By JIM KEVLIN

They were just a bunch of kids who started working at former Philadelphia Philly Jim Konstanty’s Sporting Goods while still in high school.
Then Konstanty retired, selling to relatives, but that didn’t work out.
So, in 1984 – a quarter-century ago this year – two young couples, Nancy and Bob Scanlon and Ed and Cameron Lorenz, teamed up with Konstanty’s veteran Charlie Faulds and bought the Main Street establishment.
Sport Tech was born.
Avoid partners, Future For Oneonta Foundation Vice President Doug WilSPORT TECH/From A-1
lies advised at the Monday, Oct. 26, luncheon honoring Sport Tech as FoF Business of The Year.
And partners who are couples? Even worse, he suggested.
And yet, he continued, the Sport Tech partners – Faulds passed away in the mid-’80s – have defied conventional wisdom and flourished.
“I think all of us realize how much work it would be if we had to do it alone,” Bob Scanlon had reflected a few days before during an interview in the new shoe section at 166 Main.
That day, he and Nancy were minding the store, while Ed and Cameron were out of town for a few days.
Working harmoniously with partners wasn’t the only hurdle to success that the Sport Tech foursome had to overcome.
To survive, a business has to adapt to changing conditions, and Sport Tech did, and how.
During the years the Scotch Valley ski resort was operating in Stamford, “we sold hundreds of pairs of skies in the winter,” Nancy remembered.
Oneonta parents could drive a few miles, drop off their kids in the morning, and pick them up rosy-cheeked and happy tired at day’s end.
Scotch Valley closed in 1999, and while Sport Tech still sells skis, it also sells snowboards, snowshoes and quality winter apparel.
Konstanty’s Sporting Goods had focused on, well, sporting goods – baseball, basketball and football gear – and that was gradually phased out.
For a while, bowling was huge. Now, mountain bikes – a blink on the horizon in 1984 – are huge.
“We’ve seen major, major growth in the bicycle business,” said Bob.
One secret of success, the owners believe, is building on what you know.
“We’re active enough in athletic pursuits that we know the difference between good and not good,” said Bob. “And we know what we like.”
The Scanlons, for instance, are very active in the local mountain-bike group. Just the other weekend, Nancy completed her first marathon, in Chicago.
A second secret to thriving in the downtown: Don’t be afraid to embrace quality, and you can see a reflection of that in the plaques on the walls of the shoe section: UGG, Keen, Merrell, and so on.
“Some people are afraid to go quality,” Bob said.
In a world of Big Box retailing, the Scanlons admit to being “dinosaurs,” but they believe downtowns in general – and Oneonta’s in particular – have futures.
For one thing, City Hall has programs to help individual entrepreneurs. “We couldn’t have done this without them,” said Nancy.
And with the Green Toad, Latte Lounge and Caprezzo’s, Fiesta, Karma Spa and other quality venues – and the Bresee’s redo in the wings – it will only take two or three more retailers to turn the corner.
While the interview is going on, Jim Elting, the physician and long-standing Sport Tech customer, is trying on a pair of Keens.
He had shown up in suit – with satin pocket square – and tie the week before to make the order, and had been fiercely kidded by the Scanlons.
“You don’t have to dress up for us,” they said.
That day, Elting was somewhat more casual, which gave the couple fodder to kid him anew: What, don’t we rate a suit and tie?
Bob is talking about customer service, the need to make sure a customer is buying the product that’s right for him or her, about treating people fairly, and about having the products people want.
“...and also,” said the doctor, “they’re a lot cheaper than in New York.”
Bob Scanlon laughed, then went on: “We have great customers who have supported us for years.”

Here’s a news flash: Dick Miller is not perfect. (More on that later.)
That said, the Democratic nominee is more than the clear choice for the next mayor of Oneonta: He’s an excellent choice.
First, there’s his background. He was president & CEO of Case-Hoyt, a large Rochester printing concern. The company was sold, and he joined the University of Rochester, rising to COO of the entire SUNY system. Called to Hartwick College’s rescue, he brought that Oneonta cornerstone back from the brink. This is superb experience – and just a fraction of the total – in the public and private sectors.
Second, that has yielded some clues on what his approach will be. If elected, Miller has said he’ll ask aldermen on which Common Council committees they would like to serve, and strive to put them there. He plans to sit down with Common Council and come up with two or three or four priorities for the next couple years that everyone can agree on, then address them together.
Third, he has already, as a consultant to the Otsego County Economic Development Office, launched a new round of downtown revitalization for Oneonta, and a promising one. Applying his penchant for “benchmarking” – seeing how we’re doing compared to similar cities – he visited a dozen Upstate downtowns and returned with a list of stores that are thriving there, and could thrive here.
Fourth, he knows what he wants to do. Downtown revitalization – taking those ideas, and finding the people and financing to implement them – is priority one. He would look at services and revenues and, if City Hall can’t do everything, prioritize so that what’s done is done well. He wants charter revision – a must do – to result in sufficient managerial clout to operate the $20 million operation that is city government.
Richard P. Miller has everything it takes to be a successful mayor of Oneonta, and Hometown Oneonta supports him with enthusiasm, eagerly looking forward to achievements to come.
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The Republican candidate, Second Ward Alderman Erik Miller – “Brother Miller,” as Dick Miller calls him – brings expertise on environmental issues to the campaign. He is executive director of the vigorous Otsego County Conservation Association, and has drawn a line on every important related issue, from Cooperstown Dreams Park polluting the Susquehanna to natural-gas drilling.
That said, Dick Miller is no slouch in those areas, either. He has pledged to do whatever is necessary to prevent prospective drilling from threatening the watershed that feeds the city’s reservoirs. He has pledged to ensure that everything City Hall does in his administration will be guided by sustainability concerns.
Plus, he has made it clear he will invite his opponent into the fold, using Erik Miller’s expertise in the development of the Susquehanna Greenway – you’d hardly know it, but Oneonta has a riverfront, and it’s a valuable resource that’s sadly underutilized.
Erik Miller’s campaign has lacked focus. Instead of getting aboard on the downtown initiative, for instance, he keeps pointing out that downtown isn’t the city’s only business district. Fine, but so what? A few more years of seasoning, particularly in tandem with a hard-driving, focused mayor, would do him good.
Maybe he’ll be a second Mayor Miller after the first Mayor Miller.
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As for Jason Corrigan, the 21-year-old independent, he has the advantages of freshness, youth, ambition – but he’s shown himself to be a manipulator, and less than a masterful one.
In the Oct. 7 debate at the Foothills Performing Arts Center, Corrigan clearly had packed the audience with his supporters, who kept lobbing high soft ones that allowed him to highlight his key issues. It was just a little too obvious.
His efforts to paint the picture of a city “elite” determined to use whatever means, including the police, to maintain its “control,” are way overdrawn in a city where everybody has known everybody else since their OHS days, beyond or since. It’s hard to keep a secret, much less devise a long-term secret conspiracy, in a small town.
At the Oct. 20 debate at SUNY’s Morris Conference Center, Corrigan’s use of the format – he seized the floor and held it until the moderator had to intervene – was canny but obnoxious – there’s no better word – and his claims and accusations bordered on reckless.
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Regrettably, Dick Miller rose to the provocation, and when he tried to interrupt Corrigan, the SUNY Oneonta senior responded with a memorable, “Yes, I am 21, but I won’t let you bully me or push me over.”
Politics requires suffering fools, and regular folks, and sages you simply may not agree with, and Mayor Dick Miller may not be naturally suited to do so.
How well he is able to make that transition – the smooth incumbent, John S. Nader, is nothing if not patient and diplomatic – could determine not only how successful his administration turns out to be, but how much he enjoys himself in office.
Further, experience can sometimes result in a crimped understanding of what is possible. Just because something – passenger rail service, for instance – hasn’t happened, doesn’t mean it couldn’t or shouldn’t. Just because the National Soccer Hall of Fame hasn’t flourished yet doesn’t mean that it can’t.
We raise those caveats simply in the interest of full disclosure, because Dick Miller brings firepower unrivalled by either of his opponents. The City of Oneonta is lucky to have someone of his track record and proven ability who’s willing to take on the pitfalls, possibilities and occasional pleasures of elective office.
We say, Pick Dick.

It’s uncanny.

ONEONTA – Barbara A. Isbell, a former Air Force nurse who was active in the Fox Hospital Women’s Auxiliary, passed away at Otsego Manor Cooperstown on Oct. 23, 2009. She was 79.
She was born on Nov. 6, 1929, to Rhea (Brais) and Edward Smith, in Ontario, Canada.
While serving in the Air Force as a first lieutenant, specialist surgical nurse and flight registered nurse, she met and married Frank M. Isbell in 1953 while stationed in Greenville, S.C. Her military commitment extended in the Reserves until 1955.
She was a dedicated volunteer and member the Fox Hospital Women’s Auxiliary, providing special meals to the lunch bar, working in the gift shop, and raising money for much-needed equipment and modernization of various departments.
She was active in St. Mary’s Church, Meals on Wheels and the Oneonta Country Club, where she won many tournaments in her later years.
Barbara was an expert knitter and embraced all forms of textile art. She shared this talent and created memorable banners, vestments and prizes for all the organizations she was involved with.
She was an accomplished chef, from soufflés to Coquilles Saint Jacque. Barbara loved to entertain and worked tirelessly to prepare crudités and canapés.
Survivors include her sister, Bernice of Florence, Mass.; her three children, Michael, Susanna and Lori; her six beloved grandchildren, Shannon, Kristen, Bryan, Breanna, Corey and Sofia, and many cousins, nieces and nephews.
As a grandmother, she was “Goody” because she always had goodies to share as well as hugs and kisses.
She was predeceased by her husband, in October 2008, and also by her parents, her brother-in-law, Joseph Isbell of Prairie Village, Kansas, and her sister-
in-law Linda Eaves-Isbell of Memphis, Tenn.
The funeral was Tuesday, Oct. 27, at the Lester R. Grummons Funeral Home, followed by a graveside ceremony with full military honors at Mount Calvary Cemetery, Emmons.
Memorial donations may be made to Otsego Manor, 128 Phoenix Mills Cross Road, Cooperstown, NY 13326 or Fox Hospital Foundation, One FoxCare Drive, Oneonta, NY 13820.
Arrangements are by the Lester R. Grummons Funeral Home, Oneonta.

FRANKLIN – Nancy E. (Scarr) Thompson, 76, of Franklin, passed away Friday, Oct. 23, 2009, at the Albany Medical Center.
Nancy was born on July 10, 1933, in New York City, the daughter of Henry and Harriet (Salinger) Scarr. She married John O. Thompson on April 26, 1952.
A graduate of SUNY Oneonta, she retired in 1992 from Fox Hospital, where she was a registered nurse. Previously, she was at Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown.
Nancy was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, Oneonta. She was also a member of the Susquehanna Quilters, and the Sun Bonnet Sue Quilters of Vero Beach, Fla.
Survivors include her husband of 57 years; her children, Glenn Thompson and his wife Jane, of Sloatsburg, Janet Thomas and her husband Francis, of Sunderland, Mass., Jean Downin and her husband Dale, of Franklin, and Heather Hotaling and her husband Glenn, of Oneonta.
Also, eight grandchildren, Kurt Thomas, Lauren Thompson, Carley Thompson, Kelley Hotaling, Megan Hotaling, Natalie Downin, Troy Thompson and Haley Downin; her brother Robert Scarr and his wife Margaret, of West Lake, Ohio, and several nieces, nephews, and cousins.
She was predeceased by a son, Kenneth R.Thompson.
A funeral service was Wednesday, Oct. 28, in the First Presbyterian Church, with the Rev. Mark Montfort, pastor, officiating. Interment followed in Ouleout Valley Cemetery, Franklin.
Memorial contributions may be made to the First Presbyterian Church, 296 Main Street, Oneonta, NY 13820 or to a charity of choice.
Arrangements are by the Kenneth L. Bennett Funeral Home, Franklin.

To the Editor:
It’s time for truth. As we approach Election Day, it’s important to know that Dick Miller is the only candidate for mayor for Oneonta who has both a record of performance and a commitment to the community.
An experienced executive, who has a record of investing to improve a neighborhood, the respect of a bipartisan group of state and federal officials, and a record of successfully managing multimillion dollar budgets. That’s Dick Miller.
Dick Miller is the only candidate who successfully raised private funds for a visionary project leading to the construction of the area’s first LEEDS-certified green building.
Mr. Miller was instrumental in formulating a comprehensive plan that will help protect the integrity of our residential neighborhoods.
Dick Miller has taken the strongest position against natural gas drilling within our precious watershed.
His leadership on environmental issues was plainly demonstrated through his work in expanding Riddell State Park and protecting the Pine Lake environmental center.
Dick Miller is the only candidate with demonstrated success as a leader in both public and private colleges. He is the only candidate to bring students, residents and college officials together to improve a neighborhood.
His experience in business and education has given him a state-wide reputation as a person of action, a sound decision maker, and an astute manager.
Dick Miller shows a passion for making Oneonta even better. Remarkably, he is the only candidate to actually invest time and energy in learning the duties and responsibilities of the mayor’s office.
The fruits of his work are visible. His record of achievement is clear. The prospect of an even better Oneonta is best served by electing Dick Miller our next mayor.
JOHN S. NADER
Oneonta