Former County Nurse Honored At Supervisors Meeting

By Chris English

SCHOHARIE COUNTY — A former county nurse who held a special place in the hearts of so many was praised and honored at the Friday, May 16 meeting of the Schoharie County Board of Supervisors.

The BOS unanimously approved a resolution in memory of the late Valarie Manchester, a public health nurse in the county for 32 years from 1989 until retirement in 2021.

"Valarie always put the well-being of the residents of the county ahead of her own, helping them through catastrophic events like the historic flooding from Hurricane Irene, gently obtaining blood from children for lead testing, and actually delaying her retirement and her own care for 'her people' during the COVID pandemic," the resolution stated.

"All who worked with or received care from Valarie were witness to her calm personality, common-sense practices, wealth of knowledge and kind and generous spirit," the document added.

"An incredible nurse and incredible human being taken too early from us," BOS Chairman Bill Federice said during the meeting.

"It was hard to find somebody as dedicated as she was," added Supervisor Philip Skowfoe Jr.

Valarie's husband Floyd Manchester paid tribute to his late wife's character.

"She would do anything for the people of this county," Floyd said. "Her last couple of days, if she had gotten a call about someone needing help, she would have told me to get her in the car and I will go take care of it. That's just the type of person she was."

In other resolutions approved at the meeting, Amy Florence of Schoharie was named a member of the Board of Directors on the county Community Action Program Inc. for a term to expire on Dec. 31, 2025.

Another resolution acknowledged the establishment of the Patriot Walkway at Lasell Hall in the Village of Schoharie. The Schoharie County Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, owners of Lasell Hall, authorized the laying of commemorative bricks with the names of Patriots of the American Revolution on a walkway in front of the hall.

A superseding resolution was approved confirming appointments and terms on the county Youth Board. Names to the board were Janine Pustolka (Cobleskill) for a term expiring Dec. 31, 2026; Jeffrey Sperbeck (Seward), Melissa Bevins (Middleburgh), Marissa Karker (Schoharie) and Daniel Cornwell (Sharon Springs) for terms expiring Dec. 31, 2027; and Meghan Keaney (Sharon Springs), Da-Lai Wu (Schoharie) and Matthew Wilms (Seward) for terms expiring Dec. 31, 2028.