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& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch
bassett welcomes leap year babies, page 12 VISIT www.
AllOTSEGO.com, OTSEGO COUNTY’S NEWSPAPER/ONLINE COMPLIMENTARY
Oneonta, N.Y., Thursday, March 7, 2024
Volume 16, No. 20
Cooperstown Village Board Reviewing Tree Regulations By DANIEL CARRIG
T
Photo provided
Local filmmaker Lori Bailey welcomed actors Mark Valley and Bulent Gurcon to tour Oneonta’s Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center and attend a double feature screening of her independent feature films “A Roadhouse Coup” and “Garrow” last month. Pictured above are Valley, Bailey, Gurcon and Bailey’s son and partner in crime (films), Joel Plue.
Local Filmmaker Set To Speak at Film Industry Day Next Month By EMILY HILBERT
W
ONEONTA hat does it take to be invited to be a “Female Filmmakers Take Center Stage” panelist at this year’s Film Industry Day in Albany? Well, if you ask Lori Bailey, if takes handmade circus tickets, child-like flair, and a dream that began in her back yard. INSIDE
Lori Bailey is a female filmmaker on the rise who channels local stories into her work. Originally from Oneonta, where she still lives today, her repertoire includes “Garrow,” about serial killer Robert Garrow, “A Roadhouse Coup,” covering the life and crimes of the infamous Eva Coo, and “Mineville,” which explores the American iron-ore industry Continued on page 8
COOPERSTOWN he Village of Cooperstown Board of Trustees is currently reviewing the village’s existing environmental regulations zoning law, which limits removal of no more than 30 percent of trees from a property, with a trunk diameter of six inches or more, over a 10-year period. A village resident has proposed amendments to the zoning law that include eliminating the 30 percent tree removal limit, and improving zoning language and specifications, for clearer understanding of the law and its requirements. Trustees discussed the law and the proposed changes at a board meeting on Tuesday, February 26. “The village chose to address this topic because the current law is hard to enforce given that a property owner can remove 30 percent of trees over a 10-year period,” said Deputy Mayor Cindy Falk in an email. “It was the 10-year period that prompted the need to address the procedure in place, not any specific project. The community feedback has addressed a need to differentiate a property that has a handful of trees from a heavily-wooded site in the way tree management takes place,” Falk explained. Cooperstown’s tree zoning law is designed to recognize the role trees play in the village ecosystem, specifically their contribution to maintaining air quality, reducing noise reduction and visual pollution, stabilizing soil, conserving
energy, and enhancing property values and general quality of life in the village. The current law aims to maintain adequate forest coverage in the village by preserving healthy, mature trees and limiting their removal to 30 percent annually. Under the current zoning law, a healthy, mature tree may not be removed unless a replacement tree, of at least 1.5 inches in diameter, is planted on the same parcel. Tree removal and replacement must be documented on a plan that shows the location of the trees, and must be reviewed and approved by the village zoning enforcement officer. The village may also permit residents to submit payment designated for a replacement fee, in lieu of planting a replacement tree, so that a public tree may be planted in the village. The current law has been in place for a very long time, according to Falk. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation provides communities with tree ordinance framework for managing community forests. This framework recognizes the importance of community forests in providing shade, reducing air pollution, improving aesthetics, encouraging outdoor activities, and helping to reduce energy costs. It is then left to each community to establish their own specific ordinances. “There is no single ordinance that works for every community,” the DEC website Continued on page 11
Restored Boat Competing for International Award
► Friedman to play dunderberg, page 3
By DARLA M. YOUNGS
► working for a balanced city, page 4
B ILION
► landmark lost, page 4 ► 02k joins noteworthy lineup, page 5 ► citizen science and berkson, page 6 ► gohs announces marker grant, page 7 ► ONEONTA CITIZENS SPEAK OUT, page 9 ► LWV tackles good, bad information, page 13 Follow Breaking News On
AllOTSEGO.com
ruce Bennett and the Brooklin Boatyard in Brooklin, Maine spent three years restoring Bennett’s 1956 Shepherd mahogany runabout. Now all that hard work and elbow grease is paying off. “Come From Away,” owned by Bruce and wife Jeanne, of Ilion, has been nominated for a 2024 Classic Boat award by “Classic Boat” magazine which is headquartered overseas in London. The 1956 Shepherd is in the “Powered Vessel Under 100ft” category, and folks here can help determine whether or not it wins by voting online now through Monday, March 11. The winners will be announced in April at the Royal Thames Yacht Club in Knightsbridge, London. The boat’s name has historical as well as personal significance. “Come From Away”
Photo provided
Bruce and Jeanne Bennett’s restored 1956 Shepherd runabout is kept locally on Otsego Lake, at Sam Smith’s Boatyard.
is a Broadway musical written by Tony Award nominees Irene Sankoff and David Hein. It is based on real events from the
town of Gander, Newfoundland directly following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. American air space had been closed and 38 passenger planes heading west of the Atlantic—with more than 6,500 passengers and crew—were diverted to the airport there. “Come From Away” is a Newfie expression, Jeanne said. “Since Bruce’s father came from Newfoundland, and Shepherd boats were made in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada, ‘Come From Away’ seemed to be a most appropriate and fitting name,” she explained. The boat, which had rested under a tarp for 25 years before being discovered by Bruce, is stored at Sam Smith’s Boatyard, just north of the Village of Cooperstown. Continued on page 6
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST PRINT CIRCULATION 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER EDDM PRESORT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ONEONTA PERMIT NO. 890