WCDO Radio News

State Police at Sidney arrested 57 year old Thomas Brainerd of Unadilla forAggravated DWI with a reportable B.A.C of .26%.  Troopers were dispatched to a report of a two-car crash on State Highway 7 in the town of Unadilla.  An investigation revealed that Brainerd failed to yield to another vehicle while leaving a driveway, while intoxicated.  A passenger of the other vehicle was taken to AO Fox Hospital Tri-Town Campus,  Brainerd was processed and released on appearance tickets to the town of Unadilla court on December 16th.

Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 25 year old
Dystinee Rubera of Unadilla  with
Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle, Moved from lane unsafely
and Operate Motor Vehicle by Unlicensed Driver. The arrest occurred as result
of a traffic stop on State Highway 10 in the Town of Delhi, Rubera was issued
an appearance ticket to Town of Delhi Court at a later date.

Operation
Merry Christmas has received many more requests for toys & children’s
clothing for underprivileged families this holiday season.  Program Spokesperson Dorene Ireland asks the
public to locate their trees in areas stores, take a tag & try to help with
this year’s efforts:

(Dorene
Ireland 12-3-19)

Some of
the Operation Merry Christmas Trees can be found at ACCO, Amphenol, Community
Bank in Sidney, NBT in Sidney, SFCU in Bainbridge and Sidney, the Sidney
Central School, Sidney Flowers & Gifts, Sidney Memorial Public Library,
Trackside Dining, & Village Variety in Unadilla. The giveaway day will be
on December 14th from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM at the AO Fox Hospital Tri Town Campus
in Sidney.

The
Unadilla Chamber of Commerce will participate in Small Business Saturday
tomorrow, Vendors will be set up at the Masonic Temple from 9:00 AM to 4:00
PM,  The Holiday Magic Parade will begin
at 5:30 PM & Santa Claus will meet with children at the Community Center
starting at 6:30 PM.

The Unadilla Chamber of Commerce announced that their Santa
Saturday & Holiday Magic Parade will be held on Saturday November 30th this
year.  Those who would like to participate
in the Parade need to submit their entry forms to the Chamber by November 22nd,
to Linda Bickos at 1004 State Highway 7 Suite c in Unadilla.

State Police are investigating a
series of vehicle break ins in the village of Unadilla.  Police remind owners to always lock their
unattended vehicles, & do not leave any valuables in plain view inside the
vehicles.

54 year old Roy Niles of Nineveh was arrested Tuesday for
allegedly selling crystal meth in Binghamton.
Police recovered 29 grams of crystal methamphetamine, drug packaging and
cash during the arrest. Niles was charged with criminal sale of a controlled
substance, criminal possession of a controlled substance, and criminal use of
drug paraphernalia.

The
Sidney, Bainbridge & Unadilla Chambers of Commerce will hold a Tri-Town
Business Mixer on Wednesday November 13th, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM.  The event will be held at 55 Union Street in
Sidney, RSVP's are requested by this Friday at 561-2642.

The
results are in for area elections, for the State Supreme Court 6th district,
the 3 winners are Republicans Chris Baker, Oliver Blaise & Mark
Masler.  In the Sidney Town Clerk's Race,
Sheila Paul wins over incumbent Lisa French.
In Chenango County key races, the Norwich mayor will be Republican Shawn
Sastri, in the Norwich city council races, the winner in Ward 3 is Nancy
Allaire & in Ward 5, David Zieno.
The Town of Coventry Supervisor is Republican Jennifer Boudreau.  Guilford Supervisor George Senek is
re-elected over write in candidate Dan Harrington, in the Guilford Town Council,
Terence Ives & Gilda Ward win over 3 others.  In the Town of Bainbridge Council: Robert
Evans wins, the Town of Norwich Supervisor winner is Stanley Foulds, the Town
of Pharsalia Supervisor is Jeremiah Micklas.
In the Otsego County Board of Representatives races, the winners are, in
district 2: Michele Farwell, District 3:
Rick Brockway, District 14: Jill Basile.
The Laurens Town Supervisor race is won by Republican David Neske,  In the City of Oneonta Common Council races,
the winners are, in Ward 2: Mark Davies, Ward 4: Kaytee Lipari Shue, Ward 5:
Leonard Carson, Jr., Ward 6: Scott Harrington, Ward 8: Mark Drnek.  In the Broome County District Attorney:
Libertarian Michael Korchak leads by a slim margin over Republican Paul
Battisti, with absentee votes yet to be counted.

Clocks
will get turned back 1 hour this Saturday night, as part of the Daylight
Savings Time System; local fire departments urge residents to replace the
batteries in their smoke detectors, or replace the old detectors with the new
ones with 10 Lithium Batteries this weekend.
Dave Welch of the Unadilla Fire Department explains:

(Dave
Welch 10-31-19)

Statistics
show that in 60% of fire deaths, there was no smoke detector present, & in
over 40%, the smoke detectors didn’t work or had no batteries.  New York is leading the nation with 92
civilian fire deaths this year.

12 organizations in the region received grants totaling $111,500 from the Community Foundation for South Central New York’s Community Fund and by the Young professional Advisory Committee. The Community Fund awarded funds to the  Unadilla Valley Central School District, the Windsor Central School District, the Deposit Foundation & the SUNY Delhi Research Foundation, the Young Professional Advisory Committee awarded funds to the Binghamton Zoo at Ross Park & Commerce Chenango.

The New Berlin Art Forum presents the Navy band Commodores
for a free concert Wednesday night at the Unadilla Valley Central School
Auditorium.  Forum Spokesperson Margaret
Murray said that the show is free but tickets are required for this Jazz
Concert:

(Margaret Murray 10-29-19)

Murray said that she will take
ticket reservations through 3:00 PM Wednesday 263-2115, Tickets are also
available at The New Berlin Library & the New Berlin Service Pharmacy.

47-year-old Andrew Menke has died following a Saturday
Afternoon Fire in his 3rd Floor Apartment above the Little Venice Restaurant in
Binghamton over the weekend.  Menke was
discovered in the hallway at 111 Chenango Street, he was taken to Wilson
Medical Center, and He was moved to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse.  Fire damage was confined to the third-floor
apartment where the blaze originated. The restaurant sustained some water
damage, but was able to re-open Sunday.
The investigation is continuing.

The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office
announced that 2 individuals were ticketed for passing stopped Sidney school
buses last month.  30 year old Jasmine
Gonzales of Sidney was ticketed for a September 19th incident, and 22 year old
Lacey Speidell, of Unadilla, was ticketed for a September 24th incident.  Sheriff Craig DuMond stated that both
incidents were reported by the school’s transportation director to the school
resource officer, who serves with the sheriff’s office, after cameras on the
buses captured images of the passing vehicles and license plates.

A new calendar of area business women is now on sale, with
the money raised going to Spaying & Neutering area cats, Erin Insinga of
Delaware Valley Humane Society explains:

(Erin Insinga 10-15-19)

Calendars are available at the Humane Society in Sidney, as well
as House of Consignment in Unadilla, More information is available at the “I’m
Into S&N (Spaying & Neutering) Facebook page or by calling 563-7780.

The Annual "Taste
of the Catskills" will be held at Maple Shade farms in the town of Delhi
Saturday & Sunday.  More than 100
vendors are participating, various entertainment & games are scheduled, and
more information is available at taste of the catskill.com.

State Police are asking the public’s
help to locate 44 year old Jesse Donlin, who has been missing since early
September.  Donlin was last seen in the
Oxford area and has not been heard from since.
He is described as a white male, 5’7” feet tall, approximately 165
pounds, with light brown shoulder length hair and brown eyes.   Donlin has ties to Sidney, Unadilla, Morris,
Afton as well as Binghamton, Utica & the Capital District.  Anyone with information about Donlin’s
whereabouts should call State Police at 561-7400.

Funeral arrangements for Brooke Ketchum of Unadilla are
being handled by C.H. Landers Funeral Chapel at 21 Main Street in Sidney.   Ketchum died in an automobile accident in
the town of Otego Friday, Calling hours will be on Wednesday, October 9 from
2:00 to 4:00 PM with the funeral immediately following at 4:00pm. The family
invites those in attendance to the Sidney VFW for a reception following
services; donations can be made to a memorial fund for her 2 daughters.

The Village of Unadilla Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a
Public Hearing, this evening at 6:00 PM at the Community House 193 Main Street,
regarding a variance for 215 Main Street and/or 6 Adams Street. More
information is available through Village Clerk- Treasurer Clarissa Riker at
369-3421.

State Police responded to Betty Beavers Gas Mart on County
Road 48 in the town of Otego early this morning for a report of a vehicle that
crashed into a concrete wall.   Troopers
reported that an unidentified 27-year-old woman from Unadilla was operating a
2015 Kia at a high rate of speed on State Highway 991J, she traveled through
the intersection of County Road 48, through the parking lot of Betty Beavers
Gas Mart and into the wall.  Troopers
pulled the woman out of the vehicle and life saving measures were performed by
Otego EMS personnel but were unsuccessful.
The body was transported to Lourdes Hospital for an autopsy & the
investigation is continuing.

The Unadilla Rotary will hold their 10th annual Autumn Fest
on October 6th, spokesman Robert Knox explains:

(Robert Knox 10-4-19)

Additional information about the event can be found at
unadillarotary.org/autumn-fest.

State Police arrested 20 Year Old Tyler Jordan of Oneonta
Saturday, after he allegedly drove into a utility pole while intoxicated at
about 2:45 AM Saturday.  Many Unadilla
Area residents lost power for several hours before NYSEG Crews restored
power.  Jordan was charged with DWI,
speeding & unsafe lane change on state Route 7 in Unadilla.

Otsego County held its 22nd annual Hazardous Waste
Collection Day this past weekend.  On
Friday, Unadilla had 170 cars dropping off hazardous materials, on Saturday at
the Meadows Office Complex, 750 cars dropped off hazardous materials.  200 pounds of pharmaceuticals and medications
were collected for incineration, over 20,000 pounds of electronics, 240 car
batteries & 2500 household batteries were collected, & 650 gallons of
paint was collected which will be re-mixed by Golden Artist Colors for eventual
re-distribution to local not-for-profit agencies.

The Unadilla Rotary will hold their 10th annual Autumn Fest
on October 6th, spokesman Robert Knox explains:

(Robert Knox 9-23-19)

Additional information about the event can be found at
unadillarotary.org/autumn-fest.

The Afton United Methodist
Church Fall Craft & Vendor Show will be held Saturday from 9:00 AM to 3:00
PM, at 34 Spring Street in Afton. Proceeds from vendor’s fees will benefit the
United Methodist Church

The Otsego County Planning Department has announced their
22nd Annual Household Hazardous Waste Days.
The 1st collection day will be Today at the Unadilla Town Barn from 8:00
AM to 11:00 AM; the 2nd day will be at the Cooperstown Meadows Office Complex
tomorrow from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM.  There
will be a small fee for businesses wishing to participate; more information is
available at 547-4225.

The Unadilla Fire Department
will hold a Cornhole tournament & vendor fair Tomorrow at the Unadilla Fire
House.  Vendors will be at Unadilla
firehouse from 10:30 am to 2:00 pm.

Chenango County Sheriff's Department responded to the Town
of Otselic for a reported stabbing Wednesday, where a male victim was stabbed
multiple times by a coworker at a cell phone tower.   The victim was airlifted to SUNY Upstate
Hospital; he was listed in serious, but stable condition.  Deputies arrested 49 year old Howard Williams
from the Bronx; for 2nd degree Assault he was taken into custody in the Town of
McGraw by State Police and Cortland County Sheriff’s Office.  Williams was arraigned in the Town of Smyrna
Court and was remanded to the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office on $10,000 cash
bail.

The Unadilla Chamber of Commerce will hold a Special Meeting
at 5:30 PM, at the Bill Bauer Community Center.
The Purpose of the meeting is to update the Chamber & Steering
Committee Members regarding the Village beautiful Market & other event
items.

The House of Consignment will hold their annual Tampon Drive
Saturday, with free admission to the Unadilla Drive In with a Tampon donation,
House of Consignment owner & drive organizer Kirsty Roefs explains:

(Kirsty Roefs 9-5-19)

This year is the 5th Tampon drive helping out women in need.

The Otsego County Planning Department
has announced their 22nd Annual Household Hazardous Waste Days.  The 1st collection day will be at the
Unadilla Town Barn on Friday September 20th from 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM, the 2nd
day will be at the Cooperstown Meadows Office Complex on Saturday September
21st from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM.  There will
be a small fee for businesses wishing to participate; they must register by the
end of the business day tomorrow.  More information
is available at 547-4225.

The Hancock Fire
Department and EMT’s were dispatched Saturday to Jensen’s Ledges for a report
of a 10 year old boy who had fallen off the ledges.  The Hancock Fire Department  rope rescue team performed a high angle rope
rescue to extricate the boy within 1 hour and he was transported down the
mountain in a UTV & was transported by LifeNet to a pediatric trauma center
with life threatening injuries.

The Dormitory Authority has issued
approximately $482 million in low-cost, tax-exempt bonds on behalf of 54 school
districts across the state as part the School Districts Revenue Bond Financing
Program, for fire protection, security, and air quality systems upgrades;
renovations, Athletic field improvements; and technology updates.  Locally, the Norwich City School District
receives $7,430,000, Sidney Central School District gets $9,820,000 &
Unadilla Valley Central School District gets $6,890,000.

The U.S. Army band will be performing in Oneonta August
17th, spokesman Gene Schmidt told WCDO News that the concert is free, and
tickets are no longer required:

(Gene Schmidt 8-5-19)

More information about the event
is available at 610-4030.

State Police announced that the pedestrian struck by a car
on Friday evening near the Unadilla Valley Sports Center has died.  20 year old Jonathan Mayzak of South Carolina
succumbed to his injuries on Sunday afternoon at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in
Utica.  An autopsy will be performed at
the Onondaga County Medical Examiner's Office in the near future.  The investigation is continuing with the
State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit and The Chenango County District
Attorney's Office will be consulted at the conclusion of the investigation as
to whether additional charges are warranted against the driver, 31 year old
Edward Burnett of Utica.

State Police arrested 31 year old Edward Burnett of Utica
for Driving While Ability Impaired with child 15 or under as passenger and
Vehicular Assault.  Burnett is accused of
striking and seriously injuring a pedestrian on State Route 8 in the town of
Columbus.   Troopers working a detail at
a Unadilla Motocross event on State Route 8, located a 20-year-old male from South
Carolina unconscious, an off-duty Sidney Police Officer was on scene tending to
the victim when troopers & then paramedics arrived.  The pedestrian was transported to St.
Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Utica & was listed in critical
condition.  Burnett was arraigned in the
town of Columbus court & was remanded to the Chenango County Jail on
$100,000 cash bail or $200,000 bond.

Corey Burnett of Bainbridge will be participating in the
Lucas Oil Motocross Championship tomorrow at Unadilla Motocross on State Route
8 in New Berlin, Burnett told WCDO Sports Director Nate Lull about his decision
to go back to the 250 class after racing in the 450 in previous years:

(Corey Burnett 8-9-19)

Burnett said that he will meet up with fans right near the
State route 8 entrance at 8:00 AM prior to racing.

State
Police arrested 64 year old Norman Fletcher of Bainbridge for Driving While
Ability Impaired by Drugs & Failure to Keep Right.  Troopers, who were leaving the Sidney
headquarters after training, observed Fletcher driving on State Route 7 in the
town of Unadilla failing to keep right, Fletcher was processed and was released
on appearance tickets to the town of Unadilla court on August 12th.

The State Office of General Services announced that a
surplus vehicle, highway equipment, and miscellaneous property auction has been
scheduled on Wednesday, July 24th.
Information on specific items and terms of sale is available at
ogs.ny.gov; the auction will begin at 9:30 am at the State Police Troop C
headquarters on State Route 7, between Sidney & Unadilla

State Police arrested 32 year
old Heather Houck of Binghamton & 26 year old Caleb Zandt of Deposit for
Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance & Criminally Using Drug
Paraphernalia.   A trooper observed the
vehicle Houck and Zandt were in, near a closed business, the trooper learned
that Houck had an active warrant for her arrest.  Houck was also found to have suspected heroin
and methamphetamine, she was arrested and was turned over to Broome County Central
Arraignment and Processing.   Zandt was
found to be in possession of heroin and a scale.  He was issued appearance tickets to the town
of Union court on August 6th.

State Police responded Saturday to a pedestrian struck by a
vehicle on County Road 4 in the town of Unadilla.  69-year-old Susan Haney of Unadilla was
walking south on the eastern shoulder of County Road 4 when she was struck by
an SUV operated by 34-year-old Nicole Wilbur of Unadilla, who became distracted
and drifted off the road and struck Haney, Wilbur immediately stopped and
called 911.  Haney suffered from head
trauma, internal bleeding and leg injuries; she was flown to Upstate Medical
Center in Syracuse where she underwent surgery and is listed in critical but
stable condition.   Wilbur was issued
tickets for Reckless Driving, Moving from a Lane Unsafely and Failure to Use
Due Care for a Pedestrian. The investigation is on-going.

State Police responded to the report of a pedestrian struck
by a car on County Route 11 in the town of Unadilla Saturday.  69 year old Susan Haney of Unadilla was
struck by a vehicle driven by 34 year old Nicole Wilber of Unadilla, who
stopped & called police.  Haney was
airlifted to Upstate medical center in Syracuse with Head & leg injuries
& internal bleeding.  The
investigation is continuing.