_____________ ROCKVILLE CENTRE ____________ SAVE WHE N YOU
HERALD
BUNDLE AUTO & HO ME INSUR ANCE
Homemakers give back to veterans
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Vol. 33 No. 50
DECEMBER 8 - 14, 2022
4.9
Alex Anderson
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Holiday lighting draws a crowd
Curran takes back his past Assembly seat By BEN FIEBERT bfiebert@liherald.com
Tim Baker/Herald
RVC Mayor honored with lifetime Achievement Family members join Rockville Centre mayor Francis Murray to receive the Bishop John R. McGann Lifetime Achievement Award at the Mercy Ball on Dec. 3. Story, more photos, Page 6.
After facing a stiff challenge from Assemblywoman Judy Griffin, challenger Brian Curran, a Republican, will be heading to Albany once again, marking the end of a tight race in the 21st Assembly District. The race between Griffin, the incumbent Democrat, and Curran, who held the seat from 2010 to 2018, officially ended on Dec. 2. By a margin of just 138 votes in the final hand recount, Curran reclaimed the seat he lost to Griffin four years ago. Griffin released a statement last Friday, in which she conceded and thanked her supporters.
“Yesterday, this long election campaign finally concluded with the completion of a mandatory hand recount,” Griffin said. “Unfortunately, by the slimmest of margins, I did not prevail.” She highlighted the narrowness of her loss. “This incredibly close result of 50.1 percent to 49.9 percent truly conveys the importance of each and every vote,” she said. “As the first woman elected to this seat and the first Democrat elected since 1974, I am proud of my record of legislative accomplishments.” Griffin wished the constituents of District 21 all the best, and said she remained commitContinued on page 12
Police hire four officers, promotes three to detective By DANIEl oFFNER doffner@liherald.com
Rockville Centre’s Police Department has promoted three officers to the rank of detective and added four new officers to the rank and file, expanding its police force to 58. Mayor Francis Murray said that when he was elected 11 years ago, there were 52 officers on the force. “Times have changed, and we recognize that,” Murray said. “We believe in policing in this village. This board believes in policing.” Thanks to its robust police force, he said, the Village of Rockville Centre is now the
18th-safest village with a population of 25,000 or more in the U.S. On Monday, the new officers and detectives were sworn in b e fo re t h e v i l l a g e b o a rd . “Tonight it’s my pleasure to swear in seven deserving members of our department,” Police Commissioner James Vafeades said, introducing each of them. Detective Stefanie Balos, 32, came to the RVCPD in 2015 after graduating from Queens College with a degree in psychology, which she puts to good use as the department’s youth officer. Balos investigates any and all issues impacting the lives of children in the village, coordi-
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FRANCIs MuRRAy mayor Rockville Centre
nating her efforts with local schools and parents. She will continue in this role as a detective. Detective John Murphy, 38, has been a member of the department since 2014. Before that, he saw combat as a mem-
ber of the U.S. Marine Corps, where he served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Murphy was a police officer in Ocean Beach and Westhampton before coming to Rockville Centre. Since then he has been a member of the Traffic Enforcement Unit and the Firearms and Training Unit, and currently works in the Anti-
Crime Unit, where he will remain as a detective. Detective Dominic Scicutella, 48, has been a member of the village force since 2013, after attending Dowling College and serving as a New York City police officer. In Rockville Centre, Scicutella has worked in the traffic unit, Continued on page 4