Hometown Oneonta - The Otesgo-Delaware Dispatch

Oneonta Original

Saturday, June 6, 2009

FOTI’S: New Owner Seeks New Markets

Cooperstown Groceries Now Offering Traditional Breads; Pizza Dough Next

By JIM KEVLIN

The red block letters and gingham bags have been familiar to Oneontans for decades, three or four generations in fact.
In the last few weeks, one of only a handful of local brands burned into the consciousness of many Otsego County consumers – Foti’s – has been available in Cooperstown at the Great American and P&C.
Sal’s, The Jive Cafe and Bear Pond Winery also carry Foti’s products – traditional Italian bread, French bread, kaiser rolls, sub rolls, hot-sub rolls (which stand up to meatballs or sausage) and dinner rolls.
But there’s more to come, Allen Fassler, who bought the 89-year-old business last Dec. 15, said the other day in an interview at the bright-red headquarters on Oneonta’s River Street.
Fassler, a restaurateur who came up to SUNY Oneonta from New York City and never went back, has been in conversations with supermarket chains to carry a jumbo pizza dough product he’s developed.
“No additives, no preservatives, just like all our products,” said the former owner of the Copper Fox and Sip & Sail.
Fassler bought the bakery from Jim Tomaino, who bought it 11 years earlier when Tom Foti retired. Tom had assumed operation of the bakery when his father, John, the bakery’s founder, died in 1948 at age 60.
Part of what Fassler purchased was Giovanni Foti’s original recipe, so the bread you may buy today is the same bread it has always been.
Further, Tomaino’s son James worked with Fassler for a month, helping him achieve a “consistently consistent product” coming out of the oven today.
And baker Ken Rittlinger continues with the operation, as he has for 40 years.
Tomaino had run his own businesses for 28 years. He sold Sip & Sail a few years ago, but discovered despite the steady paycheck and benefits, the grass isn’t always greener working for someone else.
“I just enjoy having my own business,” he said. “It’s rewarding. It’s rewarding to employ people. I’m producing a product people in the area really enjoy.”
Fassler, a chef, is also operating Foti’s Cafe – breakfast sandwiches and lunches featuring Boar’s Head cold cuts – at the front of the building.
A tour of the back includes a mixer sufficient to turn out 500 pounds of dough a night. The dough rises. It is hand cut. It rises some more.
The final step is popping the bread into the six-shelf oven that has served the bakery for half-a-century.
“The former owners found the original equipment better than the new,” Fassler said.
While running his own businesses, Allen and his wife, Paula – she is proprietor of the House of Brides on the Southside – have been raising two daughters.
Alexandra graduated from the Boston Conservatory, focusing on musical theater, singing, dancing and acting. She is now auditioning in Manhattan.
(There’s family precedent here. Allen’s brother is actor Ron Fassler, who has appeared in 20 movies – most recently, “Watchmen” and “Charlie Wilson’s War” – and 101 TV shows.)
Younger daughter Vanessa is an OHS sophomore, as well as ranked second in the state in girls’ junior golf.

John Foti, Bakery Founder, Built Business
On Firm Foundation Of Charity, Generosity

By JIM KEVLIN

Here’s one story.
During the Depression, hobos would hop off trains behind Foti’s Wholesale Italian Bakery.
Word had spread up and down the track that free bread and cold cuts were there for the asking for down-and-out men criss-crossing the country looking for work.
Here’s another.
At the end of the day, bakery owner John Foti would invite down his second-floor tenants at 40 River St. to join the family for dinner.
It’s possible the first pizza in Oneonta was made in a brick oven there. And John’s Italian chicken and potatoes became so well known, the former Lorenzo’s Restaurant included it on the menu.
And a third story.
When John’s youngest sons – twins Vincent and Patrick – completed delivering 400-500 loaves around the city on a Saturday afternoon, the last stop was St. Mary’s Convent, where any remaining bread was provided to the sisters.
“He was a very, very generous man,” Mary Foti, who like her other four siblings did their time in the bakery, said. She still lives next door in the family home.
But, for John Foti, charity began at home.
“He showered us with love,” recalled Tom Foti, the oldest son who, age 22, took over the bakery when his father died at age 60 in 1948. “Family came first.”
The first generation of Fotis, bakers from San Procopio, Italy, came to Brooklyn around the time of the First World War and went into business.
After a few years, an agent from the Delaware & Hudson stopped by: There are many Italian families in Oneonta, he reported, but no Italian bakery.
So in 1920, John Foti moved to Oneonta and built his first oven in
the basement of a home that still stands at 15 Fonda Ave.
Business must have been good. By 1923, he had bought the house at 42 River St. that sat on a large piece of land. A year later, he opened the landmark bakery building at 40 River.
By this time, he had gone back to Italy and returned with bride Lena from Melicucca, a Calabrian city near San Procopio.
Daughter Evangeline (Richards) was born in 1923, Tom the next year, and Mary the year after that. A surprise came a decade later, when Vince and Pat showed up. Before the days of ultrasound and even pediatricians, the surprise was complete.
All the kids worked at the bakery. The girls would bag the bread. The boys were more involved in the baking, then the delivery.
Until 1939, the loaves were delivered in a horse drawn wagon, and family groceries dotted the town: Drago’s, Van Buren’s, Zummo’s.
One of the horses, the brothers and sisters recall, is buried out back, amid land that once included extensive gardens. The family tried to be as self-sufficient as possible.
There was a chicken coop. And a grape arbor, site of many imaginary adventures. “We made our own fun,” said Mary.
In those early days, groceries extended credit to customers. D&H payday was the second and fourth Thursdays of each month.
The railroad workers would cash their checks at local bars, which always had plenty of cash on hand on those particular days. After a drink or two, the men would settle their accounts.
In his last year of life, John Foti suffered from diabetes. His death required Tom to step up, and he would run the bakery for the next half-century.
In 1952, he suffered a hernia, and had to spend a few weeks recuperating.
The experience – manning the ovens in sweltering summer heat – convinced Vince and Pat, then 17, to seek other vocations.
Both graduated from SUNY Oneonta in 1957, taught school, became guidance counselors, obtained PhDs, and completed their careers as college administrators, Vince at SUNY Oneonta and Pat at SUNY Albany.
“Tom was the brightest,” Pat said. The older brother took accounting courses at Hartwick College, and later learned data processing, but otherwise was tied to the business.
It was under Tom that the old brick over was replaced by a 25-pan oil-fired furnace in 1957 and, in 1976, the 36-pan one still in use.
Also, the product line grew to what it is today.
Other Italian bakeries, from Utica and Binghamton, tried to break into the market, with no success.
Vince credits hometown loyalty, and the quality of the product.
When John Foti opened his bakery, he charged 8 cents a loaf wholesale and to retailers, who then charged 10 cents a loaf to customers.
In 1941, FDR’s Lend-Lease Program, aimed to provide embattled England with needed supplies, drove up the price of flour.
Reluctantly, the wholesale price was raised to 9 cents, and retail to 11 cents, creating quite a ruckus.

Labels: 06-12-09, Foti's, The City of the Hills

posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 3:39 PM 0 comments

Bookmark this post with:

Lax Rotarian Reformed; Now Koury Rises To District Helm

By LAURA COX

When Selean “Sam” Koury joined Rotary in 1971, he didn’t take it very seriously.
“At that time, the members were all business executives,” said the former Elk who had recently started a framing business, “and I didn’t see how I fit in.”
He missed meetings on more than a few occasions before one of the board members told him he either had to attend meetings or go on his way. Koury kicked into gear and started taking it seriously, very seriously.
“After that I found out it was a great organization to belong to and I have had perfect attendance for 35 years,” said Koury. “I’ve been very active because I believe in what Rotary stands for, ‘Service Above Self.’”
He will be installed as Rotary district governor of the seven-county District 7170 – one of 536 governors worldwide – on Friday, June 26, at the Oneonta Elks Club. The seven counties are Otsego, Delaware, Chenango, Broome, Cortland, Tioga and Tompkins, and he follows in the footsteps of five other Oneonta Rotarians who have filled that role.
A native of New Jersey, Koury has been in Oneonta since 1947, when he moved here with his parents at the age of 18. He didn’t know anyone, so he joined the Navy and after four months of radio school served two years in Panama and another two on a destroyer off Korea.
Returning to his family’s new home, he worked for Bendix-Scintilla in Sidney for 20 years. Burned out “pushing buttons,” he started his own photography business, shooting weddings and doing portraits. In 1971, he started Framing by Koury, which he still operates today.
He found Rotary to be great fit for him in all aspects of life, “The motto makes you be honest in your business, so you don’t cheat people and be fair and you have the opportunity to help people less fortunate than you.”
He has served as the local club’s president and its treasurer. In these roles, he’s most proud of helping launch a program that provides dictionaries to every third grader in the city, and thesauruses to every sixth grader.
“I can walk down Main Street and kids come up to me and say, ‘Oh Mr. Koury I use your dictionary.’”
As district governor, Koury plans to focus on fundraising for the Rotary polio-eradication project, increasing Rotary publicity and reaching out to recruit young professionals. Without younger members, clubs are at risk, he said.
Koury said he may try to model the anti-polio fundraising effort on the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s “Shamrock Campaign.”
Helping him with publicity district wide and with the local club will be Oneonta’s Barbara Ann Heegan.
As part of his campaign for membership, Koury hopes to get local Interact and Rotaract Clubs started. Interact is a Rotary Club for high school kids; Rotaract is aimed at college students.
He is also working on setting up a Pro Am golf tournament to raise more money for Rotary projects.
Koury has been training on how to be district governor for two years attending seminars and Rotary International Meetings. During his term as governor he will visit each of the 45 clubs in his district at least once.

Labels: 06-12-09, Front Page, Sam Koury

posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 3:33 PM 0 comments

Bookmark this post with:

Opener Honors Sam, Sid

Bobbleheads, Sign You’ve Made It, Also In The Works

By JIM KEVLIN

The Oneonta Tigers plans to open a new chapter with praise for the chapter just closed.
Opening night will be dedicated to honoring Sam Nader and Sid Levine, who operated the Oneonta team for five decades – for the New York Yankees, the Boston Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers – before passing the trust on to New York City lawyer E. Miles Prentice after last year’s season.
In a talk before the Rotary Club in Cooperstown Tuesday, June 19, Tigers GM Andrew Weber called the two men “legends in Oneonta and baseball itself.”
The new Tigers debut at home against the Troy-based Tri-City Cats begins at 7:05 p.m., Friday, June 19, at Damaschke Field.
In an interview, Weber said the new owner and most members of the investment group will be at that first game.
The evening will begin with accolades from Pat O’Connor, Minor League Baseball president, and Bill Monbouquette, retired Red Sox pitcher and former Tigers pitching coach.
(“He’s very close to Sam,” said Weber.)
Between innings, best wishes and appreciations from Major League figures who passed through Oneonta over the years will be read.
Monday, July 6, will be Sam Nader Bobblehead Doll Night at Damaschke. Wednesday, July 8, Sid Levine is in for the same recognition.
“You’ve never been immortalized in baseball until you have a bobblehead doll,” said Weber.
The dolls will be handed out to the first 1,000 ticket-buying patrons on each of those nights.
Addressing the Rotarians, Weber spoke to many of the same issues that concern Oneontans.
“It’s not Miles’ M-O to move teams,” he said. “We’re here to stay.”
Oneonta, he said, is Prentice’s one team that’s a convenient drive from Manhattan. He also owns the Midland, Texas, Rockhounds and the Huntsville, Ala., Stars.
(A few years ago Prentice tried, unsuccessfully, to buy the Red Sox.)
While Damaschke Field has been offering “the most pure baseball you can find” with few of the “bells and whistles” and distractions of most Minor League parks, the GM added, “It is a business.”
The bobblehead nights are one example, but other novelty nights are planned. In August, for instance, pet owners will be encouraged to bring their dogs to “Bark In The Park” Night.
People who go to the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s “Legends Game” on Father’s Day Sunday, June 21, can bring their ticket stubs to Damaschke Field that evening and get in for half-price.
The baseball tournament venues – Dreams Park, Cooperstown All-Star Village and the SUNY Oneonta training program – bring 200 young teams and their families to the county each week of the summer, and the Tigers aims to appeal to them, Weber said.
“Just because we have an ‘O’ on the hat,” he continued, “we’re really a three-county team” and will be looking to local fans for support as well.
The name may even be changed at some point to reflect that.
How about the Leather Sox, one audience member suggested.

Labels: 06-12-09, Front Page, oneonta tigers

posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 3:31 PM 0 comments

Bookmark this post with:

IN THE CITY OF THE HILLS

OHS Graduate HoF Inductee At Hartwick

Martin Engstrom-Heg, an 11-time All American while swimming for Hartwick, will be one of eight athletes inducted into the college’s Hall of Fame at 5 p.m. Saturday, June 13 in the Dewar Union.
Engstrom-Heg, Class of ‘96, had four records on graduation, and one – 3:29 in the 400-yard medley – still stands, according to swim coach Dale Rothenberger.
The OHS grad’s mother, Verna, now of Delhi, is a master swimmer. Martin is a lawyer with the state Compensation Board.

Taylor Trombley,14, of Oneonta shows her horse Dominator in the Open Hunter Under Saddle category at the 13th Annual Benefit Horse Show and Luncheon held by The Farmers’ Museum Sunday June 7, at Iroquois Farm in Cooperstown.

FUNDRAISER: The Greater Oneonta Historical Society is holding a drawing to raise money for the Friends of the Oneonta Theater’s effort to save the historic cinema. Buy $5 tickets at the History Center. The drawing for Stephen Joseph’s panoramic photo of the interior is 1 p.m. June 20 at the theater.

SUMMER FUN: Orpheus Theatre is registering students for its annual Summer Musical Theatre Workshops in acting, singing and dancing. Details at www.orpheustheatre.org or call 432-1800. Scholarships available.

PRIDE PICNIC: The first Greater Oneonta Area Pride Picnic, to celebrate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Month, is 2:30-6 p.m. Sunday, June 14, at Neahwa Park.

Labels: 06-12-09, Front Page

posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 3:24 PM 0 comments

Bookmark this post with:

City Chamberlain Leaves Legacy Of Steady Habits

On David Martindale’s Watch, Little Went Awry

By LAURA COX

He was there through the flood of 2006, the West Nesbit Feed Mill building razing on Market Street in 2003, and the 1999 closing of Bresee’s and its acquisition by the city in 2007.
He has overseen more than $266 million in city budgets, more than $43 million in capital projects, and has helped to keep the average annual tax-levy increase to $71,418 – just 2.33 percent.
He was involved in negotiations between the City of Oneonta and the County of Otsego in 1991 resulting in shared sales taxes revenues.
And in 1988, he helped the city link into the state’s deferred compensation plan, enabling city employees to more easily plan for their own retirements.
Lastly, after 22 years of service as Oneonta’s city chamberlain, David Martindale will close his books and retire on Tuesday, June 30, 2009.
Martindale grew up in Milford and graduated from the high school there in 1972. He attended Morrisville State College, then transferred to SUNY College of Technology in Utica when he studied accounting.
During the summer of 1975, Martindale came home for the summer and ran a classified ad looking for an accounting job. He got a call from then City Chamberlain Paul Kogut and before long was working there. It was his first taste of municipal accounting, and he liked it.
After college, Martindale returned to City Hall as an account clerk.
After a year, he left to be treasurer in Schenevus, then bursar at SUNY College of Technology, then treasurer for the Westmoreland School District before receiving a call from that same chamberlain in late 1981 offering him another job .
In January 1982, he rejoined the city as an accountant, and in 1987 was promoted to city chamberlain.
As chamberlain, Martindale’s duties include preparing and monitoring the annual budget, overseeing the financing of capital projects and the investment of city money and collecting city revenues from property taxes, water and sewer.
He oversees the city’s computer system, acting as the point man when something goes south.
“David has worked endless hours and accomplished countless tasks,” said Deputy Chamberlain Virginia Lee, “this will be a great loss not only to Oneonta taxpayers but to the surrounding area as well.”
Lee described Martindale as a leader in the office who sets the tone for everyone and gives guidance, “He will be greatly missed.”
The city has hired Bryan Gazda to be the next city chamberlain. He started on Tuesday, June 2 and the two have been joined at the hip trying make a clean transition.
“I told him there are some things that probably only I know and I have to be sure to pass those on,” said Martindale.”
“David has been amongst the most outstanding chief financial officers in the State,” said Mayor John S. Nader earlier this week, “and I know this not only from my own experiences working with him, but because other people – mayors and other CFOs have come up to me at the Conference of Mayors and told me so, it is a real testament to what he has done.”
When asked why he chose now to retire, Martindale said, “I always thought I would retire at 55.”
His plans for retirement include just one thing, “I want to spend more time with family, especially playing croquet with my mom; she always beats me, I think I have only won once.”

Labels: 06-12-09, Front Page. David Martindale

posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 3:23 PM 0 comments

Bookmark this post with:

Hometown People

SUNY Oneonta Wins Grant To Train Science Teachers

ONEONTA

The National Science Foundation has awarded $900,000 to support the SUNY Oneonta Noyce Scholars Program, to prepare students for careers as high school science teachers in high-need school districts.
The grant will be coordinated by Paul Bischoff, secondary education; John Schaumloffel, chemistry and biochemistry; James Ebert and Todd Ellis, earth sciences, and Paul French, physics and astronomy.

OFO RIVER RIDE DRAWS 132 RIDERS

Dad and son Bob and Akiva Garfield, 8, rode in the 9th annual Opportunities for Otsego River Ride on Saturday, June 6 leaving from Neahwa Park. The ride had 132 participants this year up from 88 last year and proceeds benefitted all of OFO’s programs.

75th Anniversary Dramatization Of Eva Coo Murder Trial Debuts

MILFORD

Dress rehearsals for the Friday, June 12, opening of “Little Eva” – an original 75th anniversary dramatic adaption of the Eva Coo story – are under way at the Upper Susquehanna Cultural Center on Route 28, Milford.
Written by Milford native Isaac Rathbone, the play recounts the sensational Cooperstown trial of an Oneonta “madam” who turns to murder during hard times.
The first performance is this Friday, June 12, at 7 p.m., followed by a gala. The all-inclusive tickets are $25 each.
Tickets for other performances are $10 -- at 8 p.m. June 13, 19 and 20, and 2 p.m. Sundays June 14 and 21. The final weekend, performances will be in the Otsego County Courthouse main courtroom, where the 1934 trial was held. Those performances are 8 p.m. June 27 and 27, and 2 p.m. June 28.
For ticket information, call 1-800-838-3006.

4 On Dean’s List At SUNY Cortland

These Otsego County students are on the SUNY Cortland’s Dean’s List for the spring semester:
• Meghan Brunswick, junior biomedical sciences major, Oneonta.
• Tyler Lloyd, senior sports management major, New Berlin.
• Morgan Mackie, senior early childhood education major, Cooperstown.
• Lindsey Potrikus, senior childhood education major, Cooperstown.

CHARLOTTE VALLEY STUDENTS TOP INVESTORS

Ryan McAteer, left, and Michael Ontl, both of Charlotte Valley Central School, won first place in the “The Stock Market Game” as part of the regional New York Stock Exchange stockmarket contest. Contestants were asked to invest a hypothetical $100,000 in an on-line portfolio. Jamie Madden and Ryan Maker, also both CVCS won second. Both teams were under the instruction of CVCS business teacher Louise Netreba, Oneonta.

AUSTIN SPEECH: Dr. Kamala Mahanta, SUNY Oneonta associate professor of physics, will deliver a paper, “A Nanotechnology Research and Education Effort at SUNY Oneonta,” Monday, June 15, at the 116th Annual Conference of the American Society for Engineering Education in Austin, Texas.

GENESEO LIST: SUNY Geneseo has named the following local students to its spring Dean’s List: Alex Moglia, Fly Creek; Ryan Yaworski, Richfield Springs; Benjamin Relethford, Oneonta; Hannah Zimmerman, Oneonta; Ana Powell, Otego.

DESIGNATED: David DeForest, Oneonta, has been awarded the GRI designation by the New York State Realtor Institute. He completed 90 hours of training specified by the National Association of REALTORS. He is a licensed associate real estate broker for RealtyUSA.com.

Labels: 06-12-09, Hometown People

posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 3:16 PM 0 comments

Bookmark this post with:

‘Sorcery’ To Bewitch Foothills

SAM GOODYEAR

ART BEAT

Much like a magician declaring “Presto!” and producing a cuddly snow-white rabbit from a black top hat, Jennifer McDowall, new executive director at the Foothills Performing Arts Center in Oneonta since early April, has brought to the organization a sense of adventure, innovation and energy that will get under way on Saturday, June 13, with a production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Sorcerer.”
No, the imposing facility gracing Market Street is not yet complete, though it’s getting close and right on schedule. Yes, the light-hearted, hilarious, and intriguing opera about a love potion poured into a pot of tea and causing desperately mismatched love affairs will be presented in the Production Center, venue for countless events since 2005, but newly acquired risers will transform visibility to a previously unknown level of perfection and upgraded lighting and related technical considerations will work a similar magic.
“The Sorcerer,” though the third collaboration between the famed English duo, was the first of the serious and large-scale productions they undertook, ushering in the spate of blockbusters like “H.M.S. Pinafore,” “The Mikado” and “The Pirates of Penzance.”
This one-performance-only event comes courtesy of the Ridgemont Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company of Ridgemont, N.J., one of the oldest continuously operating musical theater companies in America. Not only does it specialize in Gilbert & Sullivan delights, it is known as well for taking productions to audiences in hospitals, communities for the elderly, and even prisons.
“The Sorcerer” is fare for the entire family, and echoing the theme of a pot of singular tea, the intermission at Foothills will feature a proper English Afternoon Tea, complete with rarefied sandwiches, scrumptious sweets and cakes, as well as authentic clotted cream.
Love potion or not, you will fall for this production and the whole experience in a big way. It starts at 3 PM. Call (607) 431 2080 for tickets.
“The Sorcerer” kicks off a summer at Foothills filled with surprises and tempting cultural treats. For a detailed listing of all events, log on to www.foothillspac.org

Sam Goodyear is a grants administrator at Foothills.

Labels: 06-12-09, Art Beat, Columns, Sam Goodyear, The City of the Hills

posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 3:12 PM 0 comments

Bookmark this post with:

WEEKEND’S BEST BETS

“Love The One You’re With”: Grab some tickets and head on over to Doubleday Field in Cooperstown at 8 p.m. on Friday, June 12, for old-time favorites Crosby, Stills and Nash. Information, 547-4080.

Hop On Over: Come and listen to “Big Chuck” D’Imperio share stories and anecdotes from his book “My Town is a Cathedral” at 7 p.m. Friday, June 12, at the Green Toad Bookstore. Information, 433-8898.

Not To Be Missed: At 7 p.m. on Friday, June 12, the long awaited “Little Eva” will open at the Upper Susquehanna Cultural Center in Milford. “Little Eva” dramatizes the murder and sensational court trial of 75 years ago. Information, 800-838-3006 or brownpapertickets.com.

Time For Dairy Fest: Don’t miss the annual Meredith Dairy Fest 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, June 13, and Sunday June 14. From cows and milkshakes to music and cloggers, there is something for everyone at this family affair. Info,746-6882

Feeling Well? If you are interested in alternative health and healing, then Skin Wellness and Pampering Center is the place to be this weekend. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, June 13, it will be offering free workshops on acupuncture and Chinese herbs, music for the whole child, ear candling and much more. Info, 278-4035.

A Little Magic For Your Saturday: A one-show-only performance of Gilbert & Sullivan’s “The Sorcerer” is 3 p.m. Saturday, June 13, at the Foothills Performing Arts Center. The Ridgewood (N.J.) Gilbert & Sulllivan Opera Company performs.

Take Me Out To the Ball Game: With the Oneonta Tigers’ season opener a week away, whet your appetite for baseball by catching the Syracuse Chiefs vs. Pawtucket Red Sox at 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 14 at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown. For information call (315) 474-7833 or syracusechiefs.com.

America’s Rome: NYSHA President Steve Elliot calls “America’s Rome,” with more than 100 canvases on display, the most ambitious exhibit The Fenimore Art Museum has ever attempted. The show features Hudson School artists and others who studied in the Eternal City. Info, www.fenimoreartmuseum.org.

Labels: 06-12-09, The City of the Hills, weekend's best bets

posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 3:04 PM 0 comments

Bookmark this post with:

Kara Balliet Was Unbeatable

CHRIS McSWIGGIN

BLAST FROM THE PAST

Editor’s Note: Chris McSwiggin’s “Blast From the Past” examines OHS athletes who have beat the small-school odds to become state champs.

OHS’ Kara (Hattem) Balliet, as a sophomore coached by David Perry, took first place at the state High School Championships to become the NYSPHSAA slalom champion.
Her performance, plus a top-five finish in the giant slalom, also earned her the Combined Championship. The OHS Ski Team was a force to be reckoned with.
As a junior in 1994, Kara was a key performer in leading the Section IV Ski Team to a combined Alpine Championship (slalom and giant slalom events) in Lake Placid.
Overall standings are based on the top five racers from each Section’s ski team; their finishes determine the champions in the combined slalom and giant slalom events.
More than 70 competitors took part from around New York State.
As a senior in 1995, Balliet was co-captain of the ski team. She took second place in the Slalom Event at the state High School Championships at Lake Placid. In addition to skiing for OHS, Kara – and Brooke (Baker) Bass, featured last week – also skied for the USSA Ski Team. Kara later coached young skiers on the Scotch Valley USSA Ski Team during her college vacations.
“I loved skiing since I was little. When I was about 3 my parents took me to a ski slope and I really enjoyed it. It escalated from there to ski teams and race teams. It really began that first time.”
Balliet, who attended James Madison University in Virginia, ended her competitive skiing days when she left Oneonta. JMU did not offer a ski team, but Kara still tried to ski whenever possible.
“They have a few ski mountains, but not enough to offer a ski team at the school.”
In the off season, when she wasn’t skiing, she rode horses. A competitive equestrian as well, Balliet rode a horse that was 6th in the nation during her senior year. “I traveled all over the state (and country) to ride horses” said Kara, “it got very competitive”.
Living in Arizona currently, Kara (now Kara Hattem), doesn’t get as much time to ski as she would like nor does she have the options for skiing she did in New York.
“There are the White Mountains to the north and a couple of others, but it is not much.”
Kara earned her MBA at the University of Phoenix after graduating from JMU. She was the manager of sales and marketing for University Physicians Health Plans in Arizona.
Kara is now a provider contracting consultant with Humana, Inc. and is on the board of directors of the Arizona Small Business Association and on the board of directors of the Southern Arizona Association of Health Underwriters.
Kara feels honored to be recognized by OHS for her athletic achievements.
“I am very proud. That is a day that I will always remember. It was exciting for Brooke and me because we were only sophomores and we couldn’t wait to get back to school and tell everyone. I am very honored that Oneonta is remembering these achievements and I feel very proud that I was able to accomplish something so great.”
Kara certainly has a lot to be proud about, and it all stems from the City of the Hills.

Labels: 06-12-09, Hometown Sports

posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 3:01 PM 0 comments

Bookmark this post with:

Society’s Sandbox Explored

EVAN JAGELS

NIGHT LIFE

‘Theatre is society’s sandbox,” according to the Franklin Stage Company (FSC). It is a “playful space for us to rediscover our common purpose, to tap our common potential, and to rehearse for our collective future.”
Sunday, June 7, FSC opened its 13th season of admission-free theater with Jim Mullen’s one-man performance of original material entitled “One Man’s Trash is Another Man’s Garbage” – an eagerly anticipated annual event.
Mullen, a nationally known author and past Village Voice columnist, blended his views of the ridiculous aspects of society and personal anecdotes and presented them with the cynicism of a stand-up comedian and outlandish scenarios of a David Sedaris story.
In a little under an hour, he had plenty of time to cover Greek delicatessens, professional baseball, piracy, the automotive industry, celebrity babies, television, hotel reviews on Google and finally, dinner parties – notwithstanding one-liners.
“I hate it when you can’t remember the words to memory.”
Reflecting on his past before his career as an author, Mullen needed to look no further than the want ads of the Village Voice for great material.
“Two men with a truck need a guy with a driver’s license – but they are artists by night.”
A little later he posed the question that was on at least a few people’s minds. “Is A-Rod’s lack of character the only thing to talk about down at Hooters?”
In a hilarious observation of the current financial crises, Mullen recounted an event in which a prominent politician on a network news station was given 10 seconds to say what could be done to fix the situation (it’s not like these stations are on 24/7 or anything…)
His response? “Now is not the time to play the blame game.”
“I know it rhymes and journalists love it,” Mullen remarked, “but when did blame become a game?”
Where would society be if ordinary people –reckless teenagers included – were to be held to the same standards as politicians? Simply let off the hook from a most obvious and harmful mistake or possible conviction because they did not find it an appropriate time to play the “blame game.”
Mullen’s well-received presentation of his riotous material was the opening of what promises to be a wonderful season for FSC at Chapel Hall.

Labels: 06-12-09, Columns, Evan Jagels, Night Life, The City of the Hills

posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 2:57 PM 0 comments

Bookmark this post with:

Patient Focus Essential To Health Reform

by Douglas M. Delong

Recently, I had the opportunity to lobby our elected representatives in Washington, D.C., on behalf of the American College of Physicians.
The ACP is the professional organization of specialists in internal medicine (Doctors for Adults).
I am particularly proud to be associated with this group in that it follows a strictly professional attitude as evidenced in its “putting patients first” motto.
The message I conveyed to Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, and Congressmen Arcuri, Murphy and Tonko was simple.
The ACP supports access to affordable health coverage for all and that we need to address the crisis in primary care.
As part of the visit to Congress, we heard from several members of the House and an extended update from Dr. Robert Kocher, an internal medicine specialist and special assistant to President Obama on health care.
No matter who was the messenger, the message was clear that healthcare reform will happen and will probably happen by this fall.
In order to achieve affordable coverage for all, the ACP specifically recommends:
• Establishing a sliding scale subsidy for middle income Americans
• Expanding Medicaid to everyone at 100 percent of the Federal poverty limit
• Requiring health plans to offer comprehensive benefits including preventive services
• Forbidding exclusion because of “pre-existing conditions,” and
• Piloting different models of care, such as the “patient centered medical home,” which would offer comprehensive, patient focused, longitudinal care with incentives for quality care.
There truly is a crisis in primary care with only 2 percent of current medical students expressing an interest in general internal medicine and a higher proportion of active Internists leaving practice. Currently, we lack 16,000 primary care doctors and statistics suggest a growing deficit to 40,000.
Whatever health-care reform takes place, it is critical that there be enough primary care physicians to meet the demand that will accompany universal coverage.
The ACP advocates incentives for medical students and residents with scholarships and loan forgiveness programs in exchange for practicing in uninsured regions. Ultimately though, General Internal Medicine specialists (as well as Family Practitioners and Pediatricians) will need to moderate the income disparity with other specialists in order to attract and sustain a sufficient workforce.
Primary care is the best medicine to improve health and lower costs. Numerous studies have shown that the more primary care providers for a given population, the lower the costs and the better the outcomes.
Anyone who has ever lobbied elected representatives would tell you that they listen most to their constituents.
I would urge all of you to contact your congressmen and senators. The debate is going on now and your voices can make a huge difference.

Douglas M DeLong, M.D., is Bassett Healthcare division chief/general internal medicine. His particular interests are general internal medicine, long-term care and palliative care.

Labels: 06-12-09, Columns, Hometown Views, Opinion

posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 2:55 PM 0 comments

Bookmark this post with:

Hometown History

10 Years Ago

Local – The handsome and very practical Adirondack chairs deployed outside Nancy’s “Old and New” store in Cherry Valley over the Memorial Day weekend were the handiwork of Robert Houghton. Many a foot-sore holiday celebrant enjoyed a few minutes respite in the chairs and a few of us were lucky enough to be able to purchase what will be the last of their kind. Nancy Erway, the shop’s proprietor, explained that Mr. Houghton, who took great joy in making the chairs, passed away in March at the age of 84.
June 1999

20 Years Ago

Marine Corporal H.M. Vain, son of Richard C. Vain of Route 2, Richfield Springs, has been awarded a meritorious mast while serving with the 2nd Force Service Support Group, Camp LeJeune, N.C. Vain joined the Marine Corps in April, 1983. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Louis J. Stringer, son of Rosemary Stringer of Richfield Springs, recently reported for duty with the pre-commissioning unit of the battleship Wisconsin. A 1980 graduate of Richfield Springs Central School Stringer joined the Navy in October 1981.
June 1989

50 Years Ago

Miss Anna Louise Sarafin, Jordanville, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Martin S. Sarafin became the bride of Paul Joseph Szeflinski Saturday, June 6, in a double ring ceremony in the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Richfield Springs. The Rev. A.J. Augustynowicz, officiated. Mr. Szeflinski is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Chester Szeflinski, Richfield Springs. Bridesmaids for Mrs. Szeflinski were Miss Wanda Szeflinski, sister of the bridegroom, Miss Joan Homa, and Miss Mary Huick, all of Richfield Springs. Best man was eorge Coretti, South Columbia. Ushers were Edward Morgan, John Huxtable, and Herbert Burdt, all of Richfield Springs. Mrs. Gladys Hodge was organist. The bride is a graduate of Richfield Springs Central School class of 1956 and is employed at the Richfield Springs office of the Bell Telephone Co. Mr. Szeflinski is a graduate of the Richfield Springs Central School class of 1956 and is engaged in farming.
June 1959

60 Years Ago

If people are not buying our goods it’s only because our salesmanship and our merchandising are poor. That, in effect, is what researcher Arno Johnson last week told a worried session of the American Marketing Association. The figures cited by Mr. Johnson to show the ability, as distinct from the willingness, of people to buy are truly astounding. Total disposable personal income, after taxes, is actually up seven percent over the first quarter of 1948. Real purchasing power, corrected for all factors, to today 53 percent higher than last year. Individuals own $200 billion in liquid savings, three times the savings of 1940, And, whereas only four percent of American families in 1941 had yearly incomes of $5,000 after taxes, now 21 percent of the people are in this plush market bracket.
June 1949

75 Years Ago

The girls of the Richfield Springs School Homemaking Department were delighted by the number of ladies who came to view their “At Home” fashion show last Thursday afternoon. The show started with the following verse: “Today, we’re going to bring to you a costume parade to view. The things we’ve learned and what we’ve done will pass before you one by one; with colors light, with colors gay; And what to wear throughout the day. The novelties that some have made will also be in this parade: For what we’ve made is proudly shown; some are in groups and some alone. So scan each with a careful eye. We’ll tell you what to note and why.” Sport dresses and tennis frocks were seen first. Then several suits were displayed with coats of different lengths. The afternoon frocks of organdy, batiste and lawn were very much admired. To complete the show, the formal evening gown was shown with gloves and shoes to match.
June 1934

100 Years Ago

Baseball – In a communication from Manager Pierce Saturday, he reports the completion of the Richfields for the coming summer, and feels very much elated in securing the fine list of players, in which the local patrons join him. The list includes manager Pierce, Mills, Hamilton, Holmes and Watson of Williams College, Beaton, Marriman and Connelly of Weslyan and Dowd and Mahoney of Holy Cross. In the letter it is stated that Beaton is batting at a .446 clip, Hamilton .333, Mills .310, Mahoney .287, and Marriman and Watson over.300.
June 1909

Resources for this column have been provided courtesy of the New York State Historical Association Library.

Labels: 06-12-09, Columns, Hometown History

posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 2:54 PM 0 comments

Bookmark this post with:

Letters to the Editor

Let’s Prove To New Tigers’ Owners That We Want Team Here

To the Editor:
On June 19, the Oneonta Tigers of the New York-Penn League will open the 2009 season at Damaschke Field. Since 1966, Oneonta has had professional baseball.
Their affiliations started with the Boston Red Sox, then the New York Yankees from 1967 through 1998 and the Detroit Tigers since 1999.
Sam Nader, Sid Levine and the Oneonta Athletic Corp. have given the Oneonta area wonderful summers of professional baseball. Many current major league players got their start in the New York-Penn League.
Oneonta is a very big part of all the baseball activity that takes place at Cooperstown’s Baseball Hall of Fame and the baseball sports camps in the area. The newly renovated Damaschke Field is one of the most picturesque minor league ball parks, not only in the New York-Penn League, but also in the country.
The people of Otsego County, as well as Delaware, Chenango and other surrounding counties need to support the new ownership of our Oneonta Tigers. The management of the club wants to keep the ball club here. Miles Prentice, the new owner and a longtime friend of Sam Nader, has implemented many positive changes to the team’s operation.
As the former general manager from 1967 to 1977 and as a fan of Oneonta professional baseball for the last 43 years, I am asking fans to get off the couch and get to the ballpark to enjoy these Upstate New York summer evenings watching great baseball. There are numerous promotional nights and kids activities.
Think about it, where else can you get this kind of entertainment for the $6 admission price and enjoy a $2 hot dog. We need to show the new owners that there is the fan base and support from this area to keep the team here. It would be a huge loss to Oneonta if the club were moved to another city; we have a gem, let’s support it.
NICK LAMBROS
General Manager, 1967-1977

Violence, Civilized Democratic Society Don’t Jibe

To the Editor:
William F. Roberts wrote, that some “intend to deny these rights by would-be theocrats and other totalitarians among us.” In order to deny women the right to an abortion some extremist have been resorting to murder for decades.
Since the early ‘90s, there has been an organized network of extremists who advocate the murder of abortion providers. They’ve come to the conclusion that the only way to stop abortion is to murder providers. 
They recruit people to engage in acts of violence and they celebrate the violence that takes place.
The National Abortion Federation, sent out a security alert to abortion providers after the November election, because in tracking abortion violence they’ve noticed an increase of activity outside abortion clinics, after they’ve lost an election.
Obviously, anti-abortion extremists resorted to violence whenever they don’t see themselves winning legislative or judicial battles.
Following the heinous murder of Dr. Tiller, Attorney General Eric Holder responded by providing federal marshal protection to the most vulnerable physicians who the National Abortion Federation thought might be targeted. 
He instructed the FBI to contact each of the clinics in their areas and assess their threat levels, security risks and to work very closely with the clinics, to make sure that we don’t see more violence.
Not unlike al Qaeda, it’s very hard to predict where violent extremists will strike, and by what method. There was a decrease in anti-abortion violence after the murder of Dr. Slepian in 1998, due in part to a strong law enforcement response, and the conviction of the three anti-abortion terrorists, who were on the FBI’s 10 most wanted list.
Two years ago, a bomb outside a clinic in Austin, Texas, malfunctioned.  Clinic staff found it and called the ATF, who were able to detonate it without a loss of life. 
In a civilized democratic society, we can’t allow people to use violence to advance their anti-abortion agenda to stop abortions from taking place in the United States.
I’ve read that the only difference between the American anti-abortion movement and the Taliban is about 8,000 miles.
JIM O’LEARY
Delhi

County Board Shows Foresight In Resolution On Gas Drilling

To the Editor:
The Otsego County Conservation Association commends the county Board of Representatives for the resolution passed at its June 3 meeting concerning the State Department of Environmental Conservation’s final scope for a draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement on oil, gas, and solution mining in the Marcellus shale.
The resolution calls for the extension of the public comment period to 60 days regarding the dSGEIS.
Given the potential magnitude of the impact of horizontal drilling in our lands; that this procedure requires much research and scrutiny by us all before drawing conclusions, and that impacts of horizontal drilling (especially any negative impacts) will be long-term and perhaps irreversible, we heartily agree with this request.
The natural gases of the Marcellus shale have been there for centuries and will still be available after this extension.
The resolution also calls for a “severance tax and adequate permit fees on gas drilling companies to pay the costs of such regulation and oversight.” Currently, the financial burden of drilling resides largely with the taxpayers.
We all support the state Department of Environmental Conservation through our taxes, so we are all paying the DEC to review, permit and inspect drilling activities because fees assessed to the gas industry do not cover true costs of review. A severance tax would remove this burden from the taxpayers.
Finally, the county resolution asks the state to require “all substances intended to be introduced into wells be identified and the information be made public, with special notification to local emergency response personnel and health care providers, before use of such chemicals is permitted.” The reason for this request is logical and self-evident.
We are pleased and encouraged that the county had the foresight and political will to pass this resolution. OCCA encourages county residents to contact their elected state officials urging the same action regarding horizontal drilling as the county board did in its recent resolution.
ERIK MILLER
OCCA Executive Director

Labels: 06-12-09, Hometown Views, Letters to the Editor, Opinion

posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 2:50 PM 0 comments

Bookmark this post with:

Can Community Help Soccer Hall of Fame Achieve Original Promise?

The point isn’t that the National Soccer Hall of Fame should be located in St. Louis or Miami, the point is that it IS located in Oneonta.
If possession is nine-tenths of the law, as the saying goes, location – a $4.5 million campus that could only be replaced today for several times that – is even moreso.
That said, it goes almost without saying that the Soccer Hall hasn’t yet lived up to its original promise. It is not the mecca for soccer that the National Baseball Hall of Fame is for the National Pastime.
Say “Cooperstown,” and 90 percent of Americans don’t think of James Fenimore Cooper, or his beautiful Glimmerglass, or the New York State Historical Association headquarters and affiliated museums. They think baseball, and all it connotes.
Say “Oneonta,” and the parallel percentage must be in the single digits.
•
In a recent interview on assuming the presidency of the Soccer Hall, Jonathan Ullman of Fly Creek was frank about the numbers.
While 55,000 people visit the campus annually, only 20,000 pay to enter the museum. Cooperstown” draws 320,000, down from a 420,000 peak before the baseball strike.
The Soccer Hall’s annual budget is $1 million, compared to $16-17 million at the Baseball Hall. And the former has 10 full-timers and a dozen summer parttimers vs. 100 fulltimers and another 100 during the summer.
Ullman was circumspect about where the Soccer Hall goes from here, suggesting – as one might expect at this point in his tenure – that unspecified initiatives will be rolling out over the next several months.
Doug Willies, chairman of the Soccer Hall board (and past president of Keith Clark, Inc., Sidney), suggested as much in framing the transition from Steve Baumann to Ullman:
“For the past 21 months, Steve’s leadership has been instrumental as the board and staff have focused on development of the programmatic, operation and financial strategies necessary to define the Hall of Fame’s future.”
That’s a potentially weighty declaration.
Looking at the numbers, you can’t conclude that, after 30 years of striving at the Oneonta site, the Soccer Hall has yet to hit its stride, has yet to become near and dear – central, in other words – to the soccer experience in the United States of America, has yet to become “Oneonta.”
•
But look, Oneonta is no less plausible a location for the Soccer Hall of Fame than Cooperstown is for baseball.
In 1908, the Mills Commission declared Abner Doubleday, the Civil War general, had “invented” baseball in a cow pasture somewhere in the neighborhood of where Doubleday Field is today.
Scholars have since debunked all of that, but “Cooperstown” – and Otsego County generally, embodying the rural myths of our early nationhood – has become much bigger than the Mills Commission or the scholars, for reasons not fully understood (except at the gut level.)
If soccer brings to mind our more recent immigrant experience, then Oneonta – a magnet for 19th and early 20th century immigration and friendly assimilation – is, like Cooperstown and baseball, agar in American soccer’s petri dish.
•
“Oneonta” can be “Cooperstown,” and its success would make it a huge component of the regional mix and economy.
What might be done? The Soccer Hall:
• needs Fortune 500 sponsorships, companies seeking to appeal to the nation’s growing Hispanic population. Coke, Pepsi – all the biggies. Word is GM could use a lift. A perfect match.
• should be fully incorporated into all Otsego County Tourism Office promotions, and I♥NY, the state tourism effort, needs to start paying attention.
• should be kept front and center when community functions are planned. The OHS Alumni Association and Oneonta’s Festival of Trees had splendid experiences there. The local market can be a valuable revenue source.
• should be kept in a constant conversation by Oneonta City Hall. There’s probably no mayor more supporting of community strivings than John S. Nader, but the Soccer Hall is often an afterthought.
There’s much that might be pursued. Rob Robinson, the brainy Otsego Chamber president, suggests the Soccer Hall make common cause with U.S. Youth Soccer.
If each of 200,000 teams chipped in $5 for a team membership, that would be $1 million. If that enticed the young members to visit the Hall, and they brought their parents, the sky’s the limit, for Otsego County’s economy as well as the facility itself.
•
It’s a shame that Steve Baumann, for whatever reason, left the Soccer Hall after just 18 months. An avid soccer player with a museum background, Baumann seemed ideal for the task at hand.
But Ullman brings his own strengths: he’s smart, young, energetic. Can he bring all the pieces together? That remains to be seen.
Regardless, he shouldn’t have to do so by himself. Perhaps nothing’s planned that would adversely impact the Oneonta area. But, regardless, there’s a community-wide, county-wide stake in the Soccer Hall’s success.
The county’s key leaders – state Sen. Jim Seward, Mayor Nader, key members of the county board, Rob Robinson – should reach out to the Soccer Hall and make sure it has what it needs for a prosperous future and the benefit of all.

Labels: 06-12-09, Editorial, Hometown Views, Opinion

posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 2:48 PM 0 comments

Bookmark this post with: