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Cooperstown’s offiCial newspaper
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founded in 1808
judge blocks job corps closing, page 6 VISIT www.ALLOTSEGO.com, OTSEGO COUNTY’S NEWSPAPER/ONLINE Volume 217, No. 24
Cooperstown, New York, Thursday, June 12, 2025
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Local Indivisible Members Call for Swift Climate Action at DEC Hearing By TERESA WINCHESTER
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ALBANY ine members of Cooperstown Oneonta Indivisible traveled to the headquarters of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in Albany on Wednesday, June 4 to urge prompt action on the state’s cap-andinvest regulations. These rules would
require corporations to pay for the fossil fuel pollution they produce. The resulting proceeds would go back to New Yorkers to help cover the cost of their energy bills and to fund projects that mitigate flooding and provide clean energy to communities. Of those investments, at least 35 percent would go to historically marginalized and disadvantaged communities.
The framework for the hearing is the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. After its passage, the state legislature then authorized DEC to establish rules and regulations necessary to meet the CLCPA goals of reducing GHG emissions from 1990 levels by 40 percent by 2030 and by 85 percent by 2050. The proposed GHG reporting Continued on page 8
Richfield Garden Club Member Recognized with State Award By BILL BELLEN
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RICHFIELD SPRINGS our years ago, the Garden Club of Richfield Springs was in quite the predicament. With only eight members left in the organization, it seemed general interest and engagement surrounding horticulture in the region was waning. Numerous garden sites were not receiving adequate care and were not presenting the pristine image of the village they had been built to foster. Luckily for plants and residents of Richfield Springs alike, Becky Marzeski was not about to let this communal institution fall into disarray. “Four years ago, we INSIDE ► Native Argentinian IS a hair stylist and much more, page 2 ► Springfield couple to serve as grand marshals, page 3 ► LET’S KEEP PROTESTS PEACEFUL, page 4 ► 200-YEAR-OLD BOX HAS A TALE TO TELL, page 4 ► A SOLO SIT IS GOOD FOR THE SOUL, page 5 ► hartwick makes progress on water issues, page 6 ► calendar, page 12 Follow Breaking News On
kept it simple by challenging each member to invite at least one friend to a meeting or activity during the garden club year,” Marzeski said. “We offered a prize to the members who had the greatest success and number of new members. Each consecutive year, we did the same, but we found we no longer needed to offer a prize. Members were enjoying watching us grow!” Marzeski has been an involved member of her community and the Garden Club for the past 40 years. Of the 16 committees the Garden Club has created over that time, she has chaired nearly all of them, five of which she chairs presently. Outside of her
Photo provided
Becky Marzeski was honored recently by the Federated Garden Clubs of New York State, Inc.
gardening expertise, Marzeski is a member of the Board of Education
for the Richfield Springs Central School District, president of the
Community Literacy Alliance, and a member of the Board of Directors for the Richfield Springs Community Center. With this many accolades under her belt over the years, it was clear to her friends and colleagues that she was deserving of significant recognition. Fellow club member Maureen Culbert intended to realize this notion, nominating Marzeski for an award from the Federated Garden Clubs of New York State, Inc. “I have been keeping this ‘secret’ for a while and [was] sworn to secrecy,” Culbert said with regard to Marzeski’s nomination. “The big deal, of course, is our grant and the reservoir,
and how it has been redone. She really is the impetus behind all that happens in our club and it is so well-deserved. We are a team, but as in any group, if you don’t have a strong leader, then things just don’t happen. She finds a way to make them happen.” The reservoir referenced by Culbert is just one of many projects Marzeski has spearheaded and overseen over the past halfdecade. Highlights from these include multiple gardens and floral urns at Richfield Springs Central School, as well as similar setups at the public library, gardens at the base of the village’s historic clock, and Continued on page 10
CAA Exhibit and Sale Highlight the Human Figure
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COOPERSTOWN ide by Side: The Figure Explored,” which opens with a reception on Friday, June 13 at the Cooperstown Art Association, will feature a sale of figurative artwork by Raymond Han, through the Raymond Han and Paul Kellogg Foundation, and a display of artwork from “Figure This!”, CAA’s weekly community figure drawing sessions. The exhibit will be on display from Saturday, June 14 through Saturday, June 21 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day in the CAA ballroom gallery. Friday’s opening reception will be held from 5-7 p.m.; sales of Han’s artwork will not begin until June 14 at 11 a.m. “CAA patrons may remember our recent sales of Raymond Han’s artwork, 2022 and Photo provided 2023, designed to benefit the Raymond Han A sale of Raymond Han’s figurative artwork starts on and Paul Kellogg Foundation and CAA,” June 14 at the Cooperstown Art Association.
officials said in a press release. “This sale of work gives patrons the opportunity to purchase Raymond Han’s paintings as a thank you to the community he loved so much, and will feature a collection of figurative work by Han.” The sale is open to the public; eligible purchasers must be a current CAA member at the time of purchase. Memberships may be purchased or renewed at the gallery at any time, officials said. Membership discounts will not apply, sales will be limited to two artworks per household, and the purchaser is responsible for the packing and transportation of the artwork. “We ask that sold paintings stay on display throughout the exhibit to be enjoyed by other visitors,” said CAA Executive Director Janet Erway. Han, who passed away in Cooperstown Continued on page 10
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S AWARD-WINNING WEEKLIES 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD