Adams Town Hall New Home for Carving of K-9 Kumar
ADAMS, Mass. — The Adams Police Department presented the town with a life-size wooden statue of the town's K-9, Kumar, in a special case.
Police Chief Richard Tarsa, Officer Travis Cunningham, and K-9 Officer Curtis Crane brought the hand-carved and painted statue made by Berkshire Carousel to Wednesday's Selectmen's meeting.
The Kumar statue is housed in a "dog house" designed and built by McCann Technical School students.
The statue was created to be auctioned off to raise money to help sustain the K-9 program in Adams. However, at the auction held at the Bounti-Fare last November, a group of Adams residents pooled their money together so that that statue could stay in Town Hall.
"They pooled their resources together and came up with the winning bid in order for us to secure this," Tarsa said. "A heartfelt thanks and a deep gratitude goes out to all those involved in this because, as you can see, it's pretty accurate depiction of Kumar."
Soon after, Crane reached out to McCann to design a proper dog house for the model of Adams' favorite crime fighting German shepherd.
The Police Department acquired Kumar in 2014 through a $25,000 grant from the Stanton Foundation.
Kumar is a native of Netherlands and even has his own doggy bullet proof vest.
Tarsa said along with the generous donation from the auction, the Adams Outdoorsmen for Youth also supported Kumar with a $750 check.
"They are very active in the community, with local youth, and promoting outdoor activities," Tarsa said. "They have always had a strong following and their generosity has been extended to many different venues, most recently Kumar and the Adams K-9 program."
The K-9 program is dependent upon grants and fundraising. Tarsa thanked the community for its support.
"I can't speak highly enough about Officer Crane and his interaction with the dog, and his ability to be his handler. I said it from the beginning, they are the perfect match," Tarsa said. "The dividends they have paid off over the past couple of years are just phenomenal, I can't say enough. We would like to continue the program and your fundraising efforts will allow us to continue it."
The statue and dog house will be placed in Town Hall and act as a donation box.
Chairman Richard Blanchard said he received an email from the Department of Conservation and Recreation notifying the board that it is designing a sign to place on the Adams line on the road leading to Mount Greylock's summit.
The board approached the Mount Greylock Advisory Committee months ago about signage because members felt that no one knew the summit was actually in Adams.
The sign will adhere to state signage standards and will read "Entering Mount Greylock Summit National Historical District Adams, Mass." It will be placed on the scenic parkway on the summit road near the intersection of Notch Road and Rockwell Road.
The board voted to allow United Way's Book Houses to be installed at the 30 Columbia St. Park and on the town common. Local United Ways have been participating in the "Little Free Library" initiative across the country; Pittsfield recently approved their placement in city parks.
The tiny lending libraries can hold more than 100 books and children can drop books off and pick new ones up. The program hopes to keep children up to the age of 9 reading all summer.
The houses will have a caretaker who will oversee them and book collection.
Tags: Adams Police, berkshire carousel, carving, K-9, library, McCann, public parks,
