Construction to resume on Mechanic Street in spring

AMENIA — Work on the Mechanic Street project has come to a close for the winter, according to town Supervisor Wayne Euvrard, who walked through the sidewalk project on Dec. 1 with Pasquale Carino, vice president of Con-Tech Construction Technology, the construction firm doing the work.

So far, the job has involved removing the old sidewalk and installing a new one, along with a connection to the Harlem Valley Rail Trail. According to the town’s grant writer, Mike Hagerty, the project is 90 percent complete.

Most of the hardscape is finished, with the exception of enhancements, including decorative curbing, pavers, retaining walls and planters. Landscaping will also resume in the spring. Con-Tech estimates work will start up again sometime in March.

While Con-Tech was working, the Town Board voted to additionally hire the company for repairs on the pedestrian bridge in the same area. Some work to that bridge remains, including wing walls and additional iron work on the railing.

Funding for the Mechanic Street project came mainly from a $100,000 Environmental Protection Fund grant administered by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in 2007.

Initial bids for the project had been rejected by the town for being over the capped resolution of $200,000. A second round of bidding resulted in Con-Tech’s bid of $156,184, which was accepted.

“Everyone seems happy with Mechanic Street and it will likely meet its goal of stimulating downtown revitalization efforts,� Hagerty said, who added that he was now working on submitting a claim to the state to recover some of the costs of the project.

Latest News

Classifieds - 4-25-24

Help Wanted

Grounds/Maintenance Position: Berkshire School has an opening for an individual to perform routine seasonal outside maintenance and grounds work, and event set-ups and breakdowns. This position requires heavy lifting and the ability to work as an effective member of a team. Some weekend and holiday hours are mandatory. This is a full-time, year round position with excellent benefits. Interested parties should contact Gabe Starczewski, gstarczewski@berkshireschool.org 413-229-1211.

Home Health Aide: Active senior woman seeks assistance with light home and care, including, some cooking, drive to doctors, shopping, occasional dog sitting. Flexible work arrangement. Possible live-in large one-bedroom apartment. Rent negotiable. Call Vicky at 860-435-2106. Leave message.

Keep ReadingShow less
Robert J. Pallone

NORFOLK — Robert J. Pallone, 69, of Perkins Street passed away April 12, 2024, at St. Vincent Medical Center. He was a loving, eccentric CPA. He was kind and compassionate. If you ever needed anything, Bob would be right there. He touched many lives and even saved one.

Bob was born Feb. 5, 1955, in Torrington, the son of the late Joseph and Elizabeth Pallone.

Keep ReadingShow less
The artistic life of Joelle Sander

"Flowers" by the late artist and writer Joelle Sander.

Cornwall Library

The Cornwall Library unveiled its latest art exhibition, “Live It Up!,” showcasing the work of the late West Cornwall resident Joelle Sander on Saturday, April 13. The twenty works on canvas on display were curated in partnership with the library with the help of her son, Jason Sander, from the collection of paintings she left behind to him. Clearly enamored with nature in all its seasons, Sander, who split time between her home in New York City and her country house in Litchfield County, took inspiration from the distinctive white bark trunks of the area’s many birch trees, the swirling snow of Connecticut’s wintery woods, and even the scenic view of the Audubon in Sharon. The sole painting to depict fauna is a melancholy near-abstract outline of a cow, rootless in a miasma haze of plum and Persian blue paint. Her most prominently displayed painting, “Flowers,” effectively builds up layers of paint so that her flurry of petals takes on a three-dimensional texture in their rough application, reminiscent of another Cornwall artist, Don Bracken.

Keep ReadingShow less
A Seder to savor in Sheffield

Rabbi Zach Fredman

Zivar Amrami

On April 23, Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield will host “Feast of Mystics,” a Passover Seder that promises to provide ecstasy for the senses.

“’The Feast of Mystics’ was a title we used for events back when I was running The New Shul,” said Rabbi Zach Fredman of his time at the independent creative community in the West Village in New York City.

Keep ReadingShow less