Flying Cloud Welcomes New Board Members

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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Flying Cloud Institute (FCI) welcomes Liliana Atanacio Garcia and Sarah Reynolds North to the organization's Board of Directors.
 
Liliana Atanacio Garcia is the co-founder of Latinas413, a nonprofit organization that advocates for Latina representation in Berkshire County. In recognition of her efforts, she received the "29 Who Shine" Award from the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education in 2018. 
 
Garcia serves as the Grant and Program Administrator at Mill Town Foundation, where she supports grantmaking related to the foundation's activities, programmatic operations, and daily administrative functions. Prior to this role, she served as the Workforce Training Orientation and Youth Programming Manager at Berkshire Community College (BCC). While at BCC she organized BCC's first Hackathon and worked to establish the Eleanore Velez Scholarship.
 
Originally from Mexico, the Berkshires became Garcia's home in 2009. She is the mother of two teen girls. Garcia is passionate about traveling, gastronomy, and philanthropy. 
 
"Flying Cloud Institute fosters an open-minded approach to learning science and engineering. As an engineer, creator and educator, I look forward to contributing to the organization's success as a Board Member," said Garcia.
 
Sarah Reynolds North is the founder and baker at Found Bread. She has worked in bakeries around the northeast and in Europe, and trained at the San Francisco Baking Institute. North moved to New Marlborough in 2022 with her family, where she bakes mainly sourdough and fermented breads, and teaches baking classes. She's a firm believer in using locally-sourced, grown and milled ingredients.
 
Before becoming a full-time baker, North was a public radio reporter and producer for WNYC, NPR for several years. She also helped non-profits to develop and produce stories about their work. North worked with the Southern Poverty Law Center's Immigrant Justice Center and was a Peace Corps Volunteer and Instructor in Guatemala.
 
"I love the work Flying Cloud is doing in public schools – to merge art and science through innovative curriculum for all kids in our region. Our Board strives to make it one of the best educational organizations in Massachusetts," said North.
 
They join officers Cathy Ingram, Director of Development at Miss Hall's School, as Chair; Dana Vorisek, Economist for the World Bank Group, as Treasurer; and Barbara Viniar, retired former President of Berkshire Community College, as Clerk. Additional members of the Board of Directors are Alison Brigham, AVP of Marketing & Community Engagement at Lee Bank; Leigh Doherty, Executive Director of the Literacy Network; and América López, community health worker at Volunteers In Medicine.
 
"I am honored to welcome Liliana and Sarah to the board and to serve as Board Chair with the rest of our dedicated and talented board members and staff as we continue the impactful work bringing science and art to the Berkshires community," said Cathy Ingram.
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Housatonic Water Works Penalized for Delayed Treatment Facility

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The state Department of Environmental Protection has issued a $2,500 demand for payment of suspended penalty to Housatonic Water Works Co. for failure to comply with a July 2025 Administrative Consent Order with Penalty. 
 
The order required the company to complete a manganese treatment plant at its drinking water treatment facility by June 1, 2026. 
 
"It is unacceptable that Housatonic Water Works has failed to meet the required deadline for completing and placing the manganese treatment system into operation," said Michael Gorski, director of MassDEP's Western Regional Office in Springfield. "MassDEP expects the company to accelerate construction of the treatment plant and make it operational without further delay." 
 
Under the terms of the 2025 order, the water company agreed to complete the manganese treatment plant by March 1, 2026, to mitigate ongoing seasonal drinking water discoloration affecting the company's service areas. 
 
MassDEP agreed to suspend the full penalty of $12,360 on the condition that it complied with the requirements of the order. The company subsequently requested an extension of the March 1 deadline, citing pending litigation and related delays in acquiring required construction funding. MassDEP extended the completion date to June 1. The company requested an additional extension; MassDEP denied that request. 
 
Housatonic Water Works had failed to complete construction of the treatment plant. Based on that violation of its order, MassDEP demanded partial payment of the suspended penalty in the amount of $2,500. Penalty costs may not be passed along to ratepayers in any way. MassDEP will continue to track this matter closely until compliance is achieved. 
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