North County notes

12:00AM / Thursday, June 24, 2004Print Story | Email Story

Ann King demonstrates knitting techniques to beginners at St. John's Prayer Shawl Ministry meeting. (Photo by Lauren Norcross)

Saucey Finale FLORIDA â€” The "Best Sauce on the Mountain" contest will culminate this year's series of spaghetti dinners on Saturday, June 26, with the Florida Volunteer Fire Department as the featured contestant at the Senior Center. The department will make the homemade sauce to be rated by all who come and eat the dinners. The spaghetti sauce contest started in January and has continued each month with a different contestant making the sauce each time. After Saturdayâ€™s dinner, the scores will be tallied and the winner will be pronounced. An awards presentation will follow immediately after the dinner ends at 7 p.m. Dinner will be served from 4:30 to 7, and all are welcome. The price for salad, beverage, bread, dessert and all-you-can-eat spaghetti are $6 for adults, $3 for children and $4.75 for seniors. The dinners have been sponsored by the Friends of the Florida Council on Aging to raise money for needed food and equipment for the Senior Center. Information: Margo Van Peterson, president of the Friends, 664-6294. Hess nominations NORTH ADAMS â€” The Carol Hess Memorial Award Committee is seeking nominations for the 2004 award competition. The award is presented annually to a woman who has made a significant contribution to the city of North Adams in one or more of the following categories: economic, social, cultural, civic or educational. Nomination forms may be obtained from the city clerkâ€™s office at City Hall, the Northern Berkshire United Way office (fourth floor, 85 Main St.) or North Adams Public Library, temporarily located on Union Street. Nominations must be received in the United Way office by July 9. The Carol Hess Memorial Award was established by her friends and colleagues in the mid 1970s to honor the accomplishments and memory of Hess and to encourage other women to follow her example of community service. Criteria used in judging candidates will include demonstrated leadership, voluntary effort/personal sacrifice, significance and sustainability of projects, ability to overcome obstacles, including limited resources. Hess was a native of Old Town, Maine, and lived in North Adams for only 10 years. During that time, she was a catalyst for change and forward movement. She was a founding member of the North Adams League of Women Voters, an elected member of the School Committee, its representative to the McCann School Committee and an appointed member of the Drury High School Building Committee. Additionally, she was instrumental in forming the North Berkshire Community Action Council and Housing Now. Virtually all of her efforts yielded results, such as the construction of Brickyard Court and a new Drury High School. Recent Hess award recipients include Shirley Davis of United Neighborhood Association, Lorraine Maloney of the North Adams Museum of Local History and Science, and the late Margaret Lanoue, coordinator of volunteers and operation of the Chamber of Commerce tourist booth. The award consists of a framed hand-lettered certificate, designed by local artist Ann Kremers, and a cash award of several hundred dollars to be donated in the name of the awardee to a charity of her choice. The award will be presented at the United Way annual meeting in September. Information: United Way office, 663-9062 Open Mike ADAMS â€” The Grooove and the Youth Center Inc. will co-host an open-microphone night, organized by teens for teens, tonight [Thursday, June 24] from 6:30 to 9. at the gazebo on the Adams Town Common. The concert will feature the Berkshire-based teen bands Ragged Company and Anchor Down. Admission is $3. During the event, the Grooove will sell copies of its compilation CD, "100% Substance Free" for $7, with proceeds supporting its ongoing efforts to provide substance-free performance outlets for local teens. The Youth Center and young volunteers from Adams, Cheshire and Savoy will provide refreshments. The Grooove, led by a committee of teens representing area high schools, sponsors concerts and open-mike events for local youths. All events are substance-free, which means performers and audience members (including adults) must be free of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. The Grooove operates as part of UNITY (United, Neighboring, Interdependent, Trusted Youth), a program of the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition, and is supported by funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Information: 663-7588. Amazing Adventures NORTH ADAMS â€” The Amazing Adventures Reading Club, for children ages 9 to 12, will hold its next meeting at the North Adams Public Library on Thursday, July 8, at 6:30 p.m. The book under discussion will be â€œPoppyâ€ by Avi. Copies are available at the library. All interested children (and parents) are encouraged to come. COTY sale NORTH ADAMS â€” The COTY Centerâ€™s annual tag sale will be held on Saturday, June 26, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. rain or shine. The community can drop off bottles and cans with deposit value for children to recycle. Available tag sale items include athletic and exercise equipment, golf clubs and bag, large and small appliances, entertainment equipment, home and office furnishings, a sewing machine and table, mattresses and box springs for double beds, bed frames, drapery material and more. Proceeds will be contributed to the Give a Kid a Chance program at the center. It provides financial aid to local youths who want to attend summer camp but find the cost prohibitive. The COTY Center is next to Notre Dame Church on East Main Street, in the former Notre Dame School. Information: 663-3133. Moon walk WILLIAMSTOWN â€” The Williamtown Rural Lands Foundation will host its annual summer Full Moon Hike at Sheep Hill on Thursday, July 1, at 8:30 p.m. The foundation will lead a leisurely hike up the "Rosenberg Ramble" to Bee Hill Road, where Tony Sarkis, local astronomer, will have a telescope on hand for up-close viewing of the moon. Sheep Hill is on Route 7, just about a mile south of Williamstown. Information: www.wrlf.org or Juliana Haubrich, 458-2494. Severe weather cancels the event. Drama team NORTH ADAMS â€“ The Drury High School Drama Team has been selected to represent Massachusetts at the International Thespian Festival in Lincoln, Neb., next week. Dr. Len Radin, Drama Team director and founder, said in a release that this is the 12th international festival the team has attended. Radin said the students will engage in performing one act plays, full-length plays and musicals, and participate in workshops, social activities, college auditions and other educational opportunities. The students will be performing the play â€œLiving With Lady MacBeth.â€ The cast includes Sam Therrien, Lauren Skiffington, Haylee Jones, Mollie Simon, Noah Witek, Jon King and recent Drury graduate Sarah Simon. Drury alumni Mike Grogan is directing the show. Thespians is the international honor society of educational theatre. Over 2 million student and teacher members have joined the organization over the past 75 years. Over 2,500 drama students and their teachers from all over the world will attend this week-long event at the University of Nebraska. Information: www.drurydrama.com. Goodwin appointed NORTH ADAMS â€” Michael S. Goodwin of Williamstown has joined Northern Berkshire Health Systems (NBHS) as director of annual giving. Goodwin was previously coordinator of annual giving at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. At NBHS, he will direct the EXCEL Annual Appeal, which raises funds to purchase new equipment or fund programs at North Adams Regional Hospital, the VNA & Hospice of Northern Berkshire and Sweet Brook Transitional Care and Living Centers. He will also oversee special events, including the NBHS Golf Tournament and Hospice Walk. The EXCEL Annual Appeal has grown in recent years from $200,000 to more than $700,000 in donations and grants annually, with the funds used to purchase new medical technology, such as ultrasound machines and a stereotactic breast biopsy unit; fund services, including hospice care, congestive heart-failure programs and smoking-cessation programs, and to assist in renovations to NARH. At MCLA, Goodwin was a counselor and coordinator of the ADEPT (Alcohol, Drug, Education, Prevention, Training) Program before being appointed to the annual giving post. He and his wife, Elinor, live in Williamstown with their two daughters, Kelsey and Kayla. Womenâ€™s Issues NORTH ADAMS â€” A Womenâ€™s Issues Breakfast sponsored by the North Adams Council on Aging will be held at the Mary Spitzer Center on Monday, June 28, at 9:30 a.m. The guest speaker for the month will be Paul Hopkins from Northern Berkshire Health Systems. A light breakfast will be provided; reservations are required. Seating is limited. To sign up or for more information: 662-3125. Tutoring program WILLIAMSTOWN â€” The Conte Summer Tutoring Program at Williams College has invited local middle-school students to take advantage of a free program in writing and reading. The program pairs middle-school students with Williams College students for one-on-one writing and reading tutorials. It is open to any local student who has finished sixth grade and not yet started ninth grade. The selection of students is based on a first-come, first-served order. In past years, students have come from Adams, North Adams, Williamstown, Lanesboro, Pownal and Bennington, Vt., and other area towns. Funded by the Robert Hardman 1934 Endowment Fund for Writing, the program has served middle-school students for over a decade. It is directed by Peter Grudin, assistant dean and director of The Writing Workshop at Williams. Tutors are carefully screened. The programâ€™s assistant director is Kristin Engelbrecht Bleem, who graduated from Williams this year. Registration before June 28 is suggested. Applications should include the name of student, age, grade, summer schedule (vacations) and any particular needs or requests. Information: Grudinâ€™s office, 597-4264. Gospel concert NORTH ADAMS â€” Gospel singer Nehemiah Maxwell will perform in a free concert at Bethel Pentecostal Church, Sunday, June 27, at 6 p.m. The Rev. Maxwell was born in London, England, and currently lives in Springfield. The son of preacher, he was raised in the church and has been singing since he was a child. His aim is that his voice will be used to bring attention to Jesus Christ. The church is at 55 Harding Ave. Information or directions: church office, 663-8998 or www.bethelpentecostalchurch.net. Adult reading ADAMS â€” The Adams Free Library, 93 Park St., is offering an Adult Summer Reading Program through Aug. 27 as part of Explore Other Worlds @ Your Library. Readers will meet six different challenges as they explore a variety of genres. As incentives, the library has several raffles they will be eligible to win. One only has to read one book to enter a raffle. Raffle items include a luxury basket, picnic basket, tanning basket, sports basket, photo frame, Yankee candle, hair-care kit and quilt book. There will also be a grand prize drawing for a basket of gift certificates for those who complete all six reading challenges. All prizes were donated by local businesses. Sign up at the library anytime during the program. The libraryâ€™s summer hours are Monday and Friday, 9 to 6, Tuesday and Thursday, noon to 8 and Wednesday, 9 to 4. Explore Other Worlds @ Your Library is funded by the Adams Free Library, the Massachusetts Regional Library Systems and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. Information: the library, 743-8345. Prayer shawls NORTH ADAMS â€” St. Johnâ€™s Church will start a Prayer Shawl Ministry on June 29 at 6:30 p.m. in the church library and is seeking knitters â€” experienced, beginners or in between. At the heart of the Prayer Shawl Ministry is the prayer, according to its organizers. Shawls, scarves and lap robes are either knit or crocheted for the express purpose of being given to anyone going through a time of sorrow, need, transition or challenge. Prayers are offered during the making of the gift. This form of Celtic prayer and living is designed to change the life experience of the recipient and of the person making the gift. Shawls can be made for specific recipients, with prayers offered for the needed ailment. The 29th will be an organizational meeting to answer questions and discuss convenient meeting dates. The sharing of patterns and stories, prayer and fellowship are also on the agenda. The public is invited. Information: church office, 664-9656. St. Johnâ€™s is located at 59 Summer St. and is accessible to wheelchairs. Library board ADAMS â€” The trustees of the Adams Free Library held their annual organizational meeting on June 2. Juliette Wilk-Chaffee was congratulated in her successful bid for reelection at last monthâ€™s town elections, and Karen Kettles was welcomed to the board as a successful write-in candidate. James R. Loughman was reelected chairman. Other officers elected were W. Peter Gutmann as treasurer, Ronald Bishop as building maintenance chairman and Library Director Deborah Bruneau as secretary. The other trustee of the six-member board is Eugene Michalenko.

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Lanesborough Fifth-Graders Win Snowplow Name Contest

02:13PM / Tuesday, December 23, 2025

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — One of the snowplows for Highway District 1 has a new name: "The Blizzard Boss."

The name comes from teacher Gina Wagner's fifth-grade class at Lanesborough Elementary School.

The state Department of Transportation announced the winners of the fourth annual "Name A Snowplow" contest on Monday.

The department received entries from public elementary and middle school classrooms across the commonwealth to name the 12 MassDOT snowplows that will be in service during the 2025/2026 winter season.

The purpose of the contest is to celebrate the snow and ice season and to recognize the hard work and dedication shown by public works employees and contractors during winter operations.

"Thank you to all of the students who participated. Your creativity allows us to highlight to all, the importance of the work performed by our workforce," said interim MassDOT Secretary Phil Eng.

"Our workforce takes pride as they clear snow and ice, keeping our roads safe during adverse weather events for all that need to travel. ?To our contest winners and participants, know that you have added some fun to the serious take of operating plows. ?I'm proud of the skill and dedication from our crews and thank the public of the shared responsibility to slow down, give plows space and put safety first every time there is a winter weather event."

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