P.M. NEWS FRIDAY 2-5-21
It’s been a year since Nasir Azmat of Franklin was charged with 40 counts animal cruelty, for having dogs trained for illegal dog fighting housed in deplorable conditions on his property, the dogs were removed to area shelters. Erin Insinga of the Delaware Valley Humane Society was one of those tasked with removing the dogs & getting them checked up & re-trained to be able to re-home the animals, she gave WCDO an update on the pit bulls & 1 German Shepard, known as the “Franklin 20”:
(Erin Insinga 2-5-21)
The COVID 19 pandemic shut down the ability for The Delaware County District Attorney’s office to bring the case before a Grand Jury, Azmat pleaded “not guilty” to all charges on February 27th in Franklin Town Court.
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The State health Department announced that they were back over 200,000 tests Thursday, with 203,000 tested & over 8700 positive tests for a 4.31% positivity rate. Hospitalizations went below 8000 to 7937 Thursday, the lowest level in a month, there were 1516 ICU patients & 1000 on Ventilators, there were 153 COVID deaths Thursday.
Otsego County Department of Health reported 11 new COVID cases reported today. The Department reported that the daily count of active cases has been steadily declining for the past 2 weeks, the county’s positivity rate was 1.7% Thursday & the 7 day average is 2.7%. Otsego County reported that there were 743 cases reported in January, 6% were college students, 4% were healthcare workers, 13% reside in a residential care facility and 12% are students or staff in k-12 school. There were 11 deaths related to COVID in January, 27% were nursing home residents, 18% were adult home residents, 18% were group home residents and 36% were living at home.
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Chenango County Public Health reported their latest COVID 19 numbers today, they had 29 new positive cases, with 25 hospitalized, 139 active cases & 370 quarantined, there have been 1964 recoveries & over 71,600 tests performed.
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Delaware County Sheriff’s Office has investigated a few instances where people have shot & damaged Fiber Optic cables that County residents rely on for Internet, Television & general Information sending & receiving, Delaware County Sheriff Craig DuMond comments:
(Sheriff DuMond 2-5-21)
Sheriff DuMond said that most of the instances have occurred affected Delhi Telephone & Margaretville Telephone Companies, but the damage disrupted customers all over the county, including various emergency services, including the Sheriff’s Department.
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The Greater Oneonta Historical Society announced that Dr. Marcela Micucci has been named as the New Director, replacing the retiring Bob Brzozowski. Micucci is a 2006 graduate of Oneonta High School, who is returning to her hometown to bring the Society into the future, she told WCDO News about this opportunity:
(Marcela Micucci 2-5-21)
The Greater Oneonta Historical Society is located at 183 Main Street; more information is available at OneontaHistory.org or 432-0960.
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State Police are investigating a fatal crash on State Route 13 in the town of Homer. 55 year old Michael Knickerbocker of Cincinnatus has been identified as the deceased, Police said that he was the only occupant of a Chevrolet that struck a parked U-Haul truck making deliveries and parked on the shoulder of State Route 13. Knickerbocker was taken to an area hospital & was pronounced deceased. 2 people were in the U-Haul, A 49-year-old male was in the rear of the truck looking for a package when the vehicle was struck, he was taken to Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse with head and neck pain, the 2nd delivery person was able to jump out of the way & was not injured. The crash remains under investigation.
A.M. NEWS Friday 2-5-21
State Police and local law enforcement agencies across New York will be stepping up patrols to crack down on impaired driving during the Super Bowl weekend. The enforcement campaign will run today through Monday. During the recent “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign during the holiday season, law enforcement agencies issued more than 70,000 tickets for vehicle and traffic violations and made 2,067 DWI arrests.
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Construction has been completed on bridge projects in the Southern Tier. Local Work included the Replacement of the State Route 8 Bridge over Beaver Creek in the Town of Columbus, and the Replacement of 2 Bridges carrying State Route 41 over Cornell Creek and Wilkins Brook in the Towns of Afton and Coventry.
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Bassett Healthcare Network is offering free COVID-19 rapid testing at the Oneonta Health Center at 125 Main Street, for individuals who have no symptoms of the virus, but who wish to be tested. Appointments are required at 433-6510, the testing will be offered tomorrow & Saturday, February 20th from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM
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Chenango County Health Department recommends that this Sunday, people should refrain from rational Super Bowl Parties, Spokesman Isaiah Sutton explains:
(Isaiah Sutton 2-5-21)
Sutton said that people should also continue to follow the recommendations for social distancing, wearing masks, & indoor and outdoor gatherings at private residences is still limited to no more than 10 people in New York State.
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Delaware County Public Health reported 13 new COVID cases Thursday out of 264 tested, there are 16 hospitalized, 90 active cases & 278 quarantined.
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