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An asbestos abatement project will be taking place in The Cooperstown Art Association’s Gallery A and as a result the Village Hall, including all CAA galleries and their gallery shop and The Village Library of Cooperstown, will be closed Saturday, May 8. CAA and the library are normally closed Sundays and Mondays. Both institutions will reopen and resume normal activities Tuesday, May, 11.
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Local food finds its customers Page B1 VISIT www.
Volume 213, No. 18
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AllOTSEGO.com, OTSEGO COUNTY’S DAILY NEWSPAPER/ONLINE
Cooperstown, New York, Thursday, May 6, 2021
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Hundreds attend rally in rain to protest crimes against Asian people By GREG KLEIN
COOPERSTOWN – About 250 people attended a rally Sunday, May 2, at the Otsego County Courthouse, to support the community’s Asian American and Pacific Island residents. The “Otsego Rally for Solidarity with Asian Americans was organized and run by a group of Cooperstown Central School freshmen, including 15-year-old Cate Bohler, who said she wanted to speak up to support her friends or anyone who is being harassed. “As a young Asian-American girl, hearing people call COVID the China virus is hurtful,” Bohler said, May is National Mental reading from her prepared statement Health Awareness Month. about why she wanted to stage the User-friendly accurate inrally. “It is more than hurtful. It is formation on mental illness harmful. It perpetuates anti-American and helpful resources can be sentiments and racism.” found at www.naminys.org. Speakers included the students, People with ongoing as well as local officials, including mental health challenges Cooperstown Mayor Ellen Tillacan find support by calling paugh, Cooperstown Police Chief upon peers at The Warm Line Frank Cavalieri, Otsego Town at 607-433-0661. InformaSupervisor Meg Kiernan and Otsego tion about regular support County Rep. Danny Lapin, Dmeetings for families and Oneonta, who said he thinks he is the friends can be obtained by county’s only elected official of Asian emailing namidelawareco@ descent. Lapin’s mom is Japanese. gmail.com. Crisis?: MCAT “The deep-seated nature of systemic 844-732-6228 (24 hr) or the racism requires us to make continuNational Suicide Prevention ous choices and take continuous Helpline: 800 273-8255/ text actions to advance anti-racist ideas TALK to 741741.
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INSIDE ►7th Inning RALLY: Cooperstown scores seven runs in final at bat to win opener at Oneonta. Page B3. ►TRACK TESTED: Cooperstown, Oneonta State legend Lucy Ford settles into coaching job. Page B3. ►Paul KeLLOGG TRIBUTE: Glimmerglass Opera founder is remembered by his friends. Page A4. ►New Reporter: Brooklyn College graduate hired to cover Oneonta, schools. Page A3. ►LOFTY GOALS: Oneonta breaks ground on Dietz Street project. Page A6.
Greg Klein/The Freeman’s Journal
The Agostino family displays its signs Sunday, May 2, at the Otsego Rally for Solidarity with Asian Americans at the Otsego County Courthouse in Cooperstown.
in the public space,” Lapin said. Lapin read a resolution in support of the county’s AAPI population and against anti-Asian hate sponsored by Rep. Andrew Marietta, D-town of Otsego, which he said the county would be proud to support. Kiernan and Tillapaugh also spoke about resolutions their municipalities have
passed, including in support of the AAPI community. Kiernan noted Vice President Kamala Harris is the first Asian VP, “and it doesn’t hurt that she’s also our first female vice president,” she said. Rain began almost immediately after the event started, and increased intermittently, but most of the on-
lookers stayed throughout the hour long program. “I want to take a moment to say how invigorating it is to see so many friends and allies today,” Lapin said. Several prominent local AsianAmerican women spoke as well, talking about issues that face their Please see RALLY, Page A2
CCS softball teams hold autism awareness walk By GREG KLEIN
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►COURT NEWS: Laurens woman, Sherburne man plead guilty, get jail time for sex acts with children. ►Hall of FAME PROBLEM: Roberto Alomar banned from baseball, resigns from Hall board, but plaque will stay put. Contributed
Cooperstown Central School junior Kai Boulet, his teacher Stephanie Nelen and aide Dawn Chase pose for a picture after they led the school’s softball team on an autism walk on Wednesday, April 28.
COOPERSTOWN – Cooperstown’s softball players organized a 2.5 mile walk around the village Wednesday, April 28, to raise money and awareness for autism. About 30 softball players, including modified, junior varsity and varsity players, walked from Cooperstown’s middle/high school to Main Street and back. They were joined by teachers, coaches, parents and one of their classmates who is on the autism spectrum, junior Kai Boulet, who led the walk. The event was sponsored by the school’s Leadership Training for Athletes program, with support from LTA sponsor Monica Wolfe, who coaches the modified softball team, and special education teacher Stephanie Nelen and Boulet’s aide, Dawn Chase. The teams raised $1,400 for the Kelberman Center, with seventh graders Arya Patel and Kayleigh Butler raising the most money individually, $665 and $415, respectively. “To me, this walk was more than a simple walk, it truly had a meaning toward it,” Patel said in an email. Please see WALK, Page A2
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST PRINT CIRCULATION 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD