ADAMS, Mass. — The Northern Berkshire Solid Waste Management District has signed off on a proposed five-year contract with Casella Waste Systems.
"This has been a six or seven-month process and I feel that we have done our due diligence," Program Director Linda Cernik said at Thursday's meeting, held outside the Adams Visitors Center.. "We didn't rush it and we took our time ... honesty I feel this is a good contract. It is a little bit higher than I anticipated but we knew that."
The district previously held a contract with Republic Services and recently went out to bid for a new contract. Casella Waste Management purchased some assets of Republic in 2019.
Changes were minor and mostly reflected small language tweaks
"I kind of want to pat all of us on the back because this was a pretty big contract and without having any legal background we did a pretty good job," Cernik said. "The recommendations from the attorney were good but think we did a good job negotiating it and putting it all together."
The district anticipates that waste removal rates will go up.
Cernik gave an update on the planned partnership with North Adams and said conversations about the proposed Center For Hard to Recycle Materials (CHARM) at the North Adams transfer station are ongoing.
"I think it is a nice collaboration," she said. "I think it will be an asset to the smaller towns who do not have the brush and electronics and we will resume this discussion."..
The district is made up of 13 communities in North Berkshire. The city of North Adams had considered becoming a member but decided partnering on certain programs would be more beneficial.
Cernik took a moment to update the committee on recent collections during the pandemic and said things are going well.
"Residents are being respectful and wearing masks and we are wearing masks," she said.
She did thank all those involved in keeping the district functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We have kept this going throughout the whole pandemic," she said. "It was nerve-racking at first but everyone folded in and followed CDC guidelines. Could you imagine if trash got shut down?"
The committee did agree to take the month of August off especially now with the contract squared away.
Cernik did ask the members to think about some districtwide goals for their September meeting.
"Think about goals and what do we want to accomplish as a district," she said.
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BArT Announces First Quarter Honor Roll
ADAMS, Mass. — Berkshire Arts & Technology (BArT) Charter Public School has announced the students who made the honor roll for the first quarter of the 2024-2025 school year.
Students who earned 80 percent or above in all of their classes received the distinction of Honors. Students who earned 90 percent or above in all of their classes received the distinction of High Honors.
Academic courses at BArT are aligned with the Massachusetts State Curriculum Frameworks for the appropriate grade level and include all standards deemed necessary for a complete, college-preparatory, middle and high school education.
Students in Grade 6 who earned High Honors are Akua Acquah, Daniela Arellano, Lexi Bentley, Jordan Braman, Fernanda Chavez Quispe, Vivian Culpo, Emma Danylieko, Addison Ely, Isla Fairfield, Scarlett Garanzuay, Kira Hamilton, Adriana Huntoon, Elizabeth Isham-Morton, Alexa Jackson, Madison Lillie, Austin Lincoln, Dominick Mancari, Gloria Nyamehen, Bethany Oberle, Jaiiden Petersoli, Athena Pradere, Scarlette Smith, Miley Strawbridge, Lucie Walsh, Fiona Wells, Andrew Williams, and Kyleighana Yarrell.
Students in Grade 6 who earned Honors are Maria Adorno Martinez, Addison Arseneau, Joshua Bailey, Giovanni Brown, Elvin Cochran Jr., Brielle Gaudette, Imogen Guerin, Henry Herzberg, Mekhai Hunte, Spencer Kotski, Jesse Labshere Jr., Harley LeSage, Gavin Marotta, Quinlan Marran, Kaidyn Martin-Basinger, Jonathan Martin, Nayomi Martin, Charlotte Nicholas, Marcos Palma-Marchiando, Mack Ray, Scott Ray, Hector Reyes-Colon, Jaxan Rowett-Cote, Lillian Ryan, Rocky Sabo, Laylah Scipio, and Iyrielle Spratling-Keele.
Students in Grade 7 who earned High Honors are Abigail Betti, Jaydn Bolus-Strawbridge, Kason Corkins, Norah Duffy, Kourtney Hoang, Delroy Leard, Morgan Legrand, Dante McClerklin, Miah Morgan-Enos, Joey Nocher, Stephen Nyamehen Jr., Gustavo Perez, Armani Roy, Isabella Silva, Paige Tetreault, and Cole Wallis.
Students in Grade 7 who earned Honors are Daniel Aguilar, Kyra Boyles, Majbrit Carpenter, Bailee Cimini, Christian Columna, Liam Connors, Brooklyn Cook, Alex Demary, Harmony Greco-Melendez, Riley Hitchcock, Sakora Knight, Anelia Lang, Tristan Larkin, John Lescarbeau, Ian Lloyd, Allanah McCabe, Casper Quirke De Jong, Rufus Quirke De Jong, Isabella Rosales, Aiyanah Roy, Niyah Scipio, Emma Sherman, Kevin Toomey, and Patrick Wells Vidal.
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