Campaign Urges Citizens to Take Charge of Energy Use

By Justin SaldoiBerkshires Intern
10:06PM / Thursday, August 14, 2008Print Story | Email Story

NORTH ADAMS — With rising energy costs and winter on the horizon, a local initiative is offering residents the information necessary to make minimal-cost actions that will make their homes more efficient, comfortable and affordable to live in.

The North Adams Public Library hosted the launch of the Take Charge task force. Take Charge is a movement in North Adams and, hopefully, in the Northern Berkshires to conserve energy and money.

Mayor John Barrett III, Kathy Keeser of Northern Berkshire Community Coalition and Marie Harpin of Berkshire Community Action North came out to support the campaign to save energy with coordinator of the Take Charge task force, Morgan Goodwin.

"I am not an integral part of making this happen," said Barrett "We need the support of community to make this work."

Photos by Justin Saldo

Morgan Goodwin, left, at the launch of the Take Charge program at North Adams Public Library on Thursday.

According to the Massachusetts Department of Energy, within the last three years the price of heating oil has increased from $2.10 to $4.30 and the cost of natural gas increased from $2.49 to $3.92

"There are going to be a lot of bad stories this winter and if we want to prevent them in this community we need to be proactive in this cause and educate future generations as well," continued Barrett. "Because of this, we are a proud partner in this [program]."

Goodwin, an intern at NBCC, supported the mayor's statements with some of his own.

"The time is past when we can wait for experts and technology to solve this problem," said the Williams College graduate. "We need to take the steps we can as a community and as individuals."

Though the city has not pledged any financial support to the program, members of Take Charge were pleased at that the City Council approved a resolution supporting the program on Tuesday night.

"The mayor and the City Council's resolution is an excellent form of support in this campaign because of their influence in the community," said Goodwin in an interview.

Mayor John Barrett III checks out energy-efficient lightbulbs; below, a meter shows how they stack up against regular bulbs in energy use.

"I like to start from the big picture and work backwards," he said. "Energy consumption is a global problem, but the best way to facilitate change is on a individual level and it doesn't need to be a drastic change either; if we all just change our consumption habits in small ways we can make a big impact worldwide."

Senior resident Edith Taskin has been using energy-efficient light bulbs for two years and planned to take charge by having her windows inspected and lowering her thermostat and putting on a sweater. Taskin also encourages people to use public transportation.

Another resident of North Adams, 64-year-old Judy Lepel, pledged to turn the power off when she leaves rooms and encourage family members to take charge as well.

Librarians Marcia Gross and Marion Grillon are also taking charge with energy-efficient lighting in the library in complement to the building's photovoltaic array and geothermal heating systems. On a personal level, Gross has changed the appliances in her house to more energy-efficient models.

Take Charge has a permanent display at the library and is promoting the campaign in the Hoosac Bank lobby. Future plans include another booth during the Mayor's Downtown Celebration, educational workshops in the fall and collaboration with the Williamstown COOL Committee.

"The coalition is looking for ideas, suggestions and volunteers for the program from members and the community," said Goodwin.

The Take Charge task force consists of 15 members and attained about 100 pledges on its launch with the intention of having 1,000 by November. It signed up 60 at National Night Out last week. Those who sign up receive an energy-efficient lightbulb or a clothesline.

For more information, contact Goodwin at morgan.goodwin@gmail.com or call Al Bashevkin at 413-663-7588.

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Q&A with State Representative Challenger Andrew Fitch

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
10:01AM / Sunday, August 23, 2026

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — On Sept. 1, voters in the First Berkshire District will decide whether they want to send a new representative to Beacon Hill in Boston.

Andrew Fitch, currently a city councilor in the district's largest municipality — and the commonwealth's smallest city — is challenging former North Adams Mayor John Barrett III, who won the First Berkshire seat in a 2017 special election, in the Democratic Party primary.

There is no Republican on the primary ballot for the First Berkshire seat so the primary will effectively be the election for the seat.

The two candidates met for their only debate on Aug. 13 at Williams College. iBerkshires.com reached out to both candidates to follow up on some of the points raised in the debate and get their thoughts on some other issues facing the district.

Below are excerpts from a conversation with challenger Andrew Fitch:

Question: From the very beginning, you talked about the campaign as a listening experience, and this week you're continuing that with the bike tour …

Andrew Fitch: Knocking on doors that have never been knocked on before. … I was riding through, I believe it was Hinsdale coming into Windsor, and they started to yell at me, 'No!' And then the guy was like, 'Wait a second. That's Andrew Fitch.' They actually knew who I was, and they were actually wanting to chat with me.

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