Closing arguments ended this morning & the Jury received their orders this afternoon, as the trial of Ramadan Abdullah draws to a conclusion in Broome County Court. Abdullah was originally charged in June & was indicted on 15 counts of Criminal possession of a weapon among other charges, for having a stockpile of weapons stored in various locations around Broome County.
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The State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services announced the availability of funding to establish or expand services for youth and young adults in recovery from addiction. Up to 15 projects will be awarded up to $12,000 each. This funding is part of the $25.2 million federal State Targeted Response Grant that New York State received in early 2017. More information is available at FindAddictionTreatment.ny.gov.
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The Oxford and McDonough Communities are invited to the 33rd annual Free Thanksgiving Dinner, served from 12:00 noon to 1:00 PM on Thursday, November 23 at St. Joseph’s Church. Volunteers are needed to assist in serving and in the kitchen; more information is available at 843-6249. Free will donations will be accepted at the NBT Bank in Oxford.
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Several state lawmakers have written to Governor Cuomo and the state’s top corrections official to urge them to end solitary confinement of prisoners. More than 40 members of the Senate and Assembly claimed that the practice of isolating inmates for long periods of time amounts to torture, Cuomo’s administration insists it has taken significant steps to end traditional solitary confinement with new rules and standards for when a person may be placed in isolation.
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The 2017 regular deer and bear hunting seasons in New York’s Southern Zone begin at sunrise this Saturday through Sunday, December 10th. The Southern Zone regular season is New York’s most popular hunting season; approximately 85 percent of New York’s 575,000 licensed hunters participate. in the Southern Zone, late bow hunting and muzzle loading seasons will run from December 11th through December 19th this year. Hunters should refer to the 2017-2018 Hunting and Trapping Regulations Guide at dec.ny.gov.
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Congressman John Faso of the 19th Congressional district announced a live meeting on the current tax reform proposal tomorrow evening at 6:55pm. Those who would like to participate can sign up by faso.house.gov.signs up will continue until 3:00 pm Tuesday

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Governor Cuomo signed 5 bills Saturday on Veteran’s day, to support the Veterans living in New York:

(Cuomo 11-13-17)

There are 770,000 veterans in New York State, 28 of the 29 states with medical marijuana programs will now allow patients with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to qualify. Other bills signed Saturday include Providing combat veterans employed by the State with additional days of paid leave to obtain health services, counseling and access to other benefits & Waiving the civil service examination fee for veterans who were honorably discharged;
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Binghamton Police arrested a 66-year-old Ronald Cook of Utica at the Little Venice Restaurant in Binghamton Saturday afternoon. Cook is a Level 3 sex offender who removed his GPS ankle bracelet and didn’t report to his parole officer Wednesday, sparking a state wide manhunt.  Cook was convicted of raping a 24-year-old woman in Binghamton in 1990; he was also convicted in 1988 of first-degree sexual abuse and impersonating a police officer.