WCDO Radio News

State Police arrested 36 year old Jennifer Warner of Port Crane for Grand Larceny, Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle and Petty Larceny. Troopers were dispatched on July 22nd to the Cracker Barrel in Dickinson for the report of an employee’s vehicle stolen. The vehicle was located in a nearby parking lot; a wallet containing money and credit cards was reported missing. Warner is accused of walking into the restaurant and taking the victim’s keys. Warner was arrested and arraigned in the town of Dickinson Court & she was remanded to the Broome County Jail on cash bail pending future court action.

A.O. Fox Hospital will begin construction on its Main Entrance on 4th Street in Oneonta starting tomorrow. Fox Spokesperson Gabrielle Argo explains that patients & visitors can enter the hospital in other entrances:

(Gabby Argo 10-15-18)

Argo said that the construction project is expected to last 6 weeks more information is available at 431-5009.

State Police arrested 44 year old Lynn Shearer of Windsor for Aggravated DWI with a reportable B.A.C of .19%. Troopers were dispatched to a report of a vehicle in a ditch on Morgan Road in Binghamton. Troopers located Shearer; she was arrested & was released on appearance tickets for town of Binghamton Court on October 29th.

The Binghamton Devils have partnered with the American Red Cross to benefit the Hurricane Michael Relief Fund during the weekend of October 19 and 20. Discounted tickets benefiting the relief fund will be available for the October 19 game against Syracuse and the October 20 game against Cleveland. The special tickets can be purchased at a discounted rate of $18 in person at the Binghamton Devils front office or online at binghamtondevils.formstack.com/forms/hurricane_michael_relief until 5:00 PM on each of the game days, the Binghamton Devils will donate $5 to the Hurricane Michael Relief Fund for each of the special tickets sold.

Oneonta City officials announced today that their contractor will be paving West Broadway on Tuesday, between 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The street will be closed to traffic during paving operations. Driveway access will be limited during the duration of work. More information is available by calling the Department of Public Service at 432-2100.

State Police responded to a fatal accident Saturday at approximately 8:20 p.m. on State Route 23 in the town of Oneonta. 45-year-old Katy Doughty of Walton was crossing State Route 23 near State Highway 28 when she was struck by a vehicle, the section of road is not lit and she was not crossing at a crosswalk. 2 people provided CPR, Oneonta EMS and Fire attempted to provide lifesaving measures but were unable to, Doughty was pronounced dead at the scene, she was transported to Lourdes Hospital for an autopsy. The accident remains under investigation, no tickets have been issued.

State Police arrested 20 year old Andrew Keil of Oneonta for Falsely Reporting an Incident and Making a Punishable False Written Statement. Troopers were dispatched to a report of a burglary at Keil’s residence, he reported that approximately $1,360 was taken, Investigators were able to determine that Keil lied to troopers and signed a statement about the incident and he was arrested. He was released on appearance tickets returnable to the town of Oneonta Court on Tuesday.

State Police arrested 21 year old Alicia Randall of Edmeston for DWI, Unlawful Fleeing a Police Officer and Reckless Driving. A trooper on patrol on County Road 20 in Edmeston observed the vehicle Randall was operating to be traveling at a high rate of speed. When the trooper attempted to make a traffic stop, Randall passed another vehicle in a no passing zone then turned onto High Street before stopping, she was arrested and released an appearance tickets returnable to the town of Edmeston Court on October 29th.

The State DOT announced that work will be performed on the State Route 41 Bridge over Fly Creek in the town of Sanford, starting today. The work will require the closure of the bridge with temporary signed detours. Work will be performed weather permitting.

Animal Adventure Park announced today that April the Giraffe Expecting a New Calf Next Spring. Animal Adventure Owner Jordan Patch comments:

(Jordan Patch 7-25-18)

Patch said that the tests showed that April is already months into her 15 month pregnancy and expecting her fifth calf in early Spring 2019. Last year, more than a million
viewers worldwide watched April give birth to Tajiri on April 15th; the current pregnancy journey will again be available on social media.

The eastbound lanes of I-88 were closed earlier today between exits 17 and 18 in Otsego County, due to a multiple tractor trailer accident. State Police reported that 2
tractor trailers and a pickup truck pulling an empty livestock trailer crashed, the 1st tractor trailer was traveling eastbound in the left lane of I-88 when it hit the guide
wires, got caught up and then ended up in the right lane, the 2nd tractor trailer also got caught up in the guide wires that were stretched across the road, State Police
reported that the 2nd driver possibly tried to back up when the pickup truck rear-ended the 2nd tractor trailer. The pickup truck then got stuck under the back of the 2nd
tractor trailer, and the driver had to be extricated from the truck, suffering only minor injuries. the investigation is continuing.

The State DOT officials held a press conference at the Southern Tier Welcome Center in Broome County this morning to highlight the importance of driving safely in
construction work zones. 21 crashes caused by distracted driving in work zones have already been reported across the State during the current construction season,
there has also been an alarming increase in altercations initiated by motorists against DOT staff, Region 9 DOT Spokesman Dave Hamburg comments:

(Dave Hamburg 7-25-18)

Officials stated that State agencies are working together and redoubling their efforts against offenders while raising awareness of this public safety issue.

The City of Oneonta announced that they will provide a presentation on the status of the Downtown Revitalization expenditures, as part of a special Common Council
meeting on Monday at City hall. The special meeting will begin at 6:00 PM in the 2nd floor Common Council Chambers, with the presentation at 7:00 PM.

Delaware County Department of Solid Waste announced that there is plenty of composted materials available for county residents for their gardens, Solid Waste
Coordinator Sue McIntyre explains:

(Sue McIntyre 7-25-18)

McIntyre said that arrangements to obtain compost can be made at 865-5805 extension 201, she also announced that the Delaware County Clean Sweep days will be held
on October 19th & 20th this year, registration for that event will begin in September.

A federal Judge is expected to sentence 30 year old Justin Crandall and his wife Jessica of Sidney today in Binghamton's federal court for their guilty pleas for the sexual abuse of a 17-month-old girl in their Sidney home. The couple could each face up to 90 years in prison at sentencing today.

State Highway 12 north in Oxford, over Fly Meadows Creek, will close this morning through August 8th for bridge deck replacement. The bridge is located north of the Village of Oxford between County Road 4 and Turner Street, Traffic will be required to detour using County Road 32 (East River Road) between State Highway 220/County Road 35 and County Road 32B (Halfway House Road Bridge) for the extent of the closure.

State Police arrested 26 year old Luis Tirado Jr. of Staten Island, for Operating a Motor Vehicle While Impaired by Drugs and unlawful possession of Marihuana. Troopers were on a stationary checkpoint in the village of Deposit, when Tirado was stopped, He was arrested & was issued appearance tickets to the village of Deposit Court returnable on August 14th.

A Free 7-Week Smoking Cessation Course will begin on Monday, August 6th, from 4:00 to 5:00 PM, at Fox Hospital’s Tri-Town Campus Conference Room at 43 Pearl Street West in Sidney. Interested people can Register for the classes by calling 431-5692, emailing deborah.roberts@aofmh.org, or at bassett.org/quit-today.

State Police arrested 23 year old Khalil Derios Jr of Oneonta, for Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance. Derios was stopped after he pulled through a checkpoint on State Route 7 in the town of Oneonta, a search yielded crack cocaine in Derios’s possession, he was arrested and issued an appearance ticket returnable to the town of Oneonta Court for today.

State Police arrested 32 year old Brandy Hodge of Greene for Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance, Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a motor vehicle and Unlawful Possession of Marihuana. Troopers observed Hodge operating a portable electronic device while driving on State Highway 12 in the town of Greene, she was stopped and search uncovered marijuana, her license was also found to be suspended. Hodge was arrested and issued appearance tickets for town of Greene Court on Thursday.

The Chenango County Department of Public Works closed County Road 42 between State Route 26 and George White Road, in the Town of Pharsalia, The closure will be in place for approximately 5 days for the replacement of a large culvert. Motorists are advised to use the detour along Billy Brown Road, Center Road and George White Road, more information is available at 337-1710.

The Broome County Sheriff’s Office responded Friday to a fatal motorcycle crash in Colesville on Cafferty Road. 57-year-old Keith Bernhardsen of Harpursville was located in a field on the side of the road, he was transported Bernhardsen to Wilson Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Bernhardsen attempted to make a left turn and the motorcycle went off the road into the field.

Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 36 year old Scott Johnson of Sidney Center for DWI, Aggravated DWI, Aggravated Unlicensed Operation, Endangering the Welfare of a Child, plus several other charges, Johnson is accused of operating a motor vehicle in an intoxicated state with 2 children in his vehicle in the Town of Masonville. Johnson held a conditional license and was operating his vehicle outside of the restrictions; he was arraigned in the Town of Masonville Court, and remanded to the Delaware County Correctional Facility on $2,500 cash bail, or $5,000 bond pending court action at a later date.

Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 28 year old Cesar Ortiz of Palms Springs Florida, on charges of driving while intoxicated, aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle 3rd degree, and failure to keep right. Ortiz was arranged in Town of Delhi Court and sent to the Delaware County Correctional Facility on $1000 cash or $2000 bond and is to reappear in Town of Hamden Court at a later date. Deputies were assisted by members of the Walton Police Dept.

The City of Oneonta will hold a public hearing this evening at the Oneonta Common Council Meeting at 7:00 pm at City Hall to receive public comments on the City’s community development needs, and to discuss the possible submission of 1 or more Community Development Block Grant applications for 2018. The City is currently considering a grant application for $230,000 for Nick’s Diner on Chestnut Street.

Oneonta Department of Public Service announced that crews will be flushing water mains in the high service area starting 9 am to 4 pm, today. Affected areas include: Homer Folks Ave., Overlook Drive, Suncrest Terrace, College Terrace, West St. Ravine Parkway and the streets north of SUNY Oneonta. Flushing in these areas is expected to be completed this week, with flushing in other areas to continue the following week. During flushing, water users may experience a change in water color, pressure and/or loss of water. More information is available at 432-2100.

The Norwich Fire Department announced that Jan Papelino was unanimously voted to become the fire chief by all six members of the city council. Papelino was an assistant fire chief and volunteer for 39 years & will succeed the recently retired former chief, Tracy Chawgo.

20 year old Kurtis Richards of Johnson City faces up to 20 years in federal prison for his involvement in a meth-manufacturing lab. Richards was part of an arrest of 16 people charged with operating a meth lab in the Southern Tier. Richards will be sentenced August 9th in US District court in Binghamton, for his guilty plea for possessing the pseudoephedrine, an over the counter medicine used to manufacture methamphetamine.

State DEC officials are warning New York Motorists to be on the lookout for turtles in the road. Thousands of turtles are killed each year in New York by vehicles; Turtles migrate to nesting areas in May and June, and are more likely to cross roads near rivers and marshy areas. State environmental officials remind drivers that they should only stop and move turtles when conditions are safe.

The Arc Otsego is accepting artwork submissions for its 14th Annual Voice event, which will be held July 27th through August 10th in the Fine Arts Building at SUNY Oneonta. The opening reception will be held on July 27th from 5:00 to 7:00 PM, anyone living in New York State who is 18 years of age or older and has an intellectual and/or other developmental disability may submit artwork for consideration. The artwork submission form is available at www.arcotsego.org. The deadline for submissions is June 10th.

A.O. Fox Hospital will offer training for teenagers interested in becoming junior volunteers. The training is scheduled for July 10th from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM in the Fox Hospital’s Education Department. More information is available at the Fox Volunteer Office at 431-5042; the registration deadline is June 22nd.

The Induction Ceremony for this year's General Clinton Hall of Fame will be taking place this SaturdayHall Of Fame Committee member Greg Davie explains:

(Greg Davie 5-23-18)

The ceremony will start with a meet and greet 5:30 PM, at General Clinton Park in Bainbridge.

The State Department of Labor released preliminary local unemployment rates for April. The number of private sector jobs in the State was 8,155,700 while the State’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.6% in April. Locally, Chenango County's unemployment rate was 5.6%, Delaware County was 6% & Otsego County was at 5.1%

The State DOT will host an open house public information meeting this evening at 6:00 PM at the Colesville Town Hall on Welton Street in Harpursville regarding the Dilly Road culvert replacement project. The proposed work zone traffic control will require an approximate 2 week closure of Dilly Road at the intersection of State Route 7. Traffic will use a three-mile, six-minute detour. Dilly Road accommodates an average of 60 vehicles daily. The project is in the preliminary design phase. Construction is currently scheduled for the 2019 construction season.

Serge Corbin announced today that he will do the 70 Mile Pro Race with Guillaume Blaise at this year's General Clinton Canoe Regatta, he told WCDO that he agreed at first to help Blaise train for the event, & then Blasie talked him into doing it again:

(Serge Corbin 5-14-18)

Corbin has won 28 times out of 29 entries, with 8 different partners, he last particpated at the 50th Regatta in 2012.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie is starting up a process to name an Attorney general through the end of this year, Local Assemblyman Cliff Crouch explains:

(Cliff Crouch 5-145-18)

Crouch said that it was unclear whether or not State Senate Republicans would agree to participate in the proposed process.

The National Rifle Association filed a lawsuit Friday against Governor Cuomo & the State Department of Financial Services, the NRA Accuses accusing them of coercing banks and insurance companies to withhold services to the gun lobbying group. The lawsuit asks the court to award unspecified monetary damages to the NRA and stop the state from prohibiting the insurance companies from doing business with the gun lobby group. Cuomo said the NRA's lawsuit is a desperate attempt to advance its agenda to sell more guns.

The State DOT will host an open house public information meeting on Wednesday May 23rd at 6:00 PM at the Colesville Town Hall on Welton Street in Harpursville regarding the Dilly Road culvert replacement project. The proposed work zone traffic control will require an approximate 2 week closure of Dilly Road at the intersection of State Route 7. Traffic will use a three-mile, six-minute detour. Dilly Road accommodates an average of 60 vehicles daily. The project is in the preliminary design phase. Construction is currently scheduled for the 2019 construction season.

Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 39 year old Christina Regg of Davenport on an arrest warrant for failure to appear on previous charges of Animal Cruelty for allegedly killing a stray cat. Regg was arraigned in the Town of Davenport Court and remanded to the Delaware County Correctional Facility on $1,000 cash bail or $2,000 bond; she is scheduled to return to the Town of Davenport Court at a later date.

Former state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was found guilty on all counts Friday in his corruption retrial. Silver was found guilty for mail fraud, wire fraud and extortion, for using his position to receive nearly $4 million in bribes and kickbacks. An appeals court tossed out Silver's original conviction, citing a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that changed the legal definition for corruption. Silver faces sentencing in July.

The Broome County Veterans for Peace exchanged grocery certificates as well as $50 for long guns and $100 for handguns and assault weapons Saturday. The event was held at the American Civic Association, where a mass shooting occurred, where Jiverly Wong shot & killed 13 people in 2009.

The deadline for entry into the 70 mile endurance race and Grand Prix Relay Race is Friday May 18, 2018. No entries for these races will be accepted after that date. You can enter the Generation Gap, Youth race, Sprint race at the starting line day of each race. Enter today by going to www.canoeregatta.org

A new survey from Quinnipiac University has Governor Cuomo leading actress Cynthia Nixon by a 50% to 28% margin. The poll also has Cuomo with a comfortable lead over the likely Republican nominee, Marcus Molinaro by a 57 to 26% margin.

Construction is underway in the town of Franklin, where a roundabout is being placed at the intersection of State Route 357 & 28. The construction is expected to be completed by the end of November, Traffic at the North Franklin intersection of Route 357 and Route 28 will be controlled by flaggers with a daily lane closure and alternating traffic, while work is being done between 7:00AM & 5:30 PM, and after work is done for the day, the area will be reopened to two lanes of traffic.

Firefighters from Walton, Trout Creek & Delhi responded to a fire at an apartment building at 12 Bruce Street in Walton last night. All residents were evacuated, no injuries were reported, the investigation into the cause of the fire is continuing.

The Broome County Sheriff's Department announced that they will co-host a discussion regarding the issues surrounding marijuana legalization, and Tuesday May 8th at the Forum Theater in Binghamton. The discussion will run from 6:00 to 8:00 PM, the guest speaker will be Jodi Hensley, a Massachusetts based activist on illegal drug issues.

The State Public Service Commission has started legal action against Spectrum Cable for potential violations of its franchise agreement. The State approved Spectrum's acquisition of Time Warner and its ability to operate in New York based on the fulfillment of certain obligations, which included providing broadband access to underserved parts of the State and maintaining its workforce.

The Otsego County Chamber of Commerce is holding their 2018 Annual Dinner & Celebration of Business today at 5:45 PM at the Foothills Performing Arts center in Oneonta. The Chamber will be Honoring NBT Bank as the Distinguished Business of the Year, & the late Eugene Bettiol Sr., as the Distinguished Citizen Award winner, which was named in his honor.

The Bainbridge-Guilford Central School will hold a Board of Education Meeting today in the Guilford Elementary School Cafeteria at 6:30 PM. The business portion of the meeting will start at 7:00 PM.