When he came to the United States at age 9, Sapphire Jack, now 16, recalled, “The hardest thing was my accent. I was made fun of. They called it ‘broken English.’ I got into a couple of fights. I learned to ignore it.”

GUILDERLAND —  On Friday, May 17, a mother shot her 5-year-old daughter before shooting herself at 169 Schoolhouse Road, according to a Saturday-afternoon release from Guilderland Police.

Caitlin Melville, 27, the mother, lived at that address with her daughter, who had been a kindergartner at Westmere Elementary School.

Paul Harris was on parole, having served a 20-year sentence for burglary, when he committed his latest crimes.

ALTAMONT — Rev. Hilton’s son and daughter both said their father was more like Jesus than any person they knew.

As the pastor at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Altamont for 29 years, he shepherded his flock through the worst and best times of their lives.

Albany County’s jail has policies instructing employees on the use of force and of chemicals, but not on solitary confinement, according to information from an Enterprise Freedom of Information Law request. Chief Deputy William Rice said that is because solitary confinement isn’t used at the county jail.

The Helderberg Corridor is home to more than 14 species of reptiles and amphibians, Mark King said, noting the diversity is possibly the greatest in the Northeast.

ALBANY COUNTY — In the sunshine of an April afternoon, Carole Henry walks between carefully tended amoeba-like gardens and reaches down, as if greeting old friends after a long winter.

On Aug. 26, 2015, I got a late-night call at the newspaper. It was a Wednesday, the day each week when we stay up all night to put the paper to bed.

The call was from my father. “Your mother’s had a stroke,” he said.

ALTAMONT — Still waters run deep. Charlie Gardner was a quiet man who had deep commitments.

“People truly don’t know assistance is out there. We have so many different programs and so many facets, it would be wonderful for more people to use them,” said Tracy Gibeau, the executive director of the Albany County Rural Housing Alliance.