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Adams' K9, Kumar, is assured of a successor as he prepares for retirement.

Adam's Hometown Market Supporting New K-9 Unit Upon Kumar's Retirement

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
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ADAMS, Mass. — Adam's Hometown Market will fund a new K-9 unit in the Adams Police Department for five years.
 
At Wednesday night's Selectmen's meeting, the Police Department announced that grocery will fund a new K-9 unit named Adam. 
 
"Adam's Hometown Market has taken on a huge help especially in these times," Police Chief Scott Kelley said. "What a wonderful thing this is and we are so happy to be part of this "
 
Kumar was brought on as the department's K-9 unit in 2014. The German shepherd came to Adams at 2 years old. He was originally from the Netherlands so many of his commands are in Dutch.
 
But at the age of 8, Kumar has to start thinking about retirement.
 
Kelley said the program donates a dog and for five years, the Adams Hometown Market Foundation will support training and care on the dog. This includes veterinary bills, food and equipment.
 
"They do five years. This is more than putting a dollar amount on it because these things can vary," Kelley said. "For any department it is a great expense that they have taken on and a huge help."
 
Kelley said Adam's Hometown Market has done this for 18 police departments through Massachusetts and Connecticut. 
 
"Adam's Hometown Market is about community. We are a community, and you will find us in small communities," Robert Pytko, manager of the local market said. "We want to make sure people know that we are part of the community and that we are here for them."
 
Officer Curtis Crane, Kumar's handler, noted that over the years supporting Kumar came down to fundraising on his own part. He said it will be nice to have some consistent support.
 
The town actually had a carved Kumar statue in Town Hall with a collection bucket to help support the dog and program.
 
He did say other K-9 officers around the county are jealous.
 
"We are very grateful," Crane said. "I mentioned it around the country and people were pretty jealous." 
 
Kumar isn't going anywhere quite yet, but the department felt that once it does hire a new K-9 unit, Adam would be the most fitting name.
 
Kelley said Adam will follow in Kumar's footsteps.
 
"Kumar has been a huge community asset, more than just a police K-9," he said. "There is no question that we will continue this ... I am looking forward to the future. I know what Officer Crane has done over the past 8 years and I can't wait to see it move forward.
 
The Selectmen were happy Kumar was getting ready to enjoy a well-deserved retirement. They also thanked Adam's Hometown Market for the partnership. 
 
"I think the keyword is hometown," Selectman Joeseph Nowak said. "That is something we here in Adams should be proud of ."
 
In other business, Detective Travis Cunningham said the department will utilize the Ring Neighbors Application to create a "virtual neighborhood watch" program throughout town.
 
"It is just another good social media tool and outlet for the community to contact us and for us to reach out to the community," Cunningham said. 
 
Cunningham said people can download the free app and do not need to have an actual Ring device.
 
He said the app allows the police to reach out to app users in specific areas of town with crime and safety alerts. 
 
He said the police can also request specific information from the public which they can contribute anonymously.  
 
"A lot of people may have trepidations that it is something that we can pull data from people but we can't," he said. "We can only request data from people."
 
He said the data the police are allowed to see is anonymous. 
 
Users can report incidents through the app that the police will see. Cunningham said posts can be anything form suspicious activity to a bear walking through a neighborhood.
 

Tags: K9,   

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Guest Column: Finding Its Rightful Place

By Barry EmeryGuest Column
In early July of last year a woman from Conway, Joy Kipperling Holhut, contacted the Cheshire Historical Commission regarding a painting of a covered bridge she thought had been made by a Cheshire resident. 
 
The large painting was in a relative's house (last name Zipperling) who had just died. Mrs. Holhut wanted to give
the painting to someplace with a connection to it or the scene although she did not know where the bridge was located. The Historical Commission accepted the painting and I volunteered to try and determine where the bridge was located.
 
The painting is signed F. Neuman so my first task was to identify "Neuman" and determine where he lived. It turns out that Frank Neuman was not a Cheshire resident. He died in 1969 and his obituary stated that he worked as a butcher but that he also was a champion wrestler and his hobby was painting.
 
The next step was to search for the location of the bridge. There are hundreds of covered bridges in New England, but the key element that helped with my search was the nearby white church adjacent to the bridge. I soon found these photographs which gave the location as Arlington, Vt. (it is actually West Arlington).
 
The Historical Commission decided that the painting rightly belonged in Arlington. Mrs. Holhut was happy to learn of the location and agreed with giving it to Arlington. I contacted the town manager of Arlington and was told West Arlington, where the bridge is located, is not a separate community. The town manager, Nick Zaiac, also mentioned they did not have a painting of the bridge and would be delighted to have one to hang in their town hall.
 
The bridge spans the Batten Kill River, famous as a great fly- fishing site. It was constructed of wood and was built in 1852.
Covered bridges kept rain and snow off the timbers to extend the life of the structure. It is still open to car traffic, though only one car at a time can pass over the narrow bridge. By-the-way, the white church predates the bridge by almost fifty years. It was built in 1804. As a side note, the white house seen beyond the bridge was once the home of Norman Rockwell. He lived there from 1931 to 1953 and during that time he painted several of his most famous paintings, including "Home Coming Marine," "The Gossip," "The Four Freedoms," "Tattoo Artist."
 
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