CE LATIMER ANNOUNCES FREE RIDES TO CONTINUE ON THE BEE-LINE BUS DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON

Just in time for the holiday season, free Bee-Line Bus fares will continue from Dec. 7 through Dec. 26.

“This holiday season, we want people to visit with family and friends, and we want them to shop and go to work with ease. Leave the driving to us, and save some money this holiday season,” CE Latimer said. “From Yorktown to Yonkers, we have a robust system that can get you where you need to go. Now is a perfect time to try out the Bee-Line system if you haven’t already. We take great pride in the fact that our buses are safe, clean and accessible.”

This past summer, and during Thanksgiving week, the County offered free Bee-Line bus rides and the system experienced a 37% increase in ridership during the three-month period of June, July and Aug., compared to the prior three-month period in March, April and May.

Latimer said: “The benefit we are providing to the traveling public is about $2.6 million if we see the same level of increase during Thanksgiving week, and the holiday shopping period in December.”

The Bee-Line Bus System offers a cleaner, greener, more cost-effective way for residents to travel the County. The promotion is valid on all routes in the fixed route bus system, including the express route into Manhattan, the BxM4C. Free rides are also valid on the Bee-Line ParaTransit system.

Commissioner of the Westchester County Department of Public Works & Transportation Hugh Greechan said: “We’ve made a lot of recent improvements to our Bee-Line bus fleet including the addition of 106 brand new 40-foot

27TH ANNUAL CEREMONY TO HONOR DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. ON JANUARY 16TH

The Town of Ridgefield will present the 27th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration, honoring the legacy of the great civil rights leader with an awards ceremony, speakers and performances. The Spirit of Dr. King Community Service Award is presented each year to a member of our town who has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to community service and selflessness in the finest traditions of Dr. Martin Luther King. This annual tradition honors the memory of Dr. King and celebrates how that memory lives on in the good works of Ridgefielders today. This year’s ceremony honors Wendy Lionetti, who has served the community of Ridgefield – both officially and unofficially – for nearly 20 years, in the Town Assessor’s office, the First Selectman’s office and now as Town Clerk. Wendy volunteers her time and service to several community activities and organizations, including SPHERE, where she launched SPHERE-It Creations several years ago and holds weekly jewelry-making workshops with SPHERE members. The 27th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration will take place on Monday, January 16 at 3pm at The Ridgefield Playhouse.

Begun in 1997 as one of several community activities and initiatives organized and sponsored by ROUND (Ridgefielders Organized for Understanding and Diversity), the MLK celebration has become an enduring and highly regarded new tradition in Ridgefield. The purpose is to ensure that the spirit with which Dr. King lived and the struggles for which he died are remembered and live on in the hearts and minds of our community. When Rudy Marconi took office as First Selectman in 1999, he became Ridgefield’s first elected official to formally participate and has joined Mark Robinson as a co-organizer of the event ever since.

Over the years the town’s MLK Jr. Day celebration has changed and grown, from standing on the steps outside of the Community Center, to becoming a larger event in the basement of Town Hall, to becoming even more celebratory when moved to The Ridgefield Playhouse in 2013. This is now the tenth year that the Martin Luther King Day ceremony has been held at The Ridgefield Playhouse and the event has grown with multiple performers and drawing crowds upwards of 250 attendees. “The town looks forward to the celebration of the King Holiday. The King Holiday serves as a focal point for establishing and maintaining community service involving millions of Americans throughout the year to address critical social problems of this nation and to help improve the quality of life for humankind,” said Mark Robinson, ceremony organizer and former member of the state’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Commission.

hybrid/electric buses. This is the perfect opportunity for Westchester residents to leave your cars at home, and take a free ride on one of our clean, comfortable state-of-the-art buses.”

Director of the Office for People with Disabilities Evan Latainer said: “County Executive Latimer is once again providing our ParaTransit ridership the opportunity to travel the Bee Line ParaTransit system free of charge during this upcoming holiday season. This will once again provide our ridership with great savings during this time period to go out and about Westchester County at no cost. Riders should take pleasure in traveling for work, recreation and other needs during this time period.”

For more information about the free rides program call (914) 813-7777. An information agent is available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Bee-Line is Westchester County’s bus system, serving over 27 million passengers annually with convenient service connecting residents to jobs, recreation, shopping and other regional transportation services. It is the second largest transit bus fleet in New York State, operated by the County’s Department of Public Works and Transportation (DPW&T).

Over 65 percent of all Westchester County residents are within walking distance of a Bee-Line bus route, making the bus both close and convenient. The system has over 3,300 bus stops and almost 60 routes. All Bee-Line buses are accessible, and designed with many accessibility features including “kneeling” buses, ramps and lifts.