RENSSELAERVILLE — Despite differences in 2015 — ranging from placement of a sheriff’s tower to politics — residents of this diverse Helderberg town pulled together for common causes.

At the start of the year, a party was held at Conkling Hall after a fire had gutted Richard Platel’s century-old home in the hamlet. A Fire Fund was set up to offer quick financial help to those who have experienced a disaster — for victims of the recent fire as well as those of future disasters.

Five fire companies were there to battle the blaze at Platel’s home in January. No people were hurt but the family’s pet dog died.

Conkling Hall itself, the venue for many community gatherings, was approved in 2015 as exempt from federal taxes. Donations to the charitable organization, Friends of Conkling Hall, would be tax deductible, said board member Kevin McGrath in March. The board formed the separate group in part to bring more events to the hall, which was built as a Methodist church 176 years ago and continues to be a place for plays, concerts, an open-mic night, yoga classes, political forums, square dances, and fundraisers.

Residents came together, too, to mourn William J McChesney Jr. at a memorial service in July at the Rensselaerville Presbyterian Church, where he had been a longtime treasurer. He had died in April at the age of 86.

McChesney’s family had a summer home in Rensselaerville, which he had gone to all his life. When he retired from a career with Allegheny Ludlum Steel Corporation, he lived in Rensslaeraville year-round. He was part of the group that purchased Conkling Hall and also served on the Rensselaerville water and sewer committee.

“He was very human,” said his wife, Susan McChesney, “fond of dogs and cats and children.”

Divisions

Several issues in 2015 divided Rensselaerville residents.

In April, the town board discussed drafting a noise ordinance, prompted by complaints Valerie Lounsbury said she had heard during her three years as supervisor.

Lounsbury cited one instance where music could be heard miles away from a residence during the early-morning hours. When police were called, she said, “They say, ‘You have no noise ordinance and we can’t do anything’ — and, in my opinion, these people did have a legitimate gripe.”

“You have places in town, like the Carey Center, that have weddings,” said Councilwoman Marion Cooke. “How are you going to stop them?”

Enterprise file photo — Melissa Hale-Spencer

“We’re doing this for the town of Rensselaerville,” said Dan Gangi, whose family owns the property on Edwards Hill where a 180-foot tower is proposed. “It’s on our farm,” he said in August at a packed public hearing where the crowd was divided on the issue. Some said it would mar the Catskill vistas; other said the sheriff’s proposal would bring needed radio reception for emergency calls.

In August, the town’s meeting room was packed as half the crowd opposed a plan for a 180-foot tower on top of Edwards Hill because it would mar the Catskill vistas while the other half favored the sheriff’s proposal because it would bring radio reception for emergency calls to parts of Rensselaerville — including Medusa and Potter Hollow — that now lack it.

“It’s like someone stealing your land,” said Joyce Schuld, who handed out flyers mapping the views that would be affected. “People paint, look at the sunset...Tourists come here.”

“If it saves one person’s life, I’ll do away with my view,” said Cooke.

The seven-member planning board unanimously agreed to require a long-form environmental review of the proposal and to have the applicant perform a balloon test so residents could get an idea of how the tower would affect views. The site is on property owned by Dan Gangi’s family and the tower would be part of a $23 million countywide communication system.

Enterprise file photo — Melissa Hale-spencer

Nature beckons at the Huyck Preserve in Rensselaerville, which hosts year-round activities as well as conducting scientific research. An Odum intern at the Huyck Preserve this summer said he felt discriminated against but the director said, “I thought we came up with acceptable solutions so he’d feel comfortable.”

Also in August, a highly respected internship program at the Huyck Preserve in Rensselaerville was criticized by a young man, Jamain Hunt, who had spent the summer as an Odum intern. Hunt is now a junior at West Virginia State University.

He believes he was discriminated against because of his color and his gender. “I’m brown,” he said, explaining that his father was from South Africa — “He came over through the Catholic church for a better life in America,” said Hunt — and his mother is Cherokee.

“It’s making me sad to hear — both for the preserve and as a black woman,” said Dawn O’Neal on hearing of Hunt’s complaints. O’Neal is the preserve’s director and before that she was in charge of education and research there.

“No one should be discriminated against for sex or race,” Hunt said. “It’s unacceptable this is going on. I hope to bring institutional change.”

This past summer, Hunt was one of four Odum interns — the program is named for Dr. Eugene Odum, often called the father of ecosystem ecology, who launched his career at the Hyuck Preserve. The undergraduate students did research and learned from mentors and visiting speakers; the other three interns were females.

O’Neal said she had thought the issues Hunt raised had been addressed. “I thought we came up with acceptable solutions so he’d feel comfortable.” She also said the program is a good one that has been satisfying for the vast majority of students. “I’m still in contact with the undergraduate interns I’ve worked with,” she said. “They’ve all had wonderful experiences here.”

Politics

In July, Jeannette Rice opened her Rensselaerville home to friends and strangers as across the country supporters of Bernard Sanders for president met to watch a video feed from Sanders and plan ways to help elect him.

Rice said she hosted 25 people at her house because she believes “everyone is responsible for the future of this country.”

She said of the unusual rally, “Ninety-five thousand people have RSVPed. They are gathering in church halls and schools and town centers across the country.”

A self-described democratic socialist, Sanders — a former mayor of Burlington and congressman for Vermont and currently its senator — has surprised even himself with the power of his campaign.

The Hilltowners who gathered in Bill and Jeannette Rice’s living room — some on the couch, others on the stone hearth or added chairs — wrote their thoughts on Sanders, covering a wide variety of topics. Jim Kaufman wrote, “Bernie is on the side of the largest voting bloc in our country — working people.”

“We need change and Bernie is the best candidate,” wrote Susan Story, who said, even if he’s not elected, “He will keep Hillary more honest.” Across the bottom of her note, it said in capital letters, “Time for a revolution.”

Town politics were as complex as always in Rensselaerville this election year.

Although there are more than twice as many Democrats as Republicans in Rensselaerville, the current town board has just one Democrat. It has two Conservatives, an Independence Party member, and a Republican supervisor.

In November, the Democrats put up only one candidate for town board, Gerald Heath, who said his party needed “new blood.” Democratic Party Chairman Jeffry Pine said, “We couldn’t get people involved.” Heath finished last.

Republican newcomer Kevin McGrath, an accountant, had the most votes with 38 percent. “I think I could make a difference — do the kind of accounting that should be done, help the board, give them another angle,” said McGrath, 62, who retired at the end of last year after 30 years as a CPA.

Incumbent Councilwoman Margaret Sedlmeir, an Independence Party member, ran with Republican, Conservative, and Reform lines as well, and kept her seat with 34 percent of the vote.

Sedlmeir, 72, a retired schoolteacher, said the thing she was most proud of in her four years on the board is starting a town-wide picnic. The third annual picnic was held last June. “It’s sponsored by the town board, held on the grounds of the town hall,” she said, so it attracts people from all the hamlets. She lauded the volunteers that make it possible and said, “I initiated that to build community. I believe that’s so important.”

Pine won back, by a razor-thin margin, a seat in the assessor’s office, for which he ran and lost in the previous two elections. His opponent, incumbent Richard Tollner, a Republican, had beaten him in 2011, also with a narrow margin.

With Greg Bischoff not seeking another term as judge, the race was wide open. In the end, Dwight Cooke, with the Democratic, Conservative, and Independence Party lines, bested Republican Brian O’Keefe. Both men were making their first run for public office.

Cooke, a retired lieutenant at the county’s jail, said during the campaign that he likes the use of community service in sentences. “A lot of people who make mistakes shouldn’t be locked up,” he said. “You can pay your debt without being behind bars. It’s a hardship on their family.”

Journey

A journey taken this year by April Caprio and her husband, Jason, with their six children, seems emblematic of both the worth and challenges of modern rural life.

The Caprios, as children, had shopped at the Medusa General Store and then, as adults, had purchased it. They not only sold food and other goods but they used the store as a community center for everything from talks about agricultural infrastructure to displays of local art. Through social media and a blog, they argued for the benefits of spending locally.

This spring, having closed the store, the family set out on the road in a 1976 RV to look for resilient rural communities. “We have been doing some soul searching,” said April Caprio, who has a Ph.D. in public policy, just before leaving. “The Hilltowns’ story is one that I think is replicated throughout the country. We’ve become a bedroom community of a large metropolitan area. When we struggle to find jobs, there aren’t a whole lot of them...I’m hoping that will change; maybe Transition will encourage more local-level economic development. Maybe it will embrace green development sustainability.”

The Caprios are part of what is known as the global Transition movement, which, like their endeavors, looks for ways small, local communities can face large global issues.

On her return, Caprio scheduled several workshops in the Helderbergs this fall as part of Sustainable Hilltowns.  She said the community dialogues hope to answer this question: Would the development of a “makerspace” in the Hilltowns help to nurture small farmers?

“The Maker Movement, a grassroots initiative that has inspired everyone from community activists to our president (the White House announced its own Maker Fair this year!) proposes that everyone can and should have the opportunity to design and create, to be builders, hackers, and innovators, not just consumers,” explained Caprio.

Funded with a grant from Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, Sustainable Hilltowns is interested, broadly, Caprio said, in pursuing activities that encourage sustainable economic development, food security, and prosperity for the region.

“Farmers are, after all,” she said, “the first ‘makers’ and have long thrived on their ingenuity and entrepreneurship.”