Published: July 01, 2008 08:51 am         

Letters for June 26, 2008

Respect work of others

In May of 2005 the Village commissioned Chris Pape, an artist from NYC whose work is exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art, to paint a mural on the back wall of the Great American. This was paid for by a grant from Assemblyman Bill Magee and agreed to by the Koniuto family who owns the building. The Village and the Parks Board are grateful to them all.

The mural was the initial step taken to brighten up the area and eventually to build a much needed Village playground. The celebration of the official opening of Badger Park Playground was this past Sunday.

A few months ago vandals defaced the mural by painting two large areas of graffiti on it.

Blaze Cox who is working toward becoming an Eagle Scout, chose as his required project to clear out the dead trees and branches in Badger Park and to generally clean up the area. He also volunteered to paint over the graffiti on the mural.

This week he and his friend, Steven French, did a magnificent job of returning the mural to its original state. We thank them for a job well done.

It is our hope that everyone will respect the hard work and time that Blaze and Steven put in on the mural and will think of the cost of the original art and for the repair work, and help keep this mural graffiti free.

We are fortunate to have Badger Park with its playground and skating rink and there are more innovations to come. It belongs to all of us and let’s all protect it and keep it in good repair. Most of all, let’s all enjoy this latest Village Park.

Grace Kull
Cooperstown

Playground help appreciated

The Village Parks Board and the Friends of the Parks celebrated the completion of the Badger Park Playground Sunday afternoon. This marked having a municipal playground in Cooperstown — something long wished for by Cooperstown kids and parents, and also the successful inauguration of the working relationship between the village and the new Friends of the Parks. As the Chair of the Friends, dedicated to the enhancement of Cooperstown’s parks, the two most important words I have to say are Thank You.

Thank you to the Village Board of Trustees, Mayor Carol Waller, and the Parks Board who agreed to a planning and fundraising process to achieve the goal of a village playground. Heartfelt thanks to Jeff Katz, Trustee and Parks Board chair, who has been rational, capable, and unflappable in a sea of emails. So also has Brian Clancy, the village’s head of public works and the village crew. Brian was unerring and unwavering in helping fill all the gaps left in the planning. He juggled this project into the larger picture of drainage and street repair that occupies much of the crew’s spring calendar. On Saturday afternoon, he was the last person to leave the site.

Thanks to all of the people and the two local foundations who donated money to the fund. We had a little debate amongst ourselves about how much the appeal letter would bring in. You exceeded even the most optimistic among us. Several local businesses offered materials and services, including Bruce Hall Corporation, Kiser Sand and Gravel, the Great American, Haggerty Ace Hardware, Cooperstown Holstein Corporation, Mohican Flowers, and the Red Nugget. Thanks to all who turned out to work in steamy weather, bringing your tools and your good humor. And thanks to Parks Board members Kathy Clancy and Shelby Cooper, who organized the work force, and to Grace Kull and Rich McCaffery, who kept the work crew fed and watered.

We hope this playground is the beginning of a partnership that will get better and stronger and achieve more good things for the village’s parks. I think the sense of cooperation displayed at the ribbon cutting—organized by Susie Knight, Rich McCaffery, Ashley Cooper, and Grace Kull, was a great way to put closure to this project.

Jessie Ravage
Cooperstown

Fundraiser was a success

Ms. Jennifer Pindar’s Sociology Class at Cooperstown High School would like to thank the community for supporting Habitat for Humanity. The pancake breakfast held on June 1 was a huge success and it could not have been possible without all of the help and donations we received.

For the past three weeks, we have collected money during lunch periods at school and would like to thank all those who contributed. Our cookie bake sale was also a success. Special thanks to the Cooperstown Fire Hall for providing an ideal location for the breakfast. The community was very generous with their time and donations. Thank you for supporting this cause and with your help we donated $712 to Habitat for Humanity.

The CCS Sociology Class

Job Corps changed life

I came to Oneonta Job Corps in April 2007, to find a trade that I could make a career out of. When I came to Oneonta I knew that I wanted to study the medical field. I entered the Health Occupations Technology trade.

Through long hours of studying, hands-on clinical experience and the constant support of my instructor and career counselor I felt ready to take the New York State exam. I

passed my skills section the first time that I took the exam, but I needed to test a second time to pass my written section. My instructor and counselor would not let me quit. They encouraged me and helped me study so that I would pass the second time that I tested — and I did!

The Career Transition Specialists helped me secure a Work-Based Learning job at Oneonta Nursing Center.

Andrea Betrand
Oneonta