WCDO Radio News

P.M. NEWS MONDAY 1-23-23

36 year old Jason Gerhard of Montrose Pennsylvania was found guilty in Broome County Court today for Criminal Possession of a Weapon. State Police responded to a home on Patch Road in the Town of Chenango last February, where Gerhard entered a residence without permission, he was in possession of an illegal handgun & was arrested, at that time, Gerhard was on probation for illegal possession of a .38 caliber revolver. Gerhard could spend 3½ to 7 years in State prison when he is sentenced on April 20th.

The New York State Sheriffs’ Association announced that this year's President is Sheriff Craig Apple of Albany County, he is the 4th term Sheriff of Albany County. Delaware County Sheriff Craig DuMond was named 1st Vice President of the New York State sheriff's Association.

The latest Sienna College poll shows that New York Voters approve of the job Kathy Hochul is doing as Governor 56-36%, her best marks since taking over as Governor. 6 of Hochul’s State of the State proposals have overwhelming support, but her proposal to allow SUNY to increase tuition is strongly opposed. In the same Poll, Voters Say that Long Island Republican Congressman George Santos should Resign from Congress, following a string of lies told on the campaign trail. About 2/3rd of Democrats, 59% of independents and a about half of Republicans polled said that Santos should resign, only 17% said he shouldn’t resign.

A.M. NEWS MONDAY 1-23-23

State Attorney General Letitia James has requested records relating to a New Year's incident where a Binghamton Police Officer was taped kneeling on the neck of Hamail Waddell, who filed a complaint against the officer. Binghamton Police said that the officer is on desk duty, following protests outside the Police station, anyone with video of the incident is asked to turn it over to Binghamton Police investigators by calling 607-772-7089.

State Police today announced the results of a January 17th speed enforcement initiative along the New York portion of U.S. Highway 20. State Police and local law enforcement agencies stepped up patrols during the morning and evening drive times. 25 Troopers from various Troops issued a total of 178 citations and gave 41 warnings. 104 of the citations issued were for speed.

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the availability of up to $7.5 million for state-certified providers and other treatment programs to establish low threshold services to address opioid addiction. The funding will provide up to $500,000 for 15 programs statewide to offer low threshold services, certified treatment providers, clinics by the state Office of Mental Health, hospitals, and harm reduction programs are eligible to apply for the funding.

Bassett Medical Center announced today that it has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® and the American Stroke Association’s Heart-Check mark for Primary Stroke Center Certification. Primary Stroke Center Certification recognizes hospitals that meet exacting standards to support critical elements to achieve long-term success in improving outcomes for stroke patients, currently, strokes are the 5th leading cause of death in the U.S.

P.M. NEWS FRIDAY 9-23-22

The Alzheimer's Association Walk to End Alzheimer's will be held locally this Sunday in Oneonta, local spokesperson Ann Thayer comments:

(Ann Thayer 9-23-22)

The Leatherstocking/Oneonta Walk will be held on Sunday, at Neahwa Park in Oneonta from 1:00 to 3:00 PM, more information is available at act.alz.org/neny.

The Otsego County Sheriff's Office arrested 50 year old Ashraf Moussa of Schuyler Lake on 9 counts of possession of a forged instrument. Moussa is accused of utilizing forged documents and licenses to buy and sell vehicles for profit. A search warrant was executed at the defendant's residence where numerous other forged documents were located and seized, he is being held in the Otsego County Correctional Facility pending Court action.

A.M. NEWS Friday 9-23-22

The Community Cultural Center in Sidney will host the 1st of a series of Comedy Nights this Saturday night, as well as a puppet show Sunday Afternoon, spokesperson Teri Schunk explains:

(Teri Schunk 9-21-22)

Tickets for both events can be located online at cccsidneyart.booktix.com, by calling 607-604-4584 or at the door before the show Saturday night.

The 35th Annual Apple Fest will be held on from 9:00 AM to 4:00PM on Saturday, on the Ball-flats in Greene. The annual event is sponsored by the United Methodist Church of Greene, the event will include apple related demonstrations & crafters, More information is available at fairsandfestivals.net.

The State DEC announced that a Free Fishing Day is scheduled statewide Saturday, anyone can fish the fresh waters of New York State and no fishing license is required. All other freshwater fishing regulations still apply, more information can be found at dec.ny.gov.

The Chenango County Sheriff's Department arrested 43 year
old Amy Grant of New Berlin, for allegedly stealing more than $155,000 from her
employer over a 5 year period.  Grant was
charged with 2nd-degree grand larceny, 1st-degree scheming to defraud and
falsifying business records, she will appear in court at a later date.

Governor Cuomo signed the Zombie Property Remediation Act,
allowing municipalities to better address zombie properties. The new law will
authorize local governments to compel mortgage lenders to either complete a
mortgage foreclosure proceeding or to issue a certificate of discharge of the
mortgage for any abandoned property, allowing local government officials to
deal with these properties that decrease surrounding property values and put on
a strain on municipal resources.  This
new law goes into effect immediately.

State Senator Jen Metzger is proposing a permanent ban in
New York State on Hydraulic Fracturing for natural gas.  The proposal follows the 2015 action by
Governor Cuomo by signing a bill that called for the DEC to stop issuing
permits to companies for Fracking in the state, prior to that action, fracking
was performed by gas companies in the Western New York Counties since 1979

New York is prohibiting the aerial spraying of an
agricultural pesticide chlorpyrifos, which can harm the nervous systems of
infants and young children.  Governor
Cuomo will direct the state Department of Environmental Conservation to ban
nearly all uses of a pesticide commonly used by Apple growers by December 2020.

The New York State Association
of Counties is supporting a proposal by Governor Cuomo to create a commission
to investigate the potential benefits of importing prescription drugs from
Canada. The 3-part prescription drug plan also includes a proposal to cap
insulin co-payments at $100 a month for diabetics who are insured &  to let the state Department of Financial
Services investigate spikes in prescription drug prices.

Governor Cuomo announced another proposal of his 2020 State
of the State Agenda: Legislation triggering automatic manual recounts in close
elections and establishing uniform recount procedures. Current law does not
require automatic vote recounts, even when election results are extremely
close. The legislation would require an automatic recount in all elections in
which the margin of victory for a candidate or ballot proposition is 0.2%;
& it would ensure that recounts be completed manually.

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, & Congressmen Paul Tonko
and Antonio Delgado held a press conference today to unveil plans on limousine
safety; 1 day after the NTSB released their findings regarding the October 6th
2018 limousine crash that killed 20 in Schoharie County.  The NTSB report recommendations are to
require lap/shoulder belts for each passenger in a seated position on all new
vehicles modified to be used as limousines. The NTSB also said that the
Schoharie crash was not survivable for the limousine driver; limousine Owner
Nauman Hussein is facing 20 counts of 2nd degree manslaughter and criminally
negligent homicide.

Governor Cuomo announced that new state figures show the
number of new HIV diagnoses has dropped to an all-time low since the peak of
the epidemic in the 80's.   New York had
2,481 new HIV diagnoses last year, which was a 28% drop from 2014.  32,000 New Yorkers filled at least 1
prescription of pre-exposure prophylaxis last year, up 32% from the year before

The New York Apple Association predicted that New York Apple
farmers will produce between 31 & 34 million bushels this year.  New York is the 2nd largest producer of
apples nationwide, 2nd to Washington State; more information is available at
applesfromny.com.

State Police investigated a tar
Truck Fire on Calder Hill Road in Otego Sunday.
Otego Firefighters put the fire out quickly, the unidentified driver
escaped without injury & no tickets will be issued.

SUNY Oneonta University Police believe that the reported
threat of violence on campus Wednesday afternoon was the result of a
cyber-crime and posed no actual danger.
A New York City crisis hotline contacted SUNY Oneonta to share a chat
message allegedly from a student of the college, that indicated that the caller
intended to shoot people on campus, officials deemed the threat to be credible
and issued a shelter-in-place directive at 5:30 PM, it was dropped at 6:15
after a student reported to Oneonta Police that her phone had been hacked &
she was working with the college’s IT staff to correct it.  University Police are investigating the
incident along with Oneonta Police, Otsego County law enforcement officials,
State Police, New York City Police and the FBI.

UHS Chenango Memorial will receive a $100,000 campaign gift
from the Chenango Memorial Hospital Auxiliary.
The commitment of $100,000 will be paid over 5 years; the capital
campaign will support construction of a new Emergency Room and Walk-In Center,
as well as strategic investments in Diagnostic Imaging and infrastructure to
support the growth of future services.

Delaware valley humane society will be holding a fund raising golf tournament in July.  Humane Society Spokesman Bill Heath told WCDO News that they are looking for golfers to sign up by July 8th:

(Bill Heath)

More information about the K-9 Golf tournament at the Afton Gold course is available at 563-9148.

State Police arrested Gary Conklin, of Harpursville for 3rd degree Assault. The arrest was the result of an incident on June 12th at the Red Apple Gas Station in Port Crane.  Conklin was issued an Appearance Ticket returnable to the Town of Fenton Court on June 20th.

The Natural Resources Defense Council, Catskill Mountainkeeper, Advocates for Morris, the Butternut Valley Alliance, Otsego 2000 and the Otsego County Conservation Association, will hold a public information forum regarding the recent court cases regarding gas drilling bans or moratoriums  in Middlefield and Dryden, and how those  cases affect home rule authority in New York state.  The forum will take place at the Morris Central School auditorium tonight from 7:00 to 8:00 PM,  It will be followed by a question and answer session.

Governor Cuomo announced that New York State has been awarded a $185.8 million federal grant to implement its State Health Benefit Exchange to make it easier for New Yorkers to obtain affordable health insurance coverage.  New York was 1 of 5 states to receive a Level 2 Exchange Establishment grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that will help develop a marketplace for New Yorkers to get affordable health insurance.  Open enrollment in New York's Health Benefit Exchange will begin October 1st.

The 77,000 member Joint Landowners Coalition issued a statement regarding the potential for the DEC to miss the February 27th Deadline for the release of the regulations for Hydraulic Fracturing for natural gas.  Coalition CEO Dan Fitzsimmons told WCDO News that the idea of waiting for health studies before Hydrofracking starts is ill timed:

(Dan Fitzsimmons 2-5-13)

DEC Commissioner Joe Martens also was greeted by busloads of New Yorkers against Hydro-fracking, following his meeting with lawmakers in Albany Monday.  Martens said that he was not worried about missing the February 27th deadline, as he was waiting for a Health Department study on the possible effects from Gas Drilling by Hydrofracking.

Delaware County Sheriff Tom Mills announced that new defibrillators are needed for emergency responders throughout the County. The last fund-raising drive to purchase them was conducted in 2000, in 2011; Public Health donated 4 new defibrillators to replace the most outdated models. It is estimated that each new defibrillator will cost approximately $2,000. Donations can be made payable to the Delaware County Sheriff's Office at 280 Phoebe Lane, Suite One, Delhi, 13753 and designate "Defibrillator Fund" on the reference line.

New York Farm Bureau officials testified at a budget hearing in Albany yesterday, regarding the Governor’s proposed agricultural portion of the Executive budget.  Farm bureau supports funding for animal health programs, programs to assist farm families directly, & the Governor’s plans to follow up on the Wine, Beer and Spirits Summit from last fall.  Farm Bureau is asking for the Legislature to consider increasing funding up to $1,000,000 for promotion and marketing activities for New York’s apple growers after last years crop losses from a spring frost, and for the restoration of marketing funding for maple producers & Christmas tree growers.

The Cooperstown Art Association will be hosting “An Artistic Discovery,” High School Art Competition for Otsego County High School Students.  The competition runs from March 8th through March 29th, 6 students will be awarded ribbons and a digital image of their artwork will then be submitted to Congressman Chris Gibson’s office for final selection in the next phase of competition, 1 student’s work will go on to be displayed in the US Capitol along with 49 other high-school artists’ work from across the country.  More information is available at 547-9777.