As time went on during the spring and summer seasons, in-person events started to pick up in the Berkshire County area. Many of these events, including Great Barrington’s Memorial Day parade and Bard College’s graduation ceremonies, had been put on hold for several years due to the pandemic. Meanwhile, several town elections were held throughout the area. Great Barrington held its annual town meeting where residents passed a long-in-the-works and hotly debated short-term rental law. Residents, both young and old, made their voices heard when it came to the situation with Housatonic Water Works, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, and gun violence. And a contentious primary season for the Berkshire County sheriff and district attorney candidacies became more and more contentious as time went on.
At a Select Board meeting on May 3, Great Barrington Town Manager Mark Pruhenski was instructed by the board to send a letter to Housatonic Water Works Treasurer Jim Mercer, asking his company to provide bottled water and filtration systems to customers. The request came after several months of the board dealing with complaints from residents and town officials who had to deal with discolored water, the potentially cancer-causing compound HAA5 in its water, and insufficient fire hydrant pressure. All through the year, the Select Board held a series of executive sessions during its meetings to discuss what the town should do about the troubled company.
On May 9 at the annual town elections, Sheffield residents voted Nadine Hawver to the Selectboard defeating her opponent George Oleen. In West Stockbridge, Andy Potter defeated Selectboard chair Eric Shimelonis.
Also on May 9, a group of 20 residents filed a civil complaint against Great Barrington’s Zoning Board of appeals. The group appealed the board’s decision to uphold a decision by zoning enforcement officer Edwin May to deny a request from the neighbors of the airport to enforce the town’s zoning bylaw against the airport.
On May 17 at Lee’s annual town elections, voters elected Gordon Bailey to the Select Board. Bailey previously served on the board from 2000 to 2012, and he defeated candidates Anne Langlais and Robert Wright. On the town referendum ballot, voters approved a nonbinding resolution asking the Selectboard to rescind its approval of the Rest of River agreement.
In late May, the nonprofit organization Clinton Church Restoration announced that it received a $117,000 capital grant from MassDevelopment and the Mass Cultural Council. A representative from the organization said the funds will be used to help complete architectural and engineering plans for the African American cultural heritage center the nonprofit is creating in the deconsecrated church in downtown Great Barrington.
On May 21, Bard College at Simon’s Rock graduated its 53rd class. A total of 140 students graduated at the event, which was the college’s first in-person commencement in three years.
On May 23, the Select Board sent a proposed short-term rental law to the town’s annual town meeting. As previous Managing Editor Terry Cowgill described it “The process has been fraught with controversy, as various board members found themselves caught by conflicts of interest — apparent or real — and often bitter debate between those who are convinced that Airbnb-style rentals need to be limited to preserve the character of residential neighborhoods and the housing supply, and those who object to limits on how homeowners may use their properties.”
At the same Select Board meeting, the board voted against a liquor license for Price Chopper.
On May 26, four people were arrested in connection with a robbery at the Berkshire Bank branch on Stockbridge Road.
On May 30, Great Barrington held its Memorial Day parade. It was the first time the event was held in person since 2019.
On May 31 in West Stockbridge, Town Finance Committee member Andy Krouss defeated former selectman Peter Skorput in a special election to fill the seat of Roger Kavanagh. At a Selectboard meeting in March, Kavanagh said that he would be resigning due to “inefficiencies in town government and divisions in the town.”
In a letter to the town on June 2, Housatonic Water Works Treasurer James Mercer declined the town’s request that the company compensate customers for poor water quality. In a letter to Town Manager Mark Pruhenski, Mercer wrote that the company is bound by the rules and regulations set by the state’s Department of Public Utilities, and that “there are no provisions in these filings for the accommodations sought.”
On June 6 at Great Barrington’s annual town meeting, residents passed proposed regulations on short-term rentals. The bylaw allows for short-term rentals in either a primary or secondary unit. A competing version of the bylaw, which was less stringent, had been placed on the town meeting warrant via citizen petition. However, that version failed.
On June 10, 75 Du Bois Middle School students staged a protest against gun violence. The protest was similar to hundreds held around the country in light of several school shootings, including the mass shooting at Uvalde, Texas where a gunman shot and killed 19 students and two teachers.
On June 11, the former A.M.E. Zion Church in Great Barrington was rededicated as the W.E.B. Du Bois Center for Freedom and Democracy. Once completed, the center will be the first museum and memorial in North America dedicated to Du Bois and his legacy.
At a virtual meeting on June 16, Housatonic Water Works announced that it had hired a consultant to deal with its ongoing problems with manganese in its system. The company revealed the hiring of Northeast Water Solutions president Robert Ferrari, who was previously hired by the state of Michigan to be an expert consultant on the nationally reported water quality issues occurring in Flint, Michigan.
On June 23, a teenager was charged with setting a fire at the vacant Searless School building. The building, located on Bridge Street in Great Barrington, was left with minor damage in the incident.
On June 26 in Great Barrington, a group of residents from throughout the Berkshires protested against the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. A larger protest was also held later in the day at Park Square in Pittsfield.
From July 1 to July 3, Ski Butternut hosted the 21st annual Berkshire Arts Festival. Over 160 artists from around America and the Berkshires took part in the event.
On July 2, the late musician David Grover was remembered at a dedication ceremony at the town gazebo. At the ceremony, the gazebo, along with a portion of the town park surrounding the gazebo, was renamed Grover’s Corner.
On July 6, Berkshire County Sheriff Tom Bowler went up against candidate Alf Barbalunga at a virtual forum sponsored by the NAACP Berkshire County Branch, the state’s ACLU, and the League of Women Voters. The event included several tense moments, with both candidates making several accusations against each other. As the campaign season went on, Barbalumga went on to make further accusations against Sheriff Bowler.
On July 9, more than 50 members of the Berkshire County community attended a forum in Stockbridge to discuss the impacts on mental health due to the pandemic. The event was held to allow residents to discuss their pandemic-related experiences with others.
Also on July 9, MUSE Artist Studios held its open house event. The studio, located at 430 Park Street, Housatonic, is a four-story former factory building that is right beside the Housatonic River.
On July 13, the Becket Planning Board accepted the withdrawal of an application for a glamping resort project on the property of the Dream Away Lodge. The project was fiercely opposed by residents at a series of tense public hearings throughout the year.
At its meeting on July 19, the Great Barrington Select Board decided not to go forward with previously suggested traffic calming measures. Vice Chairman Leigh Davis urged the board to put Main Street on a “road diet.”
On July 21, The Literacy Network of South Berkshires, along with program participants and residents who recently immigrated to America, celebrated the organization’s successes at an event held at the Norman Rockwell Museum.
In late July, Springfield native Sophia Bletsos was named the human resources director for five area towns: Great Barrington, Sheffield, New Marlborough, Monterey, and West Stockbridge.
On August 3, the two candidates for Berkshire County District Attorney discussed issues at a forum. Incumbent Berkshire County District Attorney Andrea Harrington, and her challenger Timothy Shugrue, took part in the forum, which was relatively civil compared to the Berkshire County Sheriff’s forum between Berkshire County Sheriff Tom Bowler and candidate Alf Barbalunga that had taken place on July 6.
On August 4, car enthusiasts from all over the area took part in Great Barrington Fire Department’s annual car show. All proceeds from the show benefited the department’s scholarship fund dedicated to the memory of Rod Mead.
On August 5, Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harrington announced that, after an investigation, she found Pittsfield Police Officer Nicholas Sondrini acted in self-defense in the March 25 shooting of 22-year-old Miguel Estrella, who was going through a mental health crisis.
On August 8, Housatonic Water Works announced its intentions to double its customers’ rates. Company representatives said that they wanted to increase the rates to pay for the company’s plans to address ongoing problems with manganese in its system.
On August 10, Great Barrington announced that it had hired Joe Aberdale as its new Department of Public Works superintendent.
On August 15, Berkshire County Sheriff Thomas Bowler and candidate Alf Barbalunga unloaded accusations at each other during a public debate. The televised event took place at the Berkshire Athenaeum library.
Right after the sheriff’s debate was the debate between the two District Attorney candidates Timothy Shugrue and incumbent Andrea Harrington.
On August 21 in Sheffield, an event was held for the unveiling of a statue and plaque commemorating Elizabeth Freeman. The statue is located at the Town Green.
On August 22, Samara Klein was named the new library director for Great Barrington. Klein was hired by the town to oversee operations at the Mason and Ramsdell libraries.
On August 27, W.E.B. Du Bois’ legacy was celebrated at the “I’ve Known Rivers” event at the W.E.B. Du Bois River Park. As part of the event, Dennis Powell, President of the NAACP Berkshire County Branch, released into the Housatonic River water samples that he had collected from The Last Bath River in Accra, Ghana.
Come back here tomorrow for part three of “2022 In Review” covering September through December.
