Editor’s note: A charge is not a conviction. All persons listed are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Charges can be amended or dismissed.

STATE POLICE

• Tujuna Casson, 53, of Cairo, was arrested Dec. 20 at 3:16 p.m. in Cairo and charged with criminal mischief/intent to damage property and third-degree assault with intent to cause physical injury, both class A misdemeanors. Casson was released on their own recognizance.
• Nakeema Mott, 28, of Albany, was arrested Dec. 22 at 2:25 p.m. in Coxsackie and charged with first-degree knowingly introducing dangerous contraband into a prison and fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, both class D felonies, and second-degree introduction of contraband into a prison, a class A misdemeanor. Mott was released on their own recognizance.
• An unidentified 18-year-old, of Mount Vernon, was arrested Dec. 24 at 2:30 p.m. in Coxsackie and charged with second-degree introduction of contraband into a prison, a class A misdemeanor. The individual was issued an appearance ticket.
• Daniel Josefsberg, 47, of West Coxsackie, was arrested Dec. 25 at 11:44 a.m. in Coxsackie and charged with third-degree assault with intent to cause physical injury, second-degree menacing with a weapon, criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation, and second-degree unlawful imprisonment, all class A misdemeanors. Josefsberg was issued cash bail in an undisclosed amount.
• Lacy Hagen, 47, of Purling, was arrested Dec. 26 at 8:16 p.m. in Cairo and charged with driving while intoxicated and operating a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol content over 0.08%, both unclassified misdemeanors. Hagen was issued an appearance ticket.
• Max Oppen, 48, of East Jewett, was arrested Dec. 27 at 12:10 a.m. in Hunter and charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, manufacture of drug-related paraphernalia and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, all class A misdemeanors, and operating a motor vehicle impaired by drugs, an unclassified misdemeanor. Oppen’s arrest status was not reported.
• Gary Patrick Deen, 30, of Hensonville, was arrested Dec. 27 at 2 a.m. in Windham and charged with third-degree assault with intent to cause physical injury, a class A misdemeanor. Deen was issued an appearance ticket.
• Jeremy Moore, 31, of Cairo, was arrested Dec. 27 in Cairo at 11:21 a.m. and charged with acting in a manner injurious to a child less than 17, third-degree assault with intent to cause physical injury, and criminal mischief with intent to damage property, all class A misdemeanors. Moore was released on his own recognizance.
• Claire Hymes, 39, of Kingston, was arrested Dec. 28 at 11:55 p.m. in Catskill and charged with driving while intoxicated and operating a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol content over 0.08%, both unclassified misdemeanors. Hymes was issued an appearance ticket.
• Robyn Fisher, 59, of Cairo, was arrested Dec. 29 at 8:53 p.m. in Cairo and charged with driving while intoxicated and aggravated driving while intoxicated with a blood-alcohol content over 0.18%, both unclassified misdemeanors. Fisher was issued an appearance ticket.
• Nyen Williams, 23, of Palenville, was arrested Dec. 30 at 1:46 p.m. in Catskill and charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a class A misdemeanor. Williams was issued an appearance ticket.
• Charlet Wenzel, 62, of Ulster, was arrested Dec. 30 at 10:01 p.m. in Greenville and charged with driving while intoxicated and operating a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol content over 0.08%, both unclassified misdemeanors. Wenzel was issued an appearance ticket.
• Amber Brandow, 30, of Cairo, was arrested Dec. 31 at 12:43 a.m. in Cairo and charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and manufacture of drug-related paraphernalia, both class A misdemeanors. Brandow was released on her own recognizance.
• Cory Norman, 20, of Clifton Park, was arrested Dec. 31 at 2:20 a.m. in Catskill and charged with driving while intoxicated and operating a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol content over 0.08%, both unclassified misdemeanors. Norman’s arrest status was not reported.
• Adam Fischkelta, 52, of Jersey City, New Jersey, was arrested Dec. 31 at 2:29 a.m. in Tannersville and charged with operating a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol content over 0.08% and driving while intoxicated, both unclassified misdemeanors. Fischkelta’s arrest status was not reported.
• Joanna Yvette Rodriguez, 25, of Brooklyn, was arrested Dec. 31 at 10:15 a.m. in Coxsackie and charged with second-degree introduction of contraband into a prison, a class A misdemeanor. Rodriguez was released on her own recognizance.
• Theodore Banta, 21, of Cairo, was arrested Dec. 31 at 10:53 p.m. in Catskill and charged with third-degree criminal possession of more than 16 ounces of cannabis and third-degree criminal possession of more than 5 ounces of concentrated cannabis, both class A misdemeanors. Banta was issued an appearance ticket.
• Albino Quintanar Perez, 46, of East Durham, was arrested Dec. 31 at 11:01 p.m. in Cairo and charged with driving while intoxicated and operating a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol content over 0.08%, both unclassified misdemeanors. Perez was issued an appearance ticket.
• Shannon Ellett, 41, of Catskill, was arrested Jan. 1 at 1:25 a.m. in Catskill and charged with driving while intoxicated and aggravated driving while intoxicated, both unclassified misdemeanors. Ellett was issued an appearance ticket.
• Andrew Verga, 35, of Windham, was arrested Jan. 1 at 4:02 a.m. in Windham and charged with driving while intoxicated and aggravated driving while intoxicated with a blood-alcohol content over 0.18%, both unclassified misdemeanors. Verga’s arrest status was not reported.
• Leo Platti, 36, of Germantown, was arrested Jan. 2 at 8:49 p.m. in Catskill and charged with third-degree forgery and third-degree possession of a forged instrument, both class A misdemeanors, and third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, an unclassified misdemeanor. Platti was issued an appearance ticket.

By Melanie Lekocevic

Capital Region Independent Media

EAST DURHAM — The parade may have come two days after the Fourth of July, but there was plenty of patriotism on display this weekend.

The Durham Task Force organized the parade down Route 145, which drew local organizations, businesses, first responders and more to honor the nation’s birth.

“This is our 29th Fourth of July parade,” said Brenna Rustick, the new president of the Durham Task Force. “We want people to have a sense of community.”

The parade each year is a community effort with numerous groups and individuals supporting the event both before and during the festivities.

“We have a lot of community people donating to this,” Rustick said. “People are donating their time to help out and groups are marching in the parade. This gets the community together.”

Organization of the parade for years had been handled by local resident Linda Sutton, but this year she turned the reins over to a new group. As a thank you for her years of service, the Durham Task Force named Sutton the parade’s grand marshal.

“She has been running this for a long time and she stepped down this year,” Rustick said. “She and her husband, Tommy Sutton, who is a police officer in town, they have been doing this for a while and we took over for them. But they were a massive help this year so a big thank you goes out to them.”

Sutton, who said she has been organizing the parade for the past 25 years, was humble in accepting the grand marshal honor, but said she “would rather be on the working end of it.”

“I turned it over this year — there is a whole new group that is organizing it,” Sutton added. “This year is a learning experience for everyone.”

But while the parade’s leadership may have changed, one thing remains the same about the Independence Day celebration.

“We live in a great country and everybody’s got to come out and celebrate every once in a while,” Sutton said.

The parade drew dozens of groups marching down Route 145, with the procession ending at the Michael J. Quill Irish Cultural and Sports Centre. At the parade’s conclusion, everyone got together for free hot dogs and ice cream, as patriotic tunes were played.

Mike Adrian, commander of VFW Post 983 in Cairo, said the sacrifices of those who served in the armed forces make celebrations like the parade possible.

“We are celebrating independence, coming out and joining the community of East Durham and showing what the Vietnam wall is about, and what the men gave their lives for,” Adrian said of the replica wall that was featured in the parade. “This is why people can do this today.”

Here are more images from Saturday’s parade: