East Hampton - East Hampton Village swore in a new full-time officer, Eben Ball, at the July 31 Village Board meeting.

The 22-year-old Ball walked the village streets for five years as a traffic control officer, then a year as part-time police officer.

Village Police Chief Gerard Larsen lauded Ball as "practically number one" in his class at the police academy, which consisted of taking courses in his spare time. "He is an excellent young man," Larsen asserted.

Ball will begin patrolling this week as a full-time officer in the service of East Hampton Village.