WCDO Radio News

Only 2 in 5 New York state high-school students are ready for college-level work, according to College Board test results. Of the 154,809 members of the Class of 2014, who took the Scholastic Aptitude Test, only 60,611 students, or 39.2 percent, met the SAT’s benchmark for college and career readiness. Overall, New York trails the national average, in which 42.6 percent made the grade.

A public hearing about the proposed closure of the Broome County Mental Health Clinic is set for 6:00 tonight, at the Broome County Public Library at 185 Court Street in Binghamton.   The recent budget proposal from Broome County Executive Debbie Preston aims to cut more than 20 mental health positions at the clinic, the county legislature’s finance committee has set a public hearing on the mental health office’s budget (http://www.pressconnects.com/story/news/local/2014/09/24/buzz-comment-broomes-budget/16160557/) on October 22nd at 4:30 at the 6th floor legislative conference room of the County Office Building at 60 Hawley Street in Binghamton.

The 17th annual state Fallen Firefighters Memorial Ceremony, which honored nine firefighters who died in the line of duty, was held today at the Empire State Plaza in Albany. The memorial, dedicated in 1998, has 2,390 names on its wall, with the addition of this year's nine firefighters killed in the line of duty. To read the list of names go to memorial.fire-hero.com

State Senator James Seward announced $273,000 in state grants for local schools. The funding included $38,000 to support Milford Central School’s Career Opportunities in Rural Education Initiative. Seward also announced $25,000 general assistance grants for Charlotte Valley, Cooperstown, Franklin, Laurens, Margaretville and Morris Central Schools. The CORE program is designed to assist local schools and provide rural students with additional academic opportunities to help them compete with their metropolitan counterparts.

An information session for young people interested in the Young Entrepreneurs Academy will be held from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. today at Hartwick College in Oneonta. The program, presented through the Otsego County Chamber of Commerce, guides middle and high school students through launching and running a business or social movement. Sessions will begin Nov. 4 and continue through May.   For more information call the chamber at 432-4500.

The murder trial of Ganesh Ramsaran is underway in Chenango County Court in Norwich, as jurors and alternates were seated this week. The prosecution is calling witnesses to testify on the witness stand, Ramsaran is accused of Killing his Wife Jennifer in December 2012.

New York State parks, historic sites and campgrounds hosted another successful season with nearly 36 million visits from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend; a 2% increase over 2013. Governor Cuomo included a 3rd round of $90 million in New York Works funding for improvements to State parks and historic sites in the 2014-15 State Budget for projects at 109 State parks and historic sites. Outdoor recreation generates $33.8 billion in consumer spending in New York, directly supporting 305,000 jobs.

State Troopers responded to a roll over tractor-trailer accident Thursday on I-81 Near Exit 11 in Cortlandville. During the accident the trailer became detached and fell into the Tioughnioga River. 31 year old Robinson Jaquez of Lancaster, Pennsylvania was not injured, the investigation is continuing, traffic was re-opened following the clean up & accident reconstruction work.

Doctor Carlton Rule has been appointed to replace Dan Ayres as CEO of both Tri-Town Regional Hospital in Sidney and O’Connor Hospital in Delhi. Dr. Rule told WCDO News about his new role:

(Dr Carlton Rule 9-5-14)

Dr. Rule will assume his new role on September 29th, replacing Dan Ayres who is taking a similar position in his home state of West Virginia.

Delaware County Fair organizers announced the passing of long time Fair Director Gary Tweedie, who passed Wednesday at the age of 72. Tweedie was a Director of The Fair for nearly 40 years and served as President & Vice-President for numerous years& served as President of The New York State Association Of Agricultural Fairs in 2000.

Organizers of the Afton fun show at the Afton fairgrounds announced today that activities originally scheduled for Saturday, have been moved to Sunday due to expected foul weather tomorrow. Activities will begin at 9:00 AM Sunday details are available funshows.theaftonfair.com.

State senator Jim Seward said 4 local domestic violence programs have been allocated grants in the 2014-2015 state budget. Opportunities For Otsego will receive $12,500, Catholic Charities in Schoharie $15,000, Chenango County Catholic Charities $10,000, and Delaware Opportunities $7,500.

Health insurance companies in New York will receive average rate increases of 5.7% next year, less than half the increases they had requested for individual and family plans. The insurance companies had proposed increases averaging 12.5% with some companies seeking as much as 28% more for some plans. The average increase the state decided to award is below the state’s 8% overall increase in health care costs. The increase also applies to New York State of Health, the exchange that was set up under the Affordable Care Act, to provide subsidized health insurance for state residents who might not otherwise be able to afford it.

Governor Cuomo announced that more than $14 million in funding is available to promote and support stem cell research in New York State. Stem cell research opportunities will be made available to middle- and high-school biology teachers to spend 6 to 8 weeks conducting research in a stem cell laboratory and will carry their experiences back to students in lesson plans or hands-on activities to foster interest.  The application is available at health.ny.gov, and is due on August 21st.

New York Civil Service Commissioner Jerry Boone announced today that the application deadline is approaching for hundreds of internship opportunities available within New York State government, and encouraged college students to submit applications for the Fall semester as soon as possible. The website nysinternships.com allows students to view and apply for internship opportunities across an array of State agencies both downstate and upstate.  The application deadline is September 8th.

The State DEC has proposed changes to update and consolidate Petroleum Bulk Storage & Chemical Bulk Storage regulations.  DEC Commissioner Joe Martens said that The proposed changes would clarify existing requirements & make it easier for those who store bulk amounts of petroleum or hazardous substances/chemicals in tank systems to comply.   The public is invited to submit written comments about the proposed regulations through Tuesday, November 4th at dec.nys-public-comments.com.

The Otsego County Chamber of Commerce announced their 28th Annual Golf Classic will be held on Thursday, August 7th.   The event will be held at the Oneonta Country Club; with 11:30am Lunch and registration & a 1:00pm shot gun start. More information is available at 432-4500.