MassDOT Work Zone Awareness Billboard Design Contest

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BOSTON — The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is announced the launch of its second National Work Zone Awareness Week billboard design contest, exclusively for Massachusetts college students. 
 
The contest aims to raise awareness of work zone safety and encourage drivers to exercise caution when passing through active construction and maintenance projects. 
 
"We're calling for all great ideas for our second annual National Work Zone Awareness Week billboard contest," said Transportation Secretary and CEO Monica Tibbits-Nutt. "Creative designs and advertisement are a powerful way to reach residents and remind them how to keep our construction crews safe."    
 
National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) is an annual event that brings attention to work zone safety and education around preventing crashes and fatalities in these areas. The theme for NWZAW 2024 is "Work Zones are temporary. Actions behind the wheel can last forever." The main takeaway is while work zones may be temporary, the choices made by drivers in these areas can have far-reaching effects. Whether it's excessive speed, distracted driving, or ignoring traffic laws, poor behaviors exhibited behind the wheel can lead to severe injuries, fatalities, and long-lasting trauma for individuals and families.  
 
MassDOT is taking an active role in promoting work zone safety to protect the men and women working out on the roadway and would like to invite all Massachusetts college students to create a billboard design that promotes the theme and encourages drivers to be cautious when driving through work zones. Massachusetts college students interested in participating should create a billboard design that includes the theme and promotes work zone safety.  Review the MassDOT Digital Billboard Design Specifications before preparing your submission.   
 
The contest is open to all students who are currently enrolled in Massachusetts colleges. The winning designs will be selected based on creativity, impact, and relevance to the NWZAW theme. The contest ends on April 19, and the winning designs will be announced on May 1 during the 2024 MassDOT Transportation Innovation Conference. The top 3 designs will be displayed on a series of digital billboards along the highways in Massachusetts throughout the 2024 construction season. The winning designs will be awarded a scholarship generously provided by the Massachusetts Aggregate and Asphalt Pavement Association (MAAPA). As staunch advocates for roadway safety, MAAPA recognizes the crucial importance of promoting work zone safety and is dedicated to increasing awareness about driving responsibly near work zones. 
  • 1st place: $500 and 3-month billboard display (June, August, November) 
  • 2nd place: $300 and 2-month billboard display (July, October) 
  • 3rd place: $200 and 1-month billboard display (September) 
 

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ADOPTED! Companion Corner: Cali and Kyzer at Berkshire Humane Society

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

Great news, Kyzer and Cali found a home for Christmas already! Still looking for a new friend for the holidays? There are plenty of dogs and cats and small animals at Berkshire Humane who would love to go home with you.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There's a bonded dog pair awaiting a new family at the Berkshire Humane Society.

Kyzer and Cali are both poodles. Kyzer is the male and is 7 years old, a quite a bit bigger than his sister Cali, who is a miniature of Kyzer and 8 years old.

Canine adoption counselor Rhonda Cyr introduced us to the two.

"They came from a household that couldn't hold on to them, and it sounds like they may have been abandoned by their previous owner with somebody else, and so they came to us looking for a new home," she said.

The two love to be around you and snuggle. But both are very happy dogs.

"Kyzer is 7 years old, and his personality is that he kind of wants to be in everything. He's very loving, very snuggly, as you can tell. And Callie here, she's 8 years old, and she is kind of like the life of the party," said Cyr. "She wants to tell you everything about her day, and she's a little bit of a little ham."

The two are considered seniors and really like soft treats as Cali just had a few teeth removed and Kyzer has a tooth procedure coming up.

"Currently, they really like soft treats, because they are both on the senior side of things. So they have had some dental work, so they are really in need of something softer. They are not big chewers at this age, really, their main focus right now is just really socializing and cuddling," Cyr said.

The two would love a quiet home with someone who wants to snuggle. They shouldn't go to a home with bigger dogs but if you have a dog, you can bring them in for a visitation with the poodles to see if they will get along. Cats will be fine and the preference is for older and more responsible children so that the pups don't get hurt, as they are senior citizens.

"The perfect home for them would be a quiet home that's not too active. Like I said, they're very social, so they could handle some visitors," she said. "They're very friendly, but I don't think that they would really enjoy any other dogs in the home."

Poodles need to be regularly groomed, and the prospective adopter will have to keep an eye on their health. Kyzer has a heart murmur that needs to be monitored. This doesn't mean he is in bad health, as he could live a perfectly normal life, but he will need to be checked by a veterinary specialist routinely.

"Ideally, he would go to a home that could provide further health care with a specialist in cardiac care. And you know, he could very well live out the rest of his life comfortably and happy," Cyr said. "We just don't have all that information at the moment, but I think that you know the way he's going right now. He's got a good spirit, and he seems to be pretty happy."

The shelter is hoping the to get them a home for the holidays.

"We would love to get them a home in time for the holidays. They've been here since the eighth of November, and they're really, really looking as much as the staff loves them here, we're really looking to get them into a home and somewhere nice and cozy so they can spend the rest of their life together," she said.

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