WCDO Radio News

P.M. NEWS WEDNESDAY 11-25-20

State health department tested over 173,000 New Yorkers Tuesday, with 6265 testing positive, or 3.6% of all tested.  41 died from the virus Tuesday, the state death toll is 26,482 & 2982 are hospitalized.

Broome County Health Department reported 85 more cases of COVID 19 today; they have had a total of 4937 cases.  They report 116 deaths, 4202 recoveries & about 2900 are being monitored by the department.

Rockefeller the Owl was released back into the wild early this morning.  The owl made the trip from West Oneonta to New York City on the tree that will be the official Rockefeller Center Christmas tree this year, the owl was found by workers & was turned over to the Ravensbeard Wildlife Center in Saugerties, it is expected to acclimate itself to the local Owl Population.

The Norwich City School District Board of Education announced that Scott Ryan will be the next Superintendent of the District; Ryan is expected to take over for Interim Superintendent Diana Bowers in January.

Oswego State Supreme Court Justice Scott DelConte has ordered an injunction stopping the review of ballots in the 22nd Congressional District race between Anthony Brindisi & Claudia Tenney.  Judge DelConte stated that any new motions need to be filed by the campaigns’ attorneys by 5:00 p.m. Monday, November 30th; however, the State Board of Elections set a deadline of November 28th for county boards of elections to certify and transmit their election returns to the state.  Tenney was leading Brindisi by about 200 votes when the counting of absentee ballots was stopped.

A.M. NEWS WEDNESDAY 11-25-20

Otsego County Department of Health reported 21 new COVID 19 Cases reported Tuesday, 42 recent cases are linked to the Copper Fox in Oneonta, the department also reports a Potential exposure to COVID at the Red Jug Pub on Friday November 20th, patrons at that time should monitor for symptoms until December 4th.  Currently, Otsego County has had 1236 total confirmed cases, with 115 active cases, 6 hospitalized; there have been 8 deaths since March.  764 cases are linked to SUNY Oneonta & 71 confirmed cases linked to Hartwick College

Oneonta City School District announced that they have learned of a 5th staff member COVID 19 positive case & 1 confirmed case in a student. All District schools will go fully remote until Tuesday, January 19th & then return to hybrid instruction on January 19th.  81 students are in quarantine & 27 staff members are also in quarantine.   Meal distribution will continue to take place at the designated meal distribution points on Wednesdays.

Delaware County Public Health announced that they had 9 more cases of COVID 19 Tuesday, with 5 hospitalizations, 49 active cases & 222 in quarantine.  Delaware County has had 324 total cases of COVID 19, with 266 recoveries & 9 deaths.

The Sidney Central School District has been notified that 3 members of the District have tested positive for COVID-19. The Department of Health Services is conducting and completing the contact tracing. The Health Department will be contacting people impacted by a potential exposure. There will be no change to the instructional model at this time. The district is working in collaboration with local health departments to make sure all necessary procedures are followed.

The State Department of Labor released preliminary local area unemployment rates for October, the State’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased from 9.7% to 9.6%. Locally, Chenango County had 5% unemployment, Delaware County had 5.2% and Otsego County had 5.6% in October.

State Senator Jen Metzger of the 42nd Senate District, conceded the race to Republican Michael Martucci Tuesday.  There were 30,000 absentee ballots that needed to be counted in that district; the results confirmed Martucci's Election Day lead in the race.

The Delaware County Board of Supervisors adopted the county budget at their meeting Tuesday, several department heads received pay raises.  The budget has a property tax levy increase of about 1.7%

2020 SCHOOL BUDGET VOTES

DELAWARE COUNTY
Voters in the Sidney Central School District approved the district's proposed budget 538-131 & also approved a capital reserve fund 547-113.
Voters in the Walton Central School District approved the budget 796-292.
Voters in the Franklin School District approved their budget 289-130, and their bus proposition 289-147.
Voters in Deposit approved their budget 472-177, they also approved of their bus & library propositions.
Voters in the Charlotte Valley District voted in favor of their budget 336-188 & their capital reserve proposition 357-164
Voters in the Hancock Central School District voted for their budget 352-135.
Voters in Downsville approved of their budget 199-61
Voters in South Kortright approved their budget 196-64
Voters in the Delaware Academy District approved their budget 845-399 they also approved of the bus proposition & the asbestos abatement proposition.

CHENANGO COUNTY
Voters in the Afton School District approved of their budget 326-169, their bus proposition 285-207 & their building project 247-244.
Voters in the Bainbridge-Guilford Central School approved their Budget 541 to 255 & approved the bus proposition & the proposition for a Student on the Board of Education.
Norwich City School District voters approved their budget 1179-522, they approved the Leased Vehicles Proposition & the Library Budget.
Greene Central School District Voters approved their Budget 794-436 & passed both Propositions
Unadilla Valley district voters approved a $22.2 million budget by a vote of 534 to 219; Voters also approved a bus lease proposition by a vote of 557 to 194.
Oxford Academy district voters approved their budget School Budget 535 to 236; they also approved a Vehicle Purchase & the Oxford Memorial Library budget

OTSEGO COUNTY:
Voters in the Unatego School District voted in favor of their budget 594-293
Voters in the Edmeston School District approved their budget 171-18, they also approved of 3 vehicle purchases.
Gilbertsville Mount Upton Voters approved of their budget 267-133
Laurens School district voters approved of their budget 231-24, & voted in favor of purchasing busses by a similar margin.
Milford central School District voters approved their budget 467-272

Voters in the Morris District approved their budget 245-38
Voters in the Oneonta City School district approved of their budget, Bus proposition & Capital Project

BROOME COUNTY
Harpursville District Voters approved their budget, 508-194.

WINDSOR Central School district voters approved of their budget 991-537.

Governor Cuomo today said that the & The State Health department are carefully watching the numbers in the coming weeks, to see if the mass gathering protests will show a spike in Coronavirus cases:

(Cuomo 6-4-20)

The State Health Department reports the number of Hospitalizations from the Coronavirus is below 3000 statewide, the number of Deaths Wednesday was 52, the state death toll during this pandemic is 24,133, and the total number of cases is over 375,000.

A traffic-stop by Delaware County Sheriff's Deputies on May 30th resulted in 24 year old Garrett Gascon of Sidney being arrested on State Highway 10 in the Town of Walton.  Deputies discovered that Gascon's driving privileges were suspended for failure to answer summonses in Chenango and Otsego Counties & he was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and speeding & will appear in the Walton Town Court on a later date.

Delaware County Sheriff Deputies arrested 68 year old Thomas Lima of Franklin after they responded to a harassment complaint in the Town of Franklin on May 27th.  Lima allegedly made contact with, and harassed, a protected party for whom an order of protection was issued by the Delaware County Family Court, Deputies arrested Lima for harassment & criminal contempt, during processing at the Delaware County Sheriff's Office, Lima is accused of spitting on and attempting to trip Deputies, he was additionally charged with obstructing governmental administration & attempted assault on a police officer.  Lima was arraigned & was remanded to the Delaware County Correctional Facility on cash bail, pending future appearances in the Town of Franklin and Delhi Courts.

Chenango County Public Health announced that they are up to 133 confirmed cases of the Coronavirus since early March.  1 patient is currently hospitalized, 106 are quarantined, there have been 98 recoveries & 5 deaths, over 4900 tests have been performed.

The Broome County Health Department announced that they have had 583 positive cases of the Coronavirus since Early March.  There have been 45 deaths, 431 recoveries, 320 patients are being monitored by the Health Department, and they have conducted over 13,700 tests.

The Walton Central School District Board of education announced that they have appointed Michael MacDonald as the new Superintendent, starting on July 1st.  MacDonald will succeed interim Superintendent Larry Thomas; MacDonald started his education career as a Special Ed Teacher in Walton in the early 90's

Cornell Cooperative Extension, Catholic Charities, the SUNY Morrisville Norwich Campus will be holding dairy and ag product drive-thru event today at the Chenango County Fairgrounds.  A variety of dairy products, including Chobani yogurt, will be donated to those families in-need beginning at 2:00 p.m. until supplies are gone.

Oneonta City officials announced that Center Street will be closed today between 7:00 AM & 3:00 PM between Maple & East Street.  Crews will be repaving the street in that area, local traffic will be allowed where possible.

Governor Cuomo announced Thursday that the State has over 159,000 cases of the Coronavirus; they have reported 7,067 deaths so far, with another record breaking amount on Wednesday of 799 deaths.  Governor Cuomo said that people still need to stay at home, and there is no good estimate as to when this ends:

(Cuomo 4-9-20)

Meanwhile, over 800,000 New Yorkers are filing unemployment claims in recent weeks, crashing the state labor department’s system, Secretary to the Governor Melissa DeRosa said that the systems gets a reboot & new application tonight:

(DeRosa 4-9-20)

State Budget Director Robert Mujica said that the state will freeze the 2% increase in wages for state workers for 90 days, and they hope for Federal assistance:

(Mujica 4-9-20)

Governor Cuomo said that there are over 18,200 Hospitalized, the Number of people in ICU beds went up by only 60 Wednesday, the number of recoveries continues to increase.

Chenango County Health officials announced Thursday that they have 53 confirmed Coronavirus cases, there are 62 Precautionary Quarantines, 358 Mandatory Quarantines,  9 people are being treated in Hospitals, 10 people have Recovered they have administered 265 tests.

Delaware County Solid Waste Management Center & Compost facility is open but with reduced staff.  Spokesman Tyson Robb asks that County residents try to hold off on bringing recyclables to the Center at this time:

(Tyson Robb 4-9-20)

Robb said that hours are currently Tuesday through Saturday from 7:30 AM to 2:30 PM, they also suggest that visitors to the Center try to get in & out as quickly as possible.

Good Shepherd Communities Board and Senior Management announces $2 per hour differential for staff at their Binghamton Facility.  The Board reported that this is their way of thanking employees for the exceptional care they are providing to residents at all facilities during the Covid-19 crisis. All employees, except senior management, will receive a $2 per hour differential along with a free meal during lunch periods.

Caregivers at UHS Chenango Memorial are in for a sweet treat thanks to The Parson's Daughter chocolate shop of Norwich, by donating their stock of Easter candy to the UHS staff.  The Parson’s Daughter will re-open as soon as it’s safe to do so.

Broome County Health department announced that they have 93 confirmed cases of the Coronavirus.  Officials reported 6 deaths, 14 recoveries, 53 in Precautionary Quarantine, 194 in precautionary quarantine, they have conducted 700 tests.

Delaware County is reporting no new cases of the Coronavirus.  There are 42 confirmed positive cases, with 36 people under mandatory quarantine and 2 people under precautionary quarantine. To date 289 people have been tested, 5 confirmed cases have been transferred out of the county to where the person actually resides. Of the 37 confirmed positive cases, 6 are isolated in a hospital, 23 are recovering at home, 1 person is deceased and 7 have fully recovered.

The Otsego County Department of Health is reporting a 2nd death from COVID 19, they currently have 35 confirmed cases, 5 are hospitalized, 12 have recovered, 94 people on mandatory quarantine, 4 people on precautionary quarantine, 46 people have been released from quarantine.

The State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment will meet today at 10:30 AM to consider petitions for rehearing of the Siting Board’s December 2019 approval of Bluestone Wind, LLC’s application for Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need to build and operate a 124-megawatt wind facility in the Towns of Windsor and Sanford.   The parties seeking rehearing are Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society, Broome County Concerned Residents and a resident of the Village of Johnson City. Bluestone Wind applied to construct and operate 27 wind turbines & its associated network, to reduce the potential spread of the COVID-19 virus, member of the public will be able to listen at dps.ny.gov/Webcasts.

The Bainbridge-Guilford Central School will hold a SPECIAL Board of Education Meeting  Today in the District Conference Room at 6:30 PM with open session starting at 7:00 PM. Check the BGCSD website for information on on-line or phone-in options for public viewing that will be available or call the District Office at 607-967-6321.

Due to the Coronavirus situation, The Village of Afton will be conducting their monthly board meeting through Zoom; the next meeting will be April 13th at 7:00 PM.

The Sidney, Sidney Center & Masonville Libraries will remain closed through April 29th.

Delaware County Sheriff Craig DuMond announced that the CDC
COVID-19 Alerts are available free from the Delaware County Sheriff’s
App.

(Sheriff Craig DuMond 3-18-20)

The app and the upgrade are available free for Android and
Apple.   The upgrade also includes
an Inmate Search, A map of sex offenders in Delaware County, press releases
& more.  Search for Delaware
County Sheriff's Office in the App Store or Google Play, or
apps.myocv.com.

1 Chenango County resident is among the newly confirmed
cases of the Corona Virus.  The
unidentified person is in quarantine, the County Health Department is not at
liberty to discuss the location of the quarantined patient.

State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli issued a revenue projection
for the 2020-2021 state budget which reflects an estimate of the economic
impact and ongoing volatility stemming from the spread of the coronavirus.
DiNapoli estimates tax revenue will be at least $4 billion below the
projections in the Executive Budget, he also offered an alternative scenario if
a more severe recession or sharper declines in the stock market occur, which
could lower tax revenues by more than $7 billion.  Governor Cuomo requested that DiNapoli
examine the revenue projection before the adopt a new budget, which is due
April 1st.

Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a domestic
dispute in the Town of Walton last Friday.
Deputies arrested 32 year old Heather Norton of Walton for Harassment,
Endangering Welfare of Child and Unlawful Imprisonment, for allegedly
restraining a person while acting in a manner likely to be injurious to a child
less than 17 years of age.  Norton was
arraigned in the Hamden Town Court and released on her own recognizance pending
her appearance in the Town of Walton Court on a later.

The New York State Department of Labor today released
preliminary local area unemployment rates for January 2020, which decreased
1/10th to 3.8%.   Locally, Chenango,
Delaware & Otsego County all had 5.6% unemployment in January.

Delaware Valley Humane Society officials
announced today that the office is open by appointment only, & dog &
cat food is available for those in need.
Adoptions services are still available; all inquiries should be made by
calling 563-7780.

Delaware County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Tina Mole
has declared a State of Emergency and County offices will be closed until
further notice, Mole said that maintaining “Social Distancing” is extremely
import during this COVID 19 Pandemic:

(Tina Mole 3-18-20)

The Delaware County Clerk’s office will remain open Tuesdays
and Thursdays, & Department of Motor Vehicles in Deposit, Margaretville and
Sidney will be closed until further notice.

Governor Cuomo announced that as of today, all New York State
schools are closed through at least April 1st.
Many area school districts announced that they would stay closed until
April 14th, due to concerns regarding COVID-19.

The STATE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR is implementing a filing
system & extending Unemployment office hours to address the increase in
Unemployment Claims.  A new more
efficient filing system based on the first letter of the applicants last name
will be put in place, A  - F will come on
Monday, G – N on Tuesday,  O – Z :
Wednesday, if you Missed your day go on Thursday and Friday

The Otsego County Sheriff’s Office has received information
of a possible scam occurring. Allegedly subjects are approaching residences
identifying themselves as being from the CDC and looking for test samples for
the Coronavirus.  Neither the Center for
Disease Control or the Otsego County Health Department has agents in the field
soliciting test samples.  If you
encounter such a situation request identification and DO NOT allow anyone into
your residence.  Report the matter to law
enforcement, any information as far a description of the subjects, vehicle info
would be helpful.

The Bainbridge-Guilford Central
School District will hold their Board of Education meeting today in the
District Conference room at 6:30 PM.
This is a date and place change from the originally scheduled meeting on
March 19, 2020.

Chamber & O’Hara Car & Truck Center of Sidney &
The Sidney Great American Supermarket are teaming up to put together grocery
orders and deliver them to those who cannot or should not come out during this
time with the Corona Virus issue so prevalent, Cork O’Hara explains:

(Cork O’Hara 3-18-20)

O’Hara said that they would start this endeavor tomorrow;
the number to place the order or get more information is 563-3404.

Governor Cuomo will issue an executive order directing
non-essential businesses to implement work-from-home policies effective this Friday.
Businesses that rely on in-office personnel must decrease their in-office
workforce by 50%, exemptions from the order will include shipping, media,
warehousing, grocery and food production, pharmacies, healthcare providers,
utilities, banks and related financial institutions.