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
- Cary Brunswick
-
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Some wisdom is best passed down through books
I was visiting a friend out-of-town recently and the subject of providing a "reading list" to young people came up in conversation. He said years ago he had asked a respected acquaintance in Oneonta to compile such a list for his teenage daughter, to help her be better prepared for life, culture, education, politics and people.
Continued ... - Let pragmatism, not politics, determine birth control debate
- As Center Street Elementary goes, so goes Center City
- U.S. intervention in Syria's uprising would be a gamble
- Santorum, Obama both got it wrong on Honduras
-
- Chuck Pinkey
- Guest Column
-
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If we don’t develop a sustainable system, who will?
In Otsego County’s local elections last fall, a number of candidates — most of them on the independent Sustainable Otsego line — ran on an anti-fracking, pro-sustainability platform. They recognized that our current way of life — dependent on increasingly scarce, costly and polluting fossil fuels — cannot continue.
Continued ... - Time to get off the bus and on the computer
- Cuomo's Machiavellian maneuvers are a danger
- Home rule laws aren't a radical idea
- Sustainable shouldn't be a dirty word
-
If we don’t develop a sustainable system, who will?
- 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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Perfect attendance by Saturday’s Bread for 20 years in Oneonta
Oneonta became a settlement and has been a place to do one's "trading," whether it was the 18th century, or 2012, because of the five valleys that converge here. Only the places of doing the "trading" have changed a bit over the last 100 years, and Oneonta remains a place that attracts visitors and has always been a decent place to live and work.
Continued ...
100 Years Ago - Recalling the Hindenburg, John D. Rockefeller in May 1937
- Oneonta residents had diversions aplenty in the spring of 1952
- Damaschke essential to ensuring Oneonta baseball in 1927
- Area tunes to WONT in November 1972
-
Perfect attendance by Saturday’s Bread for 20 years in Oneonta
- Rick Brockway
-
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Climbing is one thing, but skydiving?
OUTDOORS COLUMN BY RICK BROCKWAY ... Last week, my friend George and I returned to the Gunks for another rock-climbing adventure. After last week's column, I asked about the rattlesnakes and was told not to worry. Rattlers are usually quite timid and will avoid people as much as possible. It's the copperheads that'll give you trouble. They're aggressive and will stand their ground to defend it. Oh great!!
- Rattlesnakes may be closer than you think, so pay attention
- Spring is here, so fishing should pick up soon
- Sneaky fox may be the next animal looking to horse around
- Pass down the rush of turkey hunting to your kids this weekend
-
Climbing is one thing, but skydiving?
- Sam Pollak
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I'm happy with our kids to a certain degree
It was several years ago, and I was in the kitchen, telling my eldest daughter and my then-teenaged son about the person who was taking over as publisher at The Daily Star.
Continued ... - I get by with a little help from my 'friends'
- It’s not easy for a politics junkie to get off the stuff
- The Encyclopaedia Britannica in print, unmourned by me
- Angelo Dundee was always a good man to have in your corner
-
- William Masters
-
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Time for lawmakers who put needs of society first
Richard Lugar, after six terms as a Republican senator -- known for his middle of the road rationality and his foreign policy finesse -- has been ousted by a Tea Party extremist backed by outside right-wing funding.
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War not worth gambling with lives of soldiers
Are you not tired of our war in Afghanistan? It had a point, once, after 9/11. Bush couldn't distinguish his myopic personal agendas from the nation's needs and let Osama escape, dropping the ball entirely, causing many deaths.
-
Titanic was a microcosm of U.S. economic disparity
Haunting reminders of the Titanic tragedy have wafted over us with the centenary of its sinking. The maiden voyage of an impressive, state of the art vessel, was a little like that of the Challenger space shuttle, at the cutting edge of developing technology. But the shuttle carried our pride in science and space exploration, not hundreds and hundreds of people.
-
William Masters: Nation stands divided between 'us' and 'them'
In February, Trayvon Martin was shot dead as "suspicious" by a volunteer neighborhood watch man. The case has aroused community reaction in Sanford, Fla., and is still echoing across the country.
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A quarterback can't win the game alone
What is the relationship between democracy and wealth? Democracy is a political system, while wealth relates to economics. We have equal political rights, but we don't all have money. Extreme differences destroy the continuity of community solidarity.
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Time for lawmakers who put needs of society first
