CET to offer 2 solar energy workshops

12:00AM / Thursday, October 27, 2005Print Story | Email Story

Solar energy for your home or business is the subject of two workshops presented by the Center for Ecological Technology (CETsm) to highlight small-scale solar energy technologies and exciting new funding opportunities. Anyone who is curious about whatâ€™s involved in using solar energy at home or work is encouraged to attend the informational workshop, which will be presented in Lee and again in Williamstown. The first workshop is scheduled for Thursday, November 3 from 7 pm to 9 pm at the Lee Council on Aging, 45 Railroad Street. On Wednesday, November 9, the second workshop will be held at the Milne Public Library in Williamstown from 7 pm to 9 pm. Chris Vreeland, a registered professional engineer, will be the featured speaker. Both workshops are free and open to the public. Pre-registration is encouraged. CETâ€™s solar energy workshop will help participants learn if a sun-powered renewable energy system is a good fit. Those who attend will learn the basics of using energy from the sun to create electricity or heat water. They will also learn how solar panels work, the components of a solar electric system, how to determine whether they have a good site and how to gain additional benefits through energy efficient improvements. Also covered will be average prices for solar electric and solar hot water systems, and how to find local contractors who install systems. Both workshops will highlight systems that have recently been installed in the Berkshires. The workshop will also discuss financial incentives available from the state and federal government. Mr. Vreeland will give an overview of those incentives and will summarize a new program offered by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative to help homeowners and small businesses pay for renewable energy systems. He will also describe the new federal tax credits that will be available in 2006 and 2007. Please pre-register if you are interested in coming to either of the workshops. To find out more or to pre-register, contact Amy Johns, at 413-445-4556 ext. 14 or email her at: amyj@cetonline.org. CET is a non-profit energy and resource conservation organization that has served western Massachusetts since 1976. CET receives funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. These workshops are made possible through grant funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.

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North Adams Officials to Revote School Committee Members

Staff reports06:31PM / Friday, October 09, 2026

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — City and school officials will meet a second time to vote in two new members of the School Committee.

The joint convention of the City Council and School Committee will be held on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the City Hall conference room and via Zoom.

Damon Grimes and Paul Moriarty were jointly elected on Monday to fill two seats vacated by resignation. They were two of four candidates standing for election.

Mayor Jennifer Macksey, chair of the School Committee, said she had received in inquiry about the votes, which were done by secret ballot.

"I have been advised that voting by ballot was not permissible in this circumstance," she said, after consulting the School Committee's attorney Adam Dupere and city solicitor KP Law.

To ensure the validity of the votes and conduct of the election, the joint convention will reconvene and formally confirm the selection of Grimes and Moriarty.

"I apologize for the inconvenience of having to reconvene," the mayor said in a statement. "My intention in using a ballot was to address concerns raised following our previous convention, when some members expressed discomfort with publicly voting for or against individual candidates.

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