BArT Seniors Receive John and Abigail Adams Scholarship

ADAMS, Mass. — Half of the BART Charter Public School senior class are recipients of the John and Abigail Adams scholarship.

Recipients of these scholarships, upon acceptance, are entitled to attend any Massachusetts state school tuition-free for up to eight semesters of undergraduate education.

The recipients are Isaiah Albright, Ruth Bristol, Natalie Celebi, Thomas Cook, Dylan Dermody-Battaini, Joshua Donovan, Joshua Doubiago, Matthew Failla, Macie Fitch, Shanique Maloney, Braydon Peterson, Hannah Stringer, Caitlin Terpak and Abel Ward.

To be eligible, students must score at the advanced level on one of the three Grade 10 Massachusetts Comprehensive Assesment System (MCAS) tests English Language Arts, Mathematics tests, or STE (Biology, Chemistry, Introductory Physics or Technology / Engineering) and score at the proficient level or higher on the remaining two MCAS tests. Additionally, public charter school students must have combined scores from the three tests that place them in the top 25 percent of students at the school they attend or the district in which they reside.

The John and Abigail Adams Scholarship is awarded by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Scholarship recipients must also be enrolled full-time and maintain at least a 3.0 grade point average for continued eligibility.

Cheshire Officials Question Structural Integrity of Fire Station

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
05:55AM / Tuesday, April 21, 2026

The cracks have appeared in the concrete block wall raising issues of movement. 

CHESHIRE, Mass. — The fire station's meeting/training room is closed off because of concerns of a potential structural collapse.

 

Over the years, the fire station has had one problem after another and now officials are concerned about the room's structural integrity, deciding to close it last Thursday until it can be evaluated by a structural engineer. 

 

The training space hadn't been painted in more than two decades so officials decided to give it a bit of a "facelift," Fire Chief Thomas Francesconi said. 

 

However, this small project exposed something much more critical — the north wall appeared to be shifting away from the large steel I-beam. 

 

Upon further examination of the area, several larger issues stood out — including a large crack running up the concrete block wall above the bay door, a roughly 2-inch dip in the floor, and a shift in the exterior wall that has left it uneven.

 

There were too many things happening to not err on the side of caution, said Francesconi. Now that the area is exposed, this is the time to get it assessed to ensure that the wall's not moving or buckling, said Corey McGrath, department of public works director.

 

Around 2010, a company dug up around the station's foundation and installed support for the building. During that time, the contractors observed the north side of the building, the area believed to be shifting, was sinking into the ground, Francesconi said.