By Brian Lee
Telegram & Gazette Staff
After cursing at a Southbridge resident during a heated meeting about the municipal landfill, Board of Health member Dean Cook has resigned from the five-member panel, Town Manager Ronald San Angelo said Thursday.
Mr. Cook, a 55-year-old computer programmer with a degree in chemistry, who once worked at Clean Harbors and ran for governor as a Libertarian candidate twice during the 1990s, resigned in an email to Mr. San Angelo's assistant. A signed and dated letter of resignation is still required, Mr. San Angelo said.
During an April 14 health board meeting, resident Erin Cummings-Lapriore, accompanied by her children, ages 2 and 5, accused officials from landfill operator Casella Waste Systems of affecting the health of area residents by contaminating groundwater and polluting private wells.
