Times are tough. But so are we.
In Oneonta, and in towns and villages throughout the area, business owners struggle to pay the rent, the utilities, the taxes and payroll. They take what they can spare from the till to keep food on their own tables.
Maybe you have to be a small-business owner to truly appreciate that. (I am, and I do.) For their employees, things are uncertain at best. Few look for a raise. They hope to keep their jobs, even as friends, neighbors and family have lost theirs.
And when the workday is done, the grip of these grim times isn't loosened. If anything, it tightens with every drumbeat of bad news delivered by the TV and PC.
It's overwhelming. We need a hero, we think. But, what we really need is a mirror.
And so, we are bringing back First Night -- with a difference.
Not just as entertainment -- although it will be the largest in Oneonta this century -- but as a celebration of what our community can do and has done.
First Night 2011 has been dubbed "Imagine Oneonta," and it's our rallying cry!
This New Year's Eve, as thousands enjoy the most eclectic collection of entertainments imaginable, they will celebrate our community's collective successes as well. They'll be reminded of the hurdles we've cleared and the challenges we've overcome.
We are heroes. And we will make it through these tough times.
New Year's Eve is the one day in the year when everyone -- friends and strangers alike -- offers the gift of optimism, of hope for a better day. And we take it, gladly, even as we extend those wishes in return. That optimism about a new year's potential doesn't last long, sometimes just days. But if this year some 4,000 to 5,000 people leave Oneonta's historic downtown feeling just a little more empowered, just a little more hopeful… well, just imagine!
We're gathering an array of musicians, dancers and other performers the likes of which haven't been assembled in memory. Hundreds of volunteers are being recruited to assist downtown businesses in the transformation of their storefronts into mini-theaters. First Night's iconic puppets are receiving the TLC they've so long needed. The parade is forming. Fireworks are being readied.
But there's more!
In deference to the economy and the burden it has placed on local families, we're instituting a new admission policy. For the first time, children under 12 will be admitted for free.
In addition, we've moved our spectacular fireworks display to just after 10 p.m. so that the entire family can enjoy it.
Following the fireworks' finale, there will be a free show on the portable bandstand on Main Street. A toast to the New Year follows, and at midnight, a peal of bells will cascade from the hills of Hartwick to church after church in Oneonta's downtown.
We hope you'll join us this First Night, and help us Imagine Oneonta as the community that can.
These times may be tough, but so are we. (And we know how to party.) For more information about First Night Oneonta, see www.ImagineOneonta.com or look for us on Facebook. (Search Imagine Oneonta.)
Mark Drnek is chairman of First Night Oneonta.
Guest Column
Why First Night?
- 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.
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Time to get off the bus and on the computer
Seventy-five years ago, use of a new technology resulted in a dramatic transformation of education in our region and in rural areas throughout the country.
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Cuomo's Machiavellian maneuvers are a danger
New York State has a long history of problems with money -- high income taxes, high property taxes, and a high lifestyle in Albany that seems to attract lots of politicians with high, even presidential, aspirations. For decades our politicians have sucked up enormous wealth from businesses and individuals, and redistributed it in ways that ensure their continued political employment. The Empire runs on money, and recognizing this fact, it should be simple to figure out how the fracking debate is going to play out over the next few months in Albany.
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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.
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Sustainable shouldn't be a dirty word
Sustainable Otsego has been in the news a lot lately. We have been vocal critics of hydrofracking for natural gas both locally and statewide, and we put together with the Democrats a winning slate of pro-sustainability, pro-home rule, anti-fracking candidates in the recent elections.
- Saturday, November 5, 2011
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Fracking fears are based on facts
Some recent letters in The Daily Star and other local papers have implied that supporters of candidates for town and county offices who oppose gas drilling are fear-mongering, or that we can rely on the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to protect us.
- Saturday, October 22, 2011
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Tea goes well with 'Occupy'
Otsego County supporters of the Tea Party will remember me. In 2009, we marched in outrage against the bi-partisan $800 billion taxpayer bailout of Wall Street.
- Monday, October 17, 2011
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City charter deserves support
Having served as mayors of the City of Oneonta, we write to urge the city’s voters to approve the proposed new city charter on Nov. 8.
- Saturday, October 1, 2011
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Don't overlook potential of workers with disabilities
American jobs are dominating the national conversation right now, and with good reason. But amid the political debates and pundit analysis, there's one segment of the labor market that's going largely ignored: Workers with disabilities.
- Sunday, September 18, 2011
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Coventry pipeline could benefit region
Last month, anti-drillers campaigned against a pipeline shipping Coventry gas to Bainbridge and Sidney customers. What's wrong with this picture?
- Monday, August 1, 2011
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'Gas Wars' entering its second act
Raise the curtain on the second act of Gas Wars. The SGEIS allows access to 85 percent of the shale gas beneath our state. The hardcore environmental lobby has lost to the science and the multi-state research of the three-year study by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. All that is left is the hoopla surrounding the 60-day comment period. The DEC then presents the final document to the governor for release. Then gas development begins in New York.
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Make affordable birth control a priority
One of the biggest barriers to effective family planning may soon come tumbling down for millions of American women.
- Saturday, July 16, 2011
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SUNY Oneonta expansion will be bad for city
Recent plans by the State University College at Oneonta to expand its reach into the community have threatened to change the character of several neighborhoods here in the city.
- Saturday, July 9, 2011
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Health: Take steps to protect your skin this summer
NetSummary
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The folly of job-training programs
America believes that the solution to every social and economic problem is job training. Outsourcing? Job training. Economically depressed neighborhoods? Job training. Impoverished single mothers? You guessed it.
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'Change' is the byword for city, region, state
Regardless of the outlook at the federal level, and separate from the glimmer of promise for New York State, we're sure to see changes in the "who" and "how" of handling our local challenges in the year ahead.
- Saturday, June 25, 2011
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Changes to city charter will be good for Oneonta
The Oneonta Charter Review Commission appreciated the opportunity to present the first full draft of the proposed Oneonta City Charter to the mayor and Common Council on June 7, as well as the questions from Council Members.
- Saturday, June 11, 2011
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Health column: Take step to prevent and treat urinary tract infections in girls
By Dr. Linda M. Lukose How common are urinary tract infections in girls?
- Saturday, June 4, 2011
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Take steps to combat illegal dog fights
Dog fighting is a felony in all 50 states. However, because of loopholes in the laws in New York state, many dog fighters go free. This has made New York a haven for these vicious criminals. People come from other states and cities to rural areas like ours to take part in the criminal activity of dog fighting. Otsego and Delaware counties are close to the Pennsylvania border and within an hour of Binghamton and Albany, making us a central location.
- Saturday, May 21, 2011
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Gas Wars: A play in three acts
Act One: The Prequel. Starts in 2008 and ends with the publication of the Supplemental Generic Impact Statement.
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If we don’t develop a sustainable system, who will?
