Dalton Fire District Works to Improve Website

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
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DALTON, Mass. — The Fire District is working on updating its website to improve community communication. 
 
The district is working with local branding, website design, and digital marketing agency Gemini Creative to update the current website to make it Americans with Disabilities Act compliant and user friendly. 
 
"We are light years ahead from where we need to be," Fire Chief Christian Tobin said during the Board of Water Commissioners meeting on Tuesday. 
 
Gemini Creative is located in Stockbridge and, according to its website, is currently working with the Dalton Recreation Association, Berkshire Housing, and Dovecote Homes. 
 
The website needs to be updated so that the district can upload and improve accessibility to meeting minutes, agendas, handbooks, and other documents for residents and staff, Tobin said. 
 
"We need an interactive website that's exciting, that draws people into the fire district," 
 
The district not only needs a platform for residents but also a website that helps with recruiting and retention. That way it can go out to local colleges and high schools, he said. 
 
The initial cost of the website's design is approximately $4,800. This may change depending on what the district wants to include in the design. According to a document from the agency there is a $200 an hour fee for work outside the scope. 
 
The Fire and Water Departments will be splitting the cost to kick off the project and have enough funds to cover it in this year's budgets. 
 
According to the agency's document, The yearly retainer for hosting, backup, and maintenance is projected at $600 a year. 
 
Gemini Creative will host the district's new website on its server and will be responsible for the website being available online. 
 
If anything goes wrong with the website, district employees can reach out to the agency to solve the issue. New versions of WordPress and any plugins will be installed when they become available. 
 
The website and database will be backed up every evening. 
 
The agency plans to design the website in April, develop it in May, and hopefully launch it sometime in July. 

Tags: fire district,   website,   

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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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