Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative Launches Website

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative has announced the launch of a new website containing comprehensive information on how to access the Berkshire area COVID-19 vaccination clinics.

The new site, www.getvaccinatedberkshires.org, was developed to provide a consolidated resource with information about the COVID-19 vaccines, to provide resources on the state's Vaccination Phases and vaccine availability, and to aid the public in making appointments at the three large mass vaccination clinic sites in the Berkshires.

The Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative has established vaccination sites in Pittsfield at the Berkshire Community College Field House, in Great Barrington at the WEB Du Bois Middle School and in North Adams at St. Elizabeth of Hungary's Parish Center. Vaccine clinics are now scheduled for early February to begin vaccinations for the first part of Phase 2, which includes anyone aged 75 and older.

The Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative estimates that there are approximately 18,000 Berkshire residents who are 75 and older, and based on the current distribution of vaccine by the State of Massachusetts, it is likely to take several weeks before completion of Phase 2-A. Clinics will be held weekly based on availability of the vaccine from the Commonwealth.

The website will be updated regularly as more clinics are scheduled throughout February and the coming months and as the state continues to move through Phase 2 and into Phase 3, which is estimated to run through the remainder of winter and into the spring.

The Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative is a partnership between Berkshire Health Systems, Community Health Programs, the Berkshire County Boards of Health Association and public health nurses.

The website is www.getvaccinatedberkshires.org.

 


Tags: BHS,   CHP,   COVID-19,   


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Peru Selectman Pays $3K Penalty for Conflict of Interest

PERU, Mass. — A Select Board member has been fined $3,000 for helping create a paid town job he intended to apply for, and then worked in.
 
Edward Munch has paid a $3,000 civil penalty for violating the conflict of interest law by participating in creating the paid maintenance position he intended to apply for and then working in the new job while still on the Select Board. The State Ethics Commission approved a Disposition Agreement in which Munch admitted to the violations, paid the civil penalty, and waived his right to a public hearing.
 
During a December 2024 Select Board meeting, Munch asserted the need for a maintenance person at Town Hall. The need for the position was discussed at the following meeting and Munch said he would like to apply for it. During subsequent Select Board meetings, Munch continued to participate in discussions relating to the position, including its job description, schedule, and pay rate. The Select Board ultimately approved the position, with Munch abstaining from the vote.
 
After the maintenance position was publicly posted in the summer of 2025, Munch applied for it. He and another candidate were interviewed by the two other Select Board members, who subsequently voted to appoint Munch to the position. 
 
Munch worked in the position, which remained under the supervision of the Select Board, until March 2026, when he left the position after being notified the State Ethics Commission was investigating the matter. He earned just over $3,000 in the position.
 
The conflict of interest law prohibits municipal employees from participating in their official capacity in matters in which they have a reasonably foreseeable financial interest. Although Munch abstained from voting on the maintenance position, he violated this prohibition each time he discussed the position substantively as a Select Board member. Munch also violated the law's prohibitions against municipal board members serving in positions appointed by and under the supervision of their own board and its prohibition against municipal employees holding a financial interest in a contract made by the municipality.
 
"When an elected public official encourages and takes part in government actions they know will create an economic opportunity for themself, the public has cause to ask whether those actions served the official's personal financial interest rather than the public interest," said State Ethics Commission Executive Director David A. Wilson. "Not engaging in such self-serving conduct is essential if elected officials are to build and maintain public confidence in the integrity of their public service and avoid the serious negative consequences of violating the conflict of interest law."   
 
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