ONEONTA — Joshua Beams, the new Otsego County administrator, met with Rep. Jill Basile, D-Oneonta, on Friday, Oct. 8, to reassure her constituents “there will be no fiscal impact for Oneonta” with regards to the new EMS plans for the county.
Beams stressed Oneonta, which has its own community-funded EMS, will not be double charged for the county’s supplemental ambulance service, which is direly needed in rural areas of Otsego.
According to Beams, the EMS service would be an “opt-in only program.” The county will still service Oneonta through mutual aid, but city and/or town residents won’t be taxed for the service if they chose to opt out.
“There will be no fiscal impact for Oneonta,” Beams assured Basile.
In episode 19 of The AllOtsego Report, The 2019 Kenneth Robinson murder in Worcester, New York, Greg and Kevin discuss the resolution of the case with the sentencing of Robinson’s son Dylan, who was 15 when he shot his father to death.
We discuss covering the trials and sentencings of the main defendants in the case and the theory that the murder victim was abusive of his children and spouses.
COOPERSTOWN — Dylan Robinson was sentenced to 20 years to life at the Otsego County Courthouse on Monday, Oct. 4, for the murder of his father, Kenneth Robinson, during a botched 2019 robbery attempt for marijuana and money.
Dylan was 15 when the crime was committed Oct. 10, 2019, in Worcester.
During sentencing, Otsego County Judge John Lambert said Robinson made “poor decisions in your young life” and noted Dylan smoked marijuana and alcohol daily and hung out with the wrong crowd.
A three-car collision in Oneonta closed West St. at Center St. Friday morning, Oct. 1, 2021. Two cars traveling up West St. near Hartwick College were hit by a car coming downhill at about 7:30 am, according to Oneonta Police on the scene. (Mike Forster Rothbart/AllOtsego.com)
ONEONTA — A three-car accident on West Street near Hartwick College closed down the road this morning on Friday, Oct. 1.
The unidentified driver, a 65-year-old man, made a wide turn on West Street going downhill and hit two cars, causing his car to roll over, according to the Oneonta Police Department.
In episode 18 of The AllOtsego Report, Temporary Service Disruptions, Greg and Kevin react to the “temporary” changes at Bassett Healthcare, as a result of worker shortages in the aftermath of a vaccine mandate. We discuss how anti-vaxxers break down by group and Greg discusses a recent column by a Pastor in Kentucky about religious exemptions.
Plus, we preview next week’s blockbuster court news and this week’s sad/infuriating court news, as the Pittsfield manslaughter and Worcester murder cases get settled.
Shane Santiago listens to victim-impact statements prior to sentencing at Otsego County Courthouse on Monday, Sept. 27, in Cooperstown. (Kevin Limiti/AllOtsego.com).
COOPERSTOWN — An Otego man was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison on Monday, Sept. 27, for second degree manslaughter related to the July 15, 2020, crash that killed two people in Pittsfield on county Route 13.
Tehya Gonzalez and Cheyenn Aubry were passengers in his Santiago’s car, which drove off the road at 85 miles an hour, killing them both. Santiago survived and was treated at the hospital for minor injuries.
Across Otsego County, there were remembrances for the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that rocked the world and changed the course of history.
The First Presbyterian Church in Oneonta rang the church bell 20 times for each moment of the attack. It range at 8:45 a.m., when the first plane hit the World Trade Center, 9:03 a.m., when the second plane hit, at 9:45 a.m., when the pentagon was hit and at 10:10 a.m., when United 93 crashed in Pennsylvania.
Motorcyclists from the American Legion Riders had a run in honor of the day. About 100 riders roared through the streets of Oneonta and were later in Milford, a line of motorcyclists stretching back across state Route 28.
Milford held a parade where firefighters from the region drove past the Milford Fire Department in their fire trucks, throwing candy to the children as people cheered and waved American flags. Leading the parade were two navy veterans who stood atop a car while Taps played from the loudspeaker.
Fire trucks drive past the Milford Fire Department while onlookers cheer. (Kevin Limiti/AllOtsego.com).
Wilber Park in Milford was a scene of remembrance but also was doubly a fundraiser for cancer research. Otsego County Rep. Jennifer Mickle, R-Decatur, Maryland, Westford, Worcester, helped organize the event.
The prominent message at the park and in all of the events was gratitude towards first responders, including firefighters, police, EMS workers and the military.
Hartwick Fire Department #2 and other local volunteers were able to quickly douse a fire at the Rusty Bison restaurant south of Cooperstown on state Route 28 early in the morning Saturday, Sept. 4, but the damage was extensive enough to close the restaurant for an unknown length of time.
The restaurant at 4938 Route 28 posted on its Facebook page Saturday afternoon:
“There was a fire at the restaurant. No one was injured. Thank you to whoever called it in. If you hadn’t seen it when you did, it would have been much worse. Thank you to Hartwick fire departments and the amazing volunteers that were they so quickly the damage wasn’t nearly what it could have been. We didn’t lose anything other than just building damage but we will be closed until further notice.”
Frank Wilsey, left, Corlissa Card, middle, and Megan Rodriguez, right, lead the runners Saturday, Sept. 4, at the start of the 5K at the Fly Creek Fire Department. (Kevin Limiti/AllOtsego.com).
FLY CREEK — With American flags flying all around, runners took off at the Fly Creek Fire Department for the annual run in honor of 9/11 first responders, Saturday, Sept. 4.
There was about 100 people in Fly Creek to see the memorial event, including State Sen. Peter Oberacker, R-Maryland, who greeted the runners and their families prior to the start of the race.
Also on hand was Assemblyman John Salka, R-Brookfield, who said it was an honor to be there in support of 9/11 first responders.
Otsego County’s Department of Health reported there were 20 positive tests for the coronavirus Friday, Aug. 27. The report comes a day after 33 cases were reported, the worst number for a day in Otsego County since March 2021.
In addition, two Otsego County residents have died from the virus this week, according to the DOH.
Otsego County remains at a high level of community transmission and therefore mask wearing indoors is recommended for everyone, even people who are vaccinated, according to DOH and CDC guidelines.
There are 98 active cases in Otsego County, including four people in the hospital, according to the county DOH in the Friday report.
There were no serious injuries but a lot of vehicle damage in the town of Otsego as a car and truck went off the road post accident Friday, Aug. 27, near the junction where state Routes 28 and 80 split. (Contributed).
No serious injuries were reported but vehicle damages were substantial as a car and truck collided in the town of Otsego near the junction where state Routes 28 and 80 split, about six miles west of Cooperstown.
The truck was with the Buffalo-based grocer Tripifoods.
State and county police were on the scene to clear the damage and direct traffic, according to eye-witness accounts.
A man using a fake $100 bill at Schneider’s Bakery was arrested on Main Street on Monday after being observed by the family who runs the bakery.
According to the Schneider’s Bakery Facebook page, a couple came in and made a small purchase but asked for change of a $100 that was clearly fake. They were observed later on Main Street and at least one man was arrested by the Cooperstown PD.
Brian Knapp, the new Oneonta fire chief, is a fourth-generation firefighter. (Kevin Limiti/AllOTSEGO.com)
ONEONTA — The City of Oneonta’s new fire chief appropriately comes from a long line of firemen.
A Schenevus native and fourth-generation firefighter, Brian Knapp started his position as the Oneonta fire chief officially Sunday, Aug. 1. “Ever since I was a little kid, I wanted to be a firefighter,” Knapp said Monday, Aug. 2.
Knapp’s great-grandfather was a firefighter in West Laurens, and both his grandfather and his father were firefighters in Schenevus.
“It was part of the family, the fire service,” Knapp said. “It’s just always something I wanted to do.”
Knapp was a volunteer firefighter in Schenevus before starting at the Oneonta Fire Department as an on-call firefighter in 2004. He became a part-time firefighter within six months and was promoted to full time in 2006.
“Everyone typically gets into this job to help people,” Knapp said. The rescued people are “probably (in) their worst hours of the worst days in their lives and we’re there to help them with their problem.”
