Cortland Standard

Cortland Standard The Cortland Standard has been serving news to Cortland County communities since 1867. Kinney. In 1872, Wesley Ho**er purchased the paper. His son, Edward H.

The Cortland Standard is the only daily newspaper published in Cortland County. Although the Cortland Standard is one of the community’s oldest institutions, the newspaper, in a sense, remains as new as today’s edition. Known as the “Cortland County Standard,” the newspaper was established in June of 1867 as a weekly by Francis G. The original publisher of the newspaper apparently encountered vari

ous difficulties in getting the paper started. In the first issue, he pointed out that the press had not arrived in time for the printing of the first edition. The first issue of the paper, therefore, was printed in the offices of the Homer Republican. At the same time, he also purchased the Cortland Journal and combined the two papers under the name, “The Standard and Journal.” The name was changed to the Cortland Standard in 1879. On April 1, 1876, William H. Clark purchased the paper and served as its editor and publisher for nearly 52 years. Clark, became president and editor of the newspaper in 1928 and continued to serve in that capacity until his death on August 28, 1973. The Cortland Standard was relocated to the corner of Main and Tompkins streets on March 1, 1883. The building was at first shared with the Post Office, and the YMCA occupied space for a time on the upper floors of the Standard building. In March 2025, the Cortland Standard abruptly ceased publication. The Cortland Standard's marketing & advertising manager, Mindy Lawrence, was hired by Sample News Group immediately following the closure and was appointed as Publisher of the Oswego County News Group. On May 7, 2025, Sample News Group purchased the Cortland Standard and appointed Lawrence as group publisher of both the Oswego County News Group and the Cortland Standard. The Cortland Standard resumed publication on May 17, 2025.

HOMER — The Homer boys wrestling team notched its first league win of the season with a 66-6 victory against crosstown r...
01/08/2026

HOMER — The Homer boys wrestling team notched its first league win of the season with a 66-6 victory against crosstown rival Cortland on Wednesday at Homer Central School.

Four underclassmen took to the mat for the Trojans — three of them picking up wins. In league matchups, Homer had previously lost to Marcellus (52-18) to kickoff the season on Dec. 9 and to Jordan-Elbridge (47-22) on Dec. 16.

HOMER — The Homer boys wrestling team notched its first league win of the season with a 66-6 victory against crosstown rival Cortland on Wednesday at Homer Central School. Four …

CORTLAND — Cortland Prevention Resources will host another Mocktail Magic event, following the success of the first even...
01/08/2026

CORTLAND — Cortland Prevention Resources will host another Mocktail Magic event, following the success of the first event last year. This time, the magic will take place at CRT Downtown at 6 p.m. Jan. 22 on Port Watson Street.

CPR is one of the many divisions of Family and Children’s Counseling Services, and its primary programming focus is on alcohol and drug harm reduction and education. A lot of this work is done through schools all over Cortland County to provide behavioral health and substance education early on, but Mocktail Magic is an event geared more toward showing adults that there are different options on a night out.

CORTLAND — Cortland Prevention Resources will host another Mocktail Magic event, following the success of the first event last year. This time, the magic will take place at CRT Downtown at 6 p.m. …

DRYDEN — Dryden Ambulance said firefighters responded to an alarm Wednesday afternoon at Dryden High School, leading stu...
01/08/2026

DRYDEN — Dryden Ambulance said firefighters responded to an alarm Wednesday afternoon at Dryden High School, leading students to be temporarily sheltered at Tompkins Cortland Community College.

When crews arrived they found a heavy smoke at the middle and high school, caused by a fire in a bathroom trash can.

Superintendent Joshua Bacigalupi said the single stall bathroom involved will remain closed and locked the remainder of the week.

After it was extinguished students and faculty could not return inside because the alarm would not reset and was continuing to send codes indicating issues.

An environmental health and safety officer from TST BOCES cleared the building to continue school the following day, but was not permitted back into the building that day.

Bacigalupi said he is incredibly grateful for the staff, students and first responders.

“The entire staff and your children PK-12 were outstanding today as everyone worked to be flexible, supportive and work together to move through the day,” Bacigalupi said.

All schools opened in person and on time Thursday.

DRYDEN — Dryden Ambulance said firefighters responded to an alarm Wednesday afternoon at Dryden High School, leading students to be temporarily sheltered at Tompkins Cortland Community College. …

GROTON — Big night for Groton senior Devyn Blasz as she helped the Lady Red Hawks get the 45-25 win over Tioga on Tuesda...
01/07/2026

GROTON — Big night for Groton senior Devyn Blasz as she helped the Lady Red Hawks get the 45-25 win over Tioga on Tuesday at Groton High School in the team's home opener.

Blasz tallied 11 of Groton's 17 points in the first quarter and eight of the 13 points in the third in the win. The Lady Red Hawks had spent the first month of the season on the road, picking up wins over Dryden, Southern Cayuga and Lansing.

GROTON — Big night for Groton senior Devyn Blasz as she helped the Lady Red Hawks get the 45-25 win over Tioga on Tuesday at Groton High School in the team's home opener. Blasz tallied 11 …

CORTLAND — The Cortland County Community Action Program (CAPCO) released its 2025 annual report, highlighting its accomp...
01/07/2026

CORTLAND — The Cortland County Community Action Program (CAPCO) released its 2025 annual report, highlighting its accomplishments within the community and outlining the impact made.

Executive Director Greg Richards said they’re proud they achieved new goals while providing the same level of service.

“This year, we expanded offerings in meaningful ways: launching Breastfeeding Cafés in Cortland and Chenango Counties, helping open The Grace Space (Cortland’s first day center for unhoused individuals) and partnering on critical county-level initiatives in mental health and healthy homes remediation,” Richards said.

CAPCO’s report stated it also celebrated the 60th birthday for its Head Start Program.

CORTLAND — The Cortland County Community Action Program (CAPCO) released its 2025 annual report, highlighting its accomplishments within the community and outlining the impact made. Executive …

HOMER — The Homer boys basketball team won its third consecutive game with a 54-43 win Monday over Solvay at Homer Centr...
01/07/2026

HOMER — The Homer boys basketball team won its third consecutive game with a 54-43 win Monday over Solvay at Homer Central School.

After starting the season 1-4 through the first five games, the Trojans have strung some wins together and have posted a 4-1 record in the last five to move to 5-5 through the first month of the season.

HOMER — The Homer boys basketball team won its third consecutive game with the 54-43 win over Solvay on Monday at Homer Central School. After starting the season 1-4 through the first …

CORTLAND — For service clubs like the Kiwanis Club of Cortland, a new year means new initiatives and events to support t...
01/07/2026

CORTLAND — For service clubs like the Kiwanis Club of Cortland, a new year means new initiatives and events to support the community. This year, the club is looking to expand its membership, raise money for grants and continue ongoing efforts in the community to further the mission of supporting the children of Cortland.

Kiwanis members Jackie Burke and Chrissie Allen are excitedly finishing up the details of a few major events to kick off the year of Kiwanis.

This includes the new member dinner, PBJ drive and an entirely new event Allen came up with to raise money for Kiwanis donations and grants.

“We’re doing a co****le tournament on Feb. 28 at McGraw Box Brewing,” Allen said. “There’s no partner needed to register, and it’ll be round robin style. There’s going to be a cash prize, so 50% of the registration money will be distributed for cash prizes and the other half will go to Kiwanis. We’re also going to have 50/50 and basket raffles, and all that money that Kiwanis gets from the event goes back into the community.”

Kiwanis Club of Cortland and all other Kiwanis organizations have a primary focus of supporting children’s needs in the community. This means working closely with the local schools and finding ways to support child growth, development, health and happiness in any way possible within Cortland County.

One of the major projects Kiwanis Club of Cortland has been working on to achieve this mission is the new playground at Dwyer Park. This has been one of Burke’s primary projects as a Kiwanis member since she attended a grant-writing seminar and learned about the need for a new playground at the park in Preble.

These two factors combined into a large undertaking of funding, planning and installing the playground equipment. Burke is looking forward to this spring when they will finally break ground on the project and install the new equipment.

“We know we’re going to break ground in the spring,” Burke said. “It is a community build, too. We have professional installers that we pay for liability reasons, but we’re inviting the community and anyone who would be interested in helping us. There’s going to be a ribbon-cutting ceremony once it’s done, too. We’re so excited for it all to be open to the public.”

Burke says the playground project has received a lot of community and organizational support, and she’s excited for it to all come to fruition for the children to enjoy the new playground.

The club will also be hosting its annual PBJ drive from Jan. 20 to Feb. 10, where jars of peanut butter and jelly will be collected at various drop-off locations and then distributed to the local food pantries.

This has been a wildly successful event in the past, according to Burke, and the club is looking forward to helping local agencies feed families in need.

All event information will be shared on the Kiwanis Club of Cortland page and website for more details, including how to get involved.

The club is looking to expand its membership this year with its new member dinner, where people can come to a catered dinner and learn about what the club does.

“We host this dinner once a year to show off the work that we do,” Burke said. “Some people have never heard of Kiwanis or they want to know what Kiwanis is all about, and we usually get a few new members from this dinner each year. It’s really helpful and it’s really nice to share the work we do with the community.”

CORTLAND — For service clubs like the Kiwanis Club of Cortland, a new year means new initiatives and events to support the community. This year, the club is looking to expand its membership, raise …

CORTLAND — The Cortland Planning Commission approved the site review plan and the floor development permit for a new bui...
01/07/2026

CORTLAND — The Cortland Planning Commission approved the site review plan and the floor development permit for a new building belonging to Coffee Mania.

Owners Craig and Michelle Brooks said they’re looking to build a small shed on South Avenue about 130 feet away from their primary parcel of land.

“We need more space for what we’re doing,” Craig said.

The owners said the shed will be used to store syrups, beans and other products. They have no plans to have employees work within the shed, except for putting in or taking out items.

CORTLAND — The Cortland Planning Commission approved the site review plan and the floor development permit for a new building belonging to Coffee Mania. Owners Craig and Michelle Brooks said …

CINICNNATUS — Though it may just seem like a small town in rural CNY, Cincinnatus has a lot of history to preserve and s...
01/06/2026

CINICNNATUS — Though it may just seem like a small town in rural CNY, Cincinnatus has a lot of history to preserve and share with the community. Pairing that history with a love of arts and culture create the Cincinnatus Area Heritage Society (CAHS), an organization comprised entirely of volunteers who want to enrich the lives of Cincinnatus residents right in their own backyards.

Board of Directors member Beth MacRae says the primary goal of CAHS is to foster a sense of community in the small town, and that includes hosting events for all ages and creating different ways to help the community come together. One of the main programs CAHS uses to promote a connection to history and to performing arts is the CNY Arts Partnership Program.

CINICNNATUS — Though it may just seem like a small town in rural CNY, Cincinnatus has a lot of history to preserve and share with the community. Pairing that history with a love of arts and culture create the Cincinnatus Area Heritage Society (CAHS), an organization comprised entirely of volunteer...

New York lawmakers were quick to send press releases reacting to the United States military operation that succeeded in ...
01/05/2026

New York lawmakers were quick to send press releases reacting to the United States military operation that succeeded in capturing and imprisoning Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in the early hours of Saturday morning. Maduro has been brought to the U.S. to stand trial for drug trafficking charges.

MORAVIA — The Moravia girls basketball team won convincingly 67-27 over Odessa-Montour on Friday at Moravia High School ...
01/05/2026

MORAVIA — The Moravia girls basketball team won convincingly 67-27 over Odessa-Montour on Friday at Moravia High School to get the first victory of the new year.

The Lady Blue Devils had a dominating first quarter putting up 30 points and only allowing the Lady Grizzlies two points. Kendall Hess led the offense in the opening frame with 10 points — finishing the game with 14 points.

MORAVIA — The Moravia girls basketball team won convincingly 67-27 over Odessa-Montour on Friday at Moravia High School to get the first victory of the new year. The Lady Blue Devils had …

MARATHON — Town of Marathon Supervisor Timothy Elliott spoke about the town’s journey in 2025, including financial issue...
01/05/2026

MARATHON — Town of Marathon Supervisor Timothy Elliott spoke about the town’s journey in 2025, including financial issues impacting the upcoming years.

MARATHON — Town of Marathon Supervisor Timothy Elliott spoke about the town’s journey in 2025, including financial issues impacting the upcoming years. Elliott said they had to override the …

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The Cortland Standard, the only daily newspaper published in Cortland County, is observing its 152nd anniversary this year. Although the Cortland Standard is one of the community’s oldest institutions, the newspaper, in a sense, remains as new as today’s edition. Known as the “Cortland County Standard,” the newspaper was established in June of 1867 as a weekly by Francis G. Kinney. The original publisher of the newspaper apparently encountered various difficulties in getting the paper started. In the first issue, he pointed out that the press had not arrived in time for the printing of the first edition. The first issue of the paper, therefore, was printed in the offices of the Homer Republican. In 1872, Wesley Ho**er purchased the paper. At the same time, he also purchased the Cortland Journal and combined the two papers under the name, “The Standard and Journal.” The name was changed to the Cortland Standard in 1879. On April 1, 1876, William H. Clark purchased the paper and served as its editor and publisher for nearly 52 years. His son, Edward H. Clark, became president and editor of the newspaper in 1928 and continued to serve in that capacity until his death on August 28, 1973. The Cortland Standard, which is one of the few remaining family-owned newspapers in New York state, continues to be published under the ownership of members of the Clark family. The Cortland Standard was relocated to its present site on the corner of Main and Tompkins streets on March 1, 1883. The building was at first shared with the Post Office, and the YMCA occupied space for a time on the upper floors of the Standard building. In marked contrast to the appearance of today’s newspaper, the first issue of the daily Cortland Standard was a four-page paper published on March 8, 1892. The paper was printed on an eight-page flatbed press that was capable of producing up to 3,500 copies per hour. The Cortland Standard has grown steadily with the population of Cortland County and with the rapid technological changes which have occurred over the years in the gathering and printing of news.