Some years, the biggest stories
leap off the page, their effects so
great and compelling that people
remember where they were when
they happened.
This year, though, our area’s biggest
story _ the Marcellus Shale
formation and the natural gas beneath
it _ was one with great longterm
regional impact that traveled
under the radar. The issue is still
evolving, its effects uncertain.
There are the promoted positives:
untold millions in leasing
and royalty fees, a state and local
tax bonanza, and jobs in drilling
and related industries. Then there
are the fears: a marred landscape,
a region stripped of its richest
natural resource for the profit of
outsiders, and polluted land and
water.
The other familiar type of gas,
gasoline, is also an unfinished story.
Despite the recent drop below
$2 a gallon, we suspect gas prices
and related energy issues are a
permanent part of our reality.
There was some closure brought,
however, with regards to two of
the most controversial deaths this
region has seen in many years.
Peter Wlasiuk was convicted and
sentenced for the second time in
the 2002 murder of his wife, Patricia.
And back in January, Corbin
Douglas Sr. was sentenced to 30
years for federal crimes related to
the death of his toddler namesake
son. Those are two felons whose
presence in these pages will likely
be missed by few.
As we look forward to 2009, too,
we look at new eras.
Minor league baseball has a
long-standing, proud tradition
in Oneonta. The Oneonta Tigers,
formerly the Yankees and Red Sox,
had known but one parent since
1966: The Oneonta Athletic Corp.
But the torch has been passed to E.
Miles Prentice.
The franchise’s direction _ indeed,
its future here _ remains to
be seen.
The National Baseball Hall of
Fame remains strong, but it has
undergone a change in president
and in its second-biggest event, the
Hall of Fame Game. That decadeslong
tradition is no more, despite
vocal and organized opposition,
though 2009 is expected to bring
a new tradition of having retired
players compete.
And at the college level, two
titans of recent years have retired
from the State University College
at Oneonta and Hartwick College.
Their successors came highly
recommended and looking to build
upon the foundations left them. As
higher education grows in importance
and cost, their success will
impact thousands of students, the
local economy and the reputation
of this region.
2008 here had its stories. But it
may be remembered most for what
it produced in later years.
