As the Berne Town Board negotiates a new union contract for town employees that will likely include improved compensations for highway workers, residents question the town’s financial standing in a pandemic-addled economy. 

The Warners Lake Improvement Association, which stewards Warner Lake, in Berne, is taking steps to have the name adjusted by the United States Board on Geographic Names to reflect local preference for Warners Lake.

The Berne Town Board’s lone Democrat, Joel Willsey, has been censured following an investigation into allegations of discrimination against veterans made by Republican board member Dennis Palow.

To close an expected budget gap, two Republicans on the Westerlo Town Board are recommending cutting the Democratic supervisor’s two staffers after the Democrats and one tie-breaking Republican authorized the layoff of two of the highway department’s roughly seven workers. 

Westerlo Town Clerk Kathleen Spinnato announced at the town board’s special June 11 meeting that she would be resigning on June 21. On June 18, the town board appointed Deputy Clerk Karla Weaver as acting town clerk.

Republican Paul DeLorenzo has earned nearly 70 percent of votes in Tuesday’s Conservative Party primary for Assembly District 111, according to the New York State Board of Elections’ unofficial results. His opponent, incumbent Democrat Angelo Santabarbara, garnered only about 23 percent of votes.

Frank Bryant, of Westerlo, was arrested at his home on June 20 after police say he assaulted a man with a pipe on the side of County Route 404 in Westerlo, leaving the victim with broken teeth and a facial laceration.

Susan Story, an artist based in Rensselaerville, will use grant money to paint a nearly true-to-size apple tree, a project that she says honors the significance apples hold in the Helderberg Hilltowns, and New York State in general. 

On Juneteenth, The Enterprise spoke with Anne Pope, director of the northeast region of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, about the relationship between the Civil Rights Movement a half-century ago and the Black Lives Matter protests, how white people can bring about change, and what local progress looks like. 

In the race to represent the 111th District in the State Assembly, Republican Paul DeLorenzo is challenging incumbent Democrat Angelo Santabarbara for the Conservativeline in the June 23 primary. The Enterprise spoke with DeLorenzo about five topics, ranging from the legalization of marijuana to coronavirus recovery, to hear his views. Santabarbara could not be reached despite repeated attempts.