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county to re-issue cooperstown trolley rfp, page 3 VISIT www.ALLOTSEGO.com, OTSEGO COUNTY’S NEWSPAPER/ONLINE Volume 218, No. 1
Cooperstown, New York, Thursday, January 1, 2026
Newsstand Price $1
Mid-month County Board Meeting Includes Emotional Goodbyes to Outgoing Reps By BILL BELLEN OTSEGO COUNTY
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he morning of December 15 at the Otsego County Board Chambers started early when the Administration Committee met briefly at 8:45 a.m. prior to the primary Otsego County Board of Representatives session set to follow at 9 a.m. Representatives Daniel
Wilber and Adrienne Martini were both absent for the duration of the committee meeting, though Wilber would arrive in time to participate in all voting procedures of the subsequent board meeting. Personnel Officer Penney Gentile used this meeting as a platform to inquire about a number of requests of the committee. She first requested midterm appointment salary approval
for a handful of positions—including some department heads—followed by a request to permit an exemption to the residency requirement for the position of county attorney. After beginning a brief discussion, Rep. Keith McCarty spoke out in strong disagreement with the proposal. “I’m not gonna support this,” McCarty stated. “I think we have Continued on page 10
Region Awarded $55 Million for Tourism, Infrastructure By ERIC SANTOMAURO-STENZEL
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ALBANY overnor Kathy Hochul announced on December 23 that the Mohawk Valley economic region, which includes Otsego County, would receive $55.4 million in grants. Officials said the money will be used for a mix of tourism, agribusiness, healthcare and infrastructure improvements. The Regional Economic Development Council Initiative awarded $23.4 million across the region. Projects in Otsego County include: $2,000,000.00 for SUNY Oneonta to renovate Netzer Hall; $200,000.00 for Custom Electronics Inc., a military, commercial, and industrial electronics manufacturer, to add a new electronic printed circuit board assembly line in Oneonta; and $40,000.00 for a Town of Oneonta strategic planning and feasibility study for West End development. INSIDE
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Changing of the Guard
Photo provided
MIDDLEFIELD—On Thursday, December 4, the Town of Middlefield swore in newly elected Town Supervisor Ron Morgan, Town Justice Doris Motta, and Councilmembers Michael Trainor and Lauren Ferrara. Their terms will commence on January 1. Pictured from left are: Town Clerk Jean Schifano, Motta, Trainor, Morgan, Ferrara and Councilman Jeffrey Woeppel.
Local Band Directors To Participate in Rose Parade By ERIC SANTOMAURO-STENZEL PASADENA, CA wo local band directors are set to participate in the New Year’s Day Rose Parade out west in Pasadena, California. Michelle Fritts, the director of the Cooperstown Community Band, and Paul Blake, the director of the Richfield Springs Central School band, arrived shortly after Christmas and have been preparing since. “It was amazing,” Fritts described her first time participating in 2022. “It always is, and I’m looking forward to experiencing this again, to catch all the things that I missed the first time.” Accompanying an animated float along the 5.5 mile route, the two will join more than 300 other band directors from across North America. The group was assembled
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Through the state’s inaugural Advancing Collaboration for Highimpact Initiatives for Economic Visions and Expansion competition, the region was awarded $32 million for its “Rooted in the Mohawk Valley” proposal. The proposal was put forward by the Mohawk Valley Regional Economic Development Council, chaired by SUNY Cobleskill President Dr. Marion Terenzio and Lawrence T. Gilroy III, president of Gilroy, Kernan & Gilroy Inc. The region also includes Oneida, Herkimer, Schoharie, Fulton, and Montgomery counties. “I remain grateful for everyone involved in advancing the work of the Regional Economic Development Councils. Their dedication to this ongoing public-private effort has had a transformational impact in every corner of the state,” Gov. Hochul said in a press release. “Congratulations to Continued on page 6
by the Saluting America’s Band Directors project, sponsored by the Michael D. Sewell Memorial Foundation, based in Pickerington, Ohio. Blake said, “Having watched this parade my whole life, I never dreamed I would ever be able to march in it. It is truly an honor.” The band directors are marching under the theme of “America’s band directors: We teach music. We teach life.” Fritts said, “It’s not just reading the notes, it’s not just marching down the street. It is responsibility, it is camaraderie. It is friendships.” Blake added that, “While here I have met with amazing men and women from Photo courtesy of the Clark Sports Center all over the country who do what I do,” Michelle Fritts, a group fitness instructor at the Clark saying the experience is “truly amazing.” Sports Center and director of the Cooperstown Com“I want everyone to know that I represent munity Band, will be marching in this year’s Rose Parade on New Year’s Day. Continued on page 11
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S AWARD-WINNING WEEKLIES 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD