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founded in 1808
EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY AT LOCAL FOODS LOCAL SPIRITS EVENT, page 7 VISIT www.ALLOTSEGO.com, OTSEGO COUNTY’S NEWSPAPER/ONLINE Volume 217, No. 42
Cooperstown, New York, Thursday, October 16, 2025
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Coop Area League of Women Voters To Host Candidates’ Forums in Hartwick and Milford Some Candidates Turn Down the Opportunity
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COOPERSTOWN he League of Women Voters of the Cooperstown Area will hold two Candidates’ Forums this fall in advance of Election Day, November 4. The forums will feature candidates for town officials in Hartwick and Milford.
The Hartwick Forum is scheduled for Wednesday, October 22 from 7-9 p.m. at the Clark Sports Center Community Room, 1124 County Route 52, Cooperstown. All the candidates in the contested elections for town supervisor and town council were invited to participate. Both candidates running for Hartwick town supervisor, Cody Moore (REP) and Andrea Vazquez
(CON) were invited to the debate. Moore has accepted; Vazquez has not replied as of Sunday, October 12, officials said in a press release. All the candidates running for Hartwick Town Council were also invited to the debate. Joanne Gardner (REP, Hartwick United) and Caren G. Kelsey (Hartwick United), have agreed to attend. Kimberly Ann Continued on page 11
Democratic Candidates Address Housing, Data Centers, More By ERIC SANTOMAURO-STENZEL
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ONEONTA ith less than a month before the November 4 local elections, Oneonta county, city and town Democratic candidates, and one independent, held a forum addressing issues from affordable housing to data centers and more on Saturday. Candidates Dan Buttermann (mayor), Will Rivera (town supervisor), Jill Basile (incumbent county representative, 14th district), Michele Clapperton (county representative, 13th district), Eamonn Hinchey (county representative, 4th district), Teresa DeSantis (town board), and independent Mike Forster Rothbart (incumbent city council, 7th ward) spoke. Around 25 people attended the October 11 event at Wise Guys Sammy’s hosted by the Oneonta Democratic Club in downtown Oneonta. “I’m running because I am really concerned about proposed data centers,” Rivera, the Town of Oneonta superINSIDE ► is it a data center or isn’t it? page 2
Photo by Eric Santomauro-Stenzel
Seven candidates for office in the Oneonta area shared their visions at a forum downtown. Seated, from left, are Michele Clapperton, Eamonn Hinchey, Mike Forster Rothbart, Jill Basile, Dan Buttermann, Teresa DeSantis and Will Rivera.
visor candidate, said in his opening statement. Rivera said the issue has come up repeatedly in conversations with voters.
“They’re worried because of the lack of information, and I believe government should be open, transparent, and work for the people,” Rivera said.
At a Town of Oneonta board meeting last week, representatives of Eco-Yotta Inc. billed their renewed proposal as Continued on page 10
Inaugural Pumpkin Carving Event Held...Underwater By ERIC SANTOMAURO-STENZEL
► COVERED BRIDGE TURNS 200, page 3
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► THE SHUTDOWN: POLICY OR POLITICS? page 5 ► croft: wE HEAR FROM ONE OF OUR OWN, page 4 ► prepping for the smokeout, page 5 ► NO KINGS DAY RALLY 2.0, page 7 ► BUTTERNUTS UNVEILS PILOT PROJECT , page 12 ► CALENDAR, page 14 Follow Breaking News On Photo by Eric Santomauro-Stenzel
COOPERSTOWN s the end of summer heat falls into October, some community members embodied the transition this past Saturday, October 4. On the west side of Otsego Lake at Three Mile Point, five scuba divers suited up to carve pumpkins—underwater. A collaboration of the Leatherstocking Dive Club and the SUNY Oneonta Biological Field Station, divers competed for a Fourth Seeker Element dive mask and Stream2Sea Explorer pack, which included small diving necessities. David Turner, chief dive officer for the Leatherstocking SCUBA local business, said he was working to build a dive community in the area. Families came to watch as the divers put on their gear, grabbed their pumpkins and entered the water on the 80 degree sunny
October day. Pumpkins already hollowed out, the divers brought them to the lake floor just off shore. In a dive brief, Turner told divers to be careful and not to panic if the pumpkin got away from them. Jeannette Kubis, a Professional Association of Diving Instructors-certified scuba instructor, said “We dove into the spirit of Halloween with a splash” in what the divers plan to be an annual event. “I was pleased with the turnout and excited for next year’s,” Kubis said. Alex Dixon took first prize in the carving contest. Future Leatherstocking Dive Club events can be found on the Facebook group by the same name. At left, local hairstylist and scuba instructor Jeannette Kubis checks her equipment as she prepares to dive into Otsego Lake to carve her pumpkin.
THE FREEMAN’S JOURNAL & HOMETOWN ONEONTA, OTSEGO COUNTY’S AWARD-WINNING WEEKLIES 2010 WINNERS OF The Otsego County Chamber/KEY BANK SMALL BUSINESS AWARD
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