Susan Hawkes-Teeter, Berne

BERNE — Victor L. Blanchet was a rugged individualist.

“He was well read. He liked to philosophize. He was a deep thinker,” said his nephew, Robert Blanchet. “He never had a bad word to say about anything … The word that describes him best is ‘unique.’”

A Berne-Knox-Westerlo student who has been learning from home has tested positive for COVID-19, according to an email Superintendent Timothy Mundell sent to BKW students, family, and staff on Monday morning.

WESTERLO — Anita Caroline Marrone of Westerlo — an ebullient woman who put her boundless energies into the care of her family and town — died peacefully in the presence of loved ones on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020. She was 77.

KNOX — James Keough of Knox — the state’s first K-9 Trooper — died peacefully surrounded by his loving family on Thursday, Nov. 12. He was 79.

He was the son of the late John and Isabel Keough and husband of the late Blanche (née Macejka) Keough. He grew up in Schenectady and graduated from Mont Pleasant High School in 1959.

After purchasing Red-Kap Sales, a regional gasoline and convenience store company, Stewart’s Shops will take over Berne’s Mobil gas station, on the Helderberg Trail.

Mary Ann Ronconi, Berne

Zenie Gladieux, Helderberg Kiwanis; Mary Beth Peterson, Hilltown Community Resource Center; Maryellen Gillis, Helderberg Family and Community Organization 

Carolyn F. Wright, Class of 1959 Berne-Knox-Westerlo

BERNE — Supporters of the Switzkill Farm feel that the current GOP-backed town board is letting the expansive town-owned property languish and that projects beneficial to the community — from the instruction of school kids to attracting astronomers — have fallen by the wayside.