CHENANGO BOCES – WCDO Radio News

WCDO NEWS WEDNESDAY 11-30-16

wcdonews — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 20:04:39 +0000

State Police arrested 32-year-old Curtis Commesso of Bainbridge for reckless endangerment, endangering the welfare of a child and criminal contempt, after troopers were advised of a domestic dispute on I-88 in the Town of Fenton. Commesso allegedly drove recklessly by another vehicle that was occupied by his ex-girlfriend, their young child and others, he swerved in front of the victim’s vehicle, and the behavior violated a court order of protection. Commesso was arraigned in the Town of Fenton Court and was remanded to the Broome County Jail in lieu of $2,500 cash bail or $5,000 property bond, pending future court action.
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New York state’s Medicaid system made approximately $6.8 million in inappropriate payments, including $3.5 million for separately billed medical services that should have been covered by managed care plans, according to an audit released by State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. Additionally, auditors identified 15 Medicaid providers who were charged with or found guilty of crimes that violated the laws or regulations of a health care program. So far, about $2.4 million of the overpayments were recovered. The report is available at osc.state.ny.us/audits.
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A New York state environmental conservation officer was hospitalized after being shot while investigating illegal hunting in Columbia County. State police say 2 En-Con officers were checking out reports of trespassing with shots fired Tuesday afternoon; Officer James Davey was shot in the pelvic area by 54-year-old Alan Blanchard of Gallatin. Davey underwent surgery at MidHudson Regional Hospital and is listed in stable condition. Blanchard was charged Tuesday night with assault. He was being held Wednesday in county jail without bail.
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The Otsego County Sheriffs department arrested 59-year-old Rhonda Wing of Morris for DWI Saturday after she crashed her car in the Town of Pittsfield. Wing was arraigned at the Pittsfield Town Court and is expected to reappear December 21st.
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The State Assembly held a public hearing in Albany today regarding the rapid increase in student debt by college graduates. Statistics compiled by the state comptroller’s office shows that student loan debt has doubled in the last decade. Last year, New York residents had an average of $32,200 in student debt, which is well above the national average of about $25,500.
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Delaware County Deputies arrested 46-year-old Ronald Walley of Walton, for DWI, failure to keep right and speed unreasonable and prudent, following a 1-car rollover accident on County Highway 23 in the Town of Walton. Walley was released on appearance tickets returnable to the Town of Walton Court on December 28th.
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The Sidney Chamber of Commerce will hold the annual Christmas Parade this Friday night in downtown Sidney. Sidney Chamber President Stephanie Taylor said that this year’s theme is “A Country Christmas:”

(Steph Taylor 11-30-16)

Taylor said that they will also hold their house decorating contest again this year, with 30 local homes winning the “Spirit Award” More information is available at the new Chamber office at 85 main street in Sidney.
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The Tri-Town Coalition on Substance Abuse Prevention will have their next meeting today; The Sidney High School Student Teen Institute team will present their recent experiences at the State Prevention Network’s Conference. Coalition Spokesperson Lorraine Keckeisen explains:

(Lorraine Keckeisen 11-30-16)

Tonight’s meeting runs from 6:00 to 7:30 PM at the Sidney High School Library & is open to the public.
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Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul will be in Cooperstown & Binghamton this afternoon. At 12:00 PM Hochul will tour Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown & at 2:00 PM she will announce the 76West Clean Energy Business Competition Winners at Binghamton University.
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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the State DEC will hold a public scoping meeting for a study on flood-damage reduction needs today. the meeting will be held in the Sidney Memorial Public Library at 6:30 PM in the Smart Community Room. The Public is invited to attend.
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The State DOT announced that bridge work on State Route 30/206 northbound and southbound over the East Branch of the Delaware River in the town Colchester will require intermittent road closures in both directions starting today through December 2 from 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM each day. Crews will be setting bridge girders for the new bridge. Motorists will encounter traffic stoppages intermittently for 10 – 15 minutes several times during the work hours daily. Motorists are advised to be alert for slow moving traffic and sudden stops.
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American Red Cross blood drives will be held at both local BOCES campuses today. One blood drive will be held at the Harold campus on state route 206 in Masonville from 8:30 AM to 2:30 PM, another blood drive will be held at the Norwich BOCES campus from 10:30 AM to 3:30 PM. Appointments can be made with the Red Cross Blood Donor App, at redcrossblood.org or by calling 1-800-RED CROSS.
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The Lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, which came from Oneonta this year, will be seen on the big screen at the Foothills Performing Arts center tonight. Center Spokesman Bill Youngs explains:

(Bill Youngs 11-30-16)

The tree was removed recently from the Eichler property at Country Club Road in Oneonta; it will be let in the televised ceremony tonight & will be on display until January 7th.
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WCDO NEWS WEDNESDAY 9-21-16

wcdonews — Wed, 21 Sep 2016 19:01:53 +0000

Governor Cuomo today announced that more than $35 million in upgrades to SUNY campuses throughout the state are complete. The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York completed these projects in time for the fall semester; The projects were funded from residence hall fees. Among the Campus upgrades SUNY Delhi received 1.2 million dollars for 2 lounges in Russell Hall have been converted into kitchens, and the exterior of Murphy Hall has been updated. At SUNY Oneonta, the $2.3 million dollar project had 5 residence hall lounges converted into kitchens and fitness centers, and drainage improvements have been made to pedestrian walkways at the East Campus, wall coverings along the corridors of Blodgett Hall have been replaced, 4 residence hall fire alarm panels have been replaced, and 4 resident halls have received Wi-Fi upgrades.
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Officials in Norwich announced that the annual Pumpkin Festival will be held in downtown Norwich on Friday October 28th & Saturday October 29th. The Norwich Business Improvement District is seeking business Sponsorships for the event and volunteers to assist during that festivities. More information is available at 336-1811.
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The Delaware County Department Of Public Works announced that they would begin paving on County Route 14 on Tuesday September 27th, at 7:00 AM. Work will be performed between Hayes road & Warner Road in the town of Meredith, daily between 7:00 AM and 5:00 PM; the project is expected to be completed on September 30th.
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The New York State Park Police are seeking candidates interested in a law enforcement career in the New York State park system. A competitive written Civil Service examination will be held November 19th; online applications are available at the Department of Civil Service web site cs.ny.gov. Applicants must be between 20 & 35 at the time of the exam, Applications for the exam must be submitted to the Department of Civil Service by October 5th. More information on the qualification and selection process is available at nysparks.com.
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The Bainbridge Chamber of Commerce announced this years winners of the “Citizen Of The Year” and “Business of the year”. The Citizen of the Year is John Payne, who told WCDO News that much of the credit belongs to fellow chamber members:

(John Payne 9-21-16)

The Business of the Year is “Nana’s Keepsakes” Owner Deb Erickson comments:

(Deb Erickson 9-21-16)

Both will be honored at the annual dinner to be held at the Sundown Golf & Country Club in Guilford on October 29th.
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The Sidney Chamber of Commerce will hold its next “Business After Hours” & Ribbon Cutting event today. The event will be held at the newly expanded Harrington Photography, Art & Framing on Cartwright Avenue in Sidney, Owner Dan Harrington commented:

(Dan Harrington 9-21-16)

Harrington said that the newly opened Gallery currently features the Leatherstocking Brush & Palette Club from Cooperstown; they will feature different exhibits on a monthly basis, from a variety of different local artists.
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The State Department of Labor released preliminary local unemployment rates for August, the State’s unemployment rate increased over the month, from 4.7% to 4.8% in August, locally, Chenango County had an unemployment rate at 4.4%, Delaware County was at 4.9% & Otsego county was at 4.3%.
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The Sidney Chamber of Commerce will hold its next “Business After Hours” & Ribbon Cutting event today. The event will be held at 85 Main Street & will feature Harrington Photography, Art & Framing
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Another Red Cross Blood Drive is being held in Greene today, from 12:30 to 5:30 PM, at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, State Highway 206. 2 Blood drives will be held in Norwich today from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM at the NBT Bank, 52 South Broad Street, and from 10:30 AM to 3:30 PM at the BOCES of Chenango County. download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS to make an appointment or for more information
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WCDO NEWS TUESDAY 3-29-16

wcdonews — Tue, 29 Mar 2016 18:55:55 +0000

State Police arrested 36-year-old Cristal Cartelli & 38 year old Curtis Webb of Sidney on a variety of charges including drug possession. The arrests occurred after Cartelli failed to stop at a stop sign on State Route 206 in Bainbridge, Troopers recovered heroin & marijuana during a search & they found that Cartelli was wanted on a warrant in Vestal & Webb was wanted on a warrant in Sidney. Cartelli & Webb were arraigned & were both remanded to the Chenango County jail on bail, pending court action on April 26th.
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State Police at Sidney arrested 35 year old Melissa Bateman of Unadilla for the felony aggravated DWI with a child less than 16 years old, plus criminal possession of a controlled substance and other traffic violations. The arrest occurred after troopers responded to a 1-car accident on State Route 7 in the Town of Unadilla, Bateman is accused of driving while impaired by drugs when she drove off the roadway and struck a guide rail, one of her passengers was a 14-year-old girl. Bateman was found to unlawfully possess 7 prescription pills. Bateman was issued tickets returnable to the Town of Unadilla court on April 11th.
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State lawmakers are wrapping up negotiations on the state budget plan, which is due on Friday. Assemblyman Bill Magee thinks that a good amount of the agricultural budget cuts will be restored:

(Magee 3-29-16)

Magee chairs the Assembly Agriculture Committee, he said that the Governor usually makes cuts in his original executive budget in January & most if not all of the cuts are restored each year.
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Governor Cuomo announced New York State is providing 235 police departments and sheriffs’ offices with state-of-the-art radar units, investing more than $343,000 to replace old or obsolete devices. This is the first time in nearly 2 decades that the state has provided this funding, which will allow agencies to more effectively target reckless drivers. The need for new technology was identified by the state Division of Criminal Justice Services Highway Safety Technology Unit, which annually performs preventative maintenance and repairs on about 5,500 radar devices, many were too costly to repair, others lacked an ‘instant on’ feature and some were too large for newer-model police cruisers.
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State Police arrested 46-year-old Christopher Purdy of Oneonta for DWI and other traffic tickets. State Police observed Purdy speeding at 80 miles per hour on I-88, Purdy refused to submit to a breath test to determine his blood alcohol content. He was arraigned in the Town of Oneonta court and was released after posting $400 bail. Purdy’s next court date in the Town of Milford is on April 5th.
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Governor Cuomo announced that he is deploying the Department of Financial Services’ Mobile Command Center to help eligible New Yorkers prepare and file their taxes for free. The unit will be making stops at locations throughout Upstate New York from April 4 through April 9, between the hours of 12 p.m. and 6 p.m.: Locally, the event will be held on Wednesday, April 6th in Oneonta at the Foothills Performing Arts Center.
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Congressman Chris Gibson will be in Delaware County today. At Noon, Gibson will tour the Delaware County Solid Waste Management Center in Hamden, at 2:00 he will participate in a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Delhi Rehabilitation & Nursing Center & at 4:00 PM, he will help honor Delaware County veterans Douglas Lee Thomson and Charles Groff and present medals to their families, at the Delaware County Public Safety Building in Delhi.
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Governor Cuomo signed an executive order banning all non-essential state travel to North Carolina. The ban follows North Carolina’s enactment of a law which bars transgender individuals from using restrooms appropriate for their gender identities, excludes sexual orientation and gender identity from state anti-discrimination protections, and prohibits municipalities from extending those protections to LGBT citizens.
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A meeting will be held today of the Prevention Coalition for Heroin Substance Abuse at 6:30 pm at the Sidney High School this evening, spokesperson Lorraine Keckeisen explains:

(Lorraine Keckeisen 3-29-16)

Keckeisen said that they are seeking input from faith-based community leaders; law enforcement; policy makers; school leaders and student body; business people and concerned community people at tonight’s meeting in the Sidney High School Library.
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The American Red Cross invites individuals to donate blood today in Norwich. Today’s blood donation opportunities will be in Norwich from 10:30 AM to 3:30 PM at the BOCES of Chenango County, on Country Rd 32. To schedule an appointment to donate blood, download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS.
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A.M. NEWS MONDAY 1-20-14

wcdonews — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 17:18:10 +0000

Firefighters from several area companies responded to a fire Saturday afternoon at a trailer located at 8 Park Avenue in Afton. The fire started in a Dryer fire, and quickly spread to being fully involved. Afton, Bainbridge Sidney, Coventry and Harpursville Fire departments responded, no injuries were reported.

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Chenango County Sheriff’s Office responded to a structure fire at the Chenango county BOCES campus last Monday morning. Deputies arrested a 15 year old Female from Sidney, and 17 year old male from Norwich, on charges of 2^nd degree Arson, Criminal Mischief, Reckless Endangerment, 4^th degree Conspiracy and Endangering the Welfare of a Child. The 2 are accused of starting a fire in a bathroom at BOCES by lighting a towel dispenser on fire. The fire was contained minutes after and there was minor damage. The Juvenile female was issued an appearance ticket and released to a parent, the male was arraigned in the Town of Norwich court and is being held on $1000 cash bail. Both are scheduled to appear in court at a later date.

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The American Red Cross of the Southern Tier will host a Babysitter’s Training class for youth ages 11 to 15 from today from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM at the Red Cross office at 620 East Main Street in Endicott. more information is available at 1-800-733-2767, or redcross.org