NBCC Distributes Thousands of Resource Guides to North Berkshire

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The 2022 Edition of the Northern Berkshire Community Resource Guide (CRG) went to print and over 17,000 copies landed in mailboxes throughout north Berkshire County.

This mailing was possible thanks to a Rural Vaccine Equity Initiative grant from the Office of Rural Health through the Department of Public Health.

This free community resource guide offers contact information for local resources covering everything from food access and meal sites, education services, financial and family support, immigrant services, mental health and counseling services, in addition to dozens of others. The guide is updated digitally throughout the year and a new edition is published every other year. The 2022 edition includes a LBGTQIA+ Services and Support, as well as, a Vaccine Guide, both new to the CRG.

The CRG is free to the public. If you did not receive your copy in the mail, or you would like copies to distribute, printed copies of the guide can be obtained by calling our office at 413-663-7588, or by stopping by the office during regular office hours. 

A pdf version is available to download on the Coalition website, nbccoalition.org. This digital version can be found under "Resources" on the website. The 2020 Spanish version of the CRG is also available for download under the resources page. The printed 2022 Spanish edition will be ready this fall.

For more information, contact the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition at (413) 663-7588.

Clarksburg OKs $5.1M Budget; Moves CPA Adoption Forward

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
08:44PM / Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Newly elected Moderator Seth Alexander kept the meeting moving. 

CLARKSBURG, Mass. — The annual town meeting sped through most of the warrant on Wednesday night, swiftly passing a total budget of $5.1 million for fiscal 2025 with no comments. 

 

Close to 70 voters at Clarksburg School also moved adoption of the state's Community Preservation Act to the November ballot after a lot of questions in trying to understand the scope of the act. 

 

The town operating budget is $1,767,759, down $113,995 largely because of debt falling off. Major increases include insurance, utilities and supplies; the addition of a full-time laborer in the Department of Public Works and an additional eight hours a week for the accountant.

 

The school budget is at $2,967,609, up $129,192 or 4 percent over this year. Clarksburg's assessment to the Northern Berkshire Vocational School District is $363,220.

 

Approved was delaying the swearing in of new officers until after town meeting; extending the one-year terms of moderator and tree warden to three years beginning with the 2025 election; switching the licensing of dogs beginning in January and enacting a bylaw ordering dog owners to pick up after their pets. This last was amended to include the words "and wheelchair-bound" after the exemption for owners who are blind. 

 

The town more recently established an Agricultural Committee and on Wednesday approved a right-to-farm bylaw to protect agriculture. 

 

Larry Beach of River Road asked why anyone would be against and what the downside would be. Select Board Chair Robert Norcross said neighbors of farmers can complain about smells and livestock like chickens.