If I have sounded like a broken record these past months, it is because these developments in American public health are as important as they are horrifying.
It does appear that a generational challenge is in the offing for the Nov. 6 elections. A flyer distributed throughout the district refers to a "clean slate for SBRSD school committee" and flatly states that "the candidates support the right of all the towns to have their elementary schools."
"No corporation enters into a sophisticated agreement with the Commonwealth and doesn't do due diligence on make-ready ... They want more money? At what point could that happen again?" -- Attorney Bill Solomon
There will be two articles on the special town meeting warrant related to the affordable housing plan: one that would "create low and moderate income housing to be located on town property at 175 Egremont Plain Road"; and another that appropriates $640,000 for construction.
"We're moving forward and expect to be ready for children well before the school year, if not sooner." -- Bruce Turner, chair, Egremont Board of Selectmen
Incumbent Andrew Petersen replaced Rene Wood, who, in 2015, opted not to run for re-election. Now Wood has decided to try to get back on the Selectboard again.
"It's time we start talking with our neighbors. I'm certainly willing to talk to anyone who wants to talk about moving forward with Berkshire Hills or even Farmington River and Richmond."
-- Egremont Selectboard Chairman Bruce Turner
“In our system, the authority of the government goes to those who show up. And right now, our nation, our region, and our towns are at a crossroads. We need everyone to show up. And it’s not laziness or a shirking of civic responsibility. Often, we just have no clue how or where to begin."
-- Susan Bachelder, Egremont Historical Commission, opening the 242nd town birthday celebration
After meeting separately in closed-door sessions on Monday, the Egremont Board of Selectmen and the regional school committee agreed to a settlement that would suspend operations at the South Egremont School for 2017-18.
"We have a potential settlement agreement. Both parties will be voting on it next week. If both parties agree, we will not go forward with our suit."
-- Bruce Turner, chairman of the Egremont Board of Selectmen
The latest move by the school committee was to hold a closed-door meeting of invited guests Tuesday morning in the Eagle's Loft meeting room at Mount Everett Regional School.
After decades of living in the slow lane of dial-up, DSL and rickety satellite connections, Egremont now has more than one company vying for the right to slake the town's thirst for the modern age.
“This is such a mess that I can’t even begin to understand what’s right and wrong...It’s such a disaster.”
-- Southern Berkshire Regional School Committee member Arthur Battachi Jr. of Sheffield
It was a simple mistake, a clerical error that is easily corrected, but not so simply resolved. Did anyone take the time to research and identify what went wrong?
"It has become difficult to rely on the numbers that we received form the District. We are disillusioned by the School Committee’s apparent lack of concern for the continuation of errors related to FY16’s assessment.”
-- Nadine A. Hawver, chair of the Sheffield Board of Selectmen
