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Brittany Dorwin leads the Berkshire County Buddy Walk on Saturday morning in Dalton.
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The Wahconah and Westfield girls soccer teams walked in the Buddy Walk before their afternoon game.
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The Westfield Bombers ended up marching as 'Katelyn's Buddies' after Katelyn, a student with Down Syndrome at Westfield High School.
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Buddy Walk Unites Families — And Athletes, Too, This Year

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
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DALTON, Mass. — The 10th annual Buddy Walk of the Berkshires was bigger than ever. And thanks to a high school sports scheduling quirk, its reach was a little broader than ever. 

The Saturday morning walk, organized by and for the support of Berkshire County families living with Down syndrome, drew about 1,000 participants who gathered at Craneville Elementary School for the annual walk up and down Main Street. 

That group included the girls soccer team from Westfield High, which had a game scheduled for 1 p.m. against Dalton's Wahconah Regional. Problem was, many of the girls on the Wahconah team are long-time Buddy Walkers, going back to their days as Craneville pupils. 

Aaron Robb of the Berkshire County Arc Down Syndrome Family Group picks up the story from there. 

"Wahconah Athletic Director Jared Shannon called Westfield to ask about moving the game back an hour," Robb told the walkers before they embarked. "Westfield said they wanted to come and hang out with us for the morning.

"I've been involved in education for 20 years and never seen this before."

The Westfield Bombers ended up marching as one of an event-record 31 walk teams, calling themselves Katelyn's Buddies after a student with Down Syndrome at Westfield High School.

“I think that was a really great experience, honestly,” Wahconah junior Arden McKnight said after scoring the game-winning goal in her team’s 2-1 win over Westfield on Saturday afternoon. “We haven’t really had anything like that with another team before, and I thought it was a really good way to bond with not only our team and the people in the community but the other team as well.”
 
Robb reminded the crowd that the Buddy Walk, which receives major support from Berkshire County Arc and dozens of sponsors, had modest roots. Just 500 people walked the first year, fewer than half as many participants turned out Saturday. 

And bigger numbers were not the only change. The event added a grand marshal, a position that North Adams' Brittany Dorwin accepted in style, leading the marchers in the back of a convertible. 

"The whole reason we're here is that people with Down Syndrome have dreams, and they want to make it happen," said Dorwin, a 2014 graduate of McCann Technical School. 

Dorwin talked a little about the dreams she has fulfilled so far, including dancing with Berkshire Dance Theatre, cheering on the McCann cheer squad and passing her MCAS to earn her diploma. 

"Basically, I've done a lot of things," Dorwin said. "So thank you and enjoy this beautiful day."

More photos here from this event.

 


Tags: BC Arc,   

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Dalton Seeks Input on Hazard Mitigation Plan

DALTON, Mass. — The town invites the community to participate in a public meeting as it updates its Hazard Mitigation Plan. 
 
The meeting will be held on Friday, March 8 from 10:30 to 11:30 am at Town Hall. Participants can also attend the meeting virtually using this information:
This plan details all the natural hazard risks that may impact the town and includes potential actions to mitigate those risks.
 
The Town invites residents from both Dalton and regional communities to actively participate in this upcoming public meeting. The town welcomes insights on identifying high-risk hazards, pinpointing vulnerable areas within the town, and providing constructive feedback on effective strategies for mitigating these risks. 
 
The Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee, in partnership with Jamie Caplan Consulting LLC, a Northampton based firm, is developing the plan with a grant from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA). 
 
FEMA approval, coupled with Town adoption, will enable Dalton to access pre- and post-disaster hazard mitigation grant funds.
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