News Briefs: February 19, 2026

Adult Ed. Classes Announced

ONEONTA—The Center for Continuing Adult Learning released its schedule of classes for adult learners in March. Dorothy Scott Fielder will give a presentation on her trip to the Door County peninsula in Wisconsin from 1-3 p.m. on Monday, March 2. Ed Overby will lead analysis and discussion of five Judi Dench and Maggie Smith films from 1:30-3:30 p.m. on Tuesdays from March 3 to 31. Shirley Ferguson will speak on her experiences as an operating engineer on a Hudson River Barge from 10 a.m. to noon on March 4, followed by a discussion of her work in a Greek refugee camp from 2-4 p.m. the same day. Paul Griswold will lead analysis of three Audrey Hepburn movies from 1-4 p.m. on Thursdays from March 5 to 19. Dolores Rockwell will present on the causes and symptoms of essential tremor from 1:30-2:30 p.m. on Monday, March 9. Kelly McGraw will lead a “Straight Talk about Death and Dying” discussion from 10-11:30 a.m. on Tuesdays from March 10 to 24. Charles Hartley will speak about his visit to the Inupiaq village of Utqiagvik, Alaska from 10-11:30 a.m. on Monday, March 16. Dennis Higgins and Keith Schue will discuss Governor Hochul’s nuclear power plan from 1-2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 18. Kathryn Davino will present photos from her 120-day world cruise in 2024 from 1-3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 25. For more information or to register, visit ccaloneonta.org.

OCLP Releases Lent Schedule

OTSEGO COUNTY—Otsego County Lutheran Parish announced a full slate of programming for Lent and Holy Week. Sunday services throughout Lent will focus on the Lutheran Book of Worship; they begin at 8:30 a.m. at St. Matthew in Laurens, 9:15 a.m. at Evangelical Lutheran in Hartwick Seminary, 10:30 a.m. at Atonement Lutheran in Oneonta and 11:15 a.m. at St. John in West Burlington. There will be a weekly soup supper and discussion at St. Matthew each Tuesday at 6 p.m. and at Atonement each Wednesday at 5:30. Wednesday worship starts at 7:30 a.m. at St. Matthew and at noon at Evangelical. A Back to Basics class for new and returning church members will be held at 10:30 on Saturdays: Atonement on February 28, St. Matthew on March 7, Evangelical on March 14 and St. John on March 21.

Individual confession will be held on Holy Monday, March 30, at St. Matthew from 10 a.m. to noon and at St. John from 1-3 p.m. It will be offered on March 31 at Evangelical from 10 a.m. to noon and at Atonement from 1-3 p.m. Easter services are at regular worship time for each congregation.

Quilt Show Ends Sunday

COOPERSTOWN—The Fenimore Quilt Club Show will be on display at the Cooperstown Art Association galleries through 4 p.m. on Sunday, February 22. The raffle drawing for the collector’s quilt “A Walk in the Woods” will take place at the end of the show.

Calvary Hill Offers Grants

ONEONTA—Calvary Hill Ministries will offer grants of up to $5,000.00 to local 501c3 nonprofits for the purpose of glorifying God through art or contemplative experiences. Awards must be spent by the end of the year and must not promote or benefit any specific church. For more information or application details, contact calvaryhillretreat@yahoo.com or (607) 432-4926.

Military Classic Roster Grows

COOPERSTOWN—The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum announced that the Louisville Slugger Warriors, an amputee baseball team consisting of military personnel, veterans, and current and former college players, will have four representatives on the roster of the May 23 Hall of Fame Military Classic game. The game will include Hall of Famers Wade Boggs, Rollie Fingers, Todd Helton, Fergie Jenkins, Tony La Russa, Scott Rolen and Joe Torre, as well as MLB stars Nick Amhed, Danny Graves, Jonathan Lucroy, Josh Reddick, Brad Ziegler, Jonny Gomes, Ian Kennedy, Rick Monday, Todd Zeile and more. It will begin with a home run contest and end with the popular postgame “Night at the Ballpark” meet-and-greet. Tickets are available at baseballhall.org or by calling 1-888-325-0470.

‘Reflections’ Exhibit Opens

HERKIMER—Herkimer County Community College will host “Reflections,” an exhibition of 60 artworks by K-12 students across the county, in the Cogar Gallery through Thursday, March 5. It coincides with Youth Art Month. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

FoVL Hosts Dr. Wolf-Gould

COOPERSTOWN—The Friends of the Village Library of Cooperstown will host their next Sunday Speaker in the third floor ballroom of the Village Hall, 22 Main Street, from 3-4 p.m. on Sunday, February 22. Dr. Carolyn Wolf-Gould, family physician and recently retired medical director of the Susquehanna Family Practice and the nationally renowned Gender Wellness Center in Oneonta, will speak on the history and current status of transgender medicine in the U.S. She received the City of Oneonta’s Trailblazer Award for her three decades of service last year. The event is free and open to the public. Climate advisor Paula DiPerna’s talk, scheduled for January, has been rescheduled to March 22.

GOP Endorses Candidates

COOPERSTOWN—The Otsego County Republicans met at The Otesaga Resort Hotel on Sunday, February 15 to endorse candidates for the 2026 elections. In addition to County Board candidates, these included Peter Oberacker for New York’s 19th Congressional district, Rich Devlin for Otsego County sheriff, Chris Di Donna for county district attorney, Chris Tague for the 51st state Senate district, Joe Angelino for the 121st Assembly district and Brian Miller for the 122nd Assembly district. For more information, visit the Otsego GOP Facebook page.

Locals Honored for Grades

CORTLAND—SUNY Cortland announced that 843 students were named to the President’s List for the fall 2025 semester, honoring those who earn an A- or better in every class while carrying a course load of at least 12 hours. Local awardees include Allison Allen of New Berlin, Joleen Lusk of Cherry Valley, Maci Milavec of Worcester, Olivia Murdock of Hartwick, Anna Rightmyer of Richmondville and Grace Schiller of New Lisbon.

Art Bazaar Donations Open

COOPERSTOWN—Cooperstown Art Association’s biennial Spring Cleaning Art Bazaar will return to the galleries during regular hours from March 7-28. Community members are invited to donate gently used fine art and craft pieces and good-condition art supplies and materials during the delivery period, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on February 23-27. For more information or to determine if a specific piece meets donation criteria, contact (607) 547-9777 or gallery@cooperstownart.com as soon as possible.

CCE Announces Spring Events

OTSEGO COUNTY—Cornell Cooperative Extension will host an eight-part webinar series on basic fruit tree cultivation. Sessions will be held from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Thursdays from February 26 to April 2 and on Monday, March 16 and Monday, March 23. The ENYCHP Winter Fruit and Vegetable Conference will be held at the Crowne Plaza Desmond Hotel in Albany on February 25 and 26; a full program and registration information is available at rvpadmin.cce.cornell.edu/pdf/event_new/pdf251.pdf. Kelley Doolin will lead a fruit tree pruning workshop at Middlefield Orchard, 2274 State Highway 166, from 12-2 p.m. on Saturday, February 28. Spots are limited and registration is available at reg.cce.cornell.edu/treeprun_schots_243. She will return to Middlefield Orchard for a berry pruning workshop from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, March 7; register at reg.cce.cornell.edu/berryprun_schots_243.

The second annual Ag Solutions and Networking Expo will be held at SUNY Cobleskill from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3. Farmers, agribusinesses and partners from across the region are invited for a day of workshops and networking. Register at eventleaf.com/e/AgSolutions26. CCE will co-host a three-part webinar series on protecting farms from production risks with Annie’s Project and NY FarmNet. They will be held from noon to 1 p.m. on Tuesdays from March 3-17. Registration is available at bit.ly/4tgcYeS. Dr. Cassandra Olds will lead a webinar on tick and fly management in cattle from 10-11 a.m. on March 5. To view a full list of upcoming CCE events, visit cceschoharie-otsego.org/.

Annual Concert Is Sunday

ONEONTA—The Oneonta Community Concert Band will present its annual “Good Ol’ Summertime in Winter” concert at the First United Methodist Church in Oneonta at 3 p.m. on Sunday, February 22. Director Kerri Hogle of the Cooperstown High School Band will conduct a program titled “On the Water,” featuring nautical-themed music. For more information, call (607) 376-7485 or visit the band’s Facebook page.

Gas Prices Increase Slightly

UTICA—The average price of gasoline in New York State rose by a cent to $2.99 per gallon over the week ending Monday, February 16, AAA Northeast announced. Demand for gas rose slightly to 8.3 million barrels per day, in line with historic trends for early February but still below average due to cold weather. A winter of soft demand has contributed to larger domestic inventories, which stand at 67.4 million barrels, or more than 2 million above the five-year average. New York’s price is a penny higher than a month ago and 18 cents lower than this week last year. To view the full report, visit gasprices.aaa.com.

Camp Scholarships Available

ONEONTA—The Susquehanna Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club will grant two teenagers full scholarships to a teen program of their choice in the Adirondacks this summer. All costs except transportation to and from the camp will be covered. Participants must reside in Otsego, Delaware or Chenango counties. Awards will be made by the end of April. For more information or to apply, visit susqadk.org/adk-teen-workshops-scholarships/.

Dems Announce Petition Event

ONEONTA—The Otsego County Democratic Committee and Oneonta Democratic Club will host a petitioning party at Wise Guys Sammy’s, 261 Main Street in Oneonta, at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 5. Candidates for county board, state senate, town supervisor and county committee will collect signatures so they can appear on ballots. Light refreshments will be available and the kitchen and bar will be open to purchase drinks or dinner. All registered Democrats are invited to attend and meet the candidates. For more information or to RSVP, contact garymaffei@gmail.com.

Tree and Shrub Sale Underway

OTSEGO COUNTY—The Otsego County Soil and Water Conservation District’s 2026 Tree and Shrub Sale will be open for orders through March 8. A catalog and order forms are available at otsegosoilandwater.com/.

Swimmers Win Section Title

SYRACUSE—Cooperstown/Cherry Valley boys swimming won its second Section III Class C title in three years at Nottingham High School in Syracuse on Tuesday, February 10. They finished with 478 points, 99 ahead of second-place Oneida. Thomas Hellenthal secured the Swimmer of the Meet award with titles in the 50m freestyle and 100m backstroke, and Coach John Hodgson won Coach of the Meet. Macon Aramini won the 500m freestyle. The 400m freestyle relay team of Hellenthal, Aramini, London Kinley and Shepard Olson also placed first.

CCS Basketball Season Ends

COOPERSTOWN—Cooperstown boys basketball defeated Sauquoit Valley 90-36 on Tuesday, February 10. Miles Nelen scored 25 points. Jackson Crisman added 19 points and nine rebounds. Cooper Coleman, Christian Lawson, and Brody Murdock scored 13, 12, and 10 points, respectively.

The Hawkeyes finished the regular season undefeated with a 75-68 victory over Thomas Proctor on Thursday, February 12. Nelen once again led with 27 points. Crisman recorded a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds. Lawson made 18 points and eight rebounds. Cooperstown finished with a 20-0 record for the season and is ranked first in the state among Class C teams by the New York Sports Writers Association. They await seeding for the Section III Class C playoffs.

The girls team suffered a heartbreaking 68-63 loss to Sauquoit Valley on Wednesday, February 10. Deanna Wolfe scored 12 points, followed by Lanie Nelen’s eight.

Cooperstown wrapped up the regular season with a 57-33 loss to Division I champion Clinton on Friday, February 13. Emma Johnson scored 10 points and Wolfe had six. The Hawkeyes fell to 5-15 for the season and await seeding for the Section III Class C playoff bracket.

Koffer, Spaulding Off to States

SYRACUSE—Cooperstown/Milford wrestlers Max Koffer and Andrew Spaulding earned spots in the state tournament with strong showings at the Section III Division II Championships in Syracuse on Saturday, February 14. Koffer placed second at 132 pounds, going 2-1 in the tournament and losing a 10-3 decision to Copenhagen’s Zack LaRue in the finals. He holds a 35-14 record for the season. Spaulding went 3-1 for a third-place finish at 144 pounds, falling 16-7 to Talon Kimball of Camden in the semifinals. He has a 38-9 record for the season and picked up his 150th varsity win during the tournament. Both will compete in the NYSPHSAA Division II Championships at Albany’s MVP Arena on Friday and Saturday, February 27 and 28.

Register Now for Trail Run

LAURENS—The Fire & Ice Winter Trail Run at Gilbert Lake State Park on Saturday, February 21 will raise funds for The Neighborhood Center, a Utica-based nonprofit organization that primarily serves children and families with outreach, preventative, developmental, and therapeutic human services. Races will include a 50K, 25K and 10K with loops around the lake on a route shared before the race. Check-in begins at 6 a.m. with a 7 a.m. start and sunset cutoff. Runners have the option to use snowshoes if necessary. All finishers will receive a finishing award. Reach out to Shawn with any questions at fireandiceraces@gmail.com.

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