ALTAMONT — Tommy Breen from Little Falls, New Jersey learned how to swallow swords when he was 14 or 15 years old. When he showed his mother and father — a real-estate agent and owner of a moving company — what he could do, they “weren’t pleased,” Breen said.

GUILDERLAND — Two events last week honored Major General Harold J. Greene of Guilderland, who was killed in Afghanistan on Aug. 5, 2014.

Two local residents whose families’ roots are in Shubuta, Mississippi — a town known for two horrific group lynchings — talk about the way that their relatives responded to the racism they encountered in their hometown. 

ALTAMONT — “We have it all on video,” said Altamont Police Chief Todd Pucci, referring to a May 6 break-in at Altamont Oaks by four young men. Two 19-year-old men were charged with robbery, criminal conspiracy, assault, and burglary — all felonies.

An organization called Prison Families of New York State was based in Albany for a quarter-century.

A new organization, Friends in the Adirondacks, offers hospitality to visiting families of people who are incarcerated in the North Country. The organization’s other mission, said co-founder Martha Swan, is to open hearts and minds of local residents.

Tara Molloy-Grocki is the new president of the Guilderland Teachers’ Association. She replaces Erin McNamara, who started in the post in 2014.

Homeowner Judi Eells said early Saturday afternoon that she had no idea where she was going to sleep that night, as she watched firefighters cut away much of the roof of her home at 52 Van Wie Terrace in Westmere, to let smoke billow out.

GUILDERLAND — Howard Haver, 51, a town highway department foreman, was found guilty on July 20, after a three-day misdemeanor jury trial in Guilderland Town Court, of driving while intoxicated, according to Heather Orth of the Albany County District Attorney’s Office. Haver will be back in court for sentencing on Aug.

GUILDERLAND — Two projects that would be the first major solar-energy structures in Guilderland came before the planning board on July 12, and the board has received an application for a third.