CET advises that homeowners compost fallen leaves

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Every autumn, raked and bagged leaves take up about 75 percent of our trash. Since 1991, leaves and yard waste have been banned from landfills and incinerators in Massachusetts. Pittsfield residents have two alternatives. They can bring bags of leaves to Energy Answers Corporation on Hubbard Avenue. There’s no charge for dropping them off and the leaves will be composted. Or, they can take advantage of nature’s bounty by composting the leaves and other yard waste. Composting is better for the environment and can save money on disposal costs. “Composting is a process where organic material decomposes - and the decomposed matter is a natural fertilizer for the plants and trees in your garden and yard,” said Jamie Cahillane, Waste Management Specialist at Center for Ecological Technology (CET). “Compost piles don’t have to be fancy; bins can be home-made or purchased at low cost.” Compost enriches soil and helps grow healthy plants. Healthy plants are better able to withstand drought or infestations. Using compost to build soils doesn’t harm water quality and reduces reliance on petroleum-based fertilizers. Compost also reduces the quantity of garbage requiring disposal. Tips for composting leaves and yard waste: * Remove litter * Run the lawnmower over leaves to reduce their size. This will speed up the composting process. * Chop up stalks, vines, large twigs, straw or hay * Add vegetable waste to speed up the composting process.
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North Adams Regional Reopens With Ribbon-Cutting Celebration

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

BHS President and CEO Darlene Rodowicz welcomes the gathering to the celebration of the hospital's reopening 10 years to the day it closed. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The joyful celebration on Thursday at North Adams Regional Hospital was a far cry from the scene 10 years ago when protests and tears marked the facility's closing
 
Hospital officials, local leaders, medical staff, residents and elected officials gathered under a tent on the campus to mark the efforts over the past decade to restore NARH and cut the ribbon officially reopening the 136-year-old medical center. 
 
"This hospital under previous ownership closed its doors. It was a day that was full of tears, anger and fear in the Northern Berkshire community about where and how residents would be able to receive what should be a fundamental right for everyone — access to health care," said Darlene Rodowicz, president and CEO of Berkshire Health Systems. 
 
"Today the historic opportunity to enhance the health and wellness of Northern Berkshire community is here. And we've been waiting for this moment for 10 years. It is the key to keeping in line with our strategic plan which is to increase access and support coordinated county wide system of care." 
 
Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, under the BHS umbrella, purchased the campus and affiliated systems when Northern Berkshire Healthcare declared bankruptcy and closed on March 28, 2014. NBH had been beset by falling admissions, reductions in Medicare and Medicaid payments, and investments that had gone sour leaving it more than $30 million in debt. 
 
BMC was able to reopen the ER as an emergency satellite facility and slowly restored and enhanced medical services including outpatient surgery, imaging, dialysis, pharmacy and physician services. 
 
But it would take a slight tweak in the U.S. Health and Human Services' regulations — thank to U.S. Rep. Richie Neal — to bring back inpatient beds and resurrect North Adams Regional Hospital 
 
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