REACH Offers Free Health Screenings In September

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September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, during which the REACH Community Health Foundation and North Adams Regional Hospital will sponsor free health screenings for men and women on Saturday, Sept. 15, 2007 from 9 a.m. to noon. Advance registration is required for the free screening. Call the REACH Community Health Foundation at (413) 664-5326. Regular health screenings can help individuals catch potentially life-threatening conditions early, before they become serious. The free screenings are open to men and women age 18 and older who are uninsured or whose health insurance does not cover preventive health screenings. There is no proof of income or citizenship requirements for participants. All individuals will receive screenings for heart disease risk factors: cholesterol, blood pressure, height and weight and fasting blood sugar. REACH will also calculate each person’s risk of having a heart attack in the next 10 years and counsel him or her on ways to reduce his or her risk. Men between the ages of 18 and 40 will receive information on testicular cancer self-exams. Men over the age of 50 or those age 40 or older who are at high risk for prostate cancer can also receive a free Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test and a Digital Rectal Examination (DRE) to screen for prostate cancer. Men are at high risk for prostate cancer if they have a family history of prostate cancer or are African-American. Women can receive a clinical breast examination and information about scheduling an annual mammogram. REACH Community Health Foundation and North Adams Regional Hospital are subsidiaries of Northern Berkshire Healthcare. REACH seeks to improve the health of the North Berkshire community through education, advocacy and treatment. REACH and NARH have collaborated for more than four years to provide free screenings for uninsured adults in North Berkshire County. The men’s screening is sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
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Former Harry's Supermarket Under Construction for Restaurant

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Construction is underway to transform the former Harry's Supermarket into a restaurant

Late last month, the Conservation Commission greenlit some tree pruning on the property. New windows and a new door can be seen in the front of the building. 

"It's a substantial renovation that's currently underway here," Brent White of White Engineering said, speaking on behalf of the applicant and owner, Huajie Zhu. 

A fire gutted the longtime Wahconah Street supermarket in 2023, and the following year, Zhu purchased the property for $460,000 two years ago to build a restaurant with hibachi in the existing footprint of the more than 100-year-old building. 

White explained that the project has been ongoing for over a year, and the Community Development Board granted the property a waiver to reduce the minimum required number of parking spaces so that additional spaces aren't needed.  

He noted that, looking at the site plan, there is very little room to do so. A mirror will be installed near the sharp turn on Bel Air Avenue to alleviate traffic concerns. 

Pruning will be done on trees in the southeast corner of the existing paved parking lot, as a number of branches are hanging over. The new owners also intend to patch, sealcoat, and re-stripe the parking lot. 

A fire tore through the building less than an hour after the supermarket closed for the day three years ago. An automatic sprinkler system is required for the new use. 

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