Grace Ogden And Police Chief Anthony E. Cruise (Posthumously) Receive Awards
Kingston, NY – Today is Safe Stop Education and Enforcement Day, and Ulster County Executive Mike Hein is pleased to announce Ulster County’s School Bus Driver of the Year Award winner is Grace Ogden of the Kingston City School District and the Charles Schaller Award winner is Police Chief Anthony E. Cruise (posthumously). The School Bus Driver of the Year Award recognizes an individual’s outstanding service and safety record, and is issued in conjunction with the Ulster County Traffic Safety Board and “Operation Safe STOP.” “Operation Safe Stop” is a cooperative project in New York State that seeks to promote school bus safety through education and enforcement efforts. The Charles Schaller Award recognizes an individual who is dedicated and committed to traffic safety in the community. Charles Schaller was the Ulster County Traffic Safety Coordinator for approximately ten years and had a long term interest in traffic safety and keeping the roadways safe for County residents.
“I want to congratulate and thank Grace Ogden for keeping our children safe with her extensive experience, skill, and dedication to safely transporting students to and from school every day,” said County Executive Mike Hein. She represents the approximately 700 school bus drivers throughout Ulster County who have this important job. I appreciate `Operation Safe STOP’s´ outstanding efforts to educate the public and raise awareness of the dangers of illegally passing school buses. Unfortunately, it is estimated that 50,000 vehicles illegally pass school busses each day in New York State. In addition, I want to thank our law enforcement community for their continued efforts enforcing the stopped-school bus laws as they protect our children and educate the public about the hazards of passing stopped school buses.”
County Executive Hein continued, “I also want to recognize the late Police Chief Anthony Cruise who had an amazing career and dedicated his life to keeping our community safe. He was a member of our Traffic Safety Board for many years and was an excellent role model and will be greatly missed. His dedication and contributions to our community were inspiring and his legacy is truly deserving of the Charles Schaller Award.”
To honor those who are committed to delivering our children to school safely each day, a ceremony was held today at the Ulster County Law Enforcement Center. Ulster County Deputy Executive Robert Sudlow presented awards to the following winners:
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Grace Ogden received the Ulster County School Bus Driver of the Year Award, receiving an Arthur Mulligan Award and dinner certificate to Chops Grille in Kingston. Ms. Ogden has 24 years of school bus driving experience and has been driving the same elementary route for over sixteen years. She drives for First Student Inc. and is also a Safety Trainer, 19A Examiner and SBDI Instructor. She was nominated by the Kingston City School District.
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Police Chief Anthony Cruise was posthumously honored with the Charles Schaller Award which was accepted by his widow, Christa Cruise. He is recognized for his service and dedication to traffic safety in Ulster County. He was a member of the Ulster County Traffic Safety Board for several years and was dedicated to the safety of our roadways and protecting our citizens. He was instrumental as the Police Chief in the Town of Ulster and had an extensive career in law enforcement. Chief Cruise knew the importance of prevention and took action to work toward keeping citizens safe and having people obey the law. Christa Cruise also received a dinner certificate to Santa Fe in Kingston.
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NYS Vehicle and Traffic Law provides: · It is illegal to pass a stopped school bus when the large red lights located on top of the bus are flashing. Flashing lights mean the bus is picking up or discharging students. · You must stop whether you are approaching the school bus from the front or overtaking it from the rear. · You must always stop for flashing red lights, even on divided and multilane highways and on school grounds. · The first-time fine for illegally passing a school bus is a $250 to $400 fine, 5 points on your license, and/or possibly 30 days in jail. Penalties for passing a stopped school bus include: $$ -- FINES -- $$
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Operation Safe Stop is a cooperative project supported by the New York State Governor's Traffic Safety Committee, New York State Education Department, New York Association for Pupil Transportation, New York State School Bus Contractors Association, student transportation industry and state, county, city and local law enforcement agencies.
Pictured below: 1) Ulster County School Bus Driver of the Year Grace Ogden (center) with Kingston City School Officials, Chair of the Traffic and Safety Board Eric Kight, Chairman Ron Mackey of MHTSA, Ulster County Deputy County Executive Robert Sudlow, and Law Enforcement Officers. 2) Christa Cruise, wife of the late Anthony Cruise with Charles Schaller Award, with Ulster County Deputy County Executive Robert Sudlow , Chair of the Traffic and Safety Board Eric Kight and Law Enforcement Officers.
