Sidney Police Department received report of an armed robbery Friday Afternoon at about 1:35 PM at Smiley’s at 17 West Main Street. The suspect displayed a Handgun, demanded cash, he was wearing a black and purple wig, blue Oneonta YellowJackets hooded sweatshirt and pink slippers. The suspect left went hrough yards, left behind the disguises and left in a Silver Subaru parked on Adams Street, & left the village. The suspect is a bald or balding, heavy set white male over 6 feet tall. Sidney Police were assisted by STate Police & Delaware County Deputies, Anyone with any information should contact the Sidney Police Department at 607 561-2301, more information is available at the Village of Sidney Police Department Facebook page.

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State Police in Oneonta is attempting to identify an individual that was captured on a surveillance camera at the GameStop store located on State Route 23 in the town of Oneonta in regard to a larceny investigation. If anyone recognizes the individual pictured at https://troopers.ny.gov/news/state-police-seek-public-assistance-identifying-individual-captured-surveillance-camera, they are asked to contact State Police in Oneonta at (607) 432-3211. 

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Tickets are still available for the Southern Tier Music Festival in July in Sidney, and spokesman Jake Cotten & Ed Curley said that more of the special coveted tickets have been made available:

(Jake Cotten Ed Curley 4-26-24)

Tickets can be purchased at Southern Tier Music Fest .com which will feature music through the day on July 6th at the Sidney Airport, with headliner Nate Smith closing out the show.

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The Susquehanna Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has received a $5,000 grant investment from national nonprofit Petco Love in support of its lifesaving work on behalf of animals in Otsego County through clinics aimed at expanding access for animals who need care. The Petco Love program helps find homes for pets in partnership with more than 4,000 organizations, like the Susquehanna SPCA, in order to get pets the care they need & adopted into homes, and make sure that pets are not unnecessarily euthanized. More information is available at sqspca.org. or petcolove.org.

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The Jericho Arts Council will present a popular Bluegrass Band Saturday Night, as well as the 43rd fine arts show, spokesman Phil Wade explains:

(PHIL WADE 4-26-24)

Tickets for the concert can be reserved by calling (607) 288-3882.

A.M. NEWS FRIDAY 4-26-24

President Biden appeared in Syracuse on Thursday afternoon, he discussed the $6.1 Billion Dolla federal investment in Micron Technology, which is building a manufacturing complex in Clay over the next 20 years, investing up to $125 billion, a move that could bring 50,000 to the state, construction will begin next year.

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The 4 Towns Forward Community Yard sales event will beheld tomorrow, Teri Schunk of 4 Towns Forward comments:

(Teri Schunk 4-26-24)

Also, the Unadilla & Bainbridge Fire Departments will hold their Open House events tomorrow, in an effort to get more people involved in their local fire department, according to Roger Barnhart of the Bainbridge EMS Squad:

(Roger Barnhart 4-25-24)

The Bainbridge & Unadilla Fire Departments Open House events will be held from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

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Otsego County Sheriff’s Office arrested 26 year old Justin Kucera of West Edmeston following an animal cruelty investigation. Kucera was charged with Overdriving, Torturing, Injuring Animals; Failure to provide proper Sustenance, following an investigation into a dog complaint in Edmeston. Kucera was issued an Appearance Ticket and is to return to Town of Edmeston Court on May 6, 2024.

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Mothers & Babies Peri-Natal Network is hosting a free event in Norwich This Saturday, with a variety of organizations on hand to help educate new Moms & Dads, Director Christy Finch explains:

(Christy Finch 4-26-24)

The event will be held from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM at the SUNY Morrisville Norwich Campus, more information is available at 772-0517.

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The Oxford Village Tree Board will be holding its 31st “Tree City USA” and Arbor Day Celebration on Saturday, starting at 9 am., at Lafayette Park. The Tree City USA flag and plaque presentation will be held along with a giveaway of seedling trees and shrubs.

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Governor Kathy Hochul announced that applications are open for $500 million from the state Budget to bolster New York’s child care workforce through the Workforce Retention Grant Program. Funding will support approximately 150,000 direct child care staff through financial incentives ranging from $2,300 to $3,000 in retention and referral bonuses for existing staff as well as sign-on bonuses for new staff. Applications can be found at my.ny.gov.

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The Unadilla Chamber of Commerce announced that their annual Diner & Awards ceremony will be held on October 1st at 3:00 PM. The dinner will be held at Far View Farms, the Business of the year award will go to the Village Bountiful Community Market, The Good Neighbor Award will go to Robert Gipson & the Commitment to Community Award will go to Mayor Jake Cotten.. More information is available at 369-2614.

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The Line Up is set for this year’s Spiedie Fest at Otsiningo Park in Binghamton, August 4th, 5th & 6th, spokesman Dave Pessagno told WCDO News about events scheduled for kids and families:

(Dave Pessagno 7-27-23)

The full line up of events is available at spiediefest.com.

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Cooperstown Cheese Company based in Milford, New York announced a recall of over 1400 pounds of cheese, The recalled cheese was purchased, sold or distributed from June 21st to July 10th, They were distributed in New York State through farmers markets, restaurants and retail stores. All recalled products are labeled with Cooperstown Cheese Company labels which contain the company contact information. The FDA reported that the products were recalled due to a potential to be contaminated with Listeria.

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Family Planning of South Central New York was awarded a $1.2 million dollar grant over 5 years for the Personal Responsibility Education Program. The New York State Department of Health funded initiative works to delay sexual activity, increase condom and contraceptive use, reduce teen pregnancy, and ensure adolescents have access to comprehensive reproductive medical care services. Learn more about Family Planning of South Central New York by visiting fpscny.org.

The Binghamton Black Bears announced an agreement to play at the Visions Veterans Memorial Arena through the 2026 season, The Black Bears set a Federal Prospects Hockey League record in attendance with 107,000 fans over the course of the 2022-2023 season. The Black Bears will open up the 2023-2024 season on October 13 against the Elmira.

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A.M. NEWS Thursday 7-27-23

Governor Kathy Hochul announced that $200 million in funding is available through the State’s 2 economic development programs; $100 million each for Round 7 of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative and Round 2 of the NY Forward program, which focuses on revitalizing smaller and rural downtowns. Applications are available on the Downtown Revitalization Initiative and NY Forward websites. The deadline to apply is September 29

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A raccoon in the Town of Kortright has tested positive for rabies. This is the third animal in Delaware County to test positive for rabies in 2023. One person was exposed to the rabid raccoon and has begun Rabies Post-Exposure Prophylaxis. No domestic animals were exposed to the rabid raccoon. Public Health recommends that pet owners take advantage of any of the free remaining rabies clinics for cats, dogs, and ferrets in Delaware County.

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An American Red Cross Blood Drive will be held in Oneonta today, from 1 p.m. – 6 p.m., at the Quality Inn, on State Highway 23. To make an appointment, simply download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit RedCrossBlood.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS

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The State Comptroller’s Office conducted an audit of the State Department of Health, they found that the Department was unprepared to respond to infectious disease outbreaks at nursing homes, even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit New York. A lack of funding for public health forced the Department to operate without critical information systems and staff that could have identified and helped limit the spread of COVID-19 at nursing homes, also the department did not provide the public with accurate COVID-19 death counts and became entangled in the undercounting of those deaths as Governor Cuomo took control of information provided to the public. The Auditors believe that the actual number of nursing home residents who died is still uncertain.

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The US Air Force Band will be performing a free concert in Oneonta this evening, spokesman Gene Schmidt explains:

(Gene Schmidt 3-16-22)

Schmidt said that proof of vaccination & masks are required for tonight’s concert at the Foothills Performing Arts center on Market Street in Oneonta.

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Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies observed a vehicle traveling on Main Street in Delhi last Friday with a non-functional headlight. Deputies stopped the vehicle, the driver was identified as 19-year-old Skylar Pesout of Sidney Center, Deputies charged him with DWI and driving with blood alcohol content of .14%. Pesout was also issued Traffics Tickets & was released on an appearance tickets and is to appear in the Town of Delhi Court on a later date to answer the charges.

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Commerce Chenango Tourism announced their Inaugural “Wine Beer Food Festival” on July 30th at the Chenango County Fairgrounds in Norwich, Commerce Chenango President & CEO Kerri Green told WCDO News about the new venture on the WCDO Morning show this morning:

(Kerri Green 3-16-22)

More information is available at chenangowbffest.com, as well as their Facebook, Twitter & Instagram pages.

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The Afton Community Theater & the Tri-Town Theater are teaming up for “Into The Woods” later this month in Norwich. Cast Members Sarah Norris and Mikaela Sepulveda talked about the characters they portray in this musical, on the WCDO Morning show this morning:

(Sarah Mikaela 3-26-22)

The show will be at the Martin W. Kappel Theater in Norwich on Friday & Saturday Nights, March 25 & 26th with a Sunday Afternoon Matinee on March 27th, Tickets are available at tritown.booktix.com more information is also available on their Facebook Page.

A.M. NEWS Wednesday 3-16-22

Norwich City Police officers conducted a traffic stop on Mitchell Street Friday Morning, the driver left the vehicle & ran, & was apprehended after a short foot pursuit. Norwich police charged 23 year old Dylan Keenan of Bridgewater for criminal possession of a controlled substance, obstruction of governmental administration and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, plus Keenan was wanted on several outstanding warrants from different police agencies. Police confiscated methamphetamines packaged for sale, Keenan was processed & was was released on an appearance ticket, but was turned over to State Police for additional processing on the warrants.

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The New York State Department of Labor released preliminary local unemployment rates for January 2022. The State’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased from 5.4% in December 2021 to 5.3% in January 2022. Delaware & Chenango Counties reported at 4% Unemployment, Otsego had 4.1% unemployment in January.

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Jake Cotten was elected as Unadilla’s new village mayor over challenger Christopher Price in village elections Tuesday, by a vote of 117 to 82. Democrat Paul Baldwin and Republican Joseph Paliotta won trustee seats on the Unadilla Village Board. In Otego, Democrat David Clapper & Republican James Salisbury were elected to the village board.

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The State DEC announced that the annual brush burning ban begins in New York State today, the ban runs through May 14 this year, more information is available at dec.ny.gov.

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