The Freeman's Journal 12-28-17

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Volume 209, No. 52

For 209 Years

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Cooperstown, New York, Thursday, December 28, 2017 •F

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2017 otsego county yearbook

For 209 Years

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2017 citizen of the year

PASTOR SYLVIA BARRETT EMERGES TRIUMPHANT FROM YEAR OF CHALLENGES

The Freeman’s Journal

Jackson James Hart, with mom Jessica and dad, Jesse, all of Richfield Springs, was one of three babies born Christmas Day at Bassett Hospital.

The Rev. Sylvia Barrett pauses in the temporary Milford United Methodist Church with the restored stained-glass window, Jesus in the Garden at Gethsemane, and the blazedamaged brass altar, unrepaired to remind the pastor and congregation of the March 12 church fire.

Richfield Baby One Of 3 Born On Christmas COOPERSTOWN

J

ackson James, Richfield Springs, was one of three babies born Christmas Day at Bassett Hospital.

Jackson was born at 7:42 p.m., 19¾ inches long, weighing 7 pounds, 15 ounces.

Stephanie Jenkins, Oneonta, gave birth to a baby girl, Harper Mae, at 4:54 a.m. and Carly Jones, Roxbury gave birth to a baby girl, Avery Marie, at 11:18 a.m.

FASO TO SPEAK: Congressman John Faso, R-19, will join the line-up at the Otesgo Chamber’s traditional year-opening State of the State breakfast at 8 a.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 2, at SUNY Oneonta’s Morris Hall. For reservations, call 607-4324500, extension 207.

Jim Kevlin/The Freeman’s Journal

Minister Determines To Have New Church Ready By Thanksgiving walking along the fast-flowing River Ouse.

Across the river a half-dozen men were roughhousing, and one of them was thrown into the river, to the hilarity of the others on the bank. When they realized the man in the water was struggling, they pushed one of the others into the water to help him.

By JIM KEVLIN MILFORD

O

It was too late. “The first guy subsequently died,” said Sylvia, now the Rev. Sylvia Barrett, pastor since Sept. 1, 2013, at the Milford United Methodist Church, which this past March 12 was gutted by a roaring blaze that lit up the nighttime winter sky for miles around.

As you might imagine, wit-

ne day, when she was a student of history The family of Homer Osterat York University in houdt will host a reception on England – Medieval, focushis 100th birthday, 2 - 4 p.m. ing on the Elizabethan period Sunday, Jan. 14, at the First – Sylvia Cheer found herself Baptist Church fellowship hall, 21 Elm St. He attended the first Hall of Fame Induc‘WOODY’ MOWER, ARRESTED IN ’96, PLANNED ESCAPE IN ’15 tion in 1939 and all but a handful since.

HAPPY 100TH, HOMER:

SWEARING-IN: The new

county treasurer, Allen Ruffles, will be sworn in at 11 a.m. New Year’s Day in the Otsego County Courthouse.

County Judge John Lambert will administer the oath.

Parents’ Slaying Echoes Richfield Tragedy

By PARKER FISH

RICHFIELD SPRINGS

W

ith the charming appeal of the quaint Upstate villages scattered

amongst the lush rolling hills, Otsego County wouldn’t strike most people as a hotbed for coldblooded killings.

But the county’s most recent homicide – the fifth this year – in which police believe Kevin Perry, 23, shot his mother Solveig and

father Tim Tuesday, Dec. 11, at the family home on New Road, Laurens, shares striking similarities to a double homicide that shocked Richfield Springs and the rest of the county 21 years ago.

On March 26, 1996, Gordon Please See MOWER, A7

nessing a man’s death “really had an impact on me. I was shocked.” As an eyewitness, her role didn’t end there; she was called into Crown Court to interpret what she had seen.

The roughhousing men hadn’t appeared worried about the man in the water, she testified. The second man tried to Please See CITIZEN, A4

SPECIAL PROSECUTOR SOUGHT IN JAIL CASE

T

he county Board’s Public Safety & Legal Affairs Committee issued a report seeking a special prosecutor to investigate allegations involving Sheriff Richard J. Devlin Jr.’s son Ros, a guard at the county jail. For full report, type “prosecutor” in search line at

AllOTSEGO.com

www.

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

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A-2 THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL

THURSDAY, december 28, 2017

LOCALS Decorating Cookies For Santa Claus

Great looks! Visit the

• Eye exams

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• Fashion frames & contact lenses • Eyewear repairs Clinic Building, Cooperstown Mon-Fri 8am to 5pm (607) 547-3142

Parker Fish/The Freeman’s Journal

With Grandma Corinne Fish looking over his shoulder, Alex Dowd-Fish, Springfield Center, reaches for more sprinkles for his Christmas cookies for Santa. The cookie-decorating event Saturday, Dec. 23 at the Springfield Center Library brought children from around the village to decorate cookies for Santa’s big trip on Christmas Eve, and with dozens of cookies frosted and decorated, there’s a good chance the Jolly Old Elf got his fill!

Maverick James Johnson 1,000th Baby At Bassett

A Candlelight Service of Lessons and Carols Epiphany, Sunday, December 31 at 10 am Saint James’ Episcopal Church

Maverick James Johnson, seen here with mom, Paula Waffle, and nurse, Jessica Barrett, was the 1,000th baby born this year at the Bassett Birthing Center.

305 Main Street, Oneonta 607-432-1458 • www.stjamesoneonta.org

COOPERSTOWN – Parents Paula Waffle, Eric Johnson and the staff at the Bassett Birthing Center welcomed Maverick James Johnson, the 1,000th baby born at the center in 2017, on Tuesday, Dec. 19.

Maverick was born at 3:57 p.m. Tuesday, weighing 8 lbs, 10 oz, 21 inches long. Though born with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck, he was able to stay at the birthing center for the first few days of his care, rather than being transported to Albany.

To celebrate the occasion, The Birthing Center presented Maverick with a specially made blanket, as well as a basket of baby items. He will soon head home to Brookfield to join a brother and two sisters.

After a major expansion of the Birthing Center in 2011, rooms were expanded, all post-partum rooms were made private, birthing tubs were available and the Center added their own operating room. One thousand births in one year is the most births Bassett’s Birthing Center has ever had in a year’s time.

ON DEAN’S LIST: Jack Donnelly of Cooperstown, Ashley Miller of Worcester and Maya Wasson of Fly Creek are on the Dean’s List at Elmira College for the fall semester.

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THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL A-3

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OBITUARIES

Walter C. Eckler, Middlefield, 83; Business Owner, 45-Year Firefighter MIDDLEFIELD – Walter ers.

Charles Eckler, 83, a 45Walter year firefighter, co-founder was very of the local 40 & 8 veterans active in his organization and co-owner community of a former local Chevrolet and with his dealership, passed away numerous peacefully on Tuesday, Dec. friends.

19, 2017, at his home in Walter Eckler He retired Phoenix Mills.

(2000) after Walter was born on May 45 years from Cooperstown 17, 1934, in Hyde Park Engine Company No. 1. He (Otsego County), to Helen had a passion for the 1953 (Brady) and Harvey Eckler Mack pumper. Additionally, II. His childhood home was he is highly remembered only two miles from his life- for his efforts at the annual long residence with his wife, Fourth of July chicken barDorothy Ann (Robinson) becue celebration at Lake Eckler. He was an eighthFront Park. generation descendant of Along with dear friends, the Ecklers who immigrated he was the co-founder to Herkimer County in the of the local 40 & 8 and a late 1600s from the Palatine lifetime member of AmeriRegion of Germany. can Legion Post 579 due to His father trained him his service in the National in his lifelong career as Guard during the Korean an auto mechanic. In his War. He was also a memteens he was employed by ber of the Native Sons of his father at Welch’s ChevCooperstown. rolet, Railroad Avenue, He is survived by his wife Cooperstown, and later Bob of 62 years, Dorothy Ann Sperry Chevrolet, Route (Robinson) Eckler; three 28, Cooperstown. He later children, Bonita “Bonacquired ownership of the nie” K. (Eckler) Varney dealership with his co-work- and husband, Paul D., of

Cooperstown, Brenda K. Eckler (and companion, Todd A. Dibble) of Slatersville, R.I., and Bruce K. Eckler (and companion, Donna B. Lauzon) of Huntington, W. Va.; four grandchildren, Charles W. Varney, Weslee A. Eckler, Shannon L. Eckler and Kurtis W. Eckler; one great-grandchild, Kyra S. Varney; one brother, Harvey Eckler III (Alice) of Cooperstown; numerous nieces and nephews; and his furry friend, Toby.

He was predeceased by his parents.

At his request there will be no formal service. A celebration of his life will be held in 2018.

In lieu of flowers or gifts, the family requests contributions be made in Walter’s name to Catskill Area Hospice and Palliative Care, 297 River St. Service Oneonta, NY 13820 or Susquehanna Animal Shelter, 4841 Route 28, Cooperstown, NY 13326.

Arrangements are entrusted to Tillapaugh Funeral Service, Cooperstown.

Emily W. Thorn, Hartwick, 96; Worked At Cooperstown Academy HARTWICK – Emily Weir Thorn, 96, a Native Daughter of Cooperstown who worked at Cooperstown Central School and Bassett Hospital, passed away Wednesday night, Dec. 20, 2017, at Focus Rehabilitation & Nursing Center at Otsego.

She was born Aug. 19, 1921, in Adams to Bower F. and Clara (Cleaver) Weir.

When Emily was only 2 years old her mom died of tuberculosis.

In 1925, the family moved to Fly Creek, where Emily attended a oneroom country school. She later attended school in Cooperstown, and graduated with the Class of 1939.

Emily married Kenneth E. Thorn on Aug. 24, 1941, in a ceremony at the First Baptist Church of Cooperstown.

Following her marriage to Ken, Emily lived most of her life in Cooperstown, where she was employed at the Cooperstown Academy run by Herbert E. Pickett on Pioneer Street, and later Cooperstown Central School. From 1952 until her retirement in 1986 she was employed at Bassett Hospital, where she spent another 21 years as a volunteer in the hospital gift shop.

A member of the Hartwick United Methodist Church, she was also a member of the Native Daughters of Cooperstown and the Hartwick Senior Citizens.

Emily is survived by her children, Judith (David) Jackson of Oneonta, John (Barbara) Thorn of Hartwick and Janice (Jerry) Gage of Hartwick. She is also survived by 17 grandchildren, 30+ great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren, as well as a brother-in-law, Robert Hribar of Fly Creek,

several nieces, nephews and cousins.

In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her husband, Kenneth E. Thorn; two stepsons, Allen and Donald Thorn; two half sisters, Ruth Curran and Leta Jane Hribar; and two grandsons, Anthony R. Gage and Kenneth Strait.

A funeral was held Tues-

day, Dec. 26 at the Hartwick United Methodist Church, with the Rev. Richard D. Howard, pastor officiating.

Burial will take place in the Spring of 2018 in the Fly Creek Valley Cemetery in Fly Creek.

Arrangements are entrusted to the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home.

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

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2018!

Live music starts 9 pm Complimentary champagne toast Drink and dinner specials Mel’s at 22 22 Chestnut Street, Cooperstown | 607-435-7062 Reservations recommended

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Perspectives

A-4 THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2017

EDITORIAL

Pastor Barrett’s Vision, Courage Earn Citizen Of Year Designation

O

ne word that came to mind in interviewing the Rev. Sylvia Barrett for this newspaper’s Citizen of the Year was “courage.”

If you were there the evening of Sunday, March 12, as fire destroyed the Milford United Methodist Church, you would have seen the shocked expressions on the faces of members of the congregation gathered on the lawn of the parsonage across Route 28.

Those faces – Pastor Barrett’s included – said: What now? But as embers still smoldered across the way and church members consoled each other in the parsonage’s kitchen until 4 the following morning, their slender, seemingly frail leader was already declaring, “Whatever happens, we will continue on.”

Tragedy happens to all, but some respond with particular steel, as did the former Sylvia Cheer – language defines – and they are examples for the rest of us.

Of course, many people stepped up to Pastor Barrett’s challenge, among them state Sen.

Jim Seward, the congregation’s treasurer; Lola Rathbone, who is chairing the building committee; congregation mainstays Bob and Glenda Moore, even Dot Weir, the 96-year-old organist.

But Pastor Barrett was the center, and the center held.

• Courage is a term that might be applied to many of this newspaper’s Citizens of the Year, who have been selected annually since 2006 – and in our Hometown Oneonta since that newspaper’s founding in 2008.

Our first, Cherry Valley Town Supervisor Tom Garretson, wasn’t selected because there was unanimity among his constituents on the issue of six wind turbines.

Quite the opposite – the community, even the Garretson family, were split.

Independently, Garretson concluded that, while they might be welcomed elsewhere, in that particularly scenic and historic local where he presided the industrial installations would be simply too intrusive.

Deflecting credit for herself, Pastor Barrett cites longtime church mainstays like 96year-old organist Dot Weir.

• The largest Citizen of the Year category is innovation – problemsolving, if you will.

Certainly, the Hager family (2013), for vertical integration of craft-beer production, from Hager Hops (growing), to Cooperstown Brewery (production), to Northern Eagle Beverage (marketing).

Certainly, Cooperstown Mayor Carol B. Waller for bringing together all parties – police and fire departments, tourism, mu-

nicipal services, the Hall of Fame – to plan the huge Cal Ripken Jr. Induction (2007). Her template continues until today.

There’s an element of courage in that, too.

The Oneonta Charter Revision Commission (Hometown Oneonta, 2011) broke new ground, then had to fight to keep its innovations intact.

Cooperstown Police Chief Mike Covert plunged ahead with PAARI (Gloucester-Mass.-based Police Assisted Addiction Recovery Initiative), taking a bit of a risk that his Village Board would follow.

(It did.)

Hartwick College President Margaret Drugovich (2016) has repeatedly faced down resistance, market forces included, in launching initiative after initiative on Oyaron Hill, culminating in the $67 million pedestrian-friendly campus unveiled this fall. Now, that’s innovation and courage.

• Pastor Barrett is a worthy addition to this list of eminent local people; rather, people who have

become eminent through demonstrating vision and determination.

A new food pantry has risen from the ashes of that raging blaze.

And a community center. And the adaptive reuse of an about-to-be abandoned market. And, soon, a whole new church building.

Most of all, her efforts to rebuild a venerable congregation that had shrunk to single-digits – and she was succeeding, one by one – has fully flowered, as people inspired by her dedication are returning to the congregation or trying it for the first time. (You might sample one of her weekly “humdinger” sermons, Sundays at 10:45 in the former Milford Manor Farms building.)

Innovation and courage are their own reward, you might say. But innovation and courage are benefitting all of us in Otsego County.

As the New Year dawns, let’s say thank you to the Citizens of the Year among us, and to the many others as yet unheralded – not unrecognized: We all know who you are.

Well done.

From Fire, Not Despair, But Renewed Commitment

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Discussing this part of CITIZEN/From A1 say he attempted to save the her life, and foreshadowing what has followed, she said, first, but Sylvia hadn’t read “I wanted to make a differit that way: He had been reluctant to get in the water, ence.” And police, she said, had been thrown in after the “were a wonderful comfort to people.” first and – from what she In the months since that could see – made no attempt night of fire, smoke and at a rescue. destruction, Pastor Barrett “I had to tell the truth,” has emerged she recalled as that same simply “wonderful during an comfort to interview in people” that the bright, inspired her a spare nave of half-century the tempoago, rallying rary church her congregain the former Otsego County’s beauty tion as the Milford reminds Pastor BarManor Farms rett of Fareham, across fire site was cleared, new grocery on from the Isle of Wight homes found Route 28. in southern England, Coming where she was raised. for essential church serout of that experience, the future minis- vices, and finding a site for a new church expected to ter thought she’d found her vocation: She went through rise in 2018.

“Expected” is not a police training, and found herself walking a beat in the strong-enough word; she’s certain it will happen. With tough Southampton Docks.

“I was fierce,” she says with unwavering confidence, she has invited Bishop Mark a laugh. She trained in the Webb of the Upper New traffic unit, the vice squad, York Council, based in Syrthe drug team. But dealing acuse, to attend the blessing with rape, child abandonof a new church building on ment, abuse, she concluded Thanksgiving Day, 2018. after two years, “It was not Her determination to for me.”

For 209 Years

Ian Austin/The Freeman’s Journal

The Rev. Sylvia Barrett at the Nov. 25 unveiling of the restored stained-glass window, Jesus in the Garden at Gethsemane. Eight months earlier, the day after the March 12 fire, inset, the Milford UM pastor was met with a less promising image in the gutted church.

AllOTSEGO.com

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James C. Kevlin Editor & Publisher

Tara Barnwell

Advertising Director & General Manager

Libby Cudmore

Managing Editor

Amanda E. Willsey Business Manager Thom Rhodes Advertising Consultant

Larissa Ryan Office Manager/Circulation

Parker Fish Reporter

Ian Austin Photographer

Kathleen Peters & Andree Baillargeon • Graphics & Production Judith Bartow Billing

Tom Heitz Consultant

IN MEMORIAM: Mary Joan Kevlin, Co-Publisher, 2006-17 OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER FOR Otsego County • Village of Milford • Town of Middlefield Cooperstown Central School District Subscriptions Rates: Otsego County, $48 a year. All other areas, $65 a year.

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E-mail: info@allotsego.com • www.allotsego.com Contents © Iron String Press, Inc.

overcome adversity and, in the process, to serve the good of the greater community, has earned the Rev. Sylvia Barrett the Citizen of the Year designation for 2017 from Hometown Oneonta, The Freeman’s Journal and www.AllOTSEGO.com.

“If God works in mysterious ways, he sent us the right person at the right time,” state Sen. Jim Seward, R-Milford, neighbor, the congregation’s treasurer, and himself Citizen of the Year for 2013, said in affirmation.

Beginning immediately

that first night, as she held Winchester College, still in vigil with 30 others in the history. cold on the front lawn of the She sought a teaching parsonage across from the job, but the school that hired burning church, the glow of her “really needed a music the fire reflecting on their teacher.” As it happened, worried faces, she began she had been a violincomforting weeping people. ist – she now plays guitar After the roof collapsed – in the Hampshire Youth and the flames were doused, Orchestra and, at 16, its church members gathered in leader. “By the end of the the parsonage kitchen until year, I was running a music 4 a.m. Even in those first program.” hours, she had one message, During her eight years “Whatever happens, we will there in the 1970s, she continue on.”

Pastor Barrett was born in the 1950s in the north of England in the Yorkshire Dales – James Herriot country, she says, and does a pretty good impression of the Yorkshire brogue – one of The pastor’s children, John the middle six and Jennifer, just happened to children. Her be visiting at the time of the fire. parents, Peter The three were at Mel’s, waiting and Marjorie for their entrees, when the first Cheer, had met text arrived: “The church is in art school; her on fire.” father, World War II veteran, was teaching married an engineer. In art in a local school.

1981, he was offered an When she was 10, her opportunity in Canada, and family moved to Fareham, the couple departed on “an on the southern coast, across adventure” in Alberta. “I from the Isle of Wight, didn’t know a single perbrought to mind frequently son,” she recounts. by “the beauty around In Calgary, she volunhere.” After York Uniteered with the CNIB, the versity undergrad studies Canadian National Institute and her police experience, for the Blind. “I was she returned post-grad to Please See CITIZEN, A5

AllOTSEGO.com

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2017

THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL A-5

Seward: Pastor ‘Impatient – That’s The Sign Of A Good Leader’ CITIZEN/From A4 always very short-sighted,” she said; the CNIB mission resonated.

During the 1984 recession, her husband lost his job, and Sylvia, a stay-at-home mom – son John was born in 1983; daughter Jennifer in 1986 – found herself transcribing math braille and music braille for Alberta Education.

She had also become active in the local Anglican church, and in its very active children’s theatre. Starting backstage, she was eventually directing, year one, 100 children in “James and the Giant Peach”; she had written the adaptation. “The parents saw the kids having fun, and they wanted to do it,” said Barrett, and she help launch a dessert theater, the Woodbine Community Theater, later adding the Clean Noses Acting Company for teenagers.

Growing up, and through her career, marriage and travel, “the church had always been there for me.” She began taking courses at the ABC, the Alberta Bible College. “Suddenly I realized I was one course short of getting a degree,” she said.

Through the Clean Noses Troupe, she met a parent who invited her to the local Church of Christ. “I went in the door. It was just like I’d come home.” Meeting the pastor, he alerted her to a job opening: youth pastor. “Suddenly,” she said, “I was offered the job of my dreams.”

Her children grown, a second marriage brought her to the Greater Oneonta area in 2009. In 2013, she visited her father, who was failing but rallied on seeing his daughter. No sooner did she arrive back in the U.S., she was summoned back. “I didn’t make it in time,” she said. “He passed away.”

That reconnected her with her lapsed vocation. “I couldn’t help my dad,” she explained. “But perhaps I could get back into the ministry and help other people.”

She approached the Rev. Lyle Linder, then Fox Nursing Home chaplain – “my mentor” – and he welcomed her help.

Soon, she was confiding to him, “I really miss having a congregation.” Methodists accept pastors from other denominations, and in a few days she was sitting in front of District Superintendent Jan Rowell. “I think I have a position for you,” she said.

So beginning Sept. 1, 2013, the Rev. Sylvia Barrett found herself ministering to the Milford and

Parker Fish/The Freeman’s Journal

Pastor Barrett, third from right, poses with some of the folks she credits with the Milford United Methodists’ resurgence after the March 12 fire. From left are Lola Rathbone, building committee chair; mainstays Glenda and Bob Moore (with Margaret Grey in between), Leon Beach, state Sen. Jim Seward, treasurer, and wife Cindy, and Carolyn and David Meade, who told Barrett when she arrived at the scene that night, “The church is gone.”

Portlandville United Methodist churches. “Not one congregation, but two,” said Barrett, still seemingly unbelieving. “You have to be in the right place at the right time.”

At the time, the Milford congregation had declined to “single digits” – there were 10 attendees at her first service. Happily, “they came back the following week.”

She began rebuilding, one worshipper at a time. (The remaining stalwarts included Bob and Glenda Moore, who Barrett credits with much of the good things that have happened since. And Dot Weir, the 96-year-old organist.)

“You can read the Bible. You can understand it. But you have to live it in your life,” she said.

Returnees and new members understood how a church community can help. “They get it – that you have to be rooted in something,” the new pastor said.

Seward testified to her continuing success, noting a retail manager from a Cooperstown store across the aisle from him the other Sunday. “Sylvia was shopping.

They got talking. And suddenly he’s in our church,” the senator said. “Slowing but surely, she’s

built up the congregation.”

On the morning of Sunday, March 12, 2017, 70 people attended worship service. “I thought, wow, things are going great,” she said. John and Jennifer were visiting, leaving the next day, and that evening the family had just ordered dinner at Mel’s in downtown Cooperstown.

First text message: “The church is on fire.”

Second text message: “…but it’s not our church.”

Third text message: “You need to get here now!”

Halfway back to Milford, the sky was glowing. Coming around the curve at the entrance to the village from the north, there was the church, engulfed in flames, surrounded by firefighters from a dozen departments.

A church member, David Meade, greeted Pastor Barrett as she arrived that icy evening on the front lawn of the parsonage: “It’s gone; it’s gone.”

And yet, in the destruction of the 150-year-old building, the six-month pastor – raised 3,400 miles to the east, who had raised her family 2,000 miles to the west – found new resolve in the

grieving church members who surrounded her. “It was like I belonged there,” she said. “Everyone got to know me – that strange woman with the English accent. I was one of them.”

The next morning, she drove her children to Albany to catch a 9 a.m. flight home. “Mum,” said Jennifer, “I had really good time – except for the church burning down.”

By the following Sunday, she had relocated her congregation temporarily in the Upper Susquehanna Cultural Center, the former Presbyterian church a few buildings south of the gutted one, as members of seven congregations attended in solidarity. She preached on the theme, “New Beginning.”

“We are loved. We are precious.

God is with us,” she said. “When you put your trust in God, he will deliver.”

In the nine months since, Pastor Barrett has been at the center of a whirlwind of new experiences.

“In seminary,” she said, “you don’t take courses on what to do when the church burns down.”

At the center, but not alone.

She still seems in awe at what a

collaboration of pastor, congregation and community members are accomplishing. “There is no I in ‘team,’,” she said.

United Methodist protocol called for a formation of task force – Lola Rathbone, recently retired Catskill Area Hospice executive director, agreed to chair it – to decide what to do next. It quickly concluded, “We build!” And the task force became a building committee.

“We called the insurance company that night,” said the pastor.

Resolving that issue allowed the razing of the ruins, beginning May 22. By then, the stained-glass window, Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, had been salvaged – and the bell, and the altar cross.

Immediately after the fire, fundraising began to find a new home for the church’s food pantry. “She led the charge in setting up a nonprofit,” Seward said. Bob Moore is commander of the Milford Legion, which had closed, and he arranged to make that building on West Main Street available. In September, it was reopened as food pantry and community center.

Meanwhile, the Milford Manor Market – almost next door to the church site – was closing, and in August the church bought the structure for a temporary church – and permanent church hall. Restored, the Gethsemane stainedglass window was installed Nov. 25. And there, on a wooden altar, is the brass blaze-battered cross; the pastor has left it that way to remind the congregation what it’s been through.

A Schenectady architect with experience in church buildings, James Hundt of Forsythe Architects, has just been contracted to design a new structure for the market’s front parking lot.

“As our leader,” said Seward, “she’s inspirational. She’s a caring person; that shows up loud and clear. She’s always reaching out.

She presents a very meaningful and inspirational church service and message week after week: One of her expressions is, ‘It’s a humdinger.’ She’ll say, ‘We’re going to have a humdinger this week.’”

That Pastor Barrett weeks ago invited the bishop to attend next Thanksgiving’s service in the new church – even before the architect’s plans are in hand – underscore her leadership qualities to the senator: “She’s impatient. She wants things to happen. That is the mark of a good leader.”

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

200 YEARS AGO

Reasons Given for the Extraordinary Population of China – The superstition of the people, which makes them deem it unhappy to die without posterity, produces early and universal marriage. For many ages the country has been free from the ravages of war. The land, being all of it the Emperor’s, is not divided into large estates among the great lords, but into small portions among the cultivators. Almost everything in China, being done by human labor, and there being scarcely any beasts of burthen, and but few reared for the table, a greater proportion of the produce of the soil goes immediately to the maintenance of human beings, than in any other country.

December 29, 1817

50 YEARS AGO

75 YEARS AGO

175 YEARS AGO

A Commentary on Elder Miller’s Predicted End of The World – All persons who adopt the views of Elder Miller are advised to keep on with their business just as if the world was not coming to an end in April next year. They will, in this way, more completely fulfill the prophecy, which declares that when the end comes, it will find the inhabitants of the world going about their ordinary occupations. There is, besides, no object in giving up business.

Prosperity can be placed nowhere more safely than where it is and, as the time is short, it would be a pity to spend it all, or any large portion of it, in making worldly arrangements.

Besides, it is possible that Elder Miller may have made some mistake in his figures. And, if only one figure is wrong, in the place of hundreds, the error would be in centuries, which would throw the event beyond the cognizance of this generation. Let what will be the result therefore. The best way is for every man to mind his own business.

December 26, 1842

125 YEARS AGO

Local – A the close of the services in Christ Church last Sunday morning, the gold metal deportment prize to the choir boys was awarded to Be K. White. The half-eagle gold coin prize for the greatest improvement in singing, to Orlando Spurbeck of the orphanage. Both were gifts of Miss Carter.

four months intensive training in the flying stations. They go through all the routine of battle practice and are taught to live in the air.

December 26, 1917

December 27, 1967 The exercises of the Baptist Sunday School were attended by a large audience. The declamation by the children was creditable to all the participants, and the singing by the Choral Union was the best of their efforts. There were two large and beautiful Christmas trees, well loaded with presents for the happy children.

The young ladies of the village gave a Leap Year Hop in Village Hall last Monday evening. One hundred and twenty-five invitations went out.

George a Hines commenced to dig the cellar for his new house on Pine Street last Monday morning when the temperature was four degrees below zero. Eight horses and 20 men made the dirt fly.

December 29, 1892

100 YEARS AGO

The work of preparing flyers to man the tremendous air fleet to be thrown into the war beginning in the early summer is progressing splendidly. There are 24 flying fields being used in this country. In addition there are nine ground schools where young flyers are taught the construction and operation of planes. Graduate airmen are being sent for air practice to schools in Canada, Italy, France, England and Egypt. The training course has now been standardized to three months in ground schools, after which students have

Miss Julia Walsh, a member of the nursing staff at the Mary Imogene Bassett hospital has been commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Nurses’ Corp of the United States Army and will leave early in January for Pine Camp. Miss Walsh has been a member of the nursing staff here for the past thirteen years. She is the seventh Bassett Hospital nurse who has entered the service and the seventeenth employee of that institution to do so. The other nurses who have enlisted are: Miss Florence McKerrow, Miss Louise Hohener, Miss Mary E. Fletcher, Miss Clara Jacobs, Mrs. Dorothy Bolger, and Miss Jane Doxsee. Doctors from the hospital staff now in the service are Dr. Monroe A. McIver, Dr. Francis T. Harrison, Dr. Darrell Ayer, Dr. Frank R. Brown, Dr. William A. Greene, Jr., Dr. Robert P. Hill, Dr. David Kydd.

December 1942

25 YEARS AGO

Advertisement: “Talk To Me” Your son or daughter will soon make choices that can last a lifetime – choices involving sex and pregnancy. For ideas on how to talk with your children about sexuality, call 1-800-522-5006 for a free “Talk-To-Me” booklet. Or, write to Box 2000, Albany, New York 12220.Growing up begins at home. New York State Department of Health and the Council on Children and Families.

December 30, 1992

10 YEARS AGO

For a career as head coach that spanned 27 years (19691996), more than 400 victories, 14 conference championships and five sectional titles, the CCS Booster Club has renamed its annual boys’ basketball tournament in honor of the late Dick White. White retired from an equally distinguished career as a CCS mathematics instructor in 1997.

This past October he succumbed to prostate cancer.

December 28, 2007

THURSDAY-Friday, december 28-29, 2017

A-6 THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA through the City of the Hills in the Frostbite 5K. Registration from 10 A COMPLETE GUIDE TORE a.m. - 12:30 p.m. at the WHAT’S FUN AROUND HE.com Oneonta m at allotsego YMCA. Race Fill out our easy event for begins near the Sidney Federal Friday, Credit Union, 53 Market St., December 29 Oneonta. Call 607-432-0010.

SPAGHETTI DINNER – 4 bowl decorating – 7 p.m. Help support the Perry/ - 9 p.m. Create bowls on the Stilson families during this wheel or paint one pre-made. tragic time. Includes raffle. All All bowls donated to the Chili proceeds benefit the Perry/ Bowl Cook-off Fundraiser to Stilson families. Laurens Fire benefit CANO. Foothills PerDepartment, 34 Main St., forming Arts Center, Oneonta.

Laurens. Call 607-433-2906.

Call 607-432-2070.

FLOAT NIGHT – 6:45 - 8:30 NYE Celebration p.m. Enjoy the “Winter White– 7 p.m. Enjoy a fantastic out” float night in the pool. celebration with First Night Members only. Guests must Oneonta. The theme is “Here be accompanied by a memComes The Sun.” Features ber. Oneonta YMCA, bands, fireworks. Headlined 20-26 Ford Ave., Oneonta.

by Alex Torres and his Latin Call 607-432-0010.

Orchestra. Foothills Performing Arts Center, Oneonta. Call Saturday, 607-431-2080.

December 30

Happenin’ OTSEGO COUNTY

COOPERSTOWN FARMERS MARKET – 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.

101 Main St., in Pioneer Alley, Cooperstown.

CHRISTMAS MARKET – 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. Main St. Walkway, Oneonta. E-mail oneontafarmersmarket607@gmail. com.

CONCERT – 6:30 p.m. Tom Golden presents a selection of classics ranging from Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennet, Nat King Cole, and Elvis Presley.

The Empire House & Restaurant, 136 Marion Ave., Gilberstville. Call 607-783-2859.

Sunday, December 31

5K RACE – 1 p.m. Run

2018 Monday, January 1

EARN AN ANIMAL PROGRAM – Application deadline for the 4-H Earnan-Animal Program. Youth get the opportunity to raise, show an animal with Cornell Cooperative Extension. Call 607-547-2536 ext. 225.

YARN WORKSHOP – 5 - 6:30 p.m. Work with instructor Tori to create something for yourself or loved one.

All skill levels welcome! The

Turning Point, 22 Elm St., Oneonta. Call 607-267-4435.

Tuesday, January 2

KNITTING GROUP – 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. Cooperstown Village Library, 22 Main St., Cooperstown. Call 607-5478344.

PREVENTION – 6:30 p.m.

Lifelines Suicide Prevention Parent Information Session.

Auditorium, Cooperstown Central School. Call 607-5478181.

Wednesday, January 3

DISCUSSION GROUP – 3 - 5 p.m. Discuss current events. Cooperstown Village Library, 22 Main St., Cooperstown. Call 607-5478344.

DRAWING CLASS – 5 - 7 p.m. Free Beginners class. The Turning Point, 22 Elm St., Oneonta. Call 607-267-4435.

Boat Dock/Missing-Lost 25’x3’ wooden, floating, boat dock section from Cooperstown Country Club.

Contact Tom Barry @ 603568-0631 or 607-322-4008 3Class.Dec.28 BUSINESS FOR SALE TURN-KEY BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY Retiring owner is ready to sell building and business. Instant income from leases. Self motivated? Business is thriving- call for details.

Benson Agency Real Estate, LLC 607-432-4391 or Rodger Moran direct at 607-287-1559 TFN HOMES FOR RENT 5 bedroom/3 bath farmhouse with pond and stream on 8 acres. 3 miles from Cooperstown. $1,500/mo plus utilities. Available immediately. 607-547-8192. Leave message if no answer.

3Class.Dec.28 4 Bedroom, 3+ Bath Town of Oneonta Home on 32 acres.

Now thru 05/15/18. $1,500 per month plus utilities. Call Benson Agency Real Estate at 607-432-4391 TFN

Cooperstown Village 2 BR Flat. $1,400 a month plus 1 month security. includes heat, electric, water. 1,400 sq. ft. No pets, No smoking. Year lease. Off-street parking. Call Hubbell’s Real Estate 607-547-5740 TFN

Friday, January 5

The MINI The BIGGIE Skate-n-Dance Skate-n-Dance

December 31, 2 to 5 pm December 31, 8 pm to 1 am Special party for the $10 includes admission, Younger Set, Moms & Dads rental, hats, noisemakers, plus

$8 includes admission, rental, prizes, balloon drop, hats, noisemakers, web mountain

The areas only multi-level, urban-themed laser tag arena is open during all sessions!!!

Half Price Pizzas

Every Friday 5 pm to 8 pm

LGROUP@STNY.RR.COM www.leatherstockingmortgage.com 607-547-5007 (Office) 800-547-7948 (Toll Free)

Route 23, Southside Oneonta 607-432-0366 www.interskate88.com

Super All-Day Skate-n-LazerTag Parties!

Closed Jan 1 ··

Thurs & Fri., Dec. 28, 29 and Tuesday Jan. 2 Noon to 5 pm - ONLY $6

SLEEP SHOP

Treat your guests (and yourself) right with a nice new bed!

We have 24 styles to choose from (most in stock).

Fast Free delivery and set up removal of old bedding available

Registered Mortgage Broker Matt Schuermann NYS Banking Dept.

Loans arranged by a 3rd party lender.

31 Pioneer Street, Cooperstown (directly next door to Stagecoach Coffee)

3 lucky winners will step into the Interskate 88 Money Machine to grab hundreds of dollars of REAL MONEY!

Laser Tag!

149 Main Street Cooperstown NY 607 547 4070 alexsbistro.com

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

Wishing you a joyous Holiday filled with Peace, Love, and Prosperity.

Not valid w/other offers • 1 coupon per person

OPEN 11am—10pm SEVEN DAYS A WEEK

www.boccaosteria.com · 607-282-4031 5438 State Hwy 28 · Cooperstown, NY 13326

May your Holidays be merry and the New Year filled with family, friends, and good times.

Tax included! Toppings extra

75 Chestnut Street, Cooperstown · 607-547-2930 126 Main Street/ Rt 20, Richfield Springs · 315-858-0405

New Year’s Parties

and BOGO On all hOuse drinks

Dear Friend:

2 large plain pizzas $25*



happy hour

Thinking of Remodeling?

Think of Refinancing!

new york pizzeria



• Bocca osteria •

The First Presbyterian Church, 25 Church St., Cooperstown.

Call 607- 547-8164.

All OTSEGO. dining&entertainment



COOKING CLASS – 5 - 7 p.m. Learn to make a variety of dishes, bring the kids to learn with you, eat what you’ve made. The Turning Point, 22 Elm St., Oneonta.

Call 607-267-4435 or e-mail kyle@friendsofrecoverydo.org.

JOB READINESS – 5 - 7 p.m. Work on everything from interviewing, resume creation, job searching, more.

Pre-register, space limited.

The Turning Point, 22 Elm St., Oneonta. Call 607-267-4435.

YARN CLUB – 6 - 7:30 p.m.

2 Bed, 1 Bath in Fly Creek.

Heat, off street parking, snow removal included. $825/mo.

Available Nov. 1. Contact Rob Lee at 434-5177.

TFN

p.m. Dance with friends, enjoy music by band Balter.

Robby Poulette will call. Arrive 7:15 for intro to basic steps.

FILM SERIES – 7 - 10 p.m.

Race Matters Film Series features screening of a major motion picture, followed by discussion led by community/ religious leaders. Films rated PG-13 or R. This month view “Fences” (2016). Free. The Community Room, Southside Mall, Oneonta.

CONTRADANCE – 7:30

Thursday, January 4

AllOTSEGO.classifieds LOST

For knitters, crocheters of all skill levels, accompanied youths. 3rd floor, Huntington Memorial Library, 62 Chestnut St., Oneonta. Call 607432-1980.

STAMP CLUB – 7 p.m. Meeting of the Leatherstocking Stamp Club.

All welcome. Tillapaugh Home, 28 Pioneer St., Cooperstown. Call Ellen Tillapaugh, 607-547-5646.

Floor Store & Sleep Shop

Since 1962

Krazy Tom’s 4316 County Hwy 11, Cooperstown

607-547-6038 · krazytoms.com · sales@krazytoms.com

Open weekdays: 9 am to 5:30 pm Thursday: 9 am to 7 pm Saturday: 9 am to 4 pm Closed Sunday

AllOTSEGO.homes From Our Door to Yours

Hope, Health and the Special Blessings of the New Year!

Best Wishes for a Healthy New Year!

From all of us at Ashley-Connor Realty Patti, Donna, Chris and Jack

APARTMENTS FOR RENT Hartwick…Studio Apt 2nd floor $460 plus security and elec…Parking…no pets or smoking…newly redone… small deck…available immediately. Dave 607-435-2405.

TFN

ASHLEY

REALTY

CONNOR

Left to right: Mike Welch, Cathy Raddatz, Madeline Sansevere, Margaret Savoie, Marion King, Tim Donahue, Eric Hill

29 Pioneer Street, Cooperstown · 607-547-4045 Patricia Bensen-Ashley – Licensed Real Estate Broker/Owner

For Appointment: Patricia Bensen-Ashley, Broker/Owner, 607-437-1149 Jack Foster, Sales Agent, 607-547-5304 • Donna Skinner, Associate Broker, 607-287-4113 Chris Patterson, Associate Broker, 518-774-8175

Don Olin

REALTY, INC

37 Chestnut street · Cooperstown 607-547-5622 · 607-547-5653 (fax) parking is never a problem!

Home of the Week Creekside ranCh On 84 aCres

(8308) This elegant single-owner 3-BR, 2-bath countryside home is ideally set on 84.30 acres. Hardwood flooring, cathedral ceilings, brick walkways, koi pond, garden fountain. Large LR w/fireplace and seating area, open floorplan, den w/bar, Jacuzzi, zoned heat. Newer roof, deck, pergola, exquisite gardens. 3-stall horse barn w/fencing. Dog kennel. Cooperstown Schools. hubbell’s exclusive—$450,000

157 Main Street, Cooperstown • 607-547-5740 www.hubbellsrealestate.com

THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA A-7

THURSDAY-FRIDAY, december 28-29, 2017

1996 Double-Slaying Echoes Laurens’ One MOWER/From A1 “Woody” Mower Jr., then 18, shot and killed his parents, Gordon and Susan, multiple times with a .22-caliber pistol at their farmhouse on Mower Road, then ran off with his 14-year-old girlfriend, Melanie Bray.

“I spent a few days in the house after the murder,” recalled Ken Sosnowski, a retired state police forensic investigator. “There were blood trails throughout the house where he had dragged the bodies.”

Sosnowski was responsible for locating, tagging, and transferring evidence to

Legal

Legal nOtice notice to bidders Sealed bids will be received as set forth in instructions to bidders until 10:30 a.m. on January 25, 2018 at the NYSDOT, Contract Management Bureau, 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 Bid Express (www. bidx.com).

A certified or cashier’s check payable to the NYS Dept. of Transportation for the sum specified in the proposal or a bid bond, FORM CONR 391, representing 25% 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/constnotices 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.

Amendment 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 sub-contracting is not expected, and may present direct bidding opportunities for Small Business Firms, including, but not limited to, D/W/ MBEs. The Contractor must comply with the Regulation relative to nondiscrimination in federally-assisted programs of the USDOT 49 CFR 21.

a secure state police locker.

“Every step that the evidence takes, it has to be signed for and can’t be tampered with,” he said. “…Otherwise, prosecutors won’t be able to call it up as evidence in court. Cases have been lost on mishandled evidence before.”

Even with evidence in hand, though, tying the teen to the killings, Mower had seemingly vanished. His 1994 Chrysler LeBaron was found at Boston’s Logan Airport, and it wasn’t until April, when his case was shown “America’s Most Wanted”, that police got a lead – a cleaning lady at a motel in Farmers Branch, Texas, recog-

Legal

Please call (518) 457-2124 if a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the letting.

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 Reg. 09, Jack Williams, Regional Director, 44 Hawley Street, Binghamton, NY 13901 D263620, PIN 9M10.18, F.A. Proj. Z2339M10-183, Broome, Chenango, Delaware, Otsego, Schoharie, Sullivan & Tioga Cos., Wash 392 Bridges & Seal 77 Bridges at Various Locations, Bid Deposit $150,000.00., NO PLANS. Goals: DBE 3% 2LegalJan.4 Legal nOtice Resolution of the Village Board of Milford, New York At the regular business meeting of the Village Board of Trustees, Milford, New York held at 64 South Main Street, Milford on the 18th of December 2017 at 6:30pm.

The following was discussed and moved to action by Brian Pokorny.

Be it Resolved: That the Board of Trustees of the Village of Milford; Whereas, pursuit to Village Law Section 11-1112, the Village of Milford Board of Trustees, acting as the Board of Water Commissioners, may cause notice to be published in the official newspaper of the Village requiring the owners of premises fronting on any street to repair connection pipes to the Village water mains in said streets; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Village Law Section 11-1112, upon the failure of property owners to make such repairs, the Board has the power and authority to make such repairs and assess the cost thereof upon the affected premises; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Village Law Section 111112, said charges

nized the couple, and within 15 minutes of the episode’s airing, they were arrested walking down the street.

Mower attempted to escape, but was captured after officers used pepper spray on him.

“There has to be a great deal of interdepartmental communication to solve these cases,” said Sosnowski.

The teen was extradited and brought back to New York by state police Inv. Karl Chandler, and pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, avoiding the death penalty. Though he argued that his parents had been abusive, Jack Gibbons, then Otsego County district

LEGALS

Legal

Legal

shall be a lien on the premises and may be collected in the same manner as other local assessments for local improvements; and

upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Hinman Howard & Kattell LLP, Attn: Christopher L. Roma, Esq., 80 Exchange St., Binghamton, NY 13901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

6LegalFeb.1

WHEREAS, said notice may provide the water service to the affected premises may be disconnected within thirty days after the time for making repairs set forth in the notice has elapsed.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the owners of record of the premises at 7 Kilts Rd, Milford, New York, are hereby directed and required to replace the connection pipes from their property to the Village water main located on 7 Kilts Road in accordance with the specifications of the VIllage Department of Public Works; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that should such replacement not be completed by January 7, 2018 the Village Department of Public Works may cause necessary work to be done to shut off water services and assess the actual expenses thereof including all labor done and materials used as a lien against the premises at 7 Kilts Rd, Milford, New York, pursuant to Village Law Section 11-1112(2); and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this resolution shall be published in the Freeman’s Journal on December 28, 2017 and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the owners of record of the premises at 7 Kilts Road, Milford, New York, are hereby further notified that the Board may discontinue the water supply to the said premises upon failure to comply with this notice and make such replacement.

Respectfully submitted Kitty Ruling Treasurer / Clerk Village of Milford 64 S. Main Street | Milford, NY 13807 1LegalDec.28 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of SOUTHERN TIER CONNECT, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/15/17.

Office location: Otsego County.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC

“Woody” Mower recaptured after a 2015 escape. attorney, believed an argument with his parents over his relationship with his girlfriend

Legal nOtice Notice of formation of MEULENBERG HOLDINGS, LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 12/19/2017.

Office in Otsego Co. SSNY desig. agent of LLC whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail process to 2518 County Hwy 35, Schenevus, NY 12155, which is also the principal business location.

Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

6LegalFeb.1 Legal nOtice Notice of formation of Mp Rentals, LLC Arts of Org. filed SSNY 12/13/17.

Office: Ulster Co. SSNY design agent of LLC upon whom process may be served & mail to Legalinc Corp Srvcs . 1967 Wehrle Dr #1-086 Buffalo, NY 14221 General Purpose 6LegalFeb.1 Legal nOtice MEETING NOTICE NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Board of Representatives of the County of Otsego will hold its regular meetings on the first Wednesday of each month at 10:00 a.m. However, when the date fixed for a regular meeting of the County Board falls on a legal holiday, the meeting shall be held on the day following. The meetings will be held in the Board Chambers on the second floor of the County Office Building in Cooperstown, New York.

THIS NOTICE is given pursuant to Article 7 of the Open Meetings Law. Dated: December 28, 2017 Carol D. McGovern Clerk of the Board of Representatives Otsego County, New York 1LegalDec.28

Legal

Legal

6LegalJan.25 Legal nOtice NOTICE OF A 30-DAY PERIOD FOR INCLUSION OF LAND INTO CERTIFIED AGRICULTURAL DISTRICTS NOTICE is hereby given that Otsego County has established an annual 30 day period during which landowners can submit proposals to include viable agricultural land within certified agricultural districts outside of the eight year review period.

NOTICE is further given that said annual 30 day period in Otsego County begins January 1 of each year and closes 30 days thereafter.

NOTICE is further given that during this 30 day review period any landowner may submit proposals of viable agricultural land to be included into a certified agricultural district by filing requests with the Clerk of the Otsego County Board of Representatives, said requests to include the agricultural district into which the land is proposed to be included, a description of the land and the tax map identification number(s).

Legal nOtice Notice of formation of NAP 58 MAPLE STREET LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 12/14/17.

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, 19-43 77th Street, East Elmhurst, NY 11370.

Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

6LegalJan.25 Legal nOtice Notice of formation of Chestnut Np, LLC Arts of Org. filed SSNY 11/29/17.

Office: Ulster Co. SSNY design agent of LLC upon whom process may be served & mail to Legalinc Corp Svcs 1967 Wehrle Dr #1-086 Buffalo, NY 14221 General Purpose 6LegalJan.25 Legal nOtice Notice of formation of Sweet Sweat Fleet, LLC

NOTICE is further given that at the termination of the 30 day period all proposals will be submitted to the Otsego County Agricultural Farmland Protection Board for its review, and that thereafter a public hearing will be held on the proposals and recommendations of said board.

Arts of Org. filed SSNY 11/21/17.

Office: Ulster Co. SSNY design agent of LLC upon whom process may be served & mail to Henning Grentz 67 Old County Rd 1 Kingston, NY 12401 General Purpose 6LegalJan.25

Dated: December 28, 2017

Notice of formation of

Carol D. McGovern Clerk of the Board of Representatives Qtsego County, New York 1LegalDec.28

HINMAN HOLLOW, LLC.

Legal nOtice Notice of formation of CC&S LAND HOLDINGS, LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 12/13/2017.

Office in Otsego Co. SSNY desig. agent of LLC whom process may be served.

SSNY shall mail to 333 County Hwy 2, Mt. Upton, NY 13809, which is also the principal business location.

Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Legal nOtice

Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 12/08/17.

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 Meagan O’Brien, 1202 County Highway 45, Milford, NY 13807.

Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

6LegalJan.18 Legal nOtice NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY

sparked the shooting.

“I believe that sometimes the ‘why’ is the most important part to figuring out these murder cases,” said Sosnowski.

That October, Mower was sentenced to life without parole. Melanie was not charged.

There wouldn’t be another first-degree murder charge brought in the county until June 2016, 20 years later, when District Attorney John Muehl charged Casey Callahan with the 2001 murder of his wife, Elizabeth Welsh. Following a trial this past September, Callahan was found guilty and sentenced to 25 to life in Attica.

In 2015, Mower, now 40, made headlines when he tried to escape the Auburn Correc-

Legal

NAME: King Kuupa LLC, Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of the State of New York (SSNY) on 08/22/2017.

Office location: Otsego County.

SSNY has designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to the LLC, 1740 State Highway 7, Unadilla, NY 13849.

Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

6LegalJan.18 Legal nOtice Notice of formation of Limited Liability Company (LLC) Name: OAKVIEW LODGE, LLC. Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 11/29/2017.

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: 182 Toy Farm Road, Hartwick, NY 13348 Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

6LegalJan.18 Legal nOtice Notice of formation of WOODWARD LAKE PROPERTIES LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 11/01/17.

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 Bob Lesperence, 297 River St, Ste 3, Oneonta, NY 13820, which also serves as the registered agent address.

Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

6LegalJan.18 Legal nOtice Notice of formation of Livingston Rentals & Management LLC Arts of Org. filed SSNY 11/30/17.

Office: Ulster Co. SSNY design agent of LLC upon whom process may

tional Facility. He and another inmate developed a plan for Mower to bury himself alive in a small wooden box, under tons of sawdust, which was regularly trucked out of the prison.

Mower went as far as to say that he had practiced the escape at least 50 times before another inmate tipped off prison guards. For his attempted escape, Mower spent 564 days in solitary confinement.

In August, it was revealed that in 2014, Mower had been tasked with working on locks around Auburn with no supervision until his escape attempt. Mower was subsequently moved to Elmira State Correctional Facility, where he remains.

Legal

Legal

be served & mail to 95 Canal St Ellenville, NY 12428 General Purpose 6LegalJan.11

is P.O. Box 126, Edmeston, New York 13335.

The purpose of the business of such limited liability company is to engage in any lawful act or activity for which limited liability companies may be organized under the Limited Liability Company Law. 6LegalDec.28

Legal nOtice Notice of formation of Sawtooth Shelf System LLC Articles of Org. filed N.Y. Sec. of State (SSNY) 09/28/17 Office Location: Otsego Co. SSNY has been designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and ssny shall mail copy of process to U.S. Corporation Agenst Inc. 7014 13th Ave., Suite 202, Brooklyn NY 11228 Purpose: Any lawfull activity 6LegalJan.4 Legal nOtice Notice of formation of GRIA HOLDINGS, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/20/17.

Office location: Otsego County.

Princ. office of LLC: 26 Myrtle Ave., Oneonta, NY 13820.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. office.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

6LegalJan.4 Legal nOtice NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY The name of the entity is KAR 119 LLC, for which the Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State on September 6, 2017.

The office of said entity is to be located in Otsego County, New York.

The Secretary of State has been designated as agent of the limited liability company, upon whom process against it may be served, and the post office address within this State to which the Secretary of State shall mail a copy of any process against it served upon her

Legal nOtice NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY The name of the entity is VDR LLC, for which the Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State on September 6, 2017.

The office of said entity is to be located in Otsego County, New York.

The Secretary of State has been designated as agent of the limited liability company, upon whom process against it may be served, and the post office address within this State to which the Secretary of State shall mail a copy of any process against it served upon her is P.O. Box 126, Edmeston, New York 13335.

The purpose of the business of such limited liability company is to engage in any lawful act or activity for which limited liability companies may be organized under the Limited Liability Company Law. 6LegalDec.28 Legal nOtice Notice of formation of HOME & AWAY COTTAGES LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 11/03/17.

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 Steven Delcampo, 7 Chestnut Hill Drive, New Fairfield, CT 06812.

Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

6LegalDec.28

A-8 THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL

AllOTSEGO.homes MLS#111662 $524,900 1700s Tunnicliff Stone Mansion 6 BRs, 6 baths, B&B, English pub, 30’ bar. Casual and formal DRs, fireplaces, pizza oven, sun room, porch, ponds.

Call George (ROD) Sluyter @ 315-520-6512 (cell)

MLS#111335 $480,000 Otsego Lakefront Property! Priced nearly $200K less than appraisal. 2 charming cottages on .50 acre, 100'± direct lakefront. View of the Sleeping Lion.

Call Katherine Fistrowicz @ 607-267-2683 (cell)

MLS#111454 $279,000 11.54 acres, custom-built 3-BR, 2½ bath ranch, attached over-sized heated 2-car garage, full insulated basement, double shower, recessed lighting, central air.

Call Katherine Fistrowicz @ 607-267-2683 (cell)

MLS#113853 $110,000 Lovely Country Setting Spacious farmhouse w/2 barns on 3.35 acres w/several recent improvements.

Priced to sell well below assessed value.

Call Katherine Fistrowicz @ 607-267-2683 (cell)

MLS#113964 $125,000 Edmeston School District 3 acres. 2+ BR home has open floorplan, large kitchen island, custom-made cabinets. Pool, covered pavilion, 2-car garage.

Call Kristi Ough @ 607-434-3026 (cell)

MLS#110422 $110,000 Country Bliss, Affordable Price! Charming home offers 3 BRs, attached and detached garage, 2 decks, screened porch, fenced backyard! Co-op Electric.

Call Katherine Fistrowicz @ 607-267-2683 (cell)

MLS#113553 $205,000 Feel like you’re on vacation every day in this charming lakeside home. New roof and solar panels. Enjoy days and evenings on the deck or coffee on the patio.

Call Melissa Klein @ 518-705-9849 (cell)

MLS#107322 $249,000 4,000± sq ft, 3 - 5 BRs, 2 - 3 baths, finished basement, 2-car garage, barn w/concrete floor, garden shed, paved drive. 3.27 surveyed acres. Otsego Lake rights.

Call Katherine Fistrowicz @ 607-267-2683 (cell)

MLS#109732 $225,000 Great Deal! Spacious 3-BR, 3-bath house w/extras!

3 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds, paved parking, large 3-car garage, 3 sheds, in-ground pool.

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MLS#112950 $749,900 Home of Distinction! 4 BRs, 3 baths, 3-car garage situated on 22+ acres high over Canadarago Lake, w/classic views and 100’waterfront.

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2017

MLS#113566 $62,900 Building lot, 3.5 acres. Classic views of Canadarago Lake, w/private lake access, dock! Great views, water access, low taxes. Deed-restricted subdivision.

Call George (ROD) Sluyter @ 315-520-6512 (cell)

MLS#112631 $550,000 Great View of Canadarago Lake Beautiful nearly 6-acre setting! Roomy BRs, open DR/LR/kitchen w/ cathedral ceiling. Builder used all options available.

Call George (ROD) Sluyter @ 315-520-6512 (cell)

MLS#109979 $129,900 Hunters’ Paradise Secluded area for your home or hideaway. 40 acres on west side, 37.4 acres on east side of Hubbell Hollow Road.

Call George (ROD) Sluyter @ 315-520-6512 (cell)

MLS#109848 $650,000 40 Surveyed Acres of Woodlands View of Otsego Lake, Adirondacks. Radiant heat, 4 garages, full apartment, private guest room/entrance.

Call George (ROD) Sluyter @ 315-520-6512 (cell)

MLS#112478 $44,900 2-BR apartment w/880 sq ft has laundry, LR, open kitchen/dining area. Store on first floor has 1,800± sq ft. Equipment is negotiable for a fraction of cost.

Call George (ROD) Sluyter @ 315-520-6512 (cell)

MLS#113323 $295,000 Beautiful! 6 BRs, 4½ baths on 12.5 acres w/in-law apartment. 12.5 acres, 2 outbuildings and amazing views overlooking the valley. Great opportunity!

Call Rodney Campbell @ 315-868-0148 (cell)

lis NE1 tiMN W00% gB!g

MLS#113345 $569,900 2 Year-Round Homes on 2 Separate Parcels Being sold together: Colonial farmhouse (1880), and modern ranch (2009) w/4 BRs, 2 full baths. Both in impeccable condition. 250’ of lake frontage and dock at Canadarago Lake Association.

Call George (ROD) Sluyter @ 315-520-6512 (cell)

PR NE iC W E!

MLS#108867 $345,000 Price Reduced! Canadarago Lake. 30 acres, 58’ lake Spacious 4 BR, 2 bath views. house isHiking, close toboating, I-88. Large frontage, amazing hunting, backyard, workshop/garage, small shed.

Make your snowmobiling.

Built in 1999.

A rare find! appointment Priced go this week!(cell) Call Rodneytoday.

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MLS#105929 $74,200 Hunter’s Dream 40 acres on Panther Mountain overlooking Canadarago Lake comes w/hunting cabin ready for your weekend getaway. Call now!

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Searching for the Perfect Oneonta Home? This stunning 4-BR contemporary home sits on 3.02-acre lot at the end of a quiet lane. Impressive front foyer w/cathedral ceiling and skylights! Open living space on first floor w/hardwood floors, gas fireplace, huge kitchen island, BR w/private bath and second bath.

Upstairs are 3 BRs, sitting/office area, 2 baths. Finished basement has private den, family room. Recent renovations include: new roof, skylights, gutters, Trex porch and deck, gas fireplace, water heater, generator, AC, laundry room, driveway, sliding door to deck, appliances. Oneonta School District. Call today!

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WEEK 5

EDITIONS OF FEB. 2-3: County Rep. Peter Oberacker, R-Schenevus, walks 144 acres at I-88’s Exit 18 that he and Otsego Now President Sandy Mathes identified as ideal for a 500job distribution center that e-retailers like Amazon are building around the Northeast.

Mathes’ departure at mid-year and the discovery of seven acres of wetlands on the site slowed progress, but by year’s end the idea was still alive.

2017

OTSEGO COUNTY YEARBOOK EDITIONS OF MARCH 16-17: The evening of Sunday, March 12, the dark winter sky was lit up for miles around the Village of Milford, where the United Methodist Church was gutted by an arsonist’s torch.

Pastor Sylvia Barrett and her congregation, which includes state Sen. Jim Seward and his family, refused to be defeated, regrouping that next Sunday at the Upper Susquehanna Cultural Center. By November, they had purchased the nearby Milford Manor Farm’s building and reconsecrated it as their new home. Meanwhile, on Saturday, July 8, state police charged a 20-year-old Springfield Center man with setting the fire.

WEEK 11

WEEK 25

WEEK 1

EDITIONS OF JUNE 22-23: Chiara Salati, a member of the Adventure Staff of Cooperstown’s Clark Sports Center, scales a rock wall in the lobby Saturday, June 17, during an open house to introduce the public to a $21 million expansion that added 7,000 square feet to the institution on outer Susquehanna Avenue. The renovations included a third swimming pool, for therapy, and a high-tech Fitness Center.

Space was also added to accommodate Bassett Hospital’s Physical Therapy Department. Clark Foundation President Jane Forbes Clark was on hand, serving coffee to the visitors.

EDITIONS OF JAN. 5-6: The first day of 2017 had not yet dawned when Joshua Underwood, 25, called Oneonta City Police at 3:27 a.m. and confessed, “I’ve done something bad and I don’t want to run.” Officers were dispatched to 229 Main St., the former Java Island building, where Mark J. Underwood Morrison, 52, was found dead in his bed, bludgeoned multiple times with a body-building weight. It was the first of five murders, plus a trial in a 16-year-old murder, that punctuated the county’s usually peaceable existence this year – there had been only three local murders in all since the decade began.

Underwood pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to 20 years in jail, but withdrew his plea in December and may face trial. In top photo, OPD Officers Edmund Donley and Lindsay Rumenapp were among the officers at the scene of the New Year’s Day slaying.

THURSDAY-FRIDAY, DEC. 28-29, 2017 • PHOTOS by IAN AUSTIN, PARKER FISH & JIM KEVLIN

All

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OTSEGO.com LARGEST COMBINED NEWSPAPER CIRCULATION and NEWS WEBSITE IN OTSEGO COUNTY

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2017 OTSEGO COUNTY YEARBOOK

THURSDAY-FRIDAY, DEC. 28-29, 2017

WEEK 4

WEEK 2

EDITIONS OF JAN. 12-13: Father John R. Roos, who was assigned as pastor to St. Mary’s “Our Lady of the Lake” Catholic Church in 1991 and would spend the next quartercentury in Otsego County, died Jan. 3 at age 86. Albany Bishop Emeritus Howard J. Hubbard, right, concelebrated the funeral mass at a packed St. Mary’s on Jan. 10. After retiring from St. Mary’s in 2000, Father Roos continued to minister Catholics at churches in Cherry Valley, Springfield Center and Sharon Springs.

EDITION OF JAN. 26-27: Organizer Lisa St. Onge greets people marching in sympathy with the Women’s March on Washington Saturday, Jan. 21, in Muller Plaza.

At left, Schatzi Hall, Christine Helver, Connie Herzig, Amy Cannon and Kris Gildenblatt dance to “We Are Family” at the conclusion of the Cooperstown vigil that same day in front of the county courthouse.

WEEK 3

WEEK 6

EDITIONS OF JAN. 19-20: With the country split by the pending inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States, Cooperstown Central pals, Bobby Walker, right, president of the Otsego County Young Republicans, and pal MacGuire Benton, president of the Young Democrats, planned to carpool it down to Washington D.C. to witness the historic event.

EDITION OF FEB. 2-3: Cooperstown Winter Carnival chairs from 50 years pose at the 2017 Carnival Closer Saturday, Feb. 4. Front row, from left, are Wendy Reich, Teri Barown, Barbara Tongue, Diane Gamble, Joan Clark, Susan Miosek and Marissa Davidson. Second row, from left, Margaret Savoie, Shirley Tyler, Michelle Adsit, Denise Hascup, Dick Kelly, Hannah Bergene, Jim Renckens, Lori Lamb. Third row, from left, David Lamb, Brenda Wedderspoon-Gray, Steve Clark, Josh McMahon, Rich McCaffrey, Chris Stevens, Bill Waller, Hank Phillips.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The dates on the captions represent the editions of Hometown Oneonta & The Freeman’s Journal in which they were published.

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THURSDAY-FRIDAY, DEC. 28-29, 2017

2017 OTSEGO COUNTY YEARBOOK

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WEEK 8

EDITIONS OF FEB. 23-24: Montana? Actually, buffalo rancher Dave Meves is raising his herd of 60 buffalo at his Skye Blue Pastures on Fred Field Road, Town of Hartwick. Though there was a buffalo ranch 20 years ago, Meves’ buffalo are the only local ones.

WEEK 7

EDITIONS OF FEB. 16-17: Oneonta’s Laurie Zimniewicz has her card at the ready as bidding was about to begin on a week’s stay in Lisbon, Portugal, one of many fabulous lots up for auction at the Friends of Bassett’s first Valentine’s Day Soiree at Foothills, to benefit the John May Farm Safety Fund.

WEEK 9

WEEK 10

EDITIONS OF MARCH 2-3: Nick Clark, a member of the Wounded Warrior Softball Team, introduces himself to the Cooperstown Village Board Monday, Feb. 27, telling them he is moving his family to the village.

He played with the team at Doubleday Field on Memorial Day Weekend.

EDITIONS OF MARCH 9-10: Carmela Marner, pictured here at the former Masonic Temple that has served as Franklin Stage Company headquarters since 1996, announced that she was stepping down as executive director. She managed the theater, founded by her parents, Eugene and Carole Luchia Satrina, since 2001.

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2017 OTSEGO COUNTY YEARBOOK

THURSDAY-FRIDAY, DEC. 28-29, 2017

WEEK 12 WEEK 14

EDITIONS OF MARCH 23-24: Susquehanna Animal Shelter Director Stacie Haynes says a fond farewell to a charge, who was waiting for her new family to pick her up. The animal shelter celebrated 100 years since the founder, Isobel Ballard Hyde, opened 10 kennels her Glimmerglen Estate to take in stray dogs.

EDITIONS OF APRIL 6-7: Son Arjun Verma, right, glances affectionately at his father, eminent sitarist Roop Verma of Oneonta, at what turned out to be the elder man’s last concert Friday, March 4, at SUNY Oneonta’s Goodrich Theater. Behind the father (partial view) is his daughter Uma Roop, who trained under Ravi Shankar. He

died after a long illness on Saturday, March 11.

WEEK 15

WEEK 13

EDITIONS OF MARCH 30-13: That savory soy sauce Jason Levigne packages on the line at the bottling plant behind Brooks BBQ requires 150,000 pounds of just one ingredient. Such demands have the company scrambling for short-term warehousing and, within two years, a new 150,000-square-foot building.

EDITIONS OF APRIL 13-14: “Show of hands, how many of you are against starting a volunteer fire department?” asked Ellen Blaisdell at the end of a Town of Oneonta Board of Fire Commissioners public hearing Tuesday, April 11, on spurning professional firefighting coverage and starting a volunteer fire department. With a year left on the contract, negotiations between the city and town have stalled, but strong turnout at an election that put Michelle Catan and Al Rubin on the commission offers hope.

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THURSDAY-FRIDAY, DEC. 28-29, 2017

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2017 OTSEGO COUNTY YEARBOOK

WEEK 16

EDITIONS OF APRIL 20-21: Franklin’s Assistant Fire Chief Steve West assesses the scene of the blazing Christopher’s fire Saturday, April 15.

The restaurant was a landmark establishment for decades, with Adirondack-style decor, including a moose head and one of Kevin Costner’s coats from “Dances With Wolves.”

The cause of the blaze was never determined. The adjacent motel was also demolished in early fall, clearing the Southside lot for redevelopment.

Cira Schmitt photo

WEEK 17

WEEK 18 EDITIONS OF MAY 4-5: Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Matt Hazzard reads the Clark Sports Center plaque presented to Jane Forbes Clark and Executive Director Val Paige. The gym was one of the first eight businesses inducted as part of the inaugural class of the Chamber Hall of Fame at its 100th anniversary celebration Thursday, April 27, in the Hall of Plaques.

EDITIONS OF APRIL 27-28: Hoping to heal some of the contentious feelings locally and across the country, Islamberg Mayor Rashid Clark keynotes “Malice Toward None: Honoring America’s Legacy of Religious Inclusion,” an ecumenical celebration Saturday, April 21, at Oneonta’s Temple Beth-El.

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2017 OTSEGO COUNTY YEARBOOK WEEK 20

WEEK 19

thursday-FRIDAY, DEC. 28-29, 2017

EDITIONS OF MAY 18-19: Common Council voted unanimously to hire George Kortauer in as the city’s third city manager. Kortauer, a 25-year-veteran city manager from Petoskey, Michigan, is the city’s third manager.

Here he chats with Council member John Rafter at an Aug. 7 reception.

WEEK 22

EDITIONS OF MAY 11-12: Yoga instructor Kelly Morrissey holds her side-plank pose as Nigerian dwarf goats Jenny, Forest, Chloe and Bonnie get their own workout, climbing and running at The Gilbertsville Farmhouse, which brought the goat yoga craze to Upstate New York. In December, founder Sharon Boustani and “the kids” were featured on the Dr. Oz show.

WEEK 21 EDITIONS OF MAY 25-26:

President Margaret Drugovich presents the Margaret B. Bunn Award for Outstanding Teaching to Dr. Wendell Frye, 77, professor of German and the college’s oldest professor, during the college’s graduation ceremony on Sunday, May 21. Frye died a week later, on May 28.

EDITIONS OF JUNE 1-2: Cooperstown Mayor Jeff Katz joins

Homer Simpson himself to open the Hall of Fame’s “Homer At The Bat” exhibit. Springfield Nuclear Power Plant teammates Wade Boggs and Ozzie Smith – now Hall of Famers themselves – and Steve Sax were on hand to discuss the episode ahead of the opening of a special exhibit, including a script, figures and animation cells.

Come and join us at Saint Mary’s Catholic Community for Christmas – the Birth of God, We are a resource and catalyst to develop, promote and support a diverse business community in the Cooperstown Area. Through development, promotions and support, we have the strongest Chamber of Commerce in our region.

We believe in strength in numbers...and our membership proves it.

Join Today!

Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce Matthew Hazzard, Executive Director 31 Chestnut St., Cooperstown, NY • 607-547-9983 www.cooperstownchamber.org

New Year’s eve Bash!

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$10 coveR chARge incLudes: midnight champagne toast Bowl of chili 1/2 Price new Year’s eve drink special special surprise Raffle!

We are looking forward to welcoming you to our newly renovated church.

The Feast of the Holy Family Saturday, 30 December 2017 Mass for the Vigil – 5:00 pm

Sunday, 31 December 2017 Mass during the Day – 10:30 am

The Solemnity of Mary, The Holy Mother of God Monday, 1 January 2018 Mass during the Day - 10:00 am

The Solemnity of the Epiphany Saturday, 6 January 2-18 Mass for the Vigil – 5:00 pm

Sunday, 7 January 2018 Mass during the Day – 10:30 am Check out our new website at www.stmarysoneonta.org AND go to your APP Store to find the Saint Mary Church App.

Saint Mary’s Catholic Church

39 Walnut Street, Oneonta 607-432-3920 · www.stmarysoneonta.org

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WEEK 26 WEEK 23

EDITIONS OF JUNE 8-9: The body of Arthur Bellinger, 63, was found on the front lawn of this compound on 393 Wheat Road, New Lisbon.

Perry Webb, top left, was arrested and charged with his murder and the attempted murder of a second friend, after it is alledged that he stomped both men during an argument.

WEEK 27

EDITIONS OF JUNE 29-30: Ruth Allen, partner of the late Dennis Finn, accepts the flag used in his funeral ceremony at the Oneonta Airport on Saturday, June 24. With her are his daughter Kelly Lynch and son Kevin. Finn, 74, died suddenly Thursday, May 18. The terminal at the Oneonta Municipal Airport was named in honor of the civic leader, a pilot who had long lobbied for airport improvements.

WEEK 24

EDITIONS OF JULY 6-7: Acting Police Chief Doug Brenner was originally slated to lead the Independence Day Parade in a police cruiser, but after he climbed aboard the Cadillac M41 Walker Bulldog Tank, he decided that he had to ride in it instead. “I’ve always dreamed of riding on a tank, and when will I ever get another chance to do this? It was awesome!” said Brenner, seen above waving with other riders as the tank makes its way down Main Street on Fourth of July afternoon. The next day, Common Council appointed Brenner chief of police.

EDITIONS OF JUNE 15-16: Ed Lentz, Butternut Valley Association chairman, looks over 51 acres in Morris where 47,000 solar panels are planned by Sun8. Some neighbors were concerned that the installation would ruin their view, and perhaps pollute Butternuts Creek, and reached out to OCCA. It is the third proposed solar farm in Otsego County, with one in Laurens already generating power and a municipal one, also in Laurens, planned for future development.

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THURSDAY-FRIDAY, DEC. 28-29, 2017

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WEEK 29

Leah McDonald photo

WEEK 28

EDITIONS OF JULY 20-21: At the end of the Saturday afternoon symposium, Dick Button and Dorothy Hamill accepted a rousing “Happy Birthday” rendering from the full house gathered to hear them reminisce about their careers alongside fellow Olympian JoJo Starbuck. Button turned 88 that day; she was about to turn 60. At left, Ice Dance International headliner Carly Donowick is spun around the Glice rink

by Brad Vigorito and A.J. Reiss at the “Art on Ice” gala Friday, July 14, at the Glimmerglen Estate on Otsego Lake.

A major annual benefit for The Fenimore Art Museum, the gala attracted a record crowd.

WEEK 30

EDITIONS OF JULY 13-14: At the CANO opening of her exhibit, “’Trust is the Only Safe Ground to Stand Upon’: Portraits of New York State Suffragists,” artist Christine Heller lines up with, from left, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and Matilda Joslyn Gage. Gage, a critic of woman’s role in the Bible, was too radical for many of her suffragist colleagues, but now her home, in Fayetteville, is being restored.

Heller’s works were shown in three galleries across the state.

EDITIONS OF JULY 27-28: Dream comes true: Perry and Cathy Ferrara pause from their labors Thursday, July 20, the day before their Railroad Inn opened in the former Cooperstown Agway.

They cited a need for high-end accomodations in the village.

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WEEK 31

EDITIONS OF AUG. 3-4: Ominously, a dump truck blocked Cooperstown’s Chestnut Street just as Tim Iversen (on banjo) and his combo launch the Parade of Legends Saturday, July 29. Security was high for Hall of Fame induction Weekend, which saw former MLB Commissioner Bud Selig inducted to the Hall alongside Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines and Pudge Rodriguez.

WEEK 32

EDITIONS OF AUG. 10-11: 200 friends and mourners gather around Jacelyn O’Connor’s portrait at a Candlelight Vigil at Morris Central School Monday, Aug. 7. James Brower, the father of two of her half-siblings, and his boyfriend Tobias Rundstrom-Wooding, were arrested for the murder of the 11-year-old, which police believe occured while the couple raped her in their home outside Norwich.

WEEK 33

EDITIONS OF AUG. 17-18: Samantha Carrabba, left, of Morris, with daughter Miranda, and Pat Knuth, Oneonta, gather in Oneonta’s Muller Plaza Monday, Aug. 14, with signs and flags to protest White Supremacists gathered in Charlottesville, Va. Meanwhile, a related issue was being debated locally, as a petition was circulated asking local county fairs stop selling Confederate flags.

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WEEK 34

EDITIONS OF AUG. 24-25: Dr. Kevin Schultz, center, an astronomy teacher at Hartwick College, points to the shadow of the moon projected onto a screen using a professional grade pinhole projector during the Aug. 21 solar eclipse. He is joined by onlookers Mike Gardner, left, Oneonta, and Linda Randall, Davenport.

WEEK 35

EDITIONS OF AUG 31-SEPT 1: Rev. Cynthia Walton-Levitt, Oneonta, and Debby Dickinson, Cherry Valley, chat outside the Beehive, where people could post positive messages on honeycomb paper. Cooperstown’s first annual Be Positive Festival, which included talks, crafts and a community dance, aimed to inspire visitors to make positive changes to the world around them.

Cooperstown’s Robert Iversen emailed this image from southern Illinois, where he had gone to witness the eclipse’s full impact.

WEEK 37

WEEK 36

EDITIONS OF SEPT. 7-8: Karen McCrea, Roseboom, and her niece Leah, admire the work of Paula Friedman at the first annual Cooperstown Art Show. The festival was a hit, according to Matt Hazzard, executive director, Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce, bringing the annual Leatherstocking Brush & Palatte Club Show back to life.

EDITIONS OF SEPT. 14-15: Suspect Casey Callahan is escorted from the Otsego County Courthouse by sheriff’s Deputy Donald Virtell following the first day of the four-day trial for the 2001 murder of his wife, Lizzy Welsh.

He was found guilty and sentenced to 25 to life in Attica, where he is already serving 12 years for sexually assaulting a minor.

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WEEK 39

WEEK 38

EDITIONS OF SEPT. 28-29: On his daily walk to and from Cooperstown’s post office, CPA Ray Holohan passes the empty spot where the venerable flagpole stood for 100 years. Felled by surprise during the Pioneer Street reconstruction, it was replaced with a 50-foot tall pole during a dedication on Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor day.

WEEK 40

EDITIONS OF SEPT 21-22: The hulk of an XNG natural-gas carrier is set upright after it flipped off Route 205, Town of Otsego, about two miles south of the Route 80 junction. Activist Bill Huston, left, who took the photo, confronted XNG reps about the safety of the trucks on country roads, igniting a firestorm that carried over into meetings in Richfield Springs in September and Milford in November.

EDITIONS OF OCT. 5-6: Capt. Daniel Fox, famous for his horsemanship (and a friend of cowboy actor Tom Mix), took the helm when Troop C was founded in 1921. Trooper Nathan Riegal holds the portrait ahead of the centenial anniversary celebration of the New York state troopers, formed in 1917 to help police in rural Upstate.

WEEK 41

Alyssa McGoldrick photo

EDITIONS OF OCT. 12-13: Surprise, Price Chopper shoppers! A young buck wandered into the Cooperstown Price Chopper and posed for a few photos before being lured out with Cheez-Its and sent safely back into the woods.

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WEEK 42 EDITIONS OF OCT 19-20: For more than two decades, the Cooperstown General Store, 43-57 Main St., next to the Hall of Fame, has offered locals and visitors a little bit of everything. Here, veteran store manager Ron Jex adjusts the flag display in advance of 911 commemorations in 2016.

The store, which opened in 1960 as a Newberry’s, has officially closed its doors.

WEEK 44 EDITIONS OF NOV. 3-4: Hollywood has finally caught onto Oneonta’s heartthrob Cuyle Carvin, who made the big screen in “American Made� alongside Tom Cruise. It’s been a busy year for the actor, who had a reoccuring role on “Modern Family� and a stint on the AMC smash hit “The Walking Dead.�

WEEK 43

EDITIONS OF OCT. 26-27: Harold Buckingham and Harold Anderson, both Oneonta natives, have been exchanging the same birthday card for 63 years. As tradition dictated, Buckingham received the card back on Nov. 3 for his birthday.

WEEK 45 EDITIONS OF NOV. 9-10: Oneonta’s Joe Hughes stands on La Barquette lock, where his father fought in Battle of Bloody Gulch in Normandy, France. Last year, Hughes recieved a letter from Thierry Ferey, a Normandy man thanking his father for his service in WWII, and, inspired, Hughes retraced his father’s steps through the French countryside. Managing Editor Libby Cudmore took second prize for the original story in the NYS Press Awards.

Pam Trickett’s father, John Eyers, wrote a letter home describing D-Day, where he lost his arm in battle against the Nazi forces.

She also received a letter from Ferey. While recovering from his injuries, Eyers wrote a four-page letter home detailing the horrors of the war.

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WEEK 46

WEEK 47

Bob Pondolfino photo

EDITIONS OF NOV. 16-17: It was a spectacular sight on Route 7 in Cooperstown junction after a Leatherstocking Railway Historical Society crew lost control of three railcars on a siding on Saturday, Nov 11. The cars rolled downhill until hitting the Route 7 pavement, where the rails had been blacktopped over. The first crossed the pavement and toppled over; the second followed but remained upright, the third ground to a halt in the middle of Route 7. Traffic was detoured for five hours, but there were no major injuries.

WEEK 49

WEEK 48

EDITIONS OF NOV. 30 - DEC 1: As a token of thanks, Laverne Kelley carved a ’53 Chevy for his champion, former Gallery 53 proprietor Sydney Waller of Cooperstown. Kelley’s folk-art carvings have gained an astonishing reputation in recent years, and a catalogue for his most recent show will be entered into the Library of Congress.

WEEK 50

EDITIONS OF DEC 7-8: Dot and Roger Smith took over Spurbeck’s Grocery in 1996 from his mother, Gertrude (Spurbeck) Smith.

The Smiths celebrated the corner market’s 75th anniversary in May 2016, but on Friday, Dec. 1, said goodbye to the beloved store and sold it to Mike Swatling and Carrie O’Brien, who will reopen under the Spurbeck’s name in the new year.

For all your 2018 DIY projects We have what you need!

EDITIONS OF DEC. 14-15: Mayor Jeff Katz poses on the front steps of the family’s Chestnut Street home with First Lady Karen and sons Robbie, right, and Nate, after revealing he won’t run for another term as Mayor of Cooperstown.

Trustee Ellen Tillapaugh has indicated her interest in running.

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EDITIONS OF NOV. 23-24: The boy from Staten Island led Otsego County Democrats to unprecented successes.

Here, he addresses the annual Henry Nicols Jr. Democratic Dinner in September at Foothills. Richard Abbate announced his retirement following a successful election season, where the Democrats rose up to split the Otsego County Board of Representatives 7-7.

Dave LaDuke, Broker · 607-435-2405 Mike Winslow, Broker · 607-435-0183 Laura Coleman · 607-437-4881 Madeline K. Woerner · 607-434-3697 Kristen Bellois 607-282-2251

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NEW YEAR NEW YOU! 6-week challenge program for 2018

Start the New Year off right! Join the Oneonta YMCA 6-week program designed to guide you through exercise, healthy eating and keep you accountable to your goals! Earn points for prizes by keeping track of your weekly activity!

Kick off meeting January 2 at 7 pm.

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THURSDAY-FRIDAY, DEC. 28-29, 2017

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THE 2017 OTSEGO COUNTY YEARBOOK IS DEDICATED IN LOVING MEMORY TO

EDITIONS OF DEC. 21-22: Kevin Perry enters Oneonta Town Court for his arraignment on charges that he shot his parents, Tim and Solveig Perry, the night before, Tuesday, Dec. 17, at their New Road home in the Town of Laurents.

Escorting him are sheriff’ Investigators Jason Munson, left, and William Henn. Police allege that Perry killed his parents, then fled in his father’s truck, crashing off Exit 23 in Schoharie, where he was apprehended.

His sister, Rebecca Perry, testified that when she came home from visiting a friend to find her parents dead and ran next door to her uncle’s house to call 911. No motive has yet been given.

Ian Austin photo

MARY JOAN ‘MJ’ KEVLIN April 19, 1958 - June 16, 2017

‘Her quiet efficiency allowed the rest of us our flamboyance’ Co-Publisher, 2006-2017

WEEK 52 EDITIONS OF DEC. 28-29: Red-cheeked Margaret Wolfert, 3, of Fly Creek, cuddles against mom Kayla on the afternoon of Christmas Eve outside Santa’s Cottage in Cooperstown’s Pioneer Park, where the Clauses were taking gift requests until 4 p.m.

Sister Gloria, 5, of Cooperstown, with dad Matthew, were also waiting in the fairly long line as the last minutes ticked away.

• ing out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow: The year is going, let her go; Ring out the false, ring in the true.’

‘R

Alfred Lord Tennyson

Much Happiness & Prosperity In The New Year!

From Your Friends At The Freeman’s Journal Hometown Oneonta & AllOTSEGO.com Ian Austin • Andree Baillargeon • Tara Barnwell Judith Bartow • Libby Cudmore • Parker Fish Tom Heitz • Jim Kevlin • Joe Kevlin John Kevlin, Megan Burke & Kyla • Kathleen Peters Thom Rhodes • Larissa Ryan • Amanda Willsey

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