Pine Cobble energized by Afghan effort

By Linda CarmanPrint Story | Email Story
Rush Filson enthralls Pine Cobble students Monday. (Photo By Linda Carman)
WILLIAMSTOWN – Afghan children crowded around Marine Corps Major Rush Filson with their requests – not candy, not toys, not money. “They wanted notebooks and pencils, crayons, books,” Filson told a roomful of Pine Cobble School students Monday. Filson has just returned from a tour of duty as an advisor in Afghanistan, where his visit to a rural school sparked a fund-raising drive that has raised more than $45,000 and drawn in church congregations, schools, including Pine Cobble and in Adams, St. Stanislaus Kostka, as well as organizations such as the Dalton WeBeLows and a 4-H horse group in Stephentown, N.Y. “My hat’s off to you,” Filson told students at Pine Cobble, which he had attended from fourth to seventh grades, and where he helped coach lacrosse after graduating from Bates College in Maine. Pine Cobble students held bake sales and wrote letters to students at the school in Lowgar, in the eastern part of the country. The school wants to maintain a connection, Filson said. Pine Cobble youngsters were full of questions, the group a sea of waving hands. Students wanted to know about Afghan children’s favorite games – which are marbles and kite-flying, Filson told them. “They make kites out of twigs and plastic bags,” he said, noting that the ousted Taliban regime had outlawed kites. It was the resolve and courage of principal Abdul Nabi that launched a fund drive by Sally and Donald Goodrich of Bennington, Vt., whose son Peter was killed when the United Airlines plane he was on was hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center in the 9-11 attacks in 2001. The Goodriches, family friends of the Filsons, read Rush Filson’s e-mails home and were inspired to send school supplies to the school that had so impressed Filson, their son Peter’s childhood friend. That impulse — both to reach out and to channel their grief — turned into a campaign that has drawn the attention, and the contributions, of many. And it aims to not only help the individual Afghan schoolchildren, but to build bridges and, by fostering education, dispel some of the hatred that coalesced into the 9-11 attacks. Although none of the hijackers was Afghan, they had trained at camps run by the Al Qaeda terrorist organization when that country was run by the Taliban regime. An American invasion dislodged the Taliban, but the struggle for a functioning country is ongoing. Asked about Afghan attitudes toward American military, Filson responded that after 25 years of war following the Soviet invasion, Afghans are glad to have the Americans there and want only security, safety, and to get on with their lives. “The people of Afghanistan are sick and tired of war, and want to raise their families in peace and rebuild their lives, buildings and institutions,” Filson said, adding that Afghan hospitality is exceptional. “The people want us there. They’re so sick of war. They want stability and security, and we provide that.” Food, clothing, customs all interested the Pine Cobble students. The Afghan school that has benefited from local generosity — including $10,000 from an 84-year-old family friend of Sally Goodrich’s — has a staff of six women teachers, and well over 100 students, both boys and girls in the early grades, and all girls in the higher grades, Filson said. The principal, Nabi, has pursued education for girls and women at great personal risk, he said. “He and his entire family have had their lives threatened,” he said. “But he says, ‘You can kill me, but until you do, I’m going to continue to teach.’ He’s courageous. That’s why I was attracted to him.” The school that has received donated supplies from area donors is in a compound provided rent-free by an Afghan-American. As donations have snowballed, the project has, in some ways, changed form, if not focus. “We’re working to build a school,” Sally Goodrich said. The school will be located about 2 miles from the original school and will be next to a boys’ school and quite near a training camp for anti-narcotics squads so security will be greatly improved. “We’re hopeful Abdul Nabi can be a teacher there,” Goodrich said. The new school is intended to include students from both Nabi’s private school and a girls’ school now operating out of the female principal’s home. “We’re so impressed and humbled by your great gifts,” she told the students. “We anticipate an ongoing relationship.” Filson, who was moved by Nabi’s journey to Kabul to bid him goodbye, said the changes will ultimately benefit the children. The project, Goodrich said, transcends politics and religion, and is supported by a cross-section of people. “People are hungry to cross boundaries,” she said.
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Dalton Announces New Supplier for Energy Program

DALTON, Mass. – The Town of Dalton has signed a thirty-four month contract with a new supplier, First Point Power.
 
Beginning with the January 2026 meter reads, the Dalton Community Choice Power Supply Program will have a new rate of $0.13042 per kWh. The Program will also continue to offer an optional 100 percent green product, which is derived from National Wind Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), at a rate of $0.13142 per kWh.
 
For Dalton residents and businesses who are enrolled in the Town's Program, the current rate of $0.13849 per kWh will expire with the January 2026 meter reads and the new rate of $0.13042 per kWh will take effect. This represents a decrease of $5 per month on the supply side of the bill given average usage of 600 kWh. Additionally, this new rate is 3 percent lower than Eversource's Residential Basic Service rate of $0.13493 per kWh. Residents can expect to see an
average savings of $3 per month for the month of January 2026. Eversource's Basic Service rates
will change on Feb. 1, 2026.
 
Dalton launched its electricity program in January 2015 in an effort to develop an energy program that would be stable and affordable. From inception through June 2025, the Program has saved residents and small businesses over $1.7 million in electricity costs as compared to Eversource Basic Service.
 
It is important to note that no action is required by current participants. This change will be seen on the February 2026 bills. All accounts currently enrolled in the Program will remain with their current product offering and see the new rate and First Point Power printed under the "Supplier Services" section of their monthly bill.
 
The Dalton Community Choice Power Supply Program has no fees or charges. However, anyone switching from a contract with a third-party supplier may be subject to penalties or early termination fees charged by that supplier. Ratepayers should verify terms before switching.
 
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