Kyle Williams was appointed the historian for the Town of Shawangunk at its February 3 Town Board meeting.

Williams was approved by a 4-0 vote after a brief interview by board members during an executive session.

Williams is a 28-year resident of the Town of Shawangunk. He and his wife Jessica and 2-year-old daughter Skyler Hope reside near Walker Valley.

Williams said his ancestors first settled in Ulster County in the early 1600s.

“My interest in ancestry sparked at the age of 14 after I became a Civil War Reenactor with the 124th New York, which is based out of Montgomery,” he said. “From that moment forward, my appreciation for history grew significantly. Learning the sacrifices those made before us, and the impact they left on our local communities, inspired me to learn about the people and places we call home.”

Williams, 36, graduated from Pine Bush High in 2005 and from Marist College in 2010. He said he is looking forward to giving lectures, making presentations and updating the board about his work.

“It’s about preserving our local history and bringing to light such great stories that I think are slowly becoming forgotten,” he said. “We have great, great ancestry with the Dutch being here, Native Americans here and we have great old factories like the Borden Milk Condensery. You have the Civil War participation and obviously history is being made today. My vision is not only to archive and preserve and resurrect these old histories, but also not to forget we’re living in history right now.”

The new town historian said he plans to make a report to the board at least once every six months.

“We’ll come here and make a five- or 10-minute presentation on something of historical significance,” Williams said. “It could be about architecture or individuals. It could be about our Native American history, Revolutionary War or anything else. Maybe that’ll attract more participants to come out to the board meetings.”

Williams is a key account manager for Cintas, a uniform company in Montgomery.

Williams replaces longtime town historian Barbara Palinkas, who recently resigned.

In other news, the board officially designated the Wallkill Rail Trail North as one of its rail trails.

“If we had a name for it, we can probably apply for some Scenic Hudson money or something to put money into it,” Supervisor John Valk said. “It needs some work.”

Police Chief Gerald Marlatt said the town will receive an opioid emergency kit for the Town Hall from Ulster County. Marlatt said he would reach out to get another one for the Walker Valley schoolhouse at the suggestion of board member Robert Miller.

Malatt introduced Dr. Michelle Molina, a neurologist, and Sophia Ngor Demetri, chief event coordinator and physical liaison for Wellness and Pain, an organization that offers adults everything from routine wellness care to advanced diagnostics and surgical procedures.

Marlatt said two years ago the group held an event in conjunction with the Town of Crawford to do checkups for town employees. He said the group would like to do a similar event for Town of Shawangunk employees.

Dr. Molina said the group offers a full range of tests to check the blood flow to the brain and anything to do with the heart and the lower extremities.

“A lot of people don’t go to the doctor, so we’re here to bring screening to them,” she explained. “We bring education to them because it’s not always easy to get to the doctor, make an appointment or hold an appointment. We want to bring health and wellness to towns. Kind of keep everyone healthy and let them continue to work and do everything they’re able to do.”

There would be no charge to anyone who came to the event.

The board approved March 16 at the town hall’s community room for town employee checkups.