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Students from St. Stan's School brought handmade Christmas cards and caroling to residents of Williamstown Commons.
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St. Stan's Students Spread Holiday Cheer at Williamstown Commons

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Students from St. Stanislaus Kostka School  in Adams brought the holiday spirit to Williamstown Commons on Thursday, delivering handmade Christmas cards and leading residents in a community caroling session.
 
"It honestly means the world to us because it means the world to them," said nursing home Administrator Alex Fox on Thursday morning. "This made their days. This could have even made their weeks. It could have made their Christmas, seeing the children and interacting with the community."
 
Teacher Kate Mendonca said this is the first year her class has visited the facility, noting that the initiative was driven entirely by the students.
 
"This came from the kids. They said they wanted to create something and give back," Mendonca said. "We want our students involved in the community instead of just reading from a religion book."
 
Preparation for the event began in early December, with students crafting bells to accompany their singing. The handmade cards were completed last week.
 
"It's important for them to know that it's not just about them during Christmas," Mendonca said. "It's about everyone, for sure. I hope that they know they really helped a lot of people today and hopefully it brought joy to the residents here."

Tags: holiday story,   nursing home,   st stans,   

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Williamstown Looking at How to Enforce Smoking Ban for Apartments

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Board of Health and town health inspector are consulting with town counsel on how best to enforce a ban on smoking in apartment buildings passed by town meeting in May.
 
Although the meeting overwhelmingly approved the new bylaw, the Attorney General's Office in Boston took until December to rule that the restriction, believed to be the first of its kind in Massachusetts, complied with state law and precedent.
 
On Tuesday, Health Inspector Ruth Russell told the board at its monthly meeting that the town's lawyer told her to work on an enforcement policy.
 
She indicated that counsel said some things need to be clarified in the smoking ban.
 
"Their understanding was the bylaw was very clear when it came to enforcement of common areas but very unclear when it came to non-common areas [i.e., residents apartment units]," Russell said.
 
"That would be the issue. If we got complaints about smoking in someone's own unit, town counsel had concerns about how it would go forward. … Could we even get a warrant to inspect, and how do we go down that road."
 
Russell said she would investigate as soon as practical after a complaint is lodged, but given the ephemeral nature of smoke from cigarettes and discharges from vaping products, it would be difficult to prove violations of the ordinance.
 
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