SHELBURNE FALLS — The 38th Annual Bridge of Flowers Classic Road Race is this Saturday, Aug. 13. Race coordinators are still seeking volunteers to serve as course monitors for the runners, to staff water stops and to help out in the kitchen for the Friday night spaghetti dinner.
Volunteers get a free Bridge of Flowers Race T-shirt and access to the post-race party. To register to volunteer, go to: bit.ly/2bdUJD1
Or visit: shelburnefalls.com
HAWLEY — Friday, Aug. 19, is the last day to register to vote in the Sept. 8 Massachusetts state primary election.
Please contact Hawley Town Clerk Pamela Shrimpton at 413-339-4091 if you would like to register to vote or change your party enrollment to another party or go to unenrolled. Unenrolled voters can ask for any ballot on election day, but someone registered in a party can only vote for that party’s primary candidates on Sept. 8. Shrimpton will hold special registration hours at the Town Office on Aug. 19 from 2 to 5 p.m.
Absentee ballot applications are available for those unable to vote on Election Day.
BUCKLAND — Residents who are not already registered to vote in the Sept. 8 state primary, or who wish to change their party affiliation, may register to vote on or before Friday, Aug. 19. Special voter registration hours will be held on Aug. 19 from 2 to 5 p.m. in the town clerk’s office in Town Hall, 17 State St.
Also, Town Clerk Janice Purington has absentee ballots for the Sept. 8 primary. The latest time to obtain these ballots is noon on Sept. 7; absentee ballots must be returned by 8 p.m. on Sept. 8.
Polling hours for the state primary will be 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. upstairs in the town hall.
BUCKLAND — Now through Aug. 19 is the time for new students, returning students or School Choice students to register for the Mohawk Trail Regional High School and Middle School. Please call the guidance office at 413-625-9811, ext. 1305, to receive a 2016-17 school year registration packet, which is required. Incomplete records or registration forms will delay a student from being enrolled in classes.
Aug. 22 to 26 are the dates when current Mohawk students can make schedule changes. Call the guidance office to make an appointment. Any later changes must be done by appointment only after school begins on Aug. 31.
SHELBURNE — The town clerk’s office will be open from 2 to 5 p.m. Aug. 19, the last day to register to vote for the Sept. 8 state primary election. This is also the last day to change your party designation, if you wish to do so.
Town Clerk Joseph Judd encourages voters not to wait until the last minute this year to check on their voting status for either the Sept. 8 primary or the general election in November. “Now is the time to make sure everything is accurate and correct regarding your voting status, not in the last days before election,” he said.
Absentee ballots are also now available at the Shelburne town clerk’s office.
ROWE — Voter registration for residents takes place from 2 to 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 19, in Town Hall. This is the last opportunity to register to vote or change party enrollment for the state primary Sept. 8. The Town Clerk’s office is also open Aug. 19, from 8 a.m. to noon.
ROWE — The Holly Berry Craft Fair is back after a three year absence. The fair will be held at the Rowe Elementary School from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday Nov. 26. Interested vendors should contact the Rowe Fire Association at 413-339-4945 and leave a message or email: rvfd01367@gmail.com
SHELBURNE — Selectmen appointed Jason Cousimano to serve as one of the town’s two Mohawk Trail Regional School District Committee members. Cousimano is replacing Willow Cohen, who stepped down this summer. Cousimano will serve by appointment until next spring’s annual town election; then, he may run for election to Cohen’s unexpired term if he wishes.
Cousimano told Selectmen he owns a small business and has five children going through Mohawk schools, along with a sixth who is attending Four Rivers Charter School. Cousimano said he went through the Mohawk school system and that his mother worked as a school aide at Colrain Central School for at least 25 years.
When asked why his daughter was going to the charter school, Cousimano said that it was her choice. But having children in both systems, he said, gives him an advantage, because he can see good things about both systems and perhaps help Mohawk incorporate some of the things that attract students to a charter school.
SHELBURNE — Selectmen said the new town policy to enforce the two-hour parking rule on Bridge Street and Deerfield Avenue has been effective and that the waivers will soon be ending.
Since mid-July, the town’s designated parking officer has been issuing warning tickets, telling motorists they can no longer park all day on these two commercial roadways.
Drivers who continue to park on Bridge Street or Deerfield Avenue for more than two hours may start getting $10 parking tickets. Signs stating that only two-hour parking is permitted have been up for several years, but the rule wasn’t enforced in recent years.
Town officials hope enforcement of the two-hour parking rule will free up parking space for people making brief stops to local stores and shops on those roads.
SHELBURNE — Selectmen voted to terminate membership in the WiredWest municipal broadband collaborative this week, making official a decision that was made earlier this year. Because Shelburne is pursing a Comcast broadband expansion plan for townwide, high-speed internet, town officials are not participating in WiredWest’s plans for a collaborative fiber optic regional network.
Recently, Hawley, which is pursuing options for a hybrid/wireless broadband system, has also voted to leave WiredWest.