Lenox moves on wind project

By Claire CoxPrint Story | Email Story
Woody Printz represented the town of Richmond. (Photo By Claire Cox)
LENOX – A committee will start exploring potential sites on Sunday for what would be the county’s first municipally-owned wind power project. A Wind Tower Subcommittee of the town’s Environmental Committee met at Town Hall on June 15 to outline a timetable that, if successful, could bring wind power to Lenox within two years. The meeting, called by Town Manager Gregory Federspiel and Jamie Cullihane, facilitator of the Environmental Committee, was attended by resident Richard Gregg and Woody Printz, an engineer who represented the town of Richmond, which may be invited to participate in the project. Selectmen have authorized a study of the feasibility of installing a 1.5-megawatt windmill in the town as an economically and ecologically sound way to reduce the use of fossil fuels. “This will be a fairly lengthy process, if it goes at all,” Federspiel said. “It will take about a year to analyze the potential, and from there it’s a couple of years’ process. The next step is for us as a committee to try to identify some potential sites.” Representatives of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative would then look at the sites and assess their potential, and choose one for the installation of a temporary monitoring tower, known as a MET, to determine its potential for generating electricity. The collaborative would pay for the test tower. Members of the Wind Tower Subcommittee will hike to the town’s fire tower atop a Lenox peak nearly 2,000 feet high that overlooks Richmond to assess it as a possible site, and to two other potential sites near the town’s two reservoirs. “My original concept was to put up a tower to power our treatment plant,” Federspiel said. “It’s not that simple. It would just become another generator providing electricity to everybody [on the grid].” “If all goes smoothly, by the end of the summer we could have a MET tower erected on one of the sites to start collecting wind data,” he added. “After three or four months of collecting data, the MTC would start to determine whether the site makes sense.” The collaborative would formulate a business plan and submit a report that addresses the viability of the project. “The chances are that it’s going to be viable,” Federspiel said. If the collaborative recommends Lenox pursue a project, the committee would then submit a proposal to the town. When Printz asked if Richmond could participate in a Lenox wind power project, Federspiel replied, “We would welcome that if Richmond would like to be involved.” He added that collaborative is interested in collaborative efforts. “My ideal scenario is that this becomes a joint two-town project,” he said. The Wind Tower Subcommittee probably will make more than one visit to the potential sites and then invite Kristen Burke to come from the MTC office in Westboro on July 7 to make a site inspection and submit her findings to the Selectmen at a meeting that evening.
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Former Miss Hall's Teacher Arraigned on Rape Charges

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Warning: this article discusses sexual assault. 
 
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A former teacher pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to three counts of felony counts rape related to his tenure at Miss Hall's School.
 
Matthew Rutledge, 63, was indicted last month by a Berkshire grand jury following accusations dating back to the 1990s of sexually assaulting students at the girls' school. 
 
"Today, Matthew Rutledge was arraigned for raping me. He began grooming me when I was 15 years old, a student at Miss Hall's School, and his abuse of me continued for years after I left that campus," former student Hilary Simon said to a large crowd outside of Berkshire Superior Court.

"After more than two decades, this case is finally in the hands of the criminal justice system."
 
Simon and Melissa Fares, former students, publicly accused Rutledge of abuse and called out the school for failing to protect them. 
 
They provided testimony at his indictment and, on Wednesday, were in the courtroom to see their alleged abuser arraigned. 
 
Rutledge was working at the day and boarding school until the allegations surfaced nearly three years ago. Pittsfield Police investigated the claims but initially concluded no charges could be brought forward because the students were 16, the age of consent in Massachusetts. 
 
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