Ernest & Heather Franklin of Guilford will be arraigned in Chenango County Court on Friday, they were indicted by a Chenango County Grand jury last week on charges of 2nd degree murder, arson & tampering with physical evidence. The couple is accused of murdering their 16-year-old son Jeffrey & setting fire to the family residence to cover up the murder on march 1st. Both are being held in the Chenango county jail pending Friday’s court action
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Governor Cuomo announced a Request for Proposals for the availability of up to $4.7 million in annual funding for statewide problem gambling outreach, education and treatment services. The RFP includes the development and oversight of seven Problem Gambling Resource Centers across the state. The initiative will be funded in part through a $500 annual license fee charged to casinos operating in New York State, for each gambling table and slot machine at their facilities. Responses are due June 8th.
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Governor Cuomo endorsed the “Empire State Equity Act,” federal legislation that would deliver property tax relief to New Yorkers by increasing federal funding for New York’s Medicaid program. New York is a “donor state” that contributes as much as $30 billion more to the federal budget in taxes than it receives back in services. This bill will help level the playing field and provide New York with an additional $2.3 billion in Medicaid funds, which the state will use to eliminate the local share of Medicaid for any county that agrees to lower local property taxes by an equal amount, thereby passing 100 percent of their savings to their taxpayers.
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CDO Workforce & SUNY Delhi will team up for a session today, regarding application & available courses of study at the college. The session will begin at 1:00 PM at the SIdney Civic Center in the CDOWorkforce offices, reservations are requested at 561-7550, but walk-ins are welcome.
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A motion to disqualify the Chenango County District Attorney from prosecuting the murder case against Ganesh Ramsaran of New Berlin woman has been denied. The motion would have required the appointment of a special prosecutor from outside the district attorney’s office, due to an alleged conflict of interest with the defendant. Chenango county judge Frank Revoir denied the motion. Ramsaran has been charged with 2nd degree murder in connection with the murder of his wife Jennifer late last year, she had been reported missing by her husband, her body was found several months later in a wooded area in the town of Pharsalia.
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The Chenango County Sheriff’s department investigated a 1-vehicle accident on county road 2 in the town of Greene, at about 11:45 Tuesday morning. 24-year-old Jesse Ehlers of Greene left the pavement while operating a Jeep Cherokee, he struck an embankment & a tree. Ehlers & his passenger, 19 year old Makayla Heisler of Greene were not wearing seatbelts & were ejected from the vehicle, and suffered serious head and back injuries. Both were transported to Wilson memorial hospital in Johnson city, the cause of the accident was from unsafe speed for the curve in the road and road conditions.
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State Police at Oneonta arrested 29-year-old David Sparaco of Oneonta for Criminal Possession of Stolen Property. The arrest resulted from a complaint originating at Searle’s Garage in Davenport, who reported that several brake rotors & a radiator from a 1958 Mercury was stolen. Sparaco was arrested at Otsego Auto Crushers in Oneonta, when he tried to sell the stolen property as scrap metal. Sparaco faces future court action on the charges.
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A federal judge has set a trial date of December 2nd for a new fraud trial for former Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno. The 84-year-old Bruno’s 2 fraud convictions from 2009 were overturned on appeal. Bruno is accused of accepting $440,000 from a businessman for helping with state grants.
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Governor Cuomo announced the launch of “Every Student Present,” Tuesday, which is a public awareness campaign to help school leadership, parents, and communities promote school attendance. The campaign is focused on creating engaging school environments, using data to identify chronically absent students, and exploring ways to provide support that can help students and families. More information is available at everystudentpresent.org or governor.ny.gov.
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The state Public Service Commission is urging income-eligible consumers to sign up for a discount telephone service through a program aimed at making New Yorkers safer at home. The Lifeline program provides discounts for monthly residential phone bills for basic telephone service. New Yorkers already receiving other benefits including Food Stamps, Veterans’ Disability, SSI and Home Energy Assistance Program help are eligible. more information is available at AskPSC.com.
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Despite an overall drop in attendance at New York parks, Chenango Valley State Park had a steady flow of swimmers, campers, hikers, golfers and guests this summer. The park, in the Town of Fenton, recorded attendance of 94,136 from Memorial Day through Labor Day weekends — a decrease of just 158 from the same time period last year. At Oquaga Creek State Park, in northeastern Broome and Delaware counties, attendance dropped 10.2 percent this summer. Overall, officials attributed the slight attendance decline at parks across the state to a rainy start of the summer season.
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