On. Aug. 2, 1973, a drunk driver struck and killed Orangetown Police Officers Thomas Kennedy and Michael Reedy.
Their families will join with local officials in a ceremony in the memories of Reedy and Kennedy 10 a.m. Friday at Orangetown Town Hall. During the ceremony, Orangetown will dedicate its new emergency operations center in their names.
Reedy's brother Steve is expected to speak as he has at past ceremonies honoring Mike Reedy, but the media coverage of the eent also helped town officials find Kennedy's wife, who will come up from North Carolina to attend Friday's event.
"We had a hard time finding her," Orangetown Police Chief Kevin Nulty said. "Someone showed her a (newspaper article) and she called us. She was happy to know we hadn't forgotten. We haven't forgotten any year."
Orangetown Supervisor Andy Stewart, Highway Superintendent James Dean, Rockland County Sheriff Lou Falco, Rockland County District Attorney Tom Zugibe, Fire and Emergency Services Coordinator Gordon Wren, Jr. and Orangetown PBA President James Acheson are all expected to speak Friday.
In addition to the Reedy and Kennedy and the impact their deaths had, the new emergency operations center itself will be another subject for the speakers.
"We will be dedicating the new EOC," Nulty said. "We put $120,000 into it. A lot needed to be done. The building is 20 years old. It's a work in progress, but we can use it. We can uprade it as time goes on."
The EOC has large television monitors, communications gear an other technology that will help coordinate emergency services in Orangetown. The room will also be used for training purposes.
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