BIG TIME BECKONS •F
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COOPERSTOWN AND AROUND
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Volume 212, No. 34
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Cooperstown, New York, Thursday, August 20, 2020
Masked and enjoying Main Street are, from left, dad Kevin, Alexis and Addington Kress, Olivia Guida, and mom Christine Kress.
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evin Kress, who was raised in Richfield Springs, brought his family to Cooperstown last weekend, and was neither surprised by the village’s new mandatory-mask law, or that most everybody seemed to be obeying it. “We were in Lake Placid last weekend; they had done the same thing there,” said Kress, who was aware – and undeterred by – the new restrictions, which he’d Please See MASKS, B4 Harry Levine photo
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AllOTSEGO.com
►OTEGO MAN charged with manslaugher in Pittsfield double-fatality. ►GYM, FITNESS CENTERS may open by Sept. 2 ►FREE COVID TESTS at 9 a.m. - noon Thursday, Aug. 20 in Southside Mall parking lot. ►GOVernor allows bowling alleys to reopen. ►JETER’S HELMET among 2020 inductee highlights at the Hall. ►Calling hours 2 - 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20, for former Oneonta Judge McVinney.
Oneonta’s Getman Next County Judge
Jim Kevlin/The Freeman’s Journal
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eteran attorney Michael F. Getman, 62, Oneonta city prosecutor, was chosen to be county judge Sunday, Aug.16, by the Republican County Committee, meeting in The Otesaga ballroom. Getman, whose name will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot, will succeed Brian D. Burns on Jan. 1. Last week, a Sixth District judicial convention chose Burns to succeed the retiring state Supreme Court Judge Michael V. Coccoma. For details of Sunday’s vote, visit
AllOTSEGO.com
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COLLEGE STUDENTS RETURN TO COUNTY
3 Of SUNY Stances ‘Disappoint’ Mayor SUNY freshman John Dirma, left, gets help moving in to his dorm Monday, Aug. 17, from his sister Angie, grandmother Maria Zgrda, and older brother Christian Dima, all from White Lake.
By JIM KEVLIN ONEONTA
COOPERSTOWN s required by Governor Cuomo, the Coopestown Central school board has scheduled three meetings for parents to comment on the district plan to reopen school this fall. The sessions are at: • 9 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 20 • 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20 • 1 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21 Access the sessions via Zoom on the school district website. SEE MULTIPLE REPORTS ON
Newsstand Price $1
Week One, All Agree, Masks Worn COOPERSTOWN
3 Sessions Due On Plan To Open CCS Next Month
For 212 Years
AllOTSEGO.com • Your COUNTY ONLINE DAILY NEWSPAPER
By JIM KEVLIN
Mina Aramini, 14, a Cherry Valley-Springfield High School student, swam the width of Otsego Lake Sunday, April 16, raising $2,190 through her GoFundMe page for the Community Foundation of Otsego County. With her are grandparents Angela and Italo Aramini in Cooperstown, after she emerged at the Lakefront Park docks/ DETAILS, A2
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Cooperstown’s Newspaper
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OSCAR-WINNER RECRUITS COUNTY’S CARVIN/B1
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s college students began to return to COVID-19 Era instruction, Mayor Gary Herzig praised Hartwick College’s collaboration with the city, but said Herzig SUNY Oneonta has fallen short in three areas of concern. “We have a community here that established new norms over the past five months,” said Herzig. “There’s been much self-sacrifice in keeping our numbers low. It’s important to communicate directly to those in large numbers who are coming in the community, to familiarize them with current norms and the realities we face.” Please See DUST-UP, A3 ►FOR TEXT of mayor’s letter, See A4
Ian Austin/The Freeman’s Journal
SUNY Campus Experimenting Hartwick Students Tested Twice With Novel Waste-Water Tests Before Classes Start On Aug. 31 By JIM KEVLIN ONEONTA
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UNY Oneonta is looking to get as far ahead of the coronavirus as it can – through waste-water testing. It is what it sounds like.
“Even asymptomatic people start shedding coronavirus through their feces in the first day of their infection,” said Lachlan Squair, SUNY Oneonta’s chief of facilities & safety. “The reason we’re doing the waste-water test,” he continued, “is we’re able to see an increase Please See TESTING, B4
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tudents returning to Hartwick College this weekend must already have been tested for COVID-19, and will be tested again before classes begin Monday,Aug. 31. By then, all students and employees must sign a document averring they will “Our Social Compact: A Healthy
Hartwick College,” outlining all steps they must take to keep the COVID threat at bay. “Hartwick’s goal is to enable our students to return for instruction while complying with the best guidance available to protect our community, both on- and off-campus,” said college President Margaret L. Drugovich. Please See HARTWICK, B3
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST PRINT CIRCULATION 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD