More than 600 Participate in Steel Rail Races

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- Matthew Ferraro was the first runner across the finish line at the MountainOne Steel Rail Marathon.
 
Ferraro clocked a time of 2 hours, 41 minutes flat on the Ashuwilticook Rail Trail course.
 
He finished a little more than five minutes ahead of runner-up Nick Reid (2:46:15).
 
Simone Veale won the race's women's division in a time of 3:18:42. She beat out Jill Hussain, who covered the course in 3:27:23.
 
The fastest marathoner on Sunday was Stephen Gulley, a hand cyclist, who clocked a time of 2:15:03.
 
The 26.2-mile circuit was covered by 150 finishers ranging in age from 18 (William Hanley in 14th place) to 72 (Ric Nudell, who finished in 6:04:47).
 
The day also featured a half-marathon and an 8-kilometer race.
 
Mark Rabasco won the half-marathon in 1:18:41, edging Vincent Gauthier (1:22:38).
 
Kat Morrissey placed third overall in 1:23:43 and first among women in the half-marathon, which had 213 finishers.
 
Abigail Chaloux was the fastest woman in the 8K, crossing the finish line in 35:52, six seconds ahead of Caroline Kessler; the two women were ninth and 10th, respectively, overall in a field of 171 finishers.
 
Peter Hale had the fastest 8K time, 27:42. Erik Kessler was second in 30:32.
 
More than 600 people registered for Sunday's races, a record for the Berkshire Running Foundation event. Runners from 24 different states signed up to run.
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Dalton Pushes for Capital Funding in Charter Contract

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — The Cable Advisory Commission presented its pressing needs for local cable access to a Charter Communications representative, with hopes they will be included in the cable company's draft license.
 
The town's attorney on the issue, William Solomon, advocated for negotiating on the biggest issues first, specifically capital funding, but noted that there has been an impasse for other towns for which he has negotiated contracts.
 
"Nowadays, I think they're telling people they don't give any capital," Solomon said before the presentation portion of the meeting.
 
The commission presented its 13-page cable ascertainment to Nancy Clark, Charter Communications director of government affairs, during its meeting on Monday. Clark participated via Zoom. 
 
The station manager Michael Sinopoli collaborated with consultant Eric Dresser to produce the document, which goes into detail about the station's mission and vision, examples of current programming, one-year metrics, strategic priorities, letters of support, needs, and challenges.
 
More on the station's needs here
 
The town expects that some compromises are possible on various sections. However, Solomon recommended that Charter first respond with its perspective on addressing the major issues. Once those are discussed, Charter can introduce additional topics as it sees fit, allowing for a more focused and productive negotiation process, he said.
 
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