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BFAIR & Greylock Federal Distribute 250 Bicycle Helmets

BFAIR's Tara Jacobson and Christine Meiklejohn hold signs at the trailhead off the Connector Road. Last year, the organization was able to distribute 200 helmets. 

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Saturday's word of the day was "safety" at the Ashuwilliticook Rail Trail as two organizations partnered to distribute hundreds of free helmets in honor of National Brain Injury Awareness Month. 

Stationed at the trailhead on connector road, representatives of Berkshire Family and Individual Resources and Greylock Federal Credit Union handed out 150 helmets for ages 6-13 and 100 helmets for those 14 and older. 

"This is our second annual bike helmet distribution in honor of Brain Injury Awareness Month, which is in March but we wanted to do it in April because the bike trail was open and more people are out here," BFAIR's Director of Development Tara Jacobsen said. 

"We are able to distribute these helmets through funding through Greylock Federal Credit Union and this year, we have about 250 helmets that we're going to be distributing today and I think they're going to go pretty quickly." 

The event ran from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and community members were lined up for helmets even before the event kicked off. 

Jennifer Connor-Shumsky, Greylock's vice president of community support and events, said the credit union values its partnership with BFAIR and that, hopefully, the distribution will prevent as many injuries as possible.  

"We're just delighted to be here," she said. "[BFAIR] is a community gem and they are one of our many partners and we're proud of what they do. They provide such valuable services to our community so we're delighted, we have been working with them for a long time." 

BFAIR works with people who have developmental disabilities, autism, and acquired brain injuries. There are six residences dedicated to acquired brain injuries, which happen after birth and can be the result of a trauma impact, degenerative disease, and toxins. 

The helmets aim to prevent any possible injuries from impact and came with a complimentary fitting to ensure the best protection possible. 

Jacobsen explained that an ill-fitting helmet is "like a car without brakes." 

"So we want to make sure that not only we're supplying resources to the community but we're actually giving them resources that they can use," she said. 

Last year, BFAIR partnered with the non-profit organization All Out Adventures Inc. in Northampton to hand out around 200 helmets. 

"It was just such a rousing success because I think helmets are one of those things that people don't always think about or don't always have the resources or the means to get," Jacobsen said. 

"And so being able to provide it to the community to help promote healthy and safe brains is really something we're looking forward to."

Pittsfield Says Goodbye to Wahconah Park Grandstand

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
07:45AM / Sunday, April 12, 2026

Mayor Peter Marchetti and 'Banjo Joe' Ryan lead a chorus of 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' with a nod to the Pittsfield Suns. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Dozens of people bid farewell to the Wahconah Park grandstand on Saturday with a round of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," hot dogs, and stories about the ballpark. 

"Sometimes you felt like you were at Fenway Park, but mostly it just felt like home," Parks Commissioner Clifford Nilan said. 

"How lucky the players were to be playing in this park, and how lucky we were to be able to watch." 

Wahconah Park's 75-year-old grandstand was deemed unsafe in 2022, and planners have determined that starting from square one is the best option; a $15 million rebuild is on the table. Demolition is expected to begin soon, and the city planned the "Farewell to the Grandstand" event to celebrate its past and look forward to the future. 

The old grandstand also had to be redrafted when estimates for construction came in at more than $200,000. It would be built at about half the length of the wooden structure it replaced for a sum of $115,000.

"In the early 1900s, Wahconah Park went from concept on paper to construction. The grandstand was built between the 1949 and 1950 seasons. It was designed to seat about 2,000 fans. A few decades later, in 2005, Wahconah Park was listed in the National Register of Historic Places," Mayor Peter Marchetti said. 

"That longevity matters because it connects today's games, school events, and community gatherings to more than a century of shared memories." 

Marchetti and "Banjo Joe" Ryan led a verse of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," adding "Root, root, root for the Suns, if they don't win it's a shame." Pittsfield and its longtime summer collegiate baseball team, the Pittsfield Suns, have signed a negotiating rights agreement, solidifying that the two will work together when the historic ballpark is renovated. 

Artifacts of the ballpark were displayed in cases outside of the grandstand for the event, along with banners depicting the park's history and a roped-off area for community members to see the structure one last time.