Letter: Bond Will Be a Reliable Community Leader

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To the Editor:

When looking toward the future of this great city, it is important not to neglect the voices of the younger generations. It is also important not to underscore the value community service has in shaping a candidate. Coming from an MCLA student and soon to be officeholder, I believe the person to best connect with our youth and represent the value of community service is Lynette Bond.

The most important memories I've made as a college student were through active volunteerism. As a person who dedicates my time in such a way, I can see how volunteer work has influenced Lynette Bond as a person, and how it will shape her tenure as the next mayor of North Adams. Through her dedication as a foster parent, her time in the Peace Corps, and her intense dedication toward the Colegrove Park Elementary School project, she has proven to me that she will be a reliable community leader.

I have been able to call North Adams my home for 22 years. MCLA was my school of choice because of this beautiful city I have been able to call my home. I think the school is especially emblematic of our community's younger demographics, and it makes me pleased to see who younger people want as their leader. The feedback we have received from the overwhelming majority of them? The future is with Lynette.

With students who want to make North Adams their home after they graduate, and have taken on our community as one that represents them, Lynette is an especially symbolic person to take office as our next mayor. Lynette may not have been born in North Adams, but she chose our city as her home like so many others here do. I am confident in Lynette's experience, transparency, and communicative nature to lead our city for the next two years. I hope with all this information in mind, you will vote for her assuredly on Nov. 2.

Joshua Vallieres
North Adams, Mass.

Joshua Vallieres is a candidate for North Adams School Committee. 

 

 

 

 


Tags: city election,   election 2021,   letters to the editor,   


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Neal Announces $600K in Funding for Charlemont Fire Truck

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
CHARLEMONT, Mass. — The Fire Department is getting funds for new fire truck thanks to a boost in investment for rural communities.
 
U.S. Rep. Richard Neal was at the fire station on Wednesday to announce the $599,000 award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Communities Facilities Program. The funds were included in the 2026 federal budget.
 
"It's an acknowledgement of the partnership that we have in rural communities," Neal said.
 
"Rural America has many challenges as the tax base arose, and it becomes more difficult for them in some cases to sustain and promote local services, and what's more important than the fire service at the local level."
 
The pumper will replace a 1996 engine. The department currently has five apparatuses that average more than 19 years old. The department was very grateful to be able to upgrade a portion of their fleet.
 
"I really appreciate that you understand the needs of little towns in Massachusetts,"  said Town Administrator Sarah Reynolds. "That's huge. That's what we can't afford. A truck says a lot about, like we said, our tax base, and yet more than a third of our residents on fixed incomes are elderly, and it's really hard to tell them that you need something essential."
 
Neal compared fire departments to the postal service as one of the few remaining face-to-face public services people deeply value, making the new truck very important to keep the community safe. 
 
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