Firefighter Paul R. Sutorius Remembered at Pelham Manor Board Meeting
By Stephen E. Lipken
Pelham Manor Mayor Jennifer Monachino Lapey convened the September 14th Board meeting, beginning with the Fire Department Report.
Trustee Timothy Case stated that American Legion Post 50 held the annual 9/11 Ceremony, marking the 25th anniversary was held at 9/11 Memorial Park. It was noted that 27-year veteran Pelham Manor Firefighter Paul R. Sutorius’ name will be added to the Fallen Firefighters Memorial Wall at Empire State Plaza, Albany on Tuesday, October 6th at 11:00 a.m.
A 9/11 first responder, Sutorius tragically passed away on March 22, 2024 from a September 11th-related illness.
Case went on to say that there were ten motor vehicle accidents on I-95. “The State Police are investigating what they believe is insurance scamming, in which people are driving in front of truck trailers and other cars, slamming on their brakes, rear-ending them.
“We did have two kitchen fires, causing $22,000 in damages,” Case added.
Fire Chief Michael Greco mentioned two automatic aid calls to Pelham, 20 hazardous condition calls, most of which were wires down or trees down on wires. Four in-service training sessions were completed, totaling 168 hours, and eight building inspections were completed.
Village Administrator Lindsey Luft presented the August Department of Public Works (DPW) Report. Luft said that four streetlights and two traffic lights were repaired and seven sidewalks were repaired. Park maintenance was conducted, along with pothole repairs, utilizing three tons of blacktop. DPW removed and cut up three tree limbs from a windstorm, and test pits were conducted in the Monroe Street area to prepare for an upcoming stormwater mitigation project.
Trustee Maurice Owen-Michaane remarked that the police booth at Four Corners was damaged when an apparently healthy tree fell on it during a recent windstorm. “It is on its way to being fully restored,” Owen-Michaane asserted.
Lapey then pointed to two recent losses in the community, Kay Teeley, 87, who passed away on August 28th and Patricia “Tish” Davey, 70, who died on September 6th.