WCDO Radio News

State Senator Jim Seward & Otsego County Sheriff Richard Devlin will be sworn in for another term each at their respective positions, tomorrow at the Otsego County Courthouse in Cooperstown. Seward will be sworn into office for his 15th 2-year senate term. Otsego County Representative Rick Hulse Jr. will serve as master of ceremonies. Supreme Court Justice Michael Coccoma and Otsego County Judge Brian Burns will administer the oath of office; the ceremony begins at 1:00 p.m. at the County Courthouse at 197 Main Street Cooperstown.

State DMV Commissioner Barbara Fiala of Binghamton is retiring. Fiala served as the Broome County Executive before taking over the DMV in 2011 when she was appointed by Governor Cuomo. A successor for Fiala has not yet been announced.

The Broome County Legislature has passed a law that increases their pay. The new law would tie increases in pay for non-union county employees to the raises negotiated for union workers. The bill passed by a 9-4 vote Monday night. It still faces a public hearing and the signature of County Executive Debbie Preston before becoming law.

An Otsego county couple will be featured on ABC TV news’s 20/20 Friday night. Paul Sohacki & Katherine Gannon lived on 12 acres near Cooperstown, they were arrested after making complaints to the county District Attorney’s office about their neighbor Gene Ellis, whose driveway to access his land crosses slightly onto the couples land. The couple recorded videos of Ellis using the driveway in question, the investigation & complaints by a 3rd party led to Sohacki & Gannon facing charges of stalking Ellis. The segment will run on ABC television Friday night starting at 10:00 pm.

The statewide unemployment rate in New York fell from 6.2% to 6.0% in October 2014, reaching its lowest level since October 2008, according to preliminary figures released by the State Department of Labor. New York State’s private sector job count fell slightly by 4,700, or 0.1%. Locally, Chenango County's unemployment rate is 5.4%, Broome 6.0%, Delaware 6.0% and Otsego County 5.0% unemployment.

The Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 30-year-old Nicholas Ildefonso of Walton for aggravated unlicensed operation, improper licenses plates, uninspected motor vehicle, inadequate headlights, unregistered motor vehicle and no license plate lamps. Ildefonso was arraigned in the Town of Walton Court, where he posted bail in the amount of $950 and was released pending future court action.

Ganesh Ramsaran was arraigned on bribery charges in Chenango County Court Thursday, according to the Chenango County District Attorney's Office. Ramsaran was indicted on a bribery charge for allegedly trying to bribe a county corrections officer into letting him escape the county jail in exchange for $100,000. Ramsaran faces court action on the latest charge on December 5th; he faces sentencing on a 2nd degree murder charge in county court on December 1st.

The Chenango county district attorney’s office announced that 56 year old John Guzy of Bainbridge was indicted Thursday by a Chenango county grand jury, for 2nd degree murder, attempted 2nd degree murder, 2 counts of 1sdt degree assault, 2 counts criminal use of a firearm and 9 counts of criminal possession of a weapon, tampering with physical evidence and operating a vehicle with a BAC of .08 or higher. Guzy is accused of the murder of 26-year-old Derek Prindle and the shooting of his father last month; he remains held tin the Chenango county jail without bail

The Otsego county sheriffs department arrested 21-year-old Jeremy Folds of Hartwick on a variety of drug & weapons charges. Folds was found hunting illegally with a long gun by his probation officer Wednesday in the town of Hartwick, deputies also found 7.7 grams of Hydrocodone with intent to sell. Folds was charged with 3 counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal possession of a weapon, he was sent to the Otsego county jail on $5,000 bail.

There will be a Republican primary in the 52nd Senate District. The state Board of Elections officially certified the primary between Denver Jones and incumbent Senator Tom Libous, following a legal battle over the validity of Jones’s signatures for the ballot. The state Supreme Court Appellate Division ruled Jones had at least 1,000 valid signatures of registered Republicans in the district.

In Delaware County, Polls will be open from Noon to 9 PM. Democrats will hold a Primary in all towns for Governor and Lt Governor. Republicans will hold a Primary in the Town of Franklin for Member of Council; in the 101st Assembly District that includes Andes, Bovina, Davenport, Delhi, Hamden and Meredith. Delaware County residents needing more information can call the County Board of Elections at 746-2315.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said that his office will operate a statewide Election Day hotline to help ensure that all eligible voters are able to cast an effective ballot during today’s primary elections. Voters can report issues or problems at polls by calling 800-771-7755.

The Cancer Services Program of Delaware, Otsego and Schoharie counties will offer free health screenings to women 40 and older who are uninsured today, with the Bassett Cancer Institute's mobile screening coach. The Coach will be available from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM today at the American Legion located at 176 Main Street in Laurens. Appointments are available at 1-888-345-0225.

NEWS 7-2-14

An indictment was unsealed Tuesday morning in Federal Court, accusing State Senator Tom Libous of using his political influence to get his son a job with a law firm in Westchester County, following an investigation by the FBI and The IRS.   Libous is accused of giving   false statements to investigators, his son Matthew is charged with 6 counts of charges of impeding or obstructing the IRS and filing false tax returns. Following yesterdays’ arraignment in a federal court in Westchester County, Senator Libous released a statement: claiming that he has spent 26 years working for the people of his district, and he will continue to do so.   Libous claimed his innocence from the charge; his office issued a statement that Libous intends to run for re-election this year, as originally planned.

NYSEG Customers were without power earlier today, after heavy storms moved through Central New York yesterday afternoon. Falling trees, downed power lines and flooded roads were reported in Norwich and other area communities, 1 Norwich home was heavily damaged when a tree fell through it, according toe the Chenango county emergency operations center. About 3700 NYSEG Customers were without power during the height of the storm yesterday. The latest NYSEG Updates are available at outagemap.NYSEG.com.

The District 5 Ultimate Idol contest will get underway shortly, where area singers can showcase their abilities, with finalists possibly making onto the TV Talent show "The Voice” Lisa Jones of the Otsego County fair explains:

(Lisa Jones 7-2-14)

The fairs participating in the Ultimate Idol contest are Afton, Madison, Broome, Otsego & Delaware Caseloads continue to grow in family courts in New York State, and the lack of family court judges has caused a major backlog, but some relief is on the way. Family courts in 16 counties across the state will get help. Lawmakers recently approved a bill allowing for the addition of 20 new judges by 2015 and five more by 2016. Locally, a new family court judge will take office January 1, 2015 in Broome County, and a new family court judge will be seated in 2016 in Delaware County

The New York State Fair's new "Up Close With..." series kicks off at the 2014 Fair with stories from some of the former children from the TV series "The Brady Bunch," and from some of the comedians featured in the roundtable on the late-night "Chelsea Lately" talk show. The events take place August 23 and 24 at 7:30 p.m. in the Empire Theater of the Art & Home Center. General admission tickets to each event are $20 and will only be available at the State Fair Box Office beginning July 18th

Delaware county department of public works announced that oil & stone operations would begin on various county roads starting Monday July 7th. The work will begin on county road 18, followed by 33, 16, & 14. The 2nd round of oil & stone operations will then be performed on county roads 22, 23, 21, 17, 28 & 26, the operations should be concluded in 3 weeks, weather permitting. More information is available at 746-2128.

The National weather Service Storm prediction Center has designated the tri-county region as a slight chance for Severe Thunderstorms until 7:00 PM this evening. The primary threat will be for damaging winds, with flash floods, hail & isolated Tornadoes as a slight possibility, but which cannot be ruled out. Storms today may produce locally Heavy Rainfall due to the moist atmosphere. Stayed tuned to WCDO for the latest updates.

P.M. NEWS WEDNESDAY 6-25-14
Congressman Richard Hanna will be the Republican Party nominee after yesterdays’ Primary win over Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney. Hanna is looking to win his 3rd term in the November election, Tenney could still mount a challenge to Hanna as a third party candidate, no democrats have announced a run for the 22nd congressional district.

The State Labor Department released unemployment rates for May. The state’s private sector job count rose by 106,500 from May 2013 to May 2014. The state’s unemployment rate in May was unchanged at 6.7%, remaining at its lowest level since December 2008. In May, the number of private sector jobs in the state was 7,568,600, an all time high. Locally, Chenango County's rate is 5.7%, Broome County 6.4% Delaware County 6.3% and Otsego County 5.3% unemployment last month

State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman today announced that his office will sponsor a gun buyback in Binghamton on Saturday, June 28 from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM, as part of his statewide gun buyback program. The Attorney General’s Office will be accepting working and non-working, unloaded firearms in exchange for compensation on site. This Saturday’s gun buyback will take place at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 478, located at 65 Carroll Street in Binghamton, from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM.

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Delaware County will be sponsoring farmers' markets for the 2014 season in Sidney, Walton & Deposit. The Deposit Market will be August 21st & September 18th from 10:00am-2:00pm, the Sidney Farmers Market will be Every Tuesday from July 1st to September 30th from 10:00am to 2:00pm, the Walton Market will be on the 1st & 3rd Wednesdays from July 2nd to October 15th from 10:00am-2:00pm.

Oneonta police arrested 58-year-old James Hone of Oneonta following an incident earlier this month involving an envelope mailed to Oneonta City Court.  Hone was charged with Aggravated harassment in connection with the February 3rd incident when court employees opened a letter containing a white powder. After an investigation, the substance posed no threat to court personnel.   Hone was arraigned in Oneonta Town Court on Tuesday, he was sent to the Otsego County jail on $50,000 cash or $100,000 bond bail.

The problem of heroin addiction has come back again, as it seems to now regain popularity every 20 years, in spite of its deadly reputation.  Dave Ramsey of the Alcohol & Drug Abuse Council of Delaware county comments:

(Dave Ramsey 2-20-14)

Those in need of help regarding heroin or other substance addictions can access information through the council’s website at adaconline.org or by calling 746-8300.

The Chenango County Sheriff’s Office arrested Joshua Stilson of Guilford for 2nd degree Aggravated Harassment, following an incident in the Town of Norwich.  Stilson is accused of harassing an individual numerous times by electronic means, he was arraigned in the Town of Norwich court and released on his own recognizance, pending future court action.

The Tony Award winning musical “American Idiot” featuring the music of Green Day, will be coming to the Broome County Forum in Binghamton on Thursday March 6th at 7:30 PM.  NAC Entertainment spokesperson Tina Niles explains:

(Tina Niles 2-20-14)

Niles said that good seats are still available at the Arena Box Office and Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000 or ticketmaster.com.

The Bainbridge-Guilford Central School will hold a Board of Education Meeting today in the District Conference Room at 6:30 PM. The business portion of the meeting will start at 7:00 PM.