North Adams Groups Holding Toy & Clothing Drive

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The city's emergency responders are teaming up with the Northern Berkshire Family YMCA and North Adams Rotary to conduct a Holiday Toy and Clothing Drive this Thursday, Dec. 8, from 12:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Walmart on Curran Highway.

Members of the North Adams Ambulance Service and the Fire and Police departments will be on hand with their vehicles to collect the donations, along with Mayor Richard Alcombright. All donations received will be used to aid local families this holiday season.

Last  year's drive collected some 1,000 pieces for the statewide Toys for Tots, said organizer MaryAnn King of the Police Department. This year, she said, the goal was to make sure all the toys were distributed locally.

"We want to stay locally here," she said. "Our officers, they see a lot of families that don't have anything ...  I asked the Rotary if they were interested in participating and they hooked up with the Y. ...

"It's the young kids who believe in Santa who'll be upset if there's nothing under tree."

The Rotary and YMCA will host a party for invited families on Sunday, Dec. 11, at the YMCA with pizza, crafts, entertainment and possibly a confetti dunking booth. The donated gifts will be distributed by age and gender.

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.