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Oneonta, N.Y., Thursday, September 5, 2024
Volume 16, No. 45
Caretaker’s Forecast: Lovely Overall, but Stress Likely By KRISTIAN CONNOLLY
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Photo by Monica Calzolari
Chef Jordan Tolley, Dave Baldo and Kelly Tolley of Fatboyz Pizza and Badazz Bitez and a frequent customer, Brandon Johnson (standing).
Shop Name May Be Unusual, But the Faces are Familiar By MONICA CALZOLARI
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ONEONTA e ran out of pizza dough our first day in business,” laughed Kelly Tolley of Fatboyz Pizza and Badazz Bitez. They opened with a soft launch a month ago, on August 2. Word of mouth spread so fast that Jordan Tolley, his mom Kelly, and Dave Baldo, whom Jordan calls dad, could not keep up with the demand. Laughter seems to be the secret INSIDE ► kiting in the air for cherry valley, page 2 ► eckmair cited for local history efforts, page 3 ► local news comes at a cost to be shared, page 4 ► residents advocate for banners, page 4 ► support workers praised, page 5 ► food pantry channels baryshnikov, page 6 ► a rainy day and an old buick, page 10 Follow Breaking News On
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ingredient in this family-owned business. Family members crack jokes and share their enthusiasm from the minute you meet them. Fatboyz Pizza is named for Kelly’s brother, Dave Wright, who died prematurely 12 years ago in his early 40s. Dave’s nickname was Fatboy. He had a beer belly. Jordan came up with the idea of naming the business after his uncle. When they went to register that name with New York State, Fatboys Pizza Continued on page 11
Five Districts Named ‘Schools of Distinction’
COOPERSTOWN ne person is an aspiring meteorologist, a recent Cooperstown Central School graduate who loves her hometown lake and is now a third-year college student at SUNY Oneonta. The other person, also a selfprofessed lake lover, is a bohemian musician and artist who has spent nearly the last eight years traveling around the world before now preparing to settle into his self-described “golden years” in a recently purchased home in central France. You might wonder what these two people could possibly have in common. The answer: Each was a live-in caretaker of a beloved, and popular, village park on the lake this past summer. But Emma Panzarella, 21, the caretaker at Three Mile Point, and Jamie Panzer, 65, the caretaker at Fairy Spring Park, came to their lakeside responsibilities in very different ways. For Panzarella, the connection was born out of service as a lifeguard for the village for a number of summers, and having the suggestion made to her when the Three Mile Point caretaker position became available in the summer of 2023. With her family—her parents and two younger brothers—already nearby, living on the lake during the summers was an ideal way to continue the transition out of her parents’ house and into living on her own. The stipend for the summer, the free housing, and having her own place for being able to spend time with friends after hours made the decision to pursue the caretaker job pretty easy. Panzer, who grew up in Maryland, had a connection to Cooperstown via
a friendship he’d made a number of years ago while living and working in Austin, Texas. Panzer was in France this spring when it was suggested to him by village Zoning Enforcement Officer Chris Deville that he consider caretaking for the summer. For Panzer, with a house-buying process not going to be completed until later in the summer, the idea of a few quiet months on Otsego Lake, with a paycheck and no-cost housing, sounded like a pretty good gig and a way to manage the transition into the major life change he was about to undertake. Panzarella and Panzer sat down recently, outside of their respective caretaker cottages, to talk about their experience. Among the common themes to arise as the Labor Day holiday and the end of the season approached? The challenges and stress from being “on” seven days a week, and more or less around the clock; appreciation for the lakeside-park setting as a “home” for the summer; animals in the parks; and baseball teams. Also shared between the two: Each person highly valued the social aspect of managing a local lakeside park. “I definitely like having the interaction with people every day,” said Panzarella on a busy Sunday afternoon during a busy summer. “I definitely like that the most, talking to people, telling them about the area. I’ve lived here most of my life, I know a lot. So it’s nice to be able to share that with people.” On a cool, rainy Friday before the holiday weekend, Panzer, who’d never been to Cooperstown before this summer, said, “You quickly learn that the locals know what’s going on, and Continued on page 9
By KRISTIAN CONNOLLY OTSEGO COUNTY ilbertsville-Mount Upton Central, Otsego Area Occupational Center, Owen D. Young Central, Richfield Springs Central and Worcester Central were all recently recognized as “2023-24 Schools of Distinction” by the nonprofit organization CFES Brilliant Pathways, which helps students from underserved districts achieve academic and career success. According to a CFES Brilliant Pathways news release, the five local schools were among 34 in the U.S. and Ireland that achieved the 2023-24 honor “for exemplary work in preparing their students for college and rewarding careers.” Gilbertsville-Mount Upton, OAOC, Richfield Springs and Worcester were named CFES Brilliant Photo by Kristian Connolly Continued on page 11 Caretaker Jamie Panzer relaxes at Cooperstown’s Fairy Spring Park.
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THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S AWARD-WINNING WEEKLIES 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD
Celebrate the Arts & Community in Downtown Oneonta! STD PRESORT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ONEONTA PERMIT NO. 890
Friday, September 13, 5-10pm at CANO Saturday, September 14, noon-5pm on Main Street Visit cityofthehillsfest.org for the festival schedule