WCDO Radio News

Police in Vestal announced that they are seeking 87 year old Charles McGlynn of Vestal, as a missing vulnerable adult. McGlynn suffers from dementia, and may require medical attention, he was last seen Tuesday afternoon at about 3:00PM on Hazel Drive in Vestal, he may be driving a 2009 grey Honda Civic with license plate number ANW-2161, he is described as a white male, 6'1", about 150 pounds, with white hair & a mustache, and blue eyes & wears glasses, he was wearing a white shirt, blue jeans and a blue jacket. Anyone with information is asked to call Vestal Police at 786-7600 or 911.

State Police and the American Red Cross are Co-hosting the 5th annual State Trooper Christopher Skinner Memorial Blood Drive in Kirkwood today. Trooper Skinner was intentionally run down by Almond Upton while he was conducting a traffic stop on I-81 in 2014, a blood drive has been held in Skinner's memory every year since his death. The blood drive today runs from 12:00 Noon until 6:00 PM at the 5 Mile Point Fire Company at 16 Crescent Drive in Kirkwood. The blood drive is open to the public as well as those in Law Enforcement, appointments can be made at redcrossblood.org or at 1-800-red cross.

The Delaware County Chamber of Commerce will hold their next Friday Breakfast event in Walton on January 11th. The event will run from 8:30 to 10:00 am at the Castle on the Delaware 139 Stockton Avenue in Walton. The featured speaker is Perry Dewey, Superintendent at DCMO BOCES, who will talk about on-campus, work-ready training programs for graduating high school seniors and how Delaware County's educational leaders are collaborating with the business community. More information is available at delawarecounty.org.

Former Broome County Family Court Judge Rick Miller has had a lawsuit filed against him by 2 former employees in his office of sexual harassment. The lawsuit claims that Miller subjected the employees to harassing and abusive behavior at least 50 times between 2015 and June of 2017. Miller was removed from the bench in 2016.

Now that Christmas has passed, chenango County residents may wonder how they shoudl dispose of their trees this year. Dustin Hendricks of Chenango County DPW Explains:

(Dustin Hendricks 12-26-18)

Chenango County has 3 solid waste and recycling facilities operated by the Department of Public Works, the Pharsalia Landfill, plus 2 Transfer Stations, 1 in the Town of North Norwich and the other near Brisben.

4 Deposit men have been arrested in connection with a stabbing at the McDonald's on Main Street in Johnson City on December 20th. 2 men were taken to Wilson Hospital with stab wounds, Arrested for 2 counts each of gang assault were 22 year old Dane Edwards, 33 year old Jay Moore, 24 year old Travis Dise & 31 year old Christopher Nugent of Deposit, they were taken into custody without incident and will appear in court at a later date; additional arrests are expected.

Illegally manufactured fentanyl was the driving force behind a 45.2% increase in deaths involving synthetic opioids from 2016 to 2017, according to a new report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In all, there were 70,237 drug overdose deaths in 2017. Opioids were involved in 67.8%, or 47,600 of those deaths. Of those opioid-involved overdose deaths, 59.8% of them, or 28,466, were due to synthetic opioids. A separate report from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics released earlier this month found that in 2016 fentanyl surpassed heroin as the most commonly used drug in overdose deaths in the US.

The state Department of Health announced Thursday that the flu virus is prevalent in New York state. Health care workers, who are not vaccinated, are now required to wear a surgical procedure mask around patients. The department has also launched a flu tracker that allows people to stay up-to-date about flu rates in their county. Department reps say there have been over 3,000 flu cases in the state so far this season

The Otsego County Chamber of Commerce will hold their annual State of The State Breakfast on January 2nd at the SUNY Oneonta Otsego Grille in the Morris Conference Center. The event will begin at 8:30, State Senator Jim Seward & Oneonta Mayor Gary Herzig will be among the guest speakers.

The City of Oneonta Department of Public Service will be replacing a water main valve located on West Ann Street today. Work is to take place starting at 8am with water outages to begin at 9am. Residents on West Ann, Baker, London, Wilcox, and River Street (between Ann and Wilcox) will be without water for the duration of the project. West Ann St will be closed to traffic for the duration of work. Drivers on West Ann Street are advised to move vehicles from driveways prior to 8am. More information is available at 432-2100

The number of Animal Cruelty cases or cases of animal hoarding have spiked recently in the Southern Tier, which creates a difficult situation for area Shelters. Erin Insinga of the Delaware Valley Humane Society told WCDO News that if you know of those situations, the first call is to your local sheriff's department:

(Erin Insinga 12-12-18)

Insinga said that the animals are removed by law enforcement, they get checked by vets and can then be adopted following a brief process, and more information is available at 563-7780.

A Free Christmas Dinner will be available in Sidney this year on Christmas Day at the Sidney Fire Station, organizer Gene Schmidt said that donations & volunteers are needed:

(Gene Schmidt 12-12-18)

Schmidt said that he can be reached at 607-610-4030. This year will be the 6th year that Schmidt & his family have offered the free Christmas dinner.

Almond Upton of Florida has died in Prison, where he was serving time for the murder of State Trooper Christopher Skinner on I-81 In Broome County in May of 2014. Upton was serving his sentence in the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora. Upton claimed he was in a manic state at the time he intentionally ran over Trooper Skinner, who was ocnducting an unrealted traffic stop, Upton was found guilty & was sentecned to life in prison, he died Sunday & the cause of death has not yet been released.

The Department of Environmental Protection announced plans to build a $34 million hydroelectric facility at Cannonsville Reservoir, which should produce enough electricity to power more than 3,500 homes each year. DEP officials announced that they will host 2 public meetings on Friday, one at 9:00 AM at the Deposit State Theater, at 148 Front Street in Deposit, & at 12:30 PM at the Upper Delaware Council office, 211 Bridge Street in Narrowsburg. More information is available at nyc.gov.

Residents in South New Berlin are voting today on a proposed $1.1 million project to purchase property and construct a new fire department building. Voting will be held from 12:00 Noon until 9:00 PM at the South New Berlin Firehouse.

Voters in the Unadilla Valley School District will vote Thursday on a capital improvement project involving heating, parking lots, roof replacement, and auditorium improvements, among many other projects. The project would be paid for through a Capital Reserve Fund & State Aid, the $10 million dollar project vote will be held from 12:00 Noon to 8:00 PM in the District Office lobby Thursday.

Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 21 year old Rebecca Kole of Delancey, for moving from a lane unsafely, DWI, and other charges, following an investigation into a Motor Vehicle accident in the Town of Walton. Kole was later released on traffic tickets and is scheduled to appear at Walton Town Court at a later date to answer the charges.

The City of Oneonta and the Otsego County Conservation Association will be co-sponsoring a talk on the emerald ash borer on today, at 6:30pm. The insect is highly destructive; the first one was discovered in the town of Unadilla in 2014. The free talk will take place at the Otsego County Chamber of Commerce, 189 Main Street, Suite 500; it is free and open to the public. More information is available by calling OCCA at 282-4087.

The City of Oneonta has listed a number of items available for public auction. The items can be viewed & bidded on at publicsurplus.com/sms/oneonta,ny

The Water System Staff in the Mount Upton Water District was notified Tuesday afternoon of a loss of pressure, which may increase the risk of contamination. The Health Department is advising district residents to boil water before drinking or using for food preparation. The repair has been made, and the Water District expects that the Boil Water notice could be cancelled later today after testing.

State Police arrested 58 year old Harold Reid of Mount Upton for Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs and 2 counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance. A trooper was dispatched to a report of a male behaving strangely in his vehicle at the Mirabito on East River Road in Bainbridge, Reid is accused of possessing heroin and suboxone, and he was released on appearance tickets for town of Bainbridge Court on August 16th.

Several area fire companies responded to the report of a fully involved garage & structure fire at 117 River Road in Gilbertville. Firefighters from Gilbertsville, Mount Upton, Unadilla, Sidney, West Laurens, South New Berlin & Morris responded, no injuries were reported. The investigation is continuing.

The New Jersey Devils today named Rick Kowalsky as an assistant coach. Kowalsky had just completed his 8th season as head coach of the AHL Devils in both Albany & Binghamton. Binghamton Devils’ General Manager Tom Fitzgerald stated that a search for the next head coach of the Binghamton Devils is underway.

Jabari Ashe of Binghamton was sentenced to 25 years to life in Prison in Broome County Court for the fatal shooting of Tyquan Gumbs in Binghamton on April 28th of 2017. Ashe was charged with 2nd degree murder, he was found guilty in Broome County Court recently following a 3 day trial.

Graduation Exercises for area high School Seniors will begin this evening, and continue through Sunday afternoon locally. Tonight at 6:30; seniors will graduate from Afton, Charlotte Valley, & Windsor. Commencement exercises scheduled for 7:00 PM tonight will be held at Deposit, Franklin, Hancock, Laurens, Milford, Morris, Oneonta, & Unatego. Saturday Morning Graduations will be held in Sidney, Delaware Academy, Gilbertsville Mount Upton, Greene, Harpursville, Oxford, Norwich, Sherburne Earlville, Saturday afternoon Unadilla Valley seniors will graduate, Saturday night, the Bainbridge Guilford district seniors will graduate & on Sunday Edmeston seniors will graduate.

A.O. Fox Hospital is offering training for individuals interested in becoming junior volunteers. The training is scheduled for Tuesday, July 10, from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm in A.O. Fox Hospital's Education Department. Applicants must be at least 14 years of age, Applications are available in the guidance offices of Oneonta Community Christian School, as well as the Oneonta, Unatego, Charlotte Valley, Franklin, Laurens, Gilbertsville–Mt. Upton, Morris and Edmeston Schools. More information is available at 431-5042.

Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 35 year old Daniel White of Mt. Upton for Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle, use of a Vehicle without an Ignition Interlock Device, Unlawful Possession of Marihuana, plus several other traffic violations, on Circle Drive in the Village of Sidney. White was arraigned at the Village of Sidney Court and remanded to the Delaware County Correctional Facility in lieu of $2500 cash bail. White is scheduled to return to the Village of Sidney Court at a later date to answer the charges.

Broome County Special Investigators seized 200 bags of heroin, drug packaging materials, marijuana and $300 in suspected drug money from a Chenango Street residence in the City of Binghamton. The Broome County Special Investigations Unit (SIU) Task Force on Wednesday executed a search warrant at 66 Chenango Street. Police arrested 38 year old Juan Delacruz of Binghamton on a felony drug possession charge. Delacruz was arraigned in City of Binghamton court and remanded to the Broome County Jail.

Governor Cuomo announced the grand opening of The SBH Binghamton Evaluation Center in Building 1 on the Broome County Developmental Center campus, at 249 Glenwood Road in Binghamton. The facility will include 50 Medically Supervised Withdrawal and Stabilization beds and will operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services is providing $1.5 million in annual operational funding for the program. Syracuse Behavioral Health was selected as the facility operator through a Broome County Request for Proposals process.

No injuries were reported after a pickup truck rear-ended a Gilbertsville-Mount Upton Central School District bus Wednesday afternoon. State Police reported that 2 children and the driver were on the bus when it was hit at about 4:00 PM yesterday, the investigation is continuing, no injuries were reported.

Police in Nicaragua were turning over Orlando Tercero to Judicial Authorities in Nicaragua, they may decide to send Tercero back to Broome County to face charges, in connection with the death of Haley Anderson at Tercero's Binghamton apartment last week. Both Tercero & Anderson were nursing students at Binghamton University & had dated for a short period of time last year. The Broome County District Attorney's Office is working with Binghamton Police in presenting charges against Tercero to a grand jury, if he is indicted, he could be brought back to Binghamton to face charges.

47 year old Kenneth Upton of Mount Vision was indicted on a varoety of drug counts, following an arrest by Oneonta Police for allegedly selling heroin in 2016. Upton was being held in the Otsego County Jail on $10,000 cash bail or $20,000 bond pending future court action.

The Bainbridge Guilford School District received a threat of violence today, BG Superintendent Tim Ryan explains:

(Tim Ryan 2-21-18)

The Gilbertville Mount Upton also had a similar threat emerge this morning, GMU Superintendent Annette Hammond told WCDO that their threat was about a month old from a former student now out of state, State Police responded immediately, and Hammond was planning to meet with district students regarding this threat this afternoon. Police are continuing the investigation into both incidents, several arrests have already been made for threats made to other area districts in the last week, since the Parkland Florida shooting.

State Senator Fred Akshar announced that he will hold a series of “School Safety Summits” with local school superintendents, teachers, students and law enforcement to identify school safety needs. After the initial roundtable with school administrators and law enforcement, Akshar plans on meeting with local teachers and students in the coming weeks. The School Safety Summit will be held on Monday, February 26th at 9:30am at the Binghamton State Office Building, 18th Floor, at 44 Hawley Street.

Voters in the Gilbertsville Mount Upton District passed 2 propositions Tuesday. Voters approved of a measure to purchase a full sized school bus, and for a plan to set up a capital reserve fund for future vehicle purchase.

The Gilbertsville Mount Upton School District voters will decide on 2 propositions today. the 1st proposition asks for approval to use money from a capital reserve fund for the purchase of a full sized school bus, the 2nd propositions asks to set up a reserve fund specifically for vehicle purchase. Voting will be from 12:00 Noon until 8:00 PM at the GMU campus.