image description
Selectmen Jane Allen, Vice Chairman Thomas Sheldon and David Rempell. Selectmen Tom Costley and Chairman Ronald Turbin were absent.

Williamstown Approves Veterans Agent Agreement

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
Print Story | Email Story

New open meeting rules require agendas to be posted in readily accessible areas. Williamstown has new shadowboxes for its agendas near the front door.
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Selectmen on Monday approved a two-year agreement to share a veterans agent with North Adams and Adams beginning Aug. 1. It's the first of several partnerships the town is promoting with the city.

The state requires the city of North Adams have a full-time agent but the city doesn't need an agent for that many hours. The concept of sharing was suggested by Mayor Richard Alcombright, who pledged greater North County collaborations when he took office earlier this year.

"This in no way pushes [Veterans Agent] Michael Kennedy out of office," said Town Manager Peter Fohlin. Kennedy's been agent for 10 years. "He came to me a few months ago and asked if he could retire but I said no. ... He was willing to stay as long as he had to, not able to stay forever and wanted to leave as soon as possible."

In what Fohlin described as a "convenient confluence of events," Williamstown and the city, which has been without an agent, and Adams, whose agent and Town Clerk Paul Hutchinson was eager to retire, were able to agree on a "veterans district."

The town and Adams will each have the agent twice a week for 2 1/2 hours in the afternoon; the agent, David Robbins, will work mornings in the city. However, he will be available to any veteran in the three municipalities at any time. Adams approved the agreement last week and the North Adams City Council is expected to approve it on Tuesday night. (The draft agreement can be found below.)

Fohlin said he is also partnering with Alcombright in encourage the Hoosac Water Quality District commissioners to invest in a methane digester at the waste-water treatment facility to produce energy from sewer gas. The town and city share in the operation of the plant and are represented by two commissioners each.

The Williamstown Police are also in contact with the North Adams public safety department in working on a prescription drug collection program that could also include other towns. Fohlin said Officer Shuan Williams is taking the point on this initiative and he expected a North County collection program to be in place in about six weeks.


Jill Strawbridge said this year's Fun Run will honor Adam Falk.
A number of communities have begun prescription drug collections to ensure drugs don't fall into the wrong hands or are flushed into the environment.

Fohlin also told Selectmen that the town is iin full compliance with the new open meeting law, which requires that information on meeting agendas be readily available at anytime at Town Hall. Shadowboxes have been placed outside the main doors of Town Hall and agendas will be posted in them the required 48 hours before a meeting.

He cautioned the Selectmen about bringing materials to meetings because they would now have to be entered into the minutes. (Selectmen often bring in interesting articles about local topics.)

"We're going to be tightening up on the amount of documents we submit to the meetings, keep the extraneous stuff off the table," said Fohlin, adding that "this Town Hall never thought these changes were anything different than what we have been regularly doing anyway."

In other business, the Selectmen:
  • Approved the third annual Williamstown Community Chest Fun Run. Jill Strawbridge, representing the Community Chest, said the event is not a fundraiser but designed to bring the community together. Last year, the Fun Run (a 5-kilometer run and mile walk) drew 171 participants and 34 volunteers and was held in honor of the late Donald Westall. This year, the run will be held in honor of incoming Williams College President Adam Falk and his family.

  • The run will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 11. The cost is $15 per person or family; $5 for seniors and students. Each participant receives a T-shirt. The route and a registration form can be found here.

  •  Approved a list of election workers submitted by Town Clerk Mary Kennedy  and warrant for the state primary on Sept. 14.

  • Approved an amount of $305.39 from the Botsford Fund toward the operation of the Local House of History.  The historical society applies each year for its portion of the fund.


North Adams City Council, Veterans Agent Agreement, 07272010
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Mount Greylock Hosts Argentinian Students for Exchange Program

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Mount Greylock Regional High School is currently hosting 36 students from La Cumbre, Argentina, for a two-week cultural exchange program.
 
The program, organized by Mount Greylock Spanish Department, involves a variety of cultural and social events for the visiting students.
 
"It is incredibly impactful on their academic experience," said Shannon Vigeant, Spanish teacher and Spanish Club adviser. "This allows them to experience the world in different ways, to connect to the language in a different way, and bring life to learning."
 
Vigeant organized the program with her colleagues Joe Johnson and Amy Kirby, also Spanish teachers at the school. She said it took some time to coordinate the exchange, which saw 25 Mount Greylock students visit La Cumbre last year.
 
"This is something we wanted to do for a long time, but we had a hard time getting it off the ground," Vigeant said. "We were just getting everyone on board and then COVID hit. It took about a year and a half, two years."
 
The Argentinian students, who arrived April 11, are improving their English language skills and immersing themselves in American culture. Simultaneously, Mount Greylock students are enhancing their Spanish language abilities and broadening their global perspectives.
 
"We're making friends from other countries, so I think that's a great experience," said Mount Greylock student Rafa Mellow-Bartels. "So to meet people from such a different part of the world from a different culture is interesting. We can learn about them, and now we get to show them what we do."
 
View Full Story

More Williamstown Stories