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Taconic High School Construction: Fixtures and Finishes The Focus

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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Many of the classrooms are completed and awaiting furnishings.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Tiling, fixtures, flooring, more tiling, painting, and ceilings. 
 
That's what's getting the biggest focus at the new Taconic High School building.
 
The mechanical systems are mostly complete and now the finishing touches are being installed throughout most of the building. 
 
The $120.8 million project has been ongoing for two years and is expected to be completed this summer. At the end of June, the work will be completed and in July and August, equipment and materials from the current school will be moved to the new one.
 
The project is being overseen by Gilbane Construction and Skanska USA.
 
Many of the fixtures have been installed, including kitchen equipment, toilets, cabinets in some rooms, lighting, and heating systems, and ceilings are being installed throughout. Some classrooms are basically completed, including the art room which has a number of desks already in place.
 
Upon entering the main entrance, a hallway to the left features the nurse's office and early childhood care classrooms and to the right are offices for guidance counselors, principal, and other staff. Directly in front will be a welcome desk and this weekend a grand staircase will be delivered to be installed, bringing people up to the all-glass enclosed media center.
 
The auditorium is enclosed, which is to the left of the welcome desk and staircase. The sloped floor for the auditorium seating is completed and electricians are finishing the wiring for the lighting.
 
In the gym, painting is complete, the partition is installed, and basketball hoops are up. One of the last items scheduled to be installed is the wood floor. The locker rooms are painted and tiled, and the lockers themselves have been delivered. Those are set to be installed.
 
Across the hall from those spaces is the cafeteria. That has some of the equipment already installed. To the north, on the other side of the cafeteria, is the culinary arts kitchen and classroom. Between the two there will be a cafe for the students to serve the food they made in the program. Beyond culinary will be cosmetology.
 
On the second floor of the eastern side of the building, the arts, a computer lab, health and spaces for the medical program are all coming along. A number of fixtures and equipment has been installed and much of the flooring is complete. 
 
Many of the floors throughout the upper levels of the building have been completed and are now covered for protection. Tiling, painting, and other wall finishes are also well underway and all three elevators have been installed. 
 
There is a significant amount of tile in the building and a lot more to be done. The walls throughout the building, in hallways and stairwells, will all feature tiling.
 
Painting is ongoing throughout the building and a large number of electricians are on site.
 
Gilbane has structured the work to start on the upper floors and move downward. The academic classrooms on the third floor, on the eastern portion of the building, are pretty close to being done. The second and first-floor classrooms are trailing slightly behind. 
 
The academic classrooms are arranged in pod-like fashion. The classrooms in each pod are arranged in a half circle off of the main hallway and surround teacher's offices and a shared common area. The science labs are across the hall, with views of the mountains to the south.
 
The shops are on the first floor in the eastern portion of the building and shop classrooms are located across the hall.
 
Furniture has all been chosen and ordered. 
 
iBerkshires has been following the construction since the beginning. Below is a slideshow from each visit. The newest slides are first and the rest are in chronological order.



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Two Men Found Guilty of Marijuana Trafficking

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — On Monday, May 6, Yebin Mai, 32 of Staten Island, NY and Dem Wu, age 52 of Staten Island, NY, were found guilty by jury of their peers in Berkshire Superior Court.
 
Yebin Mai was found guilty of two charges: Marihuana Trafficking in 100 pounds or more but less than 2,000 pounds and Witness Intimidation. Dem Wu was found guilty of Marihuana Trafficking in 100 pounds or more but less than 2,000 pounds.
 
According to a report, on July 30, 2020, State Police responded to a request for assistance from the Eversource Electric Company. The emergency dispatcher stated that two Eversource linemen were attempting to fix an electrical problem when they had a confrontation with individuals at 72 Jackson Road, Savoy. The residence belonged to Bin Huang after he purchased it in 2017 for $200,000 cash.
 
When state troopers arrived, the linemen stated that they responded to a report from a resident at 72 Jackson Road, Savoy claiming that power was fluctuating. When the linemen arrived at the house, they observed severely damaged wires and insulators leading from the roadside poles to the residence. When the Eversource linemen approached the house a man came out to meet them. The man, later identified as Yebin Mai, spoke limited English; therefore, communication between the Eversource linemen and resident became difficult. The linemen tried to explain that they would need to turn the power off to conduct a safety check of the electric meter and surrounding electrical connections. Mai became agitated. He handed the linemen an envelope filled with money later determined to be $600. The linemen attempted to return the envelope multiple times, but Mai would not take it. The linemen decided to leave the property. They called the police and waited for them to arrive, stated a report.
 
A trooper and Eversource supervisor arrived on the road at the end of 72 Jackson Road's driveway. A short time later, Mai drove down the driveway and attempted to leave in a pick-up truck with New York plates. There were two other passengers in the truck, including Dem Wu.
 
The trooper instructed Mai to stop and turn off the truck which he obeyed. All the individuals returned to the residence so the linemen could complete their inspection.
 
In a police report, the following items were observed at and around the house:
  • 4 separate electrical meters in poorly constructed boxes on the side of the house
  • Some melted wires and metal around the meter boxes (believed to be due to an excessive amount of energy being drawn through the wires)
  • Evidence of a small fire around one of the meter boxes
  • A smell of fresh grown marijuana (which grew once power was cut to the house and fans in the residence stopped running)
  • The sound of multiple fans inside the residence with no visible air ventilation system on the outside of the house
  • Windows with curtains drawn and boarded shut
  • A backyard covered in debris from a renovation, green planning pots, and large florescent light fixtures
  • Ring door cameras
  • A small path in the woods that ended in a pile of used potting soil and roots and stalks of freshly harvested marijuana plants

Additionally, Eversource reported that the monthly electric bill for 72 Jackson Road was approximately $10,000 per month, much higher than the average homeowner's bill.

The individuals on the property were questioned and ultimately allowed to leave. On July 31, 2020, Massachusetts State Police, including the State Police Detective Unit assigned to the District Attorney's Office, and a member of the DEA arrived at 72 Jackson Road to execute a search warrant. 
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