K9S TO THE RESCUE •F
IA E WIL
L
COOPERSTOWN AND AROUND
DG
Volume 206, No. 45
NEW
1808 BY
VISIT THE
OUNDED
JU
R
IN
Cooperstown’s Newspaper
O M C O PE
ON HILLSIDE NEAR COOPERSTOWN, DOGS BECOME COPS/B1
For 206 Years
WWW.ALLOTSEGO.COM
Cooperstown, New York, Thursday, November 6-7, 2014
Newsstand Price $1
Gabe Schechter’s Skills To Benefit SSPCA
Gabe Schechter’s flying fingers are being put to a charitable use, to benefit the SSPCA.
This Poker Dealer Is World Class By JIM KEVLIN COOPERSTOWN
G
abe Schechter calls Johnny Moss “The Ty Cobb of Poker,” a comparison
to perhaps the nastiest baseball hero in the Hall of Plaques at 25 Main. Moss was the first World Series of Poker champion and, “by consensus, the greatest poker player of his generation,” said Schechter, the baseball
writer and former Hall of Fame researcher who, you may not know, was also a dealer at the World Series of Poker for several years in the 1980s and ‘90s. Moss “was also the most ornery, nasty and abusive of Please See POKER, A3
Jim Kevlin/The Freeman’s Journal
ELMS, MAPLES, HONEY LOCUSTS, OH MY!
The Freeman’s Journal
En route to victory, U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson, R-19, swung through the village for the Cooperstown Rotary Club’s Election Day Pancake feast. His wife Mary Jo is at left, and aide Carol B. Waller at right.
Otsego Goes For Astorino Over Cuomo
H
e won statewide, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo (5,677, or 37.9 percent) lost Otsego County to his Republican challenger, Rob Astorino (7,651, 50.79 percent). As expected, U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson, R-19th, handily defeated the Democratic challenger Sean Eldridge, districtwide, but also in the county, by 10,027 (66.93 percent) to 4,951 (33.05 percent). Assemblyman Bill Magee, D-121st, turned back Republican challenger John Salka district wide and locally, 5,543 (57.37 percent) to 4,103 (42.47 percent). EBOLA HOTLINE: Bassett Healthcare Network, which includes Fox Hospital, has established a call in line for patients concerned that they may have been exposed to Ebola. It is (607) 547-5555, or toll free at (877) 547-1745. OCCA HONORS: The Canadarago Lake Association will be honored as Conservationist of the Year by the OCCA Monday, Nov. 10, at Holiday Inn/Southside. Reservations, call 547-4488.
The Trees Are Coming! Village Tries New Method To Pass Laws
ONE
ENCHANTED EVENING
COOPERSTOWN
I
t’s the Cooperstown version of an urban legend: Have you heard that the roots of the trees on order are too big to fit through the holes in village’s new TREES BACK $2 million sidewalks? or photos of Village Cooperstown’s officials’ new Main Street flat denials trees, visit have failed WWW.ALLOTSEGO.COM to quell the chatter. Proof may now be positive. By the time you read this, 17 trees – lindens, elms, Norwegian sunset maples and skyline locusts, plus ivory silk lilacs in the smaller openings – should have been planted along the sidewalks on the north side of Main Street between the Cooperstown Diner and Hoffman Lane. Word was received Tuesday, Nov. 4, as this edition was going to press: Please See TREES, A3
Hospital Zone, Tourist Housing Bills Halved
F
By JIM KEVLIN COOPERSTOWN
H
ow many of us believed, growing up, that you could cut a worm in two and both halves would live? (It happens, but only with the tiny planarian flatworm.) Village Hall is doing that with two laws, long in the making: • One, the hospital zone law. The first page and a half, creating a zone for Bassett Hospital, is now a stand-alone, although Mayor Jeff Katz said, in the face of neighborhood opposition expressed at a public hearing in October, it’s unlikely to be reintroduced anytime soon. However, village trustees will be asked at their November meeting to set a public hearing on the rest of the law, which deals with technical changes – driveway width, parking-spot size and building height, for instance – that will apply village-wide. • Two, the tourist accommodation law. Half, dealing with licensing of B&Bs – if three different people file five complaints that a property is a nuisance, its license will be reviewed – will go Please See LAWS, A3
By JIM KEVLIN
Christmas Committee Seeking More Floats
C Jim Kevlin/The Freeman’s Journal
Costumed pals Lizzy Huston and Carleigh Williams make their way down magical Main Street, Cooperstown, on Friday, Oct. 31, during the annual Halloween Parade/ MORE PHOTOS, B8
an your group dance? Sing? Make a great winter-themed float? Can your Brownie troop make adorable costumes? The Cooperstown Community Christmas Committee is asking these questions, seeking to get more participation in the Santa Parade, scheduled this year for Friday, Nov. 28. The committee’s Peggy Leon said the plan is to offer prizes, perhaps a top prize of $300, a $100 and two $50. If you may be interested in participating, call 4Cs committee at 547-7215.
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST PRINT CIRCULATION 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD