Week in Review: Top 10 Cortland stories | Nov. 20 - Nov. 26

These are the top local stories of the past week.

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1 – Suspect wanted in robbery of First National Bank of Dryden

Police looking for suspect in Cortlandville bank robbery – The Cortland County Sheriff's Office is investigating a bank robbery that occurred in Cortlandville Saturday morning. At around 10:30 a.m. Saturday, multiple law enforcement agencies responded to a reported robbery at the First National Bank of Dryden, located on Route 13 in Cortlandville. A suspect entered the bank, demanded money and left with an undisclosed amount of money, according to the Cortland County Sheriff's Office.

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Surveillance footage from the First National Bank of Dryden, in Cortlandville, shows a man wearing a bandana taking money from the clerk (Photo: Cortland County Sheriff's Office)

2 – Epic snowstorm makes its mark

Cortland snowstorm lasted 51 straight hours; 19 inches of snow measured – Pounding snow and gusty winds tore through central New York Monday, dropping more than four feet of snow in some parts of New York State. In that 13-hour window, consistent snowfall combined with gusty winds created hazardous driving conditions on county roads, causing dozens of reported accidents in Cortland County, including a crash on Interstate 81 involving a commercial bus full of high school students commuting from the Rochester area.

Cold Brook Road, Homer, NY (Photo: Melissa Miceli)

Cold Brook Road, Homer, NY (Photo: Melissa Miceli)

3 – ABC News reporter goes live from Cortland

A snowy Cortland featured on ABC World News Tonight — The central New York winter storm caught the attention of ABC News, who sent reporter Gio Benitez to Cortland to report live for Monday's broadcast of ABC World News Tonight.

ABC's Gio Benitez reports live from Main Street in Cortland Monday night (Photo: ABC World News Tonight)

ABC's Gio Benitez reports live from Main Street in Cortland Monday night (Photo: ABC World News Tonight)

4 – Bus transporting high school students rolls over on I-81

Community rallies to help students after bus crash in Marathon — When a bus full of high school students from the Rochester area crashed on Interstate 81 in Marathon Monday morning, a Cortland County town of about 2,000 people was ready to help.

A school bus overturned on Interstate 81 in Marathon Monday morning, causing minor injuries to 10 students. (Photo: Marathon Area Volunteer Ambulance Corps)

A school bus overturned on Interstate 81 in Marathon Monday morning, causing minor injuries to 10 students. (Photo: Marathon Area Volunteer Ambulance Corps)

5 – Family Counseling Services launches same-day access for chemical dependency treatment

Beginning Monday, November 21, 2016, Family Counseling Services (FCS) is offering Same Day Access for individuals seeking chemical dependency treatment. “Our team is really excited to be able to offer this service to our community,” said Amanda Stout, Program Director for Chemical Dependency Services at Family Counseling Services. “Our hope is to be able to start the treatment process for individuals in the moment that they are ready to make positive change.  This is usually a process that presents as scary for people, change can be scary,” said Stout. Previously, clients had to schedule an evaluation appointment which typically required them to return on a different day. Same Day Access resolves that issue.

family counseling services

6 – Man sentenced on drug-related charges

Homer man will serve prison time for making meth — A village of Homer man will spend 1 and 1/2 to 3 years in prison nearly a year after he was arrested on drug-related charges in Cortland County.

The Cortland County Courthouse (Cortland Voice file photo)

The Cortland County Courthouse (Cortland Voice file photo)

7 – Greek Peak excited for winter

Greek Peak is making snow, plans Friday opening — Greek Peak Mountain Resort began snowmaking operations Sunday night, ushering in the beginning of the 2016-17 winter ski and snowboarding season. Greek Peak plans to open its slopes to the public on Friday, Nov. 25, otherwise known as "White Friday."

Greek Peak Mountain Resort (Photo courtesy of Greek Peak)

Greek Peak Mountain Resort (Photo courtesy of Greek Peak)

8 – SUNY Cortland professor’s AIDS Day film event honors activist brother

When Henry Nicols in 1991 became the first American high school student to intentionally announce that he lived with AIDS, the aspiring Eagle Scout immediately gained international attention. Nicols, then 17, quickly became a nationally respected activist whose efforts inspired untold numbers of lives. None of those lives, however, was as permanently transformed as that of his older sister, SUNY Cortland associate health professor Jena Nicols Curtis. At her urging, SUNY Cortland will screen the film “Eagle Scout: The Story of Henry Nicols,” on Thursday, Dec. 1, in Old Main Brown Auditorium, from 7 to 8 p.m.

Henry Nicols

Henry Nicols

9 – Man charged with DWI after vehicle breaks down in Cortlandville

A Lafayette man was arrested Saturday after he was found to be driving while intoxicated when his car broke down on Route 13, the Cortland County Sheriff's Office said. On Saturday, sheriff's deputies located a vehicle traveling south on Route 13 in Cortlandville that had heavy smoke coming from the front hood of the car. When officers attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver left his designated lane and traveled into the one-way portion of the northbound lane of Route 13. He then made an illegal left-hand turn, crossing back into the southbound lane.

cortland county sheriff car

10 – VIDEO: Car catches on fire in Cortland

Cortland firefighters were able to quickly extinguish a vehicle fire on Church Street in the city of Cortland Wednesday morning.

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