WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A mistake by an environmental testing service at the Mount Greylock Regional School led the district to having to provide a notice to all of its families about the spring 2018 lapse in procedures.
At Thursday's School Committee meeting, Superintendent Kimberley Grady informed the committee of the omission in the campus's regular testing protocol for radium.
The error was discovered by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, which is requiring the district to distribute the notice, seen here.
Over the weekend, Grady sent the same notice by email to students' families.
Grady said the school's water supply, which comes from onsite wells, has never tested for concerning levels of radium and was tested on schedule both before and after the missed test in April.
She also emphasized that the school's water continues to receive its regular monthly testing for other issues without any negative reports or interruptions.
Grady made no excuses for the oversight to the committee but said the vendor, Lee's Housatonic Basin Sampling & Testing "owned" the mistake. She later confirmed that Mass DEP advised her that the district needed to take no action with respect to the testing service, no increase in testing is required and regular monitoring could be continued as scheduled.
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Is the school also testing for perchlorate? After all the construction the water should be tested for a wide amount of potentially toxic chemicals. Has this been done? Results?
I agree with the above commenter that a comprehensive testing of water from the school's on-site wells should be mandatory after a major demolition and construction project that disturbed large amounts of soil.
Williamstown Charter Review Panel OKs Fix to Address 'Separation of Powers' Concern
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — 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.
The committee accepted language designed to meet concerns raised by the Planning Board about separation of powers under the charter.
The committee's original compliance language — Article 32 on the annual town meeting warrant — would have made the Select Board responsible for determining a remedy if any other town board or committee violated the charter.
The Planning Board objected to that notion, pointing out that it would give one elected body in town some authority over another.
On Wednesday, Charter Review Committee co-Chairs Andrew Hogeland and Jeffrey Johnson, both members of the Select Board, brought their colleagues amended language that, in essence, gives authority to enforce charter compliance by a board to its appointing authority.
For example, the Select Board would have authority to determine a remedy if, say, the Community Preservation Committee somehow violated the charter. And the voters, who elect the Planning Board, would have ultimate say if that body violates the charter.
In reality, the charter says very little about what town boards and committees — other than the Select Board — can or cannot do, and the powers of bodies like the Planning Board are regulated by state law.
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.
click for more
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