'Cop on Top' Fundraiser Returns To Pittsfield Walmart

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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The annual Cop on Top fundraiser returned to Pittsfield on Friday.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The fourth annual Cop on Top returned to Walmart on Friday with the goal of raising more than $55,000 for the Special Olympics.

Police officers will camp out on the roof of Walmart on Hubbard Avenue through Saturday while others in the parking lot are collecting donations and running other fundraising activities.

Led by the Law Enforcement Torch Run Program, the police are looking to beat last year's fundraising total of $55,034.

For the third year, WTBR, Taconic High School's radio station, will be live broadcasting throughout the two days.

The 36-hour event will raise funds for year-round programming for local Special Olympics. More than 3,000 Special Olympic athletes will be training and competing during the winter season.

Dozens of officers will take turns spending time on the roof; some 75 participated last year in what is thought to the biggest Cop on Top event in the state.

The officers have a tent and supplies on the roof but it could be a rough night with a forecast of 4 to 8 inches of sleet and snow expected overnight and into Saturday morning. So if you're at Berkshire Crossings, toss them some donations (to keep them up or bring them down) for braving the elements for a good cause. Donations can also be made online here.

A number of local restaurants are also offering donate a percentage of their receipts to the cause: Arizona Pizza, Hot Harry's, Zucco's and Applebee's. Find more information about that here.


Tags: fundraiser,   police,   Special Olympics,   Walmart,   

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Pittsfield Crosby/Conte Feasibility Years From Completion

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— If local approval is secured in the fall, the district will have 2 1/2 years to complete a feasibility study for the Crosby/Conte school project.

The eligibility period for Massachusetts School Building Authority funding begins on Feb. 3 and will conclude on Oct. 31 with a vote from the City Council. In that time, a number of boxes have to be checked off including enrollment studies and maintenance and capital planning.

Last week, the School Building Needs Commission accepted MSBA's letter of invitation for the eligibility period and a 270-day eligibility module. The timeline requires a school building committee that oversees the project formed by early April, making Pittsfield somewhat ahead of the game.

"This letter was received in pretty quick fashion after the board meeting on Friday, Dec. 13, where myself, Mayor [Peter] Marchetti, and other school and city officials attended and at that board meeting, they announced that they would be accepting our statement of interest into the 270-day eligibility period," Superintendent Joseph Curtis said.

He emphasized that this is not an invitation to conduct a feasibility study. A feasibility study agreement must occur within the eligibility period, establishing the process and parameters for reimbursement and giving 913 days for the study and schematic design.

The School Committee and City Council are set to vote on the funds for the study, about $1.5 million with 80 percent reimbursement, before Oct. 31.

The district is seeking funding for a combined build of Crosby Elementary School and Silvio O. Conte Community School at 517 West St. The invitation is for grades prekindergarten to 5 and the potential to examine the consolidation of Crosby with Conte and relocating fifth-grade students from the two elementary schools to the middle schools, serving prekindergarten to fourth grade.

Another option in the Crosby/Conte plan is the potential to house grades prekindergarten to first grade in one school and Grades 2 to 4 in another, with both maintaining their own identities and administrations.

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