THIS WEEK’S “My Turn” column
is by Rachel Lutz Jessup. Jessup
is the assistant branch
manager at the NBT branch on
Wall Street, and the president
of Main Street Oneonta.
I have the good
fortune of being
involved with
many organizations
whose goals
are the continuing
improvement of
Oneonta and the
surrounding area.
This year, I am
honored to be the chairwoman
for one of these
organizations _ Main
Street Oneonta. It is an
honor to lead an organization
that has such
deeply imbedded roots.
Main Street Oneonta
started as the Downtown
Retail Merchants Association,
during the heyday
of Bresee’s Department
Store, when Thursday
nights downtown often
included dinner at the
Healthbar and shopping
until 8 p.m.
Downtown Retail
Merchants Association
became the Downtown
Oneonta Improvement
Task Force, under the
supervision of Mark
Drnek.
Main Street Oneonta
came about shortly after
that and was led by local
merchants and community
members, including
Nancy Scanlon, Karen
Woods, Michelle Eastman,
Grace Smith, Julie
Carney and Kathleen
Frascatore, to name a
few, and was supported
by a small group of very
dedicated volunteers.
We continue to serve
you today as Main Street
Oneonta.
We are so fortunate to
live in this community.
Even with the losses that
we have suffered over the
last year (the closing of
the National Soccer Hall
of Fame, the loss of the
Oneonta Tigers and the
challenges to the Foothills
Performing Arts
Center) our hills are still
bustling with a multitude
of activities.
Our downtown offers
a wide variety of stores.
You could spend a day
going shopping for musical
instruments, health
food, clothing and shoes,
outdoor apparel
and gear, hardware,
handmade
gifts, unusual
gifts, slightly
used clothing,
art supplies, pet
supplies, jewelry
and books while
you’re getting
your car serviced,
going to the gym, doing
laundry, learning how
to dance, taking taekwando,
getting coffee or
something to eat, visiting
your lawyer or accountant,
getting your eyes
checked, going tanning,
getting a haircut, going
to the spa, getting a tattoo,
admiring the talents
of our local artists and
performers or diving into
local history.
Who says there isn’t
anything to do around
here?
To top that off, the
volunteers of Main Street
Oneonta try to make all
of this more fun. We are
best known for our events
downtown that include
the Cruise-In’s, Sidewalk
Sale Festival, Downtown
101 and Halloween trickor-
treating.
Our holiday events
include the gingerbread
contest, Santa parade
and the tree-lighting
ceremony.
However, as an organization,
we strive for
continual improvement.
Some of our goals for
this year include teaming
with the city and the
county to move forward
with the result of the
branding study, the
installation of an informational
kiosk for downtown
and better signage
for merchants whose
locations are not directly
on Main Street.
We’re hoping to bring
back to life an “artwalk”
in conjunction with
entertainment in Muller
Plaza _ something we’re
calling “First Friday.”
And, in hopes of bringing
our organization up to
the next level, we have
brought Maggie Barnes,
former director of community
affairs for A.O.
Fox Memorial Hospital,
on board with the help
of our friends at Otsego
County. What a great
addition to our current
leadership and membership.
One of my favorite
quotes is by George Bernard
Shaw, which reads,
“I am of the opinion that
my life belongs to the
community, and as long
as I live, it is my privilege
to do for it whatever I
can.”
I believe this is a philosophy
that is instilled
in many of the people
who live and work in
Oneonta, but especially
in all of the people who
are part of Main Street
Oneonta. That’s the key to
what makes Oneonta such
a great place to be.
Thank you to everyone
who helps us be successful
as an organization. We
would not be who we are
without our dedicated
volunteers and leaders.
We would not be able to
do what we do without
donations from the community,
local businesses,
municipalities and
councils.
You don’t have to operate
an establishment in
downtown Oneonta to get
involved. Donations are
always appreciated (we
are a not-for-profit), and
we’re always looking for
volunteers.
Share your great ideas
at our meetings, currently
held the last Friday of
each month at 8:30 a.m.
at the NBT Bank on Wall
Street. For more information,
visit mainstreetoneonta.com.
TO WRITE for “My Turn,” contact
Daily Star Publisher Tanya
Shalor at tshalor@thedailystar.
com or 432-1000, ext. 214.
More “My Turn” columns can
be found at www.thedailystar.
com/myturn.
Columns
My Turn: Making Main Street Oneonta the best that it can be
- Big Chuck D'Imperio
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George Wallace gives us the 'one-finger salute'
This is Black History Month. I regret that I was never involved in the Civil Rights movement.
Continued ... - When delivering papers was all in a day's work
- Readers who write get a little feedback
- I Was Just Thinking: Inventors, writers and others pass on in 2011
- I Was Just Thinking: Stella turned me into a pet person
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George Wallace gives us the 'one-finger salute'
- Cary Brunswick
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Santorum, Obama both got it wrong on Honduras
In one of the recent GOP presidential debates in Florida, candidate Rick Santorum ripped President Barack Obama for his policies on Latin and Central America in general and Honduras in particular.
Continued ... - Pumpkin seeds and the problem of China imports
- Unrest, energy, economy were big news in 2011
- Trading freedom for security isn't American
- Occupy Wall Street protests changed the conversation
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- Chuck Pinkey
- Guest Column
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Home rule laws aren't a radical idea
A lot of discussion and debate has occurred in our area lately over the issue of 'home rule' as it would apply to natural gas drilling. Let me offer some thoughts and my perspective on the issue and on the legislation I have sponsored (S. 5830) to enable local governments to treat natural gas drilling the way zoned communities treat any other commercial, industrial or residential use.
Continued ... - Sustainable shouldn't be a dirty word
- Fracking fears are based on facts
- Tea goes well with 'Occupy'
- City charter deserves support
-
- Lisa Miller
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Being a parent is a constant learning process
I am sitting cross-legged on the floor in the dressing room, waiting for Allie's dance number to be called. The cave girl costume has been donned, the jazz shoes double-tied, the hair pulled back, the requisite dab of lipstick applied.
Continued ... - Healthy doesn't have to mean expensive
- A family era ends with close of Potter series
- Independent stores make up for loss of Borders
- Untethered from the cable box
-
Being a parent is a constant learning process
- Mark Simonson
-
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Oneonta reacted to John Glenn's historic space flight in 1962
"Boy, that was a real fireball of a ride!"
Continued ... - Our area began to discover radio 90 years ago this month
- Illness brings an unexpected school vacation in February 1952
- Railroad a steady newsmaker during January 1912
- Oasis, Town House motels new to Oneonta in 1962
-
Oneonta reacted to John Glenn's historic space flight in 1962
- Rick Brockway
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If you're going on a winter hike this year, be prepared for the worst
OUTDOORS COLUMN BY RICK BROCKWAY ... On Wednesday, we went skiing at Belleayre Mountain once again. As my friend Rich and I crossed over the hill on Route 28 below Andes, we looked at the mountains in the distance. There wasn't a drop of snow to be seen. Rich made the comment, "Maybe we should have brought our hiking boots instead of our skis."
- Ski trips are easier to remember when something odd happens
- Dr. Stalter lived life to the fullest
- Alaskan Sketchbook is very cool
- Things change all the time, so start scouting for the next deer season now
-
If you're going on a winter hike this year, be prepared for the worst
- Sam Pollak
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Runners-up get no respect in today's America
This will surely come as rather a nasty shock to those who know me today, but I have several impeccable sources who insist without the least fear of contradiction that I was an annoying child.
Continued ... - To err is human; to make good on corrections, divine
- Sammies celebrate the naughty, the nice and the just plain odd
- Worrying about religion can be a real shame
- A fountain of wisdom gushes forth
-
- William Masters
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Playing Left Field: Meaning of 'liberty' lost in GOP's translation
COLUMN BY WILLIAM MASTERS .... Now, during the Republican presidential primaries, we hear a lot about liberty. It is a leave-me-alone type of liberty, suggesting the license to do what one may choose in the sacred call of business activity. Much is sought in the name of freedom.
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Government no longer about power of people
In my time, the idea of conservatism has been turned upside down. Men in my family wore neckties even when just reading the paper at home.
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Americans should respect right to bear arms
Early one morning a while back, I answered a phone call from Wayne LaPierre, head of the NRA, warning that the sky is falling _ no worse: that the U.S. is participating in a U.N. treaty effort to deal with the irresponsible international transfers of small arms.
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Inequalities breed social dysfunction
In my most-recent column, I presented recent epidemiological evidence that the inequality built into a society underlies the sense many of us have that the country is going in the wrong direction.
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Inequalities breed discontent in our modern society
So many Americans feel a dispirited sense of complaint. The conservative ranks have gravitated to Tea Party anger, while more lately, a less-defined segment has turned out to "occupy" public areas for mutual support as the amorphous "99 percent" is filled with discontent about the elite 1 percent reaping the lion's share of wealth.
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Freedom should not belong to the rich alone
"I pledge allegiance to the flag ... " intones every first-grade kid, in unison and sincerity. When I was in the first grade, we faced the mortal crises of Pearl Harbor and fascism in Europe.
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There's no such thing as completely clean energy
Some local people cry "Drill, Baby, Drill," reminding us of our nation's need to be freed from dependency on foreign oil. And we are regularly treated to TV ads praising "clean coal" in generating electricity.
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Consider competence, congeniality when voting
NetSummary
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'People are scared, angry' that the country is going down the drain
There is a widespread discontent among most of us that the country is going down the drain. People are scared and angry. Too many people can find no work at all, and unemployment is not going down.
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'We are all dependent: Both upon the Earth, and on an economy'
If we don't change, change will bury us. That will be because of the changes we ourselves inflict so causally upon this one and only Earth.
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'Corporations are not people; they are tools that entrepreneurs use'
"Corporations are people, my friend," quipped Mitt Romney, in rebuttal to a crowd shouting that corporations should be a source of revenue instead of taxing people.
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Thoughts of a 'bleeding-heart' liberal
This is the beginning of a biweekly column, as The Daily Star strives to remain fair and balanced in relation to the opinions of the day.
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Playing Left Field: Meaning of 'liberty' lost in GOP's translation
