Letter: Democracy In quarantine: Vote, and Vote Safely

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To the Editor:

Never has it been so dangerous to cast our vote; yet, more so than ever, we need to. This upcoming national election will determine the course of our country, our town, our family, and our life. Together, we can navigate this unprecedented crisis and sail across troubled seas, but only if every voice is heard — and that includes yours.

That in-person elections in Adams and Cheshire proceeded without problems should give us hope, but it should not be a reason for complacency. In fact, there are many reasons to be concerned: New voter registration has dropped since the COVID-related lockdown. In-person elections saw a decrease and absentee ballots were not made available to all eligible voters. Young voters especially have distanced themselves more than ever before, precisely when their voices are needed more than ever before.

For reasons above, I urge you to seek alternative voting options for yourself and encourage others to do the same. Register voters online, or choose mail-in ballots if you could; alternatively, hold your local election stations up to the health standards prior to election — call your town administration and ask them to provide voting machines that are properly distanced, provide staff and voters with free protective gears, to put taxpayer money where they should most be spent. We should not have to risk our lives for the democratic process.

I am a student. I belong to one of the groups with the lowest registration rates in the past. If we are to preserve the democracy that we study, practice and love, we need to do better. But we cannot do this alone. We need your help and your vote. Register to vote online at www.sec.state.ma.us/ovr/ today.

Stephanie Teng
St. Louis, Mo.

 

 


Tags: election 2020,   

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Williamstown Select Board Awards ARPA Funds to Remedy Hall

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Select Board on Monday allocated $20,000 in COVID-19-era relief funds to help a non-profit born of the pandemic era that seeks to provide relief to residents in need.
 
On a unanimous vote, the board voted to grant the American Rescue Plan Act money to support Remedy Hall, a resource center that provides "basic life necessities" and emotional support to "individuals and families experiencing great hardship."
 
The board of the non-profit approached the Select Board with a request for $12,000 in ARPA Funds to help cover some of the relief agency's startup costs, including the purchase of a vehicle to pick up donations and deliver items to clients, storage rental space and insurance.
 
The board estimates that the cost of operating Remedy Hall in its second year — including some one-time expenses — at just north of $31,500. But as board members explained on Monday night, some sources of funding are not available to Remedy Hall now but will be in the future.
 
"With the [Williamstown] Community Chest, you have to be in existence four or five years before you can qualify for funding," Carolyn Greene told the Select Board. "The same goes for state agencies that would typically be the ones to fund social service agencies.
 
"ARPA made sense because [Remedy Hall] is very much post-COVID in terms of the needs of the town becoming more evident."
 
In a seven-page letter to the town requesting the funds, the Remedy Hall board wrote that, "need is ubiquitous and we are unveiling that truth daily."
 
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