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Volume 207, No. 26
COOPERSTOWN AND AROUND
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Milford Central salutatorian Samuel Aldridge welcomes the crowd at the Friday, June 26, commencement.
OMP & CIRCUMSTANCE MORE GRADUATION PHOTOS, B3-6
Libby Cudmore/The Freeman’s Journal
Partners To Leave TJ’s Place Empty, At Least For Now
The Freeman’s Journal
Proprietor Gene Marra welcomes U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY, left, to the Cooperstown Distillery Monday, June 29. At right is Steve Harris, a partner in the distillery.
By JIM KEVLIN COOPERSTOWN
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Schumer Vows To Speed Up U.S. Reviews COOPERSTOWN
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t Cooperstown Distillery Monday, June 29, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY, called for the hiring of more federal inspectors “to reduce a backlog that is costing the distillery industry millions.” Said Schumer, “Because of red tape, distilleries like Cooperstown Distillery are forced to wait over 200 days to get basic approvals to expand.” While the industry has grown 50 percent, U.S. distillery inspectors have been cut by 10 percent, he said. IT’S THE ONE: Chobani of South Edmeston has been selected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as the main provider of Greek yogurt to K-12 school meal programs around the country, Chief Marketing Officer Peter McGuinness announced in recent days. BOAT PARADE: The Otsego Lake Association is planning its second annual “We Love Our Lake” decorated boat parade on the Fourth of July, beginning at 6 p.m., rain or shine. Gather at Three Mile Point.
New Hotel Stalls
Jim Kevlin/The Freeman’s Journal
Patrick Dewey, who graduated with honors from Cooperstown Central School Sunday, June 28, on The Fenimore Art Museum’s back lawn, navigates his way to the podium to receive his diploma. His longtime classmate and pal, Jacob Russell, waits for him to catch up. Seated behind are members of the CCS board, from left, Theresa Russo, Mary Leonard, Marcy Birch and Tim Hayes.
Autumn Prime, 6, hams it up at cousin Jordan Prime’s graduation with the Cherry Valley-Springfield Class of 2015 Saturday, June 27, at the Glimmerglass Festival. Dad Adam holds Autumn’s younger sister Maci, 3. At left is Michelle Miller, Adam’s fiancee.
The Class of 2015 graduates of Richfield Springs Central School, including valedictorian Rebecca Smith, center right, flock around and hug Jacob Matteson’s mom Linda and sister Abigail during the Saturday, June 27, commencement. Principal Joseph D’Apice had just presented Jacob’s diploma to his mother. The senior died in a car crash in January.
Otsego Now Sees Pony Farm As 1st ‘Shovel Ready’ Parcel By LIBBY CUDMORE ONEONTA
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fter “a year of transition,” Otsego Now is ready to begin reaping what it sowed at the
Pony Farm Commerce Park. “Pony Farm is now listed as a shovel-ready site at OtsegoNow.com,” CEO Sandy Mathes declared. “We’re able to tell businesses ‘Give us your details and in 30-60 days, we’ll get you a buildPlease See SHOVEL, A3
iting a “labyrinth” of regulatory bodies and an “arbitrary denial” of plans for a $4 million fourstory downtown hotel, BTP Cooperstown’s principals said Tuesday, June INSIDE: For 30, that Village full text of BTP Hall has “effecCooperstown tively telegraphed letter, See A4 that our project is at an end.” They will leave the former TJ’s Place vacant for now. Despite Mayor Jeff Katz voicing support for economic development, “negotiating the labyrinth of boards to secure various required approvals makes doing business in Cooperstown nearly impossible,” the partners – Bob Hurley, Tom Lagan and Perry Ferraro – declared in a Letter to the Editor of this newspaper. The partners rejected the idea of proposing a three-story option, saying running the numbers on the four-story plan showed it to be only “minimally profitable.” They noted more than once that there are a half-dozen building in the village taller than the one they proposed. “So for now,” they wrote, “the building at 124 Main St., which we privately own, will remain vacant until we can better determine what the village elders really mean when they claim to welPlease See HOTEL, A6
Angry Words Uttered On Crumhorn As Scout Councils’ Merger Discussed By LIBBY CUDMORE ON CRUMHORN MOUNTAIN
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hough all five subcommittees of the Otschodela Boy Scout Council recommended consolidating with
Utica’s Revolutionary Trails Council, the idea met angry opposition from 50 troop leaders and parents at an informational meeting at the Henderson Scout Camp Tuesday, June 30. “We’re a Gold Council, we’ve had 30 years of good stewardship – and they’ve Please See SCOUTS, A7
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST PRINT CIRCULATION 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD