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58 runners and walkers stepped off Sunday morning.
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Race organizer Eileen Sullivan welcomed the participants.
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Race organizer Alex Mann read an invocation before the race.
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Lt. Anthony Beverly gave the participants the rundown on how to safely navigate the race course through downtown North Adams and towards the Armory.
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North Adams Runners, Walkers Remember SPC DeMarsico

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
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Runners gathered at the Veterans Memorial before the race.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass.— Nearly 60 runners and walkers lined up on Eagle Street to participate in the returning Up Front for DeMar 5k Run and 1 Mile Walk Sunday.
 
"We are so grateful that people came back out to remember Michael and make sure his name is never forgotten," event organizer Eileen Sullivan said to the runners and walkers gathered at the Veterans Memorial before the race. "Remember him, tell his story, remember the soldiers that are still out there, because there are so many."
 
This annual event raises funds for the SPC Michael R DeMarsico II Scholarship Fund and honors DeMarsico who was killed in action on Aug. 16, 2012, while serving in Afghanistan. DeMarsico, 20, was killed 10 years ago by a roadside bomb while on patrol
 
The race stepped off at 9:00 a.m. during a light rain.
 
"It is raining, and Michael is laughing at us," DeMarsico's mother Lisa DeMarsico laughed.
 
"It has been ten years," she reflected quietly. "It is still hard to believe."
 
She thanked all those who keep the event going, specifically Sullivan, noting all of the good DeMarsico's memory does for the community. She said to date they have raised well over $20,000 and each year provides two $1,000 scholarships to high school students.
 
She added that the group also gives back to the community where needed.
 
"Wherever there is a community need," she said. "Whether the schools need something or there is a fire or an emergency. We don't judge, whoever needs it."
 
The runners headed towards Ashland Street towards the DeMarsico monument in front of the North Adams Armory Center that the city dedicated to DeMarsico in 2017.
 
The course ended at the American Legion.
 
The event returns after a two-year absence through the pandemic. Lisa added that it was important to the organizing group to put the community's safety and health above all else.
 
Lisa acknowledged that the group of runners and walkers was smaller than in previous years, but she was still grateful for the community support that she felt would grow as the city continues to emerge from the pandemic.
 
"It's a smaller group but that's ok it's a restart," she said. "We are glad to be back"
 
 

Tags: scholarships,   DeMarsico,   fundraiser,   race,   running,   

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Macksey Updates on Eagle Street Demo and Myriad City Projects

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

The back of Moderne Studio in late January. The mayor said the city had begun planning for its removal if the owner could not address the problems. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Moderne Studio building is coming down brick by brick on Eagle Street on the city's dime. 
 
Concerns over the failing structure's proximity to its neighbor — just a few feet — means the demolition underway is taking far longer than usual. It's also been delayed somewhat because of recent high winds and weather. 
 
The city had been making plans for the demolition a month ago because of the deterioration of the building, Mayor Jennifer Macksey told the City Council on Tuesday. The project was accelerated after the back of the 150-year-old structure collapsed on March 5
 
Initial estimates for demolition had been $190,000 to $210,000 and included asbestos removal. Those concerns have since been set aside after testing and the mayor believes that the demolition will be lower because it is not a hazardous site.
 
"We also had a lot of contractors who came to look at it for us to not want to touch it because of the proximity to the next building," she said. "Unfortunately time ran out on that property and we did have the building failure. 
 
"And it's an unfortunate situation. I think most of us who have lived here our whole lives and had our pictures taken there and remember being in the window so, you know, we were really hoping the building could be safe."
 
Macksey said the city had tried working with the owner, who could not find a contractor to demolish the building, "so we found one for him."
 
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