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Town of Berlin 2020 Rays of Light - Select Board thoughts on the New Year

January 4, 2021
Posted on: January 5, 2021 - 12:43pm
A star burst with 2020 rays of light!

Town of Berlin 2020 Rays of Light

By the Berlin Select Board

January 4, 2021

* _ * _ * _ * _

Wave good-bye to the old, and embrace the new year with hope. 2020 has certainly been a challenge for us all but within any darkness there is always the hope for light. As our final “what’s your Board been up to update in 2020”, we are more than happy to share those rays of light.

Though COVID presented many problems, the Town was awarded $5,000 of its Coronavirus Relief Funds to allocate towards meals or grocery delivery to vulnerable Berlin residents including seniors and others. Our Council on Aging (COA) Director Victoria Flynn has advised the Board approximately 163 meals were delivered to 85 households!

And in keeping in the holiday spirit, Bob Blair, COA Co-chair, was able to once again organize a group of volunteers to call our Seniors in town and check in on them. Seeing if there was anything that they needed, i.e., masks, a phone number for support, and just spending a few minutes saying hi and reaching out to our neighbors. Well done, Bob Blair, and let us know when you plan on organizing this again.

The first annual Twinkle Tour was an incredible event. Over 50 homes participated in the opportunity to share a few smiles and oohhh’s and ahhh’s of the decorations. Thank you to those who took the time to decorate and spread a few smiles along the way. Berlin Cable TV did an incredible job capturing the heart of this tour. The video is available on the Berlin YouTube Channel https://bit.ly/2KVfs28.

Speaking of decorations, the Board had the opportunity to see the uniquely decorated doors of the Town Offices, the 1870 Hall and our Town Highway Barn. Decorations were hand-made, motion sensor activated music, multiple Grinch themes, old time decorations complete with boxes and bows and a rather unique Christmas tree stand! Certificates of awards were provided and proudly displayed on each door. We thank you for your holiday spirit.

John Wooden once said the most powerful leadership tool you have is your own personal example. Our Fire/EMS Chief Clark was due to retire at age 65 (sshh, don’t tell him we told you his age) but the Board was able to submit to Gov Baker special legislation to request continued employment for Chief Clark past age 65. The Governor’s office has filed the petition and we eagerly await their approval. Thank you, Chief Clark, for all you have done for the departments and all you will continue to do. We were lucky to find you and luckier to know you are staying!

Our Highway Department is working with yet another intern from the Baystate Roads program. Our initial intern unfortunately has moved on, merely due to the completion of the allotted hours, but Highway is happy to tell us they have yet another intern on their staff. This program allows an opportunity for hands-on training, ability to grow skills, learn machinery and equipment and grow their knowledge in skills for highway department support. Thank you, Dave Smith, for your continued eye on this program and the ability to bring in new people to the town and provide an opportunity for continued education.

During Coffee Talk and our discussion on Shared Streets, we heard your concerns about the way information is distributed and how we can reach as many people in town as possible. Town of Berlin departments, boards and committees will work to utilize all available and appropriate communication methods to inform the community of official public meetings, forums, activities and events.

Be on the look out for updates:

  • Here on the official Town of Berlin Website (www.townofberlin.com) and on each of the specific department, board and committee web pages within.  Please "bookmark" this page in your Web browser
  • On the Town's official Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/BerlinMASS.  "Like" the page to see the latest appear in your Facebook feed!
  • On Berlin Cable Access TV broadcasts which can be viewed both on (1) Charter Communications Cable Channels 191, 192 and 194, as well as (2) BCTV's "Town of Berlin TV" YouTube Channel - subscribe to see their latest at www.youtube.com/user/townofberlintv
  • On the Highway Department's “blinky” sign, placed along our highways and byways
  • Through CodeRED Reverse 911 calls; please take a moment to register yourself, your loved ones and help out any neighbors who may need an assist with this. Register for CodeRED at https://www.townofberlin.com/public-safety/pages/sign-codered-notifications
  • Our friends at The Clinton Item Newspaper
  • The Berlin Council on Aging's Powder House News (mailed in hard copy and emailed in soft copy to subscribers, available at the Berlin General Store and posted online at https://www.townofberlin.com/council-aging) and
  • Posting of hard copy notices at the Town Office building.

If there are additional forms of communication you can think of, please let us know at select-board@townofberlin.com.

Finally, we thank State Representative Hank Naughton and State Senator Dean Tran for their service to the town. The purchase of an ATV to help Police/Fire/EMS, money for our Agriculture Commission's Community Garden, continued support for our veterans, the environment, and town outreach. We wish you both all the best in your next endeavors. You have left big shoes for your successors to fill.

“The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written” – Melody Beattie.

Happy New Year to the Town of Berlin.

– Margaret, Chris, Peg and Scott