BCC contributes to Afghanistan school

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Berkshire Community College staff and students in October donated ten large boxes of school supplies to a village school in Afghanistan. Part of the Peter M. Goodrich Memorial Foundation, these supplies are in memory of north county resident Peter Goodrich, who was in the second plane that crashed into the World Trade Towers on September 11, 2001. One of the college's student clubs, the Global Issues Resource Organization (GIRO), sponsored and publicized the project, at the request of one of its members, Margalis Riera-Filson, a 65-year-old student in the Physical Therapy Assistant program. She brought the idea to the BCC club because it was her son, Marine Corps Major Rush Filson (a BCC graduate), who discovered a village school of 300 where he is stationed in Afghanistan that had no money and no supplies. Rush Filson had been a childhood friend of Peter Goodrich, and was in regular touch with Peter's parents. When the Goodrich's learned of the school, it gave them the answer to how to best honor their son's memory. The memorial trust fund in their son's name has funded this project. When one faculty member tried to buy some supplies for the project at the college store, store manager James Bowman recalled the seven boxes of old paper and pencils that he'd been intending to clean out since he began working there twelve years ago. He donated all of them. The other three boxes contain miscellaneous materials donated by other BCC faculty, staff, and students.
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MassDOT Project Will Affect Traffic Near BMC

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Prepare for traffic impacts around Berkshire Medical Center through May for a state Department of Transportation project to improve situations and intersections on North Street and First Street.

Because of this, traffic will be reduced to one lane of travel on First Street (U.S. Route 7) and North Street between Burbank Street and Abbott Street from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday through at least May 6.

BMC and Medical Arts Complex parking areas remain open and detours may be in place at certain times. The city will provide additional updates on changes to traffic patterns in the area as construction progresses.

The project has been a few years in the making, with a public hearing dating back to 2021. It aims to increase safety for all modes of transportation and improve intersection operation.

It consists of intersection widening and signalization improvements at First and Tyler streets, the conversion of North Street between Tyler and Stoddard Avenue to serve one-way southbound traffic only, intersection improvements at Charles Street and North Street, intersection improvements at Springside Avenue and North Street, and the construction of a roundabout at the intersection of First Street, North Street, Stoddard Avenue, and the Berkshire Medical Center entrance.

Work also includes the construction of 5-foot bike lanes and 5-foot sidewalks with ADA-compliant curb ramps.  

Last year, the City Council approved multiple orders for the state project: five orders of takings for intersection and signal improvements at First Street and North Street. 

The total amount identified for permanent and temporary takings is $397,200, with $200,000 allocated by the council and the additional monies coming from carryover Chapter 90 funding. The state Transportation Improvement Plan is paying for the project and the city is responsible for 20 percent of the design cost and rights-of-way takings.

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