According to Oneida County Sheriff Maciol, on July 21…

According to Oneida County Sheriff Maciol, on July 21, 2022, the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office responded to Golf Course Rd. in the City of Rome after a City of Rome DPW worker located a suspicious item in the dirt parking area near the Lake Delta Dam.

The road was closed to traffic as Deputies worked with members of the New York State Police Bomb Unit.

The device was deemed safe by members of the bomb unit and has been classified as a “Homemade Firework”. The device was secured and will be broken down and evaluated by technicians from the NYSP and FBI to determine its contents at a later date. The NYSP Bomb Unit’s explosive detecting K-9’s were also used to search the surrounding area for any other devices but nothing else was located.

While on scene, Deputies began to get notifications from local residents reporting that they heard something that sounded like an explosion last evening around 7-8 pm.

Investigators are attempting to determine the source of the noise and the exact area where it occurred. Golf Course Rd. was again opened to traffic shortly after 11 am.

If anyone has any additional information they are asked to contact Sheriff’s Inv. Justin Copperwheat at (315) 765-2767.