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Williams College is looking for 'books' for its upcoming Human Library event.

Berkshires Beat: Human Library at Williams Seeks 'Books'

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Only human: Williams College is seeking "books" for its sixth annual Human Library, taking place on Friday, Feb. 24, and Saturday, Feb. 25, from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Paresky Center. Founded in 2001 in Denmark, The Human Library project aims to "promote human rights and social cohesion … create greater understanding between people… and provide a safe space where people can learn more about each other and work through stereotypes and discrimination present in our community in order to ultimately forge new connections between people."

The Human Library event has been held at Williams annually since 2012. A Human Library has "books" and "readers," all of whom are, as the name suggests, human. Each book volunteers to share a personal story about a topic related to stereotypes and discrimination. Readers "check out" books with titles such as "Buddhist," "Growing up in the Jim Crow South," "Interracial Family" or "Recovering Alcoholic," for 30 minutes and participates in a one-on-one conversation about the book’s life and experiences.

The book can also ask questions of the reader, prompting further discussion about shared experiences and differing perspectives. To engage in these discussions, each reader must sign a form agreeing to respect each book. Individuals with stories they would like to share are encouraged to volunteer. To volunteer as a book, fill out the  Become a Book form online no later than Feb. 1.



All for UNO: The UNO Community Center, located at 157 River St. in North Adams, is offering two new programs. The first is "4-H Wacky STEM Club," which is a free after-school group and will focus on interesting and interactive science experiments, as well as other great academic-based programming from the 4-H curriculum. The group will meet every other Tuesday from 3 to 5 p.m. and will begin on Tuesday, January 24. Contact Geoff Pawlowski to register at 413-663-7588, ext. 22, or gpawlowski@nbccoalition.org.

The second program offers free after-school tutoring for students grades four through eight. The program provides tutoring, homework assistance, creative activities, computer access and healthy snacks. Tutoring will be held Tuesdays from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. and Thursdays from 4 to 5 p.m. and will be held throughout the remainder of the school year. Registration is not required for this program.
 


Giving thanks: Clarksburg V.F.W. Post 9144 distributed its annual donations to several groups during its annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in December. Monetary donations were given to Clarksburg eighth grade trip, Clarksburg Library, Clarksburg Fire Department, Clarksburg Playground Fund , Clarksburg School Bulletin Board Fund, Clarksburg Senior Center, Clarksburg School Band Pop's Care Cancer Fund and Friendship Food Pantry in North Adams.

These donations are made possible by Peter Cook VFW Post 9144 fundraisers through the year. Checks were presented by Commander Ray Vachereau, Junior Vice Commander Ed Denault and Quartermaster Joe Bushika.  Donations totaled more than $3,000.
 


The write stuff: The Pittsfield Office of Cultural Development announces the release of The Mastheads writers' residency application.  The inaugural month-long residency will take place in July and feature five writers.
 


The brainchild of husband and wife architecture team Chris Parkinson and Tessa Kelly, the Mastheads project recognizes Pittsfield's legacy of writers of the American Renaissance, including Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. Between the years of 1840 and 1860, these authors all produced work in and about Pittsfield. The Mastheads seek to preserve this history of writing about place through the production of new content and knowledge.
 
The program's inaugural season is July 2017, when five selected writers will be paired with a private studio for a month-long residency, complemented by city-wide public programming and events. The writing studios are work spaces only. Housing for the residents is provided in downtown Pittsfield, with transportation available on call for those who need it.

The studios are open-air and rustic in their amenities. They include electricity, and are each located within 300 feet walking distance from a host institution where restrooms are available. Go online to apply. The deadline is Feb. 15.

 

Be counted: The 2017 annual census forms have been mailed. The census is mandated by Massachusetts General Law and is valuable to have a current and correct residential count.  The population count is important to the Town to apply for state and federals aids and grants.

Residents are asked to review, correct if necessary, sign and return to the Town Clerk's office in the provided envelope.  Please make sure all who reside at the address who are not listed on the form are added with all pertinent information; this would include dependent children. Census returns may be mailed or dropped off at Town Hall.

The form cannot be used to register to vote or to change party enrollment.



Change in channels: Pittsfield Community Television's three community access channels were reassigned for local viewers who use "cable-ready" televisions to plug directly into their cable.  Relocated from Channels 116-1, 116-2 and 116-3, Pittsfield Community Television may now be found on Channels 19-1, 19-2 and 19-3.

In order for viewers to continue to tune into their local programming, they will need to reprogram their televisions. This is usually done through the menu button on their remote control, navigating to the section called "Antenna" or "Channels," and then selecting "Auto Program."  This will allow cable-ready TVs to "find" all the channels that are available on cable, including the three PCTV channels. Viewers with cable boxes or smaller digital television adapters ("DTAs") are unaffected by this change; they will continue to see the channels on 16, 17 and 18.

PCTV's primary concern is that every cable subscriber in Pittsfield, no matter what level of service they pay for and receive, should continue to receive their PEG access channels.  If for some reason viewers have difficulty receiving these channels, please contact PCTV via phone at 413-445-4234, via email at info@pittsfieldtv.org, or on Facebook.

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Williams Seeking Town Approval for New Indoor Practice Facility

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Planning Board last week gave Williams College the first approval it needs to build a 55,000-square foot indoor athletic facility on the north side of its campus.
 
Over the strenuous objection of a Southworth Street resident, the board found that the college's plan for a "multipurpose recreation center" or MRC off Stetson Road has adequate on-site parking to accommodate its use as an indoor practice facility to replace Towne Field House, which has been out of commission since last spring and was demolished this winter.
 
The college plans a pre-engineered metal that includes a 200-meter track ringing several tennis courts, storage for teams, restrooms, showers and a training room. The athletic surface also would be used as winter practice space for the school's softball and baseball teams, who, like tennis and indoor track, used to use the field house off Latham Street.
 
Since the planned structure is in the watershed of Eph's Pond, the college will be before the Conservation Commission with the project.
 
It also will be before the Zoning Board of Appeals, on Thursday, for a Development Plan Review and relief from the town bylaw limiting buildings to 35 feet in height. The new structure is designed to have a maximum height of 53 1/2 feet and an average roof height of 47 feet.
 
The additional height is needed for two reasons: to meet the NCAA requirement for clearance above center court on a competitive tennis surface (35 feet) and to include, on one side, a climbing wall, an element also lost when Towne Field House was razed.
 
The Planning Board had a few issues to resolve at its March 12 meeting. The most heavily discussed involved the parking determination for a use not listed in the town's zoning bylaws and a decision on whether access from town roads to the building site in the middle of Williams' campus was "functionally equivalent" to the access that would be required under the town's subdivision rules and regulations.
 
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