Area news briefs

November 10, 2008 07:44 am

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Town to lose power briefly

DAVENPORT _ Residents of the town of Davenport will experience a planned power outage at about 10 a.m. today.

The outage is expected to last five minutes or less, and is necessary to install a portable substation, according to New York State Electric & Gas.

The temporary substation will facilitate the rebuilding of a NYSEG electric circuit in order to increase the reliability of the company's electricity distribution system, officials said.

"We will be switching over to a portable substation to allow us to rebuild one of our electrical circuits while minimizing the interruption of power to our customers" said Mark Mahlmeister, NYSEG's regional operations manager.

Woman charged in crack sale

ONEONTA _ A former Oneonta woman was arrested last week for allegedly selling crack cocaine last January.

Brooke A. Kiel, 22, of Sidney, was charged with third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.

Kiel sold an unspecified amount of crack to another person, according to a news release from Otsego deputies.

The arrest was the result of a joint investigation of the Otsego County Sheriff's Office and the Oneonta Police Department, according to deputies.

Kiel was released after arraignment to reappear in Oneonta City Court on Dec. 2.

She faces up to nine years in prison on the charge, deputies said.

Prof gets funds to study clouds

ONEONTA _ A SUCO meteorology professor has been awarded a three-year, $70,875 subcontract from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration through Colorado State University for a study of clouds.

Todd Ellis, assistant professor of meteorology at the State University College at Oneonta, will work on a project titled "CloudSat," named for a satellite that uses radar to study clouds and precipitation from space.

Ellis' project will involve working with teachers and students on the CloudSat Education Network, which is part of the educational and public-outreach program of the NASA CloudSat satellite.

Through the network, educational institutions provide data to CloudSat scientists for their research, and students have opportunities for hands-on participation in research.

Ellis joined the SUCO faculty this year.