WCDO Radio News

The Afton Fair gets underway today, and runs through Sunday. Rides, Food, Live entertainment, parades, Stock Car races, clowns agricultural exhibits & fireworks are among the highlights of this year's Afton Fair. The full schedule of events & activities are available at theaftonfair.com.

The Otsego County Chamber of Commerce will hold their 2018 Job Fair Saturday, at the Fox Care Center from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Area Employers are seeking employees to fill a variety of positions, who can start immediately.

Howie Hawkins of Syracuse announced today that he is running for Governor to demand more progressive reforms and system change. Hawkins finished 3rd in the 2014 Gubernatorial race. His 184,419 votes moved the Green Party up to the 4th line among ballot qualified parties.

Afton’s 2nd Annual Chili Cook Off Challenge will be held tomorrow from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The event will be held at the Afton Town Hall, proceeds will benefit the Afton Community Park Fund.

Binghamton Police arrested 34-year-old Nelson Romero of Binghamton for 2nd degree murder in connection with the death of 44 year Walter Slater of Binghamton. Slater’s body was found in the backyard at 2014 Oak Street in Binghamton last Thursday morning, several blocks from his home. Romero was arraigned & was remanded to the Broome County Jail.

The Afton fair continues today at the fairgrounds, spokesperson Rhonda Barriger explains:

(Rhonda Barriger 7-7-16)

The 127th Afton runs through Saturday.

The Otsego County Fair will have a concert on Friday night at the fairgrounds in Morris in August 5th. Fair Spokesperson Lisa Jones explains:

(Lisa Jones 4-18-16)

Jones said that the complete fair information will be posted on the refurbished website, which will be up & running May 1st.

State Police arrested 28 year old Bryon Hoblin of Afton for 3rd degree Assault & endangering the welfare of a child. Troopers responded to a Chenango County 911 report of a father and son physical dispute at Algerine Street in the Town of Afton, Hoblin allegedly punched his father in the face and knocked him out, while a child was watching. Hoblin was arraigned in the Town of Afton Court, where he pled guilty and was sentenced to 6 months at the Chenango County jail.

36 Year old Rafael Figueroa of Margaretville was sentenced in Delaware County Court to 9 years of in prison he was arrested in December of 2014 by the Delaware County Sheriff's Office for 3 counts of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance, following a year and a half long investigation, for trafficking of cocaine. Figueroa was found guilty of all charges, & was sentenced to 3 consecutive 3-year prison sentences, post release Parole & he was also ordered to pay $525 restitution.

57 year old John Guzy of Bainbridge was found guilty of 15 of 17 counts including 2nd degree murder, attempted murder in Chenango County Court Wednesday, by Judge Frank Revoir.  Guzy was found guilty of shooting and killing 26-year-old Derek Prindle of Afton, in October 2014 on route 7 in Bainbridge.  Guzy also shot & wounded Prindle’s father during a confrontation following a road rage incident that ended in front of Peak Fitness.

New York State Division of Veterans’ Affairs Director Eric Hesse Delivers Regional Budget Briefing this morning in Oneonta. Hesse will deliver the presentation at the Foothills Performing Arts Center at 24 Market Street at 9:00 AM

SUNY Broome will host a Career Fair today, for those interested in pursuing a career with an area business. The event will be held at the college’s Ice center, from 10:00 until 2:00 PM.

The Afton Central School District Board of Education will hold their next meeting today. The meeting has been moved to 10:30 this morning at the Afton Central School.

Governor Cuomo directed the State Police to ramp up enforcement efforts as part of a national crackdown on impaired driving. The 20-day campaign, Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, runs from tomorrow through Labor Day, September 7th it is aimed at significantly reducing deaths and injuries caused by motorists driving drunk or impaired by drugs. On November 1, 2014, stronger penalties were enacted in New York to deter impaired driving. Drivers convicted of DWI or DWAI three or more times in 15 years face a Class D felony charge, up to 7 years in prison, and a fine up to $10,000.

Friday promises to be a big day at the Delaware county Fair in Walton spokesman John Jackson comments:

(John Jackson Friday)

Jackson said that the fair will wrap up with the Parmalee, Jana Kramer led concert Saturday night at the grandstand

This Year’s Delaware County Fair Dairy Princesses Are Malorie Jordan & Sabra Warner of Franklin, they have been at the Delaware County Fair in Walton all week, to help promote the health benefits of 3 dairy servings per day. Jordan & Warner explain that 1 of their projects will be helping athletes refuel after this Saturday’s Fair 5K & 10 K running races:

(Jordan-Warner 8-20-15)

The full interview with Warner & Jordan will air tomorrow after the News at 10:00 AM on WCDO.

New York State parks, historic sites and campgrounds hosted another successful season with nearly 36 million visits from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend; a 2% increase over 2013. Governor Cuomo included a 3rd round of $90 million in New York Works funding for improvements to State parks and historic sites in the 2014-15 State Budget for projects at 109 State parks and historic sites. Outdoor recreation generates $33.8 billion in consumer spending in New York, directly supporting 305,000 jobs.

Delaware County Fair organizers announced the passing of long time Fair Director Gary Tweedie, who passed Wednesday at the age of 72. Tweedie was a Director of The Fair for nearly 40 years and served as President & Vice-President for numerous years& served as President of The New York State Association Of Agricultural Fairs in 2000.

Organizers of the Afton fun show at the Afton fairgrounds announced today that activities originally scheduled for Saturday, have been moved to Sunday due to expected foul weather tomorrow. Activities will begin at 9:00 AM Sunday details are available funshows.theaftonfair.com.

State senator Jim Seward said 4 local domestic violence programs have been allocated grants in the 2014-2015 state budget. Opportunities For Otsego will receive $12,500, Catholic Charities in Schoharie $15,000, Chenango County Catholic Charities $10,000, and Delaware Opportunities $7,500.

The District 5 Ultimate Idol contest will get underway shortly, where area singers can showcase their abilities, with finalists possibly making onto the TV Talent show "The Voice” Lisa Jones of the Otsego County fair explains:

(Lisa Jones 7-2-14)

The fairs participating in the Ultimate Idol contest are Afton, Madison, Broome, Otsego & Delaware Caseloads continue to grow in family courts in New York State, and the lack of family court judges has caused a major backlog, but some relief is on the way. Family courts in 16 counties across the state will get help. Lawmakers recently approved a bill allowing for the addition of 20 new judges by 2015 and five more by 2016. Locally, a new family court judge will take office January 1, 2015 in Broome County, and a new family court judge will be seated in 2016 in Delaware County

The New York State Fair's new "Up Close With..." series kicks off at the 2014 Fair with stories from some of the former children from the TV series "The Brady Bunch," and from some of the comedians featured in the roundtable on the late-night "Chelsea Lately" talk show. The events take place August 23 and 24 at 7:30 p.m. in the Empire Theater of the Art & Home Center. General admission tickets to each event are $20 and will only be available at the State Fair Box Office beginning July 18th

Governor Cuomo announced 8 job fairs taking place in 6 regions across the state this week. The 2014 Greater Binghamton Career Fair will take place today from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at the SUNY Broome Ice Center located at 970 Front Street. The event will feature up to 50 businesses representing over 500 job openings. Additional information can be found at labor.state.ny.us or 772-8860.

The Commerce Chenango Summer Golf Event, sponsored by Mang Insurance will be held today at the Afton Golf Club, 175 Afton Lake Rd., AftonTime: Registration is 10:00 AM with the  Shotgun start at  11:00.

The Chenango county sheriffs department arrested 55 year old Max Welch of Afton on charges of DWI, driving with a BAC greater than.08%, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, felony aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, and a turn signal violation.  Welch was charged following a traffic stop in the Village of Afton, he was found to be intoxicated, having an expired & revoked driver’s license, he was arraigned & was remanded to the Chenango County Correctional Facility on bail and will reappear in the Village of Afton Court at a later date.

Delaware County Fair President Danny Hodges announced this year's grandstand lineup at a recent meeting in Walton.  Monday night will feature the Demo Derby, Tuesday’s highlight will be the Fireman's Parade, Wednesday will be the NYTPA modified truck and tractor Pulls, Friday will feature the 2nd installment of the Demolition Derby, and Country Music act Easton Corbin will headline, with "The Voice" winner, Danielle Bradbury opening.  Tickets for all of these events will go on sale in the early spring.  The 2014 Fair will be held on August 11-16.

The state Republican convention this year will be held in Westchester County. The convention will be held on May 14th  & 15th at the Hilton Westchester in Rye Brook, No Republican has formally declared for the 2014 governor’s race, though the Westchester County executive Rob Astorino opened an exploratory fundraising committee last week. The location of the Democrats’ 2014 convention has not yet been announced.

Governor Cuomo today launched the Citizen Preparedness Corps Training Program that will train approximately 100,000 New Yorkers during 2014 in preparation for emergencies or disasters.  Governor Cuomo also announced the launch of a new website www.prepare.ny.gov (http://www.prepare.ny.gov/), to serve as the digital home for the Citizen Preparedness Corps community. The website will offer information about additional trainings & disaster preparedness tips.

Governor Cuomo today announced that Jason Aldean would return to the New York State Fair Grandstand on Saturday, August 30th.  Florida Georgia Line and Tyler Farr will open; Tickets will go on sale at 9:00 AM this Saturday, February 8th at the State Fair Box Office and the Fair's online ticket seller, etix.com.

State Troopers at Sidney arrested 58-year-old Randy Leizear of Bainbridge for driving while intoxicated with a reportable BAC result of .15%, almost twice the legal limit.  The arrest resulted from a vehicle and traffic law stop for a turn signal violation on Maple Street in Afton; Leizear was issued tickets returnable to the Village of Afton Court today.

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer confirmed that several local river gauges will receive funding through 2014.  The funding avoids an October 1st shut off, at gauges on the Susquehanna River at Bainbridge, Windsor and Binghamton, the Unadilla River at Rockdale and the Chenango River at Sherburne and Greene. Schumer noted that the funding does not include all river & stream gauges, and he will continue to pursue permanent funding sources.

Those who were thinking of working to get their GED need to act quickly, before the tests change next year.  June White of the Adult Continuing Education Program at Afton Central school district explains:

(June White)

White said their department is offering GED classes in several locations around the tri-county area.  For more information call 639-2811.

The Board of Directors of the Afton Fair has developed an online poll that will be available through September 30. The purpose of the poll is to find out what fairgoers would like to see at 125th Afton Fair in 2014.  The poll is available at theaftonfair.com,  more information is available at 639-1525.

There will be a meeting tonight at 7pm to start planning for the 2014 Afton Fair. Some ideas being explored for the 125th edition of the fair include a community parade with bands, floats and fire departments, a semi-truck rodeo, trout fishing tank, a dunking tank, pony rides, petting zoo, a sheep show, a beef show, chain saw artist and a 5-K run. Members of the board are continuing to search for a midway for the fair and would appreciate any help with the search. The meeting will be held in the Afton Fair Water Building at 7pm tonight. All are invited to attend.

AM NEWS 7-12-13

US Senator Charles Schumer is calling for more stream and river guages for New York State. Schumer is urging passage of the Obama Administrations 2014 budget, which includes 36.2 million dollars for the gauge program, an increase of 7.3 million dollars. The budget also includes 63 million dollars for the USGS Cooperative Water Program, an increase of 400 thousand dollars. Schumer would like see up to 300 new stream guages installed nationwide, with New York State being given particular focus. Schumer said that if approved, the funding would go into effect October 1st. You can view the river guages for our local area online 24 hours a day at our website, at WCDO Radio dot com.
More than $1.1 billion in unclaimed life insurance benefits have been recovered nationwide after an investigation by New York regulators. The state’s Department of Financial Services said many insurance companies are not using lists of recent deaths from the Social Security Administration to determine whether a policy holder had died. New York regulators will direct insurers to go to NYPolicyFinder.com, to help residents locate lost life insurance policies and annuity contracts.

The Afton Fair and Agricultural Exposition continues today with Animal exhibits, the Youth Dairy Show, Children's activities, Youth bicycle drawing, and Floral Hall Display. The Grandstands open at 5pm tonight for I-88 Speedway Racing featuring Modified, Sportsman, IMCA Modified, Street Stock, Front Wheel Drive 4 Cylinders and the Empire Sport Trucks all racing beginning at 7pm tonight at the Afton Fair Grounds. The Complete schedule can be found online at The Afton Fair Dot Com.

The Gus Macker 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament is being held in downtown Norwich on Saturday and Sunday. East Main St is closed from North/South Broad Streets (State Hwy 12) to Silver St. All businesses will have access from alternate or rear locations. You can expect parking spaces to be limited. East Main Street will re-open at approximately 9:00 pm Sunday.

The 37th Carnival of Sales will be held tomorrow on Main Street in Unadilla, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Organizers said that there will be Village wide yard sales, crafters, artisans and food vendors, Brooks chicken BBQ, children’s activities, live entertainment, car show and more. More information is available at unadillachamberofcommerce.org

Today is the deadline to make reservations for the Tri-Chamber dinner hosted by the Bainbridge Chamber of Commerce. Call the secretary at 563-1104 to make arrangements.

AM NEWS 7-11-13

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that 54 million has been awarded to 20 recipients to finance large scale solar energy projects across New York State. The new projects will add 64 megawatts to the state’s solar capacity and will make New York the leader in solar energy generation. The closest sites to the Southern Tier are Cornell University in Ithaca and SUNY Cortland. For more information on this plan, visit ny-sun.ny.gov

New York officials plan to overhaul the state’s psychiatric services over the next four years by consolidating 24 inpatient hospitals statewide into 15 regional centers and establishing more than two dozen outpatient service hubs. The consolidation plan, released by the Office of Mental Health on Wednesday, also includes closing psychiatric hospitals in Elmira and Binghamton in 2014. The plan is expected to save $20 million the first year. The state spends about $6.6 billion, including federal funds, annually on mental health treatment.

A Binghamton man was charged with felony second-degree strangulation following a dispute on Willow Street with a family member, according to Johnson City police. 33 year old Kareem A. Davis is accused of threatening to kill a woman, and then grabbing her by the neck and choking her, causing her to pass out. Davis was arraigned in village court and sent to the Broome County jail.

Many activites for the entire family are happening in around our area. The Afton Fair and Agricultural Expo opens today at 9am at the Afton Fairgrounds with animal exhibits, floral judging, harness racing, a children's bicycle drawing and the K Bar F Rodeo at 7:30pm this evening. Admission is only $1 per person with children 5 and under free. The Fair continues through Sunday and the complete schedule can be found online at The Afton Fair Dot Com. Also, Unadilla will have their Free Summer Concert for this week, tonight from 6:30-8pm on the Community House Lawn. Montebank Brothers will provide the entertainment, and bring a dish to pass and your own table service, as there will be a community picnic starting at 5:30pm. For dessert The Unadilla Chamber of Commerce will hold a strawberry social during the concert. In case of rain, the concert will be held in the firehouse on Clifton St. Plus, The Chenango County Blues Fest Summer series kicks off tonight in Norwich with New Riders of the Purple Sage taking the stage at 7pm in East Side Park. The series continues weekly on Thursday nights through August 1st. The complete schedule for the series can be found at chenangobluesfest.org.

The supply of types O positive and O negative blood at the American Red Cross is at very low levels. Eligible donors with type O blood are asked to donate blood today at a Blood Drive at Guernsey Memorial Library in Norwich, at 3 Court Street, from 9:00 to 2:00 pm. Appointments can be made at 1-800-RedCross or redcrossblood.org.
Commerce Chenango will hold their next networking luncheon today at Lewis’s restaurant in Sherburne. Registration begins at 11:30, more information is available at 334-1402.

The Bainbridge-Guilford Central School will hold the Re-Organizational Board of Education Meeting today in the Guilford School Cafeteria at 6:30 PM. The business portion of the meeting will start at 7:30 PM.

The incidence of confirmed rabies cases of raccoons in the tri county area continues. Pet owners are reminded that your pets must be vaccinated. Free rabies clinics are taking place next week at the Coventry Town Garage on Tuesday, July 16th from 5:30 to 6:30pm, Wednesday the 17th at the Morris Fire Department from 6 to 8pm and Thursday, July 18th at the New Berlin Fire Station from 7 to 8:30pm. The clinics are for dogs, cats and ferrets.
State regulators are looking for feedback on proposed changes to freshwater fishing rules. The DEC has identified potential changes based on discussions with anglers, biologists, and fisheries managers. Now the DEC is seeking additional angler feedback. Many changes under consideration would eliminate special regulations that didn’t achieve their intended purpose. Highlights include increasing year-round trout fishing opportunities at specific streams and establishing catch-and-release fishing at a few additional streams. To view the potential changes and provide input, go to dec.ny.gov

Millennia Entertainment & the Chenango County Fair announced that on Wednesday August 7th  at 6:30 PM, Country music star Jamie O'Neal will headline the 5th annual “Guitars Under the Stars”  show.   Tickets go on sale Friday May 17th at Hayes Office Products in Norwich, Video Entertainment Plus in Sidney and online at brownpapertickets.com.

A group of Pee Wee Wrestlers from the Bainbridge, Guilford & Afton school districts made their way to the championships at Ocean City Maryland this past weekend.  Andy Carr coached the local wrestlers, who ranged in age from 9 to 14:

(Andy Carr 5-7-13)

Carr said that Pee Wee wrestlers from Norwich & Walton also made it to the championships in Ocean City this past weekend.

The Northeast Classic Car Museum will present its new exhibit, “Wagons & Woodies: From Depot Hack to Station Wagon.” With 20 classic vehicles on display.  The exhibit will run through April 2014, & the Museum will also show the documentary “Wagonmasters”, which  will play in the “Wagons & Woodies” exhibit from May 18 through Labor Day. More information is available at classiccarmuseum.org or at 334-2886.  Information about the film can be found at wagonmastersthemovie.com.