Berkshires Beat: Elizabeth Freeman Center's Walk a 'Virtual' Mile Continues

Print Story | Email Story

Elizabeth Freeman Center's Walk a 'Virtual' Mile Continues

The Elizabeth Freeman Center's 2020 digital Walk a 'Virtual' Mile fundraiser to Stop Rape, Sexual Assault, and Gender Violence continues through September. The following walks have been scheduled throughout the Berkshires. Bring a mask and remember to social  distance.
  • Wednesday, Sept. 9, at 5:30 p.m.: Join Jane Iredale and EFC staff at 294 Main St., Great Barrington.
  • Thursday, Sept. 10, at 3:30 p.m.: Join District Attorney Andrea Harrington at the District Attorney's Office at 7 North St., Pittsfield
  • Monday, Sept. 14, at 5:30 p.m.: Join North Adams Mayor Thomas Bernard, members of the City Council, and MICinc at MCLA Gallery 51 on 51 Main St., North Adams.
  • Tuesday, Sept. 15, at 5:30 p.m.: Join state Sen. Adam Hinds and the Berkshire Delegation at Steven Valenti's at 157 North St., Pittsfield.
  • Wednesday, Sept. 16, at noon: Join Chief Troy Bacon and the Adams Police Department at the Adams Police Station on 11 Summer St. in Adams.
  • Thursday, Sept. 17, at 6 p.m.: Join local celebrity author Ty Allan Jackson at Dottie's Coffee Lounge at 444 North St., Pittsfield.
  • Friday, Sept. 18, at 4 p.m.: End the week with Elizabeth Freeman Center staff and friends at Carr Hardware at 57 Park St., Lee.
There are four Walk a Virtual Mile routes in Berkshire County, each with five storefronts with Walk a Virtual Mile "photo-booths." Stop in front of each storefront window and snap a photo or record a video of you or your group and share on social media with #WereHereWeWalk.
 
Register or donate here.
 

Gallop to Success

Gallop to Success, a non-profit organization in Shaftsbury, Vt., that works with at-risk kids, has announced a new additional horse camp program.
 
The program will take place through September, October, November, and December on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
 
The four-hour session will be the equivalent of a mini-camp for campers age 7 to 17. There will be arts and crafts, horseback riding under saddle, trail rides, bareback riding, and clinics but with a more individualized, one-on-one focus with the campers.
 
The program costs $175 per session and scholarship funds are available. Campers can sign up for up to four sessions and request scholarship funding.
 
Applications can be found online, or call 802-442-5454 or email gts@sover.net.
 

Ventfort Hall Lectures

Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum resident historian and author Cornelia Brooke Gilder will give the audience a peek at the subject of her next book titled "Overcoming Tragedies: Real Life in Lenox's Gilded Era Country Houses." She will give her talk at Ventfort Hall on Friday, Sept. 11, at 11 a.m.
 
Drawing on the research that she has been compiling for her book, Gilder will speak on accounts of tragic love stories, defiant elopements, terrifying burglaries, financial ruin and the constant specter of contagious diseases.
 
Tickets for the talk are $20; register here
 
The event will be offered via Zoom. To attend the presentation at Ventfort Hall, reservations are strongly recommended as seating will be strictly limited. Masks are required and seating will observe social distancing. For reservations call Ventfort Hall at 413-637-3206.
 
On Sept. 15 at 4 p.m., author and historian René Silvin will return to Ventfort Hall Mansion & Gilded Age Museum to give a Tuesday Talk on "All That Glitters Is Not Gold: The Perils of Being Too Rich."  
 
His focus will be two wealthy women, both of whom he knew, Ann Woodward, whom he dubs "She was a great shot" with good reason, and Christina Onassis, whom he titles "A Greek Tragedy."  
 
Silvin will make his visual presentation via Zoom from his home in Palm Beach, Fla., on Tuesday, Sept. 15, at 4 p.m.  
 
Tickets for the Silvin lecture are $20 per person. To view him on Zoom, register here.
 

AHEC Offers LGBTQ+ Health Care Presentation

Berkshire Area Health Education Center will present "Affirmative and Knowledgeable Healthcare for LGBTQ+ People" on Friday, Sept. 11, from 9 to 10:30 a.m. as a live virtual event via the Zoom platform. 
 
This program is designed to lead participants through an understanding of the LGBTQ+ community, and its unique culture, language, and health disparities. The goal is to improve communication and knowledge in healthcare delivery in an affirming environment. 
 
Speakers for this program will be Christina Cruz, Ph.D., an education specialist at Berkshire Health Systems, and Dr. Jeremy Stoepker, a physician at Community Health Programs at Lee Family Practice.

 


Tags: walk a mile,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Dalton Board Signs Off on Land Sale Over Residents' Objections

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff

Residents demanded the right to speak but the agenda did not include public comment. Amy Musante holds a sign saying the town now as '$20,000 less for a police station.'
DALTON, Mass. — The Select Board signed the sale on the last of what had been known as the Bardin property Monday even as a handful of residents demanded the right to speak against the action. 
 
The quitclaim deed transfers the nine acres to Thomas and Esther Balardini, who purchased the two other parcels in Dalton. They were the third-highest bidders at $31,500. Despite this, the board awarded them the land in an effort to keep the property intact.
 
"It's going to be an ongoing battle but one I think that has to be fought [because of] the disregard for the taxpayers," said Dicken Crane, the high bidder at $51,510.
 
"If it was personal I would let it go, but this affects everyone and backing down is not in my nature." 
 
Crane had appealed to the board to accept his bid during two previous meetings. He and others opposed to accepting the lower bid say it cost the town $20,000. After the meeting, Crane said he will be filing a lawsuit and has a citizen's petition for the next town meeting with over 100 signatures. 
 
Three members of the board — Chair Robert Bishop Jr., John Boyle, and Marc Strout — attended the 10-minute meeting. Members Anthony Pagliarulo and Daniel Esko previously expressed their disapproval of the sale to the Balardinis. 
 
Pagliarulo voted against the sale but did sign the purchase-and-sale agreement earlier this month. His reasoning was the explanation by the town attorney during an executive session that, unlike procurement, where the board is required to accept the lowest bid for services, it does have some discretion when it comes to accepting bids in this instance.
 
View Full Story

More Pittsfield Stories