The aldermen voted last Thursday to add four new police positions to the budget, at $58,728 each plus benefits, which will vary depending on the number of dependents the new officers have.

The additional positions will allow police Chief Keith Mello to place four school resource officers in the schools next year. An SRO will be assigned to each high school under Mello’s plan. The other two officers will be assigned to the three middle schools and will have responsibilities at the elementary schools.

During budget deliberations, Alderman Robert Nunno (D) came out strongly against the plan, saying it was too expensive and could be done just as well for a lot less.

The four officers, with benefits, are expected to cost $300,000. The Board of Education has earmarked $150,000 to pay half the cost, and the city will come up with the rest.

Nunno described an SRO program in North Branford, where he said school officials hired retired or former police officers to work as SROs. They make $20 an hour and don’t get benefits, Nunno said.

Based on those salaries, Nunno said, Milford could hire five SROs — one for each high school and middle school — and the cost would be about $145,000.

“I don’t want our schools to look like prisons,” said Nunno, who is a music teacher at West Shore Middle School. He doesn’t like the idea of a police cruiser parked in front of the school every day. He said retired officers would drive their own cars, so that wouldn’t be an issue.

He also said that he hasn’t heard from constituents about the SROs, and he thought that was unusual.

Alderman Paula Smith (R) said she was interested in Nunno’s idea but wished he had presented it sooner, calling it the “12th hour” because he presented it the night of the budget vote.

Alderman Frank Smith (D) said he thought it was as good a time as any to debate the matter, and he said he shared some of Nunno’s misgivings. Frank Smith said he also had some misgivings about civil liberty issues associated with having police in the schools.

Ray Vitali (R), a retired middle school principal, has said he doesn’t like the idea of hiring only four SROs, especially since he thinks each middle school needs its own officer. He suggested the city look at a combination of both programs: using full-fledged officers and retired officers.

Vitali insisted that the matter really needed to be debated more among the aldermen. Paula Smith and Chairman Phillip Vetro (D) got into an argument about Mello’s appearance at an earlier meeting. Paula Smith said she thought Mello was going to be on the agenda to speak and was critical that he merely spoke under a section of the agenda called “chairman’s report.”

Vetro said the chief had already made a lengthy presentation at a Board of Education meeting, which the aldermen were invited to attend.

The SRO’s will be selected from the existing ranks.

“We want experienced, energetic officers, who have a strong desire to work with kids in a non-traditional law enforcement role,” Mello said. “Not every police officer will make a good SRO. It takes an individual with a unique skill set.”

The SRO’s will be selected in consultation with representatives from the school district. Selection will begin within the next few months, followed by the basic SRO training course, Mello said.

The SRO’s will then undergo additional training in a number of specified areas, relative to juvenile related issues. Mello said the training they receive is only available to sworn law enforcement officers.

“We are currently conducting background investigations on a number of police recruit applicants, who will begin their seven month recruit training in August,” Mello said. “These new officers will replace those offices who are selected to become SROs. We anticipate having trained sworn SROs in the schools by February, 2014.”

Both islands have been designated by DEEP as Natural Area Preserves, primarily because of their importance as nesting habitats for several state-listed birds, including snowy egrets and great egrets (state threatened species), glossy ibis, and little blue herons (state special concern).

The two islands have also been designated as Important Bird Areas by Audubon Connecticut.

In addition, the DEEP is asking beachcombers, sunbathers and boaters along the Connecticut shoreline to respect the fencing and yellow signs warning of piping plover and least tern nesting sites.

The piping plover, a small, sandy-colored shorebird about the size of a sparrow, is a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act, as well as a state threatened species in Connecticut. The small, gull-like least tern, which nests in colonies in the same beach habitat as the piping plover, also is a state threatened species.

“Each year the DEEP closes Charles and Duck Island during the nesting season to protect various bird species and to safeguard piping plovers and least terns on their beaches,” said Susan Whalen, DEEP Deputy Commissioner. “Closing the islands and enlisting the public’s help and cooperation are simple but effective ways to protect these birds.”

A female victim was jogging in the area of Milford Point Road and Holly Street when she observed a man standing in the bushes near the side of the road, police said.

The man then covered a portion of his face with his shirt and exposed himself to the victim. The man did not attempt to interact with the woman during the incident.

The suspect is described as a black male, 18-21 years of age, approximately 6’1” in height, thin build, wearing a black sweatshirt and dark colored pants.

A thorough check of the area was done with the assistance of a police K9 team. Increased police patrols were stationed in the area.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Milford Police Department at (203) 878-6551 or visit milfordpd.org and clock in “Crime Tips.”

Ann was born February 15, 1925 in Derby, CT.

Ann was the beloved wife of the late Walter Pankowitz; loving mother of Paula (Steve) Watson and Walt; cherished grandmother of Grayson, Rose and Riley Watson; dear sister of Mary (the late Jack) Finkle.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday, May 29th at 10:00 am (MEET DIRECTLY AT CHURCH) at Christ the Redeemer Church, 325 Oronoque Rd, Milford, CT 06460. Interment to follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Milford. Arrangements are being handled by the Cody-White Funeral Home, 107 Broad St, Milford, CT 06460.

To leave online condolences please visit our website at www.codywhitefuneralservice.com.

Visiting hours are Wednesday, May 29, from 4 to 8 p.m., at the Larson Funeral Home, 2496 North Avenue, Bridgeport.

Snakes don’t seek attention. According to one expert, “Most warm-blooded critters are basically exhibitionists.

You can go in your backyard and have a pretty good chance of seeing the same squirrel several times a week, or seeing all the robins within 50 yards. Not snakes. The concept of detection probability — the odds that you’ll see a snake if it’s nearby — may be the most important concept in snake ecology.

For certain habitats, more individual snakes live in a given area than the total of all birds and mammals in that area combined, and yet if you took a walk there you might see few to no snakes.

Most folks have no idea of how many snakes are around, or what an important role they play in the environment.

Humans tend come upon snakes by surprise, which scares both species unnecessarily, and sometimes in such a way that neither one can do anything but defend itself, compounding the confusion. Where knowledge suffers, myths thrive. 

Fourteen species of snake live in Connecticut. Two are venomous — the Timber Rattlesnake and the Northern Copperhead; 12 are not. Of the 12, three species are declining or warrant special concern, seven are doing fine, and two are so shy that no one knows.

Milford contains habitats appropriate for nine of the 12. Among these, the most common residents here are the ones that tolerate development — the Eastern Garter Snake and the Northern Brown Snake, which look a lot alike. As to the venomous snakes, Milford does contain habitat for copperheads, but that species is declining, while rattlesnakes are nearly extinct, and presently are limited to northwest and central Connecticut. 

All of this information is on the DEEP website, ct.gov/deep, which should be a Milfordite’s first stop on the way to celebrating the Year of the Snake. The second stop should be yearofthesnake.org, a website for Year of the Snake News. This family-oriented monthly newsletter offers both comprehensive information about snakes and readable ways to appreciate their place in the natural world. Readers have the opportunity to submit their own articles and photos.

The third stop — perhaps only the end of another fascinating beginning — should be snakecount.org. This describes the annual Snake Count, a citizen-science project begun in 2011. Count months are May and October. Anyone can register free anytime. During 2012, only four snake sightings were made in the whole state, just one in New Haven County (Meriden), so the count in Milford is wide open.

Who could heart snakes? Prepare to be surprised.

Mrs. Fitzpatrick was born in New Haven on August 3, 1922, daughter of the late William and Elizabeth Dorman Burroughs.

A resident of Ansonia since 1951, she was employed as a bookkeeper.

She is survived by two sons, Gene W. Fitzpatrick and his wife Nancy Tuder of Milford and Mark S. Fitzpatrick of Vermont, seven grandchildren and several great-grandchildren. In addition to her husband, she was predeceased by a son, Randy Fitzpatrick.

Per Mrs. Fitzpatrick’s request, her funeral service and burial will be private and at the convenience of the family. The SPINELLI-RICCIUTI/BEDNAR-OSIECKI FUNERAL HOME, 62 Beaver Street in Ansonia, has been privileged with the arrangements.

To send an act of sympathy, please visit www.spinelliricciutifh.com.