Big Y Donates $3,000 to Hillside Cemetery Restoration

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The efforts of one man to repair Hillside Cemetery got a boost Monday morning when Big Y donated $3,000 to the cause.

Roger Eurbin accepted the check from Store Director Casey Cusson in the North Adams' store's produce department while Mayor Richard Alcombright looked on.

"This check will go a long way," Eurbin said.

Eurbin himself has come a long way since taking on the cause, spending most of 2012 researching and meticulously recording the names, placement and condition of the markers, creating a grid and spreadsheet to work off.

In the spring of 2013, he announced he was soliciting donations to repair Hillside, which is the resting place for many of the city's most significant individuals, including educator Sarah T. Haskins; the city's first postmaster, Nathan Putnam; John E. Atwood, a Civil War soldier who was at Gettysburg for President Lincoln's address; industrialists like Blackinton, Johnson and Tinker; and archaeologist John Henry Haynes. The 1798 cemetery is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The cause since then has generated some donations and some volunteers - including students during the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts' Day of Service and from the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition's Youth Leadership Program - but more of both are needed to continue the job.

"We are always looking for donations," Alcombright said. "We have a lot to do up there."

The mayor said the historic cemetery has "fallen into disrepair," including sunken stones, some vandalism and overgrown foliage.

"It just needs a lot of care," he said.

To help pay for that care, the city has pledged to match $10,000 in donations, Alcombright said, so the Big Y check was doubly important.

"This is a really good thing," Alcombright said. "We have very limited resources."

Cusson said Big Y is happy to be a partner in the community.

"Big Y is thrilled to help out where we can," he said. "It sounds like a great project."

Donations in any amount are appreciated and should be made by check to "City of North Adams-Hillside Fund," c/o Mayor's Office, 10 Main St., North Adams, MA 01247. To volunteer to help with the cemetery work, call Rosemari Dickinson in the Mayor's Office at 413-662-3000.

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.