Letter: The Best Summer ... Until

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To the editor:

Oh what a summer it's been. I cannot remember a nicer summer than 2024. We used our pool more this year than the past 25 years we've lived here.

Hot, weeks at a time, pretty much no rain other than a few heavy storms that rolled in, and the real purpose of this letter, motorcycling. What an amazing summer, almost every day, sunshine and more sunshine, so much so that at times you would forget that biking is a defense ride more so than a true blast through the hills of the Berkshires especially the fall.

Every day out the door, the same "I love you, and be careful" see you in a bit.

Now my purpose, the roads. Everywhere I go there's people talking about that unbelievable poor conditions and the amount of construction going on, well, if you're in a car it's terrible but bearable (no pun intended) unless your on an air cooling motorcycle, that relies on air to cool the engine, which brings me to ... "The most atrocious set of speed bumps put in the middle of the road." Where you're asking? Exactly, Partridge Road, Pittsfield.

I wish someone had told me because I wasn't speeding when I hit the first one which I completely did not see, because it blends in so well with this newly paved road which I'm sure has brought on more traffic, speeding, texting while driving ect. ... until the residents said, "ENOUGH." But as I said, I wasn't speeding the day I traveled through going to the doctor's on my motorcycle, I hit the first speed bump going the speed limit and almost got killed.

It broke something on the front of my motorcycle and the bike couldn't stop from veering to the left as I tried to ride away, still wondering what happened, so thanks for the sign, you know the one, motorcycles take caution, milled area ahead, warning construction ahead, nope, none, a broken motorcycle, a real long day getting towed, almost got killed, and I was not speeding or offending anyone.

William Tatro
North Adams, Mass.

 

 

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Clarksburg Applies for Home Rehab Program, Continues Budget Talks

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — The town is applying with New Ashford for $1.1 million that would allow for 14 homes to be rehabilitated. 
 
Brett Roberts, a senior planner with Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, updated the Select Board on Monday about the application for the federal Community Development Block Grant. 
 
"The home rehab program has been going on in Berkshire County for around 15 years," he said. "We do all sorts of housing rehab trying to bring homes up to code. And so we do new roofs, new septic, new wells, lots of new windows, basically anything that a homeowner might need to bring their home up to code."
 
He estimated that there would be about $70,000 available per home to cover 10 homes in Clarksburg and four in New Ashford.
 
The loans would mean a 15-year lien on the property, which would depreciate each year until it falls off. Anyone selling the property before the 15-year term would have to repay the balance at that time. 
 
"This is a really important way to keep low- to moderate-income households in their homes and to stay in community that they love," he said.
 
The board also reviewed budget issues with the Finance Committee. The town budget draft is just under $1.9 million, up about 2.3-2.4 percent. 
 
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