Freezing precipitation is in the forecast into the overnight hours, local Meteorologist Rich Townsend comments:

(Rich Townsend 1-23-24)

Listen to WCDO tomorrow morning in case the freezing precipitation affects school schedules.

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Delaware County Sheriff Craig DuMond was recently elected President of the New York State Sheriff’s Association, he told WCDO News that it is a humbling experience:

(Sheriff DuMond 1-23-24)

Sheriff DuMond said that Governor Hochul was at the ceremony last week and she was promising to be tougher on crime in 2024, and he hoped that the new position will give him a seat at the table when discussing future legislation.

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Former Davenport Town Judge Candidate George Sydlar was convicted by a jury in the Town of Kortright, for Falsely Reporting an Incident to 911. Sydlar was charged after he called 911 last July 6, after he reported that his neighbor committed a crime, despite knowing that his neighbor had not committed a crime. Further allegations were that Sydlar engaged in this behavior on approximately two dozen occasions, after being told by the police that any dispute he had with his neighbor was civil and not criminal. The trial was moved to Town of Kortright court as the Davenport judge recused himself as Sydlar was running for his position. Sentencing will be in March, Sydlar could face up to a year in jail.

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The State Department of Labor released preliminary local area unemployment rates for December. The State’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased from 4.3% in November to 4.5% in December, Locally, Chenango County had 4.2%, Delaware County 4.7% & Otsego County also had 4.7% unemployment.

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The Chenango County Historical Society recently announced grant awards totaling $49,500 from the State Council on the Arts to support the recovery of the nonprofit arts and culture sector. The State Council has awarded more than $80 million since spring 2023 to more than 1,500 artists and organizations. More information about the Chenango County Historical Society & Museum is available at (607) 334-9227 or ChenangoHistorical.org.

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The numbers are in for the Laurens Central School Coaches vs Cancer Basketball event this past Saturday, where they were able to raise $5,467 for the American Cancer Society through a Zumbathon, basket raffles and admission donations. WCDO Sports Director Nate Lull reported that the Schenevus Coaches vs Cancer event was postponed tonight due to the weather and will be made up at a later date.

A.M. NEWS Tuesday 1-23-24

Delaware County Sheriff’s Office arrested 31 year old Thomas Harris of Masonville for making a Terroristic Threat. On January 10th, Deputies received a complaint that an individual had made threats of arson towards a local business, it was determined that Harris did make the threat to “burn down” the business’s headquarters on a recorded line while talking to the business’s after-hours dispatch center. Harris was charged with Aggravated Harassment and Making a Terroristic Threat, he was transported to and held at the Delaware County Correctional Facility to await centralized arraignment.

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Delaware County Sheriff’s Office arrested 22 year old Devon Kupris of Davenport after Deputies responded Saturday to a motor vehicle accident on State Highway 23 in Davenport, Kupris’s driving privileges were revoked for 3 speeding violations or misdemeanors in 18 months. Kupris was charged with Operating a Motor Vehicle while Intoxicated, Aggravated DWI .18% or higher, Aggravated Unlicensed Operator & Leaving the Scene of a Property Damaged Accident, he was released on appearance tickets returnable at an later date to the Town of Kortright Court.

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U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand visited Binghamton to announce her Healthy Food Financing Initiative Re-authorization Act, legislation that would help end food deserts, which are areas where residents don’t have easy access to a full service grocery store with affordable, nutritious food, & they are forced to rely on small convenience stores, which sell little to no fresh produce, meat or dairy and whose prices are higher than those of a typical supermarket. Gillibrand’s legislation would provide $50 million annually in mandatory federal funding for the USDA program that offers loans and grants to incentivize grocery stores to establish locations in under-served communities.

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HAIRSPRAY, the Tony Award®-winning musical comedy will play tonight & tomorrow in Binghamton at the Forum Theatre. To purchase tickets, visit BroadwayInBinghamton.com or visit the Arena Box Office, more information is available at hairspraytour.com.

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The Rochester Police Department identified the two victims of a crash initiated by Michael Avery of Syracuse, as 28-year-old Justina Hughes of Geneva and 29-year-old Joshua Orr of Webster. Police stated that Avery bought gasoline several gasoline containers and crashed rental car in outside the Kodak Center parking lot in Rochester, Avery died at an area hospital, 9 people were injured Police working traffic detail said that Avery appeared to be speeding toward a crowd of people in a crosswalk before he hit the ride share vehicle containing Hughes and Orr. The investigation is continuing.

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The Broome County Sheriff’s Department is currently attempting to locate 36 year old Nathan Pixley of Binghamton regarding the pending charges of Domestic Harassment, Strangulation, Criminal Mischief, Violation of Court Stay Away Order, and Endangering the Welfare of a Child stemming from an incident that occurred in the Town of Fenton on January 2nd. Pixley is known to operate a Gray Toyota Corolla 4-door sedan, license plate NY-KWD-3285 and is last known to frequent the Burr Avenue area of the City of Binghamton. Pixley is described as a White Male, 6’1″ 160 pounds with brown hear & brown eyes, anyone with information on the location of Nathan Pixley, please contact the Broome County Sheriff’s Department at 607-778-1191.

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The State Department of Labor is reminding New Yorkers that unemployment tax forms will be automatically mailed to those who claimed benefits in 2023. The 1099-G provides the total amount of money a customer received in benefits during the year, as well as any adjustments or tax withholding made to those benefits. Last year, customers could opt out of receiving their 1099-G by mail, but that is no longer an option. Customers can expect the forms to arrive in mailboxes by the end of January.

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The Southside Mall will be adding a couple of major retailers to their location in the coming months, Mall General Manager Luisa Montanti explains:

(Luisa Montanti 1-3-24)

Montanti said that the mall is almost at 100% capacity & they will continue with various special events through the year, more information is available at shopsouthsidemall.com or on their Facebook page.

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The Chenango County Sheriff’s Office arrested 29 year old Katelyn Tresnak of Smithville, for welfare fraud & Grand Larceny. Tresnak was charged following a fraud complaint from Chenango County Department of Social Services, Fraud Investigation Division. The investigation revealed that Tresnak illegally trafficked over $1,400 in SNAP Benefits. Tresnak was arrested and released on an appearance ticket for Village of Oxford Court at a later date.

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A.M. NEWS WEDNESDAY 1-3-24

Governor Hochul will deliver the 2024 STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS next Tuesday January 9th at 1:00 pm to a joint session of the State Legislature. The Address will be held at the Assembly Chamber in the New York State Capitol Building in Albany.

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Chobani announced that they are paying the debt for about 1,300 families who owed money for school breakfast and lunch. Chobani has donated $32,000 to eliminate school lunch debt across 11 school districts where their workforce resides, local districts where the school lunch debt was paid off include Cooperstown, Morris, Laurens, Edmeston and Schenevus.

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A.O. Fox Hospital’s FoxCare Center is hosting a blood drive with the American Red Cross today, from 12:00 noon to 5:00 pm. The drive will be in the Conference Room, Appointments are available and walk-ins are welcome. Appointments may be made by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS, redcrossblood.org, or using the American Red Cross Blood Donor App.

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The State Health Department continues to see a high positivity rate for COVID 19 testing across the state. The most recent test period had over 3600 positive tests out of 38,200 tested, for an 8.66% rate. Patient hospitalization have surged back up to over 3800. with 403 ICU patients & 179 on ventilators, and 128 deaths reported at hospitals & nursing homes.

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Schenevus Central School District Superintendent Theresa Carlin resigned during a special board of education meeting earlier this week. Carlin’s resignation takes effect on Saturday, she has served as the Schenevus Superintendent since 2018.

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Delaware County Chamber of Commerce is exploring the possibility of public transportation. A survey is currently available regarding what county residents have or need for transpiration, some County residents are using the GetThere mobility program, more information is available t For more information at gettherescny.org or 833-373-4040.

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The American Red Cross is Seeking Volunteers, to help with disaster relief. More information about becoming a Red Cross Volunteer is available at 607-223-9935.

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State Police are reminding state residents that if they get a fundraising call from someone claiming to be with the State Police, the call is a scam. State Police will never solicit funds by phone, email or social media, anyone who receives such a call should hang up.

A.M. NEWS Thursday 12-29-22

The Otsego County Office of Emergency Services announced that resources were deployed to assist Erie County recover from a historic series of storms. On Tuesday, Otsego County Special Operations Team members were activated to respond with equipment & personnel for a 72-hour deployment to assist with stranded residents or those in need of medical attention. On Wednesday, December 28, Otsego County Highway Department deployed 10 personnel with various pieces of equipment to assist with the clearing of roadways and impassable streets, they are expected to be working 12-hour periods each session into Monday

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An American Red Cross Blood Drive is being held today at the A.O. Fox Tri-Town Campus, from 1:30 PM to 6:30 PM, in the Conference Room N-112. The Red Cross is experiencing a blood shortage due to the cancellation of blood drives and has issued an emergency request for all blood types. Appointments may be made at redcrossblood.org, or by calling 1-800-RedCross (1-800-733-2767).

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The New York Textile Act goes into effect in the new year. The Act aims to accelerate the growth of the animal and plant fiber growing, processing, and textile manufacturing industry in New York, it includes expanding annual farm recognition awards, state procurement process training for small businesses, It goes into effect January 1.

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The New York State Thruway re-opened to traffic yesterday in Western New York, as crews have cleared the roads after the recent 4 foot snowstorm. The City of Buffalo lifted it’s travel ban today, as crews from all over the state are assisting with removing cars that were stuck.

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Governor Cuomo has proposed spending 10 million dollars to make sure that the Census takers count every individual living in the state to be counted:

(Cuomo 1-23-20)

Those who would like to be census takers can sign up at 2020 census.gov.

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The proposed budget announced by Governor Cuomo this week has a 6.1 billion dollar gap, about 1/3 of that from Medicaid Spending, Local Assemblyman John Salka comments:

(John Salka 1-23-20)

Lawmakers have until April 1st to get a budget passed, the budget proposed by the Governor total 173.8 Billion Dollars.

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The Greater Oneonta Historical Association announced today that the Friends of the Oneonta Theater are looking to revitalize the building. Society Executive Director Bob Brzozowski explains:

(Bob Brzozowski 1-23-20)

The Theater was built in 1897 & has been dormant for the last several years; more information is available at the oneontahistory.org.

Governor Cuomo today announced legislation in the Executive Budget to make New York’s fracking ban permanent. The measure would restrict the Department of Environmental Conservation from approving permits that would authorize an applicant to drill, deepen, plug back or convert wells that use high-volume hydraulic fracturing as a means to complete or recomplete a well.

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State Senator Fred Akshar released his latest Community Voice Survey on the controversial new bail reform law that went into effect at the beginning of the year.  The poll found 49% of respondents said the changes were bad for New York while 37% said they were good for the Empire State.  Akshar supports a full repeal, he has also introduced legislation to fix key parts of the bail reform law, including a bill to restore bail for several violent crimes & he also introduced legislation to remove the option of cashless bail if the arrested individual has been convicted of a felony in the past 10 years.

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Citizens Energy Vice President Michael Kennedy will dedicate a major solar array in the town of Chenango today to provide green power to subscribers of the company’s JOE-4-SUN program.  Citizens Energy has partnered with Southern Tier Solar Works, a non-profit program of the Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coalition, to bring clean energy to the region. The event will take place at 11:00 AM at 400 WEST CHENANGO ROAD in CASTLE CREEK.

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The American Red Cross will hold another Blood drive today in Otsego County.  The drive will be held at the Foothills Performing Arts Center on Market Street in Oneonta, from 1:00 to 6:00 PM, Walk-ins are welcome,  appointments can be made using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS or enabling the Blood Donor Skill on any Alexa Echo device,

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