Berne's supervisor and highway superintendent need to set aside their differences and work together to honestly answer this question: Is it more productive to have the highway crew work four 10-hour days or five eight-hour days?

Maureen Abbott, East Berne

BERNE — The town’s highway superintendent — a Republican in a town governed by a council of all Democrats — left on a planned trip to Maine at 2 p.m. last Friday afternoon. That evening, he heard from two of his six full-time highway workers: They had been fired by the town supervisor.

_{Kevin Crosier, supervisor, Berne}

Berne's supervisor says he doesn't know if bridge repairs that have closed part of Route 443 for the summer have affected business but the owner of Fox Creek Market says sales have fallen by 75 percent and survival is "iffy."