EDITORIAL

Editorial: The secret the election revealed...

Congratulations Stockbridge! The initial count showed that 672 of us voted. The final count: 690!

According to Town Clerk, Terri Iemolini, "That is the most people voting in memory. So very impressive!" The next closest was 2015 with 608 voting.

In recent history, 31%, voted. In 2015, the next closest, 608 voted. Last year, of 1643 registered voters 524 or 31% voted. This year, 41% voted.

Stockbridge, we have started with a proverbial bang; let's keep going. Coasting toward our 300th anniversary, let us carry on as one. We have things to crow about, and problems to solve. Let's not forget who we are and how we do things — the Stockbridge way.

We never aimed to win the messaging war. We're just down-home Yankees rolling up our sleeves. Governing doesn't take the clever turn of the phrase or the quick put down, governing takes a whole different set of skills.

Let's brush up on the process — consensus is the best conclusion; respectful discussion is the best way to reach consensus. Let's take a closer look at the Residential Tax Exemption without the Strum and Drang and sloganeering.

Let's reevaluate whether the Short-Term Rental Bylaw is serving the Town or opening it to new problems. During calm deliberation, let's start with the problem. Is there one? The solution is inherent in a clear and careful definition of the problem. Let's decide.

Our ancestors considered the issues of their day and the possible solutions. The decisions they made created our present. What we do will create the Stockbridge of tomorrow. That is important work, it is our job, and we should not be distracted from it.

What is the secret the election revealed? Stockbridge is not divided. We voted together in historically high numbers. We are together knowing what we want and where we want to go. We are together not significantly divided. Nothing we can't talk out reasonably, cobble together sensibly, and get on with it.

In this national atmosphere of tension, angst, and anger the worst that can happen is that we forget how we always did it and what the values guided us.

We don't need "spin", misdirection, confusing word salads, or loud demands. Plain speaking, solid decisions, and sweat equity is all Stockbridge ever had and look what we made! Let's trail mark our usual path and set out in the right direction.

Carole Owens
Editor-in-Chief

 

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Photo: Lionel Delevingne

 FROM THE EDITOR

About Volunteer Subscribers

Someone asked what SU needs money for. Good question. I put together a team of volunteers that value community and transparency as much as I do. I am deeply grateful to each and every one. However, as SU approaches three years old, it is not realistic to think people volunteer forever. SU has to plan for the future.

• Ever wonder who writes how-to manuals or government tracts? Jack Trowill, my friend and SU copy editor, did it for General Electric. He was an ace and did a great job for SU, but no longer can. We will miss him, but he did us a last huge favor: he reminded SU that volunteers do not go on forever. New people who do vital tasks may want to be compensated.
• SU is going to have to pay for other things it once got for free. For 2 1/2 years, SU had an angel who paid for Internet services: domain name, web site, and emailing every issue and every news alert. I can report and write SU. Jay, Lionel, Joan. and Dana can make it beautiful. Bruce, Sally, Michael, Darrell, Peter, Rick, and many more contributors, and letter writers can opine, inform and entertain, but we can't get it out to you. Angels don't go on forever either. We have to pay our own bills in the digital world.
• If fewer meetings are recorded on CTSB, more meetings will be attended in person and that requires reporters. I did for free, young reporters will ask and deserve to be paid.
• At this point so will I - note the change in my title — from managing editor to executive editor — that's because my role is expanding.

I love Stockbridge. Updates was born out of a simple idea: inform Stockbridge. Even if it costs more or takes just a bit more work — let's do it!

I remain deeply grateful to all who joined me in establishing Stockbridge Updates and I am deeply grateful to those who are already volunteer subscribers.

I had a good idea: inform Stockbridge. I think it is still good and SU deserves a future. Mail voluntary subscriptions to Box 1072 Stockbridge MA 01262. Help me raise the money to pay SU's bills, and I will work as hard as I know how to deliver the village news to you.

Carole Owens
Editor-in-Chief

 

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Photo: Lionel Delevingne

 PERSPECTIVE

From the Desk of the Stockbridge Police Chief, Darrell Fennelly

Good advice from our Chief: if for any reason you anticipate harsh or threatening talk or worse, carry a cell phone. The Chief suggests it is possible that just holding it up and hitting the record button will dissuade the harasser. However, in the worst-case scenario, the recording is proof to begin to build a case if the situation deteriorates and a restraining order is necessary.

We all think it won't happen to us until it does, so, carry your cell phone.

 

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Denny Alsop checking out a beaver dam over by Gould Meadows. Photo: Patrick White

 NEWS

SU FYI

1. A personal thank you to Moose for calling me "The Godmother of Stockbridge". Nothing I would like to be called more or would treasure more. Moose, I don't think we've met, but you seem to know me, and I thank you.

2. Somehow the memorial plaque at the head of Mary Flynn trail disappeared. The replacement will become a rededication ceremony open to the public.

Pat Flinn, who arranged the original dedication, Tom Stokes, Christopher Baumann, and I hope any more, remember the first dedication. I still miss my best friend and sure hope I can say a few words invoking her presence. She was a light among us.

3. "Massachusetts Cable Subscriptions Continue to Plummet"

You may not pick up the Federal Communications Commission newsletter as light reading, but if you did, you would know that headline is a dire warning.

Our Community Television of South Berkshire (CTSB) is funded by receipt of 5% of the subscriptions paid by subscribers to Spectrum. As Spectrum's subscriptions plummet, so does the income of CTSB and its ability to serve us and the community as our public access television. Public Access TV is our place for educational and government programs. In addition, it is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content. To read all about it, the problem, and a possible solution, see the article below in this issue.

4. Community Preservation Coalition is thrilled to report that the MA Senate has just adopted an important amendment that may help address this year's declining revenue for the CPA Trust Fund. During the Senate FY24 budget debate this morning, Senator Cynthia Stone Creem's budget amendment, "Community Preservation Trust Fund," was adopted. This legislation would allocate up to $30 million in state budget surplus funds for this November's statewide CPA Trust Fund distribution.

 

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Photo: Lionel Delevingne

 NEWS

Editor's Note: The following meetings were not posted on CTSB before SU went to press: Planning Board, May 16; Affordable Housing Trust, May 22; Cemetery Commission, May 23; Conservation Commission May 23, and Stockbridge Bowl Stewardship Commission. Once posted SU will catch up and report as fast as it can so readers will be fully informed.

Key Take Aways from the Town Meeting, May 15, 2023

By bundling appropriation articles and allowing one vote on many rather than voting on each article separately, the meeting moved quickly — just over two hours. If, however, there was one article in the bundle that required discussion, any one attendee could call "hold". That article would be held — removed from the bundle and voted on separately after discussion. Two were held:

1. Under the Community Preservation recommended allocations, a hold was put on a $300,000 allocation for purchase of "Fenn Farm" by Rich Bradway, Chair of the Stockbridge Land Trust. The other CPC allocations were approved as a bundle and then Bradway explained the held item. The Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans will purchase the 315-acre tract with Commonwealth Municipal Vulnerability MVA money and will not need CPC money. The item was removed from the CPC Article and $300,000 returned to CPC General fund.

2. Denny Alsop put a hold on the $25,000 request by the Rest of River Committee (RoR). Town has been awarding $25-35,000 to RoR annually for more than 10 years (Over $300,000). Alsop wanted to know what the money would be used for now that the contract with GE/EPA was signed. That seemed to be the culmination of the RoR mandate, so what else was there to do?

As Stockbridge rep to RoR, Steve Shatz said RoR would oversee GE compliance.

Editor's note: The 21-page letter from EPA to Senator Elizabeth Warren appended to this issue contains information that EPA has retained professional consultants to oversee compliance.

3. Jim Balfanz put a hold on the $25,000 to pay for an engineer's report and permits to improve and make the boat ramp safer. His objection appeared to be that no taxpayer money should be spent but Commonwealth money should pay for the work.

All articles passed. The Citizen's Petition to elect rather than have the Town Moderator appoint the Finance Committee failed.

It was very nice to see the Town help the Moderator and call (gently) from the floor what Article we were on, whether it was time to vote or time for discussion. Gary Johnston has been Moderator for fifty years — it is a milestone if not a record — one to congratulate him for. Everyone helped him out and moved the meeting along out of respect.

 

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At age 100, Bob Alsop (seated; second left) preparing to give a speech at Tyringham's Memorial Day Observance. Photo: Patrick White

 NEWS

Key Take Aways from the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), May 16

Public hearing of the ZBA: Jeffery and Amy Grossman, 9 Mahkeenac Terrace, appealed denial by the Building Inspector of a building permit.

At issue: on a nonconforming lot, the permit, if granted, would exceed the allowed lot coverage and would further encroach into the buffer zone.

The Grossmans claimed a hardship as their deck was too narrow and they wished to make the deck larger.

The ZBA explained they had no authority to grant an appeal because what was requested was desirable; it had to rectify a hardship. ZBA repeatedly stated they were trying to be helpful and suggested the Grossmans hire a lawyer as it did not seem they were presenting their case in a way consistent with the law.

The Grossmans invited them to make a site visit; ZBA agreed; any finding postponed.

 

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Avoiding the crowd at the parade. Photo: Patrick White

 NEWS

Key take Aways from Memorial Day Parade Planning Meeting, May 22, 2023

Lisa Thorn brought the meeting to order. The agenda was to complete all plans for the Memorial Day parade and ceremonies. The parade down Main Street will end at Proctor Hall (old Town Hall) where there will be food and speeches.

Harold French was concerned about the aging population of veterans in Stockbridge and curious how will the parade and ceremony will carry on. French suggested South County towns come

together, combine the veteran population, and have the parade in a different towns each year. Tim Minkler was opposed to the idea. Bruce Blair and Rich Bradway suggested that the children of veterans might carry on. It was decided to have a separate meeting to discuss.

At the parade there is a coffin laid on the Sedgwick cart and pulled by Tim Minkler's sons.

Editor's note: It was suggested that I get in the coffin and pop out at some point on the parade route. I considered the shock to the kids and to the hearts of the elderly and declined with thanks.

 

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Photo: Lionel Delevingne

 NEWS

Key Take aways from the Stockbridge/Lee Fire and EMTs Committee, May 18

The first meeting included Stockbridge and Lee Fire Chiefs, Select Board representatives, and Town Administrators. They opened by mapping the needs. It was suggested that a Comprehensive Response Survey would help determine size of area, numb er to be served, etc.

There was a bit of nostalgia for the days when there were 65 — 90 volunteers plus a waiting list. Then returned to the work of considering the needs.

 

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Photo: Lionel Delevingne

 NEWS

Key Take Away from Kampoosa Bog Committee, May 22

The committee, under the leadership of Laura Beasley, is working on a vision statement — the ideal to be worked towards. The vision statement will be broken down into actions. Then both used to guide the decisions of the committee.

 

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New trees planted at Gould Meadows. Jess Toro asks: please do not touch the cones! Photo: Patrick White

 NEWS

Key Take Aways from the Select Board Meeting, May 25

It has been the tradition to elect new officers the first meeting after Election Day for a term until the next election. Patrick White called the meeting to order and nominated Chuck Cardillo as Chair. Motion passed unanimously.

Cardillo quipped, "I'm in charge? I adjourn the meeting." After laughter, Chuck went through the agenda. Austin Riggs, Berkshire Botanical Garden, and Norman Rockwell Museum were approved for one-day liquor licenses for the upcoming year. The Shed at Tanglewood was also approved for a bar in the Shed during first half of one pop concert as a "pilot" to test viability.

Berkshire Theater Group requested a letter of support from SB for a grant application. It was approved.

A new member to the Cultural Council, Chelly Sterman, was appointed.

Finally, approval of the traditional "Second Homeowners' Meeting" was suggested and took up the largest part of the meeting. Cardillo suggested the goal is to make this one community not segregate a portion of the population. In the modern world with Zoom, second homeowners can "attend" every meeting. That brings primary and second homeowners together at the meetings. White seemed to wish to continue the second homeowner meetings. Minacci was unsure and asked about the history of the tradition. Via Zoom Bruce Auerbach and Patty Caya spoke. Caya gave the history of the traditional meeting in answer to Jamie's question at least for the 10 years she has had a second home here. Auerbach endorsed "anything the SB can do to make us all one." He suggested, maybe not call it a second homeowners meeting. The issue was postponed until the next meeting to decide and vote.

Town Administrator, Michael Canales shared that the Commonwealth has extended until April 2024, permission for outdoor dining and alcohol service by private restaurants on Town Land (for example Main Street Café and Elm Street Market placing tables on Town sidewalk. SB supported outdoor dining. Commonwealth may make permission permanent after April 2024 or extend again. In case it does not, Canales recommended that restaurants apply for a Stockbridge permit to continue.

 

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Photo: Lionel Delevingne

 PERSPECTIVE

Holding on To Memorial Day

by Bruce Blair

Our living veterans are growing older, and fewer. From this small town many have served, but our demographics have changed, and the numbers dwindle.

Memorial Day is especially set aside to honor the significance of their service, and of those who served and now rest in our cemeteries. We honor their courage and commitment, their sense of duty, the legacy of their experiences. Whether they served in war or at the ready, we owe them much.

Children of WW2 vets, children now in their 70s, are making a commitment to preserve the history, the stories, photos, documents. The same for later generations of vets and descendants. We all must continue to honor the memories and celebrate them. Young and old must make a commitment to embrace and pass on the traditions, the history. We have many flags in our cemeteries, no shortage of vets in our lives from every era.

For our Vietnam era vets, know that we remember you and honor you and your service in difficult times. The modern fight for freedom has taken place across many lands from Korea to Afghanistan. For all of those still with us from every era, we acknowledge our debt of gratitude. Bless you all...

To a friend, Ben Ferencz, who put himself through law school, then fought across France and Germany as artillery sergeant, helped to liberate the Nazi death camps, and became the last living prosecutor from the Nuremburg war crimes trials, a special thanks. Ben passed away last month, age 103.

Finally, some words from Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain of Maine. Chamberlain embodies the profound spiritual experience of remembrance. A Civil War vet, Medal of Honor winner, college president, champion of veterans, Chamberlain held dear the meaning of Memorial Day when he said:

"In great deeds something abides. On great fields something stays. Forms change and pass; bodies disappear, but spirits linger, to consecrate ground for the vision-place of souls. And reverent men and women from afar, and generations that know us not and that we know not of, heart-drawn to see where and by whom great things were suffered and done for them, shall come to this deathless field to ponder and dream; And lo! the shadow of a mighty presence shall wrap them in its bosom, and the power of the vision pass into their souls."

 

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MMRHS Band. Photo: Joan Gallos

 NEWS

Massachusetts Cable Subscriptions Continue to Plummet

Forwarded by Rich Fredericks, CTSB Executive Director

According to numbers published by the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable, the total number of households subscribing to cable television dropped 10% from the end of 2021 to the end of 2022. This reduction represents the largest single year loss in subscribers since data first became public. Overall, cable subscriptions in MA have decreased from approximately 2.2 million at the apex 2013 to 1.5 million at the end of 2022 — a loss of 31% overall.

Technological advances have changed how Massachusetts residents acquire their news and entertainment. Many residents are cancelling cable subscriptions in favor of modern, often less expensive services offered by streaming entertainment companies like Netflix, Disney +, Apple TV and Hulu.

The Problem

The issue for MA municipalities and the community media centers who serve them is that these services do not pay for their use of public rights of way as traditional cable always has. In an age of remote participation and a lack of local media coverage, the community media center in MA has found itself in the untenable situation of facing increased demand for services with less funding.

A 2023 survey of Mass Access members reports that 71% of member organizations cite increased coverage of municipal meetings since 2020 and 59% report decreased funding in that same time frame. A Possible Solution

An Act to modernize funding for community media programming (S.34/H.74) would modernize MA law by charging a 5% assessment on the gross annual revenue of streaming entertainment companies doing business in the Commonwealth. 20% of the funds collected would stay with the state and the remaining 80% would be split evenly between municipalities and community media organizations serving them.

 

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Harold French. Photo: Joan Gallos

 NEWS

Stockbridge Updates: News Alert

Attorney General Seeks More Transparency from Rest of River (ROR); 14 days to Comply

Massachusetts Attorney General found, "We find that the [ROR] Committee violated the Open Meeting Law by discussing and taking action on a topic that was not included with sufficient specificity on the notice for the Committee's March 27 meeting."

The issue on the agenda of the mandated meeting is whether the five towns of the ROR should file an intervention supporting the placement of a PCB toxic waste disposal in The Berkshires and supporting what plaintiff called "a secret settlement".

Carrie Benedon, Assistant Attorney General, Division of Open Government, continued. "To remedy the lack of notice to the public, we order the Committee, within 14 days of issuance of this determination, to post adequate notice and again discuss and vote on the approval of expenditure of funds to enable legal counsel to prepare for and participate in oral argument in

support of the EPA's order in the Rest of River Cleanup Litigation. "

Update: Within the required 14 days a second, legal meeting was held and four of the five representatives voted to send the letter supporting the placement of a PCB toxic waste disposal in The Berkshires and supporting what plaintiff called "a secret settlement" over Lee's objection.

Senator Elizabeth Warren Steps in and Steps up

In a letter to David W. Cash, EPA Regional Administrator, Senator Warren called for "environmental justice and community input...Senator Warren's office will continue working with local state and federal officials to prioritize residents' health..."

Stockbridge Updates will follow the story and report. Click here to read letter to Senator Elizabeth Warren from the EPA

 

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Image courtesy Carl Sprague

 PERSPECTIVE

ICK! TICKS!

By Sally Underwood-Miller

Ticks are now out in force. There are many varieties of tick. In general, they are parasitic arachnids that are part of the mite superorder Parasitiformes. Adult ticks are approximately 3 to 5 mm in length depending on age, sex, species, and "fullness". Ticks are external parasites, living by feeding on the blood of mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles and amphibians.

In spite of popular thought, ALL ticks can carry disease and some of those can be extremely serious and/or have long term health effects. The big dog ticks tend to drop off tall shrubs and bushes. The good news is that they take a while deciding where to settle in, and you can usually feel them, allowing you to remove them before they attach. The tiny ticks are more insidious. They bury into your skin and are usually well imbedded before you notice them.

More health professionals need to take these toxic insects seriously, and, IMHO, we should all be tested, at the very least, for tick-borne diseases at our annual physicals. I would suggest, if you have been bitten, get tested! The frustrating part is that it can take several weeks for the antibodies to show up in a blood test. The "bullseye" rash, while a good indicator, is not always present. If you're concerned, prophylaxis treatment can be started within 72 hours of tick removal. (The usual choice is doxycycline.)

check" at the end of a day in tall grasses or woods is critical. Keep in mind that while most of us would like to kill them all, the toxic substances that could be used are also toxic to other creatures, including us! Thank a possum if you see one! They love to eat ticks.

Editor's note: Recently I was bit by a tick. I went to ER immediately to be sure I removed it all and to get an RX for doxycycline. They refused to give me the Rx saying it was a dog tick and not dangerous. I asked Sally to write this so inform all of you: there might not be a disease-free tick. Insist on preventative treatment and testing. Boy I sure hope my tick was the one tick without disease. I have watched the progression of Lyme disease. Scary.

 

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Photo: Lionel Delevingne

 PERSPECTIVE

The Deer and the Possum

By Patrick White

The photo below is a trail cam photo of a possum eating ticks off a deer. Possums have voracious appetites and can eat up to 2,000 ticks a day. Deer are known to harbor many ticks, so much so that fawns have been known to die when infected with ticks in large numbers.

In this photo, the mighty buck bows to the possum, and the possum climbs up a rock to meet the buck and gently removes every tick it sees on the deer. Now possum and deer couldn't be more different, and indeed their needs here, while different, are very much aligned. It takes a great deal of trust for the possum and the deer to work together to meet each other's needs.

There's perhaps a lesson here for us all.

 

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 THE LAST WORD

Reader to Reader — an exchange worth sharing.

Stockbridge Post Office

By Carole Owens

Did you see the 1997 movie, The Postman? It might have been a box office flop and the critics punching bag, but it was actually loveable. The Postman is about how much we value the small, gracious things that connect us.

For decades, the Stockbridge Post Office put mail in the boxes even if the box number did not appear on the envelope. They knew us and our box numbers. It was an all-around nurturing sort of place, and the underpinning was the reliable United States Postal Service - the pride of the nation.

No more.

Folks were hurt, confused, and discommoded. I listened to the complaints, mulled, and finally wrote a letter. A few days ago, in response to my letter, a USPS representative visited Stockbridge and solved the problem — all mail will be delivered without interruption; without being returned to sender, even if no PO Box number appears on the envelope.

"After all," he told me, "our job is to deliver the mail."

And just like that, a bit of logic, a willingness to do the job, and simple human caring, one of the small gracious things that connect us was restored.

To the editor:

I write in response to Carole Owens' unfair maligning of the hardworking and dedicated employees at the Stockbridge Post Office in which she relies on nothing more than a few anecdotes (involving only unidentified people) to castigate these public servants.

Having benefitted from these postal workers' unfailingly efficient, helpful and courteous service for almost 30 years, I am thankful for their service, necessarily performed within the constraints of the federal rules governing what they can and cannot do for postal patrons.

As an extra benefit, the Stockbridge Post Office has always been — and continues to be — a place to greet and, time permitting, enjoy the company of other Stockbridge residents.

Instead of denigrating our Stockbridge postal workers, we should applaud them for their hard work and commendable service to our local community.

Stewart Edelstein, Stockbridge

Owens:

Good morning, Mr. Edelstein, and thank you for taking the time to read my column and write a response. Whatever side someone is on, it is good when folks are engaged and have the right to express themselves.

I understand your criticism, but my focus was not on maligning but on helping folks who came to me with what was for them a big scary problem: not receiving their mail. They were uncomfortable with my using their names and I honored that.

Frankly I would be scared too. It was a specific problem related to whether or not the Box # appeared.

They came to me because of Stockbridge Updates.

Thank you for being a subscriber. In SU last year, I was delighted to post a video of you in the Berkshire Botanical Garden reading your poem "Primrose: Let's Romp". Did you do every flower from A - Zinnia?

Anyway, they came to Stockbridge Updates. I had no idea what I could do. I tried to go into PO and broach the subject but was rebuffed. I did what I do - I wrote to the USPS.

They thought it serious enough to send someone to Stockbridge. The rep assured me mail would be delivered and not returned to sender with or without the box #.

Do you visit a page on Facebook called Stockbridge MA Community Board? If you do you will see many more than a "few" who had trouble with delivery and now feel relieved. You will see their names and also see that more folks reached out to Patrick White (Select Board) and I think Patrick said Michael Canales (Town Administrator) too.

Again, I was trying to help, and I do feel happy that I could help. Sorry you thought it was maligning, and I hope you noticed my closing paragraph reporting the fine work of the USPS in resolving the problem.

Wishing you no trouble with your mail ever.

Carole Owens

Edelstein:

Thanks for your email, which I very much appreciate.

In answer to your question, I did a number of videos based on my book about the BBG flora, but not all of them from A to Z. Felix Carroll, BBG's Director of Marketing Communications, decides if and when I do any more.

Owens:

Send video to SU if you do more — pick lovely setting - we will post

Edelstein:

Will do!

 

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Photo: Lionel Delevingne