Letter: New Name for Apkin

To the Editor:

George Apkin & Sons Inc., would like to share with you some exciting news about our company. We have been working on a strategic plan to ensure that we will be able to continue servicing all our industrial and dealer customers seamlessly for the long term. To ensure that success, we have recently partnered with the Joseph Freedman Co. in Springfield and its affiliates, Perlman Recycling in Pittsfield and Eastern Vehicle Recycling in Westfield.

We are very excited for the depth that this partnership brings. They have a long history dating back 132 years, a great reputation, a professional and friendly team, and a full suite of metal recycling services to further complement our operations.

The only real change will be a small name change to: Apkin Inc. All of our employees in Adams are staying onboard in their current positions, and both of us (Joe Apkin and Bill Apkin) will be staying on as well. Joe Apkin will be leading the company as president, and Bill Apkin will be staying onboard in an advisory role. Sally Cable and Cindi McLain will remain in the office for anything you need.

We appreciate the community that we work with, and it is important to us that we sustain the reputaton and the standing that we have built. To ensure that, we have worked trelessly to make sure that we have partnered with a company that shares our values. We are confident that you will not be disappointed by the transiton.

Thank you to all who have supported us through the years, we look forward to a new chapter.

Joe & Bill Apkin, the Apkin Team
Adams,Mass. 

Adams Firehouse Shored Up While District Seeks Options

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
05:51AM / Monday, April 13, 2026

Officials say the 60-year-old fire station is obsolete in terms of space and conditions to house the Fire and Water Departments. 

ADAMS, Mass. — Like many public safety organizations in the Berkshires, the Adams Fire District is looking for ways to address its building's deteriorating condition. 

 

The 65-year-old firehouse on Columbia Street houses both the fire station and Water Department and has myriad issues including leaking and rotting windows, improper ventilation, outdated and obsolete electrical panels, minimal storage, two undersized bays, no sprinkler system or carbon monoxide detectors, and no space for training. 

 

Last year, the Fire Department worried its new engine would fall through the floor of the firehouse so the district invested in renting a shoring system to hold the structure up. 

 

Prior to installing the system, the 2026 ladder truck could not be housed inside the station; with the temporary fix in place, it can now be stored indoors and is fully in service. 

 

Voters can expect warrant articles addressing the situation, including $8,000 for a space needs assessment and $44,000 from free cash to purchase the station's shoring support system.

 

Renting the system costs about $2,000 per month, and with long-term solutions — such as repairing the deteriorating building or relocating departments — expected to take several years, officials believe purchasing it may be the more feasible option.

 

Although the system holds up the structure, it also exacerbates another issue — space.