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Cooperstown’s offiCial newspaper
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founded in 1808
Graffiti enhances Oneonta /page 2
VISIT www. Volume 215, No. 11
AllOTSEGO.com, OTSEGO COUNTY’S DAILY NEWSPAPER/ONLINE
Cooperstown, New York, Thursday, March 16, 2023
Newsstand Price $1
NYCAMH Facing Budget Difficulties
Paintings Travel to Los Angeles for Solo Exhibit
Seeks to Raise Awareness By TARA BARNWELL
By TERESA WINCHESTER GILBERTSVILLE t’s a long way from Carrie Mae Smith’s Italianate stone house in Gilbertsville to Los Angeles and Lowell Ryan Projects, a split-level art gallery with an art deco exterior. Nevertheless, Smith made the 2,764-mile trip with her husband, Greg Watson, on February 14 to open her first solo exhibit at the gallery, which welcomes artists whose work crosses disciplinary boundaries. “It’s the most significant gallery show I’ve had to date,” Smith said. Smith’s paintings largely feature vintage porcelain and flatware. Her work, both in its subject matter and in its soft, luminous technique, evokes a more genteel era, when tea was served formally in dainty cup and saucer sets and cream poured from a small pitcher instead of a wax carton. Smith, in fact, lived in this more elegant world to some extent, working during summers on Martha’s Vineyard as a private chef for the same family from 1995 to 2010. “This job was like a combination of being Mrs. Patmore and Mrs. Hughes,” Smith laughed, referring to the iconic Downton Abbey characters. The installation’s title, “Four Plates and Four Forks,” is taken from one of the exhibit’s 30 paintings, which are small-scale, with dimensions ranging from 12 by 14 to 14 by 17 inches. Smith paints with oil on aluminum composite material, a substrate designed for architects and sign makers. “I like a stable substance for painting, one that doesn’t change with humidity—a hard, smooth surface,” Smith said.
FLY CREEK n Tuesday, March 7, the New York Farm Bureau held a virtual press conference to voice its support for the New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health and to highlight budget issues currently being faced by NYCAMH. NYCAMH has a simple mission statement: “Enhancing agricultural and rural health by preventing and treating occupational injury and illness.” “We are known as national experts in the agricultural field,” Erica Scott, deputy director of NYCAMH, said. “We promote the health and safety in agriculture. Our mission is carried out by utilizing research, outreach, education and clinical consultation services.” An independent department of Bassett Healthcare, the agency has been in a “flat funding” situation for years. This means the $1 million annual budget hasn’t been increased or decreased since 2009. “Costs for everything—medical and safety supplies, labor, and transportation—have risen on average by 20 percent,” Scott said. “But our budget hasn’t.” “We visit farms and train people on safety and health Continued on page 6
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Photo by Samantha Manee
K-Boy’s Little Buddy HARTWICK—Three-year-old munchkin, Nacho, is a pasture pal for the Manee family’s 23-year-old quarterhorse, K-Boy. Nacho does his job well, which is to keep K-Boy young, and we’re told “he’s a little spicy”—living up to his name. We invite you to send pictures of your furry, feathered or finned friends to darlay@allotsego.com. Every week, we’ll select at least one photograph to be highlighted in the newspapers. In the coming days, Nacho, K-Boy and a host of other beloved pets will be available for viewing on the AllOtsego.com website. Look for the link to “Furever Friends and Purrfect Pals.”
Continued on page 9 INSIDE ► E MS/firefighters still A CONTROVERSY for tax exemption? page 3 ► from changes TO consolidations— ibrAhim speaks out, page 4 ► FOXCARE FITNESS GETS PLENTY OF SUPPORT, page 4 ► opioids are good and bad, but be careful, LEAF News from the Noteworthy, page 5 ►COLOSSAL EGG LAID! page 7 ► Averill road and templeton foundation still a controverSY? page 8 Follow Breaking News On
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CFOC Opens 2023 Awards Cycle $150K in FundsAvailable; First Deadline is June 15 SPRINGFIELD s of March 1, the Community Foundation of Otsego County is accepting applications for its 2023 Awards Cycle. According to a recent press release, this year’s cycle includes the following new features: 1. $150,000.00 total to be allocated. 2.There are three categories— “Strengthening Our Community,” “Strengthening Our Nonprofits” and “Addressing Immediate Needs.” 3. Deadlines: The first-round closes June 15, 2023 and the second round closes October 15, 2023. 4. FAQs—A list of questions and answers to help applicants through the process are found on cfotsego.org under “Get Funding.” More FAQs will be added as questions come in.
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The following funds are also open for applications in the corresponding communities: Advocates for Springfield Fund: A total of $1,400.00 allocated to support the health and well-being of the Springfield community is open for applications. The first deadline is May 15, 2023. Greater Otego Library and Education fund: $12,000.00 is allocated for the enhancement and development of educational and cultural resources in the Town of Otego. Since 2019, the Community Foundation of Otsego County has allocated $500,000.00 in grants and awards to local nonprofits. Its mission is to lead and inspire community-wide efforts that significantly improve the quality of life and the prosperity of the Otsego County, New York area by connecting people who care with causes that matter, and by using collective knowledge, creativity, and resources for greater impact. For more information, visit the CFOC website, cfotsego.org, or e-mail contact@ cfotsego.org
ZBA Denies Short-term Rental Application By CASPAR EWIG COOPERSTOWN ast Tuesday, March 7, 2023—in front of an overflow, standingroom-only crowd—the Village of Cooperstown Zoning Board of Appeals considered and ultimately denied an application by Mark and Margaret Curley, the owners of 40 Lake Street, to permit four of the residence’s five bedrooms to be used for short-term rentals. Prior to the hearing, the ZBA had received 24 letters and/or e-mails, all of which expressed the writers’ objection to the application. The same was true of comments made at the hearing: the residents who spoke all opposed the application. The owners, who had purchased the house also known as Averill Cottage four months earlier, were not present. Although a family member did attend and was given the opportunity to be heard, he declined. The emotional tone of the opposition was best summarized by the impassioned plea of Hillary LaDuke who,
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as an Averill descendant, said, “Averill Cottage was our homestead that was built by our family…and I can’t imagine that my ancestors, or anybody in my family, envisions this someday being a chop shop.” At the outset of the meeting, ZBA Chairperson Susan Snell summarized the written opposition into various categories. Many opponents referred to the land-use descriptions of the Zoning Law as well as to the Village of Cooperstown’s Comprehensive Plan, which generally holds short-term rentals to be undesirable. On a practical level, some writers pointed out that it would be inappropriate to convert an historic dwelling into a boarding house, and that the narrowness of Lake Street made it incompatible with any additional traffic. Others contended that the ambience of the neighborhood’s privacy and peace and quiet would be disturbed by the proposed additional parking area and were equally concerned by the Continued on page 9
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST PRINT CIRCULATION 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD