Dr. Wayne Wilkins to Lead Discussion in Medicine and Movies Series

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Williamstown - Williamstown resident Dr. Wayne Wilkins '41 will lead a discussion on the film “Something the Lord Made,” as part of the Medicine and the Movies Series at Williams College on Tuesday, Nov. 8, in Griffin Hall, room 6 at 7:30 p.m. The film documents the development of the first operative procedure on a congenital heart abnormality and tells the legendary story of two men - a determined white surgeon, Alfred Blalock, and a talented black carpenter turned lab technician, Vivien Thomas – who defied racial restrictions and pioneered the medical field of heart surgery at John Hopkins Hospital in 1944. The duo’s patients are known as “blue babies” –infants who suffer from a congenital heart defect that turns them blue as they slowly suffocate. J. Alex Haller, professor emeritus of pediatric surgery at the School of Medicine at Johns Hopkins, who trained under Blalock and Thomas in the 1950s, was a primary consultant on the film. “A touching moment for me came when they operated on the first blue baby," he said. "As they operated and new blood began to flow into the infant’s heart, they took off the sheets and you saw the child’s color change from blue to pink - a miracle." Directed by Emmy winner Joseph Argent, the HBO film stars Alan Rickman (Blalock), Mos Def (Thomas) and Mary Stuart Masterson (Helen Taussing) along with Kyra Sedwick, Gabrielle Union and Charles S. Dutton. After the film, Dr. Wilkins will conduct a discussion about the key doctors and the history and the science of heart surgery.
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Lanesborough Fifth-Graders Win Snowplow Name Contest

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — One of the snowplows for Highway District 1 has a new name: "The Blizzard Boss."
 
The name comes from teacher Gina Wagner's fifth-grade class at Lanesborough Elementary School. 
 
The state Department of Transportation announced the winners of the fourth annual "Name A Snowplow" contest on Monday. 
 
The department received entries from public elementary and middle school classrooms across the commonwealth to name the 12 MassDOT snowplows that will be in service during the 2025/2026 winter season. 
 
The purpose of the contest is to celebrate the snow and ice season and to recognize the hard work and dedication shown by public works employees and contractors during winter operations. 
 
"Thank you to all of the students who participated. Your creativity allows us to highlight to all, the importance of the work performed by our workforce," said  interim MassDOT Secretary Phil Eng.  
 
"Our workforce takes pride as they clear snow and ice, keeping our roads safe during adverse weather events for all that need to travel. ?To our contest winners and participants, know that you have added some fun to the serious take of operating plows. ?I'm proud of the skill and dedication from our crews and thank the public of the shared responsibility to slow down, give plows space and put safety first every time there is a winter weather event."
 
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