Morgan Goodell, a Clarksburg firefighter, is the first woman to join the North Adams department.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Fire Department last week welcomed its newest firefighters, including its first woman.
Morgan Goodell, Michael Jordan, Mitchell Maselli and Ranen Rothman were sworn in at Tuesday's City Council meeting.
They recently graduated from the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy's 50-day Career Recruit Firefighting Training Program, all earning certifications in Firefighter 1 and 2.
Mayor Jennifer Macksey asked that they would always have a concern for others and have the strength to bear whatever burdens placed upon them.
"And that you have the strength of mind and body to deliver safety to all of the residents of the city of North Adams," she said.
Macksey introduced each firefighter before they were sworn in by City Clerk Joshua Vallieres and pinned by Fire Chief Brent Lefebvre.
Goodell, of Clarksburg, has an associate's degree in fire science and is a member of the Clarksburg Volunteer Fire Department, following in the steps of her late father, Robert.
Maselli is a North Adams resident who attended Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts; Rothman is a Navy veteran from Rockland and Jordan is originally from Taunton and has most recently been with the Vernon (Conn.) Fire Department.
"I have to say this group has been fantastic. I feel like I went to the academy with all of you," said Macksey. "We had our weekly little chat groups on Sunday evening. I don't know if you miss them or not, but I do.
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North Adams Hopes to Transform Y Into Community Recreation Center
By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
Mayor Jennifer Macksey updates members of the former YMCA on the status of the roof project and plans for reopening.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The city has plans to keep the former YMCA as a community center.
"The city of North Adams is very committed to having a recreation center not only for our youth but our young at heart," Mayor Jennifer Macksey said to the applause of some 50 or more YMCA members on Wednesday. "So we are really working hard and making sure we can have all those touch points."
The mayor said the city will run some programming over the summer until an operator can be found to take over the facility. It will also need a new name.
"The YMCA, as you know, has departed from our facilities and will not return to our facility in the form that we had," she said to the crowd in Council Chambers. "And that's been mostly a decision on their part. The city of North Adams wanted to really keep our relationship with the Y, certainly, but they wanted to be a Y without borders, and we're going a different direction."
The pool was closed in March 2023 after the roof failed a structural inspection. Kyle Lamb, owner of Geary Builders, the contractor on the roof project, said the condition of the laminated beams was far worse than expected.
"When we first went into the Y to do an inspection, we certainly found a lot more than we anticipated. The beams were actually rotted themselves on the bottom where they have to sit on the walls structurally," he said. "The beams actually, from the weight of snow and other things, actually crushed themselves eight to 11 inches. They were actually falling apart. ...
The fate of the facility attached to Brayton School has been in limbo since the closure of the pool last year because of structural issues and the departure of the Berkshire Family YMCA in March.
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The School Committee will be presented next week with a $20 million spending plan for fiscal 2025 that includes closing Greylock School and a reduction of 26 full-time positions.
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President Jamie Birge told the board of trustees on Thursday that the college has been in discussions for the last couple years with a donor who wishes at this point to remain anonymous.
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