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dr. ellen mchale to speak thursday at cgp, page 8 VISIT www.ALLOTSEGO.com, OTSEGO COUNTY’S NEWSPAPER/ONLINE Volume 218, No. 17
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Cooperstown, New York, Thursday, April 23, 2026
Residents Rally for Richfield Springs Coach Cut from Softball Team; Administrators Silent
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RICHFIELD SPRINGS ichfield Springs community members packed a school board meeting on Wednesday, April 15 to show support for a long-time coach who was let go from his girls’ softball team coaching position. Coach Chris Butler told AllOtsego he has still been allowed to coach the boys’ modified baseball team, and engaged in coaching activities for that team since the softball decision was made.
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“How come I’m, all of a sudden, a villain, you know? Nobody will say why I’m not allowed to be with the softball team. I can coach the boys modified [baseball team],” he said. The Richfield Springs Central School District did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story. AllOtsego was not able to independently verify the reason for the decision by press time, which remains an open question for many in the community. Videos of public comments at the meeting posted by Continued on page 11
Solstice Commons Site Plan Approved by Planning Commission Partnerships Christine Nealon said in an interview. But the site plan approval ONEONTA “is a significant step toward completing he City of Oneonta Planning this incredible opportunity for Oneonta, Commission unanimously for Otsego County, and for all of its approved the site plan for residents.” Rehabilitative Support Services’ The affordable housing project, proposed Solstice Commons housing located at 164 River Street, is planned project at its meeting on April 15, held at to be three stories tall and contain about the Foothills Performing Arts and Civic 61 units. Plans place the building on the Center. The commission also declared northern 3.2-acre portion of the approxithat the project would not have a negamately 6.5-acre tax parcel, with a subditive environmental impact. Now, RSS vision on the south side. will move into a design process. Around half of the units are planned The resolution approving the site plan to be available to individuals earning notes that the Solstice Commons project less than 70 percent of the Area Median Photo by Eric Santomauro-Stenzel advances Planning Commission prioriIncome and the other half for individuals ties enshrined in city code, including Betsy Brugg, an attorney with Woods Oviatt Gilman representing Rehabilitative Sup- with Serious Mental Illness, according Services in their Solstice Commons affordable housing proposal, addresses City of “the need to support the expansion of port Oneonta Planning Commission members prior to environmental and site plan votes on to project documents. Plans include 41 the local economy and need to increase Wednesday, April 15. one-bedroom units, 20 two-bedroom housing opportunities and the need to units, and 88 parking spaces. permitted uses for its zoning, and that sufficient steps protect the quality of existing districts.” According to 2020 census data, the City of Representing a “significant financial investment are planned for protecting the overall district, in part Oneonta’s median household income in 2024 dollars in the currently vacant property,” the resolution said with natural screening and placing parking away is $61,111.00. Its poverty rate was 16.6 percent. Solstice Commons will offer affordable housing from other residential properties. “I think the Planning Commission worked very “Obviously, we are not starting construction opportunities to local residents with supportive hard” to be transparent, Nealon said. She added that housing for those suffering from mental illness. tomorrow. There are many, many, many steps Continued on page 9 It further states that the project conforms with before that can happen,” RSS Director of Strategic By ERIC SANTOMAURO-STENZEL
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Photo by Teresa Winchester
Craig Erigo and Jenna Haefelin, with their cockapoo Maple, in their recently-leased Gilbert Block store space on Commercial Street in Gilbertsville. Their shop, Patina, will be opening soon.
antiques, design, and giving beautiful old things a second life, have dubbed their new establishment Patina House because of their love for patina on vintage and antique items. “It’s quick and simple and incorporates those concepts,” Haefelin said regarding the store’s name. The store will offer antique and vintage furniture and décor, as well as custom lighting for light fixtures and possibly architectural salvage. The couple live in Westchester, where they are restoring a barn built in the late 18th or early 19th century for their home. They discovered Gilbertsville and the Gilbert Block’s available space while visiting Erigo’s parents, Fran and Stella Erigo, who have lived in Gilbertsville since 2016. The Gilbert Block itself is a Neo-TudorContinued 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
Putting the Community Back Into the Newspaper
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GILBERTSVILLE hings are springing up in Gilbertsville, giving a welcomed boost to business life in the tranquil Butternut Valley village, home to 308 residents. Two endeavors dealing with antique, vintage or used goods will be opening their doors soon—Patina House and the Olde Stonehouse Emporium. Both promise to complement each other as well as the work that Five Kids Bakehouse has already done to establish a destination business for the area. On the weekend of April 18 and 19, Jenna Haefelin and Craig Erigo were busy arranging their wares in a capacious store space of the Gilbert Block which has gone unoccupied for some three years. Haefelin and Erigo, who have a shared passion for
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Old Goods Bringing New Life to Gilbertsville Shops
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