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The tag is NO foresight, but I appreciate the special note none the less. I don't doubt that anyone associated with the projects doesn't believe the site could be a "useful" power source. However, I would ask what does the term "useful" mean?
Is it "useful" for the town to produce pollution free electricity? Is it "useful" for the town to have a way to lower it's energy bill by producing some of it's own electricity? Could a working hydro facility be "useful" for area education? Could a by-product of the project be a "useful" recreation area for the town?
The internet is awash with sites dedicated to microhydro projects, it's not like the wheel would need to be re-invented.
In our life time, besides death and taxes, the town of Clarksburg can count on two things. 1)The river will always be flowing and the price of electricity will also be increasing.
My only question for the voters of Clarksburg is: If you are going to spend the money anyway, wouldn't it be nice to get something for it?
For the record, I appreciate all the coverage your site has dedicated to this issue. A job well done.
iberkshires has done an excellent job reporting this issue. Clarksburg officials have gone a poor job dealing with this issue. Now they want to stick the taxpayers withe the wrong decision and the bill. The state officials involved in removing the dam want it removed, that is their job. It is the job of Clarksburg officials to do what is best for the town. There is money available for hydro projects and has been available. but town officials have refused to pursue free money, or even give explanations, based on facts as to why the have not. THis public information and the public can read it here:
http://www.dsireusa.org/incentives/incentive.cfm?Incentive_Code=MA90F&re=1&ee=1
The Selectman told the taxpayers that if they did not vote to spend the money to demolish the dam, that 50 full time and 100 part jobs would be lost, and eventually the mill buildings would have to be torn down at a cost to taxpayers of $1 million. What the selectman did not tell the taxpayers, is that there are companies that specialize in developing small scale hydro power from old dams. These companies will assist the town in obtaining grants and financing to generate electricity, that will produce income for the town for as long as the river flows. This is what the selectman does NOT want the taxpayers to know.
This is one company.
If a hydro project at Briggsville's dam could generate 1 million (1,000,000)Kwh's per year - would the voters of Clarksburg believe the project to worth it? That's enough electricity for about 300 homes.
This is the conservative figure I come up with using only Google Earth measurements and my years spent on and around that river.
A half hour's time could make this estimate an accurate figure and then the voters could make an informed decision.
Smith Single Gives Pittsfield Little Leaguers Walkoff Win
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires.com Sports
HOLDEN, Mass. – Colton Smith singled on a hard comebacker to the mound in the bottom of the seventh Thursday to give the Pittsfield Little League 12-year-old All-Stars a 3-2 win over Holden in the Section 1 Tournament.
The win propels Pittsfield to the final round of the four-team double-elimination tournament. It will be home on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Deming Park against the winner of Friday’s game between Holden and Westfield, a 16-0 winner over Quabbin on Thursday night in the losers’ bracket.
Pittsfield Thursday got seven strong innings on the mound from Carmelo Coco and Hector Reyes-Colon, who also hammered a solo home run in the top of the fourth to give his team a 2-1 lead at the time.
But Holden, which was down to its last strike in the top of the sixth, got an RBI single from Lukas Ojerholm to stay alive.
After Holden reliever Declan Wardwell stranded a runner at first in the bottom of the sixth, the teams went to extra innings, where Little League employs the “ghost runner,” starting each half inning with a runner on second base.
Smith came up huge behind the plate for Pittsfield in the top of the seventh, throwing out the ghost runner attempting to steal third for the first out of the inning.
Reyes-Colon then got a groundball to the mound for out No. 2 and a slow roller up the first base line to Brody Hamilton, who tagged out the batter to get Pittsfield back in the dugout.
Cassidy Flynn scattered five hits in a complete-game effort in the circle as Lenox upset top-seeded Hoosac Valley, 3-2, in the quarter-finals of the Division 5 State Tournament. click for more
Brayden Durant struck out seven and walked one in a complete-game effort on the mound Saturday to pitch the Drury baseball team to a 6-0 win over Keefe Tech in the quarter-finals of the Division 5 State Tournament at Joe Wolfe Field. click for more
Jason Codey struck out 13, walked two and allowed just an infield single as the Generals earned a 7-1 win over Wahconah to claim their third straight regional title. click for more
Gracelyn Wright struck out eight, and Genevieve Lagess went 3-for-5 with four runs batted in as the Hurricanes beat Monson, 17-3, to claim their first Western Mass title in four years. click for more
For the boys, Ward Bianchi helped lead the way with a win in the shot put and a second place in the javelin as the Mounties finished 16 points ahead of runner-up Pittsfield (pending the results of the pole vault, which were unavailable at 11 p.m. Friday night). click for more
