Ames employees at the Berkshire Mall store say they saw it coming.
Ames Department Stores announced yesterday that it would be closing all 327 stores in the chain.
34 of those stores are in Massachusetts with Ames stores at the Berkshire Mall in Lanesboro plus stores in Lenox and Great Barrington.
An estimated 169 employees from all three Berkshire County stores will be out of work.
The Connecticut-based retailer said yesterday that they would most likely use a liquidator to conduct "Going Out of Business" sales at all Ames stores.
Ames was founded in 1958 by the Gilman Brothers. They built the company over a period of years by opening stores in small towns. They went public sometime in the early 60s and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1989, emerging from bankruptcy in 1990.
For details of the Ames shutdown, click here
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North Adams Police Charge 7 After Drug Investigation
Staff Reports
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Police charged seven people after executing simultaneous search warrants on Eagle Street and Arnold Place.
On Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026, members of the North Adams Police Department Detective Unit and Berkshire Law Enforcement Task Force executed search warrants at 212 Eagle Street Apartment 3 and 59 Arnold Place.
According to police, the search warrants were the result of a month-long investigation into a group of people from Springfield utilizing both residences as part of their heroin and cocaine distribution operation.
Police reported that during the search warrant execution at 212 Eagle Street Apartment 3, Giovanni Ramirez was taken into custody. Joanne Bentley and Chad Luczynski were also located in the apartment and will be charged as part of this investigation.
During the search warrant execution at 59 Arnold Place, Sandra Bunt, Raven Vanderburg, Jaiden Langford-Andrews and Angel Ortiz were all taken into custody.
Bunt's bail was revoked on a separate open case, and she is held without bail. Vanderburg is being held without bail for a probation violation on a separate case.
Langford-Andrews, Ortiz and Ramirez were all held without bail pending dangerousness hearings scheduled for later this week and early next week.
As a result of the investigation, the following evidence was seized:
Approximately 110 grams of cocaine
Approximately 2,323 bags of heroin (46 grams)
Approximately $6,817 U.S. Currency
Multiple functioning digital scales with residue
The following people were arrested and charged with the following:
Jaiden Langford-Andrews of Springfield:
Arrest Warrant
Trafficking Heroin 36-100 grams
Possessing with Intent to Distribute Cocaine
Conspiracy
Angel Ortiz, of Springfield:
Trafficking Heroin 36-100 grams
Possessing with Intent to Distribute Cocaine
Conspiracy
Giovanni Ramirez, of Springfield, Massachusetts:
Trafficking Cocaine 36-100 grams
Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin
Conspiracy
Sandra Bunt, of North Adams:
Trafficking Heroin 36-100 grams
Possessing with Intent to Distribute Cocaine
Conspiracy
Raven Vanderburg, of North Adams:
Trafficking Heroin 36-100 grams
Possessing with Intent to Distribute Cocaine
Conspiracy
The following people were charged but not taken into custody:
On a day set aside for recognizing local veterans, the city unveiled a new plaque that added or corrected the names of 169 who served during wartime.
click for more
The City Council on Tuesday accepted a fiscal 2025 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant in the amount of $14,231 for the construction of an evidence room.
click for more
Drury High School students don't have to ask "where's the beef" from, now that the school has partnered to bring local meat into its food service system. click for more
Senior Patrick Holland Saturday finished in fourth place to lead the Mount Greylock boys cross country team to a Western Massachusetts Class B Championship at Stanley Park. click for more
