TRR photo by Tom Kane Wally Warren, a member of the Cochecton Preservation Society, examines the newly repaired Woody II. (Click for larger image)

Woody II gets a face-lift, er, head-lift

By TOM KANE

COCHECTON — If you happen to drive by the site of the old Cochecton Train Station with the desecrated stature of Woody the Bear, take a careful look. You may have missed it.

Woody, mascot of the Cochecton Preservation Society, has been reconstructed.

A week ago, Woody’s creator, Dick Guttzeit of Cochecton, attached a new head and bolted on new paws.

Woody has that whole feeling again.

A few months ago, vandals cut off Woody’s face and paws. This was the second anti-Woody incident in two years. More than a year ago, vandals stole Woody, leaving only his feet, which were set in concrete.

The reward for anyone who helps with the identification and conviction of the parties responsible for the defacing of Woody II has been raised to $1,000, according to Dorothy Schlegel of the preservation society.