State Police at Norwich arrested 21 year old Lindsey McGehee of McDonough for 2nd degree Assault & Endangering the Welfare of a Child. McGehee is accused of causing serious physical injury to a 14 month old child on March 5th at a residence in Smithville. McGehee was arraigned in the Town of Oxford Court and remanded to the Chenango County Jail on $5,000 cash bail or a $10,000 property bond, pending court action at a later date.
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State Police reposnded to FAHS Construction Group on Pierce Creek Road, in the Town of Binghamton, for the report of an industrial accident Tuesday. Troopers located an employee who was deceased, the investigation revealed that the victim was backing an excavator out of a building when the accident occurred. The victim has been identified as 42 year old Eric Willes of Nineveh, The results from an autopsy performed at Wilson Hospital have not been released, the investigation is continuing.
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Sidney village police, state police K-9 unit and the Bomb Disposal unit responded to a reported sighting of 2 suspicious packages in the new Amphenol facility today in Sidney.   Police determined that what appeared to be a bomb was tool made by an employee to assist in his work, and there was never any thereat to employees or the facility.   Amphenol employees who were evacuated earlier, were allowed to re-enter the facility at around 11:30 this morning.

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Governor Cuomo & State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie have reached an agreement on an Ethics reform package. Cuomo pushed the legisalture for Ethics reform first, even if it meant that a state budget would not be passed by the Aprils 1st deadline for the first time on his watch:

(CUOMO 3-18-15)

Cuomo went to the Assembly leadership with the proposal first, and he is expected to meet with Senate leadership shortly. The Governor made Ethics reform his top priority following the latest arrest of yet another powerful state lawmaker, former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who is currently facing Federal Corruption charges.
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Assembly Members, Parents, & Educators announced the “Common Core Parental Refusal Act” in Albany this week. Area Assemblyman Pete Lopez explains:

(Lopez 3-18-15)

The bill would ensure that schools can notify parents they can refuse to have their children in grades 3-8 participate in Common Core standardized tests, protects schools from having state aid withheld & ensures that students are not punished for their lack of participation in those tests, and it would set-aside alternate studies, Last year, parents of 60,000 students refused New York State Common Core tests.
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The State DMV announced the availability of custom license plates supporting New York baseball teams. New Yorkers can select custom plates for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Long Island Ducks, New York Mets, New York Yankees and a special license plate commemorating the New York Yankees’ 2009 World Series victory, as well as a ‘Birthplace of Baseball’ license plate honoring Cooperstown, custom plates can be ordered at dmv.ny.gov or by calling 1-518-402-4838 from 8:00 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
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Chenango County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 33-year-old Richard Hedges of Sherburne for 2 counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Hedges was charged after numerous 911 hang up calls received through Chenango County emergency call center. 2 children were unsupervised for over 45 minutes, while there was drug paraphernalia and medication all within reach of the children. Hedges was taken into custody without incident, processed and released on an appearance ticket to appear in the Village of Sherburne Court at a later date