Week in Review: Deck Fire in Miller Place, Postal Worker Busted

Former FDNY Battalion Chief from Miller Place Remembered

Retired FDNY Battallion Richard Arazosa, of Miller Place, was remembered early this week after passing away over the weekend.

Services were held Tuesday afternoon and evening at Branch Funeral Home in Miller Place as Route 25A was lined with trucks and cars.

North Brookhaven Chamber Office Vandalized

The North Brookhaven Chamber of Commerce office, the railroad car at the intersection of Routes 112 and 347 in Terryville, has been vandalized, according to a report in the The Village Beacon Record.   

The report states that the car was broken into on April 2. Furniture was reportedly turned over, file cabinets and their contents were thrown around and cigarettes were burned into the new carpet.   

Postal Service Worker Busted in Unemployment Payment Scam

A Rocky Point woman, working for the U.S. Postal Service, was convicted recently by the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York for stealing over $11,500 in unemployment benefits.

The conviction came as one of over 60 cases that collectively took more than $425,000 in unemployment insurance payments under false pretenses, with all individuals working as mail carriers, processing clerks or casual laborers for the USPS.

Mt. Sinai Adopts $55.2 Million Budget, Does Not Exceed Tax Cap

The Mt. Sinai Board of Education adopted the final proposed budget for the 2013-’14 school year Wednesday night; a  $55.2 million budget that does not exceed the district’s tax levy cap. 

The tax levy increase of 4.05 percent is within the district’s cap, so the budget will only need the typical 50 plus-one percent approval to pass. If the levy was over the cap, as it was last year, it would have needed over 60 percent approval.

Fire on Helme Avenue Wednesday Night

Firefighters from both Miller Place and Mt. Sinai Fire Departments rushed to a fire Helme Avenue on Wednesday night, according to Mt. Sinai Fire Department spokesman Elliot Perry.

Perry said that the fire was on the deck of the home. He reported that no one was injured in the blaze.