{"id":6434,"date":"2013-03-19T12:00:54","date_gmt":"2013-03-19T16:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=6434"},"modified":"2013-03-19T12:30:28","modified_gmt":"2013-03-19T16:30:28","slug":"crowd-gathers-to-honor-2-new-garden-officers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=6434","title":{"rendered":"Crowd gathers to honor 2 New Garden officers"},"content":{"rendered":"

One was applauded for DUI enforcement, the other for overall exemplary service<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

By Kathleen Brady Shea<\/span><\/strong>, Managing Editor, The Times<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"New<\/a>

New Garden Police Officer Mario Raimato (right) holds the plaque he received from Police Chief Gerald R. Simpson, which honored his as 2012 Police Officer of the Year.<\/p><\/div>\n

It wasn\u2019t soccer fields or sewage tanks that drew the crowd to the New Garden Township supervisors\u2019 meeting Monday night.\u00a0 Two police officers attracted a throng that included colleagues, relatives, county detectives, members of other police departments and the public.<\/p>\n

Most came to honor two award recipients: Officer Joseph P. Versagli III, who received commendation for his enforcement of drunken-driving laws in 2012, and Officer Mario Raimato, the recipient of New Garden\u2019s 2012 Officer of the Year plaque.<\/p>\n

Police Chief Gerald R. Simpson said both officers \u201cperformed exceptional service in the township for 2012.\u201d He said even though Versagli had only been a member of the force for 15 months, he made a big impact, particularly in helping to keep residents safe from those who violate the state\u2019s driving-under-the-influence laws.<\/p>\n

\u201cHuman life is first of our core values,\u201d said Simpson. He suggested that residents review the sobering statistics on the Mothers Against Drunk Driving website to understand the importance of reducing the risk that offenders pose to the public.<\/p>\n

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\"New<\/a>

New Garden Police Officer Joseph P. Versagli III (right) received a commendation from Police Chief Gerald R. Simpson for DUI enforcement.<\/p><\/div>\n

Simpson said that Raimato, a 15-year veteran of the New Garden Township Police Department, was nominated by his peers for his award, which paid tribute to his\u00a0 commitment to customer service, willingness to lend a hand wherever needed, and contributions to the DARE program.<\/p>\n

Raimato, who worked for five years in Kennett Square before coming to New Garden, \u201cstands above all others\u201d as a positive influence in the department, where he works as a patrol officer and backup investigator, as well as in the community, Simpson said.\u00a0 Raimato has done numerous presentations at area schools, Simpson said. He cited a recent ice-cream auction and then quickly amended his remark in response to the laughter it elicited: \u201cIt wasn\u2019t about the ice cream, it was about the service.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the awards, half of the audience of about 75 exited as the supervisors continued to discuss myriad issues\u00a0 \u2013 from advancing an agreement with the White Clay Soccer Club for the use of New Garden Park to denying a request for space in the same area from the New Garden Growers Market.<\/p>\n

The supervisors urged Carin Bonifacino, who runs the market, to meet with representatives from the Parks and Recreation Department to find an alternate location to expand its operations. \u00a0Most applauded the market\u2019s contributions to the township. \u201cThanks for your dedication,\u201d said Supervisor Bob Norris.<\/p>\n

Bonifacino said that even though the market runs \u201con a shoestring,\u201d she said she believed she could raise the funds needed to add a pavilion and picnic area. In fact, she said some of the Amish vendors had indicated a willingness to provide the labor so that they would have protection from the elements during the market\u2019s season, which typically runs from spring into November. She said she would have preferred a location with visibility from Rt. 41, but would be willing to consider other options.<\/p>\n

The supervisors had a less cordial response to a proposal from John Thaeder, senior vice president of Artesian Water Company, which wants to construct a pump house on an easement it has near Broad Run and Newark Roads to access the Cockeysville Aquifer.\u00a0 Supervisor Robert Perrotti said he recalled a similar request several years ago, which generated questions about the impact of taking water from Landenberg and using it in Delaware. \u201cI was concerned then, and I\u2019m concerned now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Thaeder said the plan would not move forward if it produced any negative impact. \u201cIf it\u2019s not a sustainable operation, it\u2019s no good to us,\u201d he said, explaining that tests would be conducted to measure the effect on area residents. Supervisors\u2019 Chairman Stephen Allaband questioned whether the use would be allowed under recent zoning changes.<\/p>\n

In other police news, Simpson drew an enthusiastic reaction to a new mapping program expected to debut in mid-April that will enable residents to see what crimes are occurring where.\u00a0 The supervisors also applauded his suggestion that some Town Hall meetings be held on issues of interest to residents, such as gangs\u00a0\u00a0 and school safety.<\/p>\n

Simpson presented the supervisors with three options for getting rid of six 12-gauge shotguns that are being taken out of service by the department: have them melted, sell them to a dealer for $200 apiece or sell them to law enforcement. After minimal discussion, the supervisors concluded that the safest option was to have them destroyed.<\/p>\n

Nearly four hours into the meeting, the supervisors began discussing a revised press-release policy for disseminating information to the public via the media. By then, the public had disappeared. \u00a0The discussion generated enough questions that the policy will go back to the drawing board.<\/p>\n

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One was applauded for DUI enforcement, the other for overall exemplary service By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times It wasn\u2019t soccer fields or sewage tanks that drew the crowd to the New Garden Township supervisors\u2019 meeting Monday night.\u00a0 Two police officers attracted a throng that included colleagues, relatives, county detectives, members of other […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":6436,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[2081,2083,2082,2080,2078,2077,2085,2084,2086,2079],"class_list":["post-6434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-featured","tag-carin-bonifacino","tag-cockeysville-aquifer","tag-john-thaeder","tag-new-garden-growers-market","tag-officer-joseph-p-versagli-iii","tag-officer-mario-raimato","tag-supervisor-bob-norris","tag-supervisor-robert-perrotti","tag-supervisors-chairman-stephen-allaband","tag-white-clay-soccer-club"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6434"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6434\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}