Press and Sun-Bulletin from Binghamton, New York • 5

it 6B Press Sun-Bulletin Sunday, August 16, 1987 Bassett an authentic Cooperstown legend NORWICH Across the la Valley and the hills to its east, James Fenimore Cooper wrote his JOE QUIIIII ACCOMMOTRAC VISION TRAINING MAY BE ABLE TO RESTORE CLEAR VISION WITHOUT GLASSES. CALL VISION TRAINING CENTER FOR DETAILS AND A FREE EVALUATION 28 RIVERSIDE DRIVE BINGHAMTON, NY 724-3641 time being 112." Mary Imogene Bassett hospital opened its doors to the public in June 1922, and the woman of the same name became chief of staff. But tragedy struck unexpectedly and rapidly when Dr. Bassett suffered a fatal stroke the following October. Edward Severin Clark must have seen the need for her continued inspiration and directed that the light in the hospital's domed cupola burn nightly thereafter in her memory, recognizing the gift of life she had given to her community of patients as well as her pioneering spirit in the field of medicine, then largely made up of men.

invited the U.S. Army to use it as a facility for officers of its air corps aviators, as a place of rest and convalescence. The Armistice ending World War I was signed in the meantime, but the Army had already accepted Clark's offer. By February, 50 commissioned pilots arrived after the remaining construction had been rushed to completion. "The Alfred Corning Clark gymnasium, the Village Club, and the golf links were thrown open to the aviators and everything possible was done to make their stay enjoyable." Their presence in Cooperstown must have been a novelty for the residents as the heroes enjoyed the area.

The influx of scores of military patients must have been a thrill to Dr. Bassett as well as Clark and the town at large. The operation continued into the fall, until Oct. 21 when it officially ended with the departure of the commanding officer and his staff. During the period of almost a year, the paper said, "more than 500 officer patients were treated, the highest number at one famous novels, but many other ries originating at Cooperstown Were factual as well as fictional.

One of the actual events occuring on the shores of Cooper's began with a real-life woman who was a physician with a mission, Mary Imogene Bassett for whom the Otsego County community's nationally known hospital is named. A native of nearby Mount Vision, -she earned her medical degree in 1887 at age 31 from the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania and taught at Philadelphia Polyclinic and College for Graduates in Medicine. Her parents were also physicians, v- and when her mother died in 1893, young Dr. Bassett returned home to join her aging father in practice. During the course of her Cooperstown service, she won the hearts of her community by her dedication to her patients.

It was common to her to pay repeated visits to patients and spend critical hours at their homes when their condition was serious, particularly in the case of children. Among her patients and friends was Edward Severin Clark of Cooperstown who, like the rest of the community, admired Dr. Bassett's devotion to her growing list of patients. When he learned she longed for a statistical laboratory in connection with her work, he made more than her dream come true. He hired an architect for a handsome fieldstone hospital, fully equipped with the latest devices.

It was 1918. During the fall months, Dr. Bassett must have been extraordinarily busy because of a crisis: an influenza epidemic which forced the closing of all public buildings, including schools, theaters and churches. Yet, as the year wore on, the little hospital was nearing completion. Earlier, Clark foresaw an urgent need for the hospital and had Women's BRAND-NAME AthleticFitness Shoes WSKG looking at troubled station WUCI situation Various styles and colors-not all sizes in every style.

Originally sold at to Shoe Dept. complished through satellite stations that allow public broadcasters to broaden their programming horizons and attract new listeners without alienating old ones. One way this could happen is for WSKG to hold the broadcast license, the operating overhead and other financial liabilities that go with WUCI, while Uhuru Communications provided jazz music and public affairs programming to the station. In that way, WSKG could legitimately expand its programming through WUCI's slot on the FM band, and Uhuru Communications could remain a minority-owned-and-operated company that concentrates on programming. JEFF DAVIS alii Vestal Pkwy.

Vestal, New York Visa Mastercard Sugerman's Charge Accepted Sale Ends July 22nd Not Responsible For Typographical Errors Closed Sunday 729-9342 Open Mon thru Sat 10 AM to 9:30 PM SI TAMO LADIES' DENIM JEANS remains clouded While the future of Uhuru Communications remains at best uncertain, an informal proposal has been made that could lead to a practical solution to the minority-owned broadcast company's financial problems. Executives from WSKG public radio and television have discussed operating alternatives for WUCI-FM with Ashimba A. Tariq, founding president and chief executive officer of Uhuru, and members of Uhuru's rival boards. WUCI is Uhuru Communications' financially strapped radio station. The focal point of these discussions has been a proposal under which WSKG would acquire CI's operating expenses, debts and broadcasting license and Uhuru Communications would function as a minority-owned production com- iany concentrating on jazz and pubic affairs.

"There have been discussions between WSKG and the federal program officer who provides oversight of recipients of federal broadcast grants," WSKG President Michael Ziegler said the other day. "Those discussions have focused on how WSKG might help to assure the con- tinuation of this source of alternative broadcasting. "There also have been informal conversations with Ashimba Tariq to investigate how that process might begin. The WSKG executive committee has been informed of these discussions, and the committee has been supportive. But no commitment has been made at this point." Contacted at her Washington office, Joanne Anderson, federal program officer for both WSKG and WUCI-FM, said she was in Bing-hamton during the first week in August and met with representatives of both WSKG and WUCI.

But Anderson, who works for the i federal Public Telecommunications 'Facilities Program, declined to 'specify the nature of those dis-; cussions. A grant from the federal program paid the lion's share of WUCI-FM's equipment start-up costs. However, Anderson said she was familiar with Uhuru's financial problems and with the WSKG dis- SALE PRICE, cussions. "The WSKG thing would be a separate issue," she said. "We would have to have something in front of us before we could react to it." Uhuru Communications Inc.

is roughly $50,000 in debt and has no readily apparent source of income. The radio station owes several months back rent on its antenna tower and its office space at 164 Court Binghamton. Meanwhile, two boards, both claiming to represent Uhuru and WUCI-FM, are battling for control of the station. One board backs Uhuru's founding visionary, Ashimba Tariq, while the other has secured his temporary ouster. In accordance with a temporary restraining order issued by state Supreme Court Justice Stephen Smyk, Tariq vacated the radio station's Court Street offices Wednesday morning and is scheduled to reappear in court on Aug.

28 as part of a show-cause proceeding. A member of Smyk's staff said Thursday the judge told her that he expects the two sides in the dispute to work out their differences. But both parties say they expect the control battle to be decided in court. The continuing fight for control makes it difficult to assess the strength of WSKG's proposal. Tariq and some members of his board are definitely interested, but they could wind up with nothing to say in the matter.

WSKG is interested in expanding its programming. But to do so the public station would need to develop a satellite broadcasting enterprise. Its major supporters are clearly oriented toward classical music, and altering WSKG radio's existing programming would be like biting the hand that feeds the station. In other public radio markets, expanded programming has been ac- 13" 500 GITANO REBATE FINAL COST AFTER REBATE Q99 OUR REG. $19.99 Proportionally sized jeans in short and regular lenqths.

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