The Berkshire Chapter Of Recording For The Blind & Dyslexic Introduces Downloadable Audio Textbooks

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For 60 years Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D) has produced audio textbooks proven to boost student performance in reading and comprehension, while also boosting independence and self-confidence. Over time, the original practice of recording books onto phonographs eventually gave way to reel-to-reel technology, cassette tapes and finally compact discs.

Now, with the new AudioAccess, RFB&D members and their schools can simply download thousands of RFB&D audiotexts onto a compatible media player. All students need to install the software is Microsoft Windows XP or Vista, high-speed Internet, and a compatible portable media player. Gaining access to the largest library of unabridged audio textbooks and literature in the United States just got a whole lot easier!

Join RFB&D and try new AudioAccess today - the benefits go beyond words.

For information about AudioAccess, please contact Cyd Melcher at (413) 464-2655 or cmelcher@rfbd.org

Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D) is a national nonprofit organization whose volunteers read and record textbooks and other educational materials for students who have visual, learning, and physical disabilities. Locally, almost 200 people volunteer their time in the Lenox and Williamstown studios. The recorded texts are used by over 10,000 students of all ages throughout Massachusetts.


Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic Learning Through Listening(tm)

Lenox Studio - 55 Pittsfield Road, Lenox, MA 01240 (413) 637-0889

Williamstown Studio - 622A Main St., Williamstown, Ma. 01267 (413) 458-3641

We invite the general public to stop by our studios to see what we do and to learn why our work is so important to students with print disabilities.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Flooding Leads Pittsfield ConCom to Bel Air Dam Deconstruction Site

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Bel Air Dam project team toured the site on Monday with the Conservation Commission to review conditions following a flooding incident

Work has been on hold for two weeks after melting snow and a release of water from Pontoosuc Lake led to water overtopping of the almost 200-year-old, abandoned dam. The project team says deconstruction is still on track to end in December. 

"They have plenty of time to finish the work, so they don't expect that they're going to need extra time, but we're all waiting," reported Robert Lowell, the Department of Conservation and Recreation's deputy chief engineer. 

"… it's unfortunate, but the high-water conditions in the spring, we did have in the contract that the site might flood, so there was supposed to be a contingency for it, and we're now dealing with the complications of that." 

DCR's Office of Dam Safety is leading the $20 million removal of the classified "high hazard" dam, funded by American Rescue Plan Act dollars. It has been an area of concern for more than a decade. 

The dam on Pontoosuc Brook dates to 1832 and was used for nearly a hundred years to power a long-gone woolen mill. It's being targeted for removal, using American Rescue Plan Act funds, because the stacked stone structure poses a significant danger to homes and businesses downstream. Excavation of sediment began last fall by contractor SumCo Eco-Contracting of Wakefield. 

Earlier this month, community members noticed flooding at the site bordering Wahconah Street; water levels were down by the next week. Conservation commissioners called for the site visit with concerns about the effects of the water release and how it is being remedied.  

The group got a look at the large project area near the dam and asked questions. Chair James Conant explained that community members wanted to know the cause of the flooding. 

Jane Winn, former executive director of the Berkshire Environmental Action Team, said this was specifically brought up at the Conservation Commission hearing to ensure this sort of thing didn't happen. 

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