Paul Marino Named Grand Marshal Of Fall Foliage Parade

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Local historian Paul Marino is well known for giving various tours around the city.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The 58th annual Fall Foliage Parade will be themed, "Haunts, Legends, and Ghost Stories" with Paul Marino being named the Grand Marshal.

The Berkshire Chamber of Commerce and the city announced the theme and grand marshal Tuesday morning. The parade and festival is scheduled to be held on Sunday, October 6.

Marino. a local historian, is is known for providing local history tours of the city and cemetery walks. He has an extensive history of documenting the city's history and has produced several documentaries and written essays. He has been involved with other projects headed by the city's historical society, the Friends of the Mohawk Theater, the North Adams Public Library and cable access chanels.


"Embracing the rich history of ghosts, legends, and folk lore in the area is a fun way to celebrate North Berkshire, which we really wanted to do this year," Parade Director Danielle Thomas said in a prepared statement. "We're thrilled that Paul will be leading the celebration. His vast knowledge of the local history and haunts will allow us to get really creative while also providing an educational component for the community."

The parade steps off at 1 p.m. at the former Wal-Mart, continues down Curran Highway and ends downtown.

The annual parade is coordinated by the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce. Organizers are still looking for volunteers to help with the parade. For more information on the parade or to volunteer, call Danielle Thomas at 413-499-4000, ext. 126 or visit www.fallfoliageparade.com.

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Clarksburg Looking to Repair School Front Entrance

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Plans for renovating the bathrooms are on hold, which means the summer camp will again take place at the elementary school. 
 
Assistant Superintendent Tara Barnes informed the School Committee on Thursday that Tom Bona, who's been volunteering as lead on school repairs, said the work to bring the bathrooms up to Americans With Disabilities Act compliance couldn't be scheduled in time. 
 
"I think the concern was, as it kind of pushed towards the end of the school year, that there wasn't enough time to post and hire a contractor to meet the timeline," said Superintendent John Franzoni, participating via Zoom. 
 
He said the Berkshire Regional Planning Board considered the school could use the $30,000 in ADA grant money toward the purchase of the equipment and then schedule the work for summer 2027.
 
The town is expected to move forward with repairs to the front entrance. The concrete pad has cracked and heaved and poses a hazard. 
 
"I think it's important to prioritize that entrance way, which is in pretty bad shape, and the town has already followed through to get some bids," Franzoni said. "We got good communication from [Road Foreman] Kyle Hurlbut today about how much he was recommending to the town to request through the stabilization, I think, was $19,500 to cover the high end of the bids and any kind of contingencies."
 
The town had agreed to use any funds leftover from the school roof project to put toward other repairs and renovations at the school. Town meeting last year authorized a debt exclusion to borrow $500,000 toward the project. The roof came in around $400,000.
 
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