WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A Department of Public Works employee was treated and released from the hospital Sunday morning after his snow plow went off the road and down an embankment in South Williamstown, police said Sunday afternoon.
At about 1:30 Sunday morning, Robert Sweet radioed the garage foreman to tell him he was off the roadway on Roaring Brook Road, Police Lt. Michael Ziemba said.
Police, firefighters, Northern Berkshire Emergency Medical Service and another DPW employee arrived to find Sweet trapped upside down inside the cab of his truck down a 15-foot embankment and in a pool of water about 3 feet deep, Ziemba said.
"Officers and the DPW employee extricated Sweet from the water and the truck to the river's edge," Ziemba said. "EMS and Fire arrived and stabilized Sweet before performing a rope rescue to bring him up the banking."
Sweet was transported to Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, where he was treated and released, Ziemba said.
Massachusetts State Police and New Ashford Fire and Hancock Fire departments also responded to the scene. The accident happened in the middle of a snowstorm that dropped 3 to 10 inches across the Berkshires.
Ziemba said the truck, plow and sander, which were removed by Village Truck Sales of Lanesborough, likely are a total loss.
The accident is under investigation by the Williamstown Police Department.
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Williamstown Housing Trust Commits $80K to Support Cable Mills Phase 3
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The board of the town's Affordable Housing Trust last week agreed in principle to commit $80,000 more in town funds to support the third phase of the Cable Mills housing development on Water Street.
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.
In 2022, the annual town meeting approved a $400,000 outlay of Community Preservation Act funds to support the third and final phase of the Cable Mills development, which started with the restoration and conversion of the former mill building and continued with the construction of condominiums along the Green River.
The town's CPA funds are part of the funding mix because 28 of Phase 3's 54 units (52 percent) will be designated as affordable housing for residents making up to 60 percent of the area median income.
Traggorth said he hopes by this August to have shovels in the ground on Phase 3, which has been delayed due to spiraling construction costs that forced the developer to redo the financial plan for the apartment building.
He showed the trustees a spreadsheet that demonstrated how the overall cost of the project has gone up by about $6 million from the 2022 budget.
"Most of that is driven by construction costs," he said. "Some of it is caused by the increase in interest rates. If it costs us more to borrow, we can't borrow as much."
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.
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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
The Select Board and Planning Board this week clashed over a proposal that would add to the town charter a mechanism to ensure compliance with the foundation of town government. click for more