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Volume 15, No. 12
AllOTSEGO.com, OTSEGO COUNTY’S DAILY NEWSPAPER/ONLINE COMPLIMENTARY
Oneonta, N.Y., Thursday, January 5, 2023
Former Supervisor Sets Record Straight, Reflects on Future Merger Revote Petition Filed By DARLA M. YOUNGS
Photo provided
EZRA HARDY
Oh, Baby! COOPERSTOWN assett Healthcare Network’s Birthing Center welcomed the first baby of 2023 at 3:15 a.m. on January 2. Ezra was born to parents Calvin and Sarah Hardy of Jordanville. Their little boy weighs 8 pounds and is 21 inches long. Ezra has two older siblings—a brother, Oliver (5), and a sister, Leah (3). “We thought Ezra would make his appearance in 2022,” said Sarah. “But we’re so happy he decided to arrive in the New Year—we can’t believe he is officially the first baby of 2023 at Bassett! We’re very excited to move into the New Year with a bigger family.” In 2022, 975 babies were born at Bassett Medical Center’s Birthing Center.
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INSIDE ► senior citizens, join in the fun with new programs at the Clark Sports Center, page A2
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SCHENEVUS chenevus Central School District Superintendent Theresa Carlin resigned during a special Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, December 27, effective December 31. Carlin stepped down just over a year after Schenevus taxpayers voted against a proposed merger with Worcester Central School. The merger had been approved in a straw vote held by both districts in September 2021, but Schenevus residents ultimately opposed the merger on December 1, 2021 amid much contention. “I was not fired, I wasn’t going to be fired. This was my decision,” Carlin said during a telephone interview last Friday. Nor did the failed merger have any bearing on Carlin’s resignation. “I would have resigned anyway,” Carlin explained. “Part of my decision to
leave is because I want to be in a different place, doing different things.” Carlin’s term at Schenevus was riddled with problems. Stepping into the role in 2018, she inherited a financial crisis—the district was facing a deficit of $750,000.00, with no money in savings or reserves. This ultimately prompted a grant-funded study completed in December 2020 by Castallo & Silky Education Consultants LLC, which recommended that Schenevus and Worcester should merge. “My first year, I didn’t know if we were going to financially be able to open the doors for the next school year. We had to borrow money just to make payroll,” Carlin recalled. Thus began a series of difficult decisions, including cutting of staff and dropping the elementary school from two sections to one. According to Carlin, the Board of Education that hired her 4-1/2 years ago Continued on page 7
Photo by Carol Mandigo
Flying High on First Night ONEONTA—Hill City Celebrations’ New Year’s Eve extravaganza at the Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center was a huge success. “Holbrook-Wade School of Dance and Harmony Martial Arts were a wonderful complement to our professional entertainment. It was great to see the children and families celebrating together,” said Carol Mandigo, event coordinator. “We haven’t had a First Night since 2019 and it’s the first time we’ve tried to produce two events at the same time, the Festival of Lights and First Night at the Foothills. Everyone pitched in to make it possible...our sponsors, the businesses, and organizations that created beautiful displays in the park, and the community who supported us all the way. We’re very grateful and looking forward to next year!” Above, Raelyn Sinstack of Oneonta spreads her lighted wings during the First Night New Year’s Eve party.
Dodgers Aficionado, Museum Curator Publishes New Works By TED MEBUST
► canadarago lake and habs—is a new sewer line in order? page A3
LOS ANGELES t’s hard to imagine growing up closer to the game of baseball than Allen Schery, author of the recently published historical treatise “The Boys of Spring,” which details the history of the Dodgers franchise. According to Schery, his bedroom sat 200 feet from Ebbets Field, the “soul” of Flatbush, Brooklyn. “I was practically living where the parking lot would be, if they had one. The noises from the games, the cheers and Vin Scully’s announcing were filtering
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► do you like pickleball?, Play all year ‘round in Oneonta, page A3 ► a few thoughts on important things: China has rapid increase in COVID cases; Fly Creek Fire District election discussion continues; Measuring results of non-profits is tricky; pages A4 and A5 Follow Breaking News On
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Author Allen Schery’s home in Los Angeles houses his personal collection of more than 250,000 Dodger artifacts gathered over the course of the last 70 years.
into my crib before I could say ‘goo-goo,’” Schery quipped about his early childhood. Starting at age 5, Schery began collecting Dodgers memorabilia and artifacts, and has since “never stopped.” He collected player pins, adorning all sides of his favorite sweatshirt which he would then wear to the stadium. “After the games, my Uncle Paul used to take my brother and me to the exit where the players would come out. I knew Pee Wee Reese, Gil Hodges, Roy Campanella, Duke Snider, Don Newcombe and Jackie Robinson person-
ally,” Schery recalled. One day, Schery said, Jackie Robinson commented to Uncle Paul, “Look at that kid, he’s a walking museum! He’s got the whole team on his shirt!” Robinson’s words gave Schery the idea to pursue just that—opening museums—later in life. Schery’s first museum venture in the early 1990s combined his passion for vintage Corvettes and interest in culture, a project he described as “putting his guts out there for all to see.” “I’m trained as an anthropologist and archaeologist, and I came up with a unique Continued on page 3
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST PRINT CIRCULATION 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD