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Berkshire County Emergency Medical Service Providers Earn Statewide Honor

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Four Berkshire County emergency medical services providers are being recognized Tuesday as Massachusetts Stars of Life by the Massachusetts Ambulance Association.
 
The MAA will hosts its second annual Convoy of Champions ambulance parade from Worcester's University of Massachusetts Medical Science Park to the the Boston MedFlight hangar in Bedford for a Stars of Life Medallion and Pin Ceremony at 1:10 on Tuesday afternoon.
 
Twenty-two professionals are being honored statewide. Among them are Chris Bargmann and George Beckwith of Northern Berkshire EMS and Erica Bulshey and Shannon Regan of County Ambulance.
 
Bargmann, a paramedic, joined North Adams-based Northern Berkshire EMS last year after a four-year career in the field in Massachusetts. His service has included time with Action Ambulance, the Hadley Fire Department and the Northampton Fire Department.
 
Beckwith has been with Northern Berkshire EMS, formerly North Adams Ambulance, since 1989 as an emergency medical technician. "The war stories George has accumulated over the years are unmatched," according to a testimonial on the MAA's Facebook page. "You can always find him in the bay sharing a tale from back in the day when paramedics didn't exist and you had to improvise with what you had on the rig."
 
Bulshey came to Pittsfield's County Ambulance as an EMT in 2008 after serving as volunteer first-responder with the Florida Fire Department since 2001. In 2011, she earned certification as an advanced EMT. "She was one of the original members of the County Ambulance COVID response team," her testimonial reads. "Erica has taken a lead role on the team helping coordinate the many testing operations and most recently assisting with our vaccination site efforts."
 
Regan, a paramedic and field training officer at County Ambulance, began her career with the service in 2009 as a basic EMT. "Shannon is tenacious in her review and knowledge of the statewide treatment protocols and company policies," according to her testimonial. "She is known for clinical excellence and ability to keep teamwork at the forefront when dealing with complicated calls."
 
The Massachusetts Ambulance Association includes more than 30 ambulance service providers with 6,000 employees.
 
Tuesday's parade and ceremony are being held in conjunction with the 46th annual National EMS Week.

Tags: first responders,   recognition event,   

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North Adams Property Owners to See Tax Rates Fall, Bills Rise

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The City Council on Tuesday voted to maintain the split tax shift, resulting in a drop in the residential and commercial tax rates. 
 
However, higher property values also mean about a $222 higher tax bill.
 
The vote was unanimous with Councilor Deanna Morrow absent. 
 
Mayor Jennifer Macksey recommended keeping a 1.715 shift to the commercial side, the same as last year. This sets the residential rate at $16.71 per $1,000 property valuation, down 43 cents, and the commercial/industrial to $35.22, down $1.12.
 
This is the lowest property tax rate since 2015, when it was $16.69.
 
"My job as the assessor is to assess based on full and fair cash value in an open market, willing buyer, willing seller, arms-length sales," said City Assessor Jessica Lincourt. "So every year, I have to do a sales analysis of everything that comes in."
 
All that documentation also has to be reviewed by the state Department of Revenue. 
 
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