Letter: Williamstown Planning Board Proposals

To the Editor:

An elected planning board member tells us that voting on the zoning proposals at town meeting will let the Planning Board know how we "feel." Any zoning changes passed at town meeting will be "forever," and virtually irreversible. Cite the research that indicates what effect these changes will have.

Perhaps the Planning Board should have spent more time reaching out to all the town's citizenry long before any town meeting. These articles were approved by the Planning Board long before this unnecessarily delayed town meeting will be held. Better yet, place the items for a vote at the town election, even if as non-binding questions if legally necessary. Why are major decisions being made by a small number of citizens at the broken town meeting?

How do all and any articles affect property evaluations and property taxes, but only for some landowners if some but not articles are passed?

Why is a town master plan being conducted if it is totally meaningless?

Perhaps all items should be voted down, as a group, rather than tabled so the Planning Board can start from scratch and ready their proposals for the 2024 town meeting. All town households should be mailed paper copies of the new proposals well in advance of the 2024 town meeting.

Finally, who serves to benefit the most from passing any or all of these failed proposals???

Ken Swiatek
Williamstown, Mass. 

Reverend: Christian Nationalists Make Jesus Victim of 'Identity Theft'

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
08:08AM / Sunday, October 04, 2026

David Langston introduces the Rev. Darrell Goodwin on Wednesday morning. 

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Rev. Darrell Goodwin told attendees at Wednesday's "PrayAction Breakfast" that they need more action to make their prayer effective.

 

"Sometimes prayer causes us to be in deep reflection," Goodwin told the group gathered at the Williamstown Meetinghouse. "And years and years and years pass, and we've actually done nothing about it.

 

"Our physical belief system is somehow: Say the words to God, and it becomes God's responsibility, and we've done our part because we've told God exactly what to do."

 

Goodwin, the president of the United Church of Christ's Southern New England Conference, was invited to Williamstown by First Congregational Church to speak on "The Challenge of Christian Nationalism."

 

And Goodwin challenged his listeners to take meaningful action to confront and address the ideology in their daily lives.

 

Christian Nationalism, which Goodwin referred to as White Christian Nationalism, is a perversion of Christ's teachings, he said.

 

"What does it mean to be spiritually grounded but practically committed?" Goodwin asked rhetorically. "This morning I've been asked to come here to talk about Christian Nationalism, but I think it would be remiss if I didn't say White Christian Nationalism. I want to name all three of these words because each tells us something that we must do.