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& The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch reprieve for FOXCARE FITNESS/page 2
VISIT www. Volume 15, No. 26
AllOTSEGO.com, OTSEGO COUNTY’S DAILY NEWSPAPER/ONLINE COMPLIMENTARY
Oneonta, N.Y., Thursday, April 20, 2023
Land Trust Leading Efforts to Preserve Crumhorn Property
Three Counties Fight Brush Fire Along RR Line
Revered Scout Camp For Sale; Unspoiled Wilderness at Risk
Volunteers Work with State Agencies to Control Blaze
By DARLA M. YOUNGS
By DARLA M. YOUNGS
CRUMHORN MOUNTAIN ne of the largest undeveloped tracts of land remaining in Otsego County is the focus of ongoing preservation efforts by the Otsego Land Trust and a group of private citizens. Camp Henderson Scout Reservation on Crumhorn Lake in the Town of Milford is currently for sale, collateral damage resulting from of a flood of sexual abuse lawsuits which led the Boy Scouts of America to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February of 2020. In its online “Camp Henderson Update 2022,” BSA Leatherstocking Council—which owns the 668 acres of forests and wetlands housing the former Boy Scout camp—refers to the sale of the property as an extremely difficult and sad decision. “As a result of the national bankruptcy case, the Leatherstocking Council will be selling the Camp Henderson Scout Reservation to help offset what it must pay as part of the proposed multi-billion dollar national settlement with abuse survivors,” the report reads. In the fall of 2021, officials filed an “Intent to Operate” Camp Henderson as a summer resident camp which was later denied, further forcing Leatherstocking Council’s hand. The motion to sell Camp Henderson was made and passed by the Leatherstocking Council Board of Directors on February 24, 2022. Sale of the Cedarlands Scout Reservation in Long Lake, New York had already been approved. The asking price for Cedarlands is currently $4.38 million. “Financial viability is…a key factor, but the other factors such as poor camp attendance, camp condition, and the denial to operate played a much larger part” in the decision, the 2022 Leatherstocking Council report reads, citing an outstanding Continued on page 11
RICHMONDVILLE ore than 150 firefighters from Delaware, Otsego and Schoharie counties battled on Wednesday, April 12 to contain multiple fires along the Delaware and Hudson South Line railroad tracks. Fire was first detected in Richmondville at approximately 2:10 p.m., at which time the Richmondville Fire Department requested assistance from the East Worcester FD. Shortly after the East Worcester fire department was dispatched, it was discovered that more than one fire had developed along the tracks. Fire departments from all three counties were called in to contain the conflagration, which had moved into neighboring Worcester, according to Victor F.C. Jones, emergency services coordinator for Otsego County. “At my request, the New York State Police Department was brought in with drones, to assess the progression of the fire as it climbed the mountain,” Jones said. Also assisting the all-volunteer fire department response were the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Department of Transportation, Office of Fire Prevention and Control, and Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, state forest rangers, and the Schoharie County and Otsego County sheriff’s departments. “Thursday was operational period number two, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with about 80 Continued on page 10
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INSIDE ► softball coach reaches 400TH WIN, page 2 ► Is CLIMATE ACTION PLAN A THREAT TO freedoms? page 4
Photo by Wriley Nelson
The Call of Spring TOWN OF OTSEGO—Iron String Press Staff Writer Wriley Nelson caught a spring peeper mid-call while attending an Otsego Land Trust event on April 13. About 25 people visited the Parslow Road Conservation Area to observe the mating display of the American woodcock. The group overheard a number of woodcock mating calls and watched a display flight. On his return to the parking lot, Nelson heard another harbinger of spring a few steps from the path. The iconic spring peeper mating call can be heard from any wetland throughout spring and early summer.
New Restaurant Will Link Himalayan Food, Culture, Art, Religion By ELIZABETH COOPER
COOPERSTOWN ► A CALL TO ACTION IN DEFENSE t has been more than a year since OF CRUMHORN Mountain Alex’s World Bistro on Main resources, page 4 Street closed its doors, but the ► foundations join forces to spring sunshine has awoken more support non-profits, page 5 than the flowers this year. The long empty storefront ► SPORTS BRIEFS HIGHLIGHT LACROSSE STANDOUTS, page 6 is suddenly a hive of activity. ► local church honored FOR Contractors, an attorney and even a EARTH-FRIENDly acts, page 6 small child could be seen there on a recent Wednesday. ► P EOPLE IN THE NEWS:SCOUTS, It’s all part of the next segment in gUEST CONDUCTOR, DOCTORS, the life journey of a Nepalese man VISITING ILLUSTRATOR, page 11 who started out as a shepherd boy in a remote village without electricity Follow Breaking News On or cars. Nawang Gurung will be opening OTSEGO.com his restaurant, Norbu, in May. It will feature Nepalese and Indian food and he hopes it will also be a place where people can learn about Himalayan culture, art and religion.
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Photo by Wriley Nelson
Nawang Gurung will be serving Nepalese and Indian food at his new restaurant, Norbu, when it opens next month in the former World Bistro space on Main Street.
He and his partner, Diki Bista, have two young daughters and they want them to grow up in a beautiful, natural surrounding like this one. “I feel like it’s a home away from home,” he said of Cooperstown and his Himalayan homeland. “It’s like moving back to the mountains, compared to New York City.” Norbu means jewel in Tibetan. “For us, Cooperstown is a jewel and precious,” he said. To Gurung, food, culture and art are linked and he wants to share it all. Norbu will be decorated with photographs of his homeland, and he is particularly excited to serve momo, a form of Nepalese dumpling. “It is kind of like a Japanese gyoza,” he said. “In Tibet it has become a very popular food in the mountain areas.” Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tara 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