During the fall and winter months in Berkshire County, residents celebrated cultures with the annual Festival Latino and Indigenous Peoples Day events. Frustrated residents protested Housatonic Water Works at Town Hall, while a very intense primary election season for the Berkshire County sheriff and district attorney races came to an end. Various nonprofit organizations held events not only to raise awareness about problems facing residents but also to showcase resources that are available to them. At the end of the year, residents came together to celebrate the holiday season.
After an intense primary campaign, Sheriff Thomas Bowler won another term in office at the Berkshire County primary election on Sept. 6. Bowler won in a race against Alf Barbalunga by a vote of 16,929 to 5,064 votes. In the district attorney’s race, Timothy Shugrue beat incumbent Andrea Harrington by 13,986 to 8,431 votes.
On September 1, Housatonic Water Works treasurer James Mercer issued a press release stating that the company’s water quality met compliance with the state’s Department of Environmental Protection standards when it comes to haloacetic acids (HAA5). This was after it was previously determined that the company did not meet standards due to elevated levels of HAA5.
This was not enough for frustrated and angry customers, who held a protest against the company in front of Great Barrington Town Hall on September 3. Later on in September, it was reported that the company increased the salaries of both president Fredrick Mercer and treasurer James Mercer.
The second season of The Berkshire Busk! came to a close on September 3. The event started in late May with performances every Friday night, Saturday afternoon, and evening throughout the downtown area, including Railroad Street, The Triplex/Barrington Courtyard, the First Congregational Church, and in front of multiple businesses on Main Street.
On September 10, residents came together for the annual Sheffield Fair. The fair started in 2001 but took a two-year break due to the pandemic.
After several months of debate, in mid-September, Stockbridge town officials decided to drop the idea of a Residential Tax Exemption. “A change like this would require broad support, which this doesn’t have. As far as I’m concerned, this matter is settled,” Board of Selectman Chairman Patrick White explained to The Berkshire Edge.
Several local community organizations teamed up to hold the Smash the Stigma event at the Town Hall Gazebo on September 17. The goal of the event was for the organizations to let residents know that there is help out there for addiction and substance use disorder.
On September 21, the Stockbridge Senior Center held its grand re-opening event. The event celebrated the reopening of the center after a two-year-long pandemic hiatus.
At a press conference on September 22, representatives from Hancock Shaker Village announced a renovation project. The project will renovate the property’s visitor center and will create a proper storage area for its collection.
On September 24, the annual Festival Latino was held at the Town Hall Green. The event, which has been held for 25 years, celebrates Latin heritage.
In late September, 10 members of the Southern Berkshire Regional School District Committee co-signed a letter threatening to quit the Eight Town Planning Board. The members stated in the co-signed letter, “this process is being rushed and [until] we address the difficult dynamic between the two districts and the ongoing feeling of imbalance, there simply is no path forward.” At a meeting on September 23, members of the Eight Town School District Planning Board expressed their frustrations about the lack of feedback from the public and staff members of the Berkshire Hills and Southern Berkshire regional school districts.
In early October, it was announced that The Dream Away Lodge, located at 1342 County Rd. in Becket, will reopen with new owners in April 2023. The change in owners came after a plan to create a glamping resort on the property was scuttled in the spring.
On October 3, the Great Barrington Selectboard unanimously approved changing Squaw Peak Road’s name to Woodland Hill Road. The change was approved due to the offensive nature of the word “squaw” regarding Indigenous peoples.
From October 8 to October 10, Great Barrington celebrated Indigenous Peoples Day with a series of events. The events included Larry Spotted Crow Mann being awarded the NAACP’s Indigenous Award.
On October 12 at the Naumkeag Public Garden, 31 immigrants from five countries became naturalized citizens at a swearing-in ceremony. The event was organized by the Berkshire Immigrant Center of Pittsfield.
The future of food practices and agriculture were the main topics of discussion at the ninth annual ThinkFOOD conference, held at Simon’s Rock on October 15. The event was organized by The Center For Food Studies and included various workshops and lectures featuring representatives from various organizations.
On October 22, The Brien Center celebrated its anniversary with an orchestral concert benefit event at the Colonial Theater. The organization is Berkshire County’s largest provider of health and addiction services, employing 500 people who work at 25 locations in the county, including locations in Great Barrington, Pittsfield, and North Adams.
A tragic car accident in Sheffield on October 25 killed three and injured five people. The victims of the accident were identified by state police as international college students, with six students studying at the University of New Haven, and one at Sacred Heart University.
In late October, Kohl’s Department Store announced that it would be opening a location in Lenox. The opening of the store is part of the corporation’s real estate strategy to open 100 smaller format stores throughout the country.
Also in late October, it was announced that the town will receive a $3.2 million grant from the state for infrastructure costs for affordable housing development. The development is located on North Plain Road in Housatonic and is a project between the town and Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity, and is planned to include 19 affordable energy-efficient homes on the 7.25-acre site.
On October 24, a raffle for The People’s Pantry raised $5,000. The funds are going to the pantry’s “Help Fill The Bag” fundraiser, whose goal is to raise $300,000 to support the nonprofit organization.
As part of its week-long Symposium on Social Justice and Inclusion, Bard College at Simon’s Rock raised the Black Lives Matter flag outside of the College Center on October 25. The symposium included several events including workshops on microaggressions and implicit bias, the screening of the film “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” and a keynote address by artist Lesley Martinez.
On October 26, Students from three local schools got to show off their talents in the town’s annual Halloween window painting contest. The contest was sponsored by the Great Barrington Rotary Club, and during the all-day event, students from the schools were seen all around Main and Railroad Streets painting and drawing their Halloween creations. In early November, after being closed for two years, the bridge on Division Street was reopened to traffic. The bridge had been closed to traffic when the state’s Department of Transportation deemed it “structurally deficient” during a 2018 inspection.
On November 2, Great Barrington announced that it received a $3.2 million state grant to pay for infrastructure costs at a planned affordable housing development on North Plain Road in Housatonic. The project, a collaboration between the town and Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity, will include 19 affordable, energy-efficient homes on a 7.25-acre site.
On November 5, The Lake Mahkeennac Radio Theater held a performance at the First Congregational Church in Stockbridge. The event was a benefit for the church and included a “Best Pie in Stockbridge” baking contest.
On November 6, the Berkshire Natural Resources Council hosted an event to commemorate the opening of the Whale Rock Trail at the Thomas & Palmer Brook conservation reserve. The event was also held to commemorate the “Everybody Can Hike” pamphlet and the “Berkshire County Trails For All” resource guide.
On November 10, veterans were honored with a ceremony at Berkshire Country Day School. At the event, students paid thanks to local veterans in attendance.
In mid-November, W.E.B. Du Bois Regional Middle School principal Ben Doren announced that he would be leaving in June. Doren served as the school’s principal for 12 years.
On November 12, the Connecticut-based Swords to Plowshares organization held an event at The Guthrie Center. At the event, metal from guns was used to create gardening tools for local farming organizations, along with heart-shaped pendants.
On November 20, The Berkshire Co-op held its “Great Community Pass” event. The event was a way of distributing food donated by customers from The Berkshire Co-op to The People’s Pantry.
Towards the end of the month on November 26, for the first time in three years, a community singalong of “Messiah” was held at the First Congregational Church of Great Barrington. Up until the three-year break due to the pandemic, the event had previously been held for over 30 years.
On November 30, the local affordable housing organization Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire entered into a purchase and sales agreement with the current owners of The Marble Block in Great Barrington. The organization intends to retain the building’s current tenants, including businesses Gorham and Norton, Sette, David Gavin Salon, Sruti Yoga, and a law office, as well as the tenants of eight residential units.
On December 1, Construct, Inc. purchased the Windflower Inn, which is located north of South Egremont Village. The organization plans to use the inn property for workforce housing.
On December 4, the State Police and The Berkshire District Attorney’s Office held a remembrance event for those lost in fatal impaired driving incidents. The event was held at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Pittsfield.
On December 5, after several public hearings, The Foundry received its special permit from the West Stockbridge Planning Board. The approval came after five contentious public hearings, which were spread over two months and totaled almost 14 hours.
On December 8, at a special Lenox town meeting, a long-in-the-works wireless zoning bylaw did not receive the needed two-thirds majority to pass. Residents voted 251 yeas to 147 nays for the bylaw, but it failed due to not reaching the required two-thirds majority.
On December 7, The Egremont Barn was host to a benefit concert for community radio station WBCR-LP on Wednesday, December 7. The benefit included performances by reggae band The Haughties and techno musician Andrew H. Smith, all local area musicians who have been previously featured on WBCR-LP shows.
On December 10, Great Barrington held its annual Christmas celebrations. The event was organized by The Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, with various town businesses and organizations taking part in it.
At its meeting on December 19, the Great Barrington Selectboard picked Pittsfield company WDM Properties LLC to redevelop the former Housatonic School building. The elementary school building, located at 207 Pleasant St. in Housatonic, was built in 1907 and has been vacant since it was shut down in 2003.
