Below is a preview of the major stories the Transcript staff is working on for tomorrow's edition. The Transcript posts breaking news and updates on Twitter (@natranscript), on Facebook www.facebook.com/natranscript, on our mobile app and here on our homepage. Have a story idea or have something to contribute to a story below? Feel free to reach out to reporters or contact Editor-in-Chief Michael Foster at mfoster@thetranscript.com or 413-663-3741, ext. 223.
Budget proposal would cut 9 posts: CHESHIRE -- The school district's latest fiscal 2014 budget proposal introduces $400,000 in personnel cuts, representing nine positions and the "blood, sweat and tears" of the administration, officials said at a meeting Wednesday.
"This time, staffing was involved," District Treasurer David Hinkell said at the meeting. "We had no other place to cut."
It's the third proposal from Adams-Cheshire Regional School District early this budget season and first to come in below the Proposition 2 1/2 levy limits of Adams and Cheshire.
School officials plan to leave the decision up to the towns. They'll provide three options, each detailing increasing cuts, and this third and newest proposal represents the most yet.
Phil Demers is writing this story and can be reached at pdemers@thetranscript.com,
Scintillating science fair: NORTH ADAMS -- Finding a cost-effective and environmentally friendly way to strip excess nitrogen from streams and rivers without the use of chemicals or decreasing fertilizer use at farms spurred 15-year-old Tyler Ethier to design and build his own bismuth water filter.
The filter, which he hopes to patent in the future, was created by the Berkshire Arts & Technology Charter Public School (BART) sophomore as part of a science fair project, which he presented to judges at the 9th annual Western Massachusetts Region 1 High School Science Fair at MCLA on Thursday.
Jennifer Huberdeau is writing this story and can be reached at jhuberdeau@thetranscript.com, on Twitter @NAT_DigitalJen, or by phone at 413-663-3741, ext. 227.
Where to go from the Dug-Out: ADAMS -- The Dug-Out Motel tenant relocation saw 27 people safely rehoused in short order, according to town Code Enforcement Officer Scott Koczela, Lauren Bolio of the Tenancy Preservation Project and Linda Greenbush of Adams Council on Aging. A meeting was held Thursday morning where the three described the process.
Phil Demers is writing this story and can be reached at pdemers@thetranscript.com, on Twitter @NAT_DigitalPhil, or by phone at 413-663-3741, ext. 225.
BART pitches in for the United Way: ADAMS -- Students in a senior seminar at Berkshire Arts and Technology Charter Public School raised $931.75 for Northern Berkshire United Way's annual campaign. Students presented the funds to Executive Director Joseph McGovern on Thursday, and McGovern said with those funds, the organization has raised just over 79 percent of its goal of $550,000.
Ed Damon is writing this story and can be reached at edamon@thetranscript.com, on Twitter @NAT_DigitalEd, or by phone 413-663-3741, ext. 224.
Planning for future calamities: CLARKSBURG -- Selectmen are taking steps to be included in the Berkshire Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan, which identifies natural hazards and ways to minimize their impacts.
Lindsay Errichetto, a planner for the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, said at Wednesday's meeting of the Selectmen that Clarksburg is one of six towns in the county to be added to the plan.
"My hope is to receive input from selectmen about the material, and hopefully receive approval of it in draft form," she said.
Ed Damon is writing this story and can be reached at edamon@thetranscript.com, on Twitter @NAT_DigitalEd, or by phone 413-663-3741, ext. 224.
Clarksburg chief's ‘wish list': CLARKSBURG -- The condition of the police department's garage, the creation of a revolving fund and the purchase of a new laptop were topics of Wednesday's joint meeting between the Selectmen, Finance Committee and Chief of Police Michael Williams.
Finance Committee member Mark Denault said until more of the town's budget becomes clear, Williams' "wish list" items, like addressing issues with the police department's garage, couldn't be approved.
"I don't think anyone here will argue with you if it doesn't get fixed, it'll fall down," Denault said, referring to the garage. "Whether there's money to do that this year, I don't know."
Ed Damon is writing this story and can be reached at edamon@thetranscript.com, on Twitter @NAT_DigitalEd, or by phone 413-663-3741, ext. 224.
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