United Counseling Service Wins Wellness Award

01:56PM / Tuesday, July 16, 2024Print Story | Email Story

BENNINGTON, Vt. — United Counseling Service is a winner of the 2024 Vermont Governor's Excellence in Worksite Wellness Gold Level Award, presented by the Vermont Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports in partnership with the Vermont Department of Health.

This award is presented each year to organizations across the state that make employee wellness a priority.

The UCS Worksite Wellness Committee engaged staff in several worksite wellness initiatives this year, including a Community Supported Agriculture program in partnership with Full Well Farm in Adams, Mass., chair massages for staff, a potluck soup event for staff, quarterly lunches at rotating office locations, and facilitating ergonomic updates for workspaces following recent ergonomic assessments.

"We are honored to receive the Excellence in Worksite Wellness Gold Level Award," said Amy Fela, director of operations and co-chair of the Wellness Committee. "This achievement highlights our ongoing dedication to creating a supportive and healthy work environment."

UCS is a private, non-profit community mental health center that has been a part of Bennington County's integrated health-care system since 1958. The organization has been designated as a Center of Excellence by Vermont Care Partners.

Learn more about the Department of Health's Worksite Wellness Awards here. Learn more about United Counseling Service here.

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Adams Treasurer's Retirement Prompts Talks on Making Post Appointed

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
01:04PM / Monday, March 02, 2026

ADAMS, Mass. — The Selectmen last week appointed an interim treasurer/collector for the next year as the town determines whether to keep the post elected.

Treasurer Kelly Rice tendered her retirement effective May 4, the day before the annual town election. The board voted to appoint her assistant, Christine Satko, to fill the post starting May 5.

The board had a few options, outlined by Town Administrator Nicholas Caccamo at Thursday's special meeting: place the post on the town election ballot for this year, appoint a temporary treasurer (the assistant treasurer), or go through the process of changing the elected position to an appointed one via town meeting and ballot votes.

Selectwoman Christine Hoyt said it was no secret that she has been an advocate for changing the elected post to an appointed one.

Rice's retirement offered a good time to make that move, she said, pointing out that the state Department of Revenue back in 2017 had recommended the change, as well as for the town assessor.

"We have the general government review study ... put forward a recommendation in August of 2023 to make that position of treasurer/tax collector to be appointed," she said. "And then you have an article from the [Division of Local Services] regarding this change that has taken place in the state of moving from an elected treasurer/collector position to appointed."

She noted that there were 84 treasurer/collectors across the state still being elected as of 2014; that number is now 36. These changes were more recently made in Clarksburg and Savoy; the Adams Fire District is trying to again to move to an appointed treasurer, but Hancock rejected the idea.

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