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Sports
High School Football
11-07-09 - Hoosac Valley beats Drury.
More photo's on Monday |
 | Thursday, Nov. 06
Boys' Soccer: State Vocational Championship Game
McCann Tech 3, Keefe Tech 2
Girls' Soccer: State Vocational Championship Game
Blackstone Valley 8, McCann Tech 0 |
Election
Trying to remember who won what and why? All the information is right here. |
Daily Digest
This is Jake
He's been lost in Pittsfield for weeks but frequently sited. He was last seen heading toward the fire station on Peck's Road. He's tired, dirty and needs seizure medication. He's chipped. If you see him, call Julie at 413-537-5616, the vet 24/7 at 413-499-2820 or animal control at 413-448-9700. |
What's Playing
The popular anime character "Astro Boy" searches for acceptance on the big screen.
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ObituariesSales FliersBazaarsNov. 7:
VNA & Hospice, Community Room, North Adams
North Adams Elks
10-4; Nov. 8, 9-2
Crafters, Chinese auction, bake sale
For vendor information, Melanie at 413-743-5562.
Nov. 14
Berkshire Community Church, Richmond
10-4; Crafters, bake sale. Contact Evelyn Goggia at 413-445-5747
Lanesborough Elementary School annual Fall Craft Fair from 10 to 4. Free admission, huge variety of arts and crafts, raffles, food and more. Proceeds go to sixth-grade trip to Cape Cod.
Vendors can contact Deb at 413-738-5349 or debhutton@aol.com or Lori at 413-499-0065 or lorittod@yahoo.com to secure a spot.
Dec. 12-13
North Adams Country Club, crafts 9-4; food from That's a Wrap from 11-2. Contact Sheryl Morehouse at 413-822-3329.
Planning a bazaar this season? Submit information to info@iberkshires.com to have it listed here. |
Related Stories |
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Local Agency Raising Funds for Fuel EmergenciesBy Tammy Daniels
iBerkshires Staff
01:58PM / Wednesday, August 13, 2008
NORTH ADAMS — A local aid agency is trying to get ahead of a looming winter crisis by raising funds for emergency heating aid during the dog days of summer.
"I have people calling me already, people who say, 'Marie, I never thought I would have to ask you for help,'" said Marie Harpin, area director for Berkshire Community Action North. The nonprofit agency assists local families in finding find housing, transportation, employment, clothing, food and other necessities, including heating fuel.
Harpin wants to be proactive by raising money for organization's Emergency Fuel Fund through four fundraisers in the coming weeks. The money will go to help families and individuals in Northern Berkshire.
Social agencies throughout the Northeast have been swamped in recent years as the price of heating fuel has continued to climb. This winter may be the worst yet as heating oil prices have nearly doubled, natural gas prices have jumped up to 25 percent and electric rates are rising.
That's biting into the budgets of Sprague Electric retirees, young families and middle income folk who never thought they'd need assistance, said Harpin.
"The elderly people are coming in and asking me what to do," she said.
The local agency, part of Berkshire Community Action based in Pittsield, received some $25,000 last year in donations from businesses, indivuduals and the United Way.
But that kind of money won't go far this year; with heating oil averaging more than $4 a gallon, it will cost upwards of $1,000 to fill a 250-gallon tank. In other words, $25,000 will barely fill the tanks of 25 families — once.
 The Northeast is the most dependent on fuel oil to heat homes. More than 60 percent of the region 8 million households use heating oil.
It's important to keep people in their homes, said Harpin, who has rejected suggestions to use the funds for an emergency shelter.
"My focus is to keep people in their apartments, in their homes," she said. "We take people out of their homes and apartments we'll have more problems."
Shelters have to be staffed and maintained; meanwhile, empty homes could suffer from burst pipes and vandalism. Better, she said, to get the fuel to the homes and keep families intact.
The Congress is expected to consider extra funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, a federal fuel assistance program that's the state's congressional delegation says has been underfunded for years. But the income guidelines for LIHEAP won't be available until October.
The first fundraiser for the local Emergency Fuel Fund is Tuesday, Aug. 19, from 5 to 8 at the Bounti-Fare Restaurant on Route 8 in Adams. The restaurant offers a Community Nigh in the Courtyard each Tuesday to help nonprofit groups raise money. Participants will be able to order off the summer menu, take chances on the 50/50 raffle and try for an array of items and services donated by local businesses in a silent auction.
The next event is a spaghetti supper on Thursday, Sept. 4, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Elk's Lodge on Eagle Street. Tickets are $6 and $5 for seniors and children under age 12. There will also be a 50/50 raffle and another silent auction.
How much is heating oil this week? |
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