Williamstown Elementary Starts Vacation Early Because of Widespread Illness

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Board of Health and school officials have decided to close Williamstown Elementary School on Thursday and Friday, April 14 and 15, in response to a flu outbreak at the school.

Families were informed of the decision on Wednesday at the regularly scheduled 1:30 dismissal. The school will be off limits to all school and non-school activities through Monday to allow the building to be cleaned allow for “any residual spores to die” according to a school-wide email.

Starting Monday, the school saw nearly 100 children and 20 staff members calling in sick.

“We called the Board of Health in earlier in the week and talked to them again today,” Superintendent Doug Dias said on Wednesday afternoon. “We haven’t seen an decrease in either the student absentee rate or the faculty absentee rate.

“Rather than putting people’s safety at risk, the Board of Health recommended closing the school for the next two days, and I completely agree.”

The school already is scheduled to be closed next week for the April vacation. Faculty and students will be returning on Monday, April 25.

A planned Elementary School Committee meeting scheduled for Wednesday night was canceled and likely will be made up after the vacation week, Dias said.

The last day of school now is scheduled for Monday, June 20.

For more information on the flu, visit the CDC's website or the state Department of Health website.

Williamstown Fire District Dedicates New Station

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
06:37AM / Sunday, May 31, 2026

Chief Jeffrey Dias recognizes firefighter Alexandra Riggs, who will graduate from Williams College next week. See more photos here.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Massachusetts fire marshal came to town Saturday to congratulate the local Fire District and the taxpayers of Williamstown for the "amazing" station they have built on Main Street.

 

"I travel around the state, and I've seen hundreds of firehouses around the state — some great, some not so great," Fire Marshal Jon Davine told a crowd gathered outside the station for its dedication. "And I think we saw what the previous station here was in Williamstown. I'll tell you, especially in Western Massachusetts, we have a really big problem with deteriorating firehouses throughout Western Mass. These buildings are collapsing around our firefighters.

 

"And, as the marshal, it's my job to advocate for the departments for more funding. We've been working with our state reps and local reps and the fire chiefs association, trying to come up with different funding streams, so that we can help these departments build new stations, do better, safer stations, so that they have the equipment and the building they deserve to do their job safely."

 

The chair of the Prudential Committee, which governs the Fire District, and the chief of the department both thanked Williamstown residents for the 2023 special district meeting vote that paved the way for the station that went into operation earlier this year.

 

"It's an honor and a privilege to join you today as we celebrate this grand opening of the new firehouse," Chief Jeffrey Dias said. "This facility is so much more than a building that houses fire trucks. It stands as a symbol of our community's commitment to safety, preparedness and public service. It's a place where our members will maintain our equipment. They will learn about our craft. They'll share meals and, yes, from time to time, they're going to share sorrow.

 

"This isn't a fire station. This is a firehouse. And people have heard me say this a million times already. And it houses the very best second family that one could imagine."

 

Dias was joined at the podium set up in the parking lot for the noon ceremony by Prudential Committee Chair David Moresi, state Rep. John Barrett III and the the Rev. William F. Cyr, who gave an invocation.