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Unusual Suspects: WWII Rockets; Horse Takes Route 303; Cocaine Found

Recent weird and unusual crime in the Hudson Valley. Reports do not indicate a conviction.

A 78-year-old Port Chester grandfather wired $2,700 to his supposed grandson who said he was in a Niagara Falls jail. The man's real grandson was actually safe in Arizona at the time. A second person posing as a police officer apparently got on the call and gave wiring instructions to the grandfather. The FBI has warned senior citizens about such scams and advises them to take caution when receiving such calls. Social networking websites like Facebook allow personal information to be widely disseminated, giving schemers details that can convince someone that the schemer is in fact legitimate.

A woman cleaning out her recently-deceased parents' Piermont home discovered some unusual WWII artifacts--one artillery round and two rocket-propelled grenade rounds. The RPG rounds were in the garage and the artillery was in the garden. Police removed the items, which were not live.

Getting banned from the West Nyack Macy's wasn't enough for one Spring Valley resident. The 50-year-old man reportedly returned to the store and got caught stealing a $29.98 watch. Apparently, he removed it from the casing and put it on his wrist and tried to leave the store without paying for it. Security recognized him and he was subsequently charged.

Westchester County Police determined a report of a naked man standing on a deck at a residence in Peekskill was unfounded. 

After a Port Chester police officer noticed a woman running away from a group of people he was questioning, he decided to follow her. The woman reportedly ran to a restaurant on Poningo Street and into the bathroom. The police officer then discovered 44 plastic bags filled with cocaine hidden in the trash can of the restaurant's bathroom along with other drug paraphernalia.

A horse escaped from its stable off Route 303 in Orangeburg and made its way to parking lots and the road, where it posed a threat to motorists and put itself in danger. Police worked with stable staff to corral the horse, who was reportedly unwell. 

A New Hampshire motorcyclist was arrested in I-684 in Bedford for driving at more than 125mph and carrying a Ruger 9MM handgun, according to NY State Troopers from the Somers barracks. 

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Lisa Buchman (Editor) June 6, 2013 at 10:14 am
I loved all the music - the band belting out 'Sweet Caroline' was great!
Lisa Buchman (Editor) June 6, 2013 at 10:12 am
Heather, thanks! I saw you in the crowd! These are awesome. It was a perfect night for it! I'll addRead More a link to your post from mine.
Josephine Ziegler presented the school board with the petition at the May 9 meeting.
John Craig June 3, 2013 at 11:50 am
Regarding paragraph 5 -- the retirement incentive. I haven't read anything to suggest that theRead More retirement incentive and the insurance switch are related or that that KLDTA asked for one to get the other. When I read the initial release from the board, I saw them as 2 different cost savings initiatives. ---The district indicated that each retirement saves a net of $32,500 per year. Early Retirement Incentive Plans (ERIPs) are fairly common stuff among downsizing private organizations. I think it makes sense to use them here to accelerate cost savings. ---The original petition was well written. Now that we have addressed point #3, I think it's time to make further progress on point #2 -- a financially sustainable contract. ---And, experience suggests that if you really want to move forward in a collaborative way, you have to let go of the past. Continuing to harp on past mistakes undermines point #5.
Sara Weale June 3, 2013 at 12:36 pm
Thanks for your comment. I agree that we all need to move forward -- but in my opinion, althoughRead More this side agreement made a long-overdue change in health care carriers (while maintaining a high level of health care benefits/access to teachers, retirees and their dependents), the KLDTA again asked for retirement incentives in return - just as they did for the December 2010 MOA that extended the terms of their contract for two years and avoided going to Triborough. Under the 2010 MOA, KLDTA requested a $10,000 retirement incentive and 21 teachers took the offer (including the current leader of KLDTA) -- resulting in an outlay of $210,000 by the district. Although some savings might have been realized for "early" retirements, it is difficult to calculate the exact amount because the district has no way of knowing when a teacher would have retired without the incentive. If 20 additional teachers take the new retirement incentive which was increased to $17,500 for some reason -- that is a total cost to the district of $350,000. Don't forget that regardless of the incentive, teachers retire with full pension and retiree health care benefits. Yes - the district will realize some savings from the incentives -- but we likely would have realized similar savings without incentives and natural attrition/retirement of our teaching staff. What I think we need to pay attention to as a community is that it seems the only way that KLDTA leadership will agree to changes in the status quo is if they get something in return. The last two agreements with the KLDTA will likely result in approximately $500,000 spent by the district in retirement incentives over a five year period -- money in my opinion, better kept in the district system during these difficult economic times and in the tax-cap environment. In my opinion, finally switching health care carriers did not merit financial rewards for teachers likely retiring in the next three years anyway.
Katonah19 June 6, 2013 at 08:08 am
For more insight, take a look at BOE Member Charles Day's statement on retirement incentives inRead More exchange for KLSDTA's agreement to changes in Health Care here: http://bedford.patch.com/groups/opinion/p/days-statement-on-kl-union-contract-changes