News digest - take 2

Get an absentee ballot if you need one GOSHEN — Orange County voters who will be out of the county on Nov. 2 may get an absentee ballot application by calling the Board of Elections at 291-7979 or 888-879-7655 or by visiting www.Orangecountygov.Com/elections. The last day to postmark applications for a ballot is Oct. 26. Voters may also obtain a ballot in person at the board offices at 25 Court Lane in Goshen between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m, Monday through Friday, In addition, the board offices will have extended hours for absentee balloting on: Thursday, Oct. 28, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Saturday, Oct. 30, 9 am to noon. Tuxedo GOP hosts pre-election brunch on Oct. 23 Tuxedo - The Tuxedo Republican Committee will host a pre-election brunch on Saturday, Oct. 23, from 10 :30 a.m. to noon at the Taverna Tuxedo, located at 209 Route 17, in Tuxedo. Scheduled to appear are Congressional Candidate Nan Hayworth, Rockland County Executive and candidate for the State Senate Scott Vanderhoef, Assemblywoman Annie Rabbitt and possibly others. Seating is limited. Tickets are $22.50 per person, RSVP to Town Committee Chairman Dan Castricone at DCastricone@msn.com or at 845-659-6419. Westchester town merging with county police department OSSINING — A Westchester County town will soon be merging its police department with that of the county’s. The Ossining Town board voted earlier this week to begin contract negotiations with Westchester for police services. Officials say Ossining is the first municipality in Westchester to use county police full-time. Cortlandt disbanded its police department in late 1998 and contracts with the county. It also gets state police assistance. The merger of Ossining’s 15 police officers with the 270-member Westchester County police will save the town nearly $933,000. The transition is expected to be complete by January.