Raul Monzon, M.D., has joined Bassett Healthcare’s Department of Surgery as a general surgeon, having recently completed a residency in colon and rectal surgery. Board certified in surgery, he earned his medical degree at Francisco Marroquin University in Guatemala.
He completed an internship and general surgery residency at Bassett Hospital and a residency in colon and rectal surgery at Christus Santa Rosa/San Antonio Colon and Rectal Clinic, in Texas.
Dr. Monzon is married to Bassett anesthesiologist Dr. Bridget O’Mara.

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Youngsters at The Fenimore Art Museum’s "Night at the Museum" are mystified by a frozen artist John Linton Chapman (Andrew Gaerte), who is about to come to life and explain the background his paintings in the "America’s Rome" exhibit. "Uncle Rock" on the guitar performed in the auditorium, and kids painted art-glass like Christmas decorations under the stairs on the evening of Saturday, Nov. 7.

COOPERSTOWN
In 71 years in the meadow between Brooklyn and Susquehanna avenues, the Clark family’s fallow deer have never been attacked by predators, according to Jane Forbes Clark, whose great-uncle Ambrose brought the herd back from Europe in 1938.
That changed in recent weeks, as a dozen of the animals were bitten in the neck, possibly by a coyote, and either died or had to be put down.
"We are going to put up a bigger fence and hope that does it, said Miss Clark, adding, "We’ll keep fingers crossed."
An e-mail sent by Bassett Healthcare to its employees – many walk along that stretch of Susquehanna Avenue from the Clark Sports Center parking lot to work – caused
some concern about public safety, but that seems to have calmed.
Still, according to DEC Wildlife Technician Gary Golja, an air of mystery still surrounds the episode.
"The most unusual fact is that there doesn’t seem to be a lot of feeding on them. They have been killed efficiently but not fed on," said Golja, who first investigated the scene Thursday, Oct. 29 and followed up on Friday, Nov. 6.
"This type of attack would lean toward domestic dogs, but they are usually fairly ineffective and rip apart the hind quarters, where this is more of clench to the throat," he said.
While unsure at first what exactly was attacking the deer, cameras installed along the perimeter fence taped a large coyote inside the pen. There are a handful of spots where the animal could have squeezed into the pen, Golja said.
The deer have been moved to a smaller yard while Ray Key, Pierstown, who operates a wildlife control service, set traps, but he said – as of Tuesday, Nov. 10 – he hadn’t caught anything.
"There haven’t been anymore sightings," Key said, although, generally, he’s responded to several coyote spottings lately.
For time being, people should keep small pets inside at night, when coyotes are most active, he said.
The attacks on the deer, Golja said, were predation, not aggression: Healthy coyotes will not typically attack humans, but people should beware of wild animals that don’t seem afraid of them.
Since the news spread, there has been one coyote sighting near the village – at 12:47 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, on River Road, said Police Chief Diana Nicols. There have been no reports of missing pets, she added.
Miss Clark said her great-uncle saw fallow deer herds in Europe, "thought they were pretty, and wanted to see them from the house."
The house was the 40-room Iroquois Mansion, demolished in 1983, which was located across from the Clark Sports Center, behind where that stone wall lines Susquehanna Avenue.
At its peak, the herd had 60 animals, she said.
The fallow deer have been a part of the scene all of her life, Miss Clark said, recalling times when village residents would regularly walk out to observe the animals and feed them.

CCS Redskins Win Soccer Title

By LAURA COX

COOPERSTOWN
They are the champions, friends.
And wearing the first Section III, Class C Championship laurels won by a CCS Boys Varsity Soccer team since 1991, the Redskins were awaiting word on whether they would be playing Marathon in the first round of the regionals either Friday or Saturday, Nov. 13, 14.
"As far as our victory, it centered around a team approach not one or two individuals," said Coach Frank Miosek the day after his team’s 1-0 win over Bishop Grimes, East Syracuse, Monday, Nov. 9, for the sectional title.
CCS played 16, using five subs; Grimes only used two. Miosek thinks this strategy contributed to the win.
"The game could have gone either way, but we out-shot them. We had one or two more chances than they did. We had five they had three; fortunately, we were able to score and they were not," he said, adding that Bishop Grimes had a shot bounce off the crossbar that could have easily gone in and changed the dynamic of the game.
Miosek is hoping to play Marathon Saturday, because of the late notice and the students having Wednesday off for Veterans Day. Playing Saturday, the team wouldn’t have to miss classes or play in the dark.
Supt. Of Schools Mary Jo McPhail said the time of the game will be posted on the school Web site as soon as she knows.
In Miosek’s 23 years of coaching, the team has never played Marathon and he said he knows "little to nothing about their team."
The coach will continue to use the same strategy that has been successful for him throughout his career. This includes using substitutes in certain positions and not in others.
"Each game is a little different, but our approach from the beginning is to keep fresh people in the mid and striker positions, and we do not like to mess around with defense and the goal. We have a set group and make little or no changes. It’s worked well for me over years, especially in our sectional game," Miosek said.
Miosek never looks ahead, but he said his athletic director did and after this weekend’s game for regionals, there would be a semi final and a championship game for state. The championship game is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 22. The Redskins are 16-3 so far.
Referring to anything past this as icing on the cake, Miosek said that, win or lose, his team will play with class and leave the fields with heads held high.
There are approximately 24 on team, and 17 of them have scored or registered an assist this season.

Democrats say attorney John Ciampoli, the Republican heavy-hitter in recent election challenges across the state, may be coming to Otsego County to scrutinize the tight race for county treasurer.
For their part, some Republicans are being coy; others say, not yet.
"I guess we’ll all have to be surprised, won’t we," said county GOP Chairman Sheila Ross, Fly Creek.
"I don’t know, I don’t know," is all Tony Casale of Cooperstown, the Republican
strategist and retired Herkimer-Otsego county assemblyman, would say in response to questions about what outside help might be brought in, given the tight race between Democrat Dan Crowell and Republican Ed Keator Jr.
"The best person to contact would be Sheila Ross on that," said Jeff Bishop, spokesman for state Sen. Jim Seward, R-Milford, when asked for details from the senator.
Given the number of tight races being contested across the state right now – Essex County district attorney, five in Columbia County, four each in Dutchess and Westchester, plus the razor-thin margin for Nassau County executive – it’s unlikely that Ciampoli will come here in person for the Friday, Nov. 13, recount at the county’s Meadows Building, Town of Middlefield.
But if the other races resolve themselves and the Crowell-Keator contest is still in play, others say a Ciampoli visit is possible.
Meanwhile, by Tuesday, Nov. 10, the margin had grown from 5 to 146 in favor of Middlefield’s Crowell against West Oneonta’s Keator.
Crowell, who planned to observe the validation of absentee ballots on Thursday and the final count on Friday, said he will be guided by what can be determined to be "the intent of the voter."
"We have full confidence in the election commissioners and deputy commissioners on both sides of the aisle," he said.
Ciampoli’s most high-profile involvement lately was in last fall’s recount in the race for the 20th Congressional District, where Democrat Scott Murphy eventually edged out Jim Tedisco, the state Assembly’s Republican leader.
Murphy – his district includes eastern Otsego County, where Crowell was his campaign chair – eventually won.
More notorious was a smaller-scale case in the Village of Irvington, Westchester County.
Ciampoli was representing Republican Dennis Flood, who lost by one vote to Democrat Erin Malloy in the March 15, 2005, village mayoral election.
After six months of legal challenges, Ciampoli succeeded in having an absentee ballot thrown out, bringing the outcome to a tie.
In a coin toss, Flood unseated Malloy, who had been serving as mayor, and was immediately sworn in.
Election Night, Nov. 3, tally was 5,869 for Crowell to 5,864 for Keator.
When non-automated voting machines in seven towns were rechecked Nov. 5, Crowell gained 44 votes and Keator 10, bring the Democrat’s lead to 59.
Election night, a machine had failed in one district and votes needed to be cast by "emergency ballot." Those 21 votes went 7 for Keator, 14 for Crowell, bring the lead to 66.
Finally, it was discovered that, in one Town of Otsego District, Keator’s independent votes had been miscounted as 85 but actually were 5, bringing Crowell’s lead to 146, where it stood before Friday’s anticipated final count.
The statistics concept – The Law of Large Numbers – suggests the 639 uncounted absentee ballots will break along the lines the electorate did in general, Crowell said.
Absent a challenge, the results of the race should be clear by early next week at the latest.
Keator did not return a call to discuss the status of the race.

Arcuri, Murphy Split Votes On Health Reform