WCDO Radio News

28-year-old Joshua Shurock of Norwich was sent to jail without bail, after being accused of assaulting a police officer & possession of heroin. Shurock was arrested last Thursday; he allegedly injured a Norwich officer while being arrested on the drug charge. The officer was treated & released at Chenango Memorial Hospital. Shurock was remanded back to jail pending future court action.

Delaware County Sheriff's Deputies arrested 36-year-old Seth Maki of Minnesota, with Criminal Impersonation; he is accused of falsely identifying himself to Deputies at the Delaware County Fair. Maki was arraigned in the Village of Walton Court and was remanded to the Delaware County Correctional Facility on $500 cash bail.

State Police arrested 28-year-old Todd Matias of Harpursville for Felony DWI, Aggravated Unlicensed Operation 1& several other traffic violations, after a trooper heard a vehicle with a loud exhaust on State Route 79, in the town of Colesville. The officer determined that Matias was driving while intoxicated, had a suspended driver's license, and an expired vehicle registration. Matias refused to submit to a breath test to determine his blood alcohol content, he was arraigned in the town of Colesville court, and was remanded to the Broome County jail on $5,000 cash bail or $10,000 bond.

Delaware County Sheriff's Deputies arrested 22-year-old Ashley Murphy, of Sidney Center, on a Bench Warrant issued by the Town of Walton, for failure to appear to answer a charge of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance. Murphy was arraigned in the Town of Walton Court and was released on her own recognizance and directed to reappear in the Town of Walton Court on a later date.

State Police arrested 46-year-old Wayne Johnson of Oneonta, for Felony DWI, Aggravated Unlicensed Operation, and Operating a Motor Vehicle without an Interlock Device. Johnson was pulled over for improperly working headlights, a trooper determined that Johnson was intoxicated, had a suspended driver’s license, and was driving a vehicle that was not equipped with an ignition interlock device. Johnson was arraigned in the town of Oneonta court and was remanded to the Otsego county jail on $1,500 cash bail or $3,000 bond, pending September 12th court action.

The Delaware County Chamber of Commerce will hold its September 1st Friday Eat & Meet on Friday, at 8:30 a.m., at the Sidney Elks Club, on River Street in Sidney. The featured speaker for the event is Bill Wagner, Director of Mobility Management of South Central New York, in partnership with Rural Health Network of South Central New York. More information or registration is available at 746-2281 or delawarecounty.org.

The Town of Hartwick offers collection containers for household batteries and mercury thermostats. There are 2 Drop-off Locations for rechargeable, button cell, and lithium batteries, one is at the Hartwick Town Hall at 103 Town Drive. The second is at Short Cuts located at 10 Commons Drive in the Hartwick Commons during open hours. Household batteries and mercury thermostats can be dropped off during town clerk’s hours, Monday-Wednesday, 10am-2pm and Thursday, 4pm -6pm.

Classes for those interested in receiving a high school equivalency diploma will be starting shortly. June White of the Afton Central School’s Adult & Continuing education program explains:

(June White 8-28-17)

More information is available at 639-2811.

Governor Cuomo signed Briana’s Law that requires State Police and New York City Police Department candidates and officers to receive CPR training prior to graduation and every 2 years after. In 2010, Briana Ojeda suffered an asthma attack while playing at a playground, on the way to the hospital; Briana's mother was stopped by a police officer who was unable to perform CPR. Briana died shortly after she got to the hospital. The new law will go into effect in 60 days.

The Chenango County Department of Public Works will close County Road 38 between Hohreiter Road and Searles Hill Road, in the Towns of Guilford and Bainbridge today, between 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM, for a Culvert Replacement project. Motorists are asked to seek alternative routes. More information is available at 337-1710.

The Oneonta City Clerk's office announced 3 meeting for today at City Hall. The Operations, Planning & Evaluation Committee will meet at 4:00 PM, the Finance Committee meets at 5:00 PM and the Zoning & Housing Board of Appeals meets at 7:00 PM. All meetings will be held in the Common Council Chambers & are open to the public.

Stephen Stills & Judy Collins will perform tonight at the Anderson Center @ SUNY Binghamton. Some Tickets are available at the Anderson Center Box Office, at 777-2787 or at anderson.binghamton.edu.

37 year old Robert Stutzer of Stamford has been charged with arson & criminal Mischief in connection with an alleged arson at 2630 State Highway 7 in the town of Unadilla last Thursday. State Police reported that Stutzer was arrested shortly after the report of a fire at that location on February 16th, the investigation is continuing.

The Chenango Arts Council recently installed a full sized Movie Theater sized screen to the Martin W. Kappel Theater in Norwich, for the viewing of classic movies for the public. New Chenango Arts Council Interim Executive Director Alecia O'Neill said that the first movie is tonight, & they will start with a Mel Brooks Classic:

(Alecia O'Neill 2-22-17)

Tickets & information for all of their events are available at Chenango Arts.org or at 336-ARTS.

State Lawmakers are considering a new law to make attacks against Police, Fire fighters or EMT's as "Hate Crimes", State Senator John Bonacic supports that measure:

(Bonacic 2-22-17)

Bonacic predicted that the bill would easily pass the Senate, but he was not sure if it would pass the Assembly. The bill was forwarded after an unprecedented number of attacks against Police, Firefigthers & EMT's around the country in recent years.

New York placed seventh nationally in the percentage of public high school graduates succeeding on Advanced Placement exams in 2016, moving up from eighth the year before, according to a College Board report released Wednesday. New York, which in 2008 led the nation and in 2012 was second, trailed other states that have surged ahead — including Massachusetts, which ranked No. 1 for the first time, with 31% of their high school graduates scoring a "3" or higher on last year's AP exam. Maryland ranked 2nd, followed by Connecticut, Florida, California & Virginia & then New York.

Governor Cuomo today announced the New York State Local Emergency Management Accreditation Program, the first of its kind state-level program for local emergency management agencies in the nation. The program, developed in partnership with the New York State Emergency Management Association, was outlined in the Governor’s 2017 State of the State and includes a series of standards that local emergency management offices must meet to obtain this unique accreditation. More information is available at dhses.ny.gov.

25 years after the “The Simpson” Homer at the Bat” episode aired, featuring Hall of Famers Ozzie Smith & Wade Boggs, the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum announced that they would pay tribute to that episode on Saturday, May 27. Boggs and Smith will join in a roundtable discussion from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. outside the Library entrance to the Hall, A brief ceremony Inducting Homer Simpson will be followed with the official ribbon cutting on a SIMPSONS-themed exhibit display in the Museum. THE SIMPSONS will also be honored prior to the Hall of Fame Classic legends game taking place that afternoon at Cooperstown’s historic Doubleday Field. More information is available at baseballhall.org or 888-HALL-OF-FAME or 607-547-7200.

New York Lottery officials announced that the Powerball jackpot for tonight's 10:59 PM drawing has climbed to $403 Million Dollars, after no one hit all the number in the last drawing on Saturday. 3 winners won 2 million dollars each by matching 5 numbers plus the "Power Play, 5 winners won 1 million dollars each for matching 5 numbers.

24-year-old Andre Lee of Binghamton was sentenced in Broome County Court to 25 years to life in jail for the July 4th 2015 killing of 19-year old Scott Wright in Binghamton. Lee got into a fight with Wright's friends at a party, he later returned with a gun & fatally shot Wright

Oneonta Police announced that 17-year-old Kobe Kimble and 17-year-old Gabriel Perez were arrested in connection to the knifepoint robbery of a SUNY Oneonta student in December. The teens were charged with Robbery, 4th degree Grand Larceny, Kimble was also charged with Criminal possession of a weapon, Menacing, & Petty Larceny. Perez was also charged with Petty Larceny and Harassment. Both were arraigned in & were held on $15,000 bail or $30,000 bond and remanded to the custody of the Otsego County Sheriff Department.

Sidney village police arrested 23-year-old Shane Fallon of Norwich for 1 count of 1st degree sexual abuse for allegedly abusing a child under the age of 11. Fallon was arraigned & was remanded to the Delaware County Jail on $5,000 cash bail pending future court action. Norwich Police, The Otsego County Sheriff’s Department & the Otsego County department of Social Services, assisted Sidney Police in the investigation.

The Otsego County Chamber of Commerce announced the 2017 winners of its annual awards. Chosen were A & D Transport Services, Inc., Marie Lusins of Oneonta, Family Planning of South Central New York, and the Otsego Land Trust. The award-winners will be honored March 28th at the Chamber's Annual Spring Dinner at the Hunt Union Ballroom at SUNY Oneonta.

The Sidney Elementary School Universal Pre-K Applications are available for the 2017-18 School year. Children must be four years old by December 1, 2017 in order to be eligible. Parents interested in having their child attend UPK must call the Sidney Elementary main office at 561-7701 to request an application.

The Village of Sidney has received close to another 2 million dollars in federal FEMA funds for their projects, thanks to US Senator Charles Schumer, Sidney Mayor Andy Matviak explains:

(Andy Matviak 1-18-17)

Senator Schumer visited Sidney in December 2014, and liked the plans & promised to work on getting the federal funding.

About 100 area residents attended last nights Unatego School district Town Hall meeting with Superintendent Dave Richards, who told WCDO News of the 2 main concerns:

(Dave Richards 1-18-17)

Richards said that the Facilities committee has suggested closing the Otego Elementary School first, and then the Unadilla Elementary School in 4 to 5 years after that, the Unatego Board of Education is expected to vote on the Otego closure next month. Richards said that the district has lost 28% of their student population in the last 10 years, and the 2 buildings are over 90 years old and face millions of dollars in repairs & renovations.

Another public meeting of the Oneonta Downtown Revitalization initiative will be held on Tuesday January 24th at the Foothills Performing Arts Center Atrium. Updated information will be provided by Stantec Urban Planners, Otsego Now & the local planning committee, regarding plans to transform the downtown business district. Oneonta received 10 million dollars from the state last year for the projects. The public is encouraged to attend & participate in the meeting on the 24th.

Delaware County Sheriff Deputies responded to a 2-car motor vehicle accident on State Highway 206 in the Town of Walton Monday. 48-year-old Tenzin Pelmo of Ithaca was rear-ended by a vehicle being driven by 37 year old Karyl Rose of Bainbridge. Both drivers were transported to Delaware Valley Hospital for treatment of their injuries. Rose was charged with Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs and Aggravated Unlicensed Operation, unsafe tires and following too closely. Rose was arraigned & was released on her own recognize pending later court action in Town of Walton Court.

Oneonta Police arrested 30-year-old Jesse Tetlow of Oneonta on charges of 2nd degree burglary, plus criminal contempt, obstructing Governmental administration & harassment. Tetlow is accused of entering the residence of a former girlfriend, which violated an order of protection, & pushing another resident against a washing machine and using physical force to prevent police from performing his official duties at the scene. Tetlow was sent to the Otsego county jail on $20,000 cash bail or $40,000 bond pending court action on Friday in Oneonta City Court.

An Afton Central School District bus slid off Lord Road in icy conditions this morning, No Injuries were reported, The Afton district delayed the opening of classes today by 2 hours.

Property tax levy growth for school districts will be capped at 1.26% for the 2017-18 fiscal year, according to State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. The tax cap limits tax levy increases to the lesser of the rate of inflation or 2% percent; with certain exceptions, including a provision that allows school districts to override the cap with 60% voter approval of their budget.

A presentation from Place Alliance was held at the Sidney Civic Center last night regarding the plans for the Sidney Green Streetscape project for Main Street. Ian Law is the Director of Urban Planning & Design for Place Alliance:

(Ian Law 1-18-17)

Plans call for new sidewalk configurations, new trees, lighting, and underground rainwater collection into reservoirs under the sidewalks. The plans are expected to go up for bidding next month, with construction getting underway this spring.

Bainbridge-Guilford-Afton-Harpursville Head Wrestling Coach Brandon MacNaught has been named the 2015-2016 New York State Wrestling Coach of the Year. The New York State Public High School Athletic Association recognized MacNaught's work during the 15-16 season, he had the task of working with 3 different school districts for his combined team, yet the Bears are consistently one of the most successful teams in the area. They sent several wrestlers to the state tournament in Albany last year and won several tournaments as a team as well.