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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Lanesborough Hopes for Continued Talks on Mall Sale

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Select Board is optimistic that talks for the Berkshire Mall sale will continue. 
 
Chair Deborah Maynard and Vice Chair Juli Baker were to meet with mall owner JMJ Holdings, the Baker Hill Road District, and proposed buyer Cypress Equities on Tuesday to discuss next steps. As of Wednesday, iBerkshires had received a "we are optimistic" from Maynard on the talks. The Berkshire Eagle reported a response from a Cypress representative saying talks will continue.  
 
Baker had updated the Select Board on Monday about the status of the sale and the efforts being undertaken by the renamed Baker Hill Economic District.
 
Cypress Equities pulled out of a purchase-and sale-agreement with mall owner JMJ last week for the following reasons. 
  • Not enough water service/pressure to the property to support redevelopment without constructing costly water tanks.
  • The current septic system and former treatment facility is not acceptable for a project of the scale and magnitude proposed.
  • There is existing asbestos and bad soil from the treatment system that needs to be remediated off site.
  • And the current structure and tax assessment of the Baker Hill Road District.
Baker has been working with what is now being called the Baker Hill Economic District and said she and the district members are happy that Cypress has decided to leave the door open to more discussions and that they have been working hard to try and address the company's needs.
 
Last month, the town had asked state Sen. Paul Mark and state Rep. John Barrett III to support the state Department of Transportation taking over the Connector Road, funding for a mall connection to Pittsfield's wastewater treatment plant and a connection to the town's water main.
 
Baker said an amendment has been drafted to cap the district's taxes to not grow more than 2.5 percent a year. She noted that, historically, taxes have not grown by more than one percent per year, so it won't be difficult to meet that cap.
 
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