To Michael Shea for his years of dedication to education.
The Oneonta Central School District superintendent announced he will retire effective Jan. 1.
Shea, a 1977 Oneonta High School graduate, started as superintendent at Oneonta on July 1, 2005. Before that, he was superintendent at Franklin Central School for five years.
Shea started as a middle/high school history teacher at Tri-Valley Central School in 1981. At the encouragement of the principal, he took some administrative courses. Although he would be leaving the classroom, he said, he saw it as an opportunity to stay in education and influence students and adults.
He served as building principal at Delhi middle school from 1995 to 2000.
His said his goal was always to return to Oneonta.
Shea's tenure has been "very positive," Oneonta City School District Board of Education President Grace Larkin said.
His time in the classroom and growing up in the district showed in the way he approached the job, she said.
We thank Shea for his service and wish him well in his remaining months as superintendent and in his retirement.
To Otsego County Planning Director Terry Bliss, who will bring his nearly 35-year career with Otsego County to a close next month.
He started working for the county in 1977 after he graduated from the State University College at Oneonta. He took a job as a $2.30-an-hour aide in the county planning department.
Bliss has been at the center of a number of projects facing the county, including leading the way for the county to exit the Montgomery-Otsego-Schoharie Solid Waste Management Authority.
He has also been part of the effort to construct a countywide road preservation program that now stands ready to hold heavy industry accountable for damage to highways and byways.
Bliss was also known as the "Garbage Cowboy," after leading the efforts in the mid-2000s to ensure recyclables were not being mixed in with trash to be delivered to MOSA.
We appreciate all of his hard work and dedication over the past three-plus decades.
To Gov. Andrew Cuomo for signing the bill to finally _ and officially _ allow Otsego County to leave MOSA.
A bill allowing the exit passed the state Senate and Assembly in June, but was never sent to the governor for his signature.
An amended bill passed both houses late last month, and was signed by Cuomo on Friday. The legislation gives Otsego County claim to 40 percent of the MOSA assets.
Otsego County Board of Representatives Chairwoman Kathleen Clark, R-Otego, said she hoped that officials from all three counties involved in the authority will meet "and equitably make the split."
Otsego County Treasurer Dan Crowell has said the county can save more than $1 million a year by leaving MOSA,
We're glad Otsego County can now move on to the next stage of its garbage-removal future.
