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The tournament is played at Stamford Valley Golf Course, just over the border in Vermont.
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Local sponsors are lined up.
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The tourney benefits the educational needs at the high school by supporting teaching tools and technology.

Drury Class of 1973 Golf Tourney Raises Funds for Education

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
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STAMFORD, Vt. — This past sunny Saturday, 10 teams were preparing to play at Stamford Valley Golf Course in the 8th annual Drury High School Alumni Golf Tournament.

The annual tourney grew out of a class reunion nearly a decade ago that has since raised thousands of dollars to help the North Adams, Mass., high school.  

The event is sponsored by the Drury class of 1973, said Nancy Bullett, a founder and organizer, and includes alumni from 1965 to 1978.

"It started as an outing for our reunion and we thought, why not make it annual? Why not make it a fundraiser?" she said. "It's a win-win for everybody."

The number of teams and players has gone up and down over the years, but the donations flowing in from Drury alum each year has been steady.

Fellow organizer and classmate Susan Aitkens put the total raised so far at "a lot."


"More and more alumni are joining," said Bullett, a city councilor, although the biggest donators continue to be the class of '73. Aitkens pointed out that a number of the sponsors also have contributed every year.

What does it do? The nonprofit foundation supports material needs for instruction at the high school. The technology program, for example, was awarded $750 a couple years ago for an injection molding machine. It's also provided funding toward calculators, software, high-tech projectors and other educational tools for the classroom.

Bullett said classmate Pamela Kidder, in the principal's office, does a presentation to get the word out to the high school teachers. "We encourage teachers to write letters of request," she said. They're also welcome to join the tournament.

The organizers also wanted to get the word out to Drury graduates that they don't have to be from the class of 1973 to get contribute. Donations are accepted year-round.

"Because it's a public school, the thought is they don't need fundraising," Bullett said. "The reality is there is not the kind of money available for some of these things."

Donations can be sent in care of Pamela Kidder, Drury High School, 1130 Church St., North Adams, MA 01247; for more information, Bullett can be contacted at ptofna@yahoo.com.


Tags: class reunion,   Drury High,   education fund,   fundraiser,   golf tournament,   

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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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