Great Barrington Community Impact Fund Committee Recommends Awards

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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The town Community Impact Fund Committee has recommended the distribution of the following funds to area nonprofits:
  • Railroad Street Youth Project, $162,000 for community work to educate and mentor youth in the community.
  • Rural Recovery Resources, $100,000 to support the addition of a bilingual recovery coach.
  • Volunteers in Medicine, $56,000 to support substance abuse counseling work, which also received CIF funding last year.
  • Great Barrington Police Department, $182,000 over two years to help fund a Co-responder Program, which includes a mental health professional to accompany police to calls when needed.
Funds are received annually by the town from cannabis-related businesses, and the CIF Committee recommends how the funds are allocated, with priority for organizations addressing health-related impacts of cannabis businesses in the community. Presently five such businesses operate in town.

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Butternut Fire Contained; Conditions Improve

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The Butternut Fire is now believed to be contained after burning nearly 1,400 acres on East Mountain.
 
The Fire Department continues to urge people to stay out of the affected woods, as the chances of getting hurt are high, and not to start outdoor fires.
 
Public Information Officer Lt. Brian Mead on Saturday morning said there are still hotspots and potential for flareups.
 
"This area is very unstable. We are expecting that there are going to be tree falling, there are going to be landslides and there are going to be rocks rolling downhill," he said. "It is very steep. The area is slippery. We cannot have anybody in this area."
 
The fire had not grown as of Friday and crews have dwindled as light rain fell across the region over the past three days. On Friday, the department reported 15 crew members — down from a high of 120 — and identified the involved area as 1,388 acres.
 
Drones and a crew from Wyoming were walking the perimeter on Saturday and verifying that fire breaks cut into forest are holding, the Fire Department posted. The crew from Wyoming is a Type VI engine crew with "vast knowledge of wildfires" and will be making adjustments and improvements as needed over the next few days, the post read. 
 
The smoke through the town and surrounding areas appears to be minimal. Locations to get KN-95 or N-95 masks can be found at www.southernberkshirehealth.com or by calling Southern Berkshire Public Health Collaborative at 413-243-5540, Ext. 109. The Bushnell Sage Library will have masks available this weekend on Saturday from 10-2 or Sunday from 2-5. Other mask distribution sites are open during the week.
 
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