WCDO Radio News

State troopers of Sidney, Oneonta and Richfield Springs conducted an Underage Drinker Initiative detail, checking 8 convenient stores in Otsego County, the City of Oneonta, and in the towns of Oneonta, Otsego, Hartwick and Otego.  All 8 stores were in full compliance with all State laws, they were Hess Express, Main Street in the City of Oneonta, all Mirabito Quickways, in the Towns of Hartwick, Oneonta & West Oneonta, the Pit Stop in Cooperstown, Taylor’s Mini Mart in the Town of Laurens, & Sunoco in the Town of Otego.

Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 28-year-old Amber Armstrong of Walton for 2nd degree Harassment & on an arrest warrant from the Walton Village Court for 2nd degree Coercion.  The charges stem from an incident with a male acquaintance in the Town of Walton.  Armstrong will appear in Walton Town Court at a later date.

State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli announced his office completed an audit of the Village of Deposit.  The audit found that the village board did not effectively oversee and monitor their financial operations. The board did not have accurate information for their financial decisions and did not adopt reasonable budgets for the general, water and sewer funds. The report also said that the board cannot be sure that only authorized disbursements were made, that all moneys received were properly deposited, or that all transactions were properly recorded and reported.

New York State’s unemployment rate decreased from 7.7% to 7.4% in November, the  lowest level since January 2009, according to the preliminary figures released today by the State Department of Labor. the state’s economy added 4,300 private sector jobs, to a record high of almost 7.5 million.

Governor Cuomo signed a law to increase state oversight of special education programs for preschoolers with disabilities. The law authorizes the state comptroller to audit all of the independently run programs at least once in the next 5 years. It establishes new reporting requirements for committees that place children in programs and for providers. Comptroller Tom DiNapoli says fraud in the $1.3 billion program has cost taxpayers millions of dollars while depriving children of needed help.

It took just a fraction of New York voters to approve private casinos in the state. About 14.3 percent of the state’s 11 million registered voters cast a ballot in favor of the Nov. 5 casino referendum, according to the state Board of Elections. Nearly 1.19 million New Yorkers voted against it, or about 10.8 percent of the total electorate. More than 512,000 ballots left the casino section blank or void. The casino referendum, which allows the state to permit up to seven private casinos, was the first of six proposals on the back of all the ballots and received the most total votes

The American Red Cross of the Southern Tier will host a Babysitters Training Class for youth ages 11 to 15 from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM this  Saturday, at the Red Cross office at 620 East Main Street in Endicott. The cost of the class is $75, which includes a certificate from the American Red Cross, handbook and CD ROM.  Space is limited and advanced registration is required at 1-800-733-2767, or at redcross.org (http://www.redcross.org/take-a-class).

Today is Election Day, with some contentious local elections garnering most of the attention.
In Delaware County, in the town of Sidney, 2 candidates are looking to replace controversial supervisor Bob McCarthy, they are Democrat Bill Heath & Republican Gene Pigford.
For the Sidney Town Council, 4 people are vying for 2 seats; they are Democrats Pete Cordes, & Paul Muratore and Republicans John Woodyshek & Jodi Proffitt.
In the Town of Franklin, 3 candidates are running for 2 seats on the town board, they are Republicans David Grant & Garrett Sitts & for the “Better Franklin” line, the candidate is Patricia Tyrell. In the Town of Masonville in the Supervisor’s race, Republican Michael Spaccaforno faces a challenge from Masonville First candidate Marie Sroka.
In Otsego County:
2 seats on the Town of Oneonta board will be decided with 4 candidates running: democrats Patricia Jacob & Andrew Stammell & republicans Brett Holleran & Fred Volpe. For the 2 town justice seats, the 3 candidates are independent Dawn Oliver & Republicans Sean Farrell & Bruce Smith.
In the Town of Unadilla 3 candidates are vying for 2 seats on the town Council, they are Democrat Jakkie Bickos & Republicans Roger Cecce, George Banta
In the Town Of Butternuts, supervisor candidates are Democrat Charles Eckleman & Republican Linda Grover.
In Chenango County, in the Town of Afton, 4 candidates are running for 2 seats they are Democrats Alan Steinberg, Rich Cuthbertson & Republicans Robert Tallmadge, and Chris Warren. In the Town Of Guilford, 2 seats are open on the Town Council; the 4 candidates are Democrats Kenneth Fogerty & Dolores Fuller & Republicans Tomas Ives & Barbara O’Dell
In the Town of Coventry 2 people are running for Supervisor, with George Westcott getting both the Republican & Democratic Party nomination, the Liberty Party candidate is Gwendolyn Hinman. For Town Justice, Democrat A. Bruce Warren faces Republican Joseph Agunzo, in the Town Council race, 2 seats are open, candidates are Democrat Jeffrey Vance, Republicans Robert Boudreau & John Wicks, for the Liberty Party, the candidate is George Broeg.
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Voters across the State will see several propositions on the ballot today, they include measures to allow 7 casinos to The Catskill & southern tier regions, another would allow judges in some courts to serve until the age of 80.

Binghamton police announced 2 arrests in connection with a homicide on Mygatt Street Monday. Fire fighters were called to 32 Mygatt Street around 6 a.m. Monday, they found a critically injured woman who said her boyfriend had just been murdered, the man’s body was discovered on the 2nd floor. Arrested Monday night were 21-year-old Julian Talamantez of Binghamton, and 25 year old Nigel Saunders of Binghamton, for 1 count each of 2nd degree murder & attempted murder.

State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced that an Election Day hotline is up & running today, to help ensure that minority-language voters, people with disabilities and all eligible voters are able to cast an effective ballot during the today’s elections. The Hotline is 800-771-7755, it will be open today through 9:00 PM.

State spending was nearly $860 million lower than expected through the first half of the fiscal year while tax collections were just shy of projections, according to the Mid-Year report from State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. Spending from All Funds through the first six months was $64.1 billion, an increase of 6.9%, but was $859.4 million below projections. Tax collections rose by $2.8 billion, or 8.8%, thanks to 11.4% growth in personal income tax collections. The full report is available at osc.state.ny.us.

PM NEWS 7-12-13

State University of New York Chancellor Nancy Zimpher today announced the launch of Phase II of SUNY Works, the system’s cooperative education and internship initiative. Eighteen campuses across the state are now expanding their icooperative education opportunities. Campuses launching SUNY Works as part of Phase II include UAlbany, SUNY Buffalo State, SUNY Oneonta and  Broome community college. Campus faculty will work with local employers to develop college courses that integrate classroom instruction and on-the-job work experience. For more information go to sunyworks@suny.edu.

Eliot Spitzer has met the deadline to file thousands of petition signatures for his bid to revive his political career by running for New York City comptroller. Spitzer said over 27,000 signatures were submitted to the city Board of Elections just after 10:30 p.m. last night, ahead of a midnight deadline. It came just four days after the tarnished ex-governor launched his campaign.

Statewide tourist spending rose 6.2 percent to $57.3 billion in 2012. Every region in the state saw growth in 2012 from the previous year, with the most dramatic increases in New York City and Long Island. The Central New York region, which includes much the Southern Tier, saw a 5 percent increase in 2012, when it brought in $1.9 billion according to Empire State development.

Oneonta Troopers arrested 17 year old Rob Shackelton of Coliersville for petit larceny following a complaint from the Walmart in the Town of Oneonta. hackelton was issued an Appearance Ticket for Town of Oneonta Court July 16

US senator Kirsten Gillibrand made an appeal to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano in support of a major disaster declaration for parts of the Mohawk Valley, Southern Tier and North Country affected by storms and floods earlier this month. Gillibrand is requesting approval of the state’s request for the President to declare a major disaster, including FEMA assistance, for Chenango, Delaware, Herkimer, Madison, Oneida, and Otsego counties

Otsego county deputies arrested a Sidney man for selling heroin in Oneonta in July of 2012. 35 year old Ian Lee Borowski was charged with third degree criminal sale of a controlled substance. He was arraigned and sent to the Otsego county jail on $20,000 bail. He faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted due to a previous felony conviction

Assemblyman Cliff Crouch will host another informational forum, Saturday, July 20, about the NY SAFE Act, at the Walton Central School. Crouch will be joined by Delaware County Sheriff Tom Mills and Delaware County Clerk Sharon O’Dell.