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2014: The Year in Review
iBerkshires Staff,
02:00PM / Thursday, January 01, 2015
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The Year That Was

Adams Year in Review

North Adams Year in Review

Pittsfield Year in Review

Williamstown Year in Review

State Election Roundup 2014

Berkshire County Yearbook 2014

Top 10 Stories

Selected by the staff at iBerkshires.com

1. North Adams Regional Hospital Closes/BMC Buys Campus
3. Clark Art Reopens

4. EPA Releases Housatonic Cleanup Plan/Silver Lake Remediated
5. PEDA Gets Innovation Grant
6. Hometown Candidate Loses Governor's Race
7. Communities Rally Against Gas Pipeline Plan
8. Massachusetts MoCA Plans $60 Million Expansion
9. Colegrove Park, Mount Greylock, Taconic School Plans Move Forward
10. Greylock Glen Master Lease Signed

Top 10 Most Viewed

1. Car Crashes Into Pittsfield High School; One Killed:  38,178
2. North Adams Hospital, Practices to Close Friday:  27,178    
3. North Adams Woman Killed in Single-Car Accident: 26,089
4. Early Morning Fire Burns Down V's Doghouse: 23,211
5. Hoosac Valley Graduate Rumbolt Remembered: 18,517
6. Berkshire Mall Set to Be Sold in June: 16,868
7. New York Man Killed in Bus Collision in Williamstown: 16,379
8. Charges Filed In Connection With Case of Missing Teen: 14,253
9. Dunkin' Donuts To Raze Pittsfield Church for Drive-Through: 13,140
10. Suspect Charged in MCLA Bomb Threat: 13,002    

 

Top 10 Slideshows

1. 2014 LETR Polar Plunge: 154,579
2. Drury High Prom 2014: 132,092
3. Monument Mtn Prom 2014: 118,404
4. Pittsfield High Prom 2014: 113,754
5. Hoosac Valley Prom 2014: 107,634
6. Wahconah Prom 2014: 105,363
7. Lenox Prom 2014: 94,152
8. Mount Greylock Prom 2014:    91,252
9. Downtown Celebration 2014: 72,255
10. Pittsfield 4th of July Parade 2014: 70,419

 

MCLA President Mary Grant and her husband, James Canavan, are headed south where Grant will become chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Asheville.

Grant, the college's 11th president, was vigorous in advancing the interests of her alma mater over her 12-year tenure, including the opening of the $40 million science center and connecting the college to North Adams and its economic development.

The couple's farewell event was attended by a who's who of the county's political, community, cultural and educational leaders.

Another educational leader, Superintendent Rose Ellis, retired at the end of the year after helming Williamstown and Lanesborough elementary schools and Mount Greylock Regional. The Tri-District is searching for a permanent replacement.

Jonathan Butler took the reins of the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce after five years as Adams town administrator. He replaced Michael Supranowicz, who departed to Hillcrest Educational Centers after 15 years with the chamber.

The Wiliamstown Chamber of Commerce is also seeing a change in leadership with the departure of Jennifer Civello. And longtime Images Cinema Executive Director Sandra Thomas also moved on.

Carl McKinney was appointed town administrator in Clarksburg, ending a chaotic period as the town sought an administrator while a new Board of Selectmen struggled through budget season. The former selectman started in July.

Sandisfield hired its first town administrator, Lisa Blackmer, who is also president of the North Adams City Council.

Marilyn Sperling, president and CEO of Greylock Federal Credit Union, announced her retirement for 2015 after 40 years in financial services. Sperling is credited in leading the credit union through a difficult transition and the Great Recession.

MountainOne's president, Thomas Leavitt, returned to Vermont after two years leading one of the county's largest financial institutions.

Gov. Deval Patrick, of Richmond, is leaving office after two terms. The governor was a frequent visitor to the Berkshires during his tenure. In September, he thanked supporters at an event in Great Barrington.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

When deciding which news stories were the big ones this past year, there was no doubt what would be No. 1. The abrupt closure of Northern Berkshire Healthcare and North Adams Regional Hospital in March sent shock waves through North County and affected more than 500 jobs.

Critical Condition: Tears and despair marked the closure of NARH in North Adams after more than 120 years. The full-service hospital found it could not adapt itself to the changing health-care environment despite a number of last-minute treatments to staunch the flow of financial losses. Elected leaders, political candidates, health-care officials, unions and residents weighed in on the aftermath.

Berkshire Healthcare System stepped in swiftly to ensure some medical services would continue but its acquisition of NARH's campus in August hasn't quelled the strong voices calling for the hospital to reopen. The state commissioned a study of health-care needs in the North County, which tends to be poorer and older than the rest of the Berkshires. The report pointed to the need for better access to primary and preventative care and emergency services - but advised in-patient services would not be sustainable without a federal designation as a Critical Access hospital.

The loss of NARH, and Berkshire Medical Center's future plans, will certainly continue to impact the region in the months and years to follow. 

Not In Our Back Yard: Kinder Morgan's plans to run a massive natural gas pipeline across the state may make a lot of sense in a region slammed by energy costs. But in the Berkshires, the environment is considered just as critical a resource. The controversial route across private property and watersheds raised a hornet's nest of opposition and resulted in the energy giant giving ground in Central County to reroute the line through several North County towns in hopes of a better welcome.

Speaking of the Environment: Pittsfield's long-polluted Silver Lake was declared not only clean but a fitted with a brand-new walking trail this past spring. Once a dumping ground for GE (and for cars, as well), the small lake is considered a recreational asset.

Silver Lake was just a warmup for the far more intensive, $613 million, "Rest of the River" remediation of the Housatonic River. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released its draft plans in June to remove more than a million cubic yards of material from some 300 acres. It won't be happening any time soon, though. The EPA doesn't expect a completed plan or work to begin for another five years.

A Dream Coming True?: Adams has been trying to get a project off the ground at the Greylock Glen for nearly 30 years. This year saw the signing of a master lease with the state, clearing the way for the town to begin development of the parcel at the foot of Mount Greylock.


For Berkshire County, 2014 has been a year of projects — past, present and future. Quite literally hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent in the county on developments of all sizes.

From the reopening of the Clark Art Institute, to the massive library projects at Williams College to the beginning of work at Colegrove Park Elementary and baby steps in school renovations for Pittsfield and Mount Greylock, 2014 has been filled with ribbon cuttings and ground breakings.

Cultural Assets: The Clark Art Institute's $145 million, two-year reconstruction and renovation made waves across the art world, and is expected to have a $54 million a year impact on the Berkshires. The award-winning grand opening took place on July 4 and drew thousands to view the Clark's permanent collection - some of it back from a worldwide tour - and new galleries. The museum capped off the year by hosting one of the most important governmental documents in Western history: the Magna Carta. (See more stories on the Clark here.)

Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art had a good year as well in planning a $60 million expansion into the most of the remaining square footage of the former Sprague Electric Co. thanks to a $25 million cultural grant from the state. The museum is also looking to integrate better with its North Adams hometown by building pedestrian and bicycle links to the city's downtown and proposed Greylock Market, which released its plans in January.

Adams also was getting in on the gallery game with the opening of the "Mill Children" in the former Waverly mill at 5 Hoosac St. Arrowhead, former home of Herman Melville and current home of the Berkshire County Historical Association, had a do-over that included bringing farming back to the Holmes Road property.

School Days: Colegrove Park Elementary School finally broke ground this year. The former Drury High School in North Adams is being transformed into an elementary school with the expectation of opening for the 2015 school year.

In Pittsfield, the School Building Needs Commission took the decisive step of voting to build a new school to replace the aging Taconic High School. The estimated $120 million project has been accepted into the state's design phase.

Mount Greylock Regional School District, which has been desiring to upgrade its deteriorated high and middle school for some time, has is moving into the feasibility stage. Monument Mountain Regional School District, however, was dealt a significant setback on its $56 million high school project when Great Barrington voters rejected the plan for the second time in two years.

College Construction: Williams College's towering $128 million glass Sawyer Library opened this fall and the lights came on at Weston Field after a $22 million renovation. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts continued its campus makeover with a new maintenance building and the renovation of Bowman Hall, following the opening in fall 2013 of its new science center.

Streetwise: Pittsfield and Adams both endured streetscape work this past year. Adams has some minor work to complete on Park Street but Pittsfield is launching the final phase of its nearly decadelong reconstruction of North and South streets. The city also saw the renovation of the Common near completion this year, with a ribbon cutting for the performance pavilion in December and anticipates the opening of the Hotel on North.

Seeking saviors: The imminent demise of North Adams oldest Catholic church, St. Francis of Assisi, and Pittsfield's beloved St. Mary the Morningstar galvanized opposition to plans to replace the vacant churches with national chains. While saved from the wrecking ball, there's no plan for either structure. Our Lady of Mercy in North Adams, however, is finding new life as an apartment complex.

And in Williamstown, this happened:

 

 


Accidents and fires claimed lives and property in 2014 and the perpetrators of two notorious crimes were sentenced.

Two Pittsfield men were killed in January when the car they were sped through an in intersection and slammed into a wall in front of Pittsfield High School.

Killed were Tariq Sally, 34, and Ernest Duck Jr., 37, who was high on PCP at the time of the crash, according to investigators.

Patrick M. Harrigan, 57, of Rensselaer, N.Y., was killed when the car he was driving crossed the path of a southbound bus at the Five Corners in Williamstown. The fatal crash led the town to review signage at the dangerous intersection in hopes of preventing another tragedy.

An electrical fire claimed V's Dog House in Lanesborough in September, a loss estimated at $700,000. The building was insured and the business is in the process of being rebuilt.

All Saints Episcopal Church in North Adams is still recovering from a February fire that heavily damaged the top floor of its attached parish center. The renovation has required more extensive work to meet new codes but the city gave permission to hold a special Christmas Eve service in church. 

Adam Hall of Peru, David Chalue of North Adams and Caius Vieovus of Pittsfield were all found guilty in the murders of David Glasser, 44,  Edward Frampton, 58, and Robert Chadwell, 47, in 2011. Glasser had been set to testify against Hall in a drug case; the other two victims were with him when confronted by Hall and his accomplices.

The trial was carried out in Hampden Superior Court. All three were handed consecutive life sentences. A fourth defendant, David Casey, pleaded guilty to  helping dispose of the bodies and released in December for time served.

David A. Delratez was sentenced to life imprisonment in October after pleading guilty to the murder of 84-year-old Ellen DePaoli in North Adams the year before. Delratez had initially claimed two other men had killed the retired cafeteria work when he was arrested with her car in Bennington, Vt. He will be eligible for parole in 15 years.

 

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