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YOU CAN HELP IDENTIFY OUR FUTURE LEADERS/SEE A2 TwenTy under forTy

HOMETOWN ONEONTA !

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F Volume 7, No. 17

City of The Hills

& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch Complimentary

Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, January 16, 2015

Clark Splits With Her Original Allies Rowinski, Stuligross Denied Committee Chairmanships After Coup Attempt By JIM KEVLIN

hen 2013 dawned on Otsego County, the county Board of Representatives was deadlocked over a chairman. At the organizational meeting Wednesday, Jan. 2, votes for Jim Powers, R-Butternuts, and Rich Murphy, D-Town of Oneonta, had failed. What to do? Oneonta Democrat Linda Rowinski raised her head and looked quizzically at Kathy Clark, the Otego Republican. Clark didn’t shake her head. Rowinski nominate her and, with the help of fellow Oneonta Democrat Kay Stuligross, a bipartisan majority elected the county board’s first woman chair. What a difference two years make. Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA

Connor Quarino, Oneonta, practices his shot at the Elks Club’s Hoop Shoot Saturday, Jan. 10, in the OHS Middle School gymnasium.

Congressional Local Drought May Be At End

ith U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson’s announcement he won’t run again in 2016, state Sen. Jim Seward, RMilford, is being mentioned as a possible candidate. If Seward were to run and win, he would be the first congressman from Otsego County since George Fairchild (1907-1919), Oneonta Herald editor who later became the first chairman of the IBM board. The first local congressman from Otsego County was William Cooper, founder of Cooperstown and of The Freeman’s Journal, Hometown Oneonta’s sister newspaper. OTHER CHOICE: SUNY Delhi Provost and former Oneonta mayor John Nader made it to the final four, but Herkimer County Community College announced Tuesday, Jan. 13, that Cathleen C. McColgin, senior vice president at Onondaga Community College, Syracuse, will be its next president. AFTER HOURS: The Otsego County Chamber is planning a “Business After Hours” 4-6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22, at the Plains at Parish Homestead. Tours available.

HOMETOWN ONEONTA file photo

For returning amity to the county Board of Representatives, Kathy Clark, center, Kay Stuligross, left, and Linda Rowinski were this newspaper’s 2013 Citizens of the Year.

At this year’s reorganizational meeting Wednesday, Jan. 7, Clark was facing a Democratbacked challenge from Powers. When the dust settled, Clark had carried the day and her former allies, Rowinski and Stuligross, were without committee chairmanships. The sequence of events began around New Year’s weekend, when Rowinski called Powers: Would you support a Democrat for chair? Perhaps Stuligross or Gary Koutnik, D-Oneonta? “We needed a new direction; we needed a new leader,” Rowinski explained later. According to county Rep. Don Lindberg, RWorcester, Powers replied: No, but would you support me as an alternative to Kathy Clark? “He was not working to take that position,” said Rowinski. “But he was willing to take it.” And Please See COUP, A5

DEC HEARING HELD IN ONEONTA

The ‘Nays’ Have It At Pipeline Forum Lisa Barr, Oneonta, was among the 80 people, mostly opponents of the Constitution Pipeline, at DEC’s Tuesday, Jan. 13, hearing at SUNY Oneonta.

Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA

When Oneonta nonprofits find themselves in transition, how often has Cheri Albrecht come to the rescue?

Her Goal: To Better The World By LIBBY CUDMORE

W Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA

By LIBBY CUDMORE

‘C

onstitution Pipeline Means Jobs!” “Constitution Pipeline Means Economic Development!” These were the messages, bright on truck-mounted LED screens, that greeted supporters and objectors Tues-

day evening, Jan. 13, as they entered SUNY Oneonta’s Lecture Hall #3, where the state Department of Environmental Conservation was holding a public hearing on the Constitution Pipeline. But inside, the majority of the 80 speakers who signed up for three minutes to address DEC Administrative Law Judge Molly McBride and

Stephen Tomasik, point of contact between the DEC and the pipeline, offered a contrary point of view. “A lot of us pushed to deny frackers the right to spoil our land with wells,” said Larry Bennett, Brewery Ommegang’s Creative Services manager. “Now we need to deny the pipeline. These companies have the right to Please See HEARING, A6

hen anyone needs help, Cheri Albrecht is there. “Injustice has always bothered me,” she said. “I marched against the war in Vietnam, I heard Martin Luther King Jr. speak at North Manchester University. I helped establish the third domestic violence shelter in Ohio, women’s shelters in Scranton, Pennsylvania. I’ve always been a helper.” Currently, Albrecht has Please See ALBRECHT, A6

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A-2 HOMETOWN ONEONTA

40 20

TwenTy under forTy An InvITATIOn TO OTsegO COunTy CITIzens All around us, young men and young women are creating Otsego County’s future.

[

That observation inspired Hometown Oneonta & The Freeman’s Journal The Otsego County Chamber of Commerce The Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce to recognize these future leaders.

]

Below is a nomination form to help us identify and celebrate Otsego County’s future. This form will also be available on allotsego.com, cooperstownchamber.org and otsegocc.com. We hope you will participate, suggesting an admired employee, co-worker, friend, family member, or simply someone you’ve observed who is excelling and inspiring. Of the nominees, 20 will be selected by a panel of community leaders to be honored at a reception on Thursday, February 26.

40 20

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We will recognize 20 young professionals within otsego County who have had a positive impact on the company or organization they work for and the communities in which they live.

Nomination Form RequiRements — nominees must be employed and have lived and worked in Otsego County for at least 2 years. — nominees must be under 40 years of age as of march 1, 2015. — nominees must have some community involvement. Community involvement will be strongly considered. nominees who hold political office will not be considered solely on the basis of political achievements. Professionals in business and non-profit sectors are eligible. individuals are also encouraged to nominate themselves. Nominations must be received by February 6, 2015. NomiNee Name: ______________________________________ __________________________________________ First

last

Birthdate: ______________________________________ (must be after March 1, 1975) Company Name: __________________________________________________________ Position: ________________________________________________________________ Business Address: ________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ e-mail: ______________________________________________ Phone: ____________________________ NomiNAtor Name: ______________________________________ __________________________________________ First

last

relationship to Nominee: __________________________________________________ Company Name: __________________________________________________________ e-mail: ______________________________________________ Phone: ____________________________ Please explain why you are nominating this person/yourself ____________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________

•F

OUNDED

1808 BY

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31 Chestnut Street • Cooperstown, NY 13326 • 607-547-9983 • www.cooperstownchamber.org

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Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce

O M C O PE

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HOMETOWN ONEONTA & The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch

HOMETOWN People

FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 2015

HOMETOWN ONEONTA A-3

CADETS GO FORTH TO LOCAL POLICE FORCES

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Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA

At the Otsego County Law Enforcement Academy graduation Saturday, Jan. 10, Technical Sgt. Johnathan Bartlett and U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson, left photo, salute the flag during the Pledge of Allegiance. At right, Oneontaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Edward Hernandez receives the Investigator Rick Parisian Award for most outstanding cadet from Sid and Deb Parisian.

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Jan McGrath â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Sweet Adeline Of Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

he members of Oneontaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s City of the Hills chapter have selected Jan McGrath of Cooperstown as their 2014 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sweet Adeline of the Year.â&#x20AC;? She was awarded a certificate and pin on Sept. 20 in Syracuse at the 2014 Vocal Fest, a music education weekend for Sweet Adelines Internationalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Greater NY/ NJ Region 15. Janâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s narrative and photo were dis-

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played along with other â&#x20AC;&#x153;Women of Noteâ&#x20AC;? chapter winners during the weekend. Music has been part of McGrath Janâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life for many years. Growing up in Otego, she was in the school chorus. She participated in college musicals at SUNY Delhi and is in both the choir and a quartet at her church, First Baptist in Cooperstown. Inspired by a performance by City of the Hills Chorus in Cooperstown in 1993, Jan joined the chorus in the following year. Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s now the baritone section leader and often will lead the chorus with warm-ups at the beginning of rehearsal. She is assistant director, the chorusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s historian and

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is current president of the board of directors and has been for several years. Jan has sung in three of the chorusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; quartets, currently with â&#x20AC;&#x153;Four of Hearts.â&#x20AC;? In the early years, Janâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s young son would occasionally come to rehearsals and play quietly during the evening. At home he would pick up the lead part of the songs Jan was learning and sing while she quietly would duet the Bari part with him. That young son, Patrick, now living in Medina and working for the state Department of Corrections, is the father of three children who love to put on â&#x20AC;&#x153;showsâ&#x20AC;? for grandma Jan and her husband, Jim. Jan is completing her 46th year in Bassett Hospitalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Human Resources Department. At First Baptist, she is church treasurer and, of course, in the choir.

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HOMETOWN Views

A-4 HOMETOWN ONEONTA

FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 2015

Bold Action Brings Unintended Consequences. Take Parking...

ne thing you can say for the Cooperstown village trustees: They’re a self-confident group, reacting to pretty much everything in stride. So it was a novelty the other day when engineers from Barton & Loguidice, the Syracuse firm planning the second phase of the downtown redo, reported that, by accepting $1.2 million in federal funds, the traffic signal that has hung from a cable at Main and Chestnut for the past halfcentury or more, will have to go. In place of the single signal will rise a small forest of “masts” with eight traffic signals where now there is one, one that has performed effectively, guiding the cars of a half-million visitors a summer for who knows how long. When the engineers completed their presentation, there was dead silence. Perhaps, given that Cooperstown is in the Glimmerglass National Historic District, an adjustment could be made, it was suggested. Maybe, the engineers replied. However, having accepted the federal money,

It seems that Cooperstown’s unobtrusive traffic signal at Main and Pioneer, left, may be replaced with a forest of “masts” and signals like the one at right, from Hagerstown, Md., an unintended consequence of a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

“once you start working on an intersection, you have to bring it up to (federal) code,” one added. State grants have fewer strings, but the attached strings are worth thinking about as Otsego County – of modern necessity – seeks to leverage outside money as local resources decline. • There was little secondguessing the afternoon before, when the same usually unruffled trustees plunged, with no discernible second thoughts, into Phase II of the village’s controversial – controversial everywhere else but the Village Board

FOR THE RECORD

Can Governor Build On One Fine Speech?

ndrew’s eulogy for his father was moving but it also had some self- serving political elements to it. That was a little troubling in this setting. For example, Andrew called for peace between those people who believe the police have been overly aggressive and the police, themselves. This occurred just as New York Mayor Bill de Blasio was facing what might only be called a police revolt as officers turned their backs on the Governor Cuomo in executive authority. By suggesting that the Cooperstown during Presitwo sides had to get to- dent Obama’s visit. gether, Cuomo was once again pulling the rug out from under the mayor. Sigmund Freud suggested that our characters are set by the time we are about 4 years old. So even if Andrew wanted to change his political persona, one questions whether or not he could. Many people admire the man because “he gets things done.” While others think that he’s made many mistakes, he still easily won reelection as governor, even though he lost many votes that he might have gotten had people liked him more. And so, what we might call “likeability” is crucial to Andrew’s political success. If he tries, he could build on that Mario eulogy to gain some likeability traction. Whether he does that or not is up to him. – ALAN CHARTOCK

HOMETOWN ONEONTA

& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch

Jim Kevlin

Editor & Publisher

Tara Barnwell

Advertising Director Thom Rhodes • Jim Koury Advertising Consultants C

Celeste Brown Thomas Copy Editor

M.J. Kevlin

Business Manager

Kathleen Peters Graphics

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Libby Cudmore Ian Austin Reporter Photographer

Judith Bartow Stephenie Walker Billing Production Coordinator

Tom Heitz Consultant

MEMBER OF New York Press Association • The Otsego County Chamber Published weekly by Iron String Press, Inc. 21 Railroad Ave., Cooperstown NY 13326 Telephone: (607) 547-6103. Fax: (607) 547-6080. E-mail: info@allotsego.com • www.allotsego.com

room at 22 Main – paidparking initiative. Five years ago, Pay & Display machines were added to the Doubleday Field lot. Last year, the P&D system was expanded to Main and Pioneer. This summer, it will be expanded from Main to Lake on Fair, Main to Bassett along River, and installed along Church Street, which runs on the south side of the block with the Baseball Hall of Fame. If anything, Mayor Katz had to restrain his crew, asking that only “lowhanging fruit” be plucked at this time. But Street

Committee chair Cindy Falk’s report made it clear where things are going: It analyzed Chestnut south to the village line, plus Lake, the Lakefront Park lot, Fish Road (the boat-launch access), Elk, Main around the county government complex, and Leatherstocking behind it. Adding P&D machines at the south end of Pioneer, across from Bassett Hall, was also in the mix. You can see where this is going. If this board remains in place, the whole village will be P&D’d in less than a half-decade. (An aside: Do you remember folks complain-

ing this much about parking meters? Maybe part of the problem is the P&Ds. They are mystifying and inconvenient, as Don Hall of Whitehall says in his Letter to the Editor elsewhere on this page. P&D turned the lower floor of Oneonta’s downtown parking deck into vacant space. It will be interesting to see what happens as P&Ds are installed in the lot at Dietz and Wall. A caution to all: Go easy on P&Ds.) • Katz takes the long view on this. If P&D revenues continue to flow – some $350,000 last summer

along, with the changes adding $100,000 – village streets, ever a source of complaining chatter, will be completely repaired and, if necessary, rebuilt, in a decade. Fine. Still, when all the streets are pristine, there will still be too few parking spaces and too many cars. There will still be a “parking crisis,” as Trustee Falk described it a few months ago. Pretty much every decision the Village Board considers, she said, slams into the wall of too few parking spaces. During the trustees’ hourlong parking discussion, no one mentioned service, or quality of life, or what constituents may prefer, or even specific projects to be funded. Only chasing paidparking dollars. This Village Board has made up its mind, which is what elected officials are chosen to do. Good for them. If everyone is as much in agreement at the Village Board, end of discussion. If not, there are party caucuses at the end of this month to nominate candidates for the March 10 village elections.

DICK DOWNEY OTHER VOICES

Fracking Is Dead. Long Live Fracking

nergy continues to make headlines. While New York refuses to issue permits for high-volume hydraulic fracturing, oil broke the $50 a barrel mark, bringing gasoline to $2.50 a gallon nationally. That’s more than a dollar a gallon pocketed by drivers every time they fill up compared to last year. Thank a fracker! Shale plays in Texas and North Dakota have increased U.S. oil production to 9 million barrels a day, upsetting markets and decreasing prices by 45 percent. Gas production from the Marcellus and other shale formations is now equal to that of Iran’s. The U.S. is awash in cheap energy. Thank a fracker! Drivers aren’t the only beneficiaries. Energy was costing workingclass households earning $50,000 or less income about 20 percent of their after-tax dollars. No more, as costs of everything goes down. The U.S. still makes things. Onethird of the gross domestic product comes from the sale of manufactured

goods or extracted products. Whether we move them by rail, plane, truck, ship or pipeline, we use a hydrocarbon. Cheap energy means we’re competitive globally. More sales means more jobs. Check with Amphenol in Sidney; they’re hiring again with the advent of the Constitution Pipeline. Farm costs for fertilizer, planting, weed control and harvesting are also affected positively. Lower overhead means more money for the 401(k) or maybe a new computer. For those lucky enough to have shale under their feet, royalties allow equipment upgrades. Prosperous farms revive a dying heartland. Retailers see sales as shoppers keep more of their paychecks and spend more with extra money in the checking account. The medium household income from all sources rose last year by a measly $178. IHS Insight predicts that lower energy costs alone will save the average family $750 annually. That’s stimulus! Four times last year’s gain and not a cent in government debt passed down to the grandchildren.

Thank a fracker! The bonanza doesn’t stop on our shores. A recent Wall Street Journal headline said: “Tumble in Oil Prices Spurs New Bets on Global Growth.” The obvious benefits of lower costs, less debt and more jobs are all “unambiguously positive,” says the European Central Bank president. America’s productivity forces energy back into the marketplace rather than us having to boot-lick a cartel of kleptomaniacs. Russia, aptly described as “a gas station posing as a country,” has seen its ruble plunge over 40 percent. That means less money for military adventures. Nuclear ambitious Iran and revolutionary Venezuela will have less dough to push their agendas. The Saudis are paying attention. Suddenly, our country isn’t dependent on countries that don’t like us. Thank a fracker! This is an excerpt from an op-ed Dick Downey of the Unatego Area Landowners Association provided to the Press & Sun-Bulletin.

LETTERS

Welcome To Cooperstown? We Think Not To the Editor: My wife and I have been visiting Cooperstown for the past 20 years. We have always loved the beautiful drive, visiting the Baseball Hall of Fame, shopping and having dinner afterwards. On at least four occasions, we stayed overnight there. Now, I can honestly say we doubt we will be visiting Cooperstown again for quite awhile, if at all. On our most recent trip there, we were offended and disgusted by the new parking fees of $2 per hour. This may seem a small fee to some, but one day and afternoon spent in Cooperstown will cost anywhere from $10-20 just for the privilege of parking in your village to visit the Hall of Fame and patronize local businesses. The kiosks at which parking vouchers must be purchased do not even ac-

cept dollar bills; however, they do accept credit cards. Was this system created for your convenience in tacking on additional parking violation fees in case someone is a few minutes over their allotted parking time? During this last visit, I observed an incident involving an elderly couple who pulled into a parking spot; a sticker on the back of their car indicated that the man driving the vehicle was a World War II veteran. The woman got out of the vehicle and proceeded to the kiosk to buy a parking voucher, but she encountered a line at the kiosk and had to wait. When she finally returned with the voucher in hand, their car was already being served with a parking violation ticket. The woman and her husband tried to explain to the officer that they were

not trying to avoid paying parking fees but had just experienced a delay in purchasing a parking voucher because of the crowd at the kiosk – all to no avail. They were informed that it was too late, and they were issued a parking ticket. What should they have done? Park in the middle of the street until the woman got through the cluster of peop!e at the kiosk and then parked their car? If this is the way that Cooperstown intends to treat visitors patronizing their businesses, why would anyone ever want to spend their time, gas and money to travel there a second time, only to be treated like this again? In closing, I would like to add that every store and restaurant employee that I spoke to during my last visit indicated that almost all of the businesses in

Cooperstown were opposed to the new parking policy, and that it was an inconvenience to everyone. Such a policy will only negatively impact on future tourism in the beautiful and vibrant village of Cooperstown. I know that it has for me. DONALD HART Whitehall

Fresh Ideas For A Fresh 2015 To the Editor: 2015: • Bill Cosby should take a lie detector test. • “Arab Spring” should be renamed “Arab Winter” • Ukraine should offer swapping land that Russia has seized for Chernobyl. GERRY WELCH Cooperstown

AllOTSEGO.com

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR WELCOME • E-MAIL THEM TO info@

HOMETOWN ONEONTA A-5

FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 2015

Powers, Democrats Tried, But Failed To Topple Chair COUP/From A1 so things were set in motion. On Monday the 5th, Powers called Lindberg seeking support, but “I told him I can’t,” said the Worcester rep. “I think the way I think – and he doesn’t think the way I think.” Powers also called Ed Frazier, R-Unadilla. Frazier was noncommittal, but later called Powers back to make it crystal clear: “I don’t want you going forward thinking you have my support.” Said Frazier: “Jim knew it – I was not supporting him.” On Tuesday the 6th, Stuligross hosted a Democratic caucus at her Walnut Street home, and Powers addressed the group. Ed Lentz, D-New Lisbon, said there was extensive discussion about whom to support, but no vote was taken. “When I left there,” he said, “I wasn’t sure what I was going to do.” • In interviews with five Democrats and two Republicans – attempts to reach Clark and Powers were unsuccessful – it seems Clark’s opponents were goaded by three issues: ► One, her participation in committee meetings, where board chairs in the past generally served in an ex officio role, attending whatever meetings they wished but not voting. According to the interviews, Rowinski’s Solid Waste & Environmental Concern Committee was a particular battleground. Clark cast the deciding vote on lowering the tipping fee once MOSA was dissolved, while Rowinski hoped to keep it stable until the impacts of the garbage authority’s dissolution were fully understood. At one point, another Democrat said, County Attorney Ellen Coccoma was asked for an opinion, and she ruled – to the disagreement of some – that Clark was acting within her authority. For his part, Lindberg said Clark’s participation in committee meetings was sometimes essential. Frazier agreed: “She only voted when she had to, or when she was needed to get a quorum. In my view, that isn’t a legitimate complaint.” Rowinski also objected to what she views as the over-powering role of the Administration Com-

Chairman Clark and Vice Chair Frazier, above, at recent County Board meeting. At right, Powers, foreground, and Lindberg are side by side in County Board room.

HOMETOWN ONEONTA file photos

mittee, again being chaired by Chair Vince Casale hosted a Frazier, which again has four breakfast there – the phone lines Republican members to a single had been burning with Clark partiDemocrat (Stuligross). Instead sans seeking to ensure support for of “Admin” keeping matters from Clark was firm. coming to the full board, “there Counting noses, Lindberg said, needs to be more discussion beit appeared that four Democrats tween all representatives,” Rowin- – Rowinski, Stuligross, Lentz and ski said. Koutnik – were supporting Pow► Two, Clark’s resistance, now ers, and three Republicans – Powers himself, Betty Ann Schwerd, resolved, to giving raises to the R-Edmeston, (who was to lose her county’s managers and department heads. Powers had long supported raises for managers, whose salaries had been unchanged for five years. This issue swayed Rowinski, she said: “One Republican stood against his party: Jim Powers. That’s why I supported him.” But Lindberg said, “We just didn’t have the money.” In the end, he supported a 5 percent hike, while Clark proposed 7. ► Three, personal interactions that some representatives thought were overbearing. “I think discussion has been inhibited by Kathy’s style,” said Rowinski. Lentz put it this way: “There is some disagreement with Kathy’s leadership. I think, overall, she does a good job.” “I don’t care who the chair is,” said Frazier, who was reelected vice chair, “the other 13 aren’t going to agree with them on 100 percent of the issues. She IS a strong woman.” • By the time Republicans gathered the morning of County Rep. Rowinski engineered the organizational meeting Kathy Clark’s election as chair in at the Doubleday Cafe in 2012, but the two are now at odds. Cooperstown – county GOP

HOMETOWN

Intergovernmental Affairs Committee chairmanship), and Keith McCarty, R-East Springfield. The horse-trading was intense, according to Lindberg, who himself achieved the chairmanship in 2006 by reaching an agreement with the Democrats. This time, “they begged me. They offered me the world,” he said; but it wasn’t to be. The county board has a complicated weighted-voted system, with county reps’ voting clout depending on the number of people in their districts, so the Republicans at the breakfast had to parse the numbers. They concluded “we needed Beth,” Lindberg said, referring to Beth Rosenthal, D-Roseboom. Rosenthal was being courted by the other side as well. “I spoke with Jim, and I was trying to separate the past from the future,” she said. Powers had been the most outspoken county board supporter of fracking – “the poster child of fracking,” is how Rosenthal put it – and, even after Governor Cuomo announced the statewide fracking ban, she felt some of her supporters would feel betrayed if she supported him. “Even if I could get over that,” Rosenthal was asking herself, “what is his vision?” She didn’t hear a compelling one. When the organizational meeting was convened at 10 a.m. on the 7th, it was un-

clear to many in the second-floor county board chambers at 197 Main St., Cooperstown, what the outcome would be. Powers invited Rosenthal into the conference room across the hall. When they emerged, however, Lindberg saw Powers raise his head toward Rowinski and nod slightly in the negative. • The resulting vote was anti-climactic. To one Democrat, when Frazier – who represents District 1, and therefore votes first – went for Clark, the rebellion was at an end. When Lentz – District 5, with the greatest weighted voting – went for Clark, the rest knew it was over. Rosenthal’s aye vote from District 7 just confirmed what the number crunchers already knew by then. All the rest, including Stuligross and Rowinski, then voted for Clark, but, it turned out, too late to save their chairmanships. Powers was replaced on Public Safety & Legal Affairs by Lindberg. Stuligross, who had chaired the committees that shepherded through the Otsego Manor sale and filled in as IGA chair when Schwerd dropped out for a few months last year, received no chairmanship, although she is on the influential Administration Committee. Rowinski was replaced at the helm of Solid Waste by Rosenthal. It’s unfortunate, said Lentz, who emerged as Performance Review & Goal Setting chair, that, whatever Clark’s motivation, there is an appearance of “retribution.” Said Lindberg, “Elections have consequences.” Nonetheless, the county reps interviewed were, to a person, looking ahead, eager to move forward on SolarCity’s energy project, building the towers for the $8 million emergency communication system, agreeing on an economicdevelopment strategy (last year, the county board failed to get behind the IDA’s single-point-ofcontact strategy), and high-speed broadband Internet. After the organizational meeting, Clark hosted her colleagues for lunch at The Otesaga. Five Republicans attended, and Democrat Stuligross. “It’s just politics,” she said philosophically about what had transpired. “You move on.”

History

Compiled by Tom Heitz with resources courtesy of The New York State Historical Association Library

125 Years Ago

Otsego’s Public Schools – There are in the county 304 school districts not joint – 141 in the first and 163 in the second commissioner district. In these districts there are regularly employed 386 teachers, under whose instruction are 11,367 pupils – more than one-fifth of the total population of the county. The largest number of schools in any single town is found in Middlefield, which has 19, employing, however, but 20 teachers. Oneonta, with 14 districts, employs the most teachers at 35. Otsego, with 18 districts and 29 teachers, is second. Decatur has the fewest districts and fewest teachers employed – six of each. The value of school buildings and sites is placed in the first commissioner district at $145,415, and in the second at $124,169, making a total valuation of $269,584. There was received from the state public money amounting to $45,958, and by tax $59,128 additional was raised. This total divided among 386 teachers would give an average annual salary of $272 to each. January 1890

100 Years Ago

Ransom Mickle of Oneonta has died as the result of taking an overdose of morphine Monday morning, according to word received last night from Dr. M.D. Lipes at Nassau, near Albany. Dr. Lipes states that Mickle has been a slave to the drug habit for 19 years and during the past few weeks he placed himself in charge of Dr. Lipes for treatment. Christmas morning Dr. Lipes accompanied Mickle to Nassau where they have been staying with Rev. E.T. Lipes, father of the former, and by gradual degrees Mickle’s portion of morphine had been decreased from several grains per day to one-fourth of a grain. Monday morning, in some way, Mickle evaded the close attention of Dr. Lipes, and securing a whole bottle of the drug, swallowed it at a single dose. He at once sank into a coma from which he never fully recovered. Dr. Eli Denny, a former Oneonta physician, now at Nassau, was called in consultation with Dr. Lipes but they were unable to rouse Mickle from the effects of the drug and he died at 8:30 o’clock last night. Mickle was 52 years of age and has been employed as a laborer in this city. He was considered an expert in the handling of dynamite. January 1915

80 Years Ago

in 1974, 10 of them in Otsego County and one in Schoharie County. Included was the derailment of a train pulling propane cars that subsequently exploded injuring 55 firemen and onlookers on February 12, 1974. In 1973, the D. & H. also had 37 derailments. The most recent derailment was a 25-car upset at Worcester last Sunday. A spokesman for the D. & H. said the railroad has not determined yet the cause of that derailment, but added that more derailments occur in the winter. Since the beginning of January, derailments have increased. Expansion of equipment and rails due to thawing after cold spells generally causes more malfunctions and thus more accidents. January 1975

30 Years Ago

Opinion: When our forefathers wrote the Constitution of the United States, it was to secure the blessings of liberty to themselves and their posterity, and that the right of citizens to vote should not be denied. Where was our right to vote when the seat belt law was passed? The seat belt law has January 1935 taken away my constitutional right to freedom of choice. If my friend chooses to wear a seatbelt, fine. I would like to have the choice not to wear mine. The Supreme Court Details have been worked out for occupancy of George I. has sometimes reversed its own decisions. Why can’t our Wilber Mansion by six organizations. The one-year conlegislators do the same? They are eliminating our freedoms tracts, drawn by City Attorney Anthony DeAngelo will be one by one. How can anyone approve of freedom of choice presented to the Common Council for approval tomorrow on abortion, which is murder, and not believe in freedom of night. Arrangements for the Wilber Mansion to become a choice in relation to wearing seatbelts? new Community House were negotiated by the building January 1985 committee of the Common Council composed of Alderman Cecil Matthews, chairman, and Alderman Perry L. Morehouse and Alderman Albert S. Nader, members. The organiTemperatures usually experienced in May rather than zations are the Girl Scouts, the Red Cross, Oneonta FamJanuary brought a false spring to the Oneonta area over the ily Service Association, Otsego County Tuberculosis and weekend. People shed winter coats and some plants budPublic Health Association, American Cancer Society, and ded. The moderate weather is expected to continue through the Oneonta Community Art Center. The Oneonta Youth the week. Oneonta thermometers reached a high of 63 deCouncil, which had asked for space in the Wilber Mansion, grees Fahrenheit on Saturday with an overnight low of 58. decided to remain on the top floor of the YMCA building Sunday also saw a high of 63 degrees. Since last Novemwhich the city rents for $780 a year. ber 18, Oneonta has not recorded a sub-zero temperature January 1955 and snowfall has amounted to less than a foot. The lack of moisture with warmer temperatures has been a blessing in that no flooding has occurred from rapid melting and runAlmost one-third of the Delaware & Hudson Railroad’s off. Golfers were out on the snow-free Oneonta Country New York derailments last year occurred in Otsego and Club course on Saturday. Schoharie counties. According to State Department of January 1995 Transportation (DOT) files, the D. & H. had 37 derailments

60 Years Ago

20 Years Ago

40 Years Ago

FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 2015

A-6 HOMETOWN ONEONTA

‘Nays’ Dominate Comments At DEC Constitution Pipeline Hearing HEARING/From A1 make a profit, just like my company does, but not at the expense of our land.” The Constitution Pipeline, which is under federal jurisdiction, was approved by FERC, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, in December. But the state DEC still must issue permits regarding wetlands, water quality and other matters, and the hearings – in Binghamton Monday the 12th and Cobleskill Wednesday the 14th – are part of that process.

Felix Bridel, 14, of Franklin: “You will be blamed for the deaths of the innocent.”

The 129-mile project, from drilling sites in Northeastern Pennsylvania to Schoharie County, is intended to deliver natural gas to the Iroquois pipeline that serves New York City and the Tennessee, serving Boston. “I am baffled why we are even here tonight,” said Felix Bridel, 14, of Franklin, who was there with his mother, Carmela Marner, and her parents, Carol and Eugene. “This pipeline is carrying fracked gas, and when it explodes, it will poison the water. We won’t be fleeing Earth in a rocket anytime soon, so we’re stuck with this Earth, and if you let the pipeline through, you will be blamed for the deaths of the innocent.” Landowners from Chenango and Delaware counties, dressed in orange, peppered the crowd, but few approached the podium, and one was temporarily removed for booing a speaker. And when Russ Honicker, Cooperstown, called for “those who think it’s a good idea to protect our children” to stand, McBride called the audience back to order. McBride repeatedly reminded the crowd to cease clapping, and occasionally hushed a stray comment

Oneonta antifrackers Michael Stolzer and Rachel Soper prepare to voice their objections to the Constitution Pipeline during DEC’s Tuesday, Jan. 14, hearing at SUNY Oneonta.

Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA

from both sides of the debate. “We understand that this is an important, emotional issue,” she said. “But we want to respect everyone who is speaking here.” In addition to the calls for the pipeline not to be built, there were several pleas to direct the need for energy and jobs to renewables. “Solar and wind need a lot of welders too!” said Lisa Barr, Oneonta. “The fossil

fuel industry will strangle prospects for a sustainable future.” And Adrian Kuzminski, Fly Creek, Sustainable Otsego moderator, had strong parting words for the DEC at the end of his three minutes. “This is an ethical issue,” he said. “When your grandchildren ask why you continued allowing fossil fuels, it will be impossible to say, ‘We didn’t know’.”

In Non-Profits’ Times Of Need, Albrecht Is There ALBRECHT/From A1 been called back into the breach by the United Way of Delaware & Otsego Counties, after the resignation of long-time director Theresa Capuano resigned to take another position. As interim director, Albrecht is getting reading to wrap up a campaign that aims to raise $325,000 by the end of January. Thirteen programs in the two counties depend on the outcome, including Head Start’s dental program, free tax preparation for low-income families, the violence intervention program at Opportunities for Otsego and the new 211 program, which serves as an information and referral line. “We partnered with Broome County to bring this service here – they had it during the floods, and it was a huge help.” United Way acts as a clearing house for non-profits seeking funding. “Organizations come to us and we screen them based on what they do and what difference they make in the community,” she said. “We want to see agencies collaborate, not duplicate services, so we can build better services for our community.” So far, the drive has raised $220,000, but there are lots of organizations, and not always enough money to go around. “This year, we had to turn away six programs,” she said. Albrecht took over the role in November, filling in for the previous interim director, Sue Dawkins. “I had been on the United Way board in the spring, but I left, just in case they needed me here,” the new interim director said. This is not her first time

in an interim role, having previously served at the Oneonta Family Y, UCCCA (now CANO, the community arts organization) and other non-profits. “I’ve lost count,” she said. “The United Way decided we didn’t want to start looking for a new director until after the campaign was finished, so I stepped up.” It’s another piece in a life dedicated to helping others. “I always felt called to service,” she said. “It’s just who I am.” Oneontans first got to know Albrecht in 19852005, when she served as Opportunities for Otsego

executive director, and she conducted OFO’s first capital campaign to build the offices on West Broadway. “The community really stepped in,” she said. “I told Sam Nader, ‘If you can get me a meeting with someone, I can get the money’.” “The mark of a good director is that they see who around them has the skills they need,” she said. “They listen, and they choose people who help them answer the right questions.” But after the long road of getting the homeless shelter built, she knew it was time to step down. “I was tired

to the long days, and OFO needed someone with new eyes,” she said. Dan Maskin now serves as CEO, but Albrecht knew she wasn’t ready to completely retire. And she tears up a little when she talks about the work that still has to be done. “What’s best for the community and what’s best for ourselves may not always be the same. We need to sacrifice, we need to have compassion,” she said. “We all need to look around us and see what our community needs to make it a better place.”

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—Front and rear staircases exterior Features —Built in 1887 —Victorian style —Clapboard siding w/period details —New thermopane windows —Covered front and rear porches

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Tim Donahue, Associate Real Estate Broker – 293-8874 Madeline Sansevere, Real Estate Salesperson – 435-4311 Cathy Raddatz, Real Estate Salesperson – 547-8958 Jacqueline Savoie, Real Estate Salesperson – 547-4141 Michael Welch, Real Estate Salesperson – 547-8502

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MLS#97784 Minden $299,000 Here is a wonderful opportunity to own this tastefully updated Colonial on over 50+ acres w/mountain views for miles. 3 BRs, 3 baths. Updated galley-style kitchen overlooks rear sunroom and in-ground pool w/Trex decking. Spacious LR w/brick gas fireplace, large DR. Master BR features walk-in closet and private bath. Plenty of storage space in the full walk-out basement and 2-car garage. Cherry Valley/Springfield schools. Dave LaDuke, Broker 607-435-2405

Bim Ashford 607-435-3971

Mike Winslow, Broker 607-435-0183

Madeline K. Woerner 607-434-3697

Laura Coleman 607-437-4881

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MLS#95904 $599,000 Charming center-hall Colonial set on over 80 acres offers wide maple, pine, cherry floors throughout. LR w/fireplace, DR w/original cupboards and French doors to covered porch, kitchen w/cherry cabinets, tiled floor. Downstairs are 2 BRs, 2 baths. Upstairs are 4 BRs, 3 baths. Master BR w/dressing room, private bath. Front and back staircases, detached 2-car heated garage w/workshop. Pond, horse barn w/3 box stalls. Land and frontage on 3 country roads. There are also two 1-BR cottages currently being rented to Cooperstown Dreams Park. Call Kristi J. Ough @ 607-434-3026 (cell)

www.realtyusa.com 4914 State Hwy 28 Cooperstown 607-547-5933 75 Market Street Oneonta 607-433-1020

FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 2015

HOMETOWN ONEONTA A-7

MIKE STEIN RETIRES AS BASSETT VP

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Bassett Healthcare photo

Congratulating Mike Stein and his wife, Doris Motta, center, at a farwell reception Friday, Jan. 9, are, from left, former Bassett President/CEO Bill Streck, Lorna Wilhelm, Bassett COO Bertine McKenna, and Friends of Bassett Executive Director Joshua Truman.

30-Year Exec Leaves Bassett For Consulting

Unreserved Estate Auction Early Ceramics and Country Furniture

Thursday, January 22, 2015 - 4:30 PM Hesse Galleries, 350 Main St., Otego, NY This is the second of four auctions of exceptional Flow Blue & other Early Ceramics. Also included is a selection of Firearms & Edged Weapons, Taxidermy, Baskets, Prints, Country Furniture, Tinware, Early Lighting, Oriental Carpets & Good Accessories.

Plan to attend this sale or bid in absentia - all absentee bids are executed competitively. For the photographic order of sale go to www.HESSEGALLERIES.com Or AuctionZip, Auctioneer # 2029

COOPERSTOWN

ike Stein, Bassett Healthcare’s vice president/development, is retiring from the hospital system after 32 years to revive his fundraising consulting business. During an earlier period of fundraising consulting, Stein had helped such Oneonta entities as Foothills Performing Arts Center and the Family YMCA. His current clients include Catskill Area Hospital & Palliative Care. In an interview, Stein recalled the early days of Bassett’s fundraising efforts in the 1980s, noting they bore fruit in $7 million raised for the $25 million Bassett Clinic, opened in 1992, and the Bassett Challenge, which raised $17 million for upgrading emergency rooms at Cooperstown and the O’Connor and Cobleskill Hospitals.

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