25-year-old Joshua Underwood appeared in Oneonta City court Wednesday, he was charged with 2nd degree murder, attempted arson & criminal possession of a weapon, in connection with the beating death of 52-year-old Mark Morrison, at 229 Main Street in Oneonta. Underwood is accused of hitting Morrison with a weight from exercise equipment while Morrison slept, & then unsuccessfully trying to set a fire to cover up the crime, in the early morning hours of January 1st. Underwood faces a felony hearing January 18th, he is being held in the Otsego County jail without bail.
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State lawmakers began the 2017 session in Albany yesterday, assembly Speaker Carl Heastie commented:

(Heastie 1-5-17)

Governor Cuomo will unveil his agenda for 2017 with 6 speeches over 3 days starting Monday.
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State Police issued 33,153 tickets during the holiday season “Drive Sober of Get Pulled Over” campaign. The special traffic enforcement period from Friday, December 16, 2016 through Sunday, January 1, 2017, which also included local law enforcement agencies, was designed to significantly reduce deaths and injuries caused by drunk or impaired driving.
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Governor Cuomo today unveiled a new Enhanced Middle Class Child Care Tax Credit that will help more than 200,000 middle class families make their child care more affordable. The Enhanced Middle Class Child Care Tax Credit would supplement the current New York State Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit and more than double the benefit for families earning between $60,000 and $150,000. Additional details are available at governor.ny.gov.
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An OPEN HOUSE will be held on Tuesday, January 17th at the Sidney Civic Center in the first floor conference room from 6:00 to 7:30 to view the planned improvements to Main Street. Project consultants will be available to discuss the design, collect input and answer questions prior to bidding the project and constructing the improvements in 2017.
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Retail Giant Macy’s announced that 68 stores will be closing worldwide in 2017. New York store closures include the Oakdale Mall store in Johnson City, as well as stores in Clay & Rochester, affecting over 140 employees. Sears also announced the closing of 150 K-marts or sears department stores, one k-mart in New Hartford & sears stores in Queens, Cheektowaga, Amherst, & Middletown, will close shortly.
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The Delaware county board of supervisors has chosen the first woman chair of the board this week; Tina Mole of Bovina is the new chairperson of the board. Mole has represented the town of Bovina for 13 years, she also works for State Senator John Bonacic, and she replaces Jim Eisel of Harpersfield, who served as chairman for 15 years.
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State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli released the results of an audit of the town of Walton. The audit showed that the Supervisor appointed the Clerk to act as his bookkeeper; however, the New York State Attorney General’s office has expressed the view that the office of the Clerk is incompatible with the Supervisor’s bookkeeper position. They also found that No annual audit is performed of the records of the Clerk or Supervisor. The Audit recommends The Supervisor should maintain the financial records or appoint a bookkeeper that does not have incompatible duties, such as those of the Town Clerk. The Board should conduct an annual audit of the records and reports of any Town officer or employee who received or disbursed moneys on behalf of the Town, or engage an independent public accountant to do so.
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The New York State Sportswriters Association has announced their 2016 football all-state selections, and several local players made the list. WCDO Sports Director Nate Lull Has details:

(Natefootball 1-5)

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The Friends of Rogers Environmental Education Center in Sherburne announced a ribbon cutting later this month for their welcome center lobby. Spokesperson Jessica Moquin explains:

(Jessica Moquin 1-5-17)

The event will be on Thursday January 19th at 5:30 PM, and the public is invited to attend.
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State Police have launched a new website which includes instructions regarding license re-certification. Anyone holding a pistol license prior to the passage of the NY-SAFE Act has until January 31, 2018 to recertify. State Police will create the re-certification procedure and have launched a website troopers.ny.gov/Firearms – that includes the re-certification form. License holders can fill out the form online or print a paper version and return it by mail.
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