WCDO Radio News

P.M. NEWS WEDNESDAY 11-3-21

Mark Drnek won the race for Oneonta Mayor Tuesday, he told WCDO news of how the first weeks of his administration will go:

(Mark Drnek 11-3-21)

Drnek said that he has about 8 weeks to transition into the mayor's position, with help from outgoing mayor Gary Herzig.

Brian Doliver was elected Tuesday as the next Mayor of the City of Norwich, he told WCDO News that there a lot of big issues to deal with right from the start:

(Brian Doliver 11-3-21)

Doliver said that he will also reach out to former Norwich Mayors Christine Carnrike & Joe Mauriano, who he served with a member of the Norwich Common Council.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum announced that they will be receiving artifacts from the World Series Champion Atlanta Braves. Artifacts will include Spikes worn by Braves Game 6 starter Max Fried, a Batting helmet worn by World Series MVP Jorge Soler, a Bat used by Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman in Game 6 & the Jersey worn in Games 1 and 2 by Braves manager Brian Snitker.

The Friends of Afton announced the return of Afton’s Annual Christmas Parade, scheduled for Saturday December 4th at 5:00 pm. Floats and vehicles will line up at Corporate Park off Route 7, Walking groups, bicycles, and golf carts will gather at the Afton Edge Apartments.

A.M. News Wednesday 11-3-21

Yesterday was Election Day, The Delaware County Board of Elections did not announce a winner for the Sidney Town Supervisor’s race, between write-in candidates Eric Wilson & Kevin Greene, Officials told WCDO News it will take days or maybe even weeks to count & certify all of the write in votes across all 19 towns from this year's elections, there were 552 write in Votes Tuesday in Sidney Town Supervisors race. The winners for the Sidney Town board were Frank Selleck & Bill Heath, in the Town of Meredith, Town Council winners were John Janiszewski & David Briggs, the Town of Franklin Board seats go to Garret Sitts & Heather Ross, the town of Middletown Supervisor Will be Patrick Davis, the Town of Tompkins Clerk was Michelle Phoenix, in the Town Of Delhi, the supervisor will be Mark Tuttle, the Town Council winners were Margaret Baldwin & Matthew Kryston & the Walton Town Supervisor will be Joseph Cetta. In Chenango County, Sheriff Ernest Cutting was re-elected, The County Clerk winner is Brian Wessels, & the winners for the Norwich City Council are Fred Gee, William Loomis, Tom Revoir & Barry Christopherson. The winners for the Guilford Town Board were Thomas Ives & Matthew Retz, in Otsego County, the Board of Representatives winners were Ed Frazier, Jerry Madsen, Rick Brockway, Margaret Kennedy, Jennifer Mickle, Charles Varney, Keith McCarty, Clark Oliver & Donald Scanlon & the Town of Oneonta Supervisor will be Randall Mowers, while Karen Liddle & Sean Farrell Won the 2 Town of Oneonta Justice seats & Kimberly Fierke & Skylar Thompson Win the 2 Seats on the Oneonta Town Board. The town of Hartwick Supervisor will be Robert O’Brien while Christopher Briggs & Bruce Markussen win the seats on the Town Board. In the Town of Unadilla, the Town Justice winner is Joshua Palmer The Unadilla Town Clerk will be Terry Yoder & the Town Council winners were Ron Reed & Jessica Grow, in the town of Laurens, George Decker, Edwin Winslow were the winners of Town Board Seats. Across New York State, voters rejected the propositions, amending the apportionment and redistricting process, eliminating the 10 day advance voter registration requirement, & authorizing the no excuse absentee balloting. Voters approved the proposition to the Right to clean air, clean water and a healthy environment.

The New York State Cannabis Control Board will hold their next meeting today, at 1:00 pm. virtually. The public is able to observe this meeting at players.brightcove.net. Videos and transcripts of the meeting will be posted at cannabis.ny.gov.

The Town of Oneonta will hold a public budget hearing tonight at 7:00 PM at the town hall in West Oneonta, the town board will also discuss a law to over-ride the State Tax cap.

The Sidney Chamber of Commerce will hold their next meeting this morning at 8:00 am, it will be held at Trackside Dining on Main Street.

On October 21st, Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies observed a vehicle traveling at 68 miles per hour in a 55 mile per hour zone on State Highway 8 in Masonville. 52-year-old Jack Mason of Whitney Point, was stopped, his license was revoked due to failure to answer a prior summons from the Sidney Town Court. Mason was charged with Aggravated Unlicensed Operator of a Motor Vehicle, Speeding, Failure to Use a Turn Signal, and Operating a Motor Vehicle Without Stop Lamps. Mason was later released on traffic tickets to Masonville Town Court at a later date.

In the town of Sidney, 2 candidates are seeking to be elected Supervisor, and both are Write-In Candidates following the deaths of Sidney Town Supervisor Gene Pigford a few months ago. Republican Eric Wilson has served on the Town board for many years and has been part of holding the line on Taxes:

(Eric Wilson 11-1-21)

Kevin Greene is seeking the Sidney Town Supervisor's position, he feels he can manage the town responsibly & seek not opportunities:

(Kevin Greene 11-1-21)

In the town of Sidney, there is a hotly contested race by 4 people for 2 seats on the Town Board; they include Democrat Bill Heath, whose main goal is to help the Business community grow:

(Bill Heath 11-1-21)

Republican Frank Selleck seeks re-election after serving on the board for 4 years; he wants to continue to work as a team with other board members:

(Frank Selleck 11-1-21)

Democratic Bea Bishop told WCDO News that the Town Board needs to improve communication with residents & help with their needs:

(Bea Bishop 11-1-21)

Write In Republican Candidate Paul Muratore hopes to get on the Town Board, to continue the work started by the late Supervisor Gene Pigford:

(Paul Muratore 11-1-21)

In the town of Sidney, Bill Hunt is running unopposed for another seat on the town board. Polls will be open tomorrow from 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM state wide.

In Delaware County Elections of interest on Election day, in the Town of Meredith, 2 seats are open on the town board; the candidates are Democrat John Janiszewski, Democrat Michael Morgenfruh & Republican David Briggs. In the Town of FRANKLIN, there are 4 candidates for 2 seats on the town board; Garret Sitts, Heather Ross, George Coulter & John O'Connor. In the TOWN OF MIDDLETOWN, Democrat Todd Pascarella & Republican Patrick Davis are running for Town Supervisor. In the town of DELHI; 4 PEOPLE Running for 2 seats on the board, for FRANKLIN TOWN COUNCIL there are 4 Candidates for 2 seats and in Walton, Lillian Brown & Joseph Cetta are running for Town Supervisor.

In CHENANGO COUNTY elections tomorrow, residents are voting for Sheriff between incumbents Ernie Cutting & Democratic Challenger Debra Cubbedge. County voters will also vote for County Clerk between Republican Brian Wessels & Independent Leonard Smith, Norwich City Voters will be voting for Mayor, between Democrat John Quattrocchi & Republican Brian Doliver, there are races for Alderman positions in wards 2 & 4. there are 3 candidates running for 2 seat on the Guilford Town Board between Republican Thomas Ives, Republican Matthew Retz & Libertarian Jennifer Caci

Voters in OTSEGO COUNTY have races for the County Board of Representatives in Districts 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11 & 13; there is a race for Oneonta Mayor between 2 Common Council members: Mark Drnek & Len Carson. In the town of Oneonta, in the Supervisors’ race, Randal Mowers faces Teresa DeSantis, there are 4 people running for 2 town justice positions & 3 people are running for 2 seats on the Town Board. In the Town of Hartwick Supervisor's Race, candidates are Bryan LoRusso & Robert O'Brien & there are 5 candidates for 2 seats on the town council. In Unadilla, Dwight Mott & Joshua Palmer are running for Town Justice, Terry Yoder & Kelly Moore are running for the Unadilla Town Clerk's Position & for the Unadilla Town Council, BARBARA NOLAN, RON REED, JESSICA GROW, & Write In Candidate Sheri Kinsella are running for 2 Seats. For the Laurens Town Board, George Decker, Edwin Winslow & Mark Peterson are running for 2 seats.

U.S. Marshals arrested a Georgia fugitive in Binghamton, who was wanted for a fatal shooting in Atlanta. Marshals arrested 21 year-old Dalonqueze Powell of Atlanta was arrested at a residence on Tracy Street in Binghamton, Marshals were assisted by State Police, Binghamton Police & several other agencies.

Governor Kathy Hochul reported that the numbers are slowly improving regarding COVID 19 in the state Saturday. over 166,000 were tested Saturday, with 3588 positives, for a positivity rate of 2.1% Patient Hospitalization are down to 1,842, the number of Patients in an ICU is down to 448 & the number on ventilators is down to 253, there were 26 deaths reported in hospitals & nursing homes Saturday.

Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation designating a portion of State Route 51 in the Town of Butternuts as SP4 Richard F. Walton, Jr. Memorial Highway. Richard Walton, Jr. was born and raised in the Town of Butternuts, he underwent basic training and medical training after enlisting, he volunteered to go to Vietnam, On February 6th, 1970, while serving in Vietnam, Walton lost his life in a helicopter crash.

P.M. NEWS Friday 8-27-21

State Police responded to a crash between a motorcycle and vehicle on Conklin Road/ State Route 7 in the town of Conklin. The operator of the motorcycle was pronounced deceased on scene, he has been identified as 21 year old Tristan Thor of Vestal. The investigation indicates that 44 year old Seth Delvillano of Binghamton was traveling north on Conklin Road when he crossed over into the southbound lane and struck the motorcycle head-on, the investigation is on-going.

Otsego County Department of Health reported 33 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, the highest number of cases reported since March. There have been 2 deaths this week from COVID-19. The County reported 93 active cases, with 4 hospitalized, the Delta variant is suspected in more than 95% of the current cases. Otsego County remains at a HIGH level of community transmission, the CDC & Otsego County Department of Health recommend everyone wear a mask indoors in public. They urge those who have not been vaccinated to do so as quickly as possible, sites can be found at otsegocounty.com or covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov.

State ethics regulators have asked State Attorney General Letitia James to investigate who may have illegally leaked information about a closed-door vote to Governor Cuomo’s office in 2019. The Joint Commission on Public Ethics, or JCOPE, voted to refer the matter to Attorney General James for a criminal investigation, if she accepts the referral, they would attempt to figure out who provided Cuomo's office with legally protected information from the ethics panel regarding a complaint against Cuomo's former top aide, Joseph Percoco.

Chenango Arts Council is seeking memorabilia, yearbooks and other items from the years its 27 West Main Street location served as the Norwich City Middle and High Schools. Submitted items will be displayed in the gallery exhibit “Back to School”, and items will be returned once the show closes. Those interested in sharing their memorabilia will be please deliver it to the Council at 27 West Main Street, Norwich by September 10th, the exhibit will open with a public reception on Friday, September 17th at 5:30pm. The exhibit will run until October 1st. More information is available at 336-2787 or info@chenangoarts.org.

A.M. NEWS FRIDAY 8-27-21

The Chenango River Theater will be back with live performances today at the facility in Greene, Spokesman Bill Lelbach commented about the controversial topic of "Ben Butler":

(Bill Lelbach 8-27-21)

"Ben Butler" starts tonight & runs through September 19th at their facility in Greene, tickets for “Ben Butler” or the following show: “The Craftsman” are available at chenangorivertheatre.org.

The Delaware County Chamber of Commerce announced that Family Farm Day is tomorrow. Participating farms in Schoharie, Otsego and Delaware Counties will be open to visitors from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, 41 farms & Farmers Markets are participating, a map of those farms is located at viewer.mapme.com/familyfarmday.

Delaware County Public Health announced that they had 54 new cases of COVID 19 in the last week, with 65 active cases, 4 hospitalized, 117 quarantined, they have had 2679 positive cases with 52 deaths since the pandemic began.

Delaware County's Board of Elections has received funding from a grant to change their system thanks. The Board is planning to create more access with a new early voting site at an undetermined location & they are working on securing a Technology Innovation and Election Resource Grant to purchase an absentee ballot scanner and additional software.

The 6th annual Binghamton Porchfest takes place Sunday, from 12:00 Noon to 7:00 PM, featuring performances from 164 local and regional bands, staged on 58 residential front porches, yards, and in the neighborhood surrounding Recreation Park. The full schedule of performances and an interactive map can be found at binghamtonporchfest.com.

P.M. NEWS Wednesday 3-17-21

Village elections were held in New York State Tuesday.  Locally in the Sidney Trustees race, Incumbent Vic Tartaglia received 118 votes, Pat Cristelli 102 votes, they were elected to the Village Board, and Write in Candidate Teri Schunk received 83 votes.  In Walton Ed Snow Defeated Incumbent Stephen Condon, many other local races featured unopposed candidates.

A new Sienna Poll showed that Voters believe by a 50 to 35% margin that Governor Cuomo should not immediately resign, a similar margin believes that he can continue to effectively do his job as governor.    Voters are satisfied with the way Cuomo has addressed the allegations, by a 57% to 32% margin, they approve of Cuomo’s handling of the pandemic, 60-33%, and voters gave Cuomo a negative grade, 27-66% regarding the reporting of Nursing home deaths during the pandemic.

Chenango County Public Health announced that their website has been updated and there is now a place to register for COVID-19 vaccine appointments at co.chenango.ny.us/public-health/nursing/covid19.  Registration for vaccine appointments must be done online. There will be no Walk-ins; the vaccine will only go to eligible groups outlined by the state Health Department.  The next Chenango Vaccine clinic is this Friday March 19th at the former Label Shopper Store in the South Plaza Center on State Route 12 in Norwich.  Chenango County reported 15 new COVID cases today, they report 2585 total cases, and they have 83 active cases, 247 quarantined and 7 hospitalizations.

A.M. NEWS WEDNESDAY 3-17-21

The State Department of Labor today released preliminary local area unemployment rates for January 2021.  The State unemployment rate increased to 8.8% in January 2021.  Locally, Chenango County had 6.3% unemployment, Delaware County 6.6% & Otsego County 6.7% in January.

Delaware County Public Health reported 8 new COVID 19 cases Tuesday out of 187 tested.  The county has 99 active cases, 7 hospitalized & 364 quarantined.

The American Farm Bureau Federation recognized New York Farm Bureau's Young Farmers and Ranchers program for its efforts to donate more than 8 million pounds of food to the regional food banks across the state last year.  The 8 Million pounds of food collected was through the "Harvest for All" donation program, the food was distributed among the 10 Feeding America food banks throughout the state.

The state-run mass vaccination site at SUNY Oneonta will open tomorrow, along with 9 others across the upstate Counties.  Bassett Healthcare Network staff will work at the site each day, along with Staff from the State, the National Guard and Otsego County Public Health.  Anyone currently eligible under state guidelines can find the link to register at bassett.org/covid-19/covid-19-vaccine, starting today.  After registering, patients should go to forms.ny.gov/s3/vaccine.  Eligible New Yorkers can also schedule appointments by utilizing New York's 'Am I Eligible' website or by calling the state's COVID-19 Vaccination Hotline at 1-833-NYS-4-VAX (1-833-697-4829).

The Binghamton Devils today announced the completion of the March 10 game against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, which was suspended after one period of play, will resume on Monday, April 26 at 6:00 pm.  The score was tied at 1-1 after one period when the game was suspended due to league COVID-19 protocols.  Tonight’s game against Lehigh Valley has been cancelled due to COVID concerns.

P.M. NEWS TUESDAY 3-16-21

Chenango County Public Health reported 7 new COVID 19 cases today & they are confirming the 64th COVID-19 death in Chenango County.   Officials reported 86 active cases, 236 Active Quarantines 236, 14 hospitalized & a Total of 2570 cases since last year.  Chenango County Public health has vaccinated 2802 people so far, they anticipate 400 doses to be given this week for 1A & 1B priority groups identified by the state health department.

Many local Employers are looking for potential employees currently, all over the region, CDO Workforce Spokesperson Zoe VanderMeulen explains:

(Zoe VanderMeulen 3-16-21)

Anyone looking for work or other services offered by CDO Workforce can call 607-832-5776.

Forbes has named The Raymond Corporation as one of America’s Best Midsize Employers for 2021 within the engineering and manufacturing industry. The final list ranks the best midsize employers from a total of 500 companies, after polling an anonymous group of employees.  The list of best midsize employers was determined by Forbes in partnership with Statistica, who surveyed 50,000 Americans working for businesses with at least 1,000 employees.  More information about The Raymond Corporation is available at raymondcorp.com or call 800-235-7200.

U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced $5,010,209 in allocations for the Capital Fund Program in the Southern Tier, which provides annual grants to Public Housing Authorities. The funding was allocated through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Locally; the Norwich Housing Authority receives over $243,000 the Oneonta Housing Authority gets over $239,000.

A.M. NEWS TUESDAY 3-16-21

The Otsego County Department of Health will be holding a vaccination clinic at the Meadows Office Complex in Cooperstown Today; the registration link is on the Otsego County Department of Health Website.  Registration is mandatory & the vaccine is available to anyone currently listed as eligible according to State Guidelines.

The State DEC announced that the annual open burning ban will go into effect today through May 14th this year.  The DEC reported that Open burning of household trash releases dangerous compounds including arsenic, carbon monoxide, benzene, formaldehyde, lead, & others into the air,  Open burning is also the single greatest cause of wildfires in New York.  More information is available at dec.ny.gov/chemical.

Village elections are being held around New York State Today.  In Sidney, 3 people are running for 2 trustee seats on the Village Board, incumbent Vic Tartaglia, Patricia Cristelli & Write in Candidate Teri Schunk.  In Walton, 2 people are running for Mayor, Stephen Condon & Edward Snow Sr.  Many elections have candidates running unopposed this year throughout the Tri-County Area.

Delaware County Public Health reported 4 new COVID cases Monday out of 134 tested, there were 11 hospitalized, 110 active cases & 322 in Quarantine.

Governor Cuomo announced that wedding receptions and catered events can now resume statewide. Venues are restricted to 50% capacity, with no more than 150 attendees per event, All attendees must have proof of recent negative COVID test result or proof of immunization prior to the event, Venues must notify local health departments of large events, Masks will be required at all times except when seated and eating or drinking, Detailed guidance for in-person and catered events is available at governor.ny.gov.