The Freeman's Journal 02-03-22

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Volume 214, No. 05

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Cooperstown, Oneonta cheer ‘library love’ month, page 3

VISIT www.

AllOTSEGO.com, OTSEGO COUNTY’S DAILY NEWSPAPER/ONLINE

Cooperstown, New York, Thursday, February 3, 2022

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Otsego County’s DA calls discovery, bail ‘form over function’ Ted Potrikus

Kathleen Peters

Just kidding around That’s mama goat — named Susan Sontag — wondering who put the sweaters on her newborns as the barely one-day-old babies probably wonder why it suddenly got so cold. We’re told the kids remain nameless at press time, so send us your suggestions for the photogenic little ones!

INSIDE ►HARTWICK ‘BURGLARY: Was the January incident just an accident?

Page 2. ►SUNY STUDENT: Oneonta Police continue to investigate circumstances surrounding tragic death of SUNY student, page 3. ►BEER THAT’S GOOD FOR YOU?: Cooperstown’s resident brewmaster teams up with Cowboy great for a new take on lager. Page 8. ►A FEW THOUGHTS ON IMPORTANT THINGS: Our columnists this week aren’t surprised by redistricting ‘process,’ consider the variant to the variant, and wonder what happened to the famous sunset on Key West.

Plus letters to the editor. Pages 4, 5, and 6.

Follow Breaking News On

AllOTSEGO.com

Court keeps Gov’s mask mandate in place through appeal process New York’s Appellate court on January 31 granted a full stay to Governor Kathy Hochul’s mask mandate for all public indoor spaces for the remainder of the appeals process currently underway.

A state Supreme Court judge first struck down the mandate as unconstitutional on January 24, a second court overturned that decision on the Governor’s appeal. The January 31 Appellate court ruling keeps the mandate alive through the next court date in the appeal — March 2, 2022.

New York’s guidance requiring students and teachers to wear masks in school remains in effect; officials from the State Health Department said that “guidance,” unlike the “rule” under judicial review, would remain in place regardless of the March 2 outcome.

The governor last week also extended her mandate until February 10, promising to revisit her decision biweekly. During a

February 1 COVID briefing, the governor applauded a steep drop in the state’s existing caseload but said she is “not prepared to throw in the towel and say we’re done fighting COVID. We’re not taking our foot off the gas.”

At the February 1 briefing, the Governor said New York has experienced a 92 percent drop in COVID-19 cases since its January 7 peak, with a 43-percent drop in related hospitalizations from the state’s January 12 peak.

She first announced the “winter surge” requirement on December 10 with an executive order mandating masks to be worn in all indoor public places unless businesses or venues implement a proof-of-vaccination requirement for anyone 12 years of age or older.

The state’s mass vaccination sites remain open to all eligible New Yorkers aged five and older.

Otsego County District Attorney John Muehl is stark and passionate about New York State’s criminal justice reform to the point where — absent modification to the new laws — he won’t seek reelection in 2023. He’s on the record with that pronouncement from late last year, frustrated that from his point of view, New York’s bail and discovery statutes don’t let him do his job.

“With the combination of bail and discovery reform, for all practical purposes, they’ve legalized drug sales,” Mr. Muehl said in a conversation with The Freeman’s Journal/Hometown Oneonta. “Every night I think about the drug dealers that we’re just not doing anything with and all the drugs they’re pushing on kids in the city and around the county.”

The discovery law requires prosecutors to disclose their evidence earlier in case proceedings and eliminates the need for defense attorneys to make written demands to obtain and review evidence. The prosecution must allow the defendant to “discover, inspect, copy, photograph and test” all materials relating to the subject of the case, including the names and contact information for any person with relevant information regarding the case. In some cases, the law requires prosecutors to disclose the name and contact information of confidential informants.

Bail reform eliminated the option for judges in New York to set cash bail for most lowerlevel and nonviolent crimes, requiring judges to release people charged with most misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies with the least restrictive conditions necessary to reasonably ensure the person will come back to court.

“In order to prosecute a drug dealer, you have to have somebody be a confidential Otsego County District informant,” he said. “Dealers Attorney John Muehl in a aren’t just going to sell to file photo. people they don’t know. So we would get somebody in trouble — a drug user — and in order to get their charges reduced or get some consideration they would go out and buy drugs for us. The police had excellent buy plans — everything video- and audiotaped with rock-solid excellent cases.”

“Now you don’t get any,” he said. “Before discovery (reform), 75 of 100 indictments in a year would be drug sales. In 2021, instead of doing 75 drug cases, I did two.

Do you think that drug dealers stopped selling drugs?

Nobody will be a confidential informant because we have to turn over their information under discovery rules.”

“It’s really legalized the sale of hard drugs: cocaine, meth, fentanyl, heroin,” he said.

Form over function The District Attorney, however, takes no issue with the underlying intent of the bail and discovery reform laws — both of which will be front-and-center throughout this year’s campaign for New York’s governor, state Legislature, and other seats. Together they make for a singular hot-button issue that flares with every report of crimes violent and otherwise in every corner of the state.

Continued on page 6

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

A-2 THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2022

Hartwick ‘burglary’ an ‘isolated incident’ while sources suggest it was just an accident

Farm Wage Board OKs lower threshold

New York State Police said February 1 an incident they reported as a burglary in the Town of Hartwick on January 3, 2022 “appears to be an isolated incident and remains an active and ongoing investigation.”

Trooper Aga Dembinska told The Freeman’s Journal /Hometown Oneonta “there have been no other reported incidents like this.”

Sources say the matter was never a burglary nor a home invasion but was, upon investigation, an accident in the person’s home.

The state’s Farm Laborers Wage Board met January 28 to take testimony from those crowded out of its three prior sessions, then took a surprise vote to recommend a phased-in lowering of the overtime threshold to 40 hours per week from its current 60 hours per week.

With a 2-1 vote, the Board recommended a 10-year ramp to the new threshold, reducing the mark for farm laborers by four hours per week every two years beginning in 2024. The Board sent its recommendation to Commissioner of Labor Roberta Reardon and Governor Kathy Hochul.

Board Chair Brenda McDuffie, president of the Buffalo Urban League, called the vote “something historical,” Board member Denis Hughes, former president of the New York State AFL-CIO said it was “smart” for the panel to “give a long leeway, a long amount of time to understand what changes can be and should be made.”

New York State Farm Bureau President David Fisher voted against lowering the threshold, asking for more time to study the economic impacts.

GROW NY FARMS, a statewide organization representing the state’s agricultural interests, blasted the decision and urged Commissioner Reardon and Governor Hochul to reject it.

“It is disingenuous and irresponsible that the data, research, and comments made from those who know agriculture best were cast aside by the majority of the Wage Board,” the group said. “This is not a win for farmworkers that selfproclaimed worker advocates will claim.”

“Agricultural production, diversification, and job availability will suffer. This is no scare tactic. We have already seen farm workers leave the state for more hours of work and production shift to less labor-intensive crops since the farm labor legislation was enacted in January 2020,” they said.

Governor Hochul announced as part of her 2022-23 Executive Budget proposal a tax credit for farm owners paying overtime to workers, signaling to many that the Wage Board would recommend the reduced threshold.

At press time, neither Commissioner Reardon nor Governor Hochul have commented on next steps.

State Police first characterized the incident in a January 3, 2022 press release as “a burglary that occurred in the town of Hartwick,” and that “Sometime between the evening of Sunday, January 2 and the morning of Monday, January 3, the suspect(s) unlawfully entered a residence on Poplar Avenue and caused physical injury to an elderly victim.”

State Police offered no further details on the ongoing investigation and have, to date, made no arrests related to the matter.

Oneonta, SUNY police continue investigation in incident that led to student’s death Police continue their investigation of the death of a 20-year-old SUNY Oneonta student found outside the Oneonta Public Transit garage on Silas Lane early in the morning of Tyler LoprestiJanuary 27.

Castro City of Oneonta Police Chief Chris Witzenberg said Transit workers discovered Tyler Lopresti-Castro in an area of the property not well lit and obscured by snow banks. Responders took him first to A.O. Fox Hospital, then to Bassett in Cooperstown, where he died later that day. The chief said there is “no indication of criminality.”

Oneonta Mayor Mark Drnek said at press time the cause of death remains unknown and that other reports that the student died from exposure cannot be confirmed until an autopsy is complete.

“The circumstances are so unknown and unresolved at this point on how the student arrived the way he did, in

the clothes that he was wearing that weren’t suited for the weather,” the Mayor said in a video he posted to city social media websites. “There’s no way of knowing. There are too many questions. All we can do is hope to figure out how he got there.”

Mr. Lopresti-Castro apparently walked from Route 205 to the Silas Lane garage — more than four miles from the SUNY campus — in subzero temperatures; Chief Witzenberg speculated cold-related injuries could cause confusion but did not yet know what the victim was doing or why. He said police ruled out the possibility that Mr. Lopresti-Castro got to the garage by bus, as he had not been seen on any security cameras installed in the vehicles.

Surveillance footage from the garage picked up the student emerging from a wooded area behind the building at 2:15 a.m. Police said in a statement that he may have walked off the roadway at the eastbound offramp for I-88 at the intersection of Route 205, climbing through the snow and crossing a drainage creek before emerging on city property.

Mr. Lopresti-Castro was last seen around midnight; Oneonta police continue to investigate his whereabouts between 12 a.m. and 2:15 a.m.

SUNY Oneonta said Mr. LoprestiCastro, a graduate of Columbia High School in East Greenbush, New York, was on the college’s track team during the 2019-2020 academic year but left before the team started competitions in the Fall 2020 semester. The college shared an internal message with students, faculty, and staff to respect the privacy of his family and friends.

“We encouraged those who are distressed by posts they are seeing on social media to consider taking a break from social media and spend time with their in-person support systems and reminded them that grief and counseling services are available,” Lisa Miller, spokesperson for SUNY Oneonta, said.

Supporters of the victim’s family opened a Gofundme page, raising more than $32,000 at press time.

Oneonta police ask anyone with information to call them at 607-4321113 or the SUNY Oneonta police at 607-436-3550.

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2022

THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA A-3

Library lovers line up for library love

SQSPCA head will chair state association

group hopes will help fill the void left by a year without C o o p e r s t o w n ’s Winter Carnival.

The group is sponsoring a month-long writing contest for all ages, looking for “a short story about being trapped in the library or write a love letter to the library.”

They’ll award prizes for silliest, scariest, and best overall in three different categories — kids (5-12), young adult (1318), and adult (19+) Cooperstown Mayor Ellen Tillapaugh, left, presented a proclamation naming February “Love Your Library Month” in — with winners Cooperstown to Village Library Director Heather Amendol receiving a gift certificate for the are at a February 1 ceremony. upcoming Friends Kick the winter blahs with “Library of the Library Book Lovers’ Month” in New York State Sale, scheduled for March 4 - 6.

— a February event that our local Here are some of the happenings on libraries will celebrate in fun fashion. tap in Cooperstown: Friends of the Village Library in Cooperstown plan a month filled with Get crafty: February 6 - 12 and activities for all ages — events the make a Valentine;

Get playful: February 13 - 19 and make a literary-themed snow sculpture at home or on the Library’s Main Street lawn; Get puzzled: February 20 - 26, stop by the Library to do a puzzle or exchange a jigsaw puzzle; Keep the love going: February 27 - March 6 when they’ll announce the winners of the writing contest and kick off the book sale, slated for March 4 - 6.

The Friends are lining up local businesses supporting Library Lovers’ Month with specials and remind residents to stop by the library for weekly storytime, films, book talks, computers, and books — all fine-free (so no late fees!).

Huntington Library in Oneonta celebrates Library Lovers Month with “Blind Date with a Book” through February 28. The library invites patrons to select and check out a wrapped book from its “Blind Date” display; each book contains a “rate your date” bookmark inside. Everyone returning the competed bookmark by March 1 is eligible to win a basket of books and Valentine’s Day chocolates.

News Briefs

BOCES seeks names for board nominees The Otsego Northern Catskills Board of Cooperative Educational Services (ONC BOCES) seeks nominees for three seats available on its Board of Education, with terms beginning July 1, 2022.

ONC BOCES provides 19 component school districts with educational and administrative services, along with adult and continuing education programs. Only one candidate per district can be elected to the BOCES Board, with the following districts eligible to nominate a resident: Andes, Cherry Valley-Springfield, Cooperstown, Edmeston, Gilboa-Conesville, H u n t e r - Ta n n e r s v i l l e , Jefferson, Milford, Morris, Schenevus, Stamford, Windam-Ashland-Jewett, and Worcester.

Any person living in such districts and interested in serving on the BOCES Board should contact the office of the local school superintendent.

The BOCES board meets monthly, with locations alternating among the Otsego Area Occupational Center in Milford, the Northern Catskills Occupational Center in Grand George, and the ONC BOCES Instructional Support Services Center in Oneonta.

For more information about ONC BOCES, contact its district office at 607-286-7715, extension 2224, or via e-mail at aoliveri@oncboces.org

State Legislature sets new lines for county Otsego County would have two different members in the United States House of Representatives, four state Assembly members, and one state Senator under redistricting plans the state Legislature will approve this week in Albany.

State legislators drew the lines after rejecting plans from the Independent Redistricting Commission in January.

The new maps put most of Otsego County into the proposed 19th Congressional District — a seat currently held by incumbent Democrat Antonio Delgado, with the northern portion of the county, including Cherry Valley and

Richfield Springs, into the 21st District. Republican Elise Stefanic currently holds that seat.

The map carves Otsego County into four different districts for the state Assembly, the 101st (Brian Miller), 102nd (Chris Tague), 121st (John Salka), and 122nd (Joe Angelino). The county remains intact in the newly drawn 51st State Senate district, stretched to include portions of Chenango, Scoharie, Herkimer, Fulton, Montgomery, and Schenectady counties.

Baseball talk set for Saturday at Hall Spring training may or may not be too far away, but fans can spend an afternoon

talking baseball from 1 until 3 p.m. on Saturday, February 5, when the Cliff Kachline – Cooperstown/ Upstate New York Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) holds its chapter meeting in the Bullpen Theater inside the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown.

The afternoon features four guest speakers. Tony Morante, longtime director of Yankee Stadium Tours, will discuss his new book, Baseball, the New York Game – How the National Pastime Paralleled United States History. Author/ producer Greg Klein will discuss his new book, The Paper Tigers, ‘the untold true story of how eight guys from the streets of Philadelphia became

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Each will have copies of his book for sale at the Saturday discussion.

Former Cooperstown Mayor and SABR Chapter President Jeff Katz provides updates on Friends of Doubleday Field and its effort to update 2022 Hall of Fame inductee Bud Fowler’s exhibit at Doubleday; Rene LeRoux, founder and director of the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame, will talk about plans to open a new museum building in Gloversville.

This event is open to the public and admission is free..

Susquehanna SPCA Executive Director Stacie Haynes takes on another role this year as Board President for the New York State Animal Protection Federation, a statewide organization formed in 2010 to safeguard the wellbeing of all animals through legislative and policy initiatives in the state.

Ms. Haynes has served on the Federation’s board since 2019. The group is the voice of New York’s animal SQSPCA Executive shelters, humane societies, and animal Director Stacie welfare organizations, and a trade/ educational resource for its member Haynes organizations working to maintain high standards in animal welfare and care.

“When I started at Susquehanna in 2015, there were no opportunities to network, no playbook for best practices for shelters,” she said. “The Animal Protection Federation has grown a lot in the past few years to become what we are now, and what excites me the most is that we can do some great work for shelters all around the state.”

“We’re in there fighting and helping other shelters,” she said. “It’s incredibly meaningful work that, in the end, is best for our animals.”

Ms. Haynes said the Federation’s 2022 agenda includes shelter and rescue standards, stopping a puppy mill pipeline, and strengthening animal cruelty laws. She’ll be advocating in Albany alongside fellow Federation members and its executive director, Libby Post.

“Stacie is the best example of who and what animal shelter professionals are supposed to be and do,” Ms. Post said. “As a Board member and the Federation’s treasurer, Stacie’s leadership and business acumen have kept us focused and moving ahead. I look forward to a great partnership that advances our legislative agenda and enhances the state of animal welfare in New York.”

As Executive Director of the Susquehanna Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SQSPCA) since October 2015, Ms. Haynes was the driving force behind its $5 million ‘SHELTER US’ capital campaign and the resulting state-of-the-art animal shelter on Route 28, just south of Cooperstown. She spearheaded the formation of Otsego County’s Animal Cruelty Task Force in 2019 and in 2020 was named one of the nation’s Top Ten Animal Defenders by the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

She tells The Freeman’s Journal/Hometown Oneonta she is eager to work on the Federation’s legislative agenda while staying hard at work at SQSPCA. The organization is planning its annual ‘lobby day’ for March 2022 at the state Capitol.

“Animals are bipartisan,” she said. “We get a good reception in any office when we go in to talk about protecting our companion animals. We meet with our shelter’s representatives when we’re there, but every state legislator in Otsego County has been to our shelter — Assemblymembers Salka, Tague, and Miller and Senator Oberacker. Their support is important to us.”

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Perspectives

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2022

A-4 THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL editorial

ted potrikus

Oh, there’s a surprise!

The Sideshow “New York will create a bureaucracy out of anything.”

So wrote one of this newspaper’s Facebook followers after reading a post about the state’s new “Office of Cannabis Management,” set up as the agency tasked to regulate legal weed and its derivations. The Office was a long time coming; ex-Governor Andrew Cuomo had stalled his appointment of potential agency leadership and then he stepped down. His successor moved (relatively) quickly and, voila, we have a new state agency.

The appropriately snarky observation came after we shared the Office’s announcement of its CANNABIS CONVERSATIONS. “Let’s talk about the new law and next steps for cannabis in New York,” they say, setting a series of online events between now and February 21.

For a new agency, they’ve got the cadence down pretty well. This feel-good “let’s talk” business is an old trick they think suggests to New Yorkers that they’re genuinely interested in what we have to say. But no, it’s a sideshow, a make-work project in the foreground while those in the background toil away at what they want to come from the “conversations.”

It’s not that public outreach doesn’t lead to any good ideas; on the contrary. Public discussions generally bring about the best, most practical ideas. An example: “Why don’t we open dispensaries the way they did it in Massachusetts?” Those, however, are words that grind the gears of any New York State agency wonk who wants to make sure that we do things here just one notch differently from everywhere else.

Take a look at this week’s news about the state’s Farm Laborer Wage Board pushing a 40-hour overtime threshold. Otsego County Assemblymember Chris Tague saw the writing on the wall weeks ago when Governor Kathy Hochul said she’d propose tax credits to help the state’s farmers pay overtime wages. The Wage Board nonetheless plowed ahead through three scheduled “conversations” to take testimony — 70 percent of which came from farmers urging the Board to reject the plan to drop the overtime threshold from 60 hours to 40 hours per week. The Board had so many people registered for their “conversations” that they had to schedule an overflow session for last Friday.

And then at the end of that session, they voted 2-1 to reduce the threshold. The Farm Bureau’s representative to the Board was reportedly surprised that his colleagues moved to vote so quickly on the heels of the “conversations,” and his was the sole dissent.

The Board’s recommendation at least follows a 10year phase-in that won’t start until 2024, but that’s small comfort to farmers in Otsego County and across the state who now have to spend the next decade trying to figure out how to reconfigure their businesses all while tending to the backbreaking work of keeping their farms alive.

There’s no possible way that the Wage Board — moments after closing its final “conversation” — could have genuinely weighed the comments on their merits and immediately dreamed up a complex, delayed-start, 10-year phase-in to hand over to the Labor Commissioner and Governor. No, they followed the model of the “let’s talk” canard while those in the background toiled away at coming up with something that would sell to the preponderance of the electorate who will head to the polls in November.

Sadly, it has precious little to do with farming.

But as our Facebook friend implied, it’s all part of the bureaucracy that makes New York work, or not work, depending on how you look at it.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY

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Tara Barnwell Publisher Ted Potrikus Editor Larissa Ryan Business Manager

Kathleen Peters Graphics & Production

Kevin Limiti Staff Writer Ivan Potocnik Web Architect

along that the “Independent Commission “ would implode and planned well in advance for it, keeping its preferred map and enabling legislation hidden deep in someone’s super-secret computer files for quite some time now. I don’t care how much Red Bull and No-Doz you consume, you just don’t write bills like that on a moment’s notice. And by the time this edition hits your mailbox, the nick-of-time bills will have aged their required three days and won the required supermajority approval in the Assembly, where Democrats outnumber Republicans 106-42, and in the Senate, where Democrats hold a commanding 43-20 majority.

I’m not smart enough to debate the district lines themselves; that New York voters put Democrat supermajorities in place in both our state Senate and Assembly reflects the general will of the electorate, suggesting our new district lines do likewise. The same thing will happen in the states where Republicans outnumber the Democrats, and it’ll all lead to the zero-sum political game that happens once every decade when state lawmakers who hold the keys to the Senate and Assembly chambers decide who gets to run and where, with very flimsy evidence as to why.

Alas, that’s how it all works.

Which brings to mind that other line from Gottfried’s Iago – “Look at this. LOOK AT THIS. I’m so ticked off that I’m MOLTING!”

Richard Sternberg, M.D.

Stealth Omicron

While Omicron appears to be peaking in New York overall (though not yet in Otsego County) we have now been told that there is a new “stealth” version of Omicron named BA.2 that is beginning to replace the variant we have been experiencing for the last two months. While it is too early to know for sure, BA.2 does not seem to be more virulent than the original Omicron BA.1, but appears to be even more transmissible. And while not likely to lead to another disastrous surge it will probably extend its length.

About a month after Omicron first appeared in Africa, scientists saw a unique variant that carried many but not all of its mutations and had new mutations of its own (labeled BA.2).

Additionally, they found a third variant — BA.3 — which appears to be an amalgam of BA.1 and BA.2, theorized to have resulted from BA.1 and BA.2 infecting someone at the same time, exchanging genetic information with the new variant,

then replicating.

BA.1 contains a mutation rendering it invisible to the standard PCR test.

BA.2 doesn’t contain this mutation, allowing all three coronavirus genes to be seen in the test. BA.2 therefore can be separated from BA.1.

It can also be separated by genome sequencing, though that isn’t routinely done because it is much more expensive and time consuming.

Internationally, the percentage testing positive for BA.2 is rising rapidly and soon will be the dominant version. Luckily, vaccines remain effective protection. The problem is that it is more transmissible than BA.1 and all other versions of COVID we know to date, and therefore will infect an even higher percentage of the population at the same time. This will slow the decrease of cases and delay the downward trend that we were beginning to see. Scientists are not sure if it will slow down the pandemic’s curve or just create a small blip in the current curve of number of cases. It is

not clear what, if anything, BA.3 will do.

We will never put the genie back in the bottle and eliminate COVID. It is too slippery. People will continue to contract it and people will die. Some will develop nonlethal symptoms but will have permanent disability, Long COVID. Despite being very protective I expect I will, at some time and maybe multiple times, develop a case.

What I have to do is stay up-to-date on vaccines, try to maintain distance when interacting with people, wear a mask in public when possible, which is when not eating, and self-test or otherwise get a rapid test at any sign of illness with symptoms consistent with COVID. If the self-test is positive or if the symptoms are severe and the selftest is negative, then a PCR test, which is more accurate, should be done.

The idea that one will catch COVID does not mean one should do nothing to prevent severe disease or fail to decrease the frequency of having an episode. It still kills and significantly disables.

innocent lives that could be saved on both sides. Let’s learn from all the past wars. War only brings destruction as revealed by human history.

Let Anthony Blinken sit down with Russian President Putin and his Secretary of State to have a serious diplomatic talk to stay away from war. That is the only solution to avoid bloodshed and waste of money. Even if the U.S. and Russia decided to fight, at the end, when one side is victorious, they have to sit down to find a diplomatic solution for the future.

Why not find this diplomatic solution now without fighting the war? This will save many lives and enormous destruction. War is an utter waste of human and monetary resources.

Let the people of Ukraine — not just their president — decide whether to join NATO. Let the superpowers stay

away from interfering in Ukraine’s internal affairs.

President Biden, Vice President Harris, and the United States Congress, I urge you to find a diplomatic solution in Ukraine. It will be unwise to fight the war with Russians. They are our friends who fought with us to win World War II. Let’s do the right thing and not wipe out the progress your administration has made in controlling COVID, taking action on climate degradation, creating jobs, helping the families in need and withdrawing from Afghanistan. Let’s not repeat the same mistake.

Dr. Ashok Kumar Malhotra Emeritus SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor Oneonta

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shouted in the 1992 Disney cartoon adaptation of “Aladdin,” “Oh THERE’S a big surprise! I think I’m going to have a HEART ATTACK and DIE from NOT surprise!”

This Commission was set up to fail. They did so in spectacular fashion.

Somehow — somehow! — when the Commission indeed failed last week, the usually foot-dragging state Legislature snapped into action with a ruthless efficiency akin to Patrick Mahomes with 13 seconds left on the clock and came up with bills of mindnumbing complexity and length that carve our state into the aforementioned lava lamp and put most of Otsego County deeply into play in the upcoming congressional election.

New York, you’ll recall, loses a congressional representative this time around — and the new map says that Rep. Claudia Tenney’s Mohawk Valley seat is the one to go.

The cartographers combined much of her current district with that of Rep. Antonio Delgado, a swing district that Democrats dearly want to protect in this presidential mid-term race. The resulting combined district covers a lot of square mileage but looks to be drawn in such a way that Democrats would have a decent edge headed into November.

Rather than primary announced Republican candidate Marc Molinaro, Ms. Tenney, who says she has a business in Chenango County, will run for a new seat they’ve drawn in the state’s Southern Tier..

I suspect the Legislature knew all

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The Freeman’s Journal welcomes letters to the editor that reflect the writer’s thoughts on an article or other item appearing in the paper.

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The editors reserve the right to accept, reject or edit letters for clarity and space. Please send letters to: info@allotsego.com.

We New Yorkers used to leave it up to our state Legislature to fulfill the once-a-decade duty of redrawing congressional and state election district lines. They got so good at it they made the map of the state’s voting boundaries look like the inside of a lava lamp.

We New Yorkers got a little tired of it, so we voted in 2014 to amend our state constitution to establish an Independent Redistricting Commission. A bipartisan panel of 10 who would meet and thoughtfully accept and weigh public input to present in time for the 2022 elections a beautiful map of not-gerrymandered districts reflecting the state’s diverse population in glorious fashion. Our state Legislature, delighted to be relieved of the duty, would gratefully accept and approve the maps with a cheery “Well done!” The Empire State would stand as a beacon of electoral equanimity for all to admire.

Five Democrats, five Republicans.

How noble.

What possibly could go wrong?

I mean, other than those five Democrats and five Republicans taking a years-long process down to the last possible second and abrogating their duty, with each side blaming the other in almost copycat press statements barking abject disappointment about their colleagues across the political aisle.

And then sending the job back to the state Legislature – the same bunch we distrusted enough the last time around that we voted to change our state’s constitution to take that job away from them.

As Gilbert Gottfried’s Iago

Tom Heitz/Sharon Stuart Historian

Editorial Board Elinor Vincent, Michael Moffat, Tara Barnwell, Ted Potrikus OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER FOR Otsego County • Village of Cooperstown • Village of Milford Cooperstown Central School District MEMBER: National Newspaper Association, NY Press Association Subscription Rates: Otsego County, $69 a year. All other areas, $89 a year.

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LETTERS

Diplomacy the only route

After fighting in Afghanistan for 20 years and spending more than 1.5 trillion dollars and accomplishing nothing but starvation for millions and political instability in the country, the withdrawal was the correct step.

What did the United States learn from this terrible mistake, which cost the American taxpayer $300 million a day for 20 years? It seems that our current government had not learned anything to avoid making the same mistake again in Ukraine.

Let’s stop this warmongering rhetoric in the US. A diplomatic solution to the crisis is of utmost importance at this juncture. Let’s cease the belligerent talk and sit down at the diplomatic table to start talking about the amount of money and the number of

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2022

THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL A-5 NEWS FROM THE NOTEWORTHY

DAN AYRES / Helios

Have a plan: Start the conversation

Compiled by Tom Heitz/SHARON STUART with resources courtesy of The Fenimore Art Museum Research Library

210 YEARS AGO

It seems to be a settled point that our Navy must be augmented. What kind of ships are best adapted to our purpose is a question on which there are different opinions. Some are for a proportion of men of war; others for frigates and smaller vessels only. There are strong reasons in favor of small swift sailing vessels. They should be the most effectual in offensive operations.

February 1, 1812

160 YEARS AGO

Civil War News – The Battle of Mill Spring — The Rebels fought well but were overcome by superior fighting on our side. According to their own account, the rebel forces consisted of ten infantry regiments, three batteries and some cavalry, altogether about 10,000 men. They fought in bushwhacking style, from ravines and behind trees, bushes and rocks. The brunt of the battle devolved on the 4th Kentucky, 2nd Minnesota, 9th Ohio, and 10th Indiana. For nearly three hours, the war of musketry was kept up. Shortly after 11 o’clock, Col. Haskin succeeded in flanking the enemy on the extreme right, when the 9th Ohio and 2nd Minnesota charged with the bayonet, with triumphant yells, which broke the rebel ranks and the rout began. They fled pell mell to their tents, strewing the road with muskets, blankets, overcoats and knapsacks, and abandoned two guns and caissons.

January 31, 1862

85 YEARS AGO

The January 30 issue of News Week devotes almost an entire page to the Hall of Fame in the National Baseball Museum at Cooperstown. The article is illustrated with a fine picture of the building, and pictures of the eight immortals of the national game already elected to places in the Hall of Fame. The article states in part: “Baseball players are more hero-worshiped by American youngsters than any other group of athletes. Mainly responsible are reporters. These newspaper men almost always manage to write something praiseworthy about a player. If he’s a drunk, a bum, and beats his wife — well, ‘he’s just a happy-go-lucky kid, and what a man at the plate in the pinches!’ If he’s an unpredictable eccentric, he receives some such nickname as Dizzy or Rube and is admired.”

February 3, 1937

60 YEARS AGO

Otsego County “Legal Secretary of the Year” is Mrs. June Hotaling who has been employed in the law offices of Van Horne and Feury in Cooperstown since 1948.

Mrs. Hotaling received her award Saturday afternoon at a state convention of legal secretaries at a luncheon in the Hotel Otesaga. The award was presented by District Attorney Joseph A. Mogavero, Jr., who headed a selection committee composed of attorneys, Scott E. Greene, George S. Kepner, Jr., and O.L. Van Horne.

January 31, 1962

20 YEARS AGO

February 1, 2002

Solution: ‘‘You Light Up My Face” (Jan. 27)

New York State is 50th in the nation for hospice utilization, and I wish I knew why.

I believe most people know about hospice. It is a service that helps and supports those with lifelimiting conditions to address their symptomatic needs. Additionally, hospice supports the patient families, including bereavement care after the patient passes. New York has a hospice utilization of 30 percent, meaning only 30 percent of those who qualify for hospice die with the hospice service. And for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, it’s free.

All of the services, prescriptions; emergency room visits; if necessary, hospitalizations; all covered by Medicare and Medicaid as well as by many commercial insurances.

The benefit is also good for six months or more of improved quality of life, not for the last days or hours. The word Hospice itself has a negative connotation, that is one of several reasons Catskill Area Hospice and Palliative Care changed our name to Helios Care.

When patients hear “hospice,” it’s like hearing the word cancer. Both carry a heavy connotation. When people hear Helios Care, we want them to know that we make life easier for patients and families.

In Otsego County, as well as in the Helios Care service area of Delaware and Schoharie coun-

ties, we are better than the New York State average. But that is little consolation to those who pass without the benefit of our services.

Some other staggering statistics: New York has the highest Medicare cost for the last hospital admission, and more patients die in intensive or critical care than any other state in the union. Not at home with loved ones surrounding them.

We can talk about the cost of care, and the consumption of what are now more and more scarce resources for the care of the dying, but the real discussion should be about the dignity of life and choosing how we want to die. Until I came to work for Helios Care, I spent my healthcare career working in hospitals, and now it is my mission to keep patients out of hospitals and nursing homes unnecessarily. I have had two family members die on hospice and compared to my parents who died in a hospital, there is no question the more humane way to finish a life well lived is to be in an intimate setting with those who care

and love you. Not distracted by whirring machines, hoses and wires, necessarily busy and distracting surroundings.

For many, the emotional and physical symptoms and side effects can be more debilitating than the disease itself, so some patients chose to live out their remaining days cognizant, pain-free and able to take comfort in their home and surroundings. So why don’t more patients choose hospice earlier in their disease diagnosis?

If I can offer one thing — especially as so many were caught unprepared by the tragedy we call COVID — have a plan. Talk to your family and physician about advance directives. While you can think calmly about it and not be caught in a crisis; what do YOU want? What do you want your family to know about your care if you are unable to make decisions for yourself?

You can view a video about “Starting the Conversation” at helioscare.org or call our office 607-432-5525 to request an easy to fill out “5 Wishes”, a great tool for anyone interested in planning now for the unexpected.

I look forward to bringing you more columns in the future. Please feel free to reach out to me at dan. ayres@helioscare.org.

Dan Ayres, author, is the President/CEO of Helios Care.

BY Merl Reagle

If I Wrote the Dictionary…Etymo-“logically” speaking ACROSS 1 Diazepam, commonly 7 Cougar 11 Opposite of 53 Down 18 Legend from Hoboken 19 Take it ___ oneself 20 Tests the fit of 21 (adj.) loud and obnoxious, as chewing-gum commercials 22 Two before “do” 23 (adj.) pertaining to books 24 Horn sounds 25 Indian instruments 28 Card that identifies you in the mobile world 29 First name in scat 30 A Corleone 32 (n.) a French fur trader 36 Modern opening 37 Loft contents 38 Like D.H. Lawrence: abbr.

40 Tortilla creation 41 School org. for bright kids 43 Eats like a cow 46 Avid 48 Secret group 50 Ornamental band around a room 52 Baseball manager Joe 54 (n.) a market system in which personal income becomes government income as soon as possible 56 A little hoarse 57 A little horse 58 View from the bridge?

60 Main course 61 Sgt. Snorkel’s dog 62 Seethe 63 Newsman Lehrer 64 Intelligence 65 (n.) overeagerness at a wine-tasting 68 Slangy toddler 71 Arrest 72 Bad luck charm 73 Old oil co.

77 Port near the Chunnel 78 Calendar abbr.

79 Sight in a bachelor’s fridge 80 “Robot” coiner 81 (n.) lens spray 83 Blazing 85 Empire builders 86 Nastiness 87 Rector 89 Votes thumbs down 91 President pro ___ 92 Millett or Moss 93 Quatorze 95 The Black, for one

96 Sgt., for one 99 (n.) girlishness 103 Jagger and Taylor 105 Hot spot 106 Archer’s asset 107 To suddenly appear on water 109 Lofty home 110 (n.) an M.D. specializing in the lower tract 114 Get in touch with 115 (n.) a small landfill 118 “Sweet potato” 119 Latin abbr.

120 Snooty 121 Gone up against 122 Electronics giant 123 Return payment?

16 Cambodia’s Lon ___ 17 Wind dir.

18 Pilfered 21 British WWII gun 26 Work by Horace 27 Meager 30 Bother 31 Deli bread 33 “Gon” intro 34 S till enjoying womb service?

35 Ving of Pulp Fiction 37 Unclear 39 Sound of a dog with doubts 42 R eal name of Roy Rogers, Leonard ___ 44 F oreclosed-on trailer, for example 45 Unfeeling DOWN 47 Credit’s opposite 1 (n.) a studier of manly men 48 Late-night first name 2 Singer Baker 49 Against 3 Mates 50 To’s opposite 4 Suburban ending 51 Backstabber 5 Java dispenser 53 Surfing the net 6 Dull finish 55 Office machine giant 7 (adj.) pertaining to sleeping cars 57 Eliot, for one 8 ___ the crack of dawn 59 Musical chord 9 Bike or boat preceder 62 Henchman in The Godfather 10 Bring to life 63 Triangular sail 11 Giant Hall of Famer 64 Constrict 12 Raisin city 65 The ___ rate 13 Mr. ___ (handyman) 66 Maternity ward beamers 14 Polite offer of help 67 Floor squares 15 Patricia O’Conner grammar 68 Descend using rope book, Woe ___ 69 Final syllable

70 Horse’s pace 73 Make 74 ( n.) any old-fashioned term describing amorous behavior, such as “pitching woo” or “lovey-dovey” 75 D.C. abbr.

76 Approves 77 At no extra ___ 78 Condition 79 ( adj.) resembling a small shopping center 80 Manuel’s house 82 Little fight 84 Murdoch’s network 85 Off weeks, in sports 88 Lowers 90 Pop the question 92 Attire for Akira 94 Singer Damone 97 M eryl’s The Bridges of Madison County co-star 98 Designer Cassini 100 Rite, to Gide 101 Protest 102 A Muse 104 Relinquisher 105 It means “sun” 108 Spanish dessert 109 Living qtrs.

110 Pan pal?

111 Electronics giant 112 Good wood 113 Sprinted 116 B iological suffix meaning “little”

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2022

A-6 THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA

TERRY BERKSON

life sketches

Sunset Stolen: Key West

After a visit with relatives in central Florida, my wife, Alice, and I headed all the way down to Key West to see one of those famous sunsets.

The last 100 miles on the causeway were like flying low in a turquoise sky. We arrived in the late afternoon, paid through the nose for a room and headed over to Mallory Square to watch the sun go down. There was quite a crowd standing there with drinks in their hands, all facing west, like cows to the wind as a live band played Dixieland Jazz. The sun was just touching the water, giving the impression that it was melting into the gulf, and as it did, the water around it turned red as though some giant crimson ink spot was bleeding into the sea.

I was impressed, but just as the sun was at the peak of its ebb, a tugboat hauled a huge barge across the horizon and blocked the view for everyone on the pier.

All cried “Boo!” as the band played on.

I think that tugboat captain had quite a sense of humor. He knew just what he was doing when he dragged his curtain across the stage and probably laughed all the way to wherever he was going. An even more insidious suspicion of mine is that the Key West Chamber of Commerce pays the guy to block out sunsets so that people will come back to Key West again to try and witness the entire spectacle.

Later, we headed over to Sloppy

Joe’s and had grouper and chips for dinner.

Hemingway was supposed to have frequented this place where actress Marlene Dietrich had sat on a bar stool and drank with him, but I read that the original Sloppy Joe’s was a much smaller place situated around the corner.

Also, I was surprised not to see any extreme boozing, boxing or arm wrestling going on. In spite of the lack of those macho activities, Alice thought that the place was noisy and wasn’t impressed with the connection to the great writer.

In the morning, I woke up early to the crow of several roosters nearby.

My wife chose to snooze instead of making a pilgrimage to the house where

Hemingway lived for about ten years before moving to Cuba. It was |a short walk to Whitehead Street, where his impressive estate is located.

After paying the price of admission, I passed through the house, went upstairs and crossed the catwalk to Hem’s study where the typewriter that he wrote on was displayed. Knowing the mess that I make when trying to get something published, I thought to myself how neat the room was, but from what I’ve read in Carlos Baker’s biography, I think Hemingway was a slob like me and must have had books, piles of paper, notes and reminders tacked up all over the place.

Later, I was out in the garden looking at Papa’s animal cemetery when this little guy in a trench coat with a pencil mustache slipped out from behind a tree, looked both ways and said, “Hey buddy you want to buy a Hemingway chicken?”

I happen to raise chickens.

LETTERS

Cooperstown vote reform It seems like almost every day we hear about state legislatures across the country passing laws that make it harder to vote. Systemic voter suppression continues to degrade our democracy and the consequences of doing nothing will be felt by generations to come.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what we can do on a local level to improve the system of elections in our village.

As a Village Trustee, I feel it’s my obligation to our citizens to be proactive and to propose innovative ideas.

Over the last few months, I’ve been working on proposed changes to our village charter to accommodate moving our village elections from March to November. That would mean our village elections would coincide with all of our other general elections on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

It has been documented time and time again, that increasing the number of times people have to vote decreases the chances of them showing up. By making this change, when folks go to vote for their President of the United States they’ll be able to vote for their Village Trustees as well.

If we pass my proposed changes to our village charter, it will go to our March 2022 village ballot and will require a majority vote by our residents. At a minimum our village voters should get a chance to say aye or nay on this legislation.

Moving our village elections from

March to November will give voters six additional hours to vote on Election Day. Currently our village elections are conducted from noon until 9 p.m.

In the new system voters would be able to cast a ballot on Election Day from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m.

In 2019, the New York State Legislature passed a law providing voters nine days of early voting. That means village voters would gain access to nine days of early voting at two different polling locations in Otsego County. This change saves taxpayer dollars and ends the administrative burden of facilitating elections on our village staff by handing over electoral operations to the Otsego County Board of Elections.

It will also enable our military and overseas voters to participate in our village elections, which is currently very difficult due to the tight timeline for absentee voting in village elections. Voters will no longer have to apply for separate absentee ballots for village elections.

Villages across NYS have already made this change and coincide their village elections with all other elections. I believe our village voters should enjoy the same access to the ballot they enjoy in every other election.

This idea, while not a new one, is a good one. Unfortunately my proposed local law to amend our village charter failed to pass at the January meeting of the Cooperstown Board of Trustees, and was tabled until February.

Some objections included extending

our political season and increasing partisanship in our elections.

We currently operate in a system where major parties nominate candidates even at this very local level.

Expanding access to the ballot won’t result in elections any more partisan than what we already have. I urge all village residents to share their thoughts on my proposal with my colleagues and with our Village Clerk by sending correspondence to jutter@ cooperstownny.org.

MacGuire Benton Cooperstown

Meanwhile in Texas Texas’s new voter suppression law is a great example of how to keep lots of people from voting. The new statute requires a voter to present either a driver’s license or their Social Security number in order to get an absentee ballot. Since Texas only requires one of these IDs to register to vote, if a county registrar receives an absentee ballot request with a type of ID they don’t have on file, they can’t match the ballot request with the voter. That has already resulted in massive numbers of absentee ballot request rejections.

Other than a lawsuit to overturn the law to conform absentee ballot requirements with voter registration data, there is a simple solution for this: Don’t vote for politicians who don’t want you to vote.

Chip Northrup Cooperstown

OBITUARIES Partner Reiss Car Wash

Dr. Louis C. Jones.

Howard and Doris met on Christmas 1972 and were married 2½ months later on March 10, 1973. They were married for 48+ years.

Doris was a sweet, precious person with a kind heart. She was generous in her love to her family and friends, as well as having a great sense of humor.

Doris opened and ran The Ledges Antique Shop at their home and then on Main Street, Cooperstown, as well as The Ledges Bed and Breakfast at their home.

People loved both and came year after year. Their home was always full of friends and family.

A member of the Lake & Valley Garden Club, Doris served for many years on the committee responsible for decorating The Fenimore House for the Christmas season, and also helped with the beautification committee for the Village of Cooperstown.

Doris is survived by her beloved husband, Howard; her sister, Lee Adkins and partner, Roland Stafford;

Continued from page 1 “Mine is not a philosophical opposition,” D.A. Muehl said. “The problem here is the legislature put form over function.”

“I had an open-file policy in this office,” he said.

“Defense could come in this office and copy an entire file. I couldn’t give them the grand jury minutes, although I would’ve if I could. I would not give them confidential informants or the names and contact information for a victim if it was a violent crime.”

“Now, we literally have to turn everything over,” he said.

“If a police officer sends me an e-mail in connection with the case and all it says is ‘Hey, I’ll call you after lunch,’ I have to turn that over. I have to turn over the radio calls like ‘I’m on the scene.’ What good does that do?”

Citing the mountain of paperwork his office must pass along under discovery reform, he added, “I have no problem with the defense getting all the information they need in a timely manner. You’ll talk to defense attorneys now, though, and they’ll say ‘We don’t want all this crap that you’re sending to us.’ But we have to. We’re required to send every last scrap.”

The shape of reform The simmering debate boiled over two weeks ago in Manhattan when a gun-carrying suspect in a domestic violence case shot and killed two responding officers from the New York Police Department; this after an unrelated shooting of another NYPD officer and a spate of violent crime in the city’s subways. New York City Mayor Eric Adams called immediately for changes because “voluminous requirements of the new discovery bill jammed up too many cases.”

“We urge the State to distinguish what is truly necessary for discovery,” he said.

Others pointed at new Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and the ‘day one’ memo he circulated on his first day in office in January, calling for non-prosecution of crimes including trespassing and prostitution and reduced charges for crimes including knifepoint robbery and some residential burglaries. That directive, combined with bail and discovery reform, became immediate political fodder with demands on one side to repeal the reforms and, on the other, digging in heels to keep the reforms in place.

District Attorney Muehl seemingly looks right into the middle of that debate.

“The problem with the message is too many people are saying ‘we have to put bail and discovery back to where it was before,’” he said. “That’s not the case.”

State Senate and Assembly leaders who shepherded the reforms in 2019 and 2020 have, so far, rejected reopening the statutes for further tinkering. Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said in a wide-ranging public interview with Albany Times-Union Editor Casey Seiler that she and her conference continue to focus on data.

“There is a tremendous campaign of misinformation around bail and bail reform,” Sen. Stewart-Cousins said.

“We need a resetting as to why we did it. This is the result of a disparate impact, negatively, specifically on Black and Brown communities. It was a position where people were being held on bail … it became, in many ways, prosecution if you were poor. If you had money you could get out, if you didn’t you stayed in.”

“It’s wholly unfair that because the sun doesn’t come up in the morning it’s bail reform’s fault,” said her Assembly counterpart, Speaker Carl Heastie. “I don’t want to go back to the times when every time somebody does something wrong jail is just the ultimate answer. An incident happens and it’s just jail jail jail.”

Both Leader Stewart-Cousins and Speaker Heastie said they are continuing to study statistics, including numbers showing that two percent of people released under the original bail reform law in 2019 were rearrested for a violent felony while awaiting trial.

“Yes, you can say that one of these is one too many,” Speaker Heastie said. “On the other side is the vast majority of people are showing up for their trials. I think it shows that there is some success.”

He, Sen. Stewart-Cousins, and Governor Kathy Hochul all have called for a deeper dive into solving the root causes of violent crime in New York.

“We have this love for guns and nobody ever wants to talk about it,” Speaker Heastie said. “This is a nationwide problem.”

Of those pushing for complete rollback of the laws, Sen. Stewart-Cousins said, “They’ve been able to make a talking point, but nobody takes this lightly. They’ve created a bogeyman by saying ‘these people don’t care about you.’

They’re just pandering to peoples’ fears and not being honest.”

“They have no idea,” she said.

What’s next

Doris E. Reiss, 88

COOPERSTOWN – Doris Elaine Reiss of Cooperstown passed away peacefully at home January 1, 2022, with her beloved husband Howard at her bedside.

She was born in 1933, in Wilkes-Barre, PA, to Mildred (Ritts) and Louis Fredericks. They moved to the Mohawk Valley where she attended Mohawk and Ilion schools.

Doris was employed at the New York State Historical Association as the personal secretary for

Discovery/bail

her daughter, Pam Johnson (Leslie) and partner, Rich Lombardi; her granddaughter, Sara Johnson and great granddaughter, Kiara; and grandson, Matt Leslie and wife, Kyle and great grandchildren Seamus and Molly, and many extended family members.

A memorial service and celebration of Doris’ life are planned for the spring.

Arrangements are with the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home in Cooperstown.

The Otsego County District Attorney disagrees that the bail and discovery laws, as written, have a majority of people showing up for trials.

“Bail’s sole purpose is to ensure that the defendant will return to court,” D.A. Muehl said. “Now, no matter the defendant’s prior criminal history, you can’t hold them.

You’re not allowed to look at whether they have ties to the community or their record of appearing in court. It makes no difference, you can’t consider it.”

He said it’s an expensive and high hurdle to bring back willful and persistent offenders.

“They just don’t show up,” he said.

The fomenting debate in Albany divides candidates, and not always along party lines. Democrats Stewart-Cousins and Heastie remain committed publically to seeing through the reforms as written, fellow Democrat Hochul hasn’t backed away from the current law but reportedly reminded Manhattan D.A. Bragg she could remove him from office if he were not upholding the state’s canon and making public safety a top priority. Democrat Rep. Tom Suozzi, Continued on page 8

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2022

THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA A-7

OBITUARIES Scharlene A. McPhail

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

March 8, 1994 – January 28, 2022

ONEONTA – Scharlene Ann McPhail, 77, passed away on January 28, 2022 peacefully at home with her family.

Born on March 8, 1944 in Niagara Falls, N.Y. she was the daughter of the late James and Alberta McDermott.

Scharlene was a graduate of Madonna High School in Niagara Falls.

She married Donald McPhail on February 17, 1968, and they were happily married for 54 years.

She was a lifelong homemaker who was totally

devoted to her McPhail, Helina, husband and Logan, & Noah children.

McPhail, and Scharlene was Ashley, Jacob, predeceased by Luke, & Owen her parents, and McCormick. Also her brother Joseph surviving are her McDermott. sisters Mary Bruns She is survived and Katherine by her husband Civisca and her Scharlene A. Donald, her chilbrothers James McPhail dren Matthew McDermott Jr. (Ellen) McPhail, Michael and Christopher McDermott (Amy) McPhail, and Jennifer along with many brother in (Steven) McCormick. She laws, sister in laws, nieces was a loving grandmother to and nephews. her 10 grandchildren Emily, Calling hours will be on Katherine, and Connor Friday February 4 from

5 - 7pm at the Lester R. Grummons Funeral Home, 14 Grand Street, Oneonta.

A private service will be held on Saturday for the family.

Burial will be held in the spring at Glenwood Cemetery.

Arrangements are by the Lester R. Grummons Funeral Home of Oneonta.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www. grummonsfuneralhome. com for the McPhail family.

MeMories to Cherish every life has a story. everyone deserves a final appreciation.

For more information send email to info@Allotsego.com, or call Larissa at 607-547-6103.

Legal

Legal

Legal nOtice

Legal nOtice

Notice of Formation of

NOTICE OF HEARING TO HEAR COMPLAINTS IN RELATION TO ASSESSMENT ROLL

Journey Into Holistic Healing LLC. Filed 12/29/21.

Cty: Otsego.

SSNY desig. for process & shall mail 2787 Co Hwy 18, S New Berlin, NY 13843.

Purp: any lawful.

6LegalMar.10 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of ROSEBOOM WINERY LLC, Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 1/17/22.

Office in Otsego Co. SSNY desig. agent of LLC whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail process to 3473 St Hwy 166, Cherry Valley, NY 13320.

Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Principal business loc: 3473 St Hwy 166, Cherry Valley, NY 13320.

6LegalMar.10 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of a Limited Liability Company (LLC) Name: William Craft Construction LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the NY Secretary of State on 01/24/2022.

The office of the LLC is to be located in Otsego County.

SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: William Craft, 502 Lougheed Rd, Oneonta, NY 13820.

The purpose of the LLC is to engage in any lawful act.

6LegalMar.10

Notice is hereby given that the Village of Cooperstown, County of Otsego has completed the tentative assessment roll for the current year. Effective the date of this notice through February 15, 2022 the assessment roll may be seen at the Village Clerk’s Office during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:00 am and 4:00 pm.

The Board of Assessment Review will meet on Tuesday, February 15, 2022 at the Village Office Building, 22 Main Street, Cooperstown, New York between the hours of 4:00 pm and 8:00 pm, for the purpose of hearing and determining complaints in relation to assessments on the application of any person believing himself to be aggrieved. Complaints with respect to assessments must be filed with the Village Clerk on or before the day of the hearing on a form prescribed by the State. These forms are available at the Village Office.

The Assessor will be available through February 15, 2022, Monday through Friday, from 8am – 2 pm, Thursday, February 3 from 6 pm – 8 pm, Saturday, February 5 from 9 am to 1 pm, or at a mutually convenient time by appointment, (607) 547-6057.

Dated this 1st day of February, 2022 Albert Keck Assessor Village of

Legal

Legal

LEGALS

Cooperstown 22 Main Street Cooperstown, NY 13326 1LegalFeb.3

Notice of Formation of a NY Limited Liability Company

Legal nOtice

Name:

Notice of formation of a NY Limited Liability Company Name: Dazzo’s Kitchen LLC. Articles of Organization filing date with the Secretary of State (SSNY) was 09/30/2021.

Office location: Otsego County.

SSNY has been designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and SSNY shall mail copy of process to 158 Brookline Road Ballston Spa NY 12020.

Purpose is to engage in any and all business activities permitted under NYS laws.

6LegalMar.10 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of a NY Limited Liability Company Name: DOG WILD PROPERTIES LLC. Articles of Organization filing date with Secretary of State (SSNY) was 27 January 2022.

Office location: Otsego County.

SSNY has been designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and SSNY shall mail copy of process to PO Box 410, Richfield Springs, NY 13439.

Purpose is to engage in any and all business activities permitted under NYS laws.

6LegalMar.10 Legal nOtice

DOG WILD OF COOPERSTOWN LLC. Articles of Organization filing date with Secretary of State (SSNY) was 27 January 2022.

Office location: Otsego County.

SSNY has been designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and SSNY shall mail copy of process to PO Box 410, Richfield Springs, NY 13439.

Purpose is to engage in any and all business activities permitted under NYS laws.

6LegalMar.10 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of MEADOW CREST COMMUNITY, LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 1/26/22.

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

SSNY shall mail process to PO Box 1455, Oneonta, NY 132820.

Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

6LegalMar.10 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of Baccello Plumbing & Heating LLC. Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 01/09/2022 Office location: Otsego County.

SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 5001 ST HWY 23 STE PMB 190

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Oneonta NY 13820 Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

6LegalMar.3 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of Rolling Hills Rentals, LLC Office Location: Otsego County N.Y. Articles of Organization Filed with the Secretary of State of New York (“SSNY”) on January 18, 2022.

SSNY is designated agent of LLC upon whom process may be served and SNNY shall mail process to Rolling Hills Rentals, LLC located at 139 Quinn Road, Cherry Valley, NY 13320.

6LegalMar.3 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of BIG GUNS CONSTRUCTION, LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 1/18/22.

Office in Otsego Co. SSNY desig. agent of LLC whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail process to 6451 County Highway 18, West Winfield, NY 13491.

Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

6LegalMar.3 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of ONEONTA ADVENTURE CLUB LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 1/13/22.

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

SSNY shall mail process to 139 Collins Dr., Oneonta, NY 13820, which is also the principal business location.

Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

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6LegalMar.3

Legal nOtice NOTICE OF FORMATION OF A DOMESTIC LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY (LLC) Andrew Hunt Contracting LLC The Articles of Organization were filed with the New York State Secretary of State on July 20th, 2021.

OFFICE LOCATION: Otsego County.

The Secretary of state is designated as Agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served.

The Secretary of State shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC to 157 Canham rd, South New Berlin, NY 13843.

PURPOSE: To engage in any lawful act or activity.

6LegalMar.3 Legal nOtice Cemetery Association Annual Meeting Notice is hereby given that the annual meeting of the LOT OWNERS of the Hartwick Seminary Cemetery Association will be held at the Hartwick Seminary Fire House, Dept.

2, in Hartwick Seminary, NY. This meeting will be held on Sunday, February 6, 2022, at 1 PM to transact a business meeting, which includes the election of Trustees.

COVID restrictions, such as a mask, will be required of all attendees and no refreshments will be served, bottled water will be available.

3LegalFeb.3 Legal nOtice NOTICE OF

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FILING OF ARTICLES OF ORGANIZATION IN NEW YORK

BY A LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY Name: Kent Jones Consulting, LLC. Articles of Organization filed with sec. of state of NY(SOS) on 10/1/21.

Office location: Otsego County.

SOS is designated as agent of LLC for service of process.

SOS shall mail copy of process to 13 Fernleigh Dr, Cooperstown, NY 13326.

Purpose: Any lawful act or activity.

6LegalFeb.24 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of a NY Limited Liability Company Name: SCHOELLIG’S FIELDCREST FARM LLC. Articles of Organization filing date with Secretary of State (SSNY) was 7 January 2022.

Office location: Otsego County.

SSNY has been designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and SSNY shall mail copy of process to 325 Santoro Road, Garrattsville, NY 13342.

Purpose is to engage in any and all business activities permitted under NYS laws.

6LegalFeb.24 Legal nOtice Notice of formation of Thistlemint Farm LLC Articles of Organizations were filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 27 November, 2021.

Office location:

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Otsego County.

SSNY has been designated as agent for process and shall mail to: P.O.Box 132, Laurens, NY 13796.

Purpose: any lawful purpose.

6LegalFeb.24 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of CNY JOINT RECON LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 01/06/22.

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, 5 Ravine Park South, Oneonta, NY 13820.

Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

6LegalFeb.24 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of Dooalot, LLC, a Limited Liability Company (LLC) filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on May 5, 2015.

NY Office Location: OTSEGO County.

SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of any process served upon him/her to: C/O Dooalot, LLC, 255 County Highway 27, Richfield Springs, NY 13439.

General Purposes.

6LegalFeb.3 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of Brookrose Farm LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/15/21.

Office location: Otsego County.

SSNY designated

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as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: c/o Michael Telesco, 283 County Highway 57, Cherry Valley, NY 13320.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

6LegalFeb.3 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of Chief Schenevus Farms, LLC Office Location: Otsego County N.Y. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York (“SSNY”) on December13, 2021.

SSNY is designated agent of LLC upon whom process may be served and SSNY shall mail process to Chief Schenevus Farms, LLC located at 6004 Vista Linda Lane, Boca Raton, FL 3343 Purpose is to engage in any and all business activities permitted under NYS laws.

6LegalFeb.3 Legal nOtice Notice of Formation of POLAR BEAR CONCESSIONS, LLC. Articles of Organization were filed with the NY Secretary of State on 10/26/2021.

The office of the LLC is to be located in Otsego County.

The Secretary of State has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The Secretary of State shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC served upon him/her to: The LLC, 7 Maplecrest Way, Otego, NY 13825.

The purpose ofthe LLC is to engage in any lawful act or activity.

6LegalFeb.3

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2022

A-8 THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA

Discovery / bail reform Continued from page 6 challenging Gov. Hochul in their party primary, wants substantial roll-back; party Chairman Jay Jacobs backs Democrat New York City Mayor Eric Adams’s call for tweaks to bail and discovery reform.

Republican state Legislators in the Senate and Assembly have made complete repeal their biggest agenda item for the 2022 legislative session and, no doubt, will carry that message through the campaign season to come in the summer and fall. And Republican gubernatorial frontrunner Lee Zeldin joins them in a highly publicized push for repeal, expansion of judicial discretion in setting bail, and other changes.

D.A. Muehl remains skeptical that change will come in the tough election year atmosphere.

“I think they’re going to keep throwing money at it instead of fixing it,” he said, noting Governor Hochul’s call in her budget for expanded “pre-trial services” and a suggestion from Leader Stewart-Cousins that her conference would battle for greater

Chuck Gould

funding to help prosecutors overwhelmed by the expanded workload.

“The problem is the law is poorly written in a lot of ways,” Muehl said. “There could’ve been a happy medium.”

“I want every defendant to have a fair trial,” he said. “I don’t want any defendant to have evidence hidden on them. I don’t want to see any of that.”

“But when we’ve got somebody who already has five felonies, this person is a danger to society,” he said. “They’re a criminal. When we were in the middle of the big heroin epidemic I felt so horrible because you had all these people breaking into homes and stealing stuff. Thieves would pick people who were in Florida for the winter and, you know, these people have money and all of their jewelry. So much of this stuff was of sentimental value that can never be replaced and this S.O.B. has taken it from them. They’ll never get it back. And somehow we’re supposed to worry about the criminal?”

Sun., Feb. 6th 9 am - 3 pm

607-432-2022

22-26 Watkins Avenue, Oneonta Monday through Friday 8 am - 4:30 pm

SubScribe to OTSEGO.com

All

OtsegO COunty’s

Daily newspaper/online

Cooperstown brewmaster teams up with Troy Aikman

Phil Leinhart

Ted Potrikus

Add one award-winning Master Brewer and one Football Hall-of-Famer to make eight — EIGHT beer, that is, a joint project of Cooperstown’s Phil Leinhart and former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman that jumps into the jam-packed craft beer market later this year.

It’s a brew more than two years in the making, Mr. Leinhart said, made with no sugar and featuring Hallertau Taurus hops.

“They’re a variety of Bavarian-growth hops that are heavy in antioxidants,” Mr. Leinhart said before traveling to New Orleans to supervise the first packaging of the new lager. “We’re using these high-alpha, xanthohumol hops that carry the highest level of antioxidants that we could find.”

He got involved with the project on the recommendation of Doug Campbell, former president of Brewery Ommegang — where Mr. Leinhart was Brewmaster.

“Doug found out I had separated from Ommegang after the pandemic hit and that I was consulting for different projects,” he said. “He knew some people out there with an original idea for a low-calorie, low-carb beer that fit into a more active lifestyle.

They had no experience in brewing.”

“I’d worked with Doug before at Anheuser-Busch,” he continued. “We were there when they started Michelob Ultra so we have a long history.”

He said he and the brewers paired with the Food Science and Technology program at Oregon State University in a two-year research and development project diving into developing a brew he says is “more along the lines of an American pale lager.”

“All the grains are organic,” he said.

“There’s no corn sugar and an all-malt beer.”

Having the Cowboys great on board brings big visibility to the endeavor.

“This was a lot more on his part than just putting his uniform number on the label,” Mr. Leinhart said. “Troy Aikman was hugely involved in the process. We had plenty of Zoom calls over the past two years with Oregon State. They’d send us samples along the way and we’d meet over Zoom to taste and discuss and tear it all apart to get to where we wanted to be.”

Mr. Aikman himself told Yahoo! Finance that he’s “all in” on Eight and, now that the 2021-2022 football season is coming to a close, he’ll devote more time to the work.

Northeast beer aficionados may not get a taste of Eight for awhile — a market filled with craft brews of all sort throughout the country pushes initial roll-out of the antioxidant lager only into Aikman’s home state of Texas for the time being.

“We found a brewery in New Orleans that had the capabilities we needed to put this beer out the way we want it,” Mr. Leinhart said. “We’ll start in Texas and see what happens from there.”

In the meantime, Mr. Leinhart continues his work as a senior advisor at First Key, consultants to the brewing industry around the world.

“Whenever you get a high-profile project like this it’s good,” he said. “There will be more to come.”

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