Local college students are gearing up to launch a third OH Fest, a concert and carnival event April 26 in Oneonta for local families, residents and the campus communities.
``The first year, the concert was named `Breaking Down Barriers' mainly because we wanted to get rid of the conflicts between the college students and the town,'' Jim Van Eron, a student organizer from the State University College at Oneonta, said in an e-mail. ``It was a huge success, and the community has embraced the concert.''
He attributed success also to the carnival because it provides games and rides for families and their children. The event will be presented by students from SUCO and Hartwick College, he said, and the colleges are splitting the approximately $80,000 cost for the concert. At 6 p.m. in Neahwa Park, the two colleges will present a free triple-bill outdoor concert featuring Head Automatica, with Almost Queen and Black Violin as the opening bands.
Main Street downtown will be closed for the carnival from 1 to 5 p.m. Von Eron said vendors or others interested in setting up a table may send an e-mail to OH-Fest@oneonta.edu. The fee charged goes to charity, he said.
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With two colleges in Oneonta and many public schools in the area, the role of education is an often-raised topic.
Therefore, having a speaker well-versed in the field will be an interesting, perhaps educational, opportunity.
Carl T. Hayden, chairman of the State University Board of Trustees and former chancellor of the Board of Regents, will deliver the 2008 commencement address at the State University College at Oneonta on May 17.
Citing his accomplishments, said Carol Blazina, SUCO spokeswoman, the college is honored to have Hayden accept the invitation.
Hayden was appointed chairman of the SUNY Board of Trustees in October. He was elected to the SUNY Board of Regents of the University in 1990, elected chancellor by his colleagues in 1995 and re-elected to that office in 1998 and 2001. He served until 2002, when his second term as a Regent expired. He was then voted chancellor emeritus by his colleagues. During his tenure, the Board of Regents raised standards for students, schools, entry into the teaching profession and teacher-preparation programs.
Hayden, a 1970 graduate of Cornell University School of Law, is a practicing attorney in Elmira and a former president of the Elmira City School District Board of Education. He was also a founder and president of the Mark Twain Arts Council. From 1963 to 1967, Hayden served in the U.S. Navy as a gunnery officer and legal officer.
Hayden serves as chairman of the Board of the New York State Health Foundation and chairman of the Chemung County School Readiness Project. From 2003 to 2007, he was a director of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and the Campaign for Fiscal Equity.
He has been awarded several honorary degrees.
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Dr. Richard F. Daines, commissioner of the state Department of Health, extended his area travels this week into Delaware County.
Daines visited Delaware Valley Hospital in Walton on Thursday to learn more about the Asthma Coalition of the Southern Tier's Pediatric Asthma Education Program, which is funded by the Department of Health and serves asthmatic children in seven counties, according to a media release. The American Lung Association is the lead agency for the program.
The goal of the program is to reduce the burden of asthma through education, assistance with self-management skills and providing tools to children, schools, physicians and parents. DVH is participating through its affiliation with United Health Services in Binghamton.
The hospital staff and some volunteers demonstrated tools, educational materials and other details of the program Thursday. Programs are offered at the Stay Healthy Center, but they can also include phone calls and home visits that help parents assess their child's environment for triggers.
Daines said reducing complications from asthma is a goal of the prevention agenda launched earlier this week. He also toured the hospital's emergency room and imaging center renovation and construction project.
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Staff writer Denise Richardson covers health, business and colleges.
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