National Weather service officials have confirmed 8 tornadoes in our area in the last week.   Officials said that 8 Tornadoes is unusually high, the region only averages a few tornadoes a year.  Officials said that severe weather tends to come in cycles, with the most recent year with similar activity is 1998.   The latest confirmation was that a tornado hit the Sullivan county hamlet of Parksville on Sunday, with 90 mile an hour winds, making that tornado ranked as an “EF-1”.

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Pre-trial hearings for Ganesh Ramsaran will be closed to both the public and the media, by Chenango County judge Frank Revoir.  Ramsaran is accused of killing his wife Jennifer Ramsaran in December of 2012, her body was found about 2 months later in a wooded area in Pharsalia. Ramsaran’s murder trial is scheduled to begin in September.

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The murder trial of 40-year-old Aaron Powell continues in Broome county court.  Powell is accused of murdering his estranged wife Christina Powell and 24-year-old Mario Masciarelli at the Powell’s Binghamton home in March of 2013.  Prosecutors allege that Powell killed Masciarelli with a baseball bat and strangled his wife with an electrical cord.  Powell remains held in the Broome County jail without bail during the trial.

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The Anti-Fracking movement claimed victory this week when a supreme court judge tossed out lawsuits from the Joint Landowners Coalition and Norse energy, the 2 entities were trying to push Governor Cuomo to make a decision on Hydrofracking after 6 years of a moratorium.  Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Rob Astorino vowed to move forward with allowing hydro-fracking is elected as governor in the November election.  Governor Cuomo inherited the gas-drilling moratorium from the previous administration of David Paterson; research is still being performed by the state health department following thousands of [public comments on the issue.

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The Village of Sidney & the Fagan Flyers will hold an “Airport Appreciation day this Saturday at the Sidney Municipal Airport. Spokesman Gary Klindt told WCDO News about some of the events planned:

(Gary Klindt 7-16-14)

The event will run this Saturday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, more information is available at village of Sidney.org.

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State attorney General Eric Schneidermann announced that almost 23 million records of New Yorkers have been exposed to 5,000 data breaches since 2006.  Schneiderman reported that 7.3 million records of New Yorkers were exposed in about 900 data breaches last year alone, including the highly publicized Target breach as well as Living Social. Schneiderman is urging businesses to identify and minimize data collection practices and create an information security plan that includes encryption. Consumers are advised to create strong passwords and update them frequently, and to closely monitor credit and bank statements each month.

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The Otsego county health department will hold a free rabies clinic today at the Morris fire department.  The clinic will run from 6:00 to 8:00 PM, for dogs 7 cats at least 3 months of age.

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The Sidney community band’s 12th annual Don Clayton memorial present their Trailside Music series every Wednesday evening in July & august, at the pavilion in Keith Clark Park.  The Walton community band will perform tonight from 6:30 to 8:00 PM.