Letter: Vote on May 11

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To the Editor:

I am excited to endorse Albert Cummings for Select Board. I have known Albert for decades. I've watched him grow his business from building small additions and renovations to award winning residential and commercial masterpieces. Similarly, I have seen his music career evolve from playing the banjo on Community Auditions, to singing and playing guitar around a campfire, to sharing a stage with some of the greatest blues artists who ever walked the earth. Albert's success in these areas come from a strong work ethic, great people skills, a willingness to always learn new ideas while not casting aside those ideas that are time tested and proven, and the attitude that a job worth doing is worth doing right. These are skills and attributes that will serve our town well.

Albert approaches people, ideas, issues, and opportunities with an open mind. He possesses an uncanny ability to engage with people, put them at ease, and allow them to be heard and has the experience of making tough decisions.

I encourage everyone to vote on May 11.

Jay Merselis
Williamstown, Mass.

 

 


Tags: election 2021,   

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Williamstown Town Meeting Facing Bylaw to Ban Agricultural Biosolids

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Town meeting may be asked to outlaw the application of fertilizer derived from human waste.
 
On Monday, Select Board Chair Stephanie Boyd asked the body to sponsor an article that would prohibit, "land application of sewage sludge, biosolids, or sewage sludge-derived materials," on all land in the town due to the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
 
Last year, concern over PFAS, which has been linked to cancer in humans, drove a large public outcry over a Hoosac Water Quality District's plan to increase its composting operation by taking in biosolids, or sludge, from other wastewater treatment plants and create a new revenue stream for the local facility.
 
Eventually, the HWQD abandoned its efforts to pursue such an arrangement. Today, the district still runs its composting operation — for locally produced sludge only — and needs to pay to have it hauled off site for non-agricultural uses.
 
On Monday, Boyd presented a draft warrant article put together by a group of residents in consultation with the Berkshire Environmental Action Team and Just Zero, a national anti-PFAS advocacy group based in Sturbridge.
 
"What this warrant article would do is not allow anybody who owns or manages land in Williamstown to use sludge or compost [derived from biosolids] as a fertilizer or soil amendment on that property," Boyd said.
 
Her colleagues raised concerns about the potential for uneven enforcement of the proposed bylaw and suggested it might be unfair to penalize residents who purchase a small bag of compost that contains biosolids at their local hardware store and unwittingly use it in a backyard garden.
 
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