North Adams Taxi Could Lose License

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
08:49AM / Tuesday, September 12, 2023Print Story | Email Story

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The City Council will hold a public hearing on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. on whether to pull OTT Taxi's operating license.

The taxi service was put on probation back in February for violations including unlicensed and underage drivers and unmarked cars being used to pick up fares.

Councilors at the time had little sympathy for owner John Lord's claims that he didn't know or understand the city's ordinance regulating taxi services.

But they did not wish disrupt the livelihoods of his drivers and the customers who needed the company's services and so issued a "stern warning" and 30 days probation.

Tuesday's public hearing is prompted by what officials say are continued violations.

A document supplied by interim Police Chief Mark Bailey refers to 14 violations, four parking citations and seven instances of drivers operating taxies without valid licenses. These violations were between Sept. 30, 2022, and July 22, 2023.

"Although there are reports of further violations occurring, these are the ones that have been documented by the North Adams Police Department, Bailey wrote.

In July, police say Lord was again seen driving taxi cabs, for which he does not have a license.

OTT has also moved out of its River Street offices this summer but has not changed the address on its license as required by ordinance.

Lord was informed by letter that "due to the continued issues, the City Council has determined they will need to reconvene to discuss them and determine its course of action."

Tags: public hearing, taxi,

iBerkshires.com Text Ads

Greylock Youth SummerFest

Come join in on the wealth building fun! August 3-8. Click for event details. Insured by NCUA.

www.greylock.org

rk MILES Blding Materials

Are You Ready to Update Your Home? Start With rk MILES. 4 Locations (800)670-7433

www.rkmiles.com

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

North Adams Becomes a Purple Heart Community

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
05:16AM / Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Veterans Service Officer Kurtis Durocher, a Purple Heart recipient, tells his own story of how he was wounded in Iraq.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — City leaders last week held a ceremony marking the city as a Purple Heart Community to honor local military service members wounded or killed in combat.

"This designation is much more than a sign that will stand at the entrances to our city," said Kurtis Durocher, Northern Berkshire veterans service officer at City Hall on Friday. "It is a lasting commitment and a promise to this community. We'll never forget the sacrifices made by those who are wounded or killed while serving our nation. It is a public declaration of the courage and sacrifices of combat wounded. Veterans will always have a place of honor here in North Adams."

As a Purple Heart Community, North Adams will place signs throughout the city acknowledging the designation. The city will also hold a ceremony every Aug. 7 on National Purple Heart Day.

During the inaugural ceremony, Durocher said he was asked by the Military Order of the Purple Heart to find a keynote speaker for the event, preferably a Purple Heart recipient. But he was unable to find someone willing to speak. With the date approaching, he decided to tell his own story.

"I don't like standing up and telling my own personal story ... But I realized, in my position as a VSO, I get so many ... children of veterans who will say, 'I didn't know anything about my father until after he passed because he just didn't talk about it,'" Durocher said. "... I have been that way until I've gotten into this position, and so, now, I try to tell my story as much as I can when it is brought to me."

Durocher served in the Army for 20 years and retired as a master sergeant. On Friday, he recalled a time early in his career while serving in the 82nd Airborne Division deploying to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. On Sept. 12, 2003, his squad was conducting a patrol on Route Irish in Baghdad. He was serving as a gunner on an LMTV when it was struck by a 155-millimeter artillery shell. He said the explosive had been hidden behind a guardrail and detonated using nothing more than a washing machine timer.

"In an instant, everything changed. The blast knocked me unconscious. When I regained consciousness, I instinctively was removing my helmet," he said. "Almost immediately my training took over. We had been taught repeatedly that attacks like this were often followed by a secondary attack or an ambush. I quickly put my helmet back on and began searching for my machine gun."

View Full Story