Already 200 tour buses plan to make the trip to watch Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn become members of baseball’s elite. Dealing with as many as 50,000 to 60,000 people will tax the village’s infrastructure, resources and residents’ patience.

``We invited the visitors; they’re coming and we have to deal with it,’’ Mayor Carol Waller said.

She said the key to handling the induction day crowd will be communication between all the different entities involved in dealing with the crowd and providing support services.

We agree and applaud their efforts to begin planning now so that the village is prepared for the event.

Raspberries to those property owners who failed to live up to their responsibility to clear sidewalks of snow after last week’s storm.

It is understandable that with two to three feet of snow it will take time to get it moved, but a measure of how bad the sidewalks were is the fact Cooperstown school was closed Friday _ two days after the storm _ out of concern for students who walk to school.

A village ordinance requires property owners to clear sidewalks within 24 hours after a snowfall. Property owners’ failure to comply has been a perennial problem in the village and we believe it may be time to look for more stringent enforcement of the ordinance.

We would be remiss, however, if we did not at the same time send Roses to those village residents who not only cleared their sidewalks, but also helped to clear their neighbors walks as well. That kind of neighborliness is what makes small town living special.

Roses to local highway crews.

In a letter to the editor to this newspaper two weeks ago, Cherry Valley Town Supervisor Tom Garretson praised local highway departments for the often thankless jobs that local highway crews have when it comes to plowing, salting and sanding the roads during the winter season.

And last week, those crews were tested with one of the biggest snowstorms this area has seen in a long time. We’d like to take this opportunity to echo Garretson’s thoughts on those who make driving relatively safe in treacherous conditions.

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