(Cuomo 6-23-17)

State Senator Jim Seward said that he was pleased with much of what was accomplished:

(Seward 6-23-17)

There is still an outside chance that lawmakers could return to Albany later this year to deal with left over legislation, if they are ordered to return by the Governor.
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An Otsego County man was indicted by a County Grand Jury last week on charges of conspiracy & criminal solicitation. State Police arrested 56 year old Danny Baldwin of Cherry Valley in March, he is accused of conspiring with another person to intentionally cause the death of his wife, he will be arraigned on the Grand Jury indictment on June 26th
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Commencement exercises for graduating High School Seniors will begin this evening at several area school districts. Graduation ceremonies scheduled for this evening include: CHARLOTTE VALLEY at 6:30, and at 7:00 PM for AFTON, FRANKLIN, UNATEGO, Milford, Morris, & Laurens.  Graduation ceremonies will continue Saturday morning WITH ceremonies for SIDNEY, Delaware academy in Delhi, Harpursville, Norwich, Greene, Walton, Gilbertsville Mount Upton, Oneonta, & the Oxford academy. The Unadilla Valley seniors will graduate starting at 2:00 PM & Bainbridge Guilford seniors will graduate at 7:00 PM. On Sunday, Edmeston seniors will graduate at 1:00 PM
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Delaware County Sheriff’s Office Investigators arrested 30-year-old Joseph VanLeuvan of Big Indian, on 4 counts of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance, 2 counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance, plus Unlawfully Fleeing a Police Officer & Reckless Driving and various traffic violations. VanLeuvan is accused of selling more than 70 bags of heroin and more than one gram of powder cocaine in the Town of Middletown during 2 transactions Wednesday. VanLeuvan was on parole since May 2016, following a 2011 burglary conviction in Ulster County. VanLeuvan was arraigned and was sent to the Delaware County Correctional Facility on $250,000 cash bail.
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The Harpursville Fire Department has been awarded a regional Assistance to Firefighter’s Grant for $372,130 for emergency radio communications equipment. This grant was awarded to the Harpursville Fire Department, Sanitaria Springs, West Colesville, and Ouaquaga Fire Companies along with the Colesville Ambulance Service; it will enable all to upgrade their communications equipment.
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Chenango County Sheriff’s Detective’s Division and Norwich City Police responded to the area of the stone quarry off West Main Street Extension, in the Town of Norwich for a narcotics investigation. 2 individuals were found in a tent with Methamphetamine, materials to manufacture Methamphetamine and a fire pit they used to burn Methamphetamine waste and byproducts. Detectives arrested 29 year old Amber Towndrow and 30 year old Steven Pighinni for Unlawful manufacture of methamphetamine, Criminal Possession of a controlled substance, Unlawful disposal of Methamphetamine and Trespassing. Both were arraigned in the Town of Norwich Court and remanded to the Chenango County Correctional Facility on $7500 cash bail.
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Organizers of this year’s Gus Macker Basketball Tournament in Norwich are seeking volunteers to come forward & help out in any capacity to make sure the tournament is successful again this year. Organizer Tom Revoir explains:

(Tom Revoir 6-23-17)

Revoir said that those interested in volunteering could call the Y in Norwich at 336-9622, the Gus Macker tournament will be held July 8th & 9th.
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Lawmakers are expected to revamp the system that evaluates teacher performance this year, after last years formula showed that 98% were highly successful, yet only 35 to 40% of students were succeeding. State Senator John Bonacic comments:

(Bonacic 2-5-15)

Lawmakers are also getting ready to deal with budget hearings; the education portion of the state budget is one of the biggest items in the Annual spending plan.

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Fire departments from Harpursville, Five Mile Point, West Colesville and Windsor responded to a fire at 927 Trim Street in Windsor at around 7:30 this morning.   Fire investigators believe that the fire started in the rear of the home & was possibly caused by a defective wood stove.   One occupant escaped without injury, no injuries among firefighters were reported.

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Voters in the Gilbertsville-Mount Upton School District approved of 2 propositions Tuesday.   Voters approved the proposal to purchase buses by a 60-to-12 vote; they also approved a measure to establish a capital reserve fund for vehicle and equipment purchases 65-to-7.

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State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli released a profile of the Empire State Development Corporation, that found there is minimal financial information for many of its 168 subsidiaries and limited public reporting on results of the economic development initiatives around the state. For fiscal year 2013, the ESDC reported that its programs helped create 2,424 jobs, or 1.8% of net private-sector job creation in the state that year, but the authority makes little public assessment of whether its programs work effectively together or create well-paying jobs. The report also stated that the ESDC outstanding debt totaled more than $10.7 billion for the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2014, an increase of 20% from the previous year.

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Lady Antebellum will Headline this year’s concert at the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open this August at the En-Joie Golf Course, with Sam Hunt as the opening act. The Golf Tournament will run from August 24th through the 30th this year, the concert will be held on Friday, August 28th.   Tickets go on sale Friday February 13 at 9:00 AM, more information is available at the bands official website.

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The Catskill Regional Teacher Center and the Oneonta Area for Public Education are hosting a legislative forum this afternoon at the Bugbee School auditorium on the SUNY Oneonta campus.   The annual event gives local educators a chance to express concerns to lawmakers regarding state & federal education policies.

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Governor Cuomo proposed full day Pre-K to be added statewide, in his budget proposal unveiled Tuesday:

(Cuomo 1-23-14)

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has been a proponent of full day Pre-K for many years, but he said it will come at a price:

(Silver 1-23-14)

New York would be the 4^th state to have a full day Pre—K program if it is passed as part of the state budget this session.

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Firefighters from several area companies responded to a blaze at 171 Moot Town Road in the town of Colesville at around 2:45 Wednesday afternoon.  Occupants escaped without injury, Firefighters from Harpursville, Sanitaria Springs, West Colesville, Chenango Bridge, Chenango,  Port Crane &  Oquaga responded, the cause of the fire is under investigation.

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The Otsego County Office of Emergency Services and the State Office of Fire Prevention and Control Fire Investigators have determined that the fatal structure fire in Richfield Springs on November 16th was due to an electrical malfunction.   Richfield Springs Teacher Mary Weingates was killed in the fire, investigators believe that the fire started in the rear of the structure, which allowed it to spread to other section of the structure unnoticed.

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Houndstooth Bakery of Sidney and the Delaware Valley Humane Society have teamed up  to bring toys to the animals at the sherlter in Sidney this Christmas.  Cassandra Vance of Houndstooth explains:

(Cassandra Vance 11-25-13)

More information about the program is available at 563-2275.

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State troopers from Deposit arrested 39-year-old Theresa Serino of Deposit for aggravated driving while intoxicated with a reportable BAC result of .21%.  The arrest followed a 2-car accident on State Route 17 in Sanford.  Serino was issued tickets returnable to the Sanford town court on December 2^nd.

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A public hearing will be held tonight by the Oneonta common council, on their proposed 15.3 million-dollar annual budget plan.  The hearing will begin at 7:00 tonight in the Common Council chamber at Oneonta city hall.  More information is available at ONEONTA.NY.US.

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New York consumers are being alerted about a phone or email scam from individuals claiming to be from the Internal Revenue Service or the State Department of Taxation and Finance. Scammers are threatening New Yorkers with fines, deportation, arrest, and other penalties if they do not immediately pay a claim of owed taxes, through wire transfers or a pre-loaded debit card.  Officials said that many of the scam calls have come from the 530 area code. To report fraudulent activity, contact the State Tax Department at (518) 435-8523 or the State’s Division of Consumer Protection at (518) 474-8583.

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Commerce Chenango and Chenango County businesses will celebrate Small Business Saturday this Saturday.  Commerce Chenango will be offering FREE coffee; tea or cider from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. for shoppers who provide a sales receipt from a local retailer dated November 30^th. Shoppers can also enter to win other prizes.  Any business that joins the Chamber between November 30^th and December 14^th will get $25 off their membership fee, more information is available at 334-1402.

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