WDOS News

Saturday is the deadline for donations to the “Shoeboxes for Seniors” program. To participate and help a senior, fill a shoebox sized box with new, unopened items a senior might enjoy and/or need. We have a list of suggested items posted at our website cnynews.com. Wrap the box and drop it off to any of the following locations in Oneonta by December 14: The Southside Mall, The Green Earth Food Market or the Working Kitchen.

Source:
www.facebook.com/groups/1939418626384994/

The Delaware County Sheriff’s office is looking for tips to catch whoever broke into a Mirabito in Hancock and the Hancock Post Office. The Mirabito burglary on West Main Street happened early Monday morning as did the post office break-in but it’s not clear exactly when that burglary occurred. We have a surveillance photo of the suspect posted at our website cnynews.com. Call the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office if you know of the suspect’s whereabouts.

Source:
Press release

UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital’s capital campaign received a $100,000 contribution from the Mirabito family. The capital campaign supports construction of a new Emergency Room and Walk-In Center, as well as strategic investments in Diagnostic Imaging and infrastructure to support the growth of future services. The work is part of the first phase of the hospital’s Chenango Medical Neighborhood Plan which officials say will transform the delivery of care at UHS Chenango Memorial.

Source:
Press release

The Catskill Watershed Corp. Board of Directors recently awarded funding for four new business loans. Among the business loans approved for three restaurants and one hospitality business. The Board also provided funding for a Flood Hazard Mitigation project in the town of Walton. A total of $8,750 is awarded for a feasability study and design of the meaures recommended in the study.

Source:
Press release

The Otsego County Fairgrounds are open through Saturday but not for rides and livestock cometitions – this time it’s for the inaugural Holiday of Lights show. It’s a drive-through exhibit at the fairgrounds in Morris that starts at dusk and runs through 9:00 p.m. Fair officials say Santa will be there and any kid who visits him gets a toy. A snack shack is also set up with hot cocoa and sugar cookies.

Source:
www.wktv.com/content/news/Holiday-of-lights-running-at-the-Otsego-County-Fairgrounds-566158731.html

Noxt Wednesday the United Way of Delaware & Otsego Counties conducts a free mass food distribution at Northern Eagle Beverages on Browne Street in Oneonta beginning at 11:00 a.m. Vehicles need to enter from the blinking light at the corner of Rte. 205 and Browne Street. The event is in partnership with the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, the Cooperstown Food Pantry & Fidelis Care. No qualifications or documentation required. Food will be prebagged and evenly distributed.

Source:
www.facebook.com/events/378950639501763/

New York State Police and local law enforcement statewide have increased patrols to combat drunk, impaired and reckless driving from now through New Year’s Day. The extra enforcment is sponsored by the Special Traffic Options Program for Driving While Intoxicated, with funding from the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee.. Troopers will be using both marked State Police vehicles and Concealed Identity Traffic Enforcement vehicles as part of this crackdown. During the 2018 enforcement campaign, over 4,100 DWI arrests were made and nearly 145,000 tickets were issued.

Source:
www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-impaired-driving-crackdown-during-holiday-season

A report just released by the Empire Justice Center finds that 9 out of 10 New Yorkers cannot afford quality child care. The study determined the annual cost is just over $15,000 a year per child which is the sixth-highest in the country. Subsidies are available including the ones recently awarded to Schoharie County but the costs are still overwhelming especially for those making minimum wage. The report is posted at empirejustice.org.

Source:
empirejustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/REPORT-Shouldering-the-Strain-Child-Care-December-2019.pdf

The Cooperstown man taking a plea deal on federal money laundering and tax charges will be in jail for six-and a half years. According to the U.S. Attorneys office 60-year-old Thomas Lagan admitted conspiring with another individual to take nearly $12 million from three estates for which he served as a fiduciary. Lagan’s sentence also calls for paying more than $7.7 million in restitution. He is already serving a 4-to-12 year sentence on charges brought in Albany County Court. The sentences will run concurrently.

Source:
www.timesunion.com/news/article/Disgraced-ex-lawyer-Thomas-Lagan-gets-6-1-2-years-14898977.php

Opportunities for Otsego awarded nearly $36,000 to two nonprofit organizations addressing poverty for families living within the Oneonta City School District. Catholic Charities of Delaware and Otsego Counties received a Community Impact Grant to provide food boxes to 110 low-income families over the December and February school breaks.
Family Service Association was awarded funds for a home hygiene program and scholarships for after school enrichment activities. The grants were supplied through the Empire State Poverty Reduction Initiative.

Source:
Press release