A new SU feature – Write A Rant (and put your rant right)

What really bugs you? What are your friends tired of hearing you go on about? Write it to Stockbridge Updates and let’s see if we can get your rant put right.

Dear Carole,

Thank you so much for your lovely note! I really am privileged to work for such an exceptional organization. The only words I would add to what you may be writing is that our co-founders Arthur Peisner and Matt Mandel will be honored at our GAlA. They have made extraordinary contributions toward the sustainability of ViM Berkshires and we look forward to celebrating with them, our donors, our volunteers and the community on July 25th. You may also want to mention that we are so proud of the opening of our new healthcare center in Pittsfield which has already been welcoming patients but is scheduled to celebrate the formal opening on May 2nd. Would love to see you there if you can make it!

Again, thank you so much for your note.

Warm regards, 

Nelson

Editor’s note: Nelson Fernandez is the Communications Director, VIM 

To Everyone at VIM: 

I cannot believe it has been twenty years. VIM has done a superb job in providing medical, dental, and psychological services to those who otherwise might not have them.

Best wishes for the next twenty years.

Carole Owens

Thank you, Carole, for this courageous, heart-warming piece today [The Berkshire Edge, March 26, 2024].

Sharon Gregory 

To the Editor:

In the last issue of Stockbridge Updates, there was a letter by Jim Bafanz supporting Gary Johnson’s run for Stockbridge Town Moderator. He made some statements. It turns out that an actual Moderator, Michael Wilcox, was saying Balfanz is wrong on the law and wrong on the facts.

I know because I followed the link he provided and I read the law, I also read the Moderator’s letter, and I read Carole’s web site www.owensmoderator.com, and I came to the conclusion that I support Carole for Moderator.

Vlada Rousseff

Vlada,

Thank you so much. I am deeply grateful for your support. Let me take this opportunity to encourage everyone to write letters of support to Stockbridge Updates for the candidates of their choice during this election cycle.

Carole

To the Editor:

Wanted to update you. For the last week or so, the post office in Stockbridge has once again begun to return mail and put an inked notice on mail that does not contain the PO Box. Especially from places that do not allow a PO Box to be used as a mailing address because it cannot be verified. Many places do this, which creates difficulties in utility bills, etc. being returned to sender. 

I thought this issue was taken care of as long as the street address was on the mail. Which can be verified by the sender.

I asked the post office about it again and they told me to put a slash next to the street address then put the PO Box number next to that when filling out online forms, etc.

I attempted that. Only to have the address rejected because of a PO Box. 

I can show you many envelopes that the post office recently marked up stating not a proper address because the PO Box is not there. I’ve also had mail returned to sender because of this.

James Lawson

Dear Mr. Lawson: 

I also learned that if you hand a letter with the proper POBox # in at the window at Stockbridge PO, they will not put it in the Stockbridge recipient’s box. They send it to Springfield, wait for it to come back, and then place it in the Stockbridge recipient’s box. Hard to understand why.

Carole

Dear Carole,

The saga continues: the Town of Lee has refiled its suit against Monsanto. The company produced PCB’s for decades, selling them for decades to GE and others. They were then dumped along roadsides, into landfills, in bodies of water, and most notably, into the Housatonic River. This went on for years. 

As early as 1972, Monsanto formally made GE aware of the harm to humans, animals, and the environment. In order to continue buying PCBs from Monsanto, GE consented to sign an indemnity agreement. 

PCBs were produced until 1977 and banned by the EPA in 1979. All through that period, and before, the residents of the Housatonic River corridor and beyond were exposed to these harmful “forever” toxins that continue to exist throughout the Berkshires and beyond. They will be with future generations long after we’re gone. 

Lee hopes to use the proceeds from a successful suit to leverage a better, more effective cleanup of the river, perhaps alleviating the absurd plan for a toxic waste dump in Lee. There are many “gray” areas in the agreement signed by five towns. This provides an opportunity for the Towns to leverage better terms in various areas such as transportation of toxins, where they will be stored, if they will be treated, how the cleanup is implemented, etc. This opportunity should not be wasted. 

Reminder: The Select Boards from Sheffield, Great Barrington, Stockbridge, Lenox and Lee agreed to secret, closed door negotiations. The residents of these five towns were kept in the dark. The residents, from which the Select Boards authority is derived, were kept in the dark. It was only after the agreement was signed that we found out that only 20% of the toxins are estimated to be removed from the river; that a massive toxic waste dump (eleven stories high and multiple football fields in diameter would be built in Lee; that thousands of trucks would be hauling poisonous waste through our streets for over a decade; that GE never made an effort to explore transportation by rail as they initially agreed… Or, that remediation efforts, methods used successfully around the globe were, and are, being ignored. 

Time is short. The EPA’s mission is to support the implementation of this flawed agreement. This is their only mission. It is our mission to continue to aggressively push our representatives (local, State and Federal) to demand a more effective cleanup, a better plan. 

Best wishes, Bob

Editor’s note: Bob Jones is Chair of the Lee Select Board