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Volume 212, No. 52
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2020 citizen of the year
WITH 36 YEARS ON HEALTH CARE’S FRONT LINES, HEIDI BOND
The Freeman’s Journal
WAS READY
By LIBBY CUDMORE
Assemblyman Bill Magee, seen here at a 2015 COOPERSTOWN Otsego County Chamber breakfast, has died.
Bill Magee, Seward Ally, Age 81, Dies
B
ill Magee, 81, who represented Otsego County for 28 years in the state Assembly, died on Christmas Eve. Democrat Magee in the Democratic Assembly, and Republican Jim Seward in the Republican Senate, collaborated in bringing home Albany’s largesse. Magee was a popular auctioneer in the Cazenovia area and, although a Democrat, had served as chairman of the Madison County Board of Supervisors in that Republican county/DETAILS, A3 Follow Breaking New On
AllOTSEGO.com ►COOPERSTOWN’S “Shop With A Cop” has successful trial run. ►COVID INFECTED two Cooperstown Center residents, but didn’t kill them, nursing home says. ►DELGADO TO KEYNOTE virtual Otsego Chamber State of the State breakfast. ►RICHFIELD MAN CHARGED with stealing $2,500 in gift cards from food pantry. ►pitcher, hall of famer Phil Neikro dies ►fox hospital construction will limit ER parking. ►bassett’s christmas babies from Hamilton, Sidney. ►suspect arrested at DA’s office with cap, ball muzzleloader. ►friends of christmas deliver 400 holiday meals. ►flooding fears dim Festival of Lights, but waters abate. ►”a Christmas Carol” ,makes audiobook debut.
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hirty-four years ago, during her first summer as a nurse’s aide at Bassett Hospital, Heidi Bond’s mother, Registered Nurse Cindy Brophy, gave her advice that has carried her through her career to date. “She told me, ‘I don’t care if you have to go cry in the bathroom every shift – you finish this summer,’” said Bond. “She had a very strong work ethic, and she instilled that in me.” That fortitude was put to the test when the COVID19 pandemic hit. Bond, an LPN, has worked tirelessly, seven days a week, since the first case arrived in mid-March, assisting with contact tracing, scheduling testing clinics and monitoring the rise of the virus throughout the county. For her steady hand and firm compassion, Otsego County Director of Public Health Heidi Bond has been named the Citizen of the Year by Hometown Oneonta, The Freeman’s Journal and www.AllOTSEGO.com. “I know I’m proud of the work she’s done,” said Dave Bliss, R-
Jim Kevlin/The Freeman’s Journal
Although she didn’t know it was coming, good work habits, a cool head and years of training and experience prepared Heidi Bond, Otsego County public health director, to lead the local charge against COVID-19. With her is Molly, her pet Pomeranian.
Cooperstown/Town of Middlefield, chairman of the county Board of Representatives. “And I’m confident in saying our board is too.”
“The challenges of COVID would have caused others to curl up in the corner,” said county Rep. Andrew Stammel, D-Oneonta, who chairs the county board’s
Health & Education Committee. “But not Heidi. She works diligently, confidently and without complaint.” “She’s a phenomenal person, and I’m not just
On Final Night, Champagne Toast With Cindy
saying that because she’s my daughter,” said Brophy, now a nurse in Scarborough, Maine. “She is gentle and kind, and I don’t know if Please See CITIZEN, A4
DEATHS INCREASE, VACCINATIONS, TOO
Seward Ready For Next Chapter T By JIM KEVLIN MILFORD
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ne of the perks of being a state senator: When your term is up, you get to buy your chair for $25 as a memento of your service to the Empire State. The other day, Jim Seward’s chair was delivered to his home on North Main Street.
Midnight on New Year’s Eve, 36 years of serving Otsego County will be over. “Cindy and I will be at home, sipping champagne,” the county’s most celebrated politician said Monday, Dec. 29, in a farewell interview. “I’ve survived two very serious lifethreatening illnesses over the past year,” he said – a near-fatal bout of COVID-19 and a recurrence of cancer. “I’m truly blessed to have emerged from both of those as well as I have.” Jim Kevlin/The Freeman’s Journal Please See SEWARD, A2 Senator Seward and wife Cindy.
here’s bad news and good news on the COVID-19 front. There were five deaths in the first two days of this week, the most in one week since the virus first appeared in March. On the other hand, Bassett administered 900 vaccinations so far, to healthcare workers. The Hawkeye Grill and Mel’s at 22 in Cooperstown closed after staff members tested positive. DETAILS ON PAGE A2 AND
AllOTSEGO.com
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THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S LARGEST PRINT CIRCULATION 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD