Oneida County

It's Friday, October 23rd, and this is Sentinel Today from the Daily Sentinel.

Today, Oneida County's sheriff race heats up as incumbent Robert Maciol and challenger Jared Pearl clash over crime, bail reform, immigration enforcement, and the future of public safety.

Before we jump in, a few other stories you should know about.

Adirondack Railroad's Halloween train departs Holland Patent on Saturday, October 24th for a 90-minute round trip to Remsen Depot, featuring a pumpkin patch, hayride, and free pumpkins for children in costume.

Psychopath Haunted Outdoor Trail returns to Woodcreek Hollow in Rome on October 23rd, 24th, and 30th, featuring new scares, horror characters, food, music, and more, with admission costing $20 per person.

Authorities and the FBI are investigating anonymous bomb threats made to four Oneida County schools Wednesday morning, with no explosives found and no injuries reported.

More on that later.

For more on all these stories, visit us at ursentinel.com. Now, let's jump into today's feature story.

Before we jump in, a few other stories you should know about.

The Oneida County Board of Elections is urging voters who have not received their requested absentee ballots to contact the office immediately amid delays involving its ballot mailing vendor and the Postal Service.

The Earlville Opera House will celebrate Halloween with paranormal investigations and a Grateful Dead tribute concert at its historic 1892 theater.

A longtime Town of Lee employee is speaking out after his controversial removal, saying he was treated unfairly following 15 years of service.

A court-appointed referee later determined that Waterbury owed approximately $5.3 million.

The referee recommended selling properties across four central New York counties to satisfy the debt, beginning with properties in Oneida County.

That includes Sylvan Beach Amusement Park.

Another major attraction named in the foreclosure proceeding is the Sterling Renaissance Festival.

Before we jump in, a few other stories you should know about.

The Oneida County History Center will celebrate the 90th anniversary of Drums Along the Mohawk with a free public reading of the revolutionary war novel on Saturday, October 24th.

Oneida County's crackdown on illegal substances continues, with inspections at 12 businesses since July resulting in the seizure of thousands of flavored vapes, kratom products, and illicit cannabis.

A new Hartford mini golf employee is facing a felony charge after allegedly smashing televisions and causing more than $5,000 in damage during a workplace dispute at Sangertown Square Mall.

More on that later.

Throughout the day, women gathered at the organization's Yorkville workshop for two volunteer shifts.

They cut, sanded, drilled, and assembled wooden bed frames, all destined for children in Oneida and Herkimer counties who might otherwise be sleeping on floors, couches, or other unsuitable surfaces.

By the end of the event, forty-eight beds had been built.

Teresa Swider, who coordinated Ladies of Lumber, said the turnout exceeded expectations.

Community engagement coordinator Mary Ann Munson said the organization has now sponsored and participated in five bed-building events.

She emphasized that employees strongly believe in the nonprofit's mission of making sure no child in their community has to sleep on the floor, and that mission has already made a remarkable impact.

Since launching in twenty twenty-one, the Utica chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace has delivered more than three thousand beds to children across Oneida and Herkimer counties.

Each bed comes complete with a mattress, pillows, and bedding, all provided at no cost to families.

Caitlin was released in February 2025.

In April 2025, the Oneida County District Attorney's Office announced that it would present the evidence to a grand jury to determine whether the case should be prosecuted again.

Therefore, at the time of this recording, the legal status of Mary Yoder's case remained open and unresolved.

At present, no one stands convicted of her murder.

Safeguard Veterans, any door, the right support.

He had a sister living in Oneida County, and he learned that iron was high or brought a good price there.

He told me he thought he would send a load out there and get a load of wheat, and asked me if I would go out with a load.

I told him I would if he wished me to.

The funding will allow the organization to reach communities that previously had limited access to dedicated SNAP assistance.

In Oneida County, the Food Bank will work alongside existing service provider RCIL while expanding outreach into Herkimer and Madison counties.

Food bank president and CEO Karen Belcher says she expects more individuals and families will need help navigating the changes.

She's also concerned that people losing SNAP benefits could increasingly turn to food pantries, soup kitchens, and emergency shelters.

Nor viewed from a religious standpoint were his surroundings any more propitious than his home.

When Charles was but two years old, his parents moved into the wilderness of Central New York in Oneida County.

"There," he says, "I seldom heard a sermon unless from some traveling minister or some miserable holding forth of an ignorant preacher.

I remember well how the people would return from meeting and spend a considerable time in irrepressible laughter at the strange mistakes made and the absurdities which had been advanced." When Charles reached the age of 16, a meeting house was erected in his neighborhood, but his parents, as if afraid of a sanctuary and Christian civilization, took their family and made another plunge into the wilderness, going to the extreme eastern end of Lake Ontario and far to the north, approaching the line of Canada.

He wrote, "Having had no regular training for the ministry, I did not expect or desire to labor in large towns or cities or minister to cultivated congregations.

I intended to go into the new settlements and preach in schoolhouses and barns and groves as best I could.

Accordingly, soon after being licensed to preach, I took a commission for six months from a female missionary society located in Oneida County.

I went into Jefferson County and began my labors at Evans Mills." The people were much interested and thronged the place to hear him preach.