Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include comments from Hawthorne Valley School. The relevant paragraph is in italics. We have also published a Letter to the Editor from Karin Almquist, School Director, which you can read here.
Great Barrington — A Sunday afternoon incident at Lake Mansfield that one resident described as “an egregious flouting” of the law has shaken the community and prompted a change in enforcement of the town’s COVID-19 protocols.
At approximately 2 p.m. on Jan. 10, a group of between 30 and 50 people — mostly school children with a few adults — arrived at the lake, parked their vehicles, gathered on the ice, and began a pick-up hockey game, according to witnesses who sent emails to town manager Mark Pruhenski and members of the selectboard. Neighborhood resident Dale Abrams described the gathering as “a large group of elementary, middle, and high school age kids, and a few adults.”
Judging by conversations overheard between group members, it appeared the out-of-towners were from Columbia County, N.Y. — specifically the Chatham and Hudson areas. None were wearing masks, despite being part of a large gathering during the worst public health crisis in more than 100 years.
“As another skater, I was concerned because no one was wearing masks and the group was very tightly gathered on a small hockey rink and crowding the normally sparsely used skating trails and rinks at Lake Mansfield,” said Abrams, who is also vice president of the Great Barrington Land Conservancy and a member of the Lake Mansfield Improvement Task Force. Those already on the lake were wearing face coverings and were physically distanced, he said.
Christian Hill Road resident Scott McFarland said he counted 34 persons playing hockey in one area, with others watching from the boat ramp at the southern end of the lake. Abrams said the group appeared to be from the Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School in Ghent, N.Y. The school was scheduled to resume in-person learning yesterday.
After publication, a spokesperson from Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School contacted The Edge and told us the skating event at Lake Mansfield “was in no way a gathering organized or sanctioned by the school which the article implies.” In addition, school officials say there were only two Hawthorne Valley students in attendance and that the school has been “very stringent with following CDC guidelines and safety protocols.” The school is “also appalled by the behavior of this group and fully supports the GB Land Conservancy and their efforts to make this public space safe for the community.”
“It was very disheartening to be outside to skate or ski in my own community, and still be uncomfortable because a large group of people exerting and not wearing masks were there, obviously with no thought or concern for their fellow citizens and neighbors,” McFarland said. “I’m upset they showed no regard for the community they were visitors in.”
“When we spoke with them, one of the adults came forward and said they don’t wear masks, never had, and never would,” Abrams added. “They called the virus a government hoax.”
McFarland recounted a similar episode. He spoke to a neighbor and close friend who had been at the lake when the New York group arrived. The friend spoke to an adult with the group and requested that they wear face coverings.
“When also questioned about the group size, the adult responded that there isn’t a virus or pandemic and their group would not be made to wear a mask,” McFarland recalled.
Someone called the Great Barrington Police Department, but the officer at the desk told the caller that there was nothing the department could do because enforcement of COVID protocols, including mandatory mask wearing, is the duty of the town Health Department, which is not open on Sundays. Abrams told Pruhenski one officer did eventually respond but simply viewed the group from the shoreline at Whale Rock on Lake Mansfield Road and did not communicate with the hockey-playing throng.
“Needless to say, I was frustrated knowing the violation was happening now and wouldn’t likely be there on Monday when the health department was open,” Abrams said.
McFarland cited a pair of executive orders signed by Gov. Charlie Baker on March 10 that were violated. Executive Order 55, requires face coverings in public places and Executive Order 59 limits outdoor gatherings to 25 persons at private homes, event venues, and public spaces. Refusal to comply can result in fines. Police and departments of health have the authority to enforce the orders.
“The gatherings order authorizes continued enforcement by local health and police departments and specifies that fines for violating the gathering order will be $500 for each person above the limit at a particular gathering,” Baker’s order said.
McFarland emphasized that he favored “supporting the town in formulating a way to provide a timely and effective response to this or similar situations when they next occur.” He asked Pruhenski to empower the police with the appropriate authority to enforce “such situations that blatantly and egregiously ignore the precautions put into place to help protect all of us so that, if this happens again, a quick and effective response can be made.”
Pruhenski said he had spoken Monday afternoon with interim Police Chief Paul Storti and health agent Rebecca Jurczyk. At Monday night’s selectboard meeting, board member Leigh Davis raised the issue. Davis, a Sumner Street resident, had arrived at the lake to skate with her daughters shortly after the maskless group arrived.
“So I do want to address how we’re going to handle enforcing the mask mandate,” Davis said. “I feel it’s a lot on our health agent’s shoulders to really be in charge of enforcing that masking law.”
Pruhenski agreed with Davis and McFarland. In the future, the police department will respond to these situations because there are always officers on duty, either in the station or on patrol. It is also much better staffed than the health department.
“Anyone unwilling to comply will be asked to provide identification and their information will be shared with the Health Department to address enforcement,” Pruhenski explained. “A memo from the chief has already been issued to all officers along with a request to monitor the area during their patrols.”
Parking was also a problem. The area at the southern end of the lake near the boat ramp was jammed with cars. According to McFarland, cars were also parked along the full length of Lake Mansfield Road from the boat ramp south to Castle Hill Road, making the two-way portion of the road one-lane.
The town had recently installed signs warning visitors urging caution to those who walk on the lake. The portion of Lake Mansfield that runs along the lake shore is now one-way for approximately 1,000 feet from the boat launch at the southern end, north to the beach and its parking lot. The board’s ultimate goal is to close the road to all but emergency vehicles and turn it into a recreational walkway.
