Town Board talks parades, heroes and dog shelters

WASHINGTON ­­— At the last Town Board meeting of the year, held on Thursday, Dec. 13, town Supervisor Gary Ciferri began by noting how successful the inaugural Parade of Lights was in the village on Dec. 7.Ciferri said that the parade was an outstanding success and took time to thank Millbrook fire department member Rick Seaman for his behind-the-scenes efforts. Fire department member Brian Hicks organized the event with Seaman, which had a turnout in the hundreds and packed restaurants, shops and village streets.“That was the whole point of the parade,” said Seaman. “Millbrook has been going to other towns probably for the last four or five years and it was decided that we needed to have that in Millbrook. Fortunately, we had a good turnout and a good response and hopefully we will be able to continue that.”Town Clerk Mary Alex said the parade was fabulous, lasting 40 minutes. Seaman said that next year they are hoping for better weather, which would allow more floats and firetrucks. Seaman said there were actually more floats prepared to join the parade that didn’t appear because there were not enough vehicles to tow them. Village Mayor Laura Hurley didn’t let that dampen her spirits, and said she has already been approached by dozens of people with float ideas for next year.“It’s so nice to have members of the community [participate],” said Hurley.An act of heroismCiferri then took the opportunity to inform those at the meeting of a story involving Seaman’s son, Jason. Ciferri asked both father and son to be present at the board meeting so he could thank them for their work, but for different reasons. He had already thanked the senior Seaman for his work on the parade. But later in the meeting he turned his attention to the younger Seaman.The supervisor said that a few weeks ago an 81-year-old woman was pulled from her burning home in Trumbull, Conn. When she was rescued from the fire she was in critical condition, with no discernible pulse. First responders led the rescue efforts and revived the woman, and also extinguished the fire. Those at the scene attributed the women’s survival to the first responders, including Jason. Sadly the woman passed away a few days later from a terminal illness; she had been on life support for sometime before the incident.“Our hats off to you for the job you did. You should be proud; I’m sure your family is, just as we are,” said Ciferri. “We have a little certificate we would like to present to you if you don’t mind. It’s a certificate of appreciation to Jason Seaman for his heroic efforts, awarded this 13th day of December, 2012, from the town of Washington.”Jason Seaman became a volunteer with the Millbrook fire department when he was 16.Kennel issueDuring the town clerk’s report Mary Alex updated the board on where the town stands in regard to having a dog shelter. Alex said that concerned citizens Howard Schuman and Joan Trombini volunteered to research the issue and find recommendations for local dog shelters. Schuman said he would like to see the town have an on-site facility, for which the town must meet state standards. The recommendation was that Arlington Animal Hospital would best meet the needs of the town.“Our local veterinarians’ Planning Board [building and zoning] approvals don’t allow them to shelter pets, so we are not allowed to use our own doctors in our community, which is a little sad,” said Alex.The town used to use David Hammond, DVM, from Village Animal Hospital as a shelter, however the practice closed after Hammond passed away. Alex said that for a dog to go to Arlington Animal Hospital it costs $137.60, based on vaccinations that are required for the dog to enter the facility. Then it costs $17.50 per day to board the dog.“It’s expensive to house a dog; it’s close to $200 just for the dog to go in for day one,” said Alex, adding the shelter works “very hard to adopt out the dogs.”The board agreed to make Arlington Animal Hospital the town’s shelter for stray dogs. The Town Board’s annual organizational meeting will be on Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013.