WCDO Radio News

Fire fighters from New Berlin, Norwich North Norwich Sherburne, Edmeston Garrettsville & Mount Upton responded to a fire at the Ken Tuttle Jr. farm on Balcom road early Wednesday morning. Fire investigators believe that the fire started due to an electrical short. Livestock was removed, no injurious were reported.

The State Department of Health has been notified of a laboratory confirmed case of mumps at SUNY Oswego and another at SUNY Plattsburgh. The case at SUNY Oswego is likely associated with a mumps outbreak in Long Island, where 45 cases of mumps have been confirmed. The source of the SUNY Plattsburgh case is under investigation. Students, who are susceptible to mumps because they have not been vaccinated because they have religious or medical exemptions, have been told they will be excluded from campus for 26 days after the last possible exposure if they do not get vaccinated. Mumps is a highly contagious viral disease characterized by fever, headache and swelling of the salivary glands. Mumps cannot be treated, however two doses of the MMR vaccine provide the best protection against the disease. More information about the mumps is available at health.ny.gov.

The Southern Tier Chapter of the American Red Cross and Preferred Mutual will be hosting a Home Fire Preparedness canvassing event in Norwich. American Red Cross staff and Preferred Mutual volunteers will be visiting residents on Conkey Avenue, Sheldon Street, and Canasawacta Street, installing free smoke detectors for those homes in need. The event will be this Saturday, from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, starting at the Norwich Fire Department at 31 East Main Street.

THE OTSEGO COUNTY HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT IS GIVING AWAY FREE EVERGREEN TREES between 2 to 10 feet high. COUNTY RESIDENTS CAN PICK UP TREES today, tomorrow & as well as Friday September 23rd & Saturday September 24th from 8:00 am to Noon, at the County Highway 11 Town of Laurens “Bone yard”. More information is available at 547-0538 or 547-4225.

New York State Electric & Gas are making headway in returning power to those who were affected by these weekends’ storms. In Chenango County NYSEG reported that power outages affected just under 700 this afternoon, the majority of affected customers were in New Berlin, Norwich & North Norwich. Otsego County had about 1000 customers without power, scattered through the middle & northern townships. Delaware County had all power restored this afternoon.

The Delaware County Fair opens today at the fairgrounds in Walton. Fair Spokesman John Jackson told WCDO News that the new "Hay Hauling" event looks like it would become a staple at the fair:

(John Jackson 8-15-16)

The hay-hauling event will be held Friday morning at 10:00 AM at the Delaware county fair.

NYSEG is reporting that hundreds are still without power this morning following the damaging weekend storms. Chenango County had over 1100 without power late this morning, mainly in Norwich, New Berlin & Preston. In Otsego County, over 1300 were without power, scattered mainly in the middle & northern sections, Delaware County had a little over 100 without power, mostly around Andes and Downsville. NYSEG opened a distribution center at the Norwich Fire Department and is handing out free bottled water.

The New York State Health Department today announced that the more than 2.8 million people signed up for health insurance through the end of the 2016 open enrollment period on January 31, 2016. The data show that enrollment in the Marketplace increased by 33 percent, or nearly 700,000 enrollees from the previous enrollment period; 92 percent of those enrolled through the Marketplace report that they did not have health insurance at the time they applied.

State Office of General Services Commissioner RoAnn Destito today announced that OGS is hosting a free training seminar meant to familiarize local governments, schools, and nonprofit organizations with the use of new state contracts. The all-day training is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, August 24 at the Binghamton State Office Building. During the event, purchasing officials will receive a general overview on how to use new OGS contracts. To register for the training or learn more about upcoming training opportunities visit www.nyspro.ogs.ny.gov/roadshow.

A state appeals court has ordered a new trial for 41-year-old Ganesh Ramsaran of New Berlin, who was previously convicted for the murder of his wife Jennifer in 2012. The state Appellate Division's Third Department cited legal errors such as a failure by the defense to object to the prosecution's description of DNA evidence and testimony during the trial, and that Ramsaran’s attorney gave a "confusing and inept summation" to jurors at the end of the trial. The case will be sent back to Chenango County Court for a new trial.

Oneonta Police, along with State Police, & Delaware County Sheriff’s Department, arrested 2 people on drug charges after serving a search warrant at the Budget Inn on State Route 23. Police arrested 24-year-old Dale Rogers of Brooklyn & 26-year-old Rameara Sample of Brooklyn, for Criminal possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell. Police Confiscated 30 bags of heroin, 23 bags of crack cocaine, both were held at the Oneonta Police Department lock up pending arraignment in the Town of Oneonta Court.

The State DEC has unveiled 2 new tools that will help rookie and veteran freshwater anglers improve their skills. DEC has developed a new instructional manual entitled "The I FISH NY Beginners' Guide to Freshwater Fishing." The new manual is part of a series of publications DEC has produced recently designed to get more people involved in the sport of fishing in New York State. The I FISH NY Beginners' Guide to Freshwater Fishing manual can be downloaded at DEC.NY.GOV.

A house in Masonville exploded last night & fire erupted, injuring at least 2 people. The explosion was reported at 3949 state highway 206, 3 people were inside when the explosion occurred. Fire departments from surrounding communities responded Life Net took 1 injured person to Wilson Hospital in Johnson City; one other person suffered a broken arm. The fire started around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, The cause of the explosion and fire are still under investigation.

Governor Cuomo announced that the State of New York is on track to reduce the number of new HIV infections to just 750 by the end of 2020 and achieve the first-ever decrease in HIV prevalence. The number of New Yorkers with HIV at detectable levels decreased by approximately 10 percent between 2013 and 2014, and as a result, two-thirds of those with diagnosed HIV now have virus levels that are undetectable. The information comes from the latest data produced by the New York State Department of Health and also shows that the number of new HIV infections has fallen to fewer than 2,500, a record low.

Binghamton Senators Executive Vice President of Operations, Tom Mitchell, addressed the media Wednesday at the Arena, he squashed rumors that the team was being relocated to Canada, that the team has added several new staff positions in the front office, and the office setting itself will be completely renovated, he said that Discussions are currently taking place with Broome County to extend the lease 6 years through the 2021-22 season.

Governor Cuomo’s START-UP New York program is under fire, following the release of a report that claims that New York State has spent over 50 million dollars to advertise the program, that has only created 408 new jobs in the past two years. The program calls for incentives such as a ten-year tax-free location to the state by existing or new businesses, the program started slowly in its first year, last year is created 334 jobs. Empire State Development officials released a report Friday, they expect the program to create more than 4,100 new jobs by the end of 2020.

Oneonta Police announced that a threat of terrorist activities in Oneonta by ISIS, from a man in Georgia, was not credible. Police said that that state & federal law enforcement investigators contacted Matthias Czako of Cumming Georgia, who claimed on various social media, that Isis was attack Oneonta during the July 4th Fireworks display following a baseball Game with the Oneonta Outlaws. Oneonta Police reported no issues at the July 4th Celebration; Czako retracted his announcement based on cracking various biblical codes, following the FBI investigation.

The Town of Unadilla Highway Department announced that Alton Deforest Road would be closed on Wednesday. Officials announced that the road closure would be from 6:30 AM to 4:30 PM.

The Chenango County Sheriff’s Office investigated a 2 car fatal motor vehicle crash on County Road 29 in the Town of New Berlin. Vehicle 1 was operated by 19-year-old Matthew Collins of Plymouth, when it crossed the center line into the path of vehicle 2 being operated by 65 year old John Mckernan of New Berlin, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Collins was not injured; he was charged with Failure to Keep Right and will appear in court at a later date.

The State DOT announced that construction work for the Prospect Mountain construction project would require lane closures in the City of Binghamton. Today Front Street southbound will be reduced to 1 lane for the construction of new bridge piers adjacent to Front Street, also State Route 17 will be reduced to 1 lane between Exits 72 & 71 for overhead sign work & the installment of pavement markings associated with a new, temporary traffic pattern change, which is needed to enable the replacement of the Route 17 West Bridge over Glenwood Road.

The US Department of Defense, Chenango United Way & Commerce Chenango officials held a press conference this afternoon in Norwich, regarding the upcoming Greater Chenango Cares IRT Event in July, where free medical dental, optometry & Veterinary services will again be provided to area residents, while providing training for various military medical professionals. Major Nathan DeVoe Commented about the Military benefit for this event:

(Major DeVoe 6-13-16)

Chenango County Planning Director Donna Jones said that an added bonus this year is that military personnel will also perform various upgrades at the Chenango County Fairgrounds:

(Donna Jones 6-13-16)

The Greater Chenango Care IRT event will be July 15th through the 24th at the Norwich High School. Those interested in volunteering can call the Chenango United Way at 334-8815.

The Chenango County Sheriff’s Office arrested 27-year-old Aaron Cleveland of New Berlin for 2nd degree Criminal Contempt. An office was sent to a Village of New Berlin residence to investigate a separate crime, The deputy discovered that Cleveland was the subject of a temporary order of protection from Town of New Berlin Court, Cleveland was arraigned & was remanded to the Chenango County Correctional Facility on $500 cash bail pending future court action.

The Oneonta Fire Department responded to a cooking fire Thursday night in an apartment at 7 Raymond Avenue. The fire was extinguished quickly; substantial damage to the Kitchen area was reported. The unidentified male occupant of the apartment was taken to Fox Hospital.

Broome County Sheriff’s Department stated that the body of 61-year-old Arthur Gehr of the Town of Union was found by searchers in the area of Zion Hill Road and Route 8 near Steam Mill State Forest in Masonville. Gehr suffered from medical issues and depression, he last spoke to his employer on June 5th and was reported missing June 7th. Authorities say there were no signs of foul play, the cause of death has not been released, & the investigation is considered closed.

The Women’s Fund of the Community Foundation for South Central New York will hold their 12th Annual Women’s Fund Breakfast Thursday at 7:30 am at The Holiday Inn, on Hawley Street, Binghamton. The morning will feature keynote speaker Anzala Alozie, who is the vice president of the Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York. Reservations are requested; Limited seating is still available at 772-6773.

The Deposit Girls Softball team capped off a championship season on Saturday in Glens Falls with a state title. WCDO Sports Director Nate Lull has the story....

(Nate Lull 6-13-16)

In other high school sports news this weekend Sidney's Mallory Stillman finished in 4th place in the 100-meter dash in Division 2 at the New York State Track & Field championships. Stillman also helped the Sidney Girls 4 by 100 meter relay team to an 11th place finish at the meet.

2 Broome county residents have been charged with 2nd degree murder after a New York City man was found dead in Binghamton. A grand jury has handed up an indictment against Ariana Edwards and Bradley Miles, in connection with the murder of Michael Thomas in August 2015. Thomas, of New York City, was found dead in September inside an apartment at 11 Mather Street. Miles will be arraigned on the charges in Broome County Court Thursday.

The Delaware County Sheriff’s Department arrested 38-year-old Elisha Steigmeier of Jefferson, for allegedly performing sexual acts with an inmate while servings as a county corrections officer. Stegmeier resigned his position, he was charged with 3rd degree Criminal sexual act, sexual abuse and official misconduct. The investigation is continuing.

The State Inspector general’s office announced that 27-year-old Timothy Green of South New Berlin pleaded guilty to 3rd degree Grand Larceny in Chenango County court. Green will serve six months in jail and five years under probation supervision. He received pay of more than $39,000 for hours he never worked, at the State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.

The Sidney Village Police Department is asking motorists to stay away from the entrance to Acco Brands at O’Neill Road/Lower River Street today, due to an overturned tractor-trailer truck. Police reported that thousands of pounds of paper fell out of the trailer, and the clean-up is expected to take some time to complete.

State Police investigated the shooting of a school bus from the Harpursville Central School, where a single round struck the driver's side on Colesville Road in the Town of Colesville, The round did not penetrate the bus, and none of the students were injured. The incident was the result of an errant round fired by 1 of 2 subjects who had been lawfully target shooting on their private land, A search of the suspects’ residence was conducted, 22 year old Lucas Alapeck was found to possess a large capacity ammunition feeding device, it was seized and he was arrested for Criminal Possession of a Weapon. Alapeck was arraigned in the Colesville Town Court and released on his own recognizance to reappear at a later date.

Firefighters from Afton responded Tuesday morning to a Structure Fire at 299 Algerine Street. The fire was reported at about 8:00 AM, Afton received Mutual Aid from Coventry, Bainbridge, & Harpursville. Chenango County Fire officials reported that the fire was knocked down quickly, no injuries were reported & the investigation is continuing.

DELAWARE COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES will hold a Free Rabies Vaccination Clinic for dogs, cats, and ferrets on at the Delhi Fire Hall from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM.