Hoosac Valley High School in Adams hosted the 88th annual Junior Prize Speaking Contest on Wednesday evening. Seven students participated in the popular event, with the top prize going to Michael Blazejewski, who read an excerpt from Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant."
More than a contest, the event is a celebration of spoken word, oration and public speaking, challenging at any age. The contestants included:
Matthew Bator - "Lake Wobegan Days" (excerpt) by Garrison Keillor
Nicholas Girard - "The Raven" by Edgar Allen Poe
Elizabeth Porio - "All I Really Know I Learned in Kindergarten" (excerpt) by Robert Fulghum
Amy Shepard - "Tough Alice" (adaptation) by Jane Yolen
Katie Singer "On the Pulse of Morning" by Maya Angelou
Michael Stefanik - "Plymouth Oration" by Daniel Webster
The event is sponsored each year by the Hoosac's Junior Class. Underscoring the event's long tradition and popularity, the audience included a woman who won the contest more than 60 years ago.
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Letter: Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive
Letter to the Editor
To the Editor:
The Board of Directors of the Al Nelson Friendship Center Food Pantry in North Adams wishes to thank the North Adams, Clarksburg and Florida Mountain community for their generation donations to the May 11 Letter Carrier Food Drive.
We received a total of 3,595 pounds of food and personal care items.
We equally want to thank our Letter Carriers who work out of the North Adams Post Office. They again went above and beyond in collecting the donations and bringing them to the collection and sorting site. They are always a pleasure to work with.
We also want to thank the Northern Berkshire United Way, the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition, and the Berkshire United Way for their support, as well all of the volunteers who helped on the day of the Food Drive.
Lois Daunis North Adams, Mass.
Daunis is the board president of the Friendship Center.
This weekend, the Berkshires and surrounding areas will have a variety of events, including concerts, comedy, farmers' markets, and more.
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The License Board on Tuesday approved two license transfers including one for V&V and a license for a restaurant in the former BrewHaHa on West Main Street.
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The three candidates for Select Board discussed their visions and qualifications last Monday at a forum sponsored by the Council on Aging at the Community Center.
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