As part of a statewide effort to help adults improve their health, the Hilltown Community Health Center, in conjunction with the YMCA, is offering a free Diabetes Prevention Program beginning Sept. 21.
This 12-month education and support group will take place at the Hilltown Community Center’s Family Center at 9 Russell Road in Huntington.
Community health worker Janet Dimock, a YMCA-trained Diabetes Prevention Program lifestyle coach, will lead the class.
“The class is an interactive way for adults to learn new skills and get support from the class leader and from other class members,” Dimock said. “It is hard to make changes alone and the class provides a support network of people with common goals.”
The program consists of 16 weekly sessions of one hour each followed by scheduled support sessions over the following eight months.
Participants receive a partial-year membership to their local YMCA and will learn about healthy eating, getting started with physical activity, overcoming stress, staying motivated and other positive behaviors, in a comfortable classroom setting.
The goal of the program is for participants to lose seven percent of their body weight and improve their moderate exercise to 150 minutes per week.
Dimock said that the guidelines for the program were created by the Centers for Disease Control.
According to the CDC, an estimated 86 million people in the United States are at risk for developing diabetes and 89 percent have no idea they are at risk.
Anyone may enroll, whether or not they are patients at the health center.
The program is funded by a grant from the Department of Public Health. The free year-long support and the YMCA memberships would normally total $430 per person.
The Hilltown Community Health Center is able to offer this series, and the YMCA membership, through a partnership with the Holyoke YMCA and their partners in Northampton and Westfield, the Health Hampshire initiative, and the state Department of Public Health.
Pre-registration is required. For registration or more information contact: Dimock at the Worthington Health Center by calling 238-5511 ext. 419.
Members of the former Williamsburg High School Drama Club will be performing a 1941 radio script of Joseph Kesselring’s 1939 hit play “Arsenic and Old Lace” on Friday and Sept. 17.
Most of the cast members graduated from Williamsburg High in the mid 1960s and have reunited for this performance. They will also be joined by several other members of the community and will perform under the group name the “Williamsburg Players.”
The alumni group originally got together last fall for a dramatic reading of “Our Town” on the 50th anniversary of its performance by the high school drama club.
Participating in the production rekindled the group’s passion for performing.
“We had such fun that we said let’s do something else next year,” drama club member Fred Goodhue said.
The group chose “Arsenic and Old Lace” for this year’s performance both for its story line and its relative ease of production.
The play is a dark comedy revolving around the blue-blooded Brewster family whose reputation as being descendants from those who came over on the “Mayflower,” is now eclipsed by the fact that there appear to be serial killers in their fold.
“The radio script has fewer actors and lines so it seemed less daunting for our totally senior cast,” Goodhue said. “It has mystery and comedy aspects and requires only one set so it seemed doable.”
“We are not professionals, but we have had fun and enjoy supporting good causes,” Goodhue said.
Proceeds from the performance will go to the Williamsburg Council on Aging.
The reading/play, or “hybrid” as Goodhue puts it, will be held at 7 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Sept. 17 at the Williamsburg Town Hall auditorium in Haydenville.
Tickets are $5 for seniors and students and $7 for the general public. Refreshments will be available
The 2017 edition of the Hilltown Business Directory is now soliciting listings.
The Hilltown Community Development Corp. in Chesterfield has been publishing the directory for last 30 years in order to make Hilltown businesses more visible.
Each year, over 300 businesses are listed in the directory. This includes businesses in nine towns in western Hampshire County, Plainfield, Cummington, Goshen, Williamsburg, Chesterfield, Westhampton, Huntington, Worthington and Middlefield; six towns in eastern Berkshire County, Dalton, Hinsdale, Peru, Becket, Washington and Windsor; as well as Chester, Blandford, Russell and Montgomery in Hampden County, and Ashfield in Franklin County.
The directory will be delivered in January to 14,600 households in 20 towns.
Reservation forms are available at www.hilltowncdc.org and from Bea von Hagke at 413-296-4536 ext. 115 or beavh@hilltowncdc.org. The deadline is Oct. 14.
Megan Davis, 15, of Plainfield won the 41st annual Plainfield Road Race Sept. 4 in conjunction with the 47th Annual Plainfield Firefighters Barbecue.
Her winning time for the 1.1-mile event was 6 minutes, 28 seconds, just two seconds off the women’s course record set in 2002.
Jackson Doolittle, 10, of Plainfield finished second overall with a time of 7 minutes, 1 second, making him the fastest “14 and under” runner this year.
Jackson’s father, John Doolittle, had the third fastest overall time of 8 minutes, 30 seconds, edging out Plainfield firefighter Jamie Wooldridge.
Ideas for this column on life in the Hilltowns can be sent to Fran Ryan at Fryan.gazette@gmail.com.