Grant to Give Greylock Elementary New Dishwasher

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — North Adams Public Schools'  Food Services Director Cory Nicholas has been awarded a $20,000 School Nutrition Equipment Assistance for High Need Districts Grant from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education.

The purpose of the School Nutrition Equipment Assistance Grant for High Need Districts is to encourage eligible schools to increase their capacity to serve healthier meals that meet the 2014-2015 USDA meal pattern as part of participating in the National School Lunch Program.

This competitive grant application was available to schools that have a 50 percent or more free or reduced meal benefit qualified student body and did not receive other equipment grant funding in 2010 or 2011. A total of $489,423 was available statewide for up to $20,000 per school with a total of 25 to 35 grants awarded. The funds must be used to purchase equipment for the implementation of the National School Lunch Program.

Nicholas authored and submitted the grant on behalf of Greylock Elementary School with the intention of purchasing a new Energy Star-certified Hobart CL44E-5 commercial dishwasher. The cost to remove the existing dishwasher and install the new turnkey dishwasher is $20,605. The new purchase will replace Greylock Elementary School’s 40-year-old, highly inefficient dishwasher, which requires constant repairs.

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.