Williamstown digest

12:00AM / Tuesday, November 25, 2003Print Story | Email Story

New coffeehouse JavaJive, a teen coffeehouse featuring entertainment and refreshments, will open Friday, Dec. 5, at 7:30 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, with proceeds to benefit Mount Greylock Regional High Schoolâ€™s GAP fund for school programs. â€œThe coffeehouse was inspired by a number of things,â€ said Deborah Burns, one of the adult mentors. â€œThe funding crisis the school is in the midst of, the wealth of talent among the students and the lack of a place for kids to go in Williamstown.â€ The coffeehouse is designed provide a safe, substance-free, entertaining place for teens to relax and have fun on Friday nights. It is open to everyone (adults and families included). The cover charge is $5 for adults, $3 for students, $1 for performers. Coffee, tea, cocoa, cider, snacks and desserts will be for sale. Live entertainment will be featured each month in an open microphone format for poetry, song, musical performance and comedy. Teenagers are invited to come and perform or just hang out. â€œThe coffeehouse gives all these talented kids a performance venue, and it gives them some business experience. The extra motivation is that they are contributing to the programs they care about at Mount Greylock,â€ Burns said. Besides benefiting school programs, the coffeehouse will provide teens with opportunities to help the arts and theater programs while cultivating their business and management skills, she said. A steering committee of about 12 teenagers will run the coffeehouse with support from adults. Students will decide what food and beverages to serve, how to organize the entertainment and how to promote the coffeehouse. Adults will help with transportation and other logistics. After three months, it will be decided when and how the coffeehouse will continue. To sign up to perform, contact Mollie Berman at TheRedRoseHouse@sailormoon.com. To volunteer, contact Burns, 458-0925. 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. Kids nights Starting in December, the Williams College menâ€™s and womenâ€™s track and field teams will host their â€œKids Night Outâ€ series in Towne Fieldhouse at the college. During the fall semester, there will be two Friday night sessions, on Dec. 5 and 12. After the holidays, the program will begin again on Jan. 9 and will be held each Friday in January. Two additional â€œKids Night Outâ€ events will be held Feb. 6 and 13. Each event will run from 6:30 to 9: 30 p.m. Children of all ages will have the opportunity to engage in activities including soccer, basketball, an obstacle course, running events, board games and arts and crafts. The teams use proceeds from the events to offset the cost of their spring preseason training trip. The fee is $10 a child, and a family rate is available. Information: 597-2447. Pancake breakfast WILLIAMSTOWN â€” Williamstown Elementary School sixth-grade students and their parents are finalizing plans for the annual pancake breakfast. One of many fund-raising events planned to support the studentsâ€™ spring field trip to Cape Cod, the sixth annual breakfast will be held Sunday, Dec. 7, from 8 to noon at the school cafeteria. The cost of the breakfast, which will include pancakes, sausage and fruit with fruit juice and hot beverages, is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and children under 13. The sixth graders will decorate, set and clear tables, sell tickets and clean up, as well as cook and serve. The class of 2004 consists of 80 students who will spend several days on the Cape with teachers and parent chaperones studying marine life and ocean habitat. Police seek help Police are seeking the occupants of a red Jeep or any information about the vehicle that was allegedly involved in an attempted abduction of a 15-year-old girl on Hall Street last Thursday. According to a department release, the Jeep stopped next to the girl, and the passenger in the rear opened the rear door and told her, "Get in the car, pretty girl." The girl walked away from the Jeep and watched it turn onto Cole Avenue, police said. The operator and the rear seat passenger were described as white males in their early to mid-20s. The front seat passenger was described as a white female of about the same age. The Jeep was described as a red, late model four-door, and possibly a Cherokee style. No plate number or distinctive markings were observed. Police have asked that anyone in the area who may have seen this Jeep or observed the incident call the department at 458-5733. Buxton play WILLIAMSTOWN â€” Buxton School will present William Shakespeareâ€™s â€œAs You Like Itâ€ as part of this yearâ€™s Thanksgiving Arts Festival. The play, directed by Franny Suker-Haines, is about the lengths to which people will go to seek love, and its redemptive power once found. It includes the mistaken identities, cross-dressing, and physicality that characterize Shakespeareâ€™s comedies, and contains the well-known â€œAll the worldâ€™s a stageâ€ speech. Local students involved in the production include Elyse Derosia, daughter of Sandra Derosia of Williamstown, and Sophia Giordano, daughter of Ruth and Peter Giordano, also of Williamstown. Hoop Group The Hoop Group, Williams Collegeâ€™s basketball booster club, has arranged for bus transportation to the menâ€™s basketball game against Division I Holy Cross in Worcester on Thursday, Dec. 4. The bus will leave the Williams hockey rink on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. The cost is $15 per person. Reservations must be made by calling 663-6641. Local scholar Lanie T. Stinson of Williamstown, a biology major at Bates College, is participating in the Junior Semester Abroad program, studying at James Cook University in Townsville, Australia. A 2001 graduate of Mount Greylock Regional High School, she is the daughter of William and Susan Stinson of Treadwell Hollow Road. Scholarships The Williamstown Scholarship Committee has announced the availability of applications for scholarships for the second semester of the current school year. Award recipients must be residents of Williamstown. The scholarships are meant for those who have already begun their college experience and for those who are considered non-traditional students (enrolled in accredited educational programs beyond the secondary school level), having returned to the academic world after a period of time doing other things. Students who have been accepted or are already enrolled in technical or vocational post-secondary programs are eligible to apply. Students who graduated from high school in 2003 and current high school seniors will not be considered for these post-graduate scholarships since they are eligible for other scholarship awards,. They are encouraged to apply in subsequent years, when they meet the requirements. The Williamstown Scholarship Committee consists of seven town residents appointed by the Selectmen, Paul Boyer, Dick Dodds, Maury Filler, Ed Filiault, Jim Gazzaniga, Mark Piechota and Cheryl Yarter. Funding for the scholarships comes from voluntary contributions by town residents. It is anticipated that this yearâ€™s scholarships will total $4,000. Applications are available at the treasurer/collectorâ€™s office in the municipal building and may be obtained in person or by mail. The application deadline is Jan. 5, 2004. Completed applications must be received in the treasurer/collectorâ€™s office no later than 5 p.m. on that date. Awards will be announced in late January, and scholarships will be mailed by Feb. 6 to the recipientsâ€™ educational institutions for second-semester payment. Library donations The trustees of the David & Joyce Milne Public Library have thanked the many individuals who donated in response to the sixth Trustees Annual Fund letter. The bulk of the 2003 Fund, which to date has received over $17,000, will be used to improve the efficiency of the recently installed and long-awaited air-conditioning. Window-tinting film and sheer shades will reflect harmful UV rays, reduce light damage to collections and keep rooms cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Ceiling fans are also being considered as another possible way to increase energy efficiency. The trustees are still seeking donations to the annual fund and to the upcoming Friends of the Library 2004 membership drive. Community members have been encouraged to join the Friends or renew their memberships. No dumping The townâ€™s transfer station will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 27, and Friday, Nov. 28, for the Thanksgiving holiday. It will reopen Saturday, Nov. 29, at 7 a.m. 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. 26, Conservation Commission, 7:15 p.m. Monday, Dec. 1, Board of Health, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2, Mount Greylock School Committee, 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 3, Sign Commission, 5 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. 26, 1 p.m. bridge. Thursday and Friday, Nov. 27 and 28, Harper Center closed. Sunday, Nov. 30, 11:30 p.m. lunch. Monday, Dec. 1, 10:30 a.m. exercise; 11:30 a.m. lunch; 1 p.m. line dancing. Tuesday, Dec. 2, 9 a.m. oil painting; 9:45 and 10:45 a.m., van to Stop & Shop; 1 p.m., Bingo. Deaths Arabella Zenobia Alcott Murphy, 100, a long-time resident of Madison, Wis., died on Friday, Nov. 14, at Sweetwood Continuing Care Retirement Community. She was born on April 21, 1903, in Cement, Oklahoma Territory, daughter of Leborah Farrelly and William Webster Alcott. After spells in Clinton, Mo., and Alpena Pass, Ark., the family settled in Chanute, Kansas. In her childhood, her familyâ€™s guests included famed outlaws Jesse and Frank James, upon whose horses she and her brothers were occasional passengers. She finished high school in Chanute, where her mother taught primary school, then majored in physical education at Kansas State Teachers College in Emporia. Soon thereafter, she moved to Chicago, where she taught math for a time then worked in the deanâ€™s office at Oak Park High School until World War II. In 1944, while serving as a lieutenant in the WAVEs, she met Navy lieutenant Robert Murphy of Madison, Wis. They married on Oct. 11, 1947, in Bloomington, Ill. He died on Sept. 11, 2001. In Madison, Mrs. Murphy was active in the Legal Auxiliary of Dane County, the National Legal Auxiliary, the Attic Angel Association and the Madison Catholic Womenâ€™s Club. She was fond of reading and a perpetual student of Spanish,. She and her husband traveled frequently to Europe and Mexico, often in the company of their close friend Dorothy Babcock Kendall. Mrs. Murphy moved to Sweetwood in September 2003 to be closer to her nieces, Mary Alcott Ferger of Williamstown and Genevieve Alcott Causse of Darien, Conn. A celebration of her life was held on Wednesday, Nov. 19, at Sweetwood. She leaves nephews and nieces, a grand niece and many great-grand nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by two brothers, Gilbert Farrelly and Royal Blakeley. The funeral was Friday, Nov. 21, in Madison, with burial following. Local arrangements were under the direction of the George M. Hopkins Funeral Home, 61-67 Spring St., Williamstown. Virginia Ann Sturtevant, 61, of 139 Bridges Road, died Tuesday, Nov. 18, at Albany Medical Center in Albany, N.Y. She was born in Worcester on Jan. 11, 1942, a daughter of Frederick H. and Evelyn (Agard) Sturtevant. She attended schools in Shrewsbury. She then obtained her bachelorâ€™s degree in French literature and elementary education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She was certified by the university in both elementary education and secondary education. She received a masterâ€™s in education from Central Michigan University, specializing in learning disabilities and vocational education, graduating summa cum laude. She was a French teacher in Shrewsbury for three years and served as the French Club advisor and class advisor. She also taught French and English at Easthampton Junior High School, where she served as co-chairman for the Scholarship Committee for one year. She was employed by the Northern Berkshire Association for Retarded Citizens in North Adams as director of the evaluation and training program. She also worked at Southern Vermont College in Bennington, Vt., and at Holyoke Community College, as head coordinator for the learning disabilities program. She was the recipient of an award at Southern Vermont College presented by the student body in 1989 for her outstanding dedication. She also worked for the Berkshire County ARC Program in Pittsfield as the coordinator. She was last employed at the Community College of Vermont in Bennington as coordinator for academic services, a position she held at the time of her death. She was a member of the Council for the Handicapped in North Adams, the Association on Higher Education and Disability and the National Education Association. She was an avid reader of classical literature and loved music and playing the piano and singing. She was a member of the Sweet Adelines singing group. She was a writer and enjoyed gardening, playing tennis, collecting stamps and postcards. She was also was an activist for the environment and animals. She leaves three daughters, Corinne â€œCoriâ€ Spezeski of South Hadley; Deidre Spezeski-Nassar of Williamstown and Kara Spezeski of Williamstown, with whom she made her home; two grandchildren and her companion, Norman Dâ€™Amico of Clarksburg. A Celebration of the Life was held Sunday at the Learning Center in Bennington. Memorial donations are suggested for Amnesty International, Green Peace, the Environmental Defense Fund or the charity of the donorâ€™s choice, through the Flynn & Dagnoli-Montagna funeral home, West Chapels, 521 West Main St., North Adams, MA 01247.

iBerkshires.com Text Ads

RIBCO Supply

Check out our great lineup of Boss Plows, and spreaders. 2 Locations Clarksburg & Pittsfield!

ribcosupply.com

rk MILES Blding Materials

Are You Ready to Update Your Home? Start With rk MILES. 4 Locations (800)670-7433

www.rkmiles.com

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

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."

View Full Story