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Daily DigestMeetings
The Drury High School Council meets Tuesday, Jan 13, at 6:30 in the conference room. Agenda items include AYP, school grant, laptop initiative and PowerSchool updates. |
Steve Decker cleans up in front of BankNorth on Wednesday.
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More Snow
The Berkshires received several inches of snow this morning, but not enough to close schools, unlike yesterday's sleety mess. Temperatures will drop into the 20s this afternoon. A few more snow showers are expected through the weekend.
We have reports that the roads are very slippery to take care in the evening commute. |
Duff'em If You've Got'em
 North Adams Regional Hospital went smoke-free Monday — so did all its sister sites, from Sweet Brook to Northern Berkshire Family Practice to the Women's Exchange. No ashtrays, no smoking: No butts about it. |
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Like to Write?
 iBerkshires accepts submissions about local events, news and opinion pieces. There are openings for freelance work, too, for qualified candidates. E-mail tdaniels@iberkshires.com to find out more. |
Wanted: Eagle Eyes
 MassWildlife's annual eagle count runs Dec. 31 to Jan. 14. Anyone sighting one of the regal birds in Massachusetts is asked to participate.
Send date, time, location and town of eagle sightings, number of birds, whether juvenile or adult and observer's contact information to Mass.wildlife@state.ma.us. |
RegionWhat's PlayingSales FliersColumnists | Independent Investor
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Obama TransitionOther StuffMars Rovers Mark 5 Years
 Spirit and Opportunity have been trekking the red planet for half a decade. Spirit hit the 5-year mark on Sunday; Opportunity will on Jan. 24. |
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Mall Asked to Chip in for Ambulance ServiceBy May Hickey - March 08, 2008
Lanesborough News
LANESBOROUGH - The Selectmen are hoping the Berkshire Mall will kick in funding for the town's Ambulance Service. The board learned at Monday's meeting that a quarter of the calls so far this year have been to the mall.
The board has been concerned about lack of coverage in town, especially after the closure of American Medical Response, a private ambulance service, last year.
For the past 10 years, the town has maintained an Ambulance Fund with revenue from use of the ambulance and from donations. The monies are used to purchase equipment and supplies for the ambulance service. The town-owned ambulance is usually replaced every three to five years. Replacement at this time yields the best trade-in value, say officials.
The ambulance service has been staffed by volunteer emergency medical technicians. There were two backup ambulance companies: AMR and County Ambulance. But last year AMR went out of business. Also, in the past few years, it has been increasingly difficult to find volunteers for weekday staffing, say ambulance officials. As a result, the availability of ambulance service in Lanesborough has been compromised.
To ease the situation, the Selectmen moved $30,000 from the fund to establish an account to hire daytime, weekday EMTs to staff the ambulance. State regulations require that two certified EMTs staff the ambulance.
Fire Chief Charles Durfee has been tracking ambulance calls since Jan. 1. So far there have been 16 calls; four from the mall. The purpose of tracking is to help establish a budget for the ambulance service. The cost of one ambulance call is about $400.
Payment comes from insurance, Medicare and other sources, but some users ignore billings and pay nothing.
The board has asked the Berkshire Mall to make a contribution since about 25 percent of ambulance calls originate there. Mall manager Joseph Scelsi attended the meeting but did not make any commitment on behalf of the mall management.
Durfee recommended that the board contact state Rep. Denis E. Guyer, D-Dalton, to discuss if some accommodation could be made to ease the requirement of having two EMTs for every ambulance call.
The Selectmen said they want to be certain that ambulance service is always available to Lanesborough residents. They are considering all options to ensure service.
Dog Officer Issue Resolved
In other business, the saga of the dog officer may be coming to an end. Dalton Police Chief John Bartels and Animal Control Officer Michael McClay attended the Selectmen's meeting to discuss an effort to share the animal control position.
McClay outlined his current procedures in Dalton, including a proactive approach to maximize the number of dog registrations. McClay is certified by the state as an animal control officer and inspector. After some discussion, it was agreed that the town managers from both communities would develop a memorandum of understanding outlining the terms of McClay's employment in Lanesborough.
There also has been progress at Laston Park. Debbie Decelles, recreation director, and the board discussed some issues involving the park. The Recreation Department needs to set up procedures for maintenance, including mowing the grass and grooming the baseball field. The department has requested a new tractor, which would be housed at the park to ensure availability. The board will continue to research the options for maintenance, possibly done by the Highway Department.
Information provided by Lanesborough Concerned Citizens Newsletter. To receive the weekly newsletter with more Lanesborough news, e-mail ahartheimer@yahoo.com. |
| The good citizens of Lanesborough are about to wake up and smell the coffee. 'Informed' Citizen is begining to reek of the same scare tactics s/he claims to sense. AMR is a dead issue. It's now about who can provide the best response to the medical calls and MVAs, as John has rightly pointed out. Putting your faith in another service, in another town, for another year, that IS foolish, especially when they already have so much on their plate. And we think the citizens of Lanesborough get that, Byran McAndrews. | | from: a Thinker | on: 05-13-2008 |
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Informed citizen, I highly doubt the Lanesborough Fire Department is attempting to build a “kingdom.” I believe the L.V.F.D. Is attempting to address the needs of the 21st. century. Training, recertification, and overall recruitment for volunteers is not a specific issue for Lanesboproough. I challenge you to poll every volunteer fire chief in the Berkshires and ask about their staffing numbers.
There have been numerous articles in several publications (i-berksires – North Adams Transcript – Berkshire Eagle) that have discussed the troubling topic of recruiting volunteers.
Additionally, I don’t believe the answer for Lanesborough in the event of a cardiac arrests, stroke, or other significant medical emergency is to hope or wait for an emergency medical service from another community when seconds actually count.
| | from: John | on: 03-11-2008 |
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| This is just an attempt to build a kingdom at the expense of others. I know for a fact that response for backup by County Ambulance to Lanesborough and other communities as gotten better than ever since the loss of AMR. To infur that Lanesborough has suffered by the loss of AMR is a blatant lie. Lanesborough has had years of problems getting volunteers to respond to calls. Rather than sink mor money into them it is time they get out and leave it to the agencies that can respond on a consistnt basis. | | from: Informed Citizen | on: 03-11-2008 |
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