{"id":225933,"date":"2025-10-15T06:56:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T06:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/225933\/"},"modified":"2025-10-15T06:56:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T06:56:12","slug":"the-hilltowns-are-finally-online-but-the-leap-into-the-digital-age-comes-with-mixed-blessings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/225933\/","title":{"rendered":"The Hilltowns are finally online, but the leap into the digital age comes with mixed blessings"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

Almost 26 years into the new millennium, as most of the country gears up for an AI revolution, one in six Americans still lack access to high speed internet \u2014 a resource that could today be considered as vital and essential as water or roads.<\/p>\n

Most of these internet deserts are in rural areas, and with less than 5 years of experience with broadband, how have the hilltowns seen the resource changing their lives? <\/p>\n

It is a double-edged sword and a mixed blessing, say some. There is almost no aspect of life the change hasn\u2019t touched, from education to health care, and from real estate sales to the way that business is done.<\/p>\n

Among positive impacts, broadband has meant the capability remote learning and jobs, and telehealth care thanks to more than a decade of investment by the state and local communities.<\/p>\n

But of course the miracle of the internet also carries with it unintended consequences, which includes less in person interaction and the potential of becoming addicted to screen time. <\/p>\n

Developing Infrastructure<\/p>\n

In just the past few years or more, the towns of Ashfield, Goshen, Plainfield, Windsor, Cummington, and Chesterfield have all been equipped with broadband that reaches more than 90% of residents in each of the communities. The positives have been almost as infinite as the internet itself for the towns that average 1,000 residents.<\/p>\n

Dave Christopolis, executive Director of the Hilltown CDC, said that currently his job involves more emailing and Zooming than in his entire 15 years of holding the position which centers around developing affordable housing, connecting businesses to resources and broadening rural access to education and health services.<\/p>\n

\u201cEmail has has just gotten more and more exponential in the past 20 years. It\u2019s just like all day everyday email, it\u2019s just constant. Hardly anyone phone calls these days,\u201d he said. \u201cZooming has kind of replaced driving so it is just like emailing and zooming endlessly.\u201d<\/p>\n

For him the positive is is that he is able to do \u201ctwice as much work emailing and zooming as opposed to writing and driving.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is a stark contract to the pandemic days when the entire CDC office was thrust into remote work \u2014 an impossible task without access to high speed internet.<\/p>\n

Back at the time, nothing could get done. <\/p>\n

Christopolis still remembers the exact date of when the CDC had to close its doors thanks to the COVID-19 becoming part of our daily lives: March 19, 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost people\u2019s connections in their homes weren\u2019t strong enough to be able to support a remote desktop connection,\u201d he said. \u201cI sat home for like two hours one day with a tech guy on my phone \u2026 I\u2019m like look I need to run a $4 million non-profit from home for who knows how long, and I need access to my files.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just wouldn\u2019t work\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Dave Christopolis, the executive director of Hilltown CDC, talks about the impact of receiving Broadband internet connection for the rural Hilltowns. Staff Photo\/Carol Lollis<\/p>\n

Christopolis also said that the hilltowns were at a disadvantage compared to other communities without having internet access other than the slow, expensive, \u201cclick click click\u201d of dial-up from Verizon.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt allows us to do more computing, and larger volumes. Files aren\u2019t a problem \u2014 music, videos, architectural drawings,\u201d he said. \u201cWhereas before you had to compress them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Residents like Alex Simisky have had the same experience.<\/p>\n

Simisky reminisced that when he moved to town Verizon was the main option. He also tried using a wireless hotspot but both had the same result: \u201cIt was very slow at that point.\u201d<\/p>\n

But implementing broadband has, \u201cenabled people to do remote work and have access to things that they otherwise wouldn\u2019t,\u201d he said. \u201cI was actually doing some work just now, uploading videos and doing all kinds of stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Alex Simisky, a resident of Chesterfield talks about how receiving Broadband internet connection has impacted his life in the Hilltowns. Staff Photo\/Carol Lollis<\/p>\n

Several hilltown residents remembered times when parents would park outside of town halls or post offices, often under lamp posts due to the dark, just to get a wifi connection for their kids trying to do homework.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I think you know, if you\u2019re a teenager, you\u2019re not able to talk to your friends, you know you\u2019re probably pissed and don\u2019t want to live here, but that\u2019s not the case anymore,\u201d said Christopolis.<\/p>\n

We were on an old country road and now we\u2019re a fast highway<\/p>\n

Brenda Lessard<\/p>\n

And social media is slowly replacing newspapers as a preferred form of media.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that we have broadband, people use their phones more than anything in our hilltowns \u2014 that\u2019s how they get their information,\u201d said Christopolis.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need it for democracy \u2014 there are so many reasons that the internet is important,\u201d said Christopolis.<\/p>\n

According to Chesterfield Town Administrator Brenda Lessard, before the implementation of high speed internet there weren\u2019t too many houses being sold in town. But that has changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s become a more desirable place to buy a home because of broadband. It\u2019s opened up a whole new world for people to buy,\u201d she said. \u201cWe were on an old country road and now we\u2019re a fast highway.\u201d<\/p>\n

During covid when many medical and banking transactions were being done over the phone, she said it was difficult for people before the town\u2019s fiber optic internet was installed.<\/p>\n

But times have changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrior to broadband our electronic medical record, EMR, was very prone to outages,\u201d said Michael Purdy, the CEO of the Hilltown Community Health Center (HCHC) in Worthington. \u201cThis was very disruptive to patient care, as everything from scheduling patients, phone messages, specialist correspondence, and treatment plans needed to be documented in our EMR.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith broadband those outages seem like a distance memory.\u00a0 Fortunately, we did have broadband by the time the pandemic hit, and we were able to implement tele-health visits,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In 2025, over 90% of the health center\u2019s behavioral health visits occur online via telehealth technology. An immense progression given the fact that the HCHC was founded in 1950 by Florence Bates, a nurse who would go around on horseback.<\/p>\n

And the changes have also enhanced leisure time.<\/p>\n

Resident Dee Cinner hasn\u2019t been to a movie theater in years, partially thanks to the fact that she was able to get streaming services, like Hulu, to watch her favorite flicks. For her, that means Christian Bale movies.<\/p>\n

She noticed the life changing positives within six to seven months after Broadband was implemented, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy overall stress in my life had gone down 35%\u201d over the course of that time, she said. \u201cIt was fabulous, not messing around with connections, using your data.\u201d<\/p>\n

Volunteer involvement<\/p>\n

All the towns who with the state have upgraded to broadband have huts that are the \u201cbrains\u201d of the hilltowns, explained Justin West who leads Chesterfield\u2019s Municipal Light Board. <\/p>\n

In Chesterfield, the hut is a reinforced concrete shed behind the post office. Here, data is sent out at the speed of light.<\/p>\n

\u201cLight is the fastest thing we know, so if you piggyback data off of light you can send as much as you want,\u201d West said. \u201cIt\u2019s limited only by equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Town light boards support the functioning of the broadband connection in addition to resources from Whip City Fiber and Westfield Gas and Electric which provide the internet connection in these towns.<\/p>\n

When\u2019s the last time Verizon called you up and said, \u2018Hey, we\u2019re reducing your rate by $10\u2019<\/p>\n

Justin West<\/p>\n

Not only has internet been a modern convenience, the upgrade has also been convenient for the taxpayers pocketbooks. No taxpayer dollars have had to go into the Chesterfield system that cost more than $2 million.<\/p>\n

Part of the costs were covered by several funding sources from the state.<\/p>\n

When the infrastructure was being implemented in 2015, the town authorized $1.51 million to be borrowed to cover its end of the deal with the state.<\/p>\n

By the end of the project, only $750,000 in town funds were needed and that has nearly been paid off by the revenue brought in by the 540 Chesterfield broadband subscribers.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not like people are paying a fortune.<\/p>\n

Initially rates were posted at $85 a month. Last year they were lowered to $75.<\/p>\n

One big reason for this is because West and Jack Henry, who is the financial manager of the Chesterfield Broadband network, don\u2019t receive salaries for their work, but instead earn $6,000 annual stipends.<\/p>\n

And the service is also better than what companies are able to offer.<\/p>\n

Since each house is fed its own, personal line rather than sharing lines like Verizon and other companies do, internet doesn\u2019t slow down, they said. Then there is also the fact that in Chesterfield there is no waiting on hold for help with internet troubles.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s 24\/7\u201d said West. \u201cA subscriber can call you up at any time \u2014 say an elderly person saying \u2018my broadband is not working\u2019 We jump in the car and and go there and fix it for them.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Justin West the general manager for Broadband Chesterfield, explains the fiber optics network supplying broadband internet to the residents of Chesterfield. Staff Photo\/Carol Lollis<\/p>\n

West has a livestream of everything occurring in around the hut, and also tracks its internal temperature because the system is prone to overheating. So much so, that the space is often air conditioned in the winter time, he said.<\/p>\n

And neither West or Henry were born into their positions. West started out as a painter and became a professor at Holyoke Community specializing in digital media. Henry spent his career running the human resources department for Big Y supermarkets.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bottom line is that you\u2019ve got a small town in rural Massachusetts who with volunteers and a good community have assembled a utility on the scale of electricity and telephone for their town that they own and control at a reasonable cost,\u201d West said. \u201cAnd when\u2019s the last time Verizon called you up and said, \u2018Hey, we\u2019re reducing your rate by $10.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Jack Henry, the financial manager for Broadband Chesterfield, explains the fiber optics network supplying broadband internet to the residents of Chesterfield. Staff Photo\/Carol Lollis<\/p>\n

Cons<\/p>\n

Goshen resident Bob Raymond said internet access \u201cdrew us into the 21st century\u201d \u2014 with the mixed bag of good and bad that comes with it.<\/p>\n

Calling broadband access a \u201cdouble-edged sword,\u201d he said that the internet has a way of \u201cshedding light on the darkness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite Christopolis\u2019 enthusiasm for what broadband has done for the community, he is also aware of the negative affects it has had on him personally.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m the first person who would not want to be on their too long, but I find myself going on there because it\u2019s so seductive. It\u2019s easy and convenient. It\u2019s easier than holding a newspaper \u2014 it\u2019s so easy to read that stupid thing,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s probably a lot of that going on with kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christopolis continued, \u201cI\u2019m not sure. I don\u2019t have evidence, but its happening to me. I\u2019m trying to curb my own behavior because it\u2019s driving me crazy. And the thing is, you can\u2019t work without one.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s not the only one who can\u2019t unglue himself come the end of the work day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI spend so much time on computers,\u201d said Lessard, Chesterfield\u2019s town administrator. \u201cSo I go home and I find myself picking up my phone and I play games or I\u2019m online, or checking Facebook.\u201d<\/p>\n

She is in the group of people believing that broadband has been both a \u201cblessing and a curse.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a blessing and a curse all at once because I do think that we rely too heavily on the internet. People go there to get their news \u2014 it\u2019s like nothing can happen for five minutes and people have to know,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat happened to the days when we used to have to wait until the newspaper was published and read about it in the paper?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Brenda Lessard, the Chesterfield Town Administrator, talks about how receiving Broadband internet connection has impacted rural life in the Hilltowns. Staff Photo\/Carol Lollis<\/p>\n

Another new thing is that scams have increased. She also feels lukewarm about having all her files digitalized despite the convenience.<\/p>\n

Lessard, who is also town clerk in Williamsburg, said all of her files are now digital with the exception of marriage certificates. This makes it easier for residents to pay their bills to the town or conduct business though at the cost of less social interaction in the town\u2019s public square.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll our documents are backed up digitally which is a good thing for our files. I love the broadband here,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

However, \u201cAll these interactions used to be done on paper, like paying bills \u2026 So I think it\u2019s taken away from a lot of the face to face interactions that you used to have,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She said the number of people doing business online is, \u201ca stark contrast to what it was just a few years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat to Read Next<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Almost 26 years into the new millennium, as most of the country gears up for an AI revolution,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":225934,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[126663,126664,126665,100168,174,829,74,126666,126667],"class_list":{"0":"post-225933","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-internet","8":"tag-chesterfield-ma","9":"tag-goshen-ma","10":"tag-hilltowns","11":"tag-homecenterpiece1","12":"tag-internet","13":"tag-latest-news","14":"tag-technology","15":"tag-williamsburg-ma","16":"tag-worthington-ma"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225933"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225933\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/225934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}