SOUTH OTSELIC – Nearly 50 people came out on Saturday to take part in an open house remembering the late 80s protests to keep a low level hazardous waste facility from being located in the South Otselic area.

Community members from South Otselic, Pharsalia, Lincklaen, Pitcher and beyond attended a meeting at the Otselic Valley High School on Saturday morning, organized by OV’s communications class. Many of those in attendance brought photos, buttons and tee shirts depicting the fight and reminisced about the roles they played and the common goals that brought them together.

“This is a history that needs to be told,” communications instructor Michael Foor-Pessin told the crowd. “Today is about your personal stories more than the tee shirts and buttons,” Foor-Pessin said explaining that students were equipped with camcorders and audio recording equipment and would be teaming up with participants for one-on-one interviews. “We want to hear the personal stories that can only be told in person.” The class plans to write a research paper and create a documentary from the information they gather.

The day’s event officially began with a question and answer session. Students asked the crowd to explain their opinions on matters like why the state selected OV and other rural communities for the waste site, what roles those in attendance played in the fight and what lessons were learned from the process.

Most in attendance agreed the state officials chose the rural upstate communities because they thought the citizens there were unintelligent and could be easily manipulated. “They thought they could bribe us,” said Town of Pharsalia Supervisor Dennis Brown. “They wanted to pick the path of least resistance. They thought we were a small, dumb community and they could give us a lot of money and we wouldn’t’ complain. It was a political decision based on the size of the area and the perceived intelligence.”