WCDO Radio News

Otsego County Department of Health reported 35 new COVID cases Friday with 16 hospitalized & 142 Active cases. Otsego County has had 1692 total confirmed cases, with 10 deaths.

Delaware County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of a Deputy for Driving While Intoxicated and Official Misconduct. 25 year old Anthony Shields of Colchester was arrested on December 17th by Sheriff’s Deputies for reporting to work in an alleged intoxicated condition. Shields recently graduated the Police Academy in November and was previously employed at the Sheriff’s Office as a Corrections Officer since 2017. Shields was processed and released on appearance tickets reportable to the Delhi Town Court on January 26th & has been terminated from his position.

Chenango County Sheriff's Office arrested 43 year old Robert Mohammed of Plymouth for DWI and false personation, following a traffic stop on State Highway 12 in the Town of Oxford. Mohammed is accused of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol & providing a false identity to the investigating Deputy. Mohammed was released on an appearance tickets and is to return to the Town of Oxford Court on a later date.

P.M. NEWS THURSDAY 11-19-20

Otsego County Department of Health is announcing a potential COVID 19 exposure at the Copper Fox at 7 Market Street in Oneonta.  Anyone who spent time at the bar between November 12th through November 17th should monitor for symptoms, if you have developed symptoms, get tested and isolate yourself.  The Copper Fox is closed for a minimum of 7 days and all staff will be tested, more information is available at 547-4231.

The State Health Department reminds New Yorkers that if you get a call from NYS Contact Tracing, answer it.  Contact tracers are working around the clock to trace clusters and inform people who have been in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID. Also, legitimate Tracers will never ask for your Social Security Number or financial information; if someone does, hang up.

Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a two-car property damage accident on State Highway 206 in the Town of Colchester last Friday, where a vehicle and trailer driven by 32-year-old Stephen Depuy of Downsville was making a turn from State Highway 206 on to Hill Top Drive when his trailer was struck in the rear by a vehicle driven by 84 year-old Eugene Marner of Franklin.  Deputies charged Depuy with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, and being an unlicensed driver.  Marner was ticketed for speed not reasonable and prudent.  Both drivers were released on traffic summonses directing them to appear in the Town of Colchester Court on a later date to answer their charges.

People have been captivated by the story of the little owl that was transported to New York City from West Oneonta last week, on the Tree that is being set up for the Christmas holidays in Rockefeller Center.  Susan O'Hanley of the Delaware Otsego Audubon Society told WCDO News that they believe that the owl was on the tree through the whole process & made the trip to the city:

(Susan O'Hanley 11-19-20)

O'Hanley said that many have commented to the Society that the Owl should be brought back to West Oneonta, the Society members feel that the additional travel would be too stressful & that he will assimilate to the Owl population in the Hudson Valley.

A.M. NEWS THURSDAY 11-19-20

Otsego County Department of Health reported 18 new COVID cases Wednesday, the number of cases in the county since March is up to 1128, with 58 active cases,  1 hospitalized,  8 deaths,  760 cases are now linked to SUNY Oneonta & 67 at Hartwick College.

Governor Cuomo, as well as the Governors of surrounding states, announced they will encourage residential colleges and universities in their respective states to provide testing for all students traveling home for Thanksgiving break to the maximum extent possible before they leave campus. Any student who tests positive will be encouraged to isolate on campus before they can travel or detail arrangements of their safe travel home with the local department of health.

Governor Cuomo signed legislation designating a bridge on State Highway 206 in Downsville as the "Colchester Veterans Memorial Bridge." The legislation was requested by the Town of Colchester to recognize fallen veterans, The Governor signed the legislation on Veterans Day, the designation becomes effective immediately.

Otsego County Department of Health & Applebee’s is reporting a potential exposure at the Southside Mall Oneonta location. A team member who last worked on Monday, tested positive for COVID-19 and is isolating at home. The restaurant closed for deep cleaning on Tuesday, a professional sanitation service disinfected. They re-opened Wednesday, they have safety protocols in place. The Otsego County Department of Health is asking any guests who dined at Applebee’s in Oneonta on November 5th from 11:00 to 4:00, November 6th from 4: to 11:00, November 7th from 11:00 to 4:00, November 8th from 4:00 to 10:00 & November 9th from 4:30 to 11:00 PM to monitor for symptoms through Monday, November 23rd if symptoms occur, contact your medical provider.

A.M. NEWS Thursday 11-12-20

State Police are searching for 17-year-old Brooke Irish of Auburn, who was last seen on November 8th in the town of Chenango. Irish is described as a white female, 5 foot 1 inch tall, weighing 120 pounds, with brown eyes and black shoulder length hair. She was last seen wearing a black tank top, cropped leggings with a design that has plaid and cherries on them, anyone with information should contact State Police at 775-1241.

The Broome County Health Department announced that they have had 233 more positive COVID 19 cases since Friday, bringing them up to 3293. They are up 94 deaths, an increase of 11 since late last week, there are 2651 recoveries and over 4700 people are being monitored by the Health department.

Delaware County Sheriff's Deputies responded Early Sunday morning, to a domestic dispute in the village of Downsville. Deputies arrested 33 year-old Amandamarie Herzog of Downsville for harassment, 2 counts of endangering welfare of child, 1 count of criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation and 2 felony counts of criminal mischief. Herzog was arraigned virtually & was released in her own recognizance & will appear in the Town of Colchester Court on a later date, an order of protection was issued for the victim.

Delaware County Sheriff's deputies conducted a traffic-stop on State Route 8 in Masonville on last Monday, October 19th, that resulted in the arrest of 39 year-old Thomas Kamp, of Honesdale, Pennsylvania, for 1 count of aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle & speed exceeding 55 miles per hour. Kamp was directed to appear in the Town of Masonville Court on a later date to answer the charges.

A.M. NEWS MONDAY 10-26-20

State Police responded Friday Afternoon to a fatal crash on State Highway 206 in Triangle. 21 year old Kimberly Burdick of Whitney Point was passing 2 vehicles when she came upon 2 motorcycles traveling eastbound, the operator of 1 motorcycle was able to take evasive action, swerve and lay his bike down, he was transported to Wilson Hospital for non-life threatening injuries and has since been released. The operator of a 2nd motorcycle 49 year old Shane Poklemba of Endwell was struck by the Burdick vehicle & was pronounced dead on scene. Burdick and two children in her vehicle were not injured. The investigation is on-going, Alcohol is not believed to be a factor in the crash.

The Broome County Health Department continues to have its COVID 19 numbers increase, highlighted by an over 5% positivity rate in their Yellow Zone Micro-Cluster. They report 3216 cases, they are up to 93 deaths, 2561 recoveries & over 4600 are being monitored.

Otsego County Department of Health announed that they had 19 cases of COVID 19 reported over the weekend, 9 of the cases are college students. The County now has 975 total confirmed cases, with 36 active cases, 1 hospitalization, 7 deaths, 751 cases linked to SUNY Oneonta & 30 confirmed cases in Hartwick College students

The Broome County Health Department reported 83 more positive cases of COVID 19 since Tuesday, bringing their total to 1610 cases, they still report 82 deaths, 1285 recoveries and 1157 people are being monitored by the health department, following the latest cluster reported in Binghamton last weekend.

The town of New Berlin will hold a public hearing at 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday, October 13th at the New Berlin Town Office at 30 North Main Street, to discuss possible cuts to the town budget, including saving about $180,000 dollars by eliminating their Town Police Department.  Municipalities around the state are waiting to see if New York State will receive any federal aid because of the COVID 19 pandemic, New York has lost about 20% of their revenue stream since March.

Village of Delhi Police Department arrested 32-year-old Sheila Thompson and 32-year-old Kyle Alverson of Delhi, each of them being charged with Unlawfully Growing Cannabis and 6 counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child. Thompson and Alverson were released with appearance tickets directing them to appear in Delhi Town Court to answer the charges at a later date.

Delaware County Sheriff's Deputies  & Downsville Fire & EMS were dispatched to a roll-over accident on County Highway 7 in the Town of Colchester that was reported by “On-Star”.   19-year-old Parker Rosencranse of Roscoe lost control of his vehicle which ran off the roadway, into a ditch and overturned.  Rosencranse was arrested and charged with the DWI, failure to keep right, moving from lane unsafely, unauthorized sticker, among other charges, Rosencranse was released on traffic summonses directing him to appear in the Town of Colchester Court on a later date to answer the charges. Rosencranse & an unidentified passenger were not injured.

With cold weather just around the corner, customers will be firing up furnaces and other appliances for the first time this season. NYSEG officials urge the public to recognize the potential signs of a natural gas leak and review the following safety tips about what do if a leak is suspected.

(Ridge Harris 10-1-20)

NYSEG officials report that you should leave immediately & call NYSEG at 1-800-572-1121 from a safe location, Do not smoke or operate electrical switches or appliances, as those items may produce a spark that  might ignite the natural gas and cause an explosion.

A.M. NEWS Thursday 10-1-20

Otsego County Department of Health reported 4 new cases of COVID 19 Wednesday, all 4 were SUNY Oneonta students, and also 3 cases were reported in SUNY students that had not previously been reported.  Otsego County reports 893 total confirmed cases, 17 are active cases with 1 hospitalization, there have been 7 deaths.   722 cases are linked to the SUNY Oneonta outbreak, 19 confirmed cases in Hartwick College students

Chenango County Health Department announced that they will have 3 Drive-through rabies clinics this year.  The next one will be in Bainbridge at General Clinton Park Today from 9:00 to 11:00, one is also scheduled at the Sherburne Earlville High School bus garage on October 31st from 9:00 to 11:00 and another will be held at the South New Berlin Fire Station on December 5th from 9:00 to 11:00, Pre-Registration is Required at health.ny.gov/go2clinic/9 or by calling 337-1673.

State Police responded to a report of a wrong-way driver on State Highway 17 in the city of Binghamton Tuesday. Broome County 911 received numerous calls of a vehicle traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes which sideswiped a tractor trailer. Police said that an 86-year-old woman was traveling the wrong way in the passing lane directly into the path of a tractor trailer who took evasive action but was unable to completely miss the vehicle. No injuries were reported. The accident remains under investigation.

Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested a Town of Tompkins man on charges for violating of an order of protection violation and animal cruelty. Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies were investigating a complaint of animal cruelty by a male residing in the Town of Tompkins, A 2nd complaint was then filed by a female victim alleging the male had violated an order of protection by contacting the protected party. Deputies arrested and charged 30-year-old Christopher Baird of Tompkins for criminal contempt, harassment & 4 counts of torturing and injuring animals. Baird was released on appearance tickets, returnable to the Town of Colchester Court at a later date.

The State DEC announced that the State has expanded its Drought Watch to the Southern Tier region. Residents must monitor usage and avoid wasting water, by fixing dripping and leaking faucets and toilets, raise lawn mower cutting height as longer grass needs less water; water lawns less frequently and Sweep sidewalks and steps rather than hosing them. More water saving tips are available at the DEC's webpage.

The National Transportation Safety Board found violations were made by Prestige Limousine, The State DOT, The State Department of Motor Vehicles, and State Police related to the crash which killed 20 people on October 6th 2018 in Schoharie. The NTSB determined the probable causes of the crash were the total disregard for safety by Prestige Limousine by dispatching a limo with an out of service order. Other contributing factors were oversights made by the DOT and DMV, & the State Police had sufficient evidence to stop the company from operating prior to the crash but failed to take action. A criminal investigation led to charges for Nauman Hussain, the operator of Prestige Limo.

P.M. NEWS THURSDAY 8-27-20

The Broome County Sheriff’s Department announced the arrest of Caleb Casteline of Apalachin for the fatal stabbing of Q-Quan Richardson of Binghamton, at a party in Endwell Wednesday.  Casteline was charged with 2nd degree murder and faces court action on the charge shortly.

The Delhi Village Police Department executed a search warrant on August 21st at 219 Main Street; they seized concentrated cannabis in a variety of forms, as well as LSD, cocaine, marijuana, oxycodone, packaging materials & $1,500 cash from suspected drug sales.  Delhi Police arrested 20-year-old Alana Blaustein of Delhi & 22-year-old Connor Guiseppone of Delhi on a variety of drug charges, both were arraigned in Delhi Town Court where & were released on their own recognizance pending future court action.

Utica Firefighters were called to a massive fire at the former CharlesTown Mall in Utica.    Firefighters from the Utica & surrounding Fire Departments responded at about 1:30 this morning, Utica city officials are advising residents in the eastern sections of the city to remain indoors with their windows shut due to the high winds whipping the smoke & ash around from the blaze.

The State Health Department announced another 791 positive COVID 19 cases on Wednesday statewide after over 83,000 tests were administered.  490 were hospitalized for the virus, 4 deaths were reported, bringing the state death toll to 25,309.

Delaware County Sheriff's Deputies arrested a New York City man Tuesday following a property damage accident on County Highway 26 in the Town of Colchester.  23-year-old Evian Camacho of New York City had a suspended driver’s license, for failure to answer summonses in both Bronx and New York counties and for failure to pay a State DMV driver responsibility assessment.    Camacho was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and moving from a lane unsafely.  Camacho was released and directed to appear in the Town of Colchester Court on a later date.

A variety of severe weather warnings have been issued throughout the region this afternoon, as severe weather pounded the region.  Meteorologist Rich Townsend comments:

(Rich Townsend 8-27-20)

A Tornado watch remains in effect through 7:00 PM throughout the WCDO Listening area .

Otsego County Department of Health is investigating 9 cases of coronavirus reported Wednesday, 5 of the cases are SUNY Oneonta students. The other 4 cases have been associated with a gathering of high school students. All cases are have been investigated and contacts are being notified.  Currently, Otsego County now reports 128 total confirmed cases, with 15 active cases, 1 person is hospitalized.  The Otsego County Health Department is holding another free COVID 19 testing this morning from 9:00 AM to 12:00 NOON at the former "Greenies" site on state route 7 in Otego, This testing site is for Otsego County residents only who preregister by calling 547-4279.

The Broome County Sheriff's department arrested 25 year old Keenan Johnson of the town of Chenango twice Tuesday.  Johnson reportedly had a dispute with his girlfriend, he was confronted by neighbors & displayed a handgun, he fled the scene, was located by deputies & was charged with Menacing and Criminal Possession of Marijuana before being released on an appearance ticket, he was arrested a short time after his release at the girlfriends residence, fled on a Motorcycle the chase was terminated due to public safety concerns.  Additional charges against Johnson are pending.

The State Health Department announced that there were 608 new positives for COVID 19 Sunday, about 1% of all tested, bringing the state total since March up to 412,344.  There were 11 deaths reported Sunday, bringing the state death toll to 25,117.

Broome County Health Department reported that they are up to 932 positive COVID 19 cases Sunday, they report 64 deaths, 722 recoveries & 659 people are being monitored by the Health Department

Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies conducted a traffic safety check on County Highway 7 in the Town of Colchester Friday, During the detail, 42-year-old Kris Rose of Monticello was stopped for having an expired inspection, the investigation revealed that Rose’s license plates were suspended and switched from another vehicle & his driving privileges in New York were suspended.  Rose was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and operating a motor vehicle with a suspended registration, along with several other violations, he was directed to appear in the Town of Colchester Court on a later date.

Otsego County Health Department reported 3 new cases, they are up to 96 total confirmed cases, with 12 active cases, 3 are hospitalized, 79 have recovered, and there have been 5 deaths.

Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies & DEP Police responded July 7th to a 1 car accident near the intersection of State Highway 206 and Wilson Hollow in the Town of Colchester, the vehicle was not occupied, but Deputies located 33-year old Brian Hartwell of Bainbridge walking on State Highway 206.  Hartwell lost control of his vehicle and struck a highway sign and drainage ditch when he swerved to avoid a deer, he left the scene as he had been driving in violation of his conditional license.  Deputies discovered that Norwich Police Department held an arrest warrant for Hartwell for criminal contempt.  Hartwell was charged with a number of traffic offenses, & for the Norwich charge, he was turned over to the Norwich Police Department.

Otsego County Department of Health announced that they have had 4 new cases of COVID 19 reported in last few days.  They have had 89 total confirmed cases, 10 active cases with 2 hospitalized, 74 recoveries, 5 deaths,

The Watershed Agricultural Council will be sponsoring their 4th annual blood drive from 12:00 to 5:00 pm today at the Walton Fire Department, 59 West Street, Walton. Appointments are requested at redcrossblood.org.

The Chenango County Department of Public Works will close County Road 9 today between Page Road and Gardner Road in the Town of Greene, for the replacement of large twin culvert crossing under County Road 9.  This closure shall be in place from the stated date of closure until the twin culvert replacement project on County Road 9 is complete.  There shall be NO ON-SITE DETOUR. The traveling public is asked to seek alternative routes. Local traffic shall be allowed access to their homes, on each side of project.

The State Health Department announced that the Coronavirus total since Early March was over 381,000, about 2000 people are hospitalized, and just fewer than 24,500 have died.

State Police arrested 2 teenagers from Delaware County after they engaged in 2 separate vehicle pursuits with troopers.  A 16-year-old was charged with Criminal Possession of Stolen Property, Grand Larceny, and 2 counts of Fleeing an Officer in a Motor Vehicle, a 17-year-old was arrested for Criminal Possession of Stolen Property & Grand Larceny.  Troopers were advised of an erratic driver on I-88 near Unadilla, Troopers attempted to make a traffic stop, the vehicle failed to comply, accelerated off the Interstate at exit 10 and on to State Highway 7 in Unadilla.  Another trooper attempted to stop the vehicle on State Highway 7 when the vehicle went off the roadway and struck a tree, the juveniles fled on foot & were spotted in another vehicle on State Route 7, and they failed to comply but were taken into custody at the Speedway at State Routes 7 and 8.  The 1st vehicle was stolen from the town of Downsville, the 2nd from the village of Unadilla; both teens were virtually arraigned and were released to legal guardians.

Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a property damage accident on State Highway 206 in the Town of Colchester Thursday.  38-year-old Alan Moore of Walton apparently he fell asleep at the wheel on State Route 206, lost control of his vehicle, it overturned before coming to rest in a ditch.  Moore was not injured in the accident, he did not possess a New York Driver’s license and had 9 active suspensions, he was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, failure to keep right, operating out of class among other charges, and he will appear in the Town of Colchester Court at a later date.

Delaware County reported no new cases of COVID-19 Thursday and no additional recoveries. To date there have been 79 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19, 17 people quarantined, 2 are in the hospital, 6 are isolated at home, 5 people have died and 66 have fully recovered.