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Cooperstown’s offiCial newspaper
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founded in 1808
veterans resource fair is november 12, page 3
VISIT www. Volume 215, No. 45
AllOTSEGO.com, OTSEGO COUNTY’S DAILY NEWSPAPER/ONLINE
Cooperstown, New York, Thursday, November 9, 2023
Newsstand Price $1
Coalition Calls for Rethinking of Energy Plan TOWN OF COLUMBIA coalition of community-based environmental groups around the state filed comments with the New York Public Service Commission last week, calling for a reconsideration of the PSC’s plan for reducing power plant emissions principally with large-scale renewables. According to the press release, the coalition is comprised of environmentallyminded people participating in the review of large-scale renewable energy projects around the state. The coalition points to physical constraints on the ability of wind and solar to contribute to carbon emission reductions and energy analysts who project that the electric grid will become less reliable as more intermittent renewables are connected. Backup power plants to ensure grid reliability and extensive infrastructure changes are needed to utilize wind and solar energy, coalition members contend, saying these are not warranted given the environmental damage renewables cause, along with potential health and safety hazards associated with the projects, including their battery storage systems. “Large-scale renewables are being sited on prime agricultural land and are clearing thousands of acres of forests,” according to Ginger Schroder, a Cattaraugus County legislator and member of the coalition. Schroeder pointed to the 100-squaremile project area needed for the proposed Alle-Catt wind farm in western New York. “Renewables require massive amounts of land, not only for sprawling solar and
Festival Turns 11 This Year By WRILEY NELSON
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Continued on page 15 INSIDE ► ‘student voices, student choices’ coming up, page 5 ► around the towns photo page, page 6 ► new coffee shop opens in morris, page 10 ► news briefs, page 11 ► bus drivers take active shooter preparedness training, page 12 ► emily kane swimmer of the year, page 13 ► the buzz opens in fly creek, page 14 Follow Breaking News On
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COOPERSTOWN limmerglass Film Days will be held at various locations in Cooperstown from 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 9 through 9:30 p.m. on Monday, November 13. The eleventh installment of the festival will feature more than two dozen films, talks, and events with filmmakers, an art installment at The Smithy, trivia, books, parties, and guided walking tours. “This year’s festival theme is ‘Messengers,’” said Xander Moffat, festival technical director, programmer and steering committee member. “A lot of the films follow that theme, concerning artists or others who communicate ideas in their own ways. Of course, the filmmakers themselves are messengers, too, telling us about the world as they see it.” “The theme is pretty broad, but it gives us enough of a direction to get a good mix of programming,” added long-serving Programmer and Steering Committee Member Joey Katz. “Our ‘messengers’ include people, art, and parts of nature that try to communicate with us about the environment, about social justice, and about the world around us.” Film Days is a program of Otsego 2000, so some programming choices are typically based on an environmental angle. Peggy Parsons, Film Days founder and artistic director, has professionally evaluated films for most of her career. She has attended and judged film festivals around the world and earned honors from the governments of France, Czechia, Italy, Romania, and Georgia for her work. “She is very tuned into the film world Continued on page 15
Photo by Wriley Nelson
Keeping Up With Tradition COOPERSTOWN—Rotarian Lauren Glynn cooks pancakes while the Rev. Nathan Ritter pours a cup of coffee at the Rotary Club of Cooperstown’s Pancake Day. The all-day Election Day tradition dates back to 1957.
DOT Solicits Roundabout Feedback ONEONTA he New York State Department of Transportation will host a public information meeting concerning the proposed construction of a roundabout in Oneonta at the Oneonta High School auditorium at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 14. The roundabout would replace the current layout of the intersection of State Route 23, State Route 7 and Maple Street in downtown Oneonta. The meeting will begin with a presentation about preliminary design, traffic safety enhancements and other potential impacts. A public comment and question will follow. Requests for interpretive or translation services, or other accommodations, should be submitted to jennifer.taylor@dot.ny.gov or (607) 721-8257 by November 7. Residents can also join the meeting online or by phone; visit www.dot.ny.gov/oneontaroundabout for more information. Public comments may also be submitted until Tuesday, November 29.
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Star of Horror Film Cult Classic Returns To Make New Movie RICHFIELD SPRINGS ilm Otsego and the New York State Route 20 Scenic Byway Association honored scream queen Lynn Lowry on Saturday, November 6 at the Lake House in Richfield. Lowry, who made “I Drink Your Blood” in Sharon Springs in 1970, returned to the region this month to film “The Girl Who Wore Yellow Lace.” Route 20 Co-president Phil Durkin, Town of Richfield Supervisor Dan Sullivan and Otsego County Film Commissioner Greg Klein were at the event to give Lowry a plaque thanking and honoring her for making movies in the region for 50-plus years.
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Actress Lynn Lowry was honored recently by the Route 20 Scenic Byway Association. Pictured with Lowry, from left, are Route 20 Co-president Phil Durkin, Otsego County Film Commissioner Greg Klein and Richfield Town Supervisor Dan Sullivan.
“Lynn is a legend in the horror genre and it was our honor to recognize her accomplishments,” Klein said. “The Girl Who Wore Yellow Lace” is the third horror film to be shot in Otsego Country this fall. “We’re becoming known as a place to make horror films,” Klein said. “With the success of Shock-toberfest at Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center, and the release of Otsego Media’s “Ouija Witch” this year, this fall’s slate of movies reinforces that designation. “We’re excited to see what is next,” he said. “I told the producers of “I Drink Your Blood” we’d be Continued on page 9
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST PRINT CIRCULATION 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD