PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire County Mosquito Control Project will be spraying a one-mile circumference of Williams and Elm streets.
The spraying is in response to the presence of West Nile virus. On July 3, three mosquitoes tested positive for the virus. A truck-mounted adulticide spraying in the area of Elm and Williams from 10 p.m. until midnight on Monday, July 16. If it rains, the spraying will be rescheduled for Wednesday, July 18.
On the same collection date, there was also a positive finding in Stockbridge as well.
The spraying comes right on the heels of the Board of Health approving an update protocol as to when to spray. A group of residents had petitioned against the Berkshire County Mosquito Control Project altogether and that ultimately led to a City Council petition to just remove the adulticide spraying.
The City Council and the Board of Health came to an agreement on certain thresholds that had to be met before spraying.
The city provided the following advice to help residents protect themselves.
When outdoors, wear long pants, a long-sleeved shirt and socks.
Use a repellent with DEET according to the instructions on the product label.
Keep mosquitos out of your house by repairing holes in screens and making sure screens fit tightly to doors and windows.
Schedule outdoor events to avoid the hours between dusk and dawn, when mosquitoes are most active.
Remove areas of standing water around your home to eliminate sources of mosquito breeding.
Although there are no reported human cases of West Nile virus in Massachusetts this season, protection is important. About 20 percent of infected people will have symptoms such as fever, headache, body aches, nausea, vomiting, swollen lymph glands, skin rash on chest, stomach and back. One percent of infected people will develop severe illness but the majority of people who are infected will not have symptoms.
Residents may request to be excluded from pesticide application by submitting an Exclusion Request Form which can be obtained at this link. The form is also available by contacting the Berkshire County Mosquito Control Project at 413-447-9808 or berkmc@bcn.net.
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Central Berkshire School Officials OK $35M Budget
By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — The Central Berkshire Regional School Committee approved a $35 million budget for fiscal 2025 during its meeting on Thursday.
Much of the proposed spending plan is similar to what was predicted in the initial and tentative budget presentations, however, the district did work with the Finance subcommittee to further offset the assessments to the towns, Superintendent Leslie Blake-Davis said.
"What you're going see in this budget is a lower average assessment to the towns than what you saw in the other in the tentative budget that was approved," she said.
The fiscal 2025 budget is $35,428,892, a 5.56 percent or $1,867,649, over this year's $33,561,243.
"This is using our operating funds, revolving revenue or grant revenue. So what made up the budget for the tentative budget is pretty much the same," Director of Finance and Operations Gregory Boino said.
"We're just moving around funds … so, we're using more of the FY25 rural aid funds instead of operating funds next year."
Increases the district has in the FY25 operating budget are from active employee health insurance, retiree health insurance, special education out-of-district tuition, temporary bond principal and interest payment, pupil transportation, Berkshire County Retirement contributions, and the federal payroll tax.
The students have also been able to build friendships and experience new things, such as dancing for community events, taking a trip to Ireland and participating in competitions.
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Because of this, traffic will be reduced to one lane of travel on First Street (U.S. Route 7) and North Street between Burbank Street and Abbott Street from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday through at least May 6.
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Independent Connections officially unveiled its Massachusetts branch on Thursdsay with a ribbon cutting. The IT solutions company's specializations include consulting, cloud computing, and cybersecurity.
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Taylor Garabedian scored a team-high 22 points and grabbed five rebounds, and Abby Scialabba scored 16 points for the ‘Canes, who got 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists from Ashlyn Lesure. click for more