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First Responders Receive Tactical Training at Drury High School

EMTs treat a patient in live shooter exercise held for Berkshire County first responders at Drury High School. Participants ran through a number of scenarios to practice how police, fire and EMS would respond in a crisis.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Dozens of police, fire and emergency medical services personnel from around the county were at Drury High School on Saturday morning for an emergency response training exercise.

Trooper Sean C. Barry, a member of the state police STOP Team conducted the "Tactical EMS" exercise along with Amalio Jusino of North Adams Ambulance Service, the vice chairman of the Northern Berkshire Regional Emergency Planning Committee.

Barry led the first responders through a series of scenarios based on the premise that a shooting had taken place in the school building.

In addition to law enforcement officers learning how to secure areas of the building, other first responders learned how to enter and operate inside a hazardous environment.

The drill had initially been scheduled for Greylock School but was moved at the last minute to Drury.

Cost, Access to NBCTC High Among Concerns North Berkshire Residents

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
06:15PM / Thursday, April 25, 2024

Adams Select Chair Christine Hoyt, NBCTC Executive Director David Fabiano and William Solomon, the attorney representing the four communities, talk after the session. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Public access channels should be supported and made more available to the public — and not be subject to a charge.

 

More than three dozen community members in-person and online attended the public hearing  Wednesday on public access and service from Spectrum/Charter Communications. The session at City Hall was held for residents in Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg and North Adams to express their concerns to Spectrum ahead of another 10-year contract that starts in October.

 

Listening via Zoom but not speaking was Jennifer Young, director state government affairs at Charter.

 

One speaker after another conveyed how critical local access television is to the community and emphasized the need for affordable and reliable services, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly. 

 

"I don't know if everybody else feels the same way but they have a monopoly," said Clarksburg resident David Emery. "They control everything we do because there's nobody else to go to. You're stuck with with them."

 

Public access television, like the 30-year-old Northern Berkshire Community Television, is funded by cable television companies through franchise fees, member fees, grants and contributions.

 

Spectrum is the only cable provider in the region and while residents can shift to satellite providers or streaming, Northern Berkshire Community Television is not available on those alternatives and they may not be easy for some to navigate. For instance, the Spectrum app is available on smart televisions but it doesn't include PEG, the public, educational and governmental channels provided by NBCTC.