P.M. NEWS WEDNESDAY 12-23-20

The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Watch for Thursday into Friday, local Meteorologist Rich Townsend told WCDO News that flash flooding is a concern:

(Townsend 12-23-20)

The Flood Watch runs from 12:00 Noon Thursday to 12:00 Noon Friday, Christmas Day.

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The Village of Sidney Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative Committee will be getting surveys out to village residents soon, to get public input regarding the Sidney Police Department. Sheri Youngs is co-chair of the committee:

(Sheri Youngs 12-23-20)

After the public input is collected, the committee will draft a reform and reinvention plan & they will make changes as needed and submit the revised plan to the Village board for approval, in March the approved plan will then be submitted to New York State.

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The Broome County Sheriff’s Department arrested 45-year-old William Applegate of Nineveh after a deputy pulled him over while knowing that Applegate did not have a valid license. Applegate was found to be in possession of methamphetamine, he was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance & aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle & he faces court action at a later date.

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New York’s Wadsworth Laboratory in Albany has begun research of the new, more contagious COVID-19 strain discovered in England, they have looked at more than 3,700 virus sequences & they have not found that variant present in any of their random samples, Governor Cuomo commented about the state labs at today’s COVID briefing in Albany:

(Cuomo 12-23-20)

The Wadsworth Lab and the Department of Health have made agreements with 6 hospitals from across the State to obtain additional samples for further research and are making arrangements with other hospitals to do the same, in order to find out if that virus variant is here in New York State.

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The First COVID vaccines have been given at Chenango Memorial Hospital in Norwich, on Tuesday, Dr. Jason Joseph became the first to receive a COVID vaccine in Chenango County. Chenango Memorial Vice President of Service Coordination & Development, Chris Kisacky told WCDO about the arrival & distribution of the vaccines:

(Chris Kisacky 12-23-20)

Kisacky said that the 1st group of recipients getting the vaccine includes medical providers, ICU nurses, Emergency Department staff, lab personnel, a respiratory therapist and other hospital staff members.

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Delaware County Sheriff’s Office arrested 40 year old Bonnie Tanner of Hobart for Cruelty to animals, after deputies discovered 2 deceased dogs & one malnourished dog in her apartment. The Investigation revealed that the dogs had been held in a single bedroom for the past 6 months and had not been provided adequate food, water or veterinary care. Tanner surrendered the malnourished dog to the Dog Control Officer and it was transported to the Delaware County Humane Society in Sidney for evaluation and treatment. Tanner was issued an appearance ticket for Stamford Town Court at a later date.

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A.M. NEWS WEDNESDAY 12-23-20

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced that the bipartisan appropriations package includes $6 billion in funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for the WIC program. Nationwide, 1 in 5 parents do not have enough money to feed their children since the pandemic hit, Millions continue to be affected by widespread business closures and subsequent job loss and more households are relying on social safety nets to feed themselves and their families.

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The State Department of Labor released preliminary local unemployment rates for November. The State’s seasonally adjusted private sector jobs increased over the month by 36,300, or 0.5%, the State’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased from 9.2% to 8.4%. Locally, Chenango County was down to 4.6%, Delaware County 4.7% & Otsego County 4.9% in November.

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Delaware County Public Health reported 7 new COVID cases Tuesday, they still have 95 active cases and 306 are in quarantine.

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