North Adams Letter Carrier Food Drive Scheduled for May 10

Print Story | Email Story
NORTH ADAMS, Mass.— The annual Letter Carrier's Food Drive is scheduled for Saturday, May 10. Residents are asked to leave bags of non-perishable food items for their mail carriers.
 
This year, the Friendship Center will collaborate with letter carriers to collect donations in North Adams, Clarksburg, and Florida Mountain.
 
The sorting location for the collected items will be in the space adjacent to Planet Fitness in the Steeple City Plaza. New volunteers are welcome to assist.
 
The Al Nelson Friendship Center Food Pantry, located at 45 Eagle Street, serves households in North Adams, Clarksburg, and Florida Mountain. The pantry is open every Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
 
For more information, the Friendship Center can be contacted by phone at 413-664-0123 or via their website at https://www.friendshipfoodpantry.org/.
 
 

Tags: donations,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

North Adams Council Looks to AG for Assurances on Federal Grant

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — City officials want to know if the attorney general will defend them if they refuse to abide by certain provisions in a federal grant for the Police Department. 
 
The City Council on Tuesday voted to postpone action until Nov. 10 on a fiscal year 2025 Edward Bernard Memorial Justice Assistant Grant after an hour of debate and hearing from more than a half-dozen audience members in opposition.  
 
"Let's take all the time that we have. Let's wait for them to actually do their due diligence and fight these provisions and, hopefully, win, and then it's not a problem at all, and everybody's happy, and we take care of it," said Council President Ashley Shade. "And if they don't get the provisions out, let's make sure that they're willing to defend us if we accept it. And if they are, let's fight them. Let's fight them on this."
 
The U.S. Department of Justice grant for $14,231 is to update the department's overstuffed evidence room to aid its accreditation process. But new requirements within the contract about active or passive cooperation with federal agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, have raised fears within the council and community. 
 
Mayor Jennifer Macksey and Police Chief Mark Bailey had explained the need for an evidence room two weeks ago and assured that Police Department didn't deal with civil matters like immigration, but the council rejected the grant. Shade motioned for it be reconsidered for discussion, which passed. 
 
Audience members spoke out in opposition to accepting the grant, often to applause. 
 
"We cannot trust that they aren't attaching strings that we think, in good faith, could not happen," said Sarah Farnsworth from North Adams. "That they could not make us do things that we are protected from in the Constitution. And we have seen over and over that somehow that manages to happen."
 
View Full Story

More North Adams Stories