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Republicans reel as Alabama senate hopeful faces allegations by four women

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ATLANTA — Republicans in Washington seemed near panic Thursday in the light of a news report in which four women said Roy S. Moore, the Republican nominee for a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama and an evangelical Christian, had made sexual or romantic overtures to them when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the Senate majority leader, said Moore should step aside before the Dec. 12 special election if the allegations were true. But in Alabama, the fallout was uncertain for a candidate who is considered a hero in some circles for his conservative cultural stances.

Moore, a former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, was twice removed from that office for his positions on same-sex marriage and a Ten Commandments display. On Thursday, he denied the allegations the women made about him in on-the-record interviews included in the report, published by The Washington Post.

And it was clear that many in his conservative base were in no mood to desert him in a race for a Senate seat Republicans consider crucial to maintaining their majority in the upper chamber.

John Skipper, 66, a former chairman of the Mobile County Republican Party, declared the allegations “total contrived media garbage.” Skipper said that he would still support the candidate and that he figured most of the Alabama Republicans he knew would probably do the same.

“Most of them will not be shocked,” he said, “and will rather be expecting these shenanigans being pulled by the Democrats as standard operating procedure.”

Whether Skipper’s prediction proves true remains to be seen. But the report unquestionably introduced new waves of uncertainty and turmoil into a race for the Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions, the attorney general.

The women cited in The Washington Post article said Moore had pursued them in the 1970s and 1980s when he was a lawyer in his early 30s.

Moore was defiant, denying the charges and attacking the news media.

“These allegations are completely false and are a desperate political attack by the National Democrat Party and The Washington Post on this campaign,” he said in a statement. He later attributed the news to “The Obama-Clinton Machine’s liberal media lap dogs.”

Brett Doster, an adviser to Moore, said the candidate would “absolutely not” drop out of the race, calling the charges “a fabricated November surprise.”

Others in Alabama shrugged at the allegations.

“There’s nothing to see here,” said Jim Zeigler, the state auditor and a longtime supporter of Moore. “Single man, early 30s, never been married, dating teenage girls. Never been married and he liked younger girls. According to The Washington Post account he never had sexual intercourse with any of them.”

But Moore’s candidacy appears to be in grave danger. Senate Republicans moved en masse to distance themselves from their nominee almost as soon as the news article was posted.

A statement from Vice President Mike Pence said: “The Vice President found the allegations in the story disturbing and believes, if true, this would disqualify anyone from serving in office.”

That statement was repeated by numerous Republicans, including the president who was traveling in Asia.

“Like most Americans the president believes we cannot allow a mere allegation, in this case one from many years ago, to destroy a person’s life,” Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said in statement from Danang, Vietnam, where the president is attending an economic summit meeting. “However, the president also believes that if these allegations are true, Judge Moore will do the right thing and step aside.”

“If these allegations are true, his candidacy is not sustainable,” said Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the second-ranking Republican. Cornyn said he wanted to know more before withdrawing his endorsement of Moore.

The party, already reeling from the election losses they suffered Tuesday, is defending a two-seat majority in the Senate and faces a handful of difficult elections next year.

Moore’s candidacy had already worried party leaders who had embraced Moore despite his long record of incendiary comments about gays, Muslims and African-Americans.

Alabama election law indicates, with little ambiguity, that the deadline has passed for candidates to be replaced on the ballot. The state election code says a candidate who wishes to withdraw from a race must do so 76 days before Election Day. The Alabama vote is in little more than a month.

“It’s too late to substitute a candidate,” said John Merrill, the Alabama secretary of state, a Republican. “Judge Moore will be the candidate on the ballot with this election cycle remaining on the schedule it’s currently on.”

Republican lawyers and strategists in Washington were engaged in a furious search Thursday for creative ways around that restriction, seeking a loophole that would allow the party’s leadership in the state to anoint a new candidate. The prospect of a write-in candidacy, for a third candidate, was also under consideration, according to party aides.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who ran her own successful write-in campaign in 2010, said: “If in fact what I just read is true, he needs to get out of this race immediately. I think it’s pretty clear cut.”

She called for Sen. Luther Strange, who was appointed to fill Sessions’ seat but lost to Moore in a bitterly contested Republican runoff in September, to run as a write-in.

One of the women, Leigh Corfman, told The Washington Post that she was 14 when Moore, 32 at the time, drove her to his home in Gadsden. He took off her shirt and touched her bra and underwear while also guiding her hand over his pants, Corfman told The Post.

“I wanted it over with — I wanted out,” she told the newspaper.

CNN reported that it had spoken with Corfman’s stepfather, who said the family “stands by” what was reported in The Post.

Republican leaders are in a politically perilous situation, saddled with an embattled nominee unwilling to step aside in one of the country’s most conservative states. The charges reignited hostilities between McConnell’s political allies, who poured millions of dollars into the campaign to stop Moore, and President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist Stephen Bannon, who rallied support for the former justice.

“This is what happens when you let reckless, incompetent idiots like Steve Bannon go out and recruit candidates who have absolutely no business running for the U.S. Senate,” said Josh Holmes, a former McConnell aide.

Bannon did not immediately reply to text messages or phone calls, but Breitbart posted an article with Moore’s statement shortly before The Post published its report.

Steven Law, the head of a McConnell-aligned super PAC that led an onslaught against Moore in the Republican runoff, did not wait for a guilty verdict before he excoriated Breitbart for “defending ‘consensual’ sex between a 32-year-old and a 16-year-old.”

Private polling by both parties has shown that while Moore retains a passionate following among conservatives, he is a divisive figure among more moderate Republicans — and some party officials now worry that the charges will persuade moderates to stay home or vote for the Democratic candidate, Doug Jones, a former U.S. attorney.

The Jones campaign said in a statement that “Roy Moore needs to answer these serious charges.”

Cleveland Poole, the chairman of the Republican Party in rural Butler County, said those most likely to defect were not ardent Moore supporters but voters who already have doubts. “They are going to be put off by it and might well stay home,” he said.

In a statement, Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, called the allegations “deeply disturbing,” and said she would withhold judgment until “we know the facts.” Sen. Richard Shelby, the dean of the state’s congressional delegation, told reporters in Washington that if the charges were accurate “he wouldn’t belong in the Senate.”

Doster, the adviser to Moore, said the candidate’s campaign chairman, Bill Armistead, had talked to members of Alabama’s congressional delegation after the news broke. “Everybody has been supportive,” Doster said.

But a Republican familiar with the conversation said the House members on the call had told Armistead it was imperative that they respond aggressively to the report or risk losing support from the party’s elected officials.

Randy Brinson, president of the Christian Coalition of Alabama, said he expected voters would mostly give Moore the benefit of the doubt.

“Until I see something different, I would support Roy Moore because of what he says he’s going to do and who he is as a person,” Brinson said.

Zeigler said the account given by Corfman was “the only part that is concerning.” As Zeigler described it: “He went a little too far and he stopped.”

Had the girl been 16 at the time and not 14, he added, “it would have been perfectly acceptable.”

For Democrats, the prospect of a wounded Moore was a gift.

“This is revolting and the Republican Party and everybody’s who endorsed Roy Moore needs to disavow his candidacy right now and ask him to withdraw,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, who leads the Senate Democratic campaign arm.

Until recently, few Democratic officials believed that Jones could topple Moore in a state that has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1992, and Democrats have debated fiercely whether to commit resources to the race. Now many think they have a chance to shrink the Republican majority to a single seat and potentially snatch the majority next year.


John Hillerman, who played snooty sidekick on ‘Magnum, P.I.,’ dies at 84

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John Hillerman, a Texas-born actor who played the likably snobbish British caretaker on the television show “Magnum, P.I.” and held supporting roles in iconic 1970s movies like “Chinatown” and “Blazing Saddles,” died Thursday at his home in Houston. He was 84.

His publicist, Lori De Waal, said he had died of natural causes.

After 30 years of acting, on Broadway and in Hollywood, Hillerman landed a career-defining role in 1980 as Jonathan Quayle Higgins III, the stuffy perfectionist and foil to the free-spirited detective Thomas Magnum in “Magnum, P.I.” Higgins was grouchy with a sarcastic wit, not unlike Hillerman’s portrayal of a detective in the mid-1970s show “Ellery Queen.”

“Magnum, P.I.” became a runaway success for eight years for CBS and made Tom Selleck, who played Magnum, a mainstay in tabloids, solidifying his Hollywood career. But Hillerman relished the supporting role and found it equally rewarding.

“It isn’t so long ago that I was a struggling actor living in New York, and the only thing I could overlook was my rent,” Hillerman said in a 1985 interview, sipping a glass of wine on his penthouse balcony in Honolulu.

The portrayal of Higgins won him an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama, a Golden Globe Award and many fans in England, who adored the haughty major-domo of a beachfront property where Magnum lived. Hillerman said he felt terrible when he responded to their fan mail and had to let them down.

“I hate to disappoint you, but I’m a hick from Texas,” he said he replied.

John Benedict Hillerman was born in Denison, Texas, about 60 miles north of Dallas, on Dec. 20, 1932, to Christopher Benedict Hillerman and Lenora Joan Hillerman. He was the middle child with two sisters, and he displayed independence at a young age. He is survived by one sister, Jo Ann Tritico, as well as nieces and nephews.

By 12, Hillerman was driving by himself and within a few years, traveling to Dallas and staying alone in hotels to see the opera. But he did not immediately see himself on stage. It was not until he was based in Fort Worth for the Air Force that he decided to audition for a community theater production of “Death of a Salesman.”

“When I stepped on stage, I experienced the greatest high I’ve ever had in my life,” he recounted in a 1987 interview. “And I said to myself, ‘Hillerman, until this moment, you have been bored.’”

Before he left the Air Force, he had worked in nearly two dozen plays. He had found his passion and moved to the East Coast. During 11 years in New York and then four in Washington, Hillerman appeared in more than 100 roles on stage. But after all those years, he had only $700 in the bank and decided to move to Los Angeles to find better paying work.

He instantly landed a role in a TV movie but struggled for two years after that to find something else. He eventually reconnected with a friend from New York, director Peter Bogdanovich, who cast Hillerman in some of his films, including “The Last Picture Show” in 1971 and “Paper Moon” in 1973.

Through the late 1970s, Hillerman appeared in several sitcoms. He played Simon Brewer, the radio sleuth in “Ellery Queen,” and John Elliot, the sarcastic ex-husband of Betty White in “The Betty White Show.” He also played the role of Mr. Connors, the boss of Ann Romano (played by Bonnie Franklin) on “One Day at a Time.’’

But the role that changed his life came several years later. CBS had cast Selleck in “Magnum, P.I.” but were not impressed with the English actors who tried out for Higgins. As Hillerman recounted in 1984, Selleck’s agent recommended him and he was offered the role two hours after the audition.

“It’s the best gig I’ve ever had,” he said that year. “You’re looking at this rare thing: a happy actor.”

Military jury convicts Marine drill instructor who targeted Muslims

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CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - A military jury on Thursday convicted a former Marine Corps drill instructor of subjecting Muslim recruits to verbal and physical abuse.

After a seven-day trial and 12 hours of deliberation, the eight-member jury found Gunnery Sgt. Joseph Felix, 34, guilty of maltreatment in connection with allegations he targeted three Muslim men at the Marine Corps’ storied recruit training facility in Parris Island, South Carolina.

One of those recruits, Raheel Siddiqui, died when he fell 40 feet onto a concrete stairwell. Prosecutors said Felix forced Siddiqui to run back and forth in the recruits’ squad bay, slapping him in the face just before he sprinted from the room and jumped to his death. Two other Muslim recruits accused him of putting them in an industrial clothes dryer and, in one instance, turning it on.

In all, Felix was convicted of three counts of maltreatment, eight of nine counts of violating general orders, drunk and disorderly conduct, and making false statements. He was acquitted of obstruction of justice.

Sentencing is scheduled for Friday. If Felix receives more than a year in prison or is given an other-than-honorable discharge from the military, his conviction will be automatically appealed.

The jury’s verdict marks the culmination of two years of investigations and courts-martial centered on recruit abuse at Parris Island dating to 2015.

Felix, said Lt. Col. John Norman, the prosecutor, “picked out Muslim recruits for special abuse because of their Muslim faith. He degraded their religion and put them in industrial appliances.”

Felix is a married father of four. He has served in the Marines since 2002.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service has investigated 20 Marine drill instructors, officers and staff members amid allegations of hazing, assault and discriminating against Muslim recruits dating to 2015. Thirteen Marines already have faced some form of discipline. Now, only two await their fate: Felix’s fellow drill instructor Sgt. Michael Eldridge and their former supervisor, Lt. Col. Joshua Kissoon.

Felix was “drunk on power, and sometimes Fireball whiskey,” Norman told the jury during his closing statements. “He wasn’t making Marines - he was breaking Marines.”

The first two Muslim recruits targeted by Felix were Ameer Bourmeche and Rekan Hawez. Both testified during his court-martial that Felix and Eldridge put them into an industrial clothes dryer.

Numerous witnesses told the court they heard Felix call the Muslim recruits “terrorist” and “ISIS,” which is another name for the Islamic State. A recruit from Siddiqui’s platoon, Lance Cpl. Shane McDevitt, told the court that Felix called Siddiqui a terrorist at least 10 times.

Felix’s attorney, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Daniel Bridges, said that his client did not know the three recruits were Muslim and that when he slapped Siddiqui, he was trying to give the struggling recruit medical care. Siddiqui complained of respiratory trouble in the moments before his death.

Siddiqui’s family has filed a $100 million wrongful death lawsuit against the Marine Corps and the U.S. government, disputing the Marine Corps’ and a South Carolina medical examiner’s ruling of suicide. Rather, they’ve alleged that Siddiqui was driven to his death by his drill instructors.

Felix’s defense team presented only two witnesses during the trial: a mechanical engineer specializing in clothes dryers and a forensic pathologist. Dozens of witnesses, including other drill instructors who worked with Felix and at least 20 former recruits who trained under him, offered testimony for the prosecution.

A central issue for the jury was determining the point at which a drill instructor’s conduct crosses the line from discipline to abuse. The Marines articulate that boundary in a regulations manual that allows drill instructors to make certain forms of physical contact with recruits but outlaws others, such as punching, kicking and slapping.

Bridges argued that the order often is violated by drill instructors, who are trying to impart toughness and military values any way they can. He cited one recruit who said Felix had knocked his rifle into him while standing at attention, bloodying his ear.

“Let’s be honest, that’s a drill correction,” Bridges said. “If you scare and surprise, maybe they won’t be lazy next time.”

The military prosecutor countered, saying Felix “had that down to a science.”

“He was very good at scaring them,” Norman said.

Another key component of the trial was Eldridge’s testimony. Eldridge, who was a party to some of the abuse, accepted an immunity deal that compelled him to testify against his former colleague. He will plead no contest and spend 60 days in a military jail, Bridges said.

Bridges argued that Eldridge was responsible for putting one recruit in a clothes dryer and turning it on but said he “jumped on that government gravy train” to save himself at Felix’s expense.

“Sergeant Eldridge took the government for a ride, no doubt about that,” Bridges told the member panel, a jury of Marines of equal or superior rank to Felix.

In his rebuttal, Norman explained why the prosecution relied on Eldridge’s testimony.

“It takes criminals to catch criminals,” he said. “The reason Sergeant Eldridge knew so much about what [Felix] did was because he was standing right there with him.”

Amish communities growing in northern New York

Property Sales

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JEFFERSON COUNTY

The following property sales were recorded in Jefferson County clerk’s office Oct. 31, 2017:

Town of Brownville: 6.302 acres, Contessa Lane, Karen Lynn Tichenor, Brownville, sold to Kristin M. Sherburne, Brownville $309,200

City of Watertown: No acreage listed, 627 Burchard St., David A. Heinisch and Lucinda L. Heinisch, West Islip, sold to David W. Mason and Sara R. Navas-Lopez DeMason, Fort Drum $80,000

City of Watertown: No acreage listed, Maple Street, Wells Fargo Bank N.A., Fort Mill, S.C., sold to Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Oklahoma City, Okla. $0

City of Watertown: 22.685 acres, Pearl Street, Jefferson County Industrial Development Agency, Watertown, sold to New York Air Brake Corp., Watertown $0

City of Watertown: No acreage listed, Boon Street, Theodore Glen Kolb II and Andrea Lynn Kolb, Watertown, sold to Mandi Richey, Watertown $105,000

Village of Carthage: Two parcels, 0.439 acres, Thorpe Street, Donald W. Foster and Christina K. Foster, Carthage, sold to Aaron J. Betz and Leilani Lee Betz, Fort Rucker, Ala. $183,000

Town of Lyme: 0.15 acres, 29179 Old Town Springs Road, Patrick Marzano and Tommye H. Marzano, Chaumont, sold to Brett Peryer and Victoria Irene Peryer, Chaumont $0

Town of Lyme: 0.15 acres, 29179 Old Town Springs Road, Brett Peryer and Victoria Irene Peryer, Chaumont, sold to Hilary N. Rust and Jordan K. Jenkins, Chaumont $235,000

Town of Lorraine: 50.5 acres, no address listed, Otilia Van Der Veken, Brooksville, Fla., sold to Douglas M. Morse II and Cassandra L. Morse, Lorraine $100,000

The following property sales were recorded in Jefferson County clerk’s office Nov. 1, 2017:

Village of Clayton: 0.247 acres, Beecher Street, Lori L. Gilliam, Clayton, sold to Timothy R. Berndt, Wolcott $85,000

Town of Lyme: 5.43 acres, Three Mile Point, Edward W. Jones and Martha K. Jones, Chaumont, sold to Edward S. Rosenthal and Pamela C. Rosenthal, Reston, Va. $450,000

Village of Cape Vincent: 0.25 acres, James Street, Joan P. Gosier, Cape Vincent, sold to Brayton A. Hill and Leann M. Hill, Cape Vincent $159,600

Town of Watertown: 0.97 acres, County Route 62 (Cady Road), South of the Border Trading Post Inc., St. Mary’s Ga., sold to Cady Road Property Holding LLC, Toronto, Ont. $0

Town of Clayton: 1.2 acres, County Route 179, Michael Koberger and Julie Koberger, Clayton, sold to Jennifer S. Hubbard, Clayton $128,000

City of Watertown: No acreage listed, 410 S. Meadow St., Vicky J. Walsemann, Carthage, sold to Mark A. Houghtaling and Rita J. Houghtaling, Watertown $30,000

Town of Brownville: 6.85 acres, Private Drive, Richard V. Brady and Betina J. Brady, Pompano Beach, Fla., sold to Bridget A. Ring, Dexter $155,000

Town of Champion: 1 acre, Sayre Road at Cole Road, Carthage Federal Savings & Loan Association, Carthage, sold to Kimberly C. Perrigo, Carthage $43,000

Village of West Carthage: 0.341 acres, Madison Street, Maureen B. Rumble and Richard J. Rumble, Carthage, sold to Matthew J. Nowak, Carthage $121,000

Village of Deferiet: 0.162 acres, Anderson Avenue, Joseph D. Crispin, Deferiet, sold to Zachary Diglio, El Paso, Texas $132,000

Town of Lyme: No acreage listed, Lot No. 5, Guffin Estates, Shelly Walroth, Watertown, sold to Ronald A. Cornell, Watertown $15,000

Town of Lyme: No acreage or address listed, John R. Pluff II, Parish, and Jessica Valenzuela-Pluff, Parish, sold to Ronald A. Cornell, Watertown $13,500

Town of Pamelia: 5.25 acres, state Route 37, Christopher P. Ludwick, Raeford, N.C., sold to Gregg A. Bentz and Betsi L. Bentz, Copenhagen $234,700

Town of Orleans: 5.02 acres, Hax Road, Regal Land LLC, Miami, Fla., sold to Joseph Farless and Faith Farless, LaFargeville $12,000

City of Watertown: 0.19 acres, California Avenue, Debra Streeter, Watertown, sold to Shannon M. Bannis, Watertown $143,000

The following property sales were recorded in Jefferson County clerk’s office Nov. 2, 2017:

Village of Brownville: No acreage listed, 215-217 East Main St., Bank of America N.A., Houston, Texas, sold to Patrick P. Boyle and Virginia A. Boyle, Brownville $12,000

Town of Orleans: 6.052 acres, Ridge Road (County Route 13), Jarrett J. Nuffer, LaFargeville, sold to Louis N. Nuffer and Jill E. Nuffer, LaFargeville $36,446

Town of Hounsfield: 5.14 acres, state Route 3, Dwayne T. Eppley and Marianne Eppley, Sackets Harbor, sold to Anton Leamer, Sackets Harbor $215,000

The following property sales were recorded in Jefferson County clerk’s office Nov. 3, 2017:

City of Watertown: No acreage listed, 716 Academy St., Scott R. Nortz, Clayton, as referee for Michael Treanor, Linda J. Treanor, Tonya Woodworth, David Woodworth and Rodney C. Webster Jr., sold to Deutsche Bank National Trust Company as trustee for Ameriquest Mortgage Securities Inc., West Palm Beach, Fla. $105,677

Town of Pamelia: 0.44 acres, Aspen Street, Pleasant Acres Subdivision, Alexander L. Deardorff and Leah L. Deardorff, Watertown, sold to Caroline M. Brountz, Vinton, Va. $194,500

Town of Pamelia: 1.08 acres, Patterson Road, Charles R. Krewson, Watertown, sold to Gustavo E. Vega and Vilmarie Rivera, Fort Drum $155,000

City of Watertown: No acreage listed, 177 Haley St., Tammy Antonucci, Watertown, sold to Andrew Setiawan and Dewi KC Setiawan, Fort Wainwright, Alaska $159,000

Town of Pamelia: 1.95 acres, Hinds Road, Michael P. Munroe and Bonnie J. Munroe, Cape Vincent, sold to Barbara A. Tharp, Coldwater, Mich. $289,000

Town of Theresa: No acreage listed, 41254 County Route 21 (English Settlement Road), Redwood, Anthony Neddo, Watertown, as referee for John Mundt Sr., sold to Richard B. Caskinette, Redwood $29,958

Village of Henderson: Two parcels, 0.608 acres, road from Henderson to Aspinwall Corners, Nancy Braun, Lakewood, Colo., sold to Robert E. Aliasso Jr. and Yvonne Marie Bronson, Henderson $90,000

Town of Lyme: 1.374 acres, Old Town Springs Road, Darlene M. Wiley, Watertown, as executor of Judith G. Staley estate, sold to John F. Rusho and Judith E. Rusho, Fulton $110,000

City of Watertown: No acreage listed, 820 Boyd St., Patti L. Hutchinson, University Place, Wash., sold to Lee M. Klock and Janet M. Klock, LaFargeville $55,900

The following property sales were recorded in Jefferson County clerk’s office Nov. 6, 2017:

City of Watertown: 0.222 acres, Flower Avenue East, Melissa A. Puccia and John J. Puccia, Watertown, sold to Trevor D. Robinson and Devan M. Robinson, Watertown $140,000

Town of Pamelia: 1.22 acres, Patterson Road, Michael J. Steria, Watertown, sold to William E. Kinne Jr. and Jennifer L. Kinne, Watertown $230,000

Village of Natural Bridge: No total acreage given, 44085 state Route 3, Adam Matteson, Lowville as referee for William A. Hart, sold to Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Nashville, Tenn. $94,900

Town of Lyme: Two parcels, 0.5 acres, 25802 Cottage Way, Three Mile Bay, and 0.23 acres, 25814 Cottage Way, Three Mile Bay, Rebecca Newman and Tracy Newman, Baldwinsville, sold to Matthew Jewett and Jenny Jewett, Fairport $1

Town of Wilna: 3.064 acres, Strickland Road, Scott S. Coon and Toni L. Coon, Carthage, sold to Michael Raymond Clounch, Woodbridge, Va. $243,500

Town of Clayton: 2.25 acres, McRae Point, Grindstone Island, McRea Point LLC, Clayton, sold to Francis Miller and Linda Chen, Media, Pa. $700,000

Town of Clayton: No acreage listed, six islets in the St. Lawrence River, Louise Ford Grant, Clayton, sold to Francis Miller and Linda Chen, Media, Pa. $0

Town of Rutland: 0.5 acres, Route 12, Paul G. Aubin, Copenhagen, and Lori M. Snyder, Copenhagen, sold to Cheryl E. McKinney, Copenhagen $95,000

Town of Pamelia: 6.619 acres, state Route 12 at Wayside Drive, Joseph Crossman and George Walters Jr., Watertown, sold to Mark L. Sachetti, Watertown $20,000

ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY

The following property sales were recorded in the St. Lawrence County clerk’s office June 26, 2017:

Town of Morristown: 0.96 of an acre more or less, bounded by Turnpike Road, Traci Simmons Showers, Brier Hill, sold to Guy Hunter, Ogdensburg $55,000

City of Ogdensburg: Unknown acres, Lot 3, Block 36, bounded by Patterson Street and Jay street, Richard J. Winters and Alexis W. McEathron, Ogdensburg, sold to Helene Sultan-Benzaquen and Elie Benzaquen, Ottawa, Ontario $31,000

Town of Louisville: Parcel 1) 0.40 of an acre more or less, Lot 244, bounded by River Road, Parcel 2) 0.24 of an acre more or less, bounded by River Road, Patrick J. Peets, Massena, sold to Tyler Shaver, Canton $235,000

Town of Hopkinton: 0.16 of an acre more or less, Lot 2, bounded by Young Road, Joan L. Woody, Webster, sold to David and Karen Rodkey, Littlestown, Pa. $6,000

Town of Fine: Unknown acres, Lot 10, bounded by Third Street, Edwin D. Duncan, Syracuse, sold to Brian Leuchtner, Rochester $0

Village of Norwood: 2 Parcels, unknown acres, bounded by Elm Street, Corinne M. Linsky, Norwood, sold to Mikael A. Putney and Melinda S. Sharpe, Chase Mills $128,360

Town of Fowler: Parcel 1) 30.98 acres more or less, Parcel 2) Unknown acres, Parcel 3) 25 acres more or less, bounded by Lewis Road and Old St. Lawrence Turnpike, Tonya L. Nichols (executor), Frank S. Tyler, no address given, sold to Mickael A. Hays, Gouverneur $68,500

Town of DePeyster: 49.81 acres more or less, bounded by New York State Route 184, Lyle R. Brown, Heuvelton, sold to Mose M. and Anna M. Miller, Heuvelton $80,000

Town of Louisville: Unknown acres, Lot 2, Mile Square 35, Carole Mulvaugh, Massena, sold to Danielle L. Robbins, Norfolk $52,500

The following property sales were recorded in the St. Lawrence County clerk’s office June 26, 2017:

Town of Colton: 9 acres more or less, Lot 4, bounded by Fuhr Road, James M. Lottie and Melissa J. Sweet, DeKalb Junction, sold to Rick W. Seguin, Brasher Falls $98,000

Town of Lawrence: 10 acres more or less, bounded by Water Street, Lee Curran LLC, Chase Mills, sold to Nicole Gary, Hopkinton $11,000

Town of Morristown: Unknown acres, Lot 14, bounded by Black Stone Bay and Lowery Farm, Stephen W. Storie and Joann D. Gonzales, Hammond, sold to Krista E. Fox, Pulaski $0

Town of Colton: 0.37 of an acre more or less, Mile Square 22, bounded by School Street, Richard S. and Jacqueline K. Pinover, South Colton, sold to James M. Lottie and Melissa J. Sweet, DeKalb Junction $229,000

Town of Macomb: 10.13 acres more or less, Lot 13, bounded by Rastely Road, Thomas J. Leeson, Gouverneur, sold to Tina A. and Ronald Keller, Ogdensburg (life estate), and Ashlie E. Damms, Ogdensburg, Craig A. Damms, Ogdensburg, Nicole L. Damms, Ogdensburg, Chenoa C. Reynolds, Watertown and Talia E. Keller, Glens Falls (remainder interest) $10,000

The following property sales were recorded in the St. Lawrence County clerk’s office June 27, 2017:

Town of Clifton: Unknown acres, Lot 5S, William G. Barrett (executor), Margaret E. Barrett, Clifton, sold to Halsey M. Bagg, Bohemia $386,000

Village of Winthrop: Unknown Parcels, unknown acres, bounded by Main Street, New York State Highway Route 11C, Barbara J. Lee, Canton, Cynthia A. Niles, Potsdam and Robert L. Elliott, Katy, Texas, sold to Zachary M. Arquiett and Lauren M. Andress, Winthrop $67,000

Town of Brasher: 4.82 acres more or less, bounded by Leary-Flint Road, Edward and Kimberly Russell, Brasher Falls, sold to Barbara LaDuke, Massena $20,000

Town of Pitcairn: 15 acres more or less, Lot 32, bounded by Harrisville Road, Ruth Thesier (administrator), Thomas J. Sullivan Jr., sold to Mark Ball and Judy Stanford, Harrisville $25,000

Town of DeKalb: Parcel 1) 0.38 of an acre more or less, Parcel 2) Unknown acres, bounded by Depot Street, Michael P. Dalton, Richville, sold to Corey P. and Brittany L. Lewis, Edwards $82,900

Town of Lawrence: 5 acres more or less, bounded by New York State Route 11, Robert W. and Marie A. Watkins, North Lawrence, sold to Michael Rottier Sr. and Dawn Rottier, Potsdam $60,000

Town of Canton: 7.75 acres more or less, Mile Square 9, bounded by Old DeKalb Road, James Foote, Canton, John Foote, College Place, Wash., Benny Foote, Canton, Joan Fischer, Canton and Carl Foote, Canton, sold to Aaron D. and Melissa A. Woods, DeKalb Junction $32,000

Town of Hopkinton: 10.12 acres more or less, bounded by Elliott Road, Kenneth and Arnold Anderson, Bradford, N.H., sold to Ana and Ada Martinez, Potsdam $21,000

The following property sales were recorded in the St. Lawrence County clerk’s office June 28, 2017:

Town of Hammond: 1.30 acres more or less, bounded by Chapman Point Road, David E. Comfort, Schuyler Falls, sold to Daniel E. and Theresa A. Quail, Cortland $27,500

Village of Wanakena: 0.14 of an acre more or less, Lot 1, bounded by First Street, Timothy J. Westbrook, Bronx, sold to Lawrence A. and Gail A. Miles, Catawissa, Pa. $100,000

Town of Pitcairn: Unknown Parcels, unknown acres, Lot 24 and Lot 83, bounded by Jayville Road and Kalurah Road, Mountain River Properties LLC, Croghan, sold to Mark A. and Kathleen M. McGinley, Phonex $64,000

Town of Hopkinton: Unknown Parcels, unknown acres, Section 25, bounded by Hopkinton Point and Lake Ozonia, Fannie Mae, Dallas, Texas, sold to Jay Schechter, Potsdam $175,000

Village of Potsdam: Unknown acres, bounded by Prospect Street and Main Street, Lisa Pickering, Potsdam, sold to Bradford D. and Julie W. Catling, Potsdam $100,000

Town of Edwards: Parcel 1) 1.61 acres more or less, Parcel 2) Unknown acres, bounded by Walker’s Lot and Oswegatchie River, Dadura Woods, Edwards, sold to Richard C. and Ruth K. Callan, Edwards $3,000

Town of Lisbon: 4.61 acres more or less, Parcel No. 8629, Town of Lisbon, Lisbon, sold to Benjamin O. and Lucy L. Merkley, Heuvelton $62,595.55

Boonville man killed in town of Vienna logging accident

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BOONVILLE — A Boonville man died from injuries sustained in a logging accident Thursday afternoon in the Oneida County town of Vienna.

Oneida County sheriff’s deputies said they were called to a wooded area off Elpis Road at 1:26 p.m. for the report of an unresponsive man and found that Gilbert Martin, 72, had been seriously injured.

Mr. Martin was extricated from the wooded area by members of the Camden Fire Department and taken by AmCare Ambulance to Rome Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The investigation is ongoing, deputies said.

Louis C.K. crossed a line into sexual misconduct, five women say

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In 2002, a Chicago comedy duo, Dana Min Goodman and Julia Wolov, landed their big break: a chance to perform at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado. When Louis C.K. invited them to hang out in his hotel room for a nightcap after their late-night show, they did not think twice. The bars were closed and they wanted to celebrate. He was a comedian they admired. The women would be together. His intentions seemed collegial.

As soon as they sat down in his room, still wrapped in their winter jackets and hats, Louis C.K. asked if he could take out his penis, the women said.

They thought it was a joke and laughed it off. “And then he really did it,” Goodman said in an interview with The New York Times. “He proceeded to take all of his clothes off, and get completely naked, and started masturbating.”

In 2003, Abby Schachner called Louis C.K. to invite him to one of her shows, and during the phone conversation, she said, she could hear him masturbating as they spoke. Another comedian, Rebecca Corry, said that while she was appearing with Louis C.K. on a television pilot in 2005, he asked if he could masturbate in front of her. She declined.

Now, after years of unsubstantiated rumors about Louis C.K. masturbating in front of associates, women are coming forward to describe what they experienced. Even amid the current burst of sexual misconduct accusations against powerful men, the stories about Louis C.K. stand out because he has so few equals in comedy. In the years since the incidents the women describe, he has sold out Madison Square Garden eight times, created an Emmy-winning TV series, and accumulated the clout of a tastemaker and auteur, with the help of a manager who represents some of the biggest names in comedy. And Louis C.K. built a reputation as the unlikely conscience of the comedy scene, by making audiences laugh about hypocrisy — especially male hypocrisy.

After being contacted for an interview this week about the on-the-record accusations of sexual misconduct — encounters that took place over a decade ago — Louis C.K.’s publicist, Lewis Kay, said the comedian would not respond. “Louis is not going to answer any questions,” Kay wrote in an email Tuesday night.

Neither Louis C.K. nor Kay replied to follow-up emails in which the accusations were laid out in detail, or to voice messages or texts. On Thursday, the premiere of Louis C.K.’s new movie “I Love You, Daddy,” was abruptly canceled, and he also canceled an appearance on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.”

The stories told by the women raise sharp questions about the anecdotes that Louis C.K. tells in his own comedy. He rose to fame in part by appearing to be candid about his flaws and sexual hang-ups, discussing and miming masturbation extensively in his act — an exaggerated riff that some of the women feel may have served as a cover for real misconduct. He has all but invited comparison between his private life and his on-screen work, too: In “I Love You, Daddy,” which is scheduled to be released next week, a character pretends to masturbate at length in front of other people, and other characters appear to dismiss rumors of sexual predation.

At the same time, Louis C.K. has also boosted the careers of women, and is sometimes viewed as a feminist by fans and critics. But Goodman and Wolov said that when they told others about the incident in the Colorado hotel room, they heard that Louis C.K.’s manager was upset that they were talking about it openly. The women feared career repercussions. Louis C.K.’s manager, Dave Becky, was adamant in an email that he “never threatened anyone.”

For comedians, the professional environment is informal: profanity and raunch that would be far out of line in most workplaces are common, and personal foibles — the weirder the better — are routinely mined for material. But Louis C.K.’s behavior was abusive, the women said.

“I think the line gets crossed when you take all your clothes off and start masturbating,” Wolov said.

— ‘You Want to Believe It’s Not Happening’

Corry, a comedian, writer and actress, has long felt haunted by her run-in with Louis C.K. In 2005, she was working as a performer and producer on a television pilot — a big step in her career — when Louis C.K., a guest star, approached her as she was walking to the set. “He leaned close to my face and said, ‘Can I ask you something?’ I said, ‘Yes,’” Corry said in a written statement to The New York Times. “He asked if we could go to my dressing room so he could masturbate in front of me.” Stunned and angry, Corry said she declined, and pointed out that he had a daughter and a pregnant wife. “His face got red,” she recalled, “and he told me he had issues.”

Word quickly reached the show’s executive producers, Courteney Cox and David Arquette, who both confirmed the incident. “What happened to Rebecca on that set was awful,” Cox said in an email, adding that she felt “outrage and shock.”

“My concern was to create an environment where Rebecca felt safe, protected and heard,” she said. They discussed curtailing the production. Corry decided to continue with the show.

“Things were going well for me,” Corry said in the statement, “and I had no interest in being the person who shut down a production.”

A fifth woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity to protect her family’s privacy because she has not been publicly linked to the incident with Louis C.K., also has disturbing memories about an incident with the comedian. In the late ‘90s, she was working in production at “The Chris Rock Show” when Louis C.K., a writer and producer there, repeatedly asked her to watch him masturbate, she said. She was in her early 20s and went along with his request, but later questioned his behavior.

“It was something that I knew was wrong,” said the woman, who described sitting in Louis C.K.’s office while he masturbated in his desk chair during a workday, other colleagues just outside the door. “I think the big piece of why I said yes was because of the culture,” she continued. “He abused his power.” A co-worker at “The Chris Rock Show,” who also wished to remain anonymous, confirmed that the woman told him about the experience soon after it happened.

Schachner, a writer, illustrator and performer, admired Louis C.K.’s work. They had met in the comedy scene; Schachner’s former boyfriend was a comedy writer who had worked with Louis C.K. In 2003, when she called Louis C.K. with an invitation to her show, he said he was at work in an office as a writer on the series “Cedric the Entertainer Presents,” she recalled.

Their conversation quickly moved from the personal — Louis C.K. had seen photos of her on her boyfriend’s desk, he said, and told her he thought she was cute — to “unprofessional and inappropriate,” Schachner said.

She said she heard the blinds coming down. Then he slowly started telling her his sexual fantasies, breathing heavily and talking softly. She realized he was masturbating, and was dumbfounded. The call went on for several minutes, even though, Schachner said, “I definitely wasn’t encouraging it.” But she didn’t know how to end it, either. “You want to believe it’s not happening,” she said. A friend, Stuart Harris, confirmed that Schachner had described the call to him in 2003.

For years afterward, Schachner said, she felt angry and betrayed by an artist she looked up to. And she wondered what she could have done differently. “I felt very ashamed,” she said.

— A Run-In, Then Fears About Speaking Out

During Goodman and Wolov’s surreal visit to Louis C.K.’s Aspen hotel room, they said they were holding onto each other, screaming and laughing in shock, as Louis C.K. masturbated in a chair. “We were paralyzed,” Goodman said. After he ejaculated on his stomach, they said, they fled. He called after them: “He was like, ‘Which one is Dana and which one is Julia?’” Goodman recalled.

Afterward, they ran into Charna Halpern, owner of influential improv theaters in Los Angeles and Chicago, where Goodman and Wolov performed, and relayed what had happened. “I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t know what to tell them to do,” said Halpern. Goodman and Wolov decided against going to police, unsure whether what happened was criminal, but felt they had to respond in some way “because something crazy happened to us,” Goodman said.

Hoping that outrage would build against Louis C.K., and also to shame him, they began telling others about the incident the next day. But many people seemed to recoil, they said. “Guys were backing away from us,” Wolov said. Barely 24 hours after they left Louis C.K.’s hotel, “we could already feel the backlash.”

Soon after, they said they understood from their managers that Becky, Louis C.K’s manager, wanted them to stop telling people about their encounter with Louis C.K. Lee Kernis, one of the women’s managers at the time, confirmed Thursday that he had a conversation in which he told Becky that Louis C.K.’s behavior toward the women had been offensive. Kernis also said that Becky was upset that the women were talking openly about the incident.

Becky denied making any threats toward the women. “I don’t recall the exact specifics of the conversation, but know I never threatened anyone,” he wrote by email Thursday. Halpern and Robert Schroeder — Goodman and Wolov’s agent at the time — said that the pair told them that they felt they had been warned to stop talking.

Becky arguably wields even more power in comedy than Louis C.K. He represents Kevin Hart, Aziz Ansari, Amy Poehler and other top performers, and his company, 3 Arts, puts together programming deals for nearly every platform.

Goodman and Wolov moved to Los Angeles shortly after the Aspen festival, but “we were coming here with a bunch of enemies,” Goodman said. Gren Wells, a filmmaker who befriended the comedy duo in 2002, said the incident and the warning, which they told her about soon after Aspen, hung heavily over them both. “This is something that they were freaked out about,” Wells said.

In the years since, Goodman and Wolov have found some success, but they remained concerned about Becky and took themselves out of the running for the many projects he was involved in. Though their humor is in line with what he produces, “we know immediately that we can never even submit our material,” Wolov said.

— Private Acts, Public Jokes

Jokes about masturbation have been a regular part of Louis C.K.’s stage shows. In one bit, he complains about not being able to find a private place in his house to do it. “I’m on the streets now,” he says, “I’ve got nowhere to go.” In another bit he laments being a prisoner of his perversions. “Just the constant perverted sexual thoughts,” he says, then mimes masturbating. “It makes me into a moron.”

Tig Notaro, the comedian whose Amazon series, “One Mississippi,” lists Louis C.K. as an executive producer, is one of the few in the fiercely insular comedy world to speak out against him. Her career received a huge boost when he released her 2012 comedy album, about her cancer diagnosis. But their relationship has crumbled and she now feels “trapped” by her association with him, she wrote in an email.

Her fear is that “he released my album to cover his tracks,” she said. “He knew it was going to make him look like a good guy, supporting a woman.” Notaro said she learned of his reputation after they sold the series to Amazon, and a recent story line is a fictional treatment of the alleged masturbation episodes.

“Sadly, I’ve come to learn that Louis C.K.’s victims are not only real,” she said by email, “but many are actual friends of mine within the comedy community,” like Corry, who confided in her, she said.

In his forthcoming film, about a television writer whose teenage daughter is wooed by a Woody Allen type, one character aggressively mimics masturbating in front of others. The content has raised eyebrows. Given the rumors surrounding Louis C.K., the movie “plays like an ambiguous moral inventory of and excuse for everything that allows sexual predators to thrive: open secrets, toxic masculinity, and powerful people getting the benefit of the doubt,” Joe Berkowitz wrote in Fast Company.

Yet in an interview with The Times in September at the Toronto film festival, where “I Love You, Daddy,” was shown, Louis C.K. dismissed stories of his alleged sexual misconduct as “rumors,” and said the notion that the masturbation scenes referred to them never occurred to him. “It’s funny, I didn’t think of that, “ he said.

— Apologies With Troubling Implications

In private, though, he appears to have acknowledged his behavior.

In 2009, six years after their phone call, Schachner received a Facebook message from Louis C.K., apologizing. “Last time I talked to you ended in a sordid fashion,” he wrote in the message, which was reviewed by The Times. “That was a bad time in my life and I’m sorry.” He added that he had seen some of Schachner’s comedy and thought she was funny. “I remember thinking what a repulsive person I was being by responding the way that I did,” he wrote.

Schachner accepted his apology and told him she forgave him. But the original interaction left her deeply dispirited, she said, and discouraged her from pursuing comedy.

In 2015, a few months before the now-defunct website Defamer circulated rumors of Louis C.K.’s alleged sexual misconduct, Corry also received an email from Louis C.K., which was obtained by The Times, saying he owed her a “very very very late apology.” When he phoned her, he said he was sorry for shoving her in a bathroom. Corry replied that he had never done that, but had instead asked to masturbate in front of her. Responding in a shaky voice, he acknowledged it and said, “I used to misread people back then,” she recalled.

The call confounded her, Corry said: not only had he misremembered the incident, which made her think there were other moments of misconduct, he also implied she had done something to invite his behavior. “It is unfair he’s put me or anyone else in this position,” Corry said.

Goodman and Wolov said that with other allegations swirling around the entertainment world, they could no longer stay silent. “Because of this moment, as gross as it is, we feel compelled to speak,” Goodman said.

Notaro said she was standing in support of those with the courage “to speak up against such a powerful figure,” she said, “as well as the multitude of women still out there, not quite ready to share their nightmares.”

Equifax executives won’t get their 2017 bonuses

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Equifax apologized again for its massive data breach in a Friday morning earnings call but also touted plans to build a new credit monitoring tool to give consumers more control over their data.

Chief executive Paulino do Rego Barros Jr. outlined plans to rebuild trust after saying that Equifax’s senior leadership team will forgo “incentive compensation” — essentially, bonuses — for 2017.

He added that Equifax will release a free tool to allow anyone to lock their account to prevent others from viewing credit data or opening accounts in their name. (A credit lock, however, affords users fewer legal rights than a credit freeze, even in the event of a hack.) That tool is set to launch at the end of January.

He added that Equifax is working with other companies to create something similar for the whole industry.

“We believe the time is right for an industry-wide solution that provides consumers a way to substantially improve visibility and control to personal credit data for free, for life,” he said.

Equifax currently has a credit monitoring service that it’s offering free to all 145.5 million consumers affected by the breach; registration remains open through Jan. 31. The service allows users to monitor and even freeze their accounts. The firm’s chief financial officer, John W. Gamble Jr., said during the earnings call that approximately 1.5 percent to 2 percent of all Equifax files now have a lock or freeze placed on them.

Overall, Equifax has said that roughly 30 million people have visited the website it set up to inform consumers about the breach. But it has not reached out to individuals affected by the breach personally — leaving questions about how many people could still be unaware that their sensitive information was stolen, as Equifax tries to move on.

A recent survey from financial site CreditCards.com found that 71 million American adults hadn’t heard anything about the breach more than a month after it was first announced, despite heavy news coverage.

Barros has declined to say whether Equifax will reach out to individuals by mail or email. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., who helped introduce a consumer protection bill called the Freedom from Equifax Exploitation Act after the breach, sent a letter Thursday requesting that the credit bureau do so.

“It is deeply concerning that only slightly more than 20 percent of affected individuals have successfully used this tool, which you said you have been promoting heavily through social and other media,” she said in the letter, which is posted publicly. “(It) remains quite possible that millions of individuals do not know for certain if their information was exposed.”

Equifax shares were trading about 2 percent down from its opening price of $107.30 in midmorning trading.


Massena man charged with drug possession

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LOUISVILLE — State police on Nov. 3 charged Joseph M. Olmstead, 35, of 26 Tamarack St., Massena, with two counts of misdemeanor seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. He was also cited with controlled substance in non-original container. Also cited was Keitha A. Durant, 28, of 2120 Route 11C, North Lawrence, with unlawful possession of marijuana and inadequate muffler.

Troopers charge that at 3:30 a.m. on Andrew Street, Ms. Durant was stopped for operating a Chevrolet Cobalt with a loud muffler and was found in possession of a smoking device and about 3 grams of marijuana. Her passenger, Mr. Olmstead, was found in possession of a quantity of pills identified as Ritalin and about 13 grams of crack cocaine, troopers said.

Both were issued tickets to Louisville Town Court.

Ogdensburg man charged with DWI

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OGDENSBURG — State police on Nov. 2 charged David V. Ellis, 43, of 7808 Route 68, Ogdensburg, with misdemeanor driving while intoxicated. He was also cited with operating an unregistered motor vehicle and failure to stop at a stop sign.

Troopers charge that at 11:32 p.m. at Cedar Street and New York Avenue, Mr. Ellis was operating a 1999 Buick when he failed to stop at stop sign. During a traffic stop on Route 37, Mr. Ellis provided a breath sample showing his blood alcohol content to be 0.14 percent

Mr. Ellis was issued tickets returnable to Oswegatchie Town Court and Ogdensburg City Court.

Massena man charged with harassment

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STOCKHOLM — State police on Nov. 2 charged Cole M. Fields, 18, of 81 Ober St., Massena, with misdemeanor second-degree aggravated harassment.

Troopers charge at 6:41 a.m. on Route 11C, in the town, Mr. Fields threatened to kill a 19-year-old female during a phone call.

Mr. Fields was arraigned in Brasher Town Court and was sent to the St. Lawrence County jail, Canton, on $500 cash bail or $1,000 bond.

St. Lawrence County jail inmate charged with contempt

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CANTON — State police on Oct. 30 charged Dylan L. Daniell, 24, an inmate at the St. Lawrence County jail, with misdemeanor second-degree criminal contempt.

Troopers charge that at 8:25 a.m. on Oct. 29, while in the jail, Mr. Daniell telephoned a 22-year-old Oswegatchie woman, in violation of a stay-away order of protection issued in her favor out of Morristown Town Court.

Mr. Daniell was arraigned in Morristown Town Court by Justice James T. Phillips Jr. and was returned to St. Lawrence County Jail without bail.

Norfolk woman charged with drug possession, unlicensed operation

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LOUISVILLE — State police charged Terri L. McGregor, 29, of 94 Grantville Road, Norfolk, with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and second-degree aggravated unlicensed operation, both misdemeanors. She was also cited with unlawful possession of marijuana and operating an unregistered vehicle.

Troopers charge at 2:17 a.m. Tuesday, on Route 37B, Ms. McGregor was operating a 2014 Ford Escape when she was stopped for operating an unregistered vehicle and was found in possession of a small amount of cocaine, a glass smoking device which tested positive for cocaine, and about 4 grams of marijuana. Troopers also said that Ms. McGregor was only in possession of a non-driver ID and had 11 suspensions on her license.

Ms. McGregor was issued tickets for Louisville Town Court.

New lunch spot opens on Market Street

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POTSDAM — The owners of the Hideaway Cafe in Colton have opened a small lunch spot in Potsdam named Two Deweys at 63 Market St.

Deb A. Dewey has run the Hideaway for almost 14 years, and has decided to bring some of the virtues of that restaurant to her family’s hometown of Potsdam, along with her husband, Bruce A. Dewey.

“We’re taking a little fraction of the Hideaway, and we came nine miles up the road,” Mrs. Dewey said. “We decided to come this way, make it or bust, and try to see if there’s a desire for wholesome sandwiches, homemade soup, hot coffee.”

Mrs. Dewey said she wanted to offer quick, tasty food with healthy options for working class people on their lunch break. She said she hopes it will not only offer a good meal, but uplift people’s spirits as well.

“You can look around the room and see that we’re Christians,” Mrs. Dewey said, referring to the plaques with Bible quotes that decorate the restaurant. “So more than a good sandwich, we would hope people leave feeling a little better, feeling the spirit of God when they walk in here, and maybe having a nice lunch as well.”

This is only the third week that the lunch spot is open, and so far it does not have a website or, until recently, a phone number.

“I said, well, let’s just flip the open sign around and see” what happens, Mrs. Dewey said. “I wanted to be really proficient in what we did even before we put a phone number out there, which is just happening today.”

So far, the Deweys have found that, despite their taking great care to find tasty and healthy options, the chicken tenders are proving to be most popular.

“I took six months to try and decide on a good roast beef product and a good smoked turkey, honey-smoked turkey, and great ham,” Mrs. Dewey said. “And everybody wants deep fried chicken tenders in wraps and on salads.”

The homemade soups are also proving popular, and people  already offer asking for hot meals, which Mrs. Dewey said she is considering adding.

Some customers certainly seem to appreciate the healthier options, too; during Mrs. Dewey’s interview with the Times, a customer finished checking out and came over to tell her, “I really appreciate your fresh, healthy food. It’s very good. Thank you, and good luck.”

“I live for that. I live for making people like that happy,” Mrs. Dewey said as the customer left.

Mr. and Mrs. Dewey are hoping customers also appreciate the consistent service they can provide. In her 30 years in the restaurant business, Mrs. Dewey said, she has constantly had issues with staffing kitchens.

“You’re only as good as what the people you employ are giving to the public,” she said. “I came up with Two Deweys, because I can count on Bruce, and he can count on me, and that’s our name, and we know what we can give. And we hope that that’s something customers want.”

After closing the Two Deweys for the day, Mr. and Mrs. Dewey head back to the Hideaway, where Mr. Dewey also has an electronic repair shop.

“We never really want, we never aspire for it to be bigger or greater or morph into something more than what this is,” Mrs. Dewey said. “It’s something the two of us can do that does not depend on 10 other people.”

Asked what the best part of running the Two Deweys is, Mr. Dewey said, “Getting away from the Hideaway.”

Mrs. Dewey clearly has no intention of leaving the Hideaway, but the lunch spot can serve as a refuge.

“There’s been a lot of talk about us closing the Hideaway. We’re not closing the Hideaway,” she said. “We can’t exist here without the Hideaway; that’s the mother ship. ... But as bizarre as this is to say, walking away from something that is so intense and coming over to this little piece of heaven is a great escape for me, even though it’s work. And I get to do it with my kids and my husband.”

Two Deweys is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, and offers sandwiches, soup, sides and pie.

United Helper employee charged with slapping elderly resident

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LISBON — State police on Nov. 1 charged Emily R. Warren, 22, of 1124 Oak Point Road, Brier Hill, with felony first-degree endangering incompetent.

Troopers charge at about 3 p.m. on Oct. 29 at the United Helper Lisbon Individualized Residential Alternatives at 6859 County Route 10, Ms. Warren, an employee there, slapped a 78-year-old female resident in the head.

Ms. Warren was issued a ticket returnable to Lisbon Town Court.


Lowville man accused of selling marijuana in village

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LOWVILLE — A Lowville man was arrested Monday on charges that he sold marijuana in the village.

Larry M. Mutchler, 37, was charged with one count of third-degree criminal sale of marijuana and two counts of fourth-degree criminal sale of marijuana. He was arraigned in Lowville Village Court and sent to Lewis County Jail.

The third-degree charge stemmed from an sealed indictment warrant, police said.

No further details in the case were provided.

The Lewis County Sheriff’s Department and state Community Narcotic Enforcement Team assisted.

Henderson man gets prison for making meth

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CANTON — A Henderson man was sentenced to prison Wednesday in St. Lawrence County Court for making methamphetamine in Waddington.

Lee M. Alverson, 39, of 5493 Nutting Street Road, Henderson, was sentenced as a second-felony offender to two years in prison with two years of post-release supervision for his guilty plea to felony third-degree unlawful manufacture of methamphetamine in a plea deal with the district attorney’s office.

As part of the deal, the indictment charging him with an additional charge of felony third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance was also satisfied.

On Nov. 13, 2012, in Jefferson County Court, Mr. Alverson was convicted of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced to two years in prison and two years of post-release supervision.

Mr. Alverson said that on Feb. 17 in the town of Waddington, he had lab equipment, reagents, a solvent and catalyst, all with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine.

In addition to his prison sentence, Mr. Alverson was ordered to pay $375 in court fines, fees and surcharges.

In other court action Wednesday:

Andre Williams, 35, an inmate at the Gowanda Correctional Facility in Erie County, a former inmate at Gouverneur Correctional Facility, was sentenced to 1½ to 3 years in prison for his Sept. 25 guilty plea to felony tampering with physical evidence in a plea deal with the district attorney’s office.

As part of the deal, the remaining charge of first-degree promoting prison contraband was satisfied.

He will serve the sentence consecutively with his current 2½- to 4-year sentence for third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance and first-degree promoting prison contraband.

On March 7, on contraband watch in the Gouverneur Correctional Facility, Mr. Williams defecated balloons and mixed the contents with his fecal matter to prevent their use at a proceeding against him.

In addition to his prison sentence, he was ordered to pay $375 in court fines, fees and surcharges.

Sabbath L. McGregor, 20, of 6037 County Route 14, Chase Mills, was sentenced to one year in the St. Lawrence County jail for his Aug. 24 guilty plea to second-degree attempted assault, the reduced charge of second-degree assault, in a plea deal with the district attorney’s office.

On Jan. 22 in the village of Massena, Mr. McGregor assaulted Massena Village Police Officer Brandon A. Huckle while he was on duty, causing him physical injury.

According to court documents following his Jan. 22 arrest, about 6 a.m. at the Massena Village Police station, Mr. McGregor was being brought from the booking room into a holding cell by Mr. Huckle when officers said he head-butted Mr. Huckle on his eyebrow, immediately giving him a migraine-like headache, substantial pain and a large bruise on Mr. Huckle’s forehead and eyebrow.

After being struck, court documents state, Mr. Huckle temporarily lost vision, at which point he took Mr. McGregor to the ground and subdued him in the booking room.

In addition to his jail sentence, Mr. McGregor was ordered to pay $375 in court fines, fees and surcharges. An order of protection was also issued in favor of Officer Huckle.

John P. Cosores, 51, of 783 Route 11C, Brasher Falls, was sentenced to five years probation for his Sept. 12 guilty plea to the reduced count of fourth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, satisfying an indictment charging him with third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, cocaine, on Feb. 19 in the village of Massena.

In addition to his probation sentence, he was ordered to pay $374 in court fines, fees and surcharges

Crystal D. Hamilton, 38, of 236 Route 11B, Potsdam, was sentenced to five years probation for her Sept. 12 guilty plea to the reduced count of third-degree attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance in satisfaction of the indictment charging her with four counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and three counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance.

On June 19 in the town of Potsdam, Ms. Hamilton reportedly attempted to possess cocaine with the intent to sell it.

In addition to her probation sentence, she was ordered to pay $375 in court fines, fees and surcharges and $300 in restitution.

Kurtis C. Meuten, 30, of 59 Haggert Road, Ogdensburg, pleaded guilty to first-degree attempted rape, the reduced second count of the indictment charging him with five counts of first-degree rape, three counts of predatory sexual act, all felonies, and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child.

The indictment charges that during the school summer break and the fall semester of 2014 in the town of Oswegatchie, Meuten had sexual intercourse with a child who was incapable of consent by reason of being physically helpless and was less than 11 years old, an act that likely was injurious to the physical, mental, or moral welfare of the child.

As a part of his plea, Meuten admitted that during the school summer break of 2014 in the town of Oswegatchie, he attempted to engage in sexual intercourse with the child who was less than 11 years old.

Zachary L. Raymond, 19, Willow Street, Evans Mills, and Austin L. Woodward, 18, 4629 Log Hill Road, Redwood, each pleaded guilty to third-degree attempted burglary, a reduced count of a Superior Court Information charging them with third-degree burglary.

On Aug. 21, at 234 Meachum Road, Hopkinton, the teens attempted to enter the home of Timothy Baxter illegally with the intent to commit a crime.

Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 2.

Democrats want DHS nominee to return to Senate panel for more questioning

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WASHINGTON — Five Democratic senators say they want to hold an additional confirmation hearing for Kirstjen Nielsen, the Trump administration’s nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security, citing a Washington Post report Thursday detailing efforts by the White House to pressure the agency’s acting director on a major immigration decision.

Nielsen testified Wednesday before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and made no stumbles, calmly fielding questions on a range of security topics. But five members of the confirmation panel — all Democrats — sent a letter to committee leaders later Thursday calling for her to return for further questioning under oath.

On Thursday the panel postponed its confirmation vote on Nielsen, after senators submitted 197 written follow-up questions to her testimony. That vote is now set for Monday.

But Democrats who signed the letter say they now have more doubts, after The Post described White House attempts to pressure the acting homeland security secretary, Elaine Duke, to expel tens of thousands of Honduran immigrants, as well as Duke’s plans to resign.

“These developments raise important new questions not only about the political interference of the White House in a key national security matter, but also about the qualifications and appropriateness of Ms. Nielsen’s nomination to be the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security,” the senators wrote in their letter, which was addressed to the committee’s chairman, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and its ranking Democrat, Sen. Claire McCaskill, Mo.

“The nominee must now answer questions about her ability to maintain independence from her current immediate superior, the White House,” they wrote.

As the majority party, Republicans control the committee, and Johnson could decline the request to bring Nielsen back. He has stated that he wants her nomination to proceed quickly, and Capitol Hill sources say the White House is eager for her to get a full confirmation vote on the Senate floor before the Thanksgiving recess.

During Wednesday’s confirmation hearing before the panel, Nielsen took questions from senators on everything from climate change to violent extremism and cybersecurity. Nielsen, 45, a former DHS official who is the current deputy White House chief of staff, appeared to breeze through the session, demonstrating familiarity with a range of security issues.

But the five senators who sent the letter - Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Heidi Heitkamp, D-S.D., Thomas Carper, D-Del., Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Kamala Harris, D-Calif. — said Duke’s potential resignation was another factor requiring additional testimony from Nielsen.

“Given the possibility, based on news reports, that the Department’s Senate-confirmed Deputy Secretary may soon resign, Committee members should be given a chance to revisit Ms. Nielsen’s management qualifications in a formal hearing setting,” they wrote.

Nielsen was picked for the top DHS job by her boss, John Kelly, the White House chief of staff. She was his chief of staff when he was DHS secretary until July, when Duke, the deputy DHS secretary, took over acting leadership of the department and its 240,000 employees and 22 sub-agencies.

The Post’s article Thursday described last-minute efforts by Kelly and the White House homeland security adviser, Tom Bossert, to persuade Duke to terminate the provisional residency of some 57,000 Honduran immigrants living in the United States for nearly two decades with what is known as Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

The decision to renew or terminate the TPS permits is supposed to be left to Homeland Security officials in consultation with the State Department. White House officials have repeatedly given assurances that they would not interfere in the process.

Duke opted to end TPS protections for about 2,500 Nicaraguans, but decided she lacked sufficient information to make that decision for the much larger group of Hondurans, granting them a six-month extension to the frustration of Kelly and others at The White House.

Jonathan Hoffman, the top DHS spokesman, disputed the accounts that Kelly called to pressure Duke, insisting she had reached out to him to seek advice on the TPS decision. He said claims that Duke plans to resign have “zero factual basis.”

DHS must also announce in the coming weeks whether it will extend, modify or cancel TPS for roughly 50,000 Haitians and 200,000 Salvadorans whose residency is due to expire early next year. But on Wednesday senators did not ask Nielsen for her views on TPS or how she would make the decision.

Customers defy attacks to buy Obamacare, and vote for it

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President Donald Trump and Republican leaders in Congress have repeatedly said Obamacare is failing, or even dead. Yet there are signs across the country that support for the law’s programs is stronger than opponents have portrayed.

This week in Virginia, where Democrats won a competitive governors race, Two-thirds of voters there called health care a “very important” or the most important issue, according to one poll. In Maine, the state voted to expand Medicaid under the law, something their Republican governor had sworn not to do.

Enrollment under the law also appears strong in its first week — the federal government released data Thursday showing that sign-ups in the first four days were higher than a year ago, when then-President Barack Obama’s administration was running it.

Trump’s repeated insistence that the law is a disaster, and Congressional Republicans’ attempts to repeal it, may have had the opposite effect than what they intended. Despite the administration slashing advertising for the enrollment period that started on Nov. 1, and other steps to destabilize it, early signs indicate people are embracing the health program.

Trump’s frequent attacks of the law may have only served to bring more attention to it, said Dan Mendelson, president of Avalere, a health care consulting company.

“The reality is that the administration has been aggressively messaging about the exchanges,” Mendelson. “They’ve actually done outstanding marketing so far. Awareness of the program has never been higher.”

Initial sign-up numbers for the first four days of enrollment in 2018 Obamacare plans in most states totaled more than 600,000, up 45 percent compared to a similar time period last year, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Of those, 137,322 were new customers, instead of people renewing plans they already had under the law.

Those positive signs for the law are early markers, and could change.

The Maine and Virginia votes are just two states, and Democrats face a challenging electoral map in the Senate mid-terms next year. The administration also still has broad authority over how the law is run, and Republicans debating tax reform in Congress are talking about repealing a key plank of the program that requires all Americans to have coverage or pay a fine.

The enrollment season in most states lasts until Dec. 15, about half as long as last year. Karen Pollitz, senior fellow at the Kaiser Family Foundation, cautioned that it’s too early to draw conclusions about how many people will sign up, or whether the mix of sick and healthy customers will be profitable for insurers.

But the initial enrollment report lessens the fears “that this could be a real bust,” Pollitz said. The sickest often sign up early while healthy consumers wait until the end of the enrollment period to decide. Among voters, Democrat Ralph Northam’s opposition to the repeal helped him get elected, according to Public Policy Polling, which conducted the survey in the Virginia race.

“All this discussion about repeal made people aware that, ‘Wow, I should be grateful for what I have access to,”’ said Len Nichols, director of the Center for Health Policy Research and Ethics at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. “There’s just way more consciousness to the value of health insurance than before they tried to repeal it.”

One of Trump’s own efforts to starve the law may actually have enticed some people to sign up. The president cut off funding for insurer subsidies under the Affordable Care Act that are meant to help low-income people cover health-care costs, a move that caused insurers to raise premiums even more.

Because of the way the law is written, the government was forced to increase the financial help it provides lower-income people to buy plans. That meant that for some people, the amount they have to pay out of pocket to buy coverage is actually lower than last year.

An analysis by the left-leaning think tank Center for American Progress found “hundreds of scenarios” in which consumers could gain coverage for $0. For example, a single 27-year-old that earns $25,000 a year could find coverage that would cost nothing in more than a quarter of 2,722 counties the group examined.

Particularly for low-income consumers, “they’ve really been very motivated about by being able to get insurance at no cost,” Avalere’s Mendelson said. The quirk doesn’t benefit higher-income people, who will have to choose between paying higher premiums or forgoing coverage.

Officials in New York, Maryland, Massachusetts and California, which operate their own Obamacare marketplaces instead of relying on the federal sign-up system, also said early enrollment numbers are higher than last year.

In Maryland enrollments doubled to 10,000 in the first six days, said Andrew Ratner, chief marketing officer for the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange. That counts new enrollees and returning customers who actively logged in to change plans.

In Washington, the state’s exchange said that new enrollments were up by more than 50 percent. In Massachusetts, enrollment is up by 31 percent over last year through Nov. 9, Jason Lefferts, spokesman for the state insurance marketplace, said an email.

At CareSource, which sells policies in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and West Virginia, overall sign-ups are higher than during the same period last year, said Steve Ringel, president of the health insurer’s Ohio market, exceeding projections.

The controversy around the ACA and attempts to repeal it “definitely has heightened awareness, and that heightened awareness has been a positive,” Ringel said. “Those consumers who are subsidized are finding very affordable care and options.”

Tillerson calls wave of arrests in Saudi Arabia ‘well intended’

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Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said a wave of arrests in Saudi Arabia that snared at least 11 princes, a billionaire investor and former government officials was “well intended,” but he remained concerned about how those detained would be treated.

Tillerson, speaking in an interview as he flew from Beijing to Vietnam, said he called Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir earlier in the week to seek clarity on the Nov. 4 detentions, which authorities said were part of a sweeping anti-graft crackdown. Tillerson added that he didn’t want to read further into the situation until it was clearer.

“It’s my understanding that they’re characterizing these as not really arrests at this point, but they’re presenting people with evidence of what they think the wrongdoing is to see if there’s a willingness to want to make things right,” Tillerson said. “My own view is that it does, it raises a few concerns until we see more clearly how these particular individuals are dealt with.”

Tillerson struck a cautious tone, but ultimately appeared to take the same view as President Donald Trump, who sent a tweet on Nov. 7 backing Saudi Arabia’s king and crown prince. Trump wrote that King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman “know exactly what they are doing.”

Trump and Tillerson were responding to King Salman’s order to detain the princes, four ministers and dozens of former ministers and businessmen, including Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, one of the world’s richest men. The move reinforced expectations that he was clearing any remaining obstacles to the crown prince’s eventual accession to the throne.

The arrests come at a tumultuous time for Saudi Arabia and the region. Just days before, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri flew to Saudi Arabia and announced he was resigning his post. That fueled speculation that Saudi leaders had demanded he do so, and that he wasn’t being allowed to go home.

Tillerson said that al-Jubeir assured him Hariri had resigned of his own accord, although he said the former prime minister, who has dual Saudi and Lebanese citizenship, would need to return home to formally leave his post. Asked if Hariri was being held against his will, Tillerson replied, “I have no indication that is the case.”

The same day as Hariri’s arrest, Saudi Arabia shot down a missile fired by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen towards its international airport. Saudi officials blamed Iran and called it an “act of war.” Asked about the missile, Tillerson suggested the U.S. may bring Iran before the United Nations Security Council if forensic analysis traces the missile back to the Tehran regime.

Supplying such missiles to the rebels would violate Security Council resolutions covering the provision of arms in conflict zones, Tillerson said. That echoed a statement from Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., who said the missile “may” be of Iranian origin. She called on international partners “to take necessary action to hold the Iranian regime accountable for these violations.”

“We’ve said for a long time that we are concerned about Iranian support for the Houthi rebels and we do know they’re supporting them with weapons,” Tillerson said. “Whether this specific missile came from Iran, it seems very likely, but I think we’d like to get the final forensics on it.”

Iran denied supplying Houthi fighters with missiles, and accused Saudi Arabia of trying to escalate tensions.

In the interview, Tillerson said Iran must stop its destabilizing activity and all sides need to lower the rhetoric. He said Saudi Arabia was not causing turmoil, saying it was only fighting forces that had overthrown “the legitimate Yemen government.”

“All the parties need to be careful about characterizing the start of yet another new war,” Tillerson said. “My input would be let’s be a little more cautious about what we say.”

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