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The Selectmen decided not to plow out the Cheshire School parking lot after hearing from the highway superintendent.

Cheshire to Look Into LED Street Lighting

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
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CHESHIRE, Mass. — The town will pursue a streetlight survey to see if switching to efficient LED lights is possible.
 
Town Administrator Mark Webber told the Selectmen on Tuesday that he recently contacted National Grid to inquire about new lighting and was told a survey can be conducted. 
 
"She will now put us on the list for an inventory survey by their light people and thy will provide a full map of all of the streets in the town and their current wattage and type," Webber said. "They will give us proposals." 
 
Webber said if the town wanted to follow through with the switch, it would have to allocate the money or find a funding source. He said the Complete Streets Program the town has signed on to is a possible option, but added that National Grid suggested using Green Community funds.
 
"Yes, Complete Streets would pay for this project but it would likely not be a high priority project because of funding availability from other grants like Green Communities," he said. "Conversely for Green Communities, it would score highly."
 
The town has yet to enter the Green Communities Program that provides towns with funds to implement efficiency improvement projects if they adopt certain regulations, but officials plan to make a decision on the grant program in the near future.
 
Webber said North Adams is going through the lighting program now
 
In other business, Webber said the Complete Streets Committee has picked the reconstruction of Depot and Railroad Street as its priority project to enter into the application.   
 
"We thought they would be received well," Webber said. "Complete sidewalk, paving, curbing, landscaping and be done with it."
 
The selectmen agreed they were good spots to focus on.
 
The selectmen also greed to make no changes in how they currently plow Cheshire Elementary School.
Selectman Robert Ciskowski said he heard from some residents who were curious if the town planned to completely plow the former school's parking lot.
 
Crane said the selectmen agreed to not plow the lot before winter began because there was really no need to.
 
"The decision was if we weren't going to use them to take the time to plow them would be negligible," he said. 
 
He added that he does plow the lot closest to the playground and often uses it to store snow.
 
"When I do need to pull snow from around I dump it because I don’t have room at the town shed and I probably shouldn’t pile next to the river," Crane said. 
 
Ciskowski also asked if that lot is accessible from the street. Crane said he purposefully plows the lot so vehicles cannot access it from the road.
 
"As I plowed around town, I would have four or five people in there pulling doughnuts and tearing the place up during snow storms," he said. "I stopped plowing the School Street entrance ... I am not going to make it easier for them."
 
The Selectman agreed to maintain the status quo and not plow the lot.

Tags: complete streets,   green communities,   lighting,   

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Hoosac Valley High School to Stage 'Suessical'

CHESHIRE, Mass. — Hoosac Valley High School will showcase their rendition of "Suessical," a musical based on the tales of Dr. Seuss by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty.
 
The performances are scheduled for Friday, March 15 at 7 pm, and Saturday, March 16 at 2 pm and 7 pm. Tickets can be purchased at the door or online via the provided link. Prices are $8 for students and $10 for adults.
 
Directed by Rebecca Koczela and Amanda Watroba, the production features around 50 students participating as actors, pit band musicians, and backstage and tech crews. Notably, this year's cast includes several middle school students who have joined the high school production, marking their first experience performing on stage.
 
 
 
 
 
 
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