Williams Senior Harrier Wins National Honor

NEW ORLEANS -- The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association has named Williams College senior Colin Cotton the NCAA DIII National Men's Athlete of the Week for his performance at the Saratoga Invitational hosted by RPI.

Running in the event that the USTFCCCA had dubbed the DIII Meet of the Week in a field of more than 200 runners, Cotton finished ahead of NYU's John Lake and junior teammate Bijan Mazaheri.

Cotton was timed in 18 minutes, 45.5 seconds on the 6-kilometer course.

The lone returning All-American from the Ephs' 2013 NCAA team that finished fourth, Cotton served early notice that he is working hard to improve on his 22nd place finish at last year's NCAA Championships.

Long time Eph head coach Pete Farwell was impressed with Cotton's performance, exclaiming on Saturday that, "Colin looked tremendous in his win."

Cotton and his Eph teammates will next be in action on Sept. 27 when Williams hosts the Purple Valley Classic on their home course at Mount Greylock Regional School.

With the course at Mt. Greylock serving as the site of the 2014 NCAA DIII New England Qualifier Race on Nov. 15, a large and competitive field is expected to compete.

Hancock Town Meeting Votes to Strike Meme Some Found 'Divisive'

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
10:40PM / Monday, May 06, 2024

Hancock town meeting members Monday vote on a routine item early in the meeting.

HANCOCK, Mass. — By the narrowest of margins Monday, the annual town meeting voted to strike from the town report messaging that some residents described as, "inflammatory," "divisive" and unwelcoming to new residents.

 

On a vote of 50-48, the meeting voted to remove the inside cover of the report as it appeared on the town website and in printed versions distributed prior to the meeting and at the elementary school on Monday night.

 

The text, which appeared to be a reprinted version of an Internet meme, read, "You came here from there because you didn't like it there, and now you want to change here to be like there. You are welcome here, only don't try to make here like there. If you want to make here like there, you shouldn't have left there in the first place."

 

After the meeting breezed through the first 18 articles on the town meeting warrant agenda with hardly a dissenting vote, a member rose to ask if it would be unreasonable for the meeting to vote to remove the meme under Article 19, the "other business" article.

 

"No, you cannot remove it," Board of Selectmen Chair Sherman Derby answered immediately.

 

After it became clear that Moderator Brian Fairbank would entertain discussion about the meme, Derby took the floor to address the issue that has been discussed in town circles since the report was printed earlier this spring.

 

"Let me tell you about something that happened this year," Derby said. "The School Department got rid of Christmas. And they got rid of Columbus Day. Now it's Indigenous People's Day.