An Evening of Recognition
By Michelle Van Horn
This month’s Stephentown Town Board meeting on Monday, January 20 took place on the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Town Councilman Bill Jennings led the meeting in place of Superintendent Larry Eckhardt, who was in Florida for his father’s surprise 90th birthday party.
Jennings acknowledged Dr. King’s contributions to our nation with some comments at the start of the meeting. He said after spending the day listening to several of Dr. King’s addresses, he found the three key components of MLK’s message to be kindness, tolerance, and peace, which Jennings said are “something we could use a whole lot more of these days.”
Everett Madden took his place as Stephentown’s new councilman for the first time in place of former councilman Gerald Robinson. Madden is a well-known businessman and owner of the former Madden’s Service Center for 44 years (at the site now occupied by Fat Body Customs). The enthusiastic customer service reviews about Madden’s found at CarTalk.com may speak to the kind of councilman we might expect. One customer rolled into his automotive shop with a broken clutch cable with canoe atop his car, on his way to his honeymoon. With Everett already busy fixing other cars and unable to get the part the customer needed, Everett offered his own car to the customer. The customer wrote on CarTalk, “Everett lent me his car so I could go to a dealer and get a cable which he would then install, That’s right, he would lend me his car to drive one hour into Troy to get the part!”
Another customer wrote ‘Only went there for an inspection, but I was so impressed by the relationship this shop appeared to have with customers–friendly, concerned, direct. Would definitely go again.” Madden is also a 77 year lifelong resident of Stephentown. Welcome Councilman Everett Madden!
Driving to the Stephentown meeting that evening, I passed a full parking lot at Hall & Higgins Funeral Home, where the service was for Thomas MacVeigh (which may have contributed to low attendance at the Town meeting). Tom was one of Stephentown’s town assessors for 40 years. Tom was also a founding member of the Veterans of the Stephentown Area, and was influential in creating the Veteran’s Memorial Park in Stephentown. Superintendent Larry Eckhardt weighed in with a faxed message read by councilman PJ Roder, which emphasized Tom’s service and commitment to his work. Eckhardt wrote:
“He took over the job in a very tumultuous time in the recent history of Stephentown, and through steady and sometimes painstaking work, Tom brought order to the town’s assessment needs. Although residents would not always agree with Tom’s assessment of the property, Tom was consistent, and always had the long-term interest of all the residents of Stephentown as his guiding principle.”
Before a moment of silence was taken, condolences were offered to his friends and family, and especially to his wife, Joan, who also served as the deputy to the town assessor for many years.
Two submissions have been received for the cable franchise in Stephentown, one from Consolidated Communications and one from Charter Cable. Both companies have submitted proposals, and Charter Cable has also submitted the town’s filing fee of $1,500, which offsets the Town’s related legal costs. The Board awaits Consolidated Communications’ filing fee submission. A decision about awarding the cable franchise is expected to be made at February’s meeting.