New Board Members at Ventfort Ha

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LENOX, Mass.— Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum announced the appointment of two new members to its board of directors. 
 
They are Govane Lohbauer of Lee and Natalie Johnsonius Neubert of Lenox.
 
Lohbauer has been for more than twenty years costume director at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, designing three to seven shows per year and overseeing the maintenance and organization of 60,000-piece costume stock.  She taught costume and prop design and was the costume designer in the Theater Department at Simon's Rock of Bard College. For the Berkshire Public Theater and the Berkshire Lyric Theater she designed and executed costumes.
 
In addition, she designed costumes for the Ventfort Hall and Shakespeare & Company co-productions, including The Color of War; Zingu; Morgan O'Yuki, Geisha of the Gilded Age, and Paris Unlaced.  She also served on the costume preservation committee for the Berkshire County Historical Society.  Lohbauer comes to the Ventfort Hall board with a special interest in historic house museums and historic preservation.
 
She is married to Bob Lohbauer, retired actor, weapons master and special education teacher at Lee High School. 
 
"We enjoy all our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, all of whom live here in the Berkshires," she said.
 
Neubert is an arts and cultural management professional who currently serves as the executive director of the Berkshire Music School in Pittsfield. Specializing in programming, fundraising and marketing for the performing arts, she has worked with such cultural institutions as Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Shakespeare & Company, Dublin International Fringe Festival, Performance Space New York and others.  She has served on development, marketing and special events/gala committees for the Berkshire Museum, WAM Theater, Community Access to the Arts, Lenox Library Association and Berkshire Country Day School.
 
Neubert is also a director, actress and sound/media designer, whose work has been seen at such venues as Ensemble Studio Theater, The Ohio Theater, Westbeth: A Home for the Arts among others. With a special interest in site-specific work, she has also performed and/or had work presented on the New York City subway, New York Public Library and New York Botanical Gardens.  Her work has also been seen and heard at Shakespeare & Company, WAM Theater and the Belcourt Theatre (Nashville, TN).
 
Neubert lives with her husband, David, and their children, Craig and Rose.
 
"I spend a lot of time in the summer at Tanglewood with my family – it's not surprising that so many generations of artists have made their home in the Berkshires," she said.
 

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Butternut Fire Command Terminated After 2 Weeks

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — After about two weeks of working to contain the Butternut Fire, the incident command has ended.

"I am extremely proud of the leadership and firefighters that put forth such extraordinary work to bring this incident to a close," Town Manager Mark Pruhenski said in a press release issued on Sunday.

"It has been a long time since Great Barrington has seen such an incident, the collaboration between all of the agencies was impressive."

On Sunday around 2 p.m., Fire Chief Scott Turner made the decision because "based on weather changes, fuel conditions, and the monumental work of our firefighters and mutual aid, the fire is clearly under control and not expected to spread any further."

He added that Great Barrington's homes and businesses are safe. The wooded area is expected to remain dangerous for months but should regenerate in the spring.

The fire spread because of the extremely dry conditions over the past few months; some rain the week before followed by snow and sleet over the holiday had helped with containment efforts.

Personnel and apparatuses that had been in place 24/7 since Nov. 18 were released but the department will remain ready to respond to any extension or minor growth.

The fire consumed 1,670 acres, spanning over 3 miles in length with a perimeter of more than 10 miles.  Fire Lt. Brian Mead said the wildfire's potential for devastation far exceeded what firefighters were able to contain and not a single home or structure was damaged nor firefighter injured.

"At the end of an incident of this magnitude that has such risk, that is without a doubt, a victory," he said.

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