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An Adams man has been charged with two separate counts of animal cruelty. Police say he left two pit bulls in an uninsulated storage building. Jefferson County Sheriff's deputies arrested 51 year old Mitchell Helberg. He allegedly left the two pitbulls in the building located on the Pulpit Rock Rd. in the Town of Antwerp for an undetermined amount of time in extreme heat conditions. The dogs also lacked proper sustenance according to police, causing them to become overdriven and in distress. Helberg was issued two appearance tickets for Town of Antwerp Court next month.

10:42 AM

Professional hockey will be coming to Watertown this winter. The Watertown City Council Monday night voted 5-0 in favor of a one year agreement with the Thousand Island's Privateers to bring the team to the city next season. The Privateer's new home will be the Watertown Fairgrounds Ice Arena. The previous two seasons had been played at the financially troubled Bonnie Castle Rec Center in Alexandria Bay. The franchise agreement will allow for the team to use the lockers at the arena, but those same lockers will have to be cleared out to allow for youth teams to use them for their games and events as well.

10:41 AM

The Watertown City Council hit the road for part of their meeting last night, hearing a presentation at the Hilton Garden Inn off of Arsenal St. The purpose of the meeting was to meet with developer Pat Donegan who is trying to convince the council to finish a connector road between Arsenal St. and Gaffney Drive. Donegan owns City Center Plaza and told council that if the road through Stateway Plaza is built, he feels he can bring in a big box retailer to that part of town. Previous plans for the so called Western Blvd. were shelved. The council informally agreed to revisit the issue.

10:40 AM

Two men have been arrested at the border and charged with marijuana possession. U.S. Customs and State Police say 29 year old Kyle Rattray of Rochester and 30 year old Christian Koller of Lyons, New York were found to be possession in 14 grams of marijuana and 2 glass pipes containing marijuana residue while attempting to cross into the country from Canada. The two were ticketed for unlawful possession of marijuana.

10:40 AM

The former chairman of the Watertown City Planning Board has entered a not guilty plea to charges of fraud. Norman Wayte was arraigned on the charges while in St. Lawrence County Court Monday. Wayte is alleged to have falsified business records while an employee of United Cerebral Palsy of the North Country in Canton, fraudulently charging Medicaid for over $100,000 from 2006 to 2010. He was released on his own recognizance.

10:39 AM

New York doctors and pharmacists now have three years to implement a electronic tracking system for all prescription medication. State lawmakers approved a proposal to move all prescriptions to an electronic system, allowing pharmacists to track possible abuse of medications such as oxycodone and hydrocodone. The legislation, called I-Stop, is designed to cut down on the explosion in deaths and overdoses from abuse of prescription medication. The state Health Department has until the end of this year to finalize and publish regulations on implementing I-Stop.

10:38 AM

Republicans in Albany are objecting to Governor Cuomo's plan to decriminalize being caught with small amounts of marijuana in public. The state Conservative Party has released a statement denouncing a pair of marijuana decriminalization measures, including Cuomo's. The group says with marijuana still classified as a drug with a high potential for abuse, it needs to be taken seriously in regards to public arrests. Senate Republicans are already skeptical of Governor Cuomo's measure which would lower the penalty of being caught with less than 25 grams of pot in public from a misdemeanor to a violation.

10:38 AM

A new poll finds a large majority of New Yorkers remain unsure who they will vote for in the upcoming Republican U.S. Senate primary. The Siena Research Institute poll found that 70% of voters haven't decided between Congressman Bob Turner, Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos and Wendy Long in the race. The three are vying for the right to take on Democratic incumbent U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in November. The primary is two weeks away.

10:37 AM

High school graduation rates are up slightly in New York State. New data from the state Education Department found graduation rates rose from 73.4% last year to 74% this year. Officials say graduation rates also grew slightly among black and Hispanic students.

10:37 AM

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