Senator Hinds Tests Positive for COVID-19

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — State Sen. Adam Hinds says he and his wife have tested positive for COVID-19.
 
The senator is reporting mild symptoms and is isolating according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control guidelines. According to a statement released Thursday afternoon, he is vaccinated and boosted. His wife, Alicia Mireles Christoff, is an English professor at Amherst University.
 
"COVID is far from over, and I feel lucky to have been vaccinated and boosted," said the senator. "But there are still a lot of people, including my young son, who cannot get the vaccine. This points to an uneasy situation now that my wife has also tested positive. 
 
"So I want to encourage everyone to stay vigilant and to get vaccinated and boosted if you are eligible."
 
The number of positive cases in Massachusetts has continued to climb over the past six weeks, with nearly 20,000 new cases reported in the last week. Vaccination reduces the chance of infection — positive cases are less than 10 percent in those inoculated — but the the positivity rate is now more than 6 percent.
 
Hinds is a candidate for lieutenant governor of Massachusetts. He said will continue to work from home and campaign virtually while he adheres to CDC isolation guidelines. 
 
"I am the right candidate for LG because I have a record of bringing people together for progress," he said. "If I need a webcam to do that for now, so be it."

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ServiceNet Cuts Ribbon on Vocational Farm to 'Sow Seeds of Hope'

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Lori Carnute plants flowers at the farm and enjoys seeing her friends. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Smiles were all around as farmers, human service workers, and officials cut the ribbon Friday on ServiceNet's new vocational farm on Crane Avenue.

Whether it is planting flowers or growing fresh produce, the program is for "sowing seeds of hope" for those with developmental disabilities.

"What Prospect Meadow Farm is about is changing lives," Vice President of Vocational Services Shawn Robinson said.

"Giving people something meaningful to do, a community to belong to, a place to go every day and to make a paycheck, and again, I am seeing that every day from our first 17 farmhands the smiles on their faces. They're glad to be here. They're glad to be making money."

Prospect Meadow Farm Berkshires held a launch event on Friday with tours, music, snacks, and a ribbon cutting in front of its tomato greenhouse. The nonprofit human service agency closed on the former Jodi's Seasonal on Crane Avenue earlier this year.  

It is an expansion of ServiceNet's first farm in Hatfield that has provided meaningful agricultural work, fair wages, and personal and professional growth to hundreds of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities since opening in 2011.

Eventually, the farm will employ 50 individuals with developmental disabilities year-round and another 20 to 25 local folks supporting their work.

The pay is a great aspect for Billy Baker, who is learning valuable skills for future employment doing various tasks around the farm. He has known some of the ServiceNet community for over a decade.

"I just go wherever they need me to help," he said. "I'm more of a hands-on person."

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