2012 Edith Wharton Writing Competition Winners Named

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LENOX, Mass. — The Mount, Edith Wharton's home, congratulates the winners of the 14th annual Edith Wharton Writing Competition.

The Mount and The Berkshire Eagle established the writing competition in 1998, in honor of Wharton's legacy, and in support and recognition of emerging young writers in her beloved Berkshire region. This year's writing competition is sponsored by The Eagle and Berkshire Life, A Guardian Company.

The 2012 competition invited students from Grades 9-12 from Berkshire County and the surrounding area to submit entries in one or both categories: fiction and poetry. This year's judges were Williams College's Karen Shepard and Bard College at Simon's Rock's Peter Filkins. A record-breaking 150 entries were received.

Grades 11-12

First Prize, $250 Awards
  • Ned Kleiner, Mount Greylock Regional High School (Fiction)
  • Lisa Mueller, Rockville High School, Vernon, Conn. (Poetry)

Second Prize, $150 Awards
  • Peter Boyce, Monument Mountain Regional High School (Fiction)
  • Elizabeth Prescott, Lenox Memorial Middle and High School (Poetry)

Honorable Mention Gift Awards

  • Lily Sexton, Monument Mountain Regional High School (Fiction)
  • Delaney Hand, Hotchkiss School (Poetry)

Grades 9-10

First Prize, $200 Awards
  • Teddy Nappo, Lenox Memorial Middle and High School (Fiction)
  • Espy Thomson, Amherst Regional High School (Poetry)

Second Prize, $100 Awards

  • Talya Phelps, Hawthorne Valley School, Ghent, N.Y. (Fiction)
  • James Hill, Greenfield High School (Poetry)

Honorable Mention Gift Awards

  • Lauren Hope Shamburger, Berkshire Arts and Technology Charter School (Fiction)
  • Zavi Sheldon, Mount Greylock Regional High School (Fiction)
  • Jae-Min Yoo, Hawthorne Valley School (Poetry)
The awards will be presented at The Mount on Saturday, April 28, from 3 to 5. The program will open with remarks by The Berkshire Eagle's Kate Abbott, editor of Berkshires Week. Award winners will be presented with prizes totaling $1,500 and will be invited to read their winning works aloud. Following the ceremony there will be a reception with light refreshments.

This event is free and open to the public. For more information and to RSVP, contact Elizabeth Stone at 413-551-5104.
Tags: contest,   writing,   

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Dalton Town Hall Lift Solutions in Development

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — Solutions are being sought for the lift in Town Hall that has been out of service since December because of safety concerns. 
 
Building Grounds Superintendent Jeff Burch told the Americans with Disabilities Act Committee meeting on Tuesday night that Hill Engineering has been contracted to come up with a potential option.
 
The lift is in the police station and the only other lift for the town hall is in the library, which is not accessible after library hours. 
 
Previous attempts by Garaventa Lift to repair it have been unsuccessful. 
 
Replacing it in the same location is not an option because the new weight limit requirement went from 400 pounds to 650 pounds. Determining whether the current railings can hold 650 pounds is outside the scope of Garaventa's services to the town. 
 
The first option Hill has proposed is to install a vertical lift in a storage closet to the left of the police entrance, which would go up into the town account's office. 
 
A member of the committee expressed concern that the current office location may not be suitable as it could hinder access to the police station during construction. 
 
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