Lanesborough officials want the U.S. Postal Service to stop shortening the town's name.
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The UGH debate is over.
The Board of Selectmen are petitioning the U.S. Postal Service to officially change the town's name from Lanesboro to Lanesborough. The Postal Service is the only entity in town to use the shortened version.
"I like the formal spelling better myself," said Town Administrator Paul Sieloff.
The town was incorporated with the "ugh" on the end of its name but sometime in the 1890s, residents got lazy and started to cut it off.
The name's been used with and without the "ugh" since then, despite the official nomenclature. About decade ago, The Associated Press decided that all the "boros" in Massachusetts would now spelled in articles with "ugh," with the exception of Attleboro.
Now, only the Postal Service uses the shortened version, although it is still prevalent among residents and neighbors.
Next, the town may be looking at the 01237 ZIP code, which it shares with New Ashford and Hancock.
The shared ZIP has led to deliveries sometimes being sent back or delayed in delivery. Meanwhile, the village of Berkshire, with a population of less than 200, has its own ZIP code: 01224.
Selectman Henry "Hank" Sayers suggested possibly changing the ZIP code. Sieloff said he'd look into those concerns.
"I'd prefer to kick out the others," Sieloff said of alleviating ZIP code issues.
But for now, if the petition is approved, weeding out the shortened spelling of the town will make the elementary school teachers smile. Some day soon, they won't have to explain to their students why the town's name is spelled two different ways.
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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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