Knowing how best to budget funds has become increasingly difficult for school districts as the state wrestles with how to address its own fiscal problems. The 2010-11 budget was the main focus at the Milford Central School board of Education meeting last Thursday. As of now, the district is looking at a 2.3 percent increase in its budget, which would increase the tax levy by 5.22 percent.

The search for a Superintendent at Cooperstown Central School has been narrowed down to four finalists. According to Mary Leonard, board of education vice president, the finalists will be interviewed by seven committees beginning next week.

Candidates for village mayor and trustee fielded questions from residents during a League of Women Voters Candidates’ Night in the Otsego County Courthouse Monday night.

Cherry Valley-Springfield Superintendent Robert Miller says the financial picture for this budget season and the next several years for public education looks bleak.

The Village of Cooperstown Historic Preservation and Architectural Review Board will hold an awards ceremony and reception next week to honor the 2007-2009 recipients of the Village Historic Preservation awards.

A local man will be running in the Boston Marathon this year in order to give back to the institution that provided an education to his blind son.

Peter Hujik, executive director of Otsego Land Trust, recently announced Otsego Land Trust and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation have signed a cooperative agreement to develop public access on the Susquehanna River at Compton Bridge on County Highway 11C in the town of Middlefield.

On Friday and Saturday, March 19 and 20, the Fly Creek Philharmonic will again swing into action with their latest creation, ``Tune That Name.’’ The show will center around musical pieces relating to people’s names.

Life planning and establishing guardianship for those with developmental disabilities can be complicated, and the terms of such decisions may have far-reaching effects for families.

On Saturday, March 6, Hartwick Colleges Pine Lake Institute for Environmental and Sustainability Studies will host gardener and writer Fern Bradley, who will give a talk titled ``Planting: Possibilities and Perils.’’

The Cooperstown Foundation for Excellence in Education (CFEE) is hosting a talent show on March 12 in the Sterling Auditorium.

Sugaring Off Sundays, The Farmers’ Museum’s annual event which honors the maple sugaring season, will be held each Sunday throughout the month of March and will also include Easter Sunday, April 4.

Some jump for the adrenalin rush, but most do it because it is for a good cause.

In our almost 28 years of living in Cooperstown we have always been amazed at the number of opportunities there are to attend various and sundry events outside the home. Over the years we have greatly enjoyed sampling a wide variety of events. But there are very few that we have attended in the same way we have attended innumerable school board meetings, public forums, and budget hearings.

The churches in the Cooperstown Ecumenical Council of Churches _ Christ Episcopal, Evangelical Lutheran, First Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and St. Mary’s Roman Catholic _ are responding to the earthquake devastation in Haiti in a number of ways.

The Northeast Otsego Area 4-H Public Presentation Event was held Tuesday, Feb. 9, at the Springfield Community Center.

The League of Women Voters of the Cooperstown Area announces that it has scheduled the Candidates’ Night for the Village of Cooperstown’s upcoming election.

Earth Festival organizers announced this week that letters seeking supporters and participants have been mailed to area businesses, schools, organizations, and individuals. Financial contributions are most welcome, and an open invitation to earth-friendly exhibitors, food and retail vendors, and workshop presenters is being extended.

The board of trustees has scheduled a public hearing on a second request from the Lakefront Motel for a special use permit for a hotel in a residential district.

Education staffers at the Farmers’ Museum are hoping to help out area school districts with program funding during a time of economic distress.

``I was totally shocked to hear that I was chosen as an Ambassador,’’ said Brian Wrubleski, director of Food Service at Bassett Medical Center since 2003. ``I always try to do the best at what I do, and I do what I do because I love it. I like working with the people.’’

The Cooperstown Police Department will be offering a RAD Self-Defense Class for women during the first week of March. The class will be held Monday through Wednesday, March 1 through 3 and 3/3/10 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. each night in the Cooperstown High School gymnasium.

A Native American totem pole destined for the front lawn of the Fenimore Art Museum arrived in Cooperstown last Friday.

There are more than 360 jumpers signed up to take the ultimate plunge during the 15th annual Goodyear Lake Polar Bear Jump on Saturday.

A veterinarian, who used to run a local bread and breakfast with his wife, has taken his experience, wit and research and turned it into a book.

Tom Hickey, President and General Manager of the Cooperstown Hawkeyes, the New York State Collegiate Baseball League team that he is bringing to Cooperstown, has selected the team logo and announced his managerial staff.

Being offered an appointment to the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point means the world to one Cooperstown High School student.