Berkshires Beat: Adaptive Water Program to Hold Clinic at Camp Russell

Adaptive collaboration

LOF, headquartered in Sandy Hook, Conn., will be holding two day long, specialized, skiing clinics for disabled and special needs children at the Boys and Girls Club's Camp Russell located on Richmond Pond in Richmond on Wednesday, July, and Wednesday July 25. This is the first time for such a program will take place in the Berkshires.

Founded in 1991 by Joel Zeisler, LOF is one of the largest and safest adaptive water ski programs in the country and helps participants develop skills, experience physical freedom and enjoy the sports of water skiing and water boarding utilizing special adaptive equipment such as the "sit ski." LOF is partnering with the Boys and Girls Club's Recreational Therapy Program, which provides recreational and educational programming for youth with special needs and disabilities including cognitive, developmental and physical disabilities and even conditions that require children to be in wheelchairs.

This collaboration will provide the opportunity for these youth to take part in adaptive skiing which puts no limits on who can go into the water. Spectators are welcome. For more information, contact Kathleen Phillips at 413-448-8258, ext. 25.

Eclipse this

Jay Pasachoff, professor of astronomy at Williams College and chairman of the International Astronomical Union's Working Group on Solar Eclipses, observed the second solar eclipse of the year from the grounds of the Mount Pleasant Radio Observatory of the University of Tasmania in Australia. It was the 68th solar eclipse that he had observed.

Pasachoff reports that the partial eclipse lasted 64 minutes and that weather conditions were ideal, with clear skies virtually the entire duration of the eclipse. Even when clouds appeared in the final minutes of the eclipse, the sun was always visible. According to Pasachoff, the total solar eclipse was visible only from Antarctica and southernmost parts of Australia, especially Tasmania, where 10 percent of the solar disk was covered at maximum.

Pasachoff captured images of the eclipse using a Nikon D600 and 500-mm f/8 Nikkor lens and a Thousand Oaks Optical filter as well as with a Nikon D7100 and 400 mm Nikkor lens with a Questar filter.

There are two more partial solar eclipses—Aug. 11, 2018, and Jan. 6, 2019—before the next total solar eclipse, which Pasachoff will observe from Chile on July 2, 2019, now less than a year away.

BArT for the win

Berkshire Arts & Technology Charter Public School is proud to be the winner of FAFSA Day Massachusetts, 2017-2018 FAFSA Challenge. This challenge was a statewide campaign to increase the proportion of Massachusetts high school seniors who complete the Free Application for Student Aid. FAFSA Day Massachusetts is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven program providing free assistance to students and families seeking to complete the FAFSA.

The challenge encouraged all Massachusetts schools to set a goal of FAFSA completion for as many students as possible. BArT had the highest overall FAFSA completion rate in the state, tied at 100 percent completion with Hill Charter Public School - Circuit Street. Awards of $750 were issued to high schools. BArT is proud to award the scholarships to Gerardo Aguilar, attending the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and Ashlyn Marcil, attending Framingham State University in the fall.

Donated art

In honor of Southwestern Vermont Health Care's Centennial year, the SVHC Corridor Gallery has mounted a special exhibit of pieces donated to the hospital over the last 100 years called "A Century of Art Donations." The show features paintings and sculpture from various artists, many of whom have connections to the local area. They include Paul Katz, John Ochocki, Ellen Viereck, and others. Among the internationally recognized artists included are Maxil Ballinger, Harry Bates, and Simon Moselsio, who taught at Bennington College.

Marching to the BEAT

The Berkshire Environmental Action Team received a financial boost with a $35,000 grant from the Massachusetts Environmental Trust. This funding will enable BEAT to continue their work surveying and sampling stormwater outfalls (e.g. pipes emptying into our rivers) in Berkshire County. Since 2014, BEAT's work on water quality has identified over 100 previously unmapped outfalls, and as recently as the spring of 2017, identified at least one dispensing raw sewage into the Housatonic River. That outfall has since been remediated.

The project has trained dozens of citizen scientists to use smartphone technology with a special form that BEAT developed to document stormwater outfalls in Berkshire County and contribute that data to a larger regional database. According to Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Matthew Beaton, the Trust will provide over $500,00 in grants to 16 organizations this year, thanks to motorists who choose to purchase one of the Trust’s specialty license plates.

Working with Berkshire Community College students has been a key part of this water quality project. Winn continued, “Our partnership with BCC has given their students field experience using microbiology for public health and environmental stewardship projects.” For this project, BEAT worked with the Housatonic Valley Association, who developed the quality assurance project plan and oversees training and collection practices.

Supporting the environmental programs funded by the Trust in your community is easy: choose one of three environmental plates, the Right Whale & Roseate Terns, The Leaping Brook Trout, or the Blackstone Valley Mill when you purchase or lease a new car or renew your registration with the Registry of Motor Vehicles. The standard registration fee for a Massachusetts plate is $60. The special plate fee is an additional $400 (tax-deductible every two years) for a total cost of $100. Every time you renew your registration, you are supporting the Trust.

Reuse, recycle

Pittsfield residents interested in disposing of old electronic items are invited to register for the Electronics Recycling and Sustainability Fair, which will be held on Saturday, Aug. 4. The event features two components: electronics collection and an educational fair at the Farmers Market at The Common off First Street. The collection will take place at 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Guardian headquarters located at 700 South St. After residents drop off their items at the collection, they are invited to visit the fair at the Farmers Market, which will also be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will be a host of community vendors providing materials and resources, raffles, and giveaways.

The event is open to City of Pittsfield residents only. Registration is available online or in person at the Department of Public Utilities Office, 10 Fenn St. The office is also accessible by an entrance at 100 North St.

While the event is free, there is a $15 advance fee (per item) for cathode ray tube (CRT) televisions and monitors. Those seeking to dispose of these items should register directly at the DPU office. Payment can be made via check only and addressed to the collection vendor, EPC Inc. The list of acceptable items includes: servers, desktop PCs, laptops, tablets, speakers, all components and accessories, video and photo equipment, DVRs, cable and satellite receivers digital and film cameras, audio equipment, DVD/VHS players and tapes, printers, copiers, scanners, faxes, gaming consoles, cell phones and batteries, phones and all accessories, small electronic appliances, all cables and power cords, small household electric devices – rechargeable, and non-CRT TVs (i.e. LED, LCD). For more information, call 413-499-9322.

Pittsfield City Council Weighs in on 'Crisis' in Public Schools

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
08:59PM / Monday, December 23, 2024

A half-dozen people addressed the City Council from the floor of Monday's meeting, including Valerie Anderson, right.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — After expressing anger and outrage and making numerous calls for accountability and transparency, the 11 members of the City Council on Monday voted to support the School Committee in seeking an independent investigation into allegations of misconduct by staff members at Pittsfield High School that have come to light in recent weeks.

 

At the close of a month that has seen three PHS administrators put on administrative leave, including one who was arrested on drug trafficking charges, the revelation that the district is facing a civil lawsuit over inappropriate conduct by a former teacher and that a staff member who left earlier in the year is also under investigation at his current workplace, the majority of the council felt compelled to speak up about the situation.

 

"While the City Council does not have jurisdiction over the schools … we have a duty to raise our voices and amplify your concerns and ensure this crisis is met with the urgency it demands," Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey said.

 

About two dozen community members attended the special meeting of the council, which had a single agenda item.

 

Four of the councilors precipitated the meeting with a motion that the council join the School Committee in its search for an investigation and that the council, "be included in the delivery of any disclosures, interim reports or findings submitted to the city."

 

Last week, the School Committee decided to launch that investigation. On Monday, City Council President Peter White said the School Committee has a meeting scheduled for Dec. 30 to authorize its chair to enter negotiations with the Springfield law firm of Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas to conduct that probe.

 

Ward 7 Councilor Rhonda Serre, the principal author of the motion of support, was one of several members who noted that the investigation process will take time, and she, like Kavey, acknowledged that the council has no power over the public schools beyond its approval of the annual district budget.