Your Opinion: December 1, 2011

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December 1, 2011

Your Opinion: December 1, 2011

The Cooperstown Crier Mon Dec 05, 2011, 09:24 AM EST

Money for Cooperstown

The article in last week’s Crier concerning the county budget was infuriating.

Cooperstown, which is the driving force for tourism in this county and the very reason for the existence of some businesses (after all, it is called Cooperstown Dreams Park) was, once again, denied bed tax monies, which it does a great deal to create.

I understand the need in tough financial times to make difficult decisions, but taking the slated $100,000 for Cooperstown and putting it in the county’s asphalt budget is a slap in the face.

At least give some of that funding for Cooperstown’s own infrastructure needs.

Our village, with the NationalBaseball Hall of Fame and Museum and Bassett Healthcare, brings hundreds and hundreds of thousands of visitors to Otsego County. Right outside the village, The Farmers’ Museum, Fenimore Art Museum and Glimmerglass Opera bring in many more. These visitors stay within the county and pump up the coffers via bed tax.

People throughout the country and the world visit Cooperstown because they value its importance, for so many reasons. If only our county representatives had that same feeling.

Jeff Katz

Trustee, Village of Cooperstown

Our well in Africa is now finished.

In 2009, with the help of family and friends and the Cooperstown ElementarySchool, I raised the money to build a well to supply clean water for people in a developing country.

I partnered with charity:water an organization that puts every donated dollar directly into building the well. Their operating expenses are from other sources.

Kloko Sakassou in Cote d’Ivoire, which is the Ivory Coast of Afric, is the area they chose in which to build our well. The operation had to be stopped temporarily because of a Civil War in that area. But that conflict was resolved and the well project was resumed.

It is with great pleasure that it can now be announced that the well is complete and is supplying clean water to people who were accustomed to having to walk two hours to get water, which was polluted.

Thanks to all of you who donated to this project. It could not have been possible without all of your financial help.

It gives me, and I hope all of you, much personal satisfaction to know that what we did has given these people a better life.

The women and children who had to fetch the water, now have time for other, more productive activities, such as school for the children, and there will be much better health for them all now that they do not have to use polluted water, which is the cause of many diseases and even deaths. What joy for them to have clean water, something that we take for granted.

Charity: water has sent the following GPS coordinates for the location of the well 7.30958, –5.03808. Or, you may go to http:/www.charitywater.org/projects/map/andtype in Grace Kull.