In an effort to prevent highway tragedies during the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend, State Police will beef up patrols beginning tomorrow. Troop “C” commanding officer Major Kevin Molinari explains:

(Major Molinari)

The State Police will set up sobriety checkpoints and DWI roving patrols, as well as an “Operation Hang-up” initiative, to apprehend drivers talking on the phone or texting. Last year, During the Thanksgiving Holiday period, troopers issued 4,353 speeding tickets and arrested 277 drivers for DWI.

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Governor Andrew Cuomo stated today that a health study of shale gas drilling would make it impossible to meet this month’s deadline for new regulations on Hydraulic fracturing. The governor said that the decision on the issue would likely be pushed back into 2013. The DEC has been charged with an environmental impact study and has been drafting new regulations for 4 years, stopping drilling since 2008. The deadline for finalizing regulations was scheduled to be November 29th.

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Amphenol in Sidney announced a $900,000 settlement has been reached to a groupd that claimed to have been affected by chemicals used to clean electronics. Almost 200 plaintiffs will be splitting a major portion of the settlement, with about $200,000 set aside for possible future claims. The settlemnjt followed a 1984 incident where the company discovered soil contamination around its chemical storage facility had spread to nearby properties, affecting air and groundwater at those homes.

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Following the release of the first official report on the implementation of the National Mortgage Settlement today, state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman indicated that he was encouraged by progress on behalf of homeowners. The report showed that over $625 million in consumer relief has been delivered to New York homeowners since March of this year. To date, 7,223 New York homeowners have received assistance as a result of the settlement, with each borrower receiving an average of $86,600 in the form of principal write-downs and other financial relief.

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18 southern tier nonprofit organizations received grants totaling $117,200 from the Community Foundation for South Central New York in their Fall Community Fund and Women’s Fund competitive grant cycles. The grants were awarded to local organizations such as the New York State Historical Association, Opportunities for Otsego, the Roberson Museum & Science Center, Planned Parenthood of South Central New York, & Mom’s House of Johnson City, among others. The competitive proposals were reviewed and recommended by panels of community volunteers. More information about the Foundation can be found on its website at donorswhocare.org.

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Delaware County Sheriff Deputy’s arrested Mitchell Wright of Walton on One Count of Trespassing. Wright was issued an appearance ticket and is scheduled to appear in the Town of Walton Court on December 12th to answer the charge.
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The Delaware County Sheriffs Department arrested Zoe Larson of Stamford on charge of 2nd degree Aggravated Harassment. Larson was released to appear on November 26th in the Town of Harpersfield Court to answer to the charges.

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