Letter: Macksey: Working Hard From Day One

To the Editor:

Beyond a doubt, Jennifer Macksey is the most qualified leader who possesses the values, experience, skills, and total dedication to the residents of North Adams to continue to serve as mayor. She listens, executes, and delivers results.

As a lifelong resident of North Adams and as a 28-year teacher at Drury High School, I know firsthand that Jennifer's word is her promise. She follows through with initiatives and works tirelessly in her pursuit of improving the city's infrastructure and educational programming. Jennifer has improved services to ensure greater accountability and transparency. She has protected taxpayers, balanced budgets, and prioritized public safety to keep our neighborhoods safe.

Ms. Macksey has a love of our city and is genuinely concerned about the welfare of every resident. She works tirelessly to make our community a better place.

A mayor requires strong leadership, effective communication, and sound managerial skills to run a city efficiently. Key skills include the ability to research and analyze complex city issues, represent the city to external parties, lead and motivate staff, and make sound decisions within a complex political and legal framework. Jennifer Macksey has these skills and is the right person to continue to lead the City of North Adams.

Jennifer Macksey is an experienced problem solver and strong leader with great integrity. She has been ready from day one, has worked hard, and has delivered on her promises. Please join me in voting for Jennifer Macksey on Nov. 4 to continue serving as our mayor. North Adams deserves a strong, experienced leader.

Patrick Boulger
North Adams, Mass. 

North Adams Becomes a Purple Heart Community

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
05:16AM / Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Veterans Service Officer Kurtis Durocher, a Purple Heart recipient, tells his own story of how he was wounded in Iraq.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — City leaders last week held a ceremony marking the city as a Purple Heart Community to honor local military service members wounded or killed in combat.

 

"This designation is much more than a sign that will stand at the entrances to our city," said Kurtis Durocher, Northern Berkshire veterans service officer at City Hall on Friday. "It is a lasting commitment and a promise to this community. We'll never forget the sacrifices made by those who are wounded or killed while serving our nation. It is a public declaration of the courage and sacrifices of combat wounded. Veterans will always have a place of honor here in North Adams."

 

As a Purple Heart Community, North Adams will place signs throughout the city acknowledging the designation. The city will also hold a ceremony every Aug. 7 on National Purple Heart Day.

 

During the inaugural ceremony, Durocher said he was asked by the Military Order of the Purple Heart to find a keynote speaker for the event, preferably a Purple Heart recipient. But he was unable to find someone willing to speak. With the date approaching, he decided to tell his own story.

 

"I don't like standing up and telling my own personal story ... But I realized, in my position as a VSO, I get so many ... children of veterans who will say, 'I didn't know anything about my father until after he passed because he just didn't talk about it,'" Durocher said. "... I have been that way until I've gotten into this position, and so, now, I try to tell my story as much as I can when it is brought to me."

 

Durocher served in the Army for 20 years and retired as a master sergeant. On Friday, he recalled a time early in his career while serving in the 82nd Airborne Division deploying to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. On Sept. 12, 2003, his squad was conducting a patrol on Route Irish in Baghdad. He was serving as a gunner on an LMTV when it was struck by a 155-millimeter artillery shell. He said the explosive had been hidden behind a guardrail and detonated using nothing more than a washing machine timer.

 

"In an instant, everything changed. The blast knocked me unconscious. When I regained consciousness, I instinctively was removing my helmet," he said. "Almost immediately my training took over. We had been taught repeatedly that attacks like this were often followed by a secondary attack or an ambush. I quickly put my helmet back on and began searching for my machine gun."