South County Youth Baseball Sign-ups Available

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OTIS, Mass. — With spring around the corner, South County youth baseball is getting near.

Free indoor hitting practice  — using tennis balls  — for Otis, Monterey, Great Barrington and surrounding towns will be offered for players of all skill, 8 to 12 years old, starting Sunday, March 3, at the Farmington River School gymnasium on Route 8 from 3 to 4 p.m. The practices will be during the four Sundays in March and then outdoor activities should begin in early April.
 
Sign-ups for the 2013 season has also begun. There will be one 5- to 7-years-old rookie team and two AAA teams for players aged 8 to 12. There are no tryouts, as the league focuses on learning the game and sportsmanship. Home games and practices will be at Green Park in Monterey Center on Route 23. The season starts in late April and runs through June.
 
The league costs $50 player or $75 maximum per family, which covers uniforms, insurance and equipment. Assistance is available.
 
For more information and to sign up, contact cljvedelman@aol.com or sgraves8@yahoo.com.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

North Adams Regional Reopens With Ribbon-Cutting Celebration

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

BHS President and CEO Darlene Rodowicz welcomes the gathering to the celebration of the hospital's reopening 10 years to the day it closed. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The joyful celebration on Thursday at North Adams Regional Hospital was a far cry from the scene 10 years ago when protests and tears marked the facility's closing
 
Hospital officials, local leaders, medical staff, residents and elected officials gathered under a tent on the campus to mark the efforts over the past decade to restore NARH and cut the ribbon officially reopening the 136-year-old medical center. 
 
"This hospital under previous ownership closed its doors. It was a day that was full of tears, anger and fear in the Northern Berkshire community about where and how residents would be able to receive what should be a fundamental right for everyone — access to health care," said Darlene Rodowicz, president and CEO of Berkshire Health Systems. 
 
"Today the historic opportunity to enhance the health and wellness of Northern Berkshire community is here. And we've been waiting for this moment for 10 years. It is the key to keeping in line with our strategic plan which is to increase access and support coordinated county wide system of care." 
 
Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, under the BHS umbrella, purchased the campus and affiliated systems when Northern Berkshire Healthcare declared bankruptcy and closed on March 28, 2014. NBH had been beset by falling admissions, reductions in Medicare and Medicaid payments, and investments that had gone sour leaving it more than $30 million in debt. 
 
BMC was able to reopen the ER as an emergency satellite facility and slowly restored and enhanced medical services including outpatient surgery, imaging, dialysis, pharmacy and physician services. 
 
But it would take a slight tweak in the U.S. Health and Human Services' regulations — thank to U.S. Rep. Richie Neal — to bring back inpatient beds and resurrect North Adams Regional Hospital 
 
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