Cheers

June 23, 2009 08:38 am

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... To the Afton Central School softball team and area track and field athletes for recently earning state titles.

Afton has been an area softball powerhouse for many years, winning the last 15 Section Four Class D titles. But an overall Class D state title had eluded the team since 2002. Afton defeated Batavia Notre Dame, 7-4, on June 13, to finally take the title after four straight finals losses.

Afton is a program that has known much success, and it is not an underdog story. However, for the players who endured the years of falling just short, finally winning a title caps their high school careers. It is a proud moment, one that will live forever in their memories.

In track and field, there were many area outstanding performers this year. Two state championships were won: Sidney's Ashley Mahlmeister won the 100-meter hurdles and long jump, and the Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton boys 400-meter relay team captured its event. All those performances were in the state Division II championships.

The B-G/A relay was led off by Josh Norris, and followed by Kyle Kelly, Steve Howe and Dustin Ross, who finished second in the Division II individual 400 meters.

Mahlmeister has gone on to more success, with second-place finishes in the long jump and triple jump at the statewide Federation meet, and two top-20 finishes at the national high school championships.

All of these athletes have put in the effort to get where they are, and they deserve recognition for their work and talent.

o ... To the Meredith Dairy Festival, which completed another year after doubts that the event would take place.

"We started planning in October or November, and the old guys left," said 2009 Dairy Fest chairman Ed Fisher. "They left us with notes ... This year, the festival kind of ran itself."

The festival is a good way to promote a local industry that has seen better times and reminds us of the importance of dairy farming in the heartland of New York.

We're glad to see the two-day event, a fundraiser for the

Meridale Fire Department, continue and we encourage people who haven't gone to keep it in mind next year.

o ... To the efforts of Dr. Joan Bachorik in making sure pets are fed even when their owners are struggling financially.

Bachorik directs the nonprofit project 2009 Harvest for Animals as part of a five-member team. Demand has spiked, and she is seeking donations of food, not cash or checks.

It's a worthy cause, and one in which all the donations go directly to those in need. Bags and cans may be dropped off at her office at 37 Dietz St. in Oneonta.