Several local Fire Departments responded Monday to a structure fire at 1749 State Route 205 in the Laurens Fire District. Smoke & Water damage was reported, there were no injuries, the cause of the fire is being investigated. Fire fighters from Milford, Hartwick, West Oneonta, Oneonta, & Morris responded.

A.M. NEWS TUESDAY 2-1-22

Delaware County Sheriff Deputies were dispatched to a reported hit and run snowmobile accident which occurred at the Sidney Center Fire Department. Sometime between January 21st and the morning of January 23rd, an unknown person on a snowmobile collided with the back of the Sidney Center Fire Department building causing damage to the exterior base of the building. Anyone with information should call (607) 832-5555.

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The Next meeting of the General Clinton Canoe Regatta Committee will be held tonight at the Galaxy Bowl in Bainbridge at 7:00 PM. Regatta chairman John Harmon said that decision regarding moving 70 mile races to Sunday & eliminating Monday Memorial Day Activities will be decided at tonight’s meeting.

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The State Health Department & the Governor’s Office reported that the numbers of the Omicron variant of COVID 19 continues to trend downward. On Sunday, over 91,000 Test Results were reported, with over 5100 positives, for a Positivity rate down to 5.59%. Patient Hospitalization went up by 74 Sunday to 7,191, the number in an ICU Bed decreased slightly to 1,161, 701 were on ventilators, New deaths reported by healthcare facilities was 87.

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Albany City Court Judge Holly Trexler on Friday dismissed a forcible touching complaint against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple’s office filed the misdemeanor charge in October, alleging the former governor groped Brittany Commisso in late 2020. Albany County District Attorney David Soares filed a letter saying his office would not proceed with the charge, saying it was “impossible to prove beyond a reasonable doubt in criminal court”.

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Governor Kathy Hochul today announced a partnership with SUNY and Syracuse University in which 10 new testing sites will be opening on State University of New York campuses across the state and at Syracuse University the week of Jan. 3. More campus sites will open in the coming weeks as the project expands. SUNY testing sites to open later this week include Binghamton University & SUNY Oneonta.

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Norwich has a New Mayor, Brian Doliver, who was sworn in last Friday, he told WCDO News that he has a busy schedule already, and he has State Money coming to help with their infrastructure issues:

(Brian Doliver 1-4-22)

Doliver replaces Shawn Sastri as Mayor, who declined to run for Re-election last November.

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Albany County District Attorney David Soares is dropping a criminal charge against former Governor Andrew Cuomo for allegedly fondling an aide in Albany last year. Soares’ decision comes just before Cuomo was due in court this week to answer to the misdemeanor charge, The Albany DA’s decision follows other jurisdiction’s prosecutors dropping similar charges against Cuomo. The Albany County charges were filed by the Sheriff’s Office last October, Cuomo has denied those specific allegations.

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The Otsego County Health Department reported 81 new COVID 19 cases on Monday, with 7 hospitalized 398 active cases, and a 12% seven day rolling average positivity rate. Officials remind Otsego County Residents to adhere to the Mask Mandates now in effect until February to try to stop the spread of the highly contagious Omicron Variant.

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The Otsego County Department of Motor Vehicles announced that their office will be closed this week & will re-open on Monday January 10th. The office was closed due to COVID 19 issues among the DMV staff, residents can still perform transactions at dmv.ny.gov.

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AM NEWS TUESDAY 1-4-22

State Police are seeking the public’s assistance in obtaining information about a burglary that occurred in the town of Hartwick, between the Sunday evening & Monday Morning. The suspect unlawfully entered a residence on Poplar Avenue and caused physical injury to an elderly victim, who was transported to Bassett Hospital and is in stable condition. Anyone with information is asked to contact State Police at (607)561-7400.

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Governor Kathy Hochul has announced a plan to institute term limits for the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and Comptroller, in the 2022 State of the State Wednesday. Hochul said she will introduce a constitutional amendment to set limits of 2 consecutive terms for those statewide elected officials, & she will propose legislation to impose a ban on earned outside income for those elected officials, with an exception for academic positions that receive ethics board approval. The 2022 State of the State Address will be held in the New York State Assembly Chamber on Wednesday, January 5.

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Delaware County Public Health reported 279 new positive cases of COVID 19 in their latest report covering Thursday through Monday, the positivity rate was up to 15.3%. Delaware County has 462 positive cases with 375 quarantined, there have been 85 deaths from the virus during the pandemic.

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Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James announced that New York, Connecticut, Maryland, and New Jersey filed a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court to continue their lawsuit against the federal government for the Trump Administrations cap on the deduction for state and local taxes, known as SALT. The petition asks the Supreme Court to review an October 2021 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that upheld the district court’s rejection of the states’ suit, which argues that the SALT cap was a politically motivated bid by the former federal administration to interfere with the policy choices of Democratic led states.

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The next General Clinton Canoe Regatta Meeting will be held tonight in Bainbridge. The meeting will be held at Galaxy Bowl starting at 7:00 PM. Chairman John Harmon announced that many race decisions have to be made at tonight’s meeting.

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