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 In the News This Week -- Sept. 15, 2006 |
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 'Greatness' Is The Goal By JIM KEVLIN COOPERSTOWN "Greatness" was the word most-often heard Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 13, at the Cooperstown Middle-High School cafeteria. The occasion was the launching of "Greatness in Our Sights," the school district's effort to become as good as it can be by 2010, and the goals were ambitious ones: Every student will leave fifth grade and eighth grade "reading, writing and computing above grade level" – in other words, as with those youngsters at literary "Lake Wobegone," all will be "above average." In four years, every student will be "an active contributor" and every teacher and parent a "strong contributor" to "academic achievement and success." Superintendent of Schools Mary Jo McPhail, who emceed the gathering after being introduced by school board member Jean M. Schifano, declared, "We want people to be innovators." "Good is the enemy of great," declared Hal Williams, program director at Rensselaerville Institute, near Albany, to a crowd of 150, mostly teachers but some parents and students. That's the first sentence of Jim Collins' 2001 bestseller, "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap ... and Others Don't." The Cooperstown district, after Newsweek included the high school on its list of the best 500 in the nation, could have been "complacent and self-satisfied," he said. "What's wrong with 80 percent?" the community could have asked. "What's wrong with 90 percent?" Instead, the school district and the community came up with a plan to ensure all students, 100 percent of them, receive a better-than-average education, he continued. "There's a big difference between 'most' and 'all,'" Williams had said in an earlier interview. Since a Feb. 9 community meeting at the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum, institute staffers – funded through a $15,000 grant from The Clark Foundation – have guided teams of teachers, administrators, parents and students in developing the plan now being launched. Next, the three principals – Gary Kuch at the high school, Michael Cring at the middle school, and Teresa Gorman at the elementary school – will convene "20-10 Teams," working groups that will pursue the designated goals. "I think it's a good sign that so many people are here," said teacher Mary Beth Murdock, who had just signed a "Sign On For Greatness" pledge board after the meeting. Karen Katz and Donna Borgstrom, co-presidents of the PTO – its first meeting of the year is 7 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 19, in the elementary school cafeteria – both expressed optimism "Greatness in Our Sights" will succeed. "There's a lot of interest in the community in this school," said Katz, noting that "a lot of people who grew up here come back here" and have a strong interest in their alma mater. In an interview after the 30-minute program, McPhail acknowledged there will be challenges ahead. A big piece of the success will have to be teachers, who will have to accept "an openness, a willingness to embrace new things in the classroom" and take full advantage of the professional-development opportunities the school district is offering, and she expressed optimism that will happen. "It's a lot more work," said McPhail, but "an extremely high number of teachers bought into the concept." One of the approaches teachers have been trained in is "experiential learning," where students are encouraged to use critical thinking, to research and to ask questions. The district plans to use the "great community that we have," the local museums, the Hall of Fame and other institutions. "You're going to see middle-school students out in the community more often," she said. As for parents and the community, McPhail said the school board is asking for "open communications." Parents who want to serve on a "20-10 Team" should contact Katz or Borgstrom, or attend next Tuesday's PTO meeting. The program that will now be implemented was developed since the February kick-off meeting by the Summer 2006 Design Group: Jean Schifano, Laura Bliss Lamb, Bob Meehan, Steve Guarneri, Deb Miller, the three principals, McPhail, and Williams and Tim Maniccia from the Rensselaerville Institute. McPhail praised "key communicators" in the sequence of meeting: Martha Heneghan, Cathe Ellsworth, Allan Ahearne and MaryAnn Dietz. And the "prototype sparkplugs" – Meehan, Guarneri, Heneghan, Jim Atwell, Jay Baldo, Terry Gorman, Betsy Jay, Rose Craig, Ann Stewart, Jean Schifano, Keith Additon, Connie Hobbie, Ann Capozza, Tony Scalici and Betsy O'Brien. Things are already getting started. McPhail noted one school board member was absent because he was in Hartwick helping students with their homework, a new initiative aimed at providing students with after-school help in a convenient location; 22 Hartwick area students have signed up.   Cooperstown 9-11 Memorial Mass Calls for Peace, Justice, Not Hate "My country's skies are bluer than the ocean, "And sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine; "But other lands have sunlight too, and clover, "And skies are everywhere as blue as mine. "O hear my song, thou God of all the nations, "A song of peace for their land and for mine." COOPERSTOWN That is a verse from one of the hymns sung the other evening at an ecumenical service at St. Mary's Catholic Church marking the fifth anniversary of 9-11. Later that evening, President Bush would declare, "We face an enemy determined to bring death and suffering into our homes. Americans did not ask for this war, and every American wishes it were over. So do I. But the war is not over - and it will not be over until either we or the extremists emerge victorious." The president spoke of taking the war to the enemy, but the 300 congregants at St. Mary's, by contrast, were asked to look inward. "We light a candle," they recited, "in penitence, recognizing that we have not done enough to address the sources of anger, hate, dehumanization, rage and indignation that lead to acts of violence." In his homily, Father James P. Rosson, St. Mary's pastor, expanded on that theme: "There will be no peace without justice, and there is no justice without forgiveness." He urged the gathering to "reject the ways of violence" and "combat hatred and division" to achieve "a new era of solidarity, justice and peace." Candles were also lit on the Elm Street church's steps at the end of the ceremony as a flag pole on the front lawn was dedicated to the memory of Henry Nichols Jr., who died from AIDS in 1999 at age 26. A hemophiliac, he had contracted the disease through blood transfusions. This is the Cooperstown's churches' fifth memorial service on the anniversary of the World Trade Center's destruction by jets commandeered by Al Queda terrorists. The Rev. Samuel Abbott, rector, Christ Episcopal Church, was on the altar with Father Rosson. Two other priests - Father Kenneth R. Baldwin, Oneonta, and Msgr. John Burns, dean of the Otsego County deanery - participated. So did the Rev. Ameen Aswad, chaplain at the Otesgo County jail, and the Rev. Sundar Samuel of Cooperstown Methodist Church. Mayor Carol B. Waller, Police Chief Diana Nicols - Henry Nicols' sister - and Fire Chief James Tallman also recited prayers during the "Litany of Remembrance." After the Mass, participants watched as two Boy Scouts, Michael Henrici, Henry's best friend, and Shawn Gates, raised the flag, then lowered it to half-staff. The flag had been donated by Louise Hulse in memory of her husband. COOPERSTOWN Every election holds the opportunity for surprise, and Otsego County's primaries, Tuesday, Sept. 12, were no different. As expected, Sgt. Richard J. Devlin, Jr. of Milford, who had been endorsed by the Republican County Committee and retiring Sheriff Donald Mundy, beat retired trooper Kenneth W. "Skip" Beijen of Oneonta, 1,768 to 939. As expected, Eliot Spitzer, Hillary Clinton and Andrew Cuomo won handily on the Democratic primary, both in Otsego County and statewide for governor, U.S. senator and attorney general respectively. And that Lynn A. Green, a sitting – although appointed – councilperson, turned back a challenge from Caren Kelsey in Town of Hartwick, 44-22, might have been expected, too. Still, there was a surprise: In the Town of Otsego, a sitting councilman, Orlo Burch, won 157 votes to challenger Joseph M. Potrikus' 159, a squeaker indeed. What's more, there are 20 absentee ballots still to be counted, "so it still could go either way," said Sheila Ross, the GOP's deputy election commissioner. She said the absentee ballots won't be tallied until Sept. 21 or 22. So Potrikus, contacted at his landscaping business in Toddsville the morning after, was still biting his nails. As a newcomer to politics, however, he said he is in the running nonetheless "because we pursued a group of people who felt the same way I do about personal property rights" and what he said is too costly government at all levels. In last year's general election, Burch said, he lost by 37 votes; after absentee ballots were counted, he lost by just 13. If that trend holds, he'll be elected when all the votes are tallied, he said. Through a letter to the editor and otherwise, Burch had taken positions supporting an ethics board, conservation zoning, and other issues. By contrast, he said, Potrikus "did not take any public positions on anything." Back at his desk at the sheriff's department, Devlin said he was "very pleased at the outcome. I'd like to thank the voters who voted for me." In addition to Mundy and the GOP county committee's endorsement, the sergeant, who is also Milford fire chief, said, "I think people are happy with what I've been doing here. A lot of people know me." After the primary push, Devlin said he plans to take the weekend off, and start working toward the general election next week. Beijen said he will now turn his sights to the November elections. "I plan on mounting an aggressive campaign to get my message out: That I have the experience and skills to be the next sheriff and to lead the department into the 21st century," he said. "I believe that the lessons I have learned in private industry and in negotiations with labor unions and the State of New York as well as my work with many agencies and community governments will be invaluable. In other primaries, Otsego County results are as follow: For governor, Democrat Spitzer easily beat Thomas R. Suozzi, the Nassau County executive, 1,473 to 203. There was no Republican primary, and Spitzer will face John Faso, the former Assembly minority leader from Columbia County, in November. For U.S. Senate, Democrat Clinton beat anti-war candidate Jonathan B. Tasini 1,251 to 42 in Otsego County. Republican John Spencer beat K.T. McFarland, 1,290 to 814, and will face Clinton in November. For attorney general, Cuomo beat Mark Green, who placed second in the four-way race, by better than two to one: 907 to 436. He will face Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro, the Republican nominee, in November. The statewide totals were proportionately similar to the local ones. CHERRY VALLEY What did Reunion Power executives say about the Town of Cherry Valley's revised proposed law to regulate wind-turbine development? "Nothing that's publishable," said Walter Buist, town planning board member. The proposed ordinance, adopted by the planning board Wednesday, Sept. 6, was due before the town board Thursday, Sept. 14, as this edition went to press, and it includes provisions that may make development of a 24-turbine wind farm on East Hill impossible. (For a report on that meeting, visit www.freemansjournal.com Friday morning, Sept. 15.) Buist was asked about the new law in the absence of Planning Board Chairman Jeffrey Wait, who was "on the road" on business. Most significant, he said, is the proposed setback requirement: Any wind turbine must be at least 1,200 feet from the nearest property line, and 2,000 feet from the nearest off-site home. Lynn Marsh from Advocates for Cherry Valley, which opposes the Reunion proposal, said the setback requirement "will eliminate some of the turbines." The setbacks also protect property owners in the neighboring towns of Sharon Springs and Roseboom. "You have to be concerned about your neighbors," she said. Buist singled out other significant components: * A complaint process. Anyone who violates the terms of the law would face fines up to $350 and up to six months in prison. * Property valuation. All applications must include a property-value analysis by a licensed appraiser on properties surrounding a wind project. While the law contains no provisions to reimburse property owners for lost value, at least, Buist said, it establishes a baseline. * Noise. The proposal is based on the more stringent noise levels set by the state Department of Environmental Protection, not the less stringest ones devised by NYSERDA, the state Energy Research and Development Agency, which is charged with promoting wind farms. The Town of Fenner, which hosts nine turbines, is flat; Lowville, home of the 120-turbine Maple Ridge Wind Farm, slopes gradually. Cherry Valley, with its "high ridges," offers an "opportunity for very complex noise patterns, when you have these hills and valleys," Buist said. The ordinance also proposed the "lead agency" be the planning board. Buist said the new proposal was a melding of the original wind ordinance developed by Town Attorney Lynn Green and one developed by the Town of Clinton, near Plattsburgh, where residents of that town and neighboring Ellenburg are suing to block Noble Environmental Power, owned by J.P. Morgan Partners, which is planning the 55-turbine Ellenburg Wind Farm. The proposal was reviewed by the law firm hired by the town for this purpose, Menter, Rudin & Trivelpiece of Syracuse, and its consulting engineer, LaBella Associates of Rochester. Reunion's agreement with the town requires the energy company to pay the town's consulting fees. The town board meeting with address a related issue: Appointments to fill planning-board vacancies. The planning board has nominated Carol Minnich, who Buist said is already advising the planners; Leonard Press, who has a degree in rural planning from the University of Oregon, and Richard Mark, an East Hill homeowner who recently, in a letter to the editor, said people who don't like the way the Town of Cherry Valley is being run should leave. Efforts Wednesday evening to reach Supervisor Tom Garretson or officials of Reunion Power in Manchester, Vt., were unsuccessful. HYDE BAY In the old days, there was a boys' camp on Hyde Bay, and a strategy was devised to keep the youngsters away from the old covered bridge on the Hyde Hall property. The family in the limestone Greek revival mansion, the boys were told, had a "crazy cannibalistic son" who every so often escaped, Hyde Hall historian Douglas Kent told covered-bridge aficionados gathered Saturday, Sept. 9, to unveil a state marker memorializing the oldest such span in the U.S. Soon, the family was "missing a maid or two" and the crazy son, his apetite sated, would hide in the rafters of the old bridge, waiting for unsuspecting boys to happen by. The ruse worked, Kent said, and few of the lads ventured onto the property. Be that as it may, the covered bridge – in May, historians unearthed papers in Hyde Hall builder George Clarke's papers at Cornell that proved its primacy, age-wise – came close to demolition nonetheless. That was when the State of New York bought Hyde Hall in 1964 and began construction of Glimmerglass State Park. "It just wasn't part of their game," said Kent. In fact, an 18-hole golf course was planned that could have led to the bridge's destruction. Happily for members of the New York State Covered Bridge Society at the marker's unveiling, the course, due to lack of funding, was never built. That said, state crews did do some vandalism: The bridge's historic clapboards, containing graffiti dating back to the 1930s, were replaced, as was the roof, Kent said. The good news is that the roof and siding helped preserve the bridge's most unusual feature: X-shaped trusses, devised by Theodore Burr of Chenango County, which included a brace and a counterbrace. Bridge society members and interested members of the public at large spent the day touring the mansion with Kent, watching a slide show on the state's covered bridges by Richard Wilson of Rome, society president. Folks brought their picnic lunches, but just as the bridge dedication was about to begin at 1:30 p.m., the skies opened up, thunder roared, hail fell, and the outdoor ceremony was moved under the bridge's eaves. Speakers included Trish Kane, who with husband Bob had gotten a dozen of the state's 33 covered bridges on the national register, the president of the Virginia covered-bridge society, and state Sen. Jim Seward, R-Milford. But anecdotes – mostly Kent's – carried the day. Anne Hyde Clarke Logan of Cooperstown, he related, didn't want to risk traversing the slippery ground, but she recalled her girlhood days along the shores of Otsego Lake. "One of her favorite things to do when she was 9-years-old," he said, "was to ride her pony back and forth through the bridge." | Jan. 04, 2008 | Local Honor Roll | Pages From The Paper | july 6th 2007 | Hall of Fame Friday | Hall of Fame Saturday | Hall of Fame Sunday | Hall of Fame Monday | July282006 Archive | Aug042006 Archive | Aug112006 Archive | Aug182006 Archive | Sept012006 Archive | Sept082006 Archive | Sept152006 Archive | Sept222006 Archive | Sept292006 Archive | Oct062006 Archive | Oct132006 Archive | Oct202006 Archive | Oct272006 Archive | Nov032006 Archive | Nov172006 Archive | Nov242006 Archive | Dec012006 Archive | Dec082006 Archive | Dec152006 Archive | Dec222006 Archive | Dec292006 Archive | Jan052007 Archive | Jan192007 Archive | Jan262007 Archive | February092007 Archive | February162007 Archive | February232007 Archive | March162007 Archive | March232007 Archive | March302007 Archive | March302007 Archive | April132007 News Archive | Chris Gentile | Obituary | April272007 Archive | May112007 Archive | May112007 Archive | May252007 Archive | June 22, 2007 | July 13 2007 | Sept05 2007 | Sept 7th 2007 | Aug 31st 2007 | Local Law Parking | October 26, 2007 | Nov. 2 2007 | Nov. 16, 2007 | Glimmerglass Oct 5,2007 | Nov 16., 2007 | November 30 2007 | Nov. 30, 2007 | Dec. 07, 2007 | Dec. 14, 2007 | Dec. 21, 2007 | Dec. 28, 2007 | Jan. 11, 2008 | Jan. 18, 2008 | Jan. 25, 2008 | Feb 1, 2008 | Feb. 8, 2008 | Feb. 22, 2008 | GlimmerGlass Feb. 15, 2008 | Sports Feb. 15, 2008 | Feb.28, 2008 | March 7, 2008 | March 14, 2008 | GlimmerGlass March 14, 2008 | March 21, 2008 | March 28, 2008 | April 4, 2008 | April 11, 2008 | April 18, 2008 | April 25, 2008 | May 9, 2008 | May 2, 2008 | May 23, 2008 | | Our Services | Contact Us | Great Links | Return Home | Classified Ads | News Archive | Cooperstown Homes | Calendar -Best Bets | Letters to the Editor | |
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