WCDO NEWS THURSDAY 9-3-20

by wcdonews Posted on September 3, 2020

P.M. NEWS THURSDAY 9-3-20

State University of New York Chancellor Jim Malatras announced today that he has directed SUNY Oneonta to develop and implement a plan to send on-campus students home and cease all in-person classes and activities for the rest of the fall semester, all classes will be held virtually.   SUNY Oneonta officials announced this morning that they had another 100 positive cases of COVID 19 to report, bringing the campus total to 389 since August 24th.  The number of students in quarantine on campus remains at 54, the 100 students who tested positive, are in isolation on campus, they will be required to stay on campus until their quarantine is over.

—————————————————-

Most Otsego County School Districts are deciding to start the school year with remote learning, following the COVID 19 outbreak at SUNU Oneonta, Unatego Superintendent Dr. Dave Richards comments:

(Dr. Dave Richards 9-3-20)

Also, Otsego Northern Catskills BOCES Announced that they will also begin the semester by remote learning and the Oneonta High school announced that they will postpone all Falls Sports until further notice & possible play the fall sport at a later date.

—————————————————————-

The State Health Department announced that the state had 889 new COVID 19 positive tests Wednesday, out of just under 89,000 tests statewide bringing the state total number of cases to 437,107.   The State had 430 people hospitalized, with 117 in ICU and 61 on Ventilators.  The State had 7 COVID related deaths Wednesday, bringing the total since March to 25,343.

———————————————————-

Broome County Public Health updated their latest COVID 19 numbers today, they report 1236 total cases since March, with 79 deaths, 1091 recoveries, 406 are being monitored by the Department, they have conducted over 43,400 tests.

————————————————————-

Chenango County Public Health added 1 more positive COVID 19 case yesterday, they are up to 229 total cases, and 4 are active, with 2 hospitalized & 83 under quarantine. There have been 7 deaths, 205 recoveries, they have conducted 23,347 tests.

——————————————————

Governor Cuomo today announced casinos and video lottery terminal facilities will be allowed to reopen starting September 9 with a 25% occupancy limit. All venues will be subject to strict safety protocols, including of face coverings except when eating or drinking, social distancing and enhanced cleaning and disinfection protocols. Casinos must also have enhanced air filtration, ventilation and purification standards in place, they must leave 6 feet of distance between operating machines. No table games will be allowed until casinos put in place physical barriers between players and the Gaming Commission approves those barriers. No beverage or food service will be allowed on the gaming floor. The State Gaming Commission will be deployed to monitor casinos and ensure strict enforcement of these measures.

——————————————————

Triple A & State Police are reminding Motorists of the beginning of their annual “School’s Open Drive Carefully” Campaign.  Elizabeth Carey of the AAA of Central New York Comments about 3 things that people should remember during this pandemic changed school opening season:

(Elizabeth Carey 9-3-20)

State Police also remind motorists that it is illegal to pass school bus with flashing lights, and there has been an increase in that illegal behavior in recent years, & police agencies will be cracking down on that activity.

A.M. NEWS THURSDAY 9-3-20

3 sites are open today in Oneonta for free rapid testing for COVID 19, following the outbreak at SUNY Oneonta.  The sites will be open Today through Saturday from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM at the Oneonta Armory at 4 Academy Street, The Foothills Performing Arts Center on Market Street & the St. James Church at 305 Main Street.  Testing is by appointment only by calling 833-NYSTRNG.

—————————————————————————————-

The Otsego County Health Department continues to investigate a large outbreak of Coronavirus involving SUNY Oneonta students. 107 new cases were reported Thursday, all 107 were SUNY Oneonta students, giving the county 460 total confirmed cases.   334 confirmed cases of the cases are  SUNY Oneonta students,  2 confirmed cases are from Hartwick College, there are no hospitalizations

——————————————————————–

Delaware County received no new positive test result for COVID-19 today and no additional recoveries have been reported. The known active cases remains at 6, all are isolated at home. To date there have been 110 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19,  with 40 people now under mandatory quarantine.   6 people have died and 98 have fully recovered.

————————————————–

The Delaware County Chamber along with the Commerce Chenango will sponsor two FREE online workshops hosted by the United States Small Business Administration on September 22 and October 15 from noon to 1 p.m. where business owners can learn about COVID-19 relief and recovery programs.  Traditional lending and small business assistance programs, as well as small business recovery programs, will be discussed. Register for the FREE online workshops at delawarecounty.org.

=================================

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on WCDO NEWS THURSDAY 9-3-20

WCDO NEWS WEDNESDAY 9-2-20

by wcdonews Posted on September 2, 2020

P.M. NEWS WEDNESDAY 9-2-20

Governor Cuomo announced that the state had an infection rate for COVID 19 under 1% for the 26th day in a row, with 708 cases or .8% out of over 88,000 tests, testing positive Tuesday. The total number of cases since March is at 436,218, there were 5 COVID-19 Deaths reported, the state death toll is at 25,336. The State Health Department reported 445 hospitalizations, 117 ICU patients and 61 patients on ventilators from the virus.

—————————————————–

This morning SUNY Oneonta received test results for additional students screened on campus for COVID-19. 44 new cases were confirmed & College staff worked until late Tuesday night to contact affected students and move them to isolation on campus. The total number of confirmed cases within our campus community now stands at 289. A total of 125 students are in isolation and 54 are in quarantine on campus.

—————————————————-

Resident Assistants at SUNY Oneonta have posted a series of demands on Instagram, calling for pay increases, increasing protections for any Resident Assistant that has to go into quarantine as a result of their regular required meeting with students in on campus dorms, the group is giving SUNY Oneonta President Barbara Jean Morris 5 days to meet their demands or they will reduce to “emergency only” status.

——————————————————————-

3 sites opened up today & will continue tomorrow in Oneonta for free rapid testing for COVID 19, following the outbreak at SUNY Oneonta. The site will be open Thursday through Saturday from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM at the Oneonta Armory at 4 Academy Street, The Foothills Performing Arts Center on Market Street & the St. James Church at 305 Main Street. Testing is by appointment only by calling 833-NYSTRNG.

—————————————————————————————-

The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office held a K9 Monument dedication ceremony in remembrance of K9 “Ozzie” on Monday, who served in the department for 7 years before his passing earlier this year. Delaware County Sheriff Craig DuMond comments:

(Sheriff DuMond 9-2-20)

Sheriff DuMond said that Donations to the Delaware County Sheriff’s K9 program can be made by check payable to the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, attention K9 Fund, and mailed to 280 Phoebe Lane, Suite 1, Delhi, NY 13753.

———————————————–

Chenango County Public Health released their latest COVID 19 numbers today. They have had 229 positive cases since March, with 4 cases active, 2 people are hospitalized, 78 people are in quarantine, they have had 7 deaths, 205 Recoveries & they have performed 23,189 tests.

———————————————–

Gyms & Fitness Centers around the state are re-opening with many safety protocols in place, Mike Banks of My Home Gym on State Route 7 between Sidney & Bainbridge told WCDO News what they are doing to keep everyone safe:

(Mike Banks 9-2-20)

Gyms & Fitness Centers were among the last businesses to re-opening in New York State after getting shutdown earlier in the year when the COVID 19 pandemic hit.

——————————————–

The Delaware County Sheriff’s Department investigated a domestic dispute in the Town of Stamford Saturday, which resulted in the arrest of 66 Wayne Johnson of Stamford for Menacing, unlawful imprisonment, & endangering the welfare of a child. Upon arrival, Deputies learned that Johnson was intoxicated & had threatened to use a firearm to hurt a number of people in the residence, and he had also blocked all points of entry into the house. Johnson was virtually arraigned, & was issued appearance tickets for Stamford court at a later date, and order of protection was issued for the victims.

———————————————————————–

The Town of Masonville announced that tonight’s board meeting, scheduled for 7:00 PM has been cancelled, no rescheduled date was announced.

A.M. NEWS WEDNESDAY 9-2-20

Otsego County Department of Health continues to investigate a large outbreak of Coronavirus involving SUNY Oneonta students, with 53 new cases were reported Tuesday, 50 of the cases were in SUNY Oneonta students, 2 cases in the community and 1 case in a Hartwick College student. SUNY Oneonta reportedly had 295 cases on Tuesday afternoon, the county now has 357 total confirmed cases, there are No hospitalizations.

————————————————————–

Hartwick College announced that they will switch to all-remote instruction for the next 14 days through September 15th. Both Hartwick students who have tested positive are isolating at their homes outside of the City of Oneonta. Contact tracing is being conducted by the Department of Health & the College’s Perrella Health Center. Residential students were informed that they should plan to remain on campus. Dining services continue, and all students not in quarantine will continue to have access to the campus and its facilities. The College had a Reopening Plan that included preparation for a hybrid semester of limited in-person and remote learning, plus testing of every campus member, socially-distanced classrooms and campus offices, Students were required to bring a negative test with them before entry to campus, and students were tested again upon returning to campus. All employees were also tested last week; they will be tested every 2 weeks.

—————————————————————-

Delaware County Public Health received three positive lab reports for COVID-19. The County reports 110 total cases, 98 recoveries, 6 active cases isolated at home, 36 are quarantined, & there have been 6 deaths.

————————————————————

State Police made an arrest Friday after a driver drove the wrong way on I-88 for 7 miles near the city of Oneonta. Multiple motorists were forced off the roadway and had to take evasive action when a vehicle was traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes of I-88, A Senior Investigator attempted to stop the vehicle and after close to seven miles was able to get the driver into a U-turn near exit 16. 72 year old Steven Wiedeman of Otego was arrested for Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs; he was issued appearance tickets to the city of Oneonta court on September 28th.

————————————————————–

Governor Cuomo announced that 2 more states have been added to the state’s Travel Advisory, which requires 14 mandatory quarantines from those visiting New York from those state. Alaska and Montana now Meet the Metrics to Qualify for Travel Advisory & No Areas were Removed from the list, which can be found at coronavirus.health.ny.gov.

—————————————-

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on WCDO NEWS WEDNESDAY 9-2-20

WCDO NEWS TUESDAY 9-1-20

by wcdonews Posted on September 1, 2020

P.M. NEWS TUESDAY 9-1-20

Governor Cuomo announced that just less than 77,000 COVID 19 tests were conducted Monday with 754, or 0.98%, were positive; it was the 25 straight days where the State’s infection rate was at or below 1%. The state has had 435,510 COVID cases since March, currently there are 432 hospitalizations, with 109 patients in an ICU, 54 are on ventilators, there were 3 COVID-19 Deaths in New York State Monday, and the state death toll is 25,331.

————————————————–

SUNY Oneonta officials announced today that they have 68 new case of COVID-19, bringing the total number of student cases up to 245. The college received test results for 481 students screened on campus for COVID-19 & the staff is working to contact affected students so that they can be securely isolated, SUNY Oneonta Associate Director of Communications Kim MacLeod explains:

(Kim MacLeod 9-1-20)

The State is sending help this week, and will be helped out by staff at the AO Fox Hospital/Bassett Healthcare system, according to spokesperson Gabby Argo:

(Gabby Argo 9-1-20)

Governor Cuomo announced that 3 sites will be open in Oneonta starting at 11:00 AM Wednesday, and Thursday through Saturday from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. The sites are the Oneonta Armory at 4 Academy Street, The Foothills Performing Arts Center on Market Street & the St. James Church at 305 Main Street. Testing is by appointment only by calling 833-NYSTRNG.

—————————————————————————————-

Chenango County Public Health announced Tuesday that they are up to 228 positive cases of COVID 19 since March. They have 5 active cases, 64 people are quarantined, 2 are hospitalized, there have been 7 deaths, 205 recoveries, & they have conducted 22,840 tests.

———————————

Governor Cuomo announced the launch of New York’s absentee ballot portal where voters can directly request an absentee ballot for the upcoming November 3rd election. The Governor acted by Executive Order to allow any voter concerned about risk or exposure to COVID during the ongoing pandemic to request an absentee ballot. More information is available at elections.ny.gov/Voting Absentee.

——————————————————–

The State Department of Health today announced that COVID 19 & Influenza testing will be required whenever a hospital patient of Nursing home resident has a known exposure to the symptoms of either disease. The list of protocols has been amended since the start of the pandemic and is available at the State Health Department website.

————————————————————

Delaware County Public Health reported 1 new case of COVID 19 Monday and no additional recoveries, the known active cases is at 5, all 5 are isolated & recovering at home. The county reports 107 total cases since March, 24 people are quarantined, 6 have died & 96 have recovered.

————————————————————-

Broome County Health Department announced Tuesday that they are up to 1214 total COVID 19 cases, another death has been reported, bringing their total to 79, there have been 1082 recoveries, 454 are being monitored by the Department, and they have conducted over 42,600 tests.

————————————————————–

The Otsego County Health Department reported that a bat found Friday in Cooperstown tested positive for rabies. 2 people were exposed to the bat & are receiving treatment, The Department also announced that their free rabies clinics in September are canceled but a full list of other free clinics & more information about rabies is available at the department website.

——————————————————————

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on WCDO NEWS TUESDAY 9-1-20

WCDO NEWS MONDAY 8-31-20

by wcdonews Posted on August 31, 2020

SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras announced that 5 students in Oneonta have been suspended for holding parties against the college policy & 3 campus organizations have also been suspended. The 5 students are alleged to have served as hosts of large off-campus parties & Chancellor Malatras said that at those gatherings there were several students who were symptomatic of COVID 19 & upon testing, there were 20 positive cases diagnosed. Chancellor Malatras announced that they have decided to Suspend In-Person Instruction at SUNY Oneonta for 2 Weeks. SUNY Oneonta Officials said that law enforcement officials on campus and in the City of Oneonta are working together to confront situations that compromise the students & city residents safety.

——————————————————————–

Governor Cuomo announced that he has is deploying a SWAT team to SUNY ONEONTA to contain their COVID-19 Cluster. The state team is sending 71 Contact Tracers and 8 Case Investigators to Oneonta & the State Will Open 3 Free Rapid Testing Sites in Oneonta with Results in 15 Minutes, the site Locations are being set up today & the sites will also be open to all city residents by appointment.

—————————————————–

Hartwick College determined Sunday that 1 student has tested positive for COVID-19, the first confirmed case of COVID-19 on the Hartwick campus. The student is isolating at home. The Department of Health is responsible for contact tracing and will notify individuals with whom the student may have had contact. Hartwick College officials announced that no one is allowed on the College Private Property except enrolled students, delivery people & Hartwick Employees. Remote learners are not permitted to enter the campus.

————————————————————-

Otsego County Department of Health continues to investigate a large outbreak at SUNY Oneonta, on Sunday, 38 lab confirmed cases were reported in SUNY students. Currently there is 94 lab confirmed cases and 34 suspect cases in SUNY Oneonta students and 6 cases in high school students. Anyone who suspects they may have been in contact with a confirmed case of coronavirus should quarantine at home & contact the local health department. Currently, Otsego County has 219 total confirmed cases, 103 are active, & no one is hospitalized

————————————————————–

Chenango county Public Health announced a slight increase in COVID 19 cases since Friday; they are up to 227 total cases, with 3 Active Cases, 71 Quarantines, 2 Active Hospitalizations, 204 Recoveries, 7 deaths and a Total of 22687 Tests Performed.

———————————————————

Bassett Hospital President & CEO Dr. Tommy Ibrahim has announced his first appointments to a new network leadership team, who will work in various capacities to propel the network toward full integration and position Bassett as a national player in health care delivery. Jeff Joyner has been appointed as Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, he has served as president of A.O. Fox Hospital since 2015, he will serve as the responsible executive for network hospital operations, system support services, and all integration efforts & he will still continue to have oversight of the A.O. Fox Hospital campuses with his new position, in addition to all other network hospitals.

————————————————–

Governor Cuomo and New York labor leaders today called on Congress to provide $59 billion to address catastrophic budget shortfalls that impact the jobs and livelihoods of thousands of workers in the state. The governor and labor leaders sent a letter to federal representatives enumerating the critical infrastructure projects that would be impacted without federal funding and the hospitals, schools and institutions that would be supported by it. The governor and labor leaders also called on Congress to repeal the tax change that eliminated the State and Local Tax Deduction, also known as “SALT”.

———————————————–

Congressman Anthony Brindisi pushed a plan today to double the federal funding for the Department of Justice, the Community Oriented Policing Services or “COPS” Program to recruit, hire, train and fund more community beat cops on the streets. The plan is a national effort. In 2020, the program awarded 596 grants to hire 2,731 police officers at police departments across the nation, according to Justice Department statistics. Brinidisi said that the City of Binghamton just received $250,000 of COPS funds in June.

——————————————————-

Governor Cuomo announced that COVID-19 Sunday Hospitalizations Dropped to 418, the number of ICU patients dropped to 109, 51 patients were on ventilators & there was 1 death associated with the COVID virus in New York State Sunday, the state death toll is 25,328. There were 656 positive COVID 19 tests Sunday, bringing the Statewide Total to 434,756.

—————————————————

Delaware County Public Health received 2 positive lab reports for COVID-19 Sunday giving them a Total of 106 Positive Results, with 96 recovered 4 active cases are isolated at home, 6 have died & 20 are currently in Quarantine.

————————————————-

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on WCDO NEWS MONDAY 8-31-20

WCDO NEWS FRIDAY 8-28-20

by wcdonews Posted on August 28, 2020

P.M. NEWS FRIDAY 8-28-20

Governor Cuomo & the State Health Department are anticipating clusters of COVID 19 cases as college students return to campuses across the state.  The Health Department issued guidance that establishes a threshold, where if a college experiences 100 COVID cases or an outbreak equal to 5% of its student body, whichever is less, that college MUST go to remote learning for 2 weeks. If the local health department finds after the 2 week period, that the college cannot contain the number of cases, and then further remote learning could be required, the guidance for colleges is available at governor.ny.gov.

————————————–

New York State United Teachers  Union called on the state to update Department of Health school reopening guidelines to make mandatory the wearing of masks at all times indoors during the school day, except for appropriate break periods and in cases of medical accommodation.  In a letter to state Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker, the union cited ongoing concerns with school reopening plans across the state and different mask policies among school districts. The Union urged the state to look to scientific research regarding mask efficiency and recent guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics that recommends the universal use of face masks.

————————————————–

The Sidney community rallied behind the Sidney Police Department with a fundraising campaign that allowed for the purchase of a storage unit at the Police Departments firing range, about a mile away from their station.  Erin Insinga of the Delaware Valley Humane Society was one of the people involved in the fundraiser:

(Erin Insinga 8-28-20)

The Sidney Police Department now has their shed to store all the training accessories; a picnic table has also been donated for their site.

————————————

The State Health Department announced the latest state wide COVID 19 numbers, as they have now tested over 8 million tests, after testing over 97,000 on Thursday, which uncovered 636 new cases, there were 3 more death attributed to the virus, bringing the state death toll is up to 25,312.

————————————————————–

Chenango County Public Health added 1 more COVID 19 case to their total; they are up to 224 cases since March.  Currently there are 79 quarantines, 1 hospitalization, and 202 recoveries and there have been 7 deaths.  Over 21,800 tests have been conducted.

————————————–

=============================

A.M. NEWS FRIDAY 8-28-20

Otsego County Department of Health is investigating 7 new cases of coronavirus, 6 of the cases are SUNY Oneonta students. The other case has been associated with a gathering of high school students.  Currently there are 13 cases in SUNY Oneonta students and 5 cases in high school students. All cases are have been investigated and contacts are being notified.  Otsego County has 135 total confirmed cases, there are 21 active cases, and no one is hospitalized.

————————————————

Delaware County received 1 new positive test result for COVID-19 Thursday and 1 additional recovery has been reported. The known active cases in the County is 3, all are recovering at home. To date there have been 103 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in Delaware County, with 30 people now under mandatory quarantine,  6 people have died and 94 have fully recovered.

—————————————-

On Wednesday morning, troopers investigated a crash where a car struck the rear of a horse-drawn Amish buggy on State Route 11B in Dickinson. Troopers determined the driver of the car who hit the buggy was not paying attention, the buggy’s occupants, including two young children, only had minor injuries. The horse also had a minor injury and was transported from the scene.

————————————

State Police arrested 22 year old Keegan Allen of Schenevus for 2 counts of Petit Larceny, for entering at least 2 vehicles; one on Murdock Avenue and another on Madison Avenue in Oneonta and stealing change.  Troopers were advised by the Oneonta City Police that Allen was in the East End Laundromat and he was taken into custody & was also charged with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance.  He was issued appearance tickets for town of Oneonta court on September 8th and was released.

————————————

2 Broome County residents have been arrested following a break-in that occurred at a residence on Wilson Hill Road in the town of Chenango. Troopers arrested 28 year old Christina Martinez of Johnson City for the Criminal Possession of Stolen Property, She was processed and released on appearance tickets to the village of Johnson City court, on Thursday State Police arrested 44 year old Jamie Levene of Binghamton for 2nd degree Burglary, he was already at the Broome County Jail for an unrelated crime with another agency.  He was transported to SP Binghamton for processing and then returned to the Broome County Jail.

———————————————

“Unite Chenango” will host a Black Lives Matter event at Kurt Beyer Park in Norwich tonight, 1 of the guest speakers is Reverend LaDana Clark of the 1st Presbyterian Church of Cooperstown, who served in the US Army and also served in the Plainfield New Jersey Police Department in a variety of roles in 2005 through 2011.  She told WCDO News that no one is suggesting that Police be eliminated, and she gave her ideas of what should be happening:

(Reverend Clark 8-28-20)

Tonight’s event will begin at 6:00 PM; Reverend Clark also has a website related to her church activities at ChurchNTheHood.org.

====================================

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on WCDO NEWS FRIDAY 8-28-20

WCDO NEWS THURSDAY 8-27-20

by wcdonews Posted on August 27, 2020

P.M. NEWS THURSDAY 8-27-20

The Broome County Sheriff’s Department announced the arrest of Caleb Casteline of Apalachin for the fatal stabbing of Q-Quan Richardson of Binghamton, at a party in Endwell Wednesday.  Casteline was charged with 2nd degree murder and faces court action on the charge shortly.

————————————————-

The Delhi Village Police Department executed a search warrant on August 21st at 219 Main Street; they seized concentrated cannabis in a variety of forms, as well as LSD, cocaine, marijuana, oxycodone, packaging materials & $1,500 cash from suspected drug sales.  Delhi Police arrested 20-year-old Alana Blaustein of Delhi & 22-year-old Connor Guiseppone of Delhi on a variety of drug charges, both were arraigned in Delhi Town Court where & were released on their own recognizance pending future court action.

——————————————

State Police responded to a report of a tractor trailer rollover north of the Pennsylvania state line on I-81 at about 11:45 AM Wednesday.  A trooper responded & discovered that the tractor trailer struck the guide rail, continued off the roadway and overturned.  The driver was a 57-year-old male from Quebec who declined hospital treatment, the investigation is ongoing.

——————————————

State Troopers were dispatched by Broome County 911 to a one-car crash near the intersection of Fox Farm and Reagan Roads in the town of Windsor Wednesday morning.  Troopers discovered that the vehicle went off the roadway and struck a utility pole, the driver was still in the vehicle and unresponsive.  The unidentified driver was pronounced deceased at the scene and an autopsy was ordered. 

——————————————

Former State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver started his prison sentence Wednesday at a federal prison in Otisville, where he will serve 6 1/2 years following a corruption conviction.  Silver left the Assembly in 2015, was convicted a short time later & various appeals & a retrial kept him out of prison.    Silver was convicted twice for administering political favors, as a new inmate, Silver will be tested for COVID-19 and placed in quarantine for 14 days.

———————————————-

Utica Firefighters were called to a massive fire at the former CharlesTown Mall in Utica.    Firefighters from the Utica & surrounding Fire Departments responded at about 1:30 this morning, Utica city officials are advising residents in the eastern sections of the city to remain indoors with their windows shut due to the high winds whipping the smoke & ash around from the blaze. 

———————————————-

The State Health Department announced another 791 positive COVID 19 cases on Wednesday statewide after over 83,000 tests were administered.  490 were hospitalized for the virus, 4 deaths were reported, bringing the state death toll to 25,309.

—————————————-

Chenango County Public Health reported that they are still at 223 total cases of COVID 19 since March, with 75 active Quarantines, 1 person is hospitalized, there have been 201 recoveries, 7 deaths & over 21,600 tests have been performed.

——————————————–

The National Transportation Safety Board released documents this week regarding the Prestige Limousine crash in Schoharie on October 6th 2018.  The Board’s Investigators said that The ownership of Prestige Limo took great pain to register the vehicle in a many to avoid safety regulation & twice a year required inspections.  The vehicles brakes failed approaching a t intersection, it crashed into a gas station, killing 2 people in the parking lot & all 18 in the limo.   Nauman Hussain faces 20 charges each for manslaughter & criminally negligent homicide as the operator of Prestige Limousine.

—————————————————-

The Otsego County District Attorney’s office announced that Nicolas Meridy of Oneonta has pleaded guilty in a plea bargain arrangement & will serve 22 years to life.  Meridy was arrested along with several others following the murder of Kenneth Robinson in Worcester & the arson fire at Robinson house after the fatal shooting, in October of last year.    

————————————————–

Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested a New York City man Tuesday following a property damage accident on County Highway 26 in the Town of Colchester.  23-year-old Evian Camacho of New York City had a suspended driver’s license, for failure to answer summonses in both Bronx and New York counties and for failure to pay a State DMV driver responsibility assessment.    Camacho was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and moving from a lane unsafely.  Camacho was released and directed to appear in the Town of Colchester Court on a later date. 

——————————————————

A variety of severe weather warnings have been issued throughout the region this afternoon, as severe weather pounded the region.  Meteorologist Rich Townsend comments:

(Rich Townsend 8-27-20)

A Tornado watch remains in effect through 7:00 PM throughout the WCDO Listening area .

Otsego County Department of Health is investigating 9 cases of coronavirus reported Wednesday, 5 of the cases are SUNY Oneonta students. The other 4 cases have been associated with a gathering of high school students. All cases are have been investigated and contacts are being notified.  Currently, Otsego County now reports 128 total confirmed cases, with 15 active cases, 1 person is hospitalized.  The Otsego County Health Department is holding another free COVID 19 testing this morning from 9:00 AM to 12:00 NOON at the former “Greenies” site on state route 7 in Otego, This testing site is for Otsego County residents only who preregister by calling 547-4279.

———————————————————

Commerce Chenango announced that they are hosting a virtual special awards presentation today going to Congressman Anthony Brindisi at 12:00 Noon.  Commerce Chenango CEO Kerri Green comments:

(Kerri Green 8-27-20)

Green said that the event can be viewed by the general public by email to register@chenangony.org.

——————————————————-

Delaware County Public Health received 1 positive lab report for COVID-19 Wednesday, giving them 102 total cases since March.  Currently, 3 patients are recovering at home, 93 have recovered, 6 have died, and 29 are under Mandatory Quarantine.

———————————————————————-

The Broome County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of a 22 year-old Q-Quan of Binghamton, following an investigation into an altercation early Wednesday Morning.  Quan was taken to Lourdes and later Wilson hospital with stab wounds, he apparently was stabbed at a large gathering in the town of Union, The suspect fled the area, and anyone with information should call the Sheriff’s Office at 778-1196.

———————————————————-

The Broome County Sheriff’s department arrested 25 year old Keenan Johnson of the town of Chenango twice Tuesday.  Johnson reportedly had a dispute with his girlfriend, he was confronted by neighbors & displayed a handgun, he fled the scene, was located by deputies & was charged with Menacing and Criminal Possession of Marijuana before being released on an appearance ticket, he was arrested a short time after his release at the girlfriends residence, fled on a Motorcycle the chase was terminated due to public safety concerns.  Additional charges against Johnson are pending.

————————————————————

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on WCDO NEWS THURSDAY 8-27-20

WCDO NEWS WEDNESDAY 8-26-20

by wcdonews Posted on August 26, 2020

P.M. NEWS WEDNESDAY 8-26-20

State Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the Trump administration aimed at stopping an effort to disrupt operations at the U.S. Postal Service at a time when a pandemic has prompted millions more people than usual to plan to vote by mail.  The lawsuit names President Trump, the postal service and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, it asks the court to vacate recent changes made to the U.S. Postal Service and to stop it from implementing additional service reductions.  New York was joined in this lawsuit by New Jersey, Hawaii, New York City and San Francisco. 6 states sued the U.S. Postal Service and the new postmaster general on August 21st, citing the same concerns.

——————————————————-

Governor Cuomo announced that the COVID-19 Infection Rate registered at below 1% for the 19th straight day on Tuesday at .79%.  There were 566 positive COVID 19 cases out 71,189 tests administered, bringing the state total since March to 431,340.  The number of hospitalizations was at 492, the number of ICU patients was at 136, the number of patients on ventilators was 54 and there were 3 COVID-19 Deaths in the State Tuesday, bringing the death toll to 25,305.

————————————————————–

The state of New York dropped its manufacturing grade to an “F” from a “D-“, according to an annual manufacturing survey conducted by Ball State University’s Center for Business and Economic Research.  New York maintained a C for logistics, D for worker benefit costs, C for expected fiscal liability, B for sector diversification, C- for human capital, F for tax climate, & D for global reach.  

——————————————

The Broome County Health Department announced that they have had 1176 total COVID 19 cases since March. They announced 3 more deaths, bring their total to 78, there have been 1028 recoveries, 559 are being monitored by the department, they have conducted over 36,200 tests.

——————————————-

Chenango County Public Health released today’s COVID 19 numbers.  The department reports 223 total cases, with 83 Active Quarantines, 1 Hospitalization, 7 deaths, 200 total Recoveries; they have conducted over 21,500 tests.

——————————————————-

Following a report detailing how federal dollars set aside for farmers during the pandemic in the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program have gone to large corporate farms, while small family farms have received relatively little help, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand demands that the U.S. Department of Agriculture respond to that  inequitable distribution.  In the meantime Senator Gillbrand has proposed the Relief For America’s Small Farmers Act in the next coronavirus relief package:

(Senator Gillibrand 8-26-20)

Senator Gillibrand is also urging USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue to provide direct relief for New York’s small farmers who have been financially devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic & to get the promised direct payments to farmers of all sizes immediately.

A.M. NEWS WEDNESDAY 8-26-20

Otsego County Department of Health is investigating 2 cases of coronavirus in SUNY Oneonta students that lived off campus. Neither student had visited the college campus during their communicable period, nor college officials announced that they have arranged to make one of their residence halls set up to house COVID positive students only.   All contacts with the 2 affected students have been notified and are quarantined for 14 days.  Otsego County now has 119 total confirmed cases, 6 active cases, 1 is hospitalized, 107 have recovered, and 24 people are on quarantine for close contact to a case, 167 people are on quarantine for traveling to a high risk state, there have been 6 deaths.

—————————————————-

Delaware County Public Health had no new positive tests for COVID-19 and no additional recoveries to report. The known active cases in the County as of today remains 3, all are isolated at home, to date there have been 101 confirmed positive cases in Delaware County, with 26 people now under mandatory quarantine, 6 people have died and 92 have fully recovered.

————————————————

State Police arrested 25 year old Dillon Clapp of Endicott for 3rd degree Burglary, for allegedly breaking into a garage in the town of Otselic about a year ago and stole various automotive parts, which were sold to a scrap yard in Onondaga County.  Clapp was processed and arraigned virtually & he was released on his own recognizance pending court action September 14th in the town of Otselic.

—————————————————-

The State Labor Department released preliminary local area unemployment rates for July 2020. The State’s unemployment rate increased was 15.9% in July 2020, locally; Chenango County had 9.9% unemployment, Delaware County 10.3% and Otsego County 10.7%

——————————————————-

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on WCDO NEWS WEDNESDAY 8-26-20

WCDO NEWS TUESDAY 8-25-20

by wcdonews Posted on August 25, 2020

P.M. NEWS TUESDAY 8-25-20

Governor Cuomo announced today that travelers from Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, Maryland and Montana will no longer have to self-quarantine for 14 days when arriving in New York.  The U.S. territory of Guam was added to the states quarantine list, the full list can be found at coronavirus.health.ny.gov.

—————————————————————————

The Federal EPA is planning to complete the clean-up of the GCL Tie & Treating plant in Sidney that closed over 26 years ago, and was included on the Federal Superfund site in 1994.  The plant was contaminated by creosote, which was used to treat railroad ties, the owners abandoned the business & the creosote contaminated groundwater.  The EPA will hold an online public meeting September 3rd at 7 PM at Eventbrite.com.

—————————————————–

Chenango County Public Health released their latest COVID 19 statistics this morning.  They report that they are up to 223 total confirmed cases since March, there are 84 people in quarantine, 1 is hospitalized, there have been 7 deaths, 200 recoveries, & over 21,300 tests have been performed.

————————————————

The Broome County Health Department announced that they were up to 1165 COVID 19 cases, with 75 deaths, 1009 recoveries, 536 are being monitored by the department. They have conducted over 35,700 tests.

————————————

The Broome County Sheriff’s Office arrested 27 year old Ridge McCollum of Whitney point following an investigation into the report of a car in a ditch in Windsor.  Deputies accuse McCollum of trying to ingest cocaine that was discovered by sheriff’s deputies during their investigation.  McCollum was charged with tampering with physical evidence, DWI, Criminal Possession of a controlled substance & obstructing governmental administration, he faces court action at a later date.

————————————————-

Oneonta Fire Fighters responded to a garage fire on Railroad Avenue at about 4:00 this morning.  Early reports indicated that there were 3 vehicles inside; WCDO NEWS will have more information as it becomes available.

—————————————————-

Attorney General Letitia James today announced an $85 million multistate settlement with American Honda Motor Company over allegations that Honda concealed safety failures in the airbags of certain Honda and Acura vehicles sold in the United States. The settlement was reached between a coalition of 48 attorneys general and Honda & it concludes a multistate investigation into Honda’s alleged failure to inform regulators and consumers of issues related to the frontal airbag systems installed in certain model cars, which resulted in at least 14 deaths and over 200 injuries in the United States alone.   Customers can learn about the class action settlement at AutoAirbagSettlement.com or visit Honda’s airbag recall website at HondaAirbagInfo.com.

—————————————————–

The Otsego County Health Department announced that they will hold another free COVID 19 testing on Thursday from 9:00 AM to 12:00 NOON at the former “Greenies” site on state route 7 in Otego, near the Unatego school campus.  This testing site is for people who are not sick but want to be tested by a nasal swab.  This is a drive up testing site. Individuals will be required to remain in their vehicle and wear a mask when pulling up to the testing tent.  This testing site is for Otsego County residents only who preregister by calling 547-4279.

A.M. NEWS Tuesday 8-25-20

State Police arrested 48 year old Robert Gregory of Oneonta for 3 counts of Forcible Touching, 3 counts of Sexual Abuse and 2 counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child.  An investigation was opened when the parents of two victims under the age of 17 contacted State Police, an investigation revealed that Gregory allegedly made inappropriate sexual comments and forcibly touched the intimate parts of 2 under aged victims. Gregory was virtually arraigned and remanded to the Otsego County Jail on $500 cash bail or $1,000 bond.  The judge issued orders of protections to each of the victims.

————————————————–

Governor Cuomo issued an executive order that requires county boards of elections to be ready for the changes in voting in the November elections.  The executive order requires county boards of elections to Send a mailing outlining all deadlines for voters by Tuesday, September 8, Send staffing plans and needs to the State Board of Elections by September 20th so they can assist them in ensuring adequate coverage, make sure that boards are ready to count votes and reconcile affidavit and absentee ballots by 48 hours after elections & Provide an option for New Yorkers to vote absentee in village, town and special district elections.

————————————————-

Delaware County received no new positive test result for COVID-19 since Friday, 1 additional recovery has been reported. The known active cases in the County as of today is 3, all are recovering at home. To date there have been 101 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in Delaware County, with 29 people now under mandatory quarantine, 6 people have died and 92 have fully recovered.

——————————————————-

The Cancer Services Program’s mobile screening coach will be at the Oneonta Southside Mall, Today from 9:00am to 2:30pm to provide NO COST mammograms and Pap tests to women 40 and over, more information is available at 1-888-345-0225.

——————————————————————

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on WCDO NEWS TUESDAY 8-25-20