Pathfinder Village in Edmeston has received a $3,000 donation from the New York Yankees for the home’s work with the Cooperstown Cookie Co.

The Yankees had ordered 2,400 baseball cookies for the team’s annual homecoming dinner the first week of April, said Pati Drumm Grady, president of the Cooperstown Cookie Co.

Pathfinder Village helped package the cookies for the event.

"It was a really nice collaborative effort," Grady said. "That was a lot of fun for all of us."

Grady said the Yankees contacted Cooperstown Cookie Co. and asked if it would make the favors for the homecoming dinner. The Yankees then donated to Pathfinder Village.

"They were really nice to work with," Grady said Tuesday of the Yankees.

Cooperstown Cookie Co. also donates part of its profits to the organization, which works with children and adults with Down syndrome.

IRS extends a deadline

Tax procrastinators may be thankful for Monday’s storm.

The Internal Revenue Service has extended the filing deadline from Tuesday until midnight Thursday for people in states affected by the storm.[an error occurred while processing this directive]

"Because this unusually forceful storm hit within 24 hours of the filing deadline, we are giving affected taxpayers 48 additional hours," IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson said in a prepared statement.

IRS spokesman Kevin McKeon said people don’t have to provide proof that they were delayed by the storm. Taxpayers should write "April 16 Storm" on their returns, McKeon said Tuesday. To take advantage of the extension online, people should use the "disaster" feature in their electronic filing software.

Empire Zone meeting set

There will be an Empire Zone meeting for Otsego County on Thursday.

The meeting will be at 4 p.m. in the Otsego County economic development conference room at 242 Main St. in Oneonta, according to a media release from the agency.

It is a public meeting.

Area bank recognized again

The Delaware National Bank of Delhi has received its latest five-star rating from a national company.

BauerFinancial gave the bank its 47th consecutive five-star rating. The rating is based on capital, liquidity, profitability and loss trends.

"There are many ways to measure a bank’s success," Karen Dorway, president of BauerFinancial, said in a prepared statement. "Based on our analyses, this award is well-earned by the Delaware National Bank of Delhi."

The bank has offices in Delhi and Margaretville; it is planning to open a branch in Davenport this fall.

Local housing sales decline

Area counties had a decrease in home sales between February 2006 and 2007, according to the New York State Association of Realtors.

Sales of single-family homes dropped in Chenango, Delaware, Otsego and Schoharie counties, according to the association’s monthly housing survey for February.

The survey said sales dropped 7.4 percent in Otsego County, 16.7 percent in Delaware County, and 11.1 percent in Chenango County. Sales dropped 5.9 percent in Schoharie County, the survey said.

The association released its housing figures late last month. The statewide decrease was 3.5 percent. The survey reflects only sales reported through multiple-listing services and therefore may not reflect all of the sales in the area.

Despite falling sales, prices increased in Chenango, Delaware and Otsego counties.

The median sales price increased 91.5 percent in Delaware County, the survey said. Prices went from $82,250 in February 2006 to $157,500 this February.

Prices increased 25.4 percent _ from $103,600 to $129,900 _ in Otsego County and 4.4 percent in Chenango County. The survey said prices fell 8.9 percent in Schoharie County.

Across the state, the association said, prices decreased 1.9 percent.

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