North Adams Mayor Tom Bernard ’92 announced Feb. 23 that he would not seek reelection this year to a third term in office. Bernard, who grew up in North Adams before attending the College, was elected in 2017 and reelected in 2019, both times with commanding majorities.

At the meeting on Feb. 22, the Williamstown Select Board planned for the hiring of an interim town manager and an interim chief of the Williamstown Police Department.

After a decade of community organizing, Williamstown may soon be getting new street lights. On Feb. 8, the Williamstown Select Board unanimously approved an intra-municipal agreement to transfer jurisdiction of Williamstown’s street lights from the fire department to the Town Hall, making the Town fiscally responsible for the lights. The decision is the first step in the Town making the switch from high-pressure sodium (HPS) streetlights to more environmentally friendly LED ones.

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker loosened COVID-19 guidelines on Feb. 8, allowing certain businesses — such as restaurants, movie theaters, and retail spaces, among others — to increase their...

Williamstown Town Manager Jason Hoch ’95 announced Friday that he will resign from his position. He will stay on the job for up to 60 days and oversee the transition through May while the Select Board hires an interim town manager. Hoch, an alum of the College who has served as town manager since 2015, came under scrutiny after Williamstown Police Department (WPD) Sergeant Scott McGowan alleged in a August 2020 federal lawsuit that Hoch did not adequately investigate allegations of racism and sexual assault within the WPD.

Town Manager Jason Hoch ’95 said at the Feb. 8 Select Board that he would slow down the search for an interim police chief after several Town residents criticized him for fielding candidates without first assembling an advisory committee.

An investigation into a Jan. 21 Zoom-bombing attack that targeted a Black child of College employees has concluded that the primary perpetrator was a student of color, Mount Greylock Regional School District Superintendent Jake McCandless said at a school committee meeting on Thursday. 

The Stockbridge-Munsee Historic Preservation Office, which relocated to Williamstown from Troy, N.Y., in October, has begun work on the preservation and protection of Stockbridge-Munsee history.

The child of College employees was the target of a racist, anti-Black Zoom-bombing attack during a Mount Greylock Regional High School (MGRHS) class on Jan. 21. A student from another school district subsequently took responsibility for the attack following an investigation by MGRHS.

Also at Monday’s meeting, Select Board member Jeffrey Thomas announced that he would be stepping down, and the board discussed next steps in the Town’s investigation into Williamstown Police Department (WPD) misconduct and the search process for a new police chief. Here are the main takeaways from the meeting. 

On Dec. 15, Williamstown Police Department (WPD) Sergeant Scott McGowan withdrew a lawsuit he filed this August against the Town of Williamstown, Town Manager Jason Hoch ’95 and former WPD Chief Kyle Johnson. The withdrawal of the lawsuit came immediately following Johnson’s resignation as police chief on Dec. 14.

Town Manager Jason Hoch ’95 announced that WPD Lieutenant Mike Ziemba would take responsibilities for Johnson as interim chief.