DALTON, Mass. — Wahconah Regional High School senior Logan Kunde will be renovating the school's gazebo.
The Central Berkshire Regional School Committee approved the initiative during its meeting in June.
Kunde decided to renovate the high school's gazebo for his Eagle Scout Service Project. Planning and developing a service project is the fifth requirement of the Eagle Scouts, highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouts.
The project is a significant milestone in a Scout's journey as it represents their dedication to leadership and service, which are two of the most important values a scout embodies, Kunde said.
For many Scouts, it is their first business project and is one that they have complete control and responsibility over, he said. "And its success will lead to multiple opportunities and successes later in their lives."
As part of the project, Kunde will remove the gazebo's frames and screens, power wash and stain it with different colors.
Kunde plans on starting the project this week and hopes to have it complete by July 20.
"During this experience, I have reinforced my time management skills, overcome multiple setbacks, and taken charge of my own work — all skills that are necessary for success in a fast-paced working environment," he said.
Kunde first planned on doing his project in late June but "unfortunately" learned at the "last minute" that he needed to obtain permission from the School Committee first.
The day of the committee's meeting, June 27, was also the day Kunde was leaving for vacation.
"Obviously, I was frustrated by this turn of events, but I had no other option. I postponed my project, went to the board meeting, got approval, and promptly went on vacation the next day," Kunde said.
In addition, the project was originally going to be "a simple cleaning and painting job," but the school's representative Kunde had been working with requested a number of other things, "including moving the gazebo and setting it into the ground," Kunde said.
A job like that would have been far too big to handle, so Kunde negotiated with the representative and reached a settlement that resulted in the removal of some screens and the addition of the renovation.
"These setbacks, while annoying, are indicative of what a work life will be like in the future. Sometimes, things don't go the way you want, and you have to adapt to your situation accordingly," Kunde said.
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SJC Dismisses Cell Tower Suit
Staff reportsiBerkshires
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Supreme Judicial Court has affirmed a lower court's order to dismiss a lawsuit over the cell tower on South Street.
The court's opinion, released Thursday, found that the city had no authority to pre-empt federal legislation, specifically the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996.
Six residents in the Shacktown neighborhood have been fighting Verizon over the construction of the tower and the purported health issues they've suffered from the radio frequencies emanating from it. They first sought a ruling against the Zoning Board of Appeals over the notification process, which was dismissed.
They sought relief through the Board of Health, which discussed the problem for nearly a year before issuing a cease and desist to Verizon in 2022 if it did not respond to a show-cause hearing about the effects of RF radiation within seven days. Verizon, operating as Pittsfield Cellular Telephone, asked for a declaratory judgment from the U.S. District Court in Springfield against the city.
The Health Board, citing fears of litigation, withdrew the order and the residents, in turn, sued the city for failing to protect them.
The case was first heard in Superior Court on July 28, 2022, which dismissed the suit based on pre-emption of federal laws. The plaintiffs appealed and the Supreme Judicial Court, on its own initiative, transferred the case from the Appeals Court.
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