Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Awards Scholarships

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LUDLOW, Mass. — The Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corporation (BWPCC) has selected two students from the Lanesborough/Hancock area, one from the Mount Greylock Regional High School class of 2025 and one from the McCann Technical School class of 2025, to receive $1,000 scholarships. 
 
The scholarships are awarded to qualifying seniors at select schools in the Berkshires who are planning to attend either a two- or four-year college or trade school program.
 
This is the third year of the BWPCC scholarship program. The BWPCC owns and operates the Berkshire Wind Power Project, a 12-turbine, 19.6-megawatt wind farm located on Brodie Mountain in Hancock and Lanesborough. The non-profit BWPCC consists of 16 municipal utilities located in Ashburnham, Boylston, Chicopee, Groton, Holden, Hull, Ipswich, Marblehead, Paxton, Peabody, Russell, Shrewsbury, Sterling, Templeton, Wakefield, and West Boylston, and their joint action agency, the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Co. 
 
This year's scholarship recipients are Malia Koffi (Mount Greylock) of Lanesborough and Dylan Turner (McCann) of Hancock.
 
Koffi will attend Berkshire Community College and major in Health Sciences. In high school, she served as captain of the Mount Greylock softball team, as a member of the Black Student Union, and was a three-time recipient of the Greylock Way Award, which recognizes students and staff who exemplify the school's core values of Accountability, Respect, Integrity, Stewardship, and Excellence in their daily lives.
 
Turner will attend the Elite Lineman Training Institute in Georgia. While at McCann, he played on the varsity baseball team, was a member of the National Honor Society, and participated in SkillsUSA, and McCann's Corporate Work Experience, where he worked for a local electrician.
 
"We are proud to support the 2025 Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corporation scholarship recipients, whose proactive perseverance was demonstrated throughout their successful high school journeys,” said MMWEC Chief Executive Officer Ron DeCurzio.
 
Since 1998, MMWEC has awarded $70,000 in scholarships to help students defray the cost of higher education.
 
MMWEC is a not-for-profit, public corporation and political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts created by an Act of the General Court in 1975 and authorized to issue tax-exempt debt to finance a wide range of energy facilities.  MMWEC provides a variety of power supply, financial, risk management and other services to the state's consumer-owned, municipal utilities.  It is the largest provider of asset-owned generation for municipal light departments in New England.

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North Adams Housing Authority Director Steps Down

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Jennifer Hohn, the longtime executive director of the North Adams Housing Authority (NAHA), has stepped down after 24 years with the agency.

The Berkshire Eagle reported that Hohn resigned from her position on Thursday. The NAHA Board of Commissioners is currently developing a transition plan.

Her resignation follows rising tension between Hohn and the tenants association. Residents—particularly at the Spring and Ashland Park apartments—have raised specific concerns regarding building security, drug activity, and trespassers.

This summer, Tenants Association President Corey Fortin posted a video on social media demonstrating that door alarms in some of the buildings were not functioning.

Shortly after the video was posted, the tenants association's office was locked. Members alleged Hohn locked the space in retaliation, while Hohn maintained it was a matter of tenant safety. Hohn also stated that NAHA does not officially recognize the association because it has yet to go through official channels for certification—a claim the tenants association disputes.

The dispute culminated in plans for a formal grievance hearing between Hohn and the association. Both sides agreed to hold a meeting on Oct. 3, but the hearing had not yet been scheduled at the time of her resignation.
During her tenure as director, Hohn oversaw significant changes at NAHA, including expansion and the dissolution of Housing Opportunities Incorporated, a program founded over 30 years ago to assist first-time homebuyers. Most recently, she led efforts to transition NAHA properties from traditional public housing models to the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program. She also directed the rebuilding of a Greylock Valley Apartments building after it was severely damaged by a fire.

The NAHA Board of Commissioners meets monthly, typically on Mondays.

 

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