Man Arrested After Threat to N.Y. Hospital

Jan. 27--Bassett Medical Center and a school outside the area were on alert Monday as law enforcement investigated a threatening telephone call made to Bassett on Monday, officials said.

Benjamin Stubley, 41, of Clayville was charged with making terroristic threats, a felony, Michael Covert, Cooperstown police chief, said in a media release.

Stubley was arrested at his home without incident, arraigned in Otsego Town Court before Judge Gary Kuch and sent to Otsego County jail in lieu of $2,500 cash bail, the release said.

Karen Huxtable, Bassett spokeswoman, said a threat was telephoned in to the hospital's call center, and as such calls are taken seriously, Bassett went on heightened alert. The hospital wasn't on lockdown, she said, but Bassett's security presence was increased throughout the Cooperstown campus.

However, Bassett's West Winfield health center was on lockdown because of the nature and believed origin of the call, Huxtable said. The alert ended after the person believed to have placed the call was taken into custody, she said.

Mount Markham Central School in West Winfield was on alert Monday after Herkimer County 911 officials called at about 11 a.m. and recommended taking extra precautions, Dick Young, acting superintendent said. School doors regularly are locked as a policy, he said, and on Monday, officials were extra-cautious about visitors entering the building.

Students went about their regular activities, Young said, and the alert ended after state police reported that the situation and individual involved had been addressed.

The school district was alerted because if its proximity to a small medical facility, Young said.

Copyright 2015 - The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y.