THURMAN – Citizens in Thurman criticized town Councilman Doug Needham for using an obscene insult on his Facebook page, referring to town supervisor Cynthia Hyde.

WRGB in Albany reported on the flap, which has resulted in a group of Thurman citizens calling for Needham to resign. One 87-year-old resident said in a lifetime of living in Thurman she had never heard a man use that word publicly.

Needham refused to respond to requests for interviews, telling the news channel only that he “thought it was funny.”

The town board in Thurman has been embroiled in several controversies recently. On May 10 the town board fired the law firm of town attorney Marc Schachner, attributing their displeasure to his refusal to take their side against the supervisor, who had purchased computers for the town despite a majority vote against the $8,000 purchase.