Aluminum Sulfate Spill Closed Route 7 at Vermont Border for 4 Hours

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Route 7 at the Vermont border was closed for four hours on Saturday morning to deal with a truck leaking aluminum sulfate.

The truck departing from Holland Co. in Adams when it began to leak at the base of the Hadley Overpass in North Adams. The liquid left a 2-foot wide line of white all the way down Route 8 into Williamstown.

The truck was stopped across from Stewart's in Pownal, Vt., and the highway closed until the material could be investigated.

According to the Northern Berkshire Regional Emergency Planning Committee, aluminum sulfate is used to treat drinking water.

"Please be advised there are no concerns to the public or the environment and all measures are being taken to clean the roadway," the NBREPC stated in a release. "After the Massachusetts Tier 1 Hazardous Material Team conducted testing and in agreement with Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Public Work agencies in Williamstown and North Adams are currently covering the substance with a neutralizing agent, which will then be swept up and disposed of properly."

Emergency officials said, "Holland Company is in full cooperation with local and state officials who will continue to test and assess the situation."

Williams College sent out a cautionary alert to the college community advising that the spill on Main Street be avoided because of slip hazards and the potential for animal companions to ingest the material.

The Reindog Parade will move its start to the Science Quad on Saturday afternoon to avoid crossing Main Street.

Vermont State Police closed the road from about 6:30 to 10:30 a.m. in assisting the Pownal Fire Department in containing the leak. State Police said it was caused by a faulty valve.

The material was quickly contained by emergency responders and Holland Co. provided resources to clean up the spill, said police. Along with Pownal Fire Department and the Vermont State Police, members of the State of Vermont Hazmat Team, Vermont Agency of Transportation, Bennington Fire Department and authorities from the State of Massachusetts responded to the scene.

Mount Greylock Students in Argentina For Cultural Exchange Program

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
05:07AM / Wednesday, April 22, 2026

This is the second trip for Mount Greylock students to La Cumbre. The school has a relationship with St. Paul's School there and hosted 36 Argentine students last year. 

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Fourteen Mount Greylock seniors boarded a flight for Argentina this past Friday, to immerse themselves in a transformative experience.

 

"So many kids who have taken this trip come back and they're transformed," said Spanish teacher Joe Johnson. "... I guess, the spoiler is, that what these students learn is that they are the same … even though they may be from opposite poles, literally, of the Earth, and grew up speaking different languages … So that's what we're really hoping for. Let's get them to just fall in love with each other, and learn about the world and the culture through those friendships."

 

Students took off on Friday, April 17. They will spend nine days in La Cumbre, a community the school has built a relationship with over the years.

 

Mount Greylock hosted 36 students from St. Paul's School in La Cumbre last year, and the exchange program has become a cornerstone of Mount Greylock's Spanish curriculum. Johnson said the AP Spanish course has become hyper-focused on Argentina in preparation for the trip.

 

"It is all about what can you understand? What can you communicate? And we cover a lot of daily life things as the years go by. What do you need to be able to say? or what do you need to be able to understand?" he said. "We have geared the AP curriculum to where it's very Argentina centered… so we'll just focus on that, and that way, they get used to the accents, they know what kinds of food to expect, what kind of social interactions to expect."

 

Students have been building these relationships throughout the year. Johnson noted that each Mount Greylock student is connected with a St. Paul's student, and they regularly exchange messages in both English and Spanish.

 

As for the town itself, Johnson said it is the perfect community for a cultural exchange and reminds him of Williamstown.