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DERBY – The city’s police commission and traffic authority Sept. 14 endorsed putting a deer crossing sign on Hawthorne Avenue near the Kellogg Environmental Center.
The move comes after a letter from a resident from Derby Neck Road made the request, saying there were many deer in the area. The area includes the 400-acre Osbornedale State Park.
The entrance to the Kellogg Center is at 500 Hawthorne Ave.
Sgt. Frank Sicsico researched the request and wrote a letter to Derby Police Chief Brian Grogan noting there were about five deer-related strikes in the area in five years.
The sergeant supported the request.
During the Sept. 14 meeting, Derby Police Commission Chairman Thomas DeGennaro said he had a personal connection to the issue.
“I almost hit a deer there coming (here) tonight,” DeGennaro said.
The commissioners did not say when the sign will be installed.
In other news . . .
The police commission also accepted the resignation of Sgt. Joshua Cash, who joined Derby police in 2018 and was promoted to sergeant in June 2025.
Grogan said he is sorry to see Cash leave because he is a good police officer.
However, he’s leaving for a law enforcement position at Yale University with a base pay $40,000 more than what Derby pays, the chief noted.
In the coming weeks or months, Derby police will be filling the sergeant’s position and the deputy chief’s position, which was vacated once Grogan became chief earlier this year.