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The Selectmen are hoping to attract interest in the Adams Memorial Middle School.

Adams Seeking Interest In Memorial Middle School

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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ADAMS, Mass. — There are a ton of ideas about what the town could do with the Adams Memorial Middle School once it takes the building over this fall and officials want to know them all.

The town's Community Development Department will be sending out a request for expressions of interest on the school building next week to find out if there are interested developers and figure out what could be possible with the building. Town officials are also asking for residents and organizations to express their interest and ideas.

The results will be presented at a public hearing with what hopes to be a clearer picture of possible usages.

"A perfect example of the type of stuff that would help for feedback is the Police Athletic League or the church's basketball league wants to use the gym," Town Administrator Jonathan Butler said on Wednesday. "Everything from buying the entire property and turning it into a paper mill to renting a couple rooms and running a youth program [we want to hear]."

The RFEI will be the focus for developers and it outlines the condition and specs of the school, town features and asks for developer ideas and information. The town is accepting any ideas but does stipulate that it wants to retain the Valley Street fields as public space. 

That will help guide the town's future planning to release a request for proposals next spring. 


"I think you can call this an information-gathering mission," Butler said. "The goal is to find out what's real and what's not."

The town hopes to get developer responses back by March 9 and will be hosting a site visit on Feb. 22. Without the RFEI, Butler said only non-profit companies have shown interest in the property.

Selectman Michael Ouellette said townspeople should have all the information in front of them and broken down into what each idea will do for tax rates and services. From there, they should make a decision on which way to prioritize the town's efforts. He also encouraged the department to advertise the building in major cities to help find interested parties. While it can be costly to advertise in those cities, Ouellette said it would be worth it.

The middle school is currently being used while Hoosac Valley High School is being renovated. Once that construction is complete, the town will retain ownership.

Adams Memorial School RFEI
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Berkshires Turns Out in Protest Against Trump Administration

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff

Hundreds of people were at Park Square on Saturday afternoon to protest actions by the Trump administration and expressed fears about the potential loss of civil rights and Social Security.
ADAMS, Mass. — A cold and rainy Saturday didn't stop hundreds of Berkshire residents from making known their feelings about recent actions by the Trump administration. 
 
At least 150 people assembled in Adams around the Town Common, with the statue of voting rights icon Susan B. Anthony in the background, and at the Adams Free Library where Civil War veterans once gathered.
 
"Last time I was in one of these marches was in 1969 against the Vietnam War down in Boston," said Michael Wellington of Adams.
 
In Williamstown, more than 200 people turned out to line both sides of Main Street (Route 2) in front of First Congregational Church at noon on Saturday afternoon. And hundreds gathered at Park Square in Pittsfield, with chants so loud they could be heard from the McKay Street Parking Garage. 
 
"We need peaceful protest, I think, is the only thing that is going to make a difference to certain people," said Jackie DeGiorgis of North Adams, standing across the corner from the Adams Town Common.  "So I'm hoping we can get more people out here and say their peace. ...
 
"I would like our our representatives in Congress, to do their job and listen to their constituents, because I don't think that's happening."
 
Her friend Susan Larson King, also of North Adams, acknowledged that "government needs to be downsized, maybe."
 
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