In Hometown Oneonta, a $225,000 DRI grant was awarded last week for a “transformative” project downtown. Beyond that, nobody – even the developer – seems to know what the plan is. In The Freeman’s Journal, read about 6-foot-8 John Owens, a member of a dynasty of CCS athletes who helped take the Hawkeyes to the state champion Final Four this weekend in Binghamton. On AllOTSEGO.com, Dwight and Aileen Pier tell the story of their success on Liquor Deport’s 20th anniversary on Southside, and fifth anniversary in its mega-store. All this and more, on newsstands today.
Jennifer Hill/HOMETOWN ONEONTA – Mayor Gary Herzig heralds Table Rock Bouldering as “a business that is exactly right for Oneonta,” at the Market Street rock climbing venue’s ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday, Feb. 25. Standing next to the mayor are, from left, proprietor Jay Shultis, Barbara Ann Heegan, Otsego County Chamber of Commerce president, and manager Luke Malone. In back, Eamon Connors demonstrates his gravity-defying climbing abilities.
HOLOQUIST ON LIST: Jennica M. Holoquist, Oneonta, has been named to the Dean’s List at Clemson University for the fall 2018 semester. She is majoring in Psychology.
MANCUSO LAUDED: Logan J. Mancuso, Oneonta, is on the Fall 2018 Dean’s List at St. Lawrence University. He is a member of the Class of 2019 and is majoring in neuroscience.
After 40 Years Town Clerk Is Retiring
WEST ONEONTA – Cheryl Shackelton, Oneonta town clerk for the last 40 years, has announced her retirement effective May 29, 2019.
“This will be an enormous loss for the town,” said Town Supervisor Bob Wood this afternoon. “Cheryl’s experience and organization skills will be very difficult to replace. “Her personality perfectly fit the role of town clerk,” he said.
The town board will be actively seeking someone to fill the position until after this year’s election cycle. Interested parties should contact either the clerk’s office or the supervisor at 607-432-2900.
The salary has been set at $32,000-$40,000. Wood said he’s trying to get the word out as soon as possible, since the election calendar has been moved up and petitions have to be circulated this week, so there’s a need to find a qualified person quickly who would also be interested in running for election in November.
The clerk’s position involves the issuance of dog, marriage, hunting and fishing licenses, death certificates, handicap permits and organizing correspondence to the town and attending board meetings and taking minutes.
The clerk is also the records management officer.
OHS Tenor Slated To Perform With All-Eastern Choir
ONEONTA – Zen Lavin, an OHS senior, has been selected to perform as a tenor with 300 vocalists as part of the mixed chorus at the 2019 NAFME All-Eastern Honors Ensembles on Sunday, April 7 in the Spirit of Pittsburgh Ballroom at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh on Sunday, April 7.
Zen, with the help of OHS Choir Director Megan Dyer, will prepare to perform vocal music with the ensemble under choral conductor and composer Rollo Dillworth from Temple University.
Madeline Walker, a volunteer for the Save the Tails Ciders & Ales fundraiser for Super Heroes in Ripped Jeans, pours a cup of Ommegang’s 3 Philosophers brew during the Save the Tails Ciders & Ales fundraiser at My Father’s Place on Saturday, Feb. 23.
Otsego County was buffeted with high winds gusting up to 65 mph from Sunday, Feb. 24, to the next day at 7 p.m.
Miraculously, little damage was reported across the county, and only 66 customers were out of power, in the Town of Pittsfield.
Ian Austin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA – Karen Lehr, left, visiting her mother Aleda Koehn, Oneonta, participated in her first Goodyear Lake Polar Bear Jump Saturday, Feb. 17. As she stepped on the block to jump, there was Karen Telarico, Maryland, a girlhood friend, ready to jump next to her.
Trooper Hurt In Fight Along Interstate 88
At least one state trooper was injured in an altercation that took place near the Schenevus exit on I-88, according to Aga Dembinska, Troop C public relations.
Jim Kevlin/The Freeman’s Journal & HOMETOWN ONEONTA – Karen Katz applauds Congressman Delgado’s arrival, flanked by her husband, former mayor Jeff, and Otsego 2000’s Ellen Pope. In the foreground is Randy Velez, Catholic deacon.
Ian Austin/The Freeman’s Journal – Departing Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson participates in one of the light-hearted events of his tenure: Presenting Homer Simpson with his plaque on May 27, 2017, on the 25th anniversary of “Homer at the Bat.”
Jim Kevlin – Mom Rebecca Smucker of Cooperstown had herself and daughter Ada, 11 months, bundled up Saturday, Jan. 19, as Storm Harper began dusting the village at about 4 p.m.
By LIBBY CUDMORE • HOMETOWN ONEONTA & The Freeman’s Journal
Nikki Bower knows sometimes good food can be messy. She and husband Sean were early local adopters of a growing barbeque wedding trend when they married in 2016.
Editor’s Note: This article appeared in the Thursday-Friday, Jan. 10-11 print editions in anticipation of yesterday’s 2019 Wedding Expo at Foothills. For photos of the event, see this week’s print editions, on newsstands Wednesday afternoon.
ONEONTA – Nikki Bower reminds you to always eat barbeque with care.“I’m not a girly-girl, so wearing a wedding dress all day was hard for me,” she joked. “I was trying to eat responsibly, but I got barbeque sauce all down the front of my dress!”
Nikki and her husband Sean, married June 25, 2016, were on the cutting edge of the latest in wedding trends – forgoing filet mignon and lobster tails for some good old-fashioned barbeque.
Plus much more news of the week, from Governor Cuomo blocking a $3.5 million grant to bring natural gas to the county, to Hartwick College naming a new provost, to veteran Trustee Bruce Maxson retiring from the Cooperstown Village Board. Available this afternoon at newsstands across Otsego County.
…Plus editorials, features, obituaries and much more in this week’s editions of Otsego County’s community newspapers, Hometown Oneonta and The Freeman’s Journal, on newsstands this afternoon.
Ghouls, ghosts, princesses, dinosaurs, witches and more filled the Southside Mall this afternoon as youngsters and their families enjoyed indoor trick-or-treating as part of the annual Mall-O-Ween event. Above: At the costume contest, Gavin Tandle, left, brother Aiden and mom Michelle, Oneonta, applaud alongside Colin Walsh, Davenport, and Julianna Everson, Worcester. At right, Phoenix Temple strikes a pose as Rosie the Riveter before taking 2nd place in her age category. (Ian Austin/AllOTSEGO.com)
Editor’s Note: Below is the introduction that set the stage for this week’s editorials: Endorsing Democrats Andrew Cuomo, Bill Magee and Chad McEvoy, and Republicans John Faso, Jim Seward and Richard Devlin in the Nov. 6 election. Reasons for our endorsements are detailed in this week’s Hometown Oneonta & Freeman’s Journal, available on newsstands today. Click here and read the full report that informed the introduction below, “The Hidden Tribes of America,” which finds, despite the surface divisiveness we hear around us, most of us are people of good will, willing to listen and to seek a middle way, the basis for our democracy at its most successful.
As voters – in Otsego County, the 19th Congressional District and nationally – struggle to make the right decision in the Tuesday, Nov. 6, midterm elections, a study, “The Hidden Tribes of America,” surfaces with a conclusion that has been widely commented on nationally:
“A majority of Americans (61 percent), whom we’ve called the ‘Exhausted Majority,’ are fed up by Americans’ polarization. They know we have more in common than that which divides us: our belief in freedom, equality and the pursuit of the American Dream. They share a deep sense of gratitude that they are citizens of the United States. They want us to move past our differences.”
It the past two years, those of us with that sensibility have been screamed at by two sides that, it turns out, are fringes. On the left, “Progressive Activists,” according to the study, are a mere 8 percent of the citizenry; on the right, “Devoted Conservatives” are only 6 percent.
WEST ONEONTA – Cheryl Shackelton, Oneonta town clerk for the last 40 years, has announced her retirement effective May 29, 2019.
