Firefighter Ryan Richards is sworn in by City Clerk Deborah Pedercini. Below, Ross Vivori has difficulty putting Sgt. Brad Vivori's shield after his swearing in.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The city has welcomed five new police officers, a new firefighter and promoted a new sergeant.
City Council chambers were packed Tuesday with friends, family and colleagues and Mayor Thomas Bernard again quipped they were all in the safest place in the city.
"I think I made this joke every time we have the opportunity," he joked.
Ryan Richards was sworn in by City Clerk Deborah Pedercini as a permanent firefighter, after some time as a reserve. Fire Chief Stephen Meranti beckoned his parents, Bruce and Lauren Richards, up to the podium and his father pinned on Richards' new shield and his mother gave him a hug.
Robert Barrett, Dana Clement, Taylor Kline, and Sakan Sadowsky, recent graduates of the police academy, were then sworn in as patrol officers by Pedercini along with John Brack, who had been an officer in the state of Florida before joining the North Adams force.
Pedercini also swore Brad Vivori into his new post as sergeant. Vivori joined the force as a permanent officer in 2012 after a period as a reserve. He was a detective before his promotion to sergeant.
Vivori's father, Ross, pinned on his new shield — after Police Chief Jason Wood found the momentarily misplaced item, which led to some joshing from the mayor and councilors.
The mayor pointed to both Richards and Vivori's family tradition of service: Bruce Richards has worked for the city in the Department of Public Works for 30 years and Vivori has been the city assessor for nearly a decade.
"I know many of the families of our new officers who graduated from the academy were there with us in Fall River two weeks ago, but I want to thank them again while they're here," Bernard said.
In his communique to the City Council requesting the time for a public swearing in during the council's televised meeting, the mayor stated that "Sergeant Vivori has distinguished himself through his training, service, and commitment to the department and the residents of the City of North Adams; I am confident our new officers and our new firefighter will embody the same commitment to excellence, and will serve the City of North Adams with distinction."
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Northern Berkshire Adult Education Program Enrollment Open
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Northern Berkshire Adult Education Program is currently enrolling students for the spring semester.
All classes and services are currently being conducted remotely. When possible, in person instruction will be offered.
The Northern Berkshire Adult Education Program offers classes to prepare for the Massachusetts High School Equivalency Credential. In addition to classes to prepare for the HISET or GED tests, they offer classes to help improve academic skills to enter postsecondary education, training programs, employment readiness and basic academic skills.
The Northern Berkshire Adult Education Program will offer a course in Digital Literacy starting in February, for those individuals needing to learn digital literacy for the first time or to improve your current knowledge base. North Star Digital Literacy Curriculum will be utilized. Students who participate in this program will be eligible to take a credentialing exam to demonstrate competency in digital literacy.
All the programs of the Northern Berkshire Adult Education Program are free of charge funded by a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education/Office of Adult and Community Learning Services.
For More information, please refer to our website at www.mcla.edu/abe to schedule an appointment to speak with someone about more information.
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