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Volume 15, No. 30
AllOTSEGO.com, OTSEGO COUNTY’S DAILY NEWSPAPER/ONLINE COMPLIMENTARY
Oneonta, N.Y., Thursday, May 18, 2023
YMCA Director: FoxCare To Keep ‘Familiar Faces’
Community Now Must Do Its Part By WRILEY NELSON
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ONEONTA he Oneonta Family YMCA is moving forward with plans to take over operation of Bassett Healthcare Network’s FoxCare Fitness Center. The Y will formally take control of the fitness center at the beginning of June, but staff members started working at FoxCare on May 15. The new operation will be called YMCA Specialty Fitness @ FoxCare. According to a release, the facility will be operated separately from the Y with its own resources and membership. Specialty Fitness will operate basic FoxCare services for a trial period while YMCA staff consider and develop new special programming. “Our first goal was to keep the doors open, to keep the center from closing at the beginning of June, and we’re excited to have accomplished that,” said YMCA Executive Director Frank Russo. “We have done six months of work in six weeks and we are very appreciative of Bassett and their flexible, solutions-oriented approach to making this happen.” YMCA staff have worked to maintain the same services and facilities that FoxCare members enjoy. Members will have access to both pools, the fitness and cardio areas, and classes in the studio. Although many local businesses and institutions are suffering
from staff shortages, Russo said that Specialty Fitness has been able to retain most of FoxCare’s employees. “People will be able to return to the gym space they’re used to and they’ll see mostly familiar faces,” he said. However, the new facility does have a shortage of lifeguards and spin class instructors. Russo asked the community to consider applying for these positions. In light of strong staff retention and community interest, Russo was sanguine about Specialty Fitness’ financial prospects. “It was evident there was a passion to keep this gym open and now we need the people to sign up and keep that positive energy in motion,” he said. “That passion is going to be key: FoxCare has about 800 members and people really cared deeply when it seemed like the facility was going to close. We have done our part to keep it open. It’s now the community’s turn to do their part. We need to bring in old members and new ones,” Russo concluded. The initial announcement that Bassett was closing FoxCare caused widespread dismay in the Oneonta community. “The Freeman’s Journal,” “Hometown Oneonta” and other publications received literally dozens of letters to the editor protesting the move. Continued on page 10
NGOs Discuss Algal Bloom Response By WRILEY NELSON
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COOPERSTOWN tsego 2000, Otsego Land Trust and the Otsego County Conservation Association convened a stakeholders meeting on Tuesday, May 9 to coordinate a response to harmful algal blooms. More than 30 people attended, including INSIDE ► former coop trustee offers suggestion for main street displays, page 4 ► residents reject solar project proposal, page 4 ► p raise for hospice nurses, page 5 ► EDF RENEWABLES HOLDS community MEETING, page 6 ► News in brief including dOh adviCe re: ticks, page 7 ► hyde hall ready to unveil draperies, page 7 ► SPORTS SNIPPETS: lOCAL tennis, softball, baseball, track and field, page 10 Follow Breaking News On
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environmental scientists and representatives from municipalities, non-governmental organizations, volunteer groups, and county agencies. The conference was facilitated by Otsego 2000 and Dr. Gina L. Keel, professor of political science at SUNY Oneonta. Attendees had extensive table discussions on messaging content and media, and shared
their activities and findings. The group reached a consensus on the need for a unified, large-scale media strategy to notify local residents and visitors about HAB safety and mitigation. The SUNY Oneonta Biological Field Station presented water testing proposals and a summary of current testing protocols. Continued on page 12
Photography by Mark Stodl
Poet and visual artist Bertha Rogers speaks with an attendee at the opening for an exhibit of illuminations created for her 2019 publication, “Uncommon Creatures: The Anglo-Saxon Riddle-Poems From the Exeter Book.” The event took place at Bright Hill Literary Center’s Word and Image Gallery on May 6.
Illuminations Light Up Gallery By TERESA WINCHESTER TREADWELL right Hill Literary Center hosted its first art opening since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020 on May 6, with some 30 people in attendance. Appropriately, the featured artist was Bertha Rogers, who, with late husband Ernest Fishman, founded Bright Hill Press in 1992. The exhibit, in the center’s Word and Image Gallery, features 68 stunning illuminations inspired by poetic riddles from “The Exeter Anthology of Old English Verse,” a 10th-century collection of Old English poetry donated to England’s Exeter Cathedral
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by Bishop Leofric in the 11th century, known as the “Exeter Book.” Rogers has translated all of the 95 “Exeter Book” riddles into English from Anglo-Saxon, the earliest recorded form of the English language. “Anglo-Saxon is a wonderful language. The sounds are so wonderful,” said Rogers, who wrote in the introduction to her anthology that Anglo-Saxon is rich with images, alliteration and two-word, hyphenated phrases known as kennings. It is generally believed that medieval monks, who were literate, transcribed the riddles told by peasants, who were universally illiterate, said Rogers, Continued on page 10
Bassett Network Announces Appointment of Executives
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COOPERSTOWN r. Tommy Ibrahim, president and chief executive officer of Bassett Healthcare Network, has announced the appointment of Staci Thompson, MHA, FACMPE, as executive vice president, chief operating officer, and Jeffrey Morgan, MBA, CPA, FACHE, FHFMA, as senior vice president, chief financial officer of Bassett Healthcare Network. Morgan began his tenure on May 8. Thompson’s position is effective May 22. “Staci and Jeff will be remarkable additions to Bassett,” said Dr. Ibrahim. “They are both highly accomplished leaders in healthcare administration, each bringing critical areas
Photo provided
Photo provided
STACI THOMPSON
JEFFREY MORGAN
of expertise to our health system. As Bassett continues its journey as a national leader in rural health, Staci and Jeff’s knowledge, energy, and collective visions will help propel our organization forward at a time when innovation, creativity, and
commitment to serving rural communities is pivotal.” Thompson arrives at Bassett from The Guthrie Clinic in Sayre, Pennsylvania, where she has held progressive leadership positions for more than 27 years. Since 2013, she has
served as the executive vice president and chief operating officer for Guthrie Medical Group. She also served, concurrently, from 2019 to 2021 as executive vice president of The Guthrie Clinic’s Performance Improvement Office. Prior to these assignments, Thompson held vice president positions at the system level, in medical group operations, and for The Guthrie Clinic’s oncology service line. As executive vice president, chief operating officer, Thompson will oversee the operations of Bassett Healthcare Network. This includes executive leadership of all hospital operations, including direct leadership of Bassett Medical Center and A.O. Fox Hospital,
providing an important administrative presence at each of these facilities. She will also provide oversight of Bassett’s Critical Access Hospital division leadership teams and operations at Cobleskill Regional Hospital, Little Falls Hospital, and O’Connor Hospital in Delhi. Thompson earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania. She completed a master’s degree in healthcare administration from Pennsylvania State University. She has also served as a board member for United Way, Guthrie Federal Credit Union and Guthrie’s Emergency Operations Center. Jeff Morgan joins Bassett as chief financial officer after 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