Winter parking ban
Great Barrington — The all-night parking ban will be in effect from Sunday, November 15 until Friday, April 1. Any vehicles parked on town streets between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. will be ticketed. In case of snowfall, vehicles will be towed at the owner’s expense.
Contact the Great Barrington Police Department for more information at (413) 528-0306.
–E.E.
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Naloxone ‘rescue kits’ available for heroin overdoses
Berkshire County — Heroin and other opioid abuse has been a fast growing issue across the country and in Berkshire County. Naloxone (Narcan) is a prescription drug that can reverse the effects of prescription opioid painkillers and heroin overdose, and can be life-saving if administered in time. Naloxone “rescue kits” containing two doses are now available without a prescription across the county at both of the county’s Tapestry Health locations and at all four CVS Pharmacy locations across the county.
Tapestry Health offers naloxone at no charge for people at high risk of witnessing a potentially fatal overdose, which includes heroin and other opioid users as well as their friends and family. Naloxone trainings are now available on a walk-in basis at the Pittsfield Tapestry Health site and through an appointment at the North Adams Tapestry Health site. No prescription is required. A brief training and demonstration is provided.
Naloxone is also available county-wide without a prescription at all CVS Pharmacy locations and the co-pay can be as little as $0 – $3.50 or up to approximately $20 for a rescue kit that contains two doses. The naloxone is kept behind the counter and the dispensing pharmacy can give brief instructions on proper use.
For families with loved ones currently addicted to prescription painkillers or heroin or in recovery from opioid abuse, naloxone is also available for no charge at Learn to Cope meetings. Learn to Cope meetings are held at the Hillcrest Campus of Berkshire Health Systems on Tuesday evenings from 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Naloxone is simple to administer intra-nasally. There is no potential for abuse, and administering it to someone who is not actually overdosing will not result in harm.
Tapestry Health locations:
100 Wendell Avenue
Pittsfield, MA 01201
(413)-387-8676
MCLA Wellness Center
289 Church Street
North Adams, MA 01247
(413)-387-8676
Call Tapestry Health for facility hours and access.
CVS Pharmacy locations:
107 West Street
Pittsfield, MA 01201
(413) 499-4624
Big Y Shopping Center, Veterans Memorial Drive
North Adams, MA 01247
(413) 664-8712
481 Pittsfield Road
Lenox, MA 01240
(413) 499-3430
362 Main Street
Great Barrington, MA 01230
(413) 528-2860
–E.E.
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Gas compressor station talk
Windsor — On November 15 at 3 p.m., Compressor and Pipeline Opposition in Windsor will present Dr. Curtis Nordgaard and Dr. Sheila Bushkin-Bedient who will give a talk entitled “Living Within 10 Miles of a Fracked Gas Compressor Station” at the Windsor Town Hall, 1927 Route 9. The talk is intended educate the community about the 41,000 HP compressor proposed by Kinder Morgan.
Dr. Nordgaard is a pediatrician with an interest in environmental health who completed research degrees in psychology and biology prior to medical school, and was trained in pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital and Boston Medical Center. Sheila Bushkin-Bedient, MD, MPH, is a member of the Institute of Health and the Environment at the University at Albany, and Concerned Health Professionals of New York who has been a member of the Medical Society of the State of New York for 15 years. Topics covered in the talk will include how air pollutants are distributed from compressor stations and which pollutants are released, health consequences for residents living within 10 miles of compressor stations, and what communities can do.
–E.E.
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Becket Dems to host Sen. Downing at legislative forum
Becket — State Sen. Benjamin B. Downing (D-Pittsfield) will be the featured speaker at a legislative forum hosted by the Democratic Town Committee in the community room of the Becket Town Hall at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 19.
Moderated by Town Moderator Bruce Garlow, the forum will be an opportunity for interested citizens to hear from state senator and to ask questions about a wide range of issues. Topics of discussion will include the “We the People Act,” the constitutional amendment that would reverse the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, state support for arts, culture and tourism, recreational marijuana, opioid dependence, and alternative energy. The public is invited to the event and light refreshments will be served.
–E.E.
