Wahconah Regional High students Ashlyn Roch, Grace Radzick and Ella Reardon were recognized last with certificates from the Green Committee for their logo design work.
Superintendent Leslie Blake-Davis, Green Committee member Antonio Pagliarulo, Grace, School Committee Chair Richard Peters, Ashlyn, Ella, art teacher, Bonnie Capogna and Principal Aaron M. Robb.
DALTON, Mass. — Green Committee member Antonio Pagliarulo presented the three Climate Action Plan Logo contest winners with a framed letter of recognition in front of the Central Berkshire Regional School Committee.
The letter was signed by the Green Committee Chair David Wasielewski and Town Manager Thomas Hutcheson.
The logo helps reflect Dalton's past, present, and future environmental climate status. The committee called for logo submissions out to Wahconah Regional High School students and received 24 logo submissions.
"Congratulations and thanks to your class and teachers for providing this lasting legacy of artwork for our project," Pagliarulo said.
The climate action plan consultant, Blue Strike, had its graphic designer narrow the submission down to the three most compatible options that can be turned into a logo.
During a November meeting, the committee voted to select Ashlyn Roch's submission for its Climate Action Plan logo. However, several members also liked elements of the other two runners-up — Grace Radzick and Ella Reardon.
Following the selection, the town's CAP consultant, Blue Strike, had its graphic designer convert Roch's drawing into a usable logo for the town.
During the meeting, Pagliarulo provided committee members with black-and-white versions of the three students’ drawings but said this version doesn't do justice to the colorized versions.
The Wahconah Regional High School's art teacher, Bonnie Capogna, highlighted how this competition was an amazing experience for the students, especially since the town will use the design.
The committee is developing a climate action plan to achieve net-zero by 2050 by seeking strategies to decrease the town's dependence on fossil fuels for homes, businesses, municipal facilities, and vehicles.
The logo development process aims to enhance community engagement by informing residents about the climate action plan, collecting their input for its formulation, and addressing any questions they may have.
Blue Strike's graphic designer and committee members previously highlighted how Roch's design had clear and organized elements that would be a good concept for a logo.
They also liked how Roch's logo showcased the Town Hall and incorporated the environmental element with the leaf growing from the bottom of the building.
Radzick's submission was selected for second place because "it is even more simplified and would make a solid logo."
During the November meeting, committee member Laurie Martinell also highlighted how she liked that the logo incorporated the text "Green Dalton Committee" in it.
Reardon's submission was given third place because committee members liked the "exceptional artwork" but felt it was too complex to be converted into a logo.
Blue Strike’s designer highlighted the keyhole shape, which is uncommon, unexpected, and clever for a CAP project.
Although, Radzick’s and Reardon’s submissions were not selected as the climate action logo the committee would like to showcase the work somewhere else.
"Your submission was outstanding among many submissions, as it uniquely represents our efforts to create a sustainable future for this community. We are proud to incorporate the efforts of one of our younger citizens into a document that represents our concern for future generations," Pagliarulo said reading Radzick’s and Reardon’s letter of recognition.
"Although, your submission was not chosen for this project. We would like to hold it for possible future projects."
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GE Plans for PCB Removal Gets OK
BOSTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved, with several conditions, the General Electric Company's Revised On-Site and Off-Site Transportation and Disposal Plan. GE's revised plan maximizes the use of rail and hydraulic pumping for the transport of sediments and soils in and along the Housatonic River that are contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls.
Approximately 75 percent to 80 percent of the material to be removed from the river will be transported hydraulically without the need for any trucks. Approximately 17 percent of the material can be transported by rail (combined with trucking). As little as approximately 5 percent of the material may be transported solely by truck to the Upland Disposal Facility, depending on the final transportation plans for Reach 5A and the successful implementation of the rail option.
The overall local round-trip truck trips are reduced by approximately 65 percent compared to GE's original plan that was submitted in October 2023. This will reduce local truck trips from an estimated 71,000 trips to approximately 24,600 trips.
EPA approved three locations for rail spurs for the loading/off-loading of material: Utility Drive in Pittsfield, Woods Pond/Berkshire Scenic Railroad in Lenox, and Rising Pond in Great Barrington. GE will submit to EPA for approval a pre-design investigation work plan that will propose sufficient data collection to allow for the design of the Utility Drive and the Woods Pond rail spurs. This work plan will be submitted no later than May 15.
This expedited schedule is necessary to ensure the rail spurs are operational when the Reach 5A (Pittsfield reach) remediation gets underway in 2027 or 2028. The design/construction of the rail spur at Rising Pond is not needed for approximately 10 years from now.
Although EPA concurred with the proposed use of rail, GE will develop a backup plan for the transportation of material via trucks. This is necessary because of potential capacity limitations, potential coordination issues with the sole operator of the railroad, staffing issues, equipment limitations, conflicts with freight shipments, accidents, and other issues that may prevent the use of rail needed to maintain the remediation schedule.
Material from Reach 5A (Pittsfield Reach) and from Rising Pond going to the UDF can be transported by rail to the Woods Pond/Berkshire Scenic Railroad in Lenox for off-loading and subsequent truck transport to the UDF. The three rail spurs can also be used to transport the 100,000 cubic yards of material that are required by the Final 2020 Cleanup Permit to be sent to off-site disposal facilities.
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