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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Taconic High Speaker Booted for Passing Out 'Political Material'

Staff Reports
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A guest speaker at Taconic High School was escorted out of the building after school officials said they passed around unapproved political material.
 
Principal Matthew Bishop sent out an email and voice message to the school community explaining some of what happened. 
 
The event was an approved community outreach activity to write letters to veterans. The principal said the guest speaker had provided officials with the materials to be used for the activity, which were reviewed and approved. 
 
"However, the guest speaker began distributing politically motivated materials that were not previously approved," Bishop said. "As soon as staff became aware of this, we immediately asked that guest speaker to leave. ...
 
"The unauthorized materials distributed today were not part of what was shared with us beforehand.  This was a breach of trust and we wanted to be clear. The distribution of these materials is not endorsed by our school in any way."
 
Bishop did not identify who the speaker or what the unauthorized materials were. Some parents have pointed to a Turning Point USA representative and that the political material was a red wristband that says "We are Charlie Kirk."
 
An image posted to Facebook shows a group of male students showing off the bracelets with a woman wearing a shirt with a "Club America" logo on it. Club America is high school chapter of Turning Point, a conservative nonprofit founded Kirk. 
 
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