These are the top local stories of the past week.
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1 – Virgil man pleads guilty in death of daughter in drunk driving crash
Haynes pleads guilty to vehicular homicide — About a dozen friends and family members of Daniel A. Haynes III sat in the courtroom of the Cortland County Courthouse Friday to witness the Virgil man's guilty plea in the death of his 6-year-old daughter in a drunk-driving crash last year. Haynes, 30, pleaded guilty Friday to a class B felony charge of aggravated vehicular homicide. He had faced up to 31 counts in an indictment that charged him with second-degree murder and vehicular manslaughter, among numerous other counts.
Daniel Haynes (Photo: New York State Police)
2 – Cortland-area Republican congressman declares support for Hillary Clinton
Rep. Hanna says Trump unfit to lead, will cast vote for Clinton — Earlier this week, Rep. Richard Hanna became the first Republican congressman to publicly declare support for Hillary Clinton in the upcoming presidential election. In an op-ed for Syracuse.com published Tuesday morning, the representative for New York's 22nd congressional district said he found Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump "profoundly offensive and narcissistic ... a world-class panderer, anything but a leader."
Rep. Richard Hanna (photo provided)
3 – Cheech and Chong do Cortland?
Police seize 130 marijuana plants in Cortland County — A sweep of several suspected marijuana grow sites in Cortland County netted local authorities 130 marijuana plants this week, according to a Friday news release from the sheriff's office. On Wednesday, police combed five different areas of the county — including at least one land parcel in the town of Homer — to locate marijuana grow sites that had previously been reported to local police agencies.
The Cortland County Sheriff's Office and Homer Police Department securing marijuana plants at an undisclosed location in the town of Homer.
4 – Free pizza! Cortland Fire Department serves food to community
Cortland firefighters serve free pizza after church fire displaces Loaves & Fishes program — The Cortland Professional Firefighters Union provided free lunch to local residents Monday after a church fire forced Cortland Loaves & Fishes to relocate its services. The fire at Grace Episcopal Church at 13 Court Street — a building located next door to the Cortland Fire Department's headquarters — caused extensive smoke damage to the building, forcing many programs that are normally held at the church to relocate until further notice, including Cortland Loaves & Fishes. Given the fire's impact on the program, the Cortland Professional Firefighters Union decided to donate free pizza to residents who would normally attend Monday's lunch at Cortland Loaves & Fishes, according to city deputy fire chief Wayne Friedman.
Local residents enjoy pizza courtesy of the Cortland Fire Department. The fire department offered to donate the food after a fire forced Cortland Loaves & Fishes to relocate its services (Photo courtesy of Cortland Loaves & Fishes Facebook page).
5 – Local police arrest New York City resident following drug investigation
Brooklyn man wanted on robbery charge arrested in Cortland — A New York City man who local police knew only by a street name was apprehended in the city of Cortland, the Cortland County Sheriff's Office announced Tuesday. Mikquan Legall, 31, was found at the Holiday Inn Express in Cortland following a three-month investigation by the sheriff's office. Deputies first attempted to apprehend Legall on May 20 after receiving a tip that narcotics were being sold out of an apartment on Charles Street in Cortland. After serving a search warrant, police found crack cocaine, drug paraphernalia and a loaded handgun at the residence.
Mikquan Legall (Photo: Cortland County Sheriff's Office)
6 – A good cause: Police hold fundraiser for Special Olympics
Cortland police raise money for Special Olympics — Members of the Cortland Police Department and recruits from the Cortland Junior Police Academy helped raise money for the New York Special Olympics on Friday. Police and young recruits could be seen standing on the roofs of Dunkin' Donuts locations in Cortland, Homer and Polkville as part of the Cops on Top fundraiser to benefit the Special Olympics.
Members of the Cortland Police Department and the Cortland Junior Police Academy at Dunkin' Donuts on Clinton Avenue (photo provided)
7 – Woman who wrote checks to herself from Cortland business pleads guilty
Cortland woman pleads guilty to stealing from employer — A Cortland woman pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony grand larceny charge in response to accusations that she stole from her employer over a nearly four-year period. Esther Bidwell, 57, of Sherman Road, pleaded guilty Thursday to fourth-degree grand larceny, a class E felony, according to an official in the Cortland County Court Clerk's office.
8 – County signs on to national reading campaign
Cortland County joins nationwide campaign for grade-level reading —Cortland County is taking a step toward improving student success by joining the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading (GLR), a nationwide movement to increase early reading proficiency.
The Cortland County Office Building (file photo)
9 – Traffic stop on I-81 leads to arrest
California pair faces felony drug charges in Cortlandville — Troopers found a large quantity of drugs and an illegal stun gun after searching a vehicle during a traffic stop on I-81 in Cortland County Saturday, according to state police. The driver, identified as Miguel A. Leon Payan, 19, of Colton, Calif, was charged with felony criminal possession of a controlled substance, two drug-related misdemeanors and several traffic violations. Police also arrested his passenger, Jose F. Melcher, Jr., 18, of Hunting Park, Calif. on felony and misdemeanor drug charges and criminal possession of a weapon.
Miguel A. Leon Payann and Jose F. Melcher, Jr. (Photo: New York State Police)
10 – Six-month jail term for man who made meth
Scott man gets six-month jail sentence for producing meth —A Cortland County man was sentenced to six months in county jail for manufacturing methamphetamine at a home in the town of Scott earlier this year. Larry W. Gantt, Jr. was sentenced in Cortland County Court Tuesday to a six-month jail sentence followed by five years of probation, according to an official in the court clerk's office.
Larry W. Gantt, Jr.
