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Police Retirements Among Changes In Bedford Come 2013

BEDFORD, N.Y. -- Bedford residents will see progress on a slate of municipal and school district projects in 2013, as well as hiring and retirements among town personnel. 

Six Bedford Police Department officers retire at end of 2012. Chief William Hayes (pictured) said the department is continuing its interviews of candidates for current and anticipated vacancies.

Six Bedford Police Department officers retire at end of 2012. Chief William Hayes (pictured) said the department is continuing its interviews of candidates for current and anticipated vacancies.

Photo Credit: Liz Button

  • The Bedford Central School District rescheduled the public bond vote on its capital plan from March to October. On Jan. 9, 2013, Superintendent Jere Hochman gives his recommendation to the Board of Education, which will vote on it at its Jan. 23 meeting.  
  • In January, the Bedford Central School District plans to implement a new emergency text message system designed to immediately alert parents of any critical situation. This adds one more communication strategy, which includes the new BCSD Twitter and Facebook pages initiated during Hurricane Sandy to relay information about closings and power restoration progress; the district's reverse 911 calls; and the school messenger email system, among other methods. In the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, there are a number of safety improvements on the table for the new year.
  • Six Bedford Police Department officers retire at the end of 2012: Lt. Robert Mazurak (30 years), Sgt. Jack Purdy (25 years), Sgt. Matthew Dunn (24 years), Sgt. Anthony Frasca (21 years), Detective Matthew Dibiase (23 years), and Patrolman Patrick Lenahan (24 years). Bedford Police Chief William Hayes said the department is continuing its interviews of candidates for current and anticipated vacancies. Hayes said he expects the hiring process to be completed after the first quarter of the year. Sgt. Melvin Padilla was promoted to lieutenant starting Jan. 1, 2013 to fill the vacancy created by Mazurak's retirement, while Officer William Smith, was promoted to youth officer detective to fill Dibiase's position.
  • Miscellaneous school building improvements are in the queue for the coming year, including a new steam boiler for Mount Kisco Elementary School and a new hot water boiler for Bedford Hills Elementary School, which plans to be installed by early summer 2013.
  • In December, the Bedford Town Board resolved to table the Stepping Stones SEQRA determination, which gauges environmental impact, until 2013, after a joint meeting with the museum and the town board had to be rescheduled. Neighbors of the Stepping Stones site at 66 Oak Road in Katonah have come to the town's planning board with concerns regarding the number of cars that go in and out of the site each day, as well as the impact of the buses that bring visitors to the site. A former private home, Stepping Stones is known as the birthplace of Alcoholics Anonymous and was recently named a historic landmark. The museum seeks to come to a compromise with residents regarding their parking arrangement and visitation hours.

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