KNOX — Voters in this rural Helderberg Hilltown have choices, real choices, to make on Nov. 3.

The longtime supervisor, Michael Hammond, is facing another challenger on a small-party line: Vasilios Lefkaditis lost his bid at the Democrats’ caucus but is making a run on the Conservative Party line.

Hammond is running on his record, a record he’s built over 42 years — low taxes, a new town hall, a recently designated business district, a new website and social media presence, and work underway on a revised comprehensive plan.

Lefkaditis, an entrepreneur who serves on the school board, says he is “pro-business, pro-growth, for low taxes and transparency.” He says the government needs “new blood” and, if things aren’t done differently the town will “continue to see empty houses, empty buildings, and people leaving Knox.”

In the last supervisor election two years ago, Pam Fenoff, an Independence Party member, ran a close race against Hammond, also stressing the need for change and growth.  She had the Republican and Conservative lines, too, and came within 78 votes of Hammond. Fenoff has since moved to North Dakota because of her husband’s job.

The supervisor’s post, a part-time job, has a salary of $16,672.

Only one Republican is running for town board, Howard Brown. He made a close run for supervisor against Hammond in 1991, and says in this campaign for a town board seat that Knox is “dormant” and needs to change.

Incumbent Democrat Dennis Barber is seeking a second four-year term and, like his running mates, also has the Independence Party endorsement. He names his involvement in many community organizations and says people who “sit back” shouldn’t complain.

Democrat Earl Barcomb, who serves on the planning board and school board, is making his first run for town board and says he was moved by the recent deaths of two community leaders to fill the big holes they left.

Several posts held by incumbents are uncontested. Highway Superintendent Gary Salisbury has backing from five parties — Democrats, Republicans, and the Reform, Conservative, and Independence parties.

Town Clerk Tara Murphy, Justice James Corigliano, and Tax Collector Diane Champion are all Democrats also endorsed by the Independence Party.

Voter enrollment in Knox breaks down this way: 39 percent (700) of registered voters are Democrats, 22 percent (421) are Republicans, 27 percent (515) are not affiliated with a party, and the rest belong to small parties.

The issues

— Comprehensive plan: Knox first drafted a comprehensive plan a quarter of a century ago and is currently in the process of updating it, having surveyed residents and businesses. A revised plan would have no teeth unless its tenets were adopted into law.

What changes, if any, should be made in the comprehensive plan and why, and what laws should follow?

— Business district: Until last year, Knox had no officially defined business district. Many of the businesses on Route 156 in the hamlet had closed; this included a service station, a general store, and a post office. The town board has now defined a large part of the hamlet as a business district. A second business district is being considered on Township Road.

Should Knox have a second business district on Township Road and why or why not? And what can be or should be done to encourage businesses in the hamlet’s district?

— Enforcing codes: The murder of a 5-year-old boy last year focused attention on the Knox trailer where he lived, which did not meet code. Also a towing business was operating in an area zoned residential; some residents complained enforcement against the business was selective.

How should zoning and building codes be enforced?

— Budget: Since the tax-levy cap was adopted by the state, Knox has stayed under the limit. At the same time, though, Knox does not offer some of the amenities of similar nearby towns, like a library, senior center, or ambulance squad.

Is staying under the tax cap sustainable and should more services be offered? Why or why not?

SUPERVISOR CANDIDATES

Michael Hammond

Democrat Michael Hammond has been Knox supervisor for 42 years, and is running for another two-year term. The reason why, he says, is simple: “I like the job.”

He added, “I see where I could be helpful to the people here.”

He also has the Independence Party line.

Hammond, 72, is from the Champlain Valley. He came to Knox in 1963.  He retired from a career as a technology teacher at Troy High School and owns Mountain Woodshop, a carpentry business on the property with his home since 1969.

Looking back at his accomplishments over the years, Hammond said, “The town hall project is fading into the rearview mirror.”

In his most recent term, he said, “We’ve updated our website. “He credited Clerk Tara Murphy for being “instrumental” in that process. (See related story.)

“The new website gives us the opportunity to get current information out to a lot more people,” Hammond said.

He also said, “We just organized and hosted a forum for rural broadband last Thursday. It was well attended,” Hammond said, noting people came from throughout the Hilltowns.

Hammond went on, “We’re looking forward to working with the governor’s program and hope to be the recipient” of grants. The goal, he said is to “expand our infrastructure into under served areas or places that are not served at all...The bottom line is the governor’s guidelines haven’t been firmed up yet.”

He went on about recent accomplishments, “We developed youth and senior coordinator positions for activities for the youth and seniors in the community.”

His goals for an upcoming term include updating the town’s comprehensive land-use plan. “We want to make sure we don’t miss anything,” Hammond said, explaining there is no set timeline for completing the plan.

“We’re still gathering information from the public. We need to make sure we have all the information before it materializes.”

Asked about his own vision, Hammond said, “The ruralness of our community is a high priority. We’d like to be able to preserve that.”

He continued, referring to an experienced planner, “We just created a new business district in the hamlet and would like to bring in rural experts like Nan Stolzenburg to see what we should look at.”

He concluded, “The master plan is on the front and center burner.”

On the business district, Hammond said, “We actually created a multi-use district. We’re waiting for people interested in conducting business to come forth.”

On zoning, Hammond said, “We try to enforce all zoning laws that come before the board.”

He said that “anything we’re aware of” is dealt with. He also said, “We can’t do internal inspections.”

Hammond added that the death of 5-year-old Kenneth White was “a tragic event” and said, “Hopefully, that will never happen again.”

On the town budget, Hammond said of staying under the state-set levy limit, “Yes, it’s sustainable. Not only are we under the tax cap for next year, but the budget I just proposed has no tax increase.”

Hammond went on, “We’re strong believers in shared services.” He said that Knox contributes to local libraries and ambulance squads that serve town residents well.

“We have a system in place that works very good for the community,” he concluded.

Vasilios Lefkaditis

“If we don’t start doing things differently in Knox, and doing it immediately,” says Vasilios Lefkaditis, “we’ll continue to see empty houses, empty buildings, and people leaving Knox.”

Lefkaditis is running for supervisor on the Conservative Party line. A Democrat, he unsuccessfully challenged longtime incumbent Michael Hammond at the Democratic caucus.

“We can start doing things differently,” Lefkaditis said, “by getting new blood into our government and eliminating the cronyism that plagues the zoning board and planning board. The town has not once advertised an opening for those boards....eliminating the ability to tap into residents.”

Lefkaditis also said, “I think the current town supervisor has done a somewhat reasonable job over the past half-century, but we need a change.” Lefkaditis summarized his stances as “pro-business, pro-growth, for low taxes and transparency.”

Lefkaditis, 43, said he has been an entrepreneur since he was 22, starting on Wall Street trading equities; he shifted to real estate in 2002 and he now owns and runs a hedge fund called Shaw Fund.

He has served on the Berne-Knox-Westerlo School Board for four years and has been involved in a number of local volunteer activities, including serving as treasurer of the Little League, volunteering with senior services, and with his family acting in productions by the Hilltowns Players.

Lefkaditis has been part of a group of residents hashing out the comprehensive plan and said, “We’ve been working on it for two years...A tremendous amount of people have spent a tremendous amount of time going through a voluminous amount of information...We do have a draft issued by Amy Pokorny about two months ago.

“My fear is the initial draft doesn’t accurately represent the survey results,” he said. “A significant amount was added that did not appear in the surveys, responses, or questions.” He gave as examples, a proposed tax on local businesses and a proposed renovation tax.

“That will do nothing but create blight conditions throughout town,” said Lefkaditis. “It will affect the beauty of the town of Knox.”

Lefkaditis also said that words like “prohibit” and “restrict” were used in the draft. “Action words shouldn’t be in the plan; those should be in the laws,” he said. “The town will be handcuffed in the future and will not be able to act on the views of the residents.”

Lefkaditis owns the property that once held a general store on Route 156 in the hamlet; it was vacant when he purchased it with hopes of re-opening.

“The business district is not a business district,” Lefkaditis said. “It’s a skeleton. There is not a single permitted use. You must remove the red tape and the local government hurdles.”

He said, for example, if someone wanted to open an antiques store or an ice cream store or a general store in the hamlet, “You have to go through all the red tape; that’s a sham of a district.”

Lefkaditis favors making a business district on Township Road. “[Route] 146 is a pseudo-business district now,” he said. “Local businesses employ people and are good for the tax base.”

On enforcing zoning, Lefkaditis said, “The way they’re operating now, they can’t enforce their zoning ordinance. You can’t allow certain businesses to operate and not allow others to operate. You have to wipe the slate clean: Legitimize all the local businesses in town. Allow them to work in the sunlight, not in the shadows. It will increase employment and the tax base,” he reiterated.

On the lack of code enforcement highlighted after the murder of Kenneth White, Lefkaditis said, “That was a tragedy of epic proportion.” He went on about the enforcement, “It’s sticky. If a building inspector doesn’t know — has no reasonable cause to suspect violations — how can he or she enforce it?”

He went on, “The problem is, when notified, how quickly do you react, and how strictly and how fairly?”

Lefkaditis concluded, “We have to bridge the communication gap with the county and state public services. Only then can you address problems before they become tragedies.”

On the budget, Lefkaditis said that staying below the state-set levy cap is sustainable. “I’ve proven my ability to do that at the school board level,” he said. “You have to treat public money like your own.”

About services Knox doesn’t offer, Lefkaditis said, “One of the best ways to determine the value of services is to hold a community forum and listen to what taxpayers need and want, stabilize your budget, and go from there.”

TOWN BOARD CANDIDATES

Dennis Barber

Dennis Barber is proud of keeping town taxes below the state-set levy limit and of “being involved in so many things in town.”

A Berne-Knox-Westerlo graduate, he is president of the Knox Historical Society, treasurer of the Helderberg Hilltowns Association, President of the BKW Sports Boosters, and chairman of the BKW Hall of Fame Committee.

Barber, 60, has retired from maintenance work with the state’s Department of Transportation and now works as a bus driver for the Guilderland schools. “Thirty years of plowing snow was enough for me,” he said.

Barber is running for a second four-year term on the board and, like his fellow Democrats, also has the endorsement of the Independence Party.

Barber said of his vision for Knox, “If you’re in this town, you know someone has your back. I’d like to see it grow and still stay country-ish.”

Barber urged people to volunteer. “If people aren’t involved,” said Barber, “they shouldn’t sit back and complain.”

On the comprehensive plan, he said he was involved in creating the town’s first master plan in 1990.

“There’s always been talk of business districts,” he said. “We have 20 or 30 home-based businesses but no large businesses. It’s tough to get water. The Hill provides a buffer.”

The new business district in the Knox hamlet, he said, would be appropriate for a lawyer’s, doctor’s, or dentist’s office.

Barber favors a business district on the Route 146 corridor, which would include Mickle’s Automotive, Township Tavern, and Altamont Spray Welding.

He said it is important to cluster businesses so as to “keep open spaces.” Barber went on, “People came up here for a reason...We need to keep up the town parks and recreational activities.”

He noted that the town board had recently appointed a director of senior services and a director of youth services “to take care of the young people with nothing to do and the seniors who are unable to get services.”

Barber went on, “We’ll try to get grants to have better programs for our children and seniors.”

On the business district, he said, “I think we should expand so people can come in with new businesses. He noted, for example, the now-vacant site of the old Foxenkill restaurant could be revitalized to draw people from nearby Gallupville as well.

“They don’t have anything either,” he said of Gallupville. “Their store closed.”

On enforcement, Barber said, “They have to go by the rules of the law. A business can’t open without going before planning and zoning boards. The rules are to protect everyone and help everyone.”

Barber went on, “They complain we are against business. We aren’t against business. You just have to follow the law....Someone could come in next door to you with something illegal, and you wouldn’t like it.”

Barber also said, about enforcing code, “It’s tough in a small town. They are all part-time employees. We don’t go house to house to do checks. We need people to alert us to things.”

On the budget, Barber said that Knox offers services to its citizens even without having the facilities in town.

“We contribute to the Altamont and Berne libraries,” he said. Similarly, Knox also pays for ambulance coverage, he noted.

“We try to provide for people at the lowest cost we can,” he said. “We buy into these entities to protect and serve our community.”

Howard Brown

Republican Howard Brown says a seat on the town board would put him in a position where he could effect worthwhile changes in Knox.

“I’m running even though there’s no issue,” he said. “I’ve walked in about everybody’s shoes,” Brown said of jobs he’s had in farming, industry, and management.

Brown, 73, said he currently works as an environmental specialist for GRJH. “They own over 26 gas stations in New York,” he said; Brown checks managers’ books to see they are in compliance with state environmental regulations and fixes gas nozzles and such if they’re not working.

“I’d like to serve on the town board so I can be on the inside...to help the taxpayers,” Brown said. “I can’t help the people if I’m setting on the outside.”

Soon after Brown moved to Knox, he ran for supervisor in 1991 and came close to unseating Michael Hammond, who had then been in the post for 17 years; Brown’s personal bankruptcy was revealed late in the campaign.

“When I ran against Hammond, there were issues. I’m against 100-percent assessment,” he said. Tax rolls were skewed and Knox was doing a town-wide property revaluation. “There were issues for concerns,” said Brown. “I lost by just 69 votes — pretty damn close in a Democrat county.”

Brown went on, “Hammond can be knocked off with the right person. You have to be up-to-date on all the issues.”

On the comprehensive plan, Brown said, “It was put in place 25 years ago. There’s got to be some changes. Everything has changed in the last 25 years. We’ve got to update and see what it’s all about.”

Although he hasn’t read the plan, Brown said, “If you’re a board member, you could bite into it.”

On business districts, Brown said, “Things are being done for individual reasons...It’s like the sate doesn’t change a curve on the highway until someone is killed on it. We should look at issues before it happens.”

Brown said that the town should work with businesses to encourage them. “Anybody who wants to do anything in Knox, they end up with a fight so they say, ‘To hell with it,’” he said. “You should put out a hand first and say, ‘Welcome, let’s work with you.’”

On enforcing codes, Brown said, “There’s somebody not doing their job. Why aren’t we going around checking places in violation?”

Brown went on about Hitmans Towing, a business operating in a residential district, “The towing business was in business before they went to the board. Why didn’t they see him towing? These are Johnny-come-latelies.”

He concluded of enforcing codes, “It’s not rocket science.”

On the budget, Brown said, “For the bedroom community we’re living in right now, Mike Hammond is doing a hell of a job keeping it [the tax rate] down to nothing, but there’s no money for things like senior transportation.”

Brown went on, “The senior citizens need transportation. I’d like to bring that to the table...You have to have somebody on the board who’s willing to grab grants.”

Brown said he had spoken to the current town board members about land on Route 146 that was available and could have been used for a park-and-ride lot but nothing was done.

“We’re getting dormant,” he said. “I don’t think people want a bedroom community. What are we getting for our tax dollars?”

Other needed projects, he said, could be done for little money, like painting the town’s highway garage. “What’s it take to pay a high school kid to put a coat of paint on an old run-down barn?” he asked.

Youth could be employed to do other work as well, he said. “Use kids in the cemeteries. Show the community you want to help them,” said Brown.

Earl Barcomb

Democrat Earl Barcomb lives on the farm where he grew up and he hopes at least one of his three children will carry on that tradition. He’s making his first run for town board, he said, because he cares about his community and wants to make it a good place to live for future generations.

In addition to raising beef cattle and hay on the 185-acre farm, Barcomb, 45, has worked as a guidance counselor at Schenectady High School for 21 years, he said.

He is in his third year as a member of the Berne-Knox-Westerlo School Board and also serves on the Knox Planning Board — posts he said he’d relinquish if he is elected to the town board.

He’s proud of the “new leadership team” employed at BKW, which he said has given the schools a “positive vibe.” He won’t run for another term on the school board if he is elected councilman, he said.

Barcomb was touched this year, he said, by the deaths of two community leaders in Knox — Jean Forti who was active as a volunteer at the school, and Robert Delaney, a volunteer fireman and the town’s building inspector. Like Barcomb, both Forti and Delaney were active in leading Scouts.

The celebrations of their lives that followed their deaths, he said, “showed the strength of community support and what makes it special. The community came together for these people...They were both selfless people who gave a lot and were always positive.”

Barcomb went on, “The town of Knox has a lot going for it. We need to celebrate our strengths.”

He said of people who live in Knox, “There’s a lot of self-reliance but neighbors are always there for each other.”

Again referring to the deaths of Forti and Delaney, he said, “Those were two terrible losses for the community....It leaves big holes in the community. It makes me want to live my life more like that.”

About the comprehensive plan, Barcomb said, “I believe planning is important. My parents were very active in the first plan,” he said. His late father was the long-time chairman of the zoning board and, he said, “My mother did a lot of the behind-the-scenes typing.”

Barcomb said of the survey, “I’m hopeful we get a well-represented view of what people want.”

Barcomb went on about his vision for Konx, “I enjoy living in a rural town. I’m not anti-business. Agriculture is a business...There are not as many farms here as 100 years ago...there are only three or four dairy farms left. But a lot of people make part of their living from agriculture.”

Barcomb said, for example, in raising his 30 beef cows, “I depend on other farms, loaning equipment.”

Of the business of agriculture in Knox, he said, “It’s picked up a little in recent years...People are interested in buying directly from farmers.”

Barcomb said he’d like to “try to identify and support agriculture in town.”

Barcomb favors a second business district on Township Road — “It seems logical,” he said —and voted in favor of it as a member of the planning board.

“It was an awkward situation,” he said of Hitmans Towing setting up a business in a residential district. “It put us in an awkward spot to rezone after the business was in...It was a messy situation; it should have been the other way around,” meaning the business should have sought board approval before setting up.

Barcomb went on, “A lot of businesses in Knox are home-based. We have a lot of hardworking people working out of their [home] address. That’s still business...If I need a pond dug, or if I need to put a new roof on, ” he said, he could hire someone in Knox to do it.

“Maybe we need to do a better job of promoting ourselves or businesses in Knox,” said Barcomb. He suggested putting together “a directory to celebrate and show support” to Knox businesses.

On enforcing codes, Barcomb said, “People want to be independent; they don’t want to be micro-managed like in a suburban place.”

He went on, “Zoning enforcement is important. It’s just finding the balance that doesn’t tread on an individual’s right to control their own property without infringing on neighbors.”

Also, he said, health and safety are important.

“You don’t want to tell people how high to mow their lawn,” he said, but, if property maintenance, or lack of it, affects a neighbor’s property, then it has to be dealt with.

“Enforcement has to be done,” he said. “It’s not going to make everybody happy.”

He concluded that sometimes a code enforcement officer has to mediate between neighbors.

On the budget, Barcomb said, “I’m not sure we need a library.” Knox, he said, has always “shared a library with Berne.” Barcomb went on, “We always use the one in Altamont.”

On services for the elderly, he said, “We want people to be able to retire here.” The planning board, he noted, recommended allowing for senior housing, which the town board adopted.  He said it would “make sense to share services with Berne,” providing transportation for the elderly who live in town and don’t drive.

“The current administration has done well with fiscal responsibility,” said Barcomb. “I value that.”

Tax Collector Diane Champion

Diane Champion says she likes to stay busy and help people so she is running for her third two-year term as tax collector.

She is 67 and has retired from working for 31 years as an auditor for the state’s Department of Taxation and Finance. A Democrat, she also has the Independence Party line.

She moved to Knox 45 years ago when she married her husband, Donald Champion, and was delighted this year to become a grandmother; she has two granddaughters, Reagan and Vivian.

A new innovation her last term was to keep office hours at the town hall the last day of each month; she plans to continue that practice in her upcoming term. Champion has hours then from 5 to 8 p.m.

“It’s to help the taxpayers, so they don’t have to pay penalties,” she said. “I have extended hours at night, so they can come in.”

Her hours in January, the heavy month for tax collection, are Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Also, Champion said, if anyone calls her at home, she can arrange to meet them at Town Hall; she lives just a few minutes away and keeps all her records there. This happens not infrequently, she said.

“If anybody needs me, they can just call me,” she said. “It takes me just two minutes to get there.”

Champion also said, “If someone has a problem, they should give me a call. I always answer as soon as I can and, if I can’t help them, I can send them in the direction of someone who can.”

Currently, Champion said, she is working with Knox’s senior coordinator, Charlotte Fuss, “to try to get someone to come to Town Hall to help seniors with their income taxes.”

Champion concluded, “I enjoy meeting the people and I like to keep busy.”

Justice James Corigliano

After James Corigliano was appointed town judge, he visited Albany County’s jail and made a point of talking to the psychiatrist there. He wanted to be sure, if he sent someone to jail, the prisoner wouldn’t kill himself.

“I wanted to know what kind of screening they did to prevent suicide,” said Corigliano. “I’d have to live with that,” he said of sending someone to jail who was distraught and took his own life.

Corigliano came away satisfied. “They have an extensive process for first-timers,” he said. “They watch; they have cameras. They take that very seriously.”

Corigliano, 70, was appointed Knox town judge in March 2011 to fill a vacancy. He then won the next election, in November 2011, and is now running unopposed for a second four-year term. He is endorsed by both the Democrats and the Independence Party.

Corigliano has retired from a career as a music teacher in Guilderland, where he taught first, from 1972 to 1985, at Farnsworth Middle School and then was the Guilderland High School band director from 1985 to 2000.

“Most people think you need a law degree to be a town judge,” he said. “That’s not the case.”

Corigliano spent three weekends at Syracuse University being trained by the Unified Court System, passed the required exams, and was certified, he said; he has since taken an additional 12 credit hours every year to stay certified and now has over 90 hours worth of training.

“I think it’s an advantage,” he said of being a judge but not a lawyer. “It gives you a wider perspective.”

“Basically,” he explained, a town court “is a misdemeanor court. We do arraign felonies,” he said, noting, “I’m on call 24/7 for arraignments.”

He works with Justice Jean Gagnon.

This year, Corigliano presided over a jury trial, which is rare for Knox; it was for a man accused of driving while intoxicated.

“I thoroughly enjoyed it,” said Corigliano of presiding over a trial. “I had to do a lot of reading to learn about procedures. I had a lot of help from the Unified Court System.”

He frequently uses a 24-hour help line provided by the system for legal assistance. “Advice is a phone call away. I use it a lot,” said Corigliano. “If you make a mistake, the case can be thrown out. Whenever there’s a doubt, we call the resource center. A legal team will look up what you need.”

Corigliano estimated that 50 to 60 percent of the cases in his courtroom are for traffic violations but the other cases “run the gamut,” he said.

“Unfortunately, we see a lot of domestic violence cases; we issue orders of protection,” he said. “We have a bunch of grand larceny; we’re a small-claims court, up to $3,000. We also handle evictions; a lot of people rent and there are a number of trailer parks. The landlords petition for lack of rent. There are also a lot of DWIs,” which he termed “very upsetting.”

He and Gagnon follow a policy where they recuse themselves, not just if relatives were to appear before the bench “but if we’ve been to their house for dinner or they’ve been to ours, if we know them socially,” he said.

He added, “We’ve had situations where we both recuse, and it is sent to another court.”

Corigliano will use community service for sentencing “depending on the charge,” he said. “We avoid jail at all cost — if we can solve the issue, get the message across, especially with young people”

He went on, “We’re obligated to get a bail recommendation. We’re not obligated to follow it. Usually, we follow the recommendation on felonies.”

Corigliano concluded, “I take my job seriously.” He stressed that sentencing is not predetermined but, rather, varies with individual circumstances.

He gave the example of two people, each with speeding tickets for driving 45 miles per hour in a zone for 35. The fine would be different for someone who could “care less about the safety of others” than for someone “taking his wife to the hospital in labor,” said Corgliano.

“Every case is judged on its own merit,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if someone comes before the bench in a Saville Row suit or in work overalls….I treat every individual with respect. But, on the other hand, we’re also there to protect the public.”

Town Clerk Tara Murphy

Democratic Clerk Tara Murphy has created a social media presence for Knox.

Using a template from North Shore Solutions, she made individual pages for the town’s website to house multiple documents and board minutes in an easy-to-use format.

“People can click around and access a lot of things,” she said. “I’m on there every single day, tweaking it and adding things.”

Her goal, she said, was to create a clean and easy-to-navigate website. “I wanted it to be a resource for news updates, and I follow up with pictures.”

She has also created a Facebook page and a Twitter page for the town.

Murphy used the Knox Youth Soccer program as an example of how the social media sites benefitted residents. Kids could get the application form for the program online, netting the largest group of participants ever. And, during the program, they were made aware of cancellations because of weather. Finally, she posted a group shot of the players so everyone could see them.

Murphy also links to other community groups like libraries and the historical society.

“I hear people say, ‘I just saw the post,’” she reported.

Murphy, 38, made her first run for political office two years ago and won a close race. She is now running unopposed, endorsed by both the Democrats and the Independence Party.

She grew up in Rensselaer County in Castleton-on-Hudson and graduated with a degree in public communications from The College of Saint Rose in Albany.  She handled graphic design and communications for the School Administrators Association of New York State before working as a director of admissions and communications for The Center for Natural Wellness School of Massage in Albany. As a volunteer for the past two years, she has managed the Knox Food Pantry.

At Knox Town Hall, she expanded the clerk’s hours “to try to spread it out to accommodate everyone.” Murphy is at Town Hall on Monday from 4 to 6 p.m., on Tuesday from 4 to 7 p.m., on Wednesday from 9 a.m. to noon, and on the first Saturday of every month from 9 a.m. to noon.

She handles Freedom of Information Law requests and issues hunting licenses, dog licenses, certificates of residency, and permits for handicapped parking.

She also issues marriage licenses and, although a same-sex couple has not applied, Murphy said she would have “absolutely” no problem in issuing a license to a same-sex couple.

Her goals for her next term include improving the website. “It’s a work in progress,” she said.

And, she said, “I’d like to contact the Stave Archives and find ways to modernize other documents.”

Murphy was elected as secretary of the Albany County Democratic Committee. “It’s the first time anyone from the Hilltowns has been elected to the executive board,” she said. “It’s my responsibility to represent the Hilltowns to make sure we’re not forgotten.

Murphy concluded, “The board’s often centered on the city and suburban areas. Having a seat at that table gives us an opportunity to be heard.”

Highway Superintendent Gary Salisbury

Highway Superintendent Gary Salisbury has backing from five parties — Democrats, Republicans, and the Reform, Conservative, and Independence parties.

“I don’t get involved in politics,” he said. “I don’t treat people differently because of what party they’re in. I just do what has to be done.”

Salisbury, 51, is a Knox native and Berne-Knox-Westerlo High School graduate.  He worked for the Knox Highway Department for 16 years before being elected its superintendent, a post he’s held for 12 years.

He oversees a department of six men, which is down from nine full-time highway workers “way back,” he said. “We’ve got a really good crew,” Salisbury said. “A lot of them have been with us a long time. We work very efficiently. We’re doing as much work or more” as when there were more workers, he said.

“We didn’t choose to drop a guy,” Salisbury said. “It was to help with the budget.”

The crew maintains “right around 36.47 miles” of town roads, he said. Salisbury knows the figure because he’s measured the roads himself.

Referring to the state’s Consolidated Highway Improvement Program, he said, “CHIPs went through revamping...We had a lot of roads that should be claimed — town roads by use — that weren’t on our inventory.”

Salisbury believes Knox will have two-and-a-half to three miles more of roads to claim and receive more funds accordingly. “CHIPs goes by mileage,” he said.

In running the department, Salisbury said, “I really focus on winter months and keep moving forward with road improvements every year.” Those improvements depend on financing, Salisbury said.

He’s spent countless hours — “I’m pulling my hair out,” he said — doing paperwork to apply for grants and government funds. “I’m on top of that,” he said. “We’ve gotten hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

Currently, for example, he is expecting about $500,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which came about because of damage to Line Road; the damage didn’t affect access to the only two houses on the road, he said.

“FEMA estimated it would cost $600,000 to fix it...The town board and I decided that was crazy...We found out they would give us a percentage for other things. That allows us to buy equipment we wouldn’t get any other way.”

Two pieces of equipment he plans to buy with the FEMA money are a wheeled excavator, which is for larger projects than a backhoe can handle, and a roller. He has to pay to rent both of those every year and so will save money, Salisbury said, and also be able to use the equipment more often for projects.

One of those projects will be to repair Line Road, which has been closed for four years. “We’ll use the equipment to repair the road ourselves,” he said. “It just will take some time.”