North Adams is moving to sell two historic mansions on Church Street after taking ownership of them in land court North Adams is beginning the process of selling this property at 130 Church St is one of a group of properties formerly owned by Franklin Perras the city has been unsuccessful in finding a next of kin to take over the property.  North Adams has fallen into disrepair and is now owned by the city.   Two brick Victorian mansions that were condemned in 2017 now belong to the city NORTH ADAMS — Two brick Victorian mansions that were condemned in 2017 now belong to the city The duo of historic Queen Anne mansions on Church Street has been an eyesore since they fell into disrepair But with the conclusion of a yearslong legal process the city has taken possession of the properties with the intention of selling them as quickly as possible The city first placed liens on the properties in 2017 and a prolonged and unsuccessful legal process to find the heirs of former owner Franklin Perras ensued The Queen Anne mansions are at 116 and 124 Church St. Another property is at 130 Church St. along with an empty lot at 35-40 Arnold Place North Adams Mayor Jennifer Macksey says the city is drafting a request for proposals to find a real estate agent to sell the newly minted municipal assets “There’s a new law about getting rid of property — in the past we were able to hire an auctioneer and auction them off,” Macksey said “Now we’re required to procure a real estate agent to market the property.” Towns and cities attempting to sell foreclosed properties must bring in a real estate agent for at least a year to try and find the best deal before going to auction “This is just preserving the value of the house so the people don’t lowball,” Macksey said so I don’t know if it will work to our advantage or disadvantage.” Court records show the city was anxious in recent years to finally take the properties calling them a hazard to the public and noting a spate of calls to police related to the land found that he had died somewhere between 2013 and 2015 named “Crystal Marie” and “Joshua Robert” in his obituary and relatives were not in contact with them the city took ownership of the properties with the court’s determination of tax takings Perras' property at 35-40 Arnold Place was razed when he told the City Council in 2008 he’d rather pay for that than pay to rehabilitate his apartment building Sten Spinella can be reached at sspinella@berkshireeagle.com or 860-853-0085 Sadie Jean Sworzen is not your average toddler Two new billboards from local nonprofit Hoosic River Revival seek public input on the flood chute modification effort and HRR announces it has brought on an outside engineering firm to help parse the U.S Savoy has postponed its annual town meeting from May 8 until sometime in June as the town's finances are not yet in order The annual town election will still be held on May 14 the state Department of Conservation and Recreation could soon expand its Savoy Mountain State Forest reach into Adams Seeking his sixth term on the Select Board incumbent Joe Nowak is being challenged by Jay Meczywor and Jerome Socolof Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device We keep our menu simple and let the dough and other high-quality ingredients speak for themselves he free 200-hour course was funded through state Career Technical Initiative implementation grants. click for more © 2025 Boxcar Media LLC - All rights reserved NORTH ADAMS — When baseball coach Dan Shadik says that North Adams-Jerome is a 'baseball school' given the history the baseball team has in its archives That storied history has seen many ball players call North Adams-Jerome High School home, including the late Maxine "Max" Louise Randall the star pitcher for the Fort Wayne Daisies of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League were a part of the Detroit Tigers organization’s Minor League affiliates Sal Maglie and John Williams both played within the Tigers organization and Maglie would become a future MLB All-Star More: Kade Shannon wins Week 3 HD Mechanical Athlete of the Week; Kast named Daily News Choice More: Week 5 Winners: North Adams-Jerome baseball and softball earn important rivalry wins The storied success of the baseball program sets a precedent for winning titles the program hasn't been able to bring home a championship to its team in more than a decade Despite individual athletes having success within the program the team hasn't won a league title since coach Ernie Amo's team did in the 2012-2013 season Eleven years ago was the last time the program won a district championship (2013-14) It has been more than a decade since North Adams-Jerome has fielded a title-caliber team the 2024-25 Rams baseball team is bringing back this baseball town's title hopes with their impressive 8-1 start to the season It's been a four-year journey not just for coach Dan Shadik they stepped out onto the field for the first time They've been playing with each other all the way up But this is the first time we've came together here." The program has steadily improved over the last couple of seasons Coach credits the growth year-to-year thanks to the maturity of his seniors plus the addition of underclassmen talent like freshman Des Lawless it all starts with senior team captain Jake Smith "He's been my captain and so has Connor McKay They've been my captains the last couple of years," Shadik said couple that with Nolan (Paradine) and Zyler (Webb) These are their last games before they walk across the stage here in a few weeks They are putting everything they got out onto this field They want a championship more than anything." Dan Shadik says that the community and school is going back to its roots and becoming a baseball school again "We've had more fans in these last couple years than I've ever seen at NA-J," Shadik said "It reminds me back in the old football games when we used to pack the stands baseball is becoming part of North Adams again We have a rich history here of baseball and softball with everyone whose come through here and truly that's what we're coming back into And it's truly due to these guys right here." There's a plethora of talent behind their fast-winning record but its starts with the two starters in their pitching rotation The two players are at different ends of their careers but the duo has combined to give the Rams a strong one-two punch that could help them seal up a division title should they continue winning this spring Lawless has been a breakout player for the Rams and in Hillsdale County His pitching arsenal includes an 86-mph fastball a 4.61 earned-run-average and a WHIP of 1.39 He's also posting a batting average of .565 and an on-base-percentage of .697 "It's been great," Lawless said about his first season "These guys are a whole other level of baseball and I just look forward to that every day." Lawless says he's looking to work on the mental side of the game for himself as the season goes along Despite being only nine games into the season the freshman sees easy fixes ahead for the team to work on in order to become the team to beat when playoff season arrives The other side of that duo is senior ace Connor McKay (fans can remember his back-to-back no-hitters last season) McKay has continued to improve with each season of his career and he has earned a 4-1 record to start his final year He has struck out 43 batters and boasts an earned-run-average of 3.96 and a WHIP of 1.57 "It's a different mindset this year," McKay said Everybody on the field wants to play and win Everybody is just coming together as a team the duo has allowed just 22 earned runs in nine games Smith and junior Conner Arsenault round out the bullpen for the Rams and both have been impressive in relief duties "We just need to play together and play as a family," McKay said I think this is the best team I've ever played for." The team has multiple talented athletes across each class from freshman to senior junior Kaleb Hale has been a significant contributor to the Rams' runs total this season The junior has drove in 14 RBIs and scored 15 runs Hale is tied with teammate Arsenault with 15 steals has scored nine runs this season and has an on-base-percentage of .567 Sophomore Ryker Campbell is second on the team in hits with 15 His batting average and on-base-percentage are both well over .500 and has scored nine runs He also has 11 putouts so far this season in the field Senior Nolan Paradine has been known for hitting homers for the Rams six of those being multi-base opportunities He leads the team in slugging percentage with 1.048 Lawless and Arsenault lead the team in putouts with Lawless having earned 45 and Arsenault earning 39 The team has several league matchups to go in order to earn that league title They will need to beat reigning champion Camden-Frontier on Tuesday May 6 in order to preserve their league aspirations the team has a favorable district in Division 4 There's plenty of opportunity for the 2024-25 Rams to bring a trophy back to the halls of their school before crossing the graduation stage "(Bringing them a championship) would mean everything," Shadik said "I actually started out the year (the seniors) started on varsity but these guys have come out every year and given their heart and souls to this team We got guys here that just love this sport NEWS10 ABC Residents can expect to hear extended gunfire near the North Adams Shooting Range on Pattison Road while the exercises are underway People in the Capital Region are used to seeing movies filmed around here but what happened in one local city was a horror movie scene that came to life One brave citizen helped save the day before police arrested a man in a clown mask who was carrying an electric chainsaw Local restaurant owner speaks in Washington about tariff impact Knee replacement won't stop local woman from running 5k Multiple cars had their windows smashed in at an apartment complex in Watervliet last October Police just recently charged the suspect tied to this case with a felony A team is investigating Monday to see if there was any further damage to the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse foundation after a tugboat and barge crashed into the monument last week New York is recognizing the deadly epidemic that’s impacted Indigenous people for generations May 5 is the National Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (M.M.I.P.) Awareness Day but the state is now acknowledging an awareness week Proposed rebates for electric landscaping equipment Mildred Elley to open new Amsterdam location Over $69K raised from 45th annual Crop Hunger Walk Monday evening the Whiteoak Wildcats gained a huge win in Southern Hills Athletic Conference play by defeating the North Adams Green Devils by a 5-0 score The shutout victory on April 28 saw the Wildcats and Green Devils each go scoreless from the first four innings but in the bottom of the fifth the Wildcats added runs on their home scoreboard for the first time in the game Whiteoak scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning then added three more runs in the bottom of the sixth for the five-run win “Clutch hits by Jonah Michael and Jacob Gibson allowed for four big runs,” WHS head coach Chris Veidt said “Jacen Applegate threw 79 pitches as he made quick work of the Green Devils The game saw WHS totaled 11 hits in the win while five players on Whiteoak each had one hit of their 11 total hits in the conference win Jacen Applegate ended the game at 2-for-4 with one double and teammate Zander Roades finished 2-for-4 with one run one RBI and he also collected a stolen base Izayah Clift finished 1-for-3 with one run and steal Jacob Gibson went 1-for-1 with one run and two RBI Whiteoak also had a run scored by Caden Butler finishing the game with seven innings pitched allowing no runs on three hits and no walks with two strikeouts The win improves the Wildcats to an overall record of 8-3 with a SHAC Division II mark of 5-1 as they are currently in first place by a half game over Manchester who are 4-1 in the SHAC Division II standings Members of the public and nonprofit group Hoosic River Revival marked a new chapter in the flood chute feasibility study Saturday while celebrating the installation of two billboards related to the project in April Judy Grinnell and Nancy Bullett address the roughly 20 people gathered Saturday morning That's the message that will greet motorists on two billboards next month at the corner of River and Houghton streets in North Adams. It's a nod to Hoosic River Revival's efforts to get the city’s flood management infrastructure repaired and to redesign how North Adams interacts with the Hoosic River Army Corps of Engineers' three-year feasibility study on repairs and other modifications moves ahead the billboards are also an effort to keep locals invested in the project The billboards also seek to gather feedback from people regarding HRR’s kickoff of its “placemaking” efforts described in a news release as aiming “to create permanent public areas along the Hoosic River for various activities co-president of the HRR’s board of directors said the group has sought to keep people informed as far as the feasibility study but “placemaking” will require a new level of public participation in concert with the Army Corps of Engineers ‘What can we do with what we have to work with?’” Bullett said “The billboards show people a snapshot of what we’re doing and welcomes people to contact us with questions their hopes and dreams for this adventure we’ve been on [for] 17 years.” The creation of the billboards was a joint effort between Mass MoCA and HRR part of a long-standing museum program offering the billboards as a way to highlight community nonprofits In addition to celebrating the two billboards HRR founder and former President Judy Grinnell told The Eagle on Friday that the group had recently engaged an outside engineering firm to analyze and help the group parse the U.S HRR is constantly communicating with the Corps about what it hopes to see in the future along the river including ways to make it more accessible to the public and beautify it although fortifying the structural integrity of the deteriorating flood chutes is the highest order being responsible representatives of our community is we have asked an engineering firm to look at the Corps’ plans and to help us assess with their expertise,” Grinnell said “[Nobody] on that committee is an engineer Minnesota engineering firm LimnoTech will be tasked with helping HRR understand the Corps’ suggestions based on their study having worked on HRR’s concepts for the north and south branches of the river Grinnell said the Corps will share its plans with LimnoTech toward the end of June The next big step is for the Corps to present the city and HRR with a preliminary plan A federal spending bill passed earlier this year to avoid a government shutdown included massive cuts to the Corps’ budget, leaving some with concern that the feasibility study or the hoped-for ensuing construction could be halted But Bullett and Grinnell say there is still no indication North Adams will be affected “It is a priority for them to see that this study is funded appropriately next year.” Quality local journalism needs your support Access this story and all of our stories with 24/7 unlimited access Subscribe now for 99¢ Subscriber Sign In | Return Home the corps told city leadership and the Hoosic River Revival that at the close of its three-year feasibility study it would be recommending modernizing the aging and damaged flood management system HILLSDALE COUNTY — Just as the summer heat begins to filter into May so does the big rivalry wins out on the baseball and softball diamonds Week 5 featured plenty of highlight action before weekend games including a standout week for the North Adams-Jerome baseball and softball teams More: Brayden Wright named athlete of the meet at Union City Invite The two earned three wins in four games against their rivals in Pittsford The North Adams-Jerome baseball team took down the Wildcats in 15-1 and 18-4 finals The Rams took game one against Pittsford in a 12-1 final but the Wildcat runs came pouring in with the stormy Thursday weather and sealed a 17-6 win (more on their efforts below) Earning the wins on the mound were two players at different ends of their careers Freshman Desman Lawless ruled the mound with a five-inning appearance He allowed just one earned run and seven hits It was his third win on the season (still undefeated) Senior Connor McKay won game two with a four-inning game He allowed three earned runs and nine hits Conner Arsenault and Kaleb Hale all earned doubles in game one Senior Nolan Paradine had a home run in game one and he also had a triple-base hit that drove in a run Paradine continued to be near-perfect at the plate earning three more hits (including a triple) The Rams also swept Litchfield 10-4 and 10-2 earlier in the week Hale had three doubles and a triple in the series Paradine also had a triple in game two and drove in three runs two earned runs and three hits allowed in 2 2/3 innings pitched Jacob Smith pitched the final three innings of game one and earned four strikeouts whilst allowing four hits and one earned run striking out five and giving up three hits The two sweeps are a part of a historic start for Rams baseball and we'll dive deeper into their story so far this season in a future feature More: Week 4 Gallery: Pittsford baseball defeats Litchfield in 8-4 final Marissa Todd won game one in the circle for Rams softball striking out six over four innings and allowing five hits and one earned run Five different Rams players had multi-base hits Lydia Little and Julyann Trumble all had doubles Horn would add an inside-the-park homer in game two against the Wildcats Jonesville baseball improved to 9-6 overall sweeping Napoleon in a 5-4 and 20-4 series It was a bounce back from a Monday doubleheader loss to Hanover Horton (2-0 Game one was won in the bottom of the seventh inning after Carson Young held off a bases-loaded situation in the top of the seventh Ethan Hammer earned the win on the mound with nine strikeouts three hits and four runs through six innings Junior Carsen Cornila would then hit a double in the bottom of the seventh to score teammate Drew Bradley to get the game-winning run Harper Grifiths had two runs and two stolen bases aided by a homer and a double from Drew Bradley and Bradley had eight total RBIs for the game Young got the win on the mound in game two earning two strikeouts while giving up three earned runs and five hits Marshall Baker would close out the final inning in relief Camden-Frontier added 12-4 and 13-9 victories in Week 5 over Pittsford to stay ahead of .500 overall pitching all six innings and striking out 10 batters He allowed seven hits and three earned runs Martinez would help the scoring effort with two hits Luis Thilo would drive in two runs on a homer Leading the stats columns was senior Zach Franks with three hits (two doubles) Connor Osborn and Ethan Pickford each had a multi-base hit and RBIs for Pittsford Jake Drawe struck out nine in the game before leaving after four Kaiden Conroy had four hits (one double) and three runs striking out nine and fiving up three hits and two earned runs The Wildcats would score six during that period and Talon Groves would pitch in relief and pick up the win He struck out two whilst giving up four hits and three earned runs Peiffer pitched three innings for Pittsford striking out seven and giving up three hits and two earned runs Peifer led the team with three runs and three stolen bases The Pittsford softball team was unable to get game one against the Rams but they did earn a 17-6 victory in game two Kaylee Lawson had one triple-base hit and scored three runs LeMar got the win with 3 1/3 innings pitched with nine strikeouts and allowing four hits and three earned runs Pittsford was able to get a sweep of Camden-Frontier in 22-21 and 14-11 finals The barnburner saw both LeMar and Camden-Frontier pitcher Heidi Gawronski pitched more than five innings earning eight and nine strikeouts respectively and allowed double-digit hits and earned runs The RedHawks got multi-base hits from Gawronski while her and Gawrosnki each had five hits Sutton Conney and Paityn Vincent each had four runs Alexis Bryner and LeMar each had double-base hits for Pittsford and she also drove in six runs and sored three times Bryer closed out game one on the mound in relief earning five strikeouts in the 14-11 final LeMar came into the game to pitch halfway through striking out four batters and giving up zero hits and zero earned runs The Ranger softball team lost a tough 8-6 final to start the doubleheader series against Stockbridge but the Ranges got the 8-5 win in game two The two-game series saw MaKenzey Penza hit two homers Senior Ariana McDowell four total hits in the series driving in three total runs and scoring one Arlie Riddle scored three times in game one Final Week 5 stat leaders will be included in the weekly top performers breakdown Game results will be updated to this roundup online at hillsdale.net North Adams Regional Hospital is North Berkshire's choice for healthcare services - Your Hospital the city and its police department warned residents of Doxo If you have to pay a bill with the City of North Adams It might be a website that hasn't been approved by the city and is the subject of a Federal Trade Commission complaint accusing it of misleading customers NORTH ADAMS — If you have to pay a bill with the city of North Adams On April 16, the city and its police department warned residents against Doxo, a payment processing service it said was a scam targeting residents. On Monday, it walked back those claims but maintained that UniBank/UniPay is the only authorized bill processor for the city.  “We kind of bashed them in the beginning,” Mayor Jennifer Macksey said about the retraction “For some reason when you typed in our web address so we initially got all up in arms that it was fraudulent.” the city said that Doxo was a scam website that was "falsely presenting itself as a legitimate online payment processor" for the city and said that trying to use it would result in a processing error that might result in residents being double-charged Doxo co-founder and Vice President Roger Parks said that the city's claims about Doxo were defamatory and denied its allegations that Doxo was a scam Though the city retracted all references to Doxo in its statement “We want people to be alerted to use the real city website if their intent is to pay through the city site,” Macksey said “If their intent is to pay through a PayPal or Doxo or Google account they are trying to make money on the side through their own fees,” North Adams Director of IT Mark Pierson said Parks said that Doxo has been sending payments to the city for its users since 2019 North Adams Treasurer Beverly Cooper did not respond to an Eagle inquiry seeking to confirm that claim In April 2024, the FTC took legal action against Doxo accusing it of purchasing search engine ads to impersonate official billers in order to "mislead consumers about millions of dollars in junk fees." Doxo has denied those claims in court "Doxo’s landing pages prominently feature the biller’s company name and sometimes even their logo even though Doxo generally does not have a formal relationship with the biller," the FTC says Less than 2 percent of the companies in Doxo's network authorize the company to accept payments on its behalf Doxo also has landing pages for myriad other Berkshire organizations including Berkshire Gas and Berkshire Health Systems Its page for North Adams featured legitimate contact info for the city listing City Hall numbers under "customer support," as well as a FAQ section The page claims that Doxo is "not an affiliate" of North Adams and says that the city was added to its directory by a user Parks says that Doxo allows users to pay multiple bills with the same account and sends payment to the city via check — a practice the FTC has criticized "[The checks arrive] days or sometimes weeks after the customer believes their bill is paid," the FTC said many consumers have had their utilities shut off and have been charged fees and fines even though they paid their bills on time." The FTC's lawsuit against Doxo remains pending in the U.S District Court for the Western District of Washington Mitchell Chapman is The Eagle's night news editor If you've recently received a suspicious phone call or text message claiming to be from Berkshire Bank it might be a part of a scam aimed at gaining access to your bank account made five individual payments to different couriers who visited his house between June and September An 88-year-old Dalton man received a phone call from a man saying his grandson had been arrested following a crash and that he needed $10,000 cash to secure his grandson's bail and the man's grandson had not been arrested One of the many scary things about the widening world of scams in the information age is that they can target anyone at any time a couple of business-owners in Great Barrington learned that lesson the hard way recently when they lost tens of thousands of dollars to a sophisticated cyber-fraud scheme A new series of public art installations called "Hatchlings" are set to appear in North Adams through Oct Seen here during their initial run in Boston the scaled-down bandshells are meant to draw in visitors downtown A new public art installation by Vanessa Till Hooper will bring new light pavilions to Eagle Street in North Adams "I want people to have ideas of how to use it and make it their own,” Hooper said encouraging residents who spy the new installations downtown to take a closer look Custom-made twinkle lights adorn the series of "Hatchling" sculptures being installed in downtown North Adams ombré and sparkling patterns varying by model A new public art installation by Vanessa Till Hooper will bring new light pavilions to Eagle Street in North Adams. There are nine Hatchling pavilions in total with four found at the Eagle Street “Pocket Park,” and others spread throughout downtown Benjii and Christopher Simmersbach and Till Hooper A series of nine new 'Hatchlings' will begin lighting up the city of North Adams on Friday as Vanessa Till Hooper's luminous public art displays take residence until October.  NORTH ADAMS — Vanessa Till Hooper wants North Adams residents to know: The city’s latest public art installation isn’t a “look “My hope is that people, when they see it for the first time, have that feeling of, like, ‘I’m going to go in there,’” said Hooper, creative director and founder of Studio HHH “As opposed to that feeling of ‘what is that I’m not sure how I’m supposed to interact with art so I’m going to stand back here on the sidewalk.’” Hooper’s “Hatchlings,” a series of bandshells with dazzling light displays interwoven will have visitors heading inside to take selfies and dreaming up new uses for the space — maybe returning for a picnic under the lights “I want people to have ideas of how to use it and make it their own,” Hooper said The “Hatchlings” will make their debut from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at the North Adams Chamber’s First Fridays event on Eagle Street and will remain on view and accessible every day until Oct There are nine Hatchling pavilions in total That includes installations at First Congregational Church Hotel Downstreet and a miniature Hatchling at the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority bus stop on Main Street The smallest Hatchling may serve mostly as a photo opportunity for dogs and small pets passing through An additional set of Hatchlings will be on campus at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts where Hooper said students expressed an interest in using the pavilions as public performance spaces A series of performances also is scheduled for each First Friday event on Eagle Street until October with the larger platforms capable of supporting a full band is to get people to stop and spend more time downtown this summer “We wanted to see how we could use these pieces of sculptural public art to really activate underutilized spaces in North Adams,” Hooper said “We picked the park [on Eagle Street] as our first location and it grew from there because there was so much interest.” A full map of the Hatchlings can be found on the Studio HHH website The Hatchlings could be found in Boston over the winter months in each of the past two years, but were originally constructed by Hooper at Greylock Works on State Road The installations are modeled after the Boston “Hatch Shell” venue along the Charles River Esplanade replacing the original bandshell’s wooden paneling with a rebar structure sharing a similar orange color The Hatchlings originated from Hooper's pitch to the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy and The Esplanade Association in Boston when she began developing them in Spring 2023: "What if the Hatch Shell hatched shells?" It took Hooper three months to construct the Hatchlings bending the rebar to match the bandshell’s shape then adorning the structure with custom-made twinkle lights The largest installations have somewhere around 10,000 lights and it took about six weeks to string them all through ombré patterns and dazzling sparkles depending on the model — Hooper is also able to control the displays with her phone Hooper hopes the lights will become a luminous feature downtown — to start the Hatchlings will likely be lit until about midnight The hours may be subject to change depending on demand as the team found people in Boston “wanted them on all the time” during the winter months Hooper doesn’t have a target number in mind for visitors to the Hatchlings — she’ll be checking in over the summer keeping an eye on who comes to use the space while maintaining and repairing the installations as needed it’s all about giving the area a “joyful energy” as it lights up the night in North Adams “The goal is that people feel like it’s theirs — that it’s for them,” Hooper said Matt Martinez can be reached at mmartinez@berkshireeagle.com A series of nine new "Hatchlings" will begin lighting up the city of North Adams on Friday In a new Berkshires-inspired fragrance line former Pittsfielder Renée Junewicz captures the flowers outside her bedroom window the scent of her mother's rose garden and the inside of Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House The 19th annual Berkshire International Film Festival features premieres documentaries and appearances by Kenneth Cole Bob Mackie and more over four days of film and conversation David Roussève returns to the stage with “DaddyAF,” a deeply personal work-in-progress showing identity and resilience through dance and the virtuosity of an aging body Berkshire Opera Festival presents "Young Verdi in Love," a concert tracing Verdi’s early romantic works Schlather’s "Giulio Cesare," featuring Ruckus and a full cast continues at Hudson Hall with performances on April 23 Current Version | Option 1 | Option 2 | Option 3 Most Comments Most Views Erika Bailey of Bailey's Bakery has closed her storefront at 55 Main St. two years after expanding from her shared space at the Berkshire Emporium in downtown North Adams Erika Bailey of Bailey's Bakery has closed her storefront at 55 Main St North Adams is losing a well-liked bakery and ice cream shop NORTH ADAMS — While fashioning a raspberry braid into the shape of an egg on Thursday Erika Bailey prepared to part with her bakery closed its doors after its final day on Saturday she plans to reopen it in a smaller space down the road in her hometown of Stamford because I feel like this was a dream,” Bailey said Subscribe today to access this story and all of our stories with 24/7 unlimited access Subscribe now for 99¢ Bailey's Bakery in North Adams moves to a new space on Main Street a dinosaur-themed snack bar is opening in its former space at Berkshire Emporium and Antiques. Emporium owner Keith Bona described the space's theme as Jurassic steampunk.  While North Adams had been awarded $144,000 toward engineering a Galvin Road culvert fix the grant has since been revoked because of the Trump Administration's cuts to FEMA The city was partially matching the grant with $48,000 Hinsdale Town Administrator Robert Graves said that an $81,000 federal grant for a new backup generator at the town’s public safety complex is gone after the Trump administration ended the Federal Emergency Management Agency grant program the grant has since been revoked because of the Trump administration's cuts to FEMA The Trump administration has abruptly ended FEMA’s BRIC program stripping $90 million in disaster-prep grants from 18 Massachusetts communities including North Adams and Hinsdale — leaving local officials scrambling to replace critical climate resilience funding NORTH ADAMS — The red pen of President Donald Trump’s administration has again struck its mark in Berkshire County: It has cut the federal aid that helps local communities prepare for future natural disasters such as severe weather events in Berkshire County Earlier this month, the Trump administration ended the Federal Emergency Management Agency grant program called Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Municipalities both in the process of securing and already awarded grant money through the program have been told the money is gone with the program “There’s no doubt in my mind there will be a lot more federal money lost in the next several months Maura Healey’s office issued a statement Wednesday establishing that the BRIC cuts to FEMA amount to $90 million across 18 municipalities Massachusetts communities have been devastated by severe storms We rely on FEMA funding to not only rebuild but also take steps to protect against future extreme weather,” Healey said “But the Trump administration has suddenly ripped the rug out from under cities and towns that had been promised funding to help them upgrade their roads buildings and green spaces to mitigate risk and prevent disasters in the future.” The BRIC program sends federal money to states for hazard mitigation Two communities in Berkshire County — Hinsdale and North Adams — are immediately affected where money is tight and roughly 2,000 people live a yearslong effort to secure a BRIC grant was halted abruptly this month Town Administrator Robert Graves said that an $81,000 BRIC grant for a new backup generator at the town’s public safety complex is gone “This program funded lots of preparation for potential disaster this has set back all the work and effort gone into planning,” Graves said This is now gone.’ I think it’s shortsighted Graves spoke to the importance of upgrading the town’s emergency generators The police/fire station complex is essential for plowing roads “It’s also operating 24 hours in a blizzard with guys coming and going and trying to get some sleep in between driving their truck,” Graves said “You also have potential for fire or ambulance service needs.” According to Hinsdale’s 2025-29 capital improvement plan the generator was installed in 2001 and would have been 26 years old if the town’s replacement timeline had held up “The current generator is operational,” the plan reads “but due to the significant replacement cost and its failure catastrophic to operations Public Services staff feels the inclusion of this project in the 5-year Capital Improvement Plan is important.” North Adams had been awarded $144,000 toward engineering a Galvin Road culvert fix Mayor Jennifer Macksey said the city was notified April 11 that the money had been withdrawn The city was partially matching the grant with $48,000 of its own When Macksey announced she would be running for another term as mayor last week, obtaining the grant money needed to repair the Galvin Road culvert was mentioned as one of several moves she made to repair infrastructure during her tenure The grant was awarded more than six months ago The city may look into culvert replacement opportunities through the state Division of Ecological Restoration or we find another funding avenue,” Macksey said Whatever mandate President Trump might claim and whatever overreaches his sycophants enable it must be asked: Who honestly voted for this Did a plurality or even a significant fraction of Americans vote to hobble already straining public school budgets undermine rural infrastructure and facilitate an autocratic police state Since the mid-20th century, the Hoosic River has been shunted through a concrete flood control system when it traverses the city of North Adams. Completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1961 the chutes that channel the waterway have been gradually crumbling and decaying There are issues with the actual floor of the chutes we want to improve the flood protection for the city we want the river to be healthier right now as it flows through downtown," said Judy Grinnell “Because of the design of the flood chutes in the 50s which we have learned about from other cities across the country and at the same time have a flood control system that becomes a community asset The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers returned to North Adams in 2023 to kick off a four-year, $4.5 million feasibility study to explore modernizing the Hoosic River’s flood controls With increasingly common climate change-driven extreme weather battering the chutes and estimated costs of the project in the hundreds of millions there are many unanswered questions about the river’s fate The re-election of President Trump and his zealous bid to slash federal funding have introduced new ones “We are in touch with our federal representative and they have assured us they are going to do whatever they can to provide us – well actually the Corps – with the funding it needs to proceed," said Grinnell "The reason I say the Corps is the city and the Corps of Engineers share 50-50 the cost of this feasibility study The city has already made available to the Corps on a year-by-year basis the funding that is required and we're working very hard to convince our representatives that this is a crucial study and the funding should not cease.” the HRR is celebrating a new push to communicate its efforts to the wider world “We have been the very fortunate recipient of a gift from MASS MoCA which has a community partnership program," Grinnell explained and placement of two billboards on River Street across from the Porches Inn.” Contemporary art museum MASS MoCA occupies a former electric factory campus in the heart of North Adams it serves as the city’s major tourism magnet “One billboard shows a picture of our river with walls and then the other really explains what our goals are as a community The first billboard depicting the flood control system as it exists today is in black and white while its companion is in the vibrant colors of Berkshire County: blues skies and waters and the HRR’s goals spelled out in a goldenrod yellow “We have three short phrases on that billboard: Together we can protect North Adams’ future," Grinnell continued so there is nothing more long-term vis-à-vis the billboards we are working closely with many of the buildings individuals whose homes or businesses are right along the river because the safety of those aspects of our downtown is the key reason we're doing this.” Grinnell says the kickoff at the corner of River Street and Houghton Street will be an interactive opportunity for city residents “We will have members of our board who are working on placemaking there to answer questions and there will be a table where people can write down the thoughts or the dreams they have for making the river more accessible and enjoyable for them," she told WAMC the people who are working with the Corps of Engineers The Hoosic River Revival’s billboard unveiling celebration and public placemaking brainstorm session starts at 11 a.m Be one of the first to know what's coming up on WAMC See additional subscription options At least eight fire companies responded to a Wednesday morning a structure fire in the old MacDermid Graphics building. click for more North Adams officials have issued a reminder to the public that they have only one authorized payment processor for paying city bills The official payment processor is UniBank/UniPay Anyone with questions is asked to contact the North Adams Treasurer’s Office at 413-662-3044 or call the North Adams Police Department at 413-664-4944 x1 The city had earlier referred to a third-party payment site as a “scam” in a post on the North Adams Police Department’s Facebook and the city’s website It has since revised its post and removed all references to that company NewsChannel 13 has reached out to North Adams Police to find out why the post was changed The station representative that can assist any person with disabilities with issues related to the content of the public file is Brittany Moroukian. She can be contacted at bmoroukian@wnyt.com or 518-207-4710 Grazie owner and Chef Matt Tatro has secured a liquor license and will officially open Wednesday at the restaurant's new location at 310 State St "We’ve added several items on the menu that aren’t Italian but execute well and our local clientele loves and enjoys,” he said Grazie has 10 fewer seats in the dining room Tatro sees Grazie becoming more of a bar/restaurant Grazie will open Wednesday at its new location at 310 State St "It’s a little bit more of a casual feel," said chef and owner Matt Tatro owner of the Marshall Street building that used to be Grazie's home said work is underway at the site for a future use Grazie owner Matt Tatro said he has completed the monthslong process to move the popular North Adams restaurant from Marshall Street to State Street the restaurant is poised to reopen next week in a new location — and with a new vision Owner and Chef Matt Tatro on Wednesday that Grazie had secured its liquor license “We rehabbed the takeout window so we can serve takeout to the park there throughout the summer,” Tatro said “We’re really trying to cater to the neighborhood It’s a little bit more of a casual feel — we will still have the same food Tatro bought the building last year and the move there from Grazie's longtime spot at Marshall Street is more or less complete as he would rather own the building than rent as he had been doing The Marshall Street Grazie has been closed for more than a month in order to move everything into the new State Street building Grazie is betting on big summers with a takeout business in the back of the building serving the baseball field splash pad and the rest of the Noel Field Athletic Complex That thinking goes toward Grazie’s new business model; Tatro is aiming for something more laid-back Though the new restaurant will have 10 fewer seats in the dining room it will feature a much larger bar than at the Marshall Street location “We want to be an elevated bar serving craft cocktails and nice wines and good local draft beers,” he said “We won’t be open until midnight or 1 a.m.; we’re not looking to be the nightcap in North Adams or compete with other bars down the street But we’d love to get that after-work crowd While Grazie is widely known as a place for old-school Italian classics the eatery branched out to reach demographics who didn’t always go for Italian a handful of sandwiches and a lot more appetizers,” Tatro said “We’re not getting away from the Italian theme but we’re not married solely to that niche We’ve added several items on the menu that aren’t Italian but execute well and our local clientele loves and enjoys.” Some of the specific items Tatro mentioned include a spicy Asian long noodle (his take on a lo mein) Tatro said there was “every issue imaginable but we’ve tidied it up quite nicely.” He brought in plumbers Then there was the matter of the liquor license Tatro acknowledged he underestimated the work necessary to get the license despite the fact that Grazie was in good standing and simply moving just down the road Tatro also needed to fill out a change of ownership interest since in the process of moving he acquired the business in its entirety from former business partner David Moresi Moresi told The Eagle that there are plans for the Marshall Street building though he did not say what exactly the plans are and work is underway at the new space,” he said After waiting about a month for the municipal and state liquor license process to play out Grazie heard from the state that their applications had been approved “It’s a good process to make sure people serving liquor should be serving it but it’s just a touch frustrating when you’re moving a quarter mile down the road,” Tatro said graziena.comRecipe for success: Owners David Moresi and Matt Tatro have created something special with Grazie The Gallo family’s Prime Italian Steakhouse and Bar had been for sale at nearly $2.5 million but it’s now offered as a “turnkey” restaurant for a five-year lease at $6,500 a month plus other costs Mill Town Capital assigns veteran Nudel and Bistro Zinc chef to revitalize the Gateway Inn’s public dining room The Garden skate and snowboard shop is being put up for sale by its owners Bill Whitaker and Luke Kessler. After 24 years serving the Berkshires the shop will close if they don't find a buyer.  The Berkshires’ 2025 housing market has kicked off with a slight increase in home sales and the highest dollar volume since the pandemic-driven peak in 2022 But inventory continues to pose a challenge for would-be homebuyers as home prices continue to rise across the county Mike Spelman can no longer be found selling appliances at his store on Gordon Street Mike’s Maytag Home Appliance Center is now Manny's Appliances Mass MoCA wants to transform the former Sullivan School into a housing The North Adams City Council voted Tuesday to approve the sale of the property to the museum for $50,000 as the museum must prepare the property for development and go through a permitting process NORTH ADAMS — The former Sullivan School is an albatross to the city no longer To the delight of Mayor Jennifer Macksey and the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, the City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a purchase and sales agreement to sell the property to the museum for $50,000 Mass MoCA plans to invest $14.5 million in the property and transform it into a housing arts and community space. There could be something close to 30 single-family-modular homes The redeveloped property would include lofts and apartments modular housing and community green spaces the city has been trying to unload the property — and with it the headaches of insurance payments and police patrols A series of previous requests for proposals on the land did not land a buyer and twice the council has rejected proposals for it making Tuesday’s decision all the more meaningful.  both councilors and museum representatives have said this week that there will be a long permitting and preparation process still to come Some councilors expressed frustration that more details on what exactly Mass MoCA will be building were not available “Passing this allows a process of due diligence to check the landscape to make sure environmental protections are being met and that we’re in line with state and federal laws,” Councilor Ashley Shade said “Construction’s not going to start anytime soon.” that it’s important the school property gets back on the city’s tax rolls Tiffany Grimes and Damon Grimes pick up litter with their son Landon on Saturday The Grimes were a few of a group of volunteers who spread out across North Adams to clean up trash Saturday The North Adams Public Services Department lent a dump truck to help with an Earth Day weekend cleanup event Saturday check in volunteers and their dog for an Earth Day weekend cleanup event Saturday.  Grassroots group Green North Adams organized the event in an effort not only to pick up litter but to give people the chance to take ownership of their home city Damon Grimes of North Adams said that on Saturday imploring his fellow residents to stop littering “There are plenty of trash cans around,” he added his wife Tiffany Grimes and their son Landon participated in an Earth Day cleanup event organized by Green North Adams on Saturday morning Jenny Dunning and Barbara May of Green North Adams a citizen committee advocating for local sustainability met participants in the library parking lot Saturday morning handing each a large trash bag and gloves — some of which were donated by Carr Hardware — and sending them out to wherever they see trash The Department of Public Services also lent a dump truck to assist in the cleanup May said it’s an opportunity to meet like-minded people The holiday was established in 1970 to fight air pollution and was a political effort led by environmentally conscious legislators and activists Saturday's event was about more than just removing garbage and a feeling of ownership for our community,” Dunning said “I know there are a lot of people who are disadvantaged They don’t feel the community has done anything for them and that’s why they don’t care and throw stuff out.” Where can most of the city's litter be found it's places like baseball and soccer fields Damon Grimes said it’s the family’s first time going to a public cleanup “We figured it would be nice to get involved and for him to get involved at 5 years old,” Damon Grimes said May and Dunning say that people locally and writ large need to radically reduce the use of plastics. They supported a failed 2018 effort to get the City Council to ban single-use plastic bags or a Green North Adams-hosted movie screening at the library in November while acknowledging larger corporate and government forces outside of an individual’s control that’s the only way we’re going to change,” Dunning said A no parking sign on Blackinton Street in North Adams alerts residents to the winter overnight parking ban Vehicles are not allowed to park on streets or highways for more than one hour between 1 a.m so that the city can more affectively remove snow.  North Adams officials said Tuesday that they're reluctant to enforce the winter parking ban we don’t really enforce [the parking ban] until we get authorization from the mayor that there’s snow imminent,” Interim Police Chief Mark Bailey told city councilor members Amid complaints from city residents that people consistently disobey the winter parking ban officials went into detail about how the ban is enforced — and why sometimes NORTH ADAMS — Is the city's winter parking ban working?  That's what some North Adams City Council members wondered Tuesday night at the public services committee meeting as they considered updating the citywide policy which is under effect now through April 15 vehicles are not allowed to park on streets or highways for more than one hour between 1 and 6 a.m so that the city can more affectively remove snow The ban also prohibits parking on sidewalks.  The committee quizzed Interim Police Chief Mark Bailey and Department of Public Services Commissioner Timothy Lescarbeau on their departments’ responses when people disobey the parking ban we don’t really enforce [the parking ban] until we get authorization from the mayor that there’s snow imminent,” Bailey said Tuesday The committee was considering a change to the ordinance introduced by Councilor Ashley Shade Shade proposed a ban from the first declared snow emergency of the season the ban automatically goes into effect on Nov Shade has argued that the city needs to update its parking ban policy to reflect climate change and so that it isn’t so dependent on the leniency of whomever has been elected mayor The committee decided to recommend against altering the ban the city doesn’t make people move their cars until after the first declared snow emergency anyway they put warnings in the form of paper tickets to let people know the ban would be in place until April and to figure out parking accommodations if necessary there were 22 people parked on the street overnight He explained the onerous process of removing the vehicle — first running the plate “Most people’s vehicles may not be registered to them and they’re parked in front of an apartment complex,” Bailey said “If an emergency happens in the middle of the night police oftentimes must wait 40 minutes or more for a truck to come 18 snow storm caused another snow emergency 7 snow emergency caused four vehicle removals on Feb and the most recent storm over the weekend had 10 vehicles impeding snow removal that had to go along with four accidents and two arrests police had to attend to in the same time frame Lescarbeau said the parking ban is important not just for snow emergencies 1 set date is changed to the first snow emergency people can say they were waiting for the mayor to declare an emergency and didn’t see it coming One issue that Bona and fellow committee member Peter Oleskiewicz agreed to work on is defining the term snow emergency which the city apparently has not yet done UPDATED: A winter storm prompted Pittsfield to reschedule its Winter Festival and led to long hours for city snow plow drivers The city has lifted its winter parking ban two weeks early in anticipation of warm weather A fire at a home on Pleasant Street in North Adams on Friday afternoon was put down relatively quickly but a firefighter and building occupant were injured during the effort A firefighter and occupant of the home sustained injuries connected to the fire NORTH ADAMS — A fire at a two-story home on Pleasant Street on Friday afternoon injured a firefighter and an occupant The injured occupant came out of the building then “split open his head,” and is now being treated at North Adams Regional Hospital according to North Adams Mayor Jennifer Macksey “One firefighter was injured with a cut to his hand North Adams fire and police departments responded A BB gun was fired twice during a road rage incident in downtown North Adams Friday afternoon North Adams lifted its overnight winter parking ban Tuesday A no parking sign on Blackinton Street in North Adams related to the winter overnight parking ban NORTH ADAMS — The people of North Adams can park wherever they’d like again Mayor Jennifer Macksey lifted the winter overnight parking ban that went into effect on Nov and I recognize it’s a hardship on many people and we can think about spring and tulips and green grass.” including both the police and public services helped Macksey make the decision during a discussion last week “I don’t like to make the ban any longer than it has to be,” Macksey said Macksey could reinstate an emergency parking ban City Council considered updating the citywide policy in February which would have changed the day the ban automatically lifts from April 15 to April 1 The council ultimately decided against changing its policy because the mayor and city already exercise discretion on when exactly to start and stop the ban North Adams city council Vice President Ashley Shade reflected on the moment as Berkshire County’s first and only out trans elected official “It's a stressful time to be different in this country," she said "The actions being taken through executive order are incompetent and It's hard to be a person right now when your government declares you not to exist and is trying to erase the history of people like you.” In that conversation with WAMC Shade offered hope for ways that municipalities could stand with the community “The city of Worcester just made themselves a sanctuary city towards trans people and I think that's an action that more cities can take to publicly declare that they are a safe place and that that their government employees should not comply with any executive orders from the federal government should not comply with other states trying to indict people for providing services or care,” she told WAMC The nine-member body voted 6-3 to pass a sanctuary city resolution at its meeting Tuesday night “It was swamped," said councilor Andrew Fitch it ended up being kind of standing room only in some areas which was really cool to see because that's not always the case I was overwhelmed with the support there for the resolution.” Fitch brought the resolution forward along with fellow councilors Shade “We had a dozen plus people actually speak to it and then two additional people spoke against it," Blackmer told WAMC "Pretty much most of the people in the audience were for it There were only three or four that were against it.” She tells WAMC she feels the resolution is a local way to resist a white patriarchy pushing its values on the rest of America former councilor Jess Sweeney asked people to raise their hand and say who's here in support of this?" Blackmer continued "And most of the room raised their hands.” Fitch stressed that the resolution does not grant additional privileges for any sector of the North Adams community Unlike Pittsfield the North Adams city council vote was not unanimous it's more of a state and federal issue than it is local we can do all we can do for the community – you know but I think a lot of the legislation has to come from the state or federal government," said Council President Bryan Sapienza one of votes against the sanctuary city resolution along with councilors Wayne Wilkinson and Peter Oleskiewicz And I want to make it clear that I have nothing against transgender rights or anything like that- I respect all opinions And it was more so the- Resolutions are just kind of a gray area in city government it was more of the resolution than it was the actual Sapienza hopes the LGBTQIA+ community continues to feel comfortable in North Adams and says he continues to support inclusivity measures it would be something that I think on the federal level- I think we need to just relax and just see what happens," said the council president I wouldn't be against- I would be against anything that would hurt any anybody It doesn't matter what group or what subgroup people belong to I don't want to see anything like that hurt anybody and I'm sure we'll come out okay on the other side.” Asked about the no vote explanations offered by his colleagues “I've heard some of my colleagues say before that they don't believe in resolutions they don't think that resolutions belong on the council floor but that that's just not- that's just not the fact," he told WAMC "Resolutions actually do belong in council and several of my colleagues who voted against this resolution last night have voted in favor of other resolutions So I don't know why they're using that as an excuse But to use that as an excuse I think is just false.” Blackmer said she has heard arguments against the move in the North Adams community that have left her disconcerted “I've seen already- They're putting them above above us," she told WAMC it's the same us versus them mentality that has been used at the national level all we're doing is acknowledging someone's humanity and it doesn't take anything away from the others.” A city man has been indicted on a felony charge for allegedly stabbing another man in the parking lot of the North Adams Walmart Supercenter in February.  NORTH ADAMS — A city man has been indicted on a felony charge for allegedly stabbing someone in the parking lot of the North Adams Walmart Supercenter in February.  A Berkshire County grand jury on April 16 returned an indictment charging Roland T. Hernandez with a single felony count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury.  Amanda Burke can be reached at aburke@berkshireeagle.com or 413-496-6296 Tim Callahan has been named the new superintendent for North Adams Public Schools He will take over for current Superintendent Barbara Malkas after the school year concludes The Eagle sat down with Callahan Thursday to learn more about his plans for the district who has been named the new superintendent of North Adams Public Schools answers questions from the public and school committee during an extensive interview before he was chosen for the position.  Drury High School students and teachers head to class Incoming North Adams Superintendent Tim Callahan says North Adams consistently over-performs in MCAS scores based on its demographics Tim Callahan will take over for retiring Superintendent Barbara Malkas at the end of the school year He went into detail on his plans for the district during an interview with The Eagle NORTH ADAMS — Tim Callahan is going to be busy and keeping track of barriers to learning and social issues who was hired as the next superintendent of North Adams Public Schools district will be tasked with managing it all.  During an hourlong interview on Thursday in his assistant superintendent’s office at City Hall Callahan — who has been with the district since 1998 in various capacities — spoke candidly about the problems plaguing the district and presented plans for both best- and worst-case scenarios In the case of money running out from state COVID-era funding and the threat of federal cuts to public education by President Donald Trump’s administration Callahan sees a combination of grant funding and “We’ll also start to seek more private funding.” Callahan is still negotiating his contract with the city and will likely finalize it next week This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity THE EAGLE: You mentioned during your confirmation meeting that you think you’ll be able to maintain “many” staff positions in the upcoming budget TIM CALLAHAN: We certainly will for next year I don’t anticipate a reduction in [federal money] Really the wild card is 21st Century After School funding The current administration has canceled contracts I don’t know if they’re going to stop payment on grants that have been awarded THE EAGLE: So is it possible some positions are eliminated in this budget The budget will be presented to [the] School Committee on Tuesday so we don’t anticipate any significant cuts That could mean one fewer special ed teacher here but essentially the same amount of services as we had going into this year That will require a more substantial dip into our revolving fund than anybody would want We want to maintain for now because there is so much uncertainty THE EAGLE: Which positions and programs are affected by the possible loss of state and federal funding which we are expecting to continue this summer but we haven’t received any indication they’ve been cut If federal funding is significantly diminished that could mean fewer teaching assistants in our classrooms Right now our paraprofessionals/teaching assistants are working with special education students we fund those positions through federal money too THE EAGLE: You said last week that with all these budgetary concerns you may need to make difficult decisions such as cutting athletics or pre-K and focusing on “school-day activities.” Is that going to happen That's why we’re dipping deeper into our revolving fund to maintain services we want to provide the same level of education If funding were cut and all of a sudden we had to go from a budget that’s $21 million to $16 million We’d have to go back to a hybrid learning model due to big class sizes So you’re preserving the instructional core Athletics and pre-K are outside the instructional core because they’re not required by the state because we don’t have to legally transport students after a certain age THE EAGLE: Why exactly do you have to dip into the revolving fund if no changes have been made federally yet CALLAHAN: Running out of state COVID money is part of it There’s been a general increase in all costs There’s both an increase in special education students over the last few years The local school district has to pay for students whose services are being provided outside the district and we have to transport the students there THE EAGLE: Last week you talked about the national culture war playing out around queer students How does that present itself in North Adams there was a culture clash between traditional family values and the LGBTQ population I thought it was a welcoming space for students who might have been othered elsewhere Schools were ahead of the general public on gender identity questions because students were coming to us asking to be renamed Massachusetts says if the student wants to use a different name it’s more likely there’s a misunderstanding: You have a student who goes by a different name the year after you had them "You’re dead-naming me," and gets mad at the teacher because they know dead-naming is wrong Those are the things that happen more than a student who’s LGBTQ being persecuted THE EAGLE: You’ve spoken about wanting to get rid of barriers to learning for students What kind of specific barriers are you talking about CALLAHAN: When I started working at Drury High School You couldn’t get into honors without a certain GPA you still had to have a certain GPA to take AP classes … I vowed that would never happen once I was in a leadership role We ended up radically expanding our AP offerings and opening the doors without any prerequisites we realized a lot of people weren’t signing up and we ended up removing summer homework as an expectation That homework contributed zero percent to student success That barrier was created by the previous generation as a gatekeeping tool to say you’re not worthy of being in this class." Everybody deserves a chance to take these classes THE EAGLE: How do districts like North Adams get shortchanged when it comes to academic rankings CALLAHAN: The MCAS test includes your absolute score and a growth measure how you get compared to other students who scored similarly across the state Average community income always determines a municipality’s academic rank in Massachusetts you can just look at the income of the community North Adams consistently over-performs based on its demographics But as an "underperforming" school you’re stigmatized so people coming in to buy houses are paying less There are all these societal impacts by having the standardized tests be the metric of school quality Article Presented By Litter Quality Propane… The Lady Green Devils of North Adams outscored Adena 15-7 in the final quarter to end the Lady Warriors’ season 46-41 Adena rallied from four different six-point deficits to take a 34-31 lead after three periods and led as late as 38-37 before North Adams closed out the victory A three-point dagger from Karlie Kennedy from the right wing proved to be the dagger that put the contest out of reach 45-41 Missed opportunities for bigger leads were missed on both sides as Adena committed 21 turnovers and North Adams had 16 North Adams shot 17/52- including 3/8 from the arc for 33% from the field while Adena was only 13/45- including 8/22 from the arc for 29% from the field The Green Devils connected on 9/18 from the charity stripe while Adena was 7/9 The Lady Warriors edged the taller North Adams squad in rebounding 31-29 The Green Devils sported three players in double figures Adena was led by Marly Halcomb’s 17 points and 8 rebounds North Adams improves to (18-6) and will face Fairland at 2:30pm Saturday for the Division 5 District championship after advancing with a 72-51 win over Ironton CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO HEAR THE LITTER MEDIA RADIO REPLAY OF THE GAME Design by Marcy Design The remains of a duplex at 188-190 West Shaft Road in North Adams where a 4-year-old died in a fire Tuesday night A 4-year-old died in a fire Tuesday night at a duplex at 188-190 West Shaft Road in North Adams Water used to douse the fire flowed down the road onto the street Location for fire on Tuesday night at a duplex at 188-190 West Shaft Road in North Adams UPDATE: A GoFundMe has reached its goal of raising $20,000 for the families affected by the fire on West Shaft Road A 4-year-old child died and two others were seriously hurt NORTH ADAMS — A 4-year-old died in a fire Tuesday night at a duplex at 188-190 West Shaft Road according to the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office The duplex housed two people on one side and a family of five — two adults and three children — on the other Two members of the family — an adult and child — were hurt seriously and are being treated at Mass General Hospital in Boston according to the District Attorney's Office The three others escaped with minor injuries and were treated at North Adams Regional Hospital they found five of the six occupants outside the duplex The district attorney said the 4-year-old died inside the home Authorities remained on the scene Wednesday morning Clarksburg and Williamstown firefighters offered mutual aid to the North Adams Fire Department The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will identify the victim and determine the cause and manner of death On one side of the duplex lived Joe and Karen Cantoni while on the other lived Samantha and Eddie LaCosse who is Karen Cantoni’s niece and Samantha LaCosse’s cousin Guay started a GoFundMe for their family asking for donations to rebuild the lives of those who survived the fire with a goal of $20,000 That goal had already been reached as of 2:15 p.m.; by 6 p.m. including the life of their youngest child,” the post reads Anything you can do to help is one less thing the family needs to worry about to build a new home.” owns the building and lives on one side with her husband who was out working at the time of the fire and her family were in bed when the fire started “I don’t even know what to think right now… I’m just so sad Anything they get from this is going to help them,” Febles said of the GoFundMe “We’re really just hoping to reach as many people as possible because they have nothing,” Guay said of her family state police detectives and the Department of Fire Services Code Compliance & Enforcement Unit are investigating.  A statement from the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services said the North Adams Fire Department received the report of the fire just after 11:30 p.m “On behalf of the North Adams Fire Department I want to express our heartfelt condolences to the family that lost a loved one and their home,” North Adams Chief Brent Lefebvre said in the release “This is a terrible loss for them and our community.” The 4-year-old girl who died in a fire Tuesday night has been identified as Ensley LaCosse according to the Berkshire District Attorney's Office Mayor Jennifer Macksey pulled nomination papers last week and intends to run for a third term this election cycle. “It’s a natural decision in that I still have a lot of work to do and my job as mayor is far from over,” she said Mayor Jennifer Macksey spent much of her first couple terms starting projects She says she's running again because she'd like to finish them NORTH ADAMS — Mayor Jennifer Macksey will be running for a third term The two-term North Adams mayor pulled her nomination papers last week making official her decision to run for reelection “It’s a natural decision in that I still have a lot of work to do she wishes terms were four years rather than two because she said just as the mayor is figuring out the job who is the first woman to serve as mayor of North Adams says her priorities if reelected are infrastructure She’s run hard on infrastructure improvements in the past there weren’t as many building drawings as I anticipated or any projects really developed,” Macksey said “The last few years we’ve spent time doing engineering studies and assessments.” Among those assessments are the Route 2 Overpass study and the Army Corps of Engineers’ study of the city’s flood chutes Macksey also touted replacing the aging Greylock School building and netting $27 million for various grant-financed projects Among the other campaign issues she expects to come up are “growing North Adams “Creating jobs and a safe environment to live in should be the focus of any campaign,” she said As for what’s given her the most trouble during her time as mayor “I wish I could just wave my wand and fix all the water and sewer and sidewalks and roads in the community “I think the biggest thorn in my side has been bridges I can’t believe the two bridges that we own are the two bridges we’re having issues with,” Macksey said Securing funding and getting them both back up and running is an issue.” Nomination papers require 50 signatures in order to be filed Papers are due back to the city clerk to be certified by 5 p.m Thus far only one other potential candidate has pulled nomination papers for a mayoral run though neither Berglund nor Macksey have brought the papers back to the city clerk with signatures yet A well-attended site walk Wednesday evening gave North Adams residents a chance to sound off on the future of the Route 2 overpass The federal spending bill that passed last week to avert a government shutdown may have a direct impact on the city's flood chute feasibility study with the U.S A rendering of MCLA's planned new arts and creativity center which will be built on the corner of Porter and Church streets on the North Adams campus. A measure to commend the foundation on its securing a multimillion-dollar gift for a planned arts center at the college stalled during a Board of Trustees meeting last week chairman of the MCLA board of trustees, said he suggested the pause on voting on the resolution to give time for the college to come back with a "summary clarifying these points because I want to make sure all our trustees feel they’re well-informed." A measure to commend the MCLA Foundation on its securing a multimillion-dollar gift for a planned arts center at the North Adams college stalled during a Board of Trustees meeting last week members voted 4-4 to table the final resolution vote College and board leaders had expected it to pass with minimal resistance NORTH ADAMS — A symbolic vote put before the board of trustees to show their support around a privately funded arts center at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts ended in a stalemate last week after state Rep John Barrett III raised concerns about transparency The resolution would have commended the MCLA Foundation on securing the donation from California artist and writer Carolyn Mary Kleefeld which has not been disclosed but ranges near $10 million will build the arts center and fund its operation for three years “I don’t know whether to be for it or against it because we don’t know enough,” Barrett said Monday in an Eagle interview “Why can’t we see a written agreement stating everything I’m concerned about what seems to be a cloak of secrecy.” Trustees ultimately voted 4-4 to table a vote on the resolution.  board of trustees Chair Mohan Boodram said the vote doesn't reflect the majority support among trustees for the center and the matter will be taken up at a final vote in June Boodram noted a “spirited debate” between Barrett and another trustee about whether the college and foundation had shared enough information about the project to this point MCLA's Foundation brokered the deal independently with Kleefeld which is why college trustees haven't been directly involved in the decision-making or planning according to college and foundation officials The MCLA Foundation will make it so the college can use the facility Boodram said he suggested the pause on voting on the resolution to give time for the college to come back with a "summary clarifying these points because I want to make sure all our trustees feel they’re well-informed." Boodram said the 4-4 vote to delay a vote on the resolution came "because one of the trustees said Why don’t we wait until John [Barrett] has his information and we’re all on the same page?’” The Campagna Kleefeld Center for Creativity in the Arts could create new academic courses lead to a master’s program in arts management and foster collaborations between the arts MCLA President James Birge and Boodram have said the 7,000-square-foot building to be built on the corner of Porter and Church streets on lots currently occupied by two MCLA office buildings faculty offices and academic laboratory spaces Along with the ambitious plans have come questions about the college’s unilateral decision-making separate from the board Barrett wondered whether the trustees had a say in the MCLA Foundation's agreement with Kleefeld and the college went to the state Department of Higher Education’s general counsel to prove the board did not since the foundation is the legal entity brokering the gift Also at issue is the nature of Kleefeld’s payment her work will be shown on a rotating basis and used as part of the curriculum “We’ve been told that her work won’t be permanent and it will be shown on a rotating basis," Barrett said Kleefeld made a similar $10 million donation to California State University The university faced student and media backlash that it would house a permanent collection of her art and it raised questions about artistic merit and donor influence MCLA and the MCLA Foundation were aware of that controversy but say this is different because this arts center will not be a museum and it won't house a permanent Kleefeld collection “How’s it going to benefit art and arts management programs and students?” Barrett asked Boodram said two trustees he described as “very strong supporters” of the arts center were absent from last week's vote Boodram said he would have taken the same action had four trustees expressed hesitation “I don't think there’s any controversy about the facility," Boodram said “I could have probably gotten to a majority vote ‘I would rather have everybody feeling good about the way we’re proceeding than to force this through for the sake of appearances.’” who went into the meeting expecting his concerns to be for naught said he appreciated how Boodram handled the issue the college’s advancement office and the fundraising team are putting together statements of facts about the project to be shared before the next meeting in June “I fully expect we’ll be prepared to move forward with the resolution and it should not be controversial at all.” A 4-year-old has died and two family members seriously injured after a fire in a duplex on West Shaft Road in North Adams late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning according to the Berkshire County District Attorney’s Office The fire at 188-190 West Shaft Road started around 11:46 p.m When the home became engulfed just before midnight Tuesday night The five people who escaped had to jump from a second story window Clarksburg and Williamstown worked on putting out the fire throughout the early morning hours of Wednesday MA (WRGB) — A devastating house fire in North Adams claimed the life of a 4-year-old girl late Tuesday night leaving her family heartbroken and the community in mourning Firefighters responded to the duplex at 188-190 West Shaft Road just before midnight and arrived to find flames fully engulfing the home Six people were inside when the fire broke out said he was devastated when he received the tragic news from her father in the early hours of Wednesday morning Authorities have not yet publicly released her name Some of the family members jumped from the second floor to escape the flames Two of the survivors were hospitalized with serious injuries and later flown to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston Cantoni described the child as a lively and affectionate child He said his brother’s wife is struggling to cope with the loss The home that burned down had deep roots in the family Cantoni said it was built by a family member who was a former North Adams police officer and Williamstown worked for more than an hour and a half to extinguish the blaze The cause of the fire is still under investigation by the North Adams Fire Department and the Berkshire District Attorney’s office Massachusetts are deliberating the proposed sale of a former school building Contemporary art museum MASS MoCA – a core economic pillar for the post-industrial city – is interested in buying the shuttered Sullivan School property at 151 Kemp Avenue to develop it into affordable artists housing and classroom space for music education The $50,000 offer on the table is far below the building’s assessed value of around $2.6 million While Mayor Jennifer Macksey is eager to seal the deal the city council opted Tuesday to send it to the finance committee rather than taking a vote on the sale It’s expected to return to the full council again on March 25th Council President Bryan Sapienza spoke with WAMC about why the body wants more time to weigh the proposal SAPIENZA: It was an elementary school- Actually for the purpose that MASS MoCA intends with it I think it would be perfect for the for the use WAMC: Let's get into that- What is the proposal that's put before North Adams about what this potential new use for the building could be the use is going to be for artist residences I understand they're going to do music lessons and part of the building in the lower classrooms they're going to open up a community living room which is going to offer local residents a chance to go in and work with artists or create art of some type and so it's going to be open and inclusive to the community I know there was some conversation about the sale price for the building- Can you explain that to the listing audience There's a bit of a discrepancy between what it's assessed at and what the sale price is being promoted as the assessed value is much larger than what the actual sale price is and it doesn't really matter what we get for it- It's the fact that we don't have to maintain it once it is owned by somebody else and the new owner takes care of all the responsibilities the city does have to keep some basic services going at the building We've had a small fire in there at one point if somebody else is doing something with it if there's activity there- It's safer for the neighborhood there is definitely a difference in the assessed value and what the sale value is and that's typical of any municipal property Bring us up to speed on where the council came down on this after Tuesday night's meeting- What was the decision made by the North Adams city council about this proposal The proposal was to send it to the finance committee and the finance committee was going to vet it and then there was going to come back to the full council It's scheduled to come back at the next meeting I hope it does come back to the next meeting Were you hearing arguments on either side of the issue Being that it was going to come back at the next meeting I didn't want to see it delayed much longer but I think it was a fairly mild temperature of the room There wasn't any heated discussion or anything If you had to sell this to folks in the North Adams community why is this the right step forward for the former Sullivan School building are now being turned into apartment buildings where people can rent market rate apartments MoCA intends to bring artists in there as residences and also have been given working spaces so if you have somebody that's got some type of an exhibit at the main museum and they're also opening to the community some of the programs so that the local community can get more involved with MoCA And that's one thing I've noticed with the new leadership of MoCA over the last couple years- They're lot more interested in working with the community Community Health Programs' dental office in North Adams CHP is leaving its location in North Adams consolidating its North Adams dental and medical office with its existing dental and family services office in Adams.  CHP Berkshires is leaving their North Adams office at the hospital and moving into its Adams office on Depot Street A notice tells patients that CHP Berkshires is leaving their North Adams office at the hospital and moving into its Adams office on Depot Street CHP Berkshires plans on leaving its premises in North Adams by the end of the month and moving into another of their facilities in Adams NORTH ADAMS — A primary care and dental practice is moving out of North Adams.  CHP North Adams Family Medical and Dental Center is expected to move into Adams Family Dental at 19 Depot St according to CHP director of communications Amy Lisewski.  The layoffs did not affect doctors and other medical workers who provide direct care to patients A crew from A1 Septic works on fixing a broken water line at the Blackinton Mill on Tuesday The issue at the mill caused much of the city's west end to lose water Tuesday An issue at the Blackinton Mill left parts of the city’s west end without water on Tuesday NORTH ADAMS — An issue at the Blackinton Mill left parts of the city’s west end without water on Tuesday According to North Adams Mayor Jennifer Macksey the city started receiving calls as early as 5 a.m it was determined that a gate valve going to the Blackinton Mill was busted,” Macksey said referring to the valve used to control the flow of water Water returned to the area in the early evening Tuesday Macksey called it "a private issue" rather than a city problem and said that repair work was expected to be finished by 2 p.m the water was still off in the affected areas.  Church Hill and a portion of Mass Avenue were affected according to Commissioner of Public Services Tim Lescarbeau was not immediately available for comment on Tuesday said the company was initially called out to the mill because a water line had frozen and broken Cellana said they tried to shut down the line at the leak using a gate valve in front of the building but it didn’t work. They planned to put in a new gate valve “The only way to get the water to shut down is to shut this whole area off and isolate the water main and the water coming into this area,” Cellana said “Right now they have a bunch of gate valves shut off.” Cellana said the company excavated down to the water line and found an active gas line as well as three other unaccounted-for gas lines They had to call the gas company to have those removed They also found a cracked drain line in the way and repaired it Monroe Central's Tucker Howell goes up for a layup against North Adams in Wednesday's regional semifinal game at Ohio Dominican University COLUMBUS — Monroe Central entered unchartered waters Wednesday night but it was smooth sailing from the Sweet 16 to the Elite 8 The Seminoles (23-3) punched their ticket to the Ohio Division VI Region 23 boys basketball championship game on Saturday afternoon with a wire-to-wire victory over North Adams before a large gathering inside Alumni Hall on the campus of Ohio Dominican University We’ve just got to work on getting better,” second-year Monroe Central head coach Mason Lang said “We need to stay focused and try to keep moving forward.” Monroe Central advances to the regional final against the winner of the Cardington Lincoln-Beaver Eastern on Saturday at 4 p.m. We’re one step closer to our goal,” Howell said “We found something early on that worked and we stuck with it,” Tucker Howell recalled Monroe Central got off to another flying start behind the stellar inside play of Howell The 6-1 senior netted 12 of his game-high 25 points in the opening eight minutes “It’s always nice when you can get a player like Tucker rolling early,” Lang said but our goal was to get the best shots by the best player.” at the half as junior guard Caedyn Silva scored seven points — including a pair of trifectas which shot 65 percent from the floor in eliminating Malvern and a white-hot 78 percent in taking out Hiland blistered the nets at 90 percent (9-10) in the first quarter 70 percent in the first half and 67.4 (29-43) for the game the Green Devils (20-6) couldn’t generate any type of a comeback as the Seminoles defense forced them into 9-for-21 from beyond the bonus arc and 20-for 38 for the game “I told the kids going to the fourth quarter that we needed to close them out,” Lang noted “We knew nothing was going to be easy We took charge early in the fourth quarter and got the game under control.” Silva was a factor tonight with 15 points and a handful of assists and steals eight of those coming in the second half as North Adams was one-and-done for the most part “I always knew Caedyn would step up big-time at some point “He’s a big-game player.” Chase Allen chipped in 12 points and Cooper Howell snagged nine rebounds turned the ball over 15 times to 13 for the Green Devils BELPRE — Federal Hocking’s Annamarie Montle nearly established three meet records here Friday night at the .. Marietta College Director of Athletics Larry Hiser announced the appointment of Anthony Fairhurst as the .. | https://www.mariettatimes.com | 740-373-2121 North Adams city councilors read over their lists of committee assignments in 2020 at City Hall After City Solicitor Joel Bard issued an opinion last month Mayor Jennifer Macksey will no longer run nominations to city boards and commissions by City Council for approval Research from the city solicitor on an airport commission issue found that the city's charter does not require council approval NORTH ADAMS — Research by the city solicitor on an Airport Commission issue has changed the way the mayor plans on appointing members to commissions in general going forward Mayor Jennifer Macksey will no longer bring nominations for boards and commissions for council approval This change in protocol is a result of what City Solicitor Joel Bard found when asked to weigh in on the mayor's recent appointment of Doug Herrick to the embattled Airport Commission According to Bard's reading of the city charter, the mayor has the power to appoint members to the Airport Commission without City Council approval But Bard's decision was met with pushback from some city councilors during Tuesday night’s General Government Committee meeting City Councilor Ashley Shade sought to specify in city ordinance that no person who represents an organization or has an active contract with the Airport Commission would be eligible to serve on the commission The committee voted 2-1 to recommend against her proposal Shade's proposal was in direct response to Macksey’s appointment of Herrick who is connected to the airport as a member of the Mohawk Soaring Club Macksey has said that she doesn’t view this as a conflict and that it’s already difficult to fill vacancies to boards and commissions as it is Shade said she put the language forward because there’s been controversy regarding conflicts of interest on the commission Members of city boards and commissions must take conflict of interest training and notify the city about any potential conflicts Bard reiterated his opinion, first issued in January which gives power to the mayor on nominations to municipal bodies City leadership has been inconsistent in this regard in recent administrations City Council has approved all her nominations As a result of Shade’s and City Councilor Peter Breen’s efforts the city is looking into whether state/federal grant language that stipulates Airport Commission members must be approved by a government body conflicts with its practices The Harriman-and-West Airport hangar saga arrived at North Adams City Council Tuesday as Michael Milazzo and City Councilor Peter Breen questioned Mayor Jennifer Macksey's decisions the man accused of vandalizing a now-refurbished hangar at Harriman-and-West Airport will not get to lease the same hangar after all following intervention from the mayor and the commission chair's resignation a civil trial concerning a vandalized hangar at North Adams Airport raged on all week Bruce Goff has resigned as manager of the Harriman-and-West Airport; neither he nor officials are saying why EDITORIAL: While the letter of the charter says Mayor Macksey does not need councilors' consent on appointments the spirit of good governance suggests she should still avail herself of their advice Mayor Jennifer Macksey has also proposed changing city ordinance that would remove references to council consent concerning the mayor's appointments to city boards and commissions Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.