WCDO Radio News

Coldwell Banker Timberland Properties will celebrate the grand opening of a new office at 19 Union Street, Sidney with an open house on Wednesday, Oct. 21 from 4:30-7 p.m. The public is invited to stop at Coldwell Bankers’ fifth office, located in the Community Bank Building, to meet the staff and learn more about the region’s largest real estate company. The event will include office tours, refreshments and live music. Jackie and Steve Rose, two of the most well respected real estate professionals in the Sidney area, are managing the new Coldwell Banker Timberland Properties office.

State Police in Norwich observed a 2007 Hummer traveling on State Route 12 in the Town of North Norwich; the vehicle matched the description of a stolen vehicle from Utica, and had been in a pursuit earlier in Oneida County. Several attempts to stop the driver were made and were stopped for safety reasons as the suspect approached the City of Norwich and then the Village of Greene. Troopers reported that as the vehicle entered Broome County, 2 Tire Deflation Devises were deployed, the front tires were disabled & the suspect continued to the Town of Chenango, and then fled the disabled vehicle and ran into the woods, A search by a State Police & Broome County Sheriff’s K-9 teams led to 17 year old La-Tee Baker of Utica, who was located near Otsinigo Park. Baker was charged with reckless endangerment and criminal possession of stolen property, he was arraigned at the Town of Chenango court and remanded to the Broome County jail with no bail set at this time.

The Assembly Minority Task Force on Heroin Addiction & Community Response will hold a regional forum aimed at identifying problems and weaknesses in current efforts to combat the rampant heroin epidemic. Local Assemblyman Cliff Crouch & other lawmakers will participate on Tuesday, October 20th from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at the SUNY Broome Decker Health Science Center in Room D201. Representatives from rehabilitation and treatment organizations and facilities, law enforcement and criminal justice, and those with firsthand experience dealing with heroin addiction (http://americanaddictioncenters.org/heroin-treatment/how-to-help/) have been invited to attend and provide feedback.

The Commerce Chenango College & Career Connection Day will be held tomorrow at the Morrisville State College Norwich Campus, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Commerce Chenango spokesperson Jill O’Hara explains:

(Jill O’Hara 10-13-15)

More information about the college & Career Connection Day is available at 334-1402.

Tonight at 6:30 pm there will be a free training on Heroin & Opioid Overdose Prevention at the Sidney Fire Department on River Street. The training will be provided by the Southern Tier Aids Program, it will include how to learn the signs and symptoms of heroin and opioid overdose, how to use NARCAN to respond to an overdose situation & participants can receive a Free NARCAN kit. The event is open to the community. Registration is requested at 829-3000.

State Police arrested 26 year old Christopher Kuiper of Susquehanna, Pennsylvania for operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs, criminal possession of a controlled substance, unlawfully fleeing police in a vehicle, reckless driving and several other charges, after a trooper observed a Nissan making an illegal U-turn on I-81 in the Town of Dickinson. Kuiper allegedly failed to stop for pursuing troopers, he is accused of driving at speeds up to 90 miles an hour through the Prospect mountain work zone to State Route 17, he braked hard and his vehicle was struck by state police vehicle. Kuiper exited the vehicle was arrested without incident. Kuiper was found to unlawfully possess Percocet and marihuana; he was arraigned & was remanded to the Broome County jail on $1,000 cash bail. Police stated that the pursuit lasted 4 minutes and covered 9 miles.

Governor Cuomo announced that over $32 million in federal highway safety grants have been awarded to 541 highway safety programs throughout New York State to improve overall highway safety and reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries due to crashes. Locally, funding will go to the Binghamton police department, Broome County Sheriffs department, Deposit Police, Sidney village police, Delaware county sheriffs department, Oneonta city police and the Otsego county sheriff's department. The funding was awarded to New York State by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The Chenango Arts Council announced a 20% increase in funding from the New York State Council on the Arts for the 2016 Broome, Chenango & Otsego Decentralization Grant Program. $129,280 is available to non-profit organizations and artists who partner with an eligible non-profit for cultural initiatives in 2016. Funding is available for grants up to $5,000 each to support Community Arts and Arts Education grants in Broome, Chenango and Otsego counties. The deadline for 2016 grant application is Tuesday, January 12, 2016. Opportunities are for projects through December 31, 2016. More information is available at Chenangoarts.org or 336-ARTS.

Friday through Sunday, Hartwick College in Oneonta will celebrate True Blue Weekend 2015. The weekend opens Friday with the Hartwick Golf Classic at the Oneonta Country Club, the True Blue Kickoff Party; a Men's Soccer game on Elmore Field, Saturday includes the Golden Jubilee breakfast, and feature a series of tours and alumni presentations. A Pep Rally Parade and Varsity Football game, Sunday will feature the College's annual memorial gathering in the Shineman Chapel House, as well as a Legacy Family breakfast, more information on and the full schedule are available at HartwickAlumni.org/TrueBlue or 431-4064.

State agencies spent more than $337 million on overtime in the first six months of 2015, a jump of $21 million over the same period in 2014, State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli announced today. State employees worked more than 8.2 million overtime hours, up 5 percent over the same period in 2014. If overtime continues to rise at this pace, total costs for 2015 would exceed $700 million, an all-time record. The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision and the Division of State Police overtime costs for June and July 2015 jumped by more than $22 million over last year. But the mid-year totals reflect only a small portion of overtime costs incurred in the statewide search for the two escapees from the Clinton Correctional Facility.

In less than a month, New York’s affirmative consent law requiring uniform steps to combat sexual assault on college campuses takes effect. State officials have announced details of how they plan to implement the law, including a dozen State Police investigators assigned to a new victims’ unit to help investigate campus rape cases. Under Governor Cuomo’s “Enough is Enough” law, the rules at state institutions are extended to private schools. They include adopting student codes requiring affirmative consent before sex, and spelling out students’ rights to report sexual assault, dating or domestic violence and stalking to police.

State Police arrested 37-year-old Brett White of Binghamton for the felony of criminal contempt of court and the misdemeanor of endangering the welfare of a child. The arrest occurred after troopers responded to a Broome County 911 report of a dispute in the Town of Binghamton. An investigation determined that during a physical dispute White grabbed and threw his wife and his 7-year-old child to the floor, which violated a prior valid order of protection. White was arraigned in the Town of Windsor Court and released after he paid a $2,000.00 cash bail.

New York State of Health announced a new "Get Covered Grad" collaboration with the State University System to help recent graduates learn about the Special Enrollment Period they may qualify for. This initiative is extended to 64 SUNY campuses and more than 100 other New York private colleges across the State with a reach of more than one million students. More Information about Special Enrollment Periods is available at info.nystateofhealth.ny.gov/SpecialEnrollmentPeriods.

Hartwick College announced layoffs and the elimination of vacant positions, due to a projected 1.6 Million dollar budget shortfall at the private university. 18 non-faculty employees were notified this week of their status, 5 vacant positions were permanently eliminated, and 5 employees will have positions reduced

The Community Fund of the Community Foundation for South Central New York is now accepting grant proposals, for amounts up to $15,000, from qualified not-for-profit organizations, municipalities or school districts in Broome, Chenango, Delaware, Otsego and Tioga counties. The Grant Application and complete guidelines can be found in the “Forms & Guidelines” section at donorswhocare.org; the Deadline for submission is Tuesday, September 8th. More information is available at 772-6773.

Governor Cuomo announced that the state Troopers PBA, the State Association of Chiefs of Police, & 28 Sheriffs have joined the “Enough is Enough” campaign to combat sexual assault on the state’s college campuses. The Governor's proposal would codify uniform sexual assault prevention and response protocols for all colleges and universities in New York. Among the local law enforcement that have now expressed support are Broome County Sheriff David Harder & Delaware County Sheriff Tom Mills. The "Enough is Enough" hotline is 1-844-845-7269; more information is available at ny.gov/EnoughisEnough.

The South Kortright Girls Basketball team is 1 of the last local teams playing in the state tournament, they take on Fort Edward in the state Class D Final 4 Saturday at 10:45 AM at Hudson Valley Community College. Lady rams Coach Josh Burrows comments:

(Josh Burrows 3-20-15)

The South Kortright Lady Rams are undefeated this season & are currently ranked #1 in the state for Class D Schools. The full interview with WCDO Sports Director Nate Lull is posted at WCDOSPORTS.com.

There will be a Celebration luncheon hosted by Donna Pinney Saturday @ 1:30pm at the Track Side Dining in Sidney. Pinney is an open heart-valve surgery survivor; she explains why she is holding the Luncheon:

(Donna Pinney 3-20-15)

Proceeds raised tomorrow will benefit the American Heart Association Southern Tier Heart Walk, in April at the BCC College campus. More information is available at 563-1638.