Williamstown - A rally for action on climate change will be held on Sat., April 14 from noon to 2 p.m., on the front steps of First Congregational Church in Williamstown.
This event is part of a Step It Up national day of action, organized by climate change scholar and activist Bill McKibben. Local events will be held in iconic places such as levees in New Orleans, melting glaciers on Mt. Rainier, underwater on Key West's endangered coral reefs, and in town on the steps of a New England church.
Over 1,100 events like these will send the message “Step it
up Congress, cut carbon 80% by 2050". At least six of these events are scheduled to be held in Berkshire County.
According to event orgainizers, climate change is a moral issue as the world is faced with human-initiated changes that will harm millions, especially the world’s poorest and most vulnerable.
Rev. Carrie Bail, Rabbi Jeff Goldwasser, and Chaplain Rick Spalding will speak during the Williamstown event. Additional speakers include state Sen. Ben Downing D-Pittsfield, Jiminy Peak CEO
Brian Fairbank, town Selectwoman Jane Allen, Mount Greylock Regional High School senior Rachel Payne, Tufts University Professor Bill Moomaw, and Chuck MacNeil from the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority.
The church façade will be used to host a graph illustration of the dramatic spike in carbon emissions in the last hundred years— with the final point extending 60 feet to the church’s steeple.
The event will feature music by student performers from Williams College and Mount Greylock Regional High School, and opportunities for people to take action to reduce climate change.
Actions include the purchase of compact fluorescent light bulbs, signing up for green energy, an opportunity to pledge to reduce
carbon emissions, and signing up to participate with climate change study groups sponsored by the Northwest Earth Institute. The meetings will begin during the final week of this month and will cover a four-week span.
The Water Street Books retail store will host a book table to sell books about climate change and other relevent topics.
Food will be sold by a Spring Street business, Ephorium.
People are encouraged to bike, carpool, or take the bus to the event.
The BRTA has agreed to provide round-trip free bus service will be available from North Adams to and from the rally.
You may contact First Congregational Church in North Adams at 663-9940 to arrange for passes for yourself or your organization.
Rally parking will be permitted at the lower Stetson lot at Williams College or at the Williamstown Elementary School lot. Those who park in those locations are encouraged to walk the remaining distnce to the rally.
In case of rain, the event will take place inside the church.
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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The face of and driving force behind the town's community access television station will retire this summer.
At Monday's Select Board meeting, the president of the board of WilliNet announced that longtime Executive Director Debby Dane will leave the non-profit on June 30 and move to California, "following her 5-month-old granddaughter."
"The search committee has begun its work to find a replacement hire," Mary Strout told the Select Board. "Deb will be hard to replace, however the board is confident we will find an individual well suited to move the organization forward."
"Now, I'm speechless," Chair Stephanie Boyd replied on hearing of Dane's departure.
Earlier, before Strout made news, Boyd praised the town's Public, Educational and Governmental (PEG) Access station, founded in 1994.
"As everybody knows, WilliNet holds our community together, gets our town meetings and committee meetings online as well as all of the work in the town," Boyd said. "I know, after looking at so many towns' public TV stations over the last month that we're very close to the best. Maybe we even are the best.
"I can't say enough good things about WilliNet, the website, the programming, the professionalism. It's really, really incredible. We should all be very grateful for the hard work of Deb [Dane] and Jack [Criddle] and the rest of the team."
It is unknown just how steep, but Superintendent Joseph Bergeron tried to prepare the School Committee at its January meeting on Thursday.
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The Teacher of the Month series, in collaboration with Berkshire Community College, features distinguished teachers nominated by community members. You can nominate a teacher here.
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Preparation for the event began in early December, with students crafting bells to accompany their singing. The handmade cards were completed last week.
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