who is in an important learning stage of her life, and while she has mastered, for the most part, her Dogwatch invisible fence, her willingness to come, when tempted with treats, her ability to “leave it” and her energetic eagerness to meet other dogs on the street, she really loves to bark at passersby, especially from her kitchen window and at times from the car. Should I be using a bark TOM collar? SHELBY Is that too many electronics for her growing neck to bear? How do I train her to it? Thank you. Lin Vincent Dear Lin: Congrats on your new family addition. At 7 months she’s no longer a baby, yet not close to being an adult. She’s entered what I fondly refer to as PUNKY age, and being an Anatolian Shepherd (AS girl), she’s a large, punky girl. The key here is socialization, which doesn’t just mean playing with other dogs. It means “Been there, Done that, Seen that, No big deal!” I’ll never forget the couple who moved from rural, rural Alabama to midtown Manhattan with their German Shepherd. That was

Pooch must learn obedience even with distractions. one GS that would sooner kill itself, or kill you, before getting in that elevator thing, then going to the insanity of the bustling city streets. Never having experienced anything close to resembling midtown Manhattan, the dog was terrified. If AS girl plays beautifully off leash with other dogs, that’s great, but it’s very different from meeting strange dogs while on leash. I’ve lost count of all the lessons I did with dogs that were aggressive with other dogs while on leash, but ok off leash. Most people don’t realize that the dog feels pretty tough, like the 10 yr. old boy who’s acting real tough, when his big brother is standing right behind him. Your dog is emboldened by his leash attachment to you! You got his back, he gets more protective. So real

socializing starts at day 1! After vet’s ok, at about 4 months, puppy gets walked into town on leash. The moment another dog is seen you’re happily and joyously telling pup, “Oh look! There’s a possible new friend!” as she gets a treat. What’s she going to relate all this joy and happiness too? The approaching dog of course. When close enough, “Is your dog friendly?” to the other end of the approaching leash. If you get a “Yes”, let them meet and smell the “proverbials”. Puppy needs to be exposed, on as positive basis as you can manage, to everything possible. Crowded streets, screaming fire engines, stores, etc-- what you’re looking for is dog’s attitude to be -- been there, done that, seen that, no big deal. At this point I would definitely suggest that you do not use a bark collar, because it’s likely to exacerbate the problem. The endeavor is to create positive associations with new situations and dogs that she sees. At this point, the foundation of her training needs to be upgraded from, to use your words Lin, “for the most part”, to really cooperating regardless of the intensity of the distraction. AS girl needs to seriously learn to comply with the commands, “Leave it, Quiet, and Heel”. And for that I’d recommend that you get the help of a real “pro”, as opposed to just a training collar.

THURSDAY, April 1, 2021

what’s fun in OtsegO COunty _________ from pg. 2

►Monday, April 5

_______

WELLNESS CHALLENGE what’s– Ongoing. fun Start the Spring

►Sunday, April 4

in OtsegO COunty EASTER ART – 11 a.m. -2 right. Each week Leaf will isp.m. Enjoy community art sue 3 challenges to Do, Visit, project ‘It’s For The Birds’ fea- or Find to get you out of the turing hand-decorated birds house. Snap a selfie, or a perched around town. Will be groupie and post it to their displayed through Memorial page to share the fun. Enter Day. Main St., Cherry Valley. to win chance to win gift cards 607-264-3080. to local businesses. Complete

2 challenges each week for chance to win a bonus prize of a $75 gift card. Continues through 4/20. Presented by LEAF. 607-432-0090. OTSEGO OCTET – Now - Apr. 30. Explore local trails at the state parks, forests, and Land Trust sites. Once you’ve completed 8 of the 12 trails send in a form & $5 to receive the Otsego Octet Patch. Participants are encouraged to post pictures. Visit otsegooutdoors. org/our-challenge/ for info. BLOOD DRIVE – Noon - 5 p.m. Worcester Municipal Building, 19 Katie Ln., Worcester. 800-733-2767.

Tell your Auto dealer to finance through

Otsego Auto Mall Find the BEST New and Used Cars in the Region!

countryclubnissan.com

607-432-6190 • 70 Oneida St. • Oneonta 2021 Chevrolet Equinox LT AWD $226/mo $2500 due at signing* 36 months, 10,000 mile/yr For current non-GM lessees stock #7056 MSRP $32,340

2021 Buick Encore GX Preferred AWD $185/mo $500 coupon while they last $2500 due at signing* 36 months, 10,000 mile/yr For current Buick/GMC lessees stock #7068 MSRP $28,640

Now’s the Time to Buy or Lease! 2021 rogue s aWD

229

$ lease for 2021 GMC Terrain SLE AWD $245/mo

$2500 due at signing* 36 months, 10,000 mile/yr Must be in a current Buick/GMC lease w/GM Financial stock #7052 MSRP $32,790

2020 Chevrolet Trax LT AWD $152/mo

$2500 due at signing 36 months, 10,000 mile/yr Must be in a current non-GM lease stock #6763 MSRP $32,340

*See dealers for all details. Excludes Taxes, Title, License, and Fees or first payment. Subject to residency restrictions. Prices subject to change. Inventory based on availability and subject to change. For qualified leasees.

per month 3,959 due at signing 36 months/10,000 miles per year excludes tax, title, and license

2021 sentra sV

179

$ lease for

per month $2,429 due at signing 36 months/10,000 miles per year excludes tax, title, and license

2021 altima s

UP To

2,750

ToTal savings see dealer for deTails

2021 titan sV

UP To

7,262

ToTal savings see dealer for deTails