WCDO Radio News

40 year old Peter Puglisi of Sidney pleaded guilty to Attempted Burglary in Delaware County Court. An Indictment charged Puglisi with 3rd degree Burglary for unlawfully entering a storage unit in the Village of Sidney on March 24th to steal items located inside, Sidney Police responded, they followed a set of foot tracks leading away from unit, through a creek, and located Puglisi who was wearing the shoes having a tread that matched prints from the storage unit. After conferencing the case, Puglisi pleaded guilty he will likely be sentenced to 1 year in jail & he will also be required to pay restitution in the amount of $3,888.

State Department of Labor today released preliminary local area unemployment rates for June 2024. The State’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held steady at 4.2% in June 2024. Locally, Chenango County had 3.1% unemployment, Delaware County 3.9% & Otsego County 3.8% in June.

A.M. NEWS Tuesday 7-23-24

The National Weather Service has confirmed that storm damage in Lee in Oneida County is consistent with a tornado., as they continue to survey damage in recent weeks across several upstate counties. The total count of tornadoes in New York for July has reached 20.

The Chenango County Sheriff's Office announced Modified visitation procedures for inmate visitation beginning on Saturday, March 12th. Visitors are encouraged to make an appointment for visitation by calling 607-337-1967, Monday through Friday during normal lobby hours. Visitation will be on Saturdays and Sundays ONLY, 2 visitors will be allowed per inmate, for 1 hour. All visitors and inmates will be required to wear a face mask in the facility.

The Town of Sidney will hold an After Hours Open House on Friday March 11th from 5:00 to 7:00 PM at the Town Of Sidney Office Building at 44 Grand Street. Refreshments & tours of the facility will be offered.

New York’s Republican Party leaders nominated Congressman Lee Zeldin as their candidate for governor Tuesday at a convention on Long Island. Zeldin will still face a primary challenge in June, as 4 other candidates are also pushing to be the Republican Gubernatorial nominee.

Governor Cuomo said today that he was disgusted at the actions of Police in Buffalo yesterday during a protest, where an elderly man was knocked to the ground, he hit his head on the ground, and Police walked passed him, even though he was visibly bleeding from the ear:

(Cuomo 6-5-20)

75 year old Martin Gugino of Buffalo is hospitalized in serious but stable condition today, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said that 2 officers have been suspended & the District Attorneys' office is investigating.

Governor Cuomo today announced the state has reached the lowest number of deaths and hospitalizations since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Yesterday, 42 people in New York passed away Thursday due to COVID-19, down from a record-high of 800 from 8 weeks ago. The number of total hospitalizations was down yesterday to 2,728 from a record-high of 18,825 during the peak of the pandemic.   The Governor also confirmed 1,075 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 376,208 confirmed cases since Early March.

With the racial unrest all over the country right now, after the recent murder by Minneapolis Police of George Floyd, Local NAACP President Lee Fisher commented about the tumultuous times we are in:

(Lee Fisher 6-5-20)

Fisher is also a retired boys’ basketball coach. He coached at Davenport for 39 years and has over 500 wins. The Full interview with Lee Fisher is available as Episode 41 of Nate Lull Podcast which can be located at the WCDOSPORTS.Com

Referencing the recent suicides of designer Kate Spade and celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer commented that federal funding of suicide prevention needs to be increased after years of stagnant growth. Schumer said that the 3 most successful suicide prevention programs are The Garrett Lee Smith Suicide Prevention, The Suicide Prevention Lifeline & The GLS Suicide Prevention Resource Center; he said those 3 programs have received $50 million annually combined since 2013 without any increase.

The murder and arson trial of Ernest Franklin has been adjourned until November in Chenango County Court.  Jury selection was scheduled to begin Monday in the murder and arson trial of Ernest Franklin.  Franklin and his wife, Heather were indicted on charges of 2nd-degree murder, arson and tampering with physical evidence in the death of their 16 year old son Jeffrey at their town of Guilford home in March of 2017. The Franklins will face separate trials.

24-year-old Andre Lee of Binghamton was sentenced in Broome County Court to 25 years to life in jail for the July 4th 2015 killing of 19-year old Scott Wright in Binghamton. Lee got into a fight with Wright's friends at a party, he later returned with a gun & fatally shot Wright

The Otsego County Chamber of Commerce announced the 2017 winners of its annual awards. Chosen were A & D Transport Services, Inc., Marie Lusins of Oneonta, Family Planning of South Central New York, and the Otsego Land Trust. The award-winners will be honored March 28th at the Chamber's Annual Spring Dinner at the Hunt Union Ballroom at SUNY Oneonta.

The Otsego County Sheriffs department arrested 20-year-old Eric Ferguson Jr of Oneonta for allegedly selling narcotics and marijuana to undercover officers at the Oneonta Wal-mart parking lot. Ferguson was charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance, the investigation continued and Officers arrested his father, 43 year old Eric Ferguson Sr. & 45 year old Linda Lee Clow, of Oneonta for allegedly supplying the narcotics to his son to sell. Ferguson Sr. was charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance, Clow was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance. All 3 were arraigned & were remanded to the Otsego County Jail on bail pending future court action.

The New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services today announced a new webinar series aimed at educating prescribers about responsible prescribing of opioid medications. The four-part webinar series runs today through March 10th. More information is available at combatheroin.ny.gov or 1-877-8-HOPENY.

Governor Cuomo's girlfriend & Food Network TV Chef Sandra Lee had successful double mastectomy surgery in New York City yesterday. The 48-year-old Lee found out that she had Breast cancer in March, she has urged all woman to get checked regularly for breast cancer.

Governor Cuomo announced today that he is taking some personal time to support his Girlfriend Sandra Lee, as she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Lee is in the early stages of the disease, and faces surgery shortly, Cuomo stated that she had kept her illness private since March & she has decided to speak openly about her illness in order to remind women of the lifesaving power of early detection.

Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested a former Walton area parolee On Monday on a County Court Warrant for failure to appear & failure to pay court ordered restitution. Deputies & State Parole Officers arrested 28-year-old Eric Black of Binghamton at the Parole Office in Binghamton following his scheduled appearance with his assigned Parole Officer. Black was convicted of 3rd degree Burglary; he was released from prison in March 2014, subject to Parole supervision. Black was remanded to the Delaware County Correctional Facility without bail pending County Court action today.

Binghamton police announced that 19 year old Scott Wright of Binghamton died from injuries sustained in a shooting Friday. 21 year old Andre Lee was arrested Friday, for allegedly shooting Wright & hitting another man in the head with a glass bottle.  Lee has been charged with 2nd degree assault, 2nd degree attempted murder & criminal possession of a weapon.  Binghamton Police also charged 21-year-old Tichelle Bethea of Binghamton, with hindering prosecution.  The investigation is ongoing; anyone with information can call Binghamton Police at 772-7080.

29 year old Kyle Whitfield of Smithville has been indicted on manslaughter and assault charges. Whitfield is accused of fatally stabbing  33 year old James Button Jr. of Greene on March 3rd outside Whitfield's home, Button was pronounced dead at the scene. Whitfield was indicted by a grand jury on March 20th for 1st degree manslaughter, 1st degree assault, 2nd degree manslaughter and 2nd degree assault.

Governor Cuomo & state leaders met today to discuss the New York Rising program, to distribute money to areas that needed rebuilding after the string of devastating weather events hit the state over the last 3 years. The Governor Commended local leaders in attendance for their efforts in putting together plans to rebuild their communities:

(Cuomo 4-23-14)

Local counties were awarded millions of dollars through the Regional Councils, for their for infrastructure repairs or replacements following Superstorm Sandy, Tropical Storm Lee & Hurricane Irene since 2011.

The State Labor Department released local area unemployment rates for March.   The state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.9% in March, the number of private sector jobs in the state was 7,539,300, the highest ever for the month. Locally, the Binghamton & Southern Tier region had 7.6% unemployment, down 9/10th from March of last year.

Delaware County Sheriff's Deputies assisted by K-9 “Ozzie” executed a Search Warrant in the Town of Franklin Thursday, at Snake Hill Road.  A search of the property led to the seizure of 7 marihuana plants, several drying marihuana plants, approximately one ounce of processed marihuana, a quantity of hashish, drug paraphernalia and several long guns.   Deputies arrested 33-year-old Lee March of Otego for Criminal Possession of Marihuana and Unlicensed Cultivation of Marihuana; he was arraigned in the Town of Hamden Court and was released on recognizance pending further court action.

Stamford Mayor, 65 year old Michael Jacobs, died unexpectedly Saturday when he collapsed at the annual Delaware County Republican pig roast at the Delaware County Fairgrounds in Walton. Jacobs, a lawyer with Jacobs and Jacobs in Walton, had started his third term in March. He died of a heart attack at Delaware Valley Hospital in Walton. Village Trustrees are meeting this afternoon in Stamford to appoint and acting mayor.

Governor Cuomo’s three straight on-time budgets, which cut more than $13 billion in deficits, raised New York’s credit outlook to positive at Moody’s Investors Service. Moody's Aa2 rating may rise if the legislature can keep passing balanced budgets on time. In March, lawmakers approved a third consecutive spending plan before the April 1 deadline for the first time since 1984.

The State Department of Health announced revisions to the New York City water system’s 2007 Filtration Avoidance Determination have been drafted and will be released for public review and comment. Among the components are watershed protection programs in response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Irene and Lee in 2011. They include provisions for New York City to fund a local flood hazard mitigation program. It also includes an increased number of stream restoration projects.

The pension fund for New York state and local government workers has slipped to $158.7 billion after its most recent quarter. The Common Retirement Fund is reporting a 0.29 percent return on investment for the period ending June 30. It paid out $2.3 billion. Its estimated value was $160.4 billion at the end of March, an all-time high. It pays benefits to more than 400,000 retirees and beneficiaries

Otsego and Chenango counties will receive a total of more than $55,000 in state aid to repair damage caused by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. Gov. Cuomo announced the $1.7 million state funding package on Friday for 13 New York counties, cities and towns to help repair local roads and bridges damaged by the 2011 storms. The additional funding means communities will only be responsible for paying five percent of overall costs to rebuild critical transportation infrastructure. Otsego County will receive $34,880 and Chenango County, $20,760

The State Labor Department released preliminary local area unemployment rates for March. The state's unemployment rate was at 8.1% for March, locally Chenango County improved 6/10ths to 8.6%, Delaware County’s rate dropped 1% to 9.4% and Otsego County’s rate also dropped 1% to 8.2%.

Flood issues are still a major concern for much of the upstate regions affected by hurricane Irene and tropical storm lee in 2011.  assemblyman Pete Lopez said that while hurricane sandy relief is important, upstate residents cannot be forgotten:

(Lopez 4-24-13)

Lopez said that 25% of the calls to his staff are related to the ongoing recovery of the 2 storms from 2011 that devastated much of his assembly district.