Ski Season Gets Under Way

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Area skiers got an early jump on the season Friday with a combination of groomed and ungroomed trails at Hanock's Jiminy Peak, which took full advantage of the Thanksgiving week storm.
 
The mountain was running four of its nine lifts and offering six miles of terrain on what is the traditional opening weekend of New England downhilll skiing -- when there is snow.
 
There is plenty of snow for downhill and cross country skiers this weekend, and there will be even more places to get out and hit the trails starting Saturday.
 
Mount Snow in Dover, Vt., opened for its 60th season on Nov. 21. By "Black Friday," the white stuff was 18-24 inches deep, and the resort had five lifts -- including its ultra-fast, ultra-comfortable Bluebird Express -- serving 12 of 80 trails and nine miles of terrain.
 
Back in Massachusetts, Berkshire East in Charlemont opened on Saturday, and you could ski all day Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for afternoon rates, 50 percent break from the regular adult ticket for a full day of skiing.
 
The region's smaller hills -- South Egremont's Catamount, Great Barrington's Butternut and Pittsfield's Bousquet -- all plan to open soon. Butternut and Catamount have announced opening days for next weekend of Friday and Saturday, respectively.
 
For Nordic skiers, Woodford, Vt.,'s Prospect Mountain had 10 kilometers open this weekend with a base depth of 2 to 5 inches. Call 802-442-2575 for information.
 
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Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corporation Scholarships

LUDLOW, Mass. — For the third year, Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corporation (BWPCC) will award scholarships to students from Lanesborough and Hancock. 
 
The scholarship is open to seniors at Mount Greylock Regional High School and Charles H. McCann Technical School. BWPCC will select two students from the class of 2024 to receive $1,000 scholarships.
 
The scholarships will be awarded to qualifying seniors who are planning to attend either a two- or four-year college or trade school program. Seniors must be from either Hancock or Lanesborough to be considered for the scholarship. Special consideration will be given to students with financial need, but all students are encouraged to apply.
 
The BWPCC owns and operates the Berkshire Wind Power Project, a 12 turbine, 19.6-megawatt wind farm located on Brodie Mountain in Hancock and Lanesborough. The non-profit BWPCC consists of 16 municipal utilities located in Ashburnham, Boylston, Chicopee, Groton, Holden, Hull, Ipswich, Marblehead, Paxton, Peabody, Russell, Shrewsbury, Sterling, Templeton, Wakefield, and West Boylston, and their joint action agency, the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC). 
 
To be considered, students must submit all required documents including a letter of recommendation from their school counselor and a letter detailing their educational and professional goals. Application and submission details will be shared with students via their school counselors. The deadline to apply is Friday, April 19.
 
 MMWEC is a not-for-profit, public corporation and political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts created by an Act of the General Court in 1975 and authorized to issue tax-exempt debt to finance a wide range of energy facilities.  MMWEC provides a variety of power supply, financial, risk management and other services to the state's consumer-owned, municipal utilities. 
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