Boundless Playground on road to goal

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Christine Singer and Donald Ferry. (Submitted Photo)
PITTSFIELD — The Rotary Club of Pittsfield has named Christine Singer and Donald Ferry as leaders of the Rotary's Centennial project, the development of a Boundless Playground at Springside Park. Singer is executive director of the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Berkshire County. Ferry is an architect with Bradley Architects Inc. To mark the 100th birthday of Rotary International, the club will join forces this year with the community to provide a play space. While traditional playgrounds are typically built within the Americans with Disabilities Act federal guidelines of “50-percent accessible” play equipment, the Boundless Playground will create a play-space that is “70-percent accessible” to children with physical disabilities — designed to meet the needs of children with sensory and developmental disabilities, according to a Rotary news release. The club will work with the Boundless Playground organization of Bloomfield, Conn. The city of Pittsfield, through the efforts of a group of advocates for the disabled led by the cerebral palsy association and Berkshire County ARC, has donated land in Springside Park for the playground — to be built beside the North Little League field on Springside Avenue. While the Rotary Club of Pittsfield is leading the effort, many businesses and agencies are collaborating to make the playground a reality, including Berkshire Bank Foundation, the city of Pittsfield, the state, through a Community Development Block Grant, Legacy Banks, Reynolds, Barnes and Hebb, Pittsfield Cooperative Bank, Banknorth, North Little League, Berkshire Life Charitable Foundation, Berkshire Environmental Fund, KB Toys, Carr Hardware and Alnasco. In addition, Allendale, Crosby, Conte and Morningside schools are leading the school initiative effort, and individual donors from the Rotary Club have invested in the project. A goal of $350,000 has been set to insure completion of a playground design inspired by local schoolchildren — and to create an endowment to assist the city with future maintenance needs. To date, $235,000 has been pledged. Singer, a Rotarian, volunteer for the Berkshire United Way and vice-chairwoman of the Northern Berkshire United Way Annual Campaign, was the recipient of the Thomas Cooney volunteer award in 2000 for outstanding volunteer efforts. She has also been recognized by the state for her outstanding work initiatives and advocacy on behalf of persons with disabilities. Ferry, also a Rotarian, is the Cub Master with Boy Scout Pack 1. He has worked on three house designs for Habitat for Humanity and is an advisor to the Taconic High School carpentry program. Singer and Ferry are leading a large group of volunteers. Committee chairmen include Marshall Raser of Carr Hardware, for individual and corporate gifts; Kelly Baity of Girl's Inc. and Brenda Garcia of United Cerebral Palsy, for grants; Ken Singer, of Berkshire County ARC and Jim McGrath of the Pittsfield Parks Commission, for design and construction; Gail Molari of Molari Inc., for community and civic organizations; Suzanne Zavatter of Catholic Schools of Pittsfield and Becky Paquette, schools; Pam Knisley of CB Rose Realty and Beth Mulvey of Berkshire Health Systems, for communications; Attorney Tom Hamel and Mike Passardi of Pittsfield Pipers, for in-kind gifts; and Vin Marinaro of the Catholic Youth Center, Diane Carlo of Berkshire United Way and Rosemary Callahan of Global Travel, for special events. Additional community participation is being sought. Many sponsorship opportunities, large and small, are available to make the project a success. Information: Singer, 442-1562, or Ferry, 448-8253.
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Lanesborough Fifth-Graders Win Snowplow Name Contest

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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