Busy Night for Williamstown Police Includes Life-Saving Moment

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Police Department on Wednesday evening had its hands full with several incidents, including one that allowed officers to help save a life.
 
Between 5 and 9 p.m., WPD officers responded to a three-car motor vehicle accident, calls involving domestic violence and one emergency on Williams College campus where the local police were the first on the scene, Chief Michael Ziemba said on Thursday.
 
The evening included deployment of the department's K9 Unit for tracking and one arrest.
 
"While the number and types of calls are fairly typical, or what some would call 'routine' for our police department, being able to say that we were part of a small team of people who helped to bring back a young life is not something that happens to us every day."
 
The life-threatening incident occurred during a Williams College athletic event, Ziemba said. An athlete from the visiting team had trouble breathing and chest pains.
 
WPD officers administered oxygen and began life-saving CPR until an EMS personnel arrived, he said.
 
An automatic external defibrillator was used three times on the student.
 
"Thankfully, the student was conscious and responsive upon arrival at the hospital and reportedly doing well today," Ziemba wrote in a Thursday afternoon release. "It's a great feeling to be able to share good news."
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Williamstown Fire District Sets Special Meeting for July 1

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Prudential Committee Friday called a special fire district meeting for Tuesday, July 1, in part to address an oversight from the annual meeting it held a couple of weeks ago.
 
Article 1 on the special district meeting warrant will ask members to authorize the fire district to raise funds for debt service on the new fire station under construction on Main Street (Route 2).
 
The article is analogous to a measure routinely passed each spring in the annual town meeting, where the members approve using property taxes to service existing debt rather than have the town go into default.
 
The fire station is expected to be ready for occupation by December of this year, and the district anticipates making the first bond payments in the fiscal year that begins on July 1.
 
Chair David Moresi said on Friday that attendees at future annual district meetings can expect to see annual authorizations to raise money for payments each year until the station is paid off.
 
Residents gave the district the authority to borrow up to $22.5 million for the building project on a 509-32 vote at a special district meeting in 2023.
 
Article 2 on the upcoming special district meeting warrant will not impact the tax rate in fiscal year 2026.
 
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