Hometown Oneonta - The Otesgo-Delaware Dispatch

Hometown People

Thursday, January 29, 2009

ONEONTA ‘KEY CLUB’ MEMBERS

Oneonta Centennial Committee members receiving the key to the City of Oneonta at the Tuesday, Jan. 20, Common Council meeting are, from left, Mark Simonson, Maggie Barnes, Tom Clemow, Kevin Herrick, David Hayes, Bob Brzozowski, Edie Polhamus, Janet Potter, Angie Nielsen, Teri Basdekis, Diane Georgeson and Art Torrey. Mayor John S. Nader made the presentation.

BACK TO NEW ORLEANS: Chad Angellotti, A.O. Fox Health Links group fitness instructor and second-year Binghamton University MSW candidate, was in New Orleans this month volunteering to help with the contining cleanup from Hurricane Katrina. Angellotti is focusing on job retraining, resume building, mock interviews, group counseling and childcare. This is his second trip to New Orleans for this purpose.

Donovan Leads Opportunities for Otsego

Dr. Alan Donovan, retired SUNY Oneonta president, was elected president of the Opportunities for Otsego board of directors Thursday, Jan. 22. Other officers are Carolyn Lewis, vice president; Dr. Ben Friedell, secretary, and David Merzig, Esq. treasurer.
New board members include George Brown, Lorrie Wolverton and Suzanne Miller.
“I am excited about the opportunity to work with such a talented board and caring organization and look forward to a productive year in 2009,” said Donovan.
“I would also like to thank our outgoing President, Maggie Barnes for her many years of service and leadership to OFO.”

LOCALS RAISE MONEY FOR MDA

On Wednesday, Jan. 21, a handful of Oneontans were taken to the Oneonta Holiday Inn, placed behind bars and asked to raise bail to be released, all to
benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Among those raising funds were Green Toad Bookstore proprietor, Michelle Pondolfino, right.
Family and friends raised $845 to help spring Pondofino.

DEAN’S LIST: The following Oneonta residents were named to the SUNY Oneonta dean’s list for fall 2008: Kimberley Armstrong, Stefan Armstrong, Heather Bailey, Jessica Bailey, Virginia Barker, Daniel Branzburg, Sabrinna Brown, Alexander Chase, Fan Chao Chen, Juliann Chmielowski, Oxana Darmogray, Jamie Desilva, Rachel Elliott, William Farago, Sarah Gravelin, Sara Greenaker, Aaron Hurlbutt, Kaitlyn Hutzel, Kathryn Lane, Brian Leonard, Britney Liddell, Alyssa Lord, Lauren Mahon, Dean McGowan, Kali McMullen, Marcela Micucci, Stephen Pallas, Elizabeth Patterson, Shawn Reardon, Jennifer Ross, Mitchell Schneider, Leann Shaw, Tobias Smith, Alexander Titov, Angela Yorks, Jennifer Zosh.

SMART™ Board Replaces Plain Old Black Board

When you think of school, you may think of black boards.
But Oneonta High School grads of the future may think of white boards.
Actually, it’s a SMART™ Board, which the Catskill Regional Teachers’ Center is providing OHS through an agreement that allows the teachers’ center to use Room 224 after school and in the evenings.
“It’s a win-win situation, the school gets great equipment and the room wasn’t being used afterschool,” said Karen Rowe, the Oneonta City School District’s curriculum coordinator. “From now on people will just know all workshops are at Room 224.”
During the day, Room 224 is a study hall – equipped with computers and staffed by a teacher who can answer questions. The SMART™ Board, projector, technology cart, laptop and padded chairs will be added under the agreement.
“People choose the SMART™ Board interactive whiteboard because it helps energize presentations and motivate learners,” the company’s Web site explains. “… Combining the simplicity of a whiteboard with the power of a computer, the SMART Board interactive whiteboard engages students and audiences around the world”
“It’s Interactive,” said Colleen Lewis, who helps Oneonta teachers with technological questions, “getting students up and interacting with the lesson,” said Lewis.
Already, there is three SMART™ Boards at Center Street Elementary school and one at Greater Plains Elementary. Next year Riverside is slated to receive 17 SMART™ boards, funded by a capitol project, and each of the other schools will receive five SMART™ boards over the next couple years.
Since Governor Paterson’s budget is eliminating funding for teachers’ centers, these types of collaborations make sense, according to Mary Ann Luciano, teachers’ center director.

Labels: 01-30-09, Hometown People

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Labels: 01-30-09, Front Page

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Oneontans Provide Goats, Books, Pencils To Students In Sister City

By LAURA COX

For each of the five Oneontans, the trip to Oneonta’s sister city, Dundlod, held different promises and new adventures.
For Ashok Malhotra, SUNY Oneonta philosophy professor and founder of the Ninash Foundation – its mission is to promote literacy and to fund education worldwide, it was a bi-annual pilgrimage to see how the foundation’s benefactors are faring.
For Linda Drake, Malhotra’s partner and director of the SUNY Center for Social Responsibility, it was an opportunity to bring nutrition to 35 of the poorest of poor families in Dundlod by providing them with goats bought with funds raised in Oneonta.
For Ken and Heidi Sider and their 10-year-old daughter Aliya, it was a chance to visit a country they have all learned so much about – Ken teaches a unit on India to his third-grade class at Riverside Elementary School – and to act as ambassadors to the Dundlod Indo-international School, bringing funds to buy pencils and books for the library.
The five are just back from venturing across the globe to Dundlod, in the Indian state of Rajastan. They also visited Mahapura, also in Rajastan, and Kuran in Gujarat.
While everyone arrived in India at different times during mid to late December, the group was all together on Jan. 1 in Dundlod for the celebration of an opening of a new road leading from the town up the hill through the desert to the school.
The new road was funded 70 percent by funds raised by their mayor’s council, and 30 percent by the Ninash Foundation.
“There is only one main paved road in town, and the children all had to walk up the hill on the sand. Now there is a black top road, which was built by local masons,” said Malhotra.
The school has been deemed a success by everyone involved, and this year for the first time there are two graduates of the Indo-International School attending college, one male and one female.
Prior to the Ninash Foundation building the school, the children in Dundlod did not have any opportunity at all for education, and now the school has grown to include a high school, which was funded by Unadilla residents Greg and Sue Vancott, and has 500 students, up from the original 50.
Malhotra brought two messages to the children in India, “Each one, teach one,” and “Yes, we can.”
“If each student taught just one other person how to read, there would be 1,000, then if they each taught one it would be 2,000. The community is only 10,000, and they could all be literate,” explained Malhotra.

On Jan. 2, the group watched and Aliya helped as Linda Drake presented 35 families with milk-producing goats. Using the $800 raised by Greater Plains Elementary School students and money from Oneonta community members who bought goats on behalf of loved ones as gifts for Christmas, Drake bought the goats from a local Dundlod shepherd.
“We went and visited the homes of the families who were listed on the register as the poorest of the poor. Many of them only had one cot for a whole family and no way of providing food for their families,” said Drake.
A goat will produce up to six quarts of milk a day. The milk may be taken directly, or turned into cheese or yogurt.
“The people were so appreciative and we told them, ‘This is a free gift from families in our country to your family, not rich people, just ordinary people, some poor, people just like you. There is just one catch, if you have extra milk you must give it away to your neighbor or do another act of kindness for someone,’” said Drake.
“I would take the goat to Linda and it was cool to see all the happy faces,” said Aliya.
On Jan. 3, the Siders saw the Riverside penny fundraiser converted into more than 1000 books for the library.
“We put jars in each of the classrooms at Riverside for students to bring in their pennies, my class’ was full to the tippy top. Overall we raised $450 in pennies,” said Aliya.
Ken Sider explained that the $450 American was exchanged for $20,000 rupees, and while the intent of the fundraiser was to raise money for pencils from the school, it was decided to buy the books as well. So they took three students and three teachers to a book store in a community nearby. For all of the students and many of the teachers it was their first time in a real bookstore.

“They picked out some picture books, and chapter books, some in English, but mostly in Hindi,” said Aliya, “the books filled up an entire table and onto the floor and filled up the entire trunk of the principal’s car.”
After leaving Dundlod, the group moved on to Mahapura to the Indo-International Culture School, where they celebrated the adding on of three rooms which included a library and computer center funded by John and Mimi Koller. They also witnessed the grand opening of a new artisans wing also funded by the Kollers.
The last stop of the trip was to the Kuran Indo-International School, where they received the promise from local people that they will open up to rooms for a high school and start a children’s center for after school. The Ninash foundation purchased five computers and helped stock a new library for the 208 Nursery-6th grade students. The goal of the Ninash foundation is to have the entire town of Kuran literate in five years using the “each one, teach one” model.
“Our goal is to break social barriers through education and we see that happening in our schools,” said Malhotra, “we have four schools and 900 students and they are flourishing and the towns are flourishing.”

Labels: 01-30-09, Front Page

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City of the Hills

SUNY CHIEF: Meet SUNY Board of Trustees Chair Carl Hayden at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10, at a breakfast at the Holiday Inn hosted by the Otesgo County Chamber. Call Pam at 432-4500 for a reservation. Tickets $15 a person.

ARCURI VISITS: U.S. Rep. Mike Arcuri, D-24, planned to talk to the Oneonta Rotary Club Thursday, Jan. 29, about President Obama’s stimulus plan and other pending legislation.

WARNING: The city’s Engineering Department doesn’t want to tell you again: It violates the city code to dump debris or snow into the Susquehanna, Silver, Oneonta or Glenwood creeks, Mill Race or city streets.

NEXT CONGRESSMAN: Ed Lentz of New Lisbon, the county Democratic chairman, will meet with the nine other county chairs in the 20th district Saturday, Jan. 31, in Saratoga Springs to pick a replacement for U.S. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, who is replacing Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Senate. The 20th includes eastern Otsego County.

JOBS OFFERED: Chenango-Delaware-Otsego Workforce will host a job fair 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, at the Holiday Inn. Information, call Alan Sessions at 432-4800, extension 103.

DINE FOR DOLLARS: Go to Oneonta’s Pizza Hut 4-8 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8, and a portion of your bill will be donated to Orpheus Theatre for its Musical Kids-On-The-Go and Starstruck Players teen theatre troupe. Information, 432-1800.

ART AUCTION: Bluefields Cafe, the non-alcohol cafe, is looking for artists’ donations for an Art Auction for Charities planned Friday, March 20, at the 40 Walnut St. venue. To donate, e-mail Kimberly Edwards at edwakm34@oneonta.edu

SAFETY TIPS: Safe Kids of Otsego County has a booklet of winter safety tips for children. For a copy, call Rich McCaffery at 547-5256 or e-mail him at richard.mccaffery@bassett.org

Labels: 01-30-09, Front Page

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Tigers Raring To Roar

Owner Sets Stage For 2009 Season

By JIM KEVLIN

Cold and snow aside, June 19 – opening day – will be here before you know it, and the Oneonta Tigers’ new organization is getting ready.
“We’re very excited for the 2009 season,” said Andrew Weber, the Tigers new general manager. “The opportunities we see here are very great.”
Weber and the head of the Tigers’ new ownership group, E. Miles Prentice III, a New York City lawyer, planned to tell their story to an sitting-room-only crowd Thursday, Jan. 29, at a Otsego County Chamber luncheon, which sold out in just two days. (It had been planned for Wednesday, but had been delayed a day due to the anticipated storm.)
Among the innovations: The City of Oneonta, which owns Damaschke Field, plans to tear down the right-field bleachers to create a picnic area, complete with large tent, to allow groups – companies, birthday parties, Little League gatherings, Weber said – to enjoy a Tigers game together.
“We’re hoping to make this more like other Minor League parks,” said the general manager. “In-between-innings promotions on the field, give-away nights – the first 500 fans get a prize, and so on.”
The mascot – O-Nee the Tiger – will be at all 38 home games, said Weber, a 2007 graduate of Vermont Law School and son of Jim Weber, a partner with Prentice and others in the Oneonta Athletic Corp., who cut his teeth working for the Ogden Rafters in Utah.
O-Nee picks up on “Oneonta,” and also rhymes with Tony the Tiger of Frosted Flakes fame.
The question has been repeatedly raised: Will the new owners keep the team – owned since the mid-’60s by former Mayor Sam Nader and retired businessman Sid Levine – in the City of the Hills?
The elements of a successful franchise are “definitely” in place, said Weber.
“The thing we can’t forget is Cooperstown is 20 miles down the road,” he said. “This area IS baseball. It’s got to be marketed in the right manner. It’s a very affordable form of entertainment. It’s a great summer experience.”
The new organization will seek to attract visitors to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the youth camps in West Oneonta and Hartwick Seminary, according to Weber, but local fans “need to support the club.”
The idea of this week’s gathering was “to introduce them” – Prentice in particular, since Weber has been here a while – “to the business community,” said Rob Robinson, Otsego County Chamber president. “We want to help them get to know the community, get to know the people, talk one-on-one with people who can make this a growing and prosperous business for them and the community.”
“You’ll hear some very creative ideas,” he predicted in advance of the meeting.
Robinson said he is convinced the new owners – Prentice, who is involved in two other Minor League teams, has five partners – are determined to “make it a going business.”
But people have to get out and see the games, he said, adding: “If we are going to have 400 people on paid night, baseball is not going to stay in Otsego County.”

Labels: 01-30-09, baseball, Front Page, oneonta tigers

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Minor League Team Eyed For Cooperstown

By JIM KEVLIN

COOPERSTOWN

As the Oneonta Tigers confront their future, another Minor League baseball team may surface in Cooperstown in 2010.
Tom Hickey of Fly Creek, dean of SUNY Cobleskill’s School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, appeared before the village trustees Tuesday, Jan. 20, and was told to come back to the February meeting with a formal proposal.
Hickey would be president of the to-be-formed corporation, and his partner, vice president and GM would be Kevin McCarthy, SUNY Cobleskill athletic director and former University of Chicago head baseball coach.
The two men have been considering the a Cooperstown team for two years since the Little Falls Miners, an affiliate of the New York Collegiate Baseball League, went on the market.
Why go to Little Falls, the two men concluded, when we have Cooperstown right here?
Hickey likened the NYCBL to the Cape Cod League. It’s a summer league affiliated with MLB that allows NCAA Division I players to hone their skills.
Founded in 1978, it now has franchises from Niagara Falls to Bennington, Vt., and boasts such illustrious alumni as Yankee Clay Bellinger and Astro Glen Barker.
This is what the partners need from the village:
• Availability of Doubleday Field for 20 games in June and July, plus the first week in August if the team gets into the playoffs. The idea is to start the games at 5 p.m., to get them done before dark.
• Permission to use a P-A system to announce the game, and to put feature sponsors on billboards in the outfield.
• Concession rights, to sell hot dogs, popcorn and, in particular, beer, a high-margin product that spells the difference between success and failure for many franchises.
“We’re not in this to make a lot of money,” said Hickey. “We’re in this because it’s going to be great for Cooperstown, it’s going to be great for the kids, it’s going to be great for us.
“But,” he said, “we have to operate on a break-even basis.”
The partners have been talking to the Clark Sports Center about using the locker rooms there. Hickey said he also hopes to create an Adopt A Player program, where team members can bunk with local families.
At the trustees’ meeting, Deputy Mayor Jeff Katz wondered how neighbors on Susquehanna Avenue and Elm Street, bothered to a degree by the occasional concerts and former Hall of Fame Game home-run derby in Doubleday, would accept this.
Trustee Eric Hage, Doubleday committee chair, said, all things being equal, “I’d like to see this happen.”
A native of Rhode Island, Hickey got his master’s and Ph.D. in Texas and began teaching at the college level in the Lone Star State. He later obtained a law degree at the University of Oregon.
He and his wife, Nancy Kern, a nurse anesthesiologist, met when he was teaching at Penn State Harrisburg and she was at Hershey Medical Center.
She now works at Bassett Hospital. In addition to Michael, the couple has a daughter, Megan, 8.

Labels: 01-30-09, Hometown Briefs

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Hometown Sports

Orca-Sized Underdogs

CHRIS McSWIGGIN

SPORTS BEAT

It’s always a battle when you match Orcas with Dolphins.
The Oneonta Orcas swim team capped off its amazing season Saturday with the final meet of the season held in Chase Pool at SUNY Oneonta. Winning the match 245-148, the 38-kid team is an underdog to most.
“Our team is small but strong,” said Christiana Gomez-Frye, Aquatics Director for the Oneonta YMCA. The 8-18 year old team has 13 state qualifiers, six of which earned their spot against Oswego. The state meet will take place in Buffalo in March.
“I am really impressed due to our size,” said Orca’s head-coach Megan Holstead. “I don’t know about other teams and how they do, but to have one third of your team qualify is pretty impressive.” Most of the other teams that Oneonta faces have a lot more kids on the squad, some even have up to 90 or 100.
Holstead, who swam in high school and at SUNY Cobleskill before transferring to attend SUNY Oneonta, works at the YMCA and swam there for years. She was offered the job as head coach when the vacancy opened. Megan has a close relationship to her team, many of which swim scholastically for OHS.
The six swimmers who qualified for state during the meet against Oswego are, Patrick Calhoun, 10, Akiva Garfield, 8, Stephanie Havens, 13, Liz Knudson, 8, Joel Levins, 8 and Alex Miller, 17.
Oswego, who is a much larger team than Oneonta, only brought about 40 swimmers, but their team consists of over 60.
“The season went very well” said Gomez-Frye, “we had a lot of committed swimmers and the turnout shows that.”
The unsung heroes of Oneonta aquatics provide just another reason to pinpoint Oneonta on the map as a sports haven. Two colleges with successful athletic programs, a rich tradition of Oneonta High School sports being the upper echelon of those in the area, a Hall of Fame located here, and now an underdog swim team that shines through despite their small size. This was a great event if you enjoy swimming and a great story if you enjoy sports.
Alex Miller, who swims for the boys 15-18 level, came in first place in all three of his events, the 200 back stroke, the 50 free, and the 500 free. He was the only Orca to accomplish that.
“We are extremely grateful that SUNY let us use their facilities” says an exuberant Gomez-Fyre, “the guys were very helpful.”
The SUNY Oneonta men’s swim team helped out with the event, which as a whole went very well. This meet was a great way to cap off a great season, and congratulations to everyone on the Orcas team for their perseverance and determination throughout the season.
The Orcas, who have proved a point to many of the teams in the area, are going to make their presence felt in Buffalo come March. Gomez-Frye, who was more than happy to give her thoughts on the meet, was impressed beyond belief, and sharing the feeling with the rest of the Oneonta

Pidgeon Advances to Finals

Brendon Pidgeon beat the #2 seed in the 215 pound class, Vestal’s Mike Degroat via a pin at 1:57 in the semi-finals of the STAC (Southern Tier Athletic Conference) wrestling championships on Saturday to advance to the finals at Union-Endicott High School.  Pidgeon, the #3 seed, was pinned at 3:16 in the finals by #1 seed Noah Sibley of Windsor. 
Oneonta finished tied with Norwich for 14th place in the 17 team field with 27 points. 
Chenango Forks finished first with 212 1/2 followed by host Union-Endicott with 192.

Bench Press To Benefit Trip To Bluefields, Nicaragua

Benefit Organizer and Oneonta Middle School Principal Kevin Johnson, sits at center judging bench pressers during the second annual Bench Press Benefit, Saturday, Jan. 24.
Proceeds made from the entry fees and donations benefit a mission trip Johnson’s wife and son, Suzanne and Lucas, will be going on to Bluefields, Nicaragua in February with the Main Street Baptist Church.
Johnson competes in power lifting internationally and many of the participants in Saturday’s benefit were internationally ranked, including John Bogart, Hartwick, who broke the world record on Saturday, lifting 725 lbs.
Pictured here, Dustin Talbert, of Oneonta benches 225 lbs in his first competition. Dan Tuthill, Oneonta, left, and Andrew Bogart, Hartwick, right, spot him.

Labels: 01-30-09, Hometown Sports

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Oral Art

SAM GOODYEAR

ART BEAT

That grabbed your attention, didn’t it.
There will be an exhibition of artwork centered on teeth on Saturday, May 30, 2009. It will be part of the first ever TOOTH (Transforming Otsego’s Oral Treatment and Health) Fair, conceived and implemented by Opportunities for Otsego, Inc.
What is this all about?
Liane Hirabayashi and Dawn Helstrom of OFO have come up with a creative and enjoyable approach to oral health. They may be the first people in history to eradicate tooth decay and the dread of going to the dentist simultaneously.
Foothills Performing Arts Center will be the venue for the daylong event, which will feature games, raffle prizes, free dental examinations, two performances of the new musical “A (Tooth) Fairy Tale” by Ben H. Winters and Rick Hip-Flores, and tons of information about oral health. It promises to be a day of smiles and magic for kids and families.
You are wondering why this is being promoted four months ahead of time. Yes, you are. Here’s why:
When the ARCs of Chenango, Delaware and Otsego Counties produced “Circus in the Wind” last summer, there was a poster contest that resulted in a huge collection of stunning artwork, much of which was used for a 2009 Calendar so that the artists as well as the ARCs would get their fair share of well-deserved acclaim.
Similarly, the organizers of the TOOTH Fair are looking for a piece of art to be used as a poster for this celebration of dental happiness and invite children in pre-K and elementary school to submit an original creation- drawing, painting, collage, etc.- for consideration.
The winning submission will be splashed around the region far and wide, and the family of the artist will receive complimentary tickets to a performance of the musical production. In addition, in recognition of enthusiasm, effort and civic-mindedness, all artwork will be displayed at Foothills the day of the event.
And now the reason for this seemingly premature promotion:

ALL ENTRIES MUST BE RECEIVED BY FEBRUARY 23rd
Send to
TOOTH Fair Poster Contest
Opportunities for Otsego
3 West Broadway, Oneonta, NY 13820
Send child’s name, age, address and telephone number on a separate piece of paper.
Questions? (607) 433 8064

Now rinse and smile.

Sam Goodyear’s column on the arts in Otsego and Delaware counties appears weekly.

Labels: 01-30-09, Art Beat, Sam Goodyear, The City of the Hills

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From Many, One

EVAN JAGELS

NIGHT LIFE

With roots in Central and Eastern Europe, Africa, the British Isles, Spain, Mexico, Asia, and other ends of the world, our nation has a unique look and sound. And while this is true of our population, I was referring more in particular to the banjo, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, lap dulcimer and hammered dulcimer.
These were the instruments played by The Susquehanna String Band in the first concert of the 2009 Hewitt Pantaleoni Memorial Concert Series Tuesday, Jan. 20.
Rick Bunting (banjo and lap dulcimer), John Kirk (mandolin, fiddle, and guitar) and Dan Duggin (guitar and hammered dulcimer) each virtuosic players and equally knowledgeable of the histories of their instruments, described origin, demonstrated basic technique and dazzled SUNY Oneonta’s crowded Sanford Auditorium (IRC 3) with song.
Anyone with not only an appreciation for a quality performance, but also an interest in music history would have taken great pleasure in Tuesday’s concert. These traditional string instruments rung clear without amplification, often times with lightning tempo and impressive articulation. No doubt they were played by some of the finest musicians – Rick Bunting was Professor of Music at SUNY Oneonta before eventually becoming Chair of the Music Education Faculty at the Crane School of Music while John Kirk and Dan Duggin are nationally-prominent folk musicians (Duggin has collaborated
with Paul Simon on the hammered dulcimer and is greatly responsible for its return to popularity).
Luckily for those who missed out, however, there are plenty more Tuesday night concerts in Luckily for those who missed out, however, there are plenty more Tuesday night concerts in the Hewitt Pantaleoni Memorial Concert Series – all of which are free and open to the public and begin at 7:30 p.m.
Hewitt Pantaleoni (1929 – 1988) was an ethnomusicologist and professor at SUNY Oneonta. Although he earned his B.A. and M.A. from Harvard and his Ph.D. from Wesleyan University, he expressed that Oneonta “expanded his tastes.” A lot of what he became passionate about might today be described as “World Music” – a term which despite its ethnocentric connotation is described as music played by musicians who are “closely informed or guided by indigenous music of the regions of their origin” by musicologist Richard Nidel. Of course, Dr. Pantaleoni was greatly interested in traditional American folk music.
Soon after the Susquehanna String Band’s debut performance in Bainbridge in 1979, they played as part of a series at SUNY Oneonta which Professor Hewitt Pantaleoni himself produced as an adjunct to his course in American Folk Music at the college.
The Hewitt Pantaleoni Memorial Concert Series, now in its 12th season, is co-sponsored by the SUNY Oneonta and the Catskill Conservatory, with assistance from the New York State Council on the Arts.
Having produced over 3,000 concerts (approximately 900 at SUNY Oneonta), the Catskill Conservatory is quite impressive for an institution with no real physical location (though it has close ties to SUNY Oneonta and Hartwick College). The Conservatory was founded in 1975 by Carleton Clay and Charles Schneider under terms of a grant from the America the Beautiful Fund, whose purpose was “to foster the growth of the arts in rural areas.”
I cannot think of a better way to teach the appreciation of live music and its history than the form of the Hewitt Pantaleoni Memorial Concert Series. With all hope, it will continue to foster the growth of music and the arts in this rural area. For information on upcoming performances, contact the Catskill Conservatory at (607) 436-3419.

Evan Jagels may be
contacted at
evanjagels@yahoo.com

Labels: 01-30-09, Evan Jagels, Night Life, The City of the Hills

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Chili Bowl Promotion Just Super

Get A Unique Creation
And Full Stomach, Too

By LAURA COX

Come one, come all, and enjoy a bowl or two – or six – of chili.
From 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 1 – Super Bowl Sunday – hungry art enthusiasts and community members will be gathering at the Wilber Mansion at 11 Ford Ave. to take part in the 5th Annual Upper Catskill Community Council of the Arts Chili Bowl.
The Chili Bowl is the UCCCA’s largest annual fundraiser specifically for its arts education and programming for children and adults, said Corrine O’Connor, coordinator of arts education. The revenues pay for supplies and teachers’ stipends, so tuition is affordable.
It works like this:
You arrive at the Wilber Mansion and pick out a pottery bowl from a choice of 250. (The bowls were made and donated by a variety of local artists, including Teresa DeSantis, Solvig Comber, Abbey Kuotnik, Ingrid Guiter, Elizabeth Nieldes, George Netreba and Reina D’Amico.)
The children who participated in November’s OWL Paintfest painted some of the bowls. The UCCCA board of director’s hosted a glazing party, and more were painted then. The point is that each bowl is unique. They are priced at $15 to $30.
Bowl in hand, head into the mansion to the tune of “Jammin’ at the Mansion.” You’ll smell at least a dozen fresh-made chili varieties, free to sample with the purchase of a bowl.
Local vendors providing chili include Elena’s, Autumn Cafe, Hartwick College, SUNY Oneonta, Green Earth, Kountry Living B&B and Brewery Ommegang. A handful of local chefs have cooked up concoctions as well.
The chilis will vary from mild to spicy. Ingredients will range from pumpkin to venison, Ommegang’s Abbey Ale, moose and Italian sausage. Chili will be accompanied by rolls donated by Foti’s and soda and water provided by B.J.’s Wholesale. Brewery Ommegang will be there pouring beer.
The major sponsors for the event are the Mirabito Fuel Group and Medical Coaches, and other contributions have been made by Latte Lounge, Price Chopper and First Choice Cleaners.
“Last year, we sold over 200 bowls and had to start providing Styrofoam for people who came later in the day,” said UCCCA Executive Director Kathleen Frascatore, “Every year we have had to add more and more rooms, so this year I will be out on the front porch with the bowls.”
While other venues would provide more space, Frascatore would like to continue to host the event at the Wilber Mansion so people can appreciate the space and the gallery.
Members of the Oneonta Fire Department will be in attendance to judge the chili and awards will be handed out at the end for the categories of Crowd Favorite, Best Citizen Chili, Best Vegetarian and Overall Best Chili.
Anyone without plans for the Super Bowl should head on over the Wilber Mansion and enjoy the beautiful bowls and a whole lot of chili. For those with plans for Super Bowl, the event is scheduled early enough, for you too.
“Come, we always have a lot of fun, and where else can you buy an original piece of artwork for $15-$30!” said Frascatore.

Labels: 01-30-09, The City of the Hills, UCCCA

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Letters to the Editor

Cause For Regret

To the Editor:
“No regrets” for his eight years in office, George W. Bush told reporters as he departed D.C. NO REGRETS! The dispassionate remark seems typical of the man who campaigned as a “compassionate conservative.”
Part of the “legacy” Bush leaves includes many U.S. families that have lost sons and daughters, and have many more with life-altering injuries.Surely there is cause for regret since Bush instigated the war that resulted in those deaths and injuries.
And what of Iraq, the war-torn land? No regret for the hundreds of thousands of deaths and injuries there?
Bush was commended for his gracious easing of the transition of the presidency. He has also been as pleasant in personal talks. But one is tempted to recall Shakespeare’s line in “Hamlet”: “One may smile, and smile, and be a villain.”
WILLIAM F. ROBERTS
Otego

Labels: 01-30-09, Hometown Views, Letters to the Editor

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Financial Gems

WHAT OTHERS SAY: ADMISSIONS1

Editor’s Note: admissions1, an educational consulting firm based in Troy, posted this assessment on http://admissions1.com on Jan. 12.

We encourage all of our students to visit the colleges and universities which they might have an interest in applying. Two schools a day is probably the maximum as ones memory can get a bit blurred when comparing and contrasting the visits.
Our last adventure was a 1 1/2-hour trip west of the Capital district to SUNY Oneonta and Hartwick College. Although a stone’s throw from each other, they are actually unique campuses.
SUNY Oneonta was our first stop.
With 5,600 undergraduates and only 200 graduate students, SUNY Oneonta is clearly focused on educating undergraduates.
Additionally, if you’re thinking “safety school” think again: Oneonta has become more difficult to gain admission over the last decade. With the current economic downturn, the selectivity of this institution appears to be on the rise.
The school’s motto “Anything is Possible” is reflected in the large number of majors available to students. The school’s largest and most popular major is education but the list of major and minor options is long and varied.
Although we found the campus to be a bit institutional, the student body seemed diverse and (dare we say) cosmopolitan.
The chic student body is a reflection of the school’s fashion-merchandising and apparel-design programs along with its music industry major which is the second largest at the college.
There are also a number of 3-2 programs offered in many different departments such as accounting or management. This program is open to students in economics and business, and offered in conjunction with Binghamton University’s Graduate School of Management.
Students in this program will graduate with their bachelor’s and master’s degree in five years.
The school’s well-cared for facilities and the impressive new athletic complex added a lot to our overall impression. The dorms were typical of most schools we’ve visited –mostly doubles for first year students and suites and quads for upperclass students. The Early Action admission program has a Nov. 15 deadline and general admissions is on a rolling basis.
Interested applicants should consider applying as early as possible as academic- and merit-based scholarships are offered in January and are doled out to qualified applicants on a first-come, first-serve basis.
•
Hartwick College, while only a three-minute drive from SUNY Oneonta, seems in some ways a world apart.
Hartwick’s campus at first seemed rather daunting with its hills and steps, but as our tour guide told us, “students rarely gain the ‘freshman 15’ and everything is nice and compact.”
The topography took a back seat very early into the tour as it became clear that the Hartwick Hill is home to an interesting school with a caring and intimate feel.
This close-knit community is a reflection of the 1,200 size student body. With an average class size of less than 20 and student faculty ratio of 12-1, there are no large lecture style classes at Hartwick.
Getting to know your professor is part of the experience and faculty and staff encourage students to take full advantage of the school’s offerings.
The school’s focus on experiential learning is a key part to the four-year experience and is reflected in the school’s motto, “Connecting the classroom to the world.”
Hartwick practices what it preaches by supporting experiential learning (for credit) during the school’s January term (or J-term). Although the J-term is not required, it is highly recommended and avidly used.
There were currently 15 school-driven study abroad offerings for credit. Additionally, students who do not participate in these travel-study programs are encouraged to find internships within their chosen field.
These short work opportunities are a wonderful way to help students figure out what professional field they want to pursue once they leave Hartwick.
Our sophomore tour guide had already completed her EMT certificate and plans to spend her second J-term in a clinical setting. She hopes to spend her junior year J-term in Thailand assisting malnourished children.
Her learning outside the classroom is steadily moving her closer to her ultimate goal of physician assistant.
If you are a student looking for a small liberal arts experience this could be the place.
While the private school tuition is steep, Hartwick offers qualified applicants academic- and merit-based scholarships which can potentially bridge the gap between the cost of public and private tuition.

Labels: 01-30-09, Hometown Views

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Drop A Check In The Mail. Push United Way Drive Over The Top

It’s hard not to feel a little helpless in the face of the economic forces battening us about.
So doesn’t it feel particularly good to be able to do something that makes a positive difference?
Officially, the United Way of Delaware & Otsego Counties ends its annual fund drive Friday, Jan. 30, just as many of you are picking up this newspaper.
At the beginning of the week, the drive was still $20,000 short of the $363,000 mark it achieved last year.
Think about it: There are 62,583 people in Otsego County, 46,977 in Delaware, according to the latest Census estimates.
That’s 109,560 total. If everyone sent in a last-minute check to United Way, that’s only 18 cents a person to push the drive ahead of last year’s tally.
If you were inclined to send $100, only 200 people would have to do so to push to surpass the 2008 mark.
In other words, only 0.18 percent of folks in the two counties would have to send a check for United Way to stay even.
A $100 check is being dropped in the mail today from Hometown Oneonta to:
United Way
of Delaware & Otsego Counties
31 Maple St.
Oneonta NY 13820
Join us! $100 is not a fortune, but that’s the point: Many hands make light work.
If your check arrives by Monday, there’s still enough time to include it in this year’s total.
•
We said United Way needs $363,000 to “stay even.”
Actually, given the economic challenges now being faced, staying even means slipping behind.
First, it should be said that the United Way mainstays have stepped up to the plate, according to the drive’s executive director, Terry Capuano.
Total contributions from Fox and Bassett workers are up from last year. SUNYs Oneonta and Delhi are up.
The state’s Camp Brace juvenile detention center closed in Masonville, which took 25 donors out of the mix. Also, companies that had significant layoffs saw their totals dip; there were simply fewer employees to contribute.
Still, BJ’s Wholesale Club employees again achieved 100 percent participation. At Planned Parenthood, executive director Deb Marcus used enticements like raffles to double contributions.
It should be emphasized that, while the United Way is part of a national organization, 99 percent of the money donated locally stays in the two counties.
With flood relief and other United Way programs, Terry Capuano thinks the two counties have actually been getting more back then they’ve been putting in.
The beneficiaries of the local drive are organizations everyone can support: Opportunities for Otsego, children’s centers at the two SUNYs, the Family Service Association, the Girl Scouts, Girls on the Run of Otsego County, LEAF, Planned Parenthood and the Salvation Army.
And it’s not a faceless organization, either. Board members include Ed Clarke from Key Bank, Mary Earl from NBT, Len Marsh from Medical Coaches, Milford school chief Peter Livshin and many more. The board president is George Allen of Northern Eagle Beverages.
•
Many of the donations are through payroll-deduction plans – if $2 a week is taken from your paycheck, you don’t tend to notice. But that $104 a year.
A payroll-deduction drive is planned again this spring, so if you are an employer interested in participating, give Terry a call at 432-8006.
But, for now, let’s focus on hitting the mark. Sit down and write that check. Many individuals acting together can make big things happen.

Labels: 01-30-09, Editorial, Hometown Views

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Hometown History

125 Years Ago

Criticism of the “Chromo” illustration – The “yaller” tinted chromo is the inseparable companion of cheap literature. The story paper in which the thrilling adventures of the bold house-breakers and the hair-breadth escapes of foot-pads are wholesaled out to the public, does its work in the field of letters no more effectually than does the chromo in the field of art. While the one furnishes diseased food to the mind, the other tends to create a false taste and a false appreciation of the beautiful. These chromos are very poor and very cheap affairs and but few persons of refinement would care to disfigure even a plainly whitewashed wall with one of these art productions.
January 1884

100 Years Ago

If battles were aerial – let us consider the possibilities of an attack on New York City by a war-fleet superior in strength to any which we would have available for defense at the time. If the attacking fleet were accompanied by thoroughly equipped aeronautic transports, dirigibles might be inflated and sent in over our fortifications, dropping torpedoes into them from the sky at the same time a fleet would be making the attack from the water. These same dirigibles might sail over the skyscrapers of New York, dropping bombs or torpedoes into the very light shafts of the proud structures and wrecking them completely.
January 1909

80 Years Ago

A team owned by Henry Goodrich of Goodyear Lake, valued at $400 and considered by residents generally one of the finest teams in that vicinity, drowned early Saturday afternoon when they fell through the ice on the Lake and dropped into 15 feet of water. The team worked on the ice during the harvest of the Oneonta Ice & Fuel Company and Saturday were drawing ice to the house of Mr. Goodrich. They were driven by Egbert Scott, employed by Mr. Goodrich, and the latter’s son, Robert Goodrich. They had taken two loads from the lake, but in drawing away the third the horses, who weighed about 3,200 pounds, hit a spot in the ice which had been cut once, being only about two and one-half inches in thickness.
January 1929

60 Years Ago

If you are more than 45, don’t let the big city lure you away from the small town. For rural areas and small towns promote more happiness among our senior citizens than big cities do, according to state senator Thomas C. Desmond, of Orange County, chairman of the New York State Joint Legislative Committee on Problems of the Aging. “Cities treat oldsters harshly,” said Senator Desmond, “and life for them is more pleasant in small towns. In the small community, the old-timer is more likely to be self-supporting and useful. He can do chores around the house or the farm or in the small store. As houses are more spacious, there is room in the country for the old-timer. In the rural regions, he is better known, has more friends, is more respected and is likely to live longer.”
January 1949

40 Years Ago

Eight years have passed since John F. Kennedy chose Dean Rusk as his secretary of state – eight of the most strenuous years any secretary has borne. Yet, though the State Department has been the graveyard of many a reputation, Dean Rusk emerges unscathed – a quiet, firm, persistent American who has been wholly devoted to the welfare of his country. Rusk now returns to the Rockefeller Foundation which he served as president from 1952 to 1961. Typical of his steady hand under pressure was the role he played when the Cuban crisis arose, one settled by President Kennedy with Rusk’s sage advice. “We’re eyeball to eyeball, and I think the other fellow just blinked,” was Rusk’s deathless comment when the Soviets backed down and a nuclear war was averted. Rusk was also the author of the saying: “The eagle in the great seal of the United States has two claws, one bearing arrows, the other an olive branch.”
January 1969

20 Years Ago

Advertisement – At Astoria Federal, we found a mortgage we can live with today and tomorrow. Buying a house can give you more room for growth. But it could also put you in a tight financial squeeze. That’s why you should check into Astoria Federal’s one-year adjustable rate mortgage. It’s designed to fit comfortably into your plans now – and down the road. With a special introductory rate of only 7.95 percent (11.54 percent APR) – guaranteed for the entire first year – it’s great for new home buyers because it keeps your first year payments extremely low. Typical first-year monthly payments of principal and interest would be only $7.30 per thousand dollars borrowed, assuming a 30-year term. Astoria Federal Savings, Oneonta.
January 1989

10 Years Ago

An exhibition titled “Selections From The Yager Collection” will open at Hartwick College’s Yager Museum on Friday, Jan. 29. The exhibition will become a permanent part of the museum, featuring different objects at various times. Oneonta native Willard E. Yager was an eccentric and interesting personality whose interest in the material culture of the American Indian and archaeology provided the basis for his vast collection. “These objects can be admired for their form, function and their considerable artistry,” said George Abrams, director of the museum. “Only a minute selection of this important and extensive collection can be exhibited here.” The exhibition is the result of extensive research and analysis of the collection conducted by Christopher Gette, Hartwick class of 1993, academic intern for the museum.
January 1999

Resources for Hometown History have been provided courtesy of the New York State Historical Association Library.

Labels: 01-30-09, Hometown History

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Finding Treasure, OHS Pals Will Hide One Of Their Own

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

By LAURA COX

Six Oneonta High School students have found buried treasure.
One day in November, five seniors and one junior were bored in study hall. They began talking about a rumor that 2007 OHS grad Tom Mahon had buried a treasure before departing. Let’s find it, they decided.
“I remembered it,” said Junior Matt Pidgeon.
Every year, he said, the graduating class has the opportunity to leave a last will and testament in the senior edition of The Echo, the student paper.
“To the Oneonta underclassmen, I leave you a treasure map,” Mahon had written, and included a clue: It was in a white-covered book in the library.
The group – Pidgeon, Eric Scorzafava, Bridgette Aikens, Matt Marcewicz, Dan Dokuchitz and Andrea Aikens – looked through every white-covered book in the library they could find. They came up empty-handed.
“Tom Mahon even checked the book he left it in and the map was gone,” said Scorzafava.
“But he had a copy of it, so when he was home over break he gave it to his sister Caitlen and she gave it to me when we all got back in January, “ said Bridgette.
Once they had the map in hand the students were unstoppable. They put on their snow gear and set off to find the treasure after school that same day. Bridgette was sick and Dan had track practice, so they were out.
The others followed the map to the lacrosse field, then zig-zagged through the woods, guided by a compass borrowed from a teacher.
What did the clue “green elixir” mean? What about “the white face tree”? After an hour and a half of searching, they came upon the last marker – a pyramid of rocks. They sprinted towards it and huddled up excitedly.
Buried just 6 inches below the surface they found a green storage bin. They lifted it out. It was covered with mud and, after a year and a half, water had leaked in.
But what a treasure: a pile of change, a John Adams dollar, toys from Mahon’s childhood – Dragon Ball Z memorabilia and a Mortal Combat video game – a guitar pick, an electric-guitar pedal, and a note from Tom Mahon.
The money is yours, he wrote – but I want the treasures back.
Andrea Aikens was “speechless.”
“I can’t believe we found it and I am glad we took the time to do it,” she said.
The experience was something he would tell his grandkids about some day, said Matt Marcewicz. “It was the biggest rush, like in a movie. The sun was setting and we were all smiling ear-to-ear.”
After finding the treasure, the friends went back to Pidgeon’s house and counted the money, $90 in all. They took the coins to the Coinstar machine at Hannaford and bought six lottery tickets – they lost on all 6.
So they went to Applebee’s for dinner and spent it all; Marcewicz chipped in the $4 shortfall.
The next day at school, word spread fast.
“No one believed us, everyone kept asking us if it was real and even people at other schools heard about it,” said Andrea.
“We weren’t ready for it to be over,” said Eric, who along with Matt Marcewicz belongs to an online treasure hunters’ organization. “We were sad; what do we do now?”
The friends plan to make the treasure hunt an OHS tradition, and will leave clues in this spring’s senior edition of The Echo.
“Ours will not disappoint,” said Andrea. “It will be worth it.”

Labels: 01-30-09, Front Page

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WEEKEND’S BEST BETS

Come and see “The Clean House,” a comedy about clean homes and messy lives by a cast of Hartwick College students and one alumna. Starting at 8 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 30 at the Lab Theatre in Bresee Hall, $5 for students, faculty and staff, $8 for the general public. Call 431-4CAP (4227) for reservations.
•
Enjoy a Roast Beef Dinner at the First United Methodist Church from 5-6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 31. Tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for children over 5. Children under 5 are free. Tickets may be purchased in advance or reservations made at the church office 432-4102. Tickets purchased at the door as available. Proceeds will benefit the Klipnocky Klangers Youth Handbell Choir.
•
Send your children on a virtual vaction at the Fenimore Art Museum’s “Catch Me If You Can,” program. From 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Jan. 31, children age 5 to 8 will explore how some of nature’s most amazing creatures protect themselves learning why some animals have scales, stripes, stingers or spines. $15 per child (non-members)/$12 per child for members of NYSHA. Reservations are required, call 547-1414.
•
Travel to Delhi on Sunday, Feb. 1 for a free Youth Winter Concert at 3 p.m. followed by a reception. The Little Delaware Youth Ensemble will perform under the musical direction of violinist Julie Signitzer at United Ministry Church, Courthouse Square, Delhi.
•
Celebrate Groundhog Day in Cooperstown from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. at TJ’s Restauraunt, 124 Main St. Oscar the Groundhog will be there. Free balloons for children, have your photo taken with Oscar. Full menu plus featured turkey with all the trimmings completed with Woodchuck hole cake. Top hats and fur attire optional. 547-4040 for information.

Labels: 01-30-09, The City of the Hills, weekend's best bets

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