The Broome County District Attorney Mike Korchak announced that 34 year old Kyle Babola of Johnson City pleaded guilty for the killing of 55 year old Scott Grover in Johnson City on New Year’s Eve in 2021. Babola killed Grover by striking him numerous times with a machete during a dispute at 330 Floral Avenue. He will be sentenced to 20 years to life in state prison in April 2023.

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The City of Norwich is receiving federal money for the upcoming water Main replacement project downtown, City Community Development Director Eric Scrivener told WCDO News that they will be working with other agencies to do the water main project followed by paving in the effected downtown areas:

(Eric Scrivener 1-26-23)

The Water Main will be replaced along South Broad Street, between Prentice and Mechanic streets, and a section of East Main Street between the Broad Street intersection and the railroad tracks

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Sidney Central School District 7th Grader Bella Phelps will be competing in the 1st New York State High School Wrestling Championships tomorrow in Syracuse, her coach Tony Ferrara comments:

(Tony Ferrara 1-26-23)

Sidney residents are asked to line West Main & Main Streets tomorrow morning between 8:45 & 9:00 AM for a send off to Phelps to Syracuse for the State Championship competition.

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Delaware County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of 34-year-old Jessica Arnott of Queens. On January 17th, Deputies were notified that Arnott was at the Delaware County Family Court surrendering herself on an active Delaware County Family Court Arrest Warrant. Deputies arrested and arraigned Arnott on the warrant, she was committed to the Custody of the Delaware County Correctional Facility pending further appearance in court, at a later date.

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The State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services’ Office of Counter Terrorism conducted training exercises at more than 1,000 locations statewide in 2022, As part of this process, teams assessed suspicious activity reporting and recognition at 842 retailers and businesses that sell chemicals, compounds, components, services, or rent space or resources that could be exploited by those with nefarious intent. Additionally, teams assessed more than 180 infrastructure locations across the state, including stadiums and arenas, malls and shopping centers, colleges and universities, airports, transit hubs and other mass-gathering locations.

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State Department of Health announced that the XBB.1.5. variant is now the most dominant strain in New York, accounting for more than 50 percent of COVID-19 infections statewide, which may indicate that XBB.1.5. is more transmissible than other circulating variants, though there is not yet clear evidence of the severity of strain. The percentage of those testing positive for COVID 19 is down to 6%, with Patient Hospitalization down to 3,029, ICU patients numbers are down to 313 with 124 on ventilators, with 33 deaths reported over the course of the latest 3 day testing period.

A.M. NEWS THURSDAY 1-26-23

The Broome County Sheriff’s Office is currently looking for Kara Yager on an outstanding warrant and asking the residents of Broome County for assistance. Yager was last known to frequent the Kirby Street area of the Town of Bainbridge, she is described as a white female, 5’4, 115 pounds, with blue eyes, and brown hair, she is wanted for violation of probation for criminal possession of a controlled substance. Anyone with information on the location of Yager is asked to contact the Broome County Sheriff’s Office at gobroomecounty.com/sheriff/warrants or by calling the Broome County Sheriff’s Office tip line at (607) 778-1196.

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Otsego County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the report of a tractor-trailer and a pickup truck colliding on I-88 in near Exit 15 Wednesday morning. Both vehicles sustained heavy damage, the driver of the pickup truck was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. State DOT crews, state police and the Oneonta Fire Department also responded to the scene, part of the highway was closed temporarily for the clean up & investigation, the cause of the crash is still under investigation.

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Broome County Sheriff’s Office Warrants Division arrested 36 year old Matthew Hackel of Vestal, for failing to register an address with the State Sex Offender Registry. Hackel was processed and is currently in the custody of the Broome County Sheriff’s Correction Facility.

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The Broome County District Attorney Mike Korchak announced that a grand jury has filed charges against 2 murder suspects in Broome County Court regarding unrelated homicide cases. Mitchell Lindow was charged with 1st degree murder in connection to a December 2nd stabbing, where Lindow allegedly killed David Royes while committing a felony burglary at 110 Main Street in Binghamton by stabbing him multiple times. Korchak also said that Kyle Babola is charged with 2nd degree murder for the killing of Scott Grover with a machete in Johnson City. Both face court action at a later date.

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Bassett Healthcare Network has partially lifted visitation restrictions at its inpatient and clinic locations across the region. Spokesperson Gabby Argo told WCDO news about some of the changes:

(Gabby Argo 2-16-22)

Argo said that the Emergency Departments across the Bassett Network will remain closed to visitors, the full list of restriction changes can be found at bassett.org.

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Oneonta Mayor Mark Drnek delivered his first State of the City address to the Common Council Tuesday night, he told WCDO News that the main theme of his speech & agenda is “Collaboration”:

(Mark Drnek 2-16-22)

Oneonta City meetings returned to in person events this week, with certain restrictions regarding the ongoing COVID 19 issue.

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The State Office of Cannabis Management announced proposed regulations for the Medical Cannabis Program that implement certain provisions of the state’s new Cannabis Law. The Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act included updates to the program designed to consider environmental impacts and create efficiencies, & also includes technical changes to the regulations to formally shift the program from the Department of Health to Office of Cannabis Management. The regulations were submitted to the Cannabis Control Board for its review and approval at its meeting on Thursday, i the Board approves, the regulations will advance to a 60-day public comment period.

A.M. NEWS Wednesday 2-16-22

The Binghamton Police Department arrested 36 year old Marquetta James of Connecticut for 2nd degree arson, in connection with the fire at 159 Conklin Avenue yesterday. Binghamton Police Detectives found James at a local hotel, Authorities stated that James was an acquaintance to 1 of the residents in the building. 20 adults and 9 children were displaced by the fire.

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The City of Norwich was selected as one of the Southern Tier region recipients of a $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant. A public workshop will be held virtually tonight at 6:00 PM, Commerce Chenango President & CEO Kerri Green explains:

(Kerri Green 2-16-22)

All members of the public are invited to learn more about the DRI program and share their ideas on downtown revitalization strategies and projects in Norwich. The ZOOM links to the meeting can be found at the WCDO Facebook page.

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State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli announced the results of an audit of the Delaware-Chenango-Madison-Otsego BOCES Procurement practices. The audit found that the purchasing agent made 22 purchases with 7 purchases totaling $49,300, where competition was not sought, as required. Staff could not provide documentation to support efforts were made to obtain the best price.

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The U.S. Department of Justice announced that 42 year old Brian Whipple of New Berlin pleaded guilty to child pornography charges on Monday. Whipple was arrested in June 2020, he had over 5,000 child pornography images and videos, he will likely serve 5 to 20 years in jail & will have to register as a sex offender upon his release.

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State Police responded Monday to a 2-vehicle crash on State Route 26 in the town of Maine. The investigation revealed that 32 year-old  Alainna Stemple of Binghamton and 19 year old Nathan Baker of Glen Aubrey collided on State Route 26. Both operators were extricated by fire personnel, Stempel was taken to a Wilson hospital, where she later died, Baker was airlifted to Upstate Medical Center. The investigation continues.