WCDO Radio News

The results are in from the State Board of Elections in the U.S. Senate seat, Democratic incumbent Kirsten Gillibrand by a 2 to 1 margin over Republican Chele Farley, in local Congressional races, in the 19th District, Democrat Antonio Delgado defeats incumbent John Faso by about 3%. In the 22nd District: Democrat Anthony Brindisi defeats incumbent Claudia Tenney. In State Office races, Incumbent Democrat Andrew Cuomo defeated all challengers to win a 3rd term as Governor, State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli easily defeats all challengers for another term., and the new Attorney General will be Democrat Letitia James. In the race for the 6th District State Supreme Court seat, Republican Joe McBride wins. In area State Senate races, in the 42nd district, Democrat Jennifer Metzger wins over Republican Ann Rabbitt for the seat previously held by the retiring John Bonacic, in the 51st district, Republican Incumbent Jim Seward wins re-election for a 17th term, in the 52nd district , Incumbent Republican Fred Akshar was unopposed. In local State Assembly Races, in the 121 District: Republican John Salka defeats longtime incumbent Bill Magee, in the 122 District: Incumbent Cliff Crouch easily defeats Conservative Nicholas Libous, in the 123rd District: Democratic incumbent Donna Lupardo was unopposed & in the 102nd District: Democrat Aidan O’Conner wins by a slim margin over incumbent Republican Christopher Tague. Rich Devlin is re-elected as Otsego County Sheriff & David Harder is re-elected as Broome County Sheriff.

State Police arrested 32 year old Jessica Klinegardner of Tompkins for Unlawful Possession of Personal Identification Information, after a complaint by the victim that she noticed suspicious charges on her deceased mother’s credit card. An investigation revealed that Klinegardner was working as a home health aide for the deceased victim; she was issued an appearance ticket to appear in the town of Tompkins Court on December 6th.

Tomorrow is Election Day, with a host of important races to be decided.
For FEDERAL Positions, in the U.S. SENATE, Democratic incumbent Kirsten Gillibrand faces Republican challenger Chele Farley. In area House of Representative Races; in the 19th District: Incumbent Republican John Faso faces challenges from Democrat Antonio Delgado, Green Candidate Steven Greenfield, & Independent Dianne Neal; in the 22nd District: Republican Incumbent Claudia Tenney vs Democrat Anthony Brindisi.
- - - - - - - - - -
In key races on the County Level, for Otsego County Sheriff; Incumbent Rich Devlin faces Robert Fernandez, in the Broome County Sheriff's race: Incumbent David Harder Vs Matt Ryan. . In the race for the 6th District of the State Supreme Court: Republican Joe McBride faces Democrat Elizabeth Burns.
- - - - - - - - -
For State Offices, for Governor: 2 term Incumbent Democrat Andrew Cuomo faces challenges from Republican Marcus Molinaro, Green Party Candidate Howie Hawkins, Libertarian Larry Sharpe, & Independent Stephanie Miner; in the race for Comptroller: Incumbent Democrat Tom DiNapoli, faces Republican Jonathan Trichter & Green Candidate Mark Dunlea, for Attorney General; Democrat Letitia James, Republican Keith Wofford, Green Candidate Michael Sussman, Libertarian Christopher Garvey are running In local State Senate races, in the 42nd District, Democrat Jennifer Metzger faces Republican Ann Rabbitt, in the 51st District; Republican Incumbent Jim Seward faces Democrat Joyce St. George. In the 52nd District, Incumbent Republican Fred Akshar is unopposed. In local State Assembly races, in the 121 District: Incumbent Bill Magee faces Republican John Salka, in the 122 District Incumbent Cliff Crouch faces a challenge from Conservative Nicholas Libous, there is no Democratic candidate. In the 123rd District: Democratic incumbent Donna Lupardo is unopposed, in the 102 District: Incumbent Republican Christopher Tague faces Democrat Aidan O’Conner

Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 31 year old Jessie Bolster and 40 year old Roy Bolster of Harpursville after they were stopped in Hancock for Traffic infractions. Jessie Bolster was operating the motor vehicle while having several active suspensions; Roy Bolster was wanted on an active arrest warrant from Tompkins County Family Court. A search of the vehicle revealed the pair were in possession of Oxycodone & bags of crystal methamphetamine. Both were charged with 4 counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance, Jessie Bolster was additionally charged with Aggravated Unlicensed Operation. Both were arraigned & were remanded to the Delaware County Correctional Facility in lieu of $10,000 cash/$20,000 secured bond.

A woman, who suffered cardiac arrest Friday, is expected to survive after the quick actions of State Troopers and a citizen. A trooper was dispatched to a report of a 70-year-old woman who had collapsed in the lobby of the Richfield Springs Post Office, She was unresponsive when the trooper arrived and a citizen was already performing CPR. Another trooper arrived & administered the Automated External Defibrillator, EMS arrived, and they took the woman to Basset Hospital in Cooperstown. The unidentified woman regained consciousness at the hospital and is expected to recover.

State Senator Fred Akshar has come under fire for his relationship with Jessica Williams, who has worked for Akshar, his predecessor Tom Libous & is now working for the state Senate Republicans staff and she has received large percentage pay increases since 2011. Akshar spokesman Emmanuel Priest told WCDO News that Williams' is involved with Senator Akshar, and the increasing salary was commensurate with the work she has been tasked with doing. Akshar has been a State Senator since 2015, when he won a special election to fill Libous's seat.

The 7th & Final "Rock in the Park" will be held tomorrow at General Clinton Park in Bainbridge, organizer Jason Hall explains:

(Jason Hall 7-6-18)

The show is scheduled to begin at 12:00 Noon tomorrow, with the headliners "Tusk-A Tribute To Fleetwood Mac" going on stage in the early evening.

The annual Gus Macker 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament has been scheduled for the weekend of July 14th & 15th in Norwich, organizer Tom Revoir told WCDO news how teams can register:

(Tom Revoir 6-4-18)

Hundreds of teams & thousands of spectators traditionally fill up the streets in Norwich during this annual event, details are available at Macker.com.

On Monday, at 9:30am, Senator Fred Akshar will join Harpursville Central School District staff and students to unveil a new playground at the Olmstead Elementary school. Senator Akshar was able to secure $135,000 in last year's State Budget for the improvements to make the playground accessible for children of all abilities.

State Senator Fred Akshar announced that there will be a free "Shed the Meds" event, at the Oakdale mall in Johnson City Saturday from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Drop off point will be in the mall parking lot near the back entrance of the UHS Stay Healthy facility. Southern Tier Aids Program will also conduct a Narcan Training event, registration is requested at Akshar.nysenate.gov.

The 4th annual Sidney Veterans Memorial Park Association Golf Tournament will be held on Sunday at the Sidney Golf & Country Club, as a fundraiser for future work at the Memorial site in Sidney at River Street near State Route 8. Spokesman Tom Ruff explains:

(Tom Ruff 6-1-18)

More information is available at 518-256-7899 or at Sidney Veteran’s Memorial Park.org.

Assemblyman Cliff Crouch held a Campaign Stop in Afton today, surrounded by local leaders from his district, lending their support. Bainbridge Mayor Phillip Wade & Sidney Mayor Andy Matviak gave their endorsements:

(Mayors 5-117-18)

Crouch acknowledge that he may have an opponent forcing a Republican Primary this year in Nicholas Libous, the son of the late State Senator Tom Libous:

(Crouch 5-17-18)

Crouch has served in the state Assembly since 1995, when he won a special mid-term election to replace Clarence Rappleyea, who left the Assembly to run the New York Power Authority.

THE New York STATE CHAMPION DELHI GIRLS BASKETBALL TEAM WAS HONORED IN ALBANY WEDNESDAY. THE LADY BULLDOGS WERE RECOGNIZED AT THE CAPITAL BUILDING ON THE SENATE FLOOR AND THE ASSEMBLY FLOOR BY SENATORS JAMES SEWARD, FRED AKSHAR AND JOHN BONACIC. A STATE LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION WAS PASSED CONGRATULATING THE TEAM ON winning THE CLASS-D GIRLS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP OVER FRANKLINVILLE IN MARCH. Pictures of yesterday’s event can be located at WCDOSPORTS.COM.

Oneonta City officials announced that their First Fabulous Fridays will begin on May 4th this year. Scheduled for the season opener are Tom & Doug's Cruise-In on Main Street from 5:00 to 8:00 PM, with Live Music, food & Beverages available.

The New York State Senate passed "Laree's Law" this week. Laree's Law would allow law enforcement officials to charge a drug dealer with homicide if a death results from the sale of heroin or an opiate controlled substance. State Senator Fred Akshar voted in favor of the measure, he said that High-level drug dealers who profit from the heroin epidemic should be held accountable for the lives taken from the sale of the deadly drugs, the bill moves onto the Assembly for consideration.

Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo and State Senator Fred Akshar joined local law enforcement officials Friday to discuss cracking down on impaired driving across the State. Last year, the 2 legislators were successful in securing $1.6 million in state funding for STOP-DWI programs that became available for use to local programs at the beginning of 2018. Additionally, Lupardo and Akshar are also working on legislation that would allow for fines from impaired driving offenses to be collected ahead of other fees and surcharges collected by the state.

State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli issued an audit that Reveals Issues Behind Broome County's Fiscal Stress. From 2014 through 2016, Broome County depleted its fund balance to dangerously low levels jeopardizing public services and long-term infrastructure investments, DiNapoli recommended that the county stop using the fund balance to finance recurring expenditures; Develop a fund balance policy that establishes a reasonable amount of fund balance, reduce or eliminate reliance on short-term borrowing; & Adopt balanced budgets. The final audit can be read at osc.state.ny.us.

26 school districts have been designated as fiscally stressed under State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s Fiscal Stress Monitoring System, which is a decrease from 59 districts that were listed in stress last year. None of the local schools were listed in significant stress, however 3 of the 7 are in “moderate fiscal stress” are local, they included the Norwich City School District, Harpursville central School & Schenevus central school. 17 schools were listed as “susceptible to fiscal stress”, which included Unatego & Oxford Academy. The highest percentages of stressed school districts were in Central New York with 8.3% and the Southern Tier 8.1%.

State Senator Fred Akshar released his latest Community Voice Survey online and by mail to poll the community on various issues facing constituents. Over 100,000 households across the 52nd District will be receiving the survey in the mail, which can be returned by mail after completion. The survey can be completed online at Akshar.NYSenate.Gov.

SUNY Delhi & CDO Workforce will hold a seminar tomorrow in Sidney regarding College degrees & Career Opportunities. Misty Fields of SUNY Delhi will hold the seminar at 1:00 PM at the CDO Workforce offices at the Sidney Civic Center Friday, reservations are encouraged at 832-5776, but walk-ins will be welcomed.