Pepperell Board of Health Appoints New Inspector, Names Mosquito Control Commissioner

PEPPERELL -- May 20, 2026, Pepperell Board of Health approves new inspector, mosquito control commissioner, and unveils community health priorities. The board voted unanimously at its May 20 meeting to appoint Rachel Parsone, who joined the department May 18, as an official board agent, and to nominate Public Health Director Melanie Janine as the town's commissioner to the East Middlesex Mosquito Control District, a seat vacated when the prior commissioner, a retired entomologist, moved to a neighboring community. Janine presented the completed Community Health Improvement Plan, drawn from a 528-resident needs assessment, identifying four priority areas: mental health (over 50 percent of respondents reported concerns including depression and social isolation), substance use (63 percent reported weekly alcohol consumption), chronic disease, and transportation safety. The board also received the April disease report, which included 10 Lyme disease cases and the town's first confirmed local case of alpha-gal syndrome, a red-meat allergy triggered by the Lone Star tick that became a reportable condition in Massachusetts in April 2026.