WCDO Radio News

39 year old Richard Santiago of Unadilla pleaded guilty to Criminal possession of a Controlled Substance with intent to sell in Delaware County Court Monday. Santiago was arrested initially for possessing narcotics in Sidney in December of 2023, he will likely be sentenced to 3 years in state prison followed by 1 year of post release Supervision, sentencing is scheduled for February 25th.

A.M. NEWS TUESDAY 12-24-24

The Unadilla Fire Department responded at about 4:40 PM Monday to a vehicle fire on the eastbound lane of I-88. Crews were on scene quickly & were assisted by State Police and DOT. WCDO will have more details as they become available.

The Unadilla Chamber of Commerce will have their Santa Parade today, starting with a tree lighting ceremony, Unadilla Mayor Jake Cotten explains:

(Jake Cotten 12-13-24)

The parade will go to the intersection of Main & Depot, Santa to meet with children at the Bauer Community Center after the parade.

Chenango County Sheriff’s Office arrested 42 year old Mark Tubbs of Unadilla on an active Arrest Warrant for Obstruction of Governmental Administration and Conspiracy, in the Town of New Berlin. Members of the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office arrested Tubbs after positively identifying him as the driver of a vehicle, he was taken into custody without incident, he was arraigned and released on his own recognizance, he faces court action at a later date.

20 year old Elijah O’Neill of Unadilla pleaded guilty in Delaware County Court to Criminal Possession of a Firearm. On July 26, Sidney Police responded to a motor vehicle crash on River Street, O’Neill was the driver of 1 of the vehicles, a loaded 40 caliber Glock was observed next to the driver side door, O'Neill admitted that it was his pistol, he did not have a pistol permit, the firearm had been previously reported as stolen. O'Neill will be sentenced to 6 months in the Delaware County Correctional Facility, and then 5 years of felony probation supervision.

Delaware County District Attorney Shawn Smith announced the Delaware County Grand Jury returned a single count indictment against John Pierre Regazzi for Criminal Contempt. Regazzi allegedly violated of an order of protection, by calling the victim numerous times with the intent to harass, annoy, threaten, or alarm the unidentified victim.

The Annual "Operation Merry Christmas" event is underway with trees in stores in Sidney, Bainbridge, Unadilla & Afton program Spokesperson Valerie McCain explains:

(Valerie McCain 11-12-24)

McCain said that the giveaway days on December 13th & 14th will again be held at the AO Fox Hospital Tri-Town Campus on Pearl Street in Sidney.

The Otsego County Office of Emergency Services announced that they have sent personnel to assist in the fighting of the Catskills area wildfires in Ulster, Sullivan & Orange Counties. Otsego County deployed 5 Hand-crews, totaling 25 firefighters, to assist in Greenwood Lake, with fire fighters from Milford, Otego, Unadilla, & West Laurens Fire Departments, as well as Otsego County Emergency Services Deputy Fire Coordinator Jeremy Hilton. An extended appreciation is warranted to the Cherry Valley, Garrattsville, Gilbertsville, Morris, Mount Vision, Richfield Springs, West Exeter & Worcester Fire Departments for also offering additional personnel for deployment.

The Village of Unadilla will have their 2nd annual Tree Decorating event at the Community House on December 13th, Unadilla Mayor Jake Cotten explains:

(Jake Cotten 11-11-24)

Cotten said that interested businesses and organizations should contact him at 607-373-7370 before December 11th, a parade will follow the Christmas Tree Lighting on December 13th.

A.M. NEWS MONDAY 11-11-24

The DEP and State Police helicopters are conducting aerial firefighting operations to assist local fire departments battling the Whitehouse forest fire raging across 384 acres in the mountainous New York City watershed between the Rondout and Ashokan reservoirs in Ulster County in the Catskills.

Delaware County Sheriff's Office arrested 3 people after a 3-month investigation into fraud, forgery and identity theft. In August, Deputies received a complaint in regard to stolen funds from multiple accounts, multiple unknown charges and new accounts being opened without consent. Deputies, Sidney Police & State Police and the Delaware County District Attorney's Office arrested 44 year old Lori Brooks of Sidney, 27 year old Joshua Hunt of Unadilla & 37 year old Matthew Walsh of Sidney on a variety of charges including Grand Larceny, Conspiracy, Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument & criminal possession of stolen property, Brooks was issued an appearance ticket and turned over to State Police for an outstanding warrant & was then turned over to the Otsego County Correctional Facility for arraignment. Hunt was being held at the Otsego County Jail on an unrelated charge, he was processed & was brought back to the Otsego County Jail, Walsh was turned over to the Delaware County Correctional Facility for Arraignment, he will appear at the Village of Sidney Court at a later date, the investigation is ongoing and additional arrests are possible.

The Unadilla Chamber of Commerce will hold their next meeting this morning. The Meeting will be held at the Bauer Community Center on Main Street, Unadilla at 8:00.

Another American Red Cross Blood Drive will be held Saturday in Oneonta, as blood is needed following the recent hurricanes in the Southern States. The drive will be held Saturday from 10 am. - 3 pm., at the Southside Mall Oneonta YMCA, Appointments can be made at RedCrossBlood.org, by calling 1-800-RED CROSS or by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App.

A.M. NEWS Friday 10-18-24

Otsego County Sheriff's Office announced the arrest of 29 year old Eugene Buzie of Unadilla for multiple sex offense charges following an investigation. The Otsego County Sheriff’s Office announces the addition of charges in to the investigation involving Buzie, On July 19th he was arrested by investigators for multiple sex offense related charges. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that the defendant did request, receive and possess a sexual performance by a child through online sources & was charged additionally with Possession of Sexual Performance by a child, Buzie was still incarcerated on the previous charges, he was produced from the Oneida County Correctional Facility to be processed on the new charge, at the Otsego County Correctional Facility and he was returned to the Oneida County Correctional Facility with an Appearance Ticket returnable to the Town of Unadilla Court at a later date.

A Unadilla Zombie Run will be held this Saturday, starting at 9:00 am, Prizes for best costume and fast male and female age groups will be awarded, people can register for the race & get more information at runsignup.com, proceeds will benefit Unadilla's feral TNR Fund.

.M. NEWS THURSDAY 10-17-24

The State Police Academy 215th Graduation, will be held this morning at 11:00 a.m. at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany. 181 new Troopers will be honored for their perseverance and dedication in completing the 215th session of the Basic School of the New York State Police Academy during the graduation exercises.

State Police at Sidney arrested 66 year old Vickie Wright of Unadilla for felony Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a motor vehicle as well as Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs. A traffic stop was initiated on Main Street in Unadilla, Wright failed Field Sobriety Tests, she was issued appearance tickets to the Unadilla Town Court on November 12, and released to a sober third party.

A.M. NEWS TUESDAY 10-15-24

State Police arrested 39 year old Jason Katalinas of Sidney Center, for felony Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs, felony Aggravated Unlicensed Operation, plus Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance and Obstructing Governmental Administration. A Trooper on I- 88 in Unadilla went to check on a vehicle parked on the shoulder with its front driver side off, the Trooper arrested Katalinas, and his passenger, 33 year old Shane Katalinas of Unadilla, for Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance. Both were processed and were issued appearance tickets for town of Unadilla court at a later date.

The next Bainbridge Chamber of Commerce meeting will be held tomorrow morning. The meeting will begin at 7:30 in the back of Bob's Diner, members & directors are encouraged to attend.

A.M. NEWS Monday 10-14-24

Otsego County Sheriff's Office arrested 27 year old Joshua Hunt of Unadilla on an Arrest Warrant from the Town of Middlefield Court for failure to update the sex offender registry. Hunt was charged with Sex Offender Failure to Register updates beyond the 10 day limit, & Sex Offender Failure to update photo, Hunt was held for arraignment.

State Police arrested 26 year old Danny Clark of Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania for Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance and Criminal Possession of a Weapon, after a traffic stop on Main Street in Unadilla. After performing Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, Clark was arrested, he was found to be in possession of illicit drugs and brass knuckles, he was issued appearance tickets to the Unadilla Town Court on October 22.

A.M. NEWS Thursday 10-10-24

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that 65 New York National Guard Soldiers and Airmen have been deployed to Florida to assist the Florida National guard in responding to Hurricane Milton. The New York National Guard will deploy to Jacksonville, Florida. The New York National Guard currently has 48 Soldiers and Airmen deployed, including Army engineers and CH-47F Chinook heavy lift helicopters on storm response missions in North Carolina.

P.M. NEWS FRIDAY 10-4-24

The Unadilla Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner & Awards Ceremony will be held this Sunday starting at 3:00PM, at Far View Farms In Unadilla. The Business of the Year award goes to the Green Giraffe, the Good Neighbor Award goes to Kaleigh Barber, the Commitment to Community Award is for Kirsty & George Roefs, more information is available at 607-369-2614

Unadilla Fall Fest 2024 will be held this Sunday from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm Under the big tent at Covered Bridge Farm Market, 331 Covered Bridge Road, Unadilla, there will be more than 50 vendors, plus live music, food trucks, corn maze, kids activities, pumpkins, admission is free.

Otsego County Sheriff's Office arrested 33 year old Dustin Light of Unadilla for Aggravated Unlicensed Operation & Speeding following a traffic stop on September 7, in the Town of Otego. Light was issued tickets returnable to Town of Otego Court at a later date.

Otsego County announces an open-competitive examination for Deputy Sheriff, with the Examination Date on September 28, tomorrow, August 29th is the last day to file. Applicants must have a high school diploma or a New York State Equivalency diploma, application are available at otsego-portal.mycivilservice.com/exams

A.M. NEWS Wednesday 8-28-24

State Police & the Delaware County District Attorney’s office announced that a Delaware County Grand Jury has indicted 27 year old James Christ Jr. of Deposit for 2nd degree Murder, among other charges in connection with the death of a 3 year old child. The child’s mother, Marielys Ramos of Unadilla has been indicted on Reckless Endangerment and Endangering the Welfare of a Child, both are currently at the Delaware County Correctional Facility, pending arraignment. State Police arrested Christ in May, after they were dispatched to Fair Street in Deposit for the report of an unresponsive child, it was determined that Christ recklessly caused the death of the child.

The Otsego County Household Hazardous Waste days will be held today at the Unadilla Highway Building from 8:00 to 11:00 AM, and for small business today from 2:00 to 4:00 PM at the Meadows office complex; and tomorrow at the meadows office complex in Cooperstown from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM. More information is available at the Otsego County Website.

Delaware County Sheriff's Deputies located and arrested 27 year old Clayton Utter of Unadilla for a Bench Warrant, issued by the Town of Delhi Court for Failure to Appear in Court on a previous DWI Arrest. Utter was turned over to the Delaware County Correctional Facility for Centralized Arraignment Processing.

A.M. NEWS WEDNESDAY 8-7-24

The remnants of Tropical Storm Debbie is expected to affect the Southern Tier Friday and possibly into the weekend, Local Meteorologist Rich Townsend comments:

(Rich Townsend 8-7-24)

We'll have a look at the Tri-County Forecast at the end of this newscast.

State Police arrested 33 year old Shane Katalinas of Unadilla for Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs and Aggravated Unlicensed Operation and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance. Troopers were dispatched by Otsego County 911 to a report of a male slumped over the wheel of a vehicle on Winney Hill Road in Oneonta, Troopers found both Katalinas and a female passenger unresponsive but were able to wake them. Katalinas was arrested, he was transported to State Police in Oneonta where he was additionally evaluated by a New York State Police Drug Recognition Expert. Katalinas was processed and issued appearance tickets to the Oneonta Town Court on August 20, 2024, and released to a sober third party.

Otsego County Sheriff's Office arrested 29 year old Eugene Buzie of Unadilla and his mother, 50 year old Maddie Brown of Otego, following an investigation where Buzie was charged with Predatory Sexual Assault, Incest, Rape, Criminal Sexual Abuse, Forcible Touching, Brown was charged with 4 counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child. Buzie is accused of subjecting children under the ages of 13 to a variety of forms of continuous sexual abuse, Brown was aware of the abuse and failed to intervene. Both were arrested Friday & were lodged in the Otsego County Correctional Facility to await Centralized Arraignment. Orders of Protections were requested on behalf of the victims. Additional charges are pending.

P.M. NEWS TUESDAY 7-16-24

Nyseg reported that about 3600 customers were still without power this afternoon, following last night's thunderstorms that downed trees & power-lines across the state. Crews are working to get power back on before another round of potentially destructive thunderstorms again tonight.

State Police arrested 44 year old Erica Miller of Unadilla Saturday night, for Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs. Troopers were dispatched to the Speedway at State Routes 7 and 8 for a report of a female passed out inside a vehicle while at the pumps. Troopers then observed the same vehicle traveling erratically on State Highway 7, Troopers conducted a traffic stop & after performing Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, Miller was arrested & was processed and issued appearance tickets to the Unadilla Town Court on August 20th.

Delaware County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division received a forcible touching complaint last month, their Preliminary investigation revealed that 63-year-old Michael Kudrewicz of Delhi allegedly forcibly touched another person, on July 10th, Investigators with the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office arrested Kudrewicz for 1 count of Forcible Touching, An Order of Protection was also issued by the court, prohibiting Kudrewicz from having any contact with the victim. Kudrewicz was later released & he will reappear at the Town of Delhi Court at a later date to answer the charge.

State tax receipts totaled $29.9 billion through the 1st quarter of the current State Fiscal Year, which is 594 million higher than Budget Department estimates according to the the State Comptroller's office. Sales tax receipts increased by 0.4%, in the month of June over last year. The State’s General Fund ended June with a balance of $49.6 billion, $2.1 billion higher than projected & $5.4 billion higher than last year, due to higher than anticipated tax collections and lower than anticipated spending.

Delaware County Office for the Aging will be in Sidney on Thursday, July 18th distributing Farmer's market coupons to those 60+ in age. They will be at the Sidney Civic Center from 10:30 am - 12:30 pm & at Sidney Senior Village from 1 pm - 2:30 pm.

The 46th Annual Unadilla Chamber of Commerce Carnival of Sales will be held around the village of Unadilla Saturday, Unadilla Chamber of Commerce President Jackie Carey comments:

(Jackie Carey 7-12-24)

Carey said that there are more than 50 Vendors participating, along with Entertainment and Yard Sales throughout the village, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM Saturday.

Otsego County Public Health will hold a free rabies vaccination clinic for dogs, cats & ferrets this evening, at Clifton Park in Unadilla, the clinic will run from 6:00 to 8:00 PM.

A.M. NEWS Tuesday 7-9-24

On July 3, State Police conducted an Underage Drinking Initiative in Chenango and Otsego Counties. During the initiative, 10 businesses were checked for compliance. All ten were found in compliance and did not sell any alcohol to the underage operative, in Norwich, Oxford, Greene, Smithville Flats & Morris. During these investigations, businesses are checked utilizing a Trooper in plain clothes and one or several underage operatives who cannot lie about their age or provide a false date of birth. State police also announced that 22 people were arrested for DWI, from June 28th to July 5th in Troop c.

P.M. NEWS FRIDAY 6-28-24

Saturday Graduations will be held through the WCDO Listening area tomorrow. Ceremonies will be held at 9:00 AM in Harpursville, 10:00 AM in Sidney, Unadilla Valley, Delaware Academy, Walton, & Greene, 10:45 in Oneonta, 11:00 AM for Roxbury & Oxford Academy, 1:00 PM at South Kortright & 7:00 PM for Bainbridge Guilford.

On Tuesday morning, a State Trooper in Bainbridge attempted to initiate a traffic stop but the operator failed to comply, a short time later, the Trooper observed the vehicle had struck a pole, a tree, damaged a yard and the vehicle had caught on fire & the driver fled the scene, Troopers located 39 year old Peter Puglisi of Unadilla, in the afternoon at an address on County Road 38 in the town of Bainbridge. Puglisi was arrested and issued appearance tickets for Criminal Mischief and Unlawfully Fleeing a Police Office in a Motor Vehicle, he is scheduled to appear in Bainbridge Town Court on July 15th.

An American Red Cross Blood Drive is being held in Unadilla from 12:30 pm. to 5:30 pm at the Unadilla Fire Department, 77 Clifton Street. Appointments can be Booked at RedCrossBlood.org, by calling 1-800-RED CROSS or by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App.

Otsego County Sheriff's Office arrested 44 year old Derek Jordan of the town of Maryland following a Motor Vehicle Accident on June 9th in the Town of Hartwick. Jordan was charged with Driving while ability impaired by drugs, DWI, & Criminal Possession of Stolen Property, he was processed and released on Appearance tickets returnable to the Hartwick Town Court at a later date.

A.M. NEWS Wednesday 6-19-24

Otsego County Sheriff's Office arrested 39 year old Robert Colvin of Unadilla for criminal contempt for violating a court order of protection. Colvin violated the order of protection by calling the protected person from the Otsego County Correctional Facility 107 times since his initial incarceration, he had also previously been convicted of Criminal Contempt in the second degree within the past five years.

31 year old Cachet Fernandez of Unadilla was convicted of Failing to Register as a Sex Offender, on Monday in Delaware County Court, Fernandez appeared in Delaware County Court for a conference on his pending case, after the conference, he pleaded guilty to the indictment. Fernandez relocated from Delaware County to Binghamton, but never changed his address with the State Sex Offender Registry. Judge John Hubbard sentenced Fernandez to a 3-year conditional discharge, if he fails to keep his address current during that 3-year period, or violates any laws, he is subject to being re-sentenced to 1 and 1/3 to 4 years in state prison.

P.M. NEWS MONDAY 5-6-24

The Unadilla Town Highway Department will be repaving 3 roads starting tomorrow, Rodney Renwick of the Unadilla Highway Department explains:

(Rick Renwick 5-6-24)

More information is available at 607-369-5466.