BMS Announces Talent and Merit Scholarship Recipients

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Music School announced the 2025-2026 Talent and Merit Scholarship recipients. 
 
Students who are accepted into the Talent & Merit Scholarship Program benefit from up to 100 percent tuition assistance. Last year, BMS awarded over $35,000 in Talent, Merit, and Need-Based Financial Aid Scholarships. BMS continues to take Need-Based Financial Aid Scholarship applications on a rolling basis, with enrollment open in August. 
 
The BMS Scholarship Program, which includes the Talent & Merit Scholarships and the rolling Need-Based Financial Aid Scholarships, remains integral to its mission of allowing students to learn and grow in the Berkshire County region without financial constraints.
 
The 2025 – 2026 Talent & Merit Scholarship Recipients: 
  • Tracy R. Wilson Scholarship – Shira Weiner
  • Helen and Milton Fink Memorial Scholarship - Artois Sancho
  • Gia Cox Caird Scholarship - Alyviana Manion
  • England/Scott Family Fund of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation- Nina Rather
  • Paul Houston Memorial Scholarship - Sai Meesala
  • The Ruberto Scholarship - James Ryan
  • Daniel Pearl Scholarship - Abigail Kunzmann
  • Paderweski Scholarship - Kendall Heck
  • Chopin Scholarship - Anderson Durfee
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Lanesborough OKs Open Space Plan, Short-Term Rental Forms

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Select Board on Monday set fees for short-term rentals and adopted an Open Space and Recreation Plan.
 
Town Administrator Gina Dario discussed the draft for STR registration and certificate of inspection since the new bylaws were passed at the annual town meeting.
 
The draft shows the process to file for inspection through Permit Eyes, the town's online permitting system that includes the state building code and safety requirements. Dario said members of the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals and the building commissioner looked at other town models to come up with the best process for registration.
 
Inspections will be annually for non-owner occupied units and five years for owner-occupied. The inspection fee is a flat $50. The last suggestion discussed was the posting requirements for key information.
 
Dario said they looked at about four other communities on how they used non-sensitive information on owner contacts. Chair Deborah Maynard motioned to have the information posted both inside and out to help with law enforcement if needed.
 
"I'm going to make a motion that we put that relevant information not only on the inside of the short-term rental but on the outside, so if the police need to respond, ambulance needs to respond, fire especially needs to respond, all that information is there, nobody has to go searching for it," she said. "If push comes to shove, and it's a matter of minutes, that's going to make a big, a big difference in the outcome of the incident."
 
The board then heard a presentation from Berkshire Regional Planning Commission's community planner Andrew McKeever and Open Space and Recreation Committee Vice Chair Mark Hawthorne.
 
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