COOPERSTOWN —
We think the mayor and village board’s suggestion of a weekend for the residents to ”Celebrate Cooperstown” is a good one.
“Our vision is that on the Saturday and Sunday after Columbus Day (Oct. 13 and 14) the village takes two days to celebrate itself,” Mayor Jeff Katz wrote in a letter to the editor last month.
In the letter, Katz offered four ideas for inclusion in the weekend as a starting point:
• opening Doubleday Field on both days free of charge where teams could play baseball, or a father and son or daughter could play catch or perhaps Frisbee or touch football,
• a “Taste of Cooperstown,” where restaurants from the village could sell signature dishes to ticket-holders who have purchased in advance,
• a Main St. “open house.” All businesses interested would simply welcome Cooperstown residents enthusiastically into their shops to demonstrate Main Street is not all baseball.
• Dinner on Main St. organized by Growing Community.
“It’s after the season. People exhale and return to Main Street,” he said last week.
During the board’s August meeting, Katz appointed a Celebrate Cooperstown committee that met for the first time this week.
We have to agree with long-time Crier columnist Cathe Ellsworth, who suggested in a recent column that such a celebration “might well work toward a goal of restoring Cooperstown’s sense of community.
“We well remember the sense of community that the village had when we moved here in 1982. And quite frankly, we miss it. In fact, we have concluded that what we see as a noticeable division in the community has proven to be somewhat less than pleasant. In fact, at times it is downright annoying,” she wrote. “And we would like to think that an event like “Celebrate Cooperstown” would start a process to rejuvenate that sense of community that we have enjoyed for years. Cooperstown is indeed a special place and it is not a bad idea at all that, from time to time, we get together to remind ourselves of that.”
The mayor and committee are still looking for ideas and volunteers willing to help make it a reality. Katz can be reached by email at jkatz@cooperstownny.org
Our Opinion
September 6, 2012
Help to Celebrate Cooperstown
- Our Opinion
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- Congratulations Cooperstown softball It is hard to believe that Cooperstown's softball team had never won a division or playoff title until this week.
- Happy CYB has found a home Cooperstown Youth Baseball has finally found a home. However, it is a bit sad it could not be in the village that is often referred to as the "home of baseball."
- Change is never taken lightly We are glad the Cooperstown Central School Board finally chose a nickname, but were surprised by the plummeting attendance rate at meetings pertaining to the matter. What seemed to be a hot-button issue attracting nearly 100 people for and against a name change at initial meetings seemed to simmer to complete no shows toward the end.
- Tax cap is deceiving As if figuring out one's tax bill isn't mind boggling enough. In its second year of implantation, the 2 percent limit on property tax increases makes things all that more complicated. One cannot just assume his or her individual taxes will not increase more than the cap threshold.
- Earth Festival is a good start to spring We hope Mother Nature brings us some sunshine and spring weather this weekend. But if not, there is a predominantly inside event coming up that should help get visitors thinking about spring.
- Education heading in wrong direction It is good to see that with teachers changing their curriculums to teach for the Common Core State Standards that there is still some hands-on learning going on locally.
- Good luck, Tommy Perhaps the third time will be the "charm" for Cooperstown Central School seventh-grader Tommy Knight.
- Eliminate the gap elimination adjustment Despite Gov. Andrew Cuomo's promise in his budget address to increase funding for education, local school officials are saying they are not receiving enough state aid to fund even basic services.
- Groff is off to good start Former Cooperstown Central School student and athlete Sarah Groff visited Cooperstown in November to share her dream of making it to the Olympics. She had just missed the podium at the London Games.
- Blindsided by CV-S vote As we all know, school districts are facing financial insolvency and are being forced to reconsider the ways they do business. That includes mergers when fielding athletic teams.
- More Our Opinion Headlines
