To the Editor:
Last Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021, Albany County Executive Dan McCoy announced that Albany County would hand out roughly 10,000 at-home COVID-19 test kits [“Masks and rapid tests for COVID distributed throughout Albany County,” The Altamont Enterprise, Dec. 23, 2021]. In his press conference, he emphasized the need to get the kits to the underserved communities.

He allotted the 2,700-plus residents of Berne 89 test kits. Eighty-Nine. This is an insult to every senior citizen and resident of our town.

On Dec. 24, 2021, Berne Councilman Leo Vane, his wife, Anne; Councilman-elect Thomas Dolin; and I handed out every test kit in about an hour and a half at our community center with less than 24 hours’ notice to our public. So many had to be turned away.

Berne is the definition of an underserved community. As you recall when we were about to lose our Hilltown healthcare, all the “leaders” in our county came out of the woodwork to save our healthcare by highlighting what an underserved community is and the need for proper healthcare services.

Underserved communities or groups refer to populations that do not have adequate access to medical care or services. This includes rural, elderly, low-literacy, blue collar, and poor populations. Unfortunately, Berne residents fall into many of these categories.

Think about this: Guilderland received 900 test kits (and I know Guilderland has a greater population) but Guilderland residents have pharmacies, grocery stores, drugstores, department stores … doctors’ offices, urgent-care facilities, malls, vaccination sites, and high speed quality internet at an arm’s length.

For a Berne resident, a trip to any one of these locations is 10 to 20 miles one-way off the Hill, in winter; that trip back up the Hill can be treacherous. For a senior citizen or someone on a fixed income, this could be a day trip or one that has to be planned ahead of time.

(Luckily, the town of Berne did purchase a new bus two years ago and is able to transport a limited number of seniors and other in-need residents off the Hill to these services. But COVID-19 does limit that as well).

Forget about Amazon or other online retailers as most in our community are still lacking basic high-speed internet that is needed to make these online purchases of test kits and or medical supplies.

Quickly, I would like to thank Sheriff Craig Apple, Inspector Amy Kowalski, and the entire staff of the Albany County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Management Unit. They have and will continue to go out of their way to serve and protect the people and town of Berne to the highest degree.

As I enter my final days as Berne’s supervisor and complete the transition of representation to Mr. Dennis Palow, I am confident he will be addressing the underserved nature of our town and advocate for the seniors, and any resident in need of support.

Dennis will ensure the Albany County leadership will start addressing our needs as an underserved community and I, as a resident, will continue to be a voice for our seniors and all those residing in the great town of Berne. Good luck, Dennis; you will excel!

Finally, I thank all those who supported me in the past four years, especially my wife, Jennifer, Mom, Meg, and my entire family reading about me in this paper weekly. And a special thank-you to Andrea and Anita.

Sean S. Lyons

Supervisor

Town of Berne

Editor’s note: At the Albany County press conference on Dec. 23, Sheriff Craig Apple said the 10,000 rapid-test kits (for a county with over 320,000 residents) would be distributed to municipalities based on population. With 89 kits, Berne received a bit over the 1-kit-per 32-residents ratio.