WCDO Radio News

State Police arrested 36-year-old James Brower of Norwich, for 1st degree Murder, he is accused of murdering 11-year-old Jacelyn O’Connor in his residence in Norwich Sunday, anyone with information is asked to contact State Police at 334-3296. Brower was arraigned in Chenango County Court & was remanded to the Chenango County Jail without bail pending court action in the Town of Norwich Court on Thursday, at 9:00 AM. The Chenango County Sheriff’s Office and the Chenango County District Attorney’s Office assisted with this investigation. The investigation is ongoing.

Governor Cuomo was in Johnson City this morning, to deliver state funds to assist the Regional Econimic Development's wishes to assist Binghamton area businesses add jobs:

(Cuomo 8-2-17)

The State has already invested more than $3.1 billion in the region since 2012, recent REDC efforts in Binghamton have led to the building of the new Pharmacy School in Johnson City & the expansion of the Decker School of Nursing into a bigger facility.

Delaware County Sheriff's Deputies arrested 43 year old George Robinson of Delhi, on 7 additional felony charges following their investigation of complaints received from Fianncial Institutions in the County. Robinson was charged with 6 counts of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument & 1 count of 3rd degree Grand Larceny. Robinson is accused of acting in concert with 23 year old Justina Mastrorocco of Walton in stealing more than $3,000 by cashing 6 stolen and forged checks. Robinson was arrested in the Delaware County Jail where he is being held on bail on separate charges, he will be arraigned on the new charges at a later date.

New York state now considers an inmate's age at the time of the crime to ensure that offenders receiving long sentences as juveniles have a legitimate chance at release. Corrections officials say the Board of Parole made the change immediately after a 2016 ruling that juveniles must be granted a meaningful chance at release during parole proceedings. Though New York has never sentenced juveniles to life without parole, groups including the New York Civil Liberties Union had criticized officials for looking only at crimes, and not youth, in parole determinations. Recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings have narrowed the instances in which those who commit offenses under age 18 can receive the harshest penalties.

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer said that the Food and Drug Administration should launch a formal investigation into the health consequences of chemicals used in fast food packaging. Schumer is asking for the investigation into chemicals used in plastics to make them more flexible and harder to break, but they have been linked to developmental and reproductive issues.

The Public Safety & Legal Affairs Committee of the Otsego County Board of Representatives announced that they continue to investigate the situation regarding Sergeant Ros Devlin of the Otsego County Corrections Department, who is also the son of Otsego County Sheriff Richard Devlin. Ros Devlin was accused of using excessive violence as a corrections officer, he is also accused of making threats, possibly against area schools and the public in general that led to his pistol permit being revoked, and he was banned from being on County Property, and his behavior was being investigated by the County District Attorney’s office, The County’s Labor Attorney, the Sheriff’s Department & State Police. Sheriff Devlin was requested to recuse himself from the investigation due to an obvious conflict of interest, which he initially refused; County officials said that the Sheriff did not advise them of his original disciplinary action until April 10th. The investigation is continuing.

Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 21 year old Alissa Young of Hancock, Thursday for 1 count of Driving While Ability Impaired Drugs plus other charges, Following the report of a vehicle going off the road and into a ditch on State Highway 97 in the Town of Hancock, she was arraigned and was remanded to the Delaware County Jail on $1,000 cash bail or $2,000 bail bond. Deputies also arrested Young’s passenger, 26-year-old Anthony Rhinebeck of Hancock, for Criminal Possession of a Hypodermic Instrument, he is accused of possessing 3 hypodermic instruments, Rhinebeck was arraigned and was remanded to the Delaware County Jail on $5,000 cash bail or $10,000 bail bond.

Rotary District 7170 has received a Rotary Global grant to help with the local fight against heroin & Opioid abuse in 7 local counties, including Chenango, Delaware Otsego & Broome Counties. District Grant Committee Chairperson Lana Rouff told WCDO News what the money would be used for:

(Lana Rouff 4-14-17)

Rouff said that the money will also be used of an Internet program to target those who may be using Opioids and get them the help they need.

The Delaware County Tourism Advisory Board is now accepting applications for funding under the newly created Tourism Promotion & Development Grant program. This program will provide funding assistance to eligible applicants for projects that seek to attract visitors to Delaware County and enhance the overall tourism industry. Applications for grant assistance must be hand-delivered to the Delaware County Department of Economic Development or postmarked by 5:00pm on May 17th. More information is available at 607-832-5123.

4 Chenango County Farms will benefit following an announcement by Governor Cuomo, to address the impact of climate change on agriculture. The Chenango County Soil and Water Conservation District was awarded $67,716 to work with four farms to plant 1,015 acres of cover crops over a three year period, to improve soil quality, reduce erosion, increase soil organic matter and improve resiliency to the farm from extreme weather conditions like floods & droughts.

State Police arrested 34 year old Rachel Howard of Burlington Flats for the Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated with a B.A.C. result of .18 and other traffic violations. This arrest occurred after a traffic stop when Howard was observed driving across hazard markings while on County Route 22 in the Town of Exeter. An investigation determined that she was driving while highly intoxicated. Howard was issued tickets returnable to the Town of Exeter Court on April 19, 2017.

The State DEC is opening spring turkey season on May 1 in the upstate counties. The DEC's annual youth turkey hunting weekend is scheduled for April 22 & 23, for junior hunters ages 12-15. The DEC encourages experienced hunters to take a novice hunter afield this spring, more information about turkey hunting in New York, see the 2016-17 Hunting and Trapping Regulations Guide or visit the "Turkey Hunting" pages of DEC's website at dec.ny.gov.

Today is the last day to sign up for free income tax preparation in Chenango County through the Colgate University Volunteer income tax assistance program. Residents who earned less than $54,000 may be eligible to participate, more information, can be made through Cornell Cooperative Extension at 99 Broad Street in Norwich, at 334-5841. The deadline to file state & federal income taxes is Tuesday April 18th this year.