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Saturday’s race in memory of Trisha Leblanc Carlson was organized by her daughter Olivia.
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Jacob Leblanc wins the inaugural Train for Trish 5K.
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Lenox's Emily Tibbetts is the top woman in Saturday's 5K.

Race Honors Memory of Drury Grad’s Mother

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
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Drury High graduate Olivia Carlson talks to runners before Saturday's race.

STAMFORD, Vt. — Among Olivia Carlson’s many memories of her mother are the times the family would participate in 5-kilometer charity road races.

"Especially in the summers, we did 5Ks almost every weekend. I remember we would decide maybe Saturday morning, 'Oh, there's a 5K at 10,' and we’d run in, join the scramble, register day of and just hop in," Carlson said on Saturday morning outside Stamford Elementary School, site of the inaugural Train for Trish 5K Charity Run/Walk.

Reminded how much organizers of such events love a last-minute crush of entrants, Carlson laughed.
 
"Oh, I know," she said. "I hate those people now, too."
 
Not really. Much closer to say that she loved and appreciated every one of the more than 300 runners and walkers who turned out to honor the memory of Trisha Leblanc Carlson and raise money for the American Cancer Society.
 
Olivia, who lost her mother to cancer last fall just before the start of basketball season, was a three-sport athlete at Drury High School. One of those sports was track and field, but she never took the weekend 5Ks all that seriously.
 
"I have countless T-shirts from charity runs and things like that," she said. "I save all my numbers. I probably have 70 race numbers. I think it’s really important. I never won a 5K, but I instills great confidence. And it’s just about getting out there."
 
For the record, Saturday’s race was won by Olivia’s cousin Jacob Leblanc, who covered the course in 17 minutes, 32 seconds, a 5:39 mile pace. The top woman in the field was 2016 Lenox High graduate and rising Williams College freshman Emily Tibbetts, who finished in 22:05.
 
A run for Trish was a natural memorial. In 2012, Olivia’s parents organized The Loop Stamford Family Day 5K Race.
 
"I think they had about 65 participants," Carlson said. "So I took that idea, and I wanted to do something bigger."
 
The energetic teen also was looking for something to use up what little free time she has between working as a certified nursing assistant, getting ready for her freshman year at Williams College and helping to coach at a Williams’ women's basketball youth camp, where she remembers honing her skills as a camper years ago.
 
"I first started putting this together in the middle of May," Carlson said. "It was prom season, graduation season was happening, my classes were slowing down. And I was like, 'What am I going to do this summer?’ I’m the type of person who can’t stand to be bored. I can’t stand to sit still.
 
"I wanted to do something that would not only honor my mother’s memory but also raise money for this important cause."
 
Before the runners and walkers hit the street on Saturday, Olivia Carlson reminded them what that cause was all about.
 
"Today, however, we are breaking free from the sidelines," she told the group. "Today, we take control to find a cure. Today we remember my mother and all of our loved ones. Today, we train for Trish."
 
In the four months since she decided to pull a race together for the third Saturday in August, Olivia Carlson has again been impressed by the outpouring of support in the Northern Berkshires.
 
"A lot of our fund-raising was made really easy by our supportive community," she said. "I didn’t have to really go solicit sponsorships or donations. A lot of people just came to me.
 
"It was the power of social media. I have a really great community and network around me. It kind of advertised itself."
 

Tags: benefit,   benefit run,   cancer,   Drury High,   Williams College,   

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Clarksburg Gets 3 Years of Free Cash Certified

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Town officials have heaved a sigh of relief with the state's certification of free cash for the first time in more than three years.
 
The town's parade of employees through its financial offices the past few years put it behind on closing out its fiscal years between 2021 and 2023. A new treasurer and two part-time accountants have been working the past year in closing the books and filing with the state.
 
The result is the town will have $571,000 in free cash on hand as it begins budget deliberations. However, town meeting last year voted that any free cash be used to replenish the stabilization account
 
Some $231,000 in stabilization was used last year to reduce the tax rate — draining the account. The town's had minimal reserves for the past nine months.
 
Chairman Robert Norcross said he didn't want residents to think the town was suddenly flush with cash. 
 
"We have to keep in mind that we have no money in the stabilization fund and we now have a free cash, so we have now got to replenish that account," he said. "So it's not like we have this money to spend ... most of it will go into the stabilization fund." 
 
The account's been hit several times over the past few fiscal years in place of free cash, which has normally been used for capital spending, to offset the budget and to refill stabilization. Free cash was last used in fiscal 2020.
 
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