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Adams Officials Wary of New School Project
There was some uncertainty on the board's part that building a new elementary school would be the best solution.
North Adams Councilor Raises 'Food Desert' Issue in West End
These developments may be private, but Cohen feels "that there is a need for larger conversations with our leadership." Her suggestion was to refer it to the Community Development Board and perhaps to extend the conversation to involve more stakeholders.
Pittsfield Couple Dies In Early Morning Fire
An elderly couple died in an early morning fire on Bryan Street Thursday morning. Shortly before 4 a.m. an electrical cord short-circuited and set the home at 71 Bryan Street on fire. The three occupants - the couple and their daughter - woke up to heavy smoke on the first floor. The daughter, described as being in her early 30s, escaped the blaze and ran to a neighbors house to call for help.
Trick-or-Treat, Halloween Events 2018
Below is a list of towns holding trick-or-treat hours and/or events on Halloween.
Pittsfield Car Rolls Over In Driveway, Hits Neighboring Building
Police and fire responded to a somewhat unique accident Monday afternoon. In the driveway of a Columbus Avenue multi-family apartment building was an overturned Subaru, leaning on the neighbor's home. There were no injuries as the woman got out of the vehicle with only minor bumps and scratches.
Adams Woman Charged in Fatal Hit & Run
An Adams woman has been charged in the hit-and-run accident last month that resulted in the death 38-year-old Jerome "Jeremy" Berard.
North Adams Council Endorses Keeping Gun Range Open
It was a strong rebuke to Mayor Thomas Bernard, who had ordered the range closed to public access effective Jan. 1, 2019, after learning that the city's insurance company would no longer cover it for liability reasons. The Police Department will still continue to use it.
Clarksburg VFW Unveils New Sign, Name for Town Field
Town meeting voted to rename the field last December to memorialize Cook and the town's veterans and the local Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter, also named after Cook, raised the funds to install the sign.
Williamstown Officials Confront Issues Related to Off-Campus Parties
In response to reports by a local resident about past issues related to the event, board members Jane Patton and Andrew Hogeland voted against authorizing the closure.
Williamstown Town Manager, School Building Committee Members Clash over Permit Fees
At issue is about $154,000 billed to the regional school district for permitting. In fact, the town is owed about $295,000, based on its standard permit fee schedule, but about half of that has been passed through to subcontractors on the school building project.
Cumberland Farms Faces Questioning at Community Meeting
The discussions that started at 5:30 went well past the 7 p.m. mark as company representatives were peppered with questions about traffic and the site plan.
Adams Selectmen Want to Find Compromise With Cumberland Farms
At the end of Wednesday night's meeting, Chairman John Duval said the board supports the Commercial Street development because it will represent new growth.
Pittsfield Calls For Increased Monitoring, Communication Regarding Hill 78
Increased levels of contamination in groundwater near the toxic waste sites near Allendale School have city councilors asking for increased scrutiny. The City Council accepted a report which calls for another meeting with the state Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Public Health, and the U.S. EPA in response to the May test results around what is known as Hill 78 and Building 71. The sites are toxic landfills created as part of the General Electric cleanup.
Berkshire Money Management Donates $2,500 to Thanksgiving Angels
Thanksgiving really isn't that far away. At the South Congregational Church, volunteers are already gearing up for the Thanksgiving Angels program, which provides turkeys and all of the sides to thousands of local residents in need. On Wednesday, Berkshire Money Management helped kick off the season with a $2,500 donation.
Adams Property Owners See Tax Rate Drop for Fiscal 2019
The rate for residential will be $21.39 per $1,000 valuation; the commercial rate will be $25.40, a 14 cent drop from this year. The commercial and industrial shift will increase from 1.12 to 1.15.
Adams Finance Committee Approves Special Town Meeting Warrant
Earlier this week, the Selectmen declared a state of emergency to allows the town to deficit spend in order to mitigate damage left in the wake of the two rainstorms that caused substantial flooding.
North Adams Library's Stained-Glass Protective Pane Cracked
Library Director Mindy Hackner told the trustees Wednesday that she cannot find anyone willing to make the repair.
Pittsfield Continues to Stumble Over Trash Ordinance
Box, bundle, barrel, bag, whatever, just keep it orderly. That's what Ward 3 City Council Nicholas Caccamo is now proposing for a trash ordinance after re-writing the existing laws from top to bottom looking to focus only on health and aesthetics. His new version does not include any limits on the amount of trash nor does it require a toter or special bags after both had been harshly opposed by residents.
Pittsfield Firefighters Quickly Knock Out North Street Fire
Fire Chief Robert Czerwinski said crews got the call at 9:11 that heavy smoke was showing at the back of the multi-family house on the corner of Edgewood Road, just north of Berkshire Medical Center.
Adams Sets Emergency Town Meeting
The town was left with an estimated $2 million in damage and, currently, state representatives are trying to secure some funding.
Mark Shapp Honored as RSVP Volunteer of the Year
Mark Shapp knows his way around, whether that be City Hall or a train. And Shapp is happy to share his knowledge with anyone. In the last decade, he's volunteered 4,316 of his hours to do just that. In the last year, he's spent 629 hours volunteering as the City Hall ambassador and with the Berkshire Scenic Railway.
Berkshire Works Rebrands as MassHire
We have jobs. That's what numerous elected officials proclaimed Wednesday morning. There are thousands of jobs available. But, at the same time, there are still thousands of people in the Berkshires looking. "We have jobs, lots of jobs, nearly 1,500 every day. Job from travel and tourism to engineering to health care, executives and entry-level and every level of talent," Mayor Linda Tyer said. "We have jobs. The Berkshires are ready to hire."
Adams Officials Say Infrastructure Needed to Deal With Flooding
Two rainstorms on Sept. 12 and 18 overwhelmed some of the town's flood control system. Flooding affected the Lime, Davis, North Summer, and Charles street areas damaging people's property and causing over $2 million in damage to public infrastructure.
Adams-Cheshire Pleased With New MCAS Test Scores
Superintendent John Vosburgh told the School Committee on Monday that the district has received a rating of 59 percent "partially meeting targets" that means although there is much work to do, the district rating with the state is improving.
Ribbon Cut On New $120.8 Million Taconic High School
Taconic senior Alexandria Carmon went to numerous vocational competitions against schools throughout the state. And it made her jealous. The health technologies program at Taconic had great teachers. It was a great program. But the other schools had better technology. They had a better environment to practice their trades.
The Independent Investor: The Student Loan Crisis
Since the financial crisis and Great Recession over a decade ago, student loans have grown by almost 157 percent. Compare that to auto loans, which have risen 52 percent. In the case of mortgage and credit card debt, we have seen a decrease by about 1 percent.
Victor, Dumigan Presented Pittsfield Schools Superintendent Award
The two received the Massachusetts Association of Superintendents Certificates of Excellence Wednesday night. One student from each high school wins the prestigious award annually and this year Taconic's Victor and PHS's Dumigan are the recipients.
North County Community Dedicated to Continuing Nelson's Story
Nelson's work on that project and his inspiration within the community in leading by example won't be forgotten. During a tribute on Monday night for Nelson, who died in July at age 83, the pantry's new name was revealed as the Al Nelson Friendship Center.
Treasurer Goldberg Pushes College Savings Program To Reid Students
Nearly all of Reid Middle School's eighth graders could raise their hand when asked if they remember being in fourth grade. "That was not that long ago and yet here you are, 8th graders," Superintendent Jason McCandless said to the class on Friday.
Gabriel Abbott School Starts Off School Year With Anti-Bullying Blitz
The children had a good handle on the different components of the game, readily answering questions about the aspects making up the bingo card. It's not surprising because the bullying prevention program has been part of their curriculum since kindergarten.
Knight Backs Caccaviello in District Attorney's Race
Judith Knight isn't going to be the next district attorney. But she hopes Paul Caccaviello will be. Knight, who finished third in the Democratic primary in September, is putting her support behind Caccaviello's write-in campaign. Knight made the announcement on steps of the Berkshire Superior Court on Tuesday.
With Financing Mostly In Place, St. Mary's Redevelopment Moving Forward
With a new investor on board, CT Management has just about all of its funding in place to redevelop the St. Mary the Morningstar campus. Developer David Carver purchased the property at the end of 2017 with plans to transform the historic property into 29 market-rate housing units. Since then the company has been working on securing the financing need to preserve the buildings, transform the interiors, while still making economic sense. The project is estimated to cost more than $6 million.
