MCLA Softball toppled by Amherst

AMHERST, Mass. — The Amherst Lord Jeffs softball team scored a pair of mercy rule victories over the MCLA Trailblazers Wednesday afternoon in Amherst. The Lord Jeffs took the opener 11-3 in six innings before completing the sweep with a 12-0 win in game two. Amherst is now 14-4 while MCLA is 4-12.

Amherst wasted little time getting going offensively jumping out to a 7-0 lead after three innings of the opener off MCLA starter Amanda Meczywor. The Trailblazers got three runs back in the third inning to pull within four. The key hit was a two-RBI knock from Jennifer Sicinski.

The Lord Jeffs added a run in the fourth before putting the game away with three runs in the sixth to secure the win. Amherst outhit MCLA 16-5 in the contest. Amy Doering collected the win with a complete game five hitter while striking out six. Meczywor absorbed the loss for MCLA.

In game two, Amherst jumped on MCLA starter Rachel Quackenbush for three runs in each of the first two frames to grab a six run lead. They would go on to score in every inning to secure the five inning victory.

Cost, Access to NBCTC High Among Concerns North Berkshire Residents

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
06:15PM / Thursday, April 25, 2024

Adams Select Chair Christine Hoyt, NBCTC Executive Director David Fabiano and William Solomon, the attorney representing the four communities, talk after the session. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Public access channels should be supported and made more available to the public — and not be subject to a charge.

 

More than three dozen community members in-person and online attended the public hearing  Wednesday on public access and service from Spectrum/Charter Communications. The session at City Hall was held for residents in Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg and North Adams to express their concerns to Spectrum ahead of another 10-year contract that starts in October.

 

Listening via Zoom but not speaking was Jennifer Young, director state government affairs at Charter.

 

One speaker after another conveyed how critical local access television is to the community and emphasized the need for affordable and reliable services, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly. 

 

"I don't know if everybody else feels the same way but they have a monopoly," said Clarksburg resident David Emery. "They control everything we do because there's nobody else to go to. You're stuck with with them."

 

Public access television, like the 30-year-old Northern Berkshire Community Television, is funded by cable television companies through franchise fees, member fees, grants and contributions.

 

Spectrum is the only cable provider in the region and while residents can shift to satellite providers or streaming, Northern Berkshire Community Television is not available on those alternatives and they may not be easy for some to navigate. For instance, the Spectrum app is available on smart televisions but it doesn't include PEG, the public, educational and governmental channels provided by NBCTC.