WCDO Radio News

The Broome County Special Investigations Unit Task Force
executed a narcotics search warrant Wednesday in Binghamton; they arrested 32
year old Christopher Fox on a variety of Drug charges.  Officers seized 24 grams of Fentanyl, plus
marijuana, drug packaging materials and approximately $ 7,400 in cash from
suspected drug sales.  Fox was arraigned
& was remanded to the Broome County Jail pending future court action

The Chenango County Health Department will hold their last
Rabies vaccination clinic tomorrow in Norwich.
The clinic for dogs, cats & ferrets will be held from 9:30 to 11:00
AM at the Norwich Fire Station, More information is available at 337-1673.

"Breakfast With Santa" will be hosted by the
Chenango Memorial Hospital Auxiliary Saturday from 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM, it will
be held at the Norwich VFW at 61 East Main Street in Norwich.

Chenango
Arts Council presents a Musical about the legendary Wright Brothers, Saturday
at 7:00 PM, at the Martin W. Kappel Theater in Norwich, Council Spokesperson
Alecia O'Neill explains:

(Alecia
O’Neill 11-8-19)

Tickets
are still available online at chenangoartscouncil.thundertix.com, or at the Box
Office.

The
Oneida County Sheriff’s Office responded to an accident where 42-year-old Erika
Davis of Oneonta lost control of her vehicle on a curve in Paris New York last
night, and flipped her car onto its roof in a creek.  Davis was able to get out of the vehicle,
& went to a nearby residence and reported the accident.  Davis suffered several injuries & was
taken to a Utica area hospital, the accident is under investigation.

Transformco
announced that they will be closing 96 additional Sears and Kmart stores in
February; the Sidney K-mart is on the list to close in February.  Liquidation Sales will begin December 2nd.

Tomorrow is Election Day in New York State, locally, 5
people are running for 3 spots in the State Supreme Court 6th
District, they are Democrats Pete Charnetysky & Claudette Newman &
Republicans Chris Baker, Oliver Blaise, Mark Masler.  In Delaware County for the Sidney Town
Clerk's position, Incumbent Lisa French faces Republican Sheila Paul,   In Delhi & Hamden Town Council races;
each race has 3 candidates for 2 seats.
There are races in 3 districts of the Otsego County Board of
Representatives in districts 2, 3 & 14, there is an election for Laurens
Town Supervisor between Democrat Dean Buccheri & Republican David Neske,
and there are town council seat races in Butternuts, Hartwick, Laurens, New Lisbon,
Oneonta, and Worcester.  In the City of
Oneonta, there are races for common council seats in Wards 2, 4, 5, 6 &
8.  In Chenango County, there is an
election for Norwich City Mayor between incumbent Christine Carnrike, Jill
Osterhoudt-Kraft, Shawn Sastri & former Mayor Joe Maiurano; there are races
for Norwich City Council seats in wards 3 & 5, for Town of Norwich
Supervisor, the voters will decide between Debra Cubbedge & Stanley
Foulds.  In the Town of Coventry, a race
exits for Supervisor between Jan Andrews vs. Jennifer Boudreau.  In the town of Guilford Supervisor's race,
incumbent George Senek faces a challenge from Write-In candidate Dan
Harrington.   In the Guilford Town Council,
2 seats are up between Terence Ives, Richard Dunnigan, Gilda Ward, plus Write
Ins:  Rebecca Young and Duane Reif for
Town Council,   for Town of Pharsalia
Supervisor, the race is between Jeremiah Micklas vs. David Soule & there
are 3 candidates for 2 seats on the Town of Plymouth board.

Governor Cuomo announced that New York's law raising the
minimum sales age from 18 to 21 for tobacco and electronic cigarette products
beginning November 13th.   The law seeks
to prevent cigarettes and vaping products from getting into the hands of our
youth, & creating an addiction to a deadly habit.   According to the State Department of Health,
almost 40% of 12th grade students and 27% of all high school age students are
now using e-cigarettes, and this increase is largely driven by flavored
e-liquids.   The State Police will
partner with the Department of Health to conduct undercover investigations
across the state, retailers found selling tobacco and vaping products to
underage individuals will face criminal penalties in addition to civil
penalties.

Congressman Anthony Brindisi announced that Chenango Health
Network would receive a Drug Free Communities grant of more than $100,000 per
year for five years. The Drug Free Communities grant program provides grants to
community organizations to strengthen partnerships in the region and help
reduce youth substance abuse.

Chenango Arts Council announced their 2019-2020 line-up of
shows coming to the Martin W. Kappel Theater in Norwich, Chenango Arts Council
CEO Alecia O'Neill explains:

(Alecia O'Neill 8-23-19)

Tickets will be available at 336-ARTS, Chenango Arts.Org or
at the Box Office at 27 West Main Street in Norwich.

Chenango United Way is looking for teams for their annual
Golf Tournament on September 27th at the Canasawacta Country Club in
Norwich.   More information is available
at 334-8815.

The Susquehanna Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals will host a public celebration tomorrow at
5088 State Highway 28, Cooperstown marking the groundbreaking of the future
site of its planned animal shelter and adjoining campus.  The reception is free and open to the public,
it will kick off at 12:00 noon with a groundbreaking ceremony and run until 2
p.m.

Old Franklin Day will be held Saturday, with the Greater
Franklin Chamber of Commerce coordinating activities and preparing a map of
events.  Scheduled activities include
lawn sales, a library book sale, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church pies, the Franklin
Train and Community Museum, music in the park, antique stores, numerous food
venues, Doodle Bugs. Old Franklin Day runs from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

Commerce Chenango announced today that Kerri Green of Sidney
will succeed Steve Craig as President & CEO of Commerce Chenango starting
in August.  Green told WCDO News that she
is excited for this opportunity:

(Kerri Green 7-29-19)

Green previously served as
President of the Sidney Chamber of Commerce while she worked in Sales at WCDO,
she is also currently president of the Sidney central School District Board of
Education & also previously worked as Senior Assistant to the President at
Hartwick College in Oneonta.

The Otsego County Fair kicks off Tuesday at the Fairgrounds
in Morris.  Fair Spokesperson Lisa Jones
told WCDO News that Wednesday will have 2 new events:

(Lisa Jones 7-29-19)

The full line-up is available at otsegocountyfair.org.

Governor Cuomo signed legislation to raise the minimum sales
age for tobacco and electronic cigarette products from 18 to 21. The bill will
take effect 120 days after becoming law; tobacco use continues to be the number
one cause of preventable death in New York State. About 28,000 adult New
Yorkers die every year as a result of smoking & an increasing number of
underage youth are using both traditional cigarettes and e-cigarettes. From
2014 to 2018 youth use of e-cigarettes increased by 160% to 27.4%, more than
half of teens falsely believe that e-cigarette use is harmless.

State Police arrested 32 year old Tavish Braman of Oxford
for 3rd degree Assault, after Troopers were dispatched to the town of
McDonough, were they observed an intoxicated male laying on a driveway.  A victim told troopers that they were giving
Braman a ride due to his intoxication; the victim reported that Braman punched
him in the face and head. The victim was taken to Chenango Memorial Hospital
and Braman was also taken to the hospital due to his level of intoxication, he
was released & was arraigned & remanded to Chenango County Jail on
$1000 cash bail or $2500 bond, pending court action on August 15th, an order of
protection was issued to the victim.

Corey Weidman of Norwich pleaded guilty this week in federal
court on a variety of drug charges stemming from his arrest in Norwich in
December of last year.  The Chenango
County Sheriff’s Office raided Weidman’s apartment after a 2-month
investigation, officers seized Crystal Meth, Cocaine, marijuana, LSD, suboxone,
a loaded handgun and more than $35,000 in cash. Weidman will be sentenced on
November 25th.

The 43rd Annual Carnival of Sales will be held tomorrow
throughout the village of Unadilla, Chamber of Commerce Spokesperson Jackie
Carey explains:

(Jackie Carey 7-12-19)

The event will run from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, More information
is available at the Unadilla Chamber web site: unadillachamberofcommerce.org

Starting this Week, the
Suit-Kote Corporation & Chenango County DPW will be working on County Road
32 between State Route 320 in the Town of Norwich and State Route 12 in the
Town of North Norwich. It is anticipated this procedure shall take about 1 week
to complete, depending on weather conditions.
The traveling public is asked to find alternate routes; more information
is available at 337-1710.

Woodstock 50 appears to be on again, as organizers announced
that the Oppenheimer & Co. investment corporation has signed on as a
financial advisor to complete the financing for the concert.  The statement adds that preparations will
continue as planned. Woodstock 50 is scheduled to take place August 16th to the
1th 8 in Watkins Glen, ticket sales will be announced shortly.

Chenango County Sheriff’s Department arrested a Town of
Willet man for 2nd degree Grand Larceny following an investigation in the Town
of Pitcher.  36 year old Clinton Hill is
accused of stealing $200,000 worth of materials from Aluminum Fixtures and
Tooling in the Town of Pitcher business. Detectives recovered over 8,000 pounds
of stolen material from scrap facilities in Broome County, additional stolen
property was recovered from Hill’s residence, he was arraigned in the Town of
Pitcher Court; he is scheduled to reappear in court at a later date.

Commerce Chenango will hold their annual Report to the
Membership luncheon today at the American Legion on Sheldon Street in Norwich,
Commerce Chenango CEO Steve Craig comments:

(Steve Craig 5-1-19)

The event begins at 11:30 AM; more information about
Commerce Chenango is available at 334-1400.

The Chenango County Department of Public Works would like to
announce a rate increase at all of their facilities.  Starting today, new tipping fees will be $2
per bag of garbage and $60 per Ton of garbage. There will be a charge of $3.50
per tire up to 20 inches and $155 per ton for tires over 20 inches.  They will continue to accept source separated
recycling for free.  More information is
available at 337-1792.

The State Senate unanimously passed a bill sponsored by
Senator Jen Metzger to establish labeling standards for use of the term,
"local," in food products. Currently, there are no standards to
ensure that the main ingredients of products marketed as "local" are
actually produced in New York. According to Packaged Facts, local foods
generated $11.7 billion in sales in 2014, and will climb to $20.2 billion by
2019.

The Chenango County Sheriff’s Office arrested 2 Cortland
residents for burglaries committed in Chenango County.  Michael and Matthew Maricle are accused of
committing multiple burglaries in the Towns of Pharsalia and Plymouth; they are
accused of forcing their way into homes and stealing various items, including firearms.  Detectives recovered DNA at the scene; the
Maricle brothers were arraigned in the Town of Oxford Court and are scheduled
to return to court at a later date, more arrests are expected.

Governor Cuomo today announced that Taste NY sales increased
to a record $17.8 million in 2018. Since its creation in 2013, the Taste NY
initiative has seen steady growth from $1.5 million in in sales in 2014 to
$17.8 million last year.

37 year
old James Brower of Norwich pleaded guilty Friday in Chenango County Court to
Hindering Prosecution, he admitted that he lied to police to help his partner
Tobias Rundstrom-Whitaker, to get away with the rape & murder of 11 year
Jacelyn O'Connor in July 2017.  Brower
will be sentenced to 1 1/2 to 4 1/2 years in jail as part of a plea
arrangement, when he is sentenced on June 17th.

The
Special Investigations Unit Task Force arrested 46-year-old Erin Suggs and
23-year-old Miranda Barrows and confiscated about 4 ounces of crystal meth, 6
grams of heroin, about 29 grams of marijuana, Suboxone, various prescription
pills and $2,600 in suspected drug sales proceeds.  Suggs is charged with multiple counts of
criminal possession of a controlled substance, & criminally using drug
paraphernalia.  Barrows is charged with
criminal possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of
marijuana.

The
Help Restore Hope Center is hosting a Program today, in support of survivors of
violence & sexual assault, as April is Sexual Assault Awareness month.  The program begins at 4:00 PM until closing
at Nina's Restaurant at 32 South Board Street in Norwich.

NYSEG crews
are working to restore power that was knocked out by last night's powerful
storms.  Broome County had over 1400
without power, Chenango County 230 & Delaware County 580, this afternoon.

The Chenango County Farm Bureau is hosting an Agricultural
Celebration Wednesday at the Silo Restaurant in Greene, from 11:00 AM until
2:00 PM, to celebrate National Agriculture Day.
Chenango County farm Bureau President Bradd Vickers comments:

(Bradd Vickers 3-19-19)

Vickers said that this year’s
theme is "Agriculture: Food for Life” & the keynote speaker will be
New York State Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture &
Markets; Dave Valesky.

Village elections are being held across the state today.  Locally, in Sidney incumbent Mayor Andy Matviak faces a challenge from Jeffrey Stefanek, plus 3 people are running for 2 seats on the board, Sheri Youngs, Raymond Baker & Barry MacPherson.  In Walton incumbent Mayor Ed Snow, faces a challenge from Steve Condon. In Gilbertsville, incumbent mayor Ken Nolan faces challenger Mark Muller. 3 people are seeking 2 trustee seats: Glenn Foster, Randolph Palada & John Wargo & in Afton 2 Trustee seats are open, 3 candidates are seeking those seats, Sally Muller; DeAnna Lawrence; Melissa Matthews. Polling places are open from 12:00 noon until 9:00 pm.  Those who have questions regarding their eligibility to vote in village elections, should contact their county Board of elections, or they should go to their polling place to see if they are eligible to vote today.

State Police arrested 27 year old Bradly Falkenmeyer of
Coventry for Menacing and Criminal Possession of a Weapon, after Troopers were
dispatched to dispute that began over a dog going on the neighbor’s
property.   Falkenmeyer allegedly
displayed a shotgun and threatened to shoot the dog and the complainant.  Falkenmeyer was also on parole which would
not allow him to be in possession of any firearms.  Falkenmeyer was arrested and arraigned in the
town of Coventry Court and remanded to the Chenango County Jail without bail.

State Police arrested 30 year old Corey Burns of Bainbridge
for Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs and Criminal Trespass, after a
trooper was dispatched to a complaint that a male entered a home on State
Highway 41 in the town of Coventry and was not known to the residents of the
home. The property owner was able to provide a description of Burns and the
vehicle he was operating. Burns was located, arrested & was arraigned in
the town of Afton Court where he was remanded to the Chenango County Jail on
$5,000 cash bail or $15,000 property bond.

Members of Troop "C" conducted an Underage Drinker
Initiative Friday, March 16, 2019. 13 retail stores in Chenango and Otsego
Counties were checked for potential sales to a minor. All 13 were found to be
in compliance and no alcohol was sold to minors during the detail.

A town of Norwich resident was
arrested by the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office for 2nd degree Assault.  20 year old Kyle Nowalk was arrested
following an investigation into an incident in the Chenango County Jail for
allegedly caused physical injury to a victim within the detention
facility.  Nowalk will appear in the Town
of Norwich Court at a later date.

A Town of Norwich resident was
arrested by the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office for Aggravated Unlicensed
Operation of a Motor Vehicle.  46 year
old Leon Lamb was arrested following a traffic stop on County Road 32 in the
Town of Norwich, Lamb was allegedly operating a motor vehicle with a suspended
license, and he was arraigned in the Town of Norwich Court and remanded to the
Chenango County Correctional Facility on $1,000 cash bail. Lamb is to appear in
the Town of Norwich Court at a later date.

State Police and local law
enforcement will conduct a special targeted enforcement detail this St.
Patrick's Day weekend to deter drinking and driving. The traffic enforcement
detail begins today and runs through Monday. Drivers can expect a number of
sobriety checkpoints, additional DWI patrols, underage drinking and sales to
minors details during the campaign. State Police will also be ticketing
distracted drivers who use handheld electronic devices.   During the 2018 St. Patrick's Day weekend
enforcement effort, Troopers made 243 arrests for DWI and issued nearly 13,000
tickets.

Governor Cuomo announced
budget amendments to the 2020 Executive Budget to ensure towns and villages are
not adversely impacted by changes to the Aid and Incentives to Municipalities
program. The proposal would use additional sales tax revenue from the elimination
of the internet tax advantage to keep towns and villages whole. Approximately
$59 million in revenues for towns and villages are preserved through this
action.    The State will also implement
the Internet sales tax requirements earlier, starting June 1 of this year as
opposed to September 1st.  The
elimination of the internet tax advantage is expected to generate $390 million
in additional revenue for local governments.

A Town of Worcester
resident was arrested by the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office for one count of
Aggravated unlicensed operation, following a traffic stop in the Town of
Norwich.  38 year old Shawn Finch was
allegedly operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license. Finch was taken
into custody and arraigned in the Town of North Norwich Court where he was
released on his own recognizance. Finch is to appear in the Town of Norwich
Court at a later date.

A Town of Smithville
resident was arrested by the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office for Criminal
Mischief and Harassment; 29 year old Jarid Winner was allegedly involved in a
domestic dispute that occurred in the Town of Smithville, where he is accused
of breaking multiple items and subjecting the victim to unwanted physical
contact.  Winner was remanded to the
Chenango County Sheriff’s Office on $500 cash bail.