A.M. NEWS FRIDAY 1-2-26
Otsego County Sheriff’s office arrested 58 year old David Hand of Morris for 2nd degree Murder, Criminal Use of a Firearm, Tampering with Physical Evidence & Concealing a Corpse, for the murder of 71 year old Lynn Barton of Morris. On November 8th, the Sheriff’s Office was contacted by Barton’s family, they had not had contact with Barton for more than 2 days. Deputies checked the residence, Barton was not present, the Investigation led to County Route 49 to interview Hand, who was the last known person to have contact with Mr. Barton, he directed deputies to an area behind a vacant building where Barton was deceased, his body was removed for an autopsy, the manner of death was a gunshot wound to the head. Hand was arraigned & was remanded to the Otsego County Jail.
—————————————————–
State Police arrested 64 year old Joseph Wyble of Harpersfield after an urgent rescue of animals in Delaware County. Wyble was charged with 12 counts of Overdriving, torturing and injuring animals; & failure to provide proper sustenance, The arrest stems from an investigation in partnership with the Susquehanna SPCA. One pig, three geese, five cats, three chickens and 8 domestic cats were removed from the residence on Odell Lake Road in Harpersfield. Wyble was issued appearance tickets and is scheduled to appear in the Harpersfield Town Court on January 26, 2026.
—————————————————
Chenango County Sheriff’s Office arrested 36 year old Michelle Bremner of Bainbridge for an active bench warrant from the Village of Sherburne Court. Deputies discovered that Bremner was wanted on warrants from the Town of Norwich Court through the State Police, she was arraigned & was released, she was then taken into custody on another warrant out of Delaware County and custody was transferred to State Police.
——————————————————
A new state law now in effect is the “Click-to-Cancel” Subscription Rights law, These laws target the “subscription trap” by requiring businesses to make it as easy to leave a service as it was to join, the Companies must provide a precise, simple “click-to-cancel” mechanism for any online subscription, they will also be required to provide advanced notice of upcoming automatic renewals and clearly state any price changes before they take effect, preventing surprise charges on monthly statements.
===============================
Governor Kathy Hochul has signed legislation that prohibits fully cashless businesses in New York State. The bill explicitly rules out retail and food service businesses from going completely cashless, as many places around the country have done. Businesses that violate the new law will face fines designed to fight back against establishments that don’t allow customers to choose their method of payment.
—————————————————-
New York’s paid leave policies expand further this year, with a specific focus on maternal health takes full effect this January. Employees in New York are now entitled to an additional 20 hours of paid sick leave specifically for prenatal care, such as doctors’ appointments and ultrasounds, it is separate from the state’s existing paid family leave and general sick leave, ensuring that expecting parents don’t have to exhaust their standard time off for routine pregnancy-related medical care.
===============================
The Susquehanna String Band will perform at the Bainbridge Town Hall Theater tonight, Phil Wade of the Jericho Arts Council explains:
(Phil Wade 1-2-25)
Phone reservations can be obtained by calling 288-3882, In the Gallery will be the works of Kathy Smith.
======================================