WCDO Radio News

State Police at Oneonta found a vehicle belonging to a man missing from Irondequoit and now are seeking assistance in locating 53-year-old Steven Kassirer, whose vehicle was located abandoned in a parking lot in the Oneonta area last Tuesday, October 23. Kassirer has no ties to the Oneonta area and troopers do not know at this time why his vehicle would have been left. anyone with information should contact State Police in Oneonta at 432-3211.

There are no further plans for a debate between Gubernatorial candidates between now & Election Day. One debate was held downstate last week between Democratic Incumbent Andrew Cuomo & Republican Challenger Marcus Molinaro, Independent Stephanie Miner, Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins & Libertarian Larry Sharpe were excluded from that debate.

The Delaware County Chamber of Commerce will hold their 1st Friday Eat & Meet this Friday in Hobart, from 8:30 to 10:00 am at Liberty Rock Books at 678 Main Street. The guest speakers are Paul Van der kruik of the Leatherstocking Council of the Boy Scouts of America and Kimberly Lorraine of the United Way of Delaware and Otsego Counties.

The CDC and the State Health Department are urging New York State Residents to get their flu vaccine as soon as possible, as an early flu season has already started. A flu outbreak in 1 Michigan school district led that district to close with students & teachers experiencing a flu outbreak. The FDA has approved a new flu vaccine that will be rushed to the market to try to slow down the latest strain of the flu.

The Delaware Valley Humane Society is looking to gather various items for the Southern New York Pig Rescue of Hornell, that will be picked up by them in Sidney this Wednesday. The humane Society is accepting Hog Pellets, Vegetables, Pumpkins, Pig Milk Replacer, Hay & Straw through Wednesday Morning. More information is available at 563-7780.

State Police and local law enforcement have increased patrols to crack down on impaired driving and underage drinking through Halloween. The enforcement campaign runs through Thursday and is funded by the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee. During last year’s initiative there were 1,593 accidents, 226 injuries, 1 fatality, Troopers also arrested 248 people for DWI and issued more than 9, 057 tickets for speeding, distracted driving and other traffic violations.

State Police arrested 38 year old Annvernette Ellis of Edmeston for Driving While Intoxicated, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance and Aggravated Unlicensed Operation plus several traffic tickets. A trooper on patrol near the intersection of State Highway 20 and State Highway 8 observed Ellis commit several traffic offenses, a traffic stop was initiated and found Ellis was drinking an alcoholic beverage while driving, she also possessed oxycodone. Ellis was arraigned & was remanded to jail pending future court action.

The Local Early Intervention Coordinating Council will hold a meeting today that is open to the public, from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm. The meeting will be held at the Davenport United Methodist Church, Rachel Rissberger of the Oneonta World of Learning program will be the featured speaker, and more information is available at 832-5200.

State DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos announced the release of New York’s final policy for manufacturer disclosures under the State’s Household Cleansing Product Information Disclosure Program. The program requires manufacturers of cleaning products to disclose chemical ingredients, byproducts and contaminants with the potential to trigger asthma in adults and children, on their websites. More information about the Household Cleansing Product Information Disclosure Program can be found at on.ny.gov/cleaningproducts.

Governor Cuomo today announced that more than $43.8 million will be awarded to support cancer prevention and early detection programs statewide over the next 5 years. The programs receiving these funds participate in the New York State Cancer Services Program, which aims to reduce disparities in breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer incidence and mortality through free cancer screening for uninsured and underinsured, low-income populations. More information is available at health.ny.gov/diseases/cancer/screening.

Catholic Charities is looking to help area people with limited space, to have their own "Container Garden" of various vegetables to grow & eventually eat. Penny McKnight of the Sidney Catholic Charities office explains:

(Penny McKnight 6-6-18)

McKnight said that the registration period to participate in the Container gardening program is Friday; the pick-up event will be June 13th from 1:30 to 3:00 PM at the Sidney United Methodist Church on Liberty Street in Sidney. More information is available at 604-4071.

Governor Cuomo announced an extreme risk protection order law that would prevent individuals determined by a court that are likely to engage in violent conduct from purchasing, possessing, or attempting to purchase or possess any type of firearm. The legislation would make New York the first state in the nation to empower its teachers and school administrators to prevent school shootings by pursuing court intervention. No law currently exists in New York State that enables a court to issue an order to temporarily seize firearms from a person who is believed to pose a severe threat of harm to himself, herself, or others unless that person has also been accused of a crime or family offense.

Oxford Central School will be hosting a Robotics Competition called "Robo-Rave" in the High School Gymnasium Saturday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Over 20 teams will be competing. Robo-Rave is a program designed to teach students how to design, build, code & program Robots to perform a variety of tasks, Oxford High School Science Teach Mark Muller explains why he wanted to bring Robo Rave to Oxford:

(Mark Muller 4-6-18)

Muller said that Saturday's event is the first Robo Rave event in New York State, Robo rave is associated with NASA, who brought a team of engineers to Oxford to speak & teach at the event, which is free & open to the public. More information is available at oxac.org.

State Police arrested 38 year old Michael Sullivan of Agawam, Massachusetts & 30 year old Gabrielle Graham of Pittsfield, Massachusetts for criminal possession of a controlled substance, Sullivan was additionally charged with Unlawful Possession of Marihuana. Troopers received a complaint of a disabled vehicle on I-88 in the town of Afton; they located marijuana and a smoking pipe with residue. Sullivan and Graham were arraigned in the town of Afton Court and remanded to the Chenango County Jail on $1,000 cash bail or $2,000 bond. Their next court date is scheduled for April 23, 2018 in the town of Afton Court.

New York continues to be one of the leading states in the country where people are moving out of, according to United Van Lines. New York ranked 3rd behind Illinois and New Jersey, as the top 3 states that people are leaving. The United van Lines statistics showed that 46% left for job-related reasons, 29% left following retirement, 19% left for family reasons, 5% for health reasons. The largest age population of those who left were ages 55 to 64.

Governor Cuomo today announced a new initiative to provide teachers and coaches with resources they can use to help prevent and address substance use disorder among young people. Starting next week, the New York State Department of Health, the New York State Education Department, and the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services will notify schools statewide of the availability of flash drives loaded with materials in English and Spanish for coaches, teachers, school nurses, and other educators to use in personal conversations with students and in community forums.