Williamstown Shooting Still Under Investigation

iBerkshires.com StaffPrint Story | Email Story
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- State Police detectives continue to investigate a Sunday morning shooting on Cole Avenue, and the Williamstown Police plans a community meeting to discuss procedures when the investigation ends.
 
On Tuesday morning, WPD Chief Michael Ziemba sent a news release to update the community that while police believe there is no threat to the general public, the probe continues into a shooting at 330 Cole Ave. that sent one individual to the hospital.
 
Ziemba's news release did not indicate that any arrests have been made in the case.
 
He did provide a little more detail about the aftermath of the shooting.
 
A 10:15 a.m. call to the Williamstown Police dispatcher reported that someone had been shot at the housing complex and that, "he was en route to the hospital via personal vehicle," the release reads.
 
Later, the gunshot victim was brought from a separate location to Berkshire Medical Center by ambulance, Ziemba wrote.
 
Ziemba said he brought in the State Police Detective unit to assist the local police. Investigators determined there was no threat to the general public from the shooter and relayed that message via the town's Code Red reverse 911 system and social media.
 
"We recognize that many of you may feel unsettled," Ziemba wrote. "We also recognize that there are many remaining questions and a desire for more information in order to feel safe."
 
Ziemba said that the WPD and Berkshire District Attorney's Office will held a community meeting in partnership with the housing managers of 330 Cole Ave. after the case is concluded.
 
"This will be an opportunity to discuss how emergency situations are handled by law enforcement, how law enforcement communicates potential threats to the public and how we can all be more aware of how to report suspected crimes," Ziemba wrote.
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Letter: Williamstown Should Adopt Ban on Sewage Sludge Land Application

Letter to the Editor

To the editor:

This year, Williamstown Town Meeting will be considering whether to adopt a new bylaw that would prohibit the land application of sewage sludge or sewage sludge-derived products (biosolids). The ban would apply to land application of sludge and biosolids to farmland as a soil amendment or to home gardens where store bought compost may contain biosolids. The intent of this bylaw is to protect farmland, water sources, food crops and ultimately animals and people from PFAS contaminants.

PFAS are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a group of "forever chemicals," and are linked to health issues like cancer, liver damage and immune system dysfunction. They enter wastewater systems through residential, commercial and industrial sources. Conventional treatment processes are largely ineffective at removing them. As a result, PFAS pass through treatment systems into surface waters or accumulate in sewage sludge/biosolids.

Most states and the federal law have been slow to regulate this activity. The EPA's January 2025 Draft Sewage Sludge Risk Assessment identified human health risks associated with land-applied biosolids containing as little as 1 part per billion of PFAS and yet federal law does not yet impose limits on PFAS in biosolids.

A growing number of states are adopting a range of regulatory and monitoring strategies. Maine is the only state so far to impose an outright ban on land application of biosolids from wastewater treatment plants, while Connecticut has banned the sale of biosolids containing PFAS for land application. In New York State, at least two communities, Thurston and Cameron, have banned the land application of biosolids.

At this time, we don't know of any farms in Williamstown that currently use biosolids. But we also don't know the future of the farms in our community. Biosolids can also be found in some commercially bagged compost. While this bylaw would not ban the sale of these products, we hope it will raise awareness and encourage our residents and local vendors to find biosolid-free products for use.

Let's keep our lands safe for our children and future generations. Williamstown's Select Board, Agricultural Commission, and the Board of Health recommend adoption of this article. We hope you will support this article on May 19, 7 p.m. at the town meeting at Williamstown Elementary School.

Stephanie Boyd
Sharon Wyrrick

Williamstown, Mass. 

 

 

 

 

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