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Cascade School Supplies Vice President Todd Shafer stands in the company's warehouse on Brown Street with some of the items for sale next week.
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Games and more will be available.
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While geared to educators, there's plenty of choices for stocking stuffers this holiday season.
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Cascade School Supplies Sets Warehouse Tag Sale

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
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It's been years since the Cascade held a tag sale,  which had been an annual event. That means plenty of merchandise to sort through, say company officials. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Cascade School Supplies is bringing back its warehouse tag sale after an absence of years.
 
"The Cascade tag sale is a long-standing community tradition where we open our warehouse to educators and the public to offer school, office and art supplies for pennies on the dollar," said Vice President Todd Shafer. "The event ran for many years, and we're excited to bring it back."
 
The company has been in the business of supplying schools with everything from pens and paper to desks and bulletin boards for 90 years. 
 
Shafer said the family-owned company has been doing a lot of renovations and upgrades and hasn't able to organize the tag sale, but is now ready to bring it back "bigger than ever."
 
"Since it hasn't happened for several years, we've accumulated more stock than ever, so this felt like the perfect time to reintroduce it," he said. "Our goal is to support our education community locally, while creating a fun, accessible event for everyone."
 
The tag sale will be held from Wednesday, Dec. 10, through Saturday, Dec. 13, with hours from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday; 11 to 8 on Friday, and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. The event is open to the public to search through the 10,000-square-foot area at 1 Brown St.
 
Five people won a contest to get into the tag sale early on Tuesday, Dec. 9, from 4 to 6 p.m.
 
"Everyone is able to come tag sales ... teachers have historically been the primary audience, but we want this one to be a true community event," said Shafer. "So we're hoping that we see educators, artists, office workers, parents, students, hobbyists. Anyone looking for us for supplies or unique items is welcome. There's something for everyone here."
 
Thousands of items will be put out for sale, including many school and office supplies and some office furniture. Shafer suggests buyers come more than once since new items will be put out daily.
 
"Don't even know how much is going to end up out there, because we haven't even pulled everything that we're going to put out there yet," he said. "We'll keep adding things as the sale progresses. So what's ready to go on the shelves now may not be all that there is, because we're going to be bringing stuff out as we go."
 
Admission is a non-perishable food item to support the local food pantry or $2 at the door. Children admitted free.
 
"To help support the community, we're asking attendees to bring one non-perishable food item as their entry fee. These donations are going to go directly to the Al Nelson Friendship Center Food Pantry," he said.
 
Shafer said he hopes this helps the community come together and people get needed supplies in an affordable way, as many of the items will be a dollar or less.
 
"We want this to feel like a community celebration and chance for teachers to stock their classrooms affordably, for families to find great deals during the holiday season and for neighbors to come together while supporting a local cause," he said. 
 
"Bringing back the tag sale is our way of reconnecting with the community and continuing a tradition that people have always loved."
 
Cascade will accept cash or card and educators should bring their tax-exempt certificate to avoid the tax. 
 
Shafer also said to pay attention to the company's Facebook for updates.

Tags: school supplies,   tag sales,   

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Key West Bar Gets Probation in Underage Incident

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Key West is on probation for the next six months after an incident of underage drinking back in November. 
 
The License Commission had continued a hearing on the bar to consult with the city solicitor on whether charges could be brought. The opinion was that it was up to the District Attorney. 
 
Chief Mark Bailey at Tuesday's commission meeting said he did not believe criminal charges applied in this instance because no one at the bar "knowingly or intentionally" supplied the alcoholic beverages. 
 
"I feel that the bartender thought that the person was over 21 so it's not like she knowingly provided alcohol to them, to a person under 21. She just assumed that the person at the door was doing their job," he said. "So I don't feel that we can come after them criminally, or the bartender or the doorman, because the doorman did not give them alcohol."
 
The incident involved two 20-year-old men who had been found inside the State Street bar after one of the men's mothers had first taken him out of the bar and then called police when he went back inside. Both times, it appeared neither man had been carded despite a bouncer who was supposed to be scanning identification cards. 
 
The men had been drinking beer and doing shots. The chief said the bouncer was caught in a lie because he told the police he didn't recognize the men, but was seen on the bar's video taking their drinks when police showed up. 
 
Commissioner Peter Breen hammered on the point that if the intoxicated men had gotten behind the wheel of their car, a tragedy could have occurred. He referenced several instances of intoxicated driving, including three deaths, over the past 15 years — none of which involved Key West. 
 
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