Summit Hill Chief of Police Joseph Fittos Jr. returned from vacation, but it's obvious from discussion at the town's borough council meeting on Monday that he has a lot of catch-up work.

For starters, one of the cruisers was involved in a crash while a police officer was manning a speed checkpoint during heavy rain.Fittos told the council he isn't sure of all the details because he was on vacation and hasn't seen the report yet.Borough Secretary-Treasurer Kira Steber said it is estimated that about $4,700 in damage was done to the cruiser.Fittos said the police car hydroplaned.Councilman Bill Chapman said the incident apparently happened when the patrolman was doing speed checks on Route 902 at the base of Bugzie's Mountain."I'm not happy about speed traps at White Bear," he said, referencing the point at Bugzie's.He said people coming down the mountain have a hard time retaining their speed limit of 45 mph, and motorists - especially truck drivers - accelerate to get up the hill.Of speed checks "in the pouring rain," he said, "I can't see it. I'm against it 100 percent.""I agree. It shouldn't be done in the rain," Fittos said.He said he doesn't object to speed checks on East White Bear Drive and West White Bear Drive.Chapman then told Fittos, "I'm sick and tired of people flying through stop signs on Ludlow Street." He owns the Parkview Inn and Restaurant and said that recently a customer went outdoors to smoke a cigarette and in the time span it took to finish, he witnessed eight vehicles go through the stop sign."There's got to be something done," Chapman said.Fittos said he will order more patrols at stop signs on Ludlow Street.Resident Michael Alabovitz said there were numerous cars in the 300 block of Fell Street where break-ins occurred. He said he had captured two break-ins on video camera. Another person also taped the break-ins.He said he called the borough hall and mentioned about the recording but police never followed up. As a result, the recording no longer exists.In other matters• The council accepted the resignations of part-time officers Joelle Mota and Dinu Dermargosian.• Chief Fittos was given permission to begin administering the promotional exam for the sergeant's position. He said the position is open only to full-time officers already on the police force.• Officer Jeffrey Ohl was granted permission to attend an "Interview and Interrogation in Narcotics Cases" seminar from September 6-8. There is no cost for the course, Fittos said.• Council member Karen Ruzicka told Fittos that when a new police officer is hired, they should be placed on foot patrol so they can get to learn about the town and the residents.• In his monthly report, Fittos said there were 59 traffic citations issued for the month of July. There were five nontraffic citations issued. A total of 20 assist calls were rendered to other police departments, while one assist was received in the borough from other police agencies.