NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Mayor's Fitness Challenge kicked off Friday night with activities, music and ideas for healthy living.
This is the fourth year of the event, now part of the "Berkshire Mayors'" challenge as Pittsfield joined last year, offering up a little competition between the county's only cities.
This year's launch was held with tables and information along the sunny side of Main Street and at Colegrove Park, where people could try out hula hoops, weights and tug of rope games.
"Things are going very well," Amanda Chilson, local coordinator for the state's Mass in Motion program. "It's become simpler. We're using the website more, we're using Maker's Mill for making T-shirts. ...
"This gets people familiarized with what we have down here. It really makes an event out of it."
Participants in the eight to 10 week challenge brought T-shirts to Maker's Mill to have them screen-printed with the challenge's logo — a cartoon sketch of a jogging Mayor Richard Alcombright (Pittsfield's has a hiking Mayor Linda Tyer) — and organizations including Berkshire Family and Individual Resources, Wild Oats, Berkshire Family YMCA, North Adams Yoga and Miner Combat.
There was a line for reiki demonstrations and a jump rope challenge. Those who grabbed a brochure and got a check for every stop got a water bottle and a chance at a gift card at Berkshire Emporium.
The challenge's goal is to get residents thinking about eating healthy and being active. Teams or individuals can sign up on the website and collect points daily for drinking 8 ounces of water, or eating a cup of vegetables or fruit, or doing physical activity.
Workplaces are encouraged to sign up as teams create a healthier work environments. The challenge can offer resources for work sites, mini challenges and a prize for the "healthiest" at the celebratory end of the event. Chilson said last year's winner was a team from Racing Junk, which shares a building with iBerkshires.
She thought the participation numbers have been pretty steady but noted that some people may drop in or out of challenge. Others may participate in events but not the challenge.
"We have people who don't hand their points in at the end but say they went to Hit Fit in the park and went every Wednesday," she said. ... its those that really count. ...
"Kudos to those with the discipline to get through it," she added, but the people who try to incorporate event one healthy thing they learned into their lives is important in changing attitudes.
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Cost, Access to NBCTC High Among Concerns North Berkshire Residents
By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
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.
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.
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