Louison House Community Picnic and Fundraiser

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Louison House will host a community celebration and fundraiser at noon on Saturday, June 20, 2026, at the Historic Valley Campground pavilion at Windsor Lake.
 
The baseball-themed event serves a dual purpose: honoring local athletes and marking a major milestone for the housing and social services organization. 
 
This June marks 10 years since a fire impacted the Louison House property on June 28, 2016. At 1:00 p.m., organizers will briefly reflect on the organization's progress and recovery over the decade since the incident.
 
The event will also welcome and honor the North Adams SteepleCats collegiate baseball team, alongside local high school baseball and softball graduates. SteepleCats players will be on-site to sign autographs and take photos with attendees.
 
Festivities include a lunch from noon. to 1:00 p.m. featuring hot dogs, veggie burgers, pasta salad, beans, and drinks, with food donated by Bounti-Fair in Adams. Activities scheduled for the day include a T-Ball Home Run Derby, a dunk tank, cornhole, and various baseball-themed raffles and games.
 
Admission is $10 for individuals and $25 for families (up to two adults and four children), which includes the cost of lunch. While some games are free, others require a small fee to play, and all proceeds will directly benefit Louison House. Payments can be made via cash, check, or Venmo at the gate. Advance tickets are available by contacting the organization.
 
On-site parking is located near the campground office, and the new Louison House passenger van will provide a continuous shuttle service to the pavilion. A limited number of handicapped parking spaces are available directly next to the pavilion, and a drop-off zone will be open for guests before drivers park.
 

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Armed North Adams Man Arrested Following Domestic Standoff

Staff Reports

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Matthew Parker, a 44-year-old North Adams man, is set to face multiple counts of attempted murder and weapons charges in Northern Berkshire District Court on Friday morning following an hours-long, armed standoff at a Houghton Street home.

The defendant is being arraigned for:

  • Domestic Assault and Battery
  • Assault with the Intent to Murder (3 counts)
  • Carrying a Firearm While Under the Influence of Alcohol (3 counts)
  • Possession of a hi-capacity firearm (4 counts)
  • Improper Storage of a hi-capacity firearm (2 counts)
  • Improper Storage of a firearm (6 counts)

According to a report, on June 10, at approximately 8:42 p.m., officers responded to 365 Houghton St. following a report of a domestic assault and battery. The caller said she and her husband had been involved in a physical altercation.

She said her husband was intoxicated, making suicidal statements about shooting himself, and had access to both a shotgun and a pistol.

Upon arrival, officers made contact with both the caller and Parker. During the encounter, Parker threatened to shoot officers before retreating into the home and refusing to exit.

Officers believed that Parker was armed.

To ensure public safety, police established a perimeter around the home and requested assistance from the Berkshire County Special Response Team (SRT) and North Adams Police crisis negotiators. The Brien Center was also contacted and promptly provided an emergency mental health clinician to assist with the incident.

Special Response Team personnel deployed drones to monitor the residence and provide aerial illumination. During the operation, officers saw Parker exit the house carrying a rifle. He pointed it at the drones, stated a report. Parker subsequently pointed the rifle toward several officers positioned behind their cruisers. After officers attempted to de-escalate the situation, Parker returned inside the residence.

Trained crisis negotiators maintained communication with Parker for several hours in an effort to peacefully resolve the situation. At approximately 2 a.m., Parker ceased communication with negotiators.

Drone operators later observed Parker unconscious in a recliner on the first floor of the residence, with a rifle and shotgun on the floor nearby.

Members of the Berkshire County SRT then executed a coordinated operation. Diversionary devices were deployed through a window while an entry team simultaneously entered the home, secured the firearms, and took the defendant into custody.

A search warrant was executed after Parker was in custody. North Adams Police seized four shotguns, six rifles, two handguns, and thousands or rounds of ammunition from the home.

During the operation, one SRT member sustained a minor injury related to a less-lethal bean bag deployment. Parker also sustained non-life threatening injuries during the arrest and was transported to Berkshire Medical Center for medical evaluation.

"We thank the community for its patience and cooperation throughout this incident, particularly residents in the affected area who complied with temporary shelter-in-place requests," Police Chief Mark Bailey said.  "The North Adams Police Department extends its sincere appreciation to the agencies that provided mutual aid and assisted by handling calls for service during this incident. We are especially grateful to the Berkshire County Special Response Team for its professional and decisive response, the Brien Center for the rapid deployment of a mental health clinician, and our crisis negotiators whose efforts helped maintain dialogue and contributed significantly to the safe resolution of this incident."

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