Local Restaurateur Donates to Walk to Defeat ALS

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Restaurateur Jared Decoteau donated a percentage from the proceeds of his two restaurants to the Massachusetts chapter of the ALS Association.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Residents recently had a chance to eat out for a good cause.

The local arm of the Massachusetts ALS Association chapter teamed up with restaurateur Jared Decoteau during the Dine2Donate fundraiser, one of a number of fundraisng events held in late March.

Decoteau offered to donate 15 percent of sales at Public Eat & Drink in North Adams and his new District Kitchen & Bar in Pittsfield for a week and match the results.

On Monday, Decoteau presented Team Berkshire County captain Sheryl Morehouse with a check for $400.

"He's been really supportive," said Morehouse.

Decoteau said the community response to Public since its opening three or four years ago has been very good and he wanted to return it..

"We love to give back to the community," he said. "This seemed like a great opportunity."


Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease for the famed Yankees player whose career and life were cut short by it, affects up to half a million people worldwide. Every 90 minutes someone is diagnosed with the progressive neurodegenerative disease, which gradually paralyzes the body and ends with respiratory failure within two to five years.

Team Berkshire County is currently raising funds for the annual Walks to Defeat ALS and selling 50/50 tickets (the winner of which will be announced on walk day). The Progressive Palette at 71 Spring St., Williamstown, is hosting a painting fundraiser featuring a "Kindred Spirit" dragonfly on Wednesday, April 29.

Morehouse has been involved in the Walk to Defeat ALS for some years and is this year's chairman. The most recent walk in the Berkshires was held in 2010 at Wahconah Park in Pittsfield, where Gehrig had once played. The last several years, walks have been held in the Boston area, she said, but one returns to Western Massachusetts this year.

The Springfield Walk to Defeat ALS will be held on Saturday, May 30, at Forest Park on Sumner Street. Check-in begins at 9 a.m. and the walk at 11. It will also feature entertainment, food from Pittsfield's That's a Wrap and activities for children. The walking area accommodates wheelchairs and strollers.

Morehouse is hoping a good turnout will prove that the region can support a Western Mass — and hopefully Berkshire County — walk in the future.

"I'm happy they came as far as Springfield," she said. "I tell anyone who wants to to go, so that enough people participate and we can keep it up here."

More on ALS can be found here; tax-deductible donations to Morehouse's team can be made here. To join Morehouse's team or make a check or cash donation, contact her at 413-652-5825.


Tags: ALS,   benefit walk,   donations,   restaurants,   

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Macksey Updates on Eagle Street Demo and Myriad City Projects

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

The back of Moderne Studio in late January. The mayor said the city had begun planning for its removal if the owner could not address the problems. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Moderne Studio building is coming down brick by brick on Eagle Street on the city's dime. 
 
Concerns over the failing structure's proximity to its neighbor — just a few feet — means the demolition underway is taking far longer than usual. It's also been delayed somewhat because of recent high winds and weather. 
 
The city had been making plans for the demolition a month ago because of the deterioration of the building, Mayor Jennifer Macksey told the City Council on Tuesday. The project was accelerated after the back of the 150-year-old structure collapsed on March 5
 
Initial estimates for demolition had been $190,000 to $210,000 and included asbestos removal. Those concerns have since been set aside after testing and the mayor believes that the demolition will be lower because it is not a hazardous site.
 
"We also had a lot of contractors who came to look at it for us to not want to touch it because of the proximity to the next building," she said. "Unfortunately time ran out on that property and we did have the building failure. 
 
"And it's an unfortunate situation. I think most of us who have lived here our whole lives and had our pictures taken there and remember being in the window so, you know, we were really hoping the building could be safe."
 
Macksey said the city had tried working with the owner, who could not find a contractor to demolish the building, "so we found one for him."
 
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