Hometown Oneonta - The Otesgo-Delaware Dispatch

Oneonta Teams Scales All-Star Village Fences

Sunday, August 2, 2009

By LAURA COX

Not all the cars in the parking lot at Cooperstown All-Star Village were marked “Cooperstown Bound” in recent days.
More like “Hometown Hitters,” and “The Local Boys Are Here.”
These boys – they called themselves the New York Yetis – are the first team from Oneonta to ever play at the park in West Oneonta that draws thousands of Little Leaguers from across the nation each summer.
After years of watching people pour into the Oneonta and Cooperstown youth-tournament parks, Connor Tavarone and Collin Neer asked, why not us?
They got their parents on board.
Dads Rich Tavarone and Jason Neer coached; moms Kelly Tavarone and Maria Neer raised funds and organized.
Connor and Colin got 10 of their friends signed up : Matthew Bitzer, Peter Brunetta, Josh Garufi, Mathew Robinson, Austin Scheer, Noah Sheeman and Tyler Tremain, all of Oneonta and then Jared Beach of Walton, Lucas DeJoy of Otego and Joe Terrano of Franklin.
It costs $710 per a kid and per coach to be at Cooperstown All-Star Village for the week, and the team raised about $4,000.
The boys and their parents sold candy, organized a Guitar Hero tournament and hosted a pancake breakfast at Applebee’s. The Sixth Ward Athletic Club and other businesses and professionals contributed, too.
“We’d like to thank the local community for supporting us and the local umpires union for donating an umpire, Bryan Goodas, for us,” said Kelly Tavarone, “The boys are having the best time.”
“I am happy for the boys and glad that we were able to raise the money to get them here, and now we get to see them play,” said Maria Neer.
On Saturday, Aug. 8, the boys arrived at the park and it’s been all fun since.
“The food is good and there is an arcade and wiffle ball,” said Matt Robinson, who hit a grand slam – his first ever – in the first inning of the team’s third game at the park vs. the USA Mavericks from Newington, N.H. They tied that game 11-11 in the fifth inning when the time limit for the game was up.
Tyler Tremain said he has having a lot of fun as well, “I like playing under the lights, staying in the bunkhouses and not striking out yet.”
Both boys said they would definitely recommend for more local kids to put together a team and do the fundraising to get to play because it is a lot of fun, “I’d be jealous of them,” said Tremain who is 12 years old – the limit to play at the park, and so he couldn’t play there again next year.
The kids aren’t the only ones having a good time, “I am having a blast,” said Goodas, the umpire, as he explained he has been umpping there for years, but this was the first time he has come with a team and he has had a lot of fun spending time with the kids in the dugout during his downtime.

Labels: 08-14-09, Front Page

posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 9:44 PM 0 comments

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11th-Hour Objections May Stall Walkway

Last Phase Of Master Plan For Neahwa Park Disputed

By LAURA COX & JIM KEVLIN

First, Damaschke Field was renovated and James Georgeson Avenue moved to the east, so fans wouldn’t have to cross the street from the parking lot to the stadium.
Then, Bertus Lauren Drive was improved to lure drivers away from War Memorial Drive and the softball field and picnic areas there.
Baseball and soccer fields were put on the east side of Neahwa Park, away from vehicular traffic.
And the skateboard park was built in the same vicinity, again, to draw youngsters away from traffic.
This was all part of the master plan for Neahwa Park, devised in the 1990s by City Hall and the LA Group, the landscape architecture and engineering firm in Saratoga Springs.
When the city’s comprehensive plan was revisited earlier this decade, the master plan was discussed again.
The final piece was the Memorial Walkway, which would complete the effort to shelter park users, both active (softball, baseball) and passive (just relaxing), from cars and trucks.
The Memorial Walkway would connect three clusters of monuments – reflecting various aspects of Oneonta’s history and interaction with the larger world – on busy War Memorial Drive.
The LA Group, which has carried out federal contracts to elevate the mood and tone of National Cemeteries across the states, seemed like the ideal entity to carry this through.
And it modeled the Memorial Walkway to echo what it’s done before: High-quality stonework and trees that shelter and define the memorial’s space.
“The walkway solves a number of goals within the park addressed in the master plan,” David Miller, a landscape architect with LA Group, explained the other day, “by reducing the road and bringing back space for the pedestrians.”
At the 11th-hour, however, some public attention began to focus on how the walkway would require 17 trees to be removed and six transplanted, (although 36 Cleveland select pear trees would be planted to replace them.)
That last-minute concern drew more than 100 citizens to the River Street entrance to Neahwa Park Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 11, at the invitation of Mayor John S. Nader to express their concerns and see how they might be incorporated into the next step.
There was a large representation of veterans, one World War II survivor said, “I’d like to see it done before myself and others are gone.”
“This is not just for us veterans,” said Ernst Keidel, Oneonta DAV commander, “this is for the guys who didn’t make it back. Some are being shortsighted when looking at the drawings. Ten, 15, 50 years from now, 100 years from now these new trees will still be here. We may have to see a few trees go to honor those who sacrificed everything.”
There were women like Celete Leon and Roseanne Pirone, who frequently walk in the park with friends and take children and grandchildren to games there. They wanted to see plenty of parking close by the softball fields and pond.
They also expressed concerns about the lack of a second roadway through the park for busy holiday park gatherings like the Fourth of July and in the case of a 9-1-1 emergency call to the park.
Others urged the city to take everything into account before moving forward.
“I think we need more debate,” said Carl Mondillo, Town of Oneonta. “Don’t rush. If we lose money, we lose it, but don’t rush into it because of the money, because we will have to live with whatever it is in the end.”
Still others reminded residents the plans have been available for many years at City Hall, discussed and presented at the public Common Council meetings, and printed in both local papers, so none of this should have been a recent discovery.
Bill Shue, who was on the original master plan committee, called the plan “fantastic … We could have probably done this at half the cost then, let’s not waste time now.”
Many city officials were present, including some Common Council members and representation from the recreation office and environmental board. The LA Group’s Miller fervently took notes on people’s concerns and suggestions.
Nader said all the concerns and comments would be brought back to a group of six or seven individuals from the groups listed, including a couple of veterans, who will then work quickly to come up with a modified plan which would then be presented to the Common Council later.

Labels: 08-14-09, Front Page

posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 9:43 PM 0 comments

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For Martindales, S.E.T.H. Says It All

By LAURA COX

Their shirts said S.E.T.H.
Support, Embrace, Trust and Hope, words that come to mind when thinking of a loved one, especially a loved one undergoing illness.
This is the acronym the friends and family of the late Seth Stuart Martindale, 45, of Oneonta, who battled kidney cancer and passed away in August 2008, wore on their shirts and carried in their hearts at this year’s Relay for Life Friday, Aug. 7, at Fortin Park in Emmons.
The Martindale family and friends have been coming to the Relay for years to support Seth and, before his illness, in support of other friends and acquaintances, but this first year without Seth emotions were especially close to the surface.
More than 500 people participated in this year’s Relay, falling a mere $700 short of the $50,000 goal. To push the drive over the top, you can donate on the Oneonta Relay for Life website, www.relayforlife.org/oneontaNY or send donations to the American Cancer Society, 5 Oak Ave., Sidney, NY 13838-1052
In May 2007, Seth had a cough that wouldn’t go away. He went to the doctor. An X-ray revealed cancer in his lungs. He was then diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma, cancer of the kidneys, which had already spread to his lungs.
All this happened just after his son Ethan’s first birthday.
Shortly thereafter he underwent gamma knife surgery and had a kidney removed. Just two weeks after the surgery, Seth attended the Relay for Life and insisted on walking the survivor lap by himself.
He really believed in the Relay for Life’s mission, his wife Bobbie said the other night, “He wanted to do whatever he could to give back.”
His next and last Relay for Life as a survivor came last summer. “He came here in a wheel chair,” said Bobbie, “and he insisted on going all around. That day was the last time he was truly coherent.”
Doctors had given him just a couple weeks to live two months before, but with the love from friends and family he stretched his stay on Earth as long as he could.
“He took medicines, had chemo and radiation treatments, and we did holistic treatments. Our whole family became reike practitioners,” Bobbie said, referring to an energy-healing practice which involves laying on of hands to promote stress relief and healing,
“I believe reike helped him gain enough energy to do one last run.”
The other Friday, the S.E.T.H. relay team gathered together with a new mission: To remember a man who meant so much for them. Fourteen registered team members, and members of the Sidney Federal Credit Union team and Holiday Inn team who were friends of the Martindales, sat around their canopies and reminisced and planned for things to come.
The family has organized the Seth Martindale Memorial Foundation to help raise awareness about renal cell carcinoma, as well as provide an annual scholarship to a senior at Milford Central School; Seth graduated from there in 1981.
They are hoping to host a major fundraiser next June to raise money for the foundation, perhaps a golf tournament involving members of the Buffalo Bills. More information about the foundation can be found at www.sethmartindalememorial foundation.com.

Labels: 08-14-09, Front Page

posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 9:38 PM 0 comments

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Hometown People

Hartwick Names 8 Local Students To Honors List

Hartwick College has named the following local students to the Dean’s List for the spring semester:
• Freshman Sarah Saggese, West Oneonta, daughter of Marcia Saggese. She is a graduate of Laurens Central School.
• Freshman Britta Morrissey, Otego, daughter of Robert and Susan Morrissey. The Unatego graduates is majoring in Spanish.
• Sophomore Nathan Rockefeller, Delhi, son of Barbara Rockefeller and Dennis Rockefeller. The Delaware Academy graduate is majoring in business administration and has played varsity football.
• Junior Nicole Hoffman, Sidney, daughter of Wendy Packard and Charles Hoffman. The Sidney grad is majoring in English, and has participated in Harry Potter Club.
• Junior Emily Gage, Harpersfield, daughter of Amy and John Gage. The music major graduated from Stamford Central School.
• Junior Christopher DiDonna, Schenevus, son of Deborah Crockett. A history major in the pre-law program, he has contributed to the Hilltops student newspaper. He’s a graduate of Schenevus Central School.
• Junior Rebecca Bookhout, Sidney Center, daughter of Bruce Bookhout and Patricia Bookhout. The psychology major is a graduate of Sidney Senior High School.
• Senior Crystal Wilcox, Maryland, daughter of Sherry and Kenneth Secrest. The biochemistry major and Unatego grad has participated in Student2Student Peer Mentoring Program.

Hartwick Alumni Pick 3 Local Honorees

A local alumnus, the field hockey coach and an associate dean will be among eight people honored by the Hartwick College Alumni Association at an Oct. 3 luncheon during reunion weekend.
Calvin Chase ’71, will receive the Meritorious Service Award. A mathematics major, he has served as an Annual Fund class agent and on the Reignite the Wick Committee, and served two terms on the Alumni Association board of directors. He also is a member of the Circle of Life Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and past chairman and current director of the Fox Memorial Hospital board of directors
Field hockey coach Anna Meyer and Harry Bradshaw, associate dean and U.S. Pluralism Programs director, will receive Outstanding Employee Awards.
At Hartwick since 1988, Meyer he created one of the elite programs in NCAA Division III field hockey, and won National Coach of the Year in that sport and lacrosse.
At Hartwick since 1998, Matthews founded the U.S. Colored Troops Institute for Local History and Family Research and related projects.

Erin Davis Crowned Miss Otsego County Teen

Erin Davis of Otego, a sophomore at Unatego Junior-Senior High School, has been crowned Miss Otesgo County Teenager for 2009.
She will reign a full year, appearing in parades and at other events.
On Aug. 13-15, she will be competing for the title of Miss New York State Teenager in a pageant at Norwich.
It is the oldest teen pageant in New York State, now in its 36th year.
At Norwich, she will compete in the “Talent Terrific,” where contestants perform for family and friends. She will undergo preliminary and final interviews before a panel of judges, will model casual wear and a gown, and will deliver a one-minute speech.
On Pageant Day, all of the contestants are driven through the city in antique cars.
The state pageant’s winner will be invited to Albany as a guest of the state Legislature.
Erin’s sponsors include Country Club Automotive Group, West End Self Storage, Rent a Wreck and Penske Truck Rentals.

Labels: 08-14-09, Hometown People

posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 9:37 PM 0 comments

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Tibetan Truths

Workshop Expected To Draw Adherents From Around World

By JEANNINE BOHLER

PIERSTOWN

There is air of quiet meditation driving through the rolling hills of Pierstown. The light is golden as it filters through the open sky to the fields. The wind feels free as it rustles the leaves on a summer’s day. It is hard not to find a spot where the beauty simply takes your breath away.
It seems the ideal setting for quieting one’s mind – the perfect setting for a meditation center and retreat that will open its doors later this month.
There it is on Glimmerglen Road in the Town of Otsego: Winterglen, a house, stables, and acres of land now known as Rangjung Yeshe Gomde East Coast, a Buddhist meditation and mind training center in the Tibetan tradition.
The retreat will operate under the direction of His Holiness Phakchok Rinpoche, who comes from a long line of lamas, the Tibetan word for teacher. His family can trace its lineage and connection to Buddhism and meditation back over 800 years.
In modern times, his grandfather, uncle and father are all meditation teachers. Since the communist invasion of Tibet in 1959, the family has been based in Nepal, but operates meditation centers throughout the world.
The site on Glimmerglen will be the second in the United States. The first is located in California.
“This is a peaceful place. It is a place for the local people, for Americans, for everyone,” Rinpoche said.
This will be spiritual center based on the teachings of Buddha, but the lama emphasized that his greatest desire is that the center be open to everyone interested in meditation, and that it will not be a religious sect.
Winterglen was give to the Rinpoche family by Gloria Nielsen, a local woman who studied meditation with Phakchok Rinpoche’s uncle and grandfather. She spent five years in Nepal where the two first met many years ago.
Nielsen left Nepal, but two years ago she and Rinpoche had a chance meeting in Mexico. It was there she offered her Glimmerglen home to the Rinpoches’ foundation, Chokqyor Lingpa.
A New York-based center had long been a dream of Phakchok Rinpoche. It was a karmic encounter, he said.
Phakchok Rinpoche arrived the week of Aug. 3 to a flurry of activity. Free talks about compassion and emotion, and a meditation class, were given in Cooperstown in rooms crowded with local people.
The first public event at the center – a Himalayan Culture Fair – is Aug. 22-23, where offerings will include samples of the clothing, jewelry, arts and foods from the mountain range that runs through much of Asia.
The first week-long meditation training and retreat will be Aug. 30-Sept. 5. It will be Phakchok Rinpoche’s first week-long training in the Northern Hemisphere, and is expected to draw participants from the United States, Canada and Europe.
In addition to the more intensive retreats, Rinpoche and his team envision ongoing weekly activates like mind training (training one’s own mind is of upmost importance in Buddhist practices), meditation and yoga, offered specifically for the local community. Matthew Zalichin, Rinpoche’s new local administrator, also plans to offer Zen archery, or kyudo, a Japanese form of meditation. Strangely enough, Zalichin’s made his first trip to Cooperstown with his father when he was a child – not to seek out baseball, but to visit a small bookstore that specialized in archery.
Both men emphasized the offerings of the center will be largely shaped by the local community.. Rinpoche hopes to address all aspects of a person – both physical and mental health – and plans to bring guests to teach about things like herbs and alternative health philosophies – in addition to the regular weekly offerings. As programs develop, so too will the grounds. Plans are underway for turning the horse stable into a meditation hall and for creating Asian-inspired gardens on the extensive grounds.
If the initial public response is any indication, the center is a welcome addition to Cooperstown. Over 30 people attended the opening talk about compassion, filling the space at the village meeting room. The phone at the center has reportedly been “ringing off the hook.”
In Pierstown, two cultures are seemingly eagerly coming together. The American flag blows briskly next to Tibetan pray flags in the small circle of land in front of the house.
Buddha once said, “Three things cannot be hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth.”
For those seeking them, the quiet spot on Glimmerglen Road should offer a place to look for all three.

Buddhism Embraces ‘Doctine Of Original No-Sin’

By JIM KEVLIN

ONEONTA

There is no conflict between Buddhism and Christianity, at least as far at the Buddhists are concerned.
In fact, Sandy Huntington has often run into priests and nuns at Buddhist retreats.
“They don’t ask you to believe in anything,” said Huntington, a Hartwick College professor of religious studies and expert on Buddhism, the Indian form in particular.
“They are fine if you are a practicing Christian going to church every Sunday.”
Asked to put H.H. Phakchok Rinpoche’s new retreat on Glimmerglen Road, Town of Otsego, in perspective, Huntington compared and contrasted Buddhism to Christianity.
Where religions in the Biblical tradition – Christianity and Islam – are theistic, worshiping a god, Buddhism has no god.
Original sin is a central precept of Christianity. An inside joke of religious scholars is, “Buddhism is the doctrine of original no-sin.”
“The centerpiece of Buddhist tradition is the mind,” he continued, “the understanding of the mind, the exploration of the mind. It is not a theistic religion.”
For that reason, he said, it is attractive to some Westerners who are caught between scientific rational beliefs and belief in God: “In Buddhism, you’re not caught in that trap.”
The primary vehicle to “explore the workings of your own mind” is meditation, and one result is to make the secluded Catskills – between Woodstock and, now, the Cooperstown area – an international center of Buddhist practice.
Huntington, who has written widely on his area of speciality, began ticking off locales where you can find retreat centers: Walton, Woodstock, McDonough, Delhi, Livingston Manor.
He surmised that proximity to New York City and the relatively cheap cost, until lately, of Catskills real estate were part of the draw.
The Hartwick professor organized “Buddhism in the Catskills” seminars several years ago, inviting teachers from throughout the region to Thursday night gatherings to share their beliefs.
One result was the Three Treasures Zen Center, where meditation is still practiced Monday evenings, hosted by the Unitarian-Universalist Church, 12 Ford Ave.
Buddhism originated in India 2,500 years ago, spreaded to China in the First Century and to Tibet in the Eighth, then on to Japan, Korea and, eventually, Europe and the United States.
Huntington has visited Phakchok Rinpoche’s retreat and is familiar with the Chokgyur Lingpa Foundation and the tradition it represents.
But he declined to parse the fine points of dogma off the cuff.
“Just because you’re familiar with Christianity,” he said, “doesn’t mean you’re going to know difference between the Amish and the Methodists.”

Labels: 08-14-09, The City of the Hills

posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 9:33 PM 0 comments

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Don’t Walk, Don’t Run...

SAM GOODYEAR

ART BEAT

Several years ago, an earnest theater student serving as stage manager for a production of Ken Ludwig’s “Lend Me a Tenor” asked what the “social, redeeming value” of the play might be, the implication being that, as far as he was concerned, there was none. None at all.
It is one of the funniest plays your columnist has ever seen. Audiences gasp and screech. The nonsense is cathartic. By the time one leaves the theater one has so forgotten day-to-day concerns, however serious and important, that life all of a sudden takes on a manageable perspective, problems no longer appear insoluble so refreshed by enjoyment and pleasure is the spirit. It may not be Brecht, but it sure expands the human experience.
We don’t usually cover movies in this column. So often, the ones we really want to see don’t make it to smaller cities in this country. The ones that do, have their appeal, for whatever reason, and we rarely feel the obligation to steer you to them.
“Julie & Julia” is an exceptional exception and all I can say is thank goodness for Southside Cinema in Oneonta.
Don’t walk, don’t run, JET PROPEL yourself to the theater, pronto. Don’t put it off. The better movies have an uncanny way of moving on faster than one would like.
It’s the kind of movie you have given up hope of ever coming across again. One could, I suppose, lead a perfectly respectable and fruitful life without its “message” and there are probably tons of movies of greater “social, redeeming value,” but the pleasure at watching the excellent performances, especially that of Meryl Streep (nothing short of astounding), is hard to match anywhere.
The detail, the polish, the wry and multi-leveled observations on love and personal fulfillment are staggering. The convulsions of laughter you will have are utterly redemptive. Chances are you will be moved to tears as well. Full satisfaction guaranteed.
How lucky we are to have so much rain! What better excuse can there be for staying indoors? Do not miss this. Please!

Labels: 08-14-09, Art Beat, Sam Goodyear, The City of the Hills

posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 9:31 PM 0 comments

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Meghan Brunswick Moves Her Game Ahead

Paul Jaycox is the head professional at the Oneonta Country Club, and he was the first to greet me at the door. I was able to sit down with Paul for the few minutes he had free, and his love for the game of golf poured out before he even spoke.
“I have been a PGA member for 25 years, and am an accomplished player and teacher. I have been around the sport of golf for a long time. When I was thirteen my family moved next door to a golf course, so I was able to play all the time.”
Jaycox, who is from Schenectady, got his experience in at a young age from a course known as Schenectady Municipal.
The real story, however, isn’t about Paul and his accomplishments, though you could fill a composition notebook with them, but about Oneonta’s own golfing star.
Meghan Brunswick, who works with Paul at the Pro Shop at the OCC, is playing varsity golf for SUNY Cortland.
Meghan, who originally went on scholarship to Division I Central Connecticut State, said it just didn’t seem right for her.
“I come from a small school and a small town atmosphere, and Central Connecticut was much too large. It was surrounded by highways and bridges, whereas the Cortland campus reminds me more of here.”
Brunswick comes from a family of golfers. Her brother, a scratch golfer, and her father, who got her started from a young age.
However, being from a small town can be a disadvantage.
Meghan did not play golf in her senior year of OHS. She was a multi-sport athlete throughout her high school years, including being an exceptional volleyball and softball player, but her heart would always lie on the course.
She chose to play volleyball because nobody played golf for the most part, so the team was dwindling.
“Nobody my age really played. There are a few guys I see on the course every once and a while, but really the number of high schoolers who are playing is low. You don’t find pick-up games like you would in basketball or other sports. My brother used to play a lot when he was younger, but the younger crowd just doesn’t seem to be playing.”
It seems that Oneonta youth golf is severely depleted.
When I asked her if her experience both playing on at working at such a prestigious course helped her in any way throughout her career, Meghan was quick to respond.
“It has helped a bit, I think. I shoot a good score on this course, and it is relative to the difficulty of the courses I see with Cortland.”
Meghan shot an 81 her first time playing since being home.
“My score dropped dramatically when I got to Cortland,” she said. “I average around 84, but my best score ever was a 79.”
“The competition levels are relatively the same as well; some girls on the Cortland team shoot in the ’70s.”
Some of Meghan’s best accomplishments are coming in 2nd overall in a two-day competition. The first day was at Cortland and the second day was at Elmira.
Also, Meghan finished 7th in a pool of 70 girls at the Williams tournament.
“My coach at Connecticut was a full-time teacher as well, so if we had too much homework or had a test, she would understand. Whereas the coach at Cortland is all about golf – isn’t as lenient. Although Cortland is Division 3, they push me to perform at a really high level.”
It has certainly paid off for Meghan, who could arguably the best athlete Oneonta has produced in the last decade.
I didn’t know much about golf coming in, and had only watched it on TV and spent some time at the driving range before hand. Golf, being a lifetime activity, is a sport that challenges its participants not only psychically but mentally.
It is a sport where you do not need to compete against someone all the time, because sometimes the best competition you can have is against yourself. Meghan said her goal is to be invited to the NCAA tournament before the end of her college career.
I asked Meghan who her favorite golfer was as I was about to leave, and with an exuberant smile she said “I always root for Tiger”.

Labels: 08-14-09, Hometown Sports

posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 8:21 PM 0 comments

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In Memoriam

Leo W. Reed, 79, Enjoyed Stock-Car Racing, Family

ONEONTA – Leo W. Reed, 79, of Oneonta, an Air Force veteran who enjoyed stock-car racing, passed away Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009 at the A.O. Fox Memorial Hospital.
He was born Nov. 11, 1929 in Gilboa, the son of the late Morton and Edna (VanValkenburgh) Reed.
On May 7, 1948, Leo married Viola Haynes in Oneonta. Together they shared 61 years of marriage.
For 37 years, Leo worked at Sawyer’s Cleaners. He also had his own custodial service and cleaned several area businesses. He drove truck for the state Department of Transportation and worked in maintenance for the City of Oneonta.
Leo had a partnership in a stock car, and enjoyed trapping and, most of all, spending time with his family especially his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
He was a member of the Odd Fellows and attended the First Baptist Church of Oneonta.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by three children, Robert and Linda Reed of Oneonta, Marilyn and Choral Mattison of Milford and Debra and Doug Allen of Oneonta; seven grandchildren, Kimberly (Chris) Eastman, Susan (Paul) Meador, Robert (Tracy) Reed, Amy (Tim) Adkins, James Madison, Erin (Curtis) Abare and William Allen; 10 great grandchildren, Michaela and Leighton Eastman, Samuel Meador, Landen Reed, Malorie Smith, Mari-Lyn and Matthew Adkins, Bryan, Morgan and AJ Abare; as well as several nieces, nephews and cousins. He was predeceased by his sister, Evelyn Adee; and brother, Leonard Reed.
A private graveside service was held on Tuesday, Aug. 11, in the Oneonta Plains Cemetery.
Memorial donations may be made to the American Lung Association, 155 Washington Ave., Suite 210, Albany, NY 12210 or to the Center for Vascular Awareness, 5 Pine West Plaza, Suite 501, Albany, NY 12205.
Arrangements were with the Bookhout Funeral Home, Oneonta.

Richard W. Cole, 81; City Native

ONEONTA – Richard W. Cole, 81, an Oneonta native who loved hunting and fishing and worked for 40 years at J.J. Maloney Co. as a candy and tobacco salesman, passed away Monday, Aug. 3, 2009, at A.O. Fox Memorial Hospital in Oneonta.
He was born Feb. 3, 1928, the son of Julian and Beatrice (Campbell) Cole. He was a 1946 graduate of Oneonta High School.
He married Pauline Lasher on Oct. 16, 1948, at the Portlandville Methodist Church.
During World War II, Dick was a volunteer plane spotter, scanning the skies over Oneonta from a top of the Armory, hospital and the Oneonta Men’s Club (present Lewis, Hurley & Pietrobono building).
He was a life member of the Crumhorn Rod & Gun Club and a member of the NRA. At one time he was a Boy Scout troop leader in Milford and Schenevus. Dick loved to work in his wood shop and was an avid trap shooter. For many years he was involved in stocking fish in the local trout streams.
He is survived by his wife of 60 years; three sons, William Z. Cole and wife Ruth, of Willow Springs, N.C., Jack R. Cole and wife Sue, of Walton, and Brian S. Cole and wife Shell, of Maryland; grandchildren, Erik Cole and wife Kim, Cyndi Fowler and husband Dwayn, Elizabeth Cole and Brian Magnin, Daniel Cole and Danielle Tharp and Timothy Cole; five great-grandchildren; brother-in-law John Lasher and wife Rita Lasher, and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
The funeral service was Friday, Aug. 7, 2009 at the Lewis, Hurley & Pietrobono Funeral Home funeral home, with his daughter-in-law, the Rev. Sue Cole of Christ Church, Walton, officiating. Interment followed at the Maryland Cemetery.
Memorial donations may be made to the Maryland Baptist Church, PO Box 46, Maryland, NY 12116.

Albert L. Symonds, 88; Superintendent of Mails

ONEONTA – Albert L. Symonds, 88, of Oneonta, a Postal Service employee for 34 years, rising to the rank of superintendent of mails, passed away Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009, at home.
He was born Sept. 3, 1920, in Oneonta the son of the late William R. and Grace (Lasher) Symonds.
For three years, Albert served in the Army during World War II and was honorably discharged.
In 1948, he married Marie Ferguson who predeceased him in 1985. In 1992, he married Jane W. Blanchard, who survives him.
Albert was promoted to superintendent of mails in 1962, and retired in 1976.
He was a member of the First United Presbyterian Church for over 40 years, serving as elder and several terms as a trustee. He was a member of the Oneonta Lodge #1312 B.P.O. Elks, the American Legion Post #259 for over 50 years and the Hartwick College Citizens Board.
In addition to his wife, survivors includestep children, Richard Blanchard of Saratoga Springs, Patricia Blanchard of Wading River, and Janet Helman of Bainbridge; nine step-grandchildren; and 11 step-great-grandchildren.
A private graveside service will be held at Oneonta Plains Cemetery at a later date. To send an online condolence or to light a candle in Albert’s memory visit www.bookhoutfuneralhome.com. Arrangements are being handled by Bookhout Funeral Home, Oneonta.

Labels: 08-14-09, In Memoriam

posted by The Freeman's Journal @ 8:07 PM 0 comments

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That Night, Bows Wows Heard With Tigers’ Grrrs

CHRIS McSWIGGIN

THE TIGERS’ DEN

The Oneonta Tigers were still in first place in recent days, as they have been all season.
That, despite losing four of their last five games – the sixth was a 6-6 tie against Staten Island when it was called for rain – suggests their dominant position.
Still, the action on the field is only a part of the Tigers organization’s concern, with the new managers also focused on making a game in Damaschke Field the ultimate family experience.
Take Aug. 9, the first time domestic animals have made it into the park.
Bark in the Park night, allowing fans to bring their dogs to a game against Staten Island, was a hit.
Oneonta has also added such promotions such as Tacky Sweater Night, ‘70s Night and Military Night, to name a few.
O-Nee the Tiger has been doing his best to make a fun atmosphere for the children and the parents alike.
With the new Bullpen Grill along the right field foul line, serving some of the best ball park food in New York, why not head down to a Tigers game?
Andrew Weber and Eric Knighton, the Tigers’ head honchos, are the organizers behind these efforts. Kris German, former Otesaga chef, is the director of concessions, charging reasonable prices for delicious food.
With this, and numerous upgrades around the park, an O-Tigers game – $6, general admission – is something different.
Oneonta takes the field in State College, Pa., to take on the Spikes for their next series. The Tigers will return home Aug. 19 against the Williamsport Crosscutters.
With over 1,500 people in the park on July 4, the atmosphere was electric, and that series would be an opportunity to duplicate the experience.
So go, try it out, and have fun, because the Tigers season only lasts a few more weeks.

Labels: 08-14-09, Hometown Sports, oneonta tigers

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Hometown History

125 Years Ago
The earthquake of last Sunday was distinctly felt in Oneonta. The shock occurred a few minutes after 2 o’clock in the afternoon. The weather of the day had been cold and dreary, just the kind to pave the way for the portentous quake. At first a trembling sensation was felt, accompanied by an almost indistinct rumbling; then came a few quick vibrations, and the thing was over. Many were at first unwilling to believe that an earthquake had really been felt. In several cases sickness at the stomach was produced. The shock was noticed in all parts of the village. At the Central Hotel several of the guests rushed excitedly to the office to find out what the matter was. At the Windsor Hotel rocking chairs commenced moving of their own accord, and the chandeliers swung back and forward for some time afterward.
August 1884

100 Years Ago
The Oneonta Theatre is now being thoroughly renovated from top to bottom. New paint and varnish are in evidence everywhere, new carpet will be laid, and the young city of Oneonta will soon be able to boast of a theatre as artistic as can be found anywhere in towns of its size. The proscenium arch and boxes are being redecorated in white and gold, with side walls and woodwork in two shades of terra cotta. New curtains for the boxes have also been purchased. In addition, new scenery and drops will be placed and the asbestos curtain will be repainted. The heating apparatus will also be placed in thoroughly good condition ready for the winter season.
August 1909

80 Years Ago
The Oneonta Women’s golfing team was victorious Thursday on the links when they met the eleven women representatives of the Vestal Hill Country Club and beat them with a final score of 28.5 to 3.5 points. The low score for the entire field, for both the Oneonta and Vestal Hill players, was that of Miss Marguerite Mayer of Oneonta, with a tally of 102. A prize for the low score overall was donated by Mrs. J.H. Dewar. The low net score prize was won by Miss Jenkins of Vestal Hill with 103. Her prize was donated by R.E. Brigham. A special blind prize was donated by Mrs. H.B. Gildersleeve and won by Mrs. Hacker of Vestal Hills with a score of 112. Another special prize for the No. 4 hole being made in two strokes was donated by Mrs. Kenneth Reed and won by Mrs. Clara Hurst. A second blind prize was won by Mrs. Davies of Vestal Hills with a score of 125. The first nine holes were played off in the morning and the second nine in the afternoon. A very delicious luncheon was served to the guests and members of the club at noon by Mrs. W.W. Capron.
August 1929

60 Years Ago
Rumors to the effect that the water in Gilbert Park Lake is “unclean” are absolutely false according to park superintendent Theodore P. Richards. Mr. Richards said the rumors are probably founded on the odor that is typical of lakes. The odor is caused by vegetation growing in the lake, he explained. A light copper solution is added to the water to keep the vegetation down and, at the same time, the fish aren’t killed off. He said that C.W. Greene, New York State aquatic biologist, has checked the lake and recommended this treatment. Samples of both lake water and drinking water from the park are tested monthly by Harold F. Rock, state health department officer at the Oneonta district office.
August 1949

40 Years Ago
There will come a day, Oneonta and area officials were told Tuesday night, when people just won’t recognize the Main Street bridge across the Susquehanna River. In line for planning for the new Susquehanna Expressway, engineers for the NYS Department of Transportation are planning a new bridge. And, because there have been flooding problems in the past in the area, leading to some civil law suits, the state isn’t going to take any chances. Not only is Main Street going to be led across the river to Southside on a new bridge with an extra arch, but the state will also revamp the river somewhat.
August 1969

20 Years Ago
Andrew Kusko of Oneonta caught a lunker 23-pound trout in 130 feet of water off Kingfisher Tower in Otsego Lake. He battled the fish for 45 minutes last week using a 10-pound test line and a flutter spoon as a lure.

“I’m sorry – due to a work stoppage we are unable to give you normal directory assistance service. If your call is urgent, stay on the line and an operator will assist you. This is a recording.” Anyone who tried to use directory assistance last week in Oneonta heard this message. Two local unions are on strike. Communication Workers of America, Local 1126 and Local 1112, have been on picket lines since August 5th over a dispute about employee medical benefits following a breakdown in contract negotiations.
August 1989

10 Years Ago
Grants in the new state budget will help alleviate losses sustained by the A.O. Fox Memorial Hospital and Bassett Healthcare when the health maintenance organization WellCare folded and left unpaid bills. Fox Memorial Hospital will receive $46,689 and Bassett Healthcare will receive $16,881. “Both A.O. Fox and Bassett sustained substantial losses when WellCare went bankrupt,” NYS Senator James L. Seward said. “The grants will assist the hospitals in covering their losses resulting from the treatment of WellCare patients.”
August 1999

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

Labels: 08-14-09, Columns, Hometown History

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Letters to the Editor

Move Beyond Corporate Health-Care Model

To the Editor:
What do the corporate interests and the Republican and Conservative political parties think is worthy of preserving in this country, when it has clearly been made known to us that greed, protected by legislation at the state and federal levels, is what has brought us to our current state of financial distress, moral meltdown, and pervasive confusion?
What do the hardworking members of these two political institutions think their grand old parties have done for them, other than to betray them at the altars of corporate greed?
In fairness, the party which I have belonged to, for all of my voting life of some forty years, can claim no moral high ground. They have been complicit partners because their votes have also been bought and paid for by special interests, despite their protestations to the contrary.
Wars have always been fought by the poor and middle classes for the rich and mighty who risk little and almost always stand to earn obscene profits regardless of the given outcome of any particular conflict; consider IBM’s dealings with the Nazi government in Germany during WWII.
The current debate of the moment is over the way in which we will provide health care to our citizenry.
The health-care insurance industry, as with the automobile/vehicle industry and almost every other organized economic activity, functions within some degree of regulatory oversight.
They all seek to manipulate and exploit their respective frameworks for the benefit of their owners and investors.
The problem is that corporations have frequently evolved to the point where their pursuit of profits has become more important than the core product that they are ostensibly trying to get us to buy.
When they grow large enough to lose their perspective and sense of mission, they do nothing but complain bitterly that they are merely playing by “the rules.”
When their feet are held to the fire they usually manage to survive and adapt somehow, always at our collective expense.
It is time for this legalized thievery to stop. Our government is supposed to be of the people, by the people and for the people, not of the corporations, by the corporations, and for the corporations.
When the corporations choose to no longer exercise restraint and common sense, it must logically devolve to the government to remedy the situation rather than continue to enable the abuses. The corporate model as applied to health care has been a monumental failure; it is time to get it right.

TOM PRITCHARD
Arnold Lake

13 Brave Citizens Toppled Wind Farm

To the Editor:
I was pleased to read recently your favorable editorial concerning the continued efforts of Otsego 2000 in preserving the numerous and valuable assets of our Leatherstocking Country.
However, I wish to point out that while Otsego 2000 was a party to the Public Service Commission proceedings, and was an interested agency in the state Environmental Quality Review of the Jordanville Wind Power Project before the Warren and Stark town boards, it was not Otsego 2000 that “sued” the towns.
Rather, it was the 13 individual petitioners who bravely took on their town governments, and prevailed.
Also, please note that the petitioners prevailed on their causes of action concerning the towns’ repeated violations of the state Open Meetings Law, not the FoI Law.
DOUGLAS H. ZAMELIS
Manlius

Labels: 08-14-09, Letters to the Editor

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We Owe Memorial To Every Veteran

SKIP BEIJEN

OTHER VIEWS

Editor’s Note: This is the text of the letter Skip Beijen, past commander of the city and county American Legions, sent encouraging members to express support for the Memorial Walkway in Neahwa Park.

Mayor John Nader has requested input from our Veteran Groups at 1600 hours Tuesday, Aug. 11, at a meeting in Neahwa Park. I plan on attending and hope that we can have members from each veteran’s group attending also. The mayor and the Common Council will be reviewing the proposed Memorial Walkway in Neahwa Park.
There has been some opposition to the planned Memorial Walkway by some who are concerned with the planned removal of some trees and replacement of them with new trees.
I am asking that each organization make an effort to send representatives to this important meeting so that we are properly heard on this matter. We know that without the sacrifices of those veterans who these memorials honor, there would be no park to bicker over.
Indeed, the sacrifices touch most families in our community and I believe they will side with the veteran in this matter.
If we do not show that we care, the non-appearance will only amplify the arguments of the opposition. Indeed, the blood of other veterans who went before us won their right to free speech and protest. It is up to us to preserve the memories of those who made this country great.
We know that these monuments represent the sacrifices made by our fellow citizens and their loved ones to preserve the American way of life. They also represent the commitment to our way of life that each of us made (the lucky ones who returned home) and that our young men and women who voluntarily serve today are continuing to protect.
I am attaching the latest report on casualties from America’s Wars. These are some sobering statistics and should not be forgotten. This is a link – http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/gwot_component.pdf – for figures on the current War on Terror. It is right to preserve the memories of these brave men and women and to recognize what all veterans have contributed to our way of life. We must not be silenced on this matter.
Actions like those proposed by persons who want Veteran Memorials removed, replaced or relegated to obscure areas are wrong. The City of Oneonta continues to want to have our veterans honored in the center of our community. We must support this effort. They are doing the right thing here.
It is proper that the majority (no longer silent) peacefully speak out against the wishes of a minority of our citizens.
We cannot let concerns for a few trees, which could become victims of lightning, flooding or high winds at anytime, prevent or delay this project.
The proposed walkway will be a great addition to our park. It has been well thought out and worked on for a number of years with input from our groups and the community along the way.
Please show Oneonta that we want the sacrifices made by those who went before, ourselves, and those who serve today remembered. We owe this to every veteran and to his or her family.
Skip Beijen
Oneonta
Past Commander,
Oneonta American Legion Post 259,
Otsego County American Legion

Labels: 08-14-09, Hometown Views

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Woodsman, Spare That Walkway, And Plant Trees, Too

Only a few years ago, it would have been unthinkable that a veterans’ memorial would have met opposition in any community.
That the Memorial Walkway in Neahwa Park, in the works for a decade, has run into an 11th-hour buzzsaw suggests how our nation has changed.
In the half-century after World War II, U.S. society was dominated by the 16 million veterans of that great conflict, who rose over time to virtually all positions of leadership.
Today, there are only 2 million left, and for decades now, Americans have let a relatively small professional Army handle our wars, a dangerous development for a lot of other reasons.
The Memorial Walkway, connecting today’s citizens to a time when war-making was a shared sacrifice, is thus worth pursuing for larger goals than just honoring veterans, although they fully deserve the recognition.
•
It’s the rare Oneontan who can tell you about Ethel Scratchard, a nurse who tended doughboys during World War I only to die in the epidemics that followed. She inspired one of the monuments.
Or Eugene Wessel, last surviving founding member of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, honored when the monument to 856 union members killed in World War II was dedicated in 1948.
Or Marine Sgt. Kevin Coulman, a former SUNY Oneonta student killed when a suicide bomber drove a truck into a barracks in Beirut in 1983. Another monument honors him and the other 26 Marines who died that day.
To make Ethel Scratchard, Eugene Wessel and Kevin Coulman household words in the City of the Hills would be a worthy goal, and the Memorial Walkway would certainly contribute to that.
•
But the opposition to the walkway is not meant to suggest any lack of appreciation of their sacrifice.
The focus is on trees. There are 23 there now. A half-dozen will be transplanted to groves that will be developed between the walkway and Hodge Pond. A couple of the remaining ones are dead, and would have to be removed anyway.
There are seven noble shade trees that, regrettably, would be felled for the full Memorial Walkway concept to be realized.
The full conception, however, would lead to the planting of 34 Cleveland select pear trees, 15 feet tall, that would grow to 30-40 feet tall in half a decade.
The Cleveland selects are a stronger, disease- and ice-storm-resistant improvement on the popular Bradford callery pears. They flower in the spring, have healthy waxy leaves in the summer, and turn a dramatic purple and red in the fall.
These trees will be delightful. The walkway will dramatize important themes and persons in city history. It will also separate active (sofball) and passive (picnicking) areas of the park, and enhance the pedestrian-friendly ambiance.
•
Happily, trees grow back. One thing there is no shortage of in our fair region is trees.
Still, the impetus of the last-minute walkway opponents is an opportunity.
Rather than walk away from the whole project, Mayor John S. Nader and Common Council should channel that momentum in a positive way.
There are plenty of bare areas – around the Damaschke Field parking lot, the skateboard park, the new fields on the east end – that need trees for Neahwa Park to reach its full potential as passive and active refuge from daily life.
The walkway is the final step in a Neahwa Park Master Plan, but that doesn’t signal the end of enhancement. Name a committee to develop a master plan for plantings in Neahwa, trees – big, leafy canopies – as well as flowers and shrubs.
Recruit the Oneonta Federated Garden Club, certainly, but also tap into the enthusiasm and energy of the folks concerned about the trees the walkway would fell. The mayor and aldermen should pledge their support for such an initiative.
But, please, don’t stop the Memorial Walkway. The pieces are in place, the contracts let, the trees ordered. Its mission is equally important and, halted now, it may never happen.
Yes, the trees will grow back. Citizens can have it all – Memorial Walkway and trees aplenty – and we should move forward on both fronts.

Labels: 08-14-09, Editorial, Hometown Views

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