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Governor Cuomo will deliver his 3rd inaugural address on Ellis Island tomorrow.  Cuomo easily won re-election to a 3rd term in November. Locally, State Senator Jim Seward will be sworn into office on January 1st at the Foothills Performing Arts Center in Oneonta. Seward will be sworn into office for his 17th senate term. Otsego County Judge John Lambert and Otsego County Sheriff Richard Devlin will also be sworn in for new terms. Otsego County Board of Representative’s Chairman David Bliss will serve as master of ceremonies. Otsego county judge Brian Burns will administer the oath of office.

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Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested and charged 41 year old Wade Johnson of Davenport, Wednesday for making an unsafe lane change, leaving the scene of a property damage motor vehicle, and driving while intoxicated, following a report of a vehicle into a utility pole on Charlotte Creek Road in the Town of Davenport. Deputies say Johnson fled the scene of the accident after the collision and was later apprehended at an address in the Town of Davenport. Johnson was arraigned & was released on his own recognizance to reappear at a later date.

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Governor Cuomo vetoed a bill Friday that would have allowed workers to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave after the death of a family member.  The bill was opposed by the various business organizations; employers typically provide an average of 4 days of bereavement leave for the death of a spouse or child.  In All, Governor Cuomo signed more than 60 bills & vetoed 51 from the 2018 session.

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Oneonta City Hall will be closed on Tuesday, New Year’s Day.  The Common Council meeting has been moved to Wednesday night at 7:00 PM in the Chambers on the 2nd floor of City Hall.

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Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 31-year-old Joseph Clark of Franklin, New York on a bench warrant issued by the Town of Franklin Court for failure to pay fines on a previous charge of Disorderly Conduct, stemming from an incident in the Town of Franklin earlier in 2018.  Clark was arraigned in the Town of Delhi Court and released on his own recognizance.  Clark is scheduled to return to the Town of Franklin Court at a later date. 

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Governor Cuomo announced a 6-month extension for the Interim Mortgage Assistance Program’s most vulnerable participants, made possible by an additional $3.9 million in state funding. More than 200 eligible applicants are expected to benefit from this additional, final extension as they continue to complete recovery and resiliency projects after Superstorm Sandy’s landfall six years ago.   The program has disbursed $54.2 million to support approximately 1,900 storm-impacted New Yorkers who have incurred both mortgage and rental expenses.

Former Oneonta firefighter John Hellers was killed in a fire Saturday at 5 Walling Avenue.  The fire was reported at about 4:00 AM Saturday, 4 children escaped without injury. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

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State Police reported that a 41 year old Unadilla man was airlifted Thursday to Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse after attempting suicide by setting himself on fire.  Residents at Meadow Valley Trailer Park on state Route 7 in Unadilla spotted the man and called 911, Troopers responded to the scene and discovered the man, on the ground, with a gas can nearby, Residents threw snow on the man to try to extinguish the flames. 

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State police & local Law Enforcement Agencies are participating in the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign today & tomorrow for the New Year’s holiday. Checkpoints are established all over the state, last year, police issued over 40,000 tickets from DWI, speeding, distracted driving & failing to obey the “move over law”, among other infractions

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Governor Cuomo announced that temporary lane closures for road and bridge construction projects on new York state highways will be suspended until 6:00 am Wednesday, to ease travel during the peak new year’s travel days.  The New York State Thruway authority will also continue its 48-year tradition of offering free coffee and hot tea to travelers at all 27 travel plazas along the thruway from 11:00 pm new year’s eve through 7:00 am new year’s morning to promote safe and alert driving.

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The Chenango County Sheriff’s Office has an active Arrest Warrant for 42 year old Jason Barrows, who is known to frequent the Oxford and McDonough areas. Barrows has an active arrest warrant for 2nd degree Burglary, anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office at 334-2000 extension 1.

State DOT announced the opening of 2 lanes of traffic on the newly constructed section of Interstate 81 northbound and State Route 17 westbound between I-81 Exit 3 & Chenango Street in the city of Binghamton. This marks the end of the temporary, two-lanes-in-each-direction traffic pattern on I-81 southbound/Route 17 eastbound. The project is scheduled for completion in December 2020. Work in 2019 will include the construction of Front Street northbound lanes and a multi-use path.

The State DEC reported that hunters reported taking 14% more deer in the Northern Zone and 11% more in the Southern Zone, than they did last year. Preliminary figures show hunters killed nearly 109,000 deer this fall statewide, compared to just under 98,000 last year and 86,000 in 2016. Bear hunters reported taking 1,066 bears, the 2nd straight decrease since 2016.

The State Labor department released the report of local unemployment rates for November. The state rate was 3.9%, Locally, Chenango County had 3.5%, Delaware County had 3.7% & Otsego County had 3.4% unemployment in November.

Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 32 year old Terence Ito of Walton for Criminal Contempt; he is accused of violating an order of protection that had been put in place by the Delaware County Family Court. He was arraigned in the Delhi Town Court where he was released on his own recognizance; he will reappear at a later date in the Franklin Town Court.

State Senator Jim Seward will be sworn into office on January 1st at the Foothills Performing Arts Center in Oneonta. Seward will be sworn into office for his 17th senate term. Otsego County Judge John Lambert and Otsego County Sheriff Richard Devlin will also be sworn in for new terms. Otsego County Board of Representatives Chairman David Bliss will serve as master of ceremonies. Otsego County Judge Brian Burns will administer the oath of office.

Delaware Valley Humane Society will see some added revenue next month, following a pledge by a Sidney business, Erin Insinga of the Humane Society explains:

(Erin Johnson 12-28-18)

Additional information about the fundraiser, pet adoptions or items that can be donated to the shelter can be obtained by calling 563-7780.

The 2018 Greater Binghamton Project Homecoming Job & Career fair will be held today at the Oakdale Mall in Johnson City. Representatives from 65 area employers will be on hand, the fair will run from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM, it is sponsored by the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce.

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State Police arrested 56-year-old Blair Williams of Toronto, Ontario Canada for forcible touching and unlawfully dealing with a child, in the village of Hancock. Williams is accused of forcibly touching a child less than 17 years old and also for giving the child alcoholic beverages.   Williams was arraigned in the Village of Hancock court and was remanded to the Broome County jail in lieu of $1,500 cash bail or $3,000 property bond, pending court action at a later date.

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A Time Warner Cable/ Siena College poll released Tuesday shows Republican John Faso holding a 1% lead over Democrat Zephyr Teachout in the race for the 19th Congressional District. Faso had 43% and Teachout was at 42% for the congressional seat currently held by Republican Chris Gibson, who declined to seek re-election for another 2-year term.   The poll surveyed 678 likely voters; it has a margin of error of 3.8%.

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Governor Cuomo today announced that the Department of Financial Services has proposed a regulation that mandates banks and mortgage services report vacant and abandoned properties in accordance with the new law. The proposal comes on the heels of a law signed by the Governor in June that curbs the threat posed to communities by “zombie properties” by expediting foreclosure proceedings, improving the efficiency and integrity of the mandatory settlement conferences, and obligating banks and mortgage servicers to secure, protect and maintain vacant and abandoned properties before and during foreclosure proceedings. The new law goes into effect on December 20, 2016.

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The Center for Agricultural Development & Entrepreneurship is launching 2 new workshop series for farm and food entrepreneurs. Both series are three sessions in length and will be held at CADE’s office at 5 Elm Street in Oneonta. Dairy Workshops will begin on Monday, October 3rd, from 11 a.m. to 1 PM and the 1st session of the Farm & Food Business Workshops will be held on Tuesday October 4th. Registration is required at cadefarms.org.

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Governor Cuomo today announced that the New York State Board for Historic Preservation has recommended the addition of 22 properties, to the State and National Registers of Historic Places. Locally, the Common School 32 in Trout Creek, built between 1860 and 1880, & the Jewell Family Homestead, Guilford Built IN 1824 were recommended.

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A debate has been scheduled for Thursday morning at the SUNY Broome Campus, among the 3 candidates running for the 22nd congressional district, to replace the outgoing Republican Richard Hanna. The Debates between independent Martin Babinec, Democrat Kim Myers & Republican Claudia Tenney will be held in the Student Center, Starting at 11:00 AM.

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Tri-Town Coalition for Substance Abuse will hold their next meeting today at the Sidney High School Library, spokesperson Lorraine Keckeisen explains:

(Lorraine Keckeisen 9-28-16)

The meeting will run from 6:00 to 8:00 PM.-
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A Red cross Blood Drive will be held today in Bainbridge from 3:00 PM to 7:30 PM at the GreenLawn Elementary School. Those wishing to set up an appointment can download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS to make an appointment.
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State Senator Jim Seward will be in Oneonta today for the Otsego County Treatment Court. Senator Seward is a member of the New York State Senate Joint Task Force on Heroin and Opioid Addiction, he will address treatment court participants and family members. Otsego County Judge Brian Burns presides over the program which assists alcohol and drug addicted defendants in breaking the cycle of addiction and criminal activity. Seward will begin at 2:00 PM at the Public Safety Building in the Oneonta City Courtroom at 81 Main Street; Oneonta.