My name is Scott Green and I run Play at the Plate baseball camps. I am writing this letter to express my feelings about the proposed increase for the usage at Doubleday Field.

We recently held an event there with 42 players and used the field extensively for four days. We played one day at Beaver Valley. I understand the Village’s concerns in getting what they feel is a proper rate for the usage of the field. But from my perspective, I already pay more for Doubleday than I do for any field in the nation that allows amateurs to play on. The Cooperstown market, which is an important one to have, is not our most important stop on our yearly schedule. The city of New Orleans would love to have my small group playing at Zephyr field, that comes complete with two club houses, a swimming pool, indoor batting cages, free parking and scoreboard usage for just 500 per day. That’s 125 per game. From the news I have heard, the increase will be 600 per game during the summer and 400 per game! After Labor Day, I feel that is plenty for the privilege of playing there. Plus add the mandatory umpires fees and it becomes quite an expensive day.

We want to return to Doubleday next September, but any increase in field usage doesn’t make the effort I put into organizing and running the event worthwhile. I don’t make as much money as Legends of Baseball, with whom I played with many times over the years and who I am sorry to say has increased their rates yet again in conjunction with the rate increase for the field.

I was given the opportunity to express my feelings at the Village Board hearing following our event last month. I also told the board that my clients had spent up to 30K in lodging, meals and shopping in the village. When I told my customers about the possibility of a fee increase to 1000 per game, the response was less than favorable. I received many angry emails over the next few weeks saying they had been there enough times and would prefer to go somewhere else where they feel they would be appreciated.

I too live in a resort. I hate the "cityit’s" who take my parking places, make me wait on line at the grocery store, leave their garbage on the beach, and generally make life a bit miserable for three months. But I choose to live through it, because I cherish the area I live in. I’m sure many Village residents feel the same way. But unfortunately we have to deal with the tourists. They still provide the revenue we need to make it through the entire year. Will raising the rates to Doubleday really hurt the village if a couple of organizers don’t have their camps there and go somewhere else? Probably not. There will always be someone else to rent the field for a day, and grab a burger at McDonalds on the way out of town, instead of the people who come for four to seven days, and eat 21 meals in town, stays at B&B six nights and spend money at Mickey’s Place. The point being, charge the single game users the 1000 fee and the organizers less. We’re the ones who bring people there to spend money throughout the town. The village shouldn’t be so hung up on the profits some of us make from the job we do in organizing the events we put on. Thanks for the chance to express my view.

Scott Green

Hampton Bays, N.Y.

Iversen best candidate

I urge voters in the Town of Otsego to return Nancy Iverson to the county board for a second term. Nancy has been in public service most of her life, as a long-time teacher, a town board member, and most recently as a member of the county board, and understands the importance of community.

Nancy also understands the deeper issues facing us locally, particularly the need to begin to prepare for a future which might bring hard times. As we face the uncertainties of climate change, inflation, economic downturn, peak oil, and possible shortages of energy, food, and consumer goods, local government will become more, not less, vital to our survival. Nancy is the candidate who best appreciates the problems before us and the one we can depend upon to approach them with imagination, steadiness, and a spirit of cooperation.

Adrian Kuzminski

Fly Creek

Attend board meeting

I would like to remind parents and members of the community that the Cooperstown Central School Board of Education will begin its budget planning for the 2008-2009 school year at a work session to be held on Thursday, Nov. 1, at 7 p.m., in the cafeteria at the middle/ high school. The purpose of this work session is to hear from parents and members of the community as to their expectations regarding what they desire and value for a public education program at Cooperstown Central School. I urge all interested district residents to attend and participate in this important work session.

Mark F. Rathbun,

President

Board of Education

Coccoma the clear choice

The office of State Supreme Court Justice is not one whose incumbent’s name rolls easily and quickly off the tongue. It is, rather, a position of service, providing fair, consistent justice to all of us in the varied matters that are assigned there.

What then, are the attributes one should look for in choosing a candidate to support? Dedication? Strong work ethic? Compassion? Knowledge of the law? Experience as a prosecutor? Experience as a judge? Knowledge of the community?

Voters in the Sixth Judicial District are fortunate this year to have a candidate who embodies all of the above: Judge Michael Coccoma.

As a longtime volunteer with the Cooperstown Emergency Squad, I have had the privilege of working closely with Mike as an emergency medical technician on our squad. He is a kind, compassionate and intelligent care provider, serving always with the goal of providing excellent pre-hospital care to our neighbors. Thoughtful, with a finely tuned sense of humor, he always seems to know the right thing to say or do to place our patients at ease.

As an Acting State Supreme Court Justice for the past seven years, he has gained valuable experience in the role he asks us to support him in.

Clearly, Judge Coccoma has the experience, knowledge, kindness and compassion that we need providing fair and equitable justice in these difficult times. Please join me in voting for Judge Michael Coccoma for State Supreme Court Justice, Sixth Judicial District.

Bonnie Kaido

Cooperstown

Seybolt outlines credentials

My name is Patricia Seybolt and I am writing today to explain why I am running for Town Clerk in Cherry Valley. I have lived in Cherry Valley for nearly 20 years and I have grown to love it to the point where I would never consider living anywhere else.

My husband, Michael Feulner, and I started our business, Cherry Valley Cabinet Company, here five years ago and we are very committed to the area. One thing that has always distressed me however is that in local elections there has routinely been a lack of choice. All too often there has only been an unopposed Republican candidate on the ballot for most local positions. As a life long Democrat who is concerned about this lack of choice I have decided to step forward and run for Town Clerk in Cherry Valley.

I feel I will be an excellent Town Clerk for the following reasons:

Accessibility _ I will have set hours at the Town Clerk Office and I will also be available during the work week at my business in Cherry Valley.

Competence _ I am extremely organized and I pay a great deal of attention to detail. I am very good with numbers and I feel very strongly that every job I do should be done as perfectly as possible.

Integrity _ I pledge to faithfully discharge the duties of the Town Clerk to the best of my ability for all residents of Cherry Valley, regardless of their political opinions and regardless of whether they have been here for generations or have just recently arrived.

This election year I applaud the fact that there are real choices for candidates for local positions. I encourage everyone to vote on Nov. 6 and I encourage people to cross party lines in Cherry Valley and vote for the best possible candidates. There are many important issues facing Cherry Valley and we need the best people possible in office to make decisions for the good of everyone in the town, not just a select few. For this reason I endorse the bipartisan slate of: Garretson (R), Cornwell (R), Seybolt (D), and Durkin (D), and I encourage everyone else do the same.

Thank you.

Patricia Seybolt

Cherry Valley

Iversen for county rep

This letter is intended to provide my unreserved endorsement for Nancy Iversen as county representative. Nancy is a dedicated public servant with a lengthy, solid record. She is a known community leader with vast experience in our local schools, community organizations, town government, and, most recently, the county legislature. In each of these environments, she is recognized as a consensus builder with principles and an eye focused on what could be accomplished with the resources available.

Recently, erroneous accusations attributed to Bill Ross were published in The Daily Star. I know these to be untrue and, rather than focusing on the whole list, let me provide some facts relating to the one issue with which I am most familiar. Nancy had no involvement in the often misunderstood, misrepresented, and, yes, flawed subdivision regulations proposed last year. That proposal was mine, drafted from recommendations provided by the Town’s paid consultant. Nancy, busy with county business, had no part in the proposal which was moved forward by a bipartisan group of concerned citizens from all parts of the Town. I was the only Pierstown proponent.

I am saddened that spurious charges appear late in almost every campaign season. Nancy has run a fine campaign speaking to issues, and not personalities, and paying all campaign expenses out of her own pocket. She is well known in the district and I don’t expect her to have difficulty being reelected, but, if you don’t know Nancy, let me request that you ask your neighbors about her service. While doing so, you might also want to seek out those who have worked for, and with, her opponent. The choice will be obvious.

Paul H. Lord

Lieutenant Colonel

United State Marine Corps (Retired)

Enjoyed library visit

I am writing this letter to praise and thank the Cooperstown Village Library, its staff, and most especially Martha Sharer, Children’s Librarian. Recently, my husband and I had the pleasure of a two-month visit by our son and daughter-in-law, Bob and Christan Zamelis, and their two-and-a-half-year old daughter, Madelyn. They had been living in the Island of St. John, Virgin Islands. Madelyn, of course, is the reason we became well acquainted with the Children’s Library and all it has to offer. She loved the library, its beautiful, colorful books arranged for her enjoyment in generous, at-her-eye-level bins.

Madelyn especially loved the children’s Story Time with Martha, every Wednesday at 10:30. Sometimes by herself, sometimes with other preschool kids, she would sit on a colorful blue rug with the letters of the alphabet in a circle, and listen raptly to Martha’s stories and little songs. Martha always had a poster board and magic markers for the children to create a picture at the end of Story Time. Then Madelyn would select her week’s supply of four or five books to bring home. So many gorgeous books that choosing was always difficult. She loved to check her own books out, getting to meet the interesting volunteers at the check-out desk. At home she "read" these books avidly, to herself and to us, holding each book up for us to see the pictures, turning it left and right to accommodate her entire audience, just as Martha does.

Every morning Madelyn would ask, "What are we going to do today?" Her parents, enthusiastic about Cooperstown and all it has to offer, were happy to take her (and us) to all kinds of places. Blessed with the wonderful weather in August and September, we went to Community Band concerts at Lakefront Park and the Otesaga; she learned to dance hip-hop and took part in a puppet show at the Festival for the Arts at Glimmerglass Opera; enjoyed the Pumpkin Festival, its regatta and magic shows; Cooperstown’s Bicentennial events and fireworks, and the beach at Three Mile Point. By far, her favorite place to go was the Library, and Story Time was truly the highlight of her days here. Before leaving us, she managed one more Wednesday morning story time, and then drove off to the airport.

On behalf of Madelyn, thank you Martha Sharer and Cooperstown Village Library.

Maria Tripp

Cooperstown

Iversen dedicated, hard working

I have known Nancy Iversen for over 30 years, and we were teaching colleagues at Cooperstown High School for many of those years. She is a hard-working, dedicated person in all that she does. She was always someone I could count on to help out with functions at the school, and demonstrated an honesty and diligence that was appreciated by all.

Recently, she has studied carefully the situation and problems of Canadarago Lake, and did not support a resolution that would have only given "lip service" to the issue. My family has a small camp on that lake, and we were flooded out with many others last year, so this issue is a major one for us. With the Governor’s thoughtless veto of the formation of a Lake Association, such as Otsego has, which would have been the governing entity, the county inherited the job. As I read the entire resolution with the three factors that were a problem for some of the "no" votes on the resolution, I was once again reminded of the thoroughness with which Nancy approaches issues, and her reluctance to spend money carelessly and without considerable investigation into all the aspects. She took time to be sure that I understood the reason, and I appreciate that. She has clearly visited all the areas of concern, and sees that the solution needs more work to be complete and financially responsible.

The letter in the paper last week was unnecessarily harsh, and certainly did not describe the woman that I have known for so many years and admire for so many reasons. I do not think that party affiliation is important on the local level, but integrity is, and so is leadership, dignity and refusal to get into the mud-slinging that is so much a part of all politics now.

I am happy to count Nancy among my friends, and support her candidacy for Otsego County Representative without any reservations.

Jan Kerr

Cooperstown

Vote for the proven leader

Nancy Iversen is running for reelection as county representative after several successful years as a town board member. I have known Nancy Iversen for 20-plus years. In the years I have known her, she has been a community leader. She taught and cared for our high school students, and she volunteered in many organizations for the betterment of our region. Nancy regularly volunteered to assist with Envirothon competitions. She is a gardener as well as an accomplished teacher. Using her gardening skills and experience, Nancy helped design the Memory Garden at the Cooperstown Central School, the Community Garden in Cooperstown (behind the Great American), and continues to serve as a Cornell Master Gardener. She is also on the Cornell Cooperative Extension board of directors. She has volunteered at Lake Festival events and belongs to the Otsego Lake Association, as well as the Pierstown Grange. In all of these endeavors, Nancy is not just present but engaged. She is a leader.

Who is Tim Johnson? What community or public service involvement has he had?

My vote will be cast, emphatically, for a proven leader.

Velma F. Armstrong

Cooperstown

Parking suggestions

I am again writing to the editor with respect to the proposed paid parking of Doubleday Field in the village of Cooperstown.

I truly understand the need to generate income to add some relief to our village taxes, but I do believe we need to take our time in researching the best possibilities for the future, along with the present.

First and foremost, Bassett Hospital needs to get their parking situation passed by the Board. This will then free up many spaces in the Doubleday Field parking lot, the surrounding streets near Bassett Hospital, and at the gym. Bassett shuttles their employees, so mandatory parking at the trolley lots seems to be a logical solution until their parking garage is a reality.

With respect to all other parking, I believe all incoming traffic should be directed to all trolley lots at the outside of the village. All visitors will arrive by trolley, and have an all-day pass to come and go as they please. This will allow permit parking for residents and employees of the village to park, to go to work, and shop.

The time constraints on employees and families getting prescriptions are a lot more tight than visitors. I know when I traveled to Williamsburg, Va., this is exactly what they did. We were directed to park in lots and shuttled in. It was a nice experience. Being on the village trolley committee, I believe the income generated from this idea will far surpass the money generated from paid parking in Doubleday Field, because there is only a fixed amount of spaces. We can fit many cars in the trolley lots, which results in constant dollars, and we are utilizing the trolleys for the function for which they were meant. Visitors would actually get a nice view of our town instead of trying to drive all over to find parking.

I have been informed that we are under restraints in some of the practices we implement because we are a village.

I strongly believe we need to take the steps to change Cooperstown from a village to either a city or town, so we don’t have as many restraints. These changes will affect you, and your voice needs to be heard.

Let’s take our time implementing any changes until all avenues have been checked.

Robin Gray

Cooperstown

Johnson for county rep

The Nov. 6 elections are important to determine the conduct of county business for the coming years. Ask yourself, "Am I pleased with the way county government has operated for the past two years?" Consider this when deciding whom to support for the town of Otsego’s next county representative.

Nancy Iversen’s record:

She voted for construction of an unnecessary addition to town hall for $350,000 in spending (as town councilman).

She schemed with some Pierstown residents to attempt to change the subdivision laws in the town of Otsego, leading to the infamous "Conservation Subdivision."

In December 2005, she supported plans to construct a new town highway building for the cost of $1.2 million.

She voted to increase the county mortgage tax on families.

She supported a change in the county’s insurance program that increased that expense by $100,000.

She supported Rep. Ron Feldstein in changing the county budget process from one that worked to the process that resulted in an erroneous 22 percent tax increase, and has since cost nearly $200,000 to fix.

As a major slap in the face to our agriculture community, Iversen voted to gut the Cornell Cooperative Extension, and fired its most senior and experienced employees without warning.

Iversen failed to attend key meetings with the governor’s office and local officials to find solutions to problems at Canadarago Lake.

On many occasions, Iversen explained her votes by saying she didn’t know what she was voting for.

Jim Johnson is an Otsego County native with many years of successful business experience. He has demonstrated the ideas, the aptitude and enthusiasm to represent the town of Otsego in county government the way we need representation.

Vote for Jim Johnson, Otsego County Representative on Nov. 6.

Bill Ross

Fly Creek

Coccoma for Justice

My husband and I have had the pleasure of knowing Judge Michael Coccoma for over 15 years, and while we are both registered Democrats, we are heartily endorsing Mike for State Supreme Court Justice in his bipartisan bid for this position. Mike is an outstanding citizen, a compassionate neighbor and a respected jurist.

He has vast experience as County, Family and Criminal Court Judge, District Attorney, and Drug Treatment Court Presiding Judge. For the past seven years, he has been an Acting State Supreme Court Justice. He has served on several statewide committees, helping to make reforms in divorce proceedings, family court procedures and family law.

His broad professional experience, coupled with his willingness to serve the community as an EMT, a regular volunteer leader of a local soup kitchen and as an organizer of programs for area young people, make him an ideal candidate for State Supreme Court Justice.

He has the intelligence, experience, integrity and fairness to perform this job well.

Judge Coccoma was chosen to serve as Acting State Supreme Court Judge for good reason.

He now deserves to be elected to the position.

I urge you to learn more about Judge Michael Coccoma at www.votejudgecoccoma.com. If you do, I am confident you, too, will see he is the best choice for State Supreme Court Justice in the Sixth Judicial District.

Nancy R. Potter

Cooperstown

Seward endorses area judges

Voters in our area will have the chance to elect three state Supreme Court judges on Election Day, and I want to take this opportunity to support the election of Judge Phillip Rumsey, Judge Michael Coccoma and Joseph Fazzary.

All three candidates are on the Republican, Independence and Conservative lines, and between them they have decades of unequalled experience in our courts and legal system.

Judge Rumsey, my former legislative counsel, has served as supreme court judge for 14 years and has done an outstanding job on some of the toughest cases. Judge Coccoma is an acting Supreme Court judge, and his experience as a county judge and former DA give him the right background for Supreme Court. Joe Fazzary is a district attorney and has broad knowledge of the courts gained in private practice. No other candidate can match the combined judicial and legal experience of Rumsey, Coccoma and Fazzary.

Rumsey, Coccoma, Fazzary _ please join me in voting for all three of these terrific, experienced and knowledgeable candidates on Election Day.

Sen. James L. Seward

51st Senatorial District

Vote Balcom, Butler and Green

Hartwick voters beware! It’s fall, and the leaves are turning and a change is in the air, but it’s not a change in season, nor a change for the good that I feel. For those of us in Hartwick, I’m talking about a change in your way of life, a change to further erode your freedoms and a hit to your pocketbook.

Martha Clarvoe and Pat Ryan would like you to vote for them and so they can make those changes for you! Both are what former Town Supervisor, Carol Niedzialkowski, a fellow Democrat, called ``self-serving groups and individuals’’ who have been ``costing the taxpayers of the town a great deal of money.’’

Martha Clarvoe and OCCA have already cost the Hartwick taxpayers $15,000 by suing us in a frivolous lawsuit!

A vote for Pat and Martha is a vote for zoning, excessive laws and codes and more restriction. A bigger, big brother.

Eric Bravin’s letter to editor tells us ``the future is coming’’ and we need a change in Hartwick’s leadership to meet it. Nothing could be further from reality. What we need is experience! That is what we have now, over 52 combined years. Mr. Bravin is unhappy that Mary Balcom and the Town Board do not move fast enough, at least for him, in making major changes to our way of life here. Hasty decision making helps no one and hurts many.

He talks about unchecked development here. With our present system there are limitations, but development is far from unchecked. The reality is we have more control than those places who have zoning. On Oneonta’s Southside, the owners of our new Hampton Inn have already broken ground. It seems to me that zoning streamlines development, not keep it in check.

Mary Balcom was the best choice to take over for Carol Niedzialkowski and still is the best choice.

Vote Balcom, Butler and Green.

Gregory Horth

Hartwick

Horth is co-chairman of the Hartwick town planning board.

A vote for Iversen

I don’t normally write letters to the editor. I am not the political one in my family! But I believe that it is important this year for me to become more political than I have been before.

I am writing to ask everyone I know to support Nancy Iversen for Otsego County Representative for District 8.

I have known Nancy for many years, since she taught my children in Cooperstown Central School. Then I knew her to be an intelligent, kind, and compassionate teacher.

Now I know her to be a strong leader with far more integrity and dignity than most in public office.

Nancy performs well under pressure and is always a calm and thorough thinker. She has dedicated her life to public service, and has refused to participate in the negative campaign tactics used by others.

Nancy is a fiscal conservative and is very careful with our budget and our money.

Nancy has taken no money from any individual or organization, and has run a clean and honest campaign. She is beholden to no one, except to us all.

I am proud to have her sign on my front lawn, and I will be proud to cast my vote for Nancy Iversen for County Representative.

Sincerely,

Joan M. Nicols

Cooperstown