County Sheriff’s Sgt. Michael Stalter, top left, a licensed falconer, and DEC Officer Tim Card hold up a Red Tail hawk, since nicknamed Lucky, they rescued Tuesday from Interstate 81. Deputy Frank Koren Jr., inset right, the first officer who responded to the scene, kept his new buddy warm in a Christmas sweater. According to sheriff’s deputies, driver Maureen Richter saw the injured bird while traveling on I-88 in the Town of Oneonta and alerted police. The hawk was then transported to Charlie and Dorie Koop’s in Pittsfield for rehabilitation. Arriving at the scene, Sergeant Stalter said the hawk appeared disoriented. The Koops, he said, will “watch and monitor” Lucky, but expect to release it back into the wild in the next few days.
COLUMN VIEW FROM THE GAME It’s All We Need To Know: Home Plate 17 Inches Wide Editor’s Note: Tim Mead, incoming Baseball Hall of Fame president, cited John Scolinos, baseball coach at his alma mater, Cal Poly Pomona, as a lifelong inspiration, particularly Scolinos’ famous speech “17 Inches.” Chris Sperry, who published sperrybaseballlife.com, heard Scolinos deliver a version in 1996 at the American Baseball Coaches Association in Nashville, and wrote this reminiscence in 1916 in his “Baseball Thoughts” column. By CHRIS SPERRY • from www.sperrybaseballlife.com In 1996, Coach Scolinos was 78 years old and five years retired from a college coaching…