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National Grid Using Sound Cannon in North Adams to Disperse Crows

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Residents near Brown Street should be prepared to hear some booms and pops over the next few evenings. 
 
National Grid will be using a sound-emitting propane cannon to dislodge a murder of crows that's been roosting around its Brown Street facility. 
 
The sonic cannon will be aimed at the flock beginning Tuesday and through Saturday between 4 and 6 p.m.
 
"The crows tend to return to our facility at that hour. We want to make them think this is a not a place they should go to," said Bob Kievra, a spokesman for National Grid. 
 
The area is fairly quiet — it's adjacent Joe's Field at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art and near Hill Side Cemetery — and has a line of trees that the crows find attractive. 
 
Crows have been a problem in several areas of the city over the past few years. A large noisy flock, possibly the same one, frequents the Steeple City Plaza in the evenings, leaving droppings on cars. 
 
The birds in general can cause outages through contact or bridging energized equipment, Kievra said. Plus, their droppings can be corrosive. 
 
The hundreds of crows have been roosting in the area of the facility for at least a couple years. Kievra said there have been other attempts to shoo them that were unsuccessful.
 
The cannons do not eject projectiles, only make sounds, and are not dangerous for the birds. They are often used in agricultural settings and at airports to scare away flocks. 
 
"We want to have them go somewhere else ... to disperse," Kievra said.
 
The city was advised that the sound cannons would be in use and the Police Department posted an alert on its Facebook page Monday noting "there may be multiple attempts with the cannon between 4 and 6 p.m. daily."
 
"We're hopeful for a successful outcome, but if not, we will look at other avenues for dispersing the large flock," Kievra said.

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Clarksburg Gets 3 Years of Free Cash Certified

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Town officials have heaved a sigh of relief with the state's certification of free cash for the first time in more than three years.
 
The town's parade of employees through its financial offices the past few years put it behind on closing out its fiscal years between 2021 and 2023. A new treasurer and two part-time accountants have been working the past year in closing the books and filing with the state.
 
The result is the town will have $571,000 in free cash on hand as it begins budget deliberations. However, town meeting last year voted that any free cash be used to replenish the stabilization account
 
Some $231,000 in stabilization was used last year to reduce the tax rate — draining the account. The town's had minimal reserves for the past nine months.
 
Chairman Robert Norcross said he didn't want residents to think the town was suddenly flush with cash. 
 
"We have to keep in mind that we have no money in the stabilization fund and we now have a free cash, so we have now got to replenish that account," he said. "So it's not like we have this money to spend ... most of it will go into the stabilization fund." 
 
The account's been hit several times over the past few fiscal years in place of free cash, which has normally been used for capital spending, to offset the budget and to refill stabilization. Free cash was last used in fiscal 2020.
 
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