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Mark Ziemba poses with members of the Berkshire Jammin' Critters 4-H Club who raised $1,700 for Broadlawn Farm. The club will next raise money for Michael Mach's efforts to help animals in the North Carolina flooding.
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Broadlawn has about 300 head of cattle and milks nearly 200.
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The 4-H club gets to see the calves.
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The farm is trying to reuse the concrete pad in the foreground.
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Fire-Damaged Adams Farm Looks Forward as Help Pours In

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
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Ziemba and Sonia McWhirt show what the farm had looked like before the fire last month. 
ADAMS, Mass. — A devastating fire in September nearly cost the Ziemba family their family farm and livelihood. 
 
But in the last several weeks the farming community has rallied around Broadlawn Farm with help coming from the youngest 4-Hers to a former governor. 
 
On Thursday, members of the Berkshire Jammin' Critters 4-H Club of North Adams rolled up with advisers Teri Goodermote and her father, Jerry Goodermote, to present a check for $1,700.18. 
 
"The outpouring of support has been amazing," said Mark Ziemba. "Between friends, family, community, everybody —- even the volunteer fire department was amazing putting everything out."
 
In addition to 4-H, a GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $66,000 toward a $75,000 goal. There have been a number of fundraisers with the lastest a spaghetti dinner being held on Monday night beginning at 4:30 at Bounti-Fare.
 
Adams firefighters and a host of other departments from around the area responded to the early Sunday morning fire that destroyed a large L-shaped barn (the electrical fire started in the connecting corner) that housed the dairy's cattle and feed. The cows, luckily, were outside at the time but the farm's bull was killed in the blaze when they couldn't get him to leave the barn. 
 
The fire was battled to a standstill that saved the adjacent structures including the milking barn and the house. The farm crew had hustled the cows around the burning barns that morning to get them into the shed for milking.
 
"There's no looking back, look forward and keep going I guess," Ziemba said. "Since the milking was here, we could decide to milk the cows for a week or two and decide if we think we're going to make winter.  
 
"If the milking was gone, the cows were gone a day later ... there's no question. We can't milk them, they can't stay."
 
But, he said, "with the support coming in we could decide and things move forward every day."
 
The dairy farm's been in the family for more than 75 years since it was purchased by Stanley J. Ziemba Sr. It's currently operated by a number of relatives including Victor, Mike, Chris and Laura Ziemba. 
 
The Ziembas have about 300 head of cattle, about a third of those calves and just under 200 being milked. 
 
The 4-H group had spent a Sunday outside Walmart in North Adams seeking donations and their bucket had filled as fast as they could empty it, Teri said. "It's enough to feed the cattle for 3 1/2 days," her father said.
 
Broadlawn's been getting a little more help in that direction as well. Wrapped bales of hay were piled up in a side yard courtesy of farms ranging from Vermont to New York and closer, including Burnett's, Balawenders and Ioka. The Galushas had cropped the farm's hundred acres of corn and calls had come in from as far east as Boston. 
 
Perhaps most importantly, backhoes were clearing where the north/south part section of the barn had been. The concrete pad was still in good shape largely because of the protection offered by the felt pads that been under the burned away rubber mats. 
 
"We're getting along but weather is our biggest obstacle right now," Ziemba said, as a cold wind blew through the yard. "We're working on new barns, part of one of the barns has been delivered already." 
 
The Ziembas are working to get up at least a partial shelter and have been speaking with Sheds N Stuff in Cheshire and its Amish suppliers to build a barn on the old location after a Christmas. 
 
"But if we can get one of the sections up first, we can at least get the cows in it. Get them shelter," Ziemba said. "We've got a month window, roughly a month and a half, so hopefully by the first of December we'll have something up or close to being up and we'll go from there."
 
On the other side of the existing red barn, long poles have been delivered — the first part of a large shell structure from former Gov. Jane Swift's Cobble Hill Farm in Williamstown. The governor's husband, Chuck Hunt, had operated a horse boarding and riding school some years ago before they had moved to Vermont for a time. They had been looking to sell some of the structures and now it's going to good use to help save Broadlawn Farm. 
 
"We're working on the foundation plan for that. We need engineers to design a foundation for it," Ziemba said. "So that's paperwork holding us up right now."
 
A local structural contractor and relative who has experience is getting the arena delivered and back together again. 
 
"If it does get up, we'll get everybody back and show them where their donations go," he said. "Hopefully."

Tags: agriculture,   dairy,   farming,   fundraiser,   

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Hoosac Valley High School is Moving and Shaking

There have been some major shifts within the Hoosac Valley Regional School District recently, all of which have focused on enhancing the student experience to make it a place where ALL students can find their path.
 
In 2023, Hoosac Valley High School was designated an Innovation Pathway School by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and has since restructured the Program of Studies, utilized creative scheduling, and expanded internship opportunities. Part of this transformation includes participating in a "Portrait of a Graduate" cohort alongside four other Berkshire County schools to determine a collective vision for student success, in partnership with the BARR Foundation.
 
The Innovation Pathways at HVHS are designed to give students coursework and experience in a specific high-demand industry, such as technology, engineering, healthcare, or life sciences. Currently, Biomedical Science & Healthcare and Environmental Studies have received official state IP designation. In addition to the IP designated pathways, HVHS offers programs in Engineering & Technology, Business & Entrepreneurship, Arts & Entertainment, Education, and Sports Medicine. The result is that students have an opportunity for a transformative experience – enabling them to build essential skills, gain awareness of future career opportunities, and make informed choices about post-secondary education in promising fields.
 
Principal Colleen Byrd notes, "What makes our program special is that entry into the Pathway of your choice allows a student to access Advanced Placement and dual enrollment college courses, as well as internships in the community to set them up for success after high school."
 
The Portrait of a Graduate initiative consists of a team of Hoosac educators and students who exemplify the essential skills, practices, and beliefs that define learning experiences across the district. They work to outline the competencies, values, skills, and knowledge that define our vision for student success – keeping in mind that not every student's pathway will look the same. The District's goal is to ensure that all students graduate as responsible people, prepared individuals, lifelong learners, global citizens, critical thinkers, and thoughtful communicators.
 
Another recent change district-wide in grades K-12 is the "Crew" culture. Teachers and students now have time each day to create positive connections and build authentic relationships with one another. Through Responsive Classroom at the elementary school and Crew at the middle and high schools, students and staff gather for 30 minutes each day to engage in meaningful experiences rooted in mutual and shared interests. 
The Crew block is a prioritized structure that allows staff to support all students socially, emotionally, and academically – anchoring them and promoting the Portrait of a Graduate competencies. Crew takes many forms at the high school, such as gardening, bird watching, yoga, and sports talk with visits to college games.
 
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