image description

Ski for Scholarship: Bartels Community Ski Race 2026

Community submissionPrint Story | Email Story
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The 19th Mathias Jessup Bartels benefit cross-country ski race and tour will be held on Sunday, Feb. 1, at 11:30 a.m. at Mount Greylock Regional School. 
 
The event will feature a 3-kilometer kids’/beginner’s race, a lollipop race for young children, and a 6K classic race. Races are suitable for all ages and abilities. 
 
Prizes will be awarded to overall and age category winners. A $15 donation is requested at day of race registration. All proceeds benefit the Mathias Jessup Bartels Memorial Scholarship Fund and the Mt. Greylock Nordic Ski Team. Checks can be made out to: Mount Greylock Regional High School, M.J. Bartels Scholarship Fund.
 
Mathias was an outstanding young man, a scholar, athlete, and leader of his class. He was a high school junior and standout member of the Mt. Greylock Nordic Ski Team when he died in his sleep on Jan. 31, 2004, of sudden cardiac arrest due to a heart arrhythmia of unknown cause. The Mathias Jessup Bartels Memorial Scholarship is awarded annually to a graduating senior who exhibits the integrity, kindness, and commitment to excellence shown by Mathias.
 
For more information, email Hilary Greene at hgreene@williams.edu.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Williamstown's Cost Rising for Emergency Bank Restoration

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The cost to stabilize the bank of the Hoosic River near a town landfill continues to rise, and the town is still waiting on the commonwealth's blessing to get to work.
 
Department of Public Works Director Craig Clough was before the Finance Committee on Wednesday to share that, unlike the town hoped, the emergency stabilization work will require bringing in a contractor — and that is before a multimillion dollar project to provide a long-term solution for the site near Williams College's Cole Field.
 
"I literally got the plans last Friday, and it's not something we'll be able to do in-house," Clough told the committee. "They're talking about a cofferdam of a few hundred feet, dry-pumping everything out and then working along the river. That's something that will be beyond our manpower to do, our people power, and the equipment we have will not be able to handle it."
 
Clough explained that the cofferdam is similar to the work done on the river near the State Road (Route 2) bridge on the west side of North Adams near West Package and Variety Stores.
 
"We don't know the exact numbers yet of an estimate," Clough said. "The initial thought was $600,000 a few months ago. Now, knowing what the plans are, the costs are going to be higher. They did not think there was going to need to be a coffer dam put in [in the original estimate]."
 
The draft capital budget of $592,500 before the Fin Comm includes $500,000 toward the riverbank stabilization project.
 
The town's finance director told the committee he anticipates having about $700,000 in free cash (technically the "unreserved fund balance") to spend in fiscal year 2027 once that number is certified by the Department of Revenue in Boston.
 
View Full Story

More Williamstown Stories