Delaware County Sheriff’s Deputies responded Wednesday to an accident on State Highway 28 in the Town of Middletown. 46 year old Luke Dougherty of Bovina hit an icy patch on the roadway and lost control of his vehicle, crossed into the southbound lane and struck an on-coming Delaware County Public Health vehicle driven by 50 year old Melissa Thomas of Masonville. The Dougherty vehicle then continued off the roadway where it struck and damaged an unoccupied, parked vehicle and other equipment parked in a driveway. Dougherty and Thomas were transported to O’Connor Hospital in Delhi; Dougherty was ticketed for failure to keep right and will appear in the Town of Middletown Court at a later date.

The New York State Appellate Court denied the appeal of John Guzy of Bainbridge, for the road rage murder of 26 year old Derek Prindle of Afton, in a 2014 road rage incident on State Route 7 between Sidney & Bainbridge. Guzy was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison, which has been upheld by Thursday’s court decision.

Governor Cuomo today announced that temporary lane closures for road and bridge construction projects on New York State highways will be suspended during peak holiday travel times over the next two weekends. All road construction work behind temporary lane closures stopped earlier this morning & will remain in effect until 6:00 AM Wednesday Morning. Construction will also be suspended from 6:00 AM Saturday, December 29th through 6:00 AM Wednesday, January 2nd. Some work may continue behind concrete barriers or for emergency repairs.

State DOT Officials announced the completion of the project to pave and repair a portion of State Route 10 in the town of Walton. The 1-mile project which stretched from a parking area outside the village of Walton and proceeds east, Construction addressed a 2,000-foot-long curve by increasing the road elevation on the outside of the curve, which reduces the chance of vehicles drifting over the center line and causing crashes & the slope near the parking area was flattened, creating better sight distance for cars pulling out of the lot.

State Senator Fred Akshar released the results of a recent online survey posted gauging constituents on legislation that would require anyone applying for or renewing a pistol permit license to consent to having their social media accounts and search engine history of the past 1-3 years reviewed and investigated by police as part of the mandatory background check. Within the 52nd Senate District, 79% of respondents opposed the proposal, 21% supported it; Outside of the 52nd Senate District, New York respondents opposed the measure 97% to 3%. Akshar plans on introducing or cosponsoring several bills to help address gun violence and mental health issues that are connected to the recent mass shooting tragedies.

State Senator Jim Seward announced that he has been appointed by State Senate Republican Leader John Flanagan to serve as the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee. The Senate Finance Committee is the second most influential panel in the senate – tasked with conducting public hearings on the governor’s budget proposal and guiding development of the final plan. In addition, the finance committee is responsible for reviewing nominations sent by the governor for appointments, and moving the nominations to the full senate.

State Police & Local Law Enforcement Agencies are participating in the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign again this year, during the Christmas & New Year’s Holiday season. Checkpoints will be established all over the state, last year, police issued over 40,000 tickets from DWI, Speeding, Distracted driving & failing to obey the “Move Over Law”, among other infractions

The 27th Annual Sidney Alumni Basketball Association “Alumni Night’ will be held tonight at the Sidney High School gym. Proceeds to the event go to fund the Association’s Scholarship each June for a graduating Sidney basketball player. Older players are invited to play in the 6:00 pm opener, the “young guns” game will follow at about 7:15. More information is available at 643-5728, or at the Sidney Alumni Basketball Facebook page.