Hometown Oneonta - The Otesgo-Delaware Dispatch

‘Neighbors’ Discover A Home Can Indeed Be A Home

Saturday, June 20, 2009

By LAURA COX

INDEX

It was like walking into a resort hotel.
Enter Otsego Manor’s atrium-like entryway, there are seating areas of wing-back chairs on each side. There’s a sophisticated check-in desk, and large curling wood sculptures by Cooperstown’s Jeremy Holmes.
A bird chirped from its cage along the southern entryway wall.
Except for the staff dressed in scrubs and the number of white-haired residents, you wouldn’t suspect that this is a nursing home.
Make your way through the lobby into one of the one of the five neighborhoods, Rolling Hills, Mountain Ridge, Country Meadows, Serenity Place or Winding Brook, and you start to understand how Otsego Manor is different from the nursing homes of old.
The social model of care, as opposed to the medical model, is utilized here, according to Irene Ekstrom, the director of admissions who conducted a recent tour of the modern community in a scenic meadow about a mile south of Cooperstown (and 20 miles north of Oneonta.)
Instead of wings, units and patients, Otsego manor has neighborhoods, households and neighbors.
Each neighborhood (wings in former parlance) has three three households (units) with a dozen neighbors in each who dine and socialize together.
Each household has its own family room with large flat screen TV, a large shower room and a country kitchen.
The neighbors get to decorate their rooms to their liking, many equipped with a La-Z-Boy.
Maude Foutch, who grew up in Cooperstown and lived most of her married life in Oneonta, decorated her room to look like the outdoors.
She loves flowers and birds, so her family helped bring wildlife indoors. The walls are covered with artificial branches, flowers, pictures of birds and on the window sill sits a beautiful cream colored orchid and other live green plants.
Breakfast is made and served in each household’s kitchen. Residents get to choose when they want to get up for the day, and if they want to eat breakfast in their room that is alright.
There is no large impersonal cafeteria; lunch and dinner are prepared in a central kitchen and delivered to the households hot and fresh.
Residents can keep snacks in their kitchens if they want something to eat in between meals. A bowl of fresh fruit is usually available on one of the kitchen counters for anyone to partake. And the fridge is always stocked, just like at home Eckstrom said. Also indicated the goal in the future is to do all of the cooking in the kitchens.
The 143,000-square-foot building opened in November 2004, replacing The Meadows, now county offices over by the county jail.
Otsego Manor is the length of two football fields. It has 176 beds, 136 of them in private rooms; the rest, semi-private rooms, often shared by husbands and wives, relatives or just good friends. Most residents are in their late 80s; the oldest is 101.
Every week is full. There are card games, yoga classes, worship services, barbecues, horse shoes to toss and time in the courtyards garden, which is tended by the residents with the help of community volunteers, The Lake & Valley Garden Club and manor staff on days off. Many residents have their own plants and vegetables growing in planters that have been installed over the years.
A group of four residents from three different neighborhoods gather at the same time each day in the Sun Room to play a game of hand and foot. “We four have a good time,” said Phyllis Koepke, one of the card players who is from Otego.
Stuart Taugher, former Cooperstown mayor and Otsego County representative, is among the VIPs.
“I have found this place to be very nice,” said Taugher, “and I try to get outside one or two times a day.”
In addition to being a skilled nursing facility, the country-run Otsego Manor also has memory/Alzheimer’s care, rehabilitation services and respite care.
Eva Murdock, 88, of Hartwick, came to the manor for rehabilitation after taking a fall while visiting family in Florida. She had broken her shoulder and her right arm is in a sling.
The other day, with the help of Director of Rehabilitation Lisa Rothwell, Mrs. Murdock was using a Hemi Walker, a walker meant to help stabilize individuals with limited mobility in one arm.
“It has been wonderful being here, the food is delicious, everyone is helpful and my room is so nice,” the woman said.
Two beds at the Manor are reserved for respite care, with a minimum stay of one week, giving caregivers some relief from round-the-clock tending of loved ones. The service is in demand and reservations have to be made some time in advance.
There is always a waiting list for long term nursing care, Eckstrom said. At any given time she has at least 20 referrals and a handful who have been processed and are waiting for a room.
“It is everyone’s dream to live to be old and die at home in our own bed” said Eckstrom, ”but people come here because that is no longer possible, for a variety of reasons.
“We always explore the idea of other options with our residents; we never say ‘you are here forever’ or ‘you’re never going home,’ because we never really know. We say you are here for now, whatever now is.”
Eckstrom said the trend from the medical model to social model of skill nursing is part of culture change and more changes are likely to come as the Baby Boomers arrive.
They want to eat when they want to eat, they want Internet access and privacy, the nursing homes are adapting.

Labels: 06-26-09, The City of the Hills

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Catan Triplets Make City School History

By LAURA COX

It was a historic graduation, albeit an unofficial one.
And it ended the first of 13 historic years the Oneonta City School District will be experiencing as Chris, MacKenzie and Reilly Catan go through elementary, middle and high schools with the Class of 2021.
The three youngsters, children of Paul and Michelle Catan, are triplets, and as far as anyone can determine, they are the school district’s first triplets ever.
The historic graduation was actually the half-day, Wednesday, June 14, that ended the youngsters’ kindergarten year at Valleyview Elementary School.
The three spent their year in teacher K.C. Feiler’s class, learning to write their letters, count to 100 and read. They learned to tie their shoes, say the Pledge of Allegiance, and how to do puzzles. And they learned about insects, dinosaurs and the number of teeth both adults and children have.
Triple attributes aside, the three were just like their classmates, said Feiler: “Each of them is independent and unique.”
The three did not argue any more than their classmates, even though they are siblings, and they tend to play separately, “but they are always aware of each other. If something happens to one of them, the other two are aware of it,” the teacher said.
When asked if they all had their own set or friends, the kids all nodded their heads. They each indicated their favorite activities in the classroom.
“I like the writing center,” said MacKenzie.
“The block corner,” said Reilley.
Chris said, “I like the dominos,” talking about a large set of dominos he uses as building blocks.
Chris also enjoys reading and he borrowed 130 books from the library this year, more than any of his classmates. Feiler’s class won an ice cream party for the second to last day of school for being the class who borrowed the largest number of books over the year, 900.
Each has a different track for their future careers; Chris wants to be a paleontologist, MacKenzie a veterinarian, and Reilly the vice president of the United States. Upon further reflection MacKenzie remembered she and her sister had discussed their joint presidency and she revised her career goal to being the president.
“Someone has to be the first girl president,” said Reilly.
The family belongs to a Twins, Triplets & More group out of Bassett Hospital and mom Michelle participates in an online group for parents of multiples.
When asked what she has learned through her group participation about the difference between raising one or two children at a time versus triplets, Catan said that to begin with she was advised to keep the kids on the exact same schedule.
“Otherwise there is no hope for personal time,” as the kids got older this became easier, she said.
“I get helpful hints from people who have been through it already,” said Catan, “The difference of having a third child is there are only two parents, so you can’t just each take one. “
Reilly, Chris and MacKenzie are excited for the first grade. Over the next three school years the kids or going to rotate who gets to be in their own class and who will share a classroom with the other sibling.
In first grade, MacKenzie will be in her own class, in second grade Reilly will and in third grade Chris will give it a try. In fourth grade, the kids said they don’t know what they will do yet, but they may try all being in the same class again.

Labels: 06-26-09, Front Page

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1,242 Celebrate New Tigers’ Chapter

By LAURA COX

Fans in the stands tapped their feet and sang along to music.
They laughed and smiled at between-inning entertainment.
They dined on foot-long hotdogs, popcorn, nacho supremes and chili fries and they watched their home team topple the Tri-City ValleyCats.
Everything a baseball game should have, the Oneonta Tigers provided at the season opener on Friday, June 19.
And they topped it all off with fireworks.
The evening began with a recognition of former Tigers owners Sam Nader and Sid Levine.
General Manager Andrew Weber, Minor League Baseball President Pat O’Connor, New York-Penn League President Ben Hayes and former Tigers pitching coach Bill Monbouquette took the field and shared gratitude and sentiments about the two men’s contributions to the team and to Minor League Baseball.
New owner Miles Prentice, who came in from New York for the opener, watched from the sidelines.
Nader and Levine received plaques. O’Connor also presented Nader with a gold pass, allowing access to any Minor League Baseball game across the nation.
Hayes announced that New York-Penn League Executive of the Year Award has been renamed the Sam Nader Executive of the Year Award, in honor of Sam’s time with the League.
“This was very nice,” said Levine in an interview from his first-base line box seat. “We appreciate everything everyone has done. The fans have been super and we wish the best for the team. We’ll be here watching.”
“It’s fabulous, unreal,” Nader said about all that had transpired. “I am very appreciative and this was a great surprise.”
In the stands, many of the 1,242 fans expressed the same kind of appreciation for the two men.
Oneontans Bill and Molly Swain said the ceremony was the main reason why they were there.
“Sam and Sid have continuously been steadfast supporters and sustainers of the team,” said Molly, who attended games as a child with her father back when the team was affiliated with the Red Sox.
National Baseball Hall of Fame Senior VP Bill Haase and Don Oberriter, founder and former owner of the Cooperstown Bat Co., said they frequently attend games, but were there that night to pay tribute to Nader.
The ceremony was not the only thing fans appreciated. Many commented about the changes the management has made from previous seasons.
“They seem to be doing a lot more between innings to keep the fans interested, and there seems to be a much larger crowd than usual here,” said Pat Solovitch, as she kept score. Her loyalty also goes back to the Red Sox era.
“They are looking good, they just have to continue,” said Solovitch’s friend Judy Wilson.
A staple at most Minor League ball parks but a novelty here, contests and entertaining acts happened between innings to keep fans in their seats.
There was a dance-off between O-Nee the Tiger – the mascot will be present at all of this year’s games – and the Tigers’ new Baseball Buddies. There was a base-running contest, and a basketball toss, and a water-pitcher-running contest.
Each event is sponsored by a different business.
The Baseball Buddies are Little League teams. Every game night, one team is selected to receive general admission tickets, a pre-game picnic and the chance to be announced and run out on the field in uniform for the National Anthem. (To sign up, call 432-6326.)
As the game concluded, fireworks exploded.
Prentice and his wife Katie watched with Tigers investors Herb and Vicki Loudon from the first-base line bleachers.
“If we continue to play like this, we’ll win a championship,” the new owner said.
“Andy and Eric have done a great job and we have a nice group of interns who are very enthusiastic, it should be a good summer,” he continued, praising his GM Andy Weber and his assistant GM, Eric Knighton.
Prentice’s youngest son, John, is interning with the Tigers this summer, following in the footsteps of his older siblings who have both worked for one of their father’s other teams.

Labels: 06-26-09, Front Page, oneonta tigers

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Madolyn ‘Outstanding,’ Hartwick College Avers

At Gala, Palmer Joins List Of Eminent Oneontans

By JIM KEVLIN

Madolyn O. Palmer never went to college.
But she feels like she got a degree Friday, June 19, when the Hartwick College Citizens Board – she is a 20-year member and former president – proclaimed her Outstanding Citizen of 2009.
That the wall at the bottom of campus – every major Hartwick milestone is recorded there in impromptu fashion – was repainted in her honor was simply frosting on the celebratory cake.
“My husband and I have traveled for the past 15 years since our retirement,” the retired Oneonta City School District business administrator told a celebratory crowd at the Citizen Board’s annual gala in the Dewar Union, “and frequently we find people who have graduated or had children graduate from Hartwick.
“The pride for a Hartwick degree is worldwide,” she said.
Carol Chesser, Citizen Board president, praised Palmer as “a champion of Hartwick for more than 20 years.”
“Without advocates like you, Madolyn, Hartwick would not be where it is today – enriching the lives of thousands of students and alumni, influencing the City of Oneonta, and, ultimately, changing the world,” Chesser said.
In addition to Palmer’s husband of 52 years, Carver, well-wishers included their two daughters, Sandra Rudebush (with husband David and son Rudy) and Carla Balnis (with husband Wayne and children Caryn and Joseph). Son Randy, who lives in Ohio with his family, was unable to attend.
After the presentation, Chesser went on to present a $1.2 million check – 805 donations from Citizen Board members – to college President Margaret Drugovich.
The Citizens Board, founded in 1954, includes anyone within 60 miles of Oyaron Hill who has contributed to the college in the past three years.
In thanking the Citizens Board, Drugovich noted that 238 from within that radius attended Hartwick in the just-completed school year.
The theme of this year’s gala was “A Hartwick World Experience,” and the program included a report by nursing student Catherine Scorzafava on her work-study experience in Jamaica.
Dancing “late into the night” followed, to the music of Gray Matter.

Labels: 06-26-09, Front Page

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IN THE CITY OF THE HILLS

SEARCH ON AGAIN: Mayor John S. Nader had scheduled a special Common Council meeting Thursday, June 25, to discuss filling the city chamberlain vacancy. Bryan Gazda, hired to replaced David Martindale, took another job.

SOLD OUT: This weekend’s performances of “Little Eva” in the Otsego County Courthouse, Cooperstown, have been sold out, playwright Isaac Rathbone announced. In all, 1,000 people will have viewed the performances.

BEEHIVE BUZZING: The Beehive, serving breakfast, lunch and takeout, has reopened in Franklin. Proprietor Kelly Corvese said the establishment includes a bakery and general store.

COOPER WORLD: “Global Cooper” is the theme of the 17th International James Fenimore Cooper Conference & Seminar, planned July 12-17 at SUNY Oneonta’s Morris Conference Center.

GOLF, GIVE: Habitat for Humanity is looking for sponsors and golfers for its first fundraising golf tournament, planned Sunday, July 12, at the Oneonta Country Club to raise money for the county chapter’s 26th home. Call Rich Couch at 433-0575 for details.

GET INVOLVED: Fox Hospital is looking for Junior Volunteers, 14 and older, to assist professional staff. A training program is 12:30-3:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 30, and Thursday, July 2. Details, 431-5042.

CLOSED ON 4TH: Bassett Healthcare’s Urgent Care center in Oneonta will be closed on the Fourth of July.

Labels: 06-26-09, Front Page

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Dairy Month Finds Farmers In Bind: Production Cost Outstrips Milk Price

‘It’s Brutal,” Says Ag Commissioner From Richfield Springs, Patrick Hooker

By JIM KEVLIN

Imagine living in a land of milk and honey, temperate climate, plenty of rainfall, proximity to markets.
That’s what Upstate New York is like.
And that, in the view of Patrick Hooker, state commissioner of Agriculture & Markets, means that farms will eventually thrive here again.
Much of New York’s former agriculture wealth was siphoned off to the Southwest, but that region’s becoming overpopulated, running out of land and precious water.
Shortterm, however, Otsego and Delaware county farmers are having a very tough ride in the current recession.
It takes $16.50 to produce a hundredweight of milk; the price is $12.50, so every farmer in the state is dipping into equity or borrowing, said the commissioner.
“It’s brutal,” he said in a Dairy Month interview with Hometown Oneonta. “There’s nobody who’s making money: I can be fairly categorical about that.”
Hooker lives just north of the Otsego County line in the Town of Columbia on a 360-acre farm. (He has a Richfield Springs’ mailing address.)
It was his family that settled around Hooker Mountain in the towns of Maryland and Westford in the mid-19th century. Brother Dan, the former assemblyman, is a senior vice president of The Clark Estates; his wife, Karen Huxtable, is Bassett Healthcare spokesman.
So despite his statewide responsibilities, his local ties keep him in particularly close contact with farming around here.
“It’s one thing to look just at the price,” said Hooker. “...The cost of fuel for feed and fertilizer has doubled, tripled – in some cases it’s four times what they used to be.”
Despite that, milk production is about the same as it was a year ago. “Farmers are hanging on and gritting their teeth.”
Overseas markets for New York agricultural products have dried up too, although Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is seeking to include them in food aid programs.
All that said, the Department of Ag & Markets expects to see a “steady improvement” in prices going into next year, so some help may be on the way from markets.
Also, Upstate’s Congressional delegation is trying to supplement the USDA’s Milk Income Loss Contract Program, which can provide cash to close the gap between price and cost, Hooker said.
Relatively speaking, said Hooker, Upstate New York is getting through this crisis better than California, Idaho and Arizona, where there’s also drought.
Longterm, agriculture in the dry states “is not sustainable,” he said, comparing that to “the natural sustainability we have in the upper Northeast and Ohio.”
Previously, milk was priced regionally to sustain regional dairying, and Hooker said the pendulum may swing back.
“What I would like to see is a farm price that does not look like an EKG. It’s bad for consumers, it’s bad for processors, it’s bad for farmers and local businesses.
“...We shouldn’t be climbing cliffs and jumping off them every two years,” he said.
Looking ahead five years, things could be better.
“We should be focusing food production on where it makes sense,” he said. “We have great soil, and climate, and markets, and consumers.
“One of the things we do very well is grow forages -- hay and corn. The cow likes to be cool,” he continued, “and except for a very few months in the summer, she is.”
Those kinds of issues are on the front-burner now because of the crisis.
For now, what can anyone do?
“Let’s all go out and eat an ice-cream cone and spike the demand,” Hooker said.

Labels: 06-26-09, Front Page

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Hometown People

SUNY Theatre Teachers, Students In Greene Productions This Summer

Andrew Kahl of the SUNY Oneonta Theatre Department, has been one of two leads in “The Mystery of Irma Vep” at the Chenango River Theatre in Greene. This is the final weekend, with performances at 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, June 26-27, and a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday.
SUNY Oneonta students Paige Harris and Nick Stagliano are in the costuming crew. Barbara Kahl, who teaches part-time in the Theatre Department, is costumier, and will be designing costumes for the upcoming production, “More Fun Than Bowling.”
Kahl, at SUNY since 2005, teaches theatre, acting and directing.

Oneontans Salt-Springville Bound for ‘Quiet Fourth’

The Oneonta-based Catskill Conservatory will present its 12th annual “Quiet Concert for the Fourth,” an Independence-Day musical and social tribute to the late Louise Porter Moore.
The program, at the historic Windfall Dutch Barn in Salt Springville, north of Cooperstown, seeks an alternative viewpoint on the celebration of the nation’s birthday, honoring the spirit of Mrs. Moore, who was responsible for the preservation of this pre-Revolutionary-War landmark.
The hour-long concert will feature a musical presentation by Globetrotters, the “jazz-world music” trio. It will begin at 5 p.m., and will be followed by a pot-luck supper, another tradition favored by Louise Moore.

NEW PHILOSOPHER: Andrea Lynn Braunius Denekamp of Mount Vision received a master of philosophy degree from Drew University on Saturday, May 16, at the university’s 141st commencement.

SCRANTON GRAD: Kathryn J. Tarricone of Oneonta was among the 856 University of Scranton graduates who received bachelor’s and associate’s degrees at its undergraduate commencement ceremony on May 31, at Wachovia Arena. She received a bachelor’s in exercise science .

PROMOTION: Edward Hernandez of Oneonta, serving with Detachment 1, Company C, 108th Infantry has been promoted to the rank of specialist.

MARIST GRAD: Jennifer Ashley Allen of Maryland has received a bachelor of science in biomedical sciences from Marist College.

JOIN CHAMBER: The Otsego County Chamber has announced four new members businesses: Richard Miller’s 55 Maple Street, LLC; Maggie Barnes’ MB Communications; Otsego Land Trust, and the Schwartz Law Office, Oneonta.

Labels: 06-26-09, Hometown People

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Harlem, Pidgeon Honored As OHS Athletes Of The Year At 63rd Annual Varsity ‘O’ Awards

ONEONTA

Friends and family gathered at Oneonta High School on Tuesday, June 9 for the 63rd Annual Varsity “O” Awards to celebrate and honor the accomplishments of the 2008-2009 varsity athletes.
Major awards went to the following students:
The Carl J. Delberta Award went to Eric Scheer for using the skills he learned at the Oneonta Boys and Girls Club to help others and achieve in high school athletics,
Ian Kelley was awarded the Herb Burchell Award, which is given to a player who does not get all the attention or glory, but is there working hard and being a strong participant that makes the team better through attitude and effort.
Service and Athletics Award went to Emily Shea for her positive contributions to team and involvement in a variety of school and community services.
Dalton Smith was awarded the E.C. Dutch Damaschke Award for his accomplishments which stem from youth programs and are based on dedication, hard work and a positive team attitude
Phil Wright was awarded the Anthony C. Drago Award for his participation in athletics which is characterized by the highest levels of coachability, sportsmanship, competitive spirit, work ethic and conscious effort toward his athletic gifts
Madeline “Madie” Harlem and Brendan Pidgeon were honored with this year’s Female and Male Athlete of the Year Awards.
Top scholar athletes recognized at the dinner include:
Bridgette Aikens, softball; Kaitlin Armstrong, girls cross country; Caryn Balnis, Girls Bowling;Nick Benjamin, Boys Winter Track; Dan Broe, Boys Basketball; Ian Clemons, Football; Stratford Corkwell, Boys Bowling; Ethan Cypress, Boys Cross Country; Eric Deemer, Boys Soccer; Alden Duckett, Fall Cheerleading; Beth Gollin, Girls Track; Mena Haile, Volleyball; Madeline Harlem, Girls Basketball; Illa Labroo, Girls Swimming; Alex Levenstein, Tennis; Connor McCafferty, Boys Skiing; Alex Meschutt, Lacrosse; Brendan Pidgeon, Boys Track Zane Relethford, Boys Swimming; Olivia Rule, Girls Winter Track; Joe Sastic, Golf; Emily Shea, Girls Skiing;Karsen Shultz, Girls Soccer; Dalton Smith, Baseball and Hannah Visnosky, Winter Cheerleading
Three sport athletes include:
Bridgette Aikens, soccer, winter track, softball; Dan Dokuchitz, golf, winter track, track; Hannah Lawson, soccer, skiing, track; Ian Kelley, football winter track, track; Nick Madison, cross country, winter track, track; Brendan Pidgeon, football, wrestling, track; Dalton Smith, Football, wrestling, baseball; Jeremiah Ward, soccer, swimming, track and
Phil Wright, football, basketball, lacrosse.
Sportsmanship Award winners include: Levi Anderson, boys cross country; Stephanie Birkhimer, volleyball and girls spring track; Bryanna Brewer, winter cheerleading; Felisa DeSilva, girls bowling; Dan Dokuchitz, boys winter track; Vanessa Fassler, golf; Beth Gollin, girls winter track; Cory Greenberg, boys swimming; Jennifer Havens, girls swimming; Madeline Harlem, girls basketball; Peatros Haile, boys spring track; Jacob Joseph, boys soccer; Ian Kelley, Football; Hannah Lawson, girls soccer; Luke Mancuso, tennis; Alex Mirabito, boys basketball; Ryan Renwick, boys bowling; Kim Scofield, girls cross country; Emily Shea, girls skiing; Dalton Smith, wrestling; Joe Sullivan, boys skiing and lacrosse, Katie Webster, fall cheerleading; Jeff Wiltsie, baseball and Erin Wolstenholme, softball.

Labels: 06-26-09, Hometown Sports, Oneonta High School

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Tigers Off To A Strong Start

CHRIS McSWIGGIN

The Oneonta Tigers have a brand new face this season, with new management, a new manager and a plethora of new players.
Oneonta, for years, has represented tradition and excellence, and the goal of the 2009 Tigers staff is to build on that tradition.
Detroit did its part too, drafting a stellar group of athletes and sending third-, seventh-, 10th-, and 13th-round picks to Oneonta this season, among many others.
The Tigers, who opened the season against the Tri-City ValleyCats Friday, June 19, with a 2-0 win, are well on their way to establishing themselves as a force to be reckoned with.
Mid-week, the Tigers led the Stedler division of the New York-Penn League with a 2-0 record after a 4-1 win Monday, June 22, win at Lowell that took them 12 innings to achieve.
Two of Oneonta’s first four games were rained out, in Tri-City’s Troy and at Damaschke Field, also against Tri-City. That means the Tigers will be playing Tri-City in double headers in both locations, at dates to be determined later.
In the first game against Tri City, Jeff Gerbe pitched a stellar outing, allowing zero runs on four hits and two walks in six innings pitched.
RBIs were tallied by third-round pick Wade Gaynor and 20th-round pick Jim Gulliver in the 2-0 victory.
Mike LaLuna got the save, pitching three scoreless innings and allowing only one hit, recording six strikeouts.
The Tigers recorded only four hits in the win, committed no errors and only allowed five hits.
The team that had struggled with consistency in the outfield last year seems to have defensive-minded outfielders this year: Michael Rockett (UT-San Antonio), Jamie Johnson (Oklahoma), Matt Mansilla (C of C) and Alexis Espinoza (GCL Tigers).
After the two rainouts, the team left Monday morning for Lowell, which was in first place at the time with a 2-1 record against Vermont.
Oneonta had a much better offensive performance, knocking 12 hits and scoring four runs in 12 innings.
A 1-0 Tigers’ lead early on was followed by a 1-1 tie before Oneonta scored three runs in the top of the 12th, quieting a raucous home crowd.
The Tigers got a little help from an error by Lowell first baseman Drew Hedman, and a little more with an RBI double by Oneonta left fielder Michael Rockett.
Jimmy Gulliver recorded another RBI in this contest.
Luis Sanz began the game, pitching just over four innings and allowing one run on three hits.
Kenny Faulk came into the game in relief and struck out three. The winning pitcher was Nick Cassavechia (1-0).
By the time you read this, the Tigers will have played two more games at Lowell and gone on to three straight away games in Burlington against the Vermont Lake Monsters.
A three game series at home begins Sunday the 28th.

Chris McSwiggin, Hometown Oneonta’s sportswriter and a Hartwick student, is interning with the Tigers.

Labels: 06-26-09, Hometown Sports

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City of Hills Alive With Sound Of ...

EVAN JAGELS

NIGHT LIFE

n the next few days, faculty members from some of the world’s finest music institutions – the Curtis Institute of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Julliard and more – and most renowned classical, jazz and chamber musicians will join more than 500 students and participants of the 2009 New York Summer Music Festival.
Continuing in the tradition of the original state Summer Music Camp, founded in 1947 by Dr. Frederick Fay Swift of Hartwick College, the Music Festival embarks Sunday, June 28, on its fourth season at SUNY Oneonta. The festival runs through Aug. 8.
Though participants come from all over the world – Norway, Australia, Canada, England, Scotland, Switzerland, Ukraine, France, Spain, Germany, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Haiti, and Puerto Rico, in addition to the United States – the festival promises great delight to local fans of quality music
All of the more than 40 concerts this summer will be free and open to the public.
The roster of visiting artists reads like a concert season at Carnegie Hall: the Chick Corea Band, Mingus Big Band, Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Wynton Marsalis Septet, New York Pops, Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, and more will make their way to Oneonta to provide master classes, workshops, and of course, special concerts.
Even the Music Festival administration boasts truly accomplished talent.
Executive Director Jungeun Kim is on the Curtis Institute faculty as a staff pianist for its world-renowned Student Recitals Series. She has won a Presidential Prize in the Korean National Music competition and, among other innumerable honors, has performed with the Korean National Philharmonic.
Keisuke Hoashi, director of communications and resident actor, attended the original music camp back in 1982 and co-founded the Music Festival in 2006. Sherrie Maricle, director of education, is best known for her all-female big band, the DIVA Jazz Orchestra, and was a recently featured guest on NPR’s legendary program “Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz.”
Under the direction and in the company of such a distinguished faculty, administration, and body of visiting artists, Music Festival students participate daily in more than 50 ensembles and classes, including professional-level orchestras, bands, choirs, jazz ensembles, and chamber music groups. Expanding beyond music performance, the Music Festival offers students unique creative opportunities in composition, filmmaking, original musical theatre and jazz improvisation.
Such an environment will not only introduce some of the most talented student and professional musicians to Oneonta and the surrounding area, but will also bring tremendous opportunity for community members to witness extraordinary jazz and classical performances free of charge.

Labels: 06-26-09, City of the Hills, Evan Jagels, Night Life

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WEEKEND’S BEST BETS

Glimmerglass Park To Host Senior Picnic

The Annual Senior Picnic is near.
It’s planned 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Thursday, July 16, at Glimmerglass State Park, sponsored by the county Office for the Aging and the Council of Senior Citizens.
Musical entertainment, bingo and door prizes are planned in the morning.
Lunch at noon includes hamburgers, potato salad and other picnic fare.
The $5 tickets (for those over 60; under 60, it’s $10) must be bought in advance through the Office for the Aging. Call 432-9041 or 547-4232 by July 7.

OLD VALUABLE, BOOKS: The 15th annual Cooperstown Antiquarian Book Fair is 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, June 27, at the Clark Sports Center, featuring dozens of dealers in antique books, maps, prints and ephemera.

GRADUATION WEEKEND: Milford Central School’s graduation is Friday evening, June 16, followed by Oneonta, Cherry Valley and Richfield Springs’ the following day. (The OHS prom was Thursday evening at Hartwick College.)

GO, PHILLIES! The National Baseball Hall of Fame is hosting Phillies Weekend Saturday-Sunday, June 27-28. The World Series Trophy will be on display in the Hall of Plaques 9 a.m.-5 p.m. both days.

HOP HISTORY: Hops historian Al Bullard will lead a tour of a hop house. Gather at 4 p.m. Saturday, June 27, at 252 Lower Reservoir Road, Oneonta. Admission, $2. Sponsored by the Greater Oneonta Historical Society.

ART OPENING: Sculpture by Nathan Banks and John Baryk’s airbrushing art is featured at an opening reception 4-8:30 p.m. Saturday, June 27, at the B. Sharp Studio on Franklin Mountain. Take Route 28 until you cross the Delaware County line; you’ll see the studio a little further on the right.

GO FISH: Richfield Springs’ Zone is sponsoring the Mill Pond Classic, family fishing 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, June 27, at the Van Hornesville Fish Hatchery on Route 80, four miles north of Rotue 20.

Labels: 06-26-09, The City of the Hills, weekend's best bets

posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 5:41 PM 0 comments

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Otsego Area Occupational Center Graduates 122 With Pomp, Circumstance

AUTOMOTIVE

Evan R. Brown, Cooperstown
Dustin T. Cornish, Milford
Roger Lee Dixon, III, Schenevus
Kyle Edward Utter, Morris

AGRICULTURE

Summer T. Elwood, Oneonta, with Competence
Patrick Joseph Fling, Jr., Oneonta
Elizabeth Eden Renee’ Johnson, Schenevus, with Competence & Honorable Mention
Christopher Thomas Renwick, Milford, with Excellence & Outstanding Student, NTHS, Bartlett Award, Milford Rotary Service Award

BUILDING TRADES

Robert John Alton, Cooperstown
Michael P. Althiser, Cooperstown, with Coopetence, Matthew Morton Memorial Award
Eric Bennett, Cooperstown, with Competence, Supt. of Building & Grounds Award
Willard Kenneth Bouck, Cherry Valley-Springfield, Otsego County Town Highway Supt. Award
Matthew W. Campbell, Laurens
Eric Scott Coss, Oneonta
Corey Hill, Schenevus, with Competence, Otsego County Town Highway Supt. Award
Anthony Curtis Leonardo, with Competence, Munsons Building Supply Award
Andrew James McMullen, Edmeston, Otsego County Town Highway Supt. Award
Alexander M.L. Reynolds, Cooperstown, with Competence, Pickett’s Building Award
Sarah Lynn Robinson, Schenevus, with Competence & Outstanding Student, NTHS, Wightman Lumber Award
Joshua R. Sierra, Cooperstown, Shawn Dixon Memorial Award
Dillon M. Smith, Edmeston, with Excellence & Honorable Mention, Otsego County Town Highway Supt. Award
Shane Tuttle, Schenevus

COSMETOLOGY

Alexis Renee’ Belden Brazee, Edmeston, with Competence, NTHS
Mackenzy Alexandria Ellis, Cherry Valley-Springfield
Aimee Luxkane Field, Laurens
Robin Liddle, Nail Technology & Waxing
Rebecca Helen MacLachlan, Cherry Valley-Springfield
Dakota Kinsey McCord, Cherry Valley-Springfield, with Competence, NTHS
Tara Jae Parslow, Schenevus
Rebecca D. Payne, Oneonta
Rachel Elizabeth Ruggiero, Cooperstown, with Competence
Kayla Lynn Thorn, Milford, with Competence
Evonne Lynn Virtell, Milford, with Competence
Chantel Marie Whitehill, Cherry Valley-Springfield, with Competence

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Margaret Bascomb, Schenevus, with Competence & Honorable Mention, NTHS, Norwich Police Department Memorial Award
Amanda Kate Chase, Schenevus, NTHS
James W. Cone, Laurens, with Competence
Steven Engler, Jr, Laurens, with Competence, NTHS, BSA Explorer Post 911 Award
Ryan P. Pidgeon, Oneonta, with Excellence & Outstanding Student, NTHS, Looseleaf Law Award, BOCESTA Award
Gregory Almon Rogers, Cherry Valley-Springfield, with Excellence & Honorable Mention, NTHS, Otsego Cty. Sheriff Department Explorer 911 Award
Timothy John Schorer, Cooperstown

CULINARY ARTS

Amaury Baez, Cherry Valley-Springfield
Michael P. Coulman, Laurens, Advisory Board Award, Quandt’s Award
Kelli Lynn Dennis, Edmeston, with Competence, Zoeller Family Scholarship, Advisory Board Award, Quandt’s Award
Beth Fullington, Cherry Valley-Springfield, with Competence, American Culinary Federal Scholarship, Zoeller Family Scholarship, Advisory Board Award, Quandt’s Award
Allison S. King, Adult, Advisory Board Award, Quandt’s Award
Codie James Lansdall, Laurens, Advisory Board Award, Quandt’s Award
Marguerite Lillian Loiacono, Edmeston, Advisory Board Award, Quandt’s Award
Nichole L. Young, Cherry Valley-Springfield, with Competence, James Robinson Memorial Award, Brooks Bar-B-Que Award, Hitching Post Award, Advisory Board Award, Quandt’s Award

HEALTH OCCUPATIONS

Christine Marie Banks, Morris
Samantha Helene Baroni, Oneonta, with Competence
Rebecca L. Boyke, Oneonta, with Competence
Jacqalyn Ellen Davis, Edmeston, with Competence
Zea Alethea Habercorn, Cooperstown, with Competence, NTHS, Cooperstown Community Foundation Scholarship
Tiana Simone Hanlon, Milford
Melissa Lynn Hitt, Milford
Alexandria Danielle Jorgensen, Schenevus, with Competence, Cooperstown VFW Award
Cassandra Elayne Martinez, Milford
Janeve Sarah Patterson-Graham, Milford, with Competence
Lindsey Marie Reynolds, Cherry Valley-Springfield
Gabriella Marie Skillen, Milford, with Competence
Chelsea Rose Slentz, Edmeston, with Excellence, NTHS

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES

Erik J. Accurso, Oneonta, Certiport & Core Computing Certification, CompTIA A+
Aaron Micheal Bogart, Certiport & Core Computing Certification, CompTIA A+
Patrick Edwin Bullock, Laurens, with Excellence & Honorable Mention, NTHS, Certiport & Core Computing Certification, CompTIA A+
Matthew Ryan Decker, Schenevus, with Excellence & Outstanding Student, USC Excellence in Business Scholarship Comp TIA A+, Certiport & Core Computing Certification
Brandon T. Haller, Milford, with Competence, Certiport & Core Computing Certifaction
George Randall Koutnik, Worcester, with Excellence & Honorable Mention, Certiport & Core Computing Certification, CompTIA A+, Microsoft Office Certification
Salvatore J. Martucci, Milford, Certiport & Core Computing Cert., CompTIA A+
Calvin Moubray, Oneonta, with Competence, Certiport & Core Computing Certification, CompTIA A+
Robert Norton, Worcester, with Competence, Certiport & Core Computing Certification, CompTIA A+
Sean Michael Oxley, Cooperstown, with Excellence & Honorable Mention, NTHS, Certiport & Core Computing Certification, CompTIA A+, Microsoft Office Certification
Andrew Salamon, Laurens, Certiport & Core Computing Certification
Michael J. Shephard, Milford
Chad Thomas Turner, Morris, with Competence & Honorable Mention, NTHS, Certiport & Core Computing Certification
Garret Wyman, Certiport & Core Computing Cert.
Drew A. York, Cherry Valley-Springfield, with Competence, Certiport & Core Computing Certification, CompTIA A+

INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS

Justin M. Becker, Edmeston
Jonathan W. Countryman, Edmeston, BOCESTA Award
Bryan A. Matson, Morris, BOCESTA Award

YES PROGRAM (Young Employable Students)

Jose’ Picart
Dashaun D. Webb

NATURAL RESOURCES OCCUPATION

Jake W. Aufmuth, Milford
Edward A. Bachorik, II, Cooperstown, with Competence, Robert Jorgensen Memorial Award , Otsego County Town Highway Supt. Award
Jake Beebe, Cherry Valley-Springfield
James P. Dorman, Cooperstown, with Competence, Otsego County Town Highway Supt. Award
Keelan M. Kraham, Cherry Valley-Springfield
Kyle J. Packer, Milford
Joseph Anthony Santoro, III, Cherry Valley-Springfield, with Competence
Jeremy C. Scudder, Schenevus, with Competence & Honorable Mention, NTHS, Otsego County Town Highway Supt. Award
Joshua L. Thomas, Morris, with Comptence, Otsego County Town Highway Supt. Award

HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONS

Jacob Forbes Fenno, Cooperstown, with Competence
Jonathan P. Graham, Cherry Valley-Springfield, with Competence, Scholar Recognition Award
Robert Charles Harmon, Cooperstown, with Excellence & Outstanding Student
April Marie McGrath, Laurens, with Excellence & Honorable Mention
Remi Leah Misiewicz, Cherry Valley-Springfield, with Competence, Jay Moore Memorial Award
Leita Powers, Worcester, with Excellence & Outstanding Student Scholar Recognition Award
Brandi Lee Schaeffer, Laurens
Jacqueline Kay Young, Laurens, with Excellence & Honorable Mention

VISUAL ARTS MEDIA TECHNOLOGY

Johnathan L. Adee, Schenevus, with Excellence
Alicia Marie Cuozzo, Morris
Mark T. Dubben, Cherry Valley-Springfield, with Competence, NTHS, Jay Moore Memorial Award
Tiffany Fitch, Sharon Springs
Eliza Mae Higgins, Cooperstown, with Excellence, NTHS, Cooperstown Community Foundation Scholarship
Kate Celeste Joslyn, Milford, CFES Award
William L. Lamme, Schenevus
Caitlin Grace Parkes, Oneonta, BOCESTA Award and Receiving her Oneonta High School Regents Diploma
Paul Ryan Poss, G.M.U.Kayla Danielle Reiter, Cherry Valley-Springfield, NTHS

WELDING

Matthew Dirr, with Competence
Cody James Evans, Worcester, with Excellence & Honorable Mention, NTHS, Joseph Capra Memorial Scholarship, Empire AirGas Award
Adam Joseph Finch, Milford
Sean Patrick Galley, Morris, with Competence, DOT Certification
Casey James Hall, Laurens, with Competence, DOT Certification
Robert James Harris, Edmeston
William Patrick Peck, Milford, DOT Certification
Jonathan R. Peeters, Schenevus
Justin Paul Rous, Edmeston, with Competence
Alexander J. Stevens, Edmeston, with Excellence & Outstanding Student, NTHS, Empire AirGas Award
Theodore Alton VanBrink, Cherry Valley-Springfield, with Competence & Honorable Mention, Empire AirGas Award
Zeb Thomas Weaver, Cherry Valley-Springfield

Labels: 06-26-09, Hometown People, Otsego Area Occupational Center

posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 5:37 PM 0 comments

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Hometown History

125 Years Ago

Beer drinkers should make a note of this – an eminent physician of New York says that the constant use of beer is found to produce a species of degeneration of the organism, profound and deceptive. Fatty deposits, diminished circulation, conditions of congestion and perversion of functional activity, local inflammation of the kidneys and liver, are constantly present. Intellectually, a stupor amounting almost to paralysis arrests the reason and precipitates all the higher faculties into a mere animalism. Beer drinking produces the very lowest forms of inebriety, closely allied to criminal insanity.
June 1884

100 Years Ago

The fortieth annual commencement of the Oneonta High School was held Monday afternoon at the Academy Street building. The attendance was very large, showing much interest on the part of the patrons of the school. Besides the 23 members of the class, there were seated upon the platform the members of the board of education, superintendent, principal, and teachers of the Oneonta schools, Principal Bugbee of the Normal and Rev. Dr. Russell.
The orations were “Place of Rest,” by Miss Marie Card, a graphic historical sketch of Oneonta; “Grover Cleveland,” a thoughtful appreciation of the late President by Grover Asa Silliman; “Nature’s Mission,” an intelligent portrayal of the charms of out-of-doors by Miss Julia Brainard; “America’s Need,” a plea for forest preservation by Raymond Tucker, and “The Crisis,” an oration compact with ideas, by Miss Ina Isabelle Hopkins, the valedictorian.
Among the special awards Miss Hopkins received the $12.50 J.R. Skinner scholarship. Miss Hopkins plans to continue with graduate work at the high school.
June 1909

80 Years Ago

Telephone conversations from an airplane over America to an office in Europe showed today that the boundaries of science are ever widening. Three reporters in a plane above New Jersey talked with three reporters on the ground in London, the first public tests of such communication. It was the sort of occasion referred to by press agents as “historic” or “epoch-making.”
The bulk of the talk had to do with atmospheric conditions “up here at 2,000 feet traveling 90 miles an hour in a mist.” Local static and a clouded crystal in the transmitting set on the plane played havoc with much of the conversation.
The demonstration was given by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company with equipment invented in the Bell Laboratories. In this instance the radio voice from the plane was connected at the Bell experimental station at Whippany, New Jersey to the regular transatlantic telephone land wire and radio circuit and so shot across the ocean.
June 1929

60 Years Ago

The Associated Press estimates that there will be five million people without employment in the United States within the next six months. High as this figure is, other estimates have been made adding a million more to the A.P. figures.
What is the cause of this sudden unemployment prediction? Of course, it is easy to say that it is caused by more potential employees and fewer jobs. The June Commencement exercises in schools and colleges brought a great new crop of young people looking for jobs, but that happens every year, and should cause no surprise in 1949.
Of more interest is the fact that employers are finding it easier to reduce expenses by laying men off than to meet union demands for higher wages and changes in working conditions. The latter situation is giving economists a cause for serious thought.
June 1949

40 Years Ago

Mrs. Stefan G. Mozolewski of Cooperstown has been elected president of Opportunities for Otsego, Inc. at the annual meeting of the Board of Directors, held Wednesday, June 8, in the Oneonta Senior High School. Mozolewski succeeds Casius H. Pealer of Oneonta. Donald F. Lynd, Sr., of Oneonta was named vice-president; Michael W. Lisa of Onenota, second vice-president; Alfred Frieman of Oneonta, secretary, and the Rev. Alfred Bentall of Oneonta, treasurer.
New Medicaid System outlined – Medical assistance, or Medicaid, will be available to fewer people, offer fewer dental benefits and require all non-public assistance recipients to pay 20 percent of all costs except hospital care, beginning July 1 in Otsego County and throughout the state, according to Kenneth G. Engell, Otsego County Commissioner of Social Services.
June 1969

20 Years Ago

The 163 seniors at Oneonta high school gathered on the stage of Belden Auditorium Sunday at the school’s 110th graduation and every seat was filled. The class of 1989’s commencement ceremony drew a capacity crowd of 900 for the hour-long ceremony.
The class held its senior prom on Friday, and for the first time, the party was organized by the students. The non-alcoholic dance, which lasted from midnight to about 5 a.m. at the Oneonta Country Club, was organized by members of the Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD) chapter at the high school. The SADD chapter’s goal was to ensure that no students were harmed or killed in accidents.
June 1989

10 Years Ago

Otsego County’s 911 emergency telephone system went live on Wednesday, June 16, after 10 years of planning. Hooked up to the entire county, anyone who dials 911 will immediately reach the county public safety building in Phoenix Mills, where a print-out of the caller’s phone number and physical address will become available to the dispatcher. “By the time I pick up the phone it’s printing an address, Roy Althiser, Jr., the 911 coordinator says. The dispatcher confirms the caller’s name and address before sending the appropriate emergency service to the specified address and the caller remains on the line as the call is transferred.
June 1999

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

Labels: 06-26-09, Columns, Hometown History

posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 5:34 PM 0 comments

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Firm Foundation Of Affection Good Portent For Colleges, Community

It’s yet another indication of the bond between Oneonta’s colleges and the Oneonta community.
During an economic crisis unprecedented in 80 years, the Hartwick College Citizens Board – it is comprised of an executive committee and everyone within 60 miles who has made a donation in the past three years – turned over a $1.2 million check to college President Margaret Drugovich at the annual gala Friday, June 19.
That $1.2 million, you read it right. And we rounded down.
Madolyn Palmer – the board named her Outstanding Citizen of 2009 at the gala – said later, “It made me feel like I graduated from Hartwick.”
And so it should.
The inclusive nature of Citizen Board concept is particularly nice: Any one can join it, and be brought into the Hartwick mix, by simply making a donation.
In effect, it takes the students, faculty, administrators, 200 years of alumni (not all surviving), and expands the community by another 100,000 potential members – residents of Otsego, Delaware, Schoharie and Chenango counties. Nice, and smart.
The only qualification is affection for a revered local institution.
•
While both Hartwick and SUNY Oneonta have been battered by the recession, the firm local foundation of each institution is worth reflecting on.
Eventually, sooner than later, it can be hoped, the economic clouds will clear.
Which brings to mind SUNY Oneonta sociologist Alex Thomas’ vision of a “Granola University” of the future, an institution that strives, in addition to providing the general education and specialities the local colleges now do, to apply collective brainpower to explore and understand the challenges facing the Catskills-to-Mohawk-Valley region.
And then, use that understanding to increase the general prosperity and happiness to the next level.
Food for rumination – and action.

Labels: 06-26-09, Editorial, Hometown Views, Opinion

posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 5:26 PM 0 comments

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Former Village Hall Leased By Cherry Valley Artworks

By LAURA COX

CHERRY VALLEY

Three years in the making, Cherry Valley Artworks is moving into the former village hall, the circa 1820s landmark stone structure on Main Street that contains a former theater on the second floor.
“Our mission is to revitalize the community through the arts,” said Board President Patti Erway-Engel, of Cherry Valley, during a tour of the building Wednesday, June 24 – the keys had just been handed over.
With the signing of this contract, Artworks has not only found a headquarters, but they will also be helping to sustain a building that holds a lot of local history and to make it again a place for community gatherings.
Two rooms previously used for village offices in the front of the building will become multi-purpose space, said Erway-Engle.
The plan is to remove the current drop ceiling and reveal the old tin one underneath. Some of the walls in that space are “arbitrary” and may be removed to open up the space.
When complete, the space could be used for galleries, classes, offices and whatever else.
The second level is currently occupied by the American legion and will continue to be so.
The Star Theater is one of the most exciting aspects of the undertaking, Patti said.
Used for storage since the 1950s, it used to be the center of village life, said Artworks Director Jane Sapinsky: “It contained movies, life shows, music, dances and more. Everyone I’ve spoken to who lived here when it was operating has wonderful memories of the good times they shared with their neighbors.”
Artworks wants to bring this back, but a lot of work will have to go into it.
A new curtain system for the stage will have to be acquired and the old projection room updated with modern sound and lighting equipment.
A handicap ramp will be built to access the theater.

Labels: 06-26-09, Front Page

posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 2:24 PM 0 comments

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