This Weekend feature recaps the top stories of the previous week in The Daily Star.
MONDAY
A CVS pharmacy attached to the Freshtown Marketplace on Bridge Street in Margaretville collapsed at about noon as a result of Hurricane Irene.
Virtually all of Margaretville and nearby Fleishmanns was shut down amid heavy damage to both villages. Heavy equipment was brought in to the site of the building collapse.
In sports, Hartwick College got an early jump in its Division I men's soccer season opener and held on for a 2-1 victory at the University at Albany on Saturday.
TUESDAY
A day after flash floods spawned by Hurricane Irene's heavy rains swept through communities in Delaware, Greene and Schoharie counties, residents took stock of their losses.
The storm knocked out power to tens of thousands of people across the region, including many in Otsego County. Flash floods tore through mountain towns and caused rivers to swell, destroying or damaging homes and leading to at least one death, that of an 82-year-old woman in Fleischmanns.
In sports, Doug Marrone is just starting his third year as Syracuse University's football coach, but he's already in mid-season form.
"We understand that we've been down for so long that a lot of these things, these challenges, are a product of us being a poor football team in the past," Marrone said. "We're not going to have a lot of things going our way as far as history when we look back. We have a challenge right off the bat. This is a big game," said Marrone, whose roster includes walk-on freshman offensive lineman Jesse Wolf-Gould, an Oneonta High graduate listed at 6-foot-4 and 321 pounds.
WEDNESDAY
Utility crews restored power to some parts of the area Tuesday, but thousands were still in the dark overnight.
National Grid, NYSEG, Otsego Electric Cooperative and Delaware County Electric Cooperative all reported progress.
However, New York State Electric & Gas said many of its customers in the region would not get power until next week. Nearly 11,000 NYSEG customers were still without electricity in Delaware and Otsego Counties, and no restoration times were listed for them.
The American Red Cross continued to manage shelters for residents affected by Hurricane Irene, including those coping with continued loss of electrical power, sometimes without indication of when the lights will go on again.
A shelter was opened at Cooperstown Central School at 6 p.m. Tuesday, based on needs identified by the Otsego County Emergency Management Services Office, Sharon Aswad, chief response officer for the American Red Cross in South Central New York Region, said.
A shelter at the Margaretville United Methodist Church remains open, she said.
In sports, Oneonta High's girls were good enough in their opener, but coach Jerry Mackey said they'll need to be better Friday.
The Yellowjackets received two goals from Dani Nicosia, and a goal and two assists from Karsen Shultz in opening their 2011 soccer season with a 4-0 Southern Tier Athletic Conference victory over Chenango Valley on Tuesday at the Wright National Soccer Campus.
THURSDAY
President Barack Obama's declaration of a state of emergency in Delaware, Schoharie and other counties affected by Hurricane Irene was seen as good news by those interviewed Wednesday. New York's two U.S. senators urged more action for farmers in the affected counties.
A Federal Emergency Management Agency team arrived Wednesday morning to determine what kind of assistance Delaware County is eligible for, according to a media release from the county department of Emergency Services.
In sports, all Hartwick College's opponent needed Wednesday night was a minute to win it.
Colgate captain Mike Reese scored with 46 seconds left, giving the host Raiders a 1-0 men's soccer victory in double-overtime.
FRIDAY
Teams of Salvation Army, American Red Cross and Catholic Charities volunteers have been delivering supplies and water to help victims in Delaware County, which was left a disaster area by Hurricane Irene winds and rain, officials said Thursday.
Damages in Margaretville, Arkville and Fleischmanns are estimated to be tens of millions of dollars, Steve Hood, deputy director of emergency services in Delaware County, said Thursday, and more-specific assessments are under way.
In sports, the first of Gary Laronde's two goals came in the 32nd minute and snapped a tie as host Oneonta State opened its season with a 5-1 non-conference men's soccer victory over FDU-Florham on Thursday.
