PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Three-year-old Marcus Garvey received a phone call he wasn't expecting Wednesday night.
It was Santa and Mrs. Claus. As Christmas approaches, they wanted to know what Garvey wanted for Christmas and to make sure he was behaving.
"He was so happy. He couldn't believe we knew things," said Jamie Sears, who on Wednesday night was better known as Mrs. Claus. "You could hear the gasps of excitement."
Sears, joined by Mr. Claus, or Tim Sears, were just two of more than a dozen local volunteers calling city children on Wednesday and Thursday night this week. The volunteers spend a few hours each night calling children whose parents signed them up for the city's longstanding North Pole Calling program.
"We have 136 kids this year. Last year we had over 165, " said Becky Manship, recreation activities coordinator for the city's Department of Community Development. "This is one of my favorite programs of the year."
Manship provides forms to the city schools to distribute to children in kindergarten through second grade, at City Hall and through the city's website. The forms list the child's name, teacher, interests, presents, pets and other information, which the volunteers use in their conversations.
"It's mostly excitement. Some get nervous and scared about talking to Santa and others get so excited they don't want to stop talking," Manship said.
Manship said the city doesn't put an age limit on the program but mostly focuses on children in the early grades. But they've called children as young as 1 and some even older.
"We have 9, 10, 11-year-olds who still believe," Manship said.
As is common with children, the volunteers never know what ,response they'll get. On Wednesday, Joe Cimini called a home that he expected to have only a couple children. But there were guests, and he ended up talking to nearly a dozen different children. In other cases, the children quickly hung up the phone because they were scared.
Volunteer Bill Knowles said one year he called a 9-year-old girl who said she wanted to become a marine biologist. But she said she couldn't because she was a girl. Knowles didn't like that response and told her that, yes, she most certainly can become a marine biologist if she works hard in school and told her not to let anyone say she couldn't.
Police Chief Michael Wynn once called a child from a classroom he visited that day. And the child called him out on it.
Those are just a few examples of the unexpected responses but mostly, the children are excited to hear from Santa. And Santa tells them to be nice to their siblings or listen to their parents and to continue working hard in school.
While there may be some unexpected responses, the volunteers continue to come back to help. All of the volunteers there Wednesday night had done it before. The Knights of Columbus has volunteers handle the calls on Thursday night.
"If we can make one child smile then we did the right thing," Jamie Sears said, adding that they do volunteer just about every year.
Manship doesn't know exactly when the program began but estimates that it started along with many of the city's other recreational events 70 or so years ago. She is in her 9th year running the program but she's spoken to longtime city employees who remember it more than 20 years ago.
Santa and Mrs. Claus have a busy night calling more than 100 Pittsfield children to see what they want for Christmas.
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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.
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
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. click for more
The City Council on Tuesday unanimously gave Superintendent Joseph Curtis the green light for the SOI to the Massachusetts School Building Authority by April 12.
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The projects not making the cut were in the historic preservation and open space and recreation categories and though they were seen as interesting and valuable projects, the urgency was not prevalent enough for this cycle.
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The Licensing Board on Monday gave Pancho's Mexican Restaurant the OK to close one hour later — extending last call to 12:30 p.m. and closing at 1 a.m. There have been no reported incidents since a weeklong license suspension.
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