H. Rose Schneider reports in The Altamont Enterprise that the Knox town board fired three transfer-station workers, and hired three new ones on Jan. 1 in a partisan vote. That led to a packed town meeting Jan. 8, "with many residents who objected to the firings," according to the newspaper. “I think it was politically motivated,” Town Board member Earl Barcomb said. Town Supervisor Vasilios Lefkaditis and councilmembers Karl Pritchard and Kenneth Saddlemire ran with Republican backing and all voted to fire Mark Young, Joseph Adriance, and Richard Dexter. Democrats Barcomb and Dennis Barber disagreed. Resident Amy Anderson asked board members if there had been complaints or problems with the three fired workers and Lefkaditis said that, yes, one employee caused concern. “But you fired three,” responded Anderson. The board’s decision may have violated Civil Service rules. “That’s up to a judge to adjudicate, not us,” said Lefkaditis. Now, Jeremy Springer, Lee Harnett, and Glen Walsh have been hired for the jobs, and Walsh is the father-in-law of the town’s attorney, Javid Afzali. Read the full story in The Altamont Enterprise.