WCDO Radio News

A.O. Fox Hospital announced that they will hold a
ribbon-cutting ceremony to open its new Food “Farmacy” program on Monday,
January 6th in Sidney, spokesperson Sarah Buttice explains:

(Sarah Buttice 12-17-19)

Fox will be partnering with a number of local businesses and
food pantries for supplies, the physical Food Farmacy will be located at A.O.
Fox Hospital’s Tri-Town Campus, 43 Pearl Street West in Sidney.

Delaware County Sheriff Deputies responded December 8th to a
1 car accident in the Town of Kortright.
22 year old Zachary Keenan of Delancey was the operator of the vehicle,
he was charged with DWI, Operating a Motor Vehicle with a BAC of greater than
.08%, failure to keep right and operating a motor vehicle with no seat
belt.  Keenan was taken to O'Connor
Hospital in Delhi & was treated & released, he is due to appear in Town
of Kortright Court at a later date to answer the charges.

Governor Cuomo today unveiled the 4th proposal of his 2020
State of the State agenda; closing the rape intoxication loophole. Current Law
does not adequately protect victims of sexual offenses who could not consent to
sexual activity due to voluntary intoxication.
Under current law, a person is deemed incapable of consent when he or
she is mentally incapacitated, but it states mental incapacitation occurs when
a person involuntarily ingests drugs or alcohol. The exclusion of
incapacitation due to the voluntary ingestion of drugs or alcohol limits the
ability to fully prosecute sexual assaults.

State Supreme Court Judge Richard Rich Jr. has denied a
motion ordering a recount in the Broome County District Attorney race, which
allows the Board of Elections to certify that Libertarian Michael Korchak will
be the Next Broome County District Attorney.
Korchak now officials defeats Republican candidate Paul Battisti by 55
votes.

Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 27 year-old
Jonathan Ferrer of Geneva, Saturday, following a routine Traffic stop.  Ferrer was charged with Aggravated Unlicensed
Operation of a motor vehicle & Speeding at 79 miles per hour in a 55 mph
zone. Ferrer was released on tickets and is to appear in Town of Colchester
Court at a later date.

Area Congressman Antonio Delgado
& Anthony Brindisi both announced that they will vote in Favor of
Impeachment of President Trump.  Brindisi
released a statement saying that while he appreciates that President Trump has
signed into law bills that Brindisi authored, but he said that the President
broke the law by trying to block the testimony of key subpoenaed witnesses that
had direct knowledge of the administration’s actions.

Governor Cuomo unveiled the 2nd proposal of his 2020 State
of the State agenda: legislation banning fentanyl analogs, which is a deadly
synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, by making
them subject to the same criminal sale or possession penalties as other
controlled substances. The legislation will give the State Health Commissioner
the power to ban any new fentanyl analogs that have been added to the federal
schedule of controlled substances, The Governor will also propose a series of
actions to expand access to medication assisted treatment for opioid use
disorder in hard to reach communities.

The next Meeting of the Bainbridge Chamber of Commerce is
this morning.  The meeting will begin at
7:30 at Bob’s Diner.

State
Senator Jim Seward announced today that the cancer he first experienced in 2016
has recurred.  Seward said that his
doctors have recommended a series of treatments over the next several weeks
that will curtail his schedule around the district, but his office will still
be open.  Seward expects to return in
time for the new legislative session in January.

The
Oneonta Common Council voted Tuesday night to sell a portion of the Dietz
Street municipal parking lot for the "Lofts on Dietz" Project, which
calls for housing for artists & classrooms for Hartwick College.  About 115 parking spots will be eliminated
for the project, 600 will still remain,

Governor
Cuomo signed legislation prohibiting landlords from collecting rent or
maintaining a nonpayment eviction proceeding during the period for which there
is no valid certificate of occupancy. This law also prohibits tenants and
owners from living in a residence that does not have a valid certificate of
occupancy. The law would expand existing laws to cover cities with a population
of less than 325,000 people. The law goes into effect immediately.

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.

Governor
Cuomo signed legislation requiring that death certificates in cases of opioid
overdose specify which opioid was involved in the death, if known. This new law
requires that information be recorded so that more data will be available to
better address the opioid crisis.   Under
current law, if a person dies of an opioid overdose, there is no requirement
that the death certificate specify which opioid was involved. The legislation
signed today takes effect immediately.

The Broome County Sheriff’s Office
will be collecting unwanted, outdated or unused prescription or
over-the-counter medications for National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on
Saturday October 26th from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM at various locations.  Locations include the Broome County Sheriff’s
Office in Binghamton, the Windsor Community House – 107 Main St., Windsor at
the Deposit Police Station – 146 Front St., Deposit.  More information is available at 778-1911.

Great Lakes Cheese is recalling
various products as they may contain the possible presence of small metal
foreign matter on the surface.  The
majority of cheeses recalled are marketed through price Chopper & Market 32
stores as Market 32 American White and American Yellow Cheese sold in the Deli
Departments, the full list of effected cheeses or products containing the
cheese in question can be found at greatlakescheese.com or by calling
440-834-2500.

Nobel Prize-winning professor M.
Stanley Whittingham will be celebrated at the Binghamton University campus this
Friday at 3:00 PM at the Osterhout Concert Theater at the Anderson Center.  Whittingham and 2 others were awarded the
Nobel Prize in chemistry last week for research that was instrumental in the
development of the lithium-ion battery.

This year, New York State adopted a
law to allow for early voting for the General Election.  Early voting begins on October 26th, and runs
through Sunday, November 3rd, followed by Election Day on Tuesday November
5th.    More information is available at
your County Board of Elections, or at voteearlyny.org.

Chenango County Public Health  will hold an informational public meeting
regarding the hazards of Vaping, Public Health Director Darlene Gramstad told
WCDO News that Dr. Scott Cohen will give the presentation:

(Darlene Gramstad 10-16-19)

Pre-registration is
requested at 337-1660, the presentation will be held on October 24th at the
SUNY Morrisville Campus in Downtown Norwich from 12:00 Noon to 1:00 PM and 5:30
to 6:30 PM.

UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital
received a pledge for their new emergency room and walk-in center from Golden
Artist Colors this week.  Officials from
the paint manufacturer presented a ceremonial check in the amount of $30,000 to
campaign leaders during a small ceremony at their Town of Columbus
headquarters.  More information on the
2019 Chenango Medical Neighborhood Capital Campaign is available at 337-4183 or
email at melissa.stagnaro@nyuhs.org.

31 year old Johnnah DeGraw of Deposit pleaded guilty today
in Broome County Court to 1st degree criminal possession of a
controlled substance for possessing nearly 2½ pounds of heroin, plus Fentanyl
& Meth, which was seized during a drug trafficking bust last year.  DeGraw and 37 year old Marlon Graham were
arrested November 30th after a raid on Wheeler Street in Deposit by
the Broome County Special Investigations Unit Task Force.  DeGraw faces sentencing on March 29th.   Graham pleaded guilty in Broome County Court
recently to 1st & 2nd degree criminal possession of a
controlled substance; he faces sentencing at a later date.

State Police arrested 39 year old James Underhill of Conklin
for 3rd degree Grand Larceny, for allegedly cashing 2 checks
totaling over $21,000 that was supposed to be used to repair a vehicle that had
been involved in an accident.  The
complainant told troopers that the accident occurred almost a year ago and the
truck was still at Underhill’s repair shop and not been worked on.    Underhill was located Tuesday & was
arrested & arraigned at Broome County Central Arraignment and Processing
and was remanded to the Broome County Jail on $1,000 cash bail or $2,000 bond.

The Delaware County Board of Supervisors have approved of a
measure to add a Public Defenders office.
The board passed the measure, as more than 60% of County Residents
accused of a crime, cannot afford a lawyer & would qualify to be
represented by a Public Defender.  The
board will advertise the position shortly in hopes of filling the position by
June 1st.

Delaware County Sheriff Deputy’s arrested 70 year old Donald
Fazio of St. Augustine, Florida, for Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a motor
vehicle, following a traffic stop on State Highway 17 in the Town of
Hancock.   Fazio is accused of speeding
at 81 miles per hour in a 55 miles per hour zone; he was released on appearance
tickets for Hancock Town Court at a later date.

State Police are once again issuing a warning for drivers to
“move over” after a tractor trailer hit a patrol car that was pulled over on
the side of the road in Ulster County, and a tractor trailer hit a DOT employee
in Tioga County.    New York’s “Move
Over” Law requires cars to move over, if they can safely do so, for police,
firefighters, ambulance workers, tow-truck drivers, and other personnel as they
work at crash scenes. Drivers are similarly required to move when construction
and maintenance vehicles are stopped alongside roads.

17-year-old Harper Stantz has died from her injuries after
being struck by a vehicle on Beethoven Street in Binghamton Monday
afternoon.  Binghamton Police reported
that Stantz and 19-year-old Britney Laserinko were walking on the sidewalk when
a Jeep driven by 33 year old Kevin Wilcox of Harpursville hit them.  Wilcox is being held in the Broome County
Jail, more charges are pending and grand jury action may be forthcoming.  Laserinko was taken to Wilson Hospital
suffering from internal injuries & multiple fractures.

Early Wednesday morning Delaware County Sheriff's Deputies
responded to a report of an over-turned tractor trailer on State Highway 17 in
the Town of Hancock.  27 year-old Cody
Camp of Barton fell asleep at the wheel and failed to negotiate a curve in the
roadway, he struck the guard rails, causing the truck to over-turn and the
attached box trailer to rupture, and spilling mixed freight all over the
highway.  1 eastbound lane of the highway
was closed to traffic for several hours by the State Department of
Transportation for the clean-up & police investigation

Governor Cuomo today announced the launch of a school
funding transparency website, which offers the ability to view and download
data at the school district level and the school building level.  The site also allows for the individual
school's overall funding allocation, per pupil funding allocation, allocation
by funding source, school enrollment and student demographics, The website is
openbudget.ny.gov

Sidney mayoral Candidate Jeffrey Stefanek will hold a Meet
& Greet Event today, at American Legion Post #183 on Union Street in
Sidney, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM.  Stefanek
is looking to defeat incumbent Mayor Andy Matviak, who is seeking another term,
village elections state wide will be held on Tuesday.

Governor Cuomo and State leaders have not agreed on the
amount of available revenue for the next state budget plan.   The lack of a consensus will require that
State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli must come up with an estimate by Tomorrow, which
will be used as the reference point for future negotiations on the budget plan;
the budget needs to be passed by the beginning of the fiscal year on April
1st.  Last month, the governor and
DiNapoli announced tax revenues for the current budget were down $2.3 billion.
The Democrats blame much of the shortfall on federal tax changes that started
last year.

Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 31 year-old
Christina Townsend of Port Crane for 3rd degree Grand Larceny &
Scheming to Defraud,  following an
investigation by Sheriff’s Deputies and Broome Developmental Center staff into
on-going thefts from residents by an employee.
Townsend is accused of engaging in an ongoing scheme while employed at a
Franklin residential facility that resulted in the theft of more than $12,000
from developmentally disabled residents.
Townsend was arraigned at the Town of Franklin Court and was released
upon her own recognizance pending future court proceedings

State Police Traffic Incident Management Unit responded to a
fatal car crash on Interstate 81 in the town of Cortlandville this morning at
6:43 AM,   Troopers responded after a TLC
Ambulance was traveling southbound responding to a call, & they were
slowing to make a U-turn with all of their emergency lights activated.  A 68-year-old unidentified male from
Baldwinsville was driving an SUV in the left lane & struck the ambulance on
its driver’s side before losing control & striking a guiderail.  The ambulance crew responded & found the
driver unresponsive, he was taken to an area hospital & was pronounced
deceased.   The investigation is still
pending; the name of the victim will be released at a later time. No tickets
have been issued at this time.

The State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services
today announced the award of more than $5.1 million in funding to establish 14
new recovery community centers across New York State, and expand services at
two existing recovery centers. Funding is administered by the Office of Alcoholism
& Substance Abuse and its fiscal partner, the Research Foundation for
Mental Hygiene.  In the Southern Tier,
The Friends of Recovery of Delaware and Otsego Counties, will receive $350,000.

The 25th annual Colorscape Chenango, the premier arts
festival in Central New York, will be held September 7th & 8th
in downtown Norwich. The application deadline for exhibiting artists is this
Friday, March 8th. Colorscape invites Chenango County high school students to
participate in the Billboard Art Challenge called “Art Can Change the World.”
Submissions are due April 26th, more information is available at 336-3378 or
visit colorscape.org.

Delaware County Public Health Services and Friends of
Recovery of Delaware Otsego will be sponsoring a Recovery Coach Academy &
Ethical Considerations training during the week of March 25th-March 30th in
Delhi and Margaretville.   The 30 hour
training covers the Connecticut Center for Addiction Recovery model for peer
specialist roles and responsibilities.
This Recovery Coach Academy includes all course materials. Scholarships
are available, more information or registration is available at 267-4435 or by
email at sarah@friendsofrecoverydo.org

State Police arrested 32 year old Michael Ide of Schenevus
for felony Aggravated Unlicensed Operation and Driving While Ability Impaired
by Drugs.  A trooper monitoring traffic
on State Highway 7 in the town of Worcester observed a vehicle with an
equipment violation.  A traffic stop was
initiated and the trooper observed that Ide was impaired & his license was
suspended.  Ide was released on
appearance tickets & was then turned over to a sober third party.

State Police arrested 52 year old Frank Price of Sherburne
for Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated with a BAC of .19%.  Troopers were dispatched to a suspicious
vehicle in the town of Sherburne, they spotted the vehicle stopped in the
middle of the roadway, running, with its brake and headlights on and Price
asleep behind the wheel.   Price was
processed and released on appearance tickets returnable to the town of
Sherburne Court on March 11th.

A Delaware County jury acquitted Jeffrey Hitchcock of Sidney
Center Friday, for charges of sexual abuse & endangering the welfare of a
minor.  Hitchcock had been accused of
inappropriately touching an 11 year old female; the jury took a little over 4
hours to find Hitchcock not guilty of the charges.

Chenango Links will host a discussion with Chenango County
Board of elections Commissioners Mary Lou Monahan & Carol Franklin this
evening in Norwich.  The event will be
held at Bohemian Moon at 103 E. Main Street in Norwich, starting at 5:30 PM.

The 2nd murder Trial of Aaron
Powell of Binghamton continues in Broome County Court.  Powell is accused of killing his estranged
wife Christina & Mario Masciarelli at Christina's Residence on Lisi Lane in
Binghamton on March 21st 2013.  Powell
was found guilty of several felony counts in his first trial; a higher court
overturned the original conviction & ordered a new trial.

Heavy ice flows on the Hudson
River caused by recent warming and heavy rains dislodged 8 vessels from their
docks early this morning. DEC, state and local officials quickly responded and
secured the vessels.  1 large boat became
stuck under a railroad bridge south of the Capital District this morning, DEC &
Emergency Crews from various district are assisting with attempting to capture
the boats as they continue to be pushed downstream by large ice flows.  Video footage shot from drones are available
for public viewing on the DEC YouTube channel.

Delaware County Department of
Public Works Commissioner Sue McIntyre announced the hiring of Tyson Robb as
coordinator of the county’s Solid Waste Division of DPW.  McIntyre held that position for many years
prior to her promotion to Commissioner.

Convicted murderer Jeremy Coates
has died in the Auburn correctional facility.
Details of Coates's death were not announced, Coates was serving time
for the murder of David Green in Green's Oxford home in September of 2016.

Governor Cuomo signed legislation Thursday to upgrade New
York State's voting laws.  The new laws
will allow for eight days of early voting before an election, synchronize
federal and state primary elections, allow voter preregistration for teenagers,
provide voter registration portability within the state, and close the LLC
loophole, by limiting political spending by an LLC to a total of $5,000 annually.

A Boil Water order has been issued for the Village foo
Bainbridge, following yesterday's Water Main issue.  The Chenango County Health Department
reported that the order will be in effect for 2 to 3 days. More information is
available at 337-1673 or 967-8696.

The Sidney Central School District Board of Education has
begun a search for a new Superintendent of Schools.  The District invites the Sidney community,
parents, staff and students to assist in developing a profile of desirable
attributes & qualities of this individual at the District Facebook page or
website sidneycsd.org and complete a survey. All entries are anonymous.

The Village of New Berlin has scheduled a seminar of today
at 10:00 AM, regarding an issue with particles in the water.  New Berlin mayor Terry Potter comments:

(Terry Potter 1-25-19)

The meeting will be held in the New Berlin Village Hall
& engineers from Delaware Engineering will answer questions from citizens,
regarding the water issue and the safety of the water supply.

The Annual Bruce Haak Memorial Sleigh Rally will be held on
Saturday in General Clinton Park.
Bainbridge Chamber of Commerce President John Payne explains:

(John Payne 1-25-19)

The event will be held from 12:00 to 3:00 pm in General
Clinton Park; it will be free & open to the public.

A State Budget presentation will be held today in
Oneonta.   RoAnn Destito, Commissioner of
the Office of General Services, will deliver State of the State and Budget
Presentations at 10:00 AM at SUNY Oneonta