Firefighters gradate from state academy
Great Barrington — Fire Chief Charles Burger and the town of Great Barrington have announced that firefighters Mohamed Morell, Jessica Dezieck, and Michael Powell graduated on Wednesday, Nov. 2, from the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy after 240 hours of intensive training. Burger also announced that Dezieck is the first woman to graduate from the Academy for Great Barrington.
The firefighters graduated at a ceremony held at the Academy’s western campus in Springfield. Over the past four months, Morell, Dezieck, and Powell attended class in Lee two nights per week, learning about fire behavior, building construction, hazardous materials, and safely sizing up incidents. On weekends they traveled to the campus in Springfield where they practiced the basic skills of deploying and advancing hose lines, raising ladders, and working and communicating in zero-visibility situations. The class included multiple drills on fire attack, ventilation, and search and rescue, including several live burns.
–E.E.
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Molsky’s Mountain Drifters CD release party
Sheffield — The Oldtone Roots Music Series will present a CD release party with Molsky’s Mountain Drifters and special guest Moonshine Holler on Friday, Nov. 11, at 8 p.m. at Dewey Hall.
Grammy-nominated fiddler, banjoist, guitarist and songwriter Bruce Molsky has joined forces with Allison de Groot and Stash Wyslouch to form Molsky’s Mountain Drifters, a new group already on tour in the U.S. The group’s debut self-titled album, according to Molsky, will “point to the future of traditional, rural music” powered by the far-ranging musical palates of his two youthful bandmates. Local husband-and-wife bluegrass duo Moonshine Holler will warm up the crowd.
Tickets are $20. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or call (413) 429-1797.
–E.E.
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Hotchkiss School to stage ‘Once on This Island’
Lakeville, Conn. — The Hotchkiss School’s Dramatic Association will present the musical “Once on This Island” Thursday, Nov. 10, through Saturday, Nov. 12, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 13, at 2:30 p.m. in the school’s Walker Auditorium. Based on the novel “My Love, My Love: Or, The Peasant Girl” by Rosa Guy, the production was originally produced on Broadway in 1990
Tickets for “Once on This Island” are $10 for the general public and $5 for students and seniors. The Sunday matinee performance will benefit the Housatonic Musical Theatre Society of Housatonic Valley Regional High School. For tickets and more information, call (860) 435-3203.
–E.E.
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Jennifer Granholm and Scott Brown to discuss Election 2016
Williamstown — On Thursday, Nov. 10, at 8 p.m., Williams College will host former Democratic governor of Michigan Jennifer Granholm and former Republican senator from Massachusetts Scott Brown for “Post Mortem: What’s Next?”, a discussion of the 2016 presidential election, at the MainStage of the ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance. Justin Crowe, associate professor of political science and chair of leadership studies, will moderate. The event is free and open to the public.
Elected Michigan’s first woman governor in 2002, Granholm is credited with transforming Michigan’s economy in the midst of steady decline. During her two terms as governor, Granholm pioneered clean energy policies, signed into law a college preparatory curriculum for every high school student in the state, and launched the No Worker Left Behind program to provide job training to displaced Michigan employees. Since leaving the governor’s office, she has taught law and public policy at the University of California, Berkeley. An advisor to and advocate for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, she has also agreed to serve as co-chair of Clinton’s transition team.
Brown served three terms in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and two terms in the state Senate. In 2010 Brown won the U.S. Senate seat that had become vacant upon the death of Ted Kennedy, making him the first Republican to represent the state in the Senate in more than three decades. Serving in the Senate until 2013, Brown developed a reputation as one of the most bipartisan members of the chamber and played an important role in both the Hire A Hero Act and the STOCK Act. Upon leaving the Senate, Brown, remained active in politics, running for the U.S. Senate in New Hampshire, campaigning with Republican congressional candidates, and serving as surrogate for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
Though the event is free, reservations are recommended. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar. For building locations on the Williams campus, consult the online map or call the Office of Communications at (413) 597-4277.
–E.E.
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‘Silver Wellness and Nutrition for Seniors’
Pittsfield — On Thursday, Nov. 10 at 10:45 a.m., the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires will welcome certified senior fitness specialist Thea Basis who will present the free program “Silver Wellness and Nutrition for Seniors” at Congregation Knesset Israel.
Basis’ presentation will include discussion of general nutrition guidelines for older adults including the USDA Eating Plan, the DASH Plan for hypertension, and the Mediterranean diet for longevity. Basis will also explore needs for hydration for older adults, macro- and micronutrient needs, healthy eating patterns, how to read a nutrition label, and common nutritional problems in older adults and how to address them.
Thea Basis earned an American Council on Exercise Group Fitness Instructor Certification in 1988. She specializes in the conditions that make exercising more challenging including arthritis, fragility, balance and gait issues, respiratory disease, diabetes, and lack of motivation.
For more information, please call the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires at (413) 442-4360, ext. 10.
–E.E.
