BERNARDSTON — Bernardston Senior Center Outreach Coordinator Donna DePretto will facilitate a Living After Loss Bereavement Group at the center on Thursday, July 28, at 11 a.m.
This group is for anyone who has experienced a recent loss and is looking for a supportive place to discuss the challenges grief brings, according to a Senior Center newsletter. In addition to a monthly meeting, the group will meet occasionally for lunch at a local restaurant. Books on grief and coping with loss are also available.
Call Donna DePretto at 413-768-1148 to register.
Police chief holding Leyden office hours
LEYDEN — Bernardston Police Chief James Palmeri will hold his first office hours at Leyden’s Police Substation on Monday, July 18, from 4 to 6 p.m. as Leyden and Bernardston’s shared-policing agreement gets underway.
Leyden residents are encouraged to stop by the municipal offices, located at 7 Brattleboro Road, to meet their new police chief.
“This is the first of several opportunities this summer for meeting our new chief,” said Elizabeth Kidder, chair of the town’s Public Safety Advisory Committee.
Bernardston police officers have been responding to calls and patrolling in Leyden since the shared-policing agreement began on July 1.
NORTHFIELD — Big Yellow Taxi will perform songs by Joni Mitchell and other 1970s tunes at the Northfield Golf Club on Friday, July 29. Food will be served from 5 to 6:30 p.m. and the band will play from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
While eight VIP tables — which are now sold out — required reservations and money to be mailed to the Senior Center in advance, general admission does not require advance notice or payment, according to Senior Center Director Colleen Letourneau. Admission can be paid at the door in cash or check. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.
WARWICK — Shane Barberian of the Warwick Fire Department recently graduated from the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy’s Call/Volunteer Recruit Firefighter Training Program.
According to a post on the Warwick Fire Department’s Facebook page congratulating Barberian, this program includes classroom and practical evaluations, totaling 240 hours of time.
“First responders are on the front lines of any crisis and these newest firefighters are needed now more than ever,” Deputy State Fire Marshal Maribel Fournier, who is the acting Massachusetts Firefighting Academy director, said in a Department of Fire Services press release. “The rigorous training they’ve completed provides them with the fundamental skills and knowledge necessary to protect their communities safely and effectively.”
Barberian, along with 24 other graduates representing departments from across western Massachusetts, received certificates of completion at a ceremony held on June 27 at the Department of Fire Services’ Stow campus.
The Massachusetts Firefighting Academy, a division of the Department of Fire Services, has offered the training program since 2003. To date, nearly 3,000 call and volunteer recruits have graduated.