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Ion emS DIvIS t S y S n tIo Informa
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08 - 2023
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AllOTSEGO.com, OTSEGO COUNTY’S DAILY NEWSPAPER/ONLINE COMPLIMENTARY
Oneonta, N.Y., Thursday, August 10, 2023
Beloved Actor Spent Childhood in Oneonta
Subscription Drive Benefits Local Charities
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LOS ANGELES ctor Paul Reubens, best known for his beloved “Pee-wee Herman” character, passed away in Los Angeles on Sunday, July 30. Born in Peekskill, New York, Reubens spent much of his early childhood in Oneonta before moving to Sarasota, Florida for high school. His father was a fighter pilot who saw combat with the Royal Air Force and U.S. Army Air Forces during WWII, and with the Israeli Air Force in the 1948 ArabIsraeli War. Reubens’ sister, Abby Rubenfeld, born in Oneonta, was the first woman to serve as class president at Princeton University. Rubenfeld was also an early legal director at the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, which is now the largest LGBTQ legal advocacy firm in the U.S. The Pee-wee character became a cult figure in the 1980s, starring in the smash hit movie “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” (1985) and the CBS Saturday morning children’s show “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” (1986-1990). Reubens did all public appearances and interviews in character during this period. Negative media attention following an arrest for public indecency in 1991 postponed his involvement in major projects for the next decade, but he returned to movies and television in the 2000s. His character remains a cultural icon and a strong point of nostalgia for many older Millennials and younger Gen X-ers. “Please accept my apology for not going public with what I’ve been facing the last six years,” Reubens said in a statement released after his death from an undisclosed cancer diagnosis. “I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans, and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you.”
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Photo by Cooper Hodgdon
Rubbing Elbows With a Legend INDEX—Former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning made an appearance at Cooper’s Barn on Route 28 just south of the Village of Cooperstown in the days prior to Induction Weekend not once, but twice. Finn Holohan, Cooperstown Central School Class of 2022, met Manning while he was dining on barbecue and ice cream. “I work at Cooper’s Barn mainly in the food shack. I take orders and prepare food for our customers,” Holohan said. “I really like the job mainly for my co-workers. We are all friends, so it makes work fun. It was really cool meeting Mr. Manning; he was super nice and a friendly guy. It was a great experience.” Finn is the son of Ray and Sheri Holohan of Cooperstown.
COOPERSTOWN ince its public debut on June 27, readers have had full access to AllOtsego.com, the online home of “The Freeman’s Journal” and “Hometown Oneonta.” The website revamp was long overdue, and readership had declined due to slow response time and an outdated platform. Today’s AllOtsego.com is visually attractive, easy to navigate, and organized in such a way that both news and advertising content is easy to access. Website analytics suggest the changes have been well received. Web designer Xander Moffat reports that, since its launch, AllOtsego. com has had 42,000 unique visitors to the site and 121,000 total page views—about 1,000 new visitors and 3,000 page views each day, on average. This week, the paywall goes back up. Visitors to the site receive three complimentary views before being asked to subscribe for one month, six months or annually. After all, Iron String Press Inc.—the parent company for AllOtsego.com and its sister hard-copy publications—is a small, independently owned media group funded entirely by advertising and subscription income. “In keeping with today’s move toward all things online, Iron String Press is working hard to make sure our readers can access community news the way that suits them best, whether via AllOtsego.com, our two newspapers or on Facebook,” explained General Manager and Senior Editor Darla M. Youngs. “Local journalism is vitally important, now more than ever, but providing this service comes at a cost.” Continued on page 11
Board Expands Emergency Housing
INSIDE ► ‘Care-a-vanners help out WITH BUILDING OF ONEONTA HOMES, page 3
By WRILEY NELSON
► examining climate act impacts, page 4
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► OLT talks more about environmental bond act possibilities, page 5 ► NEWS BRIEFS AND AN EXHIBIT OPENING AT caa, page 10 ► municipal updates from the town of richfield, Photo by Andrew Ryback Photography LLC page 11 Grace Shipman takes Calamanzo over a jump. ► DICK DEROSA CHECKS IN Local Rider Enjoying Success FROM hawthorn hill, page 12 TRAVERSE CITY, MI
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alamanzo, a flea-bitten grey horse owned and ridden by Grace Shipman of Cooperstown, New York and Ridgefield, Connecticut, was named 3’3” Reserve Grand Champion at the 2023 Adequan®/USEF Junior Hunter National Championships East on July 1 in Traverse City, Michigan. The junior hunters competed in three Continued on page 13
OTSEGO COUNTY he Otsego County Board of Representatives authorized the Department of Social Services to contract for 10 additional rooms for emergency housing at Motel 88 in Oneonta at its meeting on Wednesday, August 2. The $621,000.00, 18-month contract doubles the number of rooms at Motel 88 and brings DSS to a total of more than 60 rented rooms at local hotels. The county DSS is required by New York State to provide emergency housing to eligible families. Len Carson, the Oneonta Common Council member for the 5th Ward, where the motel is located, spoke against the measure during the public comment period. He also brought it up at the Common Council meeting on Tuesday, August 1. Carson said that neither the county nor the Oneontaarea county representatives notified
city authorities of the new contract. He also said that some DSS clients at lodgings in his ward had had run-ins with law enforcement, and that the city could not handle the cost of frequent police calls. “Eighteen months ago, we had a structure fire at Motel 88,” Carson said. “It was a DSS client. We’ve had numerous calls to Motel 88 and the Townhouse Motor Inn. I was told more than two months ago that we had more than 500 calls to the Townhouse Motor Inn… We’ve had a sewer line backup from the Townhouse Motor Inn filled with hypodermic needles.” Carson asked the County Board to table the resolution. The Board discussed the resolution in executive session and continued consideration after reopening the meeting to the public. All four representatives for the City of Oneonta sponsored the measure. Rep. Michelle Continued on page 12
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