WCDO Radio News

The Broome County Sheriff's Department is searching for a
missing teenager from Port Crane.  15
year old Rebecca Sabrina Cortez left her parent's home in Port Crane last
night; she is described 5', 6" tall weighing between 115-120 pounds and
has dark hair with highlights in it.  She
was last seen wearing light brown pajama pants and a dark blue sweat
shirt.  Anyone with information should
contact the Broome County Sheriff's office at 778-1911, option 1 or the Broome
County Sheriff’s Office tip line at 778-1196.

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Delaware County Public Health announced that a raccoon in
the Town of Bovina has tested positive for rabies. The rabid raccoon exposed 1
dog that was not up to date on its rabies vaccinations; Public Health is
working with the dog owner and Town of Bovina officials to implement six-month
quarantine on the dog. The Remaining 2019 rabies clinics in Delaware County are
listed at delawarecountypublichealth.com.

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Governor Cuomo today announced $187 million in funding to
support 25 statewide projects that will protect and transform New York State's
health care system. This funding from the Statewide Health Care Facility
Transformation Program will improve patient care through the development of
high-quality medical facilities and programs serving the inpatient, primary
care, mental health, substance use disorder and long-term care needs of
communities throughout the State.  The
Southern Tier will get 11.5 Million Dollars.

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Now that the Woodstock 50 festival has been completely
cancelled, fans who want to commemorate the original festival can still see a
series of concerts at the original Woodstock 1969 site, over the August 16th
through 18th Weekend.  Bethel Woods will
have the Ringo Starr All Star band August 16th, Santana & the Doobie
Brothers on Saturday August 17th, & John Fogerty on August 18th, Santana
& John Fogerty played at the original festival in 1969.  More information is available at
bethelwoodscenter.org.

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Local law enforcement officers
will take to the rooftops of several Dunkin' restaurants Friday Morning for the
annual "Cops on Top" event in order to raise awareness and funds for
Special Olympics New York. Locally, Law enforcement agencies are participating
Friday morning at the Dunkin Donuts at 117 State Route 7 in Sidney.

Governor Cuomo signed legislation authorizing firefighters
and other emergency medical responders to remove animals in unattended motor
vehicles under conditions that endanger their health or well-being. This
legislation will help reduce wait times when calls are made to 911 that a pet
is in danger, especially in areas and at times when law enforcement or animal
control availability is limited. The bill goes into effect immediately.

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19th District Congressman Antonio Delgado will be holding a
town hall meeting today at Awestruck Ciders at 8 Winkler Road in Sidney.  The meeting will be held from 6:30 to 7:30
PM.

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State Police continue to search for 32-year-old Brandon
Williams of Endwell, who has not been heard from since March 5th. Williams was
last seen in the area of State Highway 38B and State Route 26 in Maine.  Williams is described as 6'2", 220
pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with information can contact State Police at 775-1241.

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The Sidney Village Planning Board's regularly scheduled
meeting for Today at 6:00 PM has been cancelled.  The next meeting will be held Thursday
September 5, 2019 at 7:00 pm.

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The Bainbridge-Guilford Central School will hold a Board of
Education Meeting today in the District Conference Room at the Jr-Sr High
School at 6:30 PM. The business portion of the meeting will start at 7:00 PM.

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Governor Cuomo signed the Farm Workers Bill Wednesday, which
establishes a Fair Labor Practices Act to protect farm worker rights and ensure
equitable housing and working conditions.

(Cuomo 7-18-19)

The bill grants farm workers overtime pay, a day of rest
each week, disability and Paid Family Leave coverage, unemployment benefits and
other labor protections. The bill will take effect on January 1, 2020.

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The Guilford Town Board meeting last night drew a standing
room only crowd of citizens, who wanted answers to their questions about the proposed
High Bridge Wind Farm project by Calpine, Priscilla Welden of the Concerned
Neighbors of Guilford commented:

(Priscilla Welden 7-18-19)

The Proposal calls for up to 30 large Wind Turbines to be
placed around the town of Guilford to generate sustainable energy, the project
will also require state approval.

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Broadway in Binghamton announced their lineup of shows
coming to Binghamton for the 2019-2020 seasons, Tina Niles of NAC Entertainment
comments:

(Tina Niles 7-18-19)

Niles said that tickets will also go on sale Monday at 10:00
AM, for the Off Broadway show "The Office; A Musical Parody" based on
the popular TV sitcom starring Steve Carrell.
Tickets for "The Office" and the rest of the announced shows
are available at the Arena Box Office or through Broadway In Binghamton.com.

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The Catskill Watershed Corporation awarded grants for almost
$200,000 to schools and nonprofit organizations in the watershed region for
educational projects and programs.  33
grants were announced, more information is available at cwconline.org.

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Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 40-Year-Old
Robert Decker of Sidney on an active Bench Warrant from Town of Sidney Court
for failure to appear on previous charges of Menacing and Harassment.  Decker was arraigned in the Town of Sidney
Court, and he was remanded to the Delaware County Correctional Facility on
$1,000 cash bail or $2,000 bond.  Decker
is scheduled to re-appear in the Town of Sidney Court at a later date, Deputies
were assisted by the Village of Sidney Police Department.

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State Police arrested 57 year old Edward Fernly of Oneonta,
on 5 counts of petty larceny.  Fernly is
accused of stealing items from Lowe's in Oneonta, worth about $930.  Fernly was released on appearance tickets for
Oneonta Town Court at a later date.

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Organizers of Woodstock 50 have
submitted their 3rd application to have the event held at Vernon Downs in
Oneida County.  Previous applications
were turned down due to the closeness in time of the scheduled event, and for
the lack of planning for law enforcement & first responders to be on hand
to sufficiently handle the demands of a large 3 day music festival.  A previous attempt to hold the festival on
the 50th anniversary of the original Woodstock festival at Watkins Glen
international fell apart last month.

25 year old John Mehne of Florida pleaded not guilty
Wednesday to a Broome County grand jury's indictment.  Mehne was arrested June 4 after he allegedly
crashed a stolen car on I-81, tried to escape by jumping on 2 other vehicles,
fled in to the woods, then Police agencies launched a manhunt.  The grand jury indicted Mehne for Grand
Larceny and Menacing; he was arraigned on the latest charges & was remanded
back to the Broome County Jail.  Another
Grand Jury presentation is expected, as the Broome County District Attorney's
Office continues to work with State Police on additional charges relating to
the series of incidents involving Mehne on June 4th.

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The State Office of General Services announced that a
surplus vehicle, highway equipment, and miscellaneous property auction has been
scheduled on Wednesday, July 24th.
Information on specific items and terms of sale is available at
ogs.ny.gov; the auction will begin at 9:30 am at the State Police Troop C
headquarters on State Route 7, between Sidney & Unadilla

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Delaware County Public Health will hold a Free Rabies
Vaccination Clinic For dogs, cats and ferrets today from 5:00 to 7:00 pm at the
Masonville Fire Hall.  More information
is available at 832-5200 or delawarecountypublichealth.com

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New York Police Agencies & the New York Sheriff's
Association have come out against Governor Cuomo's plan to stop publishing
Mugshots to their websites & to newspapers.
Delaware County Sheriff Craig Dumond told WCDO News that his department
will release Mugshots in the manner they always have:

(Dumond 4-9-19)

New York State Police have stopped placing mugshots on their
website & in their Press releases on April 1st.

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The Investigation of Scott Lisincchia revealed that he had
drugs in his system, at the time when he was the driver in Schoharie limo crash
that killed 20 people last October.
Lisincchia reportedly had marijuana and traces of an anti-seizure
medication in his system; he was one of the 20 killed in the crash.  The owner of the Prestige Limo Service that
Lisincchia worked for, Nauman Hussein, faces grand jury proceedings
tomorrow.  The National Transportation
Safety Board and state police are continuing to investigate the crash.

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State Attorney General Letitia James provided taxpayers with
tips to help avoid fraudulent tax schemes, and how to report any suspected
scams intended to steal personal and financial information.  Currently, Scammers are impersonating
representatives from the U.S. Treasury Department, the IRS, the Taxpayer
Advocate Service in an attempt to collect phony tax debts; & some Scammers
claim consumers owe past tax debts and insist that consumers pay using a
prepaid credit card or gift card;   New
Yorkers should report potential scams to the Office of the Attorney General by
submitting a complaint online or calling the consumer hotline at
1-800-771-7755.

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The State Education Department needs to improve its efforts
to ensure school districts are following state requirements for school safety
planning, according to an audit released by State Comptroller Tom
DiNapoli.  The audit found that the Department
did not do enough to make certain that the requirements under the Safe Schools
Against Violence in Education Act were being met by school districts, many of
the districts could not demonstrate they had adopted annual safety plans, held
public hearings on the plans, or appointed required personnel to safety teams
or trained employees on the plans.

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State Police continue to investigate the November 1983
murder of 19-year-old Bessie Williams of Johnson City, who was reported missing
to the Johnson City Police Department when she did not return home after
picking up her paycheck at the Quality Inn Lodge in Endwell.   On April 11, 1985, State Police responded to
a report of human skeletal remains near King Street in the Town of Barker.    A forensic examination determined the
remains were those of Bessie Williams, and the manner of death was
homicide.  State Police have been attempting
to identify a suspect whose vehicle was towed by citizens in the fall of 1983,
from a field bordering the wooded area where her remains were discovered, he
was described as an intoxicated white male, 25 - 30 years old, 5' 7" to
5'10" with medium build, wearing work boots, jeans and a blue wind
breaker, the vehicle was a late 1970s white hatchback.  Many leads have been followed up, the case is
still open.  Anyone with information is
asked can call State Police at 561-7400.

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State DEC Officials remind New
Yorkers that there is a burn ban in the state through May 14.  Officials stated that open burning of
household trash releases dangerous compounds including arsenic, carbon
monoxide, formaldehyde, and lead, into the air, & that open burning is also
the single greatest cause of wildfires in New York, a few have already been
reported in the Mohawk Valley Region.
More information is available at dec.ny.gov/chemical.

State Police arrested 54 year old William Davis of Franklin
for DWI, after a trooper was dispatched to State Highway 357 in the town of
Sidney for a 1-car rollover.  The trooper
located Davis’s vehicle down an earth embankment and on its roof.  Davis was uncooperative with the trooper’s
investigation and did not want to be seen by EMS even though he had blood on
his face and hands,  He arrested &
arraigned in the town of Sidney Court and remanded to the Delaware County Jail
on $1,000 cash bail or $2,000 bond.  His
next court date in the town of Sidney is Thursday, He will also to appear at a
DMV refusal hearing on May 3, 2019 in the city of Oneonta.

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State Police arrested 45 year old Steven Whitehead of
Unadilla for DWI, after a trooper observed Whitehead’s vehicle with an
equipment violation while on Interstate 88 in the town of Sidney.  A traffic stop was initiated on River Road,
Whitehead was arrested & was released on appearance tickets for town of
Sidney court on April 25th, and he was turned over to the village of Sidney
Police Department where he was wanted on a warrant.

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The State DEC and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission
have scheduled a meeting in Hancock, today from 6:00 to 7:00 PM to update the
public on the ongoing 3-Year Joint Fisheries Investigation Plan for the Upper
Delaware River Tailwaters. The meeting will be held at Hancock High School, 67
Education Lane in Hancock.

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The next meeting for the General Clinton Canoe Regatta
committees will be held this evening at 7:00 PM.  The meetings will be held at Galaxy Bowl in
Bainbridge.

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