P.M. NEWS FRIDAY 1-7-22

Oneonta Fire Department responded to a fire at the Motel 88 on Chestnut Street Thursday afternoon.  The fire was started in an unoccupied room, 2 adjacent rooms suffered damage, it was knocked down in less than an hour, no injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

———————————–

Edmeston Central School announced that they had over 25% of the school quarantined due to COVID-19.  The Edmeston District went to remote learning Thursday & will stay remote through next Friday, in-person learning will start again on Tuesday, January 18th.  All after school activities and games have been postponed.

—————————————–

Binghamton Police are investigation the shooting of an 18 year old Binghamton High School Male Student, near the High School Thursday morning at about 11:15.  The victim was taken to an area hospital, the School district implemented lockdowns at all buildings, Binghamton Police arrested a 17 year old suspect for attempted murder & criminal use of a fire arm, the investigation is ongoing.

———————————————-

New Yorkers will again have the chance to apply for pandemic rental aid and temporary protection from eviction.  A State Supreme Court Judge issued a preliminary injunction ordering New York to reopen its application portal at otda.ny.gov, for rent relief in 3 business days. The state stopped accepting rental assistance applications in November.  The ruling protects families vulnerable to eviction when New York’s statewide moratorium expires January 15th.

—————————————————–

State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli is urging New Yorkers to spend the gift cards they received this holiday season in a timely fashion, if not the money could eventually get turned over to the Office of Unclaimed Funds. In the last 7 years, the amount returned to DiNapoli’s office in unused gift cards has risen sharply from $5.8 million in 2014 to $16 million in 2021.  After five years of dormancy, money from unused gift cards issued by New York businesses is turned over to the Office of Unclaimed Funds as abandoned property.

———————————————

New York’s Independent Redistricting Commission met January 3 to approve new maps that would shape those districts for the next 10 years, but ended the meeting with two separate proposals.  The Commission sent its 2 plans to lawmakers for consideration during the 2022 session.

A.M. NEWS FRIDAY 1-7-22

State Police released more details about Wednesday arrest of 29 year old Anthony Masi of Sidney, who was wanted for 1st degree Assault in Oneonta on December 30 & also charged for Criminal Possession of Stolen Property,  Sidney Police Department spotted Masi in a stolen vehicle and attempted to stop him, he failed to comply and fled from Sidney Police and Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies on State Route 8 in the town of Masonville, Troopers attempted to stop Masi, who again failed to comply, he was stopped on State Highway 17 in Hancock and was taken into custody.  Masi was processed on the Stolen Property charge, was arraigned & was released & ordered to appear in Hancock Village Court at a later date; he was then turned over to troopers, was arraigned on the Assault charge & was remanded to the Otsego County Jail on $50,000 bail or $500,000 bond.

————————————————-

The State Health Department & the Governor’s Office announced that the Omicron Variant of COVID 19 continues to spread quickly.  Over 377,000 were tested Wednesday, with 84,202 positives, for a 22.3% positivity rate.  Patient Hospitalization increased by 317 to 11,184, Patients in ICU bed were up to just over 1,400 with 695 on ventilators and 130 New deaths reported by healthcare facilities from COVID.

————————————————–

SUNY Oneonta will host one of the state’s 10 new COVID-19 community testing sites,  which opens today,  in the training room of the college’s new Emergency Services Building, located at the lower end of campus, and is open to anyone in the community who is experiencing mild to moderate COVID symptoms. Appointments are required and must be scheduled in advance. Testing, which is saliva-based, is provided at no cost to individuals. The site will be open from 8:30 am to noon on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. The Oneonta site is scheduled to operate through the end of February.  Appointments for testing at the Oneonta site can be scheduled at bit.ly/covid-test-oneonta.

———————————————

OTSEGO COUNTY OFFICE OF EMERGENCY SERVICES announced that KN95 masks will be made available, FREE for distribution to the public, beginning today at the American Legion COVID test site in the Village of Milford, located at 86 West Main Street in Milford, as well as the SUNY Oneonta COVID test site.  An additional distribution site is being established at the Richfield Springs Fire Department in the coming week.

—————————————————

Delaware County is 1 of 6 counties in New York State chosen to receive support from the State Health Department to conduct COVID vaccination clinics. Personnel from The State and the National Guard will support the county operated clinics beginning today in Sidney at the Sidney Elks Lodge on River Street from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM, as well as on Saturday & January 28th and 29th. The second clinic will be in Stamford at the Catskill Veterans Outreach Center, from 11AM-7PM, on January 14th, 15th & February 4th and 5th. The third location at the Hancock Central School Bus Garage, from 11AM-7PM on January 21st, 22nd, February 11th and 12th. More Information is available at 607-832-5200.

————————————

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies announced that this year’s manager will be Reid Brignac, who retired as a major league player in 2018.  The Pitching Coach will be Jerome Williams who pitched in the majors for 11 seasons, the Hitting Coach will be Tommy Joseph, who played with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2016 & 2017, and Bench Coach is Mariano Duncan, who played on championship teams in Cincinnati in 1990 & the NY Yankees in 1996.

——————————————–