WCDO Radio News

The South New Berlin, New Berlin, Mt. Upton, Gilbertsville and Sidney Fire Departments responded to a structure fire at 1265 County Road 18 in Mount Upton last night around 7:30. First crews found a fully involved structure fire, Crews knocked the fire down, and the investigation is continuing.

6 Sidney area residents were arrested on drug trafficking charges Friday evening by members of the Delaware County Sheriff's Office, Sidney Village Police Department and State Police, following a 5 month investigation, and the execution of a search warrant Friday. Arrested were 43 year old Gabriel Bonacci, on 2 counts of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance, for Heroin, 27 year old Rene Hurlburt of Unadilla, for Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance for Cocaine. Also arrested was 64 year old Donna Bonacci of Sidney for Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to sell for the intended sale of cocaine, heroin, prescription drugs & marihuana. Police also charged 53 year old Belinda Davis of Sidney on 3 counts of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance for allegedly selling Oxycodone, 32 year old Randal Babcock of Sidney for Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance for allegedly selling Xanax & 34 year old Chad Walters of Mount Upton for Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance. All werearraigned & were remanded to the Delaware County Jail without bail, additional arrests & drug charges are pending.

State Police & Vestal Police arrested 21 year old Kenneth Godfrey of Binghamton for Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance with intent to sell. Members of CNET and the Vestal Police Department executed a search warrant on Godfrey, his vehicle and residence last Wednesday, seizing 371 envelopes of heroin, & cash. Godfrey was arraigned in City Court and remanded to the Broome County Jail without bail.

YES! Safe Choices for Kids, from Senator Libous and Lourdes, will host over 500 students from across the Southern Tier at their YES! Ignites Training today at the Binghamton DoubleTree from 8:30 AM to 1:30 PM. YES! Leaders are trained to provide substance abuse prevention education to elementary school students, from Afton, Bainbridge-Guilford, Chenango Valley, Norwich, Windsor & other Broome & Chenango County school districts. Senator Libous will kick off the opening session with introductory remarks.

A candlelight vigil will be held today in honor of State Trooper Christopher Skinner at 6:00 PM at Port Dickinson Community Park. The event is organized by the town and by State Police Troop C, & is open to the public. Trooper Skinner had pulled over a car May 29 on I-81 in Chenango Bridge, he was out of his patrol vehicle & hit by a white truck allegedly driven by Almond Upton of Melrose, Florida. Upton has been indicted on 11 charges, including 1st degree murder.

The National Weather Service in Binghamton has developed a website to help you determine if you will be at risk of flooding up to three days in advance. Officials said knowing the flood stages of the rivers are the first step in being prepared. Using the tool you can figure out what level the river has to be at for it to flood your home. To visit the new flood tool go to weather.gov/bgm.

Several local fire companies responded to the fire at the Hillcrest roller Rink on West Main Street in Sidney last night. Fire fighters from Sidney, Wells Bridge, Deposit, Mount Upton, Walton, Trout Creek, Oneonta, Unadilla, Masonville, Franklin & Bainbridge responded to the fire, which was called out at about 11:30 PM. Sidney Fire Chief Greg peck told WCDO News that the cause of the fire is undetermined:

(Peckfire)

Peck said the Hillcrest fire fell on the same date as the Whitaker’s fire in Sidney in 2007.

Binghamton University broke ground on their new $70 million dollars Smart Energy Research & Development facility this morning, at the Innovative Technologies Complex. The 114,00 square foot building will house the Harpur college of Arts & Sciences physics & chemistry departments, research will focus on energy efficient technologies including making solar power more economically competitive, reducing and using thermal energy generated by computers and other electronic device.

Democratic Gubernatorial Primary Candidate, Zephyr Teachout will appear at 5:15 PM today in front of the Court House at 92 Court Street in downtown Binghamton. Teachout is seeking to unseat Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary on September 9th. Teachout is a Law Professor at Fordham University in the Bronx and opposes Hydraulic fracturing.

Anndrea Starzak will host a party to celebrate the opening of her new campaign headquarters. Anndrea will address supporters on how she will bring good jobs, good schools, and good government back to the Southern Tier. The Official Office Opening Party is today 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm at the Starzak for Senate Headquarters at 352 Clinton Avenue in Binghamton.

Several area fire companies responded to a fire at the Hillcrest Roller Rink on West Main Street in Sidney overnight. Firefighters from Sidney, Wells Bridge, Deposit, Mount Upton, Walton, Trout Creek, Oneonta, Unadilla, Masonville, Franklin and Bainbridge responded to the fire, which was reported at around 11:40. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

60-year-old Almond Upton of Florida pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and 10 other charges in Broome County Court this morning.  Upton is accused of intentionally swerving on northbound Interstate 81 & hitting Trooper Christopher Skinner, who was conducting an unrelated traffic stop on the side of the highway.  Upton is charged with 1st degree murder, 2 counts of 2nd degree Assault, 3 counts of criminal mischief & 5 counts of reckless driving, he faces court action again on August 29th.

Chenango county Sheriff’s Deputies and New Berlin Police arrested Michael Gincerowski of Binghamton for Felony DWI, Refusal to submit to a breath test, Open container in a motor vehicle and leaving the scene for a property damage accident following an investigation where Gincerowski allegedly struck a vehicle at the Unadilla Race Track in the Town of Columbus and left the scene. New Berlin Police located the vehicle on State Hwy 8 in the Town of New Berlin and determined Gincerowski was operating a motor vehicle in an intoxicated condition, he was arraigned in the Town of New Berlin court and remanded to the Chenango County Jail pending future court action.

State Police in Binghamton arrested 27 year old Shakira Garner of Freeport, Long Island on 5 counts of 3rd degree Grand Larceny, 2 counts of 4th degree Grand Larceny 4th, 9 counts of Forgery, 2 counts of Identity Theft & Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument.  Garner is accused of fraudulently opened accounts at both the Visions and State Employee Federal Credit Unions, & stealing a total of $25,000.00 from the two credit unions.  She was arrested on a Town of Chenango arrest warrant in Nassau County, she was transported back to the Town of Chenango Court for arraignment and then was remanded to the Broome County Jail without bail set at this time.

Otsego Express is providing public transportation service on a new route, known as Route 14.  The new route will provide public transportation service between Oneonta, Morris, Gilbertsville, Mt. Upton, and New Berlin, five days per week. The schedule can be found at www.otsegoexpress.com or call 800-388-9853 for more information.

60-year-old Almond Upton of Florida was indicted in Broome County Court on 11 charges, including 1st degree murder.  Upton is accused of killing State Trooper Christopher Skinner during a May 29th traffic stop, Upton intentionally struck Skinner with a pickup truck while the trooper was conducting a routine traffic stop on I-81. Upton will also be arraigned on the indictment in Broome County Court.

Firefighters from South New Berlin, Mount Upton, Norwich & New berlin responded to a structure fire at 2364 State Highway 8 in the town of Norwich.   Initial reports suggested that one person may have been trapped inside, that was later confirmed as false. Emergency crews shut down route 8 for about 4 hours.

Norwich Police arrested 4 people on a variety of drug charges, following the execution of a search warrant at 23 Silver Street Thursday.  Police confiscated crack, heroin, and other drug paraphernalia, arrested were 23 year old Rodney MacLaury of Norwich, 17 year old Kamiel Fleury or Binghamton, 25 year old Amanda Strozier of Norwich for various felony drug charges,  & 33 year old Kevin Dunmire of Norwich for Loitering for purpose of using controlled substances.    Maclaury, Fleury, and Strozier were taken to the Norwich Police lock-up, until their scheduled arraignments in Norwich City Court, Dunmire was released on appearance ticket for city court on July 1.

Several area schools will hold their high school graduation exercises on Saturday & Sunday this year.  Commencement exercises will begin at 10:00 AM in Sidney, Harpursville, Greene, Norwich, Walton and Delhi, 10:30 at Gilbertsville Mount Upton, 10:45 at Oneonta, 2:00 PM for Unadilla Valley and 7:00 PM for Bainbridge Guilford.  On Sunday, Edmeston’s Graduation will start at 1:00 PM, and Cooperstown’s at 1:30.

A gun buyback will be held by the state attorney general’s office Saturday in Binghamton.  Officials will be accepting working and non-working, unloaded firearms in exchange for compensation on site, at the VFW at 65 Carroll Street in Binghamton, from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM.

The man accused of intentionally hitting and killing State Trooper Christopher Skinner did not appear in court today. 60-year-old Almond Upton of Melrose, Florida waived his right to a preliminary hearing, which had been scheduled in Town of Chenango court today. Upton is charged with 1st degree murder, for allegedly hitting Trooper Skinner intentionally with his truck on I-81 last Thursday. Upton could face life in prison without parole.

State Police announced the arrest of 60-year-old Almond Upton of Florida, for 1st degree murder for the death of Trooper Christopher Skinner on I-81 in the Town of Chenango Thursday afternoon. Troop C Commanding Officer Major Donald Faughnan accused Upton of veering intentionally from the left lane, hitting 2 cars stopped on the right shoulder & intentionally striking Trooper Skinner, killing him instantly. Upton fled into the woods, & was apprehended after an hour, he was not visibly intoxicated, and was not wearing any clothing.   Upton was arraigned in Town of Chenango Court on 1 count of 1st degree Murder, he was sent to the Broome County Jail without bail.

UPDATE ON TROOPER DEATH IN BROOME COUNTY

60 year old Almond Upton of Florida charged with 1st degree murder following the death of Trooper Christopher Skinner on I-81 in the town of Chenango this afternoon. Troop C commanding officer Major Donald Faughnan said that Upton veered intentionally from the left lane, hit 2 cars stopped on the right shoulder & intentionally struck trooper Skinner, killing him instantly. He fled into the woods, & was apprehended after an hour, he was not visibly intoxicated, and was not wearing any clothing.   Upton was being held pending future court action, I-81 remains closed for the accident reconstruction team to gather evidence.

Sidney Village Police department arrested 6 people following a lengthy narcotics investigation. Charged were 37-year-old Richard Swislosky of Sidney, 30-year-old Stacey Dibble of Bainbridge, 56-year-old Bradley Winner of Mount Upton, 44-year-old Louella Schoener & 31 year old Rebecca Schoener of Greene and Mary Cutting of Unadilla on a variety of drug charges. All were arraigned in Delaware county court & were remanded to the Delaware county jail without bail pending future court action.

The South New Berlin Fire Department responded to a house fire on State Highway 23, at around 4:00 this morning. Fire fighters from Morris, New Berlin, Norwich & Mount Upton assisted South New Berlin firefighters at the scene.   Firefighters remained on the scene into the late morning hours, more details are expected to be released after investigators work to determine the cause of the fire.

SCHOOL BUDGET VOTES 5-20-14

School Budget Votes May 2014:

Sidney Central School: Budget approved 186 to 58, Sidney Library Budget passed.

Walton Central School District: Budget approved 597 to 380

Deposit School Budget passed- 275 in favor, 100 Opposed, Voters approve of Bus Purchases & Land Acquisition.

Afton Central School District: Yes: 142 No: 64 Bus proposition also passed

Bainbridge-Guilford Budget - passed - Yes-205; No-94 Bus Proposition Passed.

Greene Central School District: Budget Votes: Yes: 181 No: 73

Unadilla Valley Voters approved budget, school bus & library budgets, elected Victoria Gregory, Richard Potter and Kimberly Murray to school board.

Norwich City School District: Budget approved 335 to 104

Oxford Academy Budget passed 201 to 59. Bus Purchase & Library Appropriation propositions passed. Board of Education Vote: Julie Gates -196, Eugene Rood 172.

Unatego Budget passed 161-59

Laurens budget vote was 163 Yes and 40 No. The bus passed 184 Yes and 17 No.

Gilbertsville Mount Upton Budget vote: Yes: 161     No: 52

Oneonta City School District: Yes: 657 No: 158, Amy Burnsworth and Daniel Buttermann were elected to school Board to 3-year terms.

Morris school Budget approved 145 to 53

Harpursville School District: Budget approved 169 to 66

Windsor School District budget approved 366 to 100

Firefighters from Masonville, Sidney, Walton, Trout Creek, Sidney Center, Bainbridge, Deposit & Mount Upton fire companies responded to a fire at the Briggs residence on state route 8 between Sidney & Masonville.   The fire was reported at about 8:30 Thursday morning, officials said that the house suffered fire, smoke & water damage, no one was home when the fire broke out, no injuries among firefighters were reported. The cause of the blaze is under investigation.

Crews from several fire departments responded to a fire at 459 Keech Road in Guilford, at about 1:15 this morning.   Crews from Mount Upton, Norwich, Oxford and South New Berlin assisted the Guilford Fire Department, with no injuries reported.  Chenango County Fire Investigators will look into the cause of the fire today.

State Police from Sidney arrested 37-year-old Bryan Ohara of Mount Upton for 2nd degree Criminal Contempt.  Ohara is accused of violating a court order of protection by initiating unwanted communication with the protected party.  Ohara was arraigned in the town of Guilford Court and remanded to jail in lieu of $30,000 cash bail or $100,000 secured bond.

Congressman Chris Gibson will be at Cobar Dairy Farm in Mount Upton today to discuss the impact of the recent Farm Bill on dairy and family farms.  The farm bill was passed by congress 2 weeks ago and was signed into law by President Obama on February 7th; it covers federal farm policy for the next 5 years.

The American Red Cross is holding a Blood Drive today at the Gilbertsville-Mount Upton School.  The drive runs until 7:00 PM, appointments are requested at 1-800-RED CROSS OR REDCROSSBLOOD.ORG.

State police arrested 33-year-old Bobbie Jo Nye of Mount Upton on a charge of 4th degree arson.  Troopers accuse Nye of setting a bag of cat excrement on fire on the front porch of a residence in Guilford on December 27th.  Nye was arraigned & was sent to the Chenango county jail on $5,000 cash bail pending future court action.

The Binghamton Senators home game this Saturday, January 11th versus Adirondack will feature a post game jersey auction for B-Sens player jerseys worn during Saturday night's game. Binghamton Senators Owner Tom Mitchell explains:

(Tom Mitchell 1-7-14)

Mitchell said that Tickets are selling rapidly for this event; they can be purchased at the Broome County Arena box office, through the Senators main Office at 722-7367 or at binghamtonsenators.com.