Panel to Discuss the Top Five Student-Athlete Injuries

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, Northern Berkshire Orthopedics and Williamstown Physical Therapy present "Tackling the Top 5 Student-Athlete Injuries" from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 1, at the Williamstown Youth Center.

Student athletes give it their all and sometimes get injured. An expert panel will address prevention, treatment and recovery for the top five most common injuries suffered by student athletes. Attendees will learn how to continue playing throughout school and beyond.

The panel includes:

* Dr. Suk Namkoong, orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist at Northern Berkshire Orthopedics and SVMC Orthopedics. Namkoong attended Princeton University for his undergraduate education, earning a bachelor of science in 1994. He went on to earn his medical degree from New York University School of Medicine in 1998. Dr. Namkoong completed a residency in orthopedic surgery at Stony Brook University Hospital, where he was awarded Resident of the Year. He also received fellowship training in sports medicine at New York University Hospital for Joint Diseases from 2003 to 2004. He is board certified by the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery.

Menorah Lighting Begins 8 Days of Hanukkah, Thoughts of Gratitude

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
01:14PM / Thursday, December 26, 2024

Mia Wax gets some helping light as she works the controls. The full ceremony can be seen on iBerkshires' Facebook page. 

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — With a boost from her dad, Mia Wax on Wednesday turned on the first candle of the more than 12-foot tall menorah at the Williams Inn. 

 

Around 40 people attended the community lighting for the first night of Hanukkah, which fell this year on the same day as Christmas. They gathered in the snow around the glowing blue electric menorah even as the temperature hovered around 12 degrees.

 

"We had a small but dedicated group in North Adams, so this is unbelievable," said Rabbi Rachel Barenblat of Congregation Beth Israel in North Adams. "This is honestly unbelievable."

 

Barenblat had earlier observed the lighting of the city's menorah in City Hall, which the mayor opened briefly for the ceremony. 

 

In Williamstown, Rabbi Seth Wax, the Jewish chaplain at Williams College, with his daughter and her friend Rebecca Doret, spoke of the reasons for celebrating Hanukkah, sometimes referred to as the Festival of Lights. 

 

The two common ones, he said, are to mark the single unit of sacred olive oil that lasted eight days during the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem and the military victory over the invading Greeks.

 

"For the rabbis of antiquity, who created and shaped Judaism, these two events were considered to be miracles," said Wax. "They happened not because of what humans did on their own, but because of what something beyond them, what they called God, did on their behalf.