WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Mount Greylock Regional School District on Thursday completed a successful first week of pool testing for COVID-19 among its students and staff.
"It's amazing how empowering it is for a child to see they just did something with something the size of a Q-tip that has the power to determine if a virus is in them so they can take care of themselves and their family and their friends," Business Manager Joe Begeron told the School Committee on Thursday night. "Every student I saw today had a really positive experience, a really positive outlook for what this means."
Mount Greylock was one of the first districts to sign up and take advantage of a state-sponsored pool testing program. Essentially, samples (non-invasive nasal swabs) from a batch of individuals are bundled together into a single sample that is analyzed in the lab.
If the batched sample turns up negative, then all the contributors to the sample are assumed negative. If a batched sample tests positive, further tests are ordered for individuals who were part of that batch.
"Tuesday and today were our testing days this week," Bergeron said. "Next week, we'll be testing on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. We've tried to align with the same days of the week that [Williams College] has its courier service running to the laboratory in Cambridge. The college has been a great partner in this and has extended their help in sharing that resource, that courier service, with us, which is a huge help.
"So far, we've had all negative test results, which is fantastic. That's from our first week with staff only prior to break, and we received our results for Tuesday's testing late last night, and it was all negative for everyone who participated."
Bergeron reported that as of Thursday, about 700 of the district's 1,100 students had opted in to the program. And he expects more families to sign the permission forms that will allow their children to be tested.
"When you say 'test,' everyone recoils a little bit," Bergeron said. "But the way our staff was able to work with students to make it part of the school day, make it quick but make it something positive we're doing for the community at large was awesome.
"That's a long way to say I think participation will go up."
Superintendent Jason McCandless credited Bergeron and the school nurses at Lanesborough Elementary School, Williamstown Elementary and Mount Greylock Regional School for developing the logistical plan to make communitywide testing possible.
"The application process was arduous," McCandless said. "The organization of it was a massive undertaking, and it was really Joe and our three school nurses and school principals. Joe, Nicole [Russell], Kathy [Larson] and Carol [Stein-Payne], our school nurse team did a massive amount of work in rolling up their sleeves and making this possible.
"Joe and the three school nurses are heroes."
Bergeron praised teamwork needed to coordinate tests across the district's three schools, using venues that ranged from the classroom to the playground during mask breaks to drive-up testing.
He said staff and students who are participating in school remotely are welcome and encouraged to participate in the testing program.
"The nurses pulled out all the stops, and when we asked for participation from the staff, the staff was really excited about it," Bergeron said. "It's yet another thing we're asking staff to figure out that's new and certainly not normal. Across all three buildings, it's been amazing."
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Sounds like it could cause unnecessary stress for all the bundled as a result of one positive child. Bundling or bungling?
Williamstown Fire Committee Talks Station Project Cuts, Truck Replacement
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Prudential Committee on Wednesday signed off on more than $1 million in cost cutting measures for the planned Main Street fire station.
Some of the "value engineering" changes are cosmetic, while at least one pushes off a planned expense into the future.
The committee, which oversees the Fire District, also made plans to hold meetings over the next two Wednesdays to finalize its fiscal year 2025 budget request and other warrant articles for the May 28 annual district meeting. One of those warrant articles could include a request for a new mini rescue truck.
The value engineering changes to the building project originated with the district's Building Committee, which asked the Prudential Committee to review and sign off.
In all, the cuts approved on Wednesday are estimated to trim $1.135 million off the project's price tag.
The biggest ticket items included $250,000 to simplify the exterior masonry, $200,000 to eliminate a side yard shed, $150,000 to switch from a metal roof to asphalt shingles and $75,000 to "white box" certain areas on the second floor of the planned building.
The white boxing means the interior spaces will be built but not finished. So instead of dividing a large space into six bunk rooms and installing two restrooms on the second floor, that space will be left empty and unframed for now.
The Charter Review Committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to endorse an amended version of the compliance provision it drafted to be added to the Town Charter. click for more
Developer David Traggorth asked the trustees to make the contribution from its coffers to help unlock an additional $5.4 million in state funds for the planned 54-unit apartment building at the south end of the Cable Mills site.
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The donors, who wish to remain anonymous, say the gift reflects their desire to not only support Williams but also President Maud S. Mandel's strategic vision and plan for the college.
click for more
Neighbors of a proposed subdivision off Summer Street last week asked the Planning Board to take a critical look at the project, which the residents say is out of scale to the neighborhood. click for more