WCDO Radio News

The Broome County District Attorney’s office announced that 27 year old Thomas Sessions of Whitney Point was arraigned Wednesday in Broome County Court, in connection with a March 23rd attack that seriously injured a Lisle resident. Sessions was located earlier this month in Arizona and taken into custody. The grand jury indictment charges Sessions with attempted 2nd degree murder, 1st degree assault, & attempted 1st & 2nd degree assault; he is accused of striking the victim in the head after knocking on the victim’s door & claiming to have a disabled vehicle.

A new report released Monday by a coalition of New York State law enforcement officials, public health experts and elected officials, showed that The Delaware County had the highest rates of gun-related suicide and homicide. The research focused at the rate of homicide and suicide in each county from 2012 to 2016, the report showed that for every 100,000 residents of Delaware County, there were 13.4 gun-related deaths, & the a rate of suicide by gun at 12.9. Other counties that ranked high were Allegany, Wyoming, Cattaraugus and Sullivan counties. New York State’s overall gun-related death rate was 4.4 deaths per 100,000 residents, which is below the national average of 11.8 deaths per 100,000 residents.

The Chenango County Sheriff’s Office arrested 19 year old Cordell Witherow of Plymouth for 3rd degree Assault. Witherow is accused of causing serious physical injury to an unidentified male victim. Witherow was released on an appearance ticket and is to appear in the Town of Plymouth Court at a later date.

Chenango County Sheriff's Department arrested 24 year old Cara Kaskeski of Mount Vision, for Welfare Fraud & Offering a False Instrument for Filing. Kaskeski allegedly collected more than $9,000 in child care assistance from July 2014 through November 2017 which she was not entitled to receive, she was issued appearance tickets to appear in the City of Norwich Court at a later date.

US Postal Inspectors, State Police CNET, Homeland Security Investigators (HSI), Vestal Police Department and the Broome County Drug Task Force made a controlled delivery of a package containing approximately 250 grams of Ecstasy to a residence in Binghamton. Following the delivery, a search was conducted at the home of 32 year old Andrew Davis, A search of the residence leads to the recovery of the package, digital scales, cellphone, & other items, Davis was charged with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance, he was arraigned and was remanded to the Broome County Jail without bail.

Delaware County Sheriff Deputies arrested 42 year old Patrick Renner Jr. of Stamford for Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle, Operating a Motor Vehicle without an Ignition Interlock Device, Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle & violating the terms of his probation. Renner is accused of driving a vehicle on Main Street in the Village of Stamford on Thursday with a revoked driver’s license and without an ignition interlock device, from a previous DWI conviction. Renner was arraigned and was remanded to the Delaware County Correctional Facility without bail pending further court action.

State Police arrested 36 year old Jennifer Grant of Westford for DWI, Operating a Vehicle While Registration Suspended, & Unlawful Possession of Marihuana, plus numerous traffic tickets. Troopers stopped Grant while on Otsego County Highway 34 after they observed her cross the center line and drive onto the shoulder. Grant was released to a sober third party and given appearance tickets to the town of Westford Court on July 17th.

Delaware County Public Health and Delaware Opportunities will be holding a free Car Seat Safety Event at Delaware Opportunities 35430 NY-10, in Hamden, today from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Parents and caregivers can have their child’s car seat checked at no cost by certified child safety seat technicians. Car seats which do not meet the Federal Motor Safety Standard may be replaced; more information is available at 832-5200.

22 year old Richard Garreau of Sherburne has been arrested by the Otsego County Sheriff’s Department, for allegedly stealing 5 guns and several other items from a Laurens residence. Garreau was allowed to live with and was given a job by the victim, who discovered that the items were gone once Garreau moved out. Garreau was remanded to the Otsego County Jail on $5,000 cash or $10,000 bond pending court action.

The Amphenol Corporation announced that the Vintage Manufacturing Facility buildings located at 40-60 Delaware Avenue in Sidney will be removed in preparation for future use. Amphenol spokesman Joe Bianchi stated that the plating operations at the west end of the site will continue to be in operation, the rest of the manufacturing and support operations were moved to Amphenol's new facility at 191 Delaware Avenue in 2014. The buildings in question were damaged in the flooding of 2006 and 2011 & no future use for those buildings could be identified. The building removal project will begin in June & should be finished in October of this year, under the guidance of the Village of Sidney, the state Department of Health & the state DEC. Potential future uses of the site are currently being considered.

School Budgets & Bus Propositions were passed by voters by large margins Tuesday across the Southern Tier. Area school district kept their increases close to the state cap, Only Stamford in Delaware County failed to get their budget passed, and a decision by their School Board will be made shortly.

The City of Norwich Fire Department announced that the Celebration scheduled for today for the retirement of Chief Tracy Chawgo has been postponed. According to the Niagara County Sheriff's Office, Chawgo's son Bradley died Monday night in a motorcycle crash in the town of Cambria, he was a graduate of Norwich City School District in 2013, and had recently left the Norwich area. Deputies reported that Bradley Chawgo was struck by an SUV driven by 19 year old Ajjada Amos of Niagara Falls, who may have fallen asleep at the wheel, crossed the center line and struck his motorcycle head on.

Dairy farmers may be able to get money back from the revised Margin Protection Program this month, but they have to sign up before June 1st in order to benefit. Farm Service Agency representatives in each county office across New York State are available to meet with dairy farmers to discuss the program and its anticipated returns for each particular farmer and help farmers sign up if they are not already enrolled. FSA representatives are available in Delaware County at 865-4005 and in Otsego County at 547-8131.

Governor Cuomo declared a state of emergency in nearby Putnam, Dutchess, Orange, and Sullivan Counties as they continue to recover from several severe thunderstorms yesterday. The Governor has deployed 125 members of the New York National Guard to assist communities with recovery efforts, plus thousands of state and local personnel are working to clear debris & re-open roads. A travel advisory was also put into effect for those counties, NYSEG reported over 10,000 were still without power from the storms earlier this afternoon.

Governor Cuomo announced a Lyme and tick-borne disease control plan on public lands, increase public awareness and create a working group to participate in a Lyme disease summit this summer. The Governor has directed the Department of Health, DEC and the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to collaborate in order to target priority counties and public lands with the highest risk of tick exposure and Lyme disease. More information about Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases is available at health.ny.gov.

Delaware County Sheriff's Deputies arrested a Hancock couple for allegedly possessing stolen Snowmobiles from Pennsylvania & possessing drugs packaged for sale. Deputies recovered 4 stolen snowmobiles in Hancock and Deposit, they arrested 28 year old Matthew Mason of Hancock, for Criminal Possession of Stolen Property for allegedly possessing the stolen snowmobile trailer and 4 snowmobiles, he was remanded to the Delaware County Jail on $10,000 cash bail or $20,000 bond. Deputies had also arrested 43 year old Tammy Moore on 2 separate occasions once for Aggravated DWI, Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs, Endangering the Welfare of a Child, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance & later for Criminal Possession of Stolen Property. Moore was returned to the County Jail after posting bail on the 1stset of charges. A search warrant was executed at the Mason and Moore home; deputies seized marihuana plants, processed marihuana & drug paraphernalia.

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.

Johnson City Police Department announced that 29-year-old Corey Robinson is being detained in Marietta, Georgia, he is suspected of murdering 46 year old Erika Smith Cunningham, who was found dead at 92 Crocker Avenue Sunday morning. An arrest warrant was issued on Thursday and Robinson was taken into custody a few hours later. Robinson will be charged with 2nd degree murder, Extradition proceedings have begun, Robinson is expected to be returned to Broome County in about a week.

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.

The Otsego County Department of Health is hosting the 2018 Living Healthier Expo at the Foothills Performing Arts center on market Street in Oneonta today & tomorrow. The American Red Cross will be holding blood drives over both days, topics will include Lyme disease, rabies Awareness, Chronic Disease management; more information is available at 547-4230 or LHEOtsego.com.

The Delaware County Chamber of Commerce is hosting their 2nd Annual Comedy show at the Old Schoolhouse Inn of Downsville Saturday Night starting at 7:30 PM. Tickets & more information are available at 746-2281 or delawarecounty.org.