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17-month-old Zinedine Doucette lends a hand to the MCLA Garden.

MCLA Community Prepares Garden

By John DurkaniBerkshires Staff
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Sophomore Felipe Aedo clears out brush to make space for the community garden.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A handful of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts community members took advantage of a lovely Friday afternoon by working on the community garden.
 
Sophomore Felipe Aedo, an environmental studies major, said the garden is in its fifth year of operation. The garden is managed by a group unofficially dubbed MCLA Garden.
 
The group plants a variety of fruits and vegetables, including yellow cherry tomatoes, garlic, radishes and kale, in the garden outside Smith House. The late-harvest plants are used for the annual sustainability themed Thanksgiving dinner, which Aedo said was highly attended last year.
 
"This year, we want to do this bigger and more local," Aedo said.
 
The MCLA Garden also works with eight other local community gardens by sharing its stockpile of seedlings that students manage in the greenhouse, Aedo said.
 
On Friday, they started work by raking out the leaves and clearing out debris. Richard Doucette, a junior and environmental studies major, said the new location of the admissions office will give the garden more exposure than before.
 
"It's definitely a priority to keep the garden tidy," Doucette said.
 
Caroline Scully, a part-time researcher with the environmental studies program, said having an established community garden is important for any college's sustainability program.
 
"Every college with a solid sustainability program has a community garden," Scully said.

Tags: gardens,   MCLA,   sustainable,   

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MassDOT Warns of Toll-fee Smishing Scam

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Department of Transportation was alerted that a text message-based scam, also known as smishing, is fraudulently claiming to represent tolling agencies from across the country. The scammers are claiming to represent the tolling agency and requesting payment for unpaid tolls.

The targeted phone numbers seem to be chosen at random and are not uniquely associated with an account or usage of toll roads.

Customers who receive an unsolicited text, email, or similar message suggesting it is from EZDriveMA or another toll agency should not click on the link.

EZDriveMA customers can verify a valid text notification in several ways:

  • EZDriveMA will never request payment by text
  • All links associated with EZDriveMA will include www.EZDriveMA.com

The FBI says it has received more than 2,000 complaints related to toll smishing scams since early March and recommends individuals who receive fraudulent messages do the following:

1. File a complaint with the  Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov; be sure to include:

The phone number from where the text originated.
The website listed within the text

2. Check your account using the toll service's legitimate website.

3. Contact the toll service's customer service phone number.

4. Delete any smishing texts received.

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