Editor’s Note: What follows are snippets from some of the top stories that appeared in The Evening Sun throughout 2016.

IRT-Greater Chenango Cares made rare return to Chenango

Take two of the 2015 summer installation of military vehicles, service personnel dressed in fatigues and scores of many appreciative community members took over the Norwich High School Campus during Greater Chenango Cares-Innovative Readiness Training (IRT).

Lead agency, Chenango United Way, spearheaded its own army of community volunteers to pull off yet another successful event that in 2015 performed nearly 15,000 procedures to some 2,400 patients at no cost – a value of more than $1.3 million.

“This was a great opportunity for our entire community in 2015, and we're pleased that the United Way was able to negotiate a contract for this to happen for a second year, right here in Chenango County,” said Victoria Mitchell of Chenango United Way in May. The military IRT is a Department of Defense (DOD) training exercise which provides real world training scenarios to military personnel and service members, all while supporting the needs of rural, under-served and economically challenged communities.

Drug Kingpin awaits retrial following judicial errors in County court

Michael A. Victor Jr, who was found guilty in Chenango County Court in 2010 on ten counts including narcotic sales and firearms possession, returned to Norwich to appear in court after being granted a retrial. As decided by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York on May 5, one of the ten counts was dismissed, and Victor is to receive a new trial on the remaining nine counts that he faced after his initial arrest in 2010. In mid October, it was reported that Victor's retrial was to be delayed into 2017 pending an expected response from the Court of Appeals. Judge James E. Downey, who presided over the case, conveyed that there was two separate issues to discuss during the conference; one being the status of the prosecution's appeal on the overturning of Victor's original conviction, which was sent to the court of appeals on June 30; the other being that defense counsel wishes to have $1,800 allocated in order to hire a private investigator.

Grace said that he has still not received the records of his clients trial from his previous counsel, and requested that if a new trial is going to take place, he would need at least 60 days in order to properly review all of the material. Until a response is received from the court of appeals, a decision on a new trial cannot be made.

Madison, Otsego Sheriff’s made swift work of Edmeston NBT Robbery

On May 23, the Otsego County 911 call center took an emergency call from an alarm monitoring system reporting a robbery at the NBT Bank, located at 1 West St. in the Village of Edmeston. A suspect originally described as a white male in his mid to late 20's, approximately 5'7'' to 5'10'' tall and of thin build was soon identified as Dennis D. Gelatt of Earlville. According to a release issued by the Otsego County Sheriff’s Office, it is alleged that Gelatt entered the bank and waited in line with other customers. When he got to the teller’s window, he demanded cash. No weapon was displayed, but authorities say one was “implied.”

When Gelatt obtained the cash, he fled the bank on foot, running to a parked vehicle on West Street. Gelatt then allegedly drove away from the bank heading west on Otsego County Highway 20. Following the robbery, the Unadilla Valley Central School was placed on lockdown. On June 5, the Otsego and Madison County Sheriff’s Offices executed a search warrant at a Madison County residence, arresting Gelatt. Gelatt was charged with robbery in the second degree, a class C felony. He was arraigned in the Town of Edmeston court and remanded to the Otsego County Correctional Facility on $25,000 cash bail.

Roots and Wings program re-opens doors after lack of funding

Not even three months after closing to re-evaluate its business model, Roots and Wings of Chenango County has finally re-opened the doors of its clothing and household goods center.

Roots and Wings, a Norwich-based emergency services and self-sufficiency program operated under the auspices of Catholic Charities of Chenango County, closed its clothing center on Berry Street in January. Program organizers said the purpose was to restructure the program in a way that makes it more fiscally viable.

Roots and Wings provides clothing, food, household goods and furniture for individuals and families in need.

We want to be able to still reach out to our customers – the needy, and people who are low-income – so we’re keeping prices low,” said Mandeville. “People have been starting to come back just by word of mouth.” Catholic Charities started exploring the prospects of a thrift store model in November. Citing the tremendous financial burden fronted by Roots and Wings in recent years (despite a steady increase in community needs), Catholic Charities began researching various thrift store concepts. Catholic Charities Executive Director Robin Beckwith said at the time that Roots and Wings was losing a substantial amount of money that the organization simply couldn’t recoup.

Ramsaran murder conviction overturned

Ganesh 'Remy' Ramsaran – the man who was convicted of second-degree murder of his wife, Jennifer, back on Dec. 1, 2014 – saw his conviction reversed on Thursday after an appeal decision handed down by the Supreme Court, Appellate Division: Third Judicial Department.

Jennifer Ramsaran, the defendant's wife and the victim in the case, went missing on Dec. 11, 2012. She was last seen at her home in New Berlin that morning. The defendant reported her missing around 8 p.m. that evening after she failed to report home from a shopping trip in Syracuse.

An extensive search followed, and Jennifer's body was finally discovered down an embankment adjacent to Center Road in the Town of Pharsalia on Feb. 26, 2013. It was determined that the victim had been killed by unnatural causes some months prior, although an official cause of death was never determined.

Ramsaran was arrested for the murder of Jennifer on May 17, 2013. On May 24, 2013, he was indicted by a Chenango County grand jury on one count of second degree murder, a class A-1 felony, in connection with the alleged crime.

After a trial lasting just under three weeks, Ramsaran was found guilty of second-degree murder. He was subsequently sentenced to serve a term of 25 years to life in prison.

During the trial, Ramsaran was represented by defense attorney Gilberto Garcia. In their decision to reverse the conviction, the Appellate Court did “find merit to (the) defendant's contention that certain errors rendered defense council ineffective, thereby depriving (the) defendant of a fair trial.”

DCMO-BOCES appoints new Superintendent

In May of 2016, new leadership has been placed at the helm of DCMO BOCES ending the district’s extensive seven-month search process for a new superintendent.

BOCES Board members voted and approved Perry Dewey III to the position of District Superintendent. Dewey will oversee BOCES’ contract operations across its 16 component school districts in Delaware, Chenango, Madison and Otsego counties.

“I am very excited to have the opportunity to serve the DCMO BOCES region,” Dewey said in a statement on Friday. “Through strategically focusing on student needs and regional partnerships with business and post-secondary institutions, we will be able to provide a brighter future for our students and rural communities. With this in mind, I am looking forward to working with the leaders in the region to build relationships with all stakeholders and moving forward together to provide excellent educational programming for all of our students.”

Dewey is a native of Sherman, in Chautauqua County, and is certified in school district administration by the NYS Department of Education. He holds a master’s degree in educational leadership from St. Bonaventure University and a bachelor’s in agriculture technology from Empire State College.

Dewey previously served as Superintendent of the Madison Central School District, a role he filled for nearly five years. During that time, the district implemented a strong strategic plan that fulfilled several educational initiatives, including a full-day pre-K program; and a college and career ready program which earned the district bronze level recognition from U.S. News and World Report.

Kurt Beyer flirts with chopping block—receives Band-Aid

While costly repairs are inevitable down the road, the Norwich Common Council reluctantly voted to make bare minimum fixes to the Kurt Beyer Pool that will keep the pool open for another season though 2016.

The fate of the public pool was still uncertain in the spring of 2016, when city officials were getting estimates for necessary repairs that approached $15,000 for a one-year fix. That number, however, has now been pared down to $10,000 which will cover costs to patch tile and grout, and to hire someone to maintain the pool throughout the summer.

Notwithstanding fears that the Kurt Beyer Pool in Norwich would be closed for the season, necessary repairs to the pool have finally been made and swimming was opened to the public on in mid-July. Plans for 2017 management of the pool remans to be seen.

Initial Sherburne Slaughterhouse deal scrapped, local developer renews interest

Earlier this year, it was revealed that All In Meats, Inc., the newly formed Utica-based enterprise behind the Sherburne slaughterhouse proposal, had hit financial barriers which prevented it from moving forward with the project. County Planning and Economic Development Committee received word that All In Meats CEO Donald Meeker is no longer being considered for the project, but that there may be news about a similar project on the horizon—and after months of planning and development, those initial plans of developing an industrial sized slaughterhouse in the Town of Sherburne are dead in the water – but not for long. In the early fall of 2016, it was announced that local developer and business owner Jim Webb had concocted a new startup with much the same vision at a neighboring plot on County Highway 23 in the Town of Sherburne, former home of Lok-N-Logs, Inc.

The newly proposed slaughterhouse project eyeing Sherburne brought standing-room-only crowds to several Sherburne Planning Board meetings, and some 700 Sherburne are residents (prompted by Residents United Against Industrial Slaughterhouses [RUAIS]) have signed petitions with hopes of derailing the company's—and Webb's— efforts to bring the plant to Chenango County. But despite the opposition, Webb and CNY Meats, LLC are moving forward with the appropriate zoning and regulatory agencies to bring the project into fruition.

NBT bids fond farewell to longtime leader

In 2016, NBT Bank close the book on one of its the most important chapters in the company’s 160-year history today, marking the retirement of a man who helped the organization reconnect with its community banking roots, ushering a path of continued growth and prosperity.

On May 3 following 28 dedicated years of exemplary service, Daryl R. Forsythe will competed his current term as Director and retire as Chairman of the NBT Bank and NBT Bancorp Boards.