Governor Promises Broadband to All Towns by 2013

Sandisfield residents gathered to see the governor and show support for the MBI project.

"I've never had such a simple mission," Dumont said. "Turns out that closing the digital divide isn't that simple.

"The mission of MBI isn't complete. We still have to worry about that last mile connection," she continued. "This is a project that involves private-sector investment and public-sector money. We are celebrating our first year, which I like to call the year of procurements, permits and planning. Now we can move on to infrastructure. I got my first hard hat last week; that has to be a good sign."

Over the next two years, the project, which has garnered more than $80 million in federal grants, will bring broadband to 333,500 households and 44,000 businesses in the area. The project will also provide much-needed revenue and jobs for "last mile" communities.

Tim Scott, vice president of Axia NGNetworks USA (the company that will serve as the network operator for the project), said the benefits of such a large expansion project are endless.

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 "From the Axia perspective the most refreshing thing about this project is the very positive start," he said. "This is a very important initiative for Axia in the U.S. We will be hiring locally, within Massachusetts and investing $35 million to $40 million of our capital into the state. We also have another initiative, the I-91 Fast Start Program, that will be offering early services on the I-91 corridor as early as this fall."

Despite the initiative of Axia and G4S Technology, the design/build partner for the project, the governor put utility leaders, including Peter Bowman, vice president of external affairs for Verizon, and Peter Clarke, president of Western Massachusetts Electric Co., in the hot seat, directing the two to speed up the construction of the "Golden Highway."

"You have a real critical role in getting this up and running," Patrick said to the two men. "If there is going to be a haggling and reconcilement period, you had better get to 'yes' quick. You've got 35,000 poles to cover in the next two years."

Many of those poles and much of the project is located in towns like Sandisfield. Selectman Patrick Barrett said just having Internet access has the potential to change the town itself.

"The governor is placing Sandisfield at the political center of Massachusetts," Barrett said. "This will transform our town. Businesses without high-speed Internet are at a distinct disadvantage. Having broadband technology will be an invaluable device ... and will allow children in Sandisfield to finally compete in a global economy."

While hilltown residents wait and wonder, the governor is confident that the two-year mark will be reached with no problems and only a little pressure.

"I feel like I'm in exactly the right place at the right time," he said. "This is the final stage of an historic effort to bring high-speed Internet into every corner of the commonwealth. One hundred twenty three communities in this state have gone long enough without a modern 'on' ramp. Through construction alone we expect to create hundreds of new jobs and strengthen public institutions.

"I know it has taken a long time to get to this point but at least now we are going somewhere. We'll have better tools to get more done."

Toys for Tots Bringing Presents to Thousands of Kids This Year

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
12:21PM / Friday, December 05, 2025

Volunteers organize toys by age and gender in the House of Corrections storage facility. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Plenty of toys are on their way to children this holiday season thanks to Toys for Tots.

Christopher Keegan has coordinated the local toy drive for the Berkshire Chapter of the Marine Corps Reserve since 2015 and said he has seen the need rise every year, last year helping more than 6,000 kids.

"This is 11 years I've been doing it, and the need has gone up every year. It's gone up every year, and I anticipate it going up even more this year," Keegan said.

On Thursday, the Berkshire County House of Corrections storage facility was overflowing with toys making it the county's very own Santa's workshop. 

Keegan said Berkshire County always shows up with toys or donations. 

"This county is outstanding when it comes to charity. They rally around stuff. They're very giving, they're very generous, and they've been tremendous in this effort, the toys for pride effort, since I've been doing it, our goal is to honor every request, and we've always reached that goal," he said.

Keegan's team is about 20 to 25 volunteers who sort out toys based on age and gender. This week, the crew started collecting from the 230 or so boxes set out around the county on Oct. 1.

"The two age groups that are probably more difficult — there's a newborn to 2s, boys and girls, and 11 to 14, boys and girls. Those are the two challenging ages where we need to focus our attention on a little bit more," he said.

Toys For Tots has about 30 participating schools and agencies that sign up families and individuals who need help putting gifts under the tree. Keegan takes requests right up until the last minute on Christmas.

"We can go out shopping for Christmas. I had sent my daughter out Christmas Eve morning. Hey, we need X amount of toys and stuff, but the requests are still rolling in from individuals, and I don't say no, we'll make it work however we can," he said.

Community members help to raise money or bring in unopened and unused toys. Capeless Elementary student Thomas St. John recently raised $1,000 selling hot chocolate and used the money to buy toys for the drive.

"It's amazing how much it's grown and how broad it is, how many people who were involved," Keegan said.

On Saturday, Live 95.9 personalities Bryan Slater and Marjo Catalano of "Slater and Marjo in the Morning" will host a Toys for Tots challenge at The Hot Dog Ranch and Proprietor's Lodge. Keegan said they have been very supportive of the drive and that they were able to collect more than 3,000 toys for the drive last year.

Volunteer Debbie Melle has been volunteering with Toys for Tots in the county for about five years and said people really showed up to give this year.

"I absolutely love it. It's what we always say. It's organized chaos, but it's rewarding. And what I actually this year, I'm so surprised, because the amount that the community has given us, and you can see that when you see these pictures, that you've taken, this is probably the most toys we've ever gotten," she said. "So I don't know if people just feel like this is a time to give and they're just going above and beyond, but I'm blown away. This year we can barely walk down the aisles for how much, how many toys are here. It's wonderful."