State Police Superintendent Joseph D’Amico announced that Service arrangements for Trooper David Cunniff have been set for today and tomorrow. Calling hours will be today from 3:00 to 8:00 PM at the Grace Fellowship Church in Watervliet, the Funeral Service will be tomorrow morning at 11:00 AM, also at the Grace Fellowship Church in Watervliet. Trooper Cunniff died from injuries sustained while conducting a traffic stop on the Thruway Monday night in Amsterdam.
—————————–
State troopers of Sidney, Oneonta and Richfield Springs conducted an Underage Drinker Initiative detail, checking 8 convenient stores in Otsego County, the City of Oneonta, and in the towns of Oneonta, Otsego, Hartwick and Otego. All 8 stores were in full compliance with all State laws, they were Hess Express, Main Street in the City of Oneonta, all Mirabito Quickways, in the Towns of Hartwick, Oneonta & West Oneonta, the Pit Stop in Cooperstown, Taylor’s Mini Mart in the Town of Laurens, & Sunoco in the Town of Otego.
——————————–
Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 28-year-old Amber Armstrong of Walton for 2nd degree Harassment & on an arrest warrant from the Walton Village Court for 2nd degree Coercion. The charges stem from an incident with a male acquaintance in the Town of Walton. Armstrong will appear in Walton Town Court at a later date.
——————————-
State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli announced his office completed an audit of the Village of Deposit. The audit found that the village board did not effectively oversee and monitor their financial operations. The board did not have accurate information for their financial decisions and did not adopt reasonable budgets for the general, water and sewer funds. The report also said that the board cannot be sure that only authorized disbursements were made, that all moneys received were properly deposited, or that all transactions were properly recorded and reported.
——————————–
New York State’s unemployment rate decreased from 7.7% to 7.4% in November, the lowest level since January 2009, according to the preliminary figures released today by the State Department of Labor. the state’s economy added 4,300 private sector jobs, to a record high of almost 7.5 million.
——————————–
Governor Cuomo signed a law to increase state oversight of special education programs for preschoolers with disabilities. The law authorizes the state comptroller to audit all of the independently run programs at least once in the next 5 years. It establishes new reporting requirements for committees that place children in programs and for providers. Comptroller Tom DiNapoli says fraud in the $1.3 billion program has cost taxpayers millions of dollars while depriving children of needed help.
————————————
It took just a fraction of New York voters to approve private casinos in the state. About 14.3 percent of the state’s 11 million registered voters cast a ballot in favor of the Nov. 5 casino referendum, according to the state Board of Elections. Nearly 1.19 million New Yorkers voted against it, or about 10.8 percent of the total electorate. More than 512,000 ballots left the casino section blank or void. The casino referendum, which allows the state to permit up to seven private casinos, was the first of six proposals on the back of all the ballots and received the most total votes
———————————–
The American Red Cross of the Southern Tier will host a Babysitters Training Class for youth ages 11 to 15 from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM this Saturday, at the Red Cross office at 620 East Main Street in Endicott. The cost of the class is $75, which includes a certificate from the American Red Cross, handbook and CD ROM. Space is limited and advanced registration is required at 1-800-733-2767, or at redcross.org.
———————————-
]]>(Gene Schmidt 12-17-13)
The free Christmas Dinner will be held at the River Street Fire Station, from 1:00 to 4:00 PM on Christmas day., those who would like to volunteer can call 369-2387.
———————————-
Operation Merry Christmas will have one more pick up event this weekend, for those who couldn’t make it last weekend due to the weather. Pickups will be this Saturday at the Sidney Civic Center between 1:00 & 2:00 PM.
———————————-
Governor Cuomo today released a report on the State’s tourism initiatives showing that the number of visitors to New York increased by 8.8 million this year. The tourism industry is projected to generate $7.7 billion in state and local taxes with direct spending expected to reach $61.3 billion. The industry is also projected to add 24,800 jobs by the end of the year. Details of the report are available at governor.ny.gov.
—————————————
The state Board of Regents recommended a 6 percent increase in state education funding next fiscal year, saying the $1.3 billion increase is needed for struggling districts and pre-kindergarten programs. Schools have received a 4 percent annual increase in state aid since 2012 and the proposal calls for aid to increase from nearly $21 billion to $22.3 billion for the 2014-15 fiscal year, which starts April 1. Gov Cuomo will release his budget proposal on Jan. 21
—————————————
The NY State of Health, the State’s official health plan marketplace, said 363,258 New Yorkers had completed their applications and 134,622 people have enrolled for coverage starting on January 1st. The enrollments represent an increase of about 34 percent over the total from December 9th. more information is available at nystateofhealth.ny.gov.
—————————————–
Donald Trump said that he would decide soon on whether or not to run for Governor of New York next year, against an expected bid to re-election by Andrew Cuomo. Trump said that he hadn’t considered a run for governor, but several top state Republicans have courted him to consider it. A recent Marist College poll shows Cuomo leading Trump by a stunning 70-24 margin.
———————————-