Letter: Together, Cool heads will prevail

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To the Editor:

Rather tragically at Thursday night's Select Board meeting, we lost one of our own. The lesson made apparent by this tragedy is that our current system is broken. We need better and more timely communication; we need openness; we need the needs of the town of be first; we need more professionalism; and we need an environment free of fear.

So what remains for us to do is understand this problem did not develop overnight and that it will take some time and hard work to make the needed changes. We must make our concerns heard through our votes on Town Election Day on May 5 and at the annual town meeting on May 12 to create the first big step toward making needed repairs and healing our town.


As we move toward the future, it will be important to focus not only on naming the issues but even more importantly on how the issues might best be solved. It won’t be easy. There will be a fair amount of misinformation we will have to pick through to get to the information we need to make good decisions that pass the test of time. This will be a bit of a long road and it will be hard work. But if we do this together calmly and carefully, I know we will be successful.

So today, let’s resolve ourselves to harnessing our passion and use it to work together to create a much brighter future for Dalton!
 

ROBERT COLLINS
Collins is a member of the Dalton Select Board.

 

 

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Possible Measles Exposure at Boston, Logan

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Department of Public Health confirmed Wednesday that an out-of-state adult visitor who spent time in Boston and Westborough earlier this month was diagnosed with measles and was present in a number of locations.
 
This could have resulted in other people being exposed to measles virus.
 
The visitor arrived at Logan International Airport on American Airlines flight 2384 from Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, on Dec. 11 at 2:39 p.m. They stayed at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Boston-Westborough in Westborough and departed the state on Dec. 12 via Logan at 9:19 p.m. on JetBlue flight 117 to Las Vegas.
 
DPH is working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local partners to identify and notify those who may have been exposed to measles from this individual.
 
"Measles is a highly contagious, airborne disease, which has increased significantly in the United States because of the unfortunate decrease in vaccination rates. It is also a preventable disease," said Public Health Commissioner Dr. Robbie Goldstein. "This current situation serves as an important reminder of the critical role vaccination plays in protecting our communities. While Massachusetts has not had a measles case this year, 2025 saw the highest number of nationwide cases in more than a decade — nearly 2,000 in 44 jurisdictions, and sadly, three deaths. 
 
"Fifteen years ago, measles had been considered eliminated in the United States, but that tremendous progress is at risk. Vaccines are one of the most important public health interventions ever — they are safe, effective, and lifesaving."
 
Measles is very contagious. However, the risk to most people in Massachusetts is low because the vaccination rate in the state is high. People who are not immune and visited any of the locations on the following dates and times may be at risk for developing measles.
 
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