A 70 year old Cortlandt man has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the killing of his wife. 

Werner Lippe was convicted of Second Degree Murder in a jury trial of the killing of his wife, Faith Lippe. Faith Lippe went missing on October 3, 2008. Her body was never found.  

Witnesses testified that Werner Lippe admitted to them that he killed his wife using a wooden plank and then disposed of her remains by incinerating them in a burn barrel in the back yard of his home on Little Lake Road.

Lippe's first trial ended in a hung jury. The couple have two teenaged children.

Over the next few months, the focus in the Town of Cortlandt will be "Taking Care of Business" and urging residents to buy locally.

Cortlandt Town Supervisor Linda Puglisi says she and fellow Town Board members, Ann Lindau, Frank Farrell, John Sloan and Dr. Richard Becker have launched a new public access program to be aired on their C 78 public TV channel called "Taking Care of Business" in which local businesses are interviewed and spotlighted in an effort to encourage residents to "shop local."

Puglisi says they have already "interviewed" two local businesses and plan to visit and interview at least two businesses a month and over time cover the 175 local businesses in the Town.

"We have just gone to two of our villages, Buchanan and Croton-on-Hudson, and kicked off our effort visiting "Feed the Birds" in Croton and the 202 Deli on Route 202," said Puglisi.

The veteran Brooklyn police officer killed this morning while responding to a domestic dispute was a resident of Cortlandt Manor.

The NYPD says 42 year old Alain Schaberger of 133 Dogwood Road, Cortlandt responded to a report of a woman in distress around 4:30 a.m. Sunday at 334 Bergen Street who reported her boyfriend was threatening to kill her.  Police also received a call from the security guard at the building. When Schaberger arrived, he got into a struggle with the suspect, 42 year old George Villanueva and was pushed over a stair rail and down a cement stairwell. 

Cops say the suspect has a long history of domestic violence and that he had been arrested on February 4 and 9 and had a long rap sheet for robbery and burglary.

Longtime physician and former Emergency Department Director at Hudson Valley Hospital Center, John A. McGurty Jr., was honored today with the dedication of a new hospital conference room in his name.

Dr. McGurty, who served as HVHC's Director of Emergency Medicine from 1996-2003, has served tours of duty in both Iraq and Afghanistan and as a U.S. Navy reservist and Medical Corps Captain. He has also served as Navy flight surgeon and is due to return overseas later this month for a third military deployment. 

About 100 people were on hand for today's dedication ceremony in the hospital lobby to unveil the plaque that will be placed outside the hospital's new Dr. John A. McGurty, Jr. Conference room.

Those on hand included Cortlandt Town Supervisor Linda Puglisi, Peekskill Mayor Mary Foster, members of the U.S. Marine Corps, New York State and City of Peekskill Police as well as hospital staff and physicians. 

"I am both surprised and extraordinarily humbled to have been selected for this honor," said Dr. McGurdy.  "I am also very grateful to our local community for allowing me to serve them and for my fellow physicians,nurses and employees at Hudson Valley Hospital Center for their years of loyal service."

A Garrison man has been sentenced to 2 1/3 to 7 years in state prison after he was convicted of Vehicular Homicide, Criminally Negligent Homicide, Assault,Reckless Driving and DWI.

Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore says 26 year old George Kiaha of Route 9 Garrison received the sentence stemming from an incident September 4, 2009  on Route 9 in the Town of Cortlandt.

Kiaha was driving southbound on Route 9 near Susan Lane and attempted to pass two vehicles in front of him by crossing into the oncoming lane of traffic. He then struck a vehicle heading northbound head-on injuring all six occupants. One of the injured, 55 year old Ralph Wood later died of internal injuries. A blood test determined Kiaha had a blood alcohol level of .11, which is above the legal limit of .08.

The Town of Cortlandt is now in possession of a piece of World Trade Center Steel that will be used to create a 9/11 Memorial in Croton-on-Hudson at Croton Landing.

Several dozen police, firefighters, volunteers and elected officials traveled in a 16- vehicle caravan early Thursday morning to pick up the steel girder from the World Trade Center's North Tower at a hangar at JFK Airport.

Cortlandt Town Supervisor Linda Puglisi says it was an emotional trip for all involved, 

Speaking at a ceremony at Cortlandt Town Hall afterward, Puglisi said "We are blessed and fortunate to be able to  have a portion of that steel that we can put into a fitting tribute memorial that is currently being designed in memory of those from our community, our country and the world who perished on that very tragic day."

Cortlandt Town Supervisor Linda Puglisi says plans for a new 9/11 Remembrance Memorial are proceeding well. Puglisi says  the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has given Cortlandt the green light to pick up steel from the fallen World Trade Center for use in its  September 11 Memorial which will be located at Croton Landing on the Hudson River.