Dennis Sullivan describes a grand gathering in 1917 — a fundraiser for the Red Cross during World War I, which attracted 2,000 people to the Bender farm, where Charles’s wife, Elizabeth Bender, had hit upon the idea of serving slices of melon topped with ice cream.

“I never intended to be a career politician,” Republican Senator George Amedore told The Enterprise this week after announcing on Friday that he won’t run for re-election in 2020.

Amedore, who is 50, served in the State Assembly for six years, until 2012, and has represented District 46 in the State Senate since 2014.

“The county is not in the business of finding children for families. Rather, it is finding families for children,” says foster mother Sharon Astyk. “That sounds like a small difference but it’s an important distinction. The county is child-centered. This is not about going and picking out a kid.”

More foster homes are needed in Albany County not just because the number of children in the system has increased but also because 2018 federal legislation, which prioritizes family-based foster care, will limit reimbursement for certain residential placements in New York in 2021.

ALBANY COUNTY — On Tuesday, Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy signed two local laws to help with environmental efforts: one is for a five-cent fee on paper bags at retail stores and the other creates a loan program for sustainable energy projects.

GUILDERLAND — Stephen Cadalso was one of the residents of the ghost neighborhood in front of Crossgates Mall; he sold his home to Pyramid in December 2015. He believes Pyramid’s current plan to build a Costco in his old neighborhood is “too intense” of a use.

WESTERLO — Egeziaca Rufa was born on Nov. 20, 1913 — before the start of World War I, before automobiles were common, before most homes had indoor plumbing.

She was born in Italy and lived her young life on the outskirts of Rome. In 1941, she moved with her family to the United States.

With the season of thanksgiving on the horizon, celebrated by people of all religions in these United States, the Greenville Area Interfaith Council hosted a forum considering the question: What comes after death?

“I’ve always had a reverence for the old,” Timothy Rau said, likening his work to a “rebirth” for historic buildings — “putting it back the way it had been.”

ALTAMONT — Jacqueline R. “Jackie” Warner was a woman of constancy.