Group to Discuss Impact of Rodenticides on Wildlife

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Rescue Northern Berkshires Wildlife will hold a hybrid meeting on Wednesday, April 23, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Milne Public Library, located at 1095 Main St, Williamstown, MA 01267.
 
Individuals can also register to join the meeting via Zoom.
 
The event will focus on the impact of rodenticides on wildlife populations in Massachusetts. According to organizers, raptors, coyotes, and other predators that play a role in local ecosystems have been harmed or killed after consuming poisoned rodents.
 
The meeting will include information about Mass Audubon’s Rescue Raptors program, which supports community efforts to reduce the use of rodent poisons. Wildlife advocates in the Northern Berkshires have formed a local campaign team under this program.
 
Attendees will learn about the ways in which rodent poisons can harm wildlife and the local campaign's plans to reduce their use in the Northern Berkshires. Wildlife advocates from the surrounding area are invited to attend.
 
Registration for the Zoom meeting is available at https://bit.ly/RescueNorthernBerkshiresWildlife.
 
 
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

School Budget, Environment, Recreation Highlight Williamstown Town Meeting

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — This month's annual town meeting returns to a familiar venue.
 
What goes on in that building the rest of the year could be a major topic of discussion at the Tuesday, May 19, gathering.
 
After two years (2020 and '21) on Williams College's football field and four years ('22 through '25) at Mount Greylock Regional School, the town's legislative body will be back at Williamstown Elementary School for a 7 p.m. meeting to decide on municipal spending and other town business.
 
The largest segment of the municipal budget goes to the public schools, and the spending plan for PreK-12 education likely will see a floor amendment intended to add an additional $120,000 to fund a math interventionist at Williamstown Elementary School.
 
The elected seven-member School Committee that governs the Mount Greylock Regional School District has proposed a $30.9 million operating budget for the fiscal year that begins on July 1. The local share of that budget is meted out in assessments to the member towns of Lanesborough and Williamstown, which each vote whether to approve its assessment at town meeting.
 
Williamstown's share of the operating and capital expenditures for the regional school district is $16.8 million under the budget approved by the School Committee, an increase of a little more than $2 million, or 13.65 percent, from the budget for the current fiscal/school year.
 
A group of WES parents concerned about the mathematics instruction at the Grade prekindergarten-6 school plans to bring an amendment to town meeting to add the additional $120,000 — about 0.7 percent of the proposed assessment — to fund the interventionist position.
 
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