St. Elizabeth's to Hold Father and Daughter Dance

Print Story | Email Story
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — St. Elizabeth of Hungary Parish Center will host its 16th annual Father and Daughter Valentine Dance on Friday, Feb. 12, from 6 to 9 p.m.

This semi-formal event is for fathers or father figures and their daughters of all ages. People have attended previous dances with their fathers, grandfathers, uncles, neighbors or friend's father. 

There will be a disc jockey and dancing, and each girl or woman who enters will receive a flower. There will be door prizes, raffles and various other prizes. A large selection of baked goods and beverages will be available. In addition, the hall will be decorated with hundreds of balloons. Proceeds will benefit the COTY Youth Center Teen Camp Scholarship Fund in memory of Charles Bruce Cooper. 

Cooper, who died in an auto accident in 2004 at the age of 18, participated in many of the activities offered at the youth center including the Young Life Camp program. Funds from the event will allow other teens to benefit from the camp experience. This year the group will travel to Colorado to attend camp. To find out more about Young Life Camps you can go to www.younglife.org or contact the COTY Youth Center.
 
Tickets for the dance are $10 per person in advance or $12 at the door. Tickets are available at Val's Variety, Columbia Street, Adams, Where'd You Get That?!, Spring Street, Williamstown, and Persinickety Toys, Eagle Street, North Adams. The committee is also asking that each person bring a canned good or other non-perishable item to donate to the Northern Berkshire Community Action food pantry. 

St. Elizabeth's is located on St. Anthony Drive and Holden Street. For more information, call Jay or Terri Cooper at 413-743-7532.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Armed North Adams Man Arrested Following Domestic Standoff

Staff Reports

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Matthew Parker, a 44-year-old North Adams man, is set to face multiple counts of attempted murder and weapons charges in Northern Berkshire District Court on Friday morning following an hours-long, armed standoff at a Houghton Street home.

The defendant is being arraigned for:

  • Domestic Assault and Battery
  • Assault with the Intent to Murder (3 counts)
  • Carrying a Firearm While Under the Influence of Alcohol (3 counts)
  • Possession of a hi-capacity firearm (4 counts)
  • Improper Storage of a hi-capacity firearm (2 counts)
  • Improper Storage of a firearm (6 counts)

According to a report, on June 10, at approximately 8:42 p.m., officers responded to 365 Houghton St. following a report of a domestic assault and battery. The caller said she and her husband had been involved in a physical altercation.

She said her husband was intoxicated, making suicidal statements about shooting himself, and had access to both a shotgun and a pistol.

Upon arrival, officers made contact with both the caller and Parker. During the encounter, Parker threatened to shoot officers before retreating into the home and refusing to exit.

Officers believed that Parker was armed.

To ensure public safety, police established a perimeter around the home and requested assistance from the Berkshire County Special Response Team (SRT) and North Adams Police crisis negotiators. The Brien Center was also contacted and promptly provided an emergency mental health clinician to assist with the incident.

Special Response Team personnel deployed drones to monitor the residence and provide aerial illumination. During the operation, officers saw Parker exit the house carrying a rifle. He pointed it at the drones, stated a report. Parker subsequently pointed the rifle toward several officers positioned behind their cruisers. After officers attempted to de-escalate the situation, Parker returned inside the residence.

Trained crisis negotiators maintained communication with Parker for several hours in an effort to peacefully resolve the situation. At approximately 2 a.m., Parker ceased communication with negotiators.

Drone operators later observed Parker unconscious in a recliner on the first floor of the residence, with a rifle and shotgun on the floor nearby.

Members of the Berkshire County SRT then executed a coordinated operation. Diversionary devices were deployed through a window while an entry team simultaneously entered the home, secured the firearms, and took the defendant into custody.

A search warrant was executed after Parker was in custody. North Adams Police seized four shotguns, six rifles, two handguns, and thousands or rounds of ammunition from the home.

During the operation, one SRT member sustained a minor injury related to a less-lethal bean bag deployment. Parker also sustained non-life threatening injuries during the arrest and was transported to Berkshire Medical Center for medical evaluation.

"We thank the community for its patience and cooperation throughout this incident, particularly residents in the affected area who complied with temporary shelter-in-place requests," Police Chief Mark Bailey said.  "The North Adams Police Department extends its sincere appreciation to the agencies that provided mutual aid and assisted by handling calls for service during this incident. We are especially grateful to the Berkshire County Special Response Team for its professional and decisive response, the Brien Center for the rapid deployment of a mental health clinician, and our crisis negotiators whose efforts helped maintain dialogue and contributed significantly to the safe resolution of this incident."

View Full Story

More North Adams Stories