Longtime clerk and highway super unopposed
NEW SCOTLAND Diane Deschenes and Darrell Duncan, the long-time Democratic clerk and highway superintendent, are each running again for a two-year term in uncontested races.
“It just amazes me, when I look back,” Deschenes said of the changes in the clerk’s office since she was elected a decade ago. Hunting licenses used to be paper with stamps, marriage licenses used to say “bride” and “groom,” and dog licenses used to be handled by the state’s Department of Agriculture and Markets.
This year, the state stopped managing the licensing of dogs and it became a municipal responsibility. “My job just keeps changing,” she said, “which keeps it interesting.”
This November will be Duncan’s 11th election. He couldn’t be reached for comment on Wednesday.
The town’s highway department has been busy recently with repairing severe storm damage to town roads after tropical storms Irene and Lee.
Duncan has also been working towards improving the town’s 5,000-square-foot highway garage that was built in the 1960s, which the town board has been talking about doing for 10 years.
