Small Bits of News You Didn’t Know you Needed

Teen arrested for posing as another student to take exam
A Schenectady teen is facing a felony charge after police said he dressed as a girl to take a Regents exam for a student at Schenectady High School. Steve Ference reports.
The exam is crucial for students hoping to graduate and get into the best schools - pressure that officials said may have led one female student to enlist a MALE friend to take the test for her.
Schenectady City School District Superintendent Eric Ely said, "When the proctor comes around to hand the test out, they know the girl whose name is on the test."
"Placed him under arrest for burglary for unlawfully entering the premises and committing the act of forgery," said Sgt. Clifford.
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F-word on Jury Summons
A response to jury duty sparked a surreal brush with the law for an innocent woman.
Denise Morrice’s jury summons was returned with the remark: "**** off! I’ve got better things to do. OK!!"
She did not write the abuse, nor receive the original letter.
It was sent to the wrong address and intercepted by a malicious tamperer, Teesside Crown Court heard.
But Miss Morrice was arrested, brought before Teesside’s top judge and had to explain herself in the witness box before being exonerated.
She likened her extraordinary experience to a bad dream or a Jeremy Beadle-style joke.
The jury summons was posted to her old home, where it was opened by someone else who scrawled the profane retort.
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Woman paid man £20,000 not to rape her
A terrified woman wrote a would-be rapist a £20,000 cheque to leave her alone.
The frightened victim had the brainwave after a sex attacker barged into her home, pinned her against a wall and ordered her to get undressed.
As Martin Cartwright, 49, began undoing his trousers, the woman offered him the money.
Cartwright took the cheque and left but warned her: "If you say anything, even in a thousand years, I'll kill you."
Prosecutor Tim Forster told a court: "He put the money into his bank account. He told cashiers he had won the lottery."
When police caught up with Cartwright, he claimed he had heard voices from Jesus "saying I should rape someone".
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Firefighter charged with manufacturing meth
A lieutenant with the Waterloo fire department has been arrested and placed on leave following an investigation by the local narcotics task force.
Investigators with the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force arrested Jeffrey Scott Cutsforth, 48, of 359 Derbyshire Road, shortly after 4 p.m. Thursday on charges of conspiracy to manufacture 5 grams or more of methamphetamine.
The crime is a class B felony, and Cutsforth was taken to the Black Hawk County Jail. He was released on bond.
Records show agents with the drug task force were at Cutsforth's house to serve a search warrant Tuesday.
Cutsforth has been a firefighter for the city of Waterloo for 25 years, starting in 1983. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1997 and is a certified hazardous materials technician.
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