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Pittsfield firefighters score in Baba Louie's pizza-eating contest.
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William 'Big Bill' Pikula was the individual winner.
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Haddad's ready to battle the Pittsfield Fire Department.
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Pittsfield Firefighters Champs in Annual Pizza Contest

By Marc J. WrzesinskiSpecial to iBerkshires
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Competitors chow down in the individual competition at Baba Louie's annual Pizza Eating Competition. See more photos, and Third Thursday images, here.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Five dollars for all the pizza you can eat and the proceeds go to charity? What could be better than that?

Well, it comes with a catch — you've got 12 minutes to eat it. Baba Louie's in Pittsfield hosted its 4th annual Pizza Eating Competition to benefit Moments House of Pittsfield — a charity supporting cancer patients and survivors as well as their families.

There were two main events — the first was the average everyday people who popped in from Third Thursday on North Street to chow down — and the second? The Pittsfield Fire Department welcomed new challengers, The Haddad Motors group. Scott O'Connell, the sales manager for Haddad's, came in to challenge confident boasting, "We're going to eat slices like we sell cars!"

As Nick Zarvis of Baba Louie's presided over the event with the assistance of DJ's from Live 95.9, the rules were set and the competitors readied themselves to chow down on the "Mean Margherita" pizza.


After a grueling 12 minutes of gorging on pizza, the competitors finally had a moment to catch their breath. The winner of the first event was William "Big Bill" Pikula of Camp Wagalot who ate a whopping 18 slices. Second place was Peydon Twing of the band Goblet (who competed with fellow band mate Nick Sacco) who had gone to Third Thursday to promote their next show and decided at last minute to join the contest.

The whole table made a special note to celebrate the youngest competitor, Musa Thompson, who at 7 1/2 years old (and he stressed the half) who ate an entire pizza. "Big Bill" who was so impressed with the youngster's appetite that he gave away the gift certificate he won as a prize to Musa.

The Pittsfield Fire Department and Haddad's were up next for another grueling battle — which was momentarily paused as the teams literally ate every slice of pizza available before the 12-minute mark was up. Once a new batch of pizza pies made their way from the kitchen, the contest resumed and came to a finish — with the Fire Department claiming victory by a mere five slices of pizza. The final score was 113 slices to 108.

The firefighters claimed their trophy and bragging rights and are already looking forward to next year's contest. Well, after they finish digesting from this year's event!


Tags: cancer support,   food contest,   pizza,   

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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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