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The investigation is continuing into the armed robbery of a convenience store in northern Jefferson County Wednesday night. No one was injured.

State Police say a man walked into the Stewarts Shop in the Village of Philadelphia at 11:20 pm, showed a handgun and demanded money. The suspect walked out of the store with $600 cash. He then got into a car, which fled the scene, heading south on Rt. 11

The suspect is described as a black male, who was wearing a black, hooded sweatshirt, with an orange bandana covering his face. Police are also trying to determine if a second individual was behind the wheel of the involved vehicle.

Anyone with any information is asked to call State Police in Watertown at 782-2112.

12:02 PM

Eighteen months of prison and a bad conduct discharge is the sentence handed down in military court against a Ft. Drum soldier who ran down eight individuals outside of a Watertown bar early in the spring.

Twenty three year old Private Kristopher Hendricks was the subject of a two day court martial. According to the Syracuse Post-Standard, a military judge found him guilty of drunken driving and eight counts of aggravated assault.

Hendricks was behind the wheel of a car that hit the eight victims, all military, outside of The Strand on Goodale St. back on March 15. Since everyone involved was in the army, the military was given jurisdiction in the case.

12:01 PM

Officials at Jefferson Community College will examine the costs involved in possible student housing at the Watertown campus. The decision comes following a recent feasibility study in the spring that examined the possible demand.

Anderson, Strickler, LLC of Gaithersburg, Maryland conducted the study back in April. Focus groups were held with current and prospective students as well as telephone interviews with high school guidance counselors. Additionally, Anderson-Strickler conducted an off campus market analysis and a demand analysis. Final results indicate a positive demand for student housing at the school.

College President Dr. Carole McCoy says college officials are reviewing the results of the study and trying to determine the possible costs involved.

12:00 PM

A ruling in federal court is getting cheers from state and environmental officials. Concerns regarding invasive species spurred New York and a number of other states with in the Great Lakes region to seek court action.

The ruling in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an earlier court decision that determined that all large commercial ships must comply with the Clean Water Act. That will require a permit in order to discharge pollutant containing ballast water into the Great Lakes and other waterways. The EPA had previously exempted the practice.

11:59 AM

(Albany, NY) -- Governor David Paterson's tax cap plan is coming under fire from the state's teacher's union, claiming the plan would limit the flow of education funding to New York City. New York State United Teachers plans to spend $350,000 in a media campaign against the cap, claiming Albany would be forced to use money destined for the city to bail out suburban school districts running into the red. The governor is set to introduce the measure placing a four-percent limit on annual school budget increases, while exempting the state's five largest cities, during a special session on August 5. The Republican-controlled state Senate vows to pass the measure, while its passage in the state Assembly remains unclear. School districts budgets on Long Island and Westchester County are growing at a rate near six-percent-a-year. Supporters of the cap say the state's teachers union wants to block any restraint on spending.

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Metro Networks Communications Inc., A Westwood One Company

11:57 AM

(Albany, NY) -- A statewide ban on smoking in addiction service centers goes into effect in New York today. The New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse says the tobacco-free environment at all prevention and treatment programs is the first initiative of its kind in the nation. The smoking rate among the one-point-eight-million New Yorkers dealing with alcoholism and drug addiction is about 92%.

Copyright © 2008
Metro Networks Communications Inc., A Westwood One Company

11:55 AM

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