With a permanent solution to the town’s transfer station problem still in the works, the Knox Town Board will hold at least one more special meeting, on Wednesday, July 26, to discuss its options. 

The Rensselaerville Town Board seems to agree that opting to allow marijuana dispensaries in the town will have virtually no impact, given the state’s regulations at this time, and will seek the public’s opinion on the matter in the near future. Meanwhile, it’s leaving the issue of a noisy gun club to the residents affected. 

The Berne Democratic Party is not endorsing any candidates this year, believing that, with only two town board seats up for grabs, they wouldn’t be able to make any meaningful change even if they swept the election. 

It’s the final word on a 4.4-megawatt solar proposal from RIC Energy that technically originated in 2020, and has been a source of community consternation ever since. 

Democrats have endorsed Patricia Byrnes for town council and incumbent Gregory Bischoff for justice, while Republicans have endorsed Randall Bates for town council and Richard Tollner for justice. Both parties endorsed incumbent town council member Brian Wood for re-election. 

The Knox Republican Party has endorsed political newcomer Jamie L. Berenger for town supervisor and the incumbents for all the other open positions, which include two town board seats, tax collector, highway superintendent, town clerk, and town justice. 

The Albany County Planning Board took no action on RIC’s proposed solar farm in Knox, after two members voted in favor of the project and two voted against. Project manager Nancy Vlahos said that the current plan “already addresses or will address all of the county’s concerns.”

As the Albany County Sheriff’s Office increases compensation for its EMS staff, the leaders of towns that use the county’s emergency medical services are in favor of better-paid county workers, but worry about the impact it will have on their tax rates. They hope that a new system will relieve them of the burden of acting as a middleman for the county. 

The first gathering will be a “night of film and video” presented by Otto Ohle, a filmmaker and photographer based in Catskill, on July 7 at Conkling Hall. The second will be the annual local artist showcase at the Grist Mill, which will open on July 21 with a reception and be open to the public over the next two weekends.

The Berne-Knox-Westerlo Class of 2023 graduated from high school at a ceremony on June 24 at The Egg, in Albany.