A Cortlandt Manor man, who worked for the Yonkers Department of Public Works, was arraigned today on Official Misconduct and Petit Larceny charges for allegedly stealing road salt from his employer.

Over the next few months, the focus in the Town of Cortlandt will be "Taking Care of Business" and urging residents to buy locally.

Cortlandt Town Supervisor Linda Puglisi says she and fellow Town Board members, Ann Lindau, Frank Farrell, John Sloan and Dr. Richard Becker have launched a new public access program to be aired on their C 78 public TV channel called "Taking Care of Business" in which local businesses are interviewed and spotlighted in an effort to encourage residents to "shop local."

Puglisi says they have already "interviewed" two local businesses and plan to visit and interview at least two businesses a month and over time cover the 175 local businesses in the Town.

"We have just gone to two of our villages, Buchanan and Croton-on-Hudson, and kicked off our effort visiting "Feed the Birds" in Croton and the 202 Deli on Route 202," said Puglisi.

Cortlandt Town Supervisor Linda Puglisi has released her proposed budget for 2011. It's a nearly $36 million spending plan that calls for a 2.4% town tax increase for unincorporated Cortlandt, a 3.4% Town Tax increase for the Village of Buchanan and a 4% Town Tax increase for the Village of Croton-on-Hudson. The increases for the latter two would amount to $5.35 and $7.87 a year, respectively.

According to Puglisi, the spending increase amounts to just .25% over 2010's budget. The increases are the result of higher costs for fuel, gasoline, supplies, pension funds and health benefits as well as negotiated salary increases with unionized workers in the town.  Savings was realized in 2010, she says, due to the fact that all Town employees and elected officials did not receive a salary increase.

Like many municipalities, the difficult economy is taking a toll on the Town of Cortlandt.

Projection for Sales Tax Revenues are down $3.6 million, down $1.1 million in Mortage Tax Revenue and $205,000 lower in State Revenue Sharing.

Family and friends are mourning the death of 23 year old Doug Kozar of Cortlandt Manor after he and a female co-worker were killed early Saturday morning, when they were struck and killed by a prominent Tampa dentist who police say was driving drunk.

Kozar and 24 year old Kate Kohlier had both left their jobs at the Marriott Waterside Hotel in Tampa, Florida and were walking to their car across the Harbor Island Bridge around 1:45 a.m. Saturday when they were struck by a black Cadillac driven by 34 year old Dr. Matthew Moye.

Both  Kozar and Kohlier were  pronounced dead at the scene. A third person, who worked with the two, suffered a leg injury in the crash and is expected to survive.

Witnesses told police the vehicle was driving at an extremely high rate of speed when it jumped a curb on the bridge, careened out of control and traveled for some 75 feet, striking the three, before coming to a stop.

Happy Halloween took on new meaning at Hudson Valley Hospital Center in Cortlandt Manor this year.  Instead of tricks, it was a big treat for the parents and family of the first Halloween baby born at the Hospital Sunday, thanks to a local Girl Scout Troop that provided a special basket of cheer.

After less than two days deliberations, a Westchester County Jury has found  68 year old Werner Lippe of Cortlandt Manor guilty of Second Degree Murder in the killing of his wife, Faith Lippe in 2008 in their Little Lake Road home.

This was Lippe's second murder trial. The first ended in a hung jury.

Prosecutors said Lippe killed his wife using a wooden plank and then disposed of her remains by using a burn barrel in the backyard of their home. Her body has never been found.

A key part of the Prosecution's evidence were three confessions made by Lippe himself. One of those was to a friend, made at Lippe's home. The friend had been wired by police to record the conversation and that confession was played at both trials.

Lippe took the witness stand in his own defense and had argued that the confessions were coerced and that he made them out of paranoia, fear and weariness from police questioning. He maintained, as he had from the beginning, that Faith Lippe simply disappeared and took off in a dark-colored vehicle from their home never to be seen again.