Letter: Sometimes It Is Best Not to Tinker With Tradition

To the Editor:

Williamstown has a long-standing tradition of displaying American flags on utility poles along the town green (Route 2) from Memorial Day through Veterans Day. At the last Williamstown Select Board meeting, there was a 4-1 vote to replace every fourth American Flag with a Progress Pride (rainbow) flag during the month of June.

Was there any indication in the Select Board meeting packet or the posted agenda that this potentially controversial topic would be discussed, even voted upon? The Open Meeting Law requires that the public have timely notice of anticipated topics and ample opportunity to comment. If not appropriately posted, only "emergencies" are permitted and must be defended as such if requested. Was this an emergency? Were the legal obligations of the Open Meeting Law met?

Furthermore, Statements of American Flag Protocol specify that the American flag is to be the prime focus of any flag display. There are few exceptions to this rule, and they are clearly stated in the protocol. Does the current Select Board plan pass protocol muster?

Memorial Day is a national holiday, with most cities and towns crafting their own unique traditions and celebrations. Its primary intended meaning was and is to honor those who perished in service to our country. It has taken on the meaning of offering comfort and support to family and friends who have lost someone to death. It is usually celebrated in a respectful — almost religious — manner. Will the Select Board's decision to replace our American flag with a flag underscoring any other cause diminish the intended solemnity of Memorial Day?

Donna Wied
Williamstown, Mass.

Williamstown Board of Health Endorses Smoking Ban Proposal

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
12:12PM / Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Board members Chair Win Stuebner, left, and Devan Bartels participate in Monday's meeting.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Board of Health on Monday voted to "strongly support" the passage of a town meeting warrant article that would ban smoking in much of the town's multi-family housing stock.

 

Article 30 on the May 22 meeting warrant would disallow smoking or vaping tobacco products inside any multi-family dwelling with an exemption for owner-occupied buildings with four or fewer units.

 

William Raymond of Stratton Road pitched the idea to the board back in March, and the Select Board last month voted, 4-1, to recommend town meeting passage, an endorsement that appears on the printed warrant.

 

The Board of Health did not meet in time after Raymond's initial presentation to take an advisory vote that could appear in the warrant, but on Monday, four members of the board in attendance voted unanimously to sign a brief letter that Raymond will be welcome to read aloud from the floor of town meeting.

 

"While the BOH has enacted stringent rules for where smoking is allowed and has also prohibited smoking in open areas outside restaurants, schools, etc., second-hand smoke is a well-documented public health hazard that is more difficult to regulate," the letter drafted by Chair Win Stuebner reads, in part. "However, it has many of the same detrimental health effects that smoking does. In multi-unit housing, smoke can migrate through the ventilation system, walls, open spaces, etc., and can expose the vulnerable, e.g., children, the elderly and those with chronic cardiac and lung disease, to its harmful effects."

 

Before voting to sign the letter, the panel held a discussion during which members both expressed strong concurrence with the intent of Raymond's proposal and wondered aloud whether the proposed bylaw would be enforceable and how much the burden of enforcement would fall on Health Inspector Ruth Russell.

 

They also acknowledged the personal freedom issues that may come up at town meeting, leading Stuebner to wonder about Article 30's chances when put to a vote.