HooRWA Mushroom Walk

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POWNAL, Vt. — Join Berkshire Mycological Society president & expert mycologist John Wheeler and HooRWA for a streamside excursion to learn about fungi, how to identify them, their tree associates, and habitat on Tuesday, Sept. 2 from 5:00-6:30pm along Broad Brook in Pownal.
 
This program is free and open to the public and funded by a grant from the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation and sponsorship by Greylock Federal Credit Union. Participants will meet at the Broad Brook Trailhead on the border of Williamstown and Pownal. Directions will be in the confirmation email when registered. 
 
Register at HooRWA.org.
 
A dedicated mushroom enthusiast for 35 years, John Wheeler was self-taught for 10 years. Then he met Jonathan Caldwell who hosted a wild mushroom course at Berkshire Community College South. The next 2 years John and Jonathan split a foray group, taking people on mushroom walks. In 2000, The Berkshire Mycological Society was formed by John, Jonathan, Jim Berlstein and Don Roeder. John assisted Don, who was dean of the science department at Simon’s Rock College, with his mycology courses for 5 years. John has attended many Northeast forays with large groups, i.e. the Northeast Mycological Federation and Connecticut Westchester Mycological Forays. where collections of 400 – 600 species are not uncommon. He leads BMS walks every Sunday morning at 10:00 unless away.
 
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Parole Granted to Pittsfield Man Sentenced for Killing Toddler Son

Staff Reports
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A city man serving a life sentence for killing his 2-year-old son 43 years ago has been granted parole. 
 
According to the Boston Globe, the Parole Board on Monday voted to release Richard N. Mayes Jr., 78, to a halfway house.
 
Mayes was charged with beating his son to death in 1983 when he wouldn't eat. The child, Lawrence Richon, had received blows to his head, body, arms and legs. Mayes also told police he'd hit his son four times with a plastic baseball bat. 
 
According to media reports at the time, Mayes tried to resuscitate Lawrence when he later collapsed and cried to police that he did it when arrested. 
 
The boy was taken by life flight to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where he died from blood clots in his head. 
 
Mayes was found guilty of second-degree murder by a Superior Court jury and sentenced to life in state prison.
 
According to the Globe, Mayes had been denied parole five times previously but told the board he had been sober for three decades and had not had a disciplinary report in a dozen years. 
 
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