Williamstown digest

12:00AM / Tuesday, November 18, 2003Print Story | Email Story

GAP concert A concert to benefit the arts programs at Mount Greylock Regional High School will take place on Sunday, Nov. 23, at 2 p.m. at the Williamstown Elementary School on Church Street. The program will feature violinist Lilo Kantorowicz-Glick, who has performed abroad and throughout the United States, and pianist James Goldsworthy, of Westminster Choir College of Rider University in New Jersey. The son-in-law, mother-in-law duo has performed many benefit concerts for local and international causes. They will play works by Vivaldi and Dvorak and a selection of short pieces in a program that will last about one hour. Kantorowicz-Glick, who lives in Bennington, Vt., is a teacher as well as a performer. She has played at Carnegie Recital Hall, the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and in Germany, and has taught violin and viola at Mannes College of Music, Queens College and Bennington College. In addition, she has conduced master classes in Shanghai and at Stanford University. Goldsworthy has performed as an accompanist, chamber musician and soloist throughout Europe, Israel, Japan, Canada, and the United States. He has appeared on Austrian National Television, California cable television, BBC Radio and Minnesota Public Radio. He has taught at Goshen College and Stanford University and is presently a member of the faculty of the sacred music department at Westminster Choir College. The event is sponsored by the Greylock Assistance Project to support all the arts programs at Mount Greylock â€” vocal, instrumental, visual and theater. The GAP Fund was formed by concerned parents to help bridge the budget gap for co-curricular activities and teacher positions. It has been successful in restoring fall and winter programs, but funds are still needed for the balance of winter and spring activities. Tax-deductible donations can be sent to the GAP Fund, P.O. Box 615, Williamstown, MA 01267. Checks should be made payable to Berkshire Taconic Community Fund and can be designated for any activity or sport. Tickets for the benefit concert will be available at the door: $15 for adults, $8 for students in grades seven to 12, $5 for students in grade six and lower. Information: 458-4644. Evensong WILLIAMSTOWN â€” St. Johnâ€™s Episcopal Church, at 35 Park St., has invited the public to a service of Evensong at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 23, featuring singer-songwriter Steve Gillette and his wife, singer Cindy Mangsen, as guest musicians, and Sister Natalie Cain as guest preacher. Gillette and Mangsen have traveled, performed and recorded together since their marriage in 1989. Gillette has written songs for MGM and Walt Disney film scores, including songs for the Disney characters Jiminy Cricket, Dumbo, Rainbow Brite and Winnie-the-Pooh. His songs have been sung by many major artists, including Garth Brooks, John Denver, Gordon Lightfoot, Kenny Rogers and Tammy Wynette. Cindy Mangsen is well-known for her collaborations, especially in the trio Herdman, Hills, and Mangsen. She has made appearances on many syndicated radio programs, including â€œAll Things Consideredâ€ and â€œMountain Stage,â€ and was featured in concert on the public television series â€œIn the Tradition.â€ She has performed at many folk festivals across this country and Canada. Cain is a sister of St. Joseph and a North Adams native. Her ministries have included teaching, religious education, adult spiritual development, pastoral ministry, parish visiting and interfaith work. She is co-founder and program developer of the Womenâ€™s House of Peace and has for the past 10 years worked in grass-roots neighborhood leadership development with the North Berkshire Community Coalition. She is on the board of the Womenâ€™s Interfaith Institute of the Berkshires. Using homegrown stories of personal inspiration, her reflection at this service will focus on the question, â€œWho is my neighbor?â€ St. Johnâ€™s, next to the Williams College Faculty House, is accessible to wheelchairs. Information: 458-8144. Book donations Water Street Books, in conjunction with The Salvation Army, will provide new books for needy children and young adults for the holidays. The BE A STAR program, now in its sixth year, will run through Dec. 1 at the book store. Patrons can choose a star from the store's holiday tree with the name and age of a young person and purchase a book for them. Water Street Books will give a 20 percent discount on all children's books and will wrap gifts for those purchases. Also, the store will give advice on appropriate purchases. The Salvation Army in North Adams will distribute the books during the week of Dec. 17. Prom meet The Mount Greylock High School After Prom 2004 Committee will hold its first organizational meeting of the year on Monday, Nov. 24, at 7 p.m. in the high school library. All juniors, seniors and their parents, are invited to attend to learn about the 2004 After Prom, which will be held on Wednesday, June 2, from midnight to 6 a.m. at Eastover Resort in Lenox. This year marks the 11th annual Mount Greylock High School After Prom event, which is an all night, substance- free celebration for the senior class and guests. The event will feature non-stop food, entertainment, activities and prizes and is funded through donations from parents, local and area businesses and individuals. Information: Cara Miller, 458-5863. Police grant The Williamstown Police Department has received a $7,000 grant, part of a $2.2 million initiative by the state Executive Office of Public Safety for traffic enforcement over the holidays. Williamstown is one of 217 local police departments and the state police to receive funding for the second year through the Governor's Highway Safety Bureau's "Click It or Ticket" and "You Drink & Drive, You Lose" campaigns. The "Click It or Ticket" mobilization, from Nov. 10 to Nov. 30, will, said Chief of Police Arthur A. Parker Jr., "reduce the danger we all face from motor vehicle crashes during the heavily-traveled Thanksgiving Holiday period." "In addition to preventing aggressive and impaired driving and speeding, this mobilization will allow us to increase compliance with the Massachusetts safety belt and child passenger safety laws, so more people will be protected," Parker said. The programs, made possible by federal highway safety grants, combine traffic enforcement, public information, and community education. According to a department release, the "Click It or Ticket" campaign helped increase safety belt use from 51 percent in 2002 to 62 percent in 2003, but this compares unfavorably to a 79 percent belt use nationwide. The lowest use, 58 percent, was found among teen-agers. Massachusetts law requires all drivers and passengers to wear safety belts, or, in the case of children, booster seats or child safety seats. Drivers may be stopped by police solely for having a child under 12 years of age improperly restrained and are liable for a $25 fine for each child. Massachusetts law requires children under age 5 weighing 40 pounds or less to ride in a child safety seat; children 5 and older and weighing more than 40 pounds must wear a safety belt, and for maximum safety, children weighing from 40 to 80 pounds should ride in a booster seat, officials have advised. They also strongly suggest that children up to age 12 should ride in the back seat (away from air bags). Garden show The Williamstown Garden Club will honor the town's 250th birthday by sponsoring a show, "250 Years of Holidays," at the David and Joyce Milne Public Library on Dec. 5 and 6. Show Chairwoman Rita Watson said the club seeks entries from the general public and members of other clubs as well as from local club members. "250 Years of Holidaysâ€ will coincide with Williamstown's annual Holiday Walk. The show will have three divisions: Division I, Design, will include arrangements in the category "Holiday Traditions." Division II will feature container-grown plants and herbs, branches grown for foliage and a challenge class. Division III will be special exhibits, including educational and commercial exhibits, and a display of artwork by Edward Scofield and his students. Entry forms and a detailed schedule of categories and rules are available at the library and from Watson, at 458-4828. The show will be open to the public on Friday, Dec. 5, from 4 to 8 p.m., and Saturday, Dec. 6, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eclipse trip â€œThe sun will be totally eclipsed for about two minutes on Nov. 23, but only a few people and lots of penguins will see it,â€ according to Jay Pasachoff, Field Memorial professor of astronomy at Williams College. Totality, when the moon entirely hides the sun, will be visible only from a narrow path over Antarctica and the adjacent ocean. Two chartered aircraft will overfly Antarctica in the eclipse path, one icebreaker will carry passengers to the zone, and a handful of others will participate in additional expeditions. Pasachoff will be on one of the aircraft, flying out of Melbourne, Australia, for a 14-hour nonstop round trip. He will work with Glenn Schneider of the University of Arizonaâ€™s Steward Observatory to image the eclipse electronically, with the equipment mounted on a gyro platform for stability. Williams junior Zophia Edwards will also participate in the expedition. Antarctic eclipses recur with an interval of 18 years and 11 1/3 days. Expeditions from New Zealand, Russia, Switzerland and India will also observe the eclipse from Antarctica, and NHK-TV, the Japanese public television system, is planning an HDTV documentary and broadcast of totality. It will be the 37th solar eclipse for Pasachoff, the chairman of the Working Group on Eclipses of the International Astronomical Union. Public meetings A schedule of public meetings in or about Williamstown, as provided by Town Clerk Mary C. Kennedy, 458-9341, from official postings. Meetings are held at the municipal building, 31 North St., unless otherwise indicated: Wednesday, Nov. 19: Cable Advisory Committee, 5 p.m.; Community Preservation Committee, 7:30 p.m.; Mount Greylock School Study Committee, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 20: Prudential Committee, 5 p.m., fire station; Zoning Board, 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 24: Selectmen, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 25, Historical Commission, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 26, Conservation Commission, 7:15 p.m. Harper Center Elder Services Nutrition Program serves hot meals. Call 458-8250 or 458-5156; 48-hour notice is appreciated. Voluntary donations for van transportation are 50 cents one-way from Williamstown and $1 one-way from North Adams. Service is available 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Wednesday, Nov. 19: 1 p.m. bridge. Thursday, Nov. 20: 10 a.m. Tai Chi., 11 a.m., van to Wal-Mart, 11:30 a.m. lunch, 1 p.m. crafts, 3:30 p.m. knitting group, 4:30 p.m. Weight Watchers. Friday, Nov. 21, 10:30 a.m. exercise, 12:30 a.m. pizza lunch. Sunday, Nov. 23: 11:30 p.m. lunch. Monday, Nov. 24: 10:30 a.m. exercise, 11:30 a.m. lunch, 1 p.m. line dancing. Tuesday, Nov. 25: 9 a.m. oil painting, 1:15 p.m. Friendship Club Bingo. Potluck dinner Mount Greylock Partners will host a community potluck supper and the Wacky/Tacky gift exchange on Saturday, Nov. 22, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. in the school cafeteria. Individuals and families are welcome. The potluck and gift exchange are free, but everyone is asked to bring a food item to share with others, based upon the category that corresponds to the first initial of oneâ€™s last name: A-F: juice or soda, G-L: dessert, M-R: main dish, S-Z: tossed salad or fruit salad. Everyone, including each person in a family, is also asked to donate a gift for the gift table â€” something that is nearly new or too good to throw away. Information: John MacDonald, 458-0151. Deaths Richard Victor â€œRedâ€ Harris, 76, of 300 Henderson Road, Clarksburg, a former resident of Rowe and Williamstown, died Wednesday, Nov. 12, at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield. He was born in Somerville on Sept. 25, 1927, a son of Albert Victor Harris and Dorothy (Foster) Harris. He attended schools in New Bedford and graduated from New Bedford High School. He then served in the U.S. Army infantry during World War II and obtained the rank of staff sergeant. After his military career, he attended Bryant Business College in Providence, R.I., and graduated with a bachelorâ€™s degree in business administration. He then became associated with the Hoosac Mills Corp. in New Bedford and was transferred to the North Adams plant in 1959, where he was general manager and controller. In 1972, Mr. Harris became the assistant administrator for Farren Memorial Hospital in Turners Falls. In 1979, he obtained the position of executive vice president at Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield, and, in 1985, was appointed president of the center. He retired in 1990. Mr. Harris was an avid golfer and bowler. He was former member of the North Adams Rotary Club and the Industrial Management Club of Northern Berkshire and was a former director of the United Way Fund in North Adams. He held memberships in the Greenfield Kiwanis Club, American Hospital Association, Hospital Financial Management Association, Western Massachusetts Administrators Council and the New England Conference of the Catholic Hospital Association. He participated in various other civic activities. He coached for several youth baseball leagues in Williamstown and was a referee for the Williamstown Pee Wee football league. He leaves his wife, Jean L. (Richards) Harris, whom he married on Sept. 9, 1950; two sons, Mark V. Harris of Williamstown and Scott S. Harris of Cranston,R.I.; a sister, June Hastings of New Bedford, several nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, The funeral was Tuesday at the Flynn & Dagnoli-Montagna funeral home, West Chapels, 521 West Main St., North Adams, with the Rev. Jill Graham, pastor of the First Congregational Church of North Adams, officiating. Burial followed in Eastlawn Cemetery, Williamstown. Kerby Simonds, 81, of Stratton Road, died Monday, Nov. 10, at North Adams Regional Hospital. She was born on Aug. 29, 1922, in Minneapolis, Minn., daughter of Frederick Kerby and Mary (Winning) Comer. She attended schools in the United States and Canada, moving wherever her father, an actor, had roles. She married John Peebles Boyd in 1943, but they divorced. She later married David Haskell Simonds (Williams College â€™39), who died in 1996. In the 1940s, she was the assistant to Lois Long, who wrote the â€œOn and Off the Avenueâ€ page in The New Yorker magazine. In the 1950s, she was an advertising copywriter at Timely Associates in New York City. She worked for the Williamstown News, writing a page called â€œVillage Fair,â€ which had two columns, â€œHomespunâ€ and â€œSerendipity,â€ as well as various items of local interest. In 1974, she was the publicity director for Williamstown Community Chest. She was also a volunteer at the Womenâ€™s Exchange for 35 years. Mrs. Simonds leaves a daughter, Tracy Boyd of Bridgehampton, N.Y.; a son, David H. Simonds of New York City; four stepchildren, Christopher H. Simonds, Sarah M. Simonds, Katherine K. Simonds and Michael E. Simonds; two grandchildren and four step-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Nov. 22, at 1 p.m. from St. Johnâ€™s Episcopal Church. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to St. Johnâ€™s Memorial Fund or the Village Ambulance Service, through the George M. Hopkins Funeral Home, 61-67 Spring St., which is handling the arrangements.

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Lanesborough Fifth-Graders Win Snowplow Name Contest

02:13PM / Tuesday, December 23, 2025

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — One of the snowplows for Highway District 1 has a new name: "The Blizzard Boss."

The name comes from teacher Gina Wagner's fifth-grade class at Lanesborough Elementary School.

The state Department of Transportation announced the winners of the fourth annual "Name A Snowplow" contest on Monday.

The department received entries from public elementary and middle school classrooms across the commonwealth to name the 12 MassDOT snowplows that will be in service during the 2025/2026 winter season.

The purpose of the contest is to celebrate the snow and ice season and to recognize the hard work and dedication shown by public works employees and contractors during winter operations.

"Thank you to all of the students who participated. Your creativity allows us to highlight to all, the importance of the work performed by our workforce," said interim MassDOT Secretary Phil Eng.

"Our workforce takes pride as they clear snow and ice, keeping our roads safe during adverse weather events for all that need to travel. ?To our contest winners and participants, know that you have added some fun to the serious take of operating plows. ?I'm proud of the skill and dedication from our crews and thank the public of the shared responsibility to slow down, give plows space and put safety first every time there is a winter weather event."

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