Hoosac Valley Students' Interconnected Art Installation Debuts at the Adams Theater

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ADAMS, Mass. — Students from all schools in the Hoosac Valley School District will display art that "connects and expands on possibilities" inside the Adams Theater starting with an opening reception on Tuesday, Dec. 16 from 5-7 p.m. 
 
Led by Hoosac Valley Elementary School art teacher Elizabeth Kick, third grade students drew a series of layered and echoed lines on 9-inch by 9-inch canvases, creating their own small pieces that naturally connect with their peers' pieces. 
 
Inspired by elementary art teacher and blogger Cassie Stephens, the pieces begin with sharp lines in black tempera paint and extrapolate from there, with different colors, textures and line styles that reflect each unique student. 
 
Middle school art teacher Terri Cooper and High school art teacher Kristin Driscoll joined the project, and more than 160 students have created pieces for the exhibit. 
 
"They may zig-zag and curve, but they will always connect to this community," said Kick.  "While each piece can stand alone, they can also connect to any other piece in the collection. And collectively they make a whole–just as the students connect to one another, the schools also connect, and we all connect to the entire Adams-Cheshire community and beyond".  They're a continuum that illustrates how all our students will have different paths throughout their lives, but their paths are interconnected." 
 
The theater will display the pieces until February 2026.  The show will open with a reception on Dec. 16 for the Hoosac Valley artists and their families from 5-6 p.m. and to the public from 6-7 p.m. It's free to attend and no registration is required. 
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Cheshire Discusses Road Work, ADU Bylaws

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

CHESHIRE, Mass. — Bumpy Fred Mason Road is on the is on the Department of Public Works' project list for this summer. 

DPW Director Corey McGrath said the summer paving plans are being boosted by an award of $430,000 for the Fred Mason Road project. He told the Select Board on Tuesday that the initial quote for the project was $493,135 and that he will be doing a calcium additive to help with frost and better protect the road.

He also mentioned the DPW plans to shim and pave a portion of Reservoir Road as well as mill and fill a section of Church Street.

McGrath is asking for a total of $472,575 out of Chapter 90 road funds, which was approved.

The Select Board also reviewed bylaw proposals for accessory dwelling units and short-term rentals.

The Planning Board has recently been working with Berkshire Regional Planning Commission through District Local Technical Assistance funding to develop the ADU bylaw while also looking to allow short-term rentals and place them into the zoning table.

Some notable changes include defining an ADU as between 900 and 1,200 square feet with a special permit from the Planning Board; one parking spot per ADU; and requiring special permit for a second ADU.

The dimensional requirements will be the same as already established for principal buildings and structures.

The state allows ADUs by right in single-family residential zones but gives communities some control, such as over setbacks, sizes and permitting.

Select Board member Ronald DeAngelis asked if the planners could look into tiny homes, which tend to be smaller than 400 to 500 square feet, or about half the size of an ADU, and try to have something written for those.

In other notes, the town is preparing to auction of two parcels of land on West Mountain Road and on Shadowland Cove Road. 

Select Board members also held off on using a police chief search committee or consultants for the next chief of police to gather more information. 

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