Here are some brief thoughts on events making news from around Franklin County and the North Quabbin area:
The Franklin County Relay for Life continues to outdo itself. Or should we say that the thousands of people associated with this year’s 55 Relay teams outdid themselves.
They raised $230,331 by the end of the local overnight marathon charity walk and run this month, surpassing their yearly fundraising goal of $230,000. According to Patti Hall from the Relay Planning Committee, the goal has not been surpassed this early in a few years.
According to Hall, the top three fundraising teams this year were Dick’s Angels, Yankee Candle and The Wall “Nuts.”
They should all take a bow, along with their supporters. They expend the time, energy and emotion to advance the fight against cancer and to help local cancer patients with services they need.
The 23rd annual Franklin County Relay for Life took place as usual at the county fairgrounds in Greenfield to raise money for the American Cancer Society.
“We are more than a group of people raising money for cancer treatment and research,” Hall said after the event. “We are fighters, survivors, caregivers, friends and family who bond together to offer support and kindness during a very hard time.”
About 150 people turned out for the 5th annual Hope and Healing Breakfast intended to support children victims through the Children’s Advocacy Center of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Area, the branch of the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office that assists with child abuse cases.
The children-friendly facility in Greenfield off Wisdom Way offers a space that alleviates anxiety” as prosecutors do their difficult job.
In 2017 the center saw 107 children, 38 boys to 69 girls. Of the children, 32 of them were 6 and under, 31 between 7 to 12 and 40 between 13 to 18 years old.
The annual event is a fundraiser for the program that is partly assisted through grants but also supported by donations.
Bernardston and Leyden residents can now compost at their trash transfer station.
“It’s a really good opportunity to get those organically based materials out of your trash bag and into the free compost program,” said Amy Donovan, program director of the Franklin County Solid Waste Management District.
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection estimates that 30 percent of household trash is compostable. So setting up a separate container in the kitchen for organic materials can make a noticeable difference.
And when towns encourage composting, they normalize these smart and environmentally friendly ways to treat waste, and show everyone, especially youngsters, the right way to live.
In its fifth year, the annual Firebird 5K race is more visible than ever.
This year’s race at Highland Park in Greenfield raised money for a sober home on Cedar Street that is set to open later this year to women in recovery.
“Before it was like ‘have faith in me’,” Firebird 5K founder Devon DeKorver said about her plans to build a sober house with the money from a community race. “But it actually worked. It’ll be a real thing. The tangible progress has been really inspiring.”
Town officials like Greenfield Fire Chief Robert Strahan and Mayor William Martin have lent their voices to the cause, which seems more needed than ever in these days of concern about addiction.
The sober home will have space for six women in three bedrooms, a plan which DeKorver said can help people in recovery grow and feel less lonely.
Pierce Brothers Coffee Roasters is moving from its Hope Street location to the I-91 Industrial Park in Greenfield. Some of us may actually miss the early morning whiff of roasted grains that sometimes drifts down toward Olive Street.
But the move seems to signal good news, that the business has outgrown its current location.
The company was founded in 1994, and moved to Hope Street in 2004. The company currently roasts about 300,000 pounds of coffee a year.
The move will give the company additional space for storage and for more coffee bean roasting, and it will remove what some may have considered a bit of a nuisance in what today is a largely residential neighborhood.
So, good news for everyone.