Governor Cuomo announced that during the first 10 months of 2015, New York State recouped and returned $25.1 million to approximately 22,600 workers who originally were not paid the proper minimum wage, overtime pay or fringe benefits. This amount puts the state on pace to exceed the record $30.2 million disbursed to 27,000 workers in 2014. The State Department of Labor announced that more than 80% of all investigations are now completed within 6 months, in the Southern Tier region, $209,000 was returned to 293 workers.
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Assemblyman Cliff Crouch stated today that the Kraft manufacturing plant in Walton under review for closure needs to stay open. Crouch said that there are 150 local jobs as well as a methane digester project being pursued by the Village of Walton at stake. The methane digester project is being pursued through the Regional economic Development Council as a cost-saving measure for Kraft & as well as the Walton school district, to save on heating costs paid by area taxpayers. Crouch joins Governor Cuomo & U.S. Senator Schumer in trying to get Kraft Heinz from closing the Walton plant, and 2 others in the state, following a merger of the 2 food industry giants.
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State Police arrested 26-year-old Scott Losee of Sherburne for 3rd degree assault, criminal mischief and unlawful imprisonment, after troopers responded to a domestic dispute that occurred on November 2 in Sherburne. Losee allegedly assaulted his girlfriend causing an injury to her face. He also smashed her cell phone and kept her from leaving the home. Losee was arraigned in the Town of Sherburne court and was released without bail required. His next court date in the Town of Sherburne is on November 18, 2015. The court issued an order of protection against Losee.
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New York Farm Bureau has come out with its annual “Circle of Friends,” naming 158 State Legislators to their annual list. The award is an indication of the individual lawmaker’s support of New York agriculture and the Farm Bureau, based upon each legislator’s voting record on issues of agricultural importance. The “Circle of Friends” local recipients for 2015 are State Senators John Bonacic & Jim Seward & Assembly members Cliff Crouch, Gary Finch, Pete Lopez, Donna Lupardo & Bill Magee.
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State Senator Jim Seward will be in Worcester Thursday at the I-88 rest stop. Officials from the State DOT will join Seward and other local leaders to officially reopen the fully rehabilitated I-88 rest stop closed in 2010 due to budget constraints. Officials will also provide an update on work to reopen the I-88 rest stop in Wells Bridge.
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The New York State Office of General Services today announced that the surplus vehicle, highway equipment, and miscellaneous property auctions scheduled for Friday, November 12 in Unadilla was cancelled and will not be rescheduled. A listing of other New York State auctions to be held throughout the state can be found at nysstore.com. Specific items and terms of sale are available at ogs.ny.gov.
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Sidney republicans & Democrats co-hosted a candidate’s forum at the Sidney Library Smart Community Room Last night. The main part of the forum was the chance for voters to hear from County Family Court Judge candidates Gary Rosa & Porter Kirkwood. Rosa told WCDO News why he felt he should be the first Delaware County Family Court Judge:
(Gary Rosa 10-21-15)
County Attorney Porter Kirkwood told WCDO News why he felt he should be the first county court judge:
(Porter Kirkwood 10-21-15)
4 candidates are running for 2 seats on the Sidney town board, they are incumbent Bill Heath, Former town Council man Eric Wilson as well as Loddie Marsh & Jeannette Hinckley, who each gave introductory comments at the Sidney Library Forum last night.
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Coldwell Banker Timberland Properties will celebrate the grand opening of a new office at 19 Union Street, Sidney with an open house today from 4:30-7 p.m. The public is invited to attend. The open house. located in the Community Bank Building. The event will include office tours, refreshments and live music.
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The Cancer Services Program of Delaware, Otsego and Schoharie counties will offer free health screenings to women 40 and older who are uninsured or underinsured. The Bassett Coach will be available from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM at Family Planning of Walton, 130 North Street. Appointments are requested at 1-888-345-0225.
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The Town of Sidney Zoning board of appeals will conduct a public hearing on today at 7:00 pm at the Sidney Civic Center Room 204. The main Issue will be to determine if the Code Official’s finding of “Pre-existing non-conforming use” is proper, in regards to further developing the KOA campground at 242 Union Church Road in Franklin. Interested parties may attend and will be heard if desired.
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An American Red Cross Blood drive will be held in Sidney today, from 1:30 to 6:30 PM at Tri-Town Regional Hospital. Those wishing to donate can do so with a download of the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, at redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients.
The Assembly Minority Task Force on Heroin Addiction & Community Response will hold a regional forum today, aimed at identifying problems and weaknesses in current efforts to combat the rampant heroin epidemic. Local Assemblyman Cliff Crouch & other lawmakers will participate from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at the SUNY Broome Decker Health Science Center in Room D201. Representatives from rehabilitation and treatment organizations and facilities, law enforcement and criminal justice, and those with firsthand experience dealing with heroin addiction have been invited to attend and provide feedback.
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A candidate’s forum will be held in Sidney tonight at the Smart community room at the Sidney Library, featuring Delaware County Family Court Justice Candidates Gary Rosa & Porter Kirkwood, Organizer Amanda Heaney-Smith comments
(Amanda Heaney Smith 10-20-15)
The event will run from 6:30 to about 8:30 & will also feature the 4 candidates running for 2 seats on the Sidney Town Board.
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The Bainbridge-Guilford Central School will hold a SPECIAL Board of Education Meeting tonight in the District Conference room at 7:00 PM to discuss the Superintendent Search.
(Fred Akshar 10-16-15)
Akshar faces Democrat Barbara Fiala in the special election to fill the 52nd state senate district, following the conviction of long time senator Tom Libous of Binghamton this summer.
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Next week, a candidate’s forum will be held in the Smart Community Room at the Sidney Memorial Library, featuring candidates for the Delaware County Family court judge position, and for the 2 seats on the town of Sidney board. Organizer Amanda Heaney-Smith comments:
(Amanda Heaney Smith 10-16-15)
The candidate’s forum will be held on Tuesday beginning at 6:30 PM at the Sidney Library. The Delaware County Family Court Judge candidates are Porter Kirkwood & Gary Rosa, the 4 candidates for 2 Sidney town board seat include incumbent Bill Heath, plus Eric Wilson, Jeannette Hinckley & Loddie Marsh.
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The “Camp Hope” Launch Party will be held Sunday, at the Unadilla Community Field Behind the Library from 12:00 Noon to 4:00 PM. The organization is looking to raise money for a dog training facility to be built in Sidney, to give Post Traumatic Stress Disorder service dogs to veterans free of charge. Sundays’; event will feature a live dog demonstration, raffles, food provided by the Unadilla House and entertainment by the band Sundown. More information is available at camp hope veteran’s .org or on their facebook page or by calling 437-6927.
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Governor Cuomo today announced that more than 132,000 available jobs are now listed on New York State’s Jobs Express website. Jobs Express sorts thousands of jobs by region and occupation, and allows users to search jobs based on zip code and travel distance. In the Southern Tier, there are over 4,700 jobs listed currently.
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Delaware County Sheriff Tom Mills reminds residents to be aware of a number of IRS scams that have been reported recently. The scams try to trick taxpayers into providing personal and financial information & may involve intimidation tactics to coerce victims into making false tax payments that are collected by the scammer. Sheriff Mills said that you should not share any personal or financial information with these callers, & that the IRS will never make such calls to private citizens. Those with questions can contact the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040, you can report scams to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1-800-366-4484, or the Federal Trade Commission at FTC.gov.
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On Thursday, a Chenango County resident was arrested by the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office for falsely reporting an incident. The Chenango County Sheriff’s Office arrested a 14 year old juvenile following an investigation into a bomb threat at the BOCES in North Norwich. The juvenile wrote a bomb threat on the wall of the school knowing that there was no bomb in the school, he was arrested and will appear in court at a later date.
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A Benefit for the Tri Town Relay for Life will be held Saturday Night from 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm at the Sidney Elks Lodge on River Street. Noted area singers will perform oldies music, refreshments are available, and tickets will be available at the Elks Club door.
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Tonight in Norwich, The Classic Casino Night will be held at the Northeast Classic Car Museum, at 24 Rexford Street, from 6:00 to 10:00 PM. More information available at 334-2886 or classiccarmuseum.org
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Illusionist David Caserta to debut his Haunted Illusions show to Norwich at 7:00 PM. on Saturday in the Chenango Arts Council’s Martin W. Kappel Theater, 27 West Main Street. More information or to order tickets, visit www.chenangoarts.org or 336-ARTS.
(Cuomo)
Governor Cuomo met with congressional leaders, he told them that the recovery efforts would cost $32.8 billion and mitigation and rebuilding costs would be an additional $9 billion.
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The Chenango county sheriffs department investigated a 3 car motor vehicle head on accident on State Hwy 12 in the Town of North Norwich Monday. Investigators reported that 62-year-old Richard Webb of Sherburne failed to keep right and struck the vehicle of Larry and Eleanor Hall of Smyrna, head on. Deputies said that Gina Acee of Sherburne was unable to stop and struck Hall’s vehicle in the rear. Acee was uninjured; the Halls were transported to Chenango Memorial Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Webb was charged with Aggravated DWI with BAC of more than .18, Unlawful Possession of Marihuana, Open container in a motor vehicle, Unlicensed Operation and failure to keep right. Webb faces court action at a later date.
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State Police arrested 41-year-old Gary Rosa of Delhi for Criminal Obstruction of Breathing and 3rd degree Assault. The arrest resulted from dispute on Honest Brook Road in Delhi, Rosa was arraigned in the Town of Delhi Court, remanded to the Delaware County Jail on $250.00 bail and is scheduled to reappear in the Town of Delhi Court today.
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The Chenango county sheriffs department responded to the report of an accident Monday afternoon at around 4:50 PM on state route 12 at county road 44 in north Norwich. Deputies said that 43-year-old Marlette Yarnes-Halbert of Norwich was driving on route 12, when her vehicle collided with another vehicle driven by 74-year-old Ronald Sayles of south Plymouth. Sayles was charged with Failure to Yield Right of Way on a Left Turn, both drivers suffered minor injuries & were treated at the scene.
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The Chenango county sheriffs department arrested 35-year-old Robert Martin of Delhi, on an active Arrest Warrant for Criminal Mischief and Harassment. Martin was charged in connection with a domestic dispute, where Martin is accused of damaging property & subjecting a victim to unwanted physical contact. Martin was arraigned in the Town of Norwich Court & was remanded to the Chenango County jail pending future action in the Town of Plymouth Court.
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Canadian Pacific’s Holiday Train will roll through the region on Wednesday, collecting donations for local food pantries while providing live entertainment at each stop. The train will be decorated with hundreds of thousands of lights starts the trip in Quebec on Today and makes its first U.S. stop the Wednesday night at the Steamtown Railroad Museum in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The train then heads north to Binghamton for an appearance at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, followed by stops Thursday in Oneonta, & Cobleskill, the train continues east & then north Friday.
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The Joint Landowner s Coalition of New York has sent a letter to Governor Cuomo’s expressing their disappointment that the DEC regulations for Hydraulic Fracturing have been pushed back again beyond the November 29th deadline. Coalition President Dan Fitzsimmons comments:
(Dan Fitzsimmons)
The coalition represents 77,000 New York landowners, Fitzsimmons said that the coalition has been part of the dialogue for careful development & have advanced recommendations for better handling of produced water at the well sites, & to include reduced air emission “green” completions.
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19-year-old Darren VanDeusen of Mount Vision was convicted in Otsego county court on a charge of first-degree criminal sexual act for sodomizing a 10-year-old girl in Milford. State police arrested VanDeusen last December following an investigation when the victim complained to her parents about the attack; VanDeusen has been remanded to Otsego County Correctional Facility without bail.
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State troopers conducted an Underage Drinking Enforcement detail at 19 establishments. 16 of the 19 stores were in compliance, 3 people were charged with the Prohibited Sale of an Alcoholic Beverage, 45 year old Lori Croft in Kirkwood, 57 year old, Saini Sing in Conklin, and 19 year old Adam Simmons in Johnson city. All 3 were issued appearance tickets for court action at a later date.
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Oneonta city officials announced today that the public hearing for the 2013 city budget scheduled for 7:00 PM on November 27th at city hall would be conducted as part of a special meeting of the council, with a single agenda item on the budget. Following the public hearing, the budget may be approved as presented or amended and approved, or action may be deferred until the December 4th common council meeting. More information is available at 432-6450.
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THE Absentee ballots in Delaware County have been tabulated, and incumbent County Judge Carl Becker won over Gary Rosa for the 10-year position. Voters returned Becker to office by 190 votes with a final vote count of 9,139 for Becker & 8,949 for Rosa.
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