HUMAN RIGHTS—9-11 p.m. Enjoy a screening of “Category: Woman,” as seen at the 2023 Human Rights Film Festival, asking “Who is a woman, and who gets to decide?” Follow the story of four athletes from the Global South who are required by sporting institution World Athletics to medically alter their healthy bodies if they want to continue to compete in their sport. Free, open to all. Hunt Union Red Dragon Theater, SUNY Oneonta. (607) 436-3012 or visit connect.oneonta.edu/organization/activities
GIFT WRAPPING—5-7 p.m. Come out to the library to get the gifts wrapped away from prying eyes with some unique holiday paper. Paper and supplies provided; donations welcome. Village Library of Cooperstown. (607) 547-8344 or visit facebook.com/VillageLibraryOfCooperstown/
BLOOD DRIVE—1-6 p.m. Save up to three lives with the American Red Cross. Foothills Performing Arts Center, Oneonta. Register at redcrossblood.org
HOLIDAY WEEKEND—10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Visit the shops of Cherry Valley throughout the day with a tree lighting from 5-8 attended by Santa, The Happy Haggs, a fire juggler, as well as live music and entertainment at various locations throughout the village. Cherry Valley. Visit cherryvalley.com/events/cherry-valley-holiday-weekend
HOLIDAY MARKET—5-8 p.m. The holiday season has arrived and the gallery at 25 Main is celebrating the opening of the Holiday Marketplace (open through 12/24). Open house includes refreshments, tree and business light-up, and a kick-off for the Cherry Valley Holiday Weekend. 25 Main Collective, 25 Main Street, Cherry Valley. (607) 264-5340 or visit facebook.com/25maincollective
HOLIDAY OPEN MIC—6 p.m. Stop in for the first Friday open mic featuring local artists sharing original poems, song, dance, short story and much more. Children present first, followed by adults. The theme this month “Family Traditions.” Admission is by donation. Enjoy this vibrant evening and stop at the other art, shops, and more this first Friday. The Telegraph School, 83 Alden Street, Cherry Valley. Visit thetelegraphschool.org
BLOOD DRIVE—1:30-6:30 p.m. Save up to three lives with the American Red Cross. Unadilla Community, 77 Clifton Street, Unadilla. Register at redcrossblood.org
BE AN ANGEL – The community is invited to adopt a family and then find Christmas gifts for each of the children listed. Gifts are due unwrapped and without tags to either the office of The Freeman’s Journal at 21 Railroad Ave. in Cooperstown, or at the Salvation Army Church at 25 River St. in Oneonta. Visit allotsego.com/angel-tree-program/ for details
Kenneth William Domion of Richfield Springs, NY, passed away peacefully at home on November 4, 2022. He was 61. In Keeping with his wishes there will be no services held. In lieu of flowers please send any donations to newyork.usrunforthefallen.org.
CHAPEL HILL, NC – If you were walking along Pioneer Street in the early 2000s and happened upon “The Freeman’s Journal” offices near Main Street center, you’d find a young editor hard at work. Dakin Campbell, a member of Cooperstown High School’s class of 1995, was launching a burgeoning career in journalism. At that time, the Cornell University graduate could be found diligently reporting on the events of local town and county board meetings. Today, as chief financial correspondent for “Business Insider,” Campbell’s investment has paid off in dividends.
Cooperstown is famous as the birthplace of the Morse Code, the invention of organ transplants, and now, the invention of the Army’s new method of training soldiers to hit moving targets.
About ten years ago, Chip Northrup, a Texan that summers in Cooperstown, went to the Cooperstown Sportsmen’s Association to learn skeet shooting. In order to hit the clay pigeon, you have to know how far in front to point the shotgun, called the “lead.” No one could tell him exactly how far ahead to point, so, in a brainstorm, he came up with an idea to show the amount of exact lead on any clay pigeon, or any moving object, by displaying it in a virtual reality (VR) headset, as a holographic image in front of the target. Northrup explained how it works. “By practicing with this aim point on in VR, the user can see how far in front to aim. They shoot at the aim point with an electronic trigger, and hit the virtual clay pigeon. Once they have learned that in VR, they can go to the skeet range and hit real targets.” He grinned. “Maybe.”
Amid a continuing revival of downtown Cherry Valley, this past week the Alden Park Apartments in Cherry Valley celebrated its first year of full tenancy as an affordable rental housing complex for low-income area senior citizens. Located in the former elementary wing of the old Cherry Valley Central School at 2 Genesee Street, Alden Park Apartments consists of four one-bedroom and six efficiency units.
The project was developed with a $1.4 million New York State Homes & Com-munity Renewal Small Rental Develop- ment Initiative (SRDI) grant by a partnership between the site owners, the non-profit Cherry Valley Community Facilities Corporation (CVCFC) and Otsego Rural Housing Assistance, Inc. (ORHA), a Cooperstown based non-profit.
CANOE REGATTA – 5:30 p.m. The General Clinton Canoe Regatta returns this year with a weekend of races and events. Friday includes the Youth races for teens 11-18 and the generation gap races starting from the Sydney Fishing Access. The park will feature the rides, craft fair, and flee market with the Taste of the Regatta event including local food, entertainment, more. The 70 mile endurance race will be Sunday, May 20 and will start from Brookwood Point, Cooperstown. Public events will be held at General Clinton Park, 2520 NYS Hwy. 7, Bainbridge. Visit www.facebook.com/2022GCCR/
We have a gem amongst us in Otsego County: meet Chile native Nelson Modaca, a 20-year Marine vet and rising culinary star.
Spoiler alert: he plans on opening a French-infused restaurant in our area in 2023!
Mr. Modaca is making a name for himself in the Hospitality and Culinary school at SUNY Delhi. He’s taking an honors class every semester in addition to his current academic schedule. He’s pushing himself to be the best; he will have a bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts Management in May 2023.
“My ultimate goal is to open a restaurant when I graduate in May of 2023,” Mr. Modaca said. “We are looking in the Cherry Valley area. I’m looking for something that isn’t huge, that has a good space that I’d like to work in. And it will most likely be a classical French Bistro.”
EXHIBIT OPENING – 5 – 7 p.m. Celebrate opening of mid-winter show featuring painting, sculpture, and ceramics by local artists Lucia Phillips, Marcus Villagran, more. On view Saturdays thru 4/5, or by appointment. The Art Garage, 689 Beaver Meadow Rd., Cooperstown. 315-941-9607 or visit www.facebook.com/TheArtGarageCooperstown
FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS – 5 – 10 p.m. Drive through a winter wonderland featuring light displays created by local businesses, individuals, and organizations. Admission is Free. Neahwa Park, Oneonta. Visit www.facebook.com/FNOneonta
Oneonta Mayor Gary Herzig gestures to the millrace running through Neahwa Park that he hopes to use ARPA funds to connect to the Susquehanna Green Way trail. (Kevin Limiti/AllOtsego.com)
How Otsego County municipalities use funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) varies as widely as the towns and villages themselves.
President Joe Biden signed the law in March 2021, giving federal relief dollars to state and local governments for COVID recovery
For the City of Oneonta, this means spending the federal dollars on renovating Neahwa Park. But for Cooperstown, it simply means covering only 10 percent of revenue lost mostly to a drop in pandemic travel.
We salute the Cooperstown Central School’s varsity boys’ soccer team for a 2021 season that was a resounding success, a joy to witness, and a giant step forward on our slow walk ‘back to normal.’
We send that same salute to the Cherry Valley/ Springfield boys’ varsity soccer team, Cooperstown’s girls varsity swimmers, Oneonta’s boys’ varsity cross country runners, the Head of the Fish and Head of the Charles rowers, and every other school team and athlete who got out there and played your game.
Take a bow, too, you coaches, assistants, volunteers, parents, teachers, bus drivers, car caravan coordinators, and anyone who guided and supported players along their ways, then made sure the sports stepped aside for homework and other school duties.
About a year-and-a-half ago, Liz Keller bought Mossy Creek Kennel in Cherry Valley, changed the name to “El-Liza’s Dog House at Mossy Creek Kennel,” and adopted the motto, “The Bed and Biscuit Getaway.”
For someone dedicated to animal rescue, the ‘Dog House’ is a passion project.
“We’re so much more than just dog grooming, boarding, and training,” Ms. Keller said. “My background is mostly in animal rescue, specifically dogs.”
She grew up in Queens, New York, and volunteered with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) in Manhattan, then opened her own kennel in Sullivan County. She decided to attend veterinary school for an associate’s degree in vet science after holding a job in the banking industry.
Police and firefighters responded to a structure fire in Cherry Valley last night that caused the death of one person.
The deceased, Ellen Cantrell, 58, was located inside the travel trailer at County Road 34A.
New York State Police, Richfield Springs Fire Department, Cherry Valley Fire Department, and Middlefield Fire Department responded to extinguish the flames.
Cooperstown EMS and Otsego County EMS also responded.
According to a New York State Police media release, the fire is not thought to have been suspicious.
