Outdoor Activities, Cultural Classes Offered by Tamarack Hollow

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WINDSOR, Mass. — Tamarack Hollow Nature and Cultural Center will host a First Day Snowshoe/Hike on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, from 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM. 
 
Participants will explore the Boreal forests, newly conserved land, and a trail featuring Georgie's Falls. The program, led by Director and Naturalist Aimee Gelinas, M.Ed, will include winter tree identification, wildlife tracking, and forest ecology. 
 
Registration is required by emailing aimee@gaiaroots.com. The program fee is $20 per person, with a $5 snowshoe rental fee (or participants can bring their own). The event will proceed as a hike if snowshoes are not needed. More details are available at www.tamarackhollow.org.
 
Tamarack Hollow and Gaia Roots World Music also offer West African & Caribbean Drum and Song Classes every Monday at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts in Pittsfield. Beginner sessions start at 5:30 PM, followed by advanced classes at 6:30 PM. Registration is required for new participants by emailing aimee@gaiaroots.com. The class fee is $10 per person, with a $5 drum rental fee. More information is available at www.tamarackhollow.com.
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Pittsfield City Council Weighs in on 'Crisis' in Public Schools

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff

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.
 
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