SHEFFIELD â A deadly stretch of Route 7 through the village now has pedestrian-activated warning lights at each of its three crosswalks.
Most of a $118,000 state Department of Transportation Shared Streets and Spaces grant paid for the signals and installation last month, and some of the leftover money will pay for other improvements to key sidewalks and a handicap-accessible path in the town forest, said Select Board Chairwoman Rene Wood.
Wood, who wrote the grant request, said the improvements will help reduce the hazards along this state-owned highway near the town green.
âRoute 7 has always been a real issue in terms of crossings,â she said.
STOCKBRIDGE â As budget season begins, the town plans to institute a âzero-basedâ formula for municipal spending.
That means starting from scratch instead of updating operating budget line items from the current year, Finance Committee Chairman Jay Bikofsky said during a meeting last week.
âEverything needs to be justified, as opposed to âlevel funding,â as done in the past,â he pointed out.
Town Administrator Michael Canales said that he has asked department heads to âfocus on reviewing what theyâre asking for, why theyâre asking for it, and how these numbers are calculated.â The practice has been to either ask for the same amount as the previous year, or a cost-of-living salary increase.
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Last week, the Southern Berkshire Regional School District sent out an alert that one of its community members had tested positive for COVID-19. The district represents the towns of Sheffield, New Marlborough, Egremont, Monterey, and Alford, Massachusetts. WAMC asked superintendent Beth Regulbuto about how the district is responding to the situation, and what preparations she’s taking before the holiday and the possibility of further community spread.
REGULBUTO: Luckily for us, we have had a wonderful experience. And I m not sure what to attribute it to. I m hoping it s our community compact that we made. We have our, you know, COVID agreement where everybody has been assigned an agreement from staff and our families saying that we will take care of each other by ensuring that we wear masks, and that we follow all the protocols given by the state. And we ve had really great experience. The couple of instances that we ve had in this district have been close contacts of people
Impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic continue to be felt in Berkshire County.
As of Friday, Hillcrest Commons Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Pittsfield, Massachusetts has had 40 COVID-related deaths.
Current cases stand at around 30, with around 200 residents and staffers having recovered.
Meanwhile, the Southern Berkshire Regional School District announced that a member of its community had tested positive for the disease. Superintendent Beth Regulbuto is asking parents to monitor their children for symptoms while contact tracing is performed privately.
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