Preserve our treasures

This letter is in response to the letter written by Martha Frey, Ron Bishop, and James R. Dean, Adrian Kuzminski and Michael Whaling which was printed recently in the Freemans’ Journal.

It was so nice to hear that you enjoyed the woods, the lakefront and the gardens of Brookwood Gardens. In the process of enjoying this freedom did it occur to you that it takes money to preserve the properties? Did you once send in your $1000.00 a year donation, as did many of the Board members? Or did you just watch Brookwood deteriorate to the condition that it is in now? Now you say you have in good faith a gift of $40,000 which is mostly in real property located in the Village of Cooperstown.

Tell me, what is the Brookwood foundation going to do with more property?

They don’t have the means to care in due diligence with what they have. Perhaps James could sell his parcel of village property and give the proceeds to Brookwood now instead of bribing them a future donation.

You said that the property was managed solely by volunteers. No, that is incorrect.

Your Michael Whaling (one of the authors of your letter) was an employee. He was to maintain and oversee the property while living in the Brookwood house. Where was he when my husband was filling potholes in the shared driveway or clearing the road of fallen debris? If he loved the property why didn’t he maintain it, as he should have?.

Now if a non- profit organization assumes ownership of the property and they put up a no trespassing sign then where will you go? To whose door will you knock on for a free ride?

Otsego Lake is nine miles long and on it you have The Glimmerglass State Park, Fairy Springs, three-mile point, Otsego Lake Public Access Site, Council Rock (which borders the lake and the Susquehanna River) and eventually you will have the lovely gardens at Brookwood to walk, paint and enjoy.

Glimmerglass State Park also enjoys a navigable stream. People living in Otsego County have 3700 acres in which to fish, hunt, swim, hike and paint landscapes, which are publicly owned and open to the public. So you see, you have many accesses to enjoy the beauty of the Lake and surrounding areas.

My wish is that half of the property be sold to a compassionate, concerned and nature loving person in order to give the Town of Otsego a broader tax base so that perhaps one day our beloved lake will have a proper sewer system and thereby preserving the Jewel (our lake) we have in Cooperstown.

Vera Talevi

Cooperstown

McCaffery for town clerk

About the upcoming election of the Otsego Town Clerk: it is a job that requires a person who is exacting conscientious, informed about the mandates of the job, compulsive about doing everything legally and correctly, and eager to do the job today, not tomorrow.

If you agree that these attributes are needed for the Town Clerk positition, all you need to do is cast your vote, not for a party, but for the person who has these attributes; Richard McCaffery.

He will get the job done so well that you will be ea- ger to vote for him in the election after this one...the election after that, and so on.

Samuel Wilcox

Cooperstown

I need your vote

I am asking for your vote for Town Superintendent in the upcoming Republican Primary on September 15. As Town Superintendent for the past three years, I have kept the highway department records in line, managed a responsible budget and always kept the men working for your tax dollars. Over the course of that time I have been responsible for the 2006 disaster floods repair projects and upgrading the truck fleet and equipment. Looking forward, I plan to continue to upgrade equipment, with an equipment fund, improve the roads and doing my job over the next four years.

I order to achieve my goals as your Superintendent, I need your vote. Although I have accomplished much in the three years I’ve held office, my visions for the future are even greater, and I cannot do it without your support.

I also recommend you vote for Pam Deane as Town Clerk. She has twenty years of experience in that position and has helped me immensely in the past three years. She is looking forward to serving the town again.

Shawn Mulligan

Fly Creek

Medieval fair a success

We would like to thank the people who came out and supported the funding of a new roof for the Windfall Dutch Barn in Salt Springville. Our first medieval fair was a success. We wish to thank Ace Hardware, MacGregor Electric, and Barrett’t Transmissions for their donations to the Chinese auction.

A special thanks to the Sharon Springs Wal-Mart distribution center for their very generous donation.

Thanks go out to our vendors Dale and Donna from The Tepee, Shane Stainton the blacksmith, Omonike from Image Quilts Productions for the portraits, Bob and Dolores Gardner (Rannor the Vikin), Catherine Wadin with her beautiful jewelry, Sue Miller from the Plaid Palette, Robin and Butch Yager with their booth of handmade walking sticks, wood toys and soaps, Doug Hall Worker of Burls and his wife Holly from Let it Grow, Barry Gregson and his Dragonwood Designs, Sarah Williams with her unique art and clothing and to Amber Northwind who read people’s palms.

Our entertainers Kate Watson and her Irish dancers, Mike Fuelner, Scott and his troupe from Lords and Fools, Robert Schafstek on bag-pipes, The Rockledge Musicfest Puppeteers, The Valley Bog Players and Larry Meyerhoffs’ music on the mannered dulcimer.

Also thanks to Fred and Dianna Chase, Donnie and Ronnie Whiteman who cooked out delicious food and to anyone who brought a dish for the potluck table. Very big thanks to Kevin Behr of Behrs’ Tees for all his printing help with posters and flyers.

Again thank you all who came out and helped our very worthy cause. We hope the barn has a good many years left for all to enjoy. See you next year for perhaps a two-day event.

Members of the board of the Salt Springville Community Restoration, Inc.,

Salt Springville

Editorial off the mark

Over the years it has always been interesting to take note of the way in which Cooperstown is portrayed by the media. Some articles seem to hit the nail on the head. Others seem to miss by a mile. And then there are always those pieces which on the surface seem to be about something completely unrelated to Cooperstown and yet still manage to slip in a reference to our fair community.

For example, the editorial, ``Soccer Hall hurt by lack of initiative,’’ which appeared in the August 17 edition of The Daily Star did just that. It was somewhat surprising to learn that the Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta is in trouble financially. Given the amount of time and effort, not to mention money, which has gone into the facility over the years it is indeed unfortunate that it is struggling, a fact which the editorial suggested would be helped if the Soccer Hall of Fame did a better job of promoting itself. This would, under the circumstances, seem to be a logical suggestion.

In fact, the editorial seemed to make a logical and well founded argument.

However, as has been noted in past editorials, the editorial was unable to make its point with a well thought out argument without taking the low road by knocking the competition, this time the Baseball Hall of Fame. Instead of simply pointing out the Soccer Hall of Fame’s positive attributes, the editorial read ``The Soccer Hall’s 40,000- square-foot facility, including four soccer fields, a museum and gift shop, is gorgeous, spacious and from the outside far more impressive than the revered Baseball Hall’s in nearby Cooperstown.’’

And whether or not one agrees with the statement is neither here nor there. The real question is how is the argument that the Soccer Hall of Fame needs to show more initiative helped by comparing the two Hall of Fames in this way? Instead of furthering the point being made by the editorial, the comparison of the two Hall of Fames seems to simply come off as a case of sour grapes, thus lowering the credibility of the editorial. It did not seem to kick their argument forward. And it made me go to bat for mine.

Catherine Lake Ellsworth

Cooperstown

Vote for McCaffery

I would like to recommend that we all vote for Rich McCaffery, who is running for Town of Otsego Town Clerk.

His volunteer work in Cooperstown has been outstanding. He volunteers at Bassett, served on the Cooperstown Bicentennial Committee last year, and is a leader in the Lions Club. His efforts in all these areas has been pre-emanate. I urge you to vote for him because he will make an outstanding town clerk.

Bob Lettis

Cooperstown

The more I see, the less I like it

I’ve been attending Otsego Town Board meetings for the last few years, and the more I see of local government, the less I like it.

The Founding Fathers of this great nation understood that while government is necessary, an ever growing, intrusive government is the greatest threat to personal freedom and a prosperous society.

Sadly, many of our elected officials seem to think a few hundred votes in a local election entitles them to abandon the principles of individual liberty and limited government in favor of pushing their own agendas.

It’s time we had some representatives who understand that their first duty is to protect the rights of the people responsible for their election. That is why I’m running for Otsego Town Councilman.

Carl F. Wenner

Fly Creek

Elect McCaffery

Rich McCaffery has all of the attributes and skills needed to fill the position of Otsego Town Clerk.

He has served our community for more than three decades as a volunteer for such diverse organizations as Bassett Healthcare, SPCA, Chamber of Commerce, Friends of Glimmerglass Park, Otsego Co Tourism Bureau, Environmental Education Network of Otsego County, Executive Service Corp, just to mention a few. He served as Chairperson/Director for many of them.

His thirty-three years working at the Cornel Cooperative Extension of Otsego County as an educator/ team coordinator, honed his skills in budget preparation and accountability and gave him strong organizational and strategic planning skills. Another asset is his familiarity with human services organizations in Otsego County.

He is a volunteer for many Cooperstown Village committees.

I have worked with Rich on the Parks Board, the Pedestrian Safety Board and the Cooperstown Bicentennial Committee, so can personally vouch for his dependability, integrity, knowledge, devotion to duty and a big plus...his sense of humor which makes it fun to work with him.

Grace Kull

Cooperstown

Visit his website

I am writing in support of Rich McCaffery for our next Town of Otsego Clerk. I am impressed by his dedication to our community through his level of volunteerism and desire to make the Town and Village a better place to live. He has served our community through membership and leadership positions including Secretary of Park Commissioners, Chair of Board of Directora Executive Service Corps, Community Educator with Bassett Healthcare and Coordinator of their Safe Kids program, past membership Chamber of Commerce Board and Development Committee Membership for Cornell Extension Service. His professional career experience will serve the Office of Town Clerk with an increased level of organization, hospitality and a commitment to working with other Town Departments and the Town Board to better serve the residents and taxpayers.

Importantly, as a village resident, Rich will be able to express our needs to the Town Board and new Supervisor. Village representation at the Town level is especially important during these tough economic times and Rich will serve us well.

I encourage voters to visit his website at www. richmccaffery.com to learn more about this well-qualified candidate and contact him with your questions and support.

Mary Dunkle

Cooperstown

Thanks for the trip

On August 27, the Mountain Ridge residents of Otsego Manor were treated to a fantastic trip to The Farmers’ Museum. It was an outstanding event from start to finish. The residents and their families were so delighted with the many wonderful sights, and especially the ride on the carousel.

Thanks to the diligence and extra special care and concern for the residents, the staff made sure that everyone who wanted to was given a ride on the carousel. Do you know how exciting that was?

Many of us hadn’t gone on the carousel in 60 or 70 years!

The weather was perfect and the outdoor picnic lunch provided by the Otsego Manor staff was great. Our deepest gratitude to the thoughtful, hardworking staff at Otsego Manor for making this delightful trip possible.

Rae Katz

Burlington Flats