Pearl River Week in Review: Kicking Off 2013

The Orangetown Town Council began 2013 by recognizing the work of emergency responders and town employees as part of the annual reorganizational meeting Jan. 2. 

The honors were a new addition to the annual meeting, which also included the traditional state of the town address by Supervisor Andy Stewart. 

Those were just two of the stories brought to you by Pearl River Patch this past week. 

• Orangetown police . Authorities allege that Oleksowicz continued to distribute drugs illegally even after the fatal overdose. 
• Lower Hudson Council of School Superintendents sent out a letter in late December calling for "immediate and bold action by state and federal legislators to end gun violence in our schools and communities." The group, which includes Pearl River Superintendent Dr. John Morgano, offered a plan that includes gun restrictions, funding for mental health and school security. 
• Junior John Muldoon and sophomore James Kelly ran their records to 21-0 with by winning their weight classes at the Michael O'Connell Wrestling Tournament. 
• Friends and family of Pearl River High School Alum Billy Raftery raised money for the Pearl River ice hockey program with an exhibition game at Sport-O-Rama in Monsey. 
• Nicole Grossbard returned to the area as a starting point guard for the Southern Connecticut State women's basketball team, which won at Dominican College Dec. 31. The college freshman missed her entire senior season at Pearl River High School. 
• Chris Smith of Pearl River officially kicked off a unique campaign for Orangetown Receiver of Taxes Saturday. Smith has promised to help phase out the position if he is elected. 
• A bipartisan coalition blasted the decision by the Journal News to run a map that charts all legally licensed pistol permit holders in Rockland and Westchester counties. 
• The Rockland County Legislature voted in Legislator Jay Hood (D-Haverstraw) as majority leader and Legislator Christopher Carey (R-Bardonia) as minority leader for 2013 at Thursday's reorganizational meeting. Harriet Cornell was re-elected for a ninth year as chair of the legislature. 
• The U.S. House of Representatives voted to approve one part of a Hurricane Sandy aid package Friday. Earlier in the week, Rockland County Legislator Ilan Schoenberger (D-Suffern) and the Orangetown Town Board joined Congresswoman Nita Lowey in criticizing the delays in voting for aid to Hurricane Sandy's victims. 
• P that ran from Dec. 14 to Jan. 2 and 538 arrests were made for DWI.