image description
The Williamstown Municipal Building remains closed to the public through July 19.

Williamstown Town Hall to Reopen July 20

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
Print Story | Email Story
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Williamstown Municipal Building is set to reopen to the public on a reduced schedule on Tuesday, July 20.
 
Interim Town Manager Charlie Blanchard on Tuesday confirmed that the town hall will be open for in-person business on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays starting in two weeks.
 
Blanchard said he discussed the reopening plan with the town's department heads recently, and they decided to hold off on opening the doors — except by appointment — a while longer.
 
Many communities in the area already have taken that step. The city halls in North Adams and Pittsfield, for example, opened to the public on June 1, two days after the commonwealth's economy fully reopened.
 
Williamstown's own Milne Public Library reopened on June 21, nearly a month before the planned reopening of the town hall.
 
Blanchard said one reason for the timetable at the municipal building was a wait to install Plexiglass dividers in office space.
 
"I haven't heard anyone question [the timing]," Blanchard said. "It's not like we've been getting a lot of calls.
 
"We just decided [July 20] would be the date we would start, and that would be fine."
 
In the meantime, residents looking to conduct transactions like renewing their dog licenses or their transfer station stickers can continue to use the town's online billing system, where fees will be assessed ranging from 50 cents for payment by electronic check to $5 on credit card transactions of $100 to $199.99.
 
And for residents who need to have in-person conversations with town staff, appointments have been available with specific personnel throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
As for opening the doors to town hall three days per week once it reopens on July 20, Blanchard indicated that could be a long-term practice going forward.
 
"People have benefited from working remotely," he said. "Most work places are considering at least having the availability for some remote working.
 
"Opening up, I just felt it would be good to start out this way."

Tags: COVID-19,   town hall,   


More Coronavirus Updates

Keep up to date on the latest COVID-19 news:


If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

WCMA: 'Cracking the Code on Numerology'

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) opens a new exhibition, "Cracking the Cosmic Code: Numerology in Medieval Art."
 
The exhibit opened on March 22.
 
According to a press release: 
 
The idea that numbers emanate sacred significance, and connect the past with the future, is prehistoric and global. Rooted in the Babylonian science of astrology, medieval Christian numerology taught that God created a well-ordered universe. Deciphering the universe's numerical patterns would reveal the Creator's grand plan for humanity, including individual fates. 
 
This unquestioned concept deeply pervaded European cultures through centuries. Theologians and lay people alike fervently interpreted the Bible literally and figuratively via number theory, because as King Solomon told God, "Thou hast ordered all things in measure, and number, and weight" (Wisdom 11:22). 
 
"Cracking the Cosmic Code" explores medieval relationships among numbers, events, and works of art. The medieval and Renaissance art on display in this exhibition from the 5th to 17th centuries—including a 15th-century birth platter by Lippo d'Andrea from Florence; a 14th-century panel fragment with courtly scenes from Palace Curiel de los Ajos, Valladolid, Spain; and a 12th-century wall capital from the Monastery at Moutiers-Saint-Jean—reveal numerical patterns as they relate to architecture, literature, gender, and timekeeping. 
 
"There was no realm of thought that was not influenced by the all-consuming belief that all things were celestially ordered, from human life to stones, herbs, and metals," said WCMA Assistant Curator Elizabeth Sandoval, who curated the exhibition. "As Vincent Foster Hopper expounds, numbers were 'fundamental realities, alive with memories and eloquent with meaning.' These artworks tease out numerical patterns and their multiple possible meanings, in relation to gender, literature, and the celestial sphere. 
 
"The exhibition looks back while moving forward: It relies on the collection's strengths in Western medieval Christianity, but points to the future with goals of acquiring works from the global Middle Ages. It also nods to the history of the gallery as a medieval period room at this pivotal time in WCMA's history before the momentous move to a new building," Sandoval said.
 
Cracking the Cosmic Code runs through Dec. 22.
View Full Story

More Williamstown Stories