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Saturday’s race in memory of Trisha Leblanc Carlson was organized by her daughter Olivia.
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Jacob Leblanc wins the inaugural Train for Trish 5K.
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Lenox's Emily Tibbetts is the top woman in Saturday's 5K.

Race Honors Memory of Drury Grad’s Mother

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
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Drury High graduate Olivia Carlson talks to runners before Saturday's race.

STAMFORD, Vt. — Among Olivia Carlson’s many memories of her mother are the times the family would participate in 5-kilometer charity road races.

"Especially in the summers, we did 5Ks almost every weekend. I remember we would decide maybe Saturday morning, 'Oh, there's a 5K at 10,' and we’d run in, join the scramble, register day of and just hop in," Carlson said on Saturday morning outside Stamford Elementary School, site of the inaugural Train for Trish 5K Charity Run/Walk.

Reminded how much organizers of such events love a last-minute crush of entrants, Carlson laughed.
 
"Oh, I know," she said. "I hate those people now, too."
 
Not really. Much closer to say that she loved and appreciated every one of the more than 300 runners and walkers who turned out to honor the memory of Trisha Leblanc Carlson and raise money for the American Cancer Society.
 
Olivia, who lost her mother to cancer last fall just before the start of basketball season, was a three-sport athlete at Drury High School. One of those sports was track and field, but she never took the weekend 5Ks all that seriously.
 
"I have countless T-shirts from charity runs and things like that," she said. "I save all my numbers. I probably have 70 race numbers. I think it’s really important. I never won a 5K, but I instills great confidence. And it’s just about getting out there."
 
For the record, Saturday’s race was won by Olivia’s cousin Jacob Leblanc, who covered the course in 17 minutes, 32 seconds, a 5:39 mile pace. The top woman in the field was 2016 Lenox High graduate and rising Williams College freshman Emily Tibbetts, who finished in 22:05.
 
A run for Trish was a natural memorial. In 2012, Olivia’s parents organized The Loop Stamford Family Day 5K Race.
 
"I think they had about 65 participants," Carlson said. "So I took that idea, and I wanted to do something bigger."
 
The energetic teen also was looking for something to use up what little free time she has between working as a certified nursing assistant, getting ready for her freshman year at Williams College and helping to coach at a Williams’ women's basketball youth camp, where she remembers honing her skills as a camper years ago.
 
"I first started putting this together in the middle of May," Carlson said. "It was prom season, graduation season was happening, my classes were slowing down. And I was like, 'What am I going to do this summer?’ I’m the type of person who can’t stand to be bored. I can’t stand to sit still.
 
"I wanted to do something that would not only honor my mother’s memory but also raise money for this important cause."
 
Before the runners and walkers hit the street on Saturday, Olivia Carlson reminded them what that cause was all about.
 
"Today, however, we are breaking free from the sidelines," she told the group. "Today, we take control to find a cure. Today we remember my mother and all of our loved ones. Today, we train for Trish."
 
In the four months since she decided to pull a race together for the third Saturday in August, Olivia Carlson has again been impressed by the outpouring of support in the Northern Berkshires.
 
"A lot of our fund-raising was made really easy by our supportive community," she said. "I didn’t have to really go solicit sponsorships or donations. A lot of people just came to me.
 
"It was the power of social media. I have a really great community and network around me. It kind of advertised itself."
 

Tags: benefit,   benefit run,   cancer,   Drury High,   Williams College,   

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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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