WCDO Radio News

The Sidney Chamber of Commerce announced their annual award winners, with the Citizen of the Years going to Carol Allen, for her work with the Tri-County Senior Center & the United Way, she told WCDO that she was surprised to be chosen:

(Carol Allen 3-31-26)

The Business of the Years was USA Custom Pad, Owner Eric Wilson commented about receiving the award:

(Eric Wilson 3-31-26)

The Non Profit of the Years was the Sidney United Way, Executive Director Ray Baker comments:

(Ray Baker 3-31-26)

The Distinguished Citizen Award will go to businessman, & former Sidney Mayor Andy Matviak, all will be honored at the Sidney Chamber Annual Dinner in June.

A.M. NEWS Tuesday 3-31-26

Chenango County Sheriff's Office arrested 45 year old Travis Rifanburg of Oxford for Petty Larceny, Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance & Promoting Prison Contraband, Deputies conducted a traffic stop in the Town of Guilford, Rifanburg had a revoked drivers license and an active warrant for his arrest, he was transported to the Chenango County Sheriff's Office to be held for Centralized Arraignment, he was turned over to Corrections where he was found to be in possession of a quantity of methamphetamine. Rifanburg is to appear in the Town of Norwich Court and the Town of Guilford Court at later dates.

A.M. NEWS Tuesday 5-6-25

The Otsego County Sheriff's Office arrested several people on a variety of charges following a Burglary in progress report at a residence in the town of Pittsfield Sunday. Arrested were 24 year old Autumn Knapp of Morris, 50 year old Richard Suarez of Morris, 49 year old Travis Wilson of Pittsfield, and 41 year old Danielle Bemis of Pittsfield. It was reported that 4 subjects were inside of a house actively removing property, A Sheriff’s Office sergeant arrived on scene and located the defendants, additional deputies arrived on scene, the defendants were transported to the Otsego County Correctional Facility to await Centralized Arraignment. Travis Wilson and Danielle Bemis were remanded on $5,000 cash or $10,000 surety bond, Autumn Knapp was remanded on $15,000 cash or $30,000 surety bond, and Richard Suarez was remanded without bail. The investigation is on-going and additional charges are pending.

Broome County Sheriff's Office arrested 35 year old Travis Ross of Whitney Point for allegedly driving head-on into and on top of an occupied vehicle in the Town of Triangle. Early Monday morning, Deputies responded to a report of a 2-car motor vehicle accident in Triangle, patrols found Ross in the drivers seat of a Pickup truck that was parked on top of a Mitsubishi Eclipse, the 2 passengers escaped, 1 hid nearby and the other called 911 at a nearby store, neither occupants was injured. Ross was charged with 2 counts of Reckless Endangerment, 2 counts of 2nd degree Assault, along with several traffic violations, he was processed & released to appear at a later date in the Town of Triangle Court.

The Susquehanna SPCA & the Otsego County Sheriff's Department rescued 2 dogs & 2 Quail from a residence on County Route 35 in Milford. 2 emaciated dogs were taken to Cornell for treatment, the shelter is working with the Friends Network to foster and rehabilitate the birds, to donate or to receive more information, go to sqspca.org.

A.M. NEWS WEDNESDAY 9-4-24

On Monday, Broome County Sheriff’s Office Road Patrol responded to the report of a male that had been stabbed in the chest at an apartment complex In the Town of Union. Patrols located the victim lying on the ground of the parking lot of the complex, with two witnesses providing first aid, deputies immediately provided life-saving measures until EMS arrived. The victim was then transported to UHS Wilson Hospital, where he remains in serious condition. 32 year old Janzer Canelo of Endicott and the victim were both residents of the apartment complex and had been in an ongoing dispute over laundry, Canelo was charged with 1st Degree Assault, he was transported for arraignment & remains in custody at the Broome County Sheriff’s Correctional Facility.

The Broome County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a multi-vehicle accident that occurred on State Route 12A in the Town of Chenango at about 8:10 AM this morning. Broome County Sheriff’s Office patrols received a report of a stolen Kia SUV in the Town of Chenango, a patrol recognized the stolen vehicle waiting at a stop light and initiated a traffic stop, the deputy approached the vehicle, the driver took off at a high rate of speed, running a red light, the deputy returned to his vehicle and began to initiate what would ultimately be a short pursuit, with the stolen Kia colliding with two other vehicles less than a mile from the site of the original traffic stop. The driver of 1 of the vehicles hit, sustained serious injuries and was transported to UHS Wilson Medical Center for treatment. The driver of the stolen Kia was identified as a minor, sustained minor injuries and was also taken to Wilson. The investigation is continuing.

The Community Cultural Center at 1 Bridge Street in Sidney will host a Comedy Night tonight with Pat Dabiere & Travis Sealey & host Mikael Gregg. Tickets Are $15 Per Person Or $25 Per Couple at the door. Spokesperson Amy Williams told WCDO that there will be an event for children on Saturday:

(Amy Williams 2-9-24)

More information about upcoming events at the Community Cultural Center can be found on their Facebook page.

Police in Vestal announced that they are seeking 87 year old Charles McGlynn of Vestal, as a missing vulnerable adult. McGlynn suffers from dementia, and may require medical attention, he was last seen Tuesday afternoon at about 3:00PM on Hazel Drive in Vestal, he may be driving a 2009 grey Honda Civic with license plate number ANW-2161, he is described as a white male, 6'1", about 150 pounds, with white hair & a mustache, and blue eyes & wears glasses, he was wearing a white shirt, blue jeans and a blue jacket. Anyone with information is asked to call Vestal Police at 786-7600 or 911.

State Police and the American Red Cross are Co-hosting the 5th annual State Trooper Christopher Skinner Memorial Blood Drive in Kirkwood today. Trooper Skinner was intentionally run down by Almond Upton while he was conducting a traffic stop on I-81 in 2014, a blood drive has been held in Skinner's memory every year since his death. The blood drive today runs from 12:00 Noon until 6:00 PM at the 5 Mile Point Fire Company at 16 Crescent Drive in Kirkwood. The blood drive is open to the public as well as those in Law Enforcement, appointments can be made at redcrossblood.org or at 1-800-red cross.

The Delaware County Chamber of Commerce will hold their next Friday Breakfast event in Walton on January 11th. The event will run from 8:30 to 10:00 am at the Castle on the Delaware 139 Stockton Avenue in Walton. The featured speaker is Perry Dewey, Superintendent at DCMO BOCES, who will talk about on-campus, work-ready training programs for graduating high school seniors and how Delaware County's educational leaders are collaborating with the business community. More information is available at delawarecounty.org.

Former Broome County Family Court Judge Rick Miller has had a lawsuit filed against him by 2 former employees in his office of sexual harassment. The lawsuit claims that Miller subjected the employees to harassing and abusive behavior at least 50 times between 2015 and June of 2017. Miller was removed from the bench in 2016.

Now that Christmas has passed, chenango County residents may wonder how they shoudl dispose of their trees this year. Dustin Hendricks of Chenango County DPW Explains:

(Dustin Hendricks 12-26-18)

Chenango County has 3 solid waste and recycling facilities operated by the Department of Public Works, the Pharsalia Landfill, plus 2 Transfer Stations, 1 in the Town of North Norwich and the other near Brisben.

4 Deposit men have been arrested in connection with a stabbing at the McDonald's on Main Street in Johnson City on December 20th. 2 men were taken to Wilson Hospital with stab wounds, Arrested for 2 counts each of gang assault were 22 year old Dane Edwards, 33 year old Jay Moore, 24 year old Travis Dise & 31 year old Christopher Nugent of Deposit, they were taken into custody without incident and will appear in court at a later date; additional arrests are expected.

Illegally manufactured fentanyl was the driving force behind a 45.2% increase in deaths involving synthetic opioids from 2016 to 2017, according to a new report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In all, there were 70,237 drug overdose deaths in 2017. Opioids were involved in 67.8%, or 47,600 of those deaths. Of those opioid-involved overdose deaths, 59.8% of them, or 28,466, were due to synthetic opioids. A separate report from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics released earlier this month found that in 2016 fentanyl surpassed heroin as the most commonly used drug in overdose deaths in the US.

The state Department of Health announced Thursday that the flu virus is prevalent in New York state. Health care workers, who are not vaccinated, are now required to wear a surgical procedure mask around patients. The department has also launched a flu tracker that allows people to stay up-to-date about flu rates in their county. Department reps say there have been over 3,000 flu cases in the state so far this season

The Otsego County Chamber of Commerce will hold their annual State of The State Breakfast on January 2nd at the SUNY Oneonta Otsego Grille in the Morris Conference Center. The event will begin at 8:30, State Senator Jim Seward & Oneonta Mayor Gary Herzig will be among the guest speakers.

The City of Oneonta Department of Public Service will be replacing a water main valve located on West Ann Street today. Work is to take place starting at 8am with water outages to begin at 9am. Residents on West Ann, Baker, London, Wilcox, and River Street (between Ann and Wilcox) will be without water for the duration of the project. West Ann St will be closed to traffic for the duration of work. Drivers on West Ann Street are advised to move vehicles from driveways prior to 8am. More information is available at 432-2100

A Horseheads man is in critical condition after being hit by a train in the town of Union Friday night.  New York State Police say, Travis J. Cliburn, 21, of Horseheads, was walking along the Norfolk - Southern Tier Train Tracks when he was hit by a train at approximately 11:15 Friday night.  Cliburn was sent to Wilson Memorial Hospital in Johnson City and then transferred to Upstate Medical Hospital in Syracuse. He is in critical condition.

Three stabbings sent three people to the hospital Saturday morning and police are saying that all of the cases are related.  Around 10 a.m. on Saturday in Johnson City, police arrested Abdoul Balume, 30, of Syracuse. He is charged with assault. Police said at approximately 12:30 a.m., a person who had been stabbed walked into UHS Binghamton General Hospital. The victim has since had surgery.  Two hours later, police responded to 14 Doubleday St. in Binghamton where two more stabbing victims were found. They were taken to Wilson Hospital in Johnson City where both victims had surgery.  The case remains under investigation.

The Broome County Sheriff’s Office responded to multiple tractor-trailers MVA on Interstate 81 south in the Town of Kirkwood Tuesday morning at about 5:40 AM.   Deputies arrived to find numerous vehicles on fire, blocking all lanes and with a significant diesel fuel spill. The Preliminary investigation revealed that a southbound tractor-trailer from Canada, hauling canned goods, rear-ended a car carrier loaded with new SUV’s, 3 of them burst into flames. The second tractor-trailer then veered to the left, striking a third tractor-trailer and sheared open the fuel tank. The first truck, operated by Andrew High out of Ontario, Canada, also caught fire and came to rest partially in the median of Interstate 81.  High suffered a head injury and was transported to Wilson Hospital for treatment; he was ticketed for Following Too Closely. The investigation is continuing and further charges may be filed.  Interstate 81 South was closed for over 3 hours before opening two lanes of traffic.

The Chenango county sheriffs department arrested 20-year-old Travis Demuth of Oxford for 2nd degree Criminal Contempt.   Demuth is accused of violating an active order of protection issued in the Town of Norwich Court; he was released on his own recognizance and is to reappear in the Town of Afton Court at a later date.