ERIKA SMITH CUNNINGHAM – WCDO Radio News

WCDO NEWS MONDAY 9-24-18

wcdonews — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 19:04:12 +0000

29 year old Corey Robinson was sentenced to 15 years in state prison today in Broome County Court, for the shooting of 46 year old Erika Smith-Cunningham, in Johnson City on Easter Sunday. Robinson had been at a house party at 92 Crocker Avenue in Johnson City; he left after a fight broke out & returned later & fired a shotgun into the building, fatally striking Smith-Cunningham. Robinson fled to Georgia; he was extradited back to New York to face prosecution.
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U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced $225,000 in federal funding for the Oneonta Municipal Airport. The funding was allocated through the U.S. Department of Transportation and the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program. The funding will be used to purchase new snow removal equipment.
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The Binghamton Devils have announced their 2018 training camp schedule at the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena. Players have their first on-ice practice at 10:30 AM Tomorrow morning. Training camp will run through Friday, the Devils invite the general public to Open Practice on Thursday; the doors will open at 10:00 AM. The Devils will open up the 2018-19 season at home on Saturday, October 6 at 7:05 p.m. against the Toronto Marlies.
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The State Department of Health should continue to improve how it informs the public of potential hazards in public drinking water systems, according to an audit released today by State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. New York has 9,155 public water systems, which serves 95% of all New Yorkers. The audit stated that when water safety violations occurred, the Department did not always take appropriate or timely action to hold water systems accountable for required follow-up, such as notifying the public. Of the 126 water safety violations that auditors sampled, the Offices lacked evidence that system operators
notified the public 46% of the time, 21% were issued late. DiNapoli recommended that they prioritize actions to regulate emerging contaminants with known adverse health effects; and to make sure that safe drinking water is distributed to the public through a robust monitoring program that reports issues to the public in a timely fashion.
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The 1st Annual “Pull For A Cure” event will be held this Saturday at the Trout Creek Fire Department, with a variety of events scheduled to raise money for Sidney Center resident Joshua Newell, who is battling cancer, spokesperson Melissa Oakley explains:

(Melissa Oakley 9-24-18)

Sponsors who are interested in participating can contact Oakley by email: moakley8866@gmail.com or by calling 369-4174.
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O’Connor Hospital in Delhi will host it’s annual Family Flu Clinic this Saturday, Spokesperson Carol Howard said that it is important to get the flu vaccination early this year, as some cases have already been reported in New York State:

(Carol Howard 9-24-18)

The clinic will run from 8:00 AM to 12:00 Noon Saturday, more information is available at 746-0334.
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The Chenango County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Town of Sherburne man for Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance, Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs, Leaving the Scene of a Motor Vehicle Accident, and additional vehicle and traffic law violations. Deputies arrested 32 year old Kyle Lafever of Sherburne following a 1 car motor vehicle accident on County Road 32 in the Town of Norwich. Lafever allegedly was involved in 2 separate motor vehicle accidents and leaving the scene of the first accident. In the second motor vehicle accident deputies responded to the scene and administered first aid to Lafever. He was found to be in possession of heroin and a hypodermic syringe. He was transported to Chenango Memorial Hospital. Lafever is scheduled to appear in the Town of Norwich Court at a later date.
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The Chenango County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Town of Plymouth man for Burglary and Grand Larceny in the Town of Pharsalia. 23 year old Austin Demuth of Plymouth is accused of unlawfully entering the residence of a victim and stealing several items, valued at more than $1,000, in July. Demuth was located hiding in his residence in the Town of Plymouth, he was arraigned in the Town of North Norwich Court and remanded to the Chenango County Correctional Facility on $5,000 cash bail. The investigation is ongoing and additional arrests are expected.
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The Otsego County Chamber of Commerce announced their annual small business and Entrepreneurial spirit award recipients. Directive, of Oneonta, is the recipient of the Key Bank, 19th Annual Small Business of the Year Award; The Otsego ReUse Center is the recipient of the Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield Breakthrough Business of the Year. The award winners will be honored at the Chamber’s Small Business Banquet that will be held on Thursday, October 11th at The Otesaga Hotel in Cooperstown, beginning at 5:45 PM.
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The Bainbridge Chamber of Commerce will hold their Reunite Bainbridge Committee Kick-Off Meeting this evening. The meeting will begin at 7:00 pm in the Back of Bob’s Diner.
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WCDO NEWS MONDAY 4-9-18

wcdonews — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 19:12:14 +0000

29-year-old Corey Robinson has waived extradition in Georgia, he will be returned shortly to Broome County to face charges of 2nd-degree murder, for the death of 46-year-old Erika Smith Cunningham of Binghamton, who died after being shot at 92 Crocker Avenue on April 1st. Robinson was taken into custody Thursday night in Marietta, Georgia. Johnson City Police also announced that the weapon believed to have been used in the shooting has been recovered from the Susquehanna River by State Police Divers on Saturday.
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The 2nd side of the Sidney Main Street Revitalization project is scheduled to begin next Monday April 16th, and the next public meeting regarding the project will be on Aprils 23rd at 10:00 AM at the Sidney Civic Center.
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Delaware County Sheriff’s Department Investigators arrested 43 year old Atulbhai Patel of Arkville and charged him with Unlawful Dealing with a Minor and Prohibited Sale of an Alcoholic Beverage to a Person under 21 Years of Age. Patel allegedly sold an alcoholic beverage to an individual who is under the age of 21, at the A & R Country Store in Arkville. Patel was issued an appearance ticket for Town of Middletown Court to answer at a later time.
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The Afton Village Board will be holding a public meeting this evening, at the Jack Bolster Community Center at 7:15 PM. The Board will be informing the public of the tentative water & General Budgets for the 2018-2019 Fiscal year.
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Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 24 year old Cassandra Knipper of Stamford for Criminal Contempt, for allegedly violating an active Order of Protection. Knipper was arraigned in the Town of Davenport Court and released on her own recognizance. Knipper is scheduled to return to the Town of Meredith Court at a later date to answer the charges.
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Broome County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 23 year old Michaela Felter of Binghamton for DWI after she wedged her car between 2 trees near Park Avenue in the Town of Binghamton early Friday morning. Felter was not injured & faces court action at a later date.
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State Senator Fred Akshar this week released the results of his 2018 Community Voice Survey on issues facing constituents across the 52nd Senate District. Constituent overwhelmingly disapproved of new taxes & fees in the New State budget, did not support any idea of supervised Heroin injection sights as a way to prevent overdoses, they favored spending money to repairs roads & sidewalks, & they approved of the plan to confiscate all firearms from those convicted of domestic violance. Full survey results are also available at Akshar.NYSenate.Gov.
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Commerce Chenango has put out their Official Ballot for the 2018 Election of Directors. The ballot must be returned by 4:00 pm on April 30th, they can be mailed to Commerce Chenango 15 South Broad Street, Norwich, 13815 or emailed to info@chenangony.org.
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Walton Police Department pulled over a vehicle driven by 27 year old Noel Rubio-Cruz Sunday, Police disvcovered that a passenger; 47 year old Adrian Peralta-Reyes was an illegal alien and fugitive wanted on an immigration warrant since 2000, he was tiurned over to U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement officers. Another passenger, 18-year-old Alfredo Maldonado-Garcia was also found to be in the country illegally, he resisted arrest by running away and crossing the Delaware River twice. He was eventually taken into custody and charged with obstructing governmental administration & was arraigned in Village of Walton Court and was sent to the Delaware County Jail on $4,000 bail. Rubio-Cruz was arraigned for speeding and operating a vehicle with a suspended registration and sent to the Delaware County Jail on $2,000 bail.
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State Police intercepted a vehicle with a missing 2-year-old from South Carolina. The two-year-old had suffered a gunshot wound to his lower extremities in South Carolina and had not received medical attention. The vehicle in I-81 near exit 6, it was stopped without incident. 24 year old Holly Dew and 23 year old Randi Session of Conway, South Carolina were arrested for Endangering the Welfare of a Child. The 2-year-old was transported to Wilson Hospital where he is in stable condition. Broome County Child Protective Services was contacted and two other children were turned over to CPS. Both Dew and Session were arraigned in the town of Chenango Court and were remanded to the Broome County Jail on $2,000 cash bail or $4,000 bond.
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WCDO NEWS FRIDAY 4-6-18

wcdonews — Fri, 06 Apr 2018 23:36:09 +0000

Assemblyman Cliff Crouch announced today that he will again seek re-election to the 122nd Assembly seat.

(Cliff Crouch 4-6-18)

Crouch has served in the Assembly since 1995, after winning a special mid-year election for the seat vacated by Clarence “Rapp” Rappleyea.
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Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested a Hancock couple for allegedly possessing stolen Snowmobiles from Pennsylvania & possessing drugs packaged for sale. Deputies recovered 4 stolen snowmobiles in Hancock and Deposit, they arrested 28 year old Matthew Mason of Hancock, for Criminal Possession of Stolen Property for allegedly possessing the stolen snowmobile trailer and 4 snowmobiles, he was remanded to the Delaware County Jail on $10,000 cash bail or $20,000 bond. Deputies had also arrested 43 year old Tammy Moore on 2 separate occasions once for Aggravated DWI, Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs, Endangering the Welfare of a Child, Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance & later for Criminal Possession of Stolen Property. Moore was returned to the County Jail after posting bail on the 1stset of charges. A search warrant was executed at the Mason and Moore home; deputies seized marihuana plants, processed marihuana & drug paraphernalia.
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Oxford Central School will be hosting a Robotics Competition called “Robo-Rave” in the High School Gymnasium Saturday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Over 20 teams will be competing. Robo-Rave is a program designed to teach students how to design, build, code & program Robots to perform a variety of tasks, Oxford High School Science Teach Mark Muller explains why he wanted to bring Robo Rave to Oxford:

(Mark Muller 4-6-18)

Muller said that Saturday’s event is the first Robo Rave event in New York State, Robo rave is associated with NASA, who brought a team of engineers to Oxford to speak & teach at the event, which is free & open to the public. More information is available at oxac.org.
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State Police arrested 38 year old Michael Sullivan of Agawam, Massachusetts & 30 year old Gabrielle Graham of Pittsfield, Massachusetts for criminal possession of a controlled substance, Sullivan was additionally charged with Unlawful Possession of Marihuana. Troopers received a complaint of a disabled vehicle on I-88 in the town of Afton; they located marijuana and a smoking pipe with residue. Sullivan and Graham were arraigned in the town of Afton Court and remanded to the Chenango County Jail on $1,000 cash bail or $2,000 bond. Their next court date is scheduled for April 23, 2018 in the town of Afton Court.
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Johnson City Police Department announced that 29-year-old Corey Robinson is being detained in Marietta, Georgia, he is suspected of murdering 46 year old Erika Smith Cunningham, who was found dead at 92 Crocker Avenue Sunday morning. An arrest warrant was issued on Thursday and Robinson was taken into custody a few hours later. Robinson will be charged with 2nd degree murder, Extradition proceedings have begun, Robinson is expected to be returned to Broome County in about a week.
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The controversial NG Advantage natural gas compressor station project in Port Crane is being scrapped by the company, even after they received approval for the project by the Town of Fenton planning board a year ago. NG sold some of the property already to Carrier Services Corporation of Ohio; they are expected to request a rezoning of the property for commercial or industrial activity.
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New York continues to be one of the leading states in the country where people are moving out of, according to United Van Lines. New York ranked 3rd behind Illinois and New Jersey, as the top 3 states that people are leaving. The United van Lines statistics showed that 46% left for job-related reasons, 29% left following retirement, 19% left for family reasons, 5% for health reasons. The largest age population of those who left were ages 55 to 64.
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Governor Cuomo today announced a new initiative to provide teachers and coaches with resources they can use to help prevent and address substance use disorder among young people. Starting next week, the New York State Department of Health, the New York State Education Department, and the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services will notify schools statewide of the availability of flash drives loaded with materials in English and Spanish for coaches, teachers, school nurses, and other educators to use in personal conversations with students and in community forums.
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The Northeast Classic Car Museum in Norwich, is hosting a “Spring Melt” Die Cast Toy & Memorabilia Show Saturday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 Students 6-18, under 6 is free. More information is available at 334-2886.
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The Otsego County Department of Health is hosting the 2018 Living Healthier Expo at the Foothills Performing Arts center on market Street in Oneonta today & tomorrow. The American Red Cross will be holding blood drives over both days, topics will include Lyme disease, rabies Awareness, Chronic Disease management; more information is available at 547-4230 or LHEOtsego.com.
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The Delaware County Chamber of Commerce is hosting their 2nd Annual Comedy show at the Old Schoolhouse Inn of Downsville Saturday Night starting at 7:30 PM. Tickets & more information are available at 746-2281 or delawarecounty.org.
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The 8th Annual “All Animals Matter” dinner & silent Auction Saturday from 4:30 to 7:00 PM at the Norwich VFW. Money raised will benefit the “Krista Bartle 4 Paws Friends Fund, more information is available at 435-7788.
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Democratic Congressional candidate Gareth Rhodes will appear in Sidney today. Rhodes will appear at the Sidney Golf & Country Club this morning at 9:00 AM, he is one of 7 announced candidates running for the Democratic Party Nomination for the right to face incumbent Republican Congressman John Faso for the 19th District.
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The Binghamton Hockey Hall of Fame Committee announced that it will induct Brian McGrattan and Larry Kish as the class of 2018. There will be a pregame ceremony prior to Friday’s game against Syracuse. McGrattan played a total of 196 regular-season games over the course of three seasons in Binghamton with the Senators from 2002-2005, he recorded 25 goals and 22 assists for 47 points, his 551 penalty minutes in 2004-05 is the most in a single season in AHL history. Kish coached several teams in Binghamton from 1975-1982 winning the AHL’s Coach of the Year in 1981. More information about tickets for tonight’s game is available at binghamtondevils.com or 722-7367.
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WCDO NEWS MONDAY 4-2-18

wcdonews — Mon, 02 Apr 2018 18:31:37 +0000

Lawmakers passed budget bills late into the night Friday, finishing off a 168 billion dollar State spending plan, local State Senator Jim Seward comments:

(Seward 4-2-18)

Seward said that the budget also tackles the sexual harassment issue with tougher penalties, and deals with a 4.4 billion dollar deficit.
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Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 34 year old Gary Scofield of the Walton for Criminal Obstruction of Breathing, & Endangering the Welfare of a Child, following an investigation of a domestic incident in Walton. Scofield allegedly applied pressure to the neck of another person during the domestic incident, in the presence of a child less than the age of 17. Scofield was arraigned & was remanded to the Delaware County Jail on $2000 cash bail or $4000 in bond.
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The trial of Jeremy Coates began today in Chenango County Court, Coates is accused of murdering disabled Veteran David Green, by blunt force trauma to the head, in green’s Oxford home in September 2016. Melissa Crispell pleaded guilty last May to 1st degree robbery for her involvement in the crime.
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Governor Cuomo announced the passage of the bill Saturday to prevent gun violence. According to the law, New York citizens convicted of domestic abuse must turn in their rifles, shotguns, and other firearms. The original law only barred abusers from owning pistols or revolvers. Statistics show that perpetrators of domestic violence accounted for about 54% of mass shootings between 2009 and 2016.
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State Police, Johnson City Police & the Broome County District Attorney’s Office are investigating the fatal shooting of 46 year old Erika Smith Cunningham of Binghamton, and the injuring of 2 other people, at 92 Crocker Avenue in Johnson City around 6:30 Sunday morning. Anyone with information related to the shooting should call the Johnson City Police Department at 798-9318.
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State Police reported that several people were killed in a house fire at 2753 State Route 145 in East Durham today. Several Fire departments responded, the road has been closed off & the fire is under investigation, more information will be released pending family notification.
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A Public Scoping Session for the preparation of an environmental impact statement for the Oneonta Rail Yards Project will be conducted on Wednesday at 6:30 pm at Riverside Elementary School in Oneonta, and on Thursday at 6:30 PM at Greater Plains Elementary School. Oneonta City officials are planning to redevelop the railyards for future use & add jobs to the local economy.
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Governor Cuomo and top lawmakers struck a deal late Friday on a $168 billion state budget, bypassing a possible government shutdown.

(Cuomo 4-2-18)

The budget closes a $4.4 billion deficit and it gives employers the option to shift to a payroll tax, to protect employees from the federal tax changes.
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25 year old Joshua Underwood pleaded guilty to 1st-degree manslaughter for the death of Mark Morrison; he was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Otsego County Court on Friday. Underwood called 911 on January 1st 2017 and reported that he had killed Morrison in his Main Street Oneonta apartment; he also tried to set fire to the apartment unsuccessfully to cover up the murder.
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23 year old Kevin Perry of Laurens is facing 2 counts of 1st-degree murder and 2 counts of 2nd-degree murder for the December 12th shooting death of his parents in their Laurens Trailer. Perry was scheduled to go before a judge for a pre-trial conference on Friday, he was presented with a plea deal in exchange for a 25-year prison sentence, Perry is expected to announce his decision on the plea offer at a later date.
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Julian Vancourt-Weis faces charges of attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon, in connection with an attack on his girlfriend in her Oneonta Apartment December 8th, on Friday he was offered a plea deal in Otsego County Court. Prosecutors offered him a 15 year sentence in exchange for pleading guilty to assault; a decision is expected at a later date.
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