Adams is holding its annual community cleanup day on Saturday at 10 locations around town. Those wishing to volunteer should meet at the Visitors Center at 9 a.m.
ADAMS, Mass. — Earth Day has come and gone but community members are continuing to make strides to clean up their neighborhoods in recognition of it.
The Northern Berkshire Events Committee has partnered with the Adams Beautification Group to host the fourth annual community cleanup day, during which residents will clean up 10 locations throughout town.
The event will take place this Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon, with participants meeting at the Adams Visitor Center. A rain date is scheduled for Saturday, May 2. Refresh from a day of cleaning with pizza provided by Dough Boys Pizza.
Locations slated for cleanup are Sail Park by AJ's Restaurant, Veterans Park on Columbia Street, the train station, Hoosac Street Gardens, the Adams Hometown Market parking lot, Fisk Road and Fisk Street, and Edmunds Street, and the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail beginning at the Visitor Center to Grove Street, and Siara Street Park.
"We are encouraging many volunteers to bring any tools that they may have, such as gloves, rakes, shovels, brooms, dust pans, hand snips, shears — anything that they can bring to help make the cleanup even more effective," said Jessica Girard, events committee chair.
"The beautification group will have safety vests for those working closer to traffic."
The event will include a friendly competition with prizes and Second Chance Composting will also be on-site to promote sustainable waste practices. The town's Department of Public Works is supplying bags and a truck to help the day run smoothly.
Picking up trash benefits everyone — from children playing outside to dog walkers and local wildlife —helping create a healthier environment for all, Girard said.
"It aligns with the mission of Earth Week because we should all be helping to promote the beautification and health of our planet," she said.
The Adams Beautification Group surveyed various areas around town to identify the locations most in need of attention, including sites requiring cleanup, raking, composting, and trash removal, she said.
They also prioritized areas close to the Adams Visitor Center so volunteers can easily walk or quickly travel to sites on clean-up day.
The community service activity is a great way for the community to come together and take pride in the town you live, visit, or work in by making a visible impact as we all head into the spring season, she said.
"After a few years of consistent effort, many of the areas we previously focused on no longer need the same level of attention and clean up effort, which really speaks to the power of showing up year after year," Girard said.
Ten locations is an ambitious amount, said Selectman Jay T. Meczywor, who serves on the NBEC.
"We can do it though," Girard said, explaining they have planned out what needs to get done and how many people each location requires.
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Adams Man Gets 20 Years for Child Sex Assault
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — An Adams man has been sentenced to 15 to 20 years in state prison for sexually assaulting a child.
Michael Hiser, 39, was found guilty by a Superior Court jury on June 11 of single counts of aggravated indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and indecent exposure; two counts of posing or exhibiting a child in the nude, and three counts of photographing an unsuspecting nude child.
He was sentenced on Tuesday to prison for the aggravated indecent assault, with further sentencing of eight to 10 years for the indecent assault, four to five for the photographing and 2 1/2 for indecent exposure, all to be served concurrently. Hiser was also sentenced to five years probation on the posing or exhibiting charge, with conditions not to contact or go near the victim and no unsupervised contact with minors. He will have to register with the Sex Offender Registry Board and take sex offender treatment.
Investigators found that from approximately 2020 to 2022, Hiser would sneak into the victim's room at night to inappropriately photogram and touch them inappropriately. Additionally, he would follow the victim around the house and photograph them with inappropriate intent. An additional incident involved the defendant acting in a sexual manner in the presence of the minor and the investigators found multiple explicit images of the victim on Hiser's phone.
"Cases of child abuse and child sexual abuse shake the foundation of our community," said Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue. "Today justice has been served on behalf of a child who survived unimaginable abuse. While the guilty verdict and lengthy sentence do not take away any of the horrific crimes the defendant committed, I hope today provides an opportunity for both the child and their family to move forward."
Chief of the Child Abuse Unit Andrew Giarolo represented the commonwealth and Associate Director of Victim Witness Advocates Kristen Rapkowicz served as the victim witness advocate on behalf of the DA's Office. The Adams Police Department with assistance from a Williamstown Police Department's Berkshire Law Enforcement Task Force digital evidence unit officer led the investigation.
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