Single-Handedly, It Revives Dairying Here : Chobani About To Be Biggest Yogurt Maker

Hamdi Ulukaya’s Business One Of Fastest-Growing Ever

By JIM KEVLIN : SOUTH EDMESTON

Hamdi Ulukaya’s Chobani-making workforce has grown from six to 600 in five years.  Behind him is a $100 million expansion now rising in South Edmeston.

Hamdi Ulukaya is holding his breath.
Information Resources Inc.’s last report put Ulukaya’s Greek-style Chobani yogurt brand just 0.01 percent behind top-selling Dannon.
Any day now, he’s expecting the word: 
A mere six years after buying a shuttered cheese plant on Unadilla Creek at South Edmeston...
Six years, where his work force grew from six to 600...
Six years, where his demand for raw materials grew from zero to 3 million pounds of milk a day ... yes, 3 million ...
Six years, from when the first half-pallet, 1,000 individual cartons of yogurt, went out the door, to an anticipated 1 million cases this year.
No, he hadn’t received word by the time this newspaper went to press Tuesday, March 29, but any minute now he’s expecting he will:  Chobani is the largest-selling yogurt in the United States of America.
“This is one of the fastest-growing companies ever,” said Ulukaya matter-of-factly, sitting in his second-floor glassed-blocked office in Kraft’s former Phoenix plant.
Driving the four miles from Edmeston, you crest the hill and there it is in the valley – the original 700,000-square-foot plant with a $100 million expansion nearing completion – a bigger building than most anything around here.
You go through South Edmeston and cross Unadilla Creek, and everywhere there’s busy-ness.  Construction crews finishing the new structure.  Hundreds of parked cars and trucks surrounding the buildings.
Workers in hairnets come and go from the factory line.  In the cafeteria, every seat is filled at every table, and people are lining the wall.  A foreman briefs them on their next shift.
Mustafa Dogan, Chobani’s master yogurt-maker and quality overseer – he drives back and forth daily between here and parent company Agro Farma’s feta plant in Johnstown – tromps up the stairs:  “Where’s Hamdi?”
That’s a question everyone’s been asking over the past half hour, and then he steps lightly up the stairs, a slight man, curly-haired, bright-eyed, upper 30s, if anything a little low-key for someone who’s been riding a tornado.
“You have 600 happy people – I hope they are,” he said by way of explanation.  “But 600 TIRED people.”
How did this happen?  And he tells the story.
Hamdi Ulukaya was raised in Ilic in the Province of Erzincan in eastern Turkey, “very much like here.  Families are close.  Everyone knows everyone.”
For generations, centuries, his family operated Safak, a regional dairy.  There were 20,000 sheep in the company’s herd when he was growing up.
He had six brothers.  He rode horses, played a lot of soccer and got pretty good at it.  Graduating from high school, he got an offer to go pro and raised the question with his mother, Emine.
She didn’t say no.  Instead, she asked a question:  “Is that what you’re going to do all your life – chase balls?”
So he went to university, studying political science, then decided to learn English in the U.S.  He started out in New York City, but soon moved Upstate, from Adelphi to Bard to SUNY Albany, drawn by the proximity to a country life similar to his boyhood one.
In the mid ‘90s, his father, Mehmet, paid a fateful visit.  “He was blown away,” said the son, “especially with the countryside.  So beautiful.  So like where we grew up.”
He loved the States, loved the hospitality of the people he met, but observed, “the cheese could be better.”
His son hadn’t decided on a vocation yet, so he took his father’s advice and began importing Greek cheeses into New York City.  He kept his eye open for opportunity, developed a business plan for Agro Farma, and was enticed by the Montgomery County IDA to build the Johnstown feta plant.  (“My business school,” Ulukaya calls it.)
In 2005, a flyer – “junk mail” – came across his desk, advertising the availability of the Phoenix plant, where 55 workers had just been laid off.  Hamdi visited:  “It was old, no value to anyone.  I just had a gut feeling I could make it work.  As an entrepreneur, you always have to listen to that inner voice.”
He found a place to live in Cooperstown – on Pioneer Street, between Chuck and Ursula Hage’s and John Ramsay’s – which was convenient to both plants, and found himself one morning in South Edmeston with his first six employees. 
“What are we going to do now?” they asked.
“Well, we’re going to start painting the walls,” said the new boss, and they did.  (The six original employees are still with him.)
At first, the plant turned out private-label products for others.  But in August 2007, the first half-pallet of Chobani yogurt went down to New York City.  A week later, all the customers reordered.  Then they increased their orders.
In 2008, the plant was shipping 20,000-30,000 cases a week.  In 2009, it was up to 100,000.  In 2010, 300,000-400,00 cases a week.  This year began at 500,000 cases a week, which Ulukaya expects to rise to the million mark by year’s end.
“I think people were ready for something better and something healthier – not just yogurt, all food,” he mused, and Chobani – strawberry, blueberry, peach, vanilla and plain at first – was just that:  simple, healthy.
The thicker, creamier Greek yogurt was available in specialty stores in cities.  For the first time, though, Chobani made it accessible to the mass market.
From the outset, Hamdi was accessible to the customers, too.  He answered the phone when they called.  When the volume got too great, others answered the phone, but forwarded ones they thought the boss needed to hear.
Soon, the phone crew was consistently hearing, “I never liked yogurt, but this made my day.”  And, “I love Chobani and I’m going to tell all my friends and families about this.”  
A new marketing tool was emerging:  The Internet.  “It went viral,” Hamdi said.
Ulukaya has since moved to Norwich, where the company is headquartered.  He’s negotiating for P&G’s former Eaton Pharmaceuticals plant there.  He’s expecting to announce construction of a second plant soon, although probably not in Upstate New York:  There’s simply not enough milk.
“We’ve become the biggest milk processing plant east of the Mississippi,” he explained.  And the product is available in all 50 states.
As you might suspect, Hamdi Ulukaya’s company couldn’t have grown this fast if he were a micro-manager:  “Let people be free,” he said.  “Don’t put borders around people’s jobs.”
And people have responded.  A woman who answered phones at the Kraft plant for years is now head of purchasing.  Another does all the day-to-day scheduling.  A temp is now a shift manager.
“I’m a perfectionist,” the boss said.  “But I see people before I see anything else.  Be an example,” he advised, “before you put rules and regulations in place.”
The defining factor of his life for the past decade has been work, but he recently bought a country home and some land – “I always wanted to have my own farm” – and hopes to raise horses.
He’s taking up sailing, and gets away to Newport, R.I., whenever he can.  He’s still a bachelor, but a niece, Dilek, has joined him, and heads the company’s Shepherd’s Gift Foundation.
“This kind of story can never happen anywhere else,” he said near the end of an hour-long interview.  “It’s still an entrepreneurial haven,” he said of the U.S.  “They welcome the new ones.”
He weds that New World attitude with Old World perspective:  “Alexander said, give me 10 people and I’ll conquer the world.”  Hamdi Ulukaya did it with six.

Daniel J Fahs, Harpursville, tends the machine that fills the containers with yogurt.

D’Ambrosio Succeeds Elliott As NYSHA President

By JIM KEVLIN : COOPERSTOWN

D. Stephen Elliott, a calm, diplomatic presence on the helm of the New York State Historical Association for almost six years, will join the Minnesota Historical Society as director & CEO, effective Friday, April 1.
His replacement locally is Vice President & Chief Curator Paul D’Ambrosio, a member of NYSHA’s curatorial staff for 26 years, who during Elliott’s tenure has organized block-buster centerpiece exhibits.
NYSHA president & CEO, the position in question, is also president of The Farmer’s Museum.
With a combination of content and marketing, Steve Elliott’s last season as NYSHA president saw a 20 percent increase in revenues at the turnstile, despite the economic downturn.
Part of that increase was no doubt D’Ambrosio’s doing as well:  His “John Singer Sargent: Portraits in Praise of Women,” was a critical success and a crowd-pleaser as well.
The MHS announced Elliott’s hiring at mid-morning Monday, March 28, about the time an all-staff meeting to announce the transition was breaking up in The Fenimore Art Museum’s auditorium.
Locally, D’Ambrosio said, “Steve is leaving things in tip-top shape, and for that I’m very grateful.”  Because of his long tenure and with “a good season in place,” he is hoping for “a very smooth transition.”
Elliott was in St. Paul, Minn., that day, and could not immediately be reached for comment.  However, NYSHA’s official announcement had him praising his “very capable and dedicated staffs,” adding, “I look forward to applying what I have learned from my colleagues in Cooperstown to my forthcoming work with another of America’s premier history institutions.”
Elliott’s wife, Diane, is executive director at Hyde Hall, the National Historic Landmark mansion on Otsego Lake, so that position likely is being vacated as well.
As VP and chief curator since 1998, D’Ambrosio oversaw preparation of publications – Richard Duncan’s three photo books among them – the collections and acquisitions.
He also assembled notable cornerstone exhibits for NYSHA’s summer season, including “Grandma Moses: Grandmother to the Nation,” in 2006; “America’s Rome” in 2009, tracing the European roots of the year’s “Prendergast to Pollock,” opening Memorial Day weekend.
An adjunct professor at the Cooperstown Graduate Program, he is also an expert on American folk art and author of “Ralph Fasanella’s America” and numerous catalogs and articles. With a B.A. from SUNY Cortland and Ph.D. from Boston University, D’Ambrosio received his master’s from the CGP.
He resides in New Hartford with wife Anna, assistant director of the Munson Williams Proctor Art Institute’s museum, and their children.
Elliott came to NYSHA in 2005 from Virginia, where he was executive director of the First Freedom Center in Richmond.  He was with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation for 28 years, rising to vice president of education, administration and planning.
He is currently chair of the American Association of State and Local History and the vice president of the Museum Association of New York.
Elliott follows Michael J. Fox, who became the Society’s director when long-time director Nina Archabal retired in January 2011; Fox, a long-time deputy director, is retiring at the end of May.

COOPERSTOWN AND AROUND: Hall Of Fame Also Says No To Fracking

The Freeman’s Journal
CGP student Amanda Monahan shows Claire Nolan, 15, how to make an origami crane at the Cooperstown PTO’s Crayon Carnival Saturday, March 25, at Bursey Gym.    The cranes were a fundraiser for tsunami victims in Japan.  (More photos, A4)

COOPERSTOWN

The National Baseball Hall of Fame has come out against hydrofracking for natural gas, completing the Clark entities united front against the process.  (See statement, A4)

NO FRACKING:  Sen. Tony Avella, D-New York City, has introduced state Senate Bill 4220-2011, which would ban hydrofracking.

NEW JUSTICE:  The Village Board named Gary Kuch, the former CCS principal and Worcester superintendent, as village justice, replacing Enid Hinkes.  He is spouse of newly elected trustee Ellen Tillapaugh Koch.

SIGN OF SPRING:  The Fly Creek Cider Mill opens Friday, April 1, for its 155th season.

CARNIVAL FUN – & IT WAS!

MacKenzie Springer, 3 1/2, rolls a golf ball toward a goal in one of the games testing eye-hand coordination.  Cheryl Smith, Hartwick, tends the tot.

visit our pictures page for more photos -- CARNIVAL FUN

AL COLONE OTHER VIEWS: Municipal Mergers = Upstate Survival

Editor’s Note:  Albert Colone, Oneonta, originator of the National Soccer Hall of Fame concept, recently participated in the forming of AMUC – Advocates for the Merging of Upstate Communities.

Banks, hospitals, companies and communities all over the country are merging to better position themselves to compete in the 21st Century marketplace; plus it streamlines operations and improves efficiencies. 
Why is there a reluctance to do the same among communities throughout the Upstate New York Region?
Leaders of government and business have been pondering for years about what it will take to jumpstart the Upstate economy.  State government has invested mightily in the region with negligible results. 
The response is that New York State taxes are too high, there are too many regulations, workers compensation is killing us and that utilities are too expensive. 
Those negative conditions may indeed have some bearing on the long-term static economic softness throughout the Upstate Region, but rarely do the experts zero in on the complicated, duplicative structure of local governance.
The Upstate Region is a conglomeration of villages and small cities surrounded by land rich townships that are typically in competition with one another. 
In the global economy of the 21st Century, villages and their bordering townships, small cities and their
adjoining townships should unite to better compete, for the well being of their constituents and for the overall survival of their communities. 

Here’s what we know:  
• The current structure of townships, surrounding cities and villages in Upstate, doesn’t work now and in all likelihood didn’t work when established in the 19th Century
• Merged governments are shown to operate with greater efficiencies
• Merged communities can commercially better serve a regional market
• Combined communities will experience operational savings; as much as 10 percent
• The potential of alternative tax revenues will be strengthened through the merging of municipalities stabilizing or even reducing local property taxes
• Zoning and planning issues will have a more comprehensive and logical framework with better overall outcomes
• Merged communities can be better situated to grow and develop
• It’s a concept that’s trending-up both in New York and in other states.

With but a few exceptions, the Upstate economy and its communities seem to be rotting on the vine, so to speak.  You can clearly see it in villages, small cities and their surrounding townships through declining or at best static populations, very limited investment in economic development, a general loss of commerce, neighborhoods deteriorating and in distress, football field lengths of empty store fronts, schools threatening to close, local public budgets stressed to the brink, infrastructures collapsing and other negatives, all too easy to see. 
Rather than just complaining about high taxes, too many regulations, high utility costs, things we have little ability to change, there are things that Upstate hometown people can do immediately to begin the process of rejuvenating the region. 
There’s an effort underway to try and change that mind-set through the establishment of a broad-based citizens group; Advocates for the Merging of Upstate Communities [AMUC].  Check your boundary lines at the door; all people are welcomed to participate. 

Another AMUC interest meeting will be announced soon.  In the meantime, for more information and to register only your most serious interest, please contact Albert Colone at: albert@colassoc.com     

Fracking Not Fully Understood

Editor’s Note:  The National Baseball Hall of Fame joined its Clark brethren Wednesday, March 23, in opposing fracking.  This is the statement.

As a member of the Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce, the National Baseball Hall of Fame supports the chamber’s recent resolution that hydrofracking for shale gas in Otsego County could cause serious damage to the qualities that make Cooperstown a world-renowned tourist destination and a unique community.
The Hall of Fame is an internationally renowned tourist destination whose brand is fully synonymous with Cooperstown.
 As an American treasure, and the cornerstone to this region since 1939, the Hall  and county would undoubtedly suffer repercussions in the event of problems from hydrofracking – or even the perception thereof.
The natural beauty and quality of life are the essence of Cooperstown.  Tourists, who view Cooperstown as a pristine and pastoral escape, would unquestionably consider other destinations unspoiled by the harmful ecological impact of hydrofracking.
A significant drop in visitorship could severely impact the Hall of Fame on many fronts, from day-to-day operations to staffing levels, while also leading to a significant decrease in tourism-related revenue for the village, county and state.
Like the Chamber of Commerce and virtually every other area business, the Hall concludes that hydrofracking could present an unacceptable risk to the local environment, the economy and the quality of life for both local residents and tourists.
As such, we believe that much more complete research and an understanding of the long-term impact of gas exploration and extraction is needed.

Priority One: Roads

JOSEPH J. BOOAN : MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR

Dear Village Residents,
If you pay property taxes to the Village of Cooperstown, this message is for you.  Compared to 20 years ago, there are fewer of you, your taxes are much higher, and the streets are much worse. 
As your mayor, I have proposed a budget for fiscal year June 1, 2011, through May 31, 2012, that defines ends and means for remedy on your behalf.
I do not have to tell anyone that our infrastructure is in need of serious, significant and immediate repair. You only have to drive your children to school, make a trip to the Clark Sports Center, or commute on any village street to know that we can do better. 
Infrastructure status in the Village of Cooperstown is in CRISIS and we are far behind in pro-actively managing a plan to address this crisis.
My proposal includes:
1) no tax rate increase to residents
2) $140,000 in immediate street repair
3) the shifting of priorities for spending, reducing administrative overhead, modifying benefit packages, controlling purchases of equipment/supplies, eliminating compensation to trustees and the mayor and
4) the start of a long-term plan to save for high-quality, long-term street/sidewalk/infrastructure repair so that our streets and infrastructure do not reach critical mass ever again. 
I have proposed savings across the spectrum of village spending as means to reach the ends.  You deserve to have your tax dollars work for you by providing immediate relief from our worst streets and, a long term strategy for complete repair.
Through April 30, the trustees can change the means, but you will be badly served if they change the ends.  It is my hope that my proposed budget is open to any change in means that maintains the ends: no increase in taxes, improved streets, costs controls, and a better plan moving forward.
I therefore invite the trustees to propose better means to meet the same ends.  I challenge the trustees to not change the ends because that would ultimately not serve the residents to the best of our abilities. 
The residents of this village deserve more for their tax dollar.  The residents deserve a higher standard in quality of life in the village.
All residents will have the opportunity for public comment on April 11 at 22 Main.  This is your opportunity to express your opinion and comment on the budget that directly affects you.
Let’s work together to make Cooperstown a wonderful place to live and work.

TURNS 65

Wintering in Florida, Hope Hansel, West Winfield, celebrated her 65th birthday with eight friends from her bicycle group, The Biker Babes, who flew in from Upstate New York.  The ladies biked the trails of Dunedin, Tarpon Springs, Starkey Park and Honeymoon Island, Fla.   Barbara Michaels, Fly Creek, took this photo at Catches Waterfront Grill, Port Richey.

ARTS GRANT RECIPIENTS

Jim Kevlin : The Freeman’s Journal

Accepting arts grants from Otsego County entities are, front from left, Mary Johnson Butler,  Sweet Adelines ($1,000); Muriel Beattie, Catskill Choral Society ($1,000); Janet Erway, Cooperstown Art Association ($1,500), and Danielle Newell, Smithy Pioneer Gallery ($2,000).  Second row, from left, Chris Burrington and Barbara Duffy, both of the Otsego County Dance Society ($1,200); Aaron Sorensen, Oneonta World of Learning/OWL ($2,000), and Debby Zahn, Little Delaware Youth Ensemble ($2,500).  Back row, from left, Tom Beattie, choral society; David Hayes, Main Street Oneonta ($1,000); Bob Brzozowski, Greater Oneonta Historical Society ($2,500), and Bob Zack and Donna Raphaelson, both of the Laurens Bicentennial Committee ($1,000).  The grants, $71,500 in all for Broome, Chenango and Otsego counties, were presented Thursday, March 25, by the Chenango County Council of the Arts at its Martin W. Kappel Theater in Norwich.  The money is available through NYSCA’s Decentralization Grant Program.  Applications for the Arts In Education program are now being sought; call Michelle Connelly at 336-2787.  Local grant winners unable to attend included Cherry Valley Artworks.

THEY’RE THE TOPS

Jim Kevlin : The Freeman’s Journal

Two managers at The Otesaga will receive Star Awards at the New York State Hospitality Association annual meeting May 2 at the Niagara Falls Conference Center.  Nancy Tallman, Cooperstown, executive administrative assistant, will be honored as Outstanding Lodging Employee of the Year.  Cory Craig, Westford, purchasing manager, is Outstanding Manager of the Year.

Tony Denied Psych Care, Father Says

Pacherille:  Son Receives No Counseling In Prison

By JIM KEVLIN : COOPERSTOWN

Tony Pacherille

The father of Tony Pacherille, 16, is concerned his son has received no psychiatric counseling in the 10 months he has spent in Otsego County Jail.
“He’s still on suicide watch,” said the father, also named Anthony.
The boy is charged with wounding a fellow CCS student last Good Friday afternoon in Cooper Park; he then turned the rifle on himself, shooting himself in the head.
He has been examined by four psychiatrists in preparation for trial, said the father, and “they all agree that this kid is seriously mentally ill.”
Jail guards check the teen – he is medicated – every 10 minutes, 24 hours a day, said the father.
District Attorney John Muehl, the prosecutor, said he’s received assurances from the jail that Pacherille is fine, and that he is meeting weekly with the prison nurse, and the county’s psychiatric nurse is available to him.
But the boy’s father said his son perceives the prison nurse as someone on the side of the prosecution, so does not talk to her.
John Caher, a state Commission of Corrections spokesman, said a prisoner “is entitled to the community standard for medical care, including mental health care. For someone who is clearly in need of psychiatric assistance (such as someone who had attempted suicide), that would include an evaluation, professional risk assessment and, if there is a mental disorder, a written treatment plan that addresses continuing mental health care.”
He said the commission responds to “all allegations of inadequate ... health care.”
The trial – on charges that have been classified as hate crimes; the classmate who was shot was black – is scheduled to begin at the end of May in Otsego County Court.

Mayor Would Hold Taxes Steady: Booan Budget: Save, Put Savings In Roads

Susquehanna Tops List Of Worst Streets


By JIM KEVLIN : COOPERSTOWN

It’s a bare-bones budget that keeps taxes stable and eliminates four full-time jobs and three seasonal jobs – the public works superintendent would go and the police chief would be reduced to under halftime.
And it puts all the savings into short-term and mid-range plans to bring village streets up to par in “two budget cycles,” with the top priorities listed as Susquehanna, Beaver, Delaware, Chestnut, Spring, Averill and Grove.
It leaves quality-of-life expenditures – parks, concerts and youth programs – intact.
“We’ve got to change the way we use our money,” Mayor Joe Booan said in an interview on his proposed 2011-12 budget, which was distributed to the trustees Monday, May 21, as required by law.  “Village government has to get smaller, and we have to redirect the money according to our priorities.”

Other high points include:
• Asking that the Village Board not accept any salary until trustees “have demonstrated fiscal responsibility, restored significant change in infrastructure,  (and) demonstrated a plan for long term savings to address our needs.
• Raises of 2 percent for village employees, but elimination of “longevity payments” some employees have been receiving, and no raises over last summer for seasonal employees
• A determination to develop and implement performance evaluations for village employees, “installing a merit system to encourage best practice, and revising our benefit plan structure.   This will increase efficiency, and reduce costs.”
• No department is spared, so that no sector of village governoment bears “an unfair burden.”
• Brian Clancy’s superintendent of public works position is being eliminated because, with the hiring of street superintendent Kurt Carman and strong leaders at the water and sewer plants, it is no longer needed.
• Police Chief Diana Nicols job would be reduced to 4/10ths of a position, since an ACL injury prevents her from leaving the police station.  “A six-person department should not require a full-time administrator,” he said.
• Reducing parking-enforcement officer to a part-time job, April 1 to Oct. 1. “People are going to say that’s revenue you’re losing,” said Booan.  “In January, February, March, the only revenue we are generating is from our own residents.”

By the timetable set by law, the proposed budget must be acted on by the current Village Board, which has a majority of Booan allies.  But the final budget will be approved by the new Village Board that takes office Monday, April 4, and includes three new trustees who ran on the Democratic ticket.
However, with new trustees Jim Dean, Walter Franck and Ellen Tillapaugh Kuch saying they plan to reach independent conclusions issue by issue, it remains to be seen how the board will line up on Booan’s first budget.
The mayor scheduled the first budget discussion with the trustees for 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 23, and said he invited the new trustees to sit in.  (He also said he asked the new trustees to meet with him to discuss the business of the organizational meeting, to help ensure they will get the committee assignments they prefer.)
In the interview on the budget, the mayor said he is proposing to again use part of the surplus, although less than last year, to keep the tax rate steady.  The current method of village accounting, he said, indicates the surplus is larger than it actually is – $1 million vs. $500,000.  But he also learned that a surplus in the water fund can be used for general budget expenses.
In past years, department heads have submitted budget proposals to the Village Board, and trustees have gone through the document line by line.
This time, the mayor asked the department heads to set their own priorities, but the result was “in the double-digits.”  He pared it once, then again, to keep the tax rate at $4.63 per $1,000 valuation.

Jim Kevlin/The Freeman’s Journal
Mayor Joe Booan examines the deterioration of Susquehanna Avenue, one of the three streets in the village he says most need reconstruction, along with Beaver and Delaware.

COOPERSTOWN AND AROUND

SCHOOL DAYS:  Glimmerglass University’s third annual session is Saturday, March 26, at Templeton Hall.  Registration and a continental breakfast is at 7:30 a.m.  Program ends 11:30 a.m., followed by buffet.  Adults $60, seniors $50, students $10.

SALE NEARS:  The sale of Wilber National Bank is expected to be complete by Friday, April 8, with accounts transferred to Community Bank, Syracuse, Monday the 10th.

OH, BEAUTIFUL:  The Town of Springfield’s Fourth of July Committee has chosen the theme, “America the Beautiful,” for this year’s parade, Otsego County’s largest.  The grand marshall for the 97th parade will be selected at the next meeting on Monday, March 28.

TICKETS READY:  Tickets for upcoming Cooperstown Hawkeyes season are on sale at www.cooperstownhawkeyes.net and at the team’s office in the Key Bank building, third floor.

OPERA, $10:  Tickets are also on sale for just $10 to attend “Carmen” on the opening night of the Glimmerglass Festival Saturday, July 2.  Call box office, 547-2255.

CARNIVAL TIME:  The PTO’s 30th annual Crayon Carnival & Stroll of
Nations is 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, March 26, at the CCS’s Bursey Gym, featuring inflatable rides, games, music, food.

The Freeman’s Journal
Jan Buechsenschuetz, Cooperstown Rotary exchange student from Germany, leaped at the opportunity to meet a real, live U.S. politician:  State Sen. Jim Seward, R-Milford.  Jan was at the Catskill Symphony Concert Saturday, March 19, with his new host family, the Brietens of Fly Creek.

Anti-Poverty Agency Braces For Federal, State Cuts

Opportunities For Otsego Looks To Ways To Bridge Shortfalls

By JIM KEVLIN

The War on Poverty dates back to LBJ’s State of the Union speech in 1964, but Opportunities for Otsego is still fighting the fight.
In the past decade, its Wheels To Work program has sold used cars, $750 each, to 200 Otsego County families who, living off the OPT lines, wouldn’t have been able to get to jobs otherwise.
Its Homelessness Intervention Grants provide emergency rent payments to people, many of whom have lost their jobs, who would lose the roofs over their heads without it.
CSBGs – Community Services Block Grants – helped OFO create the homeless shelter on Oneonta’s Depew Street, which has been 80 percent occupied for the past year, mostly families with children, 300 individuals in all.
CSBGs also created a shelter for victims of family violence – mothers and children – in a locale unspecified, for obvious reasons, and OFO provides them with legal help and counseling as well.
“There is no other option for the folks who depend on us,” Gary Herzig, OFO’s chief operating officer, said in an interview the other day.  “If we can’t help a homeless family, there is no place else they can go for help.”
Contrary to the stereotype, 70 percent of OFO’s client are working people, but working in fast-food, quick-stops, the tourism trade; many of them simply can’t make ends meet, Herzig said.
The poverty level for a family of four is $24,000, he said:  Think about how far that goes.
Right now, in particular, none of this is academic, since Congress and the General Assembly in Albany are debating how much to cut all these programs, plus HEAP (heating assistance), Head Start (for pre-schoolers) and much more.
How much?  “That’s completely up in the air,” Herzig said.
With the looming threats, he and the CFO, Amy Vogel, have been thinking of ways to raise funds to make up as much as possible for likely shortfalls.
As it happens, OFO is marking its 45th year of service – the sapphire anniversary – so one idea was a celebration, which grew into a gala planned Saturday, May 7, at SUNY Oneonta’s Hunt Union ballroom.
The evening will also honor Ron Ranc and Roxana Hurlburt of ISD, the Oneonta-based tech company that has assisted OFO in a variety of endeavors.
Other plans are also in the offing, Herzig said.
OFO’s fate is not just important to our most vulnerable neighbors, as it is one of the major employers in the county, with more than 200 people working in sites that range from Schenevus to Richfield Springs to Oneonta’s several sites.
OFO’s budget is $9 million, and 90 percent of that is spent locally, Vogel said.  The multiplier effect would suggest that creates more than $20 million in spending power over the years.

Clark Entities Uniting Against Fracking

Only Baseball Hall Of Fame Yet To Act


COOPERSTOWN

With NYSHA’s entry – it was expected Wednesday, March 23 – Jane Forbes Clark’s entities will have formed a nearly united front against hydrofracking for natural gas in the Otsego Lake watershed.
“I guess that’s one way of looking at it,” said Doug Bauer, executive director of the Clark Foundation, after the foundation issued a statement Wednesday, March 16.
That statement joined others issued by Bassett Healthcare (Feb. 23) and Leatherstocking Corp. (including The Otesaga, Cooper Inn and Leatherstocking Golf Course, March 15.)
Tuesday, March 22, final touches were being put on the New York Historical Association’s statement (including The Fenimore Art Museum and The Farmers’ Museum), and it was due to be issued the next morning, according to NYSHA spokesman Todd Kenyon.
That leaves only the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
The statements, from entities associated with Cooperstown’s most influential citizen and the cornerstones of the local tourism industry, come as – with a state moratorium nearing an end in June – the battle over hydrofracking appears to be intensifying.
At a Saturday, March 19, strategy session at Brewery Ommegang, the anti-fracking coalition heard attorney Doug Zamelis outline how town zoning regulations can help control gas drilling, perhaps even keeping it out.
The towns of Middlefield and Otsego have taken a lead in that, but Springfield, Cherry Valley and Hartwick are starting to move.  The session was attended by people from Pittsfield and Maryland.  And the county Planning Department reports interest in the new strategy in Butternuts as well.
Also this week, Sustainable Otsego moderator Adrian Kuzminski declared that members of the local Soil & Water Conservation District board have leased land to the gas companies. (See Page A4)
Steve Sinniger of the county Farm Bureau, who has been heading an Otsego County Chamber committee purportedly taking a dispassionate look at the issue, published a letter to the editor of the Daily Star mocking drilling opponents.
Catskill Mountainkeeper is organizing a Rally & Lobby Day in Albany April 11 to dramatize their cause.
The Clark Foundation statement raises concern about threats to drinking water and asks the state to bring Bassett into the conversation.
That 11 percent of land is already under lease “will have a significant adverse effect on our rural landscape.”
“We are concerned,” it adds, “that hydrofracking will harm the four key economic engines of the region:  agriculture, health care, higher education and tourism.”

Jane Clark

AT CV-S, GUYS & DOLLS

CV-S student actors perform “A Bushel And A Peck” from “Guys & Dolls,” which will be presented at 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, March 24-26, and 2 p.m. Sunday, March 27, at the school’s Drake Auditorium.  $4 students, $6 adults, $15 for a family.

HEROES & VILLAINS AT CCS

The super-heroes confront the super-villains during a rehearsal for “Captain Fantastic,” the CCS senior play, which will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 31, and Friday, April 1, in Sterling Auditorium.  A children’s matinee (pizza during intermission) is at 11 a.m. that Saturday.  A spaghetti dinner (chef, Brian Wrubleski) is 5:30 p.m. before the Friday show; all you can eat, $6 for adults, $4 for children.  Rehearsing are, from left, Autumn Arthurs, Anna Kramer, Kelly Smith, Sarah Dewey, David Bonderoff, Raquel Perez, Molly Pearlman, Dennis Brown, Robbie Katz, Ann Cannon and Julietta diBlassi, the Rotary exchange student from Argentina.

HELPING THE FOOD BANK

Jim Kevlin/The Freeman’s Journal

Newly elected village trustee Walter Franck presents Cooperstown Food Bank co-director Audrey Murray with almost $2,000, plus $300 in food, collected by the Village Democratic Party at a pre-election spaghetti dinner at the Vets Club.  From left are food bank volunteers Betsy Jay and Lisa Booan, reelected trustee Jeff Katz, and the two other newly elected trustees, Jim Dean and Ellen Tillapaugh Kuch.  Village Democratic chairman Richie Abbate said the fundraiser was very successful and would be held again, but not at the Vets Club, which raised criticism that the Democrats were trying to politicize an apolitical venue.

OTHER VOICES: Tackling Cooperstown’s ‘Crisis In Infrastructure’

Editor’s Note:  This is the introduction to Mayor Booan’s proposed budget, which he planned to discuss with the Village Board at a special meeting at 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 23.

The economy is weak, sales tax revenue is in question, the costs to do business have increased, the cost to heat our facilities has increased, the cost to fuel our vehicles has increased, and our village population has declined.  All have stressed this budget, our village and our county.
I do not have to tell everyone that our infrastructure is in need of serious and significant repair.  The status of infrastructure in the Village of Cooperstown is nothing short of a CRISIS.  We must address infrastructure, namely streets, as a priority.  Street repair, in my opinion, is the single most important priority that we have before us that we have complete control over.
The budget process has been challenging to this point, and I anticipate much discussion by this Village Board and by the new board entering.
While revenue generation is important and we must continue to explore options to generate revenue, I have focused on decreasing spending, reducing budgets, and eliminating waste.  These recommendations before you will not be easy to consider.  I appreciate your commitment to review this budget over the next few days.
To address street repair, I believe that we need to have a two-step process:  First, immediate and short-term relief to address the poor and deteriorating streets that are in the worst condition.  Our residents deserve instant relief from this situation. Second, a strategy to save for complete, high quality and thorough repair.
In summary, we need a short-term fix, and a long-term plan.
The short-term fix will provide residents  with immediate but temporary relief.  While this is less costly than a complete project, it can be applied quickly, but it has short life.    We should mill-and-fill and oil-and-stone targeted streets that are in the worst shape to provide immediate relief.
At the same time, perhaps as little as 1-2 years from now, when we have built up a reserve to do a significant and complete project, we will be back to repair water, sewer and street tops.  This phase is much more costly, takes longer time to develop, but is higher quality and longer lasting.  This approach also gives us time to save, time to study traffic usage, safety routes, and cost.
Our focus should be to put together a responsible budget that suspends growth  in light of reduced revenues, poor economy, while prioritizing,  planning and addressing a deteriorating infrastructure.
Study of past budgets have indicated an attempt to come up with a short-term budget with long-term issues.  Those budgets did not reflect enough savings going into streets.  This has created a longer-term structural problem to fix.  It has created, today, a situation that can only be described as a crisis in infrastructure.  We have lost the capacity to deal effectively with street repair, let alone any other infrastructure emergency.  This has to be addressed  now else we will lose our ability to control our future proactively.
I have made deep cuts across the board.  All departments will feel the burden that we are under.  Cuts have been recommended in materials, supplies, conferences,  longevity and, yes, personnel.  Department heads must be better managers, find efficiencies, watch the bottom line, and do more with less.  We can not have everything that we want, and sometimes need.  We are choosing between bad options. 
I have pledged to keep taxes as low as possible and I remain committed to this goal.  However, we must address our infrastructure crisis. 
We need to get smaller before we can grow.  We will look differently than we do now, however, if we are committed to the future, we can improve our infrastructure, save better, and provide a higher standard of quality.

New In Cooperstown, Attorney Devises Anti-Fracking Strategy

By JIM KEVLIN : COOPERSTOWN

The Freeman’s Journal
Attorney Michelle Kennedy addresses a recent meeting on fracking.

When attorney Michelle Kennedy’s husband joined Bassett Hospital, the young family from D.C. identified a house they liked in the Town of Middlefield.
Researching the deed, she discovered gas leases had been signed for adjoining properties.  The couple backed away from the house.
But from that personal experience came a strategy for townspeople worried that hydrofracking for natural gas would destroy their property values, families’ health and lifestyles.
If Comprehensive Master Plans and land-use regulations can control how close a shed can be to a road, reasoned Kennedy – she has opened a law office in the Key Bank building on Main Street – why can’t it control something with much greater impact on the community?
Her research led her to conclude they can, and the towns of Middlefield and Otsego, on the forefront of the resulting initiative, are on the verge of toughening up their zoning regulations to make explicit:  Natural-gas drilling is an industrial use and we don’t want it.

In her research, Kennedy discovered two cases where the state Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court, supported two towns’ efforts to regulate less-than-pleasant uses:
• Free Run Gravel Products vs. Town of Carroll.
Free Run’s operation was permitted under the state Mine Land Reclamation Law, but the court in 1987 found the town’s zoning law was an “act of general applicability” with only “incidental impact” on gravel mining, and thus overruled the state law.
• Gernatt Asphalt Products Inc. vs. the Town of Sardinia.
In 1996, this decision expanded the same reasoning – a zoning law of “general applicability,” not targeted at a specific operation, can stand – to oil, gas and solutions mining.

Outside the state, in 2009 the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, in Huntley & Huntley vs. Borough of Oakmont, determined zoning laws, aimed at preserving the character of a residential community and promoting compatible land uses, can be applied to natural-gas drilling.
Representing 32-member Middlefield Community Action, many from the Beaver Meadow neighborhood, Kennedy attended the Tuesday, March 8, meeting in the hamlet that was so crowded a P-A system was set up outside.
That was where Scott Kurkowski, attorney for the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York State, bluntly told the town board it would be sued if it adopted language tightening a zoning provision that prohibits industrial uses in the rural town.
On the 8th, the Middlefield board could not act because the county Planning Board had not yet signed off.  Monday, March 14, that occurred by a 6-1 vote, with county Rep. Betty Ann Schwerd, R-Edmeston, voting nay.
Meanwhile, another packed meeting occurred Tuesday, March 1, in the Otsego Town Hall in Fly Creek, where all but two of dozens of speakers favored tougher regulations on gas drilling.
The town board and town Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals planned a joint meeting Wednesday, March 16, to hammer out the language.
Otsego Town Supervisor Meg Kiernan said that, absent objections, the tighter regulations could be in place by mid-May.

Democrats Carry Day At Cooperstown Polls

Ellen Tillapaugh Leads Ticket
Both Sides Say Police Merger Idea Key Issue


By JIM KEVLIN : COOPERSTOWN

Jim Kevlin/The Freeman’s Journal
Ellen Tillapaugh Kuch, who led the victorious Democratic ticket, shares congratulations with runningmates Jeff Katz, left, and Dr. Walter Franck, during a victory celebration at the Abbates.  Her husband, Gary, former CCS high principal, is behind her.

Everyone agreed that the village Democratic and Republican parties had put together the strongest slates in years.
But when the dust settled on Election Night, Tuesday, March 15, the Democrats had carried the day decisively, winning all four open seats on the Village Board.
And both elated Democrats and disheartened Republicans agreed:  The election swung on Mayor Joe Booan’s idea of exploring whether to contract with the Otsego County Sheriff’s Department for police services and close the village’s department.

• For the two three-year trustee vacancies, Ellen Tillapaugh Kuch lead the ticket with 434 votes; incumbent Jeff Katz was second (279), followed by the Republicans, Matt Schuermann (226) and Jim Potts (216).
• For the one two-year term, Walter Franck got 429 votes; Phil Lewis’ 233.
• For the one one-year term, it was Jim Dean with 366 to Joan W. White’s 194.

“Shared services: It’s still the best road for us to go down,” said the mayor, standing on candidate Jim Potts’ front porch on Leatherstocking Street as the Republican gathering was breaking up.
“A lot of elderly were concerned about the police,” said Ellen Tillapaugh Kuch, who garnered the most votes that day, at a victory party at chairman Richie Abbate’s Westridge Road home.
“People would mention the mayor, and they would mention the police issue,” Dean said of his experience going door to door.
But Democrat Walter Franck, the second-largest vote-getter, said the mayor had been thinking “out of the box,” and more of that kind of thinking is warranted.
When the polls closed at 9 p.m., the machine counts were quickly available.  With 168 absentee ballots to be counted, Kuch, Franck and Jim Dean clearly had winning margins.
Not so in the Katz-Schuermann race; they were separated by only 53 votes.  The absentee ballots were opened and counted, a time-consuming process, with Abbate standing by. At 10:32, the phone rang at the Westridge Road home.  Abbate was at the other end.  Katz had it.
The group gathered around the kitchen table broke into smiles and applause.
Strictly speaking, the Democrats will dominate the seven-member Village Board that will be sworn in April 4 – Booan and Deputy Mayor Willis Monie are the sole Republicans.  The one other incumbent, Lynne Mebust, is a Democrat.
However, Kuch, Franck and Dean each immediately declared that village residents are sick of the partisanship of the last couple of years, and they vowed to approach each issue with open minds.
“People are looking for new ways to bring people together,” said Franck.
“All this is new to us,” added Dean, noting that, except for Katz, it is the first time these Democrats have won elective office.
Both the ascendant Democrats and Booan said they planned to focus on the repair of streets, roads and infrastructure, the mayor’s prime focus.
For his part, Katz said “I’m happy to be reelected.  I do love the job.  I do take it seriously.”
He said he believes the mayor has been secretive, both in his approach to the police-service issue and in preparing the budget.
For his part, the mayor was conciliatory, saying it is his responsibility to work with whomever is elected trustee, and he intends to do so.
“It’s my job to lead the trustees,” he added.  “And I’m going to do that.”
All the Democrats had high praise for their chairman, saying he had worked to put together a strong ticket, and made sure the subsequent campaign was organized and disciplined.
“I didn’t like the direction the village was taking,” he explained.

Jim Kevlin/The Freeman’s Journal
Successful candidate Jim Dean, left, reflects on the evening’s events as the final tallies are phoned in.

COOPERSTOWN AND AROUND: CCS Faculty OKs Doubling Of Health Cost

COOPERSTOWN

The CCS faculty have approved a three-year contract with the district that almost doubles their share of medical costs in that period.
With the pending elimination of five positions, the contract may hold teacher costs steady, according to Superintendent C.J. Hebert.
The CCS board was to act Wednesday, March 16.

TOP PRIZE:  The Victorian Society in America has selected the Fenimore Art Museum’s exhibition catalog, “John Singer Sargent: Portraits in Praise of Women,” as the 2011 winner of the W.E. Fischelis Book Award for the outstanding book dealing with 19th century art.

The Freeman’s Journal
Jacob Russell swings mom Nancy around the dance floor during the Cooperstown Cotillion’s Parents’ Night Monday, March 14, at the elementary school.  The young dancers have been practicing for weeks for the traditional spring event.

Leatherstocking Corp. Issues Statement Opposing Hydrofracking

Editor’s Note:  Jane Forbes Clark’s Leatherstocking Corp. and Brewery Ommegang Tuesday, March 15, released this statement opposing hydrofracking for natural gas locally.

The Leatherstocking Corp., The Otesaga Hotel, The Cooper Inn and The Leatherstocking Golf Course, join with Brewery Ommegang to express our profound concern over the utilization of hydrofracking methods in the drilling for shale gas in Otsego County.
Much has been written about the dangers of hydrofracking.  In fact, thousands of internal documents recently obtained by The New York Times from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, state regulators and drilling companies affirm that the risks to the environment, including our water, air, wetlands and wildlife, are greater than previously understood. 
In addition, the Board of Trustees of Bassett Medical Center and Medical Board, also based in Cooperstown, view the issue of hydrofracking as a public health issue of the highest priority.
The Otesaga, Cooper Inn and Leatherstocking Golf Course, together with Brewery Ommegang are among the most popular and successful tourist destinations in the region.
Many thousands of visitors enjoy our facilities on the banks of Lake Otsego each year; the hotel also hosts numerous business meetings, conventions, weddings and entertainment activities; and the brewery is nationally recognized for some of the highest quality beers produced in the United States. 
We believe that the natural beauty of the lake and the surrounding area plays an important role in attracting visitors to our properties and that this is now imperiled by hydrofracking. 
In addition to the contamination of the watershed, other risks to our area include tanker traffic clogging our narrow and rural roads and the existence of unsightly drilling rigs spoiling the landscape.  To be sure, the presence of hydrofracking will diminish the attractiveness of our area and render it less desirable as a tourism destination. 
Beyond spoiling the rural character of our environment and endangering our health, jobs will be lost and population migration from our area will be unavoidable.  With hydrofracking activities dotting our landscape, property values are likely to decline thereby rendering the Cooperstown region a less desirable place to live, work and visit.
We jointly support Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s continuation of the 2010 executive order halting the issuance of new horizontal hydrofracking permits pending the completion of a Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement and urge the governor to consider the repeal of previously issued permits and the permanent and total cessation of all hydrofracking activities in the State of New York. 

Tickets Available For Banquet Honoring McReynolds, Country Club Auto

Reservations are being accepted for the Otsego County Chamber’s annual Banquet & Celebration of Business at 5:45 p.m. Saturday, April 16, at the SUNY Oneonta Hunt Ballroom.
The winner of the Eugene A Bettiol, Jr. Distinguished Citizen award is Erna Morgan McReynolds, managing director at Morgan Stanley, Oneonta.  Among her many civic roles, she has served on the board of the New York State Historical Association.
Receiving the NBT Distinguished Business award is County Club Auto Group, Oneonta, operated by partners Tom Armao and Scott Davis.
Said chamber President Rob Robinson of McReynolds, “You look around this area and you will see her many signs of the positive impact on the quality of life here in Otsego County.”
“Their dedication to our communities is felt far and wide,” said Roxana Hurlburt, chamber board chairman, of the Country Club auto. “They are the backbone to many organizations with their continued contributions year after year.”
McReynolds, raised in Gilbertsville, was a TV producer and executive in New York before returning to Oneonta with her husband, Tom Morgan, to establish the practice as financial advisers.
In addition to NYSHA, Erna has been active in the Catskill Symphony Orchestra, the Girls Scouts, Hartwick College, the United Way and other initiatives and organizations.  She was a founder of the local Executive Service Corps.  Her husband Tom Morgan has served on the Bassett Hospital board.
The Country Club dealerships, founded in 1960 as Otsego Automotive by partners Bill Davis and Paul Donowick, have been central to chamber and community efforts for decades.  In 2009, the dealerships were sold to partners Tom Armao, a longtime associate of the firm, and Scott Davis, the founder’s son.
Last year’s honorees were Lou Hager’s Northern Eagle Beverage as Distinguished Business and former Oneonta mayor Sam Nader as Distinguished Citizen.
Due to limited seating, attendees are encouraged to make reservations for the dinner at pam@otsegocountychamber.com or by calling 432-4500, ext. 201.  Tickets are $77.50, or $750 for a table of 10.

Please, Trustees New And Old, Get Along For Good Of All

Jim Kevlin/The Freeman’s Journal
IN THE FINAL HOURS:  With Election Day at hand, Kate Donnelly, Lindsey Trosset, Margaret Schuermann and Kate Trosset helped host the Republican rally Sunday afternoon, March 13, at the redone Agway on Railroad Avenue.

 
Congratulations to Jim Dean, Walter Franck, Jeff Katz and Ellen Tillapaugh Kuch, the successful trustee candidates on Tuesday, March 15, in the village elections.
But everyone should offer appreciation and thanks to Phil Lewis, Jim Potts, Matt Schuermann and Joan White for ably competing. 
Regrettably, not everybody can win.  But it’s been widely recognized that the combined slates comprised the most impressive field of candidates in memory.
Well done to you all, and to the Democratic and Republican chairs, Richie Abbate and Mike Trosset respectively.

•

Now the work begins, and it is formidable.
Mayor Joe Booan has taken a new approach this year to budgeting, and the result must be filed with Village Clerk Teri Barown by Monday, March 21.
In recent years, department heads submitted their budgets, and trustees have gone through the compiled document line by line, cutting here, adding there, then starting again when the percentage increase appeared to high.
This time, the mayor met individually with department heads, who surely have the best understanding of the tasks at hand and the resources required to accomplish them; Booan brings the rigour of priorities.
The mayor appears to be aiming for a stable tax rate yet again, at the same time intending to push forward much-needed repairs to streets, sidewalks and other infrastructure, central to his successful campaign in 2010.
Booan will present what is truly a “mayor’s budget,” subject, of course, to review and revision by the whole Village Board before a final document is adopted by the end of May.

•

That’s just the beginning of the beginning.
It surfaced at last month’s Village Board meeting that there is no salary scale, per se, for village employees.  A system of reviews and raises needs to be put in place, so workers have a sense of what they can expect if they perform above, below or at par.
Also, the trustees need an understanding of what a standard benefits package is these days, to guide decisionmaking.  The trustees may decide to be more generous than the standard, and this may be fine; but they need a starting point.
At the League of Women Voters’ candidates night, resident Stephanie Bauer observed that the candidates included a predominance of “bosses,” an interesting point.  Among those elected, Dr. Franck managed a $30 million-plus budget at Bassett, and that experience is needed.
Understanding how large operations work is good, not bad.  People with an understanding of best practices in large entities is what’s needed right now.  The Village of Cooperstown, with its $5 million budget ($1 million raised locally) is relatively small, but certainly well beyond the Mom and Pop stage.

•

Pointing this out, and noting that village has been unclear at various points about how much money it may or may not have, has been considered implied criticism by some.
In that light, consider an story on NPR’s “Planet Money” the other day, about Gordon Mann, a consultant to the State of Pennsylvania, who individual towns and cities can call in when they realize their finances are out of control.
Allentown, York, Johnstown, Easton, Scranton and Reading have all turned to Mann.  In Reading, “hundreds and hundreds” of checks were found in a shoe-box in the zoning office; no one had gotten around to cashing them.
The point is that we can do better than that.  Why shouldn’t Cooperstown be the trailblazer in this area, as it has been in so many others?
To do this, mutual respect is necessary.  Please, trustees, new and old, embrace a new beginning.  Accept, for the shortterm, that everyone’s motivations are above board.  Avoid one-upmanship.  Instead of criticizing or clashing, bite your tongue; if it’s still an issue at the next meeting, make your point then.
Happily, this very sentiment was made emphatically by successful candidates and Mayor Booan on election night.
While Cooperstown has generally been well-served by its community leaders over the decades, we’ve hit a bit of a rough patch lately.  With this brainy and varied Village Board in place, let’s start making up for lost time.

Diane Greenblatt, left, and Rosemary Abbate roll meatballs for the Democratic Party’s spaghetti dinner Monday, March 14, at the Vets’ Club, to benefit the Cooperstown Food Bank.

3 FOR THE BOOKS

CCS guard Jay Davine, left, center Jeremiah Ford and coach Dave Bertram represented half the Section 3,  Class C-1 All-Tournament Team, representing half of the team honored after finals at Utica Memorial Auditorium.

for more pictures, visit our pictures page or our facebook album -- Cooperstown Varsity Basketball 2011

Voters Go To Polls Tuesday In Watershed Village Race

Mayor Booan’s Dream Team, Strong Democratic Slate Vie

COOPERSTOWN

Eight candidates – four Republicans, four Democrats – are vying for four seats on the Village Board in the Tuesday, March 15, elections.
The polls will be open from noon to 9 p.m. in the firehouse on Chestnut Street.
There are two three-year terms being sought by Democrats Jeff Katz and Ellen Tillapaugh Kuch, and Republicans Matt Schuermann and Jim Potts.  (Vote for two.)
There is one two-year term being sought by Democrat Walter Franck and Republican Phil Lewis.  (Vote for one.)
And there is one one-year term being sought by Democrat Jim Dean and Republican Joan White.  (Vote for one.)
At the League of Women Voters’ debate Monday night, March 7, only Katz said he supports expanding paid parking to Main and Pioneer streets, a controversial subject for the past three years.
Given the temper of the times, all the candidates spoke of reducing expenses, with the Republicans pointing out that village revenues have risen 65 percent in nine years.
Some political observers see Tuesday’s vote as a bit of a referendum on Mayor Joe Booan’s administration to date.  
The ONC BOCES administrator, one of a bloc of trustees seeking to better understand village finance, was elected to the top job last March on a pledge to improve village streets and sidewalks.
Controversies over the past year have included paid parking, management of village police and an effort to bring the Gateway project, seven years in the making, to a conclusion.

COOPERSTOWN AND AROUND: CCS Board Ponders Cut Of 6 Teachers

COOPERSTOWN

Four fulltime teachers would lose their jobs and four more teaching jobs cut to half time in the preliminary budget presented to the CCS school board.                                The board was scheduled to meet at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 9, for its first budget work session.

CLASSIC GROWS:  The National Baseball Hall of Fame has announced a Doubleday Field Classic Fest, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on the Saturday of Father’s Day Weekend, featuring a youth skills clinic, interactive programs with Major Leaguers,and exclusive photo ops.

DOWN WAY EAST:  Michael MacLeod, former Glimmerglass Opera general and artist director until last June, has been named chief executive of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, effective April 1.

BOWLS OVERFLOW:  The Empty Bowls luncheon Saturday, March 5, drew a record 300 people and raised $6,000 for the Cooperstown Food Bank.

Jim Kevlin/The Freeman’s Journal
It was still snowing early Monday morning, March 7, but Paul Kuhn, 51 Chestnut St., the former deputy mayor, was already out there clearing his walk.  By day’s end, more than 20 inches had fallen, a record.

Remembering Henry

Editor’s Note:  The Nicolses sent out this e-mail Tuesday, March 8, to friends and wellwishers.

Carolyn Jones photo
Henry Nicols

Twenty years ago today Henry stood up in a room at the Otschodela Council BSA office that was crowded with reporters and TV cameras. 
He calmly announced for a frightened world to hear, “I have AIDS.” 
Joan and I and Jena and Diana were frightened.  Fear and discrimination of people with AIDS ruled the day. 
But not here. 
When it came down to the question of what to do: Henry’s Scout troop, the Cooperstown school, Cooperstown and the entire community stood by our side and in essence said, “He is one of ours!” 
We thank our friends and family who stood by us that day, who stood with us for the next 10 years until his death, and who now stand with us still! 
We miss him every day but the journey is made easier because of people like you. Thank you!

ARTICLES ON DRILLING FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES!!!

Here are the three articles on gas drilling by Ian Ubina from the New York Times: 1) http://nyti.ms/eBlhhz 2) http://nyti.ms/ige4R5 & 3) http://nyti.ms/dTwHpA

GO TEAMS!

CONGRATULATIONS COOPERSTOWN VARSITY BASKETBALL!!!!!

for more pictures of this game, visit our facebook album, or our pictures page!

Trustees Back Study On Allying With Sheriff

Broader View Suggested, But 4-1 Vote Gives Booan Support To Explore Idea

By JIM KEVLIN : COOPERSTOWN

The topics were police, police and police.
When the village trustees met Monday, Feb. 28:
• Mayor Joe Booan began by reading a prepared statement denying any personal or political motivation in his exploring contracting with the Otsego County Sheriff’s Department to provide 24/5 coverage to the village, eliminating village police and saving a portion of the $500,000 budget.  “I was elected to do a job,” said the Republican mayor, “and I’m doing it.”
• Booan also announced that county Rep. Greg Relic, R-Unadilla, had called him before the meeting to say the county’s Public Safety Committee, which Relic chairs, had agreed to support further talks on providing police service to the village.
• During the public-comment period, resident
Hilda Wilcox read a statement describing brusk treatment by the sheriff’s department when she called with a question.  “The question is not one of quantity,” she said, “but of quality.”
• Also during the public comments, Democratic candidate Jim Dean spoke, saying he supports keeping the police department.  And Hank Nicols, former police chief, county Democratic chair and father of current chief Diana Nicols, said “the math doesn’t work,” although he supported further study.
• When the mayor asked for a sense of the board on whether he should continue talking to the county, four of the five trustees present supported doing so, although Democrat Lynne Mebust said she would prefer a broader conversation on a range of shared services, not just police.  Only Democrat Jeff Katz withheld support.
• Finally, Mebust presented a memo critical of the mayor for spending $443 to send a letter to all village households explaining his reasons for beginning conversations with county Sheriff Richard J. Devlin, Jr.

Booan said he used funds from the mayor’s discretionary budget.
Mebust said she’d asked the village treasurer to check back as far as 1994, and found the fund had been used for flowers, pins and lunches for visiting dignitaries, not letters.
Booan, in response to Mebust saying it was misuse of village staff to prepare, copy and mail the letter – “I don’t see how we can justify that expense,” she said, calling it “troubling” – suggested that having the treasurer research the discretionary fund represented a similar misuse of village staff.
The evening featured parry and thrust, which each side suggesting political motivation on the part of the other and honest motives on their own.
(This article identifies individuals by political party because two full slates are vying in the March 15 village election.  It is not a practice that will extend past that time.)
In his opening statement, Booan retraced the chronology of his conversations with Devlin, and declared, “Despite the speculation of some, it is not personal or political.  Those that point to either of these as fact are wrong.  Examination of shared services is a fiscal matter.  It will take careful study and I am supporting it.”
Later, when Booan polled the board, Katz, a Democrat running for reelection, said, “Pinpointing the police, I have a problem.  I don’t have a problem with consolidation.”  He pointed out the street department spends more than police.
Mebust called for a “broader look,” but supported the mayor’s initiative.
Deputy Mayor Willis Monie, a Republican, said, “I support the police department, but certainly we need to take a look to see if there’s a better way.”
Said Matt Schuermann, a Republican running for election, “It may be that we do nothing.  But we owe it to ourselves, to our residents, to look at these options.”
And Jim Potts, a Republican also running for election, said, “I support looking at various expenses.  Let’s look at the top five.  Let’s look at the top ten.  I’m supporting the process.”

Times Fracking Expose Buoys Local Opponents

By JIM KEVLIN


Local folks concerned about hydrofracking for natural gas were elated after the New York Times launched a three-part series Sunday, Feb. 27, with “Regulation Lax as Gas Wells’ Tainted Water Hits Rivers.”
Citing “internal documents” from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, reporter Ian Urbina writes that waste water from fracking “contains radioactivity at levels higher than previously known.”
That water is “sometimes” hauled to plants not designed to treat it, then discharged into rivers that provide drinking water for cities as large as Pittsburgh.
The second part, “Gas Drillers Recycle Wastewater, but Risks Remain,” was printed Tuesday, March 1.
Sunday’s front-page report, continued on two full pages inside, creates “great public exposure” on a issue that had been reported on, but never with such vitality, said Robert H. Boyle, East Springfield, the Sports Illustrated senior editor and environmental writer active in the local anti-fracking coalition.
“The Times is the flagship of the press,” said Boyle.  “That brought it home with great vitality.”
Sustainable Otsego’s Adrian Kuzminski, Fly Creek, the former Hartwick College professor, called the impact “enormous.  Everything the critics have been saying has now been condensed and brought to broad public attention by the Times.
“I’m sure this will initiate a statewide and national debate,” he continued.  “The only conclusion that reasonable people can reach is hydrofracking should be prohibited in New York State.”
Said Nicole Dillingham, Otsego 2000 president, “We’re grateful to this reporter who put this together.  If ever there was a time for our county to stand up for a moratorium, it is now.”
She pointed out many of the issues explored -- radioactivity, the lack of waste-water treatment facilities (the Ross #1 well on Crumhorn Mountain waste is being processed in Watertown, 200 miles away) and inability of the state to enforce -- are the very concerns the local anti-fracking coalition has been raising with the county’s Gas Advisory Committee.
Urbina reports on L.A.-level ozone pollution in Wyoming, and youthful asthma rates in Texas running triple the state average near wells, but spends the most time in the first segment on “Pennsylvania, Ground Zero.”
What EPA officials called “one of the largest failures in U.S. history to supply clean drinking water to the public” occurred in late 2008, when a drought prevented drilling and coal-mine waste from being sufficiently diluted in the Monogahela River, prompting  an advisory that Pittsburgh residents drink only bottled water.
“Of more than 179 wells producing wastewater with high levels of radiation, at least 116 reported levels of radium or other radioactive materials 100 times as high as the levels set by federal drinking water regulations,” he writes at another point.  In 15 wells, it was 1,000 times higher.
Urbina also reported lax regulation in Pennsylvania, with only 31 inspectors overseeing 125,000 oil and gas wells and state agencies afraid to aggressively enforce the rules.
“We simply can’t keep up.  There’s just too much of the waste,” said one inspector, adding, “If we’re too hard on them, the companies might just stop reporting their mistakes.”
The state’s new governor, Tom Corbett, who received more political contributions from gas companies than all his competitors put together, has been even more friendly to drilling interests, opening state land to new drilling.
“I will direct the (state) Department of Environmental Protection to serve as partner with Pennsylvania businesses, communities and local governments,” Corbett is quoted as saying.
As Urbina reports it, drilling can ruin the neighborhood, too:
“Drilling derricks tower over barns, lining rural roads like feed silos.  Drilling sites bustle around the clock with workers, some in yellow hazardous materials suits, and 18 wheelers haul equipment, water and waste along back roads.
“The rigs announce their presence with the occasional boom and quiver of underground explosions.  Smelling like raw sewage mixed with gasoline, drilling-waste pits, some as large as a football field, sit close to homes.”

Glimmerglass Seeks Young Voices For ‘Carmen’

COOPERSTOWN

The Glimmerglass Festival will hold auditions on March 10 and 11 for the children’s chorus in the company’s 2011 production of “Carmen.”
Twelve young voices will be cast in “Carmen.” Auditions will take place each day from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. by appointment at Richfield Springs Central School.
Singers should be at least 10 years old. Those auditioning will be asked to sing a folk song or a selection from chorus or music class. No pop selections, please. An accompanist will be provided if needed.
“Carmen” will be sung in French at 15 performances between July 2 and Aug. 23.



Those interested in scheduling an audition should contact Tracy Allen at
tallen@richfieldcsd.org. For more information on the 2011 Glimmerglass
Festival, visit www.glimmerglass.org.

COOPERSTOWN AND AROUND: League Sets Debate For Candidates

COOPERSTOWN

The eight candidates for four village trustee seats will debate at 7 p.m. Monday, March 7, at the county courthouse.
The event is sponsored by the League of Women Voters.  Public welcome.

HANNA ON MEND: U.S. Rep. Richard Hanna, formerly of Cooperstown, is recovering at his Barneveld home from a Feb. 21 mitral valve surgery, his office reported Monday, Feb. 28.

DUKE BELOVED: “Duke Snider was beloved by a nation of Dodgers fans, from Brooklyn to Los Angeles,” Hall of Fame Chairman  Jane Forbes Clark said after the Sunday, Feb. 27, passing of the Hall of Famer.

TIGHT FINANCES:  Facing state aid cuts, the Cooperstown Central school board will get its first look at the tentative budget at 7 p.m., Wednesday, March 2, in the cafeteria.

Paul Donnelly
for The Freeman’s Journal
With the heavy rains Monday, Feb. 28, it was hard to believe that just three days before 10-12 inches of snow snarled Otsego County.  The orange scarf suggests a CCS fan.

CURTISES MARK 50TH

Niles and Nancy Curtis of Hartwick Seminary marked their 50th wedding anniversary Friday, Feb. 18.  The couple has three children, Scott of Cooperstown, and Jim and Gretchen, who both live in Andover, Mass.  Niles Curtis owned and managed the former Cooperstown Agway on Railroad Avenue for many years.