P.M. NEWS THURSDAY 3-17-22

69 year old Michael Murray of Sidney was arrested and charged yesterday with possessing child pornography. Murray allegedly possessed child pornography images and videos on his phone, he appeared in federal Court and was detained pending further proceedings, Murray could face 10 to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life, if convicted.

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Joshua Taylor was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the July 15, 2015 murder of James High. Taylor was found guilty of 2nd degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon killing High on Chenango Street in Binghamton outside of a bar. Taylor was convicted previously in 2017 but was granted a new trial by the New York State Appellate Division after ruling that the jury received insufficient instructions regarding circumstantial evidence.

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Governor Kathy Hochul signed a package of legislation Wednesday to address workplace harassment and discrimination. One of the bills will require the Division of Human Rights to establish a toll-free confidential hotline for complaints of workplace sexual harassment, another bill establishes the release of personnel records to discredit victims of workplace discrimination counts as a retaliatory action under the Human Rights Law.

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Delaware County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 40 year old Ramon Ortiz of Queens for promoting prison contraband. Ortiz is accused of possessing contraband within his body while confined as an inmate at the Delaware County Correctional Facility. A Search Warrant was obtained and Ortiz was transported to Bassett Hospital to verify and facilitate the medical removal of tobacco concealed in a body cavity, Ortiz taken to Town of Kortright Court for arraignment and was released on his own recognizance, to appear in the Town of Delhi Court on a later date to answer the charge. Ortiz remains incarcerated on the unrelated federal charge.

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Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 39 year old Martin Planty of Walton for violating the terms of an Order of Protection. Planty is accused of electronically contacted the protected party on an Order of Protection twice, while incarcerated in the Delaware County Correctional Facility, he was charged with 2 counts of Criminal Contempt & he was issued an appearance ticket returnable to the Town of Walton Court on a later date. He remains incarcerated at the Delaware County Correctional Facility on an unrelated charge.

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A.M. NEWS THURSDAY 3-17-22

US. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who is the chair of the Subcommittee on Personnel, conducted a hearing Wednesday on the negative health effects of burn pits on military veterans. Gillibrand said Wednesday that if they served, they should be covered & treated:

(Gillibrand 3-17-22)

Senator Gillibrand’s “Presumptive Benefits for War Fighters Exposed to Burn Pits and Other Toxins Act” passed in the House of Representatives two weeks ago as part of the Honoring our PACT Act, she is working to get it passed in the Senate.

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State and local law enforcement agencies across New York will be stepping up patrols and targeting impaired driving before, during and after St. Patrick’s Day. The enforcement campaign will run through Sunday, During the 2021 campaign, law enforcement throughout the state issued 47,349 tickets for vehicle and traffic law violations, including 1,403 arrests for DWI.

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Delaware County Sheriff’s deputies arrrested 69-year-old Harvey Sandig of Stamford for driving with a suspended license. On March 10th, Deputies observed a vehicle traveling on State Highway 23 in the Town of Kortright, at a high rate of speed. Sandig was stopped, the investigation revealed that his driving privileges were suspended for failure to answer a previous summons & there was an active warrant for Sandig’s arrest issued by the Village of Sidney Court for failure to appear. Sandig was charged with Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle an d speeding, he was issued Tickets returnable to the Town of Kortright Court, he was turned over to Village of Sidney Police Department for the Arrest Warrant.

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Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the opening of the web-based application portal for hemp farmers seeking to obtain a conditional license to grow cannabis in the 2022 growing season. The license was made possible by a law the Governor signed last month. The portal was opened this week by the New York State Office of Cannabis Management, it allows hemp farmers to apply at businessexpress.ny.gov.

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HELIOS CARE of Oneonta will have a new program,”The Art of Bereavement” in which grieving individuals will using art to explore grief and loss. The 5 part series will be run by 2 facilitators, one of them is Jessica Weeden , who told WCDO News about the program:

(Jessica Weeden 3-17-22)

The Art of Bereavement sessions run from 10:30 am until 12:00 pm, The event is free, and registration is required by calling (607) 432-5525 by March 25th.

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