At left, County Board of Legislators Chairman W. Brooke Harris reads a resolution commending Rick Hall of Cuba for service; at top right, he shares a light moment reading a citation for Kathleen Kent of Andover while her husband, Thomas, and son, Joseph, right, look on; and at bottom right, Allegany County Sheriff’s Sergeant Shawn Mahoney, center, accepts a county service resolution, flanked by Sheriff Scott Cicirello, left, and Deputy Department of Public Works Superintendent Dean Scholes. (Allegany Hope Photos)
Three Allegany County residents have been recognized by the Board of Legislators for services resulting in betterment to the county.
Resolutions generally are being provided monthly to a county resident nominated by district legislators and an employee recommended by a department.
The most recent recognitions were provided yesterday to:
— Rick Hall, a 30-year employee of the Village of Cuba, 18 of which have been as superintendent of public works.
He has served as the village representative on the executive committee of the county’s Town Highway Superintendents Association since 2016 and chairman of the ACCORD Community Action Angels Program Advisory Committee which has organized donation of thousands of toys to local youth and also operates a warehouse of household goods for donation.
Hall was a member of the Cuba Fire Department for 27 years, during which time he formed the “And the Walls Came Tumbling Down” campaign which advocates for proper warning signs indicating the presence of oxygen tanks in residential structures.
— Kathleen Kent has been vice-president and general manager of Kent Farms in Andover for more than 50 years, a business which has employed hundreds of local teenagers and adults, and has donated countless wreaths and Christmas trees to needy families, charities, and nonprofit organizations.
She has served as a firefighter with the Andover Fire Department and emergency medical technician with the Andover Volunteer Ambulance Corps for nearly 40 years, currently serving as a member of the ambulance corps board of directors, and also has donated both time and materials toward landscape beautification of the corps grounds for many years.
Kent is a previous grand marshall of the Andover Fourth of July Parade and a long-time member of the Andover Blessed Sacrament Church.
— Allegany County Sheriff’s Sergeant Shawn Mahoney was recognized by both the county Department of Public Works and the department for which he works.
He started as a corrections officer in 2000, was promoted to deputy sheriff in May 2002, and became a sergeant in June 2011.
Mahoney was described as the “go to” investigator in the Sheriff’s Office in criminal matters “due to his investigative abilities and sensible approach to law enforcement” and, during his career, has executed hundreds of arrests that have directly improved public safety.
He also was recognized by the public works department for significant contributions to it by having routinely assisted with work zone safety, traffic law adherence, site security, and interaction with property owners and contractors.
Within the community, Sgt. Mahoney has been involved in youth coaching with the Friendship Little League, volunteerism with the Wellsville Elks Club, and a commitment to the Friendship First United Methodist Church.