In an otherwise perfunctory meeting, the Berne Town Board made two key appointments on New Year’s Day: Albert Thiem to the town board, replacing former councilwoman Bonnie Conklin, who resigned; and former State Supreme Court Justice and convicted felon Thomas Spargo as chairman of the zoning board of appeals.

Richard Filkins, Westerlo

Anita C. Clayton, Berne

Sean S. Lyons, Supervisor Town of Berne

Sheep farmer Emily Vincent, who has previously been harassed by Berne’s code-enforcement officer and highway superintendent, has been ordered to replace a culvert near her property in spite of the fact that it runs underneath a town road.

Various charity organizations have given away thousands upon thousands of pounds of food to Hilltowners in need this year. 

Knox residents Mary Varbero and Frank Muia have succeeded in their quest to free their Berne-Altamont Road property from the restrictions dictated by a covenant that the previous property owner said she was forced to agree to by the town’s planning board in the early 1990s.

WESTERLO — Ralph Lloyd Filkins, an inveterate volunteer fireman and an early Thacher Park police officer, died on Saturday, Christmas morning, Dec. 25, 2021, at the Daughters of Sarah Nursing Home. He had enjoyed a visit from his family the day before. He was 82.