Letter: Get Information About Dangers of Youth Vaping

To the Editor:

The start of the school year and new routines brings new worries about teen vaping. These concerns are important, especially now, because smoking and vaping may put people at higher risk of complications from COVID-19.

One in three Massachusetts teens vape and talking with young people about the dangers of vaping can make a difference. Learn more and watch videos at GetOutraged.org, part of a public information campaign from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Get Outraged! aims to spread the word that vaping products contain nicotine, can damage a teen's developing brain, and are addictive. The campaign also shares tips on talking with kids about vaping and resources to help them quit.

Get Outraged! complements "Facts. No Filters." a campaign with videos and information about vaping for youth at mass.gov/vaping by the Department of Public Health in collaboration with the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation.

In addition, handouts about vaping and quit resource cards for youth are available free of charge at the Massachusetts Health Promotion Clearinghouse.

For more information and to help you educate young people about vaping, contact Joyce Brewer at the Berkshire Tobacco-Free Community Partnership, jbrewer@berkshireahec.org
 

Joyce Brewer
Dalton, Mass.

Joyce Brewer is the program manager for the Berkshire Tobacco Free Community Partnership of Berkshire AHEC.

North Adams Students Support Hometown Heroes Banner Program

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
07:04AM / Saturday, April 11, 2026

Drury High civics students Olivia Irace, Gabriella Packard and Paige Burdick spearheaded the project for their class.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Local veterans are being honored through a cross-high school collaboration, with McCann Technical School CAD students manufacturing custom hardware for veteran banners and Drury High School civics students building a digital archive to preserve the veterans' legacies.

 

"It is super exciting for me," Veterans Agent Kurtis Durocher said. "It saves us money, and more importantly, it gets students involved. You really can't put a value on that."

 

The Veterans Services Department plans to install the banners downtown to honor local service members. The project was well underway last year; however, the old brackets used to hang banners on city light posts were in poor condition.

 

Durocher reached out to McCann Superintendent James Brosnan last fall, hoping the school could assist.

 

"I asked if it was something they would be interested in. We needed these brackets, and I thought it would be a great project for the students," Durocher said. "Jim, being a veteran himself, jumped on it. So within two weeks, we had a meeting."

 

Durocher needed 100 brackets to support banners for 50 veterans. He noted that the students saved his department nearly $6,500, with McCann supplying all the necessary materials.

 

While the new brackets are similar to the ones currently on Main Street, the design has been significantly improved. Computer assisted design (CAD) instructor Joshua Meczywor said students reverse-engineered the existing hardware to create a sturdier version.