Until this year, the two alleged victims of Gerald Miller had been unable to take legal action against the former priest who gave sermons in Altamont and the Hilltowns. The passage of the Child Victims Act has allowed them to move forward with this, said their attorney.

WESTERLO — Ruth Christine Hannay of Westerlo, the founding librarian of the town’s library who was also very active in the First Baptist Church of Westerlo, died on Friday, July 5, 2019. She was 67.

Dennis “Den” Walter Flagler died on May 6, 2019 at the age of 71.

KNOX — Ethel Frances McDermott, a loving mother and grandmother who worked as a school bus driver and as a nurse’s aid, died peacefully on Saturday, June 29, 2019. She was 97.

She was born on May 19, 1922 in the Town of Wright to the late Harrison and Beula (née Clow) Gage.

BERNE — Clyde Edward “Ted” Willsey, a lifelong Hilltown resident and a World War II veteran, “was always willing to lend a helping hand,” his family wrote in a tribute. He died quietly on Saturday, June 29, 2019. He was 91.

“When you throw up your diploma and your cap, you have commenced to ‘we,’” said Berne-Knox-Westerlo Superintendent Timothy Mundell, at the Class of 2019’s graduation on Saturday.

Nicole Carr, the Class of 2019 valedictorian at Berne-Knox-Westerlo, enjoys drawing comics. One revolves around a character she said somewhat resembles her. Another is titled “Meet Stu,” about her cat named Stuart.

“You can’t skip chapters,” advises Adrianna Fahd, the Class of 2019 salutatorian at Berne-Knox-Westerlo. “You have to live through everything, even if it’s hard.”